Patent Publication Number: US-2004053536-A1

Title: Plug device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The invention relates to a plug device that has a linkage means to turn conductive blades located at the front end of the plug into a trough of the plug to facilitate storage and reduce thickness.  
       [0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art  
       [0004] Conventional plug devices for general home appliances are constructed like the one shown in FIG. 1 that has conductive blades  10  inserted into a plug body. The plug is bulky and the conductive blades are fixedly mounted. It is difficult to store.  
       [0005]FIG. 2A illustrates another conventional plug devices that is rotary (referring to Japan patent publication No. 11-224717). It includes a conductive blade set  20  located in the plug. The conductive blade set  20  has a first rotary axle  22  and a second rotary axle  24  that may be held in a rotary trough  28  and turn freely therein. Inside the plug, there are a first conductive end  26   a  and a second conductive end  26   b  to serve as two poles of AC power supply to connect respectively two ends of the conductive blade set  20 . FIG.  2 B shows the plug in a use condition. The front end  21  of the conductive blade is turned outwards. When there is a desire to retract to plug, the first rotary axle  22  and the second rotary axle  24  may be turned to move the front end  21  of the conductive blade of the conductive blade set  20  into the plug. While it is less bulky, the thickness has not been reduced very much.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] In view of the aforesaid disadvantages, the primary object of the invention is to provide a plug device to facilitate storage and reduce the thickness thereof.  
       [0007] The plug device according to the invention has a linkage means to turn the front end of conductive blades into a rotary trough of the plug and move the conductive blades in the meantime. There are also a plurality of rotary sleeve tenons coupled with an elastic clip and a plurality of conductive blade rotary sleeves with rotary sleeve conductive ends to connect to conductive ends of the casing to enable the conductive blades be retracted easily into the plug. The plug thus constructed may be stored easily and has a smaller thickness.  
       [0008] The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0009]FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional plug devices.  
     [0010]FIG. 2A is a schematic view of a conventional rotary plug devices.  
     [0011]FIG. 2B is a schematic view of the conductive blade set of a conventional rotary plug devices.  
     [0012]FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the conductive blade set of the plug device of the invention.  
     [0013]FIG. 4A is a side perspective view of an embodiment of the plug device of the invention.  
     [0014]FIG. 4B is a rear perspective view of an embodiment of the plug device of the invention.  
     [0015]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the conductive blade set of the invention.  
     [0016]FIG. 6A is a schematic view of an embodiment of the plug device of the invention in a use condition.  
     [0017]FIG. 6B is a schematic view of an embodiment of the plug device of the invention in a turning condition.  
     [0018]FIG. 6C is a schematic view of an embodiment of the plug device of the invention in a folding condition. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0019] Referring to FIG. 3, the plug device of the invention mainly includes a conductive blade set  30  which has a first conductive blade set  31   a  and a second conductive blade set  31   b  arranged in a juxtaposed manner. The first conductive blade set  31   a  includes a first conductive blade  33   a  coupled with a first conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   a  for connecting to a casing. The second conductive blade set  31   b  includes a second conductive blade  33   b  coupled with a second conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   b  for connecting to the casing. The conductive blade rotary sleeves have respectively a trough to couple with a linkage means  39  which connects the first conductive blade set  31   a  and the second conductive blade set  31   b . The first conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   a  and the second conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   b  further have respectively a first tenon  37   a  and a second tenon  37   b  for anchoring the conductive blade set  30  securely in the casing  40  (details will be discussed later in FIG. 4).  
     [0020] Referring to FIG. 4A, the conductive blade set  30  is housed in the casing  40 . The casing  40  also houses a charge circuit to become a compact electric charger for a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA), or other devices related to portable computers. As shown in FIG. 4A, the conductive blade set  30  is located on one side of the casing  40  to spare a space to house the charge circuit. The first tenon  37   a  (not shown in the drawing) of the first conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   a  and the second tenon  37   b  (also not shown in the drawing) of the second conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   b  are gripped by an elastic clip  42  which is fixedly mounted in the casing  40 . Thus the conductive blade set  30  is also securely held in the casing  40 . The tenons  37   a  and  37   b  are turnable within a selected elastic range in the elastic clip  42 . The lateral side of the conductive blade set  30  may be turned outside the casing  40  when in use, and also may be turned and retracted into the casing  40  when not in use.  
     [0021] Inside the casing  40 , there are a first connective end  44   a  and a second conductive end  44   b  for connecting two poles of AC power to two ends of the conductive blade set  30 . The first connective end  44   a  and the second conductive end  44   b  are made from a metal blade, and may contact the first conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   a  and the second conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   b  for transmitting AC electricity to the first conductive blade  33   a  and the second conductive blade  33   b.    
     [0022] Referring to FIG. 4B, the first conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   a  and the second conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   b  of the conductive blade set  30  are connected to the conductive ends of the casing  40  through a first rotary conductive end  46   a  and a second rotary conductive end  46   b . As the first conductive end  44   a  and the second conductive end  44   b  are elastic metal, when the conductive blade set  30  turns, it keeps a tight and movable connection with the rotary conductive ends and still maintains conductivity after turning.  
     [0023] As shown in the drawings, the first conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   a  and the second conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   b  of the conductive blade set  30  are linked by the linkage means  39  so that they can be turned at the same time and be clamped by the elastic clip  42 . When they are turned into the casing  40 , they are retracted to make the thickness of the casing smaller. As shown in FIG. 3, the first tenon  37   a  and the second tenon  37   b  are clamped by the elastic clip, so that the first conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   a  and the second conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   b  are stationed on fixed locations. Therefore they may be turned 90 degrees when in use and be retracted in the casing  40  when not in use.  
     [0024] Refer to FIG. 5 for a second embodiment of the conductive blade set of the invention. It is largely constructed as the one shown in FIG. 3, and also includes a first conductive blade set  31   a  and a second conductive blade set  31   b  arranged in a juxtaposed manner. The first conductive blade set  31   a  includes a first conductive blade  33   a  coupled with a first conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   a . The second conductive blade set  31   b  includes a second conductive blade  33   b  coupled with a second conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   b . The conductive blade rotary sleeves have respectively a first tenon  37   a  and a second tenon  37   b  for anchoring the conductive blade set securely in a casing of a plug devices. The first conductive blade set  31   a  and the second conductive blade set  31   b  are connected by a linkage bar  52 . The linkage bar  52  are fastened to the first conductive blade set  31   a  and the second conductive blade set  31   b  by means of a first screw set  50   a  and a second screw set  50   b . The first screw set  50   a  and the second screw set  50   b  have respectively a bolt screwed into the first conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   a  and the second conductive blade rotary sleeve  35   b . The connecting portions of the screw sets and the linkage bar  52  are turnable freely to enable the plug of the invention to achieve the desired object.  
     [0025] Refer to FIG. 6A for the invention in a use condition. The first conductive blade  33   a  and the second conductive blade  33   b  are turned for 90 degrees outside the casing  40  and are in parallel with the side wall of the casing.  
     [0026]FIG. 6B shows the plug of invention in a turning condition. Due to the linkage means mentioned above, the first conductive blade  33   a  and the second conductive blade  33   b  have respectively their own pivotal axis and may be turned about the axis in parallel.  
     [0027]FIG. 6C shows the plug of invention in a retracted condition. The first conductive blade  33   a  and the second conductive blade  33   b  may be turned respectively about their own pivotal axis and are retracted in the casing in a staggered manner.  
     [0028] By means of the construction and embodiments set forth above, through a linkage means to connect two ends of the first conductive blade set and the second conductive blade set of the conductive blade set, the plug may be extended for use and retracted for storage easily, and the thickness is also reduced.  
     [0029] While the preferred embodiments of the invention has been set forth for the purpose of disclosure, modifications of the disclosed embodiments of the invention as well as other embodiments thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all embodiments which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.