ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 20 -- United States Patent no. 12,394,947, issued on Aug. 19.
"Multipurpose wall outlet" was invented by Manolo Fabio Rivera (Elmhurst, N.Y.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A multipurpose wall outlet comprises a support structure having a front side and a rear side configured for mounting to or plugging into a wall outlet receptacle. The support structure includes at least one electrical outlet providing AC power and at least one USB output port. A circuit board and an electronic module comprising a smart chip are mounted to the structure. The smart chip is configured to regulate and convert electrical power from an AC power source into direct current (DC) power. A bridge...