Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/62—Means for facilitating engagement or disengagement of coupling parts or for holding them in engagement
  • H01R13/6205—Two-part coupling devices held in engagement by a magnet

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a non-insertion, but contact type plug and jack device using a magnetic force.
• a plug and jack set (hereinafter, referred to as "a plug-jack") is used for connecting a headphone or an earphone to an audio systems such as a cassette player, MP3 player, etc.
• a conventional insertion type plug-jack is shown in FIG. 1.
• a jack 13 is generally assembled to an audio system, and a plug 15, wired to a headphone or an earphone, is inserted into the jack 13.
• a headphone wire is composed of a common ground line, a left-channel signal transmission line, and a right-channel signal transmission line.
• contact parts 13a, 13b, 15a, 15b separated by hatched gaps are contacted to transmit and receive the left- and right-channel signals, respectively.
• This conventional insertion type plug-jack is widely used because it assures a good contact between the plug and jack, but on the contrary, this merit may function as a demerit. For example, if a user get to sleep with a headphone or earphone put on, a wire of the headphone or earphone may bind and choke his or her neck because of rolling in bed during sleeping. In addition, if an audio system becomes more distant over the length of a headphone wire, the plug-jack may be broken unexpectedly. Disclosure of Invention
• This invention has been invented on the purpose of improving the demerits of the conventional insertion type plug-jack. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an contact type plug-jack device for connecting electrical signals via a plurality of wires, comprising: magnet means, respectively mounted on a contacting surface of the plug and the jack, for magnetically combining the plug and the jack, and signal connection means, respectively mounted on the plug and the jack, for connecting electrical signals transmitted from the plug to the jack.
• the magnet means comprises a permanent magnet fixed either on the plug or on the jack, and a metal piece fixed on the corresponding plug or jack
• the signal connection means comprises a first connection member fixed around the permanent magnet, and a second connection member fixed around the metal piece.
• the magnet means is connected to a common ground wire, and the permanent magnet forms a screw, so that the permanent magnet may be inserted to and detached from the plug or the jack.
• the signal connection means is made of a nickel- or gold-plated copper, and includes an elastic portion for providing elasticity when combining the plug and the jack.
• the magnet means comprises a first permanent magnet fixed on the plug, and a second permanent magnet fixed on the jack, the second permanent magnet having opposite polarity against the first permanent magnet fixed on the jack, and the signal connection means comprises a first member surrounding the first and the second permanent magnet, with an insulator interposed therebetween, and a second member surrounding the first member.
• the magnet means, a first conncection member, and a second conncection member include an elastic piece, respectively.
• FIG. 1 shows a conventional plug-jack
• FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a contact type plug-jack according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a contact type plug-jack according to another embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention, contact type jack- plug using magnets.
• a jack 20 and a plug 10 form a circular shape, so their appearance seems similar to that of a conventional earphone.
• the basic principle of the present invention is not limited to the shown shape.
• the terms "a jack” and “a plug” would not be suitable for expressing the idea of the present invention, however, in the description these terms will be still used, because this inventive idea was derived from the conventional insertion type jack and plug.
• a first combining member 27 is mounted, the member 27 being made of metal and securing a permanent magnet 29 tlierein.
• the permanent magnet 29 forms a male screw, and it is inserted into the plug 10 in combination with threads 31 formed in the plug 10. Because the permanent magnet 29 forms a screw, it can be freely inserted into and detached from the plug 10, and the magnitude of the magnetic force can be adjusted by controlling the interval between the permanent magnet 29 and the first combining member 27.
• a second combining member 25 is mounted, the member 25 being made of metal and combining the first combining member 27 by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 29 in the plug 10.
• the first combining member 27 forms a convex surface and the second combining member 25 forms a concave surface.
• a protrusion 24' and a corresponding groove 24 are formed both on the plug 10 and on the jack 20, respectively.
• the second combining member 25 in the jack 20 may be made of a permanent magnet, with thought of a magnetic polarity.
• Wires 37', 37 connected to the first and the second combining member 27, 25 are common ground lines.
• Signal connection members 21, 23, 21', 23' are mounted on the surfaces of the plug 10 and the jack 20. In this embodiment, the signal connection members are coaxially mounted around the centrally located first and second combining member 25, 27.
• the signal connection members 21, 23, 21', 23' play a role in transferring electrical signal from the plug to the jack, or vice versa. It is desirable that the signal com ⁇ ection members are made of copper sheet or other high conductivity materials. It is more desirable that the signal connection members are plated with nickel, gold, etc. for protection from corrosion or oxidization.
• the signal connection members are formed coaxially around the first and second combining members 25, 27, and therefore, although the wire connected to either the plug 10 or the jack 20 is twisted, the signal connection members can always fulfill their duty.
• some portion of the signal connection members may be cut and elastically lifted, so that the signal connection members can be firmly contacted by the elastically lifted piece, when the plug and the jack combine each other.
• this way is only an exemplary case, and the person who is skilled in the art could select various techniques to meet the requirement. For example, a commutator and a brush technique in a motor technology may be adapted.
• the plug 10 and the jack 20 have left-channel lines 33, 33', right-channel lines 35, 35', and common ground lines 37, 37'.
• the right-channel lines 35, 35' are connected to the outermost signal connection members 21, 21'
• the left-channel lines 33, 33' are connected to the intermediately located signal connection members 23, 23'
• the common ground lines 37, 37' are connected to the first and second combining members 25, 27.
• FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention, contact type jack-plug using magnets.
• a jack 40 and a plug 30 On the central portion of a jack 40 and a plug 30, permanent magnets 41, 41' are fixed, respectively. Either one of the permanent magnets may be replaced by a metal piece, of course.
• a first signal connection member 45, 45' which is electrically conductive and also magnetic, surrounds the insulator 43, 43'. Since the first signal connection member, which is magnetic, surrounds the permanent magnet 41, 41' to cover the magnet's N- and S-pole, the magnetic force from the permanent magnet 41, 41' is shielded by the signal connection member and it can work only between the plug 30 and the jack 40.
• a second signal connection member 47 is coaxially mounted around the first signal connection member 45, 45', like in First Embodiment. In FIG.
• reference numerals (41") attached to the permanent magnet 41', (43") attached to the first signal connection member 45', and (47') of the second signal connection member denote elastic pieces that provide elastic force when the plug and the jack combine each other. That is, when the magnet 41' of the jack 40 and the magnet 41 of the plug 30 magnetically combine each other, the respective elastic pieces 41", 43", 47' secure firm combination of the plug and the jack and further good electrical contact between the signal connection members.
• the jack and plug have left- channel lines 53, 53', right-channel lines 55, 55', and common ground lines 51, 51'.
• the left-channel lines 53, 53' are connected to the first signal connection members 45, 45'
• the right-channel lines 55, 55' are connected to the second signal connection members 47, 47'
• the common ground lines 51, 51' are connected to the permanent magnets 41, 41'.
• a contact type plug-jack provides much easier connection rather than a conventional insertion type plug-jack. Since this plug-jack can be easily detached by little force, although a user get to sleep with a headphone or earphone put on, wire's binding and choking his or her neck can be protected.
• This plug-jack may be adapted to portable cassette or CD players, MP3 players, mobile phones and hands-free devices for vehicle use, and any other sound-to- vibration conversion apparatuses.

Landscapes

• Details Of Connecting Devices For Male And Female Coupling (AREA)
• Coupling Device And Connection With Printed Circuit (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=28673021

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (9)

Families Citing this family (4)

Citations (2)

• 2002
  • 2002-04-03 KR KR2020020010033U patent/KR200282456Y1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2002-04-12 AU AU2002249650A patent/AU2002249650A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2002-04-12 WO PCT/KR2002/000670 patent/WO2003084004A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (2)

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