Patent Grant
11056828
Many automobiles are equipped with a cigarette lighter socket at the dashboard to facilitate the driver's easy insertion and easy removal of a cigarette lighter. The cigarette lighter socket is not only used for the cigarette lighter, but also can be used for supplying electricity, that is, as a power socket for a variety of electronic devices. For convenience, cigarette lighter sockets are often installed in multiple locations inside a car, for example adjacent to the front and rear seats. In modern days, drivers and passengers smoke less, and some cigarette lighter sockets are solely used as power outlets for electronic devices such as mobile phones. Typically, a low-cost cigarette lighter socket is only used as a power supply for electronic devices, and is not resistant to high temperatures and therefore cannot be used for a traditional cigarette lighter. However, its diameter is kept the same as that of a conventional high-temperature cigarette lighter.
The car cigarette lighter socket has been used for a cigarette lighter since 1920's, and later also used as a universal power socket. In the past 90 years, numerous car-powered electric appliances have been invented, and thus the car cigarette lighter sockets are difficult to be eliminated in the future. Conventional automobile cigarette lighter sockets and plugs for power taking have various product types and designs. United States, China, Europe, Japan, South Korea and other countries have many patents in this area, some of which are listed here, US patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,728,049, 2,528,500, 4,622,454, 5,158,484, 8,446,125, 9,112,315B2, D721038. Chinese patents: CN01124010, CN2891347Y, CN202917782U, CN203871562U, CN200310100090, CN200710169553, CN200810067659, CN200810096360, CN201280045584. European Patent: EP2198526B1, EP2233353B1. Japanese patents: JPA_1993226037, JPA_1997283231, JPA_1998326648, JPA_2000030814, JPU_1993079882. Korean Patent: 1020080119295.
National standards vary from country to country. For example, a 12V car cigarette lighter socket and plug have the size A and a socket inner diameter of 20.93-21.01 mm, which is mainly used in the U.S. market. The size B, socket diameter 21.13-21.33 mm, mainly used in European markets.
The inventors of the present disclosure have recognized that, as a power socket, a conventional car cigarette lighter socket and plug have poor retention of the socket and plug, the plug may become loose due to the vibration of the car under normal driving condition of the vehicle and may be out of electrical contact with the socket. In addition, the gap between the socket and the plug is relatively large. When the plug is inserted into the socket, the mechanical mounting force is quite weak, unstable, and the vibration of the normal driving of the vehicle makes the plug greatly shaking. Considering the cigarette lighter function, power supply function, various countries' different standards, and interchangeability with previous products, the problems of the loosening of the conventional plug and particularly unreliable electrical contact have not been well solved.
However, satellite navigators, cell phones, and small computers have been widely used in recent years, and opportunities for use in automobiles have been greatly increased. If the present cigarette lighter socket and plug were to directly hold a satellite navigator, cell phone, or a small computer, because these electrical devices weigh much more than wires, their displays may be shaky when the car is moving, and may be difficult to view, difficult to touch, and can easily fall off and lose power connection with the socket. Therefore, holders of satellite navigators, cell phones, small computers, etc. are typically designed to be separated from the cigarette lighter socket and plug. A universal holder can still have poor mechanical connection, and the connected wires are not tidy. Because the car inside space is limited, untidy wires can hinder driver and passengers' actions inside the car.
Some cars have Universal Serial Bus (USB) sockets and/or Secure Digital (SD) memory card sockets installed. At the rear of some cars, there are trailers with 4 electrodes or more connected to the power supply for powering trailer brakes, taillights, brake lights, and turn signals, etc. These sockets and their mating plugs can be connected to wires and the like, but because of poor mechanical retaining, it is difficult to directly hold external electronic devices and the waterproof performance is also poor.
The present disclosure relates to electrical sockets and plugs for vehicles, trains, motorcycles, ships, aircraft and other vehicles and daily life. In order to solve the deficiencies in the prior art, various embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electrical socket and plug that have good mechanical support, good waterproof performance, tidy wiring, and good interchangeability with previous products. The anti-loosening electrical socket and plug according to various embodiments of the present disclosure have good versatility and can generate a large number of new usage scenarios.
In order to solve the abovementioned technical problems in existing technologies, various embodiments of the present disclosure include an external thread on the car cigarette lighter socket, and a flange and an internal thread locking cap in the car cigarette lighter plug, such that the plug can be tightened with the locking cap to the socket to achieve mechanical retaining without loosening, and good electrical connection at same time.
In an aspect, a secure such as an anti-loosening electrical socket and plug are provided. In some embodiments, the socket has an electrode of a car cigarette lighter socket and also has an external thread at its inlet outer diameter. In some embodiments, the plug has an electrode of a car cigarette lighter plug and also has a flange and internally threaded locking cap.
The plug can be inserted into the socket such that the flange of the plug contacts the inlet end of the socket, and the internal thread of the locking cap is screwed onto the external thread of the socket, such that the socket and plug are mechanically coupled together securely while simultaneously achieving electrode contact. In some embodiments, the plug can be inserted into a regular car cigarette lighter socket without external thread to achieve electrode contact. In some other embodiments, a conventional car cigarette lighter plug without a flange or internally threaded locking cap can be inserted into the socket of various embodiments of the present disclosure to achieve electrode contact.
In some embodiments, the socket has a guide slot. In some embodiments, alternatively, the plug has a guide spring or a guide key.
In some embodiments, the socket or the plug has additional electrodes in addition to the positive and negative electrodes of an existing conventional car cigarette lighter socket or plug.
In some embodiments, the additional electrodes on the socket are elastic metal pins, elastic metal plates, and elastic metal wires arranged on the bottom or side surface of the socket. In some other embodiments, the additional electrodes on the plug are inelastic or elastic electrodes.
In some embodiments, the additional electrode is the electrode of a USB or HDMI connector.
In some embodiments, a rubber ring is disposed between the port of the socket and the flange of the plug, and the socket and the plug are pressed against the rubber ring, so as to improve sealing or achieve waterproof performance.
In some embodiments, the socket is mounted on a front panel of a dashboard of a car, an upper panel of a dashboard of a car, a seat back of a car, a ceiling of a front of a car, a ceiling of a central portion of a car, or on a motorcycle, a train, or an airplane.
In some embodiments, the plug is an integral component formed with the holder of one or more of Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite navigators, cell phones, televisions, monitors, cameras, radars/radar detectors, lighting panels, searchlights, toys, lightings, fragrance devices, detectors, electrical sockets, electrical plugs, socket extension converters, USB sockets, High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) sockets, electric cups, fans, wireless chargers, wireless communicators, coat hooks, etc.
In some embodiments, the car cigarette lighter socket and plug are replaced by the socket and plug of USB, HDMI, flat-type or round-type pin electrodes.
In some embodiments, the car cigarette lighter socket and plug are replaced by the socket and plug of a wall alternate current (AC) power supply, an AC power terminal block, an AC power supply for an electrical device, or an AC power line sockets and plugs.
In some embodiments, the plug has no electrode, with or without a flange or an internal thread, by screwing or inlaying on an external thread of the socket, to form a socket protection cap or mechanical holder.
As such, the anti-loosening electrical socket and plug according to some embodiments add an external thread on the existing car cigarette lighter socket, adds a flange and an internal threaded locking cap to the existing car cigarette lighter plug, so that the invented plug can be tightened with the locking cap to the invented socket to achieve mechanical mounting without loosening and electrical connection at same time.
Between the socket port and the plug flange, a sealing rubber ring is placed and squeezed to achieve waterproof. By increasing the number of electrodes and guide springs, multiple electrodes are connected and the wiring is tidy.
The anti-loosening electrical socket and plug according to some embodiments can be mutually inserted to the existing car cigarette lighter plug and socket with full compatibility to achieve the existing normal electrical connection.
The anti-loosening electrical socket and plug according to some embodiments can also be applied to USB, trailers, building wall AC power socket and plug and the like. The anti-loosening electrical socket and plug according to some embodiments can generate a large number of new use scenarios, can simultaneously mechanically mount and electrically connect a satellite navigator, a mobile phone, a display, a camera, a detector, etc., and can be widely applied to vehicles and daily life.
To more clearly illustrate some of the embodiments, the following is a brief description of the drawings. The drawings in the following descriptions are only illustrative of some embodiments. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings of other embodiments can become apparent based on these drawings.
In the following, with reference to the drawings of various embodiments disclosed herein, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the disclosure will be described in a clear and fully understandable way. It is noted that the described embodiments are merely some but not all of the embodiments of the disclosure. Based on the described embodiments of the disclosure, and that those ordinarily skilled in the art can obtain other embodiment(s), which come(s) within the scope sought for protection by the disclosure.
In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the “socket” and “plug” or the “female connector” and the “male connector” provide both electrical coupling and mechanical coupling, and are referred to as “electrical socket” and “electrical plug,” or “electrical female connector” and “electrical male connector.” However, in some embodiments, these devices provide only mechanical coupling without electrical coupling.
As shown
A guide spring 10 can be provided for the plug 2. A spring power electrode 11 can be provided for the plug 2 and be part of the guide spring. The socket 1 can have an end face 12, a guide slot 13 configured to operate with the guide spring piece 10.
The socket 1 can also include an external thread 14 configured to mate with a threaded locking cap 4. The socket 1 can further comprise a socket flange 15, a socket mounting nut 16, a thread 17, a positioning plane 18 for the socket rotation direction, and an external electrode 19.
The dashboard panel 5, which has a hole into which the thread 17 and the positioning plane 18 are fittingly inserted, is clamped by the socket flange 15 and the mounting nut 16 in order to mount the socket.
Conventional automobile cigarette lighter socket and plug typically only provide conduction of the positive and negative electrodes of the power supply. In contrast, various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a variety of connections and electrical paths.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a multi-electrode socket and plug to facility multiple electrical/mechanical connections. For example, in addition to the power connection, the GPS navigation device 7 in
At the end faces of the plug electrode 21 and the socket electrode 25, there is a chamfer 27 so that the plug and the socket are kept in the same core. The guide spring tab 10 of the plug mates with the guide slot 13 of the socket so that the plug and the socket are aligned. In this way, the plurality of additional electrodes 22 of the plug mate with the plurality of socket electrodes 26 of the socket, and thus avoid mis-insertions.
As shown, there are two guide springs 10 on the plug, and it is easier to keep the same core and steering in comparison with one guide spring. In order to ensure simultaneous contact, all the plug electrodes 21 and the socket electrodes 26 employ spring electrodes. Spring extension Pogo pin is a good spring electrode. Metal sheets and wires having special shapes such as spirals, U-shapes, etc. can also be made into spring electrodes.
If the plug is only inserted into the socket to let the electrodes be into conduction, there is looseness, poor mechanical retaining, and no waterproof performance. However, then by tightening the threaded locking cap 4, the plug 2 can be tightly mounted, eliminating looseness and obtaining good mechanical coupling.
Further, a sealing rubber ring 29 can be inserted between the flange surface 28 of the plug and the end surface 12 of the socket in advance. When the threaded locking cap 4 is tightened, the sealing rubber ring 29 is pressed to waterproof the plug 2 and the socket 1. Similarly, when the socket locking nut 16 is tightened, the sealing rubber ring 30 is pressed to waterproof the socket 1 and the dashboard panel 5 of the automobile.
In order to reduce cost, it is possible to make an anti-loosening electrical socket and plug without additional electrodes according to some embodiments.
The anti-loosening electrical socket according to some embodiments may have the same inner diameter, depth and electrodes as a conventional car cigarette lighter socket. Therefore, the ordinary car cigarette lighter plug can be directly inserted into the anti-loosening electrical socket to get electricity. In the same way, the multi-electrode anti-loosening electrical plug here has a plurality of electrodes added to the plug of an ordinary car cigarette lighter, but the external dimensions have not increased. Therefore, the multi-electrode anti-loosening electrical plug can be directly inserted into an existing ordinary car cigarette lighter socket for use.
In this case, the threaded locking cap 4 of the plug can be separated backward by a distance of the thickness of the locking cap 4. Typically, the threaded locking cap 4 of the plug tends not to leave the plug too far away to avoid losing. This can be achieved by enlarging the diameter a little in the vicinity of the plug to define axial slipping of the threaded locking cap 4. Therefore, the anti-loosening electrical socket and plug have a two-way inter insertion ability with the existing ordinary car cigarette lighter socket and plug.
The anti-loosening electrical socket can also be fastened to the panel of a car dashboard using screws. The screw hole 31 of the socket shown in
The other end of the plug is a wire 33. The plug has a guide key 34 into which a socket with a guide slot can be inserted. A conventional car cigarette lighter plug can be inserted into the socket here. However, because there is no guide slot for an ordinary car cigarette lighter socket, the plug here cannot be inserted. In other words, there is only one-way inter insertion. A plurality of electrodes 35, 36 are included on the plug, which may be spring electrodes or non-spring electrodes. Correspondingly, multiple electrodes 25 and 37 are included on the socket.
One of the anti-loosening electrical socket and plug shown in
The plug of
Due to the presence of the guide key 34 and the USB plug 44, the anti-loosening electrical plug cannot be inserted into an ordinary car cigarette lighter socket. However, if the guide key 34 is replaced with a guide spring 10 or is removed, and the USB plug 44 is manually retracted back to the plug cylinder before insertion, the anti-loosening plug can be inserted into a conventional car cigarette lighter socket for power taking.
The vehicle can have a socket 52 at the car dashboard position, a socket 53 at the car seat position, a socket 54 at the car top exterior, a socket 55 at the car rear window position, a socket 56 at the car back exterior, etc.
The socket can also be installed at the front, middle, and rear inside and outside ceilings of the car, inside the car window, outside the car head, and the car side outside. It can also be mounted on a motorcycle or on a plane.
According to different installation positions and needs, insert the plug into the socket and tighten the locking cap to mechanically mount and electrically connect the GPS satellite navigator, mobile phone, notebook computer, tablet computer, television, monitor, camera, radar, lighting panel, searchlight, toy, light, fragrance, detector, electric cup, fan, wireless charger, wireless near-field communicator NFC, coat hook, etc. It is also possible to mechanically mount and electrically connect various electrical or non-electrical item holders, and then mount various electrical or non-electrical items on the holders.
In most cases, users do not need to insert electrical or non-electrical items to all of the automobile's anti-loose electrical sockets at the same time. In order to be clean and beautiful, it is possible to cover a protective cap with internal thread or no thread. The protective cap may or may not be separated from the sockets.
The above-mentioned anti-loosening electrical socket significantly improves upon an existing car cigarette lighter socket. An existing car cigarette lighter plug can be inserted into an anti-loosening electrical socket for use. This ensures the continuing using ability of numerous existing automotive electrical items. Outside the back of many cars, electrical sockets are installed to provide power to the trailer, in order to provide braking power to the trailer, and power the trailer lights, brake lights, and turn signals.
A conventional car cigarette lighter socket and plug do not meet this requirement due to the possibility of loose off and the number of electrodes is not enough. Therefore, different sockets and plugs with flat or round shapes are used now. They do not have the inter insertion ability with ordinary cigarette lighter sockets and plugs. They basically do not have anti-loosening or waterproof function. However, the anti-loosening car cigarette lighter socket and plug according to some embodiments provide the inter insertion ability with an ordinary car cigarette lighter socket and plug, multiple electrodes, prevention of loosening and falling, and waterproof. They can meet the electrical connection to a trailer very well.
In some automotive interiors, there are also USB sockets and SD memory card sockets. Such conventional sockets typically do not have waterproof performance.
Similar to the aforementioned anti-loosening car cigarette lighter sockets and plugs, the anti-loosening electrical sockets and the plugs of
The anti-loosening electrical socket and plug according to some embodiments can be well used in automobiles, and can also be used in motorcycles, airplanes and buildings. They can be electrical sockets and plugs of car direct current (DC) power supplies, wall AC power supplies, AC power terminal boards, AC power supply for electrical devices, AC power cables, electrical signal connectors, etc.
In the present disclosure, it is to be understood that the terms “center,” “longitudinal,” “transverse,” “length,” “width,” “thickness,” “upper,” “lower,” “front,” “back,” “left,” “right,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “inside,” “outside,” “clockwise,” “counterclockwise,” “axial,” “radial,” “circumferential,” “column,” “row,” and other orientation or positional relationships are based on example orientations illustrated in the drawings, and are merely for the convenience of the description of some embodiments, rather than indicating or implying the device or component being constructed and operated in a particular orientation. Therefore, these terms are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.
Moreover, the terms “first” and “second” are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying a relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, elements referred to as “first” and “second” may include one or more of the features either explicitly or implicitly. In the description of the present disclosure, “a plurality” indicates two or more unless specifically defined otherwise.
In the present disclosure, the terms “installed,” “connected,” “coupled,” “fixed” and the like shall be understood broadly, and may be either a fixed connection or a detachable connection, or integrated, unless otherwise explicitly defined. These terms can refer to mechanical or electrical connections, or both. Such connections can be direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium. These terms can also refer to the internal connections or the interactions between elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art on a case-by-case basis.
In the present disclosure, a first element being “on,” “over,” or “below” a second element may indicate direct contact between the first and second elements, without contact, or indirect through an intermediate medium, unless otherwise explicitly stated and defined.
Moreover, a first element being “above,” “over,” or “at an upper surface of” a second element may indicate that the first element is directly above the second element, or merely that the first element is at a level higher than the second element. The first element “below,” “underneath,” or “at a lower surface of” the second element may indicate that the first element is directly below the second element, or merely that the first element is at a level lower than the second feature. The first and second elements may or may not be in contact with each other.
In the description of the present disclosure, the terms “one embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “example,” “specific example,” or “some examples,” and the like may indicate a specific feature described in connection with the embodiment or example, a structure, a material or feature included in at least one embodiment or example. In the present disclosure, the schematic representation of the above terms is not necessarily directed to the same embodiment or example.
Moreover, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, various embodiments or examples described in the specification, as well as features of various embodiments or examples, may be combined and reorganized.
All references cited in the present disclosure are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Although specific embodiments have been described above in detail, the description is merely for purposes of illustration. It should be appreciated, therefore, that many aspects described above are not intended as required or essential elements unless explicitly stated otherwise. Various modifications of, and equivalent acts corresponding to, the disclosed aspects of the exemplary embodiments, in addition to those described above, can be made by a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the benefit of the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure defined in the following claims, the scope of which is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass such modifications and equivalent structures.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201610039962.7 | Jan 2016 | CN | national |
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/037,987 filed on Jul. 17, 2018, which is a continuation of International Appl. No. PCT/CN2017/071396 filed on Jan. 17, 2017, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201610039962.7 filed on Jan. 22, 2016. The disclosures of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200388956 A1 | Dec 2020 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16037987 | Jul 2018 | US |
| Child | 17001641 | US | |
| Parent | PCT/CN2017/071396 | Jan 2017 | US |
| Child | 16037987 | US |
