GB2411779A

GB2411779A - Electric plug removal aid

Info

Publication number: GB2411779A
Application number: GB0504029A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Melville Davies
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-03-02
Filing date: 2005-02-28
Publication date: 2005-09-07
Anticipated expiration: 2025-02-28
Also published as: GB0404629D0; GB2411779B; GB0504029D0

Abstract

An electric plug removal aid 1 comprises a generally planar member having a plurality of elongate sections, each elongate section provided with at least one aperture 6, 7, 8 for engagement with a plug terminal 3, 4, 5, such that the device may be placed to form a loop around the electric plug 20, thereby providing a handle to facilitate removal of the plug from a corresponding socket. The electric plug removal aid may be provided with a label area 2 and a cut-out portion (9, Fig. 3) through which the cable of the plug can pass. Also disclosed is a sheet (Fig. 1) comprising a plurality of such removal aids.

Description

241 1 779

IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO ELECTRICAL PLUGS

The present invention relates to electrical plugs for connecting appliances to a mains electrical supply. It finds particular but not exclusive use with 3-pin electrical plugs of the sort comprising pins for a live connection, a neutral connection and an earth connection.

Due to various electrical safety laws and regulations, many new electrical appliances are provided with permanently attached moulded electrical plugs manufactured from a plastics material. Plugs of this type tend to be rather bulbous, lacking any pronounced projections, which can make them difficult to remove after insertion into an appropriate electrical outlet or socket. This problem is particularly pronounced for elderly people, those suffering from arthritis and other joint conditions or otherwise lacking manual dexterity.

Those suffering from mobility problems which would impede their use of electrical plugs may be tempted to lever said plugs from their sockets. This obviously poses a severe danger if a metallic object, such as an item of cutlery or similar, is used for this purpose. The risk of electrocution and even possible death is very real in these circumstances.

An aim of embodiments of the present invention is to alleviate problems associated with plug removal whether mentioned herein or otherwise. Various other benefits and advantages of embodiments of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the attached description of the invention.

According an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for facilitating removal of a multi-pin electrical plug from an electrical socket, the device comprising a generally planar member having a plurality of generally elongate members, each generally elongate member further comprising an aperture for engagement with one pin of the multi- pin plug, such that the device may be placed to form a loop around the plug thereby providing a handle by which removal of the plug from a socket may be facilitated.

Preferably, the device comprises at least two generally elongate members. These members are provided to pass around the electrical plug and further to couple with one or more pins of the plug.

More preferably, the device comprises three generally elongate members, each of which comprises an aperture for engagement with one pin of a three-pin electrical plug.

Preferably, one or more of the generally elongate members comprises a plurality of apertures. The user may then select one of the plurality of apertures for engagement with a pin, so to allow the device to fit even around larger than usual plugs.

Preferably, the plurality of generally elongate members meet at a point which is generally wider than any one of the members and said point is arranged to carry a label.

Preferably, the device is composed of a plastics material.

More preferably, the plastics material is Tyvek@, manufactured by DuPontO.

Preferably, the devices may be manufactured in sheet form, with each sheet comprising a plurality of said devices.

Preferably, the arrangement of devices on a given sheet is such that wastage of the sheet material is minimised. This may preferably be achieved by orientating adjacent devices on the sheet in an alternating, complementary arrangement.

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how embodiments of the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a plan view of a plurality of embodiments of the present invention in a layout according to a preferred embodiment.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figures 3 and 4 show front and rear perspective views respectively of a first embodiment of the present invention in situ.

Figures 5 and 6 show front and rear perspective views respectively of a second embodiment of the present invention in situ.

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.

The plug removal aid 1 comprises a generally elongate electrical insulating material. The generally elongate member 1 comprises a first elongate sub portion having a plurality of apertures 6, a label area 2, and two further generally elongate sub portions, generally parallel to each other and each comprising a plurality of apertures 7, 8. Between the two parallel generally elongate sub portions including apertures 7, 8 is a cut-out area 9 for accommodating the electrical cable attached to the plug.

In order to minimise the amount of waste material generated during production of the aid 1, the shape and configuration shown in figure 1 has been selected so that separate aids may be positioned side by side in an alternating fashion as shown in figure 1. In this way, several preformed aids may be manufactured on a sheet of given size. Alternatively the aids may be manufactured on a continuous roll of sheet material, further minimising waste.

In a preferred embodiment, the outer border of any particular aid 1 is perforated thereby allowing an individual aid 1 to be simply pressed and removed from the sheet.

Once an aid 1 has been removed from the sheet, it is then in a form suitable for use with an electrical plug. A view of the aid 1 in use is shown in figure 3. Here is can be seen how the aid 1 is arranged in relation to the electrical plug 20. The single elongate portion extending from the label area 2 passes over a top surface of the plug 20. The pair of parallel elongate members which extend from the label area 2 in an opposite direction to the aforementioned single elongate portion, pass under a lower surface of the plug.

Figure 4 further shows how apertures 6, 7, 8 are arranged such that the pins 3, 4, 5 of the electrical plug penetrate the apertures 6, 7, 8 of the device 1.

Since the material of the device 1 is thin (preferably lmm or less), the device, once placed around the plug, does not interfere with insertion of the plug 20 into an electrical outlet socket. Furthermore, since the material of the device 1 is formed from an electrically insulting material, no electrical current flows in the device 1 and so there is no danger of any short circuit conditions arising.

As can be seen from figure 4, only one of the plurality of apertures 6, 7, 8 provided in each elongate sub portion of the device 1 is actually used. The provision of more than one aperture in each elongate sub portion allows the device to be used with a wide range of different electrical plug styles and sizes. The user simply selects which of the plurality of apertures engages with a particular pin to achieve the desired effect. This is useful when the aid is used with electrical plugs of the type incorporating further circuitry, such as a transformer, often used to power or re-charge portable equipment such as laptop computers or mobile phones.

Once the plug 20 has been inserted into an electrical outlet socket (not shown) the electrical device to which the electrical plug is connected will operate in the normal fashion. When a user wishes to remove the plug 20, rather then grasping the side portions of the electrical plug in the normal way, the user simply inserts a finger into the loop created by the device - specifically behind the label area 2 - and pulls the device 1, and hence the electrical plug 20, away from the electrical outlet socket. In this way, a user who has limited grip ability or other manual dexterity problems, is able to remove the plug 20 much more simply, safely and reliably.

As can be seen from figure 3, the cut-out portion 9 creates an area at the rear of the electrical plug 20 where the electrical cable is able to pass unimpeded and does not interfere with operation of the electrical plug 20 or the device 1.

Any suitable insulating material may be used to manufacture the device 1. The most important characteristics of the material are that it is electrically insulating and that it has sufficient strength to withstand the removal force applied to it.

Suitable materials include plastics materials. A particularly suitable material is found to be TyvokO, manufactured by DuPont@. This is bonded material having the look and feel part way between a regular plastics material and paper. This material has particular advantages in that it is very easy to work with and can be printed onto using standard printing techniques.

An advantage of printing onto the device 1 particularly in the label area 2 is that the device 1 can be customised and used as advertising material, for instance.

Alternatively or additionally the label area 2 may be pre printed with one of a range of typical electrical items such that identification of a particular piece of electrical apparatus may be achieved by use of a device 1.

For example, a sheet of devices 1 may be provided whereby each of the plurality of devices included on the sheet is pre-printed with the name of a different electrical appliance e.g. toaster, kettle, food mixer, television, steam iron etc. In this way, it is then a simple task to identify the plug belonging to a particular appliance without needing to trace the cable from the socket back to the appliance itself.

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in figure 2. In this embodiment a device 30 is provided and is configured to engage with only two pins 4, 5 on the electrical plug 20. In this way, the device may be used with electrical systems utilising only two pin plugs, rather than the three pin plugs typically found in the UK.

Devices according to this embodiment of the present invention could of course also be used with three pin plugs (as shown in figures 5 and 6) by omitting interaction with the earth pin 3.

Figures 5 and 6 show complementary perspective views of the embodiment of figure 2 in use with a standard three pin plug. However, it is easy to see how this particular embodiment could be adapted for use with a two pin plug with no difficulty.

The materials for use with the second embodiment are identical with those used for the first embodiment.

Aside from use in a domestic environment, embodiments of the invention provide benefit in other, more specialized, situations. For instance, in a hospital environment, the consequences of unplugging the wrong piece of equipment could be very serious indeed. By providing pre-printed versions of the device 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention, individual items of equipment can be quickly, simply and cheaply identified, thereby minimising the risk of inadvertently unplugging a ventilator machine, rather than a vacuum cleaner for instance.

The label area 2 of device 1 or 30, need not be pre- printed before use. Alternatively, the label area may simply be left blank such that a user may write a customized label in this area using a suitable pen.

It is expected that the cost to manufacture a single device 1, 30 will be very small indeed. As such, devices according to an embodiment of the present invention will be very suitable as free gifts and could be easily provided to anybody who would benefit from them, at very little cost indeed.

Attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features

disclosed in this specification (including any

accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

1. A device for facilitating removal of a multi-pin electrical plug from an electrical socket, the device comprising a generally planar member having a plurality of generally elongate members, each generally elongate member further comprising an aperture for engagement with one pin of the multi-pin plug, such that the device may be placed to form a loop around the plug thereby providing a handle by which removal of the plug from a socket may be facilitated.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the device comprises at least two generally elongate members.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the device comprises three generally elongate members, each of which comprises an aperture for engagement with one pin of a three-pin electrical plug.

4. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein at least one generally elongate member comprises a plurality of apertures.

5. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the plurality of generally elongate members meet at a point which is generally wider than any one of the members and said point is arranged to carry a label.

6. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the device is composed of a plastics material.

7. A device as claimed in claim 6 wherein the plastics material is Tyvek.

8. A sheet comprising a plurality of devices as claimed in any preceding claim.

9. A sheet as claimed in claim 8 wherein adjacent devices on the sheet are arranged in an alternating orientation to minimise wastage of the sheet material.