U.S. patent application number 10/657239 was filed with the patent office on 2005-02-24 for retractable extension cord housing having a low-profile plug holder.
Invention is credited to Hsiao, Feng-Shen.
Application Number | 20050042915 10/657239 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34080779 |
Filed Date | 2005-02-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050042915 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hsiao, Feng-Shen |
February 24, 2005 |
RETRACTABLE EXTENSION CORD HOUSING HAVING A LOW-PROFILE PLUG
HOLDER
Abstract
A retractable extension cord housing with a low-profile plug
holder retractably houses an extension cord in a hollow body and
has an external surface. The plug holder comprises a plug recess, a
cord groove and an optional retaining tab. The plug recess and cord
groove are formed in the external surface to hold a low-profile
plug and a section of the extension cord attached to the
low-profile plug. Therefore, the entire retractable extension cord
housing has an appearance that is neat and clean.
Inventors: |
Hsiao, Feng-Shen; (Taipei,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Rabin & Berdo, P.C.
Suite 500
1101 14th Street
Washington
DC
20005
US
|
Family ID: |
34080779 |
Appl. No.: |
10/657239 |
Filed: |
September 9, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/528 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H02G 11/02 20130101;
H01R 13/72 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
439/528 |
International
Class: |
H01R 013/60 |
Claims
1. A retractable extension cord housing having a low-profile plug
holder to retractably hold an extension cord that has a proximal
end retracted into the extension cord housing, a distal end and a
selectively concealable low-profile plug connected to the distal
end of the extension cord and having two conducting prongs
separated by a distance and a grounding prong with an outside
diameter, and the extension cord housing comprising: a hollow body
having a top, a bottom, an external surface and an outer edge; and
a low-profile plug holder having a non-electrically conductive plug
recess defined in the bottom external surface of the hollow body
and the plug recess having a tapered top opening; a bottom; a
rectangular hole formed in the bottom of the plug recess and having
a length that is slightly shorter than the distance between the two
conducting prongs on the low-profile plug; a circular hole formed
in the bottom of the plug recess and having an inside diameter that
is larger than the outside diameter of the grounding prong; and a
cord groove arcuately formed in the bottom external surface of the
hollow body between the plug recess and the outer edge of the
hollow body.
2. The retractable extension cord housing as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the hollow body comprises two half shells connected to each
other, and the plug holder is formed in one of the half shells.
3. The retractable extension cord housing as claimed in claim 2,
wherein a handle is formed on the outer edge of the hollow
body.
4. The retractable extension cord housing as claimed in claim 3,
wherein the plug holder further has a retaining tab formed on the
outer edge of the hollow body of the housing near the cord groove
to hold the extension cord in the cord groove.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a retractable extension
cord housing, and more particularly to a retractable extension cord
housing having a low-profile plug holder to make the retractable
extension cord housing neat and conveniently hold and protect the
plug for storage.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Extension cords are widely used in many applications in
daily life. Long extension cords are often mounted in a retractable
extension cord housing so the unnecessary part of the extension
cord is retracted and held in the retractable extension cord
housing. The extension cord except for the plug is retracted into
the retractable extension cord housing. The exposed plug makes the
housing appear unsightly and messy and allows the plug to be
damaged. To overcome the situation and make the housing tidy,
various kinds of extension cord housings have a feature to the hold
the plug outside.
[0005] Such conventional features consists of pulling the extension
cord taut into the housing so only the plug is exposed. However,
the entire housing is still unsightly unless the plug is hidden.
Another method to hold the plug consists of defining a notch in the
housing to hold a portion of the extension cord adjacent the plug
in the notch to hold the plug. However, the aforementioned problem
is still not solved.
[0006] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides
a retractable extension cord housing with a low-profile plug holder
that can hold and hide a low-profile plug connected to the
extension cord to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned
problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The main objective of the invention is to provide a
retractable extension cord housing with a low-profile plug holder
that can hold and hide a low-profile plug connected to an extension
cord that is retractably held to the retractable extension cord
housing such that the retractable extension cord housing as a whole
appears neat and clean.
[0008] To achieve the aforesaid objectives, a retractable extension
cord housing with a low-profile plug holder in accordance with the
present invention comprises a hollow body, an extension cord and a
plug holder.
[0009] The plug holder comprises a plug recess, a cord groove and
optionally a retaining tab and is to hold a low-profile plug and a
segment of an extension cord attached to the low-profile plug.
Therefore, the entire retractable extension cord housing appears
neat and clean.
[0010] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view of a retractable
extension cord housing in accordance with the present invention;
and
[0012] FIG. 2 is a partially exploded bottom perspective view of
the extension cord housing in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0013] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a retractable extension
cord housing (10) having a low-profile plug holder (not numbered)
in accordance with the present invention comprises a hollow body
(11) that retractably holds an extension cord (20). The hollow body
(11) has a top, a bottom, an external surface (not numbered), an
outer edge (not numbered), an optional handle (12) and two half
shells (13). The optional handle (12) is formed on the outer edge.
The half shells (13) are connected to each other to form the hollow
body (11) such that the extension cord (20) is retractably mounted
in the hollow body (11).
[0014] The extension cord (20) has a proximal end (not numbered), a
distal end (not numbered) and a low-profile plug (21) and is
retractably mounted in the hollow body (11). The proximal end is
securely attached to the hollow body (11), and the low-profile plug
(21) has two conducting prongs (211) and a grounding prong (212),
is attached to the distal end outside the hollow body (11) and is
selectively mounted in the plug holder. The prongs (211, 212)
selectively connect electrically to an electrical outlet (not
shown). The two conducting prongs (211) are separated by a distance
from each other. The grounding prong (212) is conventionally
circular and has an outside diameter.
[0015] The plug holder is defined in the bottom external surface of
the hollow body (11) and comprises a plug recess (15), a cord
groove (16) and optionally a retaining tab (17). The plug recess
(15) is defined in the external surface of one of the half shells
(13) and has a tapered top opening (151), a bottom (not numbered),
a rectangular hole (152) and a circular hole (153). The rectangular
hole (152) is formed in the bottom of the plug recess (15) and has
a length that is slightly shorter than the distance between the two
conducting prongs (211). The circular hole (153) is also formed in
the bottom of the plug recess (15) and has an inside diameter that
is larger than the outside diameter of the grounding prong
(212).
[0016] The cord groove (16) is curved and is formed in the bottom
external surface of the hollow body (11) between the plug recess
(15) and the outer edge of the hollow body (11) of the housing
(10). The retaining tab (17) is optionally formed on the outer edge
of the hollow body (11) of the housing (10) near the cord groove
(16) to hold the cord (20) in the groove (16).
[0017] To mount the low-profile plug (21) in the plug holder, a
portion of the cord (20) that extends outside the housing (10) is
placed in the cord groove (16).The conducting prongs (211) and the
grounding prong (212) of the low-profile plug (21) are pressed
respectively into the rectangular hole (152) and the circular hole
(153) so the low-profile plug (21) will be held in the plug recess
(15).
[0018] Consequently, since the conducting prongs (211) are jammed
into rectangular hole (152), the low-profile plug (20) is firmly
held in the plug recess (15), is flush with the bottom external
surface of the hollow body (11) and is hidden in the plug recess
(15). The appearance of the retractable extension cord housing (10)
as a whole is neat and clean. The tapered top opening (151) in the
plug recess (15) causes an annular gap (not numbered) to be formed
around the low-profile plug (20) when the low-profile plug (20) is
inserted into the plug recess (15). The annular gap allows a person
to conveniently grasp and remove the low-profile plug (20) from the
plug recess (15).
[0019] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the
present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description,
together with details of the structure and function of the
invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be
made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and
arrangement of parts within the scope of the appended claims.
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