JP2000268912A - Electromagnetically detachable connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent breakage of a permanent magnet in a movable part in an electromagnetically detachable connector capable of automatically, accurately controlling the mounting.demounting of a female connector and a male connector. SOLUTION: The electromagnetically detachable connector has a female connector 3 and a male connector 4 forming a pair; a fixing part and a movable part in at least either one of the connectors 3, 4; cylindrical members 37, 47 slidably holding permanent magnets 35, 45 on the inside of the movable part; and drives the movable part in the connection or separation of the connectors by making the magnetic force of electromagnets 36, 46 act on permanent magnets 35, 45. In this connector, by practically filling the inner space of the cylindrical members 37, 47 with liquid 60, break of the permanent magnets 35, 45 caused by collision against the inner wall is prevented. As a result, the connector can accommodate for a long moving stroke, or a large initial gap (g).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device and a precision device including a semiconductor device such as an LSI for attaching and detaching a female connector and a male connector which are paired by electromagnetic force.
Electrical connection between medical devices etc. or underwater,
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic detachable connector for connecting devices in the air, at high temperatures, at low temperatures, and in narrow places. In particular, an electromagnetic connector suitable as a micro connector that can be used in fields requiring fine and high contact density connectors, such as the field of micro machines. The present invention relates to a detachable connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, downsizing of devices has been rapidly progressing mainly in the field of information communication devices such as hard disks, CD memories, notebook computers, and ink jet printers. Accordingly, there is a great demand for miniaturization of these wiring portions. As for connectors, miniaturization of memory cards and input / output control cards for notebook computers has been promoted.

However, in general, in the case of a type of connector for connecting a male connector and a female connector, in the case of miniaturization of the connector itself, and further, in the case of micro-high-density connection such as used in a micromachine, both connectors are connected when connecting the connectors. Precise alignment is required for the mutual positional relationship. For this reason, the attachment / detachment operation needs to be directly operated by a person visually by using a microscope or externally controlled using a specially designed driving device, and the positional accuracy and driving force required for attaching / detaching the connector need to be increased. There has been a problem that it is not easy to perform control appropriately.

[0004] In order to address the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, there is an invention of an electromagnetic detachable connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-255894. This is a connector in which the movable parts of the connector face each other and the fixed parts are held in a relatively fixed state, and a permanent magnet and an electromagnet magnetized in a predetermined direction form a pair. The female connector and the male connector are provided at predetermined positions, and the movable parts are attached and detached by applying electromagnetic force of an electromagnet to a permanent magnet.

[0005] According to this electromagnetic detachable connector, a current is caused to flow through the electromagnet so that the movable portion applies an electromagnetic force to the permanent magnet in a direction approaching or moving away from the permanent magnet. Driving for relative movement between the movable parts can be performed. The driving force can be finely adjusted relatively easily by, for example, flowing a current to the electromagnet in a pulsed manner, and compared with a case where only the attraction force by the permanent magnet is used. A large moving stroke of the movable part can be secured.

Further, in the above publication, as shown in FIG. 8, the permanent magnets 35, 45
The cylindrical members 37, 47 having a longer internal space and having both ends closed in the direction are connected to the permanent magnets 35, 45.
An electromagnetic detachable connector is also disclosed in which a permanent magnet 35, 45 is provided in a movable portion in which the permanent magnets 35, 45 are slidable in the axial direction in the internal space of the tubular members 37, 47.

With this configuration, when separating from the connection state between the female connector 3 and the male connector 4 as shown in FIG. As shown in (b), the permanent magnets 35, 45 in the tubular members 37, 47 are generated by the electromagnetic force of the electromagnets 36, 46.
The distance between them can be increased. Therefore, the joining force between the female connector 3 and the male connector 4 can be greatly reduced in a state where the female connector 3 and the male connector 4 are connected, so that the two can be separated more easily.

[0008]

In order to meet the demand for a longer moving stroke of the movable part in the above-mentioned electromagnetic detachable connector, as shown in FIG. 10, the cylindrical member is moved in the relative moving direction. It is necessary to make it longer, and to change the electromagnet to one that emits a stronger magnetic force.

Also in this case, when the connector is attached and detached, the permanent magnet collides with the inner walls at both ends of the tubular member, as in the case of FIG. That is, in the case of connection, the permanent magnet collides with the inner wall closer to the opposing mating connector, and in the case of disconnection, the permanent magnet collides with the inner wall farther from the mating connector. This collision energy increases as the length of the tubular member increases. That is, it becomes larger as the moving stroke of the movable part becomes longer.

Therefore, when the length of the moving stroke of the movable portion becomes longer than a predetermined value, the energy when the permanent magnet collides with the inner walls at both ends becomes larger than the strength of the permanent magnet, and there is a problem that the permanent magnet is damaged.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems and can cope with a long moving stroke of the movable portion without damaging the permanent magnet, that is, even when the initial gap between the connectors is larger than before. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electromagnetic detachable connector that can be used.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electromagnetic detachable connector including a female connector and a male connector, wherein the female connector and the male connector are provided. At least one of the connectors includes a fixed portion and a movable portion that moves in a direction to connect or disconnect the female connector and the male connector.

The movable portion has a permanent magnet magnetized in a predetermined direction and an internal space longer than the permanent magnet and has both ends closed, and the movable portion is slidable in the axial direction in the internal space. A cylindrical member that holds a magnet, and a liquid that substantially fills the internal space of the cylindrical member; the fixed portion includes an electromagnet surrounding a periphery of the permanent magnet; and an electromagnetic force of the electromagnet. Act on the permanent magnet to drive the movable part.

According to this configuration, the permanent magnet is disposed in the internal space of the cylindrical member of at least one of the movable parts, and the internal space is substantially filled with the liquid. The moving speed of the permanent magnet can be reduced, and damage to the permanent magnet can be prevented.

As a result, when the conventional liquid is not sealed at all, a long moving stroke which cannot be dealt with due to the breakage of the permanent magnet can be realized. Therefore, when the initial gap between the connectors is large. It can also respond to.

Further, in one preferred configuration of the electromagnetic detachable connector according to the first aspect, as described in the second aspect, both the female connector and the male connector are provided with the fixing portion and the male connector. A movable part is provided, and the permanent magnets, which are magnetized in directions that mutually generate an attractive force, are arranged in each of the movable parts.

Further, in another preferred configuration of the electromagnetic detachable connector according to the first aspect, as set forth in the third aspect, one of the female connector and the male connector is connected to the fixed connector. Part and the movable part, and the other part has a fixed part, and the one permanent magnet and the other fixed part are arranged on the one movable part and the other fixed part, respectively.

According to these configurations, the attraction force of the permanent magnet is generated when the female connector and the male connector are connected.

As a result, the connection between the permanent magnets is maintained by the attraction force. Further, in a further preferred configuration of the electromagnetic detachable connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the movable portion is connected to the female connector and the male connector as described in claim 4. And an elastic force applying means for applying an urging force in a direction in which the force is released.

With this configuration, the elastic force applying means applies a biasing force in a direction for releasing the connection state of the connector.

As a result, it is possible to reduce the electromagnetic force to be applied by the electromagnet, which is required when the paired movable parts are separated from the state where they are connected to each other, so that the connector can be easily separated. become able to.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Configuration) An electromagnetic detachable connector (hereinafter, referred to as "connector E") according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The connector E connects the female connector 3 and the male connector 4 to each other with the terminals 31 and 41 and the guide 3.
Terminal boards 33, 43 in which 2, 2 are provided circumferentially, respectively.
They are arranged facing each other.

In FIG. 1, guides 32 and 42 are provided.
And the terminal 41, it can be seen that the left connector in FIG. 1 is a male connector and the right connector in FIG. 1 is a female connector. And terminals 31 and 41
The connector on the right side in FIG. 1 is a male connector 4 and the connector on the left side in FIG. The same applies to other drawings in the present application.

The female connector 3 and the male connector 4 each include a fixed part and a movable part. The fixing portion includes a ring-shaped iron core 36a, 46a and an exciting coil 36b, which are provided so as to surround the center axis.
It has electromagnets 36 and 46 composed of 46b, and these electromagnets 36 and 46 are relatively fixed. The movable section has terminal boards 33 and 43 and columnar permanent magnets 35 and 45, and is held movably relative to the electromagnets 36 and 46 in the direction of the central axis. Further, the permanent magnets 35 and 45 are magnetized so as to attract each other in the central axis direction.

Further, each of the movable parts is a permanent magnet 3
Each of the permanent magnets 35 and 45 has a cylindrical member 37, 47 having an internal space longer than the axial length of each of the permanent magnets 5, 45. The permanent magnets 35, 45 are slidably disposed in these internal spaces. Have been. In this internal space, liquid 6
0 is substantially filled. The liquid 60 only needs to exert a certain resistance when the permanent magnets 35 and 45 move in the liquid 60. For example, silicon oil, water, or the like can be used. In the liquid 60, it is desirable to adjust the viscosity according to the maximum moving speed of the permanent magnets 35 and 45. (Operation) The operation of the connector E having the above configuration is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

When the electromagnet 46 of the male connector 4 is excited, for example, from the initial separated state (initial gap g) shown in FIG. 1, an electromagnetic force acts on the permanent magnet 45, and the permanent magnet 45 becomes cylindrical. The inner space of the member 47 moves toward the female connector 3 and collides with the closed end of the tubular member 47 on the female connector 3 side. Due to this collision, the tubular member 47 is pushed toward the female connector 3 and the male connector 4 approaches the female connector 3.

On the other hand, in the female connector 3, the electromagnet 3
The female connector 3 approaches the male connector 4 side in the same manner as when 6 is excited. As a result, the distance between the terminal boards 33 and 43 between the female connector 3 and the male connector 4 is reduced.

When the distance between the terminal boards 33 and 43 is reduced,
The mutual attractive force due to the magnetic force of the permanent magnets 35 and 45 themselves increases, and the terminals 31 and 41 are joined together as shown in FIG. 3A, and the joined state is maintained by the attractive force between the permanent magnets 35 and 45. You.

In order to cope with a particularly long moving stroke, it is necessary to lengthen the cylindrical members 37 and 47 as shown in FIG. In that case, the cylindrical member 3 of the permanent magnets 35 and 45
The energy at the time of collision with 7, 47 tends to increase. However, even in such a case, the permanent magnet 3
5 and 45, the liquid 60 in the internal space is moved.
Creates resistance. Therefore, by appropriately selecting the viscosity of the liquid 60, the energy when the permanent magnets 35, 45 collide with the tubular members 37, 47 can be reduced.
5, 45 can be suppressed to the extent that they are not damaged.

From this joined state, the electromagnets 3 are moved so that the permanent magnets 35 and 45 act on each other in a direction away from each other.
When the magnets 6 and 46 are excited, the permanent magnets 35 and 45 quickly move inside the tubular members 37 and 47 in a direction away from each other, and as shown in FIG. Is spread.

When the distance between the permanent magnets 35 and 45 is increased as described above, the attractive force between the permanent magnets 35 and 45 is greatly reduced, so that the terminals 31 and 41 can be easily separated from each other. Become like When the permanent magnets 35, 45 move away from each other, the permanent magnets 35, 45 may collide with the inner surface of the end of the internal space. Occurs, by appropriately selecting the viscosity of the liquid 60,
The speed at which the permanent magnets 35, 45 collide with the cylindrical members 37, 47 can be suppressed to such an extent that the permanent magnets 35, 45 are not damaged.

Next, FIG. 5 shows one mode of the relative holding between the movable part side and the fixed part side, taking the female connector 3 of the connector E as an example. In this example, the electromagnet 36 on the fixed part side is fixed to the upper surface of the fixed base 51, and the movable part side including the terminal board 33 and the permanent magnet 35 is fixed to the lower end of the fixed base 51 by one end of a leaf spring 52. It is attached to.

As described above, by holding the movable portion side and the fixed portion side relative to each other with the leaf spring 52 interposed therebetween, for example, the restoring force of the leaf spring 52 acting in the direction in which the connector is disconnected in the connected state. This allows the connector to be more easily separated. Further, by adjusting the elastic restoring force, the magnetic force, and the inter-terminal insertion / extraction force of the leaf spring 52, the operability of attachment / detachment can be further improved.

As a means for applying an elastic restoring force interposed for holding the movable portion and the fixed portion relative to each other, it is not always necessary to use the leaf spring 52. For example, as shown in FIGS. The same operation and effect can be realized by interposing the spiral spring 53 as described above. Also,
Alternatively, it can be realized by interposing another elastic member such as a coil spring or rubber.

As for the terminal structure, as shown in FIG. 4, which shows only a pair of movable parts of the connector E in a perspective view, they are circumferentially arranged in respective connection surfaces of the female connector and the male connector. The terminal rows 31 and 41 to the cylindrical guide 3
Arranging the magnets at the center with the concentric surroundings 2 and 42 has the advantage that the alignment margin is increased and the attachment and detachment is easier.

In the connector E, it is not necessary that both the female connector 3 and the male connector 4 have the same magnet structure.
Either one provided with neither an electromagnet nor a permanent magnet but a terminal board provided with a terminal row and a guide as a fixed portion may be used. Alternatively, a permanent magnet may be further provided on the fixed portion.

Further, both the female connector 3 and the male connector 4 do not need to have a substantially axially symmetric structure as in each of the above-described embodiments. For example, a rod-shaped permanent magnet attached to the movable portion side The present invention can also be applied to a structure other than the axial symmetry as long as the structure is surrounded by the electromagnet on the fixed portion side. Further, by appropriately changing the lengths of the permanent magnets 35 and 45 and the cylindrical members 37 and 47, the initial gap g between the female connector 3 and the male connector 4 can be increased.
The moving stroke for attachment and detachment can be adjusted accordingly.

The above-described embodiment disclosed herein is illustrative in all aspects and is not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and includes any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

[0039]

As described above, according to the electromagnetic detachable connector of the present invention, a permanent magnet is provided in the internal space of the cylindrical member of at least one of the movable parts, and this internal space is substantially filled with the liquid. Since the filling is satisfied, the moving speed of the permanent magnet at the time of attaching and detaching the connector can be reduced by the resistance of the liquid, and the permanent magnet can be prevented from being damaged. As a result, if the conventional liquid was not filled at all, a long moving stroke that could not be handled due to the breakage of the permanent magnet could be realized, and therefore, even if the initial gap between the connectors was large, It can be done.

Also, an electromagnetic detachable connector of the type to which the present invention pertains is to actuate the electromagnetic force of an electromagnet on a permanent magnet to perform driving for relative movement between movable parts without using manual operation. Can be. The driving force can be finely adjusted relatively easily. Therefore, this electromagnetic connector is conceivable to be applied to a micro connector in a micro machine field or the like. However, the present invention has made it possible to cope with a larger initial gap. It can be said to contribute.

Of course, the feature of the electromagnetic detachable connector of the present invention can be exerted regardless of the size of the connector itself to which the connector is applied, and the same effect is exerted when applied to a connector other than the micro connector. sell.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state in which a female connector and a male connector of an electromagnetic detachable connector (connector E) according to an embodiment of the present invention are separated.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a female connector and a male connector are separated when a large moving stroke is supported as a modification of the connector E shown in FIG.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining an attaching / detaching operation of the connector E shown in FIG. 1, wherein FIG.
Respectively show cross-sectional views in a state immediately after the operation of separating from the joined state is started.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which movable portions including a terminal board and a tubular member on both the female connector side and the male connector side of the connector E shown in FIG. FIG.

5 shows an example of a structure in which a fixed portion including an electromagnet of a female connector of the connector E shown in FIG. 1 and a movable portion including a terminal board and a cylindrical member are relatively held via a leaf spring. FIG.

6 shows an example of a structure in which a fixed portion including an electromagnet of the female connector of the connector E shown in FIG. 1 and a movable portion including a terminal board and a permanent magnet are relatively held via a spiral spring. It is sectional drawing.

7 shows an example of a structure in which a fixed portion including an electromagnet of the female connector of the connector E shown in FIG. 1 and a movable portion including a terminal board and a permanent magnet are relatively held via a spiral spring. It is a perspective view.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a female connector and a male connector of a conventional electromagnetic detachable connector (connector B) are separated.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are views for explaining an attaching / detaching operation of the connector B shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, wherein FIG.
Respectively show cross-sectional views in a state immediately after the operation of separating from the joined state is started.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the female connector and the male connector are separated when a large moving stroke is supported as a modification of the connector B shown in FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Female Connector 4 Male Connector 31, 41 Terminal 32, 42 Guide 33, 43 Terminal Board 35, 45 Permanent Magnet 36, 46 Electromagnet 36a, 46a Iron Core 36b, 46b Excitation Coil 37, 47 Cylindrical Member 51 Fixed Base 52 Plate Spring 53 Spiral spring 60 Liquid

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Go Haga 1431-12, Kanechi-cho, Kamigori-cho, Ako-gun, Hyogo Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Harima Institute (72) Inventor Kimihide Nakatsu 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Kunihiko Nakamura 3-10-1, Higashi-Mita, Tama-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture F-term (reference) 5E021 FA05 FA08 FA14 FA16 FB14 FB30 FC06 FC36 HC28

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An electromagnetic detachable connector including a female connector and a male connector, wherein at least one of the female connector and the male connector includes a fixed portion, the female connector and the male connector. A movable portion that moves in a direction to connect or disconnect the mold connector, wherein the movable portion has a permanent magnet magnetized in a predetermined direction, has an internal space longer than the permanent magnet, and has both ends closed, A cylindrical member that holds the permanent magnet slidably in the axial direction within the internal space; and a liquid that substantially fills the internal space of the cylindrical member. An electromagnetic detachable connector having an electromagnet surrounding the periphery, wherein the electromagnetic force of the electromagnet acts on the permanent magnet to drive the movable portion. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the female connector and the male connector includes the fixed portion and the movable portion, and each of the movable portions is magnetized in a direction in which a mutual attraction force is generated. 2. The electromagnetic detachable connector according to claim 1, wherein a permanent magnet is arranged to maintain the connection by the attraction force of the permanent magnet when the female connector and the male connector are connected. 3. One of the female connector and the male connector includes the fixed part and the movable part, the other includes a fixed part, and the one movable part and the other fixed part By arranging the permanent magnets that are magnetized in the direction in which the attractive force is generated, when the female connector and the male connector are connected, the connection is maintained by the attractive force of the permanent magnet. The connector according to claim 1. 4. The movable unit according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic force applying unit that applies an urging force in a direction in which a connection state between the female connector and the male connector is released. Electromagnetic detachable connector according to the item.