Patent Publication Number: US-6984146-B1

Title: Power connection assembly with fluorescent markings

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   Not Applicable. 
   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not Applicable. 
   REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
   Not Applicable. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Technical Field 
   This invention relates to a power connector assembly and, more particularly, to a power connector assembly with fluorescent markings for assisting to guide a power cord plug into a power outlet. 
   2. Prior Art 
   Electrical sockets and plugs are commonly used for joining an electrical appliance or circuit with an electrical outlet such as the common two wire outlet used in the United States for connecting to the 110 volt power connector line. Unfortunately, an electrical power cord having a plug with multiple prongs is often difficult to insert into a power outlet or socket. 
   Accordingly, it is often difficult for a person to insert an electrical plug correctly on the first try, especially in the dark. Also, persons with deficient eye sight experience difficulties when plugging a power cord into an outlet. This is especially true when plugging an appliance power cord into a power outlet that is hard to reach. 
   It is well known that a plug only fits into an outlet if the wider prong of the plug lines up with the wider slot in the outlet. Otherwise, the plug cannot be inserted. Since there are two ways to orient the plug, that means that fifty percent of the time, the plug will not go in the first time. This can be frustrating. A person might also worry about damaging the plug if incorrect insertion is attempted. 
   Prior art attempts to help overcome these shortcoming have been made. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,935 to Barna discloses a system and method for connecting color-coded cables to a device. In particular, the Barna patent discloses a color-coded system for associating each of a plurality of individual electrical connection parts of a transactional terminal with a particular cable designated for connection with a specific one of the ports. U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,113 to True et al. discloses a power socket with illuminated plug blade slots. Such a patent teaches an illumination mechanism for illuminating the interior area of each plug blade slot. Unfortunately, such a patent requires additional circuitry for supplying power to select color diodes. 
   Accordingly, there remains a need for providing a power connector assembly that is simple in design while effectively marking a power cord plug having multiple prongs and a power outlet having multiple slots. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a power connector assembly with fluorescent markings. These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are provided by a power connector assembly having a plug or a power cord including a connector end portion integral therewith. The connector end portion includes a plurality of spaced apart prongs extending outwardly therefrom. The connector end portion also has at least one illuminating portion. 
   A power outlet includes a plurality of slots for receiving the plurality of prongs respectively. At least one of the plurality of slots has an illuminating portion for identifying the at least one slot. The power cord is insertable into the power outlet by guiding the at least one illuminating connector end portion toward the at least one illuminating slot portion. The at least one illuminating connector end portion may be disposed adjacent to the plurality of prongs. Alternately, the at least one illuminating connector end portion may be attached to at least one of the plurality of prongs. 
   Further, the at least one illuminating connector end portion may have a generally rectangular shape and is preferably attached to an exterior surface of the connector end portion. The at least one illuminating connector end portion is preferably coated with yellow fluorescent paint. Likewise, the at least one illuminating slot portion is preferably coated with yellow fluorescent paint. 
   The plurality of prongs preferably include a ground prong integral with the at least one illuminating connector end portion. The plurality of slots also preferably include a ground slot integral with the at least one illuminating slot portion so that when the ground prong is aligned with the ground slot, the connector end portion becomes insertable into the power outlet. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a power connector assembly including a power outlet and a power cord inserted therein, in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of  FIG. 1  with the power cord removed from the associated power outlet; 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing an alternate embodiment of the illuminating connector end portion illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing the illuminating portion as detachable from a power cord. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this application will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the true scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout, and prime and double prime notations are used to indicate similar elements in alternate embodiments. 
   The assembly of this invention is referred to generally in  FIG. 1  by reference numeral  10  and includes a power cord  11  and a power outlet  12 . It is noted that the assembly  10  is intended to provide assistance for connecting the power cord  11  of an appliance (not shown) or other conventional device to the power outlet  12 . It should be understood that the assembly  10  may be employed with many different types of power outlets and power cords. For example, the present invention may be used with power outlets supplying 110 volts or 220 volts as well as conventional power outlets including two or three slots. Similarly, the assembly  10  may be used with conventional power cords including two or three prongs, as well known in the industry. 
   As clearly shown in  FIG. 1 , power cord  11  includes a connector end portion  13  for connecting to power outlet  12 . In particular, connector end portion  13  is shown as connected to a lower pair of slots  14  at outlet  12 . Now referring to  FIG. 2 , power cord  11  and the connector end portion  13  are shown has disengaged from the power outlet  12 . Power cord  11  includes a plurality of prongs  15 , in particular two prongs, extending outwardly from the connector end portion  13 . Such prongs  15  are preferably conventional prongs as well known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. 
   As noted above, power outlet  12  has a plurality of slots  14  with two of such slots located at an upper portion and with two more slots located at a lower portion of the outlet  12 , as well known in the art. The slots  14  are sufficiently shaped and sized to receive the pair of prongs  15  extending from the connector end portion  13  to thereby supply electricity to the power cord  11  and an appliance connected thereto. More importantly, one of the prongs  14  is a ground prong and one of the slots  14  is a ground slot. Such a ground slot  14  and a ground prong  15  each include an illuminating portion, as shown at  16  and  17 , respectively. 
   The illuminating portion  17  of prong  15  is integral therewith and preferably includes a coat of paint over an end portion thereof to thereby lead the connector end portion  13  towards the power outlet  12 . Likewise, the illuminating portion  17  of the ground slot  14  is coated with fluorescent paint around the periphery thereof for providing a receiving target so that the ground prong  15  can be directed thereto by aligning the illuminating portion  16  therewith. Of course, it is noted that any one of the prongs  15  or any one of the slots  14  may contain an illuminating portion  16 ,  17 , respectively. Furthermore, both prongs  15  and both slots  14  may include an illuminating portion. 
   Illuminating portions  16 ,  17  are preferably formed by applying a coat of fluorescent paint or other suitable substance that will glow in the dark or that is easily visible in dark places. The illuminating portions  16 ,  17  preferably match in color for simplicity. Of course, the size of each illuminating portion  16 ,  17  may vary. For example, illuminating portion  16  of prong  15  may cover a major portion of the prongs rather than only a minor portion of the prong  15 . Likewise, the illuminating portion  17  of the slots  14  may cover a larger portion of the perimeter thereof for providing better visibility in the dark. 
   Now referring to  FIG. 3 , an alternate embodiment of the present invention is shown. In particular, the power cord  11 ′ includes a connector end portion  13  that has an illuminating portion  16 ′ attached to an exterior surface thereof. Notably, the illuminating portion  16 ′ is attached to the plurality of prongs  15 , which extends from the connector end portion  13 . The illuminating portion  16 ′ has a generally rectangular shape and extends outwardly from a side portion of the connector end portion  13 . Such an illuminating portion  16 ′ helps guide the connector end prongs  15  into the associated slots  14  of power outlet  12 . Of course, the illuminating portion  16 ′ may be removably attached to connector end portion  13  via a conventional fastener such as an adhesive material or Velcro, as perhaps best shown in  FIG. 4 . Advantageously, the illuminating portion  16 ′ may be connected to existing power cords as an after market device. 
   In operation, as in the previous embodiment, the connector end portion  13  should be moved toward power outlet  12  in such a manner so the illuminating portion  16 ′ becomes generally aligned with the illuminating portion  17  of slot  14 . This helps the user insert the ground prong into the corresponding ground slot. Of course, the illuminating portion  16 ′ may have different shapes from the particular rectangular shape as shown in  FIG. 3 . For example, an arrow may be painted on the connector end portion  13 , which points parallel to the direction of prongs  15  extending outwardly toward slots  14 . In addition, the illuminating portion  16 ′ may have a contoured shape for providing a comfortable grip while inserting the connector end portion  13  into a power outlet  12 . 
   While the invention has been described with respect to certain specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.