JP2011150891A - Series unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a connector made from die cast to be mounted on a series unit made from the same die cast which has low flexibility and weak restoring force from deformation, by a snap fit structure. <P>SOLUTION: A cylindrical housing connection part is provided in a direction orthogonal to a coaxial cape connection part of a connector. The housing connection part is divided into a plurality of housing insertion pieces having claws on their tips. Further, an insulator holding a conductor for signal set in a cylinder of the housing connection part is made from a resin having flexibility, and further has a structure containing a gap inside thereof, to enable snap fit by the housing insertion pieces. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a series unit for connecting a plurality of coaxial cables such as an outdoor antenna or a cable television.

  The series unit for connecting a plurality of coaxial cables is used, for example, for the purpose of branching a coaxial cable connected to a receiving device such as a television from a coaxial cable of a field antenna or a cable television. Such a series unit is stored in a storage box installed on a wall surface, or is used by being embedded in a space provided on an indoor wall. In addition to the connector for the external cable (coaxial cable connection terminal) that connects the plug of the coaxial cable connected to the indoor TV receiver, etc., the serial unit connects the plug of the coaxial cable from the signal source such as the antenna. And at least one output cable connector for connecting a coaxial cable plug to be connected to the next-stage apparatus. The connection between the connector for the input / output cable and the plug of each coaxial cable is made in a space such as a storage box. However, the direction of coaxial cable routing differs depending on the structure of the building, etc., and the direction of routing does not match the direction of the connector for the input / output cable, so the efficiency of the work of connecting the coaxial cable to the series unit is poor. there were.

As a configuration for solving the above problem, a configuration in which a connector for an input / output cable is rotatably attached to a casing of a series unit is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-247228, (Patent Document 1) or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-91318 ( Patent Document 2).
The configuration described in Patent Document 1 is such that a connector that detachably connects a plug connected to the tip of a coaxial cable has a direction perpendicular to a protruding direction from the housing surface of the series unit as a rotation axis. A pair of rotation fulcrum portions are provided on the outer surface of the base portion of the connector, the housing is divided into a housing body and a support member, and a pair of recesses provided in the housing body and a pair of recesses provided in the support member. Is a structure which fixes a housing body and a support member so that a pair of rotation fulcrum part of a connector may be pinched | interposed. With this configuration, the pair of rotation fulcrum portions of the connector can rotate into the pair of spaces formed by the housing body and the recess of the support member, and the connector can rotate with respect to the housing.
The configuration described in Patent Document 2 is provided with a mounting hole for attaching the connector to the casing of the series unit, the connector is formed of two L-shaped sides, and one side is connected to the tip of the coaxial cable. A plug connecting portion for connecting the plugs, and a connecting portion for rotatably mounting the other side to the mounting hole of the housing of the unit. The following two forms are described in the structure that is rotatably connected to the housing of the unit.
(1) The unit housing is divided and formed so as to divide the mounting hole into two parts, and two hook-like protrusions are provided at a predetermined interval in the connector connecting portion, and the two hook-like protrusions are formed. The connector is rotatably attached to the unit housing by assembling the housing and the connector divided into two so that the recessed portion engages with the convex portion of the edge of the mounting hole of the divided housing.
(2) An insertion part through which the attachment hole of the housing of the unit can be inserted in the connection part of the connector, a collar part formed larger than the diameter of the attachment hole, an outer peripheral surface of the insertion part, and at least an attachment hole A locking piece having a diameter larger than the diameter of the mounting hole in the groove in a state where a groove is provided at a position away from the flange portion by a length equal to the wall thickness of the surrounding casing, and the insertion portion is inserted into the mounting hole. By fitting the connector, the connector is rotatably attached to the housing of the unit.

JP 2004-247228 A JP 2008-91318 A

The configuration described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a pair of rotation fulcrum portions on a connector, and there is a problem that the manufacturing process becomes complicated and the cost increases. Further, since the pair of rotation fulcrum portions provided in the connector is inserted into the pair of attachment holes provided in the housing, the housing is divided into two or more and the rotation fulcrum portions are inserted into the attachment holes. It is necessary to assemble the casing in the state, which increases the cost of manufacturing and assembling the casing.
The configuration described in Patent Document 2 is a structure in which a connection portion of an L-shaped connector is inserted into a mounting hole provided in the housing, and it is possible to reduce manufacturing and assembly costs of the connector and the housing. It is. However, in order to assemble the connector and the housing, it is necessary to provide a structure in which the housing is divided into two or more parts, or a locking piece is attached to the connection portion of the connector, and the manufacturing and assembly processes are complicated. This causes an increase in cost.

As a method of joining two elements, a snap-fit structure is used in which a locking claw is provided in one element and a hole into which the locking claw is inserted in the other element. In this method, the locking claw of one element is pressed against the hole of the other element and deformed, and the locking claw that has passed through the hole returns to the shape before deformation by the elastic force of the material. It prevents it from falling out of the hole. The snap-fit structure allows the two elements to be securely connected to each other by a simple process of pressing the locking claw against one element against the hole of the other element, but the locking claw is flexible. It can be used when it is made of a material that can be elastically deformed.
Die casting using zinc alloy or the like has many advantages such as being capable of mass production, being excellent in strength, and capable of producing a thin and complex product, and is widely used for the production of series units. However, die-cast products have low flexibility, and when deformed by external pressure, they have the property that the force to recover from deformation after the pressure disappears is very small. The snap-fit structure is a useful method for joining two elements, but it has been difficult to use in a series unit manufactured by die casting such as zinc alloy having low flexibility.

The present invention divides a connector connecting portion into a plurality of locking pieces each having a locking claw at the tip in a configuration in which a connecting portion of an L-shaped connector is rotatably coupled to an insertion hole provided in the series unit. In addition, when the insulator that is inserted into the cylindrical cavity in the connection part and holds the signal conductor at the center is made of a flexible resin such as polycarbonate, a gap is provided in the insulator, and pressure is applied from the outside It is configured to have elasticity that easily deforms and quickly returns to its original shape when the pressure is removed.
According to the present invention, the connector that is also a die-cast product can be coupled to the casing body of the series unit that is a die-cast product that is not flexible and suitable for the snap-fit structure by using the snap-fit structure. Therefore, it is not necessary to greatly change the manufacturing process of the housing body and the connector, and the connector can be rotatably incorporated into the housing body by a simple operation in assembling.
The casing body of the series unit according to the present invention only needs to be provided with a hole for inserting a connector, and does not require a complicated process such as division creation. In addition, the housing body only has a hole for inserting the connector, and the position of the hole can be set to any position of the housing body. It is possible to produce.

The perspective view of the series unit which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention The perspective view of the housing | casing of the series unit which concerns on 1st Embodiment The top view and sectional view of the case of the series unit concerning a 1st embodiment Detailed view of the outer conductor of the connector of the series unit according to the first embodiment, part 1 Detailed view of the outer conductor of the connector of the series unit according to the first embodiment, part 2 Detailed view of the outer conductor of the connector of the series unit according to the first embodiment, part 3 Detailed view of insulator in connector according to the first embodiment Process diagram for inserting the connector according to the first embodiment into a housing, part 1 Process drawing 2 which inserts connector which concerns on 1st Embodiment in a housing | casing 2 1 is a perspective view of a series unit according to another embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view 2 of the series unit which concerns on other embodiment of this invention

1A and 1B are diagrams showing an embodiment of a series unit according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a perspective view from the right front side, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view from the right rear side. The series unit according to this embodiment is composed of a zinc die-cast casing 200 to which two coaxial cable connectors 300-1 and 300-2 are attached and a synthetic resin decorative terminal block 100. On the front surface of the housing 200, there is provided an external cable connection portion 207 for detachably connecting a coaxial cable plug connected to a television or the like. An attachment means 205 for attaching the decorative terminal block 100 is provided on the front wall 201 of the housing 200. FIG. 1 shows a state in which a decorative terminal block 100 made of synthetic resin is attached to the front surface of the housing 200. Normally, the decorative terminal block 100 is attached after the housing 200 is installed in the storage box and the input cable from the previous stage is connected to the output cable to the next stage.
The housing 200 has a box shape with left and right side walls 202 and 203, a rear wall 206, and a bottom surface not shown. Inside the box-shaped housing, connectors 300-1 and 300-2 for input / output cables (hereinafter referred to as “internal connector 300”) and a circuit board for connecting the signal conductors of the external cable connecting portion 207 are housed. The conductive top plate 204 is attached.
The two internal connectors 300 are attached to the housing 200 so as to be rotatable (rotations are indicated by 301-1 and 301-2). In the first embodiment, the rotation axes of the two internal connectors 300 are both perpendicular to the left and right side walls of the housing 200, and plug connection portions 401-1 and 401-2 (hereinafter referred to as "plug connection") for connecting plugs of input / output cables. The section 401 ”is rotated on the front surface of the housing 200, that is, in a plane perpendicular to the wall surface of the room. Male screws are formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the plug connection portion 401 and the external cable connection portion 207 of the internal connector 300, but are omitted in the drawing.

FIGS. 2-1 and 2-2 are views showing details of the housing 200, FIG. 2-1 is a perspective view obliquely from above, FIG. 2-2 (a) is a top view, and FIG. ) Is a cross-sectional view. The casing 200 according to the present invention is integrally formed by die casting such as zinc alloy. A cylindrical external cable connecting portion 207 protrudes from the front wall 201. The front wall 201 is provided with a makeup terminal block attaching means 205 for attaching the makeup terminal block 100. The housing 200 is box-shaped by left and right side walls 202 and 203, a rear wall 206, and a bottom plate 208, and forms a space 210 therein. The space 210 is provided with a plurality of circuit board fixing portions 211 for fixing the circuit board 212 (FIG. 5-2) by screwing or the like.
The side walls 202 and 203 are provided with connector mounting holes 209-1 and 209-2 (hereinafter referred to as “connector mounting holes 209”) for mounting the internal connector 300, respectively. In this embodiment, a step is provided on the side wall, and the connector mounting hole 209 is provided in the side wall portion where the interval is narrow.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are detailed views of the outer conductor 400 constituting the internal connector 300. FIGS. FIG. 3A is a side view of the outer conductor 400, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view thereof. 3A is a top view of the external conductor 400, FIG. 3B is a side view seen from the housing connection portion side, and FIG. 3C is a side view seen from the plug connection portion side. 3A is a bottom view of the outer conductor 400, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the housing connection portion.
The internal connector 300 according to the present embodiment is L-shaped, one side is a plug connection portion 401 to which a plug attached to a coaxial cable is detachably connected, and the other is a configuration for coupling with a housing. It is the housing | casing connection part 402 which has. A front end portion of the housing connection portion 402 is a housing insertion portion 403 that is rotatably inserted into a connector mounting hole 209 provided in the housing 200, and is divided into a plurality of insertion pieces 405 by notches 406. A claw 407 is provided at the tip of each insertion piece 405. When the insertion piece 405 is inserted into the connector mounting hole 209, the claw 407 holds the inner wall surface around the connector mounting hole 209 and prevents the internal connector 300 from falling off.
A base 404 of the housing insertion portion 403 is provided with a collar 404 that defines the insertion position of the connector. The plug connecting portion 401 is provided with a notch 408 that prevents interference with the structure around the connector mounting hole 209.

As shown in FIGS. 3-1 (b) and FIGS. 3-2 (a) and 3-2 (c), the plug connecting portion 401 and the housing connecting portion 402 are cylindrical, and the inside is columnar. It is hollow.
In the cavity 410 of the plug connection portion 401, an insulator for a plug connection portion having a conductor connected to the central conductor of the coaxial cable as a center is inserted. Further, an insulator 500 (FIG. 4) for the housing connection portion is inserted into the cavity 411 of the housing connection portion 402.
4A and 4B are detailed views of the insulator 500 for the housing connection portion, in which FIG. 4A is a perspective view from an oblique front, and FIG. 4B is a detailed view of the front surface. The insulator 500 includes a cylindrical outer peripheral layer 501 and a cylindrical inner peripheral layer 502, and both layers are connected by a plurality (four in FIG. 4) of connecting portions 503. The outer diameter of the outer peripheral layer 501 substantially coincides with the inner diameter of the cavity 411, and when the insulator 500 is inserted into the cavity 411, both move together. A central portion 504 of the inner peripheral layer 502 is a tubular space into which the central conductor 510 (FIGS. 5-1 and 5-2) is inserted. One end of the center conductor 510 inserted into the tubular space 504 is coupled with the center conductor of the insulator for the plug connection in the cavity 411. The other end of the center conductor 510 protrudes from the housing insertion portion 403 and is rotatably connected to the circuit board 212 installed in the space 210 of the housing 200. A configuration in which the center conductor of the plug connection portion 401 and the center conductor 510 of the housing connection portion 402 are connected, and a configuration in which the center conductor 510 is rotatably connected to the circuit board 212 are known configurations such as the configuration shown in Patent Document 2. Can be used.
The insulator 500 is made of a flexible resin such as polycarbonate. The insulator 500 has a structure in which the outer peripheral layer 501 and the inner peripheral layer 502 are connected by a plurality of connecting portions 503, and a gap 505 exists between the connecting portions 503. Therefore, when a force for compressing the outer peripheral layer 501 is applied from the outside of the insulator 500, the outer peripheral layer 501 and the connecting portion 503 are deformed into the gap 505, and the outer diameter of the outer peripheral layer 501 is reduced.

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the internal connector 300 in which the insulator 500 having the central conductor 510 is inserted into the cavity 411 is inserted into the connector mounting hole 209 provided in the side wall of the housing 200. 5B is a detailed cross-sectional view of the connector mounting hole 209. FIG.
A circuit board 212 is fixed in the space 210 of the housing 200 by a plurality of circuit board fixing portions 211. The circuit board 212 incorporates a circuit that distributes signals between the two internal connectors 300 and one external cable connection portion 207. In addition, the circuit board 212 is provided with a connection terminal for rotatably holding the central conductor 510 protruding from the center of the insulator 500 of the two internal connectors 300.
As shown in FIG. 5B, the outer peripheral portion of the connector mounting hole 209 is a recess 602 in which the flange 404 of the internal connector 300 is located. A peripheral protrusion 601 is provided around the connector mounting hole 209 so as to protrude toward the inside 210 of the housing 200. The distance between the wall surface of the depression 602 and the tip of the peripheral protrusion 601 is substantially the same as the distance between the upper surface of the collar 404 and the claw 407 in FIG.

The inner diameter of the peripheral protrusion 601 decreases in order from the outside toward the inside, with the portions 603, 604, and 605. The diameter of the part 603 is long enough to accept the claw 407. When the internal connector 300 is attached, the claw 407 is inserted into the part 603 and pressed against the part 604. Due to the inclination of the inner walls of the portions 604 and 605 and the inclination of the claw 407 of the internal connector 300, the inner wall of the peripheral protrusion 601 generates a force that deforms the insertion piece 405 inward. This force is applied to the insulator 500 to compress the outer peripheral layer 501. When a force for deforming the insertion piece 405 toward the inside is applied, the insertion piece 405 and the insulator 500 are deformed so as to integrally reduce the diameter. Due to this deformation, the insertion portion 403 of the internal connector 300 advances in the peripheral protrusion 601 toward the interior 210 of the housing 200.
When the claw 407 passes through the peripheral protrusion 601, the pressure applied to the insulator 500 disappears, and the shape of the insulator 500 returns to the shape before deformation by the elastic force of a material such as polycarbonate constituting the insulator 500. To do. The returning force of the insulator 500 works as a force for returning the shape of the insertion piece 405 to the shape before deformation. As a result, the insertion piece 405 inclined to the inside opens outward, and when the claw 407 exceeds the tip of the peripheral projection 601, the claw 407 moves the tip of the peripheral projection 601 as shown in FIG. The peripheral protrusion 601 is rotatably sandwiched together with the ridge 404 that extends so as to cover and is located in the recess 602.

When the insertion portion 403 of the internal connector 300 advances toward the interior 210 of the housing 200, the central conductor 510 protruding from the insertion portion 403 contacts the contact provided on the circuit board 212 in a freely rotatable manner. As a result, the center conductor of the plug connection portion 401, the center conductor 510 of the housing connection portion 402, and the contacts on the circuit board 212 are electrically connected, and the internal connector 300 is rotatable with respect to the housing 200. Connected.
With the above configuration, the flexibility is low and it is not suitable for the snap-fit structure, but the snap-fit operation can be performed on the series unit manufactured by die casting having many advantages in manufacturing, and the internal connector 300 can be freely rotated on the housing body 200. It becomes possible to attach to.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing another series unit to which the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, the internal connectors 705-1 and 705-2 are attached to the rear wall of the housing 700. The decorative terminal block 100 is fixed to the front wall 701 of the housing 700. The casing 700 houses circuit boards that form signal paths between the connectors in an internal space formed by left and right side walls 702 and 703, a rear wall 706, a top plate 704, and a bottom plate (not shown). The rear wall 706 has a step, and connector mounting holes 706-1 and 706-2 for inserting the internal connectors 705-1 and 705-2 are provided on a surface close to the front wall 701. The internal connectors 705-1 and 705-2 have the same configuration as the internal connector 300 shown in FIGS. 1 to 5-2, and the connector mounting holes 706-1 and 706-2 are housings shown in FIG. This is the same configuration as the connector mounting hole 209 provided in 200.
The internal connectors 705-1 and 705-2 of the serial unit of this form rotate on a plane parallel to the front wall 701. Therefore, when used by being embedded in the wall of the room, the internal connector rotates in parallel with the wall, and the coaxial cable can be easily routed.

Although the serial unit that distributes signals such as televisions needs to be connected to multiple coaxial cables, it can be stored and used in a storage box installed in the wall of the house. However, it took a lot of labor to route the coaxial cable. In order to cope with this problem, a configuration has been proposed in which a connector for connecting a coaxial cable is rotatably attached to a casing of a series unit.
For the production of serial units, die casting using zinc alloy or the like is widely performed for reasons such as mass production, excellent strength, and production of thin and complex products. However, die cast products have low flexibility, and when deformed by external pressure, the force to restore from deformation after the pressure is lost is very small. It was difficult to adopt the method of attaching to the case.

The present invention has a snap fit structure in which a housing insertion portion of a connector to be inserted into a connector mounting hole provided in a housing of a series unit is divided into a plurality of insertion pieces each having a claw at the tip, and the housing insertion The insulator to be installed in the cavity of the part is made of a flexible resin such as polycarbonate and has a structure having a void inside the resin. With this configuration, when the insertion piece is pressed in the center direction, the insulator is deformed together with the insertion piece. When the pressing force is removed, it is possible to return to the state before the force is applied to the die-cast insert piece by the restoring force of the insulator.
The insulator inserted into the cavity in the connector for the purpose of holding the signal center conductor is made of a flexible resin such as polycarbonate, and the structure is flexible by providing a gap inside the resin. The housing and connector of the series unit manufactured by die casting that is not suitable for snap fitting can be integrated by the snap fitting structure. As a result, it is possible to simplify the manufacturing and assembly processes of the housing and connector without requiring complicated manufacturing processes and assembly processes, such as dividing the housing or fixing the connector with a retaining ring. It becomes.
The embodiment is a series unit having one external cable connector and two internal cable connectors, and is configured to allow two internal cable connectors to rotate in the same direction with respect to the housing. It is also possible to apply the invention to a series unit having three or more connectors, or to change the rotation direction of each connector to a different direction.

Claims (4)

A series unit in which a die-cast L-shaped connector for connecting a coaxial cable is rotatably mounted in a connector mounting hole provided in a housing body,
One side of the L-shaped connector is a cylindrical cable connecting portion for connecting a coaxial cable, and the other side is a cylindrical casing connection inserted into a connector mounting hole provided in the casing main body. Department,
The housing connection part is divided into a plurality of housing insertion pieces having a claw at the tip,
In the cylinder of the housing connection portion is made of a resin having flexibility, and has an insulator for holding a signal conductor in the center,
The series unit, wherein the insulator has a gap that enables deformation of the housing insertion piece. The series unit according to claim 1, wherein
The serial unit is characterized in that the connector and the housing main body are made of zinc alloy die casting. The serial unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The series unit is characterized in that the insulator is made of polycarbonate. A series unit according to claim 1 to claim 3, wherein
The insulator includes an outer peripheral layer in contact with an inner wall of the housing connection portion, an inner peripheral layer for holding the signal conductor, and a plurality of connecting portions connecting the outer peripheral layer and the inner peripheral layer. Series unit to do.

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