Abstract:
An electric power socket module comprising a socket portion, a switch portion and a plurality of conductive pins is provided. The socket portion and the switch portion are integrally formed and electrically connected in series by using the conductive pins. Thus, conventional wirings and hand-welding can be eliminated to reduce the costs and enhance safety.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority to Taiwan Patent Application No. 098200327 filed on Jan. 9, 2009. 
       CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    The present invention provides an electric power socket module, and more particularly, an electric power socket module with a switch. 
         [0005]    2. Descriptions of the Related Art 
         [0006]    The host of a personal computer is generally comprised of a power supply, a main board, a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, an optical disc drive, a hard disc drive and a housing, wherein the power supply is configured to supply a stable operation voltage to maintain the continuous operation of the aforesaid operational components. 
         [0007]    Generally, even when the personal computer is powered off, the power supply still outputs a standby voltage to the main board. The standby voltage not only consumes power, but also accelerates the aging of the internal components. As an option to have the personal computer consume no power in the power-off status, the power cord may simply be removed. However, the frequent plugging-in and removal of the power cord would cause a lot of trouble to the user unless the personal computer remains unused for an extended time period. Accordingly, in some conventional power supplies, an additional switch is disposed on the socket so that the electric power can be switched off completely without removing the power cord when the computer is not in use. 
         [0008]    However, in conventional power supplies that have such a switch, the switch and the socket are formed separately and then assembled together, and common electric wirings are soldered between the socket, the switch and the circuit board. Hence, many problems in terms of the cost, the manufacturing processes and the safety still exist for such conventional structures. For example, using soldered electric wirings as materials for electrical connection results in high costs associated with both the materials and hand-soldering labor. An improper soldering process might lead to safety problems in use. 
         [0009]    In view of this, this invention provides an electric power socket module with a switch and without the use of electric wirings. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The objective of this invention is to provide an electric power socket module that has a small volume and has a socket and switch formed integrally. Furthermore, this invention eliminates the use of electric wirings and the hand-soldering, which makes the manufacturing and assembling processes more convenient and time-saving. As a result, the material and labor costs are reduced, while the safety of the electric power socket module in use is improved. 
         [0011]    This invention provides an electric power socket module, comprising a socket portion, a switch portion and a plurality of conductive pins. The electric power socket module is unique in that the socket portion and the switch portion are integrally formed; both the switch portion and the socket portion have a conductor and are electrically connected in series through the conductive pins. The conductive pins, which are preferably conductive strips that are flat and bendable, electrically connect the switch portion and the socket portion to the circuit board. 
         [0012]    The detailed technology and preferred embodiments implemented for the subject invention are described in the following paragraphs accompanying the appended drawings for people skilled in this field to well appreciate the features of the claimed invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective structural view of this invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective structural view of this invention when a switch is uninstalled; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a perspective rear view of this invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0016]    What is described hereinbelow is merely a preferred embodiment, but not to limit the scope of this invention.  FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an electric power socket module  1  of this invention, which comprises a socket portion  11 , a switch portion  13  and a plurality of conductive pins  15 . Unlike the electric wiring connections in the prior art, the conductive pins  15  of this invention are preferably conductive strips that are flat and bendable. The socket portion  11  and the switch portion  13  are formed integrally. Both the switch portion  13  and the socket portion  11  have a conductor (e.g., a contact plate or other conductive structures), and are electrically connected in series via the conductive pins  15 . 
         [0017]    The socket portion  11  comprises a socket housing  111  and a conductive portion  113  disposed in the socket housing  111 . The switch portion  13  comprises a switch housing  131  and a switch controller  133  disposed in the switch housing  131 . In this embodiment, the socket housing  111  and the switch housing  131  are integrally formed, as shown in  FIG. 2 . The integrally forming process may be accomplished by, for example, an injection molding or cast molding process; this will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art and can be readily replaced by other manufacturing processes, so no limitation is made herein. 
         [0018]    In the socket portion  11 , the conductive portion  113  comprises three common male conductive elements and a plurality of socket contact plates  115  disposed on the bottom of the socket housing  111 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , and is connected with the male conductive elements respectively. It should be noted that the conductive portion  113  may only comprise two socket contact plates  115 , in which case the electric power socket module  1  of this invention is a socket without a ground terminal. 
         [0019]    The switch controller  133  mainly comprises a switch button, two switch contact plates  135   a,    135   b  and an elastic element (not shown). The switch contact plates  135   a,    135   b  are disposed on the bottom of the switch housing  131 , and the switch button controls the conduction to the switch contact plates by the elastic element so that operating the switch controller  133  may control the On/Off status of the switch portion. 
         [0020]    More specifically, in this embodiment, the two socket contact plates  115   a,    115   b  are electrically connected to a circuit board (not shown) via the two conductive pins  15   a,    15   b  respectively. Another socket contact plate  115   c  is connected to one of the switch contact plates  135   a  through the conductive pin  15   c,  while the other switch contact plate  135   b  of the switch portion  13  is electrically connected to the circuit board through another conducting pin  15   d.  In this way, the socket portion  13 , the switch portion  11  and the circuit board can be electrically connected in series under the control of the switch controller  133 . 
         [0021]    According to the above descriptions, the electric power socket module disclosed in this invention has a socket and a switch formed integrally and eliminates the use of electric wirings and the hand-soldering process, which makes the assembly process more convenient and time-saving. As a result, manufacturing costs associated with the materials and labor are reduced, while the safety of the electric power socket module in use is improved. 
         [0022]    The above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents and inventive features thereof. People skilled in this field may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described without departing from the characteristics thereof. Nevertheless, although such modifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the above descriptions, they have substantially been covered in the following claims as appended.