This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-141144, filed on Jun. 24, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
A certain aspect of the embodiments discussed herein is related to a connector.
Generally, electrical apparatuses operate with electric power supplied from a power supply. In receiving electric power from a power supply, usually, the electric power is supplied from the power supply to an electrical apparatus via a connector. The connector used in this case establishes electrical connection by mating a plug connector and a jack connector as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 5-82208 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2003-31301.
On the other hand, in recent years, studies have been made, as a measure against global warming, of supplying direct-current, high-voltage electric power in power transmission in local areas as well. Such a form of power supply, which is reduced in power loss in voltage conversion or power transmission and does not require an increase in cable thickness, is considered desirable particularly for electrical apparatuses such as servers, which consume a large amount of electric power.
The electric power supplied to electrical apparatuses may affect a human body or operations of electronic components if the voltage of the electric power is high. In the case of using such high-voltage electric power for information apparatuses such as servers, connectors, where electrical connection is established, need to be different from those used for usual alternating-current commercial power supplies because the installation and the maintenance of the apparatuses are manually performed.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a connector includes a movable contact part formed of an insulating material; an electrically conductive movable terminal part; and an electrically conductive fixed terminal part, wherein the movable terminal part and the fixed terminal part are caused to come into contact by the movable terminal part being pressed via the movable contact part by an electrically conductive plug electrode terminal of another connector after the plug electrode terminal inserted into a jack terminal opening part of the connector comes into contact with the movable terminal part, so that the plug electrode terminal and the fixed terminal part are electrically connected via the movable terminal part.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a connector includes a first connector including an electrically conductive plug electrode terminal, and a housing frame part; and a second connector including a movable contact part formed of an insulating material, an electrically conductive movable terminal part, and an electrically conductive fixed terminal part, wherein the first connector and the second connector are fit and electrically connected to each other by the movable terminal part and the fixed terminal part being caused to come into contact by the movable terminal part being pressed via the movable contact part by the plug electrode terminal after the plug electrode terminal inserted into a jack terminal opening part of the second connector comes into contact with the movable terminal part, so that the plug electrode terminal and the fixed terminal part are electrically connected via the movable terminal part.
The object and advantages of the embodiment will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and not restrictive of the invention.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
As described above, in the case of using high-voltage electric power for information apparatuses such as servers, connectors, where electrical connection is established, need to be different from those used for usual alternating-current commercial power supplies.
Therefore, when the electric power supplied from a power supply has a voltage higher than or equal to 100 V or is high-voltage direct-current electric power, for example, direct-current 400 V, it is dangerous to use connectors currently used for alternating-current 100 V as they are because those connectors do not ensure sufficient safety or reliability with such high-voltage electric power.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a connector is provided that is capable of supplying high-voltage electric power in safety.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a connector is provided that supports a power supply higher in voltage than the current commercial power supply or supports a direct-current power supply and is capable of supplying electric power from these power supplies in safety.
A description is given, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of an embodiment of the present invention. In the following, the same elements or members are referred to by the same reference numeral, and a redundant description thereof is omitted.
A description is given of a connector structure according to this embodiment. A connector according to this embodiment is a connector (or a connector unit) that includes a plug connector 100 and a jack connector 200 illustrated in
Referring to
Referring to
Next, a description is given in more detail, with reference to
A frame part opening 131 is provided in the housing frame part 120 of the plug connector 100. According to this embodiment, the frame part opening 131 is provided at a position immediately below the plug electrode terminal 112. However, the frame part opening 131 may also be provided at any other positions in the housing frame part 120.
Further, according to this embodiment, the jack connector 200 includes a lock pin 230, a movable contact part 240, movable terminal parts 250, and fixed terminal parts 260, which are provided inside the housing frame part 202.
The lock pin 230 includes a projecting part 231. The projecting part 231 projects in the connecting frame groove part 220 (toward the interior surface of the housing frame part 202) with the plug connector 100 and the jack connector 200 being unconnected. When the plug connector 100 and the jack connector 200 are connected, the projecting part 231 is temporarily lifted up by the housing frame part 120 of the plug connector 100 and thereafter enters the frame part opening 131 in the housing frame part 120.
The movable contact part 240 is formed of an insulator. The movable contact part 240 includes two contact pins 241 and a connecting part 242 that connects the two contact pins 241. The two contact pins 241 of the movable contact part 240 are positioned at the back of the jack terminal openings 211 and 213, respectively, inside the extending part 204 so as to be movable (back and forth) in an insertion direction in which the plug electrode terminals 111 and 113 are inserted. Further, in the jack connector 200, the movable terminal parts 250 are provided behind the jack terminal openings 211 and 213, respectively, inside the extending part 204, and the fixed terminal parts 260 are provided further behind the contact pins 241. The contact pins 241 move in the insertion direction to press internal movable terminals 252 of the movable terminal parts 250, so that the movable terminal parts 250 and the fixed terminal parts 260 come into contact with each other.
The lock pin 230 further includes a holding part 232. The projecting part 231 and the holding part 232 define first and second opposite ends, respectively, of the lock pin 230. When the plug connector 100 is not inserted in the jack connector 200, the holding part 232 holds the connecting part 242 of the movable contact part 240, so that the movable contact part 240 is prevented from moving toward the internal movable terminals 252.
The movable terminal parts 250 and the fixed terminal parts 260 are formed of an electrically conductive metal material or the like. With the plug connector 100 and the jack connector 200 being unconnected, the movable terminal parts 250 and the fixed terminal parts 260 are out of contact. Each of the movable terminal parts 250 includes a jack-side terminal 251, the internal movable terminal 252, and an end portion 253. The end portion 253 and the internal movable terminal 252 define first and second opposite ends, respectively, of the movable terminal part 250. The end portion 253 may be fixed to a front wall portion 204a of the extending part 204. A portion of the movable terminal part 250 extending from the end portion 253 defines the jack-side terminal 251. The internal movable terminal 252 defines a free end of the movable terminal part 250 and has a spring characteristic. The fixed terminal parts 260 include respective internal fixed terminals 261.
With the plug connector 100 and the jack connector 200 being fit and connected to each other, the plug electrode terminals 111 and 113 are in contact with the jack-side terminals 251 of the corresponding movable terminal parts 250, and the internal movable terminals 252 are in contact with the corresponding internal fixed terminals 261, so that electric power is supplied from the plug connector 100 to the jack connector 200.
Next, a description is given of the connection of the plug connector 100 and the jack connector 200.
First, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Next, a description is given of the disconnection (extraction) of the plug connector 100 from the jack connector 200. By pulling out the plug connector 100 from the jack connector 200, the feeding of electric power from the plug connector 100 to the jack connector 200 is stopped.
As illustrated in
Thereafter, as a result of pulling the plug connector 100 further out of the jack connector 200 as illustrated in
As a result, the internal movable terminals 252 and the internal fixed terminals 261 are out of contact, although the plug electrode terminals 111 and 113 remain in contact with the jack-side terminals 251, so that the feeding of electric power from the plug connector 100 to the jack connector 200 is stopped.
Thereafter, by pulling the plug connector 100 further out of the jack connector 200, the plug electrode terminals 111 and 113 are caused to come out of contact with the jack-side terminals 251, so that the plug connector 100 and the jack connector 200 are completely separated.
According to the connector of this embodiment, the contact for the feeding of electric power is made not between the plug electrode terminals 111 and 113 of the plug connector 100 and the jack-side terminals 251 of the jack connector 200, but between the internal movable terminals 252 of the movable terminal parts 250 and the internal fixed terminals 261 of the fixed terminal parts 260 inside the jack connector 200. That is, the feeding of electric power from the plug connector 100 to the jack connector 200 is started or stopped not in response to the plug electrode terminals 111 and 113 coming into or out of contact with the jack-side terminals 251 but in response to the internal movable terminals 252 coming into or out of contact with the internal fixed terminals 261.
Accordingly, no arc is generated between the plug electrode terminals 111 and 113 of the plug connector 100 and the jack-side terminals 251 of the jack connector 200, so that it is possible to improve the useful service life and the reliability of the connector. Further, the internal movable terminals 252 (in contact with the internal fixed terminals 261) are separated promptly from the internal fixed terminals 261 by the resilience of a strong spring characteristic of the internal movable terminals 252. Therefore, even if an arc is generated during this period of separation, the arc is generated for an extremely short period of time, so as to hardly cause damage to the internal movable terminals 252 or the internal fixed terminals 261.
All examples and conditional language provided herein are intended for pedagogical purposes of aiding the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventors to further the art, and are not to be construed as limitations to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority or inferiority of the invention. Although one or more embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2011-141144 | Jun 2011 | JP | national |
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Entry |
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Office Action dated Nov. 15, 2014 issued with respect to the corresponding Chinese Patent Application No. 201210294848.0. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20120329307 A1 | Dec 2012 | US |