Reorientable electrical outlet
AssigneeIntelliglobe, Inc.
InventorKimberly R. Gerard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A reorientable electrical outlet having a housing cavity in a stationary housing and a rotatable electrical female receptacle seated therein is disclosed. Preferably, the rotatable female electrical receptacle includes a set of electrical conductors situated in electrical isolation from one another, arranged one above the other. In one embodiment, the housing cavity has a set of annular conductive structures formed one above the other to support provide a set of electrically conductive pathways along which slideable contacts rotateably track. Another embodiment places annular conductive structures on the female receptacle. Such structures slideably track on fixed contacts in the housing cavity.
Claims23
A reorientable electrical outlet comprising:
- a stationary housing;
- an electrical receptacle;
- first and second electrically conductive sleeves disposed in the electrical receptacle and electrically isolated from each other;
- a housing cavity disposed in the stationary housing to receive the electrical receptacle, the housing cavity having a substantially circular wall along which are disposed first and second annular conductive paths, one above the other, at least one of the first and second annular conductive paths at least partially encircling the electrical receptacle;
- and
- first and second electrical contacts, each having an integral spring portion formed in an arcuate contact surface, the arcuate contact surfaces of the first and second electrical contacts slideably disposed in contact with the first and second annular conductive paths, respectively.
A method of rotating an electrical plug in a socket, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a receptacle configured to receive the electrical plug;
- providing first and second electrical contacts, each having an integral arcuate spring portion formed to expose a contact surface along an arc of less than 360 degrees;
- providing first and second annular conductive contacts disposed one above the other and at least partially encircling the receptacle;
- and
- sliding the contact surfaces of the first and second electrical contacts against the first and second annular conductive contacts, respectively.
A reorientable electrical outlet comprising:
- a stationary housing;
- first and second female electrical receptacle assemblies, each female receptacle assembly having first and second electrically conductive sleeves electrically isolated from each other, a first conductive path connected to the first electrically conductive sleeve, the first conductive path extending at least partially radially with respect to the female electrical receptacle assembly, a second conductive path connected to the second electrically conductive sleeve, the second conductive path extending at least partially radially with respect to the female electrical receptacle assembly;
- first and second housing cavities disposed in the stationary housing to receive the first and second female electrical receptacle assemblies, the first and second housing cavities each having first and second annular conductive paths each disposed at least partially around a respective one of the first and second female electrical receptacle assemblies, against which first and second annular conductive paths are disposed the first and second conductive paths, respectively, the first and second female electrical assemblies being rotatable in the first and second housing cavities, respectively, while slideably maintaining the first and second conductive paths in contact with the first and second annular conductive paths.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.