Abstract:
An automotive adapter includes a adapted to be inserted into the accessory socket of a motor vehicle. A cord can be hard wired or attachable to the body. The body is formed with a tab at one end, the tab including a hole sized and shaped to hold and secure a portion of the cord, thereby preventing the cord from interfering with the operation of the motor vehicle.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/824,584 filed May 17, 2013 and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    This invention pertains to an automotive adapter that plugs into the accessory socket of an automotive vehicle and includes an integral cord retainer engaging a portion of a cord extending from the socket to the device being powered. 
         [0004]    B. Background of the Invention 
         [0005]    Historically, motor vehicles have been provided with cigarette lighters, and, although these lighters are used for their designated purpose relatively infrequently, motor vehicles are still provided with such sockets because they have become a convenient means of providing power for various accessories in use, such as GPS devices, devices for playing music, etc. In addition, the sockets are also used for for charging various portable electronic devices that otherwise may run out of power and become useless. 
         [0006]    A problem with existing adapted is that the cords connecting the adapter to the device being powered are not secured properly and extend haphazardly through the vehicle cabin. Therefore, these cords can get entangled with various control members in the cabin and interfere with the normal operation of the motor vehicle, For example, frequently, accessory sockets are disposed somewhere in a central or middle position on, or just below the motor vehicle dashboard, not too far from the transmission or other control element controlling the operation of the motor vehicle. As a result, when an adapter is inserted into the accessory socket, the cord connecting the adapter to a hand-held device can be entangle easily around the transmission or directional handle and interfere with its operation. 
         [0007]    Therefore, there is a need for adapter and a cord that is secured to the adapter within the cabin so that it does not interfere with other operational elements of the motor vehicle and become a safety hazard. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    An automotive adapter constructed in accordance with this invention includes a cylindrical body sized and shaped to fit into the accessory socket of a vehicle. The including connecting elements adapted to connect to battery terminals in the accessory socket and an output member for coupling to a charging cord extending to the device that needs to be charged. A tab is supported by said body, and is arranged and constructed to receive and secure the cord. 
         [0009]    The cord can have a flat cross section (e.g., it can be ribbon cord) or can have a generally round cross section. The tab is formed with an elongated hole having central portions. The hole is shaped and sized so that it form an interference fit with either the ribbon cable or the round cable, and hence can retain cable having either type of cross-section. 
         [0010]    In one embodiment, the adapter includes two jacks that may be identical or may be different in that they may be arranged and constructed to either accept different plugs or deliver power at different voltages and/or current to the respective devices. For this embodiment, the adapter is also provided with a tab. The tab can be shaped so that it can accommodate one or two cords. Alternatively, the adapter is provided with two different tabs, each accommodating a respective cord. 
         [0011]    Disposed within the body of the adapter, there is an electronic circuit that performs all the functions necessary to power the devices connected to it and/or charge these devices. The circuit includes a conditioning section, a voltage and current control section and a dedicated charging port control section. 
         [0012]    The condition section is connected to the automotive battery and protects the circuit from power surges and other spurious and momentary signals. 
         [0013]    The voltage and current control section generates an output signal at a precise voltage and current appropriate for charging certain devices. This section may be a dual channel device to generate two different outputs, both having highly regulated outputs. 
         [0014]    The dedicated charging port control section includes an IC that monitors the control signals from the respective device and insures that the data lines are biased appropriately for charging the respective device(s). 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  shows an orthogonal view of an automotive adapter with a ribbon cord constructed in accordance with this invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  shows a rear view of the automotive adapter of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2A  shows an enlarged plan view of the tab for the adapter of  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  shows a side view of the automotive adapter of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  shows a rear view of the automotive adapter with a round cord; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  shows an orthogonal view of an adapter with two outlets; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  shows a circuit diagram for the embodiment of  FIG. 5 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , an automotive adapter  10  constructed in accordance with this invention includes a body  12  with an outer wall  14  having a somewhat oval cross-section. More specifically, the outer wall  14  can have a circular, elliptical or any other similar cross section. In the embodiment shown, the rear portion of the outer wall  14  flares radially outwardly, as at  16 . 
         [0023]    Outer wall  14  supports two metallic contacts  18 ,  20  that are connected to the ground terminal of vehicle when the adapter  10  is inserted into an accessory socket (not shown). Preferably one or both contacts are spring loaded. Alternatively, one of the contacts  18 ,  20  may be omitted or may be replaced by an element that is not connected to the vehicle battery, or may be made of a non-metallic element, but provided as a means of retaining the adapter  10  securely within the accessory socket. 
         [0024]    The body  12  further includes a front end  22 . A rounded pin  24  extends outwardly of the front end  22  as shown and is also preferably spring loaded. That is, pin  24  can be pushed inward but springs axially outwardly when released. Conventionally, the pin  24  is connected to the positive terminal of the motor vehicle battery (not shown) through a contact and an appropriate wire when the adapter  10  is inserted into an accessory socket. 
         [0025]    Body  12  further includes a rear wall  26 . An indicator light  28  may be provided on this wall  26  as shown. Alternatively, light  28  is mounted elsewhere on the body  12 , such as, for example, the outer wall  14 . Rear wall  26  further supports in one embodiment a standard jack  30 . For example, this jack may be a mini- or micro USB connector jack, or any other type of connector suited for interfacing with a hand-held device. 
         [0026]    On one side, the rear wall  26  is formed with a tab  32 . The tab is flat, has a thickness of about 1/16- 3/16 in and is somewhat flexible. In one embodiment, both the rear wall  26  and tab  32  are generally flat and coplanar. 
         [0027]    Details of the tab  32  are seen in  FIG. 2A . The tab  32  is formed with a hole  36 . Preferably, hole  36  is not circular but is elongated with two end sections  36  so that it has a major axis L-L that is parallel with the outer wall  12 . The minor axis of the hole  34  is normal to surface  14 . The hole  34  has a central portion  38  that is preferably with end sections  36  being positioned in diametrically opposite positions end extending radially away from central portion  38 . A narrow slit  40  extends from an outer edge  42  of the tab  32  to opening  34 . Slit  40  is normal or perpendicular to outer wall  14 . 
         [0028]    As previously mentioned, the adapter  10  is constructed and arranged so that its body  12  can be inserted into a standard (nominal)  12  volts DC automobile socket, with pin  24  being connected to a wire (not shown) which is electrically coupled to the positive terminal of an automotive battery (not shown). One or both contacts  18 ,  20  are connected to the automotive ground and, because they are spring loaded, they also form a friction fit to keep the adapter  10  within the automotive socket (not shown). 
         [0029]    An electronic circuit  44  is embedded into body  12 . The circuit  44  is electrically connected to one of the contacts  18 ,  20  and pin  24 , and includes voltage step-down circuitry, voltage regulation circuitry, optional current protection elements, optional surge protection elements etc., necessary to provide a controlled 5 volt DC output from the car battery as described in more detail below. The light  28  is activated when the circuit  44  is on and providing a current through the cord  50  to show that the adapter  10  is operational. 
         [0030]    A cord  50  has at one a plug  52  connected to jack  30 . The other end  54  leads to the device to be powered. In one embodiment, the plug  52  and jack  30  are eliminated and the cord  50  is hardwired into the adapter  10 . 
         [0031]    In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the cord  50  is a flat ribbon having a width much larger than its thickness. It has been found that this kind of cord is less likely to get tangled and is easier to use. Importantly, the extensions  36  define a generally rectangular opening along axis L-L that is approximately the same or slightly smaller than the width and a thickness as the cord  50 . In this manner, end sections  36  of hole  34  are sized and shaped to form a friction fit that holds the cord  50  in place when inserted into hole  34 . The cord  50  can be threaded into the hole  34  or it can be inserted through slit  40 . 
         [0032]    When the adapter  10  is inserted into the accessory socket of a motor vehicle, the tab  32  secures the cord  50  as shown in  FIG. 3  and prevents it from interfering with the operation of the vehicle. In other words, the tab  32  acts as a retainer for the cord. 
         [0033]    As mentioned above, the cord  50  preferably is ribbon shaped. However, in an alternate embodiment, a cord  50 A may be used that can have a somewhat circular cross-section instead, as shown in  FIG. 4 . For this configuration, the cord  50 A is secured by the central, round sections  38  of hole  34 . 
         [0034]    The body  12  can be made in any conventional way, such as molding, with the tab being made as an integral piece therewith. 
         [0035]      FIG. 5  shows another embodiment in which adapter is provided with two jacks  102 ,  102 A are provided. The two jacks may be identical or may be different. For example jack  102  may be a microUSB jack or a connector suitable for connecting to Apple® devices such as a Lightning cable. The second jack  102 A could be a standard USB jack. Preferably electronic circuitry within the body is configured to use the unregulated battery voltage from the automobile as an input and convert it to a controlled 5v output with a total current capability of up to 4.8 amps so that the device can be used to power devices requiring high charging currents, such as Ipads® and other tablets. Since there are two jacks provided on the adapter  100 , tab  32  may be enlarged so that it can accept two cords, one leading to each jack. For example, the tab  32  may be provided with two holes  38 . Alternatively adapter  100  may be provided with two cord retaining tabs  32 ,  32 A, one on each side, as shown. 
         [0036]      FIG. 6  shows a block diagram for circuit  44 . Power to the circuit is provided from the automotive battery  110  through a fuse  112 . A surge protection and power conditioning circuit  114  protects circuit  44  from power surges as well as instantaneous or spurious signals that are prevalent in motor vehicles. Adapter  100  may be used to provide simply power to a user device (not shown), in which case the the jacks  102 ,  102 A could be connected straight to the busses Vcc and ground. However, if the adapter  100  is used for a charger as well, then it must be able to provide a higher current level and at a controlled nominal voltage. This charging current is provided by a voltage and current control circuit  116  cooperating with two FET switches  118 ,  120  as shown. The voltage and current control circuit may be implemented using an IC such as A2201V available from TI. This IC provides a dual channel constant voltage/constant current regulator. Its input can vary widely from 8 to 36 VDC and its output is regulated so that it does not deviate from its nominal output by more than ±1% for the voltage and ±4% and is able to up to 4 A. 
         [0037]    Moreover, if the adapter is functioning as a charger, various USB standards also require certain control signals to be present and exchanged with the respective device through the D+ and D− pins . The necessary signals to these pins are provided by a dedicated charging control circuit  122 . This circuit may be implemented using an IC such as a TOS2513 available from Texas Instruments. The IC monitors the data lines D= and D− independently on each of the jacks  102 ,  102 A and automatically provides the correct signals on these data lines to enable the adapter to charge these devices in accordance with various US and international standards. 
         [0038]    Numerous modifications may be made to this invention, without departing from its scope as defined in the appended claims.