Powered wall plate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10741982-B1
Application number	US-201916599126-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Oct 11, 2019
Priority date	May 7, 2017
Publication date	Aug 11, 2020
Grant date	Aug 11, 2020

Abstract

A powered wall plate with at least two electrical plug prongs. A protruding front face extends from the front surface and has a plurality of electrical current apertures configured to receive an electrical plug. A spacer may be placed between the wall plate and the electrical device to close a gap. A plurality of LED lights is located along a bottom edge of the front surface, a photocell is exposed on the front surface of the wall plate, and a control switch has an on position, an off position, and an auto position. A circuit between the front face and a rear surface of the wall plate is operatively coupled to a USB port on a side surface of the front face. The USB port is configured to provide power when power is supplied to the at least two electrical plug prongs.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A powered wall plate comprising:
a wall plate having a front surface opposite a rear surface and at least one opening extending through the front surface and the rear surface that is sized to expose a first half of an electrical device therethrough;
at least two electrical plug prongs originating within the wall plate and extending rearward from the rear surface, the at least two electrical plug prongs configured to removably mate with an electrical receptacle located on a second half of the electrical device, the rear surface surrounding the at least two electrical plug prongs including a recess, the recess sized to receive a face of an electrical device therein against the rear surface within the recess;
a protruding front face extending from the front surface and having a plurality of electrical current apertures extending into the front face and configured to receive an electrical plug therein;
a plurality of mounting screw apertures extending through the wall plate and configured to receive a plurality of mounting screws to attach the wall plate to the electrical device, wherein at least one of the plurality of mounting screw apertures extends through the protruding front face;
a plurality of LED lights located along a bottom edge of the wall plate and configured to light up in response to an ambient light level;
at least one USB port exposed on a side surface of the protruding front face and electrically coupled to the electrical plug prongs through an electrical circuit located in between the front face and the rear surface; and
a spacer sized to fill a gap between the electrical device and the rear surface within the recess;
wherein the circuit is electrically coupled between the at least one USB port and the at least two electrical plug prongs and configured to provide power to the at least one USB port, the plurality of electrical current apertures, and the plurality of LED lights when power is supplied to the at least two electrical plug prongs;
wherein the at least two electrical plug prongs extend through the spacer to removably mate with the electrical receptacle; and
wherein the powered wall plate has a unitary construction.

2. The powered wall plate of claim 1 , further comprising a photocell exposed on one of the front face or front surface of the wall plate, the photocell electrically coupled to the plurality of LED lights and configured to control electricity to the plurality of LED lights.

3. The powered wall plate of claim 1 , further comprising a control switch having an on position, an off position, and an auto position, the control switch electrically coupled to the plurality of LED lights and configured to control electricity to the plurality of LED lights.

4. The powered wall plate of claim 1 , further comprising an adapter positioned within the opening and configured to adapt a shape of the opening to a shape of the electrical device.

5. The powered wall plate of claim 1 , wherein the first half of the electrical device is a top half of the electrical device.

6. The powered wall plate of claim 1 , wherein the second half of the electrical device is a bottom half of the electrical device.

7. A powered wall plate comprising:
a wall plate having a front surface opposite a rear surface and at least one opening extending through the front surface and the rear surface that is sized large enough to expose a portion of an electrical device therethrough, the front surface of the wall plate sized large enough to cover all of a front edge of an opening to an electrical outlet junction box;
at least two electrical plug prongs originating within the wall plate and extending rearward away from the rear surface, the at least two electrical plug prongs configured to removably mate with an electrical receptacle of the electrical device;
a protruding front face extending forward of the front surface and having a plurality of electrical current apertures extending into the front face aligned with the at least two electrical plug prongs of the wall plate, the plurality of electrical current apertures of the protruding front face configured to receive an electrical plug with at least two electrical prongs in mating relation respectively into the plurality of electrical current apertures;
a plurality of mounting screw apertures extending through the wall plate and configured to receive a plurality of mounting screws to attach the wall plate to the electrical device;
a plurality of LED lights located along an edge of the wall plate; and
at least one USB port exposed on a surface of the protruding front face and electrically coupled to the electrical plug prongs;
wherein the powered wall plate has a unitary construction.

8. The powered wall plate of claim 7 , wherein the portion of the electrical device is a top half of the electrical device.

9. The powered wall plate of claim 8 , wherein the electrical receptacle with which the at least two electrical plug prongs are configured to removably mate is located on a bottom half of the electrical device.

10. The powered wall plate of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the plurality of mounting screw apertures extends through the protruding front face.

11. The powered wall plate of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of LED lights is located along a bottom edge of the wall plate and configured to light up in response to an ambient light level detected by a photocell exposed through the protruding front face.

12. The powered wall plate of claim 7 , further comprising an electrical circuit located in between the front face and the rear surface; wherein the circuit is electrically coupled between the at least one USB port and the at least two electrical plug prongs and configured to provide power to the at least one USB port, the plurality of electrical current apertures, and the plurality of LED lights when power is supplied to the at least two electrical plug prongs.

13. The powered wall plate of claim 7 , wherein the at least one USB port is exposed on a side surface of the protruding front face.

14. The powered wall plate of claim 7 , further comprising a spacer configured to close a gap between the electrical device and the rear surface, wherein the at least two electrical plug prongs extend through the spacer to removably mate with the electrical receptacle.

15. A powered wall plate comprising:
a wall plate having a front surface opposite a rear surface and at least one opening extending through the front surface and the rear surface that is large enough to expose a first half of an electrical device therethrough and small enough to cover a second half of the electrical device that is adjacent to the first half of the electrical device;
at least two electrical plug prongs originating within the wall plate and extending rearward away from the rear surface, the at least two electrical plug prongs configured to removably mate with an electrical receptacle located on the second half of the electrical device, wherein the first half of the electrical device is exposed through the at least one opening when the at least two electrical plug prongs are mated with the electrical receptacle located on the second half of the electrical device;
a protruding front face extending forward of the front surface, and an electrical circuit located in between the front face and the rear surface, wherein the electrical circuit is electrically coupled between the at least two electrical plug prongs, and at least one USB port on a side wall of the wall plate, the side wall extending from the front face toward the rear surface, wherein the electrical circuit is conf

Assignees

• Baldwin Jeffrey P

Inventors

• Baldwin Jeffrey P

Classifications

• H01R13/665 Primary

  with built-in electronic circuit (H01R13/70, H01R13/719 take precedence) · CPC title

• H01R27/02

  for simultaneous co-operation with two or more {dissimilar} counterparts · CPC title

• H01R13/717

  with built-in light source · CPC title

• H01R13/748 Primary

  using one or more screws (H01R13/746 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01R25/006

  the coupling part being secured to apparatus or structure, e.g. duplex wall receptacle · CPC title