JP2005235641A - Socket - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a socket with which short-circuit caused because terminals on the plug side are electrically connected to each other is prevented, and with which effective ESD (Electro Static Discharge) protection function is demonstrated. <P>SOLUTION: This is the socket 1 in which a static electricity discharge mechanism 8 is installed to make static electricity in the plug side discharged to the socket main body 4 having a terminal 3 in the socket side connected to a terminal 2 on the plug side when the plug is fitted. The static electricity discharge mechanism 8 is provided with: a discharge board 12 which is mounted on the plug opposing face 9 of the socket main body 4, which is formed in a board state to cover the terminal 3 in the socket side, and in which an insertion hole 13 is opened to be matched with the position of the terminal 3 on the socket side; an insulation member 14; and a discharge hole 18 which is formed in the plug opposing face (front face insulation part 14a) of the insulation member 14. The discharge hole 18 has a smaller aperture cross sectional shape than a cross sectional shape of the terminal 2 on the plug side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a socket for ESD (Electro Static Discharge) protection.

  For example, there are many devices such as a personal computer and a monitor that transmit and receive electrical signals between various electronic devices and perform desired operations. In such a system, each electronic device (personal computer, monitor, etc.) is provided with a socket having signal terminals connected to the internal electronic circuit, and on the other hand, plugs having signal terminals etc. are attached to both ends of the cable. A connection cable is prepared, and a plug of the cable is fitted into the socket of the device to connect both signal terminals and the like, thereby enabling transmission and reception of electrical signals between the devices.

  By the way, when static electricity is charged in one electronic device (personal computer), the plug on the opposite side of the cable of the plug fitted in the socket of the electronic device is fitted in the socket of the other electronic device (monitor). In some cases, static electricity is discharged from the plug to the signal terminal of the socket, and the electronic circuit inside the other electronic device (monitor) may be damaged. The same problem occurs when static electricity is charged to the operator who fits the plug into the socket.

  Therefore, a socket provided with an ESD mechanism that discharges the static electricity on the plug side without affecting the terminals on the socket side when the plug is fitted has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). This socket for ESD protection is configured by attaching a conductor wire for discharge to a socket body having a terminal connected to a terminal on the plug side, positioned on the front side in the fitting direction with respect to the terminal.

  According to such a socket, when the plug is brought close to the socket for mating, static electricity charged on the plug side is discharged to the wire located on the front side in the mating direction. Discharge to the terminal of the socket body located is prevented. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the electronic circuit on the socket side connected to this terminal from being damaged by electrostatic discharge.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-162578

  However, in the above socket, the wire for electrostatic discharge is provided so as to be exposed on the forefront of the socket body, so that when the plug is fitted, the terminal of the plug accidentally touches this wire and so-called short-circuits. there is a possibility.

  That is, since the plug has a ground terminal, a power terminal, etc. in addition to the signal terminal, if the signal terminal of the plug and the power terminal are in contact with the discharge wire at the same time, a signal is transmitted from the power terminal through the wire. An unexpected power supply current may flow backward in the terminal, and the electronic circuit of the electronic device connected to the signal terminal may be damaged. Such a short circuit may occur, for example, when trying to connect a cable to a monitor with the personal computer activated.

  An object of the present invention created in view of the above circumstances is to provide a socket capable of preventing the short circuit and exhibiting an effective ESD protection function.

  The present invention devised to solve the above problems is an electrostatic discharge mechanism for discharging static electricity on the plug side to a socket body having a socket side terminal connected to the plug side terminal when the plug is fitted. The electrostatic discharge mechanism is mounted on the plug-facing surface of the socket body, is formed in a plate shape that covers the socket-side terminal, and has an insertion hole in accordance with the position of the socket-side terminal. An open discharge plate, an insulating member provided on the discharge plate and formed so as to cover at least a plug-facing surface of the discharge plate and having a plug hole opened in accordance with the position of the insertion hole, and the insulation A discharge hole formed on the plug-facing surface of the member, the discharge hole comprising a front portion on the surface side facing the plug and a back portion located in the back thereof, the back portion being on the plug side End of And has a small opening cross-section than the cross-sectional shape (claim 1).

  The front portion preferably has a larger opening cross-sectional shape than the cross-sectional shape of the plug-side terminal.

  Further, the front portion is preferably formed in a tapered shape in which the front side in the insertion direction of the terminal on the plug side is widened.

  According to the present invention, the following effects can be exhibited.

  (1) According to the invention of claim 1, when the plug is brought close to the socket, the static electricity charged in the plug is discharged to the discharge plate through the discharge hole, so that an effective ESD protection function can be exhibited, and Since the opening cross-sectional shape at the back of the discharge hole is smaller than the cross-sectional shape of the plug terminal, the terminal on the plug side does not directly contact the discharge plate through the discharge hole, and so-called short circuit can be prevented. Furthermore, since the front part of the discharge hole is formed larger than the back part, it becomes easy to discharge and the ESD effect is enhanced.

  (2) According to the invention of claim 2, since the opening cross-sectional shape of the front portion of the discharge hole is larger than the cross-sectional shape of the terminal on the plug side, the discharge performance is enhanced.

  (3) According to the invention of claim 3, since the front portion of the discharge hole is formed in a tapered shape, the edge portion at the opening edge of the front portion is eliminated, and the discharge performance is improved.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 is a perspective view of a socket according to the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, the socket 1 includes a socket body 4 having a terminal 3 connected to a plug-side terminal 2 (see FIG. 5) when the plug is fitted. The socket body 4 has a housing 5 made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin. The housing 5 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and is integrally formed with the base portion 5a and a base portion 5a attached to an electronic device such as a personal computer. The connecting portion 5b is connected to a plug (not shown).

  Various terminals 3 such as a signal terminal, a ground terminal, and a power supply terminal are mounted on the housing 5. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, these terminals 3 have a cross section in which a central portion 3a is press-fitted and fixed in a terminal press-fit groove 6 formed in a base portion 5b, and a front end portion 3b is formed in a connection portion 5b. It is accommodated in the rectangular terminal connection hole 7, and the rear end portion 3c protrudes rearward from the base portion 5a. The rear end 3c is connected to a wiring board of an electronic device (not shown).

  The socket body 4 is provided with an electrostatic discharge mechanism 8 which is a feature of the present embodiment. The electrostatic discharge mechanism 8 discharges the static electricity on the plug side without affecting the terminals 3 of the socket body 4, and as shown in FIG. The claws 10 are engaged. The nail | claw part 10 is formed in the opening inner edge of the shell member 11 mentioned later.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the electrostatic discharge mechanism 8 includes a discharge plate 12 made of a conductive metal formed in a plate shape covering the plug facing surface 9 (top surface) of the connecting portion 5b. ing. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an insertion hole 13 having the same cross-sectional shape (square shape) as the terminal connection hole 7 is formed in the discharge plate 12 according to the position of the terminal connection hole 7.

  The electrostatic discharge mechanism 8 includes an insulating member 14 provided on the discharge plate 12. The insulating member 14 is made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin, and is formed so as to cover at least the plug facing surface 12a of the discharge plate 12. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the insulating member 14 is formed in a shape that covers not only the plug facing surface 12 a of the discharge plate 12 but also the plug opposite surface 12 b, and the insertion hole 13 of the discharge plate 12. It is formed in the shape which covers the inner peripheral part.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the insulating member 14 covers the front insulating portion 14 a formed in a plate shape covering the plug facing surface 12 a of the discharge plate 12 and the plug opposite facing surface 12 b of the discharge plate 12. A rear insulating portion 14b formed in a plate shape and a hole insulating portion 14c formed in a cylindrical shape covering the inner peripheral portion of the insertion hole 13 of the discharge plate 12 are provided. This structure is manufactured by inserting the discharge plate 12 into a mold and injection-molding an insulating material such as synthetic resin, that is, insert molding or the like.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the front insulating portion 14 a is provided with a front plug hole 15 opened in accordance with the position of the insertion hole 13 of the discharge plate 12. The front plug hole 15 is formed in a long hexagonal shape and is opened smaller than the insertion hole 13 (square shape) of the discharge plate 12. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2, a triangular shielding part 22 is provided in the vicinity of the front plug hole 15 (long hexagonal shape) to cover opposite corners of the insertion hole 13 (square shape). .

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the rear insulating portion 14 b is also provided with a rear plug hole 16 opened in accordance with the position of the insertion hole 13 of the discharge plate 12. The rear plug hole 16 is also formed in a long hexagonal shape, and is opened smaller than the insertion hole 13 (square shape) of the discharge plate 12. Thereby, the triangular shielding part 17 which covers the corner | angular part which the insertion hole 13 (square shape) opposes is provided in the vicinity of the rear surface plug hole 16 (long hexagon shape).

  The front plug hole 15 and the rear plug hole 16 are formed in the same shape, and are set to a size that allows insertion and removal of the terminal 2 of the plug shown in FIG. The front plug hole 15 and the rear plug hole 16 are not limited to the long hexagonal shape as described above, and may have any shape as long as the terminal 2 of the plug can be inserted and removed. The insertion hole 13 is not limited to a square shape.

  Moreover, the electrostatic discharge mechanism 8 has the discharge hole 18 formed in the plug opposing surface of the insulating member 14, ie, the front surface insulation part 14a, as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the discharge hole 18 has a back portion 18a on the side facing the discharge plate 12 and a front portion 18b on the side facing the terminal 2 of the plug.

  The front portion 18b has an opening cross-sectional shape larger than the cross-sectional shape of the plug-side terminal 2, and the back portion 18a has an opening cross-sectional shape smaller than the cross-sectional shape of the plug-side terminal 2. The front portion 18b is formed in a tapered (cone-shaped) hole in which the front side in the insertion direction of the plug-side terminal 2 is widened, and the back portion 18a is formed in a cylindrical hole.

  In addition, although the discharge hole 18 is arrange | positioned between the up-down directions of each front plug hole 15 in the example of a figure, you may arrange | position not only in this but between the left-right directions of each front plug hole 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, the discharge plate 12 is connected to a shell member 11 formed in a cylindrical shape from a conductive metal and attached to the socket body 4. The shell member 11 includes a cylindrical portion 11a formed so as to surround the side surface portion of the housing connection portion 5b of the socket body 4, and a flange portion 11b formed so as to cover the front surface of the housing base portion 5a of the socket body 4. Have. And as shown in FIG. 5, the ear | edge part 12c of the discharge plate 12 is connected with the cylinder part 11a. Further, the claw portion 10 provided at the inner edge of the opening of the shell member 11 presses the electrostatic discharge mechanism 8 against the plug facing surface 9.

  The shell member 11 is grounded to an electronic device to which the socket 1 is attached via a bolt 19. That is, bolt holes 20 and 21 are respectively formed in the flange portion 11b of the shell member 11 and the base portion 5a of the housing 5, and the bolts 19 are inserted into these bolt holes 20 and 21 to connect the socket 1 to the electronic device. When mounted on the shell member 11, the shell member 11 is grounded to the electronic device via the bolt 19.

  The operation of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the plug is brought close to the socket 1, static electricity charged on the plug side is discharged to the discharge plate 12 or the opening portion 11c of the cylindrical portion 11a of the shell member 11 as seen from the discharge hole 18 shown in FIG. The Since the static electricity sometimes has a high voltage of several tens of thousands of volts, even if the plug-side terminal 2 is away from the discharge plate 12 or the opening 11c of the shell member 11 as viewed from the discharge hole 18, the discharge occurs when it approaches within a predetermined distance. It happens.

  The discharge plate 12 and the opening 11 c of the shell member 11 viewed from the discharge hole 18 are arranged on the near side in the plug fitting direction with respect to the terminal 3 of the socket body 4. Therefore, the static electricity on the plug side is not the terminal 3 of the socket body 4 located on the back side in the fitting direction, but the discharge plate 12 and / or the shell member 11 viewed from the discharge hole 18 arranged on the near side in the fitting direction. This discharges to the opening 11c.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the discharge hole 18 has a front portion 18b having a larger hole diameter than the back portion 18a. For this reason, even when the plug-side terminal 2 approaches the discharge hole 18 obliquely with respect to the normal of the plate-like front insulating portion 14a, the discharge plate 12 can be easily viewed through the discharge hole 18 from the proximity direction. . Therefore, it becomes easier to discharge the front portion 18b than the simple hole type having the same diameter as the back portion 18a. In the illustrated example, since the front portion 18b of the discharge hole 18 is formed in a taper shape, the edge portion at the opening edge of the front portion 18b (the portion that blocks the discharge plate 12 when viewed from the terminal 2 approaching obliquely) is efficiently small. Thus, the discharge performance is improved efficiently.

  Further, since the back portion 18a can prevent direct contact with the discharge plate 12 of the terminal 2 on the plug side, that is, a short circuit, the front portion 18b can be appropriately enlarged as necessary. That is, as long as the back portion 18a is smaller than the terminal 2 on the plug side, the terminal 2 is not in direct contact with the discharge plate 12, and no short circuit occurs, so that the hole diameter of the front portion 18b can be appropriately increased as necessary. Thereby, the part which interrupts the discharge plate 12 seeing from the terminal 2 approaching from diagonally can be made small suitably, and discharge property will improve.

  Thus, the construction of the discharge hole 18 from the large-diameter front portion 18b and the small-diameter back portion 18a is substantially equivalent to the thin plate-like front insulating portion 14a from the viewpoint of improving the discharge performance. If the front insulating portion 14a is actually thinned, its strength decreases, and therefore, the front insulating portion 14a is broken due to contact of the terminal 2 on the plug side and the like, which may cause a short circuit. In the present embodiment, the discharge hole 18 is composed of a large-diameter front portion 18b and a small-diameter back portion 18a, so that the front insulating portion 14a has a thickness that is not easily damaged by contact of the terminal 2 on the plug side, etc. As described above, the discharge performance from the plug-side terminal 2 to the discharge plate 12 can be improved.

  The discharged static electricity is grounded to an electronic device to which the socket 1 is attached via a bolt 19. Therefore, the terminals 3 of the socket body 4 are not affected by static electricity, and the electronic circuit connected to these terminals 3 is not damaged by static electricity. Thereafter, when the plug is fitted into the socket 1, the plug-side terminal 2 is connected to the terminal 3 of the socket body 4.

  As described above, when the plug is brought close to the socket 1, the plug-side static electricity is discharged and grounded without affecting the terminal 3 of the socket body 4, and then is fitted to the plug to be connected to both terminals 2. 3 are connected to each other, so that an effective ESD protection function can be exhibited.

  Further, when the plug is fitted into the socket 1, even if the plug terminal 2 is accidentally pressed against the discharge hole 18 of the socket 1, the opening cross-sectional shape of the inner portion 18b of the discharge hole 18 is the cross section of the plug terminal 2. Since it is formed smaller than the shape, the terminal 2 of the plug does not directly contact the discharge plate 12 through the discharge hole 18. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a problem caused when the plug terminals 2 are short-circuited via the discharge plate 12.

  That is, if the signal terminal 2 and the power supply terminal 2 of the plug are short-circuited via the discharge plate 12, an unexpected power supply current flows backward from the power supply terminal 2 to the signal terminal 2 via the discharge plate 12. However, in the socket 1, since the opening cross-sectional shape of the inner portion 18b of the discharge hole 18 is smaller than the cross-sectional shape of the terminal 2 of the plug, it is possible to prevent such a problem. That is why.

  The power supply voltage of the terminal 2 of the plug is remarkably smaller than the electrostatic voltage charged on the plug side, so that the terminal 2 is discharged to the discharge plate 12 as long as it is separated from the discharge plate 12 viewed through the discharge hole 18. The short-circuit problem occurs only when the signal terminal 2 and the power supply terminal 2 of the plug are in direct contact with the discharge plate 12. Therefore, in the socket 1 in which the opening cross-sectional shape of the inner portion 18b of the discharge hole 18 is smaller than the cross-sectional shape of the terminal 2 of the plug, the short-circuit problem can be completely prevented.

  Further, since the plug holes 15 and 16 of the insulating member 14 are smaller than the insertion holes 13 of the discharge plate 12 and are minimum openings through which the terminals 2 can be inserted by the shielding portions 22 and 17, static electricity on the plug side is prevented. It becomes difficult to discharge to the terminal 3 of the socket main body 4 arranged in the back of the insertion hole 13, and the ESD protection function is improved.

  A modification is shown in FIG.

  In this embodiment, only the configuration of the discharge hole 18 ′ is different from the discharge hole 18 of the previous embodiment, and the other configuration is the same. The discharge hole 18 ′ is formed so that the front portion 18 b ′ and the back portion 18 a ′ are both tapered, and the plug-side terminal 2 is caught in the middle of the hole 18 ′. That is, the terminal 2 can be inserted up to the front portion 18b ', but cannot be inserted in the middle of the back portion 18a'.

  Also according to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the previous embodiment are achieved. Note that the taper angles of the front portion 18b 'and the back portion 18a' may be different. Further, the back portion 18a 'may have a reverse taper shape. By doing so, the area of the discharge plate 12 that can be seen through the hole 18 ′ from an oblique direction is increased, so that the discharge performance is further improved. Further, the front portion 18b 'is not a tapered hole but may be a simple circular hole as long as it has a larger diameter than the back portion 18a'.

  A modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (a), (b), and (c).

  6A is a plan sectional view showing the electrostatic discharge mechanism 8 of the above embodiment, FIG. 6B is a plan sectional view showing a modification of the electrostatic discharge mechanism, and FIG. 6C is another diagram of the electrostatic discharge mechanism. It is a plane sectional view showing a modification.

  Since the electrostatic discharge mechanism 8 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6A has a structure in which the discharge plate 12 is housed inside the insulating member 14 by insert molding, the discharge plate 12 excludes the discharge hole 18 portion. The insulating member 14 (front insulating part 14a, rear insulating part 14b, hole insulating part 14c) is completely covered.

  In the modification shown in FIG. 6B, the configuration of the insulating member 14 'of the electrostatic discharge mechanism 8' is different from that shown in FIG. That is, the insulating member 14 'is omitted from the hole insulating portion 14c shown in FIG. This structure is manufactured by sticking the front insulating part 14a and the rear insulating part 14b formed in a film shape or a thin plate shape so as to sandwich the discharge plate 12 therebetween.

  Further, the front plug hole 15 opened in the front insulating part 14 a and the rear plug hole 16 opened in the rear insulating part 14 b are formed smaller than the insertion hole 13 opened in the discharge plate 12. Thus, predetermined gaps C are formed between the opening edge of the front plug hole 15 and the opening edge of the insertion hole 13 and between the opening edge of the rear plug hole 16 and the opening edge of the insertion hole 13, respectively. Therefore, when the plug terminal 2 is inserted, the terminal 2 is prevented from coming into contact with the discharge plate 12, and a short circuit can be prevented.

  In the modification shown in FIG. 6C, the configuration of the insulating member 14 ″ of the electrostatic discharge mechanism 8 ″ is different from that shown in FIG. That is, the insulating member 14 ″ omits the rear insulating portion 14 b and the hole insulating portion 14 c shown in FIG. This configuration is manufactured by sticking the front insulating portion 14a formed in a film shape or a thin plate shape to the plug facing surface 12a of the discharge plate 12 or the like.

  Further, the front plug hole 15 opened in the front insulating portion 14 a is formed smaller than the insertion hole 13 opened in the discharge plate 12. As a result, a predetermined gap C is formed between the opening edge of the front plug hole 15 and the opening edge of the insertion hole 13. Therefore, when the plug terminal 2 is inserted, the terminal 2 is prevented from coming into contact with the discharge plate 12, and a short circuit can be prevented.

It is a perspective view of the socket which concerns on this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows a mode that a part of front insulation part of the electrostatic discharge mechanism was excised from FIG. It is the III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the electrostatic discharge mechanism was removed from FIG. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the modification of an electrostatic discharge mechanism, (a) is plane sectional drawing of the said electrostatic discharge mechanism, (b) is plane sectional drawing which shows the modification of an electrostatic discharge mechanism, (c) is static electricity It is a plane sectional view showing another modification of a discharge mechanism. It is a fracture perspective view of a discharge hole. It is the VIII-VIII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the discharge hole which shows a modification.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Socket 2 Terminal on plug side 3 Terminal on socket side 4 Socket body 8 Electrostatic discharge mechanism 9 Plug facing surface 12 Discharge plate 13 Insertion hole 14 Insulating member 14a Front insulating portion (plug facing surface of insulating member)
15 Plug hole 18 Discharge hole 18a Deep part 18b Front part 18 'Discharge hole 18a' Deep part 18b 'Front part

Claims (3)

When a plug is fitted, a socket body having a socket-side terminal connected to a plug-side terminal is provided with an electrostatic discharge mechanism that discharges static electricity on the plug side.
A discharge plate that is mounted on the plug-facing surface of the socket body, is formed in a plate shape that covers the terminal on the socket side, and an insertion hole is opened in accordance with the position of the terminal on the socket side;
An insulating member provided on the discharge plate and formed so as to cover at least the plug-facing surface of the discharge plate and having a plug hole opened in accordance with the position of the insertion hole;
A discharge hole formed in the plug facing surface of the insulating member,
The discharge hole is composed of a front portion on the surface side facing the plug and a back portion located in the back thereof, and the back portion has an opening cross-sectional shape smaller than a cross-sectional shape of the terminal on the plug side. Features socket.   The socket according to claim 1, wherein the front portion has an opening cross-sectional shape larger than a cross-sectional shape of the terminal on the plug side. The socket according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front portion is formed in a tapered shape in which a front side in the insertion direction of the terminal on the plug side is widened.

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