JP2000331757A - Feeding tap - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a feeding tap capable of surely feeding electricity to subordinate distribution terminals, without detecting current, when various types of equipment are put into operation, and to lower manufacturing cost of the feeding tap by simplifying its structure. SOLUTION: A contact 16b of an electromagnetic coil 16 is inserted in the course of a feeding path, and both ends of an electromagnetic coil 16a are conductively connected to input lines 17a and 17b in a USB code 17. A USB connector, attached to a tip of the USB cord 17, is loaded to a USB port of a computer. The USB port, compatible with a serial bus in compliance with a universal serial bus standard, has two feeding lines to which a voltage of 5 Volts is supplied, when the power source of the computer is turned on. The feeding lines are conductively connected with the input lines 17a and 17b in a state with the USB connector connected with the USB port.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power supply tap,
In particular, the present invention relates to a configuration of a power supply tap provided with a sub power distribution terminal portion that is interrupted by an external input.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various computer devices such as personal computers and workstations are sometimes used with various external peripheral devices connected to a computer main body. Some of these external peripherals cannot be used unless they are recognized when the computer's operating system starts up.
The power must be turned on almost simultaneously with or before turning on the power of the computer body. In addition, there is a problem that after the power supply of the computer is turned off, the power supply of the external peripheral devices must also be individually cut off.

On the other hand, with the spread of personal computers in recent years, opportunities for operating a plurality of computers in a mutually connected state have been increasing. For example, there are cases where a plurality of personal computers of the same hierarchy are mutually connected by a LAN (local area network), and further, a network server, a network printer, a network facsimile and the like for other personal computers (clients) are connected to the LAN. In some cases, a more advanced network environment is constructed. In such a network environment, in order to reduce power consumption by various devices or to prevent unexpected failure of the devices, there are cases where it is desired to turn on the power only when necessary for the devices connected to the LAN. In some cases, every time a device (for example, one of the client devices) is used, it is necessary to turn on the power to another device (for example, another computer or network device). However, there is a problem that the power supply must be turned on for each of them.

[0004] In order to link the power-on operations of a plurality of devices in such a situation, a power supply tap having a sub power distribution terminal portion that is intermittently connected depending on the presence or absence of a current in the main power distribution terminal portion has been developed. In this type of power supply tap, power is always supplied to the main power distribution terminal, but the sub power distribution terminal detects that a current has flowed through the main power distribution terminal, and a relay contact built in the power supply tap. Is closed and power is supplied. Therefore, for example, by taking the power supply of the computer main body from the main power distribution terminal part of the power supply tap and the power supply of the external peripheral device from the sub power distribution terminal part, when the power switch of the computer main body is turned on, the main power distribution terminal part receives the current. Is detected, this current is detected, the relay contact built in the power supply tap is closed, and power is supplied from the slave power distribution terminal to the external peripheral device.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional power supply tap of the current detection type, it is necessary to detect the current of the main power distribution terminal, so that a current detection circuit is required and an electromagnetic relay or the like is required. Since it is necessary to provide a drive power supply for driving the electromagnetic relay in addition to the provision, the structure is complicated, and there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases. In addition, there is a problem that the slave power distribution terminal unit cannot be linked to any device connected to a power source other than the main power distribution terminal unit. Furthermore, since the relay contact is configured to detect that the power supply of the device connected to the main power distribution terminal is turned on and the current flows to the main power distribution terminal, the power supply to the sub power distribution terminal is started. However, since the optimum value of the current detection threshold value differs for each type of device connected to the main power distribution terminal unit, it is difficult to set the current detection threshold value.

In addition, there is a problem that the conventional current detection type power supply tap cannot be easily changed in use depending on the situation, and cannot be used as a normal table tap, for example.

Furthermore, when the current at the main power distribution terminal is detected and power is supplied to the sub power distribution terminal, there is a possibility that a discharge may occur between the contacts. The influence (surge current etc.) on the equipment connected to the terminal may be caused by the load condition of the equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to solve the above-mentioned problem. It is not necessary to detect a current and a power supply tap capable of reliably supplying power to a power distribution terminal when various devices are operated. And to reduce the manufacturing cost by simplifying the structure of the power supply tap.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a power supply tap according to the present invention includes a power supply terminal portion connected to a power supply and an input / output port including a power supply line provided in a computer, which is directly or indirectly connected to an input / output port. And a connection portion having an input line conductively connected to the power supply line, and a power supply path connected to the power supply terminal portion when predetermined power is supplied to the input line. And a control switch for opening the power supply path in other cases, and one or a plurality of sub power supply terminals electrically connected to the power supply path via the control switch, wherein the control switch is , And is configured to operate using only the power supplied to the input line as a power supply.

According to the present invention, by providing a control switch for closing a power supply path when predetermined power is supplied to an input line conductively connected to a power supply line of an input / output port provided in a computer. It is possible to reliably detect the power-on of the computer without detecting the current at the power distribution terminal, and the power supplied to the power supply line of the input / output port of the computer is set to be constant or within a predetermined range. This eliminates the need to modify or adjust the detection level for each computer.
Also, since the control switch is configured to operate using only the power supplied to the input line as a power supply,
Separately, there is no need to extract power from the power supply path or the like, and there is no need to provide a rectifier circuit or the like for extracting power from the power supply path, so that the structure can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Become. It should be noted that being directly or indirectly connected to the input / output port of the computer includes a case in which the connection is made substantially in the same manner as a case where the device is substantially connected to the computer via another device or the like.

In the present invention, it is preferable to connect a manual switch in parallel with the control switch. According to this means, the function of the control switch can be realized by opening the manual switch by connecting the manual switch in parallel with the control switch. Since power can be supplied to the terminal portion, it can be used as a normal power supply tap.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the connection section is configured to be connected to a universal serial bus (USB) of the computer. According to this means, since the connection unit is configured to be connected to the USB, it can be widely used for a computer and its related devices, and various devices connected to the computer can be connected without connecting to the computer itself. It can be operated by connecting via the PC.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a main power distribution terminal portion which is always conductively connected to the power terminal portion is provided. According to this means, it is possible to connect the computer to the main power distribution terminal so that the computer can always be supplied with power.

In the present invention, a zero cross switch is connected in parallel with the control switch, and the zero cross switch is opened when a predetermined power is not supplied to the input line, and a predetermined power is supplied to the input line. In the state, it is preferable that the control switch is configured to be closed when the voltage between the switch contacts becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, and that the control switch is configured to be closed after the zero cross switch is closed. According to this means, by connecting the zero cross switch in parallel with the control switch,
When a predetermined power is supplied to the input line, if AC power or the like is supplied to the power supply path, the switch is closed when the voltage between the switch contacts of the zero-cross switch becomes lower than a predetermined value due to the potential change. Since the control switch is closed while the voltage between the switch contacts, that is, the voltage between the switch contacts of the control switch is reduced,
Since discharge and the like can be prevented, the wear of the contacts of the control switch can be suppressed, and the influence on various devices connected to the slave power distribution terminal can be reduced. In addition, such a configuration uses a switch element having a mechanical contact such as an electromagnetic relay as a control switch,
This can be realized by using a switch element having a non-mechanical contact such as a switch circuit (such as a transistor) as a zero-cross switch. Generally, the non-mechanical contacts operate much faster than the mechanical contacts, so that the control switch can be closed after the zero-cross switch is closed. Since the closing timing of the zero cross switch is also affected by the voltage fluctuation of the power supply path (for example, in the case of an AC power supply, the frequency of AC), an appropriate delay element or delay circuit is provided for the control switch to set the closing timing. You may delay or advance.

In the present invention, a plurality of the connection portions are provided, and the control switch is closed when a predetermined power is supplied to the input line for any one of the plurality of connection portions, In other cases, it is preferable to be configured to open (logical sum structure). According to this means, the control switch is configured to be closed when predetermined power is supplied to the input line for any one of the plurality of connection portions. No matter which computer is powered on, the equipment connected to the slave power distribution terminal can be operated.

In the present invention, a plurality of the connection portions are provided, and the control switch is closed when a predetermined power is supplied to the input line to any of the plurality of connection portions, and the control switch is closed. In such a case, it is preferable that the device is configured to be opened (logical product structure). According to this means, when all of the plurality of computers connected to the plurality of connection units are turned on, it is possible to operate the device connected to the sub power distribution terminal unit for the first time. In addition, the logical sum structure described in claim 6 and the logical product structure described in claim 7 may be employed only in some of the plurality of connection portions. The configuration of claim 6 may be employed for some of the plurality of connection portions, and the configuration of claim 7 may be employed for other plurality of connection portions.

It should be noted that the invention described in the present specification is configured such that a power supply terminal portion connected to a power supply and an input / output port including a power supply line provided in a computer are directly or indirectly connected. A connection unit having an input line conductively connected to the power supply line, and closing a power supply path connected to the power supply terminal unit when predetermined power is supplied to the input line; 3. The power supply tap according to claim 2, wherein the power supply tap includes a control switch for opening the power supply path, and one or more slave power distribution terminals electrically connected to the power supply path via the control switch.
The present invention also includes those having one or more of the respective feature points additionally described in claims.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a power supply tap according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the structure of a power supply tap according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 shows the appearance and usage of a power supply tap 10 of the first embodiment. FIG. The power supply tap 10 according to the present embodiment includes a plug 11 having a pair of plug terminals that can be inserted into an outlet of a commercial power supply, a power cord 12 connected to the plug 11, and a power cord 12 connected to the power cord 12. And a tap body 13.

The tap main body 13 is provided with a main power distribution terminal section 14 (MAIN) having a pair of socket terminals electrically connected to a pair of insertion terminals of the insertion plug 11, respectively. A manual switch 15 having a seesaw-type operation unit for switching on and off on the surface of the tap body 13 is electrically connected to the insertion terminal of the tap body 13 and connected to a downstream side of the main power distribution terminal unit 14 in a power supply path in the tap body 13. It is connected. An electromagnetic relay 16 as a control switch is connected in parallel with the manual switch 15.

The electromagnetic relay 16 includes an electromagnetic coil 16a,
And a contact portion 16b that opens and closes when the electromagnetic coil 16a is excited. The contact portion 16b is connected in the power supply path in the tap body 13. Both ends of the electromagnetic coil 16a are connected to the USB cord 1 attached to the tap body 13.
7 are electrically connected to input lines 17a and 17b. As shown in FIG.
An SB connector 18 is attached, and the USB connector 18 is attached to a USB port 23 provided on the computer 20.

The USB port 23 is a port corresponding to a serial bus conforming to the universal serial bus standard. A voltage of 5 V is supplied between two power supply lines when the power of the computer 20 is turned on. These power supply lines are electrically connected to the input lines 17a and 17b in the USB cord 17 with the USB connector 18 connected to the USB port 23.

In the power supply path of the tap body 13, a display lamp 13 a composed of an LED (light emitting diode) and a capacitor 13 are provided downstream of the electromagnetic relay 16.
b is connected. Further, a plurality of slave power distribution terminal portions 19 are connected further downstream of the power supply path.

In the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a plug 22 is attached to the power cord 21 of the computer 20 and attached to the main power distribution terminal 14 provided on the tap body 13. You. In addition, plugs provided at the ends of power cords such as the display 24, the communication modem 25, and the scanner 26 used together with the computer 20 are attached to the sub power distribution terminal portions 19, respectively. Furthermore, the USB connector 1 of the power supply tap 10
8 is connected to the USB port 23 of the computer 20.
When the insertion plug 11 is inserted into an outlet (not shown) such as a commercial power supply, the power is always supplied to the main power distribution terminal portion 14. Therefore, when the power switch is turned on, the power is supplied to the computer 20.

When the computer 20 is operated, the USB
Power is supplied to the power supply line of the port 23, and 5 V DC voltage is supplied to the input lines 17 a and 17 b of the USB cord 17. The input lines 17a and 17b are the electromagnetic relay 1
6 to excite the electromagnetic coil 16a, the contact portion 16b
Is closed, the display lamp 13a is turned on, and power is supplied to all the sub power distribution terminal portions 19. As a result, the display 24 and the communication modem 2 connected to the sub power distribution terminal 19
5. Power is supplied to the scanner 26 and the like. Therefore, the display 24, the communication modem 25 and the scanner 2
By turning on the power switch 6 in advance, the display 24, the communication modem 25, and the scanner 26 can be set to operate automatically when the power switch of the computer 20 is turned on. The capacitor 13b is for reducing a surge current or the like.

In the power supply tap 10, since the power is always supplied to the sub power distribution terminal section 19 when the manual switch 15 is turned on, the power supply tap 10 is used as a power supply tap having a plurality of normal power distribution terminal sections. It is also possible.

In this embodiment, the electromagnetic relay 16 provided on the power supply tap 10 is connected to the US
It is closed by the DC voltage supplied from the power supply line of the B port 23 and supplies power to the sub power distribution terminal 19, so that the power is connected to the sub power distribution terminal 19 in conjunction with the operation of the computer 20. Power can be supplied to external peripheral devices and the like. In this case, the electromagnetic relay 1
6 is configured to use a DC voltage supplied from a power supply line of the USB port 23 as a control input and a driving power supply, that is, configured so that the electromagnetic relay 16 operates only by the DC voltage supplied from the input line. Therefore, for example, there is no need to rectify the power supplied from the insertion plug 11 and use it as a drive power source for the electromagnetic relay 16, and the structure of the power supply tap 10 can be simplified, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost. It becomes possible.

The electromagnetic relay 16 for supplying power to the sub power distribution terminal 19 operates depending on whether power is supplied to the power supply line of the USB port 23 of the computer 20.
Even if the computer 20 is configured to receive power supply from a location other than the main power distribution terminal unit 14 of the above-described embodiment, it can operate in exactly the same manner as described above.

In the above embodiment, the USB has been described as an example of the input / output port provided with the power supply line.
It is also possible to use other input / output ports such as SI (Small Computer System Interface).

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the power supply tap according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Also in this embodiment, the appearance and the usage are exactly the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a zero cross switch 35 is connected in parallel to the electromagnetic relay 16 which is a control switch. The zero cross switch 35 is connected to the input line 17 of the USB code 17.
a, a zero detection circuit 35a having a power supply line 17b;
A semiconductor switch element such as a transistor or a switch circuit 35b including the same is configured so as to open and close by the control output of the zero detection circuit 35a and is connected in parallel to the contact portion 16b of the electromagnetic relay 16. The zero detection circuit 35a is connected to the input lines 17a, 17b
When a DC voltage is supplied from the switch circuit 35b, a voltage between both ends of the switch circuit 35b is detected, and the voltage between both ends is determined to be a predetermined voltage value (for example, 5
v) If it is lower, it operates to close the switch circuit 35b. The zero detection circuit 35a does not operate in a state where power is not supplied from the input lines 17a and 17b, and the switch circuit 35b is in an open state.

In this embodiment, the electromagnetic relay 16
Are connected in parallel with the zero cross switch 35, the input lines 17a and 17b of the USB code 17 are connected.
, The zero detection circuit 35a operates and the AC voltage supplied from the power cord 12 becomes close to 0, and the switch circuit 35b is closed when the AC voltage falls below the predetermined voltage value. Since the contact portion 16b of the electromagnetic relay 16 operates mechanically, it closes later than the switch circuit 35b that operates under the control of the zero detection circuit 35a. Therefore, the voltage at both ends of the contact portion 16b is reduced by the conduction of the switch circuit 35b, so that the consumption of the contact due to the discharge of the contact portion 16b and the influence on various devices connected to the slave power distribution terminal portion 19 can be reduced. . In this embodiment, a manual switch similar to that of the first embodiment may be provided.

Third Embodiment Next, a power supply tap according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Also in this embodiment, the basic structure is the first
It is the same as the embodiment, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals,
The description is omitted. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, when a DC voltage is supplied to any one set of input lines 17 a and 17 b of a plurality of (three in the illustrated example) USB cords 17, the electromagnetic coil of the electromagnetic relay 16 is turned on. The configuration is such that the contact 16a is excited and the contact 16b is closed. The plurality of USB codes 17 can be connected to different computers or other devices connected to different computers.

In the present embodiment, for example, one of the plurality of USB codes 17 is connected to the computer 20 shown in FIG. 5, and the other USB code 17 is connected to another computer. When any one of these computer devices is turned on, the power distribution terminal 1
9 can be powered. Therefore, for example, when an external peripheral device such as a printer or a modem is shared by a plurality of computers, when one of the computers is turned on, the external peripheral device is also turned on. be able to. The same applies when a network is formed by a plurality of computers and peripheral devices. In this embodiment, the zero-cross switch shown in the second embodiment may be connected instead of the manual switch 15 or together with the manual switch 15.

Fourth Embodiment Next, a power supply tap according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Also in this embodiment, the basic structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of (two in the illustrated example)
And input lines 17a, 1 of these USB codes 17
The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a plurality of electromagnetic relays 16 respectively connected to 7b are connected in series, and these are connected in parallel to the manual switch 15.

In this embodiment, a plurality of USB codes 1
The configuration is such that power is supplied to the sub power distribution terminal section 19 only after the DC voltage is supplied to all the sets of the input lines 17a and 17b of the 7. Therefore, multiple U
Any one of the input lines 17a, 1 of the SB code 17
7b, when no voltage is applied, the manual switch 15
Power is not supplied to the slave power distribution terminal unit 19 unless the power supply is inserted.

In this embodiment, for example, in a system having a network hub connected to two computers, a USB cord 17 is connected to each of the two computers, and the power cord of the network hub is connected to the power distribution terminal. By connecting to the network hub 19, the network hub can be turned on only when the two computers are both turned on. Also, in a communication device network environment such as a communication modem or a terminal adapter, the power of a shared device such as a network printer is turned on only when the power is turned on together with at least one of the network server and the client computer. You can also. In this embodiment, the manual switch 1 is also used.
Instead of 5 or together with the manual switch 15, the zero cross switch shown in the second embodiment may be connected.

It should be noted that the power supply tap of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example described above, and it goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The power supply of the computer can be reliably detected without detecting the current of the power distribution terminal, and the power supplied to the power supply line of the input / output port of the computer is set to be constant or within a predetermined range. This eliminates the need to correct or adjust the detection level for each computer. In addition, since the control switch is configured to operate using only the power supplied to the input line as a power supply, there is no need to separately extract power from a power supply path or the like, and a rectifier circuit for extracting power from the power supply path. Since there is no need to provide such a structure, the structure can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a power supply tap according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a power supply tap according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of a power supply tap according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a power supply tap according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an external view explanatory view showing an external appearance and a usage mode common to the above embodiments.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Power supply tap 11 ... Insertion plug 12 ... Power cord 13 ... Tap body 14 ... Main power distribution terminal part 15 ... Manual switch 16 ... Electromagnetic relay 16a ... Electromagnetic coil 16b ... Contact part 17 ...
USB code 17a, 17b ... input line 18 ... U
SB connector 19 ... Sub power distribution terminal section 20 ... Computer 21 ... Power cord 22 ... Plug plug 23 ... US
B port 35: Zero cross switch 35a: Zero detection circuit 35b: Switch circuit

Claims (7)

[Claims] An input configured to be directly or indirectly connected to a power supply terminal unit connected to a power supply and an input / output port including a power supply line provided in a computer, and to be conductively connected to the power supply line. A connection section having a line, and a control switch for closing a power supply path connected to the power supply terminal section when predetermined power is supplied to the input line, and opening the power supply path otherwise. And one or more slave power distribution terminals electrically connected to the power supply path via the control switch, wherein the control switch is configured to operate using only the power supplied to the input line as a power supply. Power supply tap characterized by being done. 2. The power supply tap according to claim 1, wherein a manual switch is connected in parallel with the control switch. 3. The power supply tap according to claim 1, wherein the connection unit is configured to be connected to a universal serial bus (USB) of the computer. 4. One of claims 1 to 3
3. The power supply tap according to claim 1, further comprising a main power distribution terminal portion that is always conductively connected to the power supply terminal portion. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein:
In the item, a zero-cross switch is connected in parallel with the control switch, the zero-cross switch is opened when a predetermined power is not supplied to the input line, and a switch is opened when a predetermined power is supplied to the input line. A power supply tap, wherein the power supply tap is configured to be closed when a voltage between the contacts becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, and the control switch is configured to be closed after the zero cross switch is closed. 6. Any one of claims 1 to 5
In the paragraph, having a plurality of the connection portion, the control switch is closed when a predetermined power is supplied to the input line for any one of the plurality of connection portions,
A power tap that is configured to open otherwise. 7. Any one of claims 1 to 5
Item, wherein the control switch has a plurality of the connection portions, and the control switch is closed when a predetermined power is supplied to the input line for any of the plurality of connection portions, and is opened otherwise. A power supply tap characterized in that it is configured to