Locking electrical outlet

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention is directed to a lockable electrical socket that has at least one pivoting jaw that is mounted in a movable carrier.
The carrier has openings for the prongs of the plug.
The carrier is slidably supported in a housing.
A pair of resilient conductive contacts are fixed relative to the housing and project into the interior of the carrier.
Cuts made in the carrier allow the carrier to move relative to the conductive contacts.
As the carrier moves to the locked position, the pivoting jaw is cammed into a position where the pivoting jaw hooks the plug's prong inserted into the carrier.
Once the carrier is locked in place the plug will be retained in the socket.
The plug can be released by pushing in the carrier by pushing in on the plug, and then allowing the carrier and the plug to be thrust out of the housing under spring pressure.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an electrical socket that releasably locks electrical plugs in place.
It is another object of the invention to provide a lockable electrical socket which can be locked and unlocked by simply pushing in the plug.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a lockable electrical socket which can be unlocked by a key to prevent unauthorized access thereto.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a socket that can releasably retain a dummy plug to prevent children from inserting metal objects therein.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.