阅读说明：本技术 具有可移动式接地插脚的电源插头 (Power plug with movable grounding pin ) 是由 陈星光 詹育权 于 2020-08-05 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提出一种电源插头,包括：一插头本体,包含一第一导电片与一第二导电片；一滑道沟槽,形成于该插头本体上；一对阻止组件,配置于该滑道沟槽两侧；一可移动式接地插脚,具有一滑动部及一接地插脚片,配置于该滑道沟槽内；以及一盖体,与该插头本体扣合；其中该可移动式接地插脚经由该盖体、该一对阻止组件、以及该滑道沟槽的限制可选择性地可手动地在该滑道沟槽内的第一位置与第二位置之间移动。(The invention provides a power plug, comprising: a plug body including a first conductive sheet and a second conductive sheet; a slideway groove formed on the plug body; a pair of stopping components configured at two sides of the slideway groove; a movable grounding pin having a sliding part and a grounding pin sheet, configured in the slideway groove; and a cover body buckled with the plug body; wherein the movable ground pin is selectively manually movable between a first position and a second position within the chute channel via the confinement of the cover, the pair of stop assemblies, and the chute channel.)

1. A power plug, comprising:

the plug body comprises a first conducting sheet and a second conducting sheet;

the sliding way groove is formed on the plug body and is positioned between the first conducting plate and the second conducting plate;

a pair of stopping components configured on the plug body at two sides of the slideway groove;

a movable grounding pin having a sliding part and a grounding pin sheet, configured in the slideway groove; and

a cover body buckled with the plug body for limiting the pair of stopping components and the movable grounding pin to move in the buckling direction of the cover body;

wherein the movable ground pin is selectively manually movable between a first position and a second position within the chute channel via the confinement of the cover, the pair of stop assemblies, and the chute channel;

when the movable grounding pin is positioned at the first position, a pair of corresponding first limiting grooves positioned at two sides of the sliding part are interlocked with the locking structures of the pair of stopping components; when the movable grounding pin is located at the second position, a pair of corresponding second limiting grooves located at two sides of the sliding part are interlocked with the locking structures of the pair of stopping components.

2. The power plug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sliding portion of the movable ground pin has a pair of sliding grooves which are located at both sides of the sliding portion and parallel to the sliding direction as a sliding restriction.

3. The power plug as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the sliding grooves is provided with the first positioning groove and the second positioning groove which are perpendicular to the sliding groove and recessed into the bottom surface of the sliding groove.

4. The power plug of claim 3 wherein said first detent recess further comprises a downwardly extending channel for assisting in mounting said movable ground pin in said slide channel of said plug body.

5. The power plug of claim 1, further comprising a pair of fixing grooves formed on the plug body at both sides of the side wall of the slide groove, each fixing groove comprising a first groove, a second groove, and a communication region communicating the first groove, the second groove, and the slide groove for fixing the pair of elastic sheet type stopping members.

6. The power plug as claimed in claim 5, wherein said blocking member is a pair of leaf spring type blocking members, each of said leaf spring type blocking members having a member body and a resilient portion, said member body and said resilient portion of said leaf spring type blocking member being engaged and fixed to said plug body by said first recess and said second recess respectively being located in said fixing grooves of said plug body.

7. The power plug of claim 6, wherein each of the elastic-piece type stopping elements further comprises a protrusion bent from the elastic portion to serve as a locking structure, the locking structure protruding into the slide groove through the communication region communicating with the slide groove for being engaged and locked with the corresponding first and second limiting grooves of the sliding portion of the movable ground pin, so that the movable ground pin can be selectively disposed at the first position or the second position.

8. The power plug of claim 1, wherein the cover has a first opening and a second opening, and wherein the pair of conductive strips on the plug body and the movable ground pin mounted on the plug body are combined with the plug body through the first opening and the second opening, respectively.

9. The power plug of claim 8, wherein the cover is fastened and secured by a plurality of pairs of hooks located inside the cover and hooks located in corresponding openings of the plug body.

10. A power plug according to claim 6 wherein said leaf spring type restraining member is made of stainless steel, copper alloy, carbon steel, or aluminum alloy and has a thickness of 0.15 to 0.50 mm.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a power plug, in particular to a power plug with a movable grounding pin.

Background

Conventional electrical plugs typically have a pair of electrically conductive power pins for insertion into corresponding female connectors in the socket. The plug also typically includes a ground pin that plugs into a corresponding female connector within a receptacle that is coupled to ground. In some countries or regions the ground pins may be longer than the power pins and also act to open a spring loaded shutter in the socket to allow the power pins to be inserted into corresponding female connectors in the socket. This safety feature therefore requires that the ground pin be contained in all plugs even if no ground connection is required.

One conventional method of relocating the ground pin in the electrical plug is to connect the ground pin to a pivot so that the pin can be rotated between two positions, namely an open position and a storage position. The prongs are rotated 90 degrees about the pivot axis between these two positions.

A conventional electrical plug includes an insulator, two prongs projecting from one end of the insulator, and an electrical cord secured to the other end of the insulator. Two prongs are fixedly protruding from one end of the insulator and are thus adaptable to a certain specification of socket. Conventional known electrical plugs are limited in use in view of the different specifications of the sockets in different countries or regions. Such limitations in use of conventional electrical plugs often cause inconvenience to international travelers.

Recently, consumers of electronic products desire more compact designs. Therefore, there is still a need to reduce the amount of space occupied by the electrical plug when not in use, so that the plug can be made smaller. Conventionally, to improve the design of connecting the ground pin to a pivot, the ground pin is further inserted into a groove formed in the plug body as a slideway for the ground pin to extend and retract. However, due to space constraints, the construction of their engagement preventing components and the overall electrical plug arrangement are not conducive to miniaturized applications and new product designs.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a novel ground pin extension structure, wherein the engagement preventing component of the sliding structure is mainly composed of two spring pieces, which are respectively disposed on the plug body, for engaging the ground pin extension structure by the guide grooves at the two sides of the ground pin base.

Based on the purpose, the invention provides a power plug, which comprises: the plug body comprises a first conducting sheet and a second conducting sheet; the sliding way groove is formed on the plug body and is positioned between the first conducting plate and the second conducting plate; a pair of stopping components configured on the plug body at two sides of the slideway groove; a movable grounding pin having a sliding part and a grounding pin sheet, configured in the slideway groove; and a cover body, which is buckled with the plug body to limit the movement of the pair of stopping components and the movable grounding pin in the buckling direction of the cover body; wherein the movable ground pin is selectively manually movable between a first position and a second position within the chute channel via the confinement of the cover, the pair of stop assemblies, and the chute channel; when the movable grounding pin is positioned at the first position, a pair of corresponding first limiting grooves positioned at two sides of the sliding part are interlocked with the locking structures of the pair of stopping components; when the movable grounding pin is positioned at the second position, a pair of corresponding second limiting grooves positioned at two sides of the sliding part are interlocked with the locking structures of a pair of stopping components.

The sliding part of the movable grounding pin is provided with a pair of sliding grooves, and the sliding grooves are positioned on two sides of the sliding part and are parallel to the sliding direction to be used as sliding limitation.

Each sliding groove is provided with a first positioning groove and a second positioning groove which are perpendicular to the sliding groove and are recessed into the bottom surface of the sliding groove.

The first positioning groove further comprises a guide groove extending downwards, and the guide groove is used as an auxiliary for installing the movable grounding pin into the slide groove of the plug body.

The power plug further comprises a pair of fixing grooves, the fixing grooves are formed in the plug body on two sides of the side wall of the slide groove, each fixing groove comprises a first groove, a second groove and a communication area communicated with the first groove, the second groove and the slide groove, and the fixing grooves are used for fixing the pair of elastic sheet type stopping assemblies.

Preferably, the stopping element is a pair of elastic sheet stopping elements, each of which has an element body and an elastic portion, and the element body and the elastic portion of the elastic sheet stopping element are embedded and fixed on the plug body through the first groove and the second groove in the fixing groove on the plug body.

Preferably, each of the elastic pieces type stopping elements further includes a protruding portion bent from the elastic portion to serve as a locking structure, and the locking structure protrudes into the slide groove through the communication area communicated with the slide groove and is used for being mutually locked with the corresponding first and second limiting grooves in the sliding portion of the movable grounding pin, so that the movable grounding pin can be disposed at the first position or the second position.

Preferably, the cover has a first opening and a second opening, wherein the pair of conductive sheets on the plug body and the movable ground pin mounted on the plug body pass through the first opening and the second opening respectively to be combined with the plug body.

Preferably, the cover body is fastened and fixed with the hooks arranged in the corresponding openings on the plug body through a plurality of pairs of hooks or screws and an ultrasonic hot melting structure which are arranged in the cover body.

Preferably, the elastic sheet type stopping component is made of stainless steel, copper alloy, carbon steel or aluminum alloy, and the thickness of the elastic sheet type stopping component is 0.15-0.50 mm.

The power plug provided by the invention has a telescopic (slidable) grounding pin structure which can slide back and forth in a plug body, and is used for engaging the grounding pin telescopic structure by guide grooves at two sides of a grounding pin base part through an engagement stopping component (mainly a double spring sheet) of the sliding structure to limit the grounding pin: the ground pin blades of the movable ground pins in the power plug are manually movable from a first (or storage) position to a second (or active) position when the plug is in use; when the power plug is not used, the grounding pin piece of the movable grounding pin can be pushed back to the first (or storage) position, the sliding part of the grounding pin is limited and locked by the meshing stopping component (double spring pieces), and the volume of the plug is reduced and the portable power plug is convenient to carry.

Drawings

The components, features and advantages of the present invention can be understood by the detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, which are summarized in the specification:

fig. 1(a) and fig. 1(b) show the exploded schematic view of the power plug with the movable grounding pin according to the present invention.

Fig. 1(c) is a perspective view of a movable ground pin according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2(a) is a schematic view showing the assembly of the cover body, the movable ground pin and the plug body according to the embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2(b) shows a schematic structural diagram of a hook pair located inside the cover body in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2(c) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the cover, the movable ground pin and the plug body according to the embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3(a) -3 (c) are schematic diagrams illustrating the assembly steps of the power plug with the movable grounding pin in the embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4(a) shows a perspective view of a power plug with a removable ground pin in a first position in the practice of the present invention.

Figure 4(b) shows a perspective view of a power plug with a removable ground pin in a second position in the practice of the invention.

Fig. 5(a) and 5(b) are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating the grounding pin piece of the movable grounding pin in the first position and in the second position, respectively.

Description of the main component symbols:

power plug 100

Plug body 101

Leaf spring type stopping assembly 103

Movable grounding pin 105

Cover 107

Conductive sheets 101a, 101b

Chute 101c

Fixing groove 109

First recess 109a

Second recess 109b

Communicating region 109c

Component body 103a

Elastic part 103b

Protrusion 103c

Sliding groove 1051

First positioning groove 1052

Second positioning slot 1053

Guide groove 1052a

First opening 107a

Second opening 107b

Hooks 107c, 107d, 107e and 107f

Openings 1071 and 1072

Detailed Description

Some preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail. It should be understood, however, that the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is provided for purposes of illustration and not limitation. Furthermore, the invention may be practiced in a wide variety of other embodiments in addition to those specifically described, and the scope of the invention is not specifically limited except as specified in the appended claims.

To provide a detailed structure of the power plug with the movable grounding pin, please refer to fig. 1(a) and fig. 1(b), which show an exploded view of the power plug with the movable grounding pin. The power plug 100 with movable grounding pin comprises a plug body 101, a pair of spring-leaf type stopping components 103, a movable grounding pin 105 and a cover 107. The plug body 101 includes a conductive sheet 101a and a conductive sheet 101b for electrical transmission. The plug body has a slideway groove 101c formed between the pair of conductive sheets 101a and 101b for accommodating or engaging the preventing member 103, the movable ground pin 105; the pair of fixing grooves 109 respectively include a first groove 109a, a second groove 109b, and a communication region 109c communicating the first groove 109a, the second groove 109b and the slide groove 101c, and are formed on both sides of the side wall of the slide groove 101c for fixing a pair of leaf spring type stopping elements 103 (described in detail in the following paragraphs), and the communication region 109c can extend and expose the bending elastic portion 103b of the leaf spring type stopping element 103 to the slide groove 101c when the bending elastic portion 103b is embedded and fixed in the fixing groove 109 so as to be coupled with the movable ground pin 105. As shown in fig. 1(c), the movable ground pin 105 is composed of a sliding portion 105a and a ground pin piece 105b, and the sliding portion 105a is used for sliding the movable ground pin 105 in the slide groove 101 c. The sliding part 105a has sliding grooves 1051, which are located on both sides of the sliding part and parallel to the sliding direction for limiting sliding, and each sliding groove 1051 is provided with a first positioning groove 1052 and a second positioning groove 1053 perpendicular to the sliding groove and recessed into the bottom surface of the sliding groove, wherein the first positioning groove 1052 further includes a downwardly extending guide groove 1052a for assisting in mounting the movable ground pin 105 into the slide groove 101c of the plug body 101.

Each of the leaf spring type stopping elements 103 has an element body 103a and a resilient portion 103b, and the element body 103a and the resilient portion 103b of the leaf spring type stopping element 103 can be fitted and fixed to the plug body 101 through the first groove 109a and the second groove 109b in the fixing groove 109 of the body. The elastic portion 103b is bent to have a protrusion 103c as a locking structure, and can protrude into the slide groove 101c via a communication area 109c communicating with the slide groove 101c after being installed, for mutually engaging and locking with corresponding grooves (the first limiting groove 1052 and the second limiting groove 1053) in the sliding portion 105a of the movable ground pin 105, so that the movable ground pin 105 can be disposed at the first position or the second position. In one embodiment, the material of each of the leaf spring type stopping elements 103 is stainless steel, copper alloy (such as but not limited to phosphor bronze, beryllium copper), carbon steel, aluminum alloy, or the like. In one embodiment, the thickness of the leaf spring type stopping element 103 may be 0.15 to 0.50 mm.

Referring to fig. 2(a), the cover 107 has a pair of first openings 107a and a pair of second openings 107b, so that the conductive sheets 101a and 101b of the plug body 101 and the movable ground pin 105 mounted on the plug body 101 can pass through the openings to be combined with the plug body 101. Referring to fig. 2(b) and fig. 2(c), in a preferred embodiment, fig. 2(c) is a schematic cross-sectional view of fig. 2(a), when the cover 107, the plug body 101, and the movable ground pin 105 are assembled, two pairs of hooks 107c and 107d are designed inside the cover 107 to be fastened and fixed with the corresponding openings 1071 and 1072 on the plug body 101 and the corresponding hooks 107e and 107f (not shown) in the opening 1071 and the opening 1072, respectively, to prevent the flip-chip type blocking element 103 and the movable ground pin 105 from moving or popping out in the cover fastening direction (up and down). However, the fixing method of the cover 107 and the plug body 101 is not limited to the hook fastening method, and other alternative embodiments, such as ultrasonic, screw locking, or adhesive dispensing, can be used.

The method of assembling the power plug 100 with removable ground pin is described below, with reference to fig. 3(a) -3 (c):

step one, as shown in fig. 3(a), a pair of leaf spring type stopping members 103 are placed in the fixing grooves 109 of the plug body 101.

Step two, as shown in fig. 3(b), the movable ground pin 105 is inserted (the direction indicated by the arrow is the installation direction), so that the protruding portion 103c of the elastic portion of the leaf spring type stopping member 103 is aligned with the guide groove 1052a extending downwards from the first positioning groove 1052 on both sides of the sliding portion 105a, and the movable ground pin 105 is guided into the slide groove 101c of the plug body 101 from the guide groove 1052 a.

Step three, as shown in fig. 3(c), the cover 107 is covered, so that a pair of first openings 107a and a pair of second openings 107b on the cover 107 can respectively enable a pair of conductive sheets (101a, 101b) on the body 107 and a ground pin sheet installed on the plug body 101 to pass through the openings, and two pairs of hooks (please refer to fig. 2(b) and fig. 2(c)) are designed inside the cover and can be fastened and fixed with the hooks arranged in the openings through corresponding openings (1071, 1072) on the plug body.

The fixing method of the cover and the plug body described in the third step is not limited to the fastening method by hooks, and other alternative methods, such as ultrasonic, screw locking, or adhesive dispensing, may also be used.

As shown in fig. 4(a) and 4(b), the movable ground pin 105 includes a sliding portion 105a and a ground pin piece 105b that is manually movable in a horizontal direction in a slide groove 101c formed between the pair of conductive sheets 101a and 101b in the plug body 101. The ground pin piece 105b of the moveable ground pin 105 of the power plug 100 may be manually moved from the first (or storage) position to the second (or active) position, as shown in fig. 4(a) and 4(b), respectively.

When the power plug 100 is not in use, the grounding pin piece 105b of the movable grounding pin 105 is in the first (or storage) position, as shown in fig. 4 (a). When the electrical plug 100 is in use, the ground pin piece 105b of the movable ground pin 105 may be manually pushed to a second (or active) position, as shown in fig. 4 (b).

In the second position, as shown in fig. 4(b), the grounding pin piece 105b of the movable grounding pin 105 is located at a position where the second end of the sliding portion 105a protrudes from the plug body by a sufficient distance so that the grounding pin piece 105b can be located in an active position, i.e., it can be inserted into a corresponding female contact in the receptacle at the same time or before the conductive sheets 101a, 101b are inserted into the receptacle like the corresponding female contact, as specified by the plug/receptacle standard of the country or region in which the plug is to be used.

Referring to fig. 5(a) and 5(b), cross-sectional views of the grounding pin piece 105b of the movable grounding pin 105 in the first (or storage) position and the second (or active) position are respectively shown. The elastic portion 103b of each elastic sheet type stopping member 103 is bent to have a protrusion 103c as a locking structure, and can be used to be mutually locked with the corresponding groove (the first limiting groove 1052 and the second limiting groove 1053) in the sliding portion 105a of the movable grounding pin 105 after being installed, so that the movable grounding pin 105 can be disposed at the first position or the second position. As shown in fig. 5(b), when the grounding pin piece 105b of the movable grounding pin 105 is manually pushed to the second position, the locking structure (protrusion) 103c of the leaf spring type prevention member 103 interlocks with the corresponding groove (second limit groove 1053) in the sliding portion 105a of the movable grounding pin, and the sliding portion 105a of the movable grounding pin moves to the second position.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the movable ground pin is inserted, the movable ground pin cannot move with less force than a specific safety reference.

In a preferred embodiment, the removable ground pin is a non-conductive dummy pin for use with a battery charger or the like that does not require a ground connection but just requires a ground pin to open the spring loaded shutter of the receptacle into which the plug is to be inserted. Those having ordinary knowledge in the art will appreciate that the present invention is applicable to different types of electrical plugs in different regions or countries or regions. One suitable application is on a plug used in British standard electrical chargers.

An embodiment is an implementation or example of the inventions. Reference in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "some embodiments," or "other embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments. The various appearances of "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "some embodiments" are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments. It should be appreciated that in the foregoing description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, certain features may sometimes be grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and illustrating one or more various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims are hereby expressly incorporated into this description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

The description is of the preferred embodiment of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that they are presented for purposes of illustration and not limitation of the claimed invention. The scope of protection is to be determined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and that such changes and modifications are to be considered as within the scope of the appended claims.