JP7570066B2 - USB outlet - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a USB outlet.

Conventionally, USB outlets have been provided that have a USB socket into which a USB plug is inserted (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

One such type of USB outlet includes a printed wiring board on which the USB socket is mounted, and a housing that contains the printed wiring board and has a plug insertion hole through which the USB plug is inserted. The USB socket is mounted so that the insertion and removal direction of the USB plug is the thickness direction of the printed wiring board.

JP 2011-82802 A

In the above USB outlet, the USB socket could be subjected to a pressing force from the USB plug, which could cause bending deformation in the printed wiring board. If the plastic deformation (bending) of the printed wiring board progresses through repeated insertion and removal of the USB plug, it could eventually cause problems such as the USB plug getting stuck when inserted or removed.

The present invention aims to provide a USB outlet that reduces misalignment of the printed wiring board.

The USB outlet of the present invention is a USB outlet to be fixed to an installation surface, and comprises: a first printed wiring board having a first surface on which a USB socket is mounted and a second surface which is the surface opposite to the first surface; a second printed wiring board arranged on the second surface side of the first printed wiring board; a housing having a plug insertion hole through which a USB plug to be connected to the USB socket is inserted and accommodating the first printed wiring board and the second printed wiring board; and an abutment portion abutting the second surface of the first printed wiring board, the housing having a cover and a body which are coupled to each other in a vertical direction , the body being provided at both ends in one direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and having at least a pair of coupling protrusions which protrude outward and a storage recess which opens upward , the cover being provided at both ends in the one direction and having the the second printed wiring board is supported by the body by a pair of connecting pieces sandwiching a body therebetween, one of the pair of connecting pieces having a connecting hole into which one of the pair of connecting protrusions engages, and the other of the pair of connecting pieces having a connecting hole into which the other of the pair of connecting protrusions engages; the body has a pair of inner wall surfaces facing each other in another direction perpendicular to both the one direction and the up-down direction, and a pair of support protrusions protruding upward from the pair of inner wall surfaces, the pair of support protrusions supporting the second surface of the first printed wiring board; an engagement recess that is open upward is provided at each of the upper ends of the pair of inner wall surfaces in the storage recess, and an engagement protrusion that protrudes outward in the other direction is provided at each of both ends of the second printed wiring board in the other direction, and the second printed wiring board is supported by the body by abutting the engagement protrusions against the inner surfaces of the engagement recesses .

The present invention reduces misalignment of the printed wiring board.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1A and 1B are partially cutaway perspective views of the same device, with (a) and (b) cut at different positions and showing states viewed from opposite directions. 1A and 1B are exploded perspective views of the same device, each partially cut away, and each cut at a different position and viewed from opposite directions. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which the second printed wiring board is assembled to the body in the same as above. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a mounting frame is attached to the same. FIG. FIG. FIG.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in Figures 1 to 9, this embodiment includes a printed wiring board 2 (hereinafter referred to as the "first printed wiring board") on which a USB socket 1 is mounted, and a housing 3 that houses the printed wiring board 2 and has a plug insertion hole 30 through which a USB plug (not shown) connected to the USB socket 1 is inserted. The USB socket 1 is mounted on the first printed wiring board 2 with the direction in which the USB plug is inserted and removed facing the thickness direction of the first printed wiring board 2.

Hereinafter, the ABCDEF directions in Figure 4 will be referred to as the up/down, left/right, front/rear directions, respectively. That is, the direction in which the opening of the USB socket 1 into which the USB plug is inserted faces (direction A in Figure 4) will be referred to as the upward direction. The longitudinal direction of the USB socket 1 (the longitudinal direction as seen from above, direction CD in Figure 4) will be referred to as the left/right direction. Furthermore, the lateral direction of the USB socket 1 (the lateral direction as seen from above, direction EF in Figure 4) will be referred to as the front/rear direction. Note that the above directions are defined merely for the sake of convenience, and in normal use the above-mentioned front/rear directions are oriented in the up/down directions.

Furthermore, this embodiment includes an AC-DC converter that converts AC power input from an external AC power source into DC power of a predetermined voltage and outputs it to the USB plug via the USB socket 1. Since the above-mentioned AC-DC converter can be realized by well-known technology, detailed illustration and description will be omitted. The circuit components that make up the above-mentioned AC-DC converter are separately mounted on the above-mentioned first printed wiring board 2 and the second printed wiring board 4 that is housed and held within the housing 3 in a manner that faces the underside of the first printed wiring board 2. The first printed wiring board 2 and the second printed wiring board 4 are electrically connected to each other via an appropriate conductive path 40 such as a conductive pin.

The housing 3 also includes a body 5 and a cover 6 that are joined together by sandwiching the printed wiring boards 2 and 4 in the thickness direction (vertical direction).

Two connecting protrusions 51 are arranged side by side on each of the front and rear end faces of the body 5, protruding outward in the front-to-rear direction. In addition, two connecting pieces 61 are arranged downward on each of the front and rear end ends of the cover 6, sandwiching the body 5 in the front-to-rear direction. Each connecting piece 61 is provided with a connecting hole 610, which is a through hole that penetrates in the front-to-rear direction, and the connecting protrusions 51 are engaged with each other to connect the body 5 and the cover 6.

The housing 3 is fixed to a construction surface (not shown) such as a wall surface by using a mounting frame 7 shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The mounting frame 7 is a rectangular frame having a rectangular window hole 71. At both ends of the mounting frame 7 in the longitudinal direction of the window hole 71, a box hole 72 is provided for inserting a box screw that is a rounded rectangular shape and is screwed into an embedded box embedded in the construction surface. In addition, on both sides sandwiching the box hole 72 in the short direction of the window hole 71, a hook hole 73 is provided for hooking and engaging a clamping metal fitting (not shown) for clamping the panel material between the mounting frame 7 when the construction surface is formed of a panel material. Furthermore, at four places sandwiching one hook hole 73 between the window hole 71 and the mounting frame 7, a circular direct mounting hole 74 is provided for inserting a direct mounting screw that is screwed into the construction surface. A retaining piece 75 protrudes from each of the two short edges of the window hole 71, and each retaining piece 75 has three pairs of mounting holes 76 arranged in a line along the longitudinal direction. Two pairs of mounting protrusions 31 that fit into the mounting holes 76 are provided on both the front and rear surfaces of the housing 3. In other words, the housing 3 is connected to the mounting frame 7 by each mounting protrusion 31 fitting into the mounting hole 76.

The body 5 also has a storage recess 50 that opens upward, and the second printed wiring board 4 is stored in the storage recess 50. Furthermore, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 10, two engagement recesses 52 that are open upward are provided at the upper ends of the inner surfaces facing each other on the left and right sides of the storage recess 50. Two engagement protrusions 41 are arranged front to back and protrude outward in the left and right direction at both left and right ends of the second printed wiring board 4. The second printed wiring board 4 is prevented from shifting downward or in the front to back direction by each engagement protrusion 41 abutting against the inner surface of the engagement recess 52. In other words, the second printed wiring board 4 is supported by the body 5 at each engagement protrusion 41. Also, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 11, two engagement protrusions 62 that are inserted into the engagement recess 52 are arranged front to back and protrude downward at both left and right ends of the cover 6. Each engaging protrusion 62 of the cover 6 sandwiches an engaging protrusion 41 of the second printed wiring board 4 between itself and the upward inner surface of the engaging recess 52.

Here, the distance W1 between the right-side engaging recesses 52 is smaller than the distance W2 between the left-side engaging recesses 52. Also, the distance between the right-side engaging protrusions 62 is approximately equal to the distance W1 between the right-side engaging recesses 52, and the distance between the left-side engaging protrusions 62 is approximately equal to the distance W2 between the left-side engaging recesses 52. Therefore, if, during assembly, a worker attempts to attach the second printed wiring board 4 or the cover 6 to the body 5 in an incorrect orientation that is rotated 180° around an axis parallel to the vertical direction (i.e., the thickness direction of the second printed wiring board 4) with respect to the correct orientation, the engaging protrusions 41 and 62 cannot be engaged with the engaging recesses 52. This prevents attachment in the above-mentioned incorrect orientation.

Furthermore, two electric wire insertion holes 32 are provided on the underside of the body 5, and a terminal 8 to which an electric wire (not shown) inserted through the electric wire insertion hole 32 is connected is mounted on the underside of the second printed wiring board 4. The terminal 8 is a so-called quick-connect terminal that has two locking springs (not shown) that lock the electric wire inserted through the electric wire insertion hole 32 in one-to-one correspondence with the electric wire insertion hole 32. The terminal 8 also has a release button 81 that releases the lock by pressing each locking spring when pressed from below. The underside of the body 5 is provided with a release hole 33 (see FIG. 10) that exposes the release button 81 downward, and the release button 81 can be pressed by inserting a tool (not shown) such as a flathead screwdriver into the release hole 33.

The body 5 also has a partition wall 54 that divides the storage recess 50 into a terminal storage section 501 in which the terminals 8 are stored and a circuit storage section 502 in which other circuit components are stored. Each of the wire insertion holes 32 and the release holes 33 opens into the bottom surface of the terminal storage section 501.

Furthermore, support protrusions 53 are provided at both the left and right ends of the body 5 to support the first printed wiring board 2 (i.e., to abut the underside of the first printed wiring board 2, which is the opposite side to the side on which the USB socket 1 is mounted). Support recesses 530 that are open in the left and right directions are provided at the upper end of each support protrusion 53. Furthermore, legs 21 are provided at both the left and right ends of the first printed wiring board 2 on both sides that sandwich the USB socket 1 in the longitudinal direction (left and right direction) when viewed from above, and protrude outward in the left and right directions. The first printed wiring board 2 is prevented from shifting in the front-rear direction or downwards by storing each leg 21 in the support recess 530. In other words, the first printed wiring board 2 is supported by the support protrusions 53 of the body 5 at the legs 21.

The upper end of the partition wall 54 is provided with an abutment portion 55 that is inserted into the insertion hole 42 provided in the second printed wiring board 4 and abuts against the center of the underside of the first printed wiring board 2 (i.e., near the USB socket 1). That is, when the USB plug is connected to the USB socket 1, the abutment portion 55 abuts against the first printed wiring board 2, thereby suppressing bending (deformation) of the first printed wiring board 2 that would displace the center of the first printed wiring board 2 downward relative to the leg portion 21.

The above configuration reduces bending of the first printed wiring board 2 when the USB plug is connected, compared to when the contact portion 55 is not provided.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 USB socket 2 First printed wiring board 3 Housing 30 Plug insertion hole 55 Contact portion

Claims (7)

A USB outlet fixed to a construction surface,
a first printed wiring board having a first surface on which a USB socket is mounted and a second surface opposite to the first surface;
a second printed wiring board disposed on the second surface side of the first printed wiring board;
a housing having a plug insertion hole through which a USB plug to be connected to the USB socket is inserted, the housing accommodating the first printed wiring board and the second printed wiring board ;
a contact portion that contacts the second surface of the first printed wiring board,
The housing has a cover and a body that are coupled to each other in a vertical direction ,
The body has at least a pair of coupling protrusions protruding outwardly and a storage recess opening upwardly, the coupling protrusions being provided at both ends in one direction perpendicular to the up-down direction ,
the cover has at least a pair of connecting pieces provided at both ends in the one direction and sandwiching the body in the one direction;
one of the pair of connecting pieces has a connecting hole into which one of the pair of connecting protrusions is engaged,
the other of the pair of connecting pieces has a connecting hole into which the other of the pair of connecting protrusions is engaged,
the body has a pair of inner wall surfaces facing each other in another direction perpendicular to both the one direction and the up-down direction , and a pair of support protrusions protruding upward from the pair of inner wall surfaces,
the pair of supporting protrusions supporting the second surface of the first printed wiring board ,
The storage recess has an engagement recess that is open upward at each of the upper ends of the pair of inner wall surfaces,
The second printed wiring board has engagement protrusions at both ends in the other direction, the engagement protrusions protruding outward in the other direction,
The second printed wiring board is supported by the body by abutting the engaging protrusions against the inner surfaces of the engaging recesses, respectively . The cover has a plurality of mounting protrusions provided at both ends in the one direction and coupled with a mounting frame attached to the installation surface.
2. The USB outlet of claim 1. a length in the one direction of each of the pair of supporting protrusions is greater than a length in the one direction of the USB socket;
3. A USB outlet according to claim 1 or 2. the abutment portion is disposed between the pair of support protrusions in the other direction,
a length in the one direction of the contact portion is smaller than a length in the one direction of each of the pair of support protrusions,
A USB outlet according to any one of claims 1 to 3. the first printed wiring board is housed in the cover,
the second printed wiring board is housed in the body;
A USB outlet according to any one of the preceding claims. a terminal mounted on the second printed wiring board;
a circuit component mounted on the second printed wiring board ,
the storage recess has a terminal storage portion in which the terminal is stored and a circuit storage portion in which the circuit component is stored,
The body has a partition wall that separates the terminal housing section from the circuit housing section.
6. The USB outlet of claim 5. The depth of the terminal housing portion is smaller than the depth of the circuit housing portion.
7. The USB outlet of claim 6.

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