Patent Description:
Power socket is an essential product for modern life as an electric power supply. Presently, USB connectors are commonly used transmission interfaces for charging the electronic devices. Therefore, it became a growing trend of setting USB ports on power sockets. As the rise of the market requirement of charging rate, the requirement of power increases. However, because the limitation of arrangements and sizes of the components inside the power sockets, local overheating frequently occurs to the power sockets with USB ports. Since the component damage owing to the overheating should be avoided, it is still hard to increase the total wattage carried by the power sockets with USB ports.

<CIT> relates to a connection unit suitable for mounting in a mounting volume of a predetermined size of a building, comprising: a housing intended to receive at least some of the functional elements of the connection unit and designed as a housing pot having a pot opening, a peripheral pot side wall and a pot base, and a mounting frame having a substantially planar base plate by means of which the connection unit can be attached to a surface of the building, the housing pot comprising a housing main part and a housing cover part which can be interconnected, the line of separation between the housing main part and the housing cover part extending from a first edge portion of the pot opening, through a first portion of the pot side wall, then through the pot base and then further through a second portion of the pot side wall and ending in a second edge portion of the pot opening. At least one pair of guide rails which extend substantially orthogonally to the line of separation are provided on the housing main part for guiding a printed circuit board or a plurality of printed circuit boards of an electronic assembly of the connection unit.

<CIT> discloses an appliance support comprising a frame provided with fastener means for fastening to an electrical box, the frame presenting an inner edge that defines a mounting opening for mounting an appliance mechanism, the inner edge being extended rearwards by a side wall that defines a housing for receiving said appliance mechanism, said housing being closed at the back by a back wall that completely closes said housing, wherein said back wall is arranged to receive at least three electrical connection terminals housed in three mutually insulated compartments, said compartments being defined by partitions made of insulating material and placed on an inside face of the back wall, wherein individual orifices are provided, each giving access from outside the housing directly to a respective one of said compartments for electrically powering the connection terminal housed in said compartment, said appliance support further comprising at least one insulating cover that is configured to be fitted in said housing and to enclose said connection terminals, and that includes individual openings each configured to give access via the mounting opening from the inside of the housing directly to a respective one of the compartments for inserting a connection pin of the appliance mechanism in the connection terminal housed in said compartment.

Therefore, there is a need of providing a socket structure so as to obviate the drawbacks encountered from the prior arts.

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a socket structure for addressing the drawbacks of the prior art.

It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a socket structure. By the combination of the frame and the casing, the thermal conductivity of the socket structure is improved. As a result, the heat inside the socket structure can be efficiently conducted to the exterior of the socket structure to improve the heat dissipating effect, and the problem of local overheating can be obviated. It is beneficial to increase the total wattage carried by the socket structure and meet the requirement of high power in the market.

The present invention relates to a socket structure according to independent claim <NUM>.

The above contents of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:.

The second embodiment is not encompassed by the wording of the claims but is considered as useful for understanding the invention.

The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments.

Please refer to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>. <FIG> is a schematic perspective view illustrating the socket structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. <FIG> is an exploded view illustrating the socket structure of <FIG>. <FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating the socket structure along the section line A-A' of <FIG>. In this embodiment, the socket structure includes a casing <NUM>, a main body <NUM>, a frame <NUM> and a cover <NUM>. The casing <NUM> includes plural lateral walls <NUM>, a bottom <NUM>, an opening <NUM> and an accommodation space <NUM>. The opening <NUM> is collaboratively defined by the lateral walls <NUM>. The accommodation space <NUM> is collaboratively defined by the lateral walls <NUM> and the bottom <NUM> and is in communication with the opening <NUM>. The main body <NUM> is disposed in the accommodation space <NUM> and includes a circuit board <NUM> and a connection port <NUM>. The connection port <NUM> is disposed on the circuit board <NUM>. The frame <NUM> includes at least one plate <NUM> and a first extending portion <NUM>. The plate <NUM> surrounds the periphery of the opening <NUM>. The first extending portion <NUM> is extended from the plate <NUM> and is connected to one of the lateral walls <NUM>. The cover <NUM> covers the opening <NUM> and includes a through hole <NUM>. The through hole <NUM> is configured to allow a plug (not shown) to pass through and connect to the connection port <NUM>. In this embodiment, the plug is a USB plug, and the connection port <NUM> is a USB port. The frame <NUM> is preferably but not exclusively made of metal, thereby improving the thermal conductivity of the socket structure. Consequently, the heat inside the socket structure can be conducted to the exterior, and thus the problem of local overheating is addressed.

In this embodiment, the casing <NUM> has a cube profile. That is, the casing <NUM> includes four lateral walls <NUM>, and the opening <NUM> defined by the lateral walls <NUM> also has a square profile. In this embodiment, the thicknesses of the lateral walls <NUM> and the bottom <NUM> are ranged between <NUM> and <NUM>, but not limited thereto. The cover <NUM> is connected to the inner surfaces of the four lateral walls <NUM>, so as to cover and seal the opening <NUM>. In this embodiment, the frame <NUM> is preferably but not exclusively made of a metallic plate, and a thickness of the metallic plate is ranged between <NUM> and <NUM>. The frame <NUM> includes a first plate 31a and a second plate 31b. The first plate 31a has a U-shaped profile and includes three inner edges. The first plate 31a and the second plate 31b collaboratively surrounds the periphery of the opening <NUM>, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the first plate 31a and the second plate 31b are integrally formed.

In this embodiment, the first extending portion <NUM> is extended from one of the inner edges of the first plate 31a. Preferably but not exclusively, the first extending portion <NUM> is extended from the inner edge of the first plate 31a which is opposite to the second plate 31b. According to the invention, the frame <NUM> further includes a second extending portion <NUM>. The second extending portion <NUM> is connected to the first extending portion <NUM>, and the first extending portion <NUM> and the second extending portion <NUM> collaboratively form an L-shaped structure. The first extending portion <NUM> and the second extending portion <NUM> can be integrally formed by bending the metallic plate, but not limited thereto. According to the invention, the first extending portion <NUM> and the second extending portion <NUM> are respectively embedded in one of the lateral walls <NUM> and the bottom <NUM> of the casing <NUM> by an insert molding process. In this embodiment, the frame <NUM> further includes a plurality of positioning holes <NUM>. The positioning holes <NUM> are formed on the first extending portion <NUM> and the second extending portion <NUM>, so that the material of the casing <NUM> can flow through the positioning holes <NUM> during the insert molding process. It is beneficial to position the first extending portion <NUM> and the second extending portion <NUM> inside the casing <NUM>. In this embodiment, a diameter of each of the positioning holes <NUM> is ranged between <NUM> and <NUM>, but not limited thereto. Thereby, the frame <NUM> and the casing <NUM> are combined with each other, and the thermal conductivity of the casing <NUM> is improved. Meanwhile, the steps of installing the socket structure are reduced, and the assembly cost thereof is reduced accordingly.

In this embodiment, the frame <NUM> further includes a plurality of third extending portions <NUM>. The third extending portions <NUM> are extended from the first plate 31a and the second plate 31b and are connected to the lateral walls <NUM> of the casing <NUM>. In this embodiment, the third extending portions <NUM> are preferably but not exclusively embedded in the lateral walls <NUM> by the insert molding process, so that the frame <NUM> is firmly combined and fixed with the casing <NUM>. In this embodiment, the frame <NUM> includes six third extending portions <NUM>, but not limited thereto. Four of the third extending portions <NUM> are disposed on the first plate 31a. More specifically, two of the third extending portions <NUM> are disposed on each of the inner edges of the first plate 31a except the inner edge where the first extending portion <NUM> is extended from. Two of the third extending portions <NUM> are disposed on the second plate 31b.

Please refer to <FIG> and <FIG>. <FIG> is an exploded view illustrating the socket structure according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure, which is not covered by the subject-matter of the claims. <FIG> is a cross-sectional view illustrating the socket structure of <FIG>. The main difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is the combination way of the frame <NUM>' and the casing <NUM>. Therefore, the similar structures of the main body <NUM> and the cover <NUM> are not redundantly described here. In this embodiment, the first extending portion <NUM>' and the second extending portion <NUM>' are respectively attached on outer surfaces of one of the lateral walls <NUM> and the bottom <NUM>. The third extending portions <NUM> are embedded in the lateral walls <NUM>, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the third extending portions <NUM> are attached on the outer surfaces of the lateral walls <NUM>. In this embodiment, the positioning holes <NUM> is only formed on the second extending portion <NUM>', but not limited thereto.

In this embodiment, the socket structure further includes an insulating covering <NUM>. The insulating covering <NUM> covers and accommodates the lateral walls <NUM>, the bottom <NUM>, the first extending portion <NUM>' and the second extending portion <NUM>', so as to achieve the insulating effect. In this embodiment, the socket structure further includes four fixing components S. The frame <NUM>' further includes four fixing grooves <NUM>. The fixing grooves <NUM> are formed on the first plate 31a and the second plate 31b. The fixing components S pass through the fixing grooves <NUM> and are connected to the insulating covering <NUM>, so that the frame <NUM>' and the casing <NUM> are combined and fixed with the insulating covering <NUM>.

In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the socket structure further includes a glue layer (not shown). The glue layer is filled between the bottom <NUM> of the casing <NUM> and the lower surface of the circuit board <NUM> of the main body <NUM>, so that the thermal conductivity of the socket structure is further improved. In addition, the main body <NUM> further includes a heat conducting component <NUM>. The heat conducting component <NUM> is preferably but not exclusively a plate structure. The heat conducting component <NUM> is connected to the circuit board <NUM> and is extended from the circuit board <NUM> toward the bottom <NUM> of the casing <NUM>. In other words, the extending direction of the heat conducting component <NUM> is parallel to the extending direction of the first extending portions <NUM>, <NUM>' of the frames <NUM>, <NUM>', but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the heat conducting component <NUM> is directly in contact with the first extending portions <NUM>, <NUM>'. In other embodiments, the glue layer is filled between the heat conducting component <NUM> and the first extending portions <NUM>, <NUM>' of the frames <NUM>, <NUM>'. Thereby, the heat generated by the connection port <NUM> of the main body <NUM> is efficiently conducted to the frames <NUM>, <NUM>' and the casing <NUM> through the heat conducting component <NUM>. Consequently, the effect of heat dissipating is further improved.

Claim 1:
A socket structure, comprising:
a casing (<NUM>) comprising a plurality of lateral walls (<NUM>), a bottom (<NUM>), an opening (<NUM>) and an accommodation space (<NUM>), wherein the opening (<NUM>) is collaboratively defined by the plurality of lateral walls (<NUM>), and the accommodation space (<NUM>) is collaboratively defined by the plurality of lateral walls (<NUM>) and the bottom (<NUM>) and is in communication with the opening (<NUM>);
a main body (<NUM>) disposed in the accommodation space (<NUM>) and comprising a circuit board (<NUM>) and a connection port (<NUM>), wherein the connection port (<NUM>) is disposed on the circuit board (<NUM>);
a frame (<NUM>) comprising at least one plate (<NUM>) and a first extending portion (<NUM>), wherein the at least one plate (<NUM>) surrounds the periphery of the opening (<NUM>), and the first extending portion (<NUM>) is extended from the at least one plate (<NUM>) and is connected to one of the plurality of lateral walls (<NUM>); and
a cover (<NUM>) covering the opening (<NUM>) and comprising a through hole (<NUM>), wherein the through hole (<NUM>) is configured to allow a plug to pass through and connect to the connection port (<NUM>), wherein
the frame (<NUM>) further comprises a second extending portion (<NUM>), and the second extending portion (<NUM>) is connected to the first extending portion (<NUM>) and connected to the bottom (<NUM>) of the casing (<NUM>), characterized in that the first extending portion (<NUM>) and the second extending portion (<NUM>) are respectively embedded in one of the plurality of lateral walls (<NUM>) and the bottom (<NUM>) of the casing (<NUM>) by an insert molding process.