Electronic apparatus

Abstract

To provide an electronic apparatus that enables confirmation, even from above an external connector, that the external connector, which is to be fitted perpendicularly to a top connector arranged on the top surface of the electronic apparatus, has been properly fitted.SOLUTION: An electronic apparatus includes an electronic component and a housing with an open top that houses the electronic component, the electronic component has a top connector arranged on its top surface, and an external connector is fitted perpendicularly to the top connector. The electronic component has a discrimination area on its top surface near the top connector where a shadow formed by irradiating near the mating parts of both connectors with inspection light from above changes its shape between the mated and unmated states of both connectors.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to an electronic device that allows confirmation from above the external connector that an external connector that is mated vertically with a top connector arranged on the top surface of an electronic component is properly mated. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 proposes an electrical connector for preventing partial mating that allows an operator to visually check whether or not the connector is fully mated. This electrical connector mechanically connects electrical terminals housed in a male housing and a female housing by fitting and locking them together, and the end of the mating part of the male housing is coated with fluorescent paint or has a different type of light reflecting surface. In this electrical connector for preventing partial mating, an operator can visually check whether or not the connector is fully mated from a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the male housing is inserted into the female housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-175181 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the case of an electrical connector with prevention of partial mating as disclosed in Patent Document 1, there was a problem in that an operator could not visually confirm whether the male housing and the female housing were completely mated from the direction along which the male housing was inserted into the female housing.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems associated with such conventional technology, and aims to provide an electronic device that makes it possible to confirm from above the external connector that an external connector that is mated vertically with a top-surface connector arranged on the top surface of the electronic device has been properly mated. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] As a result of extensive research into achieving the above-mentioned objective, the inventor discovered that the above-mentioned objective can be achieved by configuring an electronic device to have a predetermined discrimination area in the area near the upper connector on its top surface, and thus completed the present invention.

[0007] In other words, the electronic device of the present invention comprises an electronic component and a housing with an open top for accommodating the electronic component, the electronic component has a top connector arranged on its top surface, and an external connector is fitted vertically into the top connector. The electronic component has a discrimination area on its top surface near the top connector where inspection light is irradiated from above near the mating portions of the two connectors to observe the change in shape of a shadow between the unmated and mated states of the two connectors. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, an electronic device is configured to have the above-mentioned discrimination area in the area near the upper connector on its top surface, so that an electronic device can be provided that makes it possible to confirm from above the external connector that an external connector that is mated vertically with the top surface connector arranged on the top surface of the electronic device is properly mated. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a first embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic view of a state in which an external connector is fitted into the top connector shown in FIG. 1; [Diagram 3]13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic view of a region near a top connector in an electronic device according to a second embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an electronic device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios of the drawings cited below are exaggerated for the convenience of explanation and may differ from the actual ratios.

[0011] (First embodiment) The upper view of Fig. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of the vicinity of the top connector in the electronic device of the first embodiment when the top connector and the external connector are engaged, and the lower view of Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic view of the vicinity of the top connector shown in the upper view of Fig. 1. The upper view of Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of the state in which the top connector and the external connector shown in the upper view of Fig. 1 are not engaged, and the lower view of Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of the state in which the top connector and the external connector shown in the upper view of Fig. 1 are engaged. Note that the housing is omitted in Fig. 2.

[0012] 1 and 2, an electronic device 1 of this embodiment includes an electronic component 10 and a housing 20 with an open top that houses the electronic component 10. The electronic component 10 has a top connector 11 disposed on its top surface 10a. An external connector 30 is fitted vertically into the top connector 11.

[0013] The electronic component 10 in the illustrated example has a fixing member 13 such as a bolt, and is fixed to the bottom surface of the housing 20 by the fixing member 13. The external connector 30 in the illustrated example has a wire harness 31 connected to a control device (not shown), for example. Although not limited thereto, the electronic device 1 can be, for example, an inverter, and the electronic component can be, for example, a current sensor.

[0014] In addition, the electronic component 10 has a discrimination area 10b (10b1, 10b2) in the area near the top connector 11 on its top surface 10a, where a camera 50 similarly installed above can observe how the shadow formed by shining inspection light from above onto the area near the mating portions of the two connectors (11, 30) changes between the unmated and mated states of the two connectors (11, 30) (see Figure 2).

[0015] Here, in the illustrated discrimination area 10b, symbol 10b1 indicates an area where a shadow is formed in the unmated state but not in the mated state, and symbol 10b2 indicates an area where a shadow is formed in both the unmated and mated states.

[0016] Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is preferable that the maximum outer area of ​​the horizontal cross section 30a of the external connector 30 is larger than the maximum outer area of ​​the horizontal cross section 11a of the top connector 11 (see the lower view of FIG. 1).

[0017] Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is preferable that the discrimination area 10b (10b1, 10b2) is provided around the top connector 11 (see the lower view of FIG. 1).

[0018] Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is preferable that the brightness of the discrimination region 10b be higher than the brightness of the outer adjacent region 10c provided adjacent to the discrimination region 10b at a position farther from the top connector 11 than the discrimination region 10b.

[0019] Next, the advantages of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the electronic component 10 has a discrimination area 10b (10b1, 10b2) in the vicinity of the top connector 11 on its top surface 10a, where a camera 50 installed above can observe the change in shape of a shadow formed by irradiating the vicinity of the mating parts of both connectors (11, 30) with inspection light from above by the lighting 40 between an unmated state such as a semi-mated state of both connectors (11, 30) and a mated state. Since such a discrimination area 10b allows observation of the change in shape of the shadow between an unmated state and a mated state, for example, the discrimination area 10b1 that is relatively brighter than the discrimination area 10b2 can be observed. Therefore, it is possible to confirm from above the external connector that an external connector that is vertically mated with the top connector arranged on the top surface of the electronic device is completely mated.

[0020] This is particularly effective in checking the mating state between a top connector and an external connector in an inverter that has a mixture of horizontally inserted side connectors and top connectors (not shown) due to the layout of electronic components.

[0021] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the maximum outer area of ​​the horizontal cross section 30a of the external connector 30 is larger than the maximum outer area of ​​the horizontal cross section 11a of the top connector 11, a shadow can be accurately formed in the discrimination area 10b, which has the advantage of making it easier to confirm that the external connector that is mated vertically with the top connector is completely mated.

[0022] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the discrimination area 10b (10b1, 10b2) is provided around (the entire periphery) of the top connector 11, the detectability of the unmated state can be improved compared to when the discrimination area is provided only in a portion of the periphery of the top connector (see FIG. 3).

[0023] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, since the brightness of the discrimination region 10b is higher than that of the outer adjacent region 10c provided adjacent to the discrimination region 10b at a position farther from the top connector 11 than the discrimination region 10b, it is possible to observe the discrimination region 10b1 which is relatively brighter than the outer adjacent region 10c, and it is easy to confirm that the external connector which is fitted perpendicularly to the top connector is completely fitted. Also, binarization may be performed based on the difference in brightness between the discrimination region 10b1 and the discrimination region 10b2, or between the discrimination region 10b1 and the discrimination region 10b2 and the outer adjacent region 10c, in which case it can be confirmed that the external connector is completely fitted by an inexpensive camera.

[0024] The upper view of Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of the vicinity of the top connector in the electronic device of the second embodiment when the top connector and the external connector are fitted together, and the lower view of Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a schematic view of the vicinity of the top connector shown in the upper view of Fig. 3. In the following description, the same components as those in the above-mentioned first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and detailed description of the invention is omitted.

[0025] Second embodiment As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic device 2 of this embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the electronic device 1 of the first embodiment, except that the discrimination areas 10b (10b1, 10b2) are provided on each side (the left side in the left-right direction and the lower side in the up-down direction) of two orthogonal in-plane directions based on the top connector 11 (for example, the left-right direction indicated by arrow X in the lower diagram of FIG. 2 and the up-down direction indicated by arrow Y).

[0026] Next, advantages of this embodiment will be described. According to this embodiment, since the discrimination regions 10b (10b1, 10b2) are provided on one side in each of the two orthogonal directions described above among the in-plane directions based on the top connector 11, in addition to the advantages of the first embodiment, there is an advantage that the discrimination regions are smaller than in the first embodiment in which discrimination regions are provided around the periphery (all around), and the mounting rate of electronic components on the top surface can be improved.

[0027] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to some embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0028] In the present invention, in order to provide an electronic device that allows confirmation from above of whether an external connector 30, which is fitted vertically into a top connector 11 arranged on a top surface 10a of an electronic component 10, is completely fitted, the gist of the present invention is that the electronic component 10 has a discrimination area 10b in the area near the top connector 11 on its top surface 10a, where it is possible to observe the change in shape of a shadow formed by irradiating inspection light from above near the fitting portions of the two connectors between the unmated and mated states of the two connectors.

[0029] Therefore, as long as it is possible to confirm complete mating of both connectors from the mating direction of the external connector, it is possible to adopt a different posture in addition to being upside down from the structure shown in FIG.

[0030] Also, for example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, for convenience, the case where the camera is placed next to the lighting placed directly above both connectors is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, it is sufficient that the electronic component has a discrimination area on its upper surface where the above-mentioned shadow can be observed to change in shape between the unmated state and the mated state of both connectors. For example, the shadow formed by irradiating the vicinity of the mating parts of both connectors with inspection light from the upper left in Fig. 2 may be observed to change in shape between the unmated state and the mated state by a camera installed above. In this way, the positions of the lighting and the camera can be changed as appropriate.

[0031] Furthermore, for example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the maximum outer area in the horizontal cross section of the external connector is larger than the maximum outer area in the horizontal cross section of the top connector has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, it is sufficient that the electronic component has a discrimination area on its top surface where the above-mentioned shadow can be observed to change in shape between the unmated state and the mated state of both connectors, and for example, the above-mentioned maximum outer area of ​​the external connector may be the same as the above-mentioned maximum outer area of ​​the top connector, or the above-mentioned maximum outer area of ​​the external connector may be smaller than the above-mentioned maximum outer area of ​​the top connector.

[0032] Furthermore, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the discrimination region is provided around the top connector, and is provided on one side in two orthogonal directions in a plane based on the top connector, but the present invention is not limited to these. In the present invention, it is sufficient that the discrimination region is provided on at least one side in one direction in a plane based on the top connector.

[0033] Furthermore, for example, the components described above are not limited to the components shown in each embodiment, and it is possible to change details of the specifications and materials of the electronic components and housing, and it is also possible to delete preferred components of one embodiment, and to replace or combine preferred components of one embodiment with preferred components of another embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1,2 Electronic equipment 10. Electronic Components 10a top surface 10b,10b1,10b2 discrimination area 10c outer adjacent area 11 Top connector 11a Horizontal section 13 Fixing member 20. Cabinet 30 External Connector 30a horizontal section 31 Wire Harness 40 Lighting 50 Camera

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising: an electronic component; and a housing having an open top surface for accommodating the electronic component, the electronic component having a top surface connector disposed on the top surface thereof; and an external connector being fitted perpendicularly to the top surface connector, The electronic component has a discrimination area on its top surface near the top connector, where a shadow formed by irradiating an inspection light from above near the mating portions of both connectors can be observed to change in shape between an unmated state and a mated state of both connectors.

1. An electronic device comprising:

2. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the maximum outer area in a horizontal cross section of the external connector is larger than the maximum outer area in a horizontal cross section of the top connector.

3. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the discrimination area is provided around the top connector.

4. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the discrimination area is provided on one side or both sides of one direction in an in-plane direction based on the top connector, or on one side of each of two perpendicular directions.

Images