JP2851826B2 - Plug adapter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is provided between a plug of an electric appliance such as a ventilation fan and a commercial power outlet in a home, and controls an electric appliance connected by detecting environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. To plug adapter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a domestic ventilation fan, a plug is inserted into an outlet, and the ventilation fan is manually turned on as required. Also,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-58578, there is also proposed a socket with a detector in which a detector is attached to a socket and the power supply voltage output to the socket terminal is controlled on and off by the output of the sensor. .

[0003]

In the former case of the above-mentioned prior art, the switch must be turned on manually each time. For example, the user forgets to turn on the switch at the time of cooking or cooks the food without trouble. Sometimes the kitchen was filled with steam and smoke, causing unpleasant smells and oily smoke to reach walls and other things.

In the latter case, the sensor is provided separately from the socket.
There is a problem that the insertion direction of the plug insertion portion of the socket into which the other plug is inserted is orthogonal to that of the socket, the shape of the socket itself becomes large, and the sensor is also vulnerable to external physical action.

It is also conceivable that a sensor is incorporated in an electric appliance itself such as a ventilation fan to automatically control the electric appliance based on temperature and humidity. However, in this case, the electric appliance cannot be used for an existing product, and the ventilation fan cannot be used. There is a problem that the replacement of such a device places a heavy burden on the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and can control electric appliances automatically and reliably according to temperature, humidity, etc., and is small in size and easy to install. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plug adapter which is available at a low price and which can be miniaturized and increased in density.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has a socket provided on the side of a case and a plug protruding on the other side of the case, and the plug is connected to a commercial power outlet at home. In the pluggable plug adapter, a through hole is formed in the case, and at least one of a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor is provided at a predetermined position in the case through which outside air flows through the through hole. A comparator for comparing the output of the plug with a predetermined reference value, and a board mounted with a circuit controlled by the output of the comparator to open and close a contact provided between the plug and the socket. And a plug adapter provided between the pair of contacts of the socket portion.

Further, in the present invention, the through hole is formed on a side surface of the case, between the pair of contacts of the socket portion. Further, the present invention is a plug adapter in which a plug portion in which the plug is attached to the case is swingably provided with respect to the case. Further, the substrate is a substrate on which circuits are formed on both surfaces, and the temperature sensor is provided on one surface, and the humidity sensor is provided on the other surface.

[0009] The plug adapter of the present invention is designed to appropriately control power supply to an electric product whose plug is inserted into a socket in accordance with temperature, humidity, and the like. Further, the socket portion is provided so as to be swingable relative to the plug portion, so that the sensor can be oriented in an optimal direction.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. A plug adapter according to this embodiment has a plug 2 projecting from a synthetic resin case 1 and a socket on the other side of the case 1. 3 are formed. The case 1 is divided into upper and lower parts, which are joined together. Inside the case 1, spring members 4a forming the contacts 4 of the socket 3 are provided corresponding to the respective holes of the socket. .

The circuit board 5 is located between the pair of spring members 4a of the contact 4. A plug 2 and a contact 4 are connected to a terminal portion of the circuit board 5, and a thermistor 6 as a temperature sensor and a control IC are provided on the surface of the board 5.
7 and other circuit elements (not shown) are attached, and a humidity sensor 8 is formed on the back surface by printing an electrode 8a in a comb-like shape.

Further, a through hole 9 composed of a plurality of slits is formed on the outer surface of the case 1 so that air inside and outside the case 1 can flow. The through hole 9 is formed at the center of the case 1 and is formed near the temperature sensor 6 on the substrate 5 in the case 1. The board 5 is arranged between the plug insertion portions 3a of the socket 3 and is arranged in a space between the spring members 4a into which other plugs 2a are inserted. The insertion direction of the plug insertion portion 3 a of the socket 3 is provided concentrically and parallel to the projection direction of the plug 2 protruding from the case 1.

Regarding the control circuit of this plug adapter,
Description will be made based on the drawings. The plug 2 is connected to a transformer 10, and a secondary output of the transformer 10 is a rectifier circuit 11.
The output of the power supply circuit 12 is connected to each IC or electronic element. Furthermore, the power supply circuit 1
The output of the second predetermined voltage is connected to the thermistor 6, and the potential of the thermistor 6 is connected to the non-inverting input of the comparator 13. Further, a predetermined reference voltage is input to the inverting input section of the comparator 13. The output of the comparator 13 is input to the base of the transistor 14. On the collector side of the transistor 14, a relay 1 as a switch member is provided.
5 is connected, and a contact 15 a of a relay 15 is provided in series between the plug 2 and the contact 4 of the socket 3.

In the circuit including the humidity sensor 8, the output of the oscillation circuit 16 is connected to the buffer 17, the output of the buffer 17 is adjusted to a predetermined potential, and
Is being entered. The humidity sensor 8 is connected in series with a thermistor 18 for temperature compensation, and the potential of the humidity sensor 8 is connected to an amplifier 19 and a rectifying / smoothing circuit 20. The voltage is input to the non-inverting input of the comparator 21. Further, a predetermined reference voltage is input to the inverting input section of the comparator 21. The output of the comparator 21 is input to the base of the transistor 14.

For example, the plug adapter of this embodiment
When used for a ventilation fan, the plug 2a of the ventilation fan is inserted into the socket 3 of this plug adapter, and the plug 2 of the plug adapter is inserted into a household outlet. Then, when the switch of the ventilation fan is turned on and the cooking is performed under the ventilation fan, the potential of the thermistor 6 and the humidity sensor 8 of the plug adapter changes due to the heat or the steam, and the comparison is performed when the potential exceeds a predetermined reference value. The output of the heater 13 or 19 changes from LOW to HIGH, and the transistor 14 turns ON. As a result, the relay 15 is operated, the contact 15a is closed, and electric power from the commercial power supply is supplied to the contact 4 of the socket 3 into which the plug of the ventilation fan is inserted. Here, the comparators 13 and 19
Is input to the base of the transistor 14 in the form of OR, so that when either the temperature or the humidity exceeds a predetermined value, the ventilation fan operates.

According to the plug adapter of this embodiment,
By simply keeping the ventilation fan switched on, heat and humidity are automatically detected and the ventilation fan is turned on and off, so you never forget to turn on or stop the ventilation fan.

Next, a second embodiment of the plug adapter of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, a plug portion 25 in which a plug 2 is attached to one side surface of a case 1 is provided to be swingable about a swing shaft 26 with respect to the case 1. Further, sockets 3 are formed on other plural side surfaces of the case 1, slit-shaped through holes 9 are provided on a part of the side surfaces, and a display unit 2 such as an LED or an LCD is provided on the upper surface of the case 1.
7 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 6, a substrate 5 is housed inside the plug adapter of this embodiment, and the thermistor 6, the control IC 7, the humidity sensor 8, and other electronic elements such as resistors and capacitors are mounted on the surface of the substrate. Have been.
The substrate 5 is connected to the base end of the plug 2 by a flexible lead wire 28 so that no force is applied to the connection terminals even when the case 1 swings. A spring member 4 a of the contact 4 is attached to the inside of the socket 3 (contacts on both side surfaces are omitted in the figure) and connected to a circuit on the substrate 5.

The control circuit of this embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 4, but has three sockets and further includes a drive IC (not shown) for driving an LCD or the like of the display unit 27. Have been.

This plug adapter digitizes the outputs of the thermistor 6 and the humidity sensor 8, displays them on the display unit 27, controls power supply to the plug inserted into the socket 3 at a predetermined temperature or humidity, and provides a ventilation fan. Etc. are turned ON and OFF.

According to this plug adapter, the temperature and the humidity are displayed on the display unit 27, which is convenient for the user. Further, since the case 1 can swing with respect to the plug 2, the display unit 27 is easy to see. You can adjust the angle. Moreover, since a plurality of sockets 3 are provided,
Multiple appliances can be controlled simultaneously by temperature or humidity. In this case, it is also possible to provide a comparator separately so that a reference value for supplying power to each socket can be set independently and arbitrarily. In addition, the direction of the sensor can be adjusted to an optimal direction, and the detection accuracy can be further improved.

Incidentally, any of the humidity sensor and the temperature sensor may be formed on the substrate, and another sensor or the like may be separately mounted on the substrate.

[0023]

According to the plug adapter of the present invention, since the opening and closing of the switch member of the socket is controlled by a sensor provided in the case, the plug adapter is inserted into a household outlet and a plug such as a ventilation fan is inserted. Simply by inserting the fan into the socket of the plug adapter, the ventilation fan can be automatically controlled based on the temperature and the like. In addition, it can be used for existing electric products only by plugging the plug adapter into an outlet, and has a very wide application range. In addition, the outer shape can be made small and the mounting is simple. In particular, since the sensor is disposed so as to be located between the plugs to be inserted, the shape of the adapter itself can be reduced. In addition, since the socket portion having the built-in sensor can be relatively swung, the detection can be made easier and more accurate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a plug adapter according to a first embodiment of the present invention with an upper case removed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a substrate provided inside the plug adapter of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the plug adapter of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the plug adapter of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the plug adapter of this embodiment with an upper case removed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 2 Plug 3 Socket 4 Contact 5 Substrate 6 Thermistor (Temperature sensor) 8 Humidity sensor 9 Through-hole 13, 21 Comparator 15 Relay 15a Contact

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Furukawa 3158, Shimo-Okubo, Osawano-machi, Kamishinkawa-gun, Toyama Prefecture Inside Hokuriku Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Inside Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toyoji Asano 3158, Shimo-Okubo, Osawano-cho, Kamishinkawa-gun, Toyama Prefecture Inside (72) Kazuo Nomura 3158, Shimo-Okubo, Osawano-cho, Kamishikawa-gun, Toyama Within Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shigeru Bando 3158, Shimo-Okubo, Osawano-cho, Kamishinkawa-gun, Toyama Prefecture Inside (72) Kenji Miyao 3158, Shimo-Okubo, Osawano-cho, Kamishinkawa-gun, Toyama Hokuriku Electric Industrial Co. In-house (72) Inventor Go Nakata 3158 Shimookubo, Osawano-cho, Kamishinkawa-gun, Toyama Hokuriku Electric Works Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yozo Ohara 3158, Shimookubo, Osawano-cho, Kamishinkawa-gun, Toyama Pref. Hokuriku Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-1-258375 (JP, A) JP-A-7-176354 ( JP, A) JP-A-62-58578 (JP, A) JP-A-62-254374 (JP, A) JP-A-63-3137 (JP, A) JP-A-52-92378 (JP, A) 63-74038 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01R 13/66-13/70 F24F 7/013

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A socket provided on a side surface of a case,
A plug protruding from the other side of the case, the plug being capable of being plugged into a commercial power outlet at home, forming a through-hole in the case; At least one of a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor is provided at a predetermined position in a case through which outside air flows, and a comparator that compares an output of this sensor with a predetermined reference value is controlled by an output of the comparator. A plug adapter comprising: a board on which a circuit for opening and closing contacts provided between the plug and the socket is mounted, and the board is provided between the pair of contacts of the socket portion in the case. 2. The plug adapter according to claim 1, wherein said through hole is formed in a side surface of said case between said pair of contacts of said socket portion. 3. A socket provided on a side surface of the case,
A plug protruding from the other side of the case, the plug being capable of being plugged into a commercial power outlet at home, forming a through-hole in the case; At least one of a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor is provided at a predetermined position in a case through which outside air flows, and a comparator that compares an output of this sensor with a predetermined reference value is controlled by an output of the comparator. A plug provided with a circuit board for opening and closing a contact provided between the plug and the socket; and a plug portion having the plug attached to the case is provided swingably with respect to the case. adapter. 4. The plug adapter according to claim 1, wherein said substrate is a substrate having circuits formed on both sides.