Electrical safety connector fuse
First Claim
1. An electrical safety connector fuse for insertion into an electrical socket having at least live and neutral prong receptacles, the connector fuse comprising:
- a sealed, tamper-proof housing having live and neutral apertures arranged to receive the live and neutral prongs respectively of an electrical plug, substantially the whole of said housing being light-transmissive;
a means for emitting light disposed within said housing so that light emitted from said means for emitting light is electrically connected to said live and neutral receptacles of said connector fuse so as to emit light when a potential difference exists between said receptacles;
live and neutral prongs extending outwardly from said housing at points spaced from said live and neutral apertures, said live and neutral prongs being arranged to engage the live and neutral prong receptacles respectively of said electrical socket said live and neutral prongs being arranged to engage the live and neutral prong receptacles, respectively, of said electrical socket, said live prong of said connector fuse having an outward surface facing away from said neutral prong thereof, at least a portion of said outward surface being formed from an electrically insulating material;
a fuse disposed within said housing and electrically connected to said live prong;
a live receptacle electrically connected to said fuse, and disposed within said housing adjacent said live aperture therein so as to engage the live prong of an appliance plug passing through said live aperture;
a neutral receptacle electrically connected to said neutral prong, and disposed within said housing adjacent said neutral aperture therein so as to engage the neutral prong of an appliance plug passing through said neutral aperture; and
a blocking member disposed within said housing adjacent said live and neutral apertures therein, said blocking member having a neutral aperture extending therethrough, said blocking member being biased in a closed position and movable in response to the insertion of a plug prong into said neutral aperture been said dosed position, in which it blocks the live and neutral apertures in said housing, and an open position in which the neutral aperture of said blocking member is aligned with the neutral aperture of said housing and said blocking member does not block the live aperture of said housing, thereby allowing said live and neutral prongs of said appliance plug to pass through said live and neutral apertures in said housing and engage said live and neutral receptacles within said housing.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical safety connector fuse for insertion into a two- or three-pin electrical socket comprises a sealed, tamper-proof housing having live and neutral apertures, and live and neutral receptacles for receiving the prongs of a plug, live and neutral prongs for insertion into the socket, and a fuse disposed within the housing. The connector fuse desirably has an internal light which lights up when the fuse is connected to a live socket, a blocking member or gate to prevent a user from receiving an electric shock by inserting objects into the live aperture of the fuse, and an insulting coating on at least a part of the live prong to prevent electric shocks as the fuse is inserted into a socket.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. An electrical safety connector fuse for insertion into an electrical socket having at least live and neutral prong receptacles, the connector fuse comprising:
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a sealed, tamper-proof housing having live and neutral apertures arranged to receive the live and neutral prongs respectively of an electrical plug, substantially the whole of said housing being light-transmissive;
a means for emitting light disposed within said housing so that light emitted from said means for emitting light is electrically connected to said live and neutral receptacles of said connector fuse so as to emit light when a potential difference exists between said receptacles;
live and neutral prongs extending outwardly from said housing at points spaced from said live and neutral apertures, said live and neutral prongs being arranged to engage the live and neutral prong receptacles respectively of said electrical socket said live and neutral prongs being arranged to engage the live and neutral prong receptacles, respectively, of said electrical socket, said live prong of said connector fuse having an outward surface facing away from said neutral prong thereof, at least a portion of said outward surface being formed from an electrically insulating material;
a fuse disposed within said housing and electrically connected to said live prong;
a live receptacle electrically connected to said fuse, and disposed within said housing adjacent said live aperture therein so as to engage the live prong of an appliance plug passing through said live aperture;
a neutral receptacle electrically connected to said neutral prong, and disposed within said housing adjacent said neutral aperture therein so as to engage the neutral prong of an appliance plug passing through said neutral aperture; and
a blocking member disposed within said housing adjacent said live and neutral apertures therein, said blocking member having a neutral aperture extending therethrough, said blocking member being biased in a closed position and movable in response to the insertion of a plug prong into said neutral aperture been said dosed position, in which it blocks the live and neutral apertures in said housing, and an open position in which the neutral aperture of said blocking member is aligned with the neutral aperture of said housing and said blocking member does not block the live aperture of said housing, thereby allowing said live and neutral prongs of said appliance plug to pass through said live and neutral apertures in said housing and engage said live and neutral receptacles within said housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
a ground prong extending outwardly from said housing adjacent said live and neutral prongs on said housing and arranged to engage the ground prong receptacle of said electrical socket; and
a ground receptacle electrically connected to said ground prong, and disposed within said housing adjacent said ground aperture therein so as to engage the ground prong of a plug passing through said ground aperture.
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3. A connector fuse according to claim 1 wherein said housing bears at least one marking indicating the rating of said fuse.
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4. A connector fuse according to claim 3 wherein said at least one marking is at least in part in Braille.
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5. A connector fuse according to claim 1 further comprising means for releasably securing said connector fuse to said electrical socket.
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6. A connector fuse according to claim 5 wherein said securing means comprises a flange extending laterally from said tamper-proof housing, said flange having at least one aperture extending therethrough such that a fastener can be inserted through said aperture to secure said connector fuse to said electrical socket.
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7. A connector fuse according to claim 6 wherein said flange is adapted to replace the face plate of a conventional electrical socket.
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8. A connector fuse according to claim 1 further comprising a resistor connected in series with said light emitting means between said live and neutral recess in said housing.
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9. A connector fuse according to claim 1 wherein said light emitting means is selected from the group comprising an incandescent bulb, a light emitting diode, and an electroluminescent device.
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10. An electrical safety connector fuse for insertion into an electrical socket having at least live and neutral prong receptacles, the connector fuse comprising:
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a sealed, tamper-proof housing having live and neutral apertures arranged to receive the live and neutral prongs respectively of an electrical plug;
live and neutral prongs extending outwardly from said housing at points spaced from said live and neutral apertures, said live and neutral prongs being arranged to engage the live and neutral prong receptacles respectively of said electrical socket;
a fuse disposed within said housing and electrically connected to said live prong;
a live receptacle electrically connected to said fuse, and disposed within said housing adjacent said live aperture therein so as to engage the live prong of an appliance plug passing through said live aperture;
a neutral receptacle electrically connected to said neutral prong, and disposed within said housing adjacent said neutral aperture therein so as to engage the neutral prong of an appliance plug passing through said neutral aperture; and
a blocking member disposed within said housing adjacent said live and neutral apertures therein, said blocking member having a neutral aperture extending therethrough, said blocking member being movable between a closed position, in which it blocks the live and neutral apertures in said housing, and an open position in which the neutral aperture of said blocking member is aligned with the neutral aperture of said housing, and said blocking member does not block the live aperture of said housing, thereby allowing said live and neutral prongs of said appliance plug to pass through said live and neutral apertures in said housing and engage said live and neutral receptacles within said housing, said blocking member being provided with biasing means for biasing said blocking member towards its closed position, said blocking member also having a cam surface disposed adjacent its neutral aperture and arranged to be engaged by said neutral prong of said appliance plug passing through said neutral aperture in said housing, so that contact between said neutral prong and said cam surface causes said blocking member to move to its open position. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An electrical safety connector fuse for insertion into an electrical socket having at least live and neutral prong receptacles, the connector fuse comprising:
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a sealed, tamper-proof housing having live and neutral apertures arranged to receive the live and neutral prongs respectively of an electrical plug;
live and neutral prongs extending outwardly from said housing at points spaced from said live and neutral apertures, said live and neutral prongs being arranged to engage the live and neutral prong receptacles respectively of said electrical socket, said neutral prong of said connector fuse extending a greater distance from said housing than said live prong of said connector fuse;
a fuse disposed within said housing and electrically connected to said live prong;
a live receptacle electrically connected to said fuse, and disposed within said housing adjacent said live aperture therein so as to engage the live prong of an appliance plug passing through said live aperture; and
a neutral receptacle electrically connected to said neutral prong, and disposed within said housing adjacent said neutral aperture therein so as to engage the neutral prong of an appliance plug passing through said neutral aperture. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. An electrical safety connector fuse for insertion into an electrical socket having at least live and neutral prong receptacles, the connector fuse comprising:
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a sealed, tamper-proof housing having live and neutral apertures arranged to receive the live and neutral prongs respectively of an electrical plug;
live and neutral prongs extending outwardly from said housing at points spaced from said live and neutral apertures, said live and neutral prongs being arranged to engage the live and neutral prong receptacles respectively of said electrical socket, said live prong of said connector fuse having a outward surface facing away from said neutral prong thereof, at least a portion of said outward surface being formed from an electrically insulating material wherein a tip portion of said outward surface remote from said housing is from said insulating material, a root section of said outward surface adjacent said housing being formed from an electrically conducting material;
a fuse disposed within said housing and electrically connected to said live prong;
a live receptacle electrically connected to said fuse, and disposed within said housing adjacent said live aperture therein so as to engage the live prong of an appliance plug passing through said live aperture; and
a neutral receptacle electrically connected to said neutral prong, and disposed within said housing adjacent said neutral aperture therein so as to engage the neutral prong of an appliance plug passing through said neutral aperture. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An electrical safety connector fuse for insertion into an electrical socket having at least live and neutral prong receptacles, the connector fuse comprising:
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a sealed, tamper-proof housing having live and neutral apertures arranged to receive the live and neutral prongs respectively of an electrical plug;
live and neutral prongs extending outwardly from said housing at points spaced from live and neutral apertures, said live and neutral prongs being arranged to engage the live and neutral prong receptacles respectively of said electrical socket;
a fuse dispose within said housing and electrically connected to said live prong;
a live receptacle electric connected to said fuse, and disposed within said housing adjacent said live aperture therein so as to engage the live prong of an appliance plug passing through said live aperture;
a neutral receptacle electrically connected to said neutral prong, and disposed within said housing adjacent said neutral aperture therein so as to engage the neutral prong of an appliance plug passing through said neutral aperture; and
a blocking member disposed within said housing adjacent said live and neutral apertures therein, said blocking member having a neutral aperture extending therethrough, said blocking member being movable between a closed position, in which it blocks the live and neutral apertures in said housing, and an open position in which the neutral aperture of said blocking member is aligned with the neutral aperture of said housing, and said blocking member does not block the live aperture of said housing, thereby allowing said live and neutral prongs of said appliance plug to pass through said live and neutral apertures in said housing and engage said live and neutral receptacle within said housing, said blocking member being provided with biasing means for biasing said blocking member towards its closed position, said blocking member also having a cam surface disposed adjacent its neutral aperture and arranged to be engaged by said neutral prong of said appliance plug passing through said neutral aperture in said housing, so that contact between said neutral prong and said cam surface causes said blocking member to move to its open position.
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Specification