KR102038822B1 - Module and module assembly comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A module provided in a module assembly connected to each other is disclosed. Module according to an embodiment of the present invention, a module provided in a module assembly formed by connecting a plurality of modules are connected to each other, a polyhedral housing having a polygonal plane; And at least one terminal portion from which a plurality of terminals connected by conducting wires are exposed from the substrate provided inside the housing, wherein each of the terminal portions is formed at at least one side surface of the housing, and the plurality of terminals at the terminal portion. A pair of terminals having the same function among them is arranged to be symmetrical with respect to the center line of the terminal portion.

Description

MODULE AND MODULE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a module and a module assembly comprising the same.

Recently, various module-based production tools have been proposed for the purpose of education, hobby, research and production. Modules included in these manufacturing tools are each capable of performing a specific function, provided that the modules can be connected to each other to form a module assembly. In this case, each module may also be provided to be electrically connected to each other to exchange energy, signals, data, and the like. A user can assemble modules according to a provided manual or a self-created method to produce a module assembly for a specific purpose.

Such modules are generally provided in the form of blocks having a predetermined three-dimensional shape, such as a cube or a cube, and adopt fastening structures for maintaining modules coupled to each other and transmitting electrical signals.

However, the conventional plurality of modules are not formed such that the arrangement of terminals formed on one surface thereof corresponds to each other. Therefore, when a user assembles different modules, there is an inconvenience of assembling the terminals of other modules according to the arrangement of the terminals formed in each module. In case of assembling other module in the position of terminal other than corresponding terminal, it does not work because the electrical communication with other terminal's terminal does not work. Therefore, in order to connect two different modules, the position of terminal should be combined to correspond to each other. . For this reason, since the modules must be coupled according to the position of the terminals formed in each module, there is a limit to the user assembling the module in various ways.

United States Patent Publication No. 2013-0343025 (published Dec. 26, 2013)

Embodiments of the present invention are to provide a module and a module assembly including the plurality of modules that can be electrically connected to each other in any aspect.

In addition, it is to provide a module and a module assembly including the module that can determine which side of the module is connected to the other module.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a module provided in a module assembly in which a plurality of modules are connected to each other, the module comprising: a housing having a polygonal plane; And at least one terminal portion from which a plurality of terminals connected by conducting wires are exposed from the substrate provided inside the housing, wherein each of the terminal portions is formed at at least one side surface of the housing, and the plurality of terminals at the terminal portion. A module may be provided in which a pair of terminals having the same function are arranged to be symmetrical with respect to the center line of the terminal portion.

In addition, a module that does not form a pair of the plurality of terminals of the terminal unit may be provided that the module is disposed on the reference line.

In addition, the plurality of terminals are arranged in two rows in the terminal portion, and the first row and the second row are arranged in different numbers of terminals, the terminals disposed at the center of the first row, and the center of the second row. The terminal disposed in the may be provided with a module that is disposed on the center line of the terminal portion.

In addition, the plurality of terminals are arranged in at least two rows of the terminal portion, and first to fifth terminals are formed in one row, and sixth to eighth terminals are formed in two rows, and the first and second terminals are formed. A module may be provided in which five terminals are constituted by the terminals having the same function, the second terminal and the fourth terminal are constituted by the terminals having the same function, and the sixth and eighth terminals are constituted by the terminals having the same function. .

In addition, a module may be provided in which the terminal portion includes a topology terminal for determining which side of the housing is connected to another module.

In addition, the terminal is a CAN-H terminal and a CAN-L terminal for network communication with other modules, the VCC terminal and GND terminal for power supply or supply with other modules, and to determine the connection relationship with other modules A module can be provided that includes one or more of the topology terminals for it.

In addition, the substrate may include a plurality of input / output (I / O) port pins, and each of the topology terminals of each of the terminal units may be provided with a module connected to each of the input / output port pins.

The apparatus may further include a micro controller unit (MCU) mounted on the substrate to control a function of the module, wherein each of the plurality of input / output data pins formed in the micro controller unit is connected to the topology through the substrate. The microcontroller unit is electrically connected to each of the terminals, and the microcontroller unit communicates with the microcontroller unit embedded in another module through the input / output data pin to determine which side of the housing is connected to the other module. This may be provided.

In addition, the housing has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and each of the four side surfaces of the housing is provided with the terminal portion, and each of the topology terminals of each of the terminal portions is connected to the different input / output data pins of the microcontroller unit, respectively. Phosphorus module may be provided.

In addition, a pin selectively protrudes from one side of the housing; A pin installation part provided on the side of the housing such that the pin is movably installed; And a pin receiving portion provided at the side of the housing and into which the pin of another module is inserted.

In addition, the module may further include a magnet unit capable of applying magnetic force to both the pin provided to the pin installation unit and the pin of the other module accommodated in the pin receiving unit.

In addition, when another module is close to the module, the module may be provided such that the pin is inserted into the pin receiving portion of the other module by the magnet part included in the other module.

In addition, the pin, the pin installation portion and the pin receiving portion of the elongate shape is longer than the width of the module is provided to increase the bonding force by increasing the area in contact with each other when combined with other modules. Can be.

In addition, the pin installation portion and the pin receiving portion may be provided with a module provided on each of the left and right sides of the terminal portion with the terminal portion therebetween.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a module assembly including a plurality of modules, the module comprising: a housing having a plurality of side surfaces; A microcontroller unit provided in the housing to control a function of the module; And a plurality of terminals connected to the plurality of port pins of the micro controller unit by a conductive line and exposed to the outside of the housing, wherein the plurality of terminals are arranged to be symmetrical with respect to the center line of the side surface of the housing, The terminals symmetrical with respect to the center line perform the same function as each other, and the microcontroller unit may provide a module assembly in which side of the module is connected to another module connected to the module. have.

In addition, each of the plurality of input and output data pins of the port pins of the microcontroller unit is connected to each of the topological terminals formed on different sides of the plurality of side surfaces of the housing, the microcontroller unit is an input signal of the topology terminal In accordance with the present invention, a module assembly capable of determining which side of the housing is connected to another module may be provided.

In addition, the microcontroller unit may continuously provide an input signal of the input and output data pin data, when the module is connected to the other module can be provided with a module assembly that automatically detects the direction in which the other module is connected. .

In addition, the microcontroller unit may be provided with a module assembly that performs one-wire communication with another module connected to the module through each of the input and output data pins.

According to the module and the module assembly including the same according to the embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of modules may be electrically connected to each other in any aspect.

In addition, it is possible to check which side of the module another module is connected to.

1 is a perspective view showing the assembly of the module assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an exposed terminal unit formed in the module of FIG. 1.
3 is a view showing a substrate and a microcontroller unit of the module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of modules connected to each other according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating that the port pins of the microcontroller unit of FIG. 4 and the terminals of the terminal unit are connected by conductive lines.
6 is a view illustrating a process in which the first module and the second module of FIG. 1 are combined.
7 is an enlarged view of a corner of the module of FIG. 3.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, this is only an example and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or custom of a user or an operator. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Singular expressions may include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

As used herein, the terms "comprise", "have" or "include" are intended to designate that the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification exist. Or other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof may be understood as not precluding the possibility of addition or possibility in advance.

In addition, the following embodiments are provided to more clearly explain to those skilled in the art, the shape and size of the elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for more clear description.

The technical spirit of the present invention is determined by the claims, and the following embodiments are merely means for efficiently explaining the technical spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

1 is a perspective view showing a module assembly assembled according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a view showing an exposed terminal formed in the module of FIG. 3 is a view showing a substrate and a microcontroller unit of a module according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a view showing a plurality of modules are connected to each other according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 to 4, the module assembly 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of modules 10, 20, 30, and 40 that can be assembled with each other.

In the present embodiment, the module assembly 1 may be defined as a set of one or more modules 10, 20, 30, 40 that can be assembled with each other, or a structure in which they are assembled, and the purpose, type, shape, number of modules, and the like. It is not limited by. For example, the module assembly 1 may be part of an educational kit that allows a student or user to understand the principles of operation of the electronic device while assembling the modules 10, 20, 30, 40. Alternatively, the module assembly 1 may be part of a research kit used by a researcher to manufacture a device for performing a particular purpose. In addition, the module assembly 1 may be part of a toy kit that the user can assemble for hobby.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the module assembly 1 includes four modules 10, 20, 30, and 40 as shown in FIG. 1 as an example, and the first module 10 and the second module ( 20), third module 30, and fourth module 40.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the modules 10, 20, 30, and 40 may be defined as objects configured to exchange with other modules or external devices. Each of the modules 10, 20, 30, and 40 includes a micro controller unit (MCU) 104, a memory, a power supply, or the like so as to be able to be driven independently, or a sensing means operable under the control of another module. , Processing means, driving means and the like can be provided. In addition, each module 10, 20, 30, 40 may be configured to independently perform a specific function, or to perform a specific function by interaction with other modules. When the modules 10, 20, 30, and 40 have the microcontroller unit 104, firmware may be installed for each module. For example, in the present embodiment, the first module 10 is an infrared sensor module capable of receiving an infrared signal from a remote controller or the like, and the second module 20 is a wireless communication module capable of wireless communication with a smartphone or the like. The third module 30 may be a gyro sensor module for detecting a position, and the fourth module 40 may be a driving module for operating a driving device such as a motor. In this case, the module assembly 1 may be a device for selectively operating a motor by receiving a signal from a remote controller or a smartphone. The configuration of the module assembly 1 as described above is just one example, and each module may be provided to perform any function independently or through interworking with another module.

The modules 10, 20, 30, 40 may be three-dimensional in which a plane having a plurality of side surfaces in surface contact with another module is circular or polygonal in shape. For example, the modules 10, 20, 30, 40 may be cuboid shaped. Here, the surface contact does not mean that all areas of the side are all in contact, and only part of the side may be in contact with each other, and the side of one module and the side of the other module may face each other.

In the present embodiment, the modules 10, 20, 30, and 40 are all illustrated as an example having a plane having a rectangular shape of the same size. That is, the modules 10, 20, 30 and 40 in this embodiment have four sides. In this embodiment, the heights of the modules 10, 20, 30, and 40 are all the same, so that the modules 10, 20, 30, and 40 are all cuboids having the same size.

As another embodiment, the modules 10, 20, 30, 40 may be formed in a polygonal shape such as an equilateral triangle, a rectangle, an pentagon, or the like, in particular, an equilateral polygonal shape. Some modules 10, 20, 30, 40 may have different three-dimensional shapes. In addition, some of the modules 10, 20, 30, and 40 may have a three-dimensional shape of a horn or a pillar.

The first module 10 may include a housing 11 forming an exterior, a frame 100 provided inside the housing 11, and forming a part of an internal structure or an external structure of the housing 11, and an inner side of the frame 100. It may include a substrate 102, a microcontroller unit (MCU) (104) provided on the substrate 102, a terminal portion 110 formed on one or more sides of the housing 11, respectively. .

The housing 11 is a case formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape and protects internal components. For example, the housing 11 may be provided in a form in which the upper case 11a and the lower case 11b are coupled as shown in FIG. 1. In the present exemplary embodiment, the first module 10 has the terminal part 110 accommodated in the lower case 11b, and the upper module 11a and the lower case 11b are coupled to each other to have a completed shape. This is merely an example, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. If necessary, the upper case 11a and the lower case 11b may be integrally formed, divided into more parts, or may be assembled by dividing in different directions.

Here, referring to FIG. 2, the frame 100 is a structure constituting part or all of the housing 11, and forms a shape of part or all of the housing 11, and a space for installing various components therein. And structure. In the present embodiment, the frame 100 forms an outer shape of the terminal portion 110 between the upper case 11a and the lower case 11b, and the pin 160 for assembling with another module and the pins of the other module are accommodated. The pin receiving portion 180 is formed to be described as an example, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

First, the terminal unit 110 may be formed on at least one side of the side of the housing 11, respectively. In the present embodiment will be described by way of example to each formed on the four sides of the rectangular-shaped housing 11. The terminal unit 110 may include a plurality of terminals exposed to the outside to transmit or receive an electric signal or the like to another module, or supply power to or receive power from another module. The plurality of terminals include a VCC terminal 111 and a GND terminal 113 for supplying or supplying power to another module, and a CAN-H terminal 115 and a CAN-L terminal 117 for network communication with another module. And one or more of the topology terminals 119 for determining a connection relationship with other modules.

When the plurality of terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 are disposed in the terminal unit 110, a pair of terminals having the same function among the terminals is arranged to be symmetrical with respect to the center line of the terminal unit 110. Can be. For example, the plurality of terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 may be arranged in at least two rows of the terminal portion 110, and the first row and the second row may have different numbers of terminals. Can be. Of course, the same number of terminals may be arranged in the first row and the second row. In the present embodiment, it is described that the first row is arranged in five columns, and the second row is arranged in three columns. In the first row, five terminals are arranged from the first terminal to the fifth terminal (from left to right with reference to the drawing), and in the second row, three terminals are arranged from the sixth terminal to the eighth terminal (drawing Reference from left to right). In this case, the first terminal and the fifth terminal of the first row may be configured as terminals having the same function, and the second terminal and the fourth terminal may be configured as terminals having the same function. Similarly, the sixth terminal and the eighth terminal in the second row may be configured as terminals having the same function. In addition, the third terminal of the first row and the seventh terminal of the second row, which are not provided as a pair in each row but provided as a single pair and do not form a pair with the same function, have a center line L of the terminal portion 110. It can be placed on. Accordingly, the terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 arranged in the terminal unit 110 may be symmetrically arranged between terminals having the same function with respect to the center line of the terminal unit 110.

The pin 160 and the pin receiving portion 180 are formed on one or more sides of the housing 11 in which the terminal portion 110 is formed, so that a different module is provided for each side of the housing 11 in which the terminal portion 110 is formed. Can be combined. In addition, the pin 160 and the pin receiving unit 180 may be provided on the left and right sides of the terminal unit 110 with the terminal unit 110 interposed therebetween. The pin 160 and the pin receiving portion 180 are provided to be assembled with another module. The pin 160 is accommodated in the pin receiving portion of another module, and the pin receiving portion 180 receives the pins of the other module. Thus, coupling between modules and other modules is possible. For example, the pin 160 of the first module 10 is accommodated in the pin receiving unit 180 of the second module 20, and the pin 260 of the second module 20 is the first module 10. It may be accommodated in the pin receiving portion 180 of the connected to each other. At this time, in order to be connected more stably between the different modules, the pin 160 and the pin receiving portion 180 has an elongate shape (long elongate shape) longer than the width, increasing the area in contact with each other The binding force can be increased. An area in which the elliptical or rectangular fin 160 and the fin receiver 180 are coupled to each other may be larger than the circular or square fin 160 and the pin receiver 180. As the coupling area increases, the coupling force may increase with each other by the magnet 160 in the pin 160 having the magnetic force and the pin receiving portion 180. The pin 160 and the pin receiving unit 180 will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

Here, referring to FIG. 3, the substrate 102 may be fixedly installed at the center of the inner space of the frame 100. Electronic components (not shown) for implementing the functions of the first module 10 may be mounted on the substrate 102. For example, when the first module 10 is an infrared sensor module, an infrared sensor may be provided at one side of the housing 11, and the substrate 120 may be electrically connected to the infrared sensor. In addition, the substrate 102 includes a microcontroller unit 104 for controlling the first module 10 and a plurality of terminals 111 and 113 connected to the microcontroller unit 104 through a conductive line (not shown). , 115, 117, 119 may be mounted.

The microcontroller unit 104 may be provided to independently control the first module 10. The microcontroller unit 104 may be provided mounted on the substrate 102. The microcontroller unit 104 may control the first module 10 to be connected to another module to perform a function of the first module 10 through electrical communication. To this end, the microcontroller unit 104 may include a plurality of port pins 1021, 1023, 1025, 1027, and 1029 connected to the plurality of terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119, respectively. Specifically, the port pin of the microcontroller unit 104 is a VND port pin 1021 connected to the VCC terminal 111 and a GND port pin connected to the GND terminal 113 to supply or receive power to another module. (1023). In addition, the port pin of the microcontroller unit 104 may include a CAN-H port pin 1025 connected to the CAN-H terminal 115 to perform network communication with another module, for example, controller area network (CAN) communication. It may include a CAN-L port pin 1027 is connected to the CAN-L terminal 117. In addition, the port pin of the microcontroller unit 104 may include a plurality of input / output data pins 1029 connected to the topology terminal 119 for determining a connection relationship with another module. The microcontroller unit 104 may perform one-wire communication with another module connected to the module 10 through each of the plurality of input / output data pins 1029.

One-wire communication is a communication scheme that operates on a single wire bus, where each of the input and output data pins 1029 operates as a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) operating in conjunction with a microprocessor. By using the one-wire communication method, each module 10 may transmit and receive data with another module through one wire, for example, one input / output data pin 1029. Accordingly, since each module can communicate with each other through the single-bus bus, it is possible to efficiently understand the connection relationship between each other through the connection between the simple modules 10, 20, 30 through the topology terminal 199.

In addition, the terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 serve as passages for exchanging electric signals or power with other modules, and may be end portions of the conductive wires extending from the microcontroller unit 104. The terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 receive electrical signals provided from the microcontroller unit 104 and communicate with the microcontroller unit 104 embedded in another module, or supply power to another module. Can be powered from another module. Here, the terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 may be spring probes or metal plates capable of predetermined displacement elastic movement, and the conductors may be provided in a form connected thereto.

In addition, the terminal unit 110 including the terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 may be formed at the centers of four sides of the frame 100. Since the terminal is formed in the center of the side of all the modules, there is an advantage that the assembly between the plurality of modules is easy.

Hereinafter, each terminal part 110 disposed on each side of the frame 100 has a first terminal part 110a in the left direction, a second terminal part 110b in the upper direction, and a third terminal part in the right direction based on FIG. 3. 110c, the lower direction will be described as being the fourth terminal portion 110d. However, in the present embodiment, the terminal unit 110 is provided on all sides of the housing 11 as an example, but in some embodiments, there may be a side surface on which the terminal unit 110 is not formed. In addition, in FIG. 3, terminals arranged in a first row and terminals arranged in a second row are simultaneously shown in a plane for convenience of description, and in the first row, a GND terminal 113 and a CAN-L terminal 117 are illustrated. And the CAN-H terminal 115 are arranged, and the topology terminal 119 and the VCC terminal 111 are arranged in the second row, but is not limited thereto.

As described above, the terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 formed in the terminal unit 110 may be symmetrically arranged between terminals having the same function based on the center line of the terminal unit 110. have. For example, in the first row, the pair of first and fifth terminals are formed of the GND terminal 113, the second terminal and the fourth terminal are formed of the CAN-L terminal 117, and the second In the row, the sixth terminal and the eighth terminal may be formed as the topology terminal 119. In addition, the third terminal, which is not paired in the first row, may be formed as the CAN-H terminal 115, and the seventh terminal may be formed as the VCC terminal 111 in the second row. However, the type of terminal and the arrangement of the terminals are not limited thereto and may be changed according to convenience. In addition, the arrangement of the plurality of terminals is not limited thereto, and the terminals may not only consist of two rows, five columns, or three columns, but may also consist of one row or a plurality of rows, and an odd number or even number of terminals may be arranged in each row. May be Only the terminal arrangement having symmetry, the terminal arrangement can be changed to suit the user's convenience.

As such, the arrangement of the plurality of terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 symmetrically with respect to the center line of the terminal unit 110 may be performed on any side of the first module 10. This is to enable electrical connection. When the terminals of the terminal unit 110 provided in the plurality of modules 10, 20, 30, 40,... Are symmetrically formed with each other, the terminals having the same function may be connected with each other in any direction. Therefore, even if other modules are connected in any direction on any side of the first models 10, power supply and electrical communication with each other may be smoothly possible.

Here, referring to FIG. 4, in order to provide a different module assembly as a whole by different coupling forms between the modules, the terminal units 110 having the same function as the terminals are arranged symmetrically, for each module 10, 20, 30, 40. ) May be provided in the same form, arrangement and arrangement of the terminals. Thus, modules can be electrically connected between different modules, even if they are coupled on either side of the other modules. In other words, when a module is connected to another module, it may be coupled anywhere on the side where the terminal portion of the other module is formed, instead of only being connected to a specific specific side of the other module. Accordingly, a user can assemble a plurality of modules into a desired module assembly.

In the following description, the components of the second module 20, the third module 30, and the fourth module 40 corresponding to the components of the first module 10 will be described in detail in order to prevent redundant description. The description is omitted, and if necessary, the preceding digits are replaced with 2, 3, and 4 respectively. For example, the terminal of the second module 20 corresponding to the terminal 111 of the first module 10 may be represented by reference numeral 211. For example, the second module 20 may include a frame 200, a substrate 202, a microcontroller unit 204, a terminal portion 210, terminals 213, 215, 217, pins 260, and pin accommodations. It may include a portion 280.

The first module 10 may be connected to any one of the first terminal portion 210a, the second terminal portion 210b, the third terminal portion 210c, and the fourth terminal portion 210d of the second module 20. For example, the first module 10 may be coupled to and electrically connected to the first terminal portion 210a of the second module 20, or the first module 10 may be connected to the third of the second module 20. It may be coupled to the terminal unit 210c. First, when the first module 10 is coupled to the first terminal portion 210a of the second module 20, the third terminal portion 110c of the first module 10 is the first of the second module 20. It may be coupled to the terminal portion 210a. When the first module 10 is coupled to the third terminal portion 210c of the second module 20, the first module 10 at the P and Q points is moved to the P 'and Q' points, respectively. The third terminal unit 110c of the first module 10 may be coupled to the third terminal unit 210c of the second module 20.

As such, even if the side surface at which the first module 10 is coupled to the second module 20 is changed, in order for the first module 10 and the second module 20 to be electrically connected, the respective terminal portions 110, A plurality of terminals arranged in 210 is arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line of the terminal unit. In this case, each of the terminal parts 110 and 210 provided on each side surface of the first module 10 and the second module 20 has the same shape and includes the same terminal arrangement.

For example, the first terminal and the fifth terminal disposed at both ends of the terminal parts 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d of the first module 10 may be the GND terminal 113. Similarly for each terminal portion 210a, 210b, 210c, 210d of the second module 20, the first terminal and the fifth terminal disposed at both ends may be the GND terminal 213. In this case, a terminal disposed adjacent to the pin receiving unit 180 in the first terminal unit 110a and formed as a GND terminal is referred to as a first terminal 113a-1, and is disposed adjacent to the pin 160 to a GND terminal. The terminal to be formed is referred to as a fifth terminal 113a-2. Similarly, in the second terminal portion 110b, the third terminal portion 110c, and the fourth terminal portion 110d, the GND terminals 113 at both ends are referred to as the first terminals 113b-1, 113c-1, and 113d-1. It is referred to as fifth terminals 113b-2, 113c-2, and 113d-2. Similarly, the second module 20 is also disposed at both ends of each of the terminal portions 210a, 210b, 210c, and 201d, and constitutes a terminal composed of the GND terminal 213. The first terminal 213a-1, 213b-1, 213c- 1, 213d-1, and fifth terminals 213a-2, 213b-2, 213c-2, and 213d-2.

As a result, when the first module 10 is coupled at the side in which the first terminal portion 210a of the second module 20 is located, the first terminal 113c-1 and the fifth of the first module 10 are combined. The terminal 113c-2 may be connected to the first terminal 213a-1 and the fifth terminal 213a-2 of the second module 20. In addition, when the first module 10 is coupled at the side where the third terminal portion 210c of the second module 20 is located, the first terminal 113c-1 and the fifth terminal of the first module 10 are coupled. 113c-2 may be connected to the fifth terminal 213c-2 and the first terminal 213c-1 of the third terminal unit 210c of the second module 20.

In summary, the terminal unit 110 of the first module 10 and the terminal unit 210 of the second module 20 are all formed in the same terminal arrangement and shape, and each terminal unit 110 and 210 have a plurality of terminals. Since a pair of terminals having the same function are arranged to be symmetrical with respect to the center line of the terminal unit, the first module 10 may face a terminal having the same function even if the first module 10 is coupled to any side of the second module 20. It can be electrically connected to each other.

5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating that the port pins and the terminals of FIG. 4 are connected.

5A and 5B, the terminals 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 arranged in the terminal unit 110 may include a plurality of respective port pins 1021, 1023, 1025, of the microcontroller unit 104. 1027, 1029. The VCC port pins 1021 are connected to all of the VCC terminals 111a, 111b, 111c, and 111d provided on each side of the frame 100, respectively, GND port pins 1023, CAN-H port pins 1025, The CAN-L port pin 1027 can likewise be connected to each of the terminals provided on each side.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5A, the VCC port pins 1021 of the microcontroller unit 104 may include the first terminal portion 110a, the second terminal portion 110b, respectively provided on each side of the housing 11. The VCC terminals 111a, 111b, 111c, and 111d formed in the third terminal part 110c and the fourth terminal part 110d may be connected to each other.

Similarly, the GND port pins 1023 also have GND terminals 113a, 113b, 113c, and 113d formed in the first terminal portion 110a, the second terminal portion 110b, the third terminal portion 110c, and the fourth terminal portion 110d. ) Can be interconnected with each other.

Therefore, even if any other module is connected to any one of the terminal portion 110 of the plurality of terminal portion 110 of the module 10, it may be an electrical connection for supplying power or supplying power with other modules.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the CAN-H port pin 1025 may include a CAN-H terminal formed on the first terminal portion 110a, the second terminal portion 110b, the third terminal portion 110c, and the fourth terminal portion 110d. 115a, 115b, 115c, and 115d may be interconnected with each other.

In addition, the CAN-L port pins 1027 may include CAN-L terminals 117a, 117b, and 117c formed in the first terminal portion 110a, the second terminal portion 110b, the third terminal portion 110c, and the fourth terminal portion 110d. 117d) may be interconnected with each other.

Therefore, even if another module is connected to any one of the terminal portion 110 of the plurality of terminal portion 110 of the module 10, it may be an electrical connection for network communication with the other module.

However, as shown in FIG. 5C, each of the plurality of input / output data pins 1029a, 1029b, 1029c, and 1029d of the microcontroller unit may include a first terminal portion 110a, a second terminal portion 110b, and a third terminal portion 110c. Each of the fourth terminal units 110d may be connected to the topology terminals 119a, 119b, 119c, and 119d respectively. In detail, the first input / output port pin 1029a is connected to the first topology complex 119a provided in the first terminal unit 110a, and the second input / output port pin 1029b is provided in the second terminal unit 110b. Connected to the topology terminal 119b, the third input / output port pin 1029c is connected to the third topology terminal 119c provided to the third terminal portion 110c, and the fourth input / output port pin 1029d is connected to the fourth terminal portion ( May be connected to the fourth topology terminals 119d provided at 110d), respectively.

Accordingly, the microcontroller unit 104 communicates with the microcontroller unit 104 embedded in the other module through the plurality of input / output data pins 1029a, 1029b, 1029c, and 1029d, so that the other module is connected to any of the housings 11. To see if it's connected to the side. For example, when another module is connected to the topology terminal 119a provided in the first terminal unit 110a, the microcontroller unit may include the first input / output port pin 1029a connected to the topology terminal 119a of the first terminal unit 110a. It can be seen that another module is connected to the side on which the first terminal portion 110a of the housing 11 is disposed by a signal input through data communication with, for example, one-wire communication.

The microcontroller unit 104 continuously monitors the input signals of the plurality of input / output port pins 1029 and, when connected to other modules, automatically detects the direction in which the other modules are connected. It is possible to determine which side of the housing 11 is connected to the other module according to the input signal of the).

 6 is a view illustrating a process in which the first module and the second module of FIG. 1 are coupled, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a corner of the module of FIG. 3.

6 and 7, the terminal unit 110 formed on the side of the frame 100 may be provided with a plurality of terminals, a pin installation unit 150, a pin 160, and a pin accommodation unit 180. It may include a magnet unit 140 provided between the pin installation unit 150 and the pin receiving unit 160.

The pin 160 and the pin receiving portion 160 may be installed at both sides with respect to the corner 101 of the frame 100, respectively. Specifically, the corner 101 may be defined as an area where the first corner 101a and the second corner 101b of the frame 100 are connected, and the pin 160 is formed on one side of the corner 101. ) And the pin installation unit 150 may be provided, and the other side may be provided with the pin receiving unit 180.

In addition, the pin 160 and the pin receiving portion 160 may be disposed around each corner 101 of the frame 100 having a rectangular shape. At this time, the direction in which the pin 160 and the pin receiving portion 180 are disposed based on the corner 101 are all formed in the same manner. For example, when the pin receiving portion 180 is formed on the left side around the corner 101, the pin receiving portion may be formed on the left side of the other corners.

Here, the distance between the pin 160 and the pin receiving portion 180 from the corner 101 is formed to correspond to each other so that the coupling between the modules can be easily made.

The pin 160 is a magnetic material and may include a head 162 and a protrusion 164 protruding from the head 162. For example, the fin 160 may be a metal including an iron (Fe) component. The head 162 may have a larger cross-sectional area than the protrusion 164. For example, the pin 160 may have a 'T' shape. In this case, a part of the head 162 may interfere with the step 156 of the pin installation unit 150 to be described later, whereby the first module 10 when the pin 160 is dragged to an adjacent module by magnetic force. Since the whole can be moved, the effect can be achieved that the coupling between modules can be done automatically.

The pin 160 is installed in the pin installation part 150 to be moved in the outward or inward direction of the frame 100. That is, the first module 10 has a first state in which the pin 160 protrudes from the first module 10, and a second state in which the pin 160 is accommodated inside the first module 10. To this end, the pin mounting unit 150 provides a space in which the head 162 of the pin 160 can move and guides the movement of the head 162 and the protrusion 164 of the pin 160. ) Is provided between the head guide 152 and the projection guide 154 to provide a space for movement and guide the movement of the projection 164, the head 162 of the frame 100 It may include a step 156 to prevent the departure from the outside. In the present exemplary embodiment, the pin mounting unit 150 has the head guide 152 and the protrusion guide 154, but may be configured differently according to the shape of the pin 160 of the pin mounting unit 150.

The head guide 152 and the protrusion guide 154 may be formed in a shape and size corresponding to the cross-sectional area of the head 162 and the protrusion 164 so that the pin 160 can be slidably. One side of the protrusion guide 154 is opened toward the outside of the frame 100, so that the protrusion 164 protrudes out of the frame 100 as the pin 160 moves. In the present exemplary embodiment, the pin mounting unit 150 is configured such that the protruding direction of the pin 160 is perpendicular to the side surface of the frame 100, but the pin mounting unit 150 is the pin 160. Protruding direction of and the side of the frame 100 may be configured to have a predetermined angle.

The pin receiving unit 160 may provide a space for receiving a pin protruding from another module, and may be formed in a groove shape having a width and a depth corresponding to a protrusion of the pin protruding to the outside of the module.

On the other hand, the magnet portion 140 is provided in the space between the pin installation portion 150 and the pin receiving portion 160 of the corner 101. The magnet unit 140 is disposed so that magnetic force can be applied simultaneously to the pins 160 provided in the pin installation unit 150 and the pins of the other modules coupled to the first module 10 through the pin receiving unit 160.

First, the magnet part 140 may exert magnetic force on the pin 160 not only when the pin 160 is completely accommodated in the pin installation part 150 but also when the pin 160 is completely protruded. That is, the pin 160 is always located within the magnetic force range of the magnet unit 140. Here, referring to FIG. 7, the distance between the magnet part 140 and the pin 160 in the state in which the pin 160 is completely accommodated in the pin installation unit 150 may be represented by D1. In the drawing, D1 is expressed as the distance between the magnet portion 140 and the end of the head 162 of the pin 160, but this is only shown for convenience of description, and in practice, the magnet portion 140 and the pin 160 It should be understood as the distance for estimating the magnitude of the magnetic force acting between). In the following description, the description of the distance between the magnet and the object is all the same.

The magnetic force of the magnet unit 140 is provided to the pin 160 so that the pin 160 can be magnetized. For example, when the side of the magnet portion 140 toward the pin 160 is the N pole, the head 162 side may be magnetized to the S pole and the end of the protrusion 164 to the N pole. As a result, the pin 160 may function as a magnet, and when the magnetic force of the magnet provided to the other module does not act, the pin 160 is moved to the magnet part 140 and accommodated inside the housing 11 and provided to the other module. When the magnetic force of the magnet acts more strongly, it may protrude out of the housing 11.

In addition, the magnet unit 140 should be able to exert a magnetic force on the pin of the other module to be coupled. Specifically, the magnitude of the magnetic force applied to the pins of the other module by the magnet part 140 is the distance D2 from the magnet part 140 to the side of the frame 100 and the distance from the side of the other module to the end of the pin. (D3) and the distance (D4) between the modules. Substantially, since D2 and D3 are predetermined distances, as the length of D4 becomes longer or shorter, the magnitude of the magnetic force applied to the pins of the other module by the magnet unit 140 changes. Here, when the modules are formed in the same shape with each other, D3 may correspond to the distance from the side of the first module 10 to the end of the pin 160. For example, when the distance between the first module 10 and the second module 20 is large and the relationship of D1> (D2 + D3 + D4) is established, the first acting on the pin 160 is applied. Since the magnetic force of the two magnets 240 is smaller than the magnetic force of the first magnet 140, the pin 160 maintains the second state accommodated inside the first module 10.

Then, when the first module 10 and the second module 20 come closer to each other and a relationship of D1 <(D2 + D3 + D4) is established, the magnetic force of the second magnet 240 acting on the pin 160 is satisfied. Since the greater than the magnetic force of the first magnet 140, the pin 160 is protruded to the outside of the first module 10 along the pin mounting portion 150. As the pin 160 protrudes, the size of D1 becomes larger and larger, and the magnetic force of the first magnet 140 applied to the pin 160 becomes smaller and smaller, so that the pin 160 is securely connected to the first module 10. It may protrude to the outside.

The magnet unit 140 may apply a magnetic force to the pins of the other module and pull the pins of the other module into the pin receiving unit 160. That is, the magnet 140 may make the pins of the other modules into the first state. To this end, the magnet unit 140 is a magnetic force capable of applying a stronger magnetic force than the magnetic force of the magnet of the other module to the pin of the other module, if the pin of the other module is close to within the set distance (hereinafter referred to as "effective distance"). It can be provided to have.

Here, the magnet 140 may be formed such that the polarity opposite to the polarity of the projection of the pin of the other module is directed to the pin receiving portion 160. For example, when the end of the protrusion of the pin of the other module is magnetized to the N pole, the second magnet part 140 may be disposed such that the S pole faces the pin receiving portion 160. In the case of forming the modules in the same shape as in the present embodiment, if the polarity toward the pin mounting portion 150 or the pin receiving portion 160 of the magnet provided in each module is uniform, the above relationship will naturally be established. Can be.

The frame 100 is provided with a magnet mounting part 120 in which the magnet part 140 is accommodated. The magnet mounting unit 120 is provided to fix the position of the magnet unit 140, and may be recessed in a groove shape in the frame 100. As described above, the magnet unit 140 may include the pin receiving unit 160. ) And pin installation unit 150 is provided. In addition, the magnet mounting unit 120 may be provided so that the magnet unit 140 is not exposed to the outside of the first module 10. However, this is only an example and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the magnet installation unit 120 may be provided to be connected to the pin receiving unit 160 to form a single communication space, and may include a structure such as a stopper for maintaining the position of the magnet unit 140. You may.

The foregoing description of the present invention is intended for illustration, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be easily modified in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. will be. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive.

The scope of the invention is indicated by the following claims rather than the above description, and it should be construed that all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are included in the scope of the invention.

1: module assembly 10, 20, 30, 40: module
11: housing 100, 200: frame
101, 201: corner 102, 202: substrate
1021: VCC port 1023: GND port
1025: CAN-H port 1027: CAN-L port
1029: input / output port 110, 210: terminal portion
111, 211: VCC terminal 113, 213: GND terminal
115, 215: CAN-H terminal 117, 217: CAN-L terminal
119, 219: topology terminals 120, 220: magnet mounting portion
140, 240: magnet portion 150, 250: pin mounting portion
152: head guide 154: projection guide
156: step 160, 260: pin
180, 280: pin receptacle

Claims (18)

A module provided in a module assembly in which a plurality of modules are connected to each other,
A housing that is a hexahedron having a rectangular shaped plane;
A terminal portion having a plurality of terminals connected by conductive lines to the outside from a substrate provided inside the housing, the terminal portions being formed on at least one side surface of the housing;
A pin housed in a pin installation portion provided in the housing, the pin being movable to selectively protrude from at least one side of the housing;
A pin receptacle provided on the at least one side of the housing and into which a pin of another module is inserted; And
A magnet part which magnetically forces the pins accommodated in the pin mounting part of the module to be received in the pin mounting part, and which magnetically forces the pins of the other module coupled with the module to be inserted into the pin receiving parts of the module; Including,
The pin mounting portion and the pin receiving portion provided on the same side of the housing are respectively provided at positions symmetrical to the left and right sides of the terminal portion with the terminal portion therebetween,
Topology terminals for identifying a connection relationship with the other module among the plurality of terminals in the terminal unit are arranged to be symmetrical with respect to the center line of the terminal unit,
The pin mounting portion and the pin receiving portion are provided in pairs on the first side and the second side adjacent to the corner of the housing, respectively, and the pin receiving portion and the pin mounting portion are adjacent to each other based on the corner. ,
The magnet part is located at a corner of the housing to apply magnetic force to hold therein the pin accommodated in the pin mounting part provided at the first side of the module, and to engage the second side of the module. Magnetic force to insert the pin of another module into the pin receptacle of the module,
When the module and the other module are engaged with each other at the first side, when the other module is close to the module, the pin of the module protrudes from the housing by the magnet part included in the other module, thereby allowing the other module to be engaged. A module inserted into the pin receiving portion of a module, wherein the pin of the other module is protruded by the magnet portion and inserted into the pin receiving portion so that the plurality of modules can be engaged with each other.
The method of claim 1,
The terminal that does not form a pair of the plurality of terminals of the terminal unit is disposed on the center line.
The method of claim 1,
A plurality of the terminals are arranged in two rows in the terminal portion, the first row and the second row are arranged in a different number of terminals,
And a terminal disposed at the center of the first row and a terminal disposed at the center of the second row are disposed on the center line of the terminal portion.
The method of claim 1,
The plurality of terminals are arranged in at least two rows on the terminal portion,
First to fifth terminals are formed in one row, and sixth to eighth terminals are formed in two rows.
A module in which the first terminal and the fifth terminal are composed of terminals having the same function, the second terminal and the fourth terminal are composed of the terminal having the same function, and the sixth terminal and the eighth terminal are composed of the terminal having the same function .
The method of claim 1,
The topology terminal is to determine which side of the housing the other module is connected.
The method of claim 1,
The terminal includes a CAN-H terminal and a CAN-L terminal for network communication with another module, a VCC terminal and a GND terminal for supplying or supplying power to another module, and at least one of the topology terminals. Module.
The method of claim 5,
Wherein said substrate comprises a plurality of input / output (I / O) port pins, each of said topology terminals of each of said terminal portions being connected to each of said input / output port pins.
The method of claim 7, wherein
A micro controller unit (MCU) mounted on the substrate to control a function of the module;
Each of the plurality of input / output data pins formed in the microcontroller unit is electrically connected to each of the topology terminals through the substrate.
And the microcontroller unit communicates with a microcontroller unit embedded in another module through the input / output data pin to determine on which side of the housing the other module is connected.
delete delete delete delete The method of claim 1,
The pin, the pin installation portion and the pin receiving portion is a long elongate shape longer than the width of the module, to increase the bonding force by increasing the area in contact with each other when bonding with other modules.
delete delete delete delete delete

Images