Abstract:
A charging device and associated electrical appliances are provided. More than one electronic device can be charged simultaneously, with a wireless charging option available. Thus, the user has greater flexibility in selecting the desired charging option. Each associated appliance has a receiving compartment to hold the charging device, and the receiving compartment is configured with at least one first terminal. The charging device has at least one electrical interface for cable connection, a wireless charging transmitter, and at least one second terminal for mating electrically to the first terminal.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The instant disclosure relates to a charging device and associated electrical appliances; in particular, a charging device and associated composite power strip, composite wall outlet assembly, and composite lighting structure. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Utility power is often accessed through wall sockets. When portable electronics such as mobile phones, digital cameras, and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) need to be recharged, a charger is plugged into an electrical outlet to charge the mobile devices. 
         [0005]    However, the use of cables can cause inconvenience to the users. Wireless charging would eliminate the need for cable connections. 
         [0006]    In the Taiwan Publication No. 592378, titled “Universal Serial Bus Transformer”, the inventor previously disclosed a transformer that supplies standard power source. The user would not require to purchase device-specific transformers. However, the transformer can not perform wireless charging. 
         [0007]    To resolve the above shortcoming, the inventor proposes the following solution. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The object of the instant disclosure is to provide a charging device and associated electrical appliances, where charging can be performed using cable connection and wireless method. 
         [0009]    To achieve the above object, the instant disclosure provides a composite power strip, which includes a housing having a body, which has at least one electrical outlet, where the electrical outlet is wired to a power source, and a receiving compartment is formed upon the body, with the receiving compartment having at least one first terminal; and a charging device having at least one electrical interface, a wireless charging transmitter, and at least one second terminal, where the charging device is removably attached to the receiving compartment, with the second terminal connecting electrically to the first terminal. 
         [0010]    The instant disclosure also provides a composite wall outlet assembly, which includes a housing having a body, with at least one electrical outlet positioned thereupon, where a receiving compartment is defined by the body, and the receiving compartment has at least one first terminal; and a charging device having at least one electrical interface, a wireless charging transmitter, and at least one second terminal, where the charging device is removably attached to the receiving compartment, with the second terminal connecting electrically to the first terminal. 
         [0011]    The instant disclosure further provides a composite lighting structure. The composite lighting structure has a base, which defines a receiving compartment having at least one first terminal; a light source attached to the base; and a charging device having at least one electrical interface, a wireless charging transmitter, and at least one second terminal, where the charging device is removably attached to the receiving compartment, with the second terminal connecting electrically to the first terminal. 
         [0012]    The instant disclosure still further provides a charging device having at least one electrical interface, a wireless charging transmitter, and at least one first terminal. 
         [0013]    The instant disclosure presents the following advantages. First, the charging device can charge one or more electronic device via the electrical interface, and also provides wireless charging to an electronic device having a wireless charging receiver. Second, a bad charging device can be discarded from the electrical appliance body for replacement purpose. Similarly, the wireless charging transmitter can be replaced separately from the charging device also. For cost-effectiveness, the electrical appliance itself can be saved by only replacing the bad charging device or transmitter. 
         [0014]    In order to further appreciate the characteristics and technical contents of the instant disclosure, references are hereunder made to the detailed descriptions and appended drawings in connection with the instant disclosure. However, the appended drawings are merely shown for exemplary purposes, rather than being used to restrict the scope of the instant disclosure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  shows an exploded view of a composite power strip of the first embodiment. 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  shows an isometric view of a composite power strip of the first embodiment. 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  shows a schematic view of a composite power strip in use of the first embodiment. 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  shows an exploded view of a composite power strip of the second embodiment. 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  shows an isometric view of a composite power strip of the second embodiment. 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  shows a schematic view of a composite power strip in use of the second embodiment. 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  shows an isometric view of a composite power strip of the third embodiment. 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  shows an isometric view of a composite wall outlet assembly of the fourth embodiment. 
           [0023]      FIG. 9  shows an exploded view of a composite lighting structure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0024]    For the first embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a composite power strip has a housing  1 , which includes a body  11  having at least one electrical outlet  12  and an on/off switch  13 . The electrical outlet  12  has slots  121  and a conductive strip therein (not shown). The electrical outlet  12  is not restricted in type and can be any electrical connector. A power cord  14  is electrically connected to the electrical outlet  12  for propagating electrical current from the power source to the electrical outlet  12 . A charging device  2  is removably attached to a receiving compartment  15  formed upon the body  11 . The receiving compartment  15  is sized according to the dimensional aspect of the charging device  2 . The receiving compartment  15  has at least one first terminal  16  for mating electrically to an at least one second terminal  23  on the charging device  2 . The first terminal  16  can be located on the side or bottom surface of the receiving compartment  15  and is connected electrically to the power cord  14 . Thereby, the charging device  2  can connect electrically to the interior electrical circuitry of the housing  1  and receive the power accordingly. 
         [0025]    As depicted in  FIG. 1 , the charging device  2  of the instant disclosure has at least one electrical interface  21  for charging using cable connection and a transmitter  22  for charging wirelessly. Among others the electrical interface  21  can be a USB connector, IEEE 1394 connector, HDMI connector, A/V connector, or DC connector. Meanwhile, the charging device  2  has a square-shaped body, but can alternatively be formed in many shapes and sizes according to the operation requirement. As shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , the charging device  2  has a recess  25  for receiving the removable transmitter  22 . The transmitter  22  and the recess  25  have a first and second electrical contact  221  and  251  respectively. The first electrical contact  221  can connect electrically to the second electrical contact  251 , thus allowing the transmitter  22  to be electrically connected to the internal electrical circuitry of the charging device  2 . The charging device  2  can further includes a retrievable cord  26  having a power connector  27  on the free end. A built-in transformer, signal light, sensor, timer, or GCFI (ground fault circuit interrupter) may also be included in the charging device  2 . 
         [0026]    Notably, the transmitter  22  can also be integrally fixed to the charging device  2  as depicted in  FIGS. 4 ,  5 ,  7 ,  8 , and  9 . 
         [0027]    In use, a battery  3 ′ having a charging receiver can be placed on the charging device  2  as depicted in  FIG. 3 . Then, the battery  3 ′ is charged via electromagnetic induction, cord- and wire-free.  FIG. 6  shows another example, where an electronic device  3 , such as a mobile phone, can be recharged by connecting electrically to the electrical interface  21  via a connection cable. On the other hand, if the mobile phone includes a charging receiver  31 , the mobile phone can be placed on the charging device  2  for charging wirelessly. 
         [0028]    To secure the electronic device on the charging device  2  while charging, the charging device  2  can further include at least one magnetic member  24  as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5  for a second embodiment. While the electronic device is placed on the charging device  2 , the magnetized charging device  2  will attract the electronic device having an outer casing made of magnetic material to better secure the electronic device while charging. 
         [0029]    In a third embodiment as shown in  FIG. 7 , the power strip can further include a support plate  17 . Namely, the body  11  of the housing  1  comprises the hinged support plate  17  that radially releases for resting the electronic device  3 . 
         [0030]    In a fourth embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the instant disclosure provides a composite wall outlet assembly having a charging device  2 . For the composite wall outlet assembly, the body  11  of the housing  1  is rectangular-shaped, but can alternatively be formed in any shape. The body  11  is made of one or more plate and secured to the wall. The body  11  can also include a hinged support plate  17  that radially releases for resting the electronic device  3 . 
         [0031]    In referring to  FIG. 9 , the instant disclosure further provides a composite lighting structure having a charging device  2 . The composite lighting structure comprises a base  10  and a light source  4 , where a receiving compartment  15  is formed on the base  10  to accommodate the charging device  2 , and the receiving compartment  15  has at least one first terminal  16 . The charging device  2  of the instant disclosure has at least one electrical interface  21  for charging using cable connection and a transmitter  22  for wireless charging option. The electrical interface  21  can be a USB type connector, while the transmitter  22  can be dislodged from the charging device  2  for replacement purpose. The charging device  2  further includes an electrical circuitry that is electrically connected to the electrical interface  21  and the transmitter  22 , along with at least one second terminal  23  for mating electrically to the first terminal  16  of the receiving compartment  15 . As described earlier, the charging device  2  can further includes at least one magnetic member  24  to help secure the electronic device while charging. 
         [0032]    In addition, to provide more secured connection while charging using a cable  5 , the base  10  further has a receiving space  18  positioned near the edge. The cable  5  is connected to a first connector  51  on one end and a second connector  52  on the other end. To charge an electronic device, the first connector  51  of the cable  5  is inserted into the receiving space  18  and electrically connected to the electrical interface  21  of the charging device  2 . Meanwhile, the second connector  52  of the cable  5  is electrically connected to the electronic device, such as a mobile phone, for charging operation. Functionally, the receiving space  18  shelters the first connector  51  to protect the cable connection. Furthermore, slots  19  and  20  can further be formed on the base  10  for hiding the cable  5  and the second connector  52  while not in use. 
         [0033]    In summary, the charging device  2  and associated electrical appliances of the instant disclosure provide charging using cable connection and wireless option. The option of using USB type connector for the electrical interface  21  offers a standard charging mode of using cable connection. Furthermore, more than one electronic device can be charged simultaneously for flexibility and convenience. 
         [0034]    The descriptions illustrated supra set forth simply the preferred embodiments of the instant disclosure; however, the characteristics of the instant disclosure are by no means restricted thereto. All changes, alternations, or modifications conveniently considered by those skilled in the art are deemed to be encompassed within the scope of the instant disclosure delineated by the following claims.