Introducing the Biceptacle™ Electrical Outlet

We were recently contacted by K.T. Kim (president of KCSM, Inc.) about his Biceptacle™ electrical outlet. This is a device that eliminates permanent "Half-Hot" or "Switched" outlets and their limitations by combining 2 receptacles into one. What we also uncovered is another inspirational story about how a "light bulb" moment catapulted K.T. down his entrepreneurial road and after overcoming many obstacles his idea is now a reality. We asked him to share his story and hope that you find inspiration to follow through on your great ideas.

K.T. Kim's Story:

My name is K.T. Kim and I am a naturalized US Citizen originally from South Korea. From a very young age, my parents taught me the lessons and values of hard work and perseverance. They also taught me to treat others fairly and to always leave the places I go a bit better than how I found it. These lessons have formed who I am today and I will forever be grateful to my parents.

I am a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and a commercial airline pilot. I am also currently trying my hand at being an entrepreneur.

The fork in my life’s road which took me down the entrepreneurial path began during the Summer of 2000 when I was helping my brother (then a general contractor) on one of his remodeling projects.

The owners (for whatever reason) requested that all duplex outlets in the house be switched or “Half Hot”. So as I was observing the subcontracted electrician installing the Half Hot outlets, it occurred to me that the new owners (in many respects) would be losing half of the functionality of these duplex outlets (since a Half Hot outlet could never be used as a standard continually hot duplex outlet).

It was there that I began to wonder if it could be possible to somehow afford users full functionality of duplex outlets regardless of whether they were Half Hot or not.

Then came the “light bulb” moment. A Half Hot outlet is nothing more than two sockets (with one Hot contact and one Switch controlled contact) sharing a COMMON Neutral. I wondered if it would be possible to combine two sockets into one hybrid socket utilizing a single COMMON Neutral contact slot. With this new hybrid socket configuration, the user could access two different circuits by simply plugging into one side or the other (while utilizing the same Neutral contact slot).

That single event on that Summer’s day in 2000 was the spark that catapulted me down the entrepreneurial fork (nearly 12 years and counting so far!).

I immediately obtained the latest 3D CAD (computer aided design) software available and began modeling and testing various versions of the new hybrid design while simultaneously launching into the world of patents and trademarks.

Near the end of 2004, after numerous iterations and prototypes, I finally had (what I thought at the time) a workable design as well as the first patent on my product. I decided on the name Biceptacle™ since my product is just that, two receptacles combined into one.

Although I was fairly sure that my design would not violate any Codes, I decided to conduct some research just to be sure. It was then that I Googled “NEC” and found the name Mike Holt.

After a few email exchanges, Mike agreed to meet with me for breakfast at the then upcoming 2005 Electric West Show at the Anaheim Convention Center to look over the Biceptacle™.

My crude prototype did not even have correctly colored terminal screws, yet Mike was gracious enough to offer his help to promote the Biceptacle™ after seeing it at our breakfast meeting.

I was humbled and grateful for his offer and left the meeting on Cloud 9. Soon thereafter, however, the realities and challenges of bringing a new product to market hit me squarely in the face.

I immediately ran into quality control problems in taking the prototype to the manufacturing stage and fruitlessly spent over 2 full years trying to iron out the problems at my contracted manufacturing facility. In the end I was forced to start from scratch with completely new tooling at a different facility.

That new facility initially also had some quality control problems which took a good year to sort out. It was now well into 2008. However, as fate would have it, another bombshell fell into my lap just as I was getting ready commence my full manufacturing runs.

I found out through my brother’s electrical subcontractor that there was going to be a substantial change in the 2008 NEC concerning Tamper Resistance (TR) and that new residential construction would require integral TR Mechanisms in all outlets.

I was thus forced to go back to the drawing board to completely redesign the Biceptacle™ with a triple shutter TR mechanism. Soon thereafter (in 2009), the issue of quality control again reared its head when the TR mechanism proved too much of a challenge for the second manufacturing facility.

I was then fortunate enough to find a third (and final) manufacturing facility with world class technical expertise and equipment. The last two year have been spent refining, testing, and perfecting the TR Biceptacle™ which is now finally ready to go to market.

The world of electrical outlets (although crucial) is certainly not the most dynamic. The outlet has not gone through any significant change in many decades. My dream is to change that. Simply, my dream is to make the Biceptacle™ the New Standard of electrical outlets within five to ten years. Wired appropriately, It does everything a regular outlet does and much much more.

The Biceptacles™ increase electrical fire safety as well as decrease tripping hazards (by eliminating the use of hazardous extension cords for lighting), help easily control “Standby” or “Vampire / Phantom” electrical losses caused by continually plugged in electrical appliances (and thus decrease energy consumption / carbon footprint), allow easy equalization of high wattage loads in multiple circuit areas (e.g. - in kitchens), and allow simultaneous use of large polarized transformers / GFCI corded appliances (e.g.- in bathrooms).

You won’t be disappointed with the Biceptacle™. From the moment you pick one up, you’ll notice its world class engineering and manufacturing. From the front you’ll notice the beautiful Triple Slot Hybrid Sockets with integral TR Shutters, and from the back you’ll notice the rock solid low profile space saving “vacuum” type construction (instead of the tall / deep and considerably less installer friendly flat back).

With nearly 12 years invested into this journey, I will not stop until the goal of making the Biceptacle™ into the New Standard is realized. My parents taught me better.

Thank you for your time and thank you for partnering with me to make the world a little better than yesterday.

K.T. Kim
President
KCSM, Inc.

For more information about the Biceptacle™ electrical outlet, please visit K.T.'s website: www.biceptacle.com