Abstract:
There is provided systems and methods for a reorientable electrical outlet. In one embodiment, a system includes a housing configured to be coupled to an electrical power source, the housing having a first rotation stop, and an electrical plug receptacle, mountable within the housing, the insert having a second rotation stop, the first and second rotation stops configured to cooperate with each other to limit rotation of the insert within the aperture at a number of degrees, wherein the plug receptacle is configured to receive an electrical plug.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/835,722 filed Jul. 13, 2010 and issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 8,007,283 on Aug. 30, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/778,948 filed Jul. 17, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,753,682 issued Jul. 13, 2010. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to electrical outlets and plugs. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Electrical outlets and plugs have been a staple of modern life for many years. Virtually all consumer and business appliances, such as computers, televisions, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and so forth, get their power through electrical outlets. Most modern plugs and outlets employ a three prong design with one prong for live power, one prong for neutral, and one prong for grounding. Similar plugs and outlets have only two prongs omitting the grounding prong. Electrical outlets and prongs are employed to carry many different levels of power, such as 110 volts, 220 volts, and 480 volts. 
     SUMMARY 
     There is provided systems and methods for a reorientable electrical outlet. In one embodiment, a system includes a housing configured to be coupled to an electrical power source, the housing having a first rotation stop, and an electrical plug receptacle, mountable within the housing, the insert having a second rotation stop, the first and second rotation stops configured to cooperate with each other to limit rotation of the insert within the aperture at a number of degrees, wherein the plug receptacle is configured to receive an electrical plug. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an exemplary reorientable electrical outlet. 
         FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of an exemplary reorientable electrical outlet. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates the exemplary reorientable electrical outlet of  FIG. 1  rotated counterclockwise. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates the exemplary reorientable electrical outlet of  FIG. 1  rotated clockwise. 
         FIG. 5  shows a top view of another embodiment of an exemplary reorientable electrical outlet. 
         FIG. 6  shows a side view of the exemplary reorientable female receptacle of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     One or more the embodiments set forth below is directed to reorientable electrical outlets. Reorientable electrical differ from traditional, fixed, electrical outlets, by allowing a user to rotate the female receptacle(s). Such rotatable female receptacles may allow plug-in items with unusual shapes (e.g., plug-in transformers, “wall-warts,” cell phone chargers, night lights, plug-in room fresheners) to be plugged into a receptacle and then be rotated to prevent the device from blocking access to another receptacle. 
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an exemplary reorientable electrical outlet  100 . The outlet  100  includes a plate  102  having a faceplate portion  104  and a receptacle housing  106 . The faceplate  104  and receptacle housing  106  meet to form an enclosed space within the outlet  100 . The plate  102  and faceplate  104  include two holes: a hole  108 A and a hole  108 B. In some embodiments, the dimensions of the outlet  100  may be similar to the dimensions of a traditional electrical outlet. For example, the outlet  100  may be sized as to allow the outlet  100  to be used as a replacement for a traditional electrical outlet. A pair of countersunk screw holes  110  receive screws for mounting the reorientable electrical outlet  100  in a desired surface, such as an electrical box or wall. 
     In some embodiments, portions of the reorientable electrical outlet  100  may be formed of nonconductive material such as plastic or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The nonconductive portions may also be formed of nylon or any other suitable supporting material. In some embodiments, portions of the outlet  100  may be manufactured using resins containing high impact amorphous polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) terpolymer blends, such as Cycoloy® CY6120 from GE Plastics. By varying the ratio of PC to ABS in the resin, the outlet  100  may be tailored for residential or industrial use. Further, the overall cost of the outlet  100  may be reduced by employing regrind or powdering techniques. Preferably, no more than 15% regrind is employed. In some embodiments, portions of the reorientable electrical outlet  100  may be formed of conductive material, such as steel, aluminum, or any other suitable conductive supporting material. For example, the receptacle housing  106 , the plate  102 , the faceplate  104 , and other portions of the outlet  100  may be made of conductive metal, and those portions may be connected to an electrical ground. 
     The holes  108 A and  108 B accommodate a stop ring  120 A and a stop ring  120 B (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). The stop ring  120 A is shown in the cutaway of  FIG. 1  or in its entirety in  FIG. 2 . The stop rings  120 A- 120 B include an upper surface  122  and one or more fixed stop tabs, such as fixed stop tab  124 , that are located on the upper surface  122 . In one embodiment, the stop tab  124  extends vertically or orthogonally from the upper surface  122  of the stop ring  120 . 
     A female electrical receptacle  112 A and a female electrical receptacle  112 B fit within the respective holes  108 A and  108 B. The female electrical receptacles  112 A and  112 B include an outer surface  116 A and an outer surface  116 B, respectively. In some embodiments, the female electrical receptacles  112 A and  112 B may extend through the holes  108 A and  108 B such that the outer surfaces  116 A and  116 B may be substantially on the same plane as the faceplate  104 . In some embodiments, the outer surfaces  116 A and  116 B may slightly extend beyond the plane of the faceplate  104 . 
     Each of the female electrical receptacles  112 A and  112 B may also include one or more reorientable stop tabs  202  (not shown in  FIG. 1 , but described in further detail in the description of the illustration of  FIG. 2 ). The female electrical receptacle  112 A is placed within the stop ring  120 A such that the reorientable stop tab may travel along the upper surface  122  when the female receptacle  112 A is reoriented. The amount by which the female electrical receptacle  112 A can be reoriented is limited by contact between the reorientable stop tab and the fixed stop tab  124 . For example, when a user rotates the female electrical receptacle  112 A, the reorientable stop tab travels across the upper surface  122 . The reorientable stop tab travels along the stop ring  120 A until it contacts the fixed stop tab  124 , which limits how far the female electrical receptacle may be rotated within the hole  108 . 
     The outlet  100  also includes a conductor plate  126 . The conductor plate  126  includes a number of conductors, such as a conductor  128 , a conductor  130 , and a conductor  132 . The conductor plate  126  is electrically connected to an electrical supply (e.g., wires in an electrical outlet box) such that the electrical conductors  128 - 132  may be electrically connected to the electrical supply. In some embodiments, the conductor plate  126  may be a printed circuit board (PCB), and the conductors  128 - 132  may be formed as conductive traces on the conductor plate  126 . In some embodiments, the conductors may be PCB traces, bus bars, wires, or other form of electrical conductor. 
     The electrical conductor  128  is electrically connected to a flexible conductor  134  (e.g., a wire). Similarly, the electrical conductors  130  and  132  are electrically connected to flexible conductors  136  and  138 . The flexible conductors  134 - 138  are coupled between the electrical conductors  128 - 132  and plug contacts  140 - 144 . In particular, the flexible conductor  134  may connect electrical conductor  128  and the neutral electrical contact  140 , the flexible conductor  136  may connect the electrical conductor  130  and the live electrical contact  142 , and the flexible conductor  138  may connect between electrical conductor  132  and the ground electrical contact  144 . In some embodiments, the flexible conductors  134 - 138  are wires disposed through the stop ring  120  into the female receptacle  112 . 
     The plug contacts  140 - 144  are sized and arranged within the female electrical receptacle  112 A in a manner that allows an electrical plug to be inserted into them. When the electrical plug is inserted, the plug connects to the plug contacts  140 - 144 . The female electrical receptacle  112 B may also include a neutral plug contact  146 , a live plug contact  148 , and a ground plug contact  150  that are substantially identical to the electrical contacts  140 - 144 . In some embodiments, the outlet  100  may also be made of conductive material that is connected to ground, and the ground electrical contacts  144  and  150  are electrically connected to the outlet  100  itself (e.g., rather than being grounded via the flexible conductor  138 ). 
     In an alternate embodiment of the reorientable electrical outlet  100 , the female electrical receptacles  112 A and  112 B may be two prong receptacles. This type of a two-pronged receptacle does not employ the ground electrical components (e.g., the ground electrical contact  150 , the flexible conductor  138 , because the electrical conductor  132 ) as the ground plug contact  144  is absent. 
       FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the exemplary reorientable electrical outlet  100 . In this view, it can be seen that the female electrical receptacles  112 A and  112 B each include the reorientable stop tabs  202 , which were mentioned above. In some embodiments, the female electrical receptacles  112 A and  112 B are placed such that a bottom portion of the receptacles  112 A and  112 B extends at least partially through the openings of the stop rings  120 A and  120 B until the reorientable stop tabs  124  contact the top surfaces  122  of the stop rings  120 A and  120 B. 
     The female electrical receptacles  112 A and  112 B are capable of being rotatably reoriented within the stop rings  122 . As the female electrical receptacles  112 A and  112 B are rotated, the reorientable stop tabs  202  travels circumferentially across the top surfaces  122  until the reorientable stop tabs  202  come into contact with the fixed stop tabs  124 . Contact between the reorientable stop tabs  202  and the fixed stop tabs  124  limits the rotation of the female electrical receptacles  112 A and  112 B. 
     In the illustrated example, the reorientable female receptacles  112 A and  112 B are configured such that they may be rotated approximately ¼ turn clockwise or counterclockwise from the depicted initial position. In some embodiments, the fixed stop tabs  124  and the reorientable stop tabs  202  may be configured to limit the rotation of the female receptacles  112 A and  112 B to any number of degrees, turns, or fractions thereof. For example, a single stop tab  124  and a single reorientable tab  202  may allow for nearly a full total turn. In another example, a reorientable stop tab  202  may be located between two fixed stop tabs  124  that are located at positions 90 degrees apart allowing the female electrical receptacle  112 A to be rotated approximately ¼ turn total (e.g., approximately ⅛ turn either way from the illustrated initial position). In some embodiments, the fixed stop tabs  124  and the reorientable stop tabs  202  may be configured to limit the rotation of the female electrical receptacle  112 A in an asymmetrical manner. For example, the outlet may be constructed to allow the female electrical receptacle  112 A to rotate ½ turn in one direction from an initial position, but only ¼ turn from the initial position in the other direction. 
     Although illustrated in  FIG. 1  as a two-receptacle the reorientable electrical outlet  100  is adaptable to a variety of models and configurations and may be devised to include many other types of electrical receptacles and adapters. For example, the outlet  100  may be embodied in an adapter device to convert a fixed socket to reorientable facility. It should also be understood that, the number, form, and structure of the illustrated female electrical receptacles are merely exemplary. For example, in various embodiments, female electrical receptacles  112 A and  112 B may be in typical residential receptacles, both grounded and non-grounded, in power strips, in safety outlets (such as GFCI or arc fault outlets), in 220V receptacles, in 480V receptacles, or other receptacles including two, three, four, or more prong designs. These devices allow for prongs of a variety of male plugs to be inserted into the female electrical receptacles and rotated to a desired position within the receptacles&#39; range or rotation. Advantageously, this rotation may enable male plugs to be inserted in non-interfering positions with regard to other male plugs or other types of restrictions. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates the exemplary reorientable electrical outlet  100  of  FIG. 1  rotated counterclockwise. The female electrical receptacle  112 A has been rotated approximately ¼ turn to the left from the initial position depicted in  FIG. 1 . As the female electrical receptacle  112 A is reoriented, the reorientable stop tab  202  travels circumferentially along the top surface  122  until the reorientable stop tab  202  contacts the fixed stop tab  124 . Contact between the reorientable stop tab  202  and the fixed stop tab  124  may limit the counterclockwise rotation of the female electrical receptacle  112 A. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates the exemplary reorientable electrical outlet  100  of  FIG. 1  rotated clockwise. The female electrical receptacle  112 A has been rotated approximately ¼ turn to the right from the initial position depicted in  FIG. 1 . As the female electrical receptacle  112 A is reoriented, the reorientable stop tab  202  travels circumferentially along the top surface  122  until the reorientable stop tab  202  encounters the fixed stop tab  124 . Contact between the reorientable stop tab  202  and the fixed stop tab  124  limits the rotation of the clockwise rotation of the female electrical receptacle  112 A. 
     In some embodiments, the limits of the range of motion for the female electrical receptacle  112 A may be extended beyond one turn through the use of multiple concentric stop rings. For example, one or more intermediate stop rings may be concentrically disposed between the female electrical receptacle  112 A and the stop ring  120 A. In this way, up to approximately one full turn may be permitted between the female electrical receptacle  112 A and an intermediate stop ring, and up to approximately one full turn may be permitted between the intermediate stop ring and the stop ring  120 A, thus allowing up to approximately two total rotations in either direction. In some embodiments, other configurations of stop rings (e.g., the stop ring  120 A, or the concentric stop rings), the reorientable stop tabs  202 , and/or the fixed stop tabs  124  may be implemented to create various symmetrical and asymmetrical limits of rotation for a female electrical receptacle, such as the receptacle  112 A. 
       FIG. 5  shows a top view of another type of reorientable electrical outlet, which is labeled with a reference numeral  500 . The outlet  500  includes a reorientable female receptacle  502 A and a reorientable female receptacle  502 B. The reorientable female receptacle  502 A includes a neutral electrical contact  504 A, a live electrical contact  506 A, and a ground electrical contact  508 A. The neutral electrical contact  504 A is connected to a flexible conductor  510 A. The live electrical contact  506 A is connected to a flexible conductor  512 A. The ground electrical contact  508 A is connected to a flexible conductor  514 A. 
     The reorientable female receptacle  502 B includes a neutral electrical contact  504 B, a live electrical contact  506 B, and a ground electrical contact  508 B. The neutral electrical contact  504 B is connected to a flexible conductor  510 B. The live electrical contact  506 B is connected to a flexible conductor  512 B. The ground electrical contact  508 B is connected to a flexible conductor  514 B. In some embodiments, the flexible conductors  510 A- 514 A and  510 B- 514 B are wires. 
     The outlet  500  also includes a neutral post  516 A, a neutral post  516 B, a live post  518 A, a live post  518 B, a ground post  520 A, and a ground post  520 B. The neutral posts  516 A and  516 B are electrically connected to the neutral leg of an electrical supply. The live posts  518 A and  518 B are electrically connected to the live leg of an electrical supply. The ground posts  520 A and  520 B are electrically connected to an electrical ground. The neutral posts  516 A and  516 B are electrically connected to the neutral electrical contacts  504 A and  504 B by the flexible conductors  510 A and  510 B, respectively. The live posts  518 A and  518 B are electrically connected to the live electrical contacts  506 A and  506 B by the flexible conductors  512 A and  512 B, respectively. The ground posts  520 A and  520 B are electrically connected to the ground electrical contacts  508 A and  508 B by the flexible conductors  514 A and  514 B, respectively. 
     As the reorientable female receptacles  502  are rotated within the outlet  500 , the conductors  510 - 514  are progressively drawn tauter around the body of the receptacle  502 . Eventually, the conductors  510 - 514  may reach their limit of extension and rotation of the receptacle  502  stop. For example, the female electrical receptacle  502 A has been rotated counterclockwise approximately ⅛ turn; and, as shown, the conductors  510 A- 514 A are relatively lax. On the other hand, the female electrical receptacle  502 B has been rotated clockwise approximately ¼ turn extending the conductors  510 B- 514 B to their limit of extension. The degrees of rotation in the clockwise direction may be different than the number of degrees rotation in the counter-clockwise direction. 
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the exemplary reorientable female receptacle  502 A. As shown, the reorientable female receptacle  502 A may include an annular groove  602 , an annular groove  604 , and an annular groove  606 . The grooves  602 - 606  may hold the conductors  510 - 514  and may provide locations where electrical contact may be made between the flexible conductors  510 A- 514 A and the electrical contacts  504 A- 508 A. For example, the flexible conductors  510 - 514  can be connected to contacts within the annular grooves  602 - 606 . For example, one end of the flexible conductor  510 A is connected to a contact within the annular groove  602  while the other end of the conductor  510 A is connected to the electrical post  516 A. Similarly, the flexible conductors  512 A and  514 A may attach to points on the electrical posts  518 A and  520 A respectively (not shown). As such, when the receptacle  502 A is reoriented, the flexible conductors  510 A- 514 A are drawn taut and captured within the annular grooves  516 - 520 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the female receptacle  502 A also includes a pair of reorientable stop tabs  608  and a stop ring  610 . As the receptacle  502 A is reoriented, the reorientable stop tabs may travel across the outer surface  612  of the stop ring  610 . The receptacle can rotate until one the reorientable stop tabs  608  encounters a fixed stop tab (not shown) that is attached to the stop ring. The reorientable stop tabs  608  and the fixed stop tabs may be configured to limit the reorientation of the receptacle  502 A, as described above, to prevent over extension of conductors  510 - 514 . In other embodiments, the stop tabs  608  and the stop ring  610  may be omitted. For example, the flexible conductors  510 - 514  may be employed to limit rotation of the female receptacles  502 . In other words, the rotation of the receptacle  502  may stop when one or more of the conductors become fully extended and stops rotation of the receptacle  502 . 
     Although the depicted embodiments of the reorientable electrical outlet  100  and the reorientable electrical outlet  500  include two grounded female electrical receptacles, the outlets  100  and  500  are usable for a variety of female electrical receptacles including those that employ a single receptacle, or more than two receptacles. It should also be recognized that the female electrical receptacles  112 A,  112 B,  502 A, and  502 B may be replaced or supplemented by any type of similar female socket that allows proper insertion and contact with a mating male-type conduct of prongs of a male plug. Moreover, outlets  100  and  500  are not limited to use with 110V-220V AC-type or DC-type appliances. 
     In some embodiments, the concepts of the reorientable electrical outlet  100  are applied to male electrical plugs. For example, a wall transformer may include a reorientable male plug that may allow the transformer to be rotated while plugged into a traditional, fixed outlet. In some embodiments, several reorientable electrical outlets may be arranged into a power strip configuration. In another embodiment, several reorientable electrical outlets are arranged as an outlet expander. For example, three, four, five, six, or other number of reorientable electrical outlets could be arranged in a device that plugs into a single outlet or a traditional two-receptacle wall outlet. In another embodiment, the reorientable electrical outlets  100  and  500  may be located at one or both ends of a power cord. For example, an extension cord may have one or more reorientable electrical outlets (or male plugs) at one or both ends, to allow odd-sized devices to be plugged in, or perhaps to reduce tangling. 
     Although the embodiments here and have been described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many embodiments taking a variety of specific forms and reflecting changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The described embodiments illustrate the scope of the claims but do not restrict the scope of the claims.