Modified male connector on internal power supply cord

Details Modified male connector on internal power supply cord Modified male connector on internal power supply cord

2002-11-12

2004-08-17

Feild, Lynn (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

With coupling separator

Nonconducting pusher

Reexamination Certificate

active

06776633

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a modified male connector on the internal power supply cord, in particular to a structural modification on the drive power connectors that facilitates the unplugging of the power supply cord from the electronic device.
2. Description of Related Arts
All electronic devices inside a computer, such as CD/DVD drives, floppy drives, hard disk drives and blower fans, have to be connected to a switching power supply of the computer to obtain the necessary power. The switching power supply distributes the converted DC power through several power output terminals, which usually have a male connector attached to the end of an internal power supply cord. The electronic devices usually have female connectors at the back or on an extension for receiving the corresponding male connectors so as to draw the necessary power from the switching power supply.
A conventional female connector (
40
) as shown in
FIGS. 6 and 7
has four metal pins (not shown in diagram) in parallel arrangement that provide +5V and +12V and grounds for the above-mentioned drives. A male connector (
30
) comes with four metal tubes (
31
), allowing the metal pins of the female connector (
40
) to be mated with the metal tubes (
31
) of the male connector (
30
), thus making electrical connection between the switching power supply and the internal drive through the connectors (
30
,
40
).
A common practice is to create two bumps (
32
) on two opposing sides of the male connector (
30
) to facilitate unplugging of the male connector (
30
) attached on a power supply cord (
33
). The bumps (
32
) are designed to assist users in trying to get a firm grip on the male connector (
30
) while unplugging the power supply cord (
33
). This is to prevent breaking of the internal wire connection between the power supply cord (
33
) and the male connector (
30
) as the user tries to pull the power supply cord linking the male connector (
30
) and the female connector (
40
). However, the clipping force between the metal pins and the tubes (
31
) is strong such that it is not easy to pull out the male connector (
30
) even by tugging on to the bumps (
32
), not to mention that the fingers could slip from the male connector (
30
). The user often has to resort to grabbing of the power supply cord (
33
) in order to pull out the male connector (
30
), thereby possibly causing breaking of the internal wires.
The present invention is to address these problems with the conventional power connectors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The main object of the present invention is to provide a modified male connector on the internal power supply cord of a personal computer that facilitates unplugging of the power supply cord from the female connector of an internal drive or a blower fan.
In the present invention, two compressible tabs are created on two opposing sides of the male connector. The compressible tabs will be pressed against the rim of the female connector as the male connector is mated with the female connector. When the user unplugs the male connector, he or she has only to depress the compressible tab slightly, by which the applied pressure is converted to a horizontal pushing force against the rim of the female connector. As a result, the male connector can be easily released from the female connector.
The present invention is characterized in that the structure of the male connector is modified with two compressible tabs created on two opposing sides of the male connector, and a pusher is formed at the free end of the compressible tab.
The present invention is also characterized in that the compressible tab extends from the fixed end of the male connector to the free end forming an arc-shape on the sides of the male connector.
The present invention is also characterized in that the outside surface of the compressible tab has a coarse texture.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4140359 (1979-02-01), Kunz
patent: 4531795 (1985-07-01), Sinclair
patent: 4619492 (1986-10-01), Corblick
patent: 5380213 (1995-01-01), Piorunneck et al.
patent: 5676556 (1997-10-01), Yamaguchi et al.

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