Electric cord clip device

An electrical cord clip device 10 for captively engaging electrical cords 100, 200 having a female receptacle 102 and a male plug 202 joined together in mating fashion. The device 10 includes first 20 and second 40 pairs of mirror image coupler members wherein a pair of pivoted arm members 30 are pivotally connected to one pair 20 of coupler members and releasably engageable with the other pair 40 of coupler members.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
Not applicable. 
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
Not applicable. 
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
Not applicable. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to the field of electrical plug retention 
devices in general, and in particular to a dual pivoted arm cord clip 
device for maintaining the male and female components of the electrical 
coupling in a mating engagement. 
2. Description of Related Art 
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,596,430; 
4,940,424; 5,685,732; and 5,713,753, the prior art is replete with myriad 
and diverse electrical plug coupling arrangements. 
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than 
adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been 
specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their 
failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical electrical cord clip 
device that can easily be connected to the electrical cords associated 
with a conventional male/female electrical connector to maintain the 
electrical connector in a mating engagement. 
As most people are aware, the disengagement of conventional electrical 
connectors are very dangerous for computer programs and potentially deadly 
for young children who may be tempted to stick foreign objects into a 
"live" female receptacle. 
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a 
longstanding need for a new and improved type of electrical cord clip 
device that can be adapted to virtually all electrical cords associated 
with conventional electrical connectors to maintain the connectors in 
mating fashion, and the provision of such a construction is a stated 
objective of the present invention. 
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Briefly stated, the electrical cord clip device that forms the basis of the 
present invention comprises in general, a coupler pivot unit, a pair of 
pivoted arm units, and a coupler catch unit, wherein the pair of pivoted 
arm units are pivotally connected to the coupler pivot unit and releasably 
engaged with the coupler catch unit. 
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, 
both the coupler pivot unit and the coupler catch unit comprise pairs of 
mirror image coupler members wherein the inboard ends of each of the 
coupler members are identical and wherein the outboard end of the 
respective pairs of coupler members are different from one another. 
In addition, the pivoted arm units comprise a pair of elongated tapered 
pivoted arm members having one end pivotally connected to the outboard 
portion of one pair of coupler members wherein the other end of the arm 
members are releasably engageable with the outboard portion of the other 
pair of coupler members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
As can be seen by reference to the drawings, and in particularly to FIG. 1, 
the cord clip device that forms the basis of the present invention is 
designated generally by the reference number 10. The device 10 comprises 
in general, a coupler pivot unit 11, a pair of pivoted arm units 12, and a 
coupler catch unit 13. These units will now be described in seriatim 
fashion. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, the coupler pivot unit 11 comprises a first 
pair of mirror image coupler members 20 which are designed and configured 
to captively engage an electrical cord 100 that is provided with a 
conventional electrical connector component 101 such as a female 
receptacle 102. 
In addition, each of the first mirror image coupler members 20 have a 
generally C-shaped inboard bracket element 21 and a generally Y-shaped 
outboard extension element 22 wherein the stem portion 23 of the extension 
element 22 projects outwardly from the center of the generally C-shaped 
inboard bracket element 21 and each of the arm portions 24 of the 
extension element 22 are provided with a discrete aperture 25 whose 
purpose and function will be described presently. 
Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the C-shaped inboard bracket 
elements 21 are provided with flanged ends 26 having apertures 27 
dimensioned to secure fastening members 70 for operatively connecting the 
bracket elements 21 to one another and to captively engage the periphery 
of a conventional electrical cord 100. 
However, in those instances wherein the diameter of the cord 100 is 
undersized and/or non-uniform as shown in FIG. 2, this invention also 
contemplates the provision of an adapter grommet 28 dimensioned to be 
received between the bracket elements 21 and provided with a contoured 
slot 29 dimensioned to receive the periphery of the electrical cord 100. 
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the pair of pivoted arm units 12 each 
comprise an elongated tapered arm member 30 having an enlarged generally 
disk shaped end 31 provided with a pair of centrally disposed pivot post 
elements 32 which are dimensioned to be received in discrete apertures 25 
in the arm portions 24 of the generally Y-shaped extension elements 22 of 
the first pair of coupler members 20. 
In addition, the tapered end 33 of each of the pivoted arm members 30 are 
further provided with a pair of contoured outwardly projecting catch tabs 
35 having an extension element 36 wherein the purpose and function of the 
tabs 35 and extension element 36 will be described presently. 
As can also be seen by reference to FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the coupler catch 
unit 13 comprises a second pair of mirror image coupler members 40 which 
are designed and configured to captively engage another electrical cord 
200 that is provided with another conventional electrical connector 
component 201 such as a male plug member 202. 
In addition, each of the second mirror image coupler members 40 also have a 
generally C-shaped inboard bracket element 41 and an outboard extension 
element 42 which is provided with a pair of outwardly and upwardly 
projecting finger prongs 43 which are dimensioned to captively engage the 
catch tabs 35 on the tapered end 33 of each of the pivoted arm members 30 
wherein the extension elements 36 are provided to assist the user in 
maneuvering the pivoted arm member 30 into and out of operative engagement 
with the finger prongs 43. 
As can best be seen by reference to FIG. 4, each of the generally C-shaped 
inboard bracket elements 41 are provided with a pair of end flanges 44 
having apertures 45 for receiving conventional fastening members 70 for 
operatively connecting the bracket elements 41 together to captively 
engage the periphery of the conventional electrical cord 200. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 when the pivoted arm members 30 are disposed with 
the catch tabs 35 engaged in the finger prongs 43 of the coupler catch 
unit 13, the female receptacle 102 cannot be disengaged from mating 
engagement with the male plug 202 until both of the pivoted arm members 30 
are disengaged from the finger prongs 43. 
Although only an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described 
in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that 
many modifications are possible without materially departing from the 
novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such 
modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this 
invention as defined in the following claims.