Medical equipment power cord and plug
AssigneeHill-Rom Services, Inc.
InventorJohn B. Wilker, Sr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A redundantly ground plug having a live prong, a neutral prong, a first ground prong and a second groung prong arranged to be received in a live contact, a neutral contact, and a ground contact of a first socket and a ground contact of a second socket of a standard power supply such as a duplex receptacle or power strip is disclosed. A flexible boot extends from the plug to seal the prongs and contacts from moisture.
Claims16
A power cord and plug for connection to a standard grounded duplex wall receptacle having a first socket including a first live contact, a first neutral contact, and a first ground contact and a second socket including a second live contact, a second neutral contact and a second ground contact, the power cord and plug comprising:
- a cable having a live conductor, a neutral conductor, a first ground conductor, and a second ground conductor, and
- a plug having a housing and a set of prongs consisting of only four prongs, a first prong of the four prongs being a live prong configured to be received by the first live contact and electrically connected to the live conductor, a second prong of the four prongs being a neutral prong configured to be received by the first neutral contact and electrically connected to the neutral conductor, a third prong of the four prongs being a first ground prong configured to be received by the first ground contact and electrically connected to the first ground conductor, and a fourth prong of the four prongs being a second ground prong configured to be received by the second ground contact and electrically connected to the second ground conductor,
- wherein the live prong, neutral prong, first ground prong, and second ground prong extend from the housing in fixed relation to one another,
- wherein the live prong, neutral prong, first ground prong, and second ground prong are configured for concurrent reception by the first live contact, first neutral contact, first ground contact, and second ground contact, respectively, of the standard grounded duplex wall receptacle,
- wherein the plug is configured to prevent a three-prone power connector from being plugged to the standard grounded duplex wall receptacle when the plug is plugged to the standard grounded duplex wall receptacle.
A power connection providing a redundant path to ground for an electrical device comprising:
- a standard wall receptacle having a plurality of sockets each of said sockets having a live contact, a neutral contact, and a ground contact,
- a plug having a housing and an electrical interface consisting of a live contact, a neutral contact, a first ground contact, and a second ground contact, wherein the live contact, neutral contact, first ground contact, and second ground contact extend from the housing in fixed relation to one another,
- wherein the live contact of the plug is configured to mate with the live contact of a selected socket of the plurality of sockets of the standard wall receptacle, the neutral contact of the plug is configured to mate with the neutral contact of the selected socket, the first ground contact of the plug is configured to mate with the ground contact of the selected socket and the second ground contact of the plug is configured to mate with the ground contact of a second selected socket of the plurality of sockets of the standard wall receptacle, and
- a cable including a live conductor electrically connected to the live contact of the plug, a neutral conductor electrically connected to the neutral contact of the plug, a first ground conductor electrically connected to the first around contact of the plug and a second ground conductor electrically connected to the second ground contact of the plug.
A power cord and plug for connection to a standard grounded duplex wall receptacle having a first socket having an electrical interface consisting of a first live contact, a first neutral contact, and a first ground contact and a second socket consisting of a second live contact, a second neutral contact and a second ground contact, the power cord and plug comprising:
- a cable having a live conductor, a neutral conductor, a first ground conductor, and a second ground conductor,
- a plug having a housing and an electrical interface, the electrical interface consisting of only four prongs, a first prong of the four prongs being a live prong configured to be received by the first live contact and electrically connected to the live conductor, a second prong of the four prongs being a neutral prong configured to be received by the first neutral contact and electrically connected to the neutral conductor, a third prong of the four prongs being a first ground prong configured to be received by the first ground contact and electrically connected to the first ground conductor, and a fourth prong of the four prongs being a second ground prong configured to be received by the second ground contact and electrically connected to the second ground conductor,
- wherein the live prong, neutral prong, first ground prong, and second ground prong extend from the housing so as to be positioned in fixed relation to one another,
- wherein the live prong, neutral prong, first ground prong, and second ground prong are configured for concurrent reception by the first live contact, first neutral contact, first ground contact, and second ground contact, respectively, of the standard grounded duplex wall receptacle,
- wherein the plug is configured to prevent a three-prong power connector from being plugged to the standard grounded duplex wall receptacle when the plug is plugged to the standard grounded duplex wall receptacle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.