Abstract:
A safety outlet cover, comprising a base plate placed adjacent to an outlet, a first shell in contact with the base plate, and including a first cord aperture, a second shell in contact with the base plate, and including a second cord aperture that coordinates with the first cord aperture, and an attachment device passing through the base plate, first shell and second shell attaching the safety outlet cover to an outlet. The safety outlet cover may also include a fastening device securing the first and second shells in a closed position. The attachment device may comprise a screw. The safety outlet may comprise a cover plug covering the cord aperture.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to safety outlet covers, specifically safety outlet covers for electrical outlets. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   In U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,580, a safety cover installed over an electrical wall outlet is disclosed, which comprises two quarter-shell segments hinged about their median sections to a base. When the two segments are clamped together, they form a protective hood over the outlet. When separated, the segments fall away from the outlet to provide free access to it. A sleeve surrounding the base can be slid over the root of the shell segments to lock them in their closed position. The mating edges of the clamped segments are indented in their center section to accommodate the electrical cord of a jack plugged into the outlet. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,198,046 discloses a device that includes a base plate attachable to an electric outlet and an insert fitted to the base plate and having one or more central openings for exposing the receptacles of the electric outlet. A pair of opposing door members attach to the base plate and are operable between an open position to allow insertion of a plug of an electrical cord into the receptacle, and a closed position to provide a protective shield surrounding an enclosed chamber and the one or more receptacles of the outlet. The opposing door members include flange portions extending partially along a peripheral edge for overlapping engagement with an inner surface adjacent the peripheral edge of the opposite door, preventing insertion of an object between the doors when the device is closed. Correspondingly positioned cutout portions along the peripheral edges of the opposing door members align to create an opening sized and configured to accommodate passage of the electrical cord there through, thereby permitting the cord to remain plugged into the receptacle with the doors in the closed position. Latches on the top and bottom of each door lock the doors in the closed position. The latches and flange portions function, in combination, to provide a child resistant safety feature, requiring both doors to be simultaneously unlocked and opened in order to gain access to the receptacles. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,289 discloses a safety cover for an electrical outlet including a hollow rigid container having a back wall with a periphery extended outwards therefrom and thereby defining a hollow interior, an opening to the interior, and a rim bounding the opening, the back wall further including a plurality of socket holes and a screw hole formed thereon and with the socket holes and screw hole alignable with a screw hole and corresponding socket plugs of an electrical receptacle; a rigid lid positionable over the opening of the container in contact with the rim, the lid further having a plurality of plug holes formed thereon and with each plug hole separately alignable with a socket hole of the back wall of the container; and a plurality of rigid doors with each door positionable within a plug hole of the lid and thereby creating a through hole for receipt of an electrical cord; and a coupling mechanism for removably coupling each door within a separate plug hole of the lid. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,169 discloses a safety cover for an electric receptacle having a mounting plate fitting over an electrical receptacle, and a cover assembly with a cover edge extending around the periphery thereof, the mounting plate having an edge engagable surface thereon corresponding in shape to the cover edge. The cover assembly is mountable on the mounting plate between a closed and an open position. The cover assembly has a plurality of locking projections spaced around the periphery of the cover assembly at positions so that they are incapable of simultaneous operation by a hand below a predetermined size. When the cover assembly is closed, locking hooks on the locking projections engage in locking hook-receiving apertures in the mounting plate structure and the cover edge is snugly abutted against the edge engagable surface. The cover assembly can be moved to the open position only by simultaneous deformation of the cover assembly at the positions of the locking hooks sufficient to move the locking hooks sufficiently far inwardly of the cover assembly to free the locking hooks from the locking hook receiving apertures. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 3,467,793 discloses a safety cover for electrical outlets which can be mounted on the electrical outlet without changing the same and in which locking means has been provided to prevent the same from being opened by children. 
   Finally, U.S. patent D460,421 discloses the ornamental design for a hinged outlet cover. 
   What is needed is a safety outlet cover that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available safety outlet covers. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide a safety outlet cover, comprising a base plate placed adjacent to an outlet, a first shell in contact with the base plate, and including a first cord aperture, a second shell in contact with the base plate, and including a second cord aperture that coordinates with the first cord aperture, and an attachment device passing through the base plate, first shell and second shell attaching the safety outlet cover to an outlet. 
   The safety outlet cover may comprise a fastening device securing the first and second shells in a closed position. The attachment device may comprise a screw. The safety outlet may comprise a cover plug covering the cord aperture. 
   In another embodiment, the safety outlet cover consists only of a base plate placed adjacent to an outlet, a first shell in contact with the base plate, and including a first cord aperture, a second shell in contact with the base plate, and including a second cord aperture that coordinates with the first cord aperture, and an attachment device passing through the base plate, first shell and second shell attaching the safety outlet cover to an outlet. 
   The first shell and second shell may further include a fastening device securing the first and second shells in a closed position. The attachment device may comprise a screw. The attachment device may extend through the first and second shells. The safety outlet cover may comprise a cover plug covering the cord aperture. 
   The first shell and second shell may further comprise a fastening device securing the first and second shells in a closed position. The attachment device may comprise a screw. The safety cover device may include a cover plug to cover the cord aperture. 
   In yet another embodiment, the safety cover comprises a base plate placed adjacent to an outlet, a first shell in contact with the base plate, and including a first cord aperture, a second shell in contact with the base plate, and including a second cord aperture that coordinates with the first cord aperture, a screw-type attachment device passing through the base plate, first shell and second shell attaching the safety outlet cover to an outlet, a fastening device securing the first and second shells in a closed position and a cover plug covering a cord aperture. 
   Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment. 
   Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention. 
   These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In order for the advantages of the invention to be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a safety outlet cover according to one embodiment of this invention. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of a safety outlet cover in use according to one embodiment of this invention. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of a safety outlet cover when open according to one embodiment of this invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention. 
   Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment, different embodiments, or component parts of the same or different illustrated invention. Additionally, reference to the wording “an embodiment,” or the like, for two or more features, elements, etc. does not mean that the features are related, dissimilar, the same, etc. The use of the term “an embodiment,” or similar wording, is merely a convenient phrase to indicate optional features, which may or may not be part of the invention as claimed. 
   Each statement of an embodiment is to be considered independent of any other statement of an embodiment despite any use of similar or identical language characterizing each embodiment. Therefore, where one embodiment is identified as “another embodiment,” the identified embodiment is independent of any other embodiments characterized by the language “another embodiment.” The independent embodiments are considered to be able to be combined in whole or in part one with another as the claims and/or art may direct, either directly or indirectly, implicitly or explicitly. 
   Finally, the fact that the wording “an embodiment,” or the like, does not appear at the beginning of every sentence in the specification, such as is the practice of some practitioners, is merely a convenience for the reader&#39;s clarity. However, it is the intention of this application to incorporate by reference the phrasing “an embodiment,” and the like, at the beginning of every sentence herein where logically possible and appropriate. 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a safety outlet cover  100  according to one embodiment of this invention. The safety cover includes a base plate  110  to which a first shell  104  and a second shell  102  are in contact. According to this invention, the base plate  110  may be any base plate known in the art. The base plate  110  need not be attached to the first shell  104  or second shell  102 . The base plate  110  may consist of one or more pieces. In one example, the base plate  110  includes a wall behind an outlet. In another embodiment, the base plate  110  includes an outlet cover plate. In yet another embodiment, the base plate includes both a wall behind an outlet and an outlet cover plate. 
   In one embodiment, the first shell  114  and second shell  112  are held in contact with the base plate be means of a attachment device  108 . The attachment device  108  may be a screw that passes through either the first shell  114 , the second shell  112 , or both the first shell  114  and second shell  112 . In another embodiment, the first shell  104  and second shell  102  are attached using hinges that allow the first shell  104  and second shell  102  to swing open. The first shell  104  and second shell  102  are designed to completely cover an outlet and a plug when the shells  102 ,  104  are in the closed position, except that they allow a power cord to pass through the shells  102 ,  104 . In one specific embodiment, the shells  102 ,  104  are rectangular in shape, and include face that is substantially parallel with the outlet, and top, side and bottom faces that are orthogonal to the outlet. In another embodiment, the shells  102 ,  104  include curved faces. 
     FIG. 1  also shows a cover plug  112 . The cover plug may be of such a size so as to plug a cord aperture  106  when the cord aperture  106  is not being used. This may be helpful to stop moisture from entering the safety outlet cover  100 . The cover plug  112  may be made of any material suitable to plug the cord aperture  106 . 
   The safety outlet cover  100  of this embodiment includes at least one cord aperture  106  and an attachment device  108 . The cord aperture  106  is configured to allow a power cord to pass through the first shell  104  and/or second shell  102 . The attachment device  108  is configured to attach the safety outlet cover  100  to a structure that includes a power outlet. The attachment device  108  may be any known in the art. In one embodiment, the attachment device is a screw. In one embodiment the attachment device  108  is longer than the typical outlet screw, and has a larger head than the typical outlet screw. According to this embodiment, the attachment device  108  passes through outer surfaces of the first shell  104  and second shell  102 , and the head of the attachment device  108  is large enough such that when it is tightened, neither the first shell  104  nor the second shell  102  may be opened. This embodiment has the special benefit of making it more difficult for a child to open the safety outlet cover  100 . 
     FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of a safety outlet cover  100  in use according to one embodiment of this invention. A plug  202  is shown in communication with an outlet  204 . A cord  206  extends from the plug  202 , and through the cord aperture  106  of the safety outlet cover  100 . The cord aperture  106  is designed to allow the cord  206  to pass through the first shell  104  and/or second shell  102 . In one embodiment, the cord aperture  106  is aligned directly behind an outlet  204 . In another embodiment, the cord aperture  106  is aligned not directly behind an outlet  204  to allow for easier passage of the cord  206  through the cord aperture  106 . This embodiment is especially useful as used when the cord  206  does not extend directly behind the plug  202  as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
     FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of a safety outlet cover  100  when open according to one embodiment of this invention. In this embodiment, an attachment device aperture  304  is illustrated. The attachment device  108  may pass through this attachment device aperture  304  to attach the safety outlet cover  100  to a substrate that supports an outlet  204 . 
   In one embodiment, there is a fastening device  302  located on either the first shell  104 , the second shell  102  or both shells  102 ,  104 . The fastening device  302  may be used to fasten the first shell  104  to the second shell  102 , or either or both of the first shell  104  and/or second shell  102  to another surface such that the first shell  104  and the second shell  102  cannot be easily opened to reveal the outlet  204 . The fastening device  302  may be any known in the art. In one embodiment, the fastening device cannot be easily opened by children. 
   The safety outlet cover  100  is useful in inhibiting children from having access to outlets and plugs. This may help with the safety of children in not being shocked from playing with the covers. This may help with the prevention of power failures to certain devices than need constant power such as computers, water softeners, and so forth. The safety outlet cover  100  of this invention is also helpful with electric-powered lawn tools such as weed trimmers, electric mowers, and so forth. 
   In one example, the safety outlet cover  100  includes a first shell  104  and a second shell  102  that are held together by a fastening device  302 . The first shell  104  and second shell  102  are held in connection with the base plate by means of an attachment device  108 . The attachment device  108  may be a screw that fits in a typical screw hole of an electrical outlet. In another example, the safety outlet cover  100  of this example also includes at least one cord aperture  106 . In yet another example, the safety outlet cover  100  also includes at least one cord aperture plug  202 . 
   It is understood that the above-described preferred embodiments are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiment is to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope. 
   Finally, it is envisioned that the components of the device may be constructed of a variety of materials such as, for example: metal; metal alloys; wood; plastic; polymers; composites such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, and so forth; marble; and so forth. 
   Thus, while the present invention has been fully described above with particularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made, without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims.