BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a power adaptor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the power adaptor of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the power adaptor of FIG. 1 showing the complete concealment of the prongs.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the power adaptor of FIG. 1 showing the full exposure of the prongs.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a power adaptor according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional power adaptor.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The following descriptions are of exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
As shown in FIG. 1, a power adaptor according to an embodiment of the present invention contains an adaptor body 1 and a power cable 3 which is wound around a cable winder 2. The cable winder 2 is one of the prior arts and is capable of retrieving and dispensing the power cable 3 in both directions. As shown in FIG. 2, the adaptor body 1 mainly contains a first casing member 11 and a second casing member 12 joined together to form a closed space for housing the other components of the adaptor body 1. On the top surfaces of the rectangular bodies of the casing members 11 and 12, matching troughs 121 and 111 are respectively provided so that, when the two casing members 11 and 12 are joined together, an elongated cavity and a through slot therewithin are formed. A head piece 131 of a push button is provided inside the cavity formed by the troughs 121 and 111 and the push button can be slid along the slot and within the confinement of the cavity.
A plug assembly 10 is housed inside the adaptor body 1. The plug assembly, like the common two-prong plug of small appliances, has two prongs 15 whose back ends are fixedly attached to a connecting piece 151. On a top surface of the connecting piece 151, a trough 152 capable of receiving the body 13 of the push body and an elastic element 14 (such as a helix spring) beneath the push button body 3 is provided. When the head piece 131 of the push button is pressed, the body 13 will sink into the trough 152, compressing the elastic element 14. When the head piece 131 is released, the resilience of the elastic element 14 will raise the body 13 out of the trough 152. On the front surface of the adaptor body 1, an opening 110 is provided through which the prongs 15 can be stuck out or retracted in the adaptor body 1.
As shown in FIG. 2, the plug assembly 10 further contains a sliding piece 16 having a sliding rail 161 sandwiched between two stopping blocks 163 and 164. The connecting piece 151 has a track 153 on the bottom surface (opposite to the top surface where the trough 152 is located) that can be positioned on and slid along the sliding rail 161 within the confinement of the stopping blocks 163 and 164. The sliding piece 16 further contains two wings 162 extended symmetrically and perpendicularly from the sides of the sliding rail 161. On the top surface of the wings 162, there are two protruding positioning blocks 1621 which confine two conducting plates 17 along the two sides of the sliding rail 161 respectively. On the inner surfaces of the casing members 11 and 12, there are two receiving sockets 110-1 for the accommodation of the two wings 162 so that the sliding piece 16 is fixedly held inside the adaptor body 1. To further enhance the steadiness of the sliding piece 16, the stopping block 163 is embedded in the opening 110 (but leaving the room for the penetration of the prongs 15) and the two ends of stopping block 164 are plugged into another two receiving sockets 110-2 on the two inner side surfaces of the casing members 11 and 12 respectively.
The conducting plates 17 are arched elastically upward to have a constant and reliable contact with the prongs 15 wherever the prongs 15 are slid along the sliding rail 161. When the prongs 15 are plugged into a power outlet, the electricity is conducted through the prongs 15, the conducting plates 17, and wires 171 to an electric member 18 for rectification and regulation into the desired voltage. The voltage is then provided through the power cable 3 to a connected electronic device.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when he prongs 15 are completely retracted into adaptor body 1, the push button body 13 by the resilience of the elastic element 14 will be embedded into a locking trough 110-3 formed on the top inner surfaces of the casing members 11 and 12 behind the cavity so that the prongs 15 are securely hidden inside the adaptor body 1. Then, by pressing the head piece 131 to compress the elastic element 14 and to release the push button body 13 out of the locking trough 110-3, the head piece 131 can be pushed forward to stick out the prongs 15. When the connecting piece 151 is stopped by the stopping block 163 and when the head piece 131 is released, again by the resilience of the elastic element 14, the push button body 13 will be embedded into another locking trough 110-4 also formed on the top inner surfaces of the casing members 11 and 12 in front of the cavity. Similarly, to retract the prongs 15, the head piece 131 is pressed to release the push button body 13 out of the locking trough 110-4 and is pulled backward until the connecting piece 151 is stopped by the stopping block 164. When the head piece 131 is released, again by the resilience of the elastic element 14, the push button body 13 will be embedded into the locking trough 110-3.
The connection of the power cable 3 to the adaptor body 1 could be a fixed one as shown in FIG. 1 or detachable one as shown in FIG. 5 by having a socket 21 on the adaptor body 1 and a matching plug 21 at an end of the power cable 3.
It will understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in a way from the spirit of the present invention.
Patent Application
20070293059
