Self contained power disruption alert devices and methods for generating audible alerts

A self-contained power disruption alert device, comprising:

• a housing with a plurality of male conductors extending outwardly therefrom, the male conductors sized and configured to enter an electrical wall outlet to be in electrical communication therewith wherein the housing has a forward surface with a height and width defining a surface area that is less than about 14 in2, wherein the housing is compactly configured with bounds thereof being substantially coextensive with a portion of an electrical socket cover plate to allow visual access to a ground fault interruption (GFI) reset on the electrical socket cover plate and wherein the device has a weight that is self-supported upon plug into an electrical socket in the electrical socket cover plate;
• an electronic circuit in the housing and configured to respond to a power disruption in the electrical wall outlet, wherein the electronic circuit comprises at least one pre-recorded message;
• a battery receiving space disposed on and/or in the housing and sized and configured to hold a battery to be in electrical communication with the electronic circuit to power the electronic circuit;
• and
• a speaker in communication with the electronic circuit, wherein, in operation, the speaker is configured to output the pre-recorded voice message as an alert when power to the electrical wall outlet is disrupted.

A self-contained power disruption alert device, comprising:

• a housing with a plurality of male conductors extending outwardly therefrom, the male conductors sized and configured to enter an electrical wall outlet to be in electrical communication therewith;
• an electronic circuit in the housing and configured to respond to a power disruption in the electrical wall outlet a timer in communication with the electrical circuit configured for determining a duration of the power disruption;
• a battery receiving space disposed on and/or in the housing and sized and configured to hold a battery to be in electrical communication with the electronic circuit to power the electronic circuit;
• and
• a speaker in communication with the electronic circuit, wherein, in operation, an audible alert is output by the speaker when power to the electrical wall outlet is disrupted,
• wherein the device is self-contained, wherein the housing has a forward surface with a height and width defining a surface area that is less than about 14 in2, wherein the housing is compactly configured with bounds thereof being substantially coextensive with a portion of an electrical socket cover plate so as to allow external visual access to a GFI reset on the electrical socket cover plate, wherein the device has a weight that is self-supported upon plug into an electrical socket in the electrical socket cover plate, and wherein the device without a battery weighs less than about 8 ounces.

A method for generating an alert when power is disrupted to an electrical outlet, comprising:

• mounting a self-contained power disruption alert device to an electrical outlet wherein the mounting step is carried out by mounting the device to a wall outlet having ground fault interruption (GFI) circuit in a compact manner whereby the device occupied only a portion of a electrical outlet cover panel and allows visual access to a GFI reset on the cover panel, and the mounting step is further carried out by inserting male conductors into a female outlet in a dual outlet wall cover panel, wherein the alert device has a forward surface with a height and width, each being less than about 3 inches, and a depth that is less than about 1 inch, wherein the device provides a single female electrical receptacle and is substantially coextensive with a portion of the wall female electrical outlet cover panel, and wherein the alert device without a battery weighs less than about 8 ounces;
• electronically selecting a pre-recorded voice message from one of a plurality of pre-recorded voice messages stored in the device;
• and
• automatically transmitting the selected pre-recorded voice message when power to the electrical outlet is disrupted.

A self-contained power disruption alert device, comprising:

• a housing with a plurality of male conductors extending outwardly therefrom, the male conductors sized and configured to enter an electrical wall outlet to be in electrical communication therewith wherein the housing has a forward surface with a height and width defining a surface area that is less than about 14 in2, wherein the housing is compactly configured with bounds thereof being substantially coextensive with a portion of an electrical socket cover plate to allow visual access to a ground fault interruption (GFI) reset on the electrical socket cover plate and wherein the device has a weight that is self-supported upon plug into an electrical socket in the electrical socket cover plate;
• an electronic circuit in the housing and configured to respond to a power disruption in the electrical wall outlet;
• a battery receiving space disposed on and/or in the housing and sized and configured to hold a battery to be in electrical communication with the electronic circuit to power the electronic circuit, wherein the housing with the battery has a weight that is self-supported upon plug into the electrical outlet in the electrical socket plate;
• a speaker in communication with the electronic circuit, wherein, in operation, an audible alert is output by the speaker when power to the electrical wall outlet is disrupted;
• and
• a timer in communication with the electronic circuit, wherein the electronic circuit is configured to prevent transmission of the audible alert for minor power disruptions lasting less than about 5 minutes.

A self-contained power disruption alert device, comprising:

• a housing with a plurality of male conductors extending outwardly therefrom, the male conductors sized and configured to enter an electrical wall outlet to be in electrical communication therewith;
• an electronic circuit in the housing and configured to respond to a power disruption in the electrical wall outlet;
• a battery receiving space disposed on and/or in the housing and sized and configured to hold a battery to be in electrical communication with the electronic circuit to power the electronic circuit;
• a speaker in communication with the electronic circuit, wherein, in operation, an audible alert is output by the speaker when power to the electrical wall outlet is disrupted;
• electronic memory in communication with the electronic circuit configured to store different power outage durations occurring over a desired interval;
• and
• a user input button in communication with the electronic memory that allows a user to prompt the device for the outage duration/length of each detected outage event, wherein the device is compactly configured with bounds thereof being substantially coextensive with a portion of an electrical socket cover plate so as to allow external visual access to a GFI reset on the electrical socket cover plate, wherein the device has a weight that is self-supported upon plug into an electrical socket in the electrical socket cover plate.