GB2430313A

GB2430313A - Identifiable electrical plug

Info

Publication number: GB2430313A
Application number: GB0518687A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alexander James Law; Simon Gadd
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-09-14
Filing date: 2005-09-14
Publication date: 2007-03-21
Also published as: GB0518687D0

Abstract

An appliance plug has a distinguishing feature so that the plug for a particular appliance can easily be identified. The plug 1 may have an illuminated panel 2 having a diagram 3 of the appliance on it, lit by an LED or a fluorescent means. Alternatively, the plug may have a coloured portion, a programmable screen, a manufacturer's logo, a raised portion, Braille or a means of conveying audio.

Description

1 2430313 Illuminated appliance identification system for electrical plugs

This invention relates to an apparatus for identifying an appliance, and in particular, for identifying an appliance by means of it plug.

It is common in households to plug more than one appliance into plug sockets or gangs of plug sockets. When there are a number of different plugs in any given plug socket, it can become very confusing to the user to decide which plug corresponds to which appliance.

Furthermore, sockets or gangs are commonly positioned in places which are difficult to reach or see, as they are commonly low to the floor, under desks, behind cabinets or even behind one of the given appliances. As it is difficult to see the plugs, and they commonly have a very similar appearance, it is even more difficult to identify each appliance.

In a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an electrical plug for attachment to an electrical appliance, wherein the plug comprises a body and a distinguishing portion fitted in the body of the plug for allowing the appliance and the plug to be distinguished In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the distinguishing portion is illuminated.

More preferably, the distinguishing portion is illuminated when the plug is plugged in and the appliance is live. It is particularly preferred that the distinguishing portion is an illuminated panel which is positioned on the back face of a plug.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the distinguishing portion is a coloured portion which is a colour different to the colour of the body of the plug.

The present invention therefore allows the user to associate quickly and easily a plug with an appliance. This has the benefit of ensuring that the user does not unplug the wrong device. Not only does this save time and effort for the user, it also provides the additional benefit of ensuring that the user does not unplug the wrong device.

Unplugging the wrong device could have a variety of consequences ranging from simply losing time/date data (various appliances store this information) through to turning off critical equipment and losing vital data (permanent fax machines in larger offices) or even inadvertently causing harm to fresh produce (e.g. the case of fridges or freezers).

The present invention could find utility for example in many locations around homes, public buildings and offices where many different people have access to electrical equipment, especially where light sources are limited. In particular, the present invention has the additional advantage of allowing a partially sighted user or someone with limited experience of critical equipment to remove one appliance to insert another more safely.

The present invention provides an additional benefit of demonstrating whether power is travelling through the plug. This is useful where the device itself does not have lights or other means of establishing whether the device is live, for example a wood In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plug is a hard-wired fused plug fitted by manufacturers to the appliance. In this embodiment, it is preferred that the distinguishing portion is a symbol which relates to the appliance, such as a symbol of a television when the appliance is a television. In an alternative preferred embodiment, the symbol could be a company logo.

in an alternative preferred embodiment, the plug is a universal plug which can be provided separately to an appliance and can be attached to any one of a number of different appliances, in this embodiment, it is preferable that the distinguishing portion is changeable so that the distinguishing portion can be selected based on the appliance.

In one preferred embodiment the changeable distinguishing portion comprises a removable portion which has a symbol relating to the appliance to which it is connected. In an alternative preferred embodiment, the changeable distinguishing portion is a programmable screen which can display one of a plurality of symbols.

The user can then select from one of the symbols, such as a symbol of a television, a video recorder, a dvd player, depending on the appliance to which the plug is attached. Alternatively, the programmable screen can display a plurality of letters.

The user can then select the letters to relate to the appliance.

In an alternative aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kit comprising a plug body and a plurality of interchangeable symbols relating to different appliances.

The plugs according to the present invention could be purchased and fitted to existing appliances and could be fitted by the end user or a qualified electrician where necessitated by law or company policy.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be further described with reference to the following drawings in which:- Figure 1 is a representation of a 3 pin plug according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a representation of a 2 pin plug according to the present invention; and Figure 3 is a representation of an electrical circuit for providing the light.

in Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a plug 1 having an illuminated panel 2. The panel has a diagram 3 of a television on it. The panel is illuminated by a led (not shown).

The led can be lit by use of the circuit shown in Figure 3, in which a fuse 4, a resistor and a led 6 are connected in series.

Claims

Claims 1. An electrical 2 or 3 pin plug for attachment to an electrical

appliance, wherein the plug comprises a body and a distinguishing portion fitted in the body of the plug for allowing the appliance and the plug to be distinguished.
2. An electrical plug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distinguishing portion is illuminated.
3. An electrical plug as claimed in claim 1, wherein the distinguishing portion has a coloured portion which is different to the colour of the plug body.
4. An electrical plug as claimed in claim 3, wherein the coloured portion is in the shape of a symbol or has a symbol on it which relates to the appliance.
5. An electrical plug as claimed in claim I or claim 2, wherein the distinguishing portion is a programmable screen.
6. An electrical plug according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the illuminated panel displays a logo that relates to the appliance manufacturer.
7. An electrical plug according to any of the preceding claims wherein the distinguishing portion is lit using fluorescent means.
8. An electrical plug according to any of the preceding claims wherein the distinguishing portion is raised.
9. An electrical plug according to any of the preceding claims wherein the distinguishing portion contains Braille
10. An electrical plug according to any of the preceding claims wherein the distinguishing portion contains means of conveying audio.
11. An electrical plug according to any of the preceding claims that uses an electrical circuit to display the information.
12. An electrical plug substantially as herein before described with reference to and as illustrated by the drawings.