AU2017101218A4 - Power strip - Google Patents

Abstract

The power strip includes a socket assembly, a connection assembly detachably joined to the socket assembly having a cap of an inverted-U shape with a first through opening, a clamp assembly having an inverted-L shaped 5 clamp piece accommodated in the cap with a second through opening corresponding to the first through opening and at least a wing piece pin-joied to the clamp piece, and a fastening bolt running vertically downward through the first through opening and engaging the second through opening. Since the fastening bolt is applied from above and a user is not required to squat beneath 10 the desktop to fix the power strip, the present invention therefore provides enhanced convenience and reduced installation overhead.

Description

2017101218 05 Sep 2017 1 TITLE: POWER STRIP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (a) Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to power strips. 5 (b) Description of the Prior Art A conventional power strip usually lacks a mechanism for fixing itself to a location or to another object. The power strip may be more flexible this way but it is also more easily subject to external impact, trample, and may cause people to stumble, resulting in damage to the power strip, the connected 10 appliances, and hazard to the user. In addition, to push or pull a plug into or out of the power strip, the user has to use one hand to fix the power strip and to use the other hand to push or pull the plug. To overcome this inconvenience, there are power strips equipped with a C clamp mount for fixing the power strip to the desktop, for example. 15 The C clamp mount usually involves a bolt to fasten the power strip to the desk board, and a user has to squat below the desk to achieve the fastening, which is still quite inconvenient. 2017101218 05 Sep 2017 2

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore a novel power strip is provided herein where its fixation does not require a user to work from beneath a desk for greater convenience.

To achieve the objective, the power strip includes a socket assembly, a 5 connection assembly detachably joined to the socket assembly and having a cap of an inverted-U shape with a first through opening, a clamp assembly having an inverted-L shaped clamp piece accommodated in the cap with a second through opening corresponding to the first through opening and at least a wing piece pin-joined to the clamp piece, and a fastening bolt running 10 vertically downward through the first through opening and engaging the second through opening.

Each wing piece is a flat piece or a lateral beam.

The clamp piece includes a lateral section and a vertical section joined perpendicularly to the lateral section. The lateral section is accommodated in 15 the cap, and the second through opening is on the lateral section.

Each wing piece is pin-joined to the vertical section by a pivot that mns through the vertical section and the wing piece.

Since the fastening bolt is applied from above and a user is not required to squat beneath the desktop to fix the power strip, the present invention 20 therefore provides enhanced convenience and reduced installation overhead. 2017101218 05 Sep 2017 3

The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the 5 invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings, identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed 10 description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example. 2017101218 05 Sep 2017 4

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a perspective break-down diagram showing the various components of a power strip according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 FIG 2 is a perspective diagram showing the power strip of FIG 1 after its assembly. FIG 3 is a perspective diagram showing wing pieces of the power strip of FIG 1 may be swung laterally. FIG 4 is a schematic side-view diagram showing the power strip of FIG 10 1 is to be fixed to a desktop. FIG 5 is a schematic side-view diagram showing the power strip of FIG 4 is reliably fixed to a desktop. 15 2017101218 05 Sep 2017 5

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration 5 for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a power strip according to an embodiment of 10 the present invention includes the following components. A socket assembly 1 includes a casing 10 and at least a socket element 11 configured on the casing 10. Each socket element 11 may be a power outlet providing 110V, 60Hz AC power for a two-prong plug. The present invention does not limit the electrical specification or style of the outlet. Each socket 15 element 11 may also be a USB or similar socket. There is at least a first connection element 14 configured along a bottom side of the casing 10. Please note that the socket assembly 1 further has an extension cable extended from a side of the casing 10 but is not shown in the drawings. 2017101218 05 Sep 2017 6 A connection assembly 6 includes a base piece (not numbered), and a cap 61 of an inverted-U shape extended from a side of the base piece. The cap 61 has a first through opening 62 on a top side. At least a second connection element 63 is provide on a top side of the base piece corresponding to the first 5 connection element 14. Through the first and second connection elements 14 and 63, the connection assembly 6 is detachably joined to the bottom side of the basing 10. In the present embodiment, the first connection element 14 is a blind hole inside the casing 10 and opened on the bottom side of the casing 10, and the second connection element 63 is an upward protruding pin on a top 10 side of the base piece, so that each second connection element 63 is plugged into a corresponding first connection element 14. The present invention does not limit itself as such. The first and second connection elements 14 and 63 may also be tracks and troughs, bolt and bolt holes, etc. A clamp assembly 2 includes an inverted-L shaped clamp piece 21 15 having a lateral section 211 and a vertical section 212 perpendicular to the lateral section 211. In the present embodiment, the lateral and vertical sections 211 and 212 are integrally formed together. The width of the cap 61 is compatible with that of the lateral section 211 so that the lateral section 211 is received by the cap 61 with no room for lateral movement. The lateral section 20 211 has a second through opening 22 corresponding to the first through 2017101218 05 Sep 2017 7 opening 62. The depth of the cap 61 is greater than that of the lateral section 211 so that the lateral section 211 may move up and down within the cap 61.

The clamp assembly 2 further includes at least a wing piece 23 pin-joined to the vertical section 212 by a pivot 24 that runs through a lateral edge of the 5 vertical section 212 and a lateral edge of the wing piece 23 so that the wing piece 23 may swivel laterally around the pivot 24. The pin joint between the vertical section 212 and the wing piece 23 is not limited as such. In the present embodiment, the wing piece 23 is a flat piece. In an alternative embodiment, the wing piece 23 may also have a lateral beam shape. Preferably there are two 10 wing pieces 23 and therefore there are also two pivots 24. Each of the two wing pieces 23 is configured along a lateral edge of the vertical section 212.

As shown in FIG 3, the two wing pieces 23 may be turned towards different directions. A fastening bolt 3 is applied vertically downward through the first 15 through opening 62 of the connection assembly 6 and fastened to the second through opening 22 of the clamp assembly 2.

To fix the power strip to an object, such as a desktop 4, is as follows. As shown in FIG 4, the wing piece 23 is first turned to be parallel to the vertical section 212 of the clamp piece 21. Then the power strip is placed on the 20 desktop 4 so that the lateral section 211 of the clamp piece 21 is attached to a 2017101218 05 Sep 2017 8 top surface of the desktop 4 and the vertical section 212 is attached to a side surface of the desktop 4. Then, as shown in FIG 5, the wing piece 23 is turned so that at least a portion of the wing piece 23 is beneath the desktop 4. A fastening tool 5 such as a screw driver or a wrench is applied to the fastening 5 bolt 3 and the fastening bolt 3 engages the clamp piece 21 to move upward until the wing piece 23 presses tightly against the bottom surface of the desktop 4. As such, the power strip is reliably positioned on the desktop 4. Please note that, in the scenario shown in FIG 5, there is enough space or depth beneath the desktop 4 so that the wing piece 23 is turned 10 perpendicularly to the vertical section 212 and the wing piece 23 is almost entirely beneath the desktop 4. There are however scenarios where these is limited space or depth beneath the desktop 4 and the wing piece 23 can only be turned into having acute angle relative to the vertical section 212. The present invention however still allows a portion of the wing piece 23 to be 15 under the desktop 4 and provides fixation to the power strip. A power strip of the present invention therefore may be applied to various desktops or other objects, thereby achieving enhanced applicability and flexibility.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, since the fastening bolt 3 is applied from above and a user is not required to squat beneath the desktop 4 to fix the 20 power strip, thereby providing enhanced convenience and reduced installation 2017101218 05 Sep 2017 9 overhead. In an office, desks are often surrounded by cubicle walls or partitions and a gap about 10mm is usually reserved between the desk and the cubicle wall for power or telephone cables to run through. The present invention’s swingable wing piece 23 may be adjusted to be parallel to the 5 vertical section 212 and then passes through the gap easily. The power strip therefore may be fixed to the desk against the cubicle wall, even further enhancing the applicability of the power strip.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be 10 limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the claims of the present invention.

Claims (4)

1. I CLAIM:

   1. A power strip, comprising a socket assembly comprising a casing; a connection assembly comprising a base piece detachably joined to a bottom side of the casing and a cap of an inverted-U shape extended from a side of the base piece, where the cap has a first through opening on a top side; a clamp assembly comprising an inverted-L shaped clamp piece and at least a wing piece pin-joined to the clamp piece, where the clamp piece is accommodated in the cap, and the clamp piece has a second through opening corresponding to the first through opening; and a fastening bolt running vertically downward through the first through opening and engaging the second through opening.
2. 2. The power strip according to claim 1, wherein each wing piece is a flat piece or a lateral beam.
3. 3. The power strip according to claim 1, wherein the clamp piece comprises a lateral section and a vertical section joined perpendicularly to the lateral section; the lateral section is accommodated in the cap; and the second through opening is on the lateral section.
4. 4. The power strip according to claim 3, wherein each wing piece is pin-joined to the vertical section by a pivot that runs through the vertical section and the wing piece.