US2496173A - Adjustable appliance plug - Google Patents

Description

ADJUSTABLE APPLIANCE PLUG Filed June 1, 1948 5 3 CHAD A.PEEE LES 6 YKEF'A' ATTO-RNEYS Patented Jan. 31, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADJUSTABLE APPLIANCE PLUG Chad A. Peebles, Newaygo, Mich.

Application June 1, 1948, Serial No. 30,265

5 Claims.

This invention relates to an adjustable appliance plug which is of novel structure and is for use in connecting electric cords with posts over which the plug is telescopically pressed, and which posts with diiferent electrical appliances are spaced apart diifering distances. One of such appliances with which the plug may be used is the electric flatiron, which at its rear portion has two upwardly extending spaced posts of rod form and over which a plug at one end of an electric ironing cord is connected by forcing the plug downwardly over the posts which are telescopically received in the plug. Diiierent types of electric irons have different post spacings, and many other appliances, such as heaters, grills and the like which include in their structure electric coils of current resisting wire, are connected with the wall sockets in homes by electric cords each of which at one endhas an appliance socket connecting plug. In my invention such plug is adjustable to have the two socket portions thereof which telescope over the posts varied in their spaced distances to conform to the spacing of the posts.

It is also an object and purpose of the present invention to provide an electric appliance plug of the character noted, in which the two post receiving parts of the plug in all adjusted positions thereof are parallel to each other, in conformity to the parallel relation of the posts on an electrical 3 appliance; and to provide a novel structure of plug made of two major body portions which are identical in structure, and which may be adjusted to any one of an indefinite number of positions and maintain such parallelism of the appliance post receiving sockets.

An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the adjustable appliance plug of my invention,

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section therethrough, substantially on the plane of line 22 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section substantially on the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a transverse section substantially on the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 3, the parts of the plug in Figs. 3 and 4 being in different adjusted relations to each other.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawing, and the sections are taken looking in the directions indicated by the arrows.

In the structure of the plug, two parts thereof IPO- 2 of identical form are provided, each with a finger l integral with a head 2. From the heads 2 an arm extends at right angles to the finger I, the two arms in the assembled plug being one directly over the other and in parallel relation to each other. Each includes an intermediate thicker portion 3 from the inner side portions of which flanges 4 extend in opposite directions. The heads 2 are slotted, at the sides thereof opposite those at which the arms 3 are integrally connected, with corresponding T-slots for the slideable entrance of the arms into said slots, whereby the two parts of the plug may be bodily moved to move the fingers i bodily toward and away from each other, said fingers at all times maintaining their parallelism.

A screw 5 is threaded through one of said arms 3, which will be at the upper side of the plug when the parts are assembled. At its lower end, when the two parts of the plug are adjusted to separate the projecting fingers I, the inner end of the screw will bear against the arm 3 below it and, preferably, enters a groove as shown in Fig. 3 (not numbered).

Both of the fingers have longitudinal passages 7 from their free ends through said fingers and partly through the heads 2, in each of which a tubular socket or post receiving member 8 of metal is located and secured. Said members 8 are cy1indrical for part of their length and are then fiattened for extending into the heads 2. They have connected therewith circuit wires 9 which come together and are covered by a sheath l0 and, extending away from the plug, provide the usual appliance cord, at the opposite end of which cord a wall socket plug connection is connected. Rivets 6 with extended heads extend through the fiattened portions of the sockets i and the extended heads are inserted in depressions in passages T to hold the sockets in place.

A clip made of spring metal has two terminal arms H bent back upon themselves and lying against inner sections 12, which sections I12 are connected by a cross member It. The width of the sections I2 is greater than of the outer arms i I and tongues i l at right angles thereto may be received in slots in the parts 3 for connecting the clip to the body of the plug. The sheath H1 covering the wires 9 passes through the connecting portion l3 of the clip and a coiled spring member l5 surrounds the sheath it for a distance from the plug and at its outer end joins with a sheet metal cup or cap [6, this being a conventional structure used in connection with electric appliance plugs and usually grasped in pulling the plug from the posts of the appliance over which the sockets 8 are telescopically passed. It is of course to be understood that the fingers 9, heads 2 and arms 3 are of an electric insulating material and that the sheath in likewise is of such material, and the wires 9 are covered with insulation except where their connections are made to the post receiving sockets 8.

With the construction as described, the parallel fingers l which carry the postreceiving sockets 8 maybe adjusted to any one of a number of positions between extreme outer and inner positions and held in such positions by tightening the screw 5. The application of the plugto-the posts on an electrical appliance, like a fiatiron or other appliance having such spaced apart parallel posts, is readily and easily obtained and thettelescopic entrance of the posts into the sockets 8 is without binding due to the parallel location, 'at'all times, of said posts with respect to the longitudinal;axessoffthetubular.portionsrof thelsocket member ail. L'Ihestructure. is one economical to make and'zveryr. readily assembled.

llheinventionis definedin the appended claims andiistobe considered comprehensive of. all forms of structure coming within their scope.

Exclaim:

.1. An adjustable appliance plug comprising, twoyidenticalimembers.each.having a finger with a'longitudinal :passage, a-n iintegral head 1 at one s gitudinal passages :in said fingers, :and circuit wires connected one to each of said posts.

2..A structure as defined in claim lysaid adjusting means comprising a screw threaded through one'of'said :arms and bearing against the other, and-a spring actuated clip associated with said circuit wires having opposed jaws detachably engaging said arms at the, outer sides thereof, said arms having grooves to receive the aws 3. A structure as defined in claim 1, said socket members being of metal and of cylindrical cross section at their outer end positions and flattened at their opposite end portions, to which flattened portions said circuit wires are connected, and a pin passing through eachof said socket members having anrextension at one end, said arms having recesses to receive the ends of said extensions of the pins.

"4. An adjustable plug appliance comprising, two parallel fingers each at one end having a laterally extending arm, said members having 'identical'structure, means for slideably connecting thearm of. each member with the other member for adjusting said fingers toward and away from each other and maintaining them in parallel relation, means for. releasably securing said members in .-any :adjusted fposition'g'to which moved, "and ielectroeconductive :means .:housed within said ,fingers lengthwise thereof having cuter :ends'into which. two spaced ,posts of/an electrical appliance are receivable.

5.,An adjustable a pliance 1 plug comprising, twoparallel fingers eachatone. end having.- a laterally extending arm, .means for s1idably-connecting thearm-ofeachqfinger with theothenfinger for adjusting the fingers .toward"or?away from each other inparallel :relation,--.each'-of:saidtfingers having a longitudinal passage and feach; arm havinga cavity communicating withthe passage in its finger, said ;cavities being in registering communication, each passage ,having an; electroconductive. socket mounted therein and circuit wires extending into said cavities rand one connected to zeach electro-conductive; socket.

-CHAD IA. PEEBLES.

V'REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED .s'rA'rEs. PATENTS Number Name Date 530,011 "'Pacent -IWarfI-7, 1925 "FOREIGN PATENTS Number 1 Country Date 2623;208 .Great Britain Dec. :21, 1926 77l',7.75 -France f July :30, I934

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