JPS6386375A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a connector device for electrically connecting different circuit units, and particularly for connecting a personal computer, a printer, an IC card, or a memory card. This invention relates to a connector device used for connecting.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, for example, when connecting a circuit unit of an external device to a main body device having a memory circuit, a connector is used. The connector typically includes a first connector portion having a plurality of contacts for transferring input signals or output signals, respectively, and a second connector portion having a plurality of contacts corresponding to the plurality of contacts of the first connector portion. It consists of a connector part. That is, for example, a first connector section is provided on the main device side, a second connector section is provided on the external device side, and the first connector section is provided on the external device side.
By connecting the second connector section and the second connector section, an electrical connection is established.

Incidentally, the contacts and contact portions of the connector are arranged in series, and their directionality is set in advance when they are connected. If the connector is connected in the opposite direction, the electrical connection between the main device and the external device will normally be disrupted, and problems such as malfunction or destruction of the device itself may occur. In order to prevent such reverse connection, a key for preventing reverse connection is added to a predetermined location of the connector, or the shape of the connector is designed so that reverse connection is impossible. However, since all of these methods are related to the mechanical structure of the connector, there are cases where the reverse connection function deteriorates or the structure is destroyed due to changes in the shape of the connector.

As another method, a structure in which the signal extraction portion of the connector is provided only on one side of a member such as a card edge may be considered. With such a structure, no electrical connection is made even if the devices are reversely connected, so it is possible to prevent failures such as malfunction and destruction of the device. Although such a connector can protect the device itself, when the device is connected in reverse, it may not be possible to immediately determine whether the device does not work due to the reverse connection or a failure of the device.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In conventional connectors, prevention of reverse connection is handled structurally, so it is impossible to completely prevent various failures due to reverse connection, and the structure is complicated. There is a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a connector device that has a simple structure and can realize normal electrical connection without causing any trouble to the device to be connected even in the case of reverse connection.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a connector comprising, for example, a first connector section provided on the external device side and a second connector section provided on the main device side. The device has first and second gate circuit groups between the second connector portion and the circuit unit on the main device side. The first gate circuit group is turned on by a gate operation signal from the first gate control means, and is a circuit for transferring an input signal or an output signal between the circuit unit on the main device side and the second connector section. . The first gate control means detects a first control signal from an external device,
This circuit outputs a gate operation signal according to this detection result. The second gate circuit group is turned off when the first gate circuit group is turned on, turned on by a gate operation signal from the second gate control means, and is connected to the main device side circuit unit and the second gate circuit group. This is a circuit for transferring input signals or output signals between the connector parts of. The second gate control means is a circuit that detects a second control signal that is an inverted signal of the first $ control signal from an external device and outputs a gate operation signal in accordance with the detection result.

With this configuration, when the first and second connector parts are connected in reverse, one of the first circuit group or the second circuit group always turns on and the other turns off, so that the main unit and the external The electrical connection between the devices is normal.

(Example) The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the same embodiment. In FIG. 1, a main unit 10 includes an internal circuit 1, which is a memory circuit, for example.
For example, a memory card or an IC card that has a built-in
A connector 20 for connecting to an external device 12 is provided. The external device 12 is, for example, a personal computer or a printer.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main body @ 10 has a configuration in which a connector 20 is connected to a case having an internal circuit 11.

The main device 10 includes a gate circuit group 13 between the connector 20 and the internal circuit 11, as shown in FIG.

The gate circuit group 13 includes gate circuits 14a to 14h and gate circuits 15a to 15h, which are turned on by high level voltage Vcc, which is a gate operation signal.

The gate circuits 14a to 14d are the first switch circuits 30
It is turned on by the high level voltage vCC from the connector 20, and each signal output from the contact terminals b2 to e2 of the connector 20 is transferred to the input/output terminals b3 to e3 of the internal circuit 11, respectively.

The gate circuits 148 to 14h are the first switch circuits 30
It is turned on by the high level voltage Vcc from the internal circuit 11, and each signal output from the input/output terminals f3 to i3 of the internal circuit 11 is transferred to the contact terminals f2 to f12 of the connector 20, respectively.

The first switch circuit 30 is turned on/off by a switch control signal from the first voltage detector 31. The first voltage detector 31 detects the voltage level input to the contact terminal a2 of the connector 20, and if the detection result is at a high level, outputs a switch control signal that turns on the first switch circuit 30. .

On the other hand, the gate circuits 15a to 15d are turned on by the high level voltage Vcc from the second switch circuit 32, and each signal output from the input/output terminals f3 to i3 of the internal circuit 11 is transferred to the contact terminal b2 of the connector 20. ~Transfer to e2. The gate circuits 158 to 15h are turned on by the high level voltage Vcc from the second switch circuit 32, and transmit the signals output from the contact terminals f2 to f12 of the connector 20 to the input/output terminals b3 to e3 of the internal circuit 11, respectively. Transfer to.

The second switch circuit 32 is turned on/off by a switch control signal from the second voltage detector 33. The second voltage detector 33 detects the voltage level input to the contact terminal j2 of the connector 20, and if the detection result is at a high level, outputs a switch tl11111 signal that turns on the second switch circuit 32. .

The external device 12 is, for example, a computer, which is equipped with a connector 21 that can be connected to the connector 20 of the main device 10 . As shown in FIG. 3, the connector 21 has contact terminals a1 to j1 corresponding to the contact terminals 82 to j2 of the connector 20, respectively.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the external device 12 is connected to the connector 20 of the main body bag W110.
Connect the connector 21 in the forward direction. That is, connector 2
Each of the contact terminals 82 to j2 of 0 is connected to the contact terminals 81 to j1 of the corresponding connector 21. Here, a high-level voltage signal from the external device 12 is output to the contact terminal a2 of the connector 20 through the contact terminal a1. At this time, the contact terminal j1 of the connector 21 is grounded.

The first voltage detector 31 is connected to the contact terminal a2 of the connector 20.
When detecting a high-level voltage signal input to the circuit, a switch control signal for turning on the first switch circuit 30 is output. When the first switch circuit 30 is turned on, it transmits the high level voltage signal VCC to the gate circuits 148 to 14h.
output to each gate. As a result, the gate circuit 14a
~14h is in the on state. - On the other hand, since the contact terminal j2 of the connector 20 is at a low level (ground level), the second voltage detector 33 does not detect a high level voltage signal, and the second switch circuit 32 is in an off state. As a result, the gate circuits 158 to 15h are in an off state because each gate is grounded.

The gate circuits 14a to 14d transfer each signal from the external device 12 outputted through the contact terminals b1 to e1 of the connector 21 and the contact terminals b2 to e2 of the connector 20 to the input/output terminals b3 to e3 of the internal circuit 11. . Further, the gate circuits 148 to 14h are connected to the input/output terminal f3 of the internal circuit 11.
~ Each output signal from i3 is connected to the contact terminal f2 of the connector 20.
Transfer to ~12. As a result, each output signal from the input/output terminals f3 to i3 of the internal circuit 11 is transmitted to the contact terminals f2 to f1.
2 and the contact terminals f1 to f11 of the connector 21 to the external device 12.

Next, connect the external device to the connector 20 of the main device 10!
Assume that twelve connectors 21 are connected in opposite directions. That is,
This is a case where the contact terminals j1 to a1 of the connector 21 are respectively connected to the contact terminals a2 to J2 of the connector 20. For example, the contact terminal j1 of the connector 21 is connected to the contact terminal a2 of the connector 20. In addition, the connector 20
The contact terminal a1 of the connector 21 is connected to the contact terminal j2.

In such a reverse connection, a high-level voltage signal is output from the external device 12 to the contact terminal j2 of the connector 20 through the contact terminal a1, as in the case of the normal connection. Also,
Contact terminal j1 of connector 21 is grounded. The second voltage detector 33 detects a high-level voltage signal from the contact terminal j2 of the connector 20, and the second switch circuit 3
Turn on 2. The second switch circuit 32 transmits the high level voltage signal vCC to the gate circuit 15 by turning on the switch circuit 32 .
Output to each gate of a to 15h. As a result, the gate circuits 15a to 15h are turned on. On the other hand, the first voltage detector 31 turns off the first switch circuit 30 because the contact terminal a2 of the connector 20 is at the ground level. The first switch circuit 30 is turned off by turning off the gate circuit 14.
In order to ground each gate of 8 to 14h, gate circuit 1
4a to 14h are in the off state.

The gate circuits 15e to 15h transfer each signal from the external device 12 outputted through the contact terminals b1 to e1 of the connector 21 and the contact terminals f2 to f2 of the connector 20 to the input/output terminals b3 to e3 of the internal circuit 11. do. Further, the gate circuits 15a to 15d are connected to the input/output terminal f3 of the internal circuit 11.
Each output signal from ~13 is connected to the contact terminal b2 of the connector 20.
~Transfer to e2. As a result, each output signal from the input/output terminals f3 to i3 of the internal circuit 11 is transmitted to the contact terminals b2 to e.
2 and the contact terminals b1 to e1 of the connector 21 to the external device 12.

In this way, when the connectors 20 and 21 are connected in the normal direction, the gate circuits 148 to 14h are turned on, and in the case of the reverse connection, the gate circuits 15a to 15h are turned on, so that either the forward or reverse Even in the case of connections, the same electrical connections can be made. Therefore, even if the original connection direction of the connectors 20 and 21 is reversed, signal transfer between the main device 10 and the external device @12 can be performed in the same way as in the case of normal connection. This makes it possible to prevent problems such as malfunction and destruction of the device due to reverse connection of the connector. Further, there is no need to make the connectors 20, 21 have a special structure to prevent reverse connection.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a normal electrical connection state can always be obtained regardless of whether the connection is forward or reverse, without having a special shape structure. Therefore, with a simple structure, even in the case of reverse connection, it is possible to prevent malfunction or damage to the connected device from occurring.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the main unit of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure of the connector of the embodiment. . 10...Main device, 11...Internal circuit, 12...
External device, 13...Gate circuit group, 20.21...
connector.

Claims (1)

[Claims] a first connector part provided with a plurality of contact terminals for transferring each of the input signal or output signal of the first circuit unit; and a second connector part connected to the second circuit unit and connectable to the first connector part. a second connector portion having a structure that includes a plurality of contact terminals respectively corresponding to the plurality of contact terminals of the first connector; and a first control output from the first circuit unit through a first specific contact terminal. a first gate control means that detects a signal and outputs a gate operation signal according to the detection result; and a first gate control means that is turned on by the gate operation signal outputted from the first gate control means and connects the second circuit unit and the a first gate circuit group for transferring an input signal or an output signal between second connector sections; and a first gate circuit group for transferring an input signal or an output signal between the second connector sections; a second gate control means for detecting a second control signal outputted through second specific contact terminals at symmetrical positions and outputting a gate operation signal according to the detection result; and the first gate circuit. When the group is in an on operation, it is in an off operation and is turned on by a gate operation signal output from the second gate control means to transfer an input signal or an output signal between the second circuit unit and the second connector section. A connector device characterized by comprising a second gate circuit group for.