JP2000331737A - Power supply plug - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily judge a power supply plug of desired equipment for preventing an unforeseen accident such as a fire disaster caused by wrong operation, when selecting and using the equipment by attaching and detaching the power plug. SOLUTION: On a power plug 1 or an easily recognizable position on a surface of its periphery, the kind of equipment or the like is visually indicated on the surface of the power supply plug by drawing, printing, or attaching a seal, or tactilely indicated by unevenness of pictorial symbols, letters, or braille letters formed by ruggedness working for easily deciding the equipment or the like connected to the power supply plug only by seeing or touching it. By these indications the power supply plug of the target equipment is easily determined for preventing wrong attachment or detachment of the power plug to prevent an unforeseen accident caused by unintended wrong operation of equipment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power plug for connecting a power source of a device for home use, industrial use, or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A power supply plug for connecting a power supply of a device used for home use, industrial use, or the like has a standard or the like of a voltage value, a current value, or the like used on its surface printed or unevenly displayed. However, the type of device or the like connected to the power plug is not displayed.

[0003]

When a device or the like is selectively used by attaching or detaching a power plug, the currently used power plug has a similar color and shape. In many cases, it is difficult to judge easily. In addition, it can be very difficult to always perform these tasks accurately in dark places, at night, or for the elderly and the visually impaired. If an incorrect power plug is attached to or detached from a power outlet, an unexpected serious accident such as a fire may be caused due to an unintended malfunction or forgetting to turn off the device. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to prevent an unexpected serious accident caused by erroneous attachment / detachment of a power plug of a device or the like.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of intensive studies to solve such problems, the following invention has been completed. For example, most household power outlets have two to three outlets, and devices that are frequently used in such places include irons, hair dryers, chargers for mobile phones, AV information devices, and the like. It is relatively rare that a plurality of the same type are used at the same time from the same power outlet, and if the type of the device or the like is known from the power plug portion or the like, the power plug of the target device or the like can be easily installed. It is possible to find. The easiest and easiest way to make such a determination is to make a visual determination.If it is difficult or impossible, for example, in dark places or at night, or when the elderly or the visually impaired Is always accurately determined by touching with a fingertip or the like. It is obvious that such a determination method can be applied not only to home use but also to use of industrial equipment and the like widely. First, as a means for visually determining the type of the device or the like, the type of the device or the like connected to the power plug or a peripheral portion thereof is displayed in a readily visible position on the surface of the power plug or a pictorial symbol or character alone or together, By simply looking at a power plug or the like, the type of device or the like connected to the plug can be easily visually determined. Next, as means for judging the type of the device or the like by tactile sense, the type of the device or the like connected to the power plug or a peripheral portion thereof at a position where the fingertip is easy to contact is indicated by pictograms, characters, Braille characters are displayed singly or together, and the type of device or the like can be easily determined by touching the power plug or the like. Depending on the environment in which they are used, these can be used only for visual or tactile use and for single display, but it is preferable to display both visual and tactile for all kinds of usage situations. .

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As a classification method for displaying the types of devices and the like, for example, it is relatively rare for home devices and the like to use a plurality of devices of the same type from the same power outlet. Considering that, TV,
A target device or the like can be easily specified by rough classification display such as iron, vacuum cleaner, hair dryer,.... The same applies to industrial equipment and the like. It is preferable that the pictorial symbol for visual judgment has a simple shape indicating the type of the device or the like so that the visual judgment is easy. The method of displaying these pictograms or characters is visually easy, such as drawing, printing, sticking a printed sticker, etc. on the power plug surface using a different color, or embossing the power plug surface. A method that can be used for identification determination is used. For the tactile sense determination, a method is used in which pictorial symbols, characters, or braille characters indicating devices or the like can be easily identified and determined by tactile sensation by processing the surface of the power plug. For the surface to be displayed, a certain effect can be expected by simply displaying on the surface that will be the top surface (hereinafter referred to as the front surface) when connected to the power outlet, but it can be expected to be used to a certain extent. In view of this, it is preferable to display a plurality of surfaces on the back surface, the side surface, or the like. Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described. As a visual example, FIG. 1 shows a hairdryer pictorial symbol and characters drawn and displayed on the front surface of the power plug of the hairdryer. FIG. 2 shows a sticker on which a symbol and a character are printed on a front surface of a power plug and a power cord portion of the vacuum cleaner. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the pictorial symbols and characters have stickers in which the black line display portions in the figures are drawn or printed using a color different from the power plug surface. The seal used for this visual judgment is made of a thin synthetic resin, and pictorial symbols and characters for judging equipment and the like are printed on the front surface, and an adhesive for attaching to the power plug is applied on the back surface. As an example of both visual and tactile display, Fig. 3 shows pictorial symbols and characters for visual and tactile display on the surface of the power plug of the iron, and braille characters for tactile display on the front side. An example displayed on the side is shown. Since the pictograms and characters serve both for visual display and tactile display, the black line display portion in the figure is convex, and the Braille character portion is also convex. The above display shows only the front surface or one side surface in the figure, but the same applies to the back surface or the other side so that the effect can be exhibited even when the power plug is connected and used upside down. The display has been made.

[0006]

As described above, the present invention can be expected to have an epoch-making effect on safety when using a device or the like as follows. (1) When a large number of devices and the like are selectively used by attaching and detaching a power plug, a power plug of a target device or the like can be easily determined by visual determination. (2) Further, even in a dark place, at night, or in an elderly person or a visually impaired person, the power plug of the target device can be easily determined by tactile determination. (3) Therefore, it is possible to prevent an accidental accident such as a fire due to an unintended malfunction of the device or an accidental disconnection, without attaching or detaching an erroneous power plug to / from the power outlet.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the types of devices and the like are drawn and displayed with pictograms and characters on the surface of a hair dryer power plug as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an example in which a seal in which the type of the device or the like is printed with pictograms and characters is attached and displayed on the surface of a power plug for a vacuum cleaner and a power cord portion around the power plug as an embodiment of the present invention. It is.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention in which the type of equipment and the like are indicated by pictograms and characters on the surface of a power plug for irons, and braille characters are displayed on the side surfaces by projections. (The black line part and the Braille character part of pictograms and characters are convex.)

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power plug 2 Power cord 3 Pictogram indicating the type of device etc. 4 Character indicating the type of device etc. 5 Sticker for sticking 6 Braille characters indicating the type of device etc.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A power plug for connecting a power supply of an electric / electronic device (hereinafter referred to as a device, etc.) to a type of the device connected to the plug or a peripheral portion of the power plug at a position easily visible. A power plug characterized in that a symbol or character is displayed alone or together, and the type of device or the like can be easily visually determined just by looking at the power plug or the like. 2. A power supply plug for connecting a power supply of a device or the like, wherein the type of the device or the like connected to the plug or a surface of a peripheral portion thereof is easily contacted with a pictogram or a character having irregularities. Alternatively, a power plug characterized in that braille characters are displayed alone or together, and the type of device or the like can be easily tactilely determined by simply touching the power plug or the like. 3. A power supply plug for connecting a power supply of a device, etc., to a position on the surface of the plug or a peripheral portion thereof which is easily visible and distinguishable, the type of the device or the like connected thereto is indicated by a pictorial symbol or a character alone or together. Indicate the type of device, etc., with or without pictorial symbols, characters, or Braille characters alone or together, at the position where the fingertip on the surface of the plug or its peripheral part is easy to touch, and see or touch the power plug etc. A power plug characterized in that the type of device or the like can be easily determined only by itself. 4. The type of the device or the like is indicated by a pictorial symbol or a character alone or together, and is attached to a power plug for connecting the power of the device or the like on the surface of the peripheral portion thereof to see the power plug or the like. A power supply plug sticker that enables easy visual judgment of the type of device etc.