Insert plug and outlet plug unit

Abstract

To suppress an arc discharge from being generated by a plug capable of supplying a voltage according to a connected electronic device, without requiring an AC adapter and a voltage control circuit on a plug side and on an outlet side.SOLUTION: An insert plug comprises one or more terminals inserted into an outlet of a variable DC voltage source, at least one of the one or more terminals has a plurality of regions, each having physical characteristics representing digital information, arranged in a matrix along an insertion direction of the terminals and a width direction orthogonal to the insertion direction, and a code pattern which is a combination of pieces of digital information that regions in one width-directional array among the plurality of regions has a Hamming distance of 1 to other mutually adjacent code patterns.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an attachment plug and an outlet plug unit. [Background technology]

[0002] While the electricity supplied from power plants to homes is alternating current, most electronic devices used at home run on direct current. Such electronic devices require AC / DC converters and AC adapters, which leads to issues such as larger devices, higher costs, and power losses during AC / DC conversion. In this regard, if a "DC power source" such as solar power generation or a fuel cell is used, it is possible to supply DC directly to electronic devices, eliminating the need for AC / DC converters and AC adapters. However, the voltage required to operate electronic devices differs from device to device, so a dedicated converter according to the voltage required by the device is then required, leading to a complex and costly power distribution system.

[0003] In this regard, Patent Document 1 discloses an attachment plug for receiving power from a DC power source, which is capable of easily detecting the magnitude of the voltage required in an electronic device. The attachment plug in Patent Document 1 includes a regulation pin for specifying the magnitude of the DC operating voltage, and an electrode pin for receiving the supply of the DC operating voltage, and the regulation pin is made longer in the insertion depth direction as the magnitude of the DC operating voltage increases. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5585316 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, since DC has a constant voltage and does not have a point where the voltage is 0V like AC, there is a problem that arc discharge is likely to occur when a plug is inserted or removed while power is being supplied, or when the plug falls off the outlet. In this regard, the technology described in Patent Document 1 merely specifies the magnitude of the DC operating voltage on the electronic device side depending on the length of the regulated pin, in other words, the magnitude of the voltage is fixed depending on the length of the regulated pin. Therefore, the technology described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it cannot suppress the occurrence of arc discharge as described above.

[0006] The present invention is intended to solve at least some of the problems described above, and has an object to provide a plug that can supply a voltage according to the connected electronic device without requiring an AC adapter or voltage control circuit on the plug or outlet side, and that can suppress the occurrence of arc discharge. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is intended to solve at least a part of the above-mentioned problems, and can be realized in the following forms.

[0008] (1) According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an attachment plug, comprising one or more terminals to be inserted into a socket of a variable DC voltage source, at least one of the one or more terminals having a plurality of regions each having a physical characteristic representing digital information, the plurality of regions being arranged in a matrix along a direction in which the terminal is inserted and a width direction perpendicular to the insertion direction, and a code pattern which is a combination of digital information possessed by a line of regions along the width direction among the plurality of regions has a Hamming distance of 1 between each of the adjacent code patterns.

[0009] According to this configuration, the code pattern detected by the outlet changes according to the insertion amount of the plug inserted into the outlet. By setting the voltage value supplied from the outlet to the plug for each of the changing code patterns, it is possible to supply a voltage of a magnitude according to the connected device connected to the plug. In addition, in this configuration, the code pattern along the width direction perpendicular to the insertion direction differs according to the insertion amount of the plug. And, in the code pattern, the Hamming distance between other adjacent code patterns is 1. Therefore, the change in the code pattern corresponding to the insertion amount that changes when the plug is inserted is always 1-bit digital information, and the change in the digital information is not complicated. This suppresses the occurrence of a reading error of the digital information determined by the code pattern when the plug is inserted and removed. As a result, the safety and reliability when the plug is inserted and removed are improved. In addition, in this configuration, the voltage supplied to the plug is set so as to correspond to the change in the code pattern, so that the sequence of the voltage change supplied when the plug is inserted and removed and dropped can be set, and the occurrence of electric shock and arc discharge can be suppressed.

[0010] (2) In the attachment plug of the above aspect, the code patterns included in the regions may form a Gray code or a Glixon code. According to this configuration, the code pattern forms a known Gray code or Glixon code with a Hamming distance of 1. This makes it possible to suppress, in a simple manner, the occurrence of errors in reading digital information when inserting or removing an attachment plug.

[0011] (3) In the attachment plug of the above aspect, the plurality of regions may be disposed on a tip side of the terminal in the insertion direction and on a center side of the terminal in the width direction. With this configuration, even if the plug is inserted at an angle to the outlet, the multiple areas containing the digital information are formed toward the tip and center of the terminal, so that the insertion angle is less likely to have an effect. As a result, the occurrence of errors in reading the digital information when inserting or removing the plug is reduced.

[0012] (4) In the attachment plug of the above aspect, the length in the insertion direction of the region located on the tip end side of the terminal among the multiple regions may be longer than the length in the insertion direction of the region located on the base end side of the terminal. According to this configuration, when the plug is inserted at an angle to the outlet, the smaller the insertion depth of the plug, the greater the possibility of a digital information read error occurring due to the influence of the tilt with respect to the outlet. When the insertion depth is small, only a part of the tip side of the plug is inserted into the outlet. With this configuration, the length of the area containing digital information formed on the tip side of the plug along the insertion direction is long, so that the occurrence of a digital information read error caused by the tilt can be suppressed.

[0013] (5) In the attachment plug of the above aspect, the digital information may be represented by at least one physical characteristic of the shape of each of the plurality of regions, optical characteristics, magnetic characteristics, and capacitance. This arrangement results in the terminal being provided with a physical characteristic having digital information which is easy to apply to the terminal and easy to read by the outlet.

[0014] (6) In the attachment plug of the above aspect, the terminals may include an earth terminal, a positive terminal, and a negative terminal, and the multiple regions may be formed in at least two of the earth terminal, the positive terminal, and the negative terminal. With this configuration, multiple regions are formed for each terminal, allowing the outlet to read a larger number of code patterns.

[0015] (7) In the plug of the above aspect, the terminal may have a first of the plurality of regions used to specify a set value of a voltage supplied from the outlet to the plug, and a second of the plurality of regions used to specify a set value of a current or power supplied from the outlet to the plug. According to this configuration, by inserting the attachment plug into the outlet, the voltage setting is specified by the first plurality of regions, and either the current or the power is specified by the second plurality of regions. In other words, according to this configuration, by inserting one attachment plug into the outlet, the outlet can read a plurality of pieces of information.

[0016] (8) In the plug of the above aspect, the terminal may have a third plurality of regions used to determine a set value of voltage supplied from the outlet to the plug when the plug is inserted into the outlet, and a fourth plurality of regions used to determine a set value of voltage supplied from the outlet to the plug when the plug is removed from the outlet. According to this configuration, the third plurality of regions specifies the set value of the voltage when the attachment plug is inserted, and the fourth plurality of regions specifies the set value of the voltage when the attachment plug is removed. That is, according to this configuration, the voltages when the attachment plug is inserted and removed are separately specified using different code patterns, so that safety and reliability when the attachment plug is inserted and removed are further improved.

[0017] (9) According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outlet plug unit comprising: an attachment plug of the above aspect; and an outlet into which the attachment plug is inserted, the outlet having one or more receiving portions into which the one or more terminals provided on the attachment plug are respectively inserted, a detection portion for detecting the code pattern determined from the plurality of regions formed on the terminals inserted into the receiving portions and positions of the terminals in the insertion direction relative to the receiving portions, a conversion portion for converting the detected code pattern into a voltage command value, and a voltage generation portion for changing a DC voltage supplied to the attachment plug in accordance with the voltage command value. According to this configuration, the detector of the outlet detects the code pattern formed on the terminal. A voltage command value of the DC voltage is identified from the detected code pattern. This reduces the occurrence of errors in reading the digital information determined by the code pattern when the plug is inserted or removed. As a result, safety and reliability are improved when the plug is inserted or removed. Furthermore, in this configuration, the voltage supplied to the plug is set so as to correspond to changes in the code pattern, so that the sequence of voltage changes supplied when the plug is inserted or removed or dropped can be set, thereby reducing the occurrence of electric shock or arc discharge.

[0018] (10) In the outlet plug unit of the above aspect, the terminals may include an earth terminal, a positive terminal, and a negative terminal, and the multiple areas may be formed in at least two of the earth terminal, the positive terminal, and the negative terminal, and the detection unit may detect each combination of the code patterns from each of two or more of the multiple areas formed in the terminal, and the conversion unit may convert the detected combinations of the code patterns into the voltage command value. According to this configuration, one voltage command value is determined by a combination of each code pattern of the multiple regions, not by one code pattern, and therefore, many more voltage command values ​​can be set according to the insertion position of the plug into the outlet.

[0019] (11) In the outlet plug unit of the above aspect, the voltage generating section may generate a DC voltage of a preset value when the code pattern is not detected by the detecting section. According to this configuration, if a read error occurs, a preset DC voltage is generated, so that the occurrence of electric shock or arc discharge can be suppressed, and safety during power supply is improved.

[0020] The present invention can be realized in various forms, for example, in the form of an attachment plug, an outlet plug unit having an attachment plug and an outlet, a method for supplying direct current by an attachment plug, a method for manufacturing an attachment plug, etc. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of an outlet plug unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of an attachment plug. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of digital information formed on an earth terminal. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a code pattern. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is an illustration of a recess having digital information. [Figure 6] 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between a detected code pattern and a supply voltage. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a binary code formed by a plurality of code patterns. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the Hamming distance in Gray code and binary code. [Figure 9] 13 is an explanatory diagram of a recess having digital information of a code pattern in Comparative Example 1. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a code pattern according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a recess having digital information of a code pattern according to a second embodiment. [Figure 12]FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a recess having digital information of the recess according to the third embodiment. [Figure 13] 13 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the ground terminals of the third embodiment and Comparative Example 2 are inserted into the receiving portion at an angle. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] <Embodiment> FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of an outlet plug unit 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The outlet plug unit 1 includes an attachment plug 10 and an outlet 20. The outlet plug unit 1 is a device for supplying power from a "DC power source 30" such as a solar power generation system or a fuel cell to an "electronic device 40" such as a home appliance or a personal computer. The outlet plug unit 1 of this embodiment has a configuration described below, and can supply a rated voltage according to the electronic device 40 without requiring an AC adapter or a voltage control circuit on the attachment plug 10 side. Furthermore, the outlet plug unit 1 of this embodiment can reduce the occurrence of arc discharge that conventionally occurs when the attachment plug 10 is inserted or removed, or when the attachment plug 10 falls off.

[0023] The attachment plug 10 is provided at the tip of a cable extending from the electronic device 40, and is electrically connected to the electronic device 40. The attachment plug 10 receives a DC voltage from the outlet 20 by inserting a terminal provided at the tip into a receptacle 21 of the outlet 20. The DC voltage supplied from the outlet 20 to the electronic device 40 is determined by digital information represented by a recess formed in the terminal of the attachment plug 10. This DC voltage is supplied to the electronic device 40 via the attachment plug 10 and the cable, and is used to operate the electronic device 40.

[0024] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of the attachment plug 10. FIG. 2(A) shows a front view of the attachment plug 10, and FIG. 2(B) shows the configuration of the attachment plug 10 as viewed from the direction A in FIG. 2(A). The attachment plug 10 includes a terminal 11 and a gripping portion 12. The gripping portion 12 is a portion for a user to grip when inserting or removing the attachment plug 10 into or from an outlet 20. The terminal 11 is a connection terminal provided on the tip surface of the attachment plug 10, and includes three terminals, a positive terminal 111, a negative terminal 112, and an earth terminal 113. The Cartesian coordinate system CS shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the Cartesian coordinate system CS shown in FIG. 3 and subsequent figures. The Cartesian coordinate system CS includes an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis that are orthogonal to each other. The X-axis is defined as an axis having a positive direction parallel to the direction in which the terminal 11 extends from the gripping portion 12 to the tip side. The Y axis is an axis parallel to the width direction of the terminal 11.

[0025] Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 representing digital information formed on the ground terminal 113. Fig. 3 shows a part of the tip side of the ground terminal 113. As shown in Fig. 3, four recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 represented by hatching are formed on the surface of the ground terminal 113 on the positive side of the Z axis. The recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 are formed so as to extend along the X axis, which is the insertion direction. The recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 of this embodiment are formed on the tip side along the insertion direction and on the center side of the Y axis parallel to the width direction.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, a matrix of regions is formed on the surface of the ground terminal 113, which is composed of eight regions R0 to R7 divided along the X-axis, which is the insertion direction, and three regions divided along the Y-axis, which is the width direction. In the matrix of regions, recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 having physical properties representing digital information are formed. For example, recess CP1 is formed in regions R4 to R7 along the X-axis and in the region on the positive side of the Y-axis. In this embodiment, recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 represent digital information of "on" or "1", and regions in which no recesses are formed in the matrix of regions represent digital information of "off" or "0". A code pattern is determined by a combination of recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 representing digital information possessed by a row of regions (three regions) along the width direction of each of the regions R0 to R7 divided into eight along the insertion direction. 3 is a code pattern represented by a combination of three pieces of digital information, "on", "on", and "off", from the positive Y-axis direction side. In this embodiment, the recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 having digital information are formed by physical shapes as recesses on the surface of the ground terminal 113.

[0027] Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the code patterns. Fig. 4 shows a list of the correspondence between the code patterns PT0 to PT7 assigned to the regions R0 to R7, respectively. Fig. 4 also shows the numerical values ​​of the code patterns PT0 to PT7 expressed in binary code.

[0028] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 having digital information. FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the BB cross section in FIG. 3. The receiving section 21 of the outlet 20, which will be described later, distinguishes between on and off digital information and detects them according to the height position of the contact pin PS of the receiving section 21. As shown in FIG. 5, when the contact pin PS is in contact with the surface of the earth terminal 113 where the recess CP2 is not formed, it detects the digital information of off. On the other hand, when the contact pin PS is in contact with the recess CP2, it detects the digital information of on. As shown in FIG. 3, the receiving section 21 has three contact pins PS that detect three digital information pieces arranged along the width direction. The position of the contact pin PS shown in FIG. 3 is the position when the attachment plug 10 is inserted to the base of the outlet 20.

[0029] 5, when the attachment plug 10 starts to be inserted into the outlet 20, the contact position of the contact pin PS gradually changes along the insertion direction from an area R0 (FIG. 3) on the tip side to an area R7 on the negative X-axis side. In this embodiment, the code patterns PT0 to PT7 are associated with the supply voltage so that the DC supply voltage supplied from the outlet 20 to the electronic device 40 monotonically increases as the insertion depth of the attachment plug 10 increases.

[0030] Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the detected code patterns PT0 to PT7 and the supply voltage. As shown in Fig. 6, when the insertion depth of the attachment plug 10 into the outlet 20 is the smallest, the supply voltage determined by the code pattern PT0 is zero. In this embodiment, the supply voltage increases at a constant rate as the insertion depth of the attachment plug 10 increases to the code patterns PT1, PT2, ...

[0031] FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a binary code formed by a plurality of code patterns. In FIG. 7, a plurality of types of binary code codes corresponding to the decimal system of code patterns PT00 to PT09 are shown. In FIG. 7, off of digital information is shown as "0" and on is shown as "1". Note that cells filled with "1" are hatched. In FIG. 7, binary code, Gray code, Glixon code, O'Brien 1 code, O'Brien 2 code, Petherick code, and Tompkins code are shown as binary codes. In FIG. 7, the same code pattern as Gray code is shown surrounded by a dashed line.

[0032] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the Hamming distance in the gray code and the binary code. FIG. 8 shows code patterns PT10 to PT17, which correspond to 0 to 7 in the decimal system and are obtained by extracting the right three columns of the four columns of digital information shown in FIG. 7, among the gray code and the binary code shown in FIG. 7. The code patterns included in the regions formed on the earth terminal 113 of this embodiment constitute the gray code shown in FIG. 8. In the gray code shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the Hamming distances between adjacent code patterns are all "1". For example, in the change from code pattern PT03 to code pattern PT04 in the gray code in FIG. 7, the digital information in the second column changes from "0" to "1". On the other hand, the digital information in the first and fourth columns remains unchanged at "0", and the digital information in the third column remains unchanged at "1". Compared to the gray code, the Hamming distance between adjacent code patterns is different in the binary code. In the transition from the binary code code pattern PT03 to the code pattern PT04 in Figure 7, the digital information in the first column remains unchanged at "0", the digital information in the second column changes from "0" to "1", and the digital information in the third and fourth columns changes from "1" to "0". The Hamming distance in this case is "3". On the other hand, in the transition from the binary code code pattern PT04 to the code pattern PT05, the digital information in the fourth column only changes from "0" to "1", so the Hamming distance in this case is "1".

[0033] Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram of code patterns PT10 to PT17 of Comparative Example 1. Fig. 9 shows a plurality of matrix-shaped regions constituting the binary code of Fig. 8 formed on the ground terminal 113x as Comparative Example 1. In Comparative Example 1, recesses CP1x, CP21x, CP22x, CP31x to CP34x each having digital information of "1" are formed on the surface of the ground terminal 113x.

[0034] 1 is electrically connected to a DC power supply 30 and receives a DC voltage from the DC power supply 30. The outlet 20 includes a receptacle 21, a detector 22, a converter 23, and a voltage generator 24. The receptacle 21 is a recess into which the terminals of the attachment plug 10 are inserted. As shown in the dashed line balloon in FIG. 1, the receptacle 21 of the outlet 20 includes a positive terminal receptacle 211, a negative terminal receptacle 212, and a ground terminal receptacle 213, which respectively correspond to the three terminals (positive terminal 111, negative terminal 112, and ground terminal 113) of the attachment plug 10.

[0035] The detection unit 22 detects terminal information of the terminal inserted into the receiving unit 21. The "terminal information" is a code pattern formed on the surface of the earth terminal 113, detected by the contact pin PS (FIG. 3) of the receiving unit 21. The rated voltage is identified as the terminal information of the electronic device 40 according to the detected code pattern. The "rated voltage" refers to the magnitude of the voltage required for the operation of the electronic device 40.

[0036] Conversion unit 23 converts the terminal information detected by detection unit 22 into a voltage command value. Voltage generation unit 24 changes the supply voltage (FIG. 6) to be supplied to attachment plug 10 in accordance with the voltage command value calculated by conversion unit 23. Outlet 20 may be configured as a socket installed on a wall or floor, or as a table tap type socket housed in a housing.

[0037] As described above, in the attachment plug 10 of this embodiment, a matrix of regions is formed on the surface of the ground terminal 113, which is composed of eight regions R0 to R7 divided along the X-axis, which is the insertion direction, and three regions divided along the Y-axis, which is the width direction. The matrix of regions is formed with recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 having physical properties that represent digital information. A code pattern is determined by a combination of recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 having digital information in a line of regions along the width direction of each of the regions R0 to R7 divided into eight along the insertion direction. In this embodiment, the code pattern detected by the contact pin PS changes depending on the insertion amount of the attachment plug 10 inserted into the outlet 20. A supply voltage from the outlet 20 to the attachment plug 10 is set for each of the changing code patterns, so that a voltage of a magnitude according to the electronic device 40 of the attachment plug 10 can be supplied. In this embodiment, the code pattern along the width direction differs depending on the insertion amount along the insertion direction. In addition, unlike the binary code of Comparative Example 1, the Hamming distance between the code patterns PT0 to PT7 and other adjacent code patterns is 1. Therefore, the change in the code pattern corresponding to the insertion amount that changes when the attachment plug 10 is inserted is always 1-bit digital information, and the change in the digital information is not complicated. This suppresses the occurrence of a read error of the digital information determined by the code pattern when the attachment plug 10 is inserted or removed. As a result, the safety and reliability when the attachment plug 10 is inserted or removed are improved. In addition, in this embodiment, the supply voltage is set so as to correspond to the change in the code pattern, so that the sequence of the change in the supply voltage when the attachment plug 10 is inserted or removed and the dropout can be set, and the occurrence of electric shock or arc discharge can be suppressed.

[0038] Moreover, the multiple code patterns included in the multiple regions formed on the earth terminal 113 of this embodiment form a gray code as shown in Fig. 8. Therefore, the Hamming distance between adjacent code patterns is 1. Moreover, since the multiple code patterns are formed of a known gray code, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of reading errors of digital information when inserting and removing the attachment plug 10 in a simple manner.

[0039] In this embodiment, the recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 having digital information are formed by physical shapes as recesses in the surface of the earth terminal 113. Therefore, in the attachment plug 10 of this embodiment, a physical characteristic having digital information that is easy to form on the terminal and easy to read by the outlet 20 is formed on the terminal.

[0040] In the outlet plug unit 1 of this embodiment, the detection unit 22 detects terminal information from the code pattern formed on the earth terminal 113 inserted into the receptacle 21. The conversion unit 23 converts the terminal information detected by the detection unit 22 into a voltage command value. The voltage generation unit 24 changes the supply voltage (FIG. 6) to be supplied to the attachment plug 10 in accordance with the voltage command value calculated by the conversion unit 23. That is, in this embodiment, the detection unit 22 of the outlet 20 detects the code patterns PT0 to PT7 formed on the earth terminal 113. The voltage command value of the DC voltage is specified from the detected code patterns PT0 to PT7. Therefore, the occurrence of a reading error of the digital information determined by the code pattern when the attachment plug 10 is inserted or removed is suppressed. As a result, the safety and reliability when the attachment plug 10 is inserted or removed is improved. In this embodiment, the supply voltage is set so as to correspond to the change in the code pattern, so that the sequence of the change in the supply voltage when the attachment plug 10 is inserted or removed and the dropout can be set, and the occurrence of electric shock or arc discharge is suppressed.

[0041] <Second embodiment> 10 and 11 are explanatory diagrams of the code patterns PT10 to PT17 of the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the combination of digital information constituting the code patterns PT10 to PT17 formed on the surface of the ground terminal 113a is different from the gray code of the first embodiment. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the code patterns different from those in the first embodiment will be described, and descriptions of the other configurations, shapes, etc. that are the same as those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0042] Fig. 10 shows the code patterns PT10 to PT17 of the binary code of Comparative Example 1 (Fig. 8) in addition to the code patterns PT10 to PT17 of the second embodiment as a list. The code patterns PT10 to PT17 of the second embodiment shown in Fig. 10 have a Hamming distance of 1 between adjacent code patterns PT10 to PT17. Fig. 11 shows the code patterns PT10 to PT17 represented by recesses CP1a, CP2a, CP31a, and CP32a formed as recesses in the ground terminal 113a.

[0043] 11, in this embodiment, the recess CP2a located in the middle in the width direction extends further toward the tip side than both the recess CP1a located on the positive side of the Y axis and the recess CP32a located on the negative side of the Y axis along the width direction. That is, in the second embodiment, the recesses CP1a, CP2a, CP31a, and CP32a that function as "on" of the digital signal are formed so as to be located on the tip side of the ground terminal 113a in the insertion direction and on the center side of the ground terminal 113a in the width direction.

[0044] When the plug 10 is inserted into the receptacle 21 of the outlet 20, if the insertion depth is small, the earth terminal 113 may be inserted at an incline with respect to the insertion direction. When the plug 10 is inserted at an incline with respect to the receptacle 21 of the outlet 20, the incline of the plug 10 inserted into the receptacle 21 becomes smaller as the insertion depth increases. In other words, when the insertion depth is small, the incline of the plug 10 with respect to the receptacle 21 may be large. As described above, in the second embodiment, among the recesses CP1a, CP2a, CP31a, and CP32a in which digital information functions as "on", the recess CP2a located at the center side and the tip side is located at the tip side along the insertion direction and at the center side in the width direction. As a result, even if the plug 10 is inserted at an incline with respect to the outlet 20, the multiple areas having digital information are formed at the tip side and the center side of the earth terminal 113a, so that the plug is less susceptible to the influence of the incline of insertion. As a result, the occurrence of errors in reading digital information when inserting and removing the attachment plug 10 is suppressed.

[0045] <Third embodiment> FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of recesses CP1b, CP2b, CP31b, and CP32b having digital information according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12 shows code patterns represented by recesses CP1b, CP2b, CP31b, and CP32b formed on the surface of the ground terminal 113b. In the third embodiment, compared to the first embodiment, among a plurality of matrix-shaped regions formed on the ground terminal 113b, the length along the insertion direction of the region located on the tip side of the ground terminal 113b is longer than the length along the insertion direction of the region located on the base side of the ground terminal 113b. Specifically, on the ground terminal 113b, the length along the insertion direction of the region R4b corresponding to the code patterns PT10 to PT14 (FIG. 8) is longer than the length along the insertion direction of the region R5b corresponding to the code patterns PT15 to PT17.

[0046] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the ground terminals of the third embodiment and Comparative Example 2 are inserted into the receiving portion 213 at an angle. FIG. 13(A) shows a state in which the ground terminal 113b of the third embodiment is inserted into the receiving portion 213 at an angle. FIG. 13(B) shows a state in which the ground terminal 113y of Comparative Example 2 is inserted into the receiving portion 213 at an angle. The code patterns determined by the combination of digital information formed on the surfaces of the ground terminals 113b and 113y of the third embodiment and Comparative Example 2 are all gray codes. In Comparative Example 2, unlike the third embodiment, the lengths of the multiple regions having digital information arranged in a matrix are uniform, the same as the region R5b located on the base end side of the third embodiment.

[0047] When the earth terminal 113b starts to be inserted into the receiving portion 213, the contact pin PS first detects the code pattern PT10 (FIG. 8) in which all digital information is "off". Then, as shown in FIG. 13(A), in the case of the earth terminal 113b of the third embodiment, the contact pin PS detects the code pattern PT11 adjacent to the code pattern PT10. On the other hand, in the comparative example 2, the contact pin PS detects the code pattern PT10 first, as in the case of the earth terminal 113b of the third embodiment. However, as shown in FIG. 13(B), the contact pin PS detects the code pattern PT15 in which all digital information is "on" after the code pattern PT10. As shown in FIG. 13(B), if the code pattern PT15 is detected immediately after the code pattern PT10, the supply voltage does not gradually increase according to the insertion amount, but if the relationship shown in FIG. 6 exists, the supply voltage will increase suddenly.

[0048] In the third embodiment, among the multiple regions formed on the ground terminal 113b, the length along the insertion direction of the region located on the tip side of the ground terminal 113b is longer than the length along the insertion direction of the region located on the base end side of the ground terminal 113b. That is, when the attachment plug 10 is inserted at an angle to the outlet 20, the smaller the insertion depth of the attachment plug 10, the greater the possibility of a digital information reading error occurring due to the influence of the inclination to the outlet 20. As shown in FIG. 13, when the insertion depth is small, only a part of the tip side of the attachment plug 10 is inserted into the outlet 20. In this embodiment, the length along the insertion direction of the region having digital information formed on the tip side of the attachment plug 10 is longer than the region on the base end side, so that the occurrence of a digital information reading error caused by the inclination can be suppressed.

[0049] <Modifications of the embodiment> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention, for example, the following modifications are possible: In the above-described embodiment, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, a part of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware.

[0050] <Variation 1> The above first to third embodiments have been described as examples of the attachment plug 10 and the outlet plug unit 1. However, the configuration, shape, etc. of the attachment plug 10 and the outlet plug unit 1 can be modified within a range in which the Hamming distance of a code pattern represented by one row of areas along the width direction among a plurality of areas having digital information arranged in a matrix on one or more terminals of the attachment plug 10 is 1.

[0051] In the above embodiment, a matrix of a plurality of regions having digital information is formed only on the earth terminal 113, but a plurality of regions having digital information may be formed on the positive terminal 111 and the negative terminal 112 other than the earth terminal 113. In this case, the detection unit 22 of the modified example detects each code pattern from each of two or more regions formed on the terminal 11. The detection unit 22 detects a combination of the detected code patterns as one piece of terminal information. The conversion unit 31 of the modified example may convert one piece of terminal information consisting of a combination of the detected code patterns into a voltage command value. In this modified example, when a plurality of regions having digital information are formed on different terminals, one piece of terminal information is determined by a combination of each code pattern of the plurality of regions formed on each of the different terminals. That is, one piece of terminal information is determined by a combination of each code pattern of the plurality of regions, not by one code pattern. Therefore, more terminal information is set according to the insertion position of the plug into the outlet.

[0052] Also, one terminal may have a first plurality of regions used to specify a set value of the voltage supplied from the outlet 20 to the attachment plug 10, and a second plurality of regions used to specify a set value of the current or power supplied from the outlet 20 to the attachment plug 10. In this modification, by inserting one attachment plug 10 into the outlet 20, the voltage setting is specified by the first plurality of regions, and either the current or the power is specified by the second plurality of regions. In other words, by inserting one attachment plug 10 into the outlet 20, it is possible to cause the outlet 20 to read a plurality of pieces of terminal information.

[0053] Additionally, one terminal or two or more terminals may have a third plurality of regions used to specify a set value of the voltage supplied to the attachment plug 10 when the attachment plug 10 is inserted into the socket 20, and a fourth plurality of regions used to specify a set value of the voltage supplied to the attachment plug 10 when the attachment plug 10 is removed. In this modification, different code patterns are used to separately specify the supply voltages when the attachment plug 10 is inserted and removed, further improving safety and reliability when the attachment plug 10 is inserted and removed.

[0054] <Variation 2> In the above embodiment, each of the multiple regions formed by the presence or absence of the recesses formed on the surface of the ground terminal 113 has digital information, but the physical characteristics having the digital information can be modified. For example, the digital information may be represented by at least one physical characteristic of the shape of each region other than the recesses, the engineering characteristic, the magnetic characteristic, and the electrostatic capacitance. In this modification, a physical characteristic representing digital information that is easy to form on the terminal and easy to read by the outlet 20 can be formed on the terminal. As shown in FIG. 3, the recesses CP1, CP2, CP31, and CP32 in the first embodiment are connected to adjacent regions along the insertion direction and are not connected to adjacent regions along the width direction, but in the modification, they may be connected to adjacent regions along the width direction. Each region having digital information can be modified within a range in which the digital information of the region can be identified.

[0055] In the above first embodiment, the code patterns PT10 to PT17 constitute a Gray code, but the code patterns can be modified within a range in which the Hamming distance between adjacent code patterns is 1. For example, the code patterns may constitute a Glixon code. Furthermore, the code patterns may only use code patterns in binary codes in which the Hamming distance between adjacent code patterns is 1.

[0056] In the above first embodiment, the multiple regions are formed on the tip side of the ground terminal 113 and on the center side of the ground terminal 113 in the width direction, but they may be formed on the base end side of the ground terminal 113 or on the outer side of the ground terminal 113 along the width direction. Furthermore, when two or more multiple regions are formed, the multiple regions may form different code patterns depending on the locations where they are formed.

[0057] <Modification 3> In a modified example, when the detection unit 22 does not detect the code pattern of the attachment plug 10, the voltage generation unit 24 of the outlet 20 may supply a DC voltage of a preset value to the attachment plug 10. The case where the code pattern is not detected is, for example, when a code pattern with a Hamming distance other than 1 (e.g., 2 or 3) is detected, or when the code pattern does not change at all even when the insertion amount of the attachment plug 10 changes.

[0058] Although the present aspect has been described above based on the embodiment and modified examples, the above-mentioned embodiment of the aspect is intended to facilitate understanding of the present aspect and does not limit the present aspect. The present aspect may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and equivalents are included in the present aspect. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it may be deleted as appropriate.

[0059] The present invention can also be realized in the following forms. [Application example 1] An attachment plug, having one or more terminals adapted to be inserted into a socket of a variable direct current voltage source; At least one of the one or more terminals has a plurality of regions, each of which has a physical characteristic representing digital information, arranged in a matrix along an insertion direction of the terminal and a width direction perpendicular to the insertion direction; A plug in which a code pattern, which is a combination of digital information contained in a row of areas along the width direction among the multiple areas, has a Hamming distance of 1 between other adjacent code patterns. [Application example 2] The attachment plug according to Application Example 1, The plurality of code patterns included in the plurality of regions constitute a Gray code or a Glixon code. [Application example 3] The attachment plug according to application example 1 or application example 2, The attachment plug, wherein the plurality of regions are arranged on a tip side of the terminal in the insertion direction and on a center side of the terminal in the width direction. [Application example 4] The attachment plug according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 3, an attachment plug, wherein a length in the insertion direction of a region located on a tip end side of the terminal among the plurality of regions is longer than a length in the insertion direction of a region located on a base end side of the terminal. [Application example 5] The attachment plug according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 4, A plug, wherein the digital information is represented by at least one physical characteristic of each of the plurality of regions, including a shape, an optical characteristic, a magnetic characteristic, and a capacitance. [Application Example 6] The attachment plug according to any one of application examples 1 to 5, The terminals include a ground terminal, a positive terminal, and a negative terminal, The attachment plug, wherein the plurality of regions are formed in at least two of the earth terminal, the positive terminal, and the negative terminal. [Application Example 7] The attachment plug according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 6, The terminal is a first of the plurality of regions used to specify a set value of a voltage supplied from the outlet to the plug; a second of the plurality of regions used to identify a set value of a current or power supplied from the outlet to the plug; A mating plug having: [Application Example 8] The attachment plug according to any one of application examples 1 to 7, The terminal is a third plurality of regions used to specify a set value of a voltage supplied from the outlet to the plug when the plug is inserted into the outlet; a fourth plurality of regions used to specify a set value of a voltage to be supplied from the outlet to the plug when the plug is removed from the outlet; A mating plug having: [Application Example 9] 1. An outlet plug unit, comprising: An attachment plug according to any one of application examples 1 to 8, a socket into which the plug is inserted; Equipped with The outlet is one or more receiving portions into which the one or more terminals provided on the attachment plug are respectively inserted; a detection unit that detects the code pattern determined from the plurality of regions formed on the terminal inserted into the receiving portion and a position of the terminal in the insertion direction relative to the receiving portion; a conversion unit that converts the detected code pattern into a voltage command value; a voltage generating unit that changes a DC voltage to be supplied to the attachment plug in accordance with the voltage command value; The outlet plug unit has [Example 10] The outlet plug unit according to Application Example 9, The terminals include an earth terminal, a positive terminal, and a negative terminal, The plurality of regions are formed in at least two of the ground terminal, the positive terminal, and the negative terminal, the detection unit detects a combination of each of the code patterns from each of the two or more regions formed on the terminal; The conversion unit converts a combination of the detected plurality of code patterns into the voltage command value. [Application Example 11] The outlet plug unit according to application example 9 or application example 10, The outlet plug unit, wherein the voltage generating section generates a DC voltage of a preset value when the code pattern is not detected by the detecting section. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1...Outlet plug unit 10...Plug 11...Terminal 12...Gripping part 20…Outlet 21…Reception Department 22…Detection unit 23...Conversion section 24…Voltage generating section 30…DC power supply 40...Electronic equipment 111…Positive terminal 112...Negative terminal 113, 113a, 113b, 113x, 113y...Earth terminal 211~213…Reception Department CP1,CP2,CP31,CP32,CP1x,CP21x,CP22x,CP31x~CP34x,CP1a,CP2a,CP31a,CP32a,CP1b,CP2b,CP31b,CP32b,CP1y,CP2y,CP31y,CP32y...concave CS...Cartesian coordinate system PS…Contact pin PT0~PT7, PT00~PT09, PT10~PT17...Code pattern R0~R7,R4b,R5b…area

Claims

1. An attachment plug, a variable direct current voltage source having one or more terminals adapted to be inserted into a socket of the variable direct current voltage source; At least one of the one or more terminals has a plurality of regions each having a physical characteristic representing digital information, the regions being arranged in a matrix along an insertion direction of the terminal and a width direction perpendicular to the insertion direction; A plug in which a code pattern, which is a combination of digital information contained in a row of areas along the width direction among the multiple areas, has a Hamming distance of 1 between other adjacent code patterns.

2. 2. The attachment plug according to claim 1, The attachment plug, wherein the code patterns included in the regions constitute a Gray code or a Glixon code.

3. 2. The attachment plug according to claim 1, The attachment plug, wherein the plurality of regions are arranged on a tip side of the terminal in the insertion direction and on a center side of the terminal in the width direction.

4. 2. The attachment plug according to claim 1, an attachment plug, wherein a length in the insertion direction of a region located on a tip end side of the terminal among the plurality of regions is longer than a length in the insertion direction of a region located on a base end side of the terminal.

5. 2. The attachment plug according to claim 1, A plug in which the digital information is represented by at least one physical characteristic of the shape, optical characteristic, magnetic characteristic, and capacitance of each of the plurality of regions.

6. 2. The attachment plug according to claim 1, The terminals include an earth terminal, a positive terminal, and a negative terminal, The attachment plug, wherein the plurality of regions are formed in at least two of the earth terminal, the positive terminal, and the negative terminal.

7. 2. The attachment plug according to claim 1, The terminal is a first of the plurality of regions used to specify a set value of a voltage supplied from the outlet to the plug; a second of the plurality of regions used to specify a set value of a current or power supplied from the outlet to the plug; A mating plug having:

8. 2. The attachment plug according to claim 1, The terminal is a third plurality of regions used to specify a set value of a voltage supplied from the outlet to the plug when the plug is inserted into the outlet; a fourth plurality of regions used to specify a set value of a voltage to be supplied from the outlet to the plug when the plug is removed from the outlet; A mating plug having:

9. 1. An outlet plug unit, comprising: An attachment plug according to any one of claims 1 to 8; a socket into which the plug is inserted; Equipped with The outlet is one or more receiving portions into which the one or more terminals provided on the attachment plug are respectively inserted; a detection unit that detects the code pattern determined from the plurality of regions formed on the terminal inserted into the receiving portion and a position of the terminal in the insertion direction relative to the receiving portion; a conversion unit that converts the detected code pattern into a voltage command value; a voltage generating unit that changes a DC voltage to be supplied to the attachment plug in accordance with the voltage command value; The outlet plug unit has

10. 10. The outlet plug unit according to claim 9, The terminals include an earth terminal, a positive terminal, and a negative terminal, The plurality of regions are formed in at least two of the ground terminal, the positive terminal, and the negative terminal, the detection unit detects a combination of each of the code patterns from each of the two or more regions formed on the terminal; The conversion unit converts a combination of the detected plurality of code patterns into the voltage command value.

11. 10. The outlet plug unit according to claim 9, The outlet plug unit, wherein the voltage generating section generates a DC voltage of a preset value when the code pattern is not detected by the detecting section.

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