Patent Abstract:
An electrical plug cover for protecting the male prongs of an electrical plug from bending or breaking during storage or shipment, the electrical plug cover including a cover body, the cover body being constructed from a rigid material, the cover body having a plurality of hollow chambers therein for receiving the prongs of a male electrical plug, the electrical cover body having a tether connected thereto for attachment to an electrical cord having a male electrical plug connected thereto.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to common male two prong and three prong electrical plugs utilized for connecting electrical cords extending from electrical appliances to electrical energy sources such as common electrical wall sockets. In particular, the present invention is related to devices for protecting the prongs of such electrical plugs from bending and breaking.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Various devices and implements are known in the art for covering and connecting electrical components such as electrical plugs and connectors. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,751,566; 2,962,688; 3,287,687; 3,327,280; 3,519,977; 4,421,369; 4,648,667; 4,679,873; 4,957,445; 4,902,238; and 5,316,493. Related foreign art include Japan 55-163782; UK Patent Application GB 2 165 403 A; UK Patent Application GB 2 259 194 A; and French FR 2 723 476-A1 .  
           [0005]    The male prongs of electrical plugs are sometimes accidentally bent during storage and transport. Such bending may render the plug unusable, and the appliance to which the plug is attached cannot be utilized for its intended purpose. Quite commonly, when transporting hair dryers or electrical razors or the like in flexible bags and suitcases, the male electrical plugs of these devices are bent and the appliance is unusable when the traveler reaches his destination.  
           [0006]    Furthermore, exposed electrical plugs can damage items with which they are packed. For example, clothing can be punctured or torn by exposed electrical plugs, and toiletry items such as toothpaste tubes may be punctured.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for preventing male electrical plugs from being bent when the plug is not plugged into an electrical energy source.  
           [0008]    In accordance with the present invention there is provided an electrical plug cover for protecting the male prongs of an electrical plug from bending or breaking during storage or shipment, the electrical plug cover including a cover body, the cover body being constructed from a rigid material, the cover body having a plurality of hollow chambers therein for receiving the prongs of a male electrical plug, the electrical cover body having a tether connected thereto for attachment to an electrical cord having a male electrical plug connected thereto. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is shown a perspective view of the protective cover of the invention and a electrical plug aligned therewith;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along lines  2 - 2  of FIG. 1;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an electrical plug connected to the protective electrical cover of the invention with the tether of the cover connected to the electrical cord leading to the plug;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the electrical plug cover of the invention shown aligned with an electrical plug and having the tether connected to the electrical cord leading to the electrical plug; and  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 is a side view, partly cut-away, of the electrical cover and plug of FIG. 4, with the plug inserted into the cover. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS.  1 - 3 , there is shown the first embodiment of the electrical plug cover of the invention generally indicated by the numeral  10 . Plug cover  10  has a rigid body  11 . Rigid body  11  can be seen to have two hollow chambers  12  and  13  therein for receiving prongs  15  and  16 . Prongs  15  and  16  are connected to the electrical plug generally indicated by the numeral  18  and are generally rectangular in shape.  
         [0015]    Electrical plug  18  is a conventional electrical plug well known in the art. Electrical plug  18  has a conventional electrical power supply cord  20  connected thereto which extends to an appliance such as electrical razor, hair dryer or any other electrical appliance(not shown). Electrical plugs such as plug  18  are most commonly used on electrical appliances which are operated by alternating current electrical energy sources. However, plug  18  may also be used on appliances which utilize direct electric current.  
         [0016]    As can be seen in FIG. 2, hollow chamber  13  and identical hollow chamber  12  are generally rectangular in cross-section and are adapted to receive prongs  15  and  16  force-fitted therein. Hollow chambers  12  and  13  may be increased or decreased in size as necessary to receive larger or smaller prongs  15  or  16 . Also, one of the hollow chambers  12  or  13  may be larger than the other hollow chamber if one of the prongs  15  or  16  is larger than the other prong.  
         [0017]    Body  11  has a tether generally indicated by the numeral  22  connected thereto. Tether  22  is preferably an elongated cord or line  24  which is connected at one end to body  11 . At the other end of tether  22  is an attaching device generally indicated by the numeral  26  for attaching tether  22  to electrical cord  20  as shown in FIG. 3.  
         [0018]    Line  24  may be made from natural or synthetic material or fibers, and may be woven or non-woven. Furthermore, line  24  could be made from flexible metal wire or woven from metal wires.  
         [0019]    As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the attaching device  26  is preferably a loop generally indicated by the numeral  28  which is formed by extending the end  24   a  of line  24  to form loop  28 , and attaching the end  24   a  of line  24  to line  24  with a fastener  30 . Fastener  30  may be a metal sleeve which is crimped about end  24   a  and line  24  to connect them together. However, if desired, end  24   a  may be sealed to line  24  by any method or fastener known in the art, although fastener sleeve  30  is preferred. If desired, the end  24   a  could be bonded to line  24  by heat fusing, gluing, or the like. Exemplary of other suitable fasteners are spring loaded hooks and clips, or the like.  
         [0020]    The other end of tether  22  is connected to body  11 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a common knot  24   b  is tied at the end  24   c  of tether  22  after extending tether  22  through body  11 . A channel  22   a  is formed in body  11  for snug receipt of line  24  of tether  22 . After extending line  24  through channel  22   a , knot  24   b  is tied at the end  24   c  of line  24  to prevent the end  24   c  from being pulled outwardly from body  11 . In a like manner, if end knot  24   b  is pulled away from body  11 , loop  28  and fastener  30  will prevent tether  22  from being removed from body  11  when they contact channel  22   a.    
         [0021]    A preferred method of attaching loop  28  to electrical cord  20  is illustrated in FIG. 3. Loop  28  is curled over itself as is known in the art to form a noose generally indicated by the numeral  30  in FIG. 3. Noose  30  is placed over plug  18  and tightened about electrical cord  20 . As shown in FIG. 3, electrical plug  18  is received and protected in body  11 , and tether  22  is fastened about electrical cord  20 . In the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the prong  15  and  16  of electrical plug  18  are protected from bending or breaking during transported storage. As also shown in FIG. 3, body  11  is secured to cord  20  by tether  22  and will not be lost when plug  18  is removed from body  11  and inserted into an electrical energy source such as a wall socket.  
         [0022]    The shape of body  11  may be selected as desired so long as the body  11  is long enough to receive prongs  15  and  16  and large enough for connection of tether  22  thereto. Body  11  may be made from any rigid material known in the art, such as styrofoam as shown in FIGS.  1 - 3 . The material from which plug  10  is made may be a solid polymeric material, commonly referred to as plastics, or any other rigid or semi-rigid material known in the art.  
         [0023]    Preferably hollow chambers  12  and  13  are sized so that prongs  15  and  16  must be forced fitted therein. Since prongs  15  and  16  are force-fitted into hollow chambers  12  and  13  of body  11 , plug  18  will not fall from hollow chambers  12  and  13  without a force being exerted on plug  18  sufficient to remove plug  18  from body  11 .  
         [0024]    Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is shown a second embodiment of the electrical plug cover of the invention generally indicated by the numeral  40  for receipt of a three-pronged electrical plug. Plug cover  40  has a rigid body  41 . Body  41  can be seen to have two hollow chambers  42  and  43  and a slot  44  therein for receiving prongs  45 ,  46 , and  47 , respectively. As is known in the art, prong  47  is utilized for a ground connection and prongs  45  and  46  are used to convey electrical energy. Prongs  45  and  46  are connected to the electrical plug generally indicated by the numeral  48 .  
         [0025]    Slot  44  is preferably semi-circular in cross-section as shown in FIG. 4. However, if desired, slot  44  could be circular in cross-section to completely enclose ground prong  47 .  
         [0026]    Electrical plug  48  is a conventional three prong electrical plug well known in the art Electrical plug  48  has a conventional electrical power supply cord  50  connected thereto which extends to an appliance such as electrical razor, hair dryer or any other electrical appliance(not shown). Electrical plugs such as plug  48  are most commonly used on electrical appliances which are operated by alternating current energy sources. However, plug  48  may also be used on appliances which utilize direct current.  
         [0027]    As can be seen in FIG. 4, hollow chamber  42  and identical hollow chamber  43  are generally rectangular in cross-section and are adapted to receive prongs  45  and  46  force-fitted therein. Hollow chambers  42  and  43  may be increased or decreased in size as necessary to receive larger or smaller prongs  45  or  46 . Also, one of the hollow chambers  42  or  43  may be larger than the other hollow chamber if one of the prongs  45  or  46  is larger than the other prong.  
         [0028]    As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, body  41  has a tether generally indicated by the numeral  22  connected thereto. Tether  22  is preferably an elongated cord or line  24  which is connected at one end to body  41 . At the other end of tether  22  is an attaching device generally indicated by the numeral  26  for attaching tether  22  to electrical cord  50  as shown in FIG. 4.  
         [0029]    As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the attaching device  26  is preferably a loop generally indicated by the numeral  28  which is formed by extending the end  24   a  of line  24  to form loop  28  and attaching the end  24   a  of line  24  to line  24  with a fastener  30 . Fastener  30  may be a metal sleeve which is crimped about end  24   a  and line  24  to connect them together. However, if desired end  24   a  may be sealed to line  24  by any method or fastener known in the art, although sleeve  30  is preferred. If desired, the end  24   a  could be bonded to line  24  by heat fusing, gluing, or the like. Exemplary of other suitable fasteners are spring loaded hooks and clips, or the like.  
         [0030]    The other end of tether  22  is connected to body  41 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a common knot  24   b  is tied at the end of tether  22  after extending tether  22  through body  41 . A channel  41   a  is formed in body  41  for snug receipt of line  24  of tether  22 . After extending line  24  through channel  22   a , knot  24   b  is tied at the end  24   c  of line  24  to prevent the end of line  24  from being pulled outwardly from body  41 . In a like manner, if knot  24   b  is pulled away from body  41 , loop  28  and fastener  30  will prevent tether  22  from being removed from body  41  when they contact channel  41   a.    
         [0031]    A preferred method of attaching loop  28  to electrical cord  20  is illustrated in FIG. 4. Loop  28  is curled over itself as is known in the art to form a noose generally indicated by the numeral  30  in FIG. 4 which is placed over plug  48  and tightened about electrical cord  50 . As shown in FIG. 5, electrical plug  48  is received and protected in body  41 , and as shown in FIG. 5, tether  22  is fastened about electrical cord  50 . In the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the prongs  45  and  46  of electrical plug  48  are protected from bending or breaking during transported storage. As also shown in FIG. 4, body  41  is secured to cord  50  by tether  22  and will not be lost when plug  48  is removed from body  41  and inserted into an electrical energy source such as a wall socket.  
         [0032]    The shape of body  41  may be selected as desired so long as the body  41  is long enough to receive prongs  45 ,  46 , and  47  and large enough for connection of tether  22  thereto. Body  41  may be made from any rigid material known in the art, such as styrofoam as shown in FIGS.  4 - 5 . The material from which plug  40  is made may be a solid polymeric material, commonly referred to as plastics.  
         [0033]    Preferably hollow chambers  42  and  43  are sized so that prongs  45  and  46  must be forced fitted therein. Since prongs  45  and  46  are force-fitted into hollow chambers  42  and  43  of body  41 , plug  48  will not fall from hollow chambers  42  and  43  without a force being exerted on plug  48  sufficient to remove plug  48  from body  41 .  
         [0034]    Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail above, it should be understood that the invention is in no sense limited thereby, and its scope is to be determined by that of the following claims:

Technology Classification (CPC): 7