JP2007087897A - Universal adapter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a universal adapter applicable to the combination of all type outlets and all type power plugs. <P>SOLUTION: This universal adapter interposed between a power plug and an outlet not meeting with the power plug and electrically connecting the power plug with the outlet is provided with a casing 1, a pair of plug terminals 2 arranged in parallel with the casing 1 with a prescribed pitch width and a socket terminal 3 arranged in parallel with the casing 1 and electrically connected with the pair of plug terminals 2. The plug terminals 2 are fixed to the casing 1 through an elastic component having torsional resilience around a major axis of the plug terminal 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a universal adapter, that is, an adapter interposed between a power plug and an outlet when connecting the power plug and the outlet having different shapes and dimensions.

The shape and dimensions of the power plug of the electric appliance and the outlet connected to this vary depending on the standard. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the shape of each standard outlet. In FIG. 4, A ₁ and A _2, the United States, is a Canadian and American type of electrical outlet that is used in Japan. O ₁ and O ₂ are Oceania type outlets used in Australia, New Zealand and China. C _{1 to} C ₆ are continental type outlets used in European continental countries, C ₁ is used in Switzerland, C ₂ is used in Italy and Chile, C ₃ through C ₆ are used in France, Germany, Belgium, etc. Type. B _{1 to} B ₄ are British type outlets used in the UK, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the like.

As is clear from FIG. 4, the outlet and the power plug are provided with a strip-like plug terminal such as an American type or Oceania type, or provided with a torsion bar-like plug terminal such as a continental type or a British type. Broadly divided. Also, a two-pole type (A ₁ , O ₁ , C ₃ , B ₁ etc.) with only a power supply terminal, and a three-pole type (A ₂ , O ₂ , C ₁ , B ₂ ) with a ground terminal. Etc.). Further, the dimensions and pitch width (distance between terminals) of the terminals are also different. In the Oceania type, the strip-like plug terminals are arranged non-parallel, that is, in a “C” shape with an angle to each other. It is completely incompatible with the American type in which strip-like plug terminals are arranged in parallel.

  In this way, since the shape and dimensions of the outlet and the power plug are different for each standard, the standard electrical appliances used in your country (personal computer, hair dryer, shaver, digital camera, VTR camera charger, etc.) In order to bring it to a foreign country, it is necessary to interpose a universal adapter between the power plug of the electric appliance and the outlet.

  In general, a universal adapter includes a socket terminal suitable for a power plug of an electric appliance brought by a traveler at one end, and a plug terminal suitable for an outlet of a travel destination country at the other end. The terminal is electrically connected (Patent Document 1).

  However, the universal adapter described in Patent Document 1 has a fixed size and shape of the plug terminal. Therefore, it is inconvenient to bring as many universal adapters as the number of destination countries when visiting multiple countries. there were.

Therefore, a universal adapter has been proposed in which the pitch width of the plug terminals can be adjusted by moving the plug terminals in parallel (Patent Document 2).
JP 2001-273958 A JP 2003-142216 A

  The universal adapter described in Patent Document 2 has the advantage of being able to accommodate outlets with different pitch widths because the pitch width of the plug terminals is adjustable, but it is an Oceania type, that is, the outlet insertion port opens in a “C” shape. There is a problem that it is not possible to correspond to the type of outlet. In order to solve this problem, the universal adapter described in Patent Document 2 is provided with a plug terminal dedicated to the Oceania type. However, the volume of the universal adapter is increased, resulting in inconvenience for carrying.

  Moreover, the socket terminal of the universal adapter described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 corresponds only to a specific power plug (for example, American type), and other types of power plugs cannot be inserted into the socket terminal. In other words, the conventional universal adapter is a one-to-one connection between a specific power plug and an outlet that is not compatible with that power plug, and many-to-many connections, that is, all types of outlets and all types of power plugs. There is a problem that it does not have a function to connect to each other.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a compact universal adapter that can be used in combination with all types of outlets and all types of power plugs.

  A first configuration of the present invention is a universal adapter that is interposed between an outlet and a power plug that does not correspond to the outlet, and electrically connects the outlet and the power plug. A casing; a predetermined pitch width in the casing A pair of plug terminals disposed in parallel with a gap therebetween; and a pair of socket terminals disposed in parallel to the casing and electrically connected to the pair of plug terminals, The plug terminal is fixed to the casing via an elastic element having torsional elasticity around the major axis.

According to this configuration, since the plug terminal is fixed to the casing via the elastic element having torsional elasticity, the plug terminal can be torsionally deformed following the shape of the socket of the outlet. Therefore, universal adapters with this configuration are outlets such as Oceania type (O ₁ , O ₂ ), socket type “A”, American type (A ₁ , A ₂ ), Continental type (C ₁ -C ₆ ) It can be connected to any outlet such as a British type (B ₁ to B ₄ ) in which socket holes are arranged in parallel.

  According to a second configuration of the present invention, in the first configuration, the elastic element has a bending elasticity that bends in a direction in which a pitch width of the pair of plug terminals is expanded and contracted, and is slidably held in the casing. One end is in contact with the plug terminal inside the casing, and the other end is provided with a pressing member protruding outward from a side surface of the casing.

  According to this configuration, bending elasticity is given to the elastic element, and the plug terminal is pressed by the pressing element, so that the pitch width of the plug terminal can be freely expanded and reduced. Therefore, the plug terminal can be inserted into the socket hole regardless of the pitch width of the socket hole of the outlet.

  According to a third configuration of the present invention, in the first or second configuration, the elastic element is a torsion bar.

Universal adapters with this configuration are also outlets such as the Oceania type (O ₁ , O ₂ ) with socket holes forming a “C” shape, American type (A ₁ , A ₂ ), Continental type (C ₁ -C ₆ ), British It can be connected to any outlet such as type (B ₁ to B ₄ ) in which socket holes are arranged in parallel.

  According to a fourth configuration of the present invention, in the first or second configuration, the elastic element is a coil spring.

Universal adapters with this configuration are also outlets such as the Oceania type (O ₁ , O ₂ ) with socket holes forming a “C” shape, American type (A ₁ , A ₂ ), Continental type (C ₁ -C ₆ ), British It can be connected to any outlet such as type (B ₁ to B ₄ ) in which socket holes are arranged in parallel.

  According to a fifth configuration of the present invention, in the first or second configuration, the elastic element is a pair of torsion bars arranged in a direction orthogonal to the pitch width.

  According to this configuration, since the pair of torsion bars are arranged in the direction orthogonal to the pitch width, it is possible to increase the bending rigidity in the direction orthogonal to the pitch width while providing bending elasticity for bending in the pitch width direction. it can. For this reason, since the deformation | transformation (bending of the width direction of a plug terminal) orthogonal to the pitch width of a plug terminal can be suppressed, usability improves.

  According to a sixth configuration of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth configurations, the socket terminal is disposed in parallel with a pitch width of a plug terminal of a power plug inserted into the socket terminal. Contact pieces (first and second contact pieces), and the contact surfaces of the pair of contact pieces have at least a width that is half the difference between the maximum pitch width and the minimum pitch width of the plug terminals of the power plug. It is characterized by having.

  According to this configuration, the width of the contact surface of the pair of contact pieces is equal to or more than ½ of the difference between the maximum pitch width and the minimum pitch width of the plug terminal of the power plug. The contact between the plug terminal of the power plug and the contact piece can be ensured regardless of the width.

  According to a seventh configuration of the present invention, in the sixth configuration, the socket terminal includes a third contact piece having a contact surface orthogonal to a contact surface of the pair of contact pieces, and the third contact piece. Is arranged along a partition wall separating a pair of socket terminals facing each other.

  According to this configuration, since the third contact piece is disposed along the partition wall that separates the pair of socket terminals facing each other, the inner end portion of the plug terminal of the “C” -shaped power plug is the third contact piece. Touch the piece. For this reason, the contact between the plug terminal of the “C” -shaped power plug and the contact piece can be ensured.

  An eighth configuration of the present invention is characterized in that, in any of the first to seventh configurations, a ground plug terminal is provided, and the ground plug terminal can be stored in the casing when not in use.

  According to this configuration, since the ground plug terminal can be stored in the casing when not in use, it can be used for either a three-pole type outlet provided with a ground terminal or a two-pole type outlet not provided with a ground terminal. .

  According to a ninth configuration of the present invention, in the eighth configuration, the casing has a groove-shaped recess running in the longitudinal direction of the plug terminal, and is fitted in the groove-shaped recess so as to be front and rear (the ground plug terminal is The direction protruding from the casing is “front”, the direction in which the ground plug terminal is stored in the casing is “rear”, and so on. A compression spring laid between the lower surfaces of the sliding pieces; and a lid portion that covers the rear end of the groove-shaped recess and engages the sliding piece when the sliding piece is in the retracted position: The ground plug terminal is fixed to the sliding piece.

  According to this configuration, since the compression spring is installed between the bottom surface of the groove-shaped recess and the bottom surface of the sliding piece, the grounding plug terminal is in the extended position (use state) and the retracted position (non-use state) In any case, the compression spring urges the sliding piece so as to maintain its position.

  Further, since the sliding piece is held by the compression spring, the height of the ground plug terminal can be freely changed. Therefore, the universal adapter can be connected to the outlet regardless of the interval between the power socket and the ground socket of the outlet.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a universal adapter that can cope with all types of combinations of outlets and power plugs without changing the parts.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1A and 1B are structural views of a universal adapter according to a first embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 1A is a left side view, FIG. 1B is a plan sectional view, and FIG. 1C is a right side view. In FIG. 1, 1 is a casing, 2 is a plug terminal, 3 is a socket terminal, 4 is a screw, and 5 is a presser.

  As shown in FIG. 1, two sets of plug terminals 2 and socket terminals 3 are provided. Two plug terminals 2 and one socket terminal 3 are grouped one by one and parallel to each other with a predetermined pitch width P in the casing 1. Is arranged. In addition, the plug terminal 2 and the socket terminal 3 are fixed to the casing 1 one by one with screws 4 and are electrically connected to each other. Further, the plug terminal 2 passes through a space 6 formed inside the casing 1, and the front end of the casing 1 (in this specification, for convenience of explanation, the direction in which the plug terminal 2 is attached is “front” of the casing 1. The direction in which the socket terminal 3 is attached is “rear”). The opening of the casing 1 for projecting the plug terminal 2 is narrowed so that the plug terminal 2 does not enter the casing 1. Therefore, when the plug terminal 2 is inserted into the outlet, the reaction force received from the outlet is transmitted to the casing 1, so that the portion of the plug terminal 2 in the casing 1 is not deformed by the reaction force.

  The socket terminal 3 includes three contact pieces 3a, 3b, and 3c formed by bending a single metal plate, and a power plug (not shown) of an electric appliance to be inserted into the socket terminal 3 from three sides. It is arranged so as to sandwich it. Further, the width b of the contact surface of the contact pieces 3a, 3b is a width that covers the maximum and minimum spacing (pitch width) between the power plugs (that is, the maximum and minimum pitch widths of the power plugs). Since 1/2 of the difference is selected, the power plug contacts the contact pieces 3a and 3b regardless of the pitch width of the power plug. The contact surface of the contact piece 3c is orthogonal to the contact surfaces of the contact pieces 3a and 3b, and is disposed along a partition wall that separates the pair of socket terminals 3 facing each other. Therefore, the inner end portion of the plug terminal of the power plug having a “C” shape as in the Oceania type contacts the contact piece 3c. That is, the socket terminal 3 can contact the plug terminal of the power plug regardless of the size and shape of the power plug. Therefore, the universal adapter of this embodiment can be combined with all types of power plugs. As shown in FIG. 1C, a slight gap is provided between the contact pieces 3a and 3b and the contact piece 3c.

  The pressing element 5 is slidably attached to the left and right sides of the casing 1, and one end projects to the outside from the left and right side surfaces of the casing 1, and the other end abuts against the plug terminal 2 inside the space 6. For this reason, when the left and right pressing elements 5 are pushed into the casing 1, the pitch width of the two plug terminals 2 is narrowed due to the deformation of the plug terminals 2. In this way, the universal adapter of this embodiment can freely change the pitch width of the plug terminal 2 in accordance with the pitch width of the socket terminal of the outlet.

  2A and 2B are diagrams showing the shape of the plug terminal 2, FIGS. 2A to 2C are side views, and FIG. 2D is a perspective view. In addition, the left side of the figure is a front end (end portion protruding outside the casing 1), and the right side is a fixed end. FIG. 2A shows an example in which the front end and the fixed end are coupled with a small-diameter torsion bar 7 to reduce the torsional rigidity around the major axis of the plug terminal 2 so that it can be easily twisted. FIG. 2B shows an example in which the torsional rigidity is lowered by connecting the front end and the fixed end with a closely wound coil spring 8 instead of the torsion bar 7. In this way, when the torsional rigidity around the major axis of the plug terminal 2 is reduced (that is, the torsional elasticity around the major axis is given to the plug terminal 2), two plugs such as the Oceania type are formed in a “C” shape. When the plug terminal 2 is inserted into the outlet disposed in the socket, the plug terminal 2 is twisted following the shape of the socket of the outlet, so that it can correspond to a “C” -shaped outlet.

  FIG. 2C shows an example in which the front end and the fixed end of the plug terminal 2 are coupled by two torsion bars 9. As described above, when the front end and the fixed end are coupled by the two torsion bars 9, the torsional rigidity around the major axis of the plug terminal 2 and the bending rigidity in the direction of changing the pitch width of the plug terminal 2 are reduced. The bending rigidity in the vertical direction of the plug terminal 2 in the drawing can be kept high.

As shown in FIG. 2 (d), the plug terminal 2 has a rectangular cross section at the base 2a, and the tip 2b has a rhombus cross section obtained by connecting the midpoints of the four sides of the rectangle. ing. That is, a taper is provided such that the cross-sectional area of the tip 2b is half that of the base 2a. As described above, since the cross-sectional area of the tip 2b is reduced, the plug terminal 2 can be smoothly inserted into an outlet in which the socket hole such as the Oceania type (O ₁ , O ₂ ) has a “C” shape. can do.

  FIG. 3 is a structural view of a universal adapter showing a second embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a plan view and (b), (c) and (d) are side sectional views. In FIG. 3, 10 is a groove-shaped recess formed in the casing 1, 11 is a sliding piece fitted and supported in the groove-shaped recess 10, 12 is a grounding plug terminal fixed to the sliding piece 11, and 13 is a casing 1. And a compression spring 14 installed between the sliding piece 11 and a cover portion for covering the end of the groove-shaped recess 10. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 3A shows a state in which the sliding piece 11, the ground plug terminal 12, and the compression spring 13 are removed.

  The groove-shaped recess 10 is formed between the two plug terminals 2 in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the plug terminals 2. Therefore, the sliding piece 11 is guided by the groove-like recess 10 and slides in the longitudinal direction of the plug terminal 2. When the sliding piece 11 is at the rearmost end, as shown in FIG. 3B, the sliding piece 11 is inside the groove-shaped recess 10 and is engaged with the lid 14. Further, the compression spring 13 urges the sliding piece 11 so as to push it into the rear end of the groove-like recess 10. For this reason, the ground plug terminal 12 is kept in the state of being stored in the groove-like recess 10.

  When the ground plug terminal 12 is changed from the retracted state to the use state, when the rear end of the ground plug terminal 12 is pressed and the sliding piece 11 is pushed out toward the front end of the groove-shaped recess 10, the sliding piece 11 and the lid When the engagement of the portion 14 is released, the ground plug terminal 12 is pushed out of the groove-shaped recess 10 (FIG. 3C).

  The sliding piece 11 is further pressed to press the sliding piece 11 against the front end of the groove-shaped recess 10. At this time, the compression spring 13 biases the sliding piece 11 so as to contact the front end of the groove-shaped recess 10. For this reason, the ground plug terminal 12 is maintained in a state of protruding from the front end of the casing 1 (FIG. 3D).

  The sliding piece 11 is pressed by the compression spring 13 and pushed up to the outside of the casing 1, but can be pushed down to the inside of the casing 1 by applying an external force. For this reason, in the state shown in FIG.3 (d), the space | interval of the plug terminal 2 and the ground plug terminal 12 can be changed freely.

  As described above, in the universal adapter of this embodiment, the ground plug terminal 12 is concealably attached so that the ground plug terminal 12 is stored in the casing 1 when not in use. It can also correspond to an outlet.

1 is a structural diagram of a universal adapter according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the shape of the plug terminal which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a structure figure of the universal adapter which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the shape of the outlet socket of each country.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Casing 2 Plug terminal 2a base 2b Tip part 3 Socket terminal 3a, 3b, 3c Contact piece 4 Screw 5 Presser 6 Space 7 Torsion bar 8 Coil spring 9 Torsion bar 10 Groove recessed part 11 Sliding piece 12 Grounding plug terminal 13 Compression Spring 14 lid

Claims (9)

In a universal adapter that is interposed between an outlet and a power plug that does not correspond to the outlet, and electrically connects the outlet and the power plug.
casing;
A pair of plug terminals arranged in parallel in the casing with a predetermined pitch width;
And a pair of socket terminals arranged in parallel with the casing and electrically connected to the pair of plug terminals,
The universal adapter, wherein the plug terminal is fixed to the casing via an elastic element having a torsional elasticity around the major axis of the plug terminal. The elastic element has a bending elasticity that bends in a direction to expand and contract the pitch width of the pair of plug terminals,
2. The presser according to claim 1, wherein the casing is slidably held by the casing, and has one end abutting on the plug terminal inside the casing and the other end including a pressing member protruding outward from a side surface of the casing. Universal adapter as described. The universal adapter according to claim 1, wherein the elastic element is a torsion bar. The universal adapter according to claim 1, wherein the elastic element is a coil spring. The universal adapter according to claim 1, wherein the elastic element is a pair of torsion bars arranged in a direction orthogonal to the pitch width. The socket terminal is
A pair of contact pieces (first and second contact pieces) arranged in parallel to the pitch width of the plug terminals of the power plug inserted into the socket terminal;
6. The contact surface of the pair of contact pieces has at least a width that is ½ of a difference between a maximum pitch width and a minimum pitch width of plug terminals of the power plug. Universal adapter as described in. The socket terminal has a third contact piece having a contact surface orthogonal to the contact surface of the pair of contact pieces,
The universal adapter according to claim 6, wherein the third contact piece is disposed along a partition wall separating a pair of opposed socket terminals. It has a grounding plug terminal,
The universal adapter according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the ground plug terminal can be stored in the casing when not in use. The casing has a groove-like recess that runs in the longitudinal direction of the plug terminal,
Before and after fitting in the groove-shaped recess (the direction in which the ground plug terminal protrudes from the casing is referred to as “front”, and the direction in which the ground plug terminal is stored in the casing is referred to as “rear”. The same applies hereinafter. Sliding piece sliding to
A compression spring constructed between the bottom surface of the groove-shaped recess and the lower surface of the sliding piece;
And a lid portion that covers the rear end of the groove-shaped recess and engages with the sliding piece when the sliding piece is in the retracted position,
The universal adapter according to claim 8, wherein the ground plug terminal is fixed to the sliding piece.

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