JPH03283366A - Adapter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an adapter changeable for its attitude when inserted into a receptacle by rotatably combining a base member provided with AC pins and a housing forming a storage space inside it. CONSTITUTION:AC pins 1a, 1b are fixed on an insulating base member 3 and extended perpendicularly to the paper face, and the base member 3 is rotatably coupled with a housing 5 made of plastic. The housing 5 can be rotated to positions 5a, 5b, then an output cord 7 fixed to the housing 5 is changed to positions 7a, 7b, and a space occupied by the housing 5 is changed. An adapter 10 can be obtained in which the housing can be rotated while the AC pins 1a, 1b are kept inserted.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an adapter that is used for obtaining DC power from a commercial power source, and in particular, the adapter body is equipped with an AC pin,
This relates to an adapter that is used by directly inserting an AC pin into a commercial power outlet.

[Prior Art] Most adapters for obtaining DC from an AC power supply house a DC power circuit in a housing made of plastic or the like, have an AC pin on the bottom of the housing, and extend an output cord from one of the sides. .

The housing of such an adapter has considerably larger dimensions than a normal plug to accommodate the power circuit.

In particular, relatively high voltage and high current adapters have large dimensions.

By the way, electrical outlets are not always placed in the most convenient location for the user.
The output cord of the adapter will take a large detour from the adapter itself and reach the DC device.

Furthermore, in an outlet having multiple outlets, when an adapter is inserted, the housing may protrude, making other outlets unusable.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As explained above, in the conventional adapter, the AC pin is fixedly supported by the housing of the main body which has relatively large dimensions. For this reason, it may be inconvenient to handle the output cord or use the space around the outlet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an adapter whose position can be changed when plugged into an outlet.

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, an adapter is constructed by rotatably combining a base member provided with an AC pin and a housing defining an accommodation space therein.

[Function] Since the base member provided with the AC pin and the housing are rotatable, the housing can be rotated and used at a desired angle.

As the housing rotates, the direction of the output cord also changes. Additionally, the space occupied by the housing around the outlet also changes.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 schematically shows an adapter according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 shows the adapter viewed from below.

The AC pins 1a and 1b are fixed to an insulating base member 3 and extend perpendicularly to the plane of the paper. The base member 3 is rotatably engaged with a housing 5 made of plastic or the like. Therefore, the housing 5 can be rotated to the positions 58 and 5b. At this time, the output cord 7 fixed to the housing 5 also changes to the positions 7a and 7b. Furthermore, the space occupied by the housing 5 also changes.

In this way, an adapter 10 is obtained in which the housing 5 can be rotated in a state where the AC pins la and 1b are plugged into an outlet.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described in more detail below.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are cross-sectional views showing the internal structure.

FIG. 2(A) shows a plan view with the upper part of the housing 5 including the power supply circuit removed. , 13b. Connection members 19a and 19b for supplying ACt force to the power supply circuit 8 housed in the upper part of the housing 5 are shown on the left side of the figure. A brush lla is connected continuously to this connecting member 19.
, 11b are formed. The brushes 1la to 11b are formed into arc shapes, face each other, and come into sliding contact with contact members 13a and 13b connected to the tips of the AC pins. Therefore, the Ac1 force supplied to the AC pins 1a, 1b is applied to the brushes lla, 1 via the contact members 13a, 13b.
1b, and further introduced into the power supply circuit 8 via the connecting members 19a and 19b. The output cord 7 is supplied with DC power from one end of the power supply circuit, and is led out through the housing 5. When the housing 5 is rotated, the connecting member 19 and the brush 11 are also rotated, but the arcuate inner surface of the brush 11 remains in contact with the contact member 13.

FIG. 2(B) shows a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2(A). A power supply circuit 8 is housed in the upper space of the housing 5, and supplies direct current output to the output cord 7. . The source circuit 8 is supported by the housing. The AC pin 1a passes through the base member 3 and is fixedly supported. The AC pin 1a is in sliding contact with the brush lla via a contact member 13a (not shown), and is further connected to a connecting member 19a.
connected to the power supply circuit via. The base member 3 and the housing 5 are fitted and engaged, and can rotate relative to each other. Furthermore, the reason why the upper part of the base member 3 appears larger than the lower part is because of the protrusions 15a and 15b. Note that both of the protrusions 15a and 15b are not required in this embodiment, and one protrusion 15a is sufficient.

FIG. 2(C) shows a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG.
It is shown that it is in contact with lb. Note that when viewed from this direction, the projections 15a and 15b are not visible, so the lower and upper sides of the base member 3 have the same dimensions. In addition,
This base member 3 is formed by combining two members divided at the center. The base member may be an integral member and the housing may be a combination of two parts.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how the stopper works when the housing 5 is rotated relative to the base member. When AC pins 1a and 1b are plugged into an outlet, A
The positions of C pins 1a and 1b are fixed. Assume that the housing 5 is rotated in this state. Since the base member 3 and the housing 5 are rotatably engaged, they can be freely rotated until the stopper I1 is activated.

When rotated to a certain angle, either stopper 17a or 17b comes into contact with protrusion 15a, restricting further rotation. At this time, the contact members 13a and 13b maintain the brushes lla and llb.

Without the above-mentioned stopper mechanism, when the housing 5 is further rotated, the contact members 13a, 13b and the brush 1.
A stopper mechanism is provided to prevent contact with 1a and llb from being broken. Incidentally, instead of the stopper mechanism, a cam or the like may be used to generate the rotational force, and the angular range in which the contact member and the brush are no longer in contact may be in an unstable state. In this case, continuous rotation is possible.

FIG. 4 shows an adapter according to another embodiment of the invention, A
The C pins 1a and 1b are fixed to the base member 3, and the housing 5 is rotatably assembled to the base member 3, as in the previous embodiment. In this embodiment, the AC pin 1a and the , 1b and the power supply circuit connection member 1
The difference is that a flexible sheet 21 provided with a conductive strip is used for the electrical connection between 9a and 19b.

That is, the AC pins 1a, 1b and the connecting members 19a, 19
b is connected by a flexible sheet 21, making it rotatable. For example, when the housing 5 is rotated clockwise from the position shown in the figure, the bending position of the flexible sheet 21 moves further downward. Conversely, when the housing 5 is rotated counterclockwise, the folded portion of the flexible sheet 21 is stretched and the folded position is moved upward.

In the embodiments described above, the base member 3 and the housing 5 can be made of plastic molded products. The contact member 13 may be formed by bending a part of the AC pins 1a, 1b or by connecting a separate conductive component.
The brushes 11a and 11b are preferably made of a good conductor with some degree of elasticity.

Although the present invention has been described above in accordance with the examples, the present invention is not limited to these examples. For example, various modifications,
It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that improvements, combinations, etc. are possible.

[Effect of the Invention 1] As explained above, according to the present invention, in an adapter equipped with an AC pin, the housing can be rotated with respect to the AC pin, so the housing of the adapter can be rotated regardless of the orientation of the AC pin. You can place it at any angle you like.

Therefore, the output cord can be arranged in a desired direction.

Further, the space occupied by the adapter 5 in the space around the outlet can be adjusted to a desired position.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a bottom view schematically showing an adapter according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIGS. 2(A), (B), and (C) are sectional views showing the internal structure of the adapter shown in FIG. 1; Figure 3 shows the stopper I! of the adapter shown in Figure 1! FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view for explaining another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1a, 1b 0 1 3 5 AC pin base member housing output cord power supply circuit adapter brush contact member protrusion stopper # pillow member ■ Flexible sheet

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1). An adapter for outputting DC power by inserting an AC pin into a commercial AC power outlet, the adapter comprising: a base member having an AC pin; and a base member rotatably engaged with the base member and having a housing space inside. a housing defining a DC power supply circuit, a DC power supply circuit supported by the housing within the housing space, an output cord connected to the DC power supply circuit and led out to the outside via the housing, and the DC power supply circuit;
and a connecting member for connecting the AC pin. (2). 2. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member includes a contact member connected and fixed to the AC pin, and a brush connected to the DC power supply circuit and in sliding contact with the contact member. (3). 3. The adapter according to claim 1, wherein the base member and the housing have a stopper mechanism that engages with each other to limit relative rotation.