Apparatus for providing AC power to airborne in-seat power systems

An outlet unit for providing a supply voltage across first and second prongs of a plug comprising:

• a housing;
• at least first and second electrical contacts;
• a shutter having openings for receiving the prongs;
• and
• a strike plate having:
• a blocking portion blocking the openings in a first position and mounted for longitudinal rearward movement from the first position to a second position upon an initial insertion of the plug with at least one of the prongs driving said movement by contacting said blocking portion;
• and
• a surface cooperating with the shutter to restrain rotation of the shutter in the first position but not so restraining rotation of the shutter in the second position and wherein a rotation of the plug and shutter disengages the at least one prong from the blocking portion so as to permit a further insertion of the prong relative to the strike plate so as to bring the first and second prongs into respective engagement with the first and second electrical contacts.

An outlet unit for providing a supply voltage to the prongs of a plug comprising:

• a housing having a plurality of electrically conductive plug channels for receiving the prongs of the plug, wherein two of the plug channels comprise a power contact through which voltage may be supplied to one of said prongs and a sensor contact not in physical or electrical contact with said power contact;
• a shutter rotatably mounted to the housing and operative in one of a first and a second position, the shutter having openings for receiving the prongs of the plug wherein only when in the second position the openings of the shutter and the plug channels are aligned permitting axial displacement of the prongs into the housing;
• a strike plate located between the housing and the shutter for preventing the rotation of the shutter to the second position absent axial displacement of the prongs sufficient to engage the strike plate;
• and
• a control circuit coupled to the power contact and the sensor contact of each of the plurality of plug channels for enabling the supply of voltage to each of said power contacts when the control circuit senses that the establishment of electrical continuity between the sensor contact, the prong, and the power contact in each of the plurality of prong channels occurs within a time period not exceeding a predetermined maximum;
• wherein engagement of the shutter to the strike plate is sufficient to prevent the rotation of the shutter to the second position absent axial displacement of the prongs sufficient to displace the strike plate, and wherein when in the second position the shutter maintains a sufficient residual torque to rotate back into the first position such to resist axial withdrawal of the prongs of the plug from the housing.