FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to alarm systems. More particularly, the present invention is a small alarm, to be inserted into an electrical outlet, that will go off when removed from the electrical outlet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Children are inquisitive by nature. Any parent or teacher knows that children are liable to work their way into even the most apparently inaccessible location. This is a natural and healthy part of childhood.

Unfortunately, young children are inexperienced and so are often incapable of recognizing dangerous objects or activities, that would be clearly recognized as such by an adult.

This leads to the unfortunate result that children sometimes attempt to do things that are hazardous, or even life-threatening, and occasionally succeed in the task. Accordingly, parents or other guardians are obliged to keep a close watch over young children at all times so as to ensure that they will stay out of harm's way.

Unfortunately, not even the most vigilant person can keep an eye on a child at all times.

Parents and other guardians simply have too many things to do to be able to always have the child in their sight. In addition, a guardian often must monitor the activities of multiple children,

not all of whom are necessarily in the same location. Accordingly, children often do have opportunities to engage in dangerous behavior relatively unsupervisedly.

One object found, in the typical home, notorious for its seeming allure and danger to children is the common electrical outlet. Children are famously fond of attempting to insert their fingers or small objects into the receptacles of such outlets. Moreover, it is usually quite simple for them to do so, as the outlets are typically placed close to the ground and so are in easy reach of even the smallest child. In addition, being at about the eye level of a crawling child, they easily become objects of his or her interest.

It is obvious that the situation in which a child succeeds in inserting an object into an electrical outlet, can lead to undesirable consequences. Once the object, if conductive, makes contact with the wiring inside the outlet, an electrical circuit will be formed and electricity will race along the object, through the child's body, and into the ground. This results in the electrocution of the child. Usually the effect is not lethal. However, it is certainly quite painful, and certainly not beneficial to the child's health.

There are some current patents that feature alarm systems, regarding appliances or electrical currents but do not meet the specific needs of the present invention.

Patent No. 3,090,948, issued to Cremer on May 21,1963, describes an alarm system in which the plug to an electrical appliance sets off an alarm when unplugged from the outlet.

Cremer's device is intended to prevent theft of the appliance.

Patent No. 3,411,150, issued to Schulein on November 12,1968, describes an alarm that also activates when an appliance is unplugged from an outlet, but the alarm system is enclosed in the outlets it monitors. The outlet has amplifiers wired into them to set off an alarm if appliances

are cut from the outlet. Schulein's invention is intended to monitor many outlets, as in a hotel, or other high risk location, at one time.

U. S. Patent No. 3,289,194, issued to King on November 26,1966, relates to an alarm designed to go off when an appliance is severed or otherwise detached from its power source.

The alarm is activated when the device loses power and not, as is the case with the present invention, when it is physically removed from an electrical outlet. In addition, it is designed to be specific to appliance theft in its application.

U. S. Patent No. 5,162,793, issued to Plost et al. on November 10,1992, shows an electrically powered alarm system designed to go off when a plug is removed from an aperture.

However, the Plost's device is to be used in drain plugs used in water craft, and not in an electrical outlet.

Previous patents are also extant that show protective covers or shields of various sorts for electrical outlets. Examples of this are: U. S. Design Patent No. 267,226, issued to Oster on December 14,1982; U. S. Design Patent No. 279,860, issued to Schwalbe on July 30,1985; and U. S. Design Patent No. 310,320, issued to Domian on September 4,1990. None of these patents describe outlet plugs designed to sound a warning when removed from an electrical outlet.

Indeed, none utilize electrical power in any way whatsoever.

U. S. Patent No. 4,484,185, issued to Graves on November 20,1984, describes a plug adapter designed to make electrical outlets virtually inaccessible to small children. It does not, however, feature an audible alarm as a component element.

There also exist patents describing alarm systems of a more general sort. Examples of this include: U. S. Patent No. 5,652,568, issued to Ko on July 29,1997; Japanese Patent No. 64-

229,423, issued to Saito on April 4,1991; and Japanese Patent No. 4-111,624, issued to Tazume on November 19,1993. None of these devices are triggered when a device is removed from an electrical outlet.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention provides means to alert a parent or other guardian to the fact that an outlet is about to be accessed. This will hopefully give the parent sufficient warning to be able to interrupt the child and prevent the child from doing harm to itself.

The present device is an alarm, housed in a plastic shell, designed to be inserted into an electrical outlet using a set of prongs like those found on the electrical cords with which household appliances are typically equipped. The present invention is designed to sound when the device is removed from an electrical outlet. The alarm is powered using internal batteries, and does not form a circuit with the electrical outlet into which it is inserted.

The present invention is equipped with a conventional two prong system for insertion into the electrical outlet. One of the prongs is hinged to aid in alarm initialization of the alert component. Internally there is a switch which completes a circuit to activate an alarm when one of the prongs bends. That is, the present invention has a conventional spring, which provides constant pulling when the present invention is inserted into the outlet. When the present invention is removed from the outlet, the spring causes the hinged prong to swing inward. This movement of the hinged prong activates an internal switch, which was obstructing a circuit, and the internal switch pulls away from the circuit, completing the circuit between the battery and the

alert component. The alert component will continue to sound until the circuit is broken by the hinged prong returning to the prong's originating position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The Figure displays a side view of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT (s) The present invention is an alarm (5) which is slightly larger than the front of a normal electrical outlet (not shown). The alarm (5) fully covers and restricts access to the electrical outlet. However, the present invention is small and entirely portable, making use easy for care givers even in hotels upon travel.

As shown in the Figure, the present invention exhibits a first prong (50) and second prong (55) as an insertion system. The first prong (50) communicates with hinge (45) so that the first prong (50) is fully extended to enter the electrical outlet. When first prong (50) is fully extended to enter the electrical outlet, hinge (45) moves trigger piece (65) to be in line with first prong (50) and spring (35) is pulled and extended.

Upon removal of the present invention from the electrical outlet, spring (35) wants to return to a state of rest and become non-extended, and thus, trigger piece (65) is pulled down as spring (35) returns to a state of rest and becomes non-extended. Trigger piece (65) moving down causes hinge (45) to act upon first prong (50) so that first prong (50) swings toward second prong (55) and against casing (25). Hinge (45) allows first prong (50) to swing.

When first prong (50) swings toward second prong (55) and against casing (25), spring (35) returns to a state of rest and becomes non-extended, internal trigger piece (65) moves away from contact point (66), allowing completion of circuit (60) between battery (30) and alarm component (20). Once the first prong (50) is extended away from second prong (55) and away from casing (25), spring (35) extends, allowing trigger piece (65) to obstruct completion of circuit (60).

Internal trigger piece (65) is preferably"L-shaped"so that when spring (35) extends and contracts, internal trigger piece (65) can act upon circuit (60). Internal trigger piece (65), spring (35), and hinge (45) form a switch. Internal trigger piece (65), spring (35), and hinge (45) form a switch. Circuit (60), battery (30), and alert component (20) form a warning system. The internal trigger piece (65), once pulled out of circuit (60), will then allow circuit (60) to complete- battery (30) then sends current to alert component (20). It is contemplated that a conventional watch alarm is suitable for alert component (20). Second prong (55) remains fixed and does not move in the present invention.

Housing (25), first prong (50), and second prong (55) are fashioned to fit standard 110- 120 wall receptacles as used in the United States, but can be fashioned to fit outlets in other parts of the world. Although the present invention is intended to be plugged into a standard electrical outlet, it does not rely upon said outlet for power. As it is an object of this invention to alert care givers of unprotected electrical outlets, it would not be sensible to rely upon the device being plugged into the wall to function.

Enclosed in the plastic casing (25) of the present invention (5) is a space for battery (30), preferably of lithium type. This provides the independent power source for the present invention,

making the present invention effective upon removal from the outlet. Battery (30) is separate from the household electrical circuit, so the need for outside power and the potential for false alarms due to power outage are eliminated. When the present invention is removed from the outlet, the alert component (20) emits a sound alerting care givers of open access to the electrical outlet. The present invention enables the parent or guardian to monitor the activities of the child when not present in the same room.

The present invention would be especially useful to visually impaired parents who cannot see that the child is close to electrical shock, but could easily react to the sound of the alert component (20). This sound may provide the warning that the child needs in order to not insert the item or body part into the outlet, possibly electrocuting itself.

Children develop aural abilities that facilitate their learning at a young age. Often loud noises deter children from participating in activities that may be fun for older children, but scare younger children. For example, at a movie theater, school age children seem to enjoy the loud surround sound effects of movies, however toddlers and preschoolers often react in fear to the noise. In this same aspect, these small children may be startled and thus deterred by the noise of the alarm allowing parents or care givers a chance to get to them and remove them from the hazardous situation. The exterior casing (25) protects the present invention from damage and from contact with humans and pets.

Primarily, the present invention is an alarm to warn adults that a child, or person in their care is in the process of accessing a live electrical outlet, but is not limited exclusively, thereto.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.