Abstract:
A power adapter is provided for a computer including a power port and a housing defining an aperture. The power adapter includes a power head, a lock head disposed on the power head and a main housing including a body affixed to a security element, wiring for supplying power to the computer extending through the body to the power head and a lock system selectively actuatable with a key to orient the lock head in first and second orientations. The first orientation is characterized in that the power head is movable relative to the aperture for power head insertion into and removal from the power port. The second orientation is characterized in that the power head is immovable relative to the aperture.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to power adapters and, more specifically, to power adapters with safety security locks for notebooks, laptops or portable computers. 
         [0002]    Users often have a need to use portable computers, such as smartphones, tablets and laptop computers, when they move from place to place or travel. In these cases, the users need to periodically charge their computers and take caution to insure that they are not stolen. Typically, portable computers, such as laptops, are charged by plugging them into a wall socket using a power adapter and leaving them in that condition for a given period of time during which the computer battery recharges. Meanwhile, portable computers may be secured or prevented from being stolen by way of flexible computer locks that attach to both the portable computer and a nearby fixed item. 
         [0003]    The need for users to plug in their portable computers and secure them in separate operations may, in some circumstances, lead to the users ignoring at least one of the actions. Since users are primarily concerned with using their portable computers, security is often skipped or ignored. This leads to an unsafe condition in which portable computers can be stolen and the data stored thereon stolen or lost. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    According to an embodiment of the present invention, a power adapter is provided for a computer including a power port and a housing defining an aperture. The power adapter includes a power head, a lock head disposed on the power head and a main housing including a body affixed to a security element, wiring for supplying power to the computer extending through the body to the power head and a lock system selectively actuatable with a key to orient the lock head in first and second orientations. The first orientation is characterized in that the power head is movable relative to the aperture for power head insertion into and removal from the power port. The second orientation is characterized in that the power head is immovable relative to the aperture. The present invention relates to power adapters and, more specifically, to power adapters with safety security locks for notebooks, laptops or portable computers. 
         [0005]    According to another embodiment of the present invention, a power adapter is provided for a computer including a power port and a housing defining an aperture. The power adapter includes a main housing affixed to a security element, a key housing securely rotatable relative to the main housing to assume first and second rotational positions, a power head insertable into the power port and rotatably coupled to the main housing to be rotated relative to the main housing with the key housing, wiring configured to supply power to the computer extending into and through the main housing to the power head and a lock head. The lock head is disposed on the power head and configured to assume first and second orientations respectively associated with the first and second rotational positions of the key housing and to permit or prevent power head movements relative to the power port in the first and second orientations, respectively. 
         [0006]    According to another embodiment of the present invention, a computer is provided and includes an inner housing formed to define a power port, an outer housing formed to define an aperture proximate to the power port and a power adapter. The power adapter includes a power head, a lock head disposed on the power head and a main housing. The main housing includes a body affixed to a security element, wiring for supplying power to the computer extending through the body to the power head and a lock system. The lock system is selectively actuatable with a key to orient the lock head in first and second orientations. The first orientation is characterized in that the power head is movable relative to the aperture for power head insertion into and removal from the power port. The second orientation is characterized in that the power head is immovable relative to the aperture. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The forgoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of a portable laptop computer in accordance with embodiments; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a top-down view of a portion of the portable laptop computer of  FIG. 1  including a power port; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the portion of the portable laptop computer of  FIGS. 1 and 2  including the power port; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a power adapter in accordance with embodiments; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the power adapter of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a top-down schematic illustration of components of the power adapter of  FIG. 4  in accordance with embodiments; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a top-down schematic illustration of components of the power adapter of  FIG. 4  in accordance with alternative embodiments; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8A  is a top-down view of a power head of the power adapter approaching the power port of the portable laptop computer of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 8B  is a top-down view of the power head being inserted into the power port of the portable laptop computer of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8C  is a top-down view of a lock head of the power adapter locking the power head in place; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9A  is a side view of the power head being inserted into the power port of the portable laptop computer of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 9B  is a side view of the lock head locking the power head in place. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    As will be described below, a power adapter for a portable computing device, such as a laptop computer, is provided as a single unit that fulfills multiple functions at the same time. The power adapter serves to provide power to the portable computing device and locks the portable computing device. Thus, a user does not need to execute both functions himself. 
         [0021]    With reference to  FIGS. 1-3 , a computer  10  is provided. The computer  10  may be configured as a portable computer and may be particularly configured as a tablet, a smartphone or a laptop computer  11  as shown in  FIG. 1 . For purposes of clarity and brevity, the following description will relate to the case where the computer  10  is configured as the laptop computer  11 . It is to be understood, however, that this is not meant to otherwise limit or narrow the scope of the description and that other suitable configurations are possible. 
         [0022]    The laptop computer  11  includes a base  110 , a display portion  111  and a hinge  112 . The base  110  includes a housing  12  that is supportive of user input elements, such as a keyboard, a mouse pad and right- and left-click buttons, and which encompasses electrical components, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory unit, a hard drive and a networking unit. The display portion  111  has a screen by which graphical user interfaces are displayable to the user and the hinge  112  allows the display unit  111  to fold over a top surface of the base  110  to close the laptop computer  11 . 
         [0023]    As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the housing  12  includes an inner housing  120  and an outer housing  121  at least near a rear corner of the base  110  proximate to the hinge  112 . The inner housing  120  is formed to define a power port  13  by which the laptop computer  11  is receptive of power in the form of alternating current (AC). The power port  13  may, in some cases, have a generally cylindrical cross-sectional shape. However, it is to be understood that this is not required in all cases and that the power port  13  may have a polygonal or rectangular shape as well. In any case, the power port  13  is provided as a recess within the inner housing  120  from an exterior facing surface thereof and includes an outer conductor  130  and an inner conductor  131  disposed within the outer conductor  130 . The outer housing  121  is disposed at a distance D from the inner housing  120  to define a space  122  between the exterior facing surface of the inner housing  120  and an interior facing surface of the outer housing  121 . The outer housing  121  is formed to define an aperture  14 , which may be substantially aligned with a longitudinal axis of the power port  13 . The aperture  14  may have a polygonal or rectangular shape with a minor axis that may be slightly longer than the diameter of the power port  13  and a major axis that may be substantially longer than the diameter of the power port  13 . 
         [0024]    The laptop computer  11  may further include a sensor  15  disposed on the interior facing surface of the outer housing  121  at a location proximate to the aperture  14 . An operation of the sensor  15  will be described in greater detail below, however, it may be understood that the sensor  15  can serve as a tool for sensing a position (rotational or otherwise) of an object, such as the lock head  28  to be described below) and, in some cases, may also serve as a mechanical stopper for that object. In accordance with embodiments, the sensor  15  may have an elongate body extending at least partially from the interior facing surface of the outer housing  121  to the exterior facing surface of the inner housing  120 . 
         [0025]    With continued reference to  FIG. 1  and with additional reference to  FIGS. 4-7 , a power adapter  20  may be provided for the laptop computer  11  such that power in the form of AC can be supplied to the laptop computer  11 . The power adapter  20  includes a flexible cord portion  21  that is made up of a live current wire and a naught wire, a socket portion  22  at a first end of the cord portion  21  and a head portion  23  at a second end of the cord portion  21 . The socket portion  22  is pluggable into a wall socket and the head portion  23  is pluggable into the laptop computer  11 . The power adapter  20  may further include additional components such as surge protectors for protecting the electrical components of the laptop computer  11 . 
         [0026]    At the head portion  23 , the power adapter  20  includes a main housing  24 , a key housing  25 , a power head  26 , wiring  27  and a lock head  28 . The main housing  24  is provided as a body  240  that may be tubular in shape, for example, which is affixed to a security element, such as a garrote wire  241  that may be looped around a fixed item. The fixed item may be a desk, a wall mounted hook or another suitable immovable element. Where the security element is a garrote wire  241 , the garrote wire  241  may be looped through a through-hole defined by the body  240  of the main housing  24 . The main housing  24  may further include first and second lateral protrusions  243  that extend in substantially similar and parallel directions from a first axial face of the body  240  that faces the laptop computer  11  during power supply operations. 
         [0027]    In accordance with embodiments, the power adapter  20  may further include a user identification element  30 . The user identification element  30  may be disposed on the main housing  24  or on another suitable surface of the power adapter  20 . The user identification element  30  may be provided as a fingerprint scanner, a voice recognition microphone or another suitable device for facilitating identification of a user. In operation, the user identification element  30  may serve to permit activation of the power adapter  20  or the laptop computer  11  only upon validation that a current user is an authorized user. The user identification element  30  may be coupled with the CPU of the laptop computer  11  or independently operable. 
         [0028]    The key housing  25  is selectively and securely rotatable relative to the main housing  24  to assume at least one of a first rotational position and a second rotational position. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the key housing  25  may be rotatably disposed within an annular recess defined by the main housing  24  such that a second axial face of the body  240  of the main housing  24  and a corresponding axial face of the key housing  25  align with each other. Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the key housing  25  may be rotatably disposed adjacent to the main housing  24  such that the second axial face of the body  240  of the main housing  24  and the complementary axial face of the key housing  25  abut with one another. In any case, the key housing  25  is formed to define a key hole that is uniquely receptive of a single type of key  251 , which may be attachable to the cord portion  21  of the power adapter  20 , for example (see  FIG. 1 ). The key housing  25  is exclusively rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the main housing  24  and the key housing  25  by a rotation of the key  251  to thereby assume the at least one of first and second rotational positions. 
         [0029]    The power head  26  is removably insertable into the power port  13  and may have a complementary shape with respect to that of the power port  13 . Thus, where the power port  13  is cylindrical, the power head  26  may include a tubular body  260  that has a substantially cylindrical shape, which is sized to fit tightly in the power port  13 , as well as an outer conductor, an inner conductor disposed within the outer conductor and dielectric material insulating the inner conductor from the outer conductor. In these or other cases, the power head  26  may have a first end that is insertable into the power port  13  and a second end that is rotatably coupled with the first axial face of the body  240  of the main housing  24 . As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , either the power head  26  or the key housing  25  may include a connector  29  that extends through the main housing  24  to thereby connect the power head  26  and the key housing  25 . Thus, while the key housing  25  and the power head  26  are both rotatable relative to the main housing  24 , the key housing  25  and the power head  26  rotate with each other when the key housing  25  is selectively and securely rotated by the key  251 . 
         [0030]    In accordance with embodiments, the complementary cylindrical shapes of the power head  26  and the power port  13  permit the power head  26  to be rotated about the central longitudinal axis of the power port  13 . Additionally, the power head  26  may be configured such that, as the power head  26  rotates with the key housing  25 , the outer and inner conductors of the power head  26  remain in electrical contact with the corresponding conductors of the power port  13 . Thus, power may be continually supplied to the laptop computer  11  once the power head  26  is inserted into the power port  13  and while the power head  26  rotates within the power port  13 . 
         [0031]    The wiring  27  is configured to supply power in the form of the AC to the laptop computer  11  and extends into and through the main housing  24  to the power head  26 . In particular, the wiring  27  may include live current wiring  270  and naught wiring  271  in correspondence with the live current wire and the naught wire of the cord portion  21 . 
         [0032]    In accordance with embodiments, the body  240  of the main housing  24  may include a boss  244  at an upper portion thereof as well as an elongate member  245  that extends aftwardly from the boss  244 . The live current wire and the naught wire of the cord portion  21  may be electrically coupled to the live current wiring  270  and the naught wiring  271 , respectively, at an aft end of the elongate member  245  whereupon the live current wiring  270  and the naught wiring  271  run forwardly through the main housing  24 , radially at a forward end of the main housing  24  proximate to the first axial face and then through the power head  26  to be electrically coupled with one of the outer and inner conductors. 
         [0033]    The lock head  28  is disposed on the power head  26 . In accordance with embodiments, the lock head  28  may be integrally connected to the power head  26  such that, as the power head  26  rotates with the key housing  25 , the lock head  28  rotates with the power head  26 . In any case, the lock head  28  includes first portion  280  and second portion  281 . The first portion  280  extends radially outwardly from a first side of the power head  26  and may have a concave inward end with an angular outward end. The second portion  281  extends radially outwardly from a second side of the power head and may have a concave inward end with an angular outward end. Thus, a cross-sectional shape of the lock head  28  as a whole may be generally rectangular, for example. 
         [0034]    With the configuration described above, the lock head  28  may assume at least one of a first orientation and a second orientation. The first orientation of the lock head  28  is associated with an unlocked condition and the first rotational position of the key housing  25  and the corresponding rotational position of the power head  26 . The second orientation of the lock head  28  is associated with a locked condition and the second rotational position of the key housing  25  and the corresponding rotational position of the power head  26 . As will be described below, when the lock head  28  assumes the first orientation, the lock head permits movements of the power head  26  relative to the power port  13 . That is, with the lock head  28  in the first orientation, the lock head  28  is disposed to pass through the aperture  14  such that the power head  26  is permitted to move through the aperture  14  in a forward direction to insertably engage with the power port  13  or in a reverse direction to removably disengage from the power port  13 . Conversely, with the lock head  28  in the second orientation, the lock head  28  is disposed to interfere with the outer housing  121  such that the power head  26  is prevented from moving through the aperture  14  in either the forward or reverse directions. As such, with the lock head  28  in the second orientation and the power head  26  inserted into the power port  13 , removal of the power head  26  from the power port  13  is prevented. 
         [0035]    In accordance with embodiments, the lock head  28  may have an exemplary thickness T (see  FIG. 4 ), which is substantially similar to or narrower than the exemplary distance D (see  FIG. 2 ) between the exterior facing surface of the inner housing  120  and the exterior facing surface of the outer housing  121 . In addition, at least one of the first and second portions  280  and  281  of the lock head  28  may have sufficient length such that the at least one of the first and second portions  280  and  281  extends to or near to the sensor  15  of the laptop computer  11  such that the sensor  15  is able to sense its position as part of a determination that the lock head  28  is properly disposed in the locked condition. 
         [0036]    With reference to  FIGS. 8A through 9B , an operation of the power adapter  20  will now be described. 
         [0037]    At an initial stage, the socket portion  22  of the power adapter  20  is plugged into a wall socket and the head portion  23  is positioned proximate to the power port  13 . At this point, it is assumed that the key housing  25 , the power head  26  and the lock head  28  are rotationally disposed with the lock head  28  in the unlocked condition such that the power head  26 , the lock head  28  and the first and second lateral protrusions  243  are disposed to pass through the aperture  14  until the power head  26  becomes inserted into the power port  13 . 
         [0038]    With the power head  26  then inserted into the power port  13 , the lock head  28  will have cleared the aperture  14  but the first and second lateral protrusions  243  will remain slotted in the aperture  14 . The single key  251  is subsequently inserted into the key hole of the key housing  25  such that the key housing  25 , the power head  26  and the lock head  28  can be rotated relative to the main housing  24 . The main housing  24  is rotationally fixed due to the mechanical interference between the first and second lateral protrusions  243  and the sidewalls of the aperture  14 . The power head  26  remains inserted in the power port  13  during the rotation but the lock head  28  rotates from the first orientation to the second orientation. Once the lock head  28  reaches the second orientation, the lock head  28  is misaligned with the aperture  14  and the power adapter  20  will be prevented from being drawn away from the power port  13  by the mechanical interference between the lock head  28  and the interior surface of the outer housing  121 . The sensor  15  may be employed at this stage to determine whether the lock head  28  has been fully disposed in the second orientation or if further rotation of the key housing  25 , the power head  26  and the lock head  28  is needed or advisable. 
         [0039]    When the power head  26  is inserted into the power port  13  and the lock head  28  is disposed in the second orientation, the power adapter  20  is effectively locked in place and the laptop computer  11  as a whole is similarly locked by the main housing  24  being affixed to the security element (i.e., the exemplary garrote wire  241  being looped around a fixed item). 
         [0040]    Withdrawal of the power adapter  20  can be executed in the reverse order from what is described above. That is, the key housing  25  can be un-rotated from the second rotational position to the first rotational position such that the power head  26  and the lock head  28  are correspondingly rotated. Once the lock head  28  reaches the first orientation, it is re-aligned with the aperture  14  such that the first and second lateral protrusions  243 , the lock head  28  and the power head  26  can be drawn away from the power port  13  and thus moved through the aperture  14 . 
         [0041]    The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.