Socket structure capable of preventing plugs from dropping off

• US 10,153,590 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2018
• Issued: 12/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pei-Lin Huang
• Original Assignee: Pei-Lin Huang
• Inventors: Huang, Pei-Lin
• Primary Examiner(s): Ta, Tho D
• Application Number:
  US15/861,142
• Publication Number:
  US 20180198235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 342 Days
• Field of Search: 439346
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/20 Pins, blades, or sockets shaped, or provided with separate member, to retain co-operating parts together
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/635 by mechanical pressure, e.g. spring force
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/639 Additional means for holding or locking coupling parts together, after engagement, e.g. separate keylock, retainer strap
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6395 for wall or panel outlets
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/652 with earth pin, blade or socket
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/78 with additional earth or shield contacts

Abstract

A socket structure is disclosed, which includes a socket body combined with a slantingly installed positioning plate, an opening is configured on the positioning plate and corresponds to a neutral wire power jack on the socket body, a high edge of the positioning plate is pushed and abutted by the top end of a release piece whose bottom includes a first elastic body, while a second elastic body abuts the positioning plate close to the high edge, the elasticity in the second elastic body is smaller than the elasticity of the first elastic body; in addition, when the positioning plate is in the inclination state, it is possible to snap in fixation the neutral wire insertion plate by means of the opening in the positioning plate; upon pressing down the release piece, however, the high edge of the positioning plate can be pushed downwards by means of the second elastic body such that the positioning plate stably turns back to a horizontal state thereby releasing the neutral wire insertion plate of the electric power plug.

Claims

1. A socket structure, comprising:

an external cover, including a socket panel and a housing of an outer frame plane, wherein a ring-shaped groove is configured between the socket panel and the outer frame plane, the socket panel has a live wire insertion hole, an earth wire insertion hole and a neutral wire insertion hole, the outer frame plane has a through channel, an accommodation groove extends on an inner wall plane of the socket panel, an inclination mechanism is set up within the accommodation groove, and a stopper is installed on a short sidewall plane of the accommodation groove close to the neutral wire insertion hole while a plane at one end of the stopper remote to the neutral wire insertion hole is an inclined plane;

a positioning plate, having an eccentrically installed opening, in which the positioning plate is contained within the accommodation groove of the external cover, the inclination mechanism inside the accommodation groove allows the positioning plate to be slantingly installed so that the two ends thereof respectively form a high edge and a low edge, the eccentrically installed opening is close to the low edge near the neutral wire insertion hole and its edge contacts the inclined plane of the stopper, the high edge and the low edge are not fixedly placed within the accommodation groove, and the eccentrically installed opening corresponds to the neutral wire insertion hole;

a second elastic body, in which one end abuts a wall plane of the accommodation groove while the other one end abuts a surface of the positioning plate close to the high edge so as to exhibit an elasticity storage state;

a release piece, which has a press rod, a linkage bar and a supporting column, wherein the two ends of the linkage bar are respectively connected to the press rod and a bottom of the supporting column such that the press rod and supporting column can move conjunctively, and a top of the press rod has a press head, a top plane of the supporting column is an inclined plane;

thus, the release piece can be combined into the external cover so that the press rod penetrates through the through channel in the outer frame plane thereby allowing the press head to be exposed to the outside of the through channel, while the inclined plane on a top end of the supporting column abuts the other surface of the high edge in the positioning plate such that the positioning plate can be stably and slantingly accommodated within the accommodation groove;

a socket body, including a base stage, a live wire power jack, an earth wire power jack and a neutral wire power jack, in which the socket body can be combined with the external cover such that the live wire power jack, the earth wire power jack and the neutral wire power jack respectively correspond to the live wire insertion hole, the earth wire insertion hole and the neutral wire insertion hole on the socket panel; and

a first elastic body, in which one end abuts a bottom of the release piece while the other end abuts the base stage of the socket body in order to maintain in an elasticity release state, and the elasticity in the first elastic body is greater than the elasticity in the second elastic body.

2. The socket structure according to claim 1, wherein the accommodation groove of the external cover includes two corresponding long sidewall planes and short sidewall planes, and the short sidewall planes are the sidewalls of the external cover while the long sidewall planes are formed by respective downward extensions individually from a lateral edge of the live wire insertion hole and the earth wire insertion hole, such that the accommodation groove is located between the live wire insertion hole and the earth wire insertion hole, while the neutral wire insertion hole is communicatively connected to the accommodation groove, and the length and the width of the accommodation groove are both greater than the neutral wire insertion hole.

3. The socket structure according to claim 2, wherein a corresponding first inclined block respectively extends from the inclination mechanism in the accommodation groove near a farthest edge at a bottom of the long sidewall plane in the neutral wire insertion hole, and a corresponding second inclined block extends from the long sidewall plane on the other side remote from the neutral wire insertion hole, in which the height of the first inclined block is greater than the height of the second inclined block such that the positioning plate can be slantingly accommodated within the accommodation groove.

4. The socket structure according to claim 2, wherein the stopper is located between the two first inclined blocks.

5. The socket structure according to claim 1, wherein a positioning space for abutting and accommodating an end of the second elastic body is configured in the accommodation groove, and is located between the live wire insertion hole and the earth wire insertion hole.

6. The socket structure according to claim 1, wherein the positioning plate is made from a metallic material.

7. The socket structure according to claim 1, wherein a positioning space is configured at the bottom of the supporting column for abutting the other end of the first elastic body.

8. The socket structure according to claim 1, wherein the first elastic body is a spring or an elastic plate.

9. The socket structure according to claim 1, wherein the second elastic body is a spring or an elastic plate.