Abstract:
A ground cable plug assembly configured to accept a cable and provide necessary connections for accomplishing a grounding function. In one approach, the cable plug assembly is configured to accept and ground a coaxial cable. In another approach, the cable plug assembly accepts and grounds an HDMI cable.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/877,833, filed Sep. 13, 2013, the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates generally to electrical grounding, and more particularly to grounding coaxial, HDMI and other cables. 
     Companies that operate fiberoptic and wired, third-party distribution systems for broadcast programming are subject to electrical grounding regulations. These operators deliver television programming received from cable networks or local television stations to consumers via coaxial cable or fiber optic infrastructure on a subscription basis. Cable providers also offer internet access and internet-protocol telephone services, (sometimes referred to as Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP) usually as a package, bundled together with a cable TV and broadband subscription. These companies rely on equipment provided by component and equipment manufacturers to provide that final connection inside businesses and homes of their subscribers for their entertainment and communications devices and needs. 
     A coaxial cable, is a type of cable that has an inner conductor surrounded by a tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting shield. Coaxial cables can also have an insulating outer sheath or jacket The term coaxial is derived from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing a geometric axis. Coaxial cables differ from other shielded cable used for carrying lower-frequency signals, such as audio signals, in that the dimensions of the cable are controlled to give a precise, constant conductor spacing, which is needed for it to function efficiently as a radio frequency transmission line. 
     A continuous current, along the imperfect shield of a coaxial cable can cause visible or audible interference. In CATV systems, distributing analog signals the potential difference between the coaxial network and the electrical grounding system of a house can cause a visible distortion in the picture. This appears as a wide horizontal bar in the picture that scrolls slowly upward. Such differences in potential can be reduced by proper bonding to a common ground at the house. 
     HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a compact audio/video interface for transferring uncompressed video data and compressed/uncompressed digital audio data from a HDMI-compliant device to a compatible computer monitor, video projector, digital television, or digital audio device. HDMI is a digital replacement for existing analog video standards. 
     There are a number of HDMI-standard cable connector available, each of which can be used for any uncompressed TV or PC video format, including standard, enhanced, high definition, and 3D video signals; up to 8 channels of compressed or uncompressed digital audio; a CED (Consumer Electronics Control) connection; and an Ethernet data connection. HDMI implements the EIA/CEA-861 standards, which define video formats and waveforms, transport of compressed, uncompressed, and LPCM audio, auxiliary data, and implementations of the VESA EDID. One of the 19 or 29 pins configured at the head of a connection of the HDMI cable is provided for grounding. 
     AC power plugs and sockets are devices that allow electrically operated equipment to be connected to the primary alternating current (AC) power supply in a building. Electrical plugs and sockets differ in voltage and current rating, shape, size and type of connectors. The types used in each country are set by national standards. 
     Electrical sockets for single phase domestic, commercial and light industrial purposes generally provide either two or three electrical connections to the supply conductors. All two pin sockets provide neutral and line connections, both of which carry current and are defined as live parts. Neutral is usually at or very near to earth potential, usually being earthed either at the distribution board or at the substation. Line carries the full supply voltage relative to the neutral and to earth. Three pin sockets provide, in addition, a protective earth connection. This allows the exposed metal parts of the appliance to be connected to earth (also known as ground), providing protection to the user should those exposed parts inadvertently come into contact with any live parts within the appliance. Some sockets may carry two line connections, each at half the supply voltage relative to the neutral but the full voltage relative to each other. 
     The third contact for a connection to earth is intended to protect against insulation failure of the connected device. When earthed distribution systems became common, earlier unearthed socket types were either replaced with new standards, or revised to include an earthing pin. 
     The National Electrical Code (NEC), Article 820-40 requires that the CATV Cable ground be connected to the ground system of the building. This requires that the original installation of the cable system in the building be grounded, properly, and relies on the metal sheath around the cable to ground the cable box. The problem is that the cable connections are not always properly grounded as they enter the structure and there are typically multiple cable interfaces between the cable coming into the building and the cable box or other devices in the building. This results in ungrounded and/or improperly grounded cables connecting to the media or cable box. The domino effect, presents as poor transmission signals and electromagnetic interference which take significant time, effort and expense to resolve as well as unhappy customers. 
     Accordingly, what is needed is an approach to grounding cable connections without adding to the complexity of the cables themselves or to the grounding system provided by a building. Such grounding arrangements are described for both coaxial and HDMI as well as other cables. The present disclosure addresses these and other needs. 
     SUMMARY 
     Briefly and in general terms, the present disclosure is directed towards an electrical grounding device, system and method for a cable. The electrical grounding device can be embodied in an electrical plug assembly including grounding structure configured to interface with complementary structure of a cable. 
     In one approach, there is disclosed a component device that provides grounding of a coaxial or HDMI cable to the same grounding circuit that provides power to a building at the point of use. This cable grounding plug provides electrical grounding for cable devices that previously were not grounded properly or at all. By providing grounding of the coaxial or HDMI cables inside the building at the point of use, the cable providers solve significant service and maintenance issues regarding suboptimal signals caused by improper or poor grounding. 
     In one embodiment, a cable ground plug assembly embodies a housing including a main body having a plurality of faces and an extension body projecting from the main body, the extension including a pair of female sockets. One face of the main body includes a plurality of electrodes, prongs or pins extending therefrom, one corresponding to a hot slot of a socket, one corresponding to a neutral slot of a socket and a third corresponding to a ground slot of a socket. On an opposite face of the main body there can be slotted holes including a hot slot, a neutral slot and a ground slot. The extension body projecting from the main body includes an electrical connection including a pair of opposed female receptacles for a cable, the electrical connection being connected to the ground electrode or pin. In one embodiment, the female receptacles accept terminal end adapters of a coaxial cable. In another embodiment, the female receptacles accept terminal end adapters of a HDMI cable. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view, depicting one embodiment of a cable grounding plug assembly; 
         FIG. 2  is a rotational view, depicting the cable grounding plug of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is another perspective view, depicting the cable grounding plug of  FIG. 1  plugged into a wall socket; 
         FIG. 3A  are perspective views, depicting terminal ends of prongs of a grounding plug assembly; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view, depicting the cable grounding plug of  FIG. 1  accepting a coaxial cable; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view, depicting a ground connection of a coaxial cable to the cable grounding plug of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view, depicting the cable ground plug of  FIG. 1  accepting a conventional electrical plug and coaxial cable; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view, depicting another embodiment of a cable ground plug; and 
         FIG. 8  is a front view, depicting the cable ground plug of  FIG. 7  accepting an HDMI cable. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings, not as a limitation but by way of example, there is presented a cable ground plug assembly for providing a ground for a cable assembly. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , there is shown a cable grounding plug assembly or housing  100 . The cable grounding plug assembly  100  includes a main body  102  and an extension body  104  projecting therefrom. The main body  102  houses conventional plug structures and supports a ground prong  106 , a relatively larger neutral prong  108 , and a hot prong  110 . The prongs extend generally perpendicularly from a first face  112  of the main body  102 . 
     A second face  114  of the main body  102  can be configured to be spaced and generally parallel to the first face  112 . Formed within the second face  112  are a plurality of openings. A first opening  120  is sized and shaped to receive a conventional ground prong. A second opening  122  is sized and shaped to receive a neutral prong and a third opening  124  is sized and shaped to receive a hot prong. Such holes provide access to proximal terminal ends of the ground  106 , neutral  108  and hot  112  prongs retained by the housing. With reference to  FIG. 3A , the proximal ends of the ground  106 , neutral  108 , and hot  110  prongs can be configured with leaf springs  130 ,  132 ,  134  of various sizes, or other structure, to releasably engage corresponding terminal ends of a plug which is inserted within the second face  114  of the main body  102  of the housing  100 . 
     In one embodiment, the extension body  104  of the cable grounding plug assembly  100  extends in a direction generally parallel to the first  112  and second  114  faces of the main body  102 , and from a third face  140  of the main body  102 . The extension body  104  is in direct connection with the ground prong  106  so as to provide a path for grounding a coaxial or other cable. The extension body  104  can present additional opposing faces  142 ,  144  which can be generally perpendicular to planes extending through the first  112  and second  114  faces. 
     Extending generally perpendicular to and one from each of the opposing faces  142 ,  144  can be a threaded female receptacle  150 . The threaded female receptacles  150  are sized and shaped to matingly receive and engage with conventional male ends  160  of a coaxial cable  162  (See  FIG. 4 ). As best seen in  FIG. 5 , the coaxial cable  162  has an elongate profile with a coax cable outer braided wire  170  extending along its length, as well as an outer conductor  171 . Also extending a length of the cable is a coax cable center conductor  172 . Further, configured within each of the threaded female receptacles  150  is a coax cable conductor leaf spring assembly  180  which includes first and second leaf springs  182  (only one shown) which are each sized and shaped to releasably engage and electrically connect to one cable center conductor  172 . The leaf spring assembly  180  includes a mid-body  184  that extends to the leaf spring (not shown) which is in turn connected to the cable center connector of a second coaxial cable. The coaxial cable itself  162  is grounded in a conventional manner through the interconnection of the terminal end  160  of the coaxial cable to the female receptacle, to the ground plug in the main body, and to the wall socket. 
     A completed or connected assembly is shown in  FIG. 6 . The cable grounding plug assembly  100  is shown plugged into a wall socket  200 . Also, a terminal plug end  202  of an electronic device is shown plugged into the main body  102  of the plug assembly  100 . Further, a pair of coaxial cables  162  are each individually electrically grounded through their connection to the threaded female receptacles  150 . In practice, a coaxial cable  162  coming into the building will have, for example, a terminal end  210  connected to a first threaded female receptacle  150 , and an extension coaxial cable will have a terminal end  220  connected to a second threaded receptacle  150 . The extension coaxial cable will be connected to the communication or cable box (not shown), and present a grounded electrical connection. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the cable grounding plug assembly  100  can be alternatively configured with an extension body  300  including a pair of HDMI female receptacles  310  sized and shaped to receive male terminal ends of conventional HDMI cables  320 . The grounding pin (not identified) of the HDMI cables  320  can be electrically routed to the grounding structure of the cable grounding plug assembly  100 . Further, the HDMI extension body  300  is configured to electrically connect a first HDMI cable coming into a building with a second extension HDMI cable placed in connection with a cable or other communication box or device (See  FIG. 8 ). 
     Thus, it will be apparent from the foregoing that, while particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made without parting from the spirit and scope of the invention.