Adapter structure

Details Adapter structure Adapter structure

2003-08-19

2004-09-14

Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

Convertible by internal change to selectively cooperate with...

Coupling part

C439S501000, C439S956000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06790062

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an adapter structure having plugs compatible with various electricity standards and having a small size.
2. Description of the Related Art
An adapter typically has a plug and a pair of insertion holes. The plug of the adapter is used to connect to domestic electricity to supply power to conductors inside the adapter. The conductors are mounted corresponding to the insertion holes. When a plug of an electrical appliance is inserted into an electrical socket via the insertion holes of the adapter, the plug comes into contact with the conductors to supply power to the electrical appliance. Such an adapter has only one plug that is not compatible with different electricity standards.
Another type of adapter with various plugs compatible with US, UK and European electricity standards has been commercially available. This conventional adapter allows the user to choose one of the plugs according to the type of electrical socket in place. This type of adapter is convenient because there is no need to buy various adapters for each electricity standard.
Referring to FIG.
1
and
FIG. 2
, a conventional adapter having various types of plugs includes a casing
90
, a first plug
91
, a second plug
96
, a third plug
100
, a pair of conductors
102
, and a pair of insertion holes
103
. Each first plug
91
includes a pair of rectangular pins
92
and a first portion
93
slidably mounted on the casing
90
. A movable fastener
94
moves the first plug
91
forth and back in the casing
90
. A rectangular ground pin
95
is pivotally connected to a front side of the casing
90
. When the first plug
91
is pushed forward, the rectangular ground pin
95
is driven outward by the first plug
91
to form a third rectangular pin for connection to one domestic electricity standard. The second plug
96
includes a pair of straight pins
97
and a second portion
98
slidably mounted on the casing
90
. A movable fastener
98
moves the second plug
92
forth and back in the casing
90
. When the straight pins
97
are pushed outward, they can be inserted in another domestic electricity standard. The third plug
100
includes a pair of rod-shaped pins
101
pivotally connected on and unfolded from the front side of the casing
90
for insertion into an electrical socket of yet another electricity standard. The conductors
102
are mounted inside the casing
90
in parallel and respectively electrically connected to the corresponding plugs
91
,
92
for inputting various types of electricity standards. The insertion holes
103
are formed through a rear side of the casing
90
to correspond to a pair of outlets of the conductors
102
for receiving a pair of pins of an electric plug of an external electrical appliance to supply electrical power.
However, the plugs
91
,
96
,
100
of the above conventional adapter exclusively connect to different electric sockets of specific electricity standards. The plugs
91
,
96
,
100
cannot commonly insert into one electric socket of a certain domestic electricity standard. Therefore, if the adapter has to accommodate all the plugs, the size and production cost of the adapter should be increased with a complex structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an adapter structure having plugs with different electricity standards, in which the user conveniently chooses one proper plug according to the domestic electricity standard, for example UK or EU electricity standards. The adapter structure of the invention has a simple structure with a reduced size and production cost.
In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the adapter structure of the invention includes a casing, a first plug, a second plug, a pair of conductors and a pair of insertion holes. The first plug has two straight pins pivotally connecting to the casing so that the straight pins are unfolded from the casing or stored up inside the casing. The second plug has two rod-shaped pins with rear ends respectively connected to a base. By pushing a pushing button, the plug moves forth and back inside the casing to unfold or store the rod-shaped pins inside the casing. The conductors are mounted inside the casing in parallel and respectively electrically connected to the first and second plugs, corresponding to outlets of the conductors.
To provide a further understanding of the invention, the following detailed description illustrates embodiments and examples of the invention, this detailed description being provided only for illustration of the invention.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5791921 (1998-08-01), Lee
patent: 6126460 (2000-10-01), Wu
patent: 6402546 (2002-06-01), Groves et al.
patent: 6659782 (2003-12-01), Wu

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