Relay for sensors

Abstract

To provide a relay for sensors which is easy to be taken out of a mounting hole.SOLUTION: A relay 20 for sensors comprises a housing 21 in which a substrate 27 is stored, and a wire 25 pulled out of the housing 21 and connecting the substrate 27 with a fire sensor 10. A first face of the housing 21, from which the wire 25 is pulled, and a second face adjacent to the first face are connected by a connection part R1 in a curved surface shape, and a distance from an outer surface of the wire 25 to an origin of the connection part R1 is shorter than a distance from the origin of the connection part to the second face.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sensor repeater. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, with regard to a mounting structure for a fire alarm, a structure in which a fire alarm is mounted in a mounting hole in a ceiling is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). Also known is a configuration in which a repeater connected to the fire alarm is disposed on the upper surface of a ceiling panel. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2011-034165 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional structure, when the repeater is to be removed for replacement or maintenance, it is difficult to remove the repeater from the mounting hole.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and has an object to provide a sensor repeater that is easy to remove from the mounting hole. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The sensor repeater of the present invention comprises a housing that houses a circuit board, and an electric wire that is pulled out from the housing and connects the board to a fire detector, wherein a first surface of the housing from which the electric wire is pulled out is connected to a second surface adjacent to the first surface by a curved or inclined connection portion, and the distance from the outer surface of the electric wire to the starting point of the connection portion is shorter than the distance from the starting point of the connection portion to the second surface.

[0007] The connection portion may be a curved surface that connects the first surface and the second surface with each other, the curved surface being curved in an arc shape.

[0008] The connection portion may be a C-surface that connects the first surface and the second surface with an inclined surface. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The present invention has an effect of providing a sensor repeater that can be easily removed from the mounting hole. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a detector system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of a sensor repeater. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor repeater. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional sensor repeater. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first electric wire and its surrounding structure. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the sensor repeater is removed. [Figure 7] 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of removing the sensor repeater from a state in which the sensor repeater is arranged in a different orientation from that in FIG. 6. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a sensor repeater according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modified example of the sensor repeater of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] First Embodiment Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a sensor system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance of a sensor repeater. Fig. 2(a) is a front view, Fig. 2(b) is a side view, and Fig. 2(c) is a bottom view. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor repeater.

[0012] The detector system 1 in FIG. 1 is a system installed on the ceiling of a building, and includes a fire detector 10 and a detector repeater 20.

[0013] The fire detector 10 has a case 11 and a fire detection means (not shown). The fire detection means is a means for detecting the occurrence of a fire, and is, for example, a heat detector. The fire detection means is housed in the case 11. The case 11 is attached to the ceiling panel 2 with a portion of the case 11 inserted into a mounting hole 2a formed in the ceiling panel 2 of the building. The mounting hole 2a is, for example, a circular hole.

[0014] The sensor repeater 20 has a housing 21, electric wires 25, and a substrate 27 (see FIG. 3). The sensor repeater 20 is disposed on the upper surface of the ceiling panel 2 through the mounting hole 2a. In this example, the sensor repeater 20 is placed on the upper surface of the ceiling panel 2 without being fixed to a specific member.

[0015] The functions of the sensor repeater 20 are arbitrary, but may include, for example, a function to provide an address to a fire sensor, a function to convert a wired fire sensor into a wireless one, a function to provide a transmission function to a fire sensor without a transmission function, a function to provide the fire sensor with a communication function that outputs a contact when the fire sensor is activated, and a function to disconnect the wiring when a short circuit occurs.

[0016] The substrate 27 is disposed in the housing 21 as shown in Fig. 3, and is electrically connected to the fire detector 10 (see Fig. 1) by a plurality of electric wires 25. The plurality of electric wires 25 include a first electric wire 25A and a second electric wire 25B (see Fig. 2) extending from the housing 21. As an example, the electric wires 25 extend in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the housing 21. Note that, although a configuration including two electric wires 25 is exemplified in the present embodiment, the number of electric wires 25 is not limited thereto.

[0017] The housing 21 is a member that houses the substrate 27. In this embodiment, a hexahedral housing 21 is illustrated. As shown in Fig. 2, the housing 21 has a front surface 21a, a rear surface 21b, a left side surface 21c, a right side surface 21d, a top surface 21e, and a bottom surface 21f. The front surface 21a and the rear surface 21b are the surfaces with the largest areas (maximum area surfaces) among the multiple surfaces that constitute the housing 21.

[0018] (Problems with conventional structures) Before describing the detailed shape of the housing 21 and the position where the electric wires are drawn out, problems that arise in the conventional structure will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional sensor repeater. As shown in Fig. 4(a), in the sensor repeater 120, the electric wires 125 are drawn out from the surface 121a of the housing 121 which has the largest area.

[0019] 4(b), when attempting to remove the sensor repeater 120 by pulling the electric wire 125 downward, the housing 121 gets caught on the edge of the mounting hole 2a, making it difficult to remove the sensor repeater 120. In this case, if the worker pulls the electric wire 125 too hard, the electric wire 125 may break or the ceiling panel 2 may be damaged.

[0020] Therefore, in the sensor repeater 20 of this embodiment, the position at which the electric wire 25 is pulled out and the shape of the housing 21 are modified so that an operator can smoothly remove the repeater. Specific explanations will be given below.

[0021] (Specific Shape of Housing 21) In the configuration of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the electric wire 25 extends from a lower surface 21f, among the surfaces constituting the housing 21, to the outside of the housing 21, for example.

[0022] In FIG. 2(c), the minimum area including the positions where the first electric wire 25A and the second electric wire 25B exit the housing 21 is shown as the area Sa. The area Sa is a rectangular area. In FIG. 2(c), the distance d is the length from the end of the first electric wire 25A (the end farther from the second electric wire 25B) to the end of the second electric wire 25B (the end farther from the first electric wire 25A). The distance d is, for example, longer than half the width dimension of the housing 21. The distance d1 is the distance from the outer periphery of the area Sa to the left side surface 21c, and the distance from the outer periphery of the area Sa to the right side surface 21d. The distance d2 is the distance from the outer periphery of the area Sa to the front surface 21a, and the distance from the outer periphery of the area Sa to the back surface 21b.

[0023] In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), the housing 21 has a shape that is symmetrical both left and right and front and rear, and the multiple electric wires 25 are also arranged at positions that are symmetrical with respect to the center line CL. Therefore, only a part of the structure (for example, only the first electric wire 25A and its surrounding structure) will be described, and the description of the other structures will be omitted. Note that, although Figure 2 shows a left-right symmetrical configuration with respect to the center line CL as an example, the left and right may be asymmetrical.

[0024] In the sensor repeater 20 of this embodiment, the bottom surface 21f and the right side surface 21d are connected by a curved connection part R1. The connection part R1 is a curved surface (so-called R surface) that makes the cross section of the housing 21 have an arc shape in a cross section of the housing 21 (see FIG. 3). Although not limited thereto, in the sensor repeater 20 of this embodiment, the first electric wire 25A and the second electric wire 25B are arranged with a wide interval such that the distance d1 is shorter than the length d, and the distance from the electric wire 25A to the adjacent surface adjacent thereto is formed short.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the first electric wire 25A and its surrounding structure. In the configuration of this embodiment, the radius d3 of the connection part R1 that connects the lower surface 21f (corresponding to the "first surface" of the present invention) from which the first electric wire 25A is drawn and the right side surface 21d (corresponding to the "second surface" of the present invention) adjacent to the lower surface 21f is configured to be longer than the distance dx. The distance dx is the length from the outer surface of the first electric wire 25A to the starting point of the connection part R1 (specifically, the length in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the first electric wire 25A). The starting point of the connection part R1 refers to the position where the lower surface 21f and the connection part R1 are in contact. The radius d3 corresponds to the "distance from the starting point of the connection part to the second surface" in the present invention.

[0026] The radius d3 of the connection portion R1 may be greater than the distance d1, for example. In this configuration, the electric wire 25 is pulled out from the curved surface.

[0027] According to a configuration in which distance dx is shorter than radius d3 of connection portion R1 as shown in FIG. 5, connection portion R1 is formed over a wide range, and the portion from near the base of wire 25 to right side surface 21d has a gently curved surface. This makes it difficult for housing 21 to get caught on the edge of mounting hole 2a, and makes it possible to smoothly remove housing 21 from mounting hole 2a.

[0028] Here, the connection portion R1 between the lower surface 21f and the right side surface 21d has been described as an example, but the effect of forming the connection portion R1 between the lower surface 21f and the left side surface 21c is similar. In addition, the connection portion R2 between the lower surface 21f and the front surface 21a and the connection portion R2 between the lower surface 21f and the back surface 21b (see FIG. 2(b)) may also be configured similarly to the peripheral structure of the connection portion R1. The radius of the connection portion R1 and the radius of the connection portion R2 may be the same or different.

[0029] However, when a connection part with such a relatively large radius is formed at the corner of the housing 21, there is a risk that the corner of the substrate 27 will come into contact with the inner surface of the housing 21. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 3, the corner 27a of the substrate 27 is cut away at the position where the connection part R1 is provided. With this configuration, the substrate 27 can be accommodated well within the housing 21 without increasing the size of the housing 21.

[0030] (First example of a process for removing the sensor repeater 20) Next, the process of removing the sensor repeater 20 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the state in which the sensor repeater 20 is removed. In Fig. 6, the fire sensor 10 (see Fig. 1) connected to the sensor repeater 20 is not shown.

[0031] In the state shown in Fig. 6(a), the fire alarm has already been removed from the ceiling panel 2. The sensor repeater 20 is placed on the upper surface of the ceiling panel 2 with the back surface 21b of the housing 21 facing downward. When an operator pulls the electric wire 25 downward from this state, the housing 21 gradually rises up, as shown in Fig. 6(b).

[0032] In this embodiment, the formation of the connection portion R2 allows the housing 21 to be smoothly removed from the mounting hole 2a.

[0033] (Second example of the process for removing the sensor repeater 20) Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of removing the sensor repeater 20 from a state in which the sensor repeater 20 is arranged in a different orientation from that in Fig. 6. In Fig. 7, the sensor repeater 20 of this embodiment and a sensor repeater 220 of a comparative example are arranged on a ceiling panel 2.

[0034] In the state shown in Fig. 7(a), the sensor repeater 20 is disposed with the right side surface 21d facing downward. When an operator pulls the electric wire 25 downward in the state shown in Fig. 7(a), the housing 21 rises up as shown in Fig. 7(b).

[0035] In this example, the size of the mounting hole 2a is slightly larger than the width of the housing 21, so the housing 21 tilts slightly counterclockwise from the state of Fig. 7(b) to the state of Fig. 7(c). In the state of Fig. 7(c), the housing 221 of the comparative example gets caught on the edge of the mounting hole 2a, but the housing 21 of the sensor repeater 20 of this embodiment is provided with the connection part R1 as shown in Fig. 5, so that the housing 21 is less likely to get caught.

[0036] When the worker pulls the electric wire 25 downward from a state in which the connection part R1 of the housing 21 is in contact with the edge of the mounting hole 2a as shown in Fig. 7(c), the housing 21 can be smoothly removed from the mounting hole 2a as shown in Fig. 7(d). On the other hand, in the case of the sensor repeater 220, for example, the worker needs to remove the housing 221 from the mounting hole 2a by temporarily lifting the electric wire 25 upward to move the housing 221 or by vibrating the housing 221 to fine-tune its position.

[0037] (Effects of the sensor repeater 20) According to the configuration of this embodiment as described above, the distance dx from the outer surface of the electric wire 25 to the starting point of the connection portion R1 is set to be shorter than the distance from the starting point of the connection portion R1 to the adjacent surface of the lower surface 21f (for example, the right side surface 21d). Therefore, the housing 21 is less likely to get caught on the edge of the mounting hole 2a, and the housing 21 can be smoothly removed.

[0038] <Second embodiment> Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a sensor repeater of the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 8(a), the connection part C1 between the lower surface 21f and the right side surface 21d of the housing 21A is a chamfered inclined surface. Specifically, the connection part C1 is an inclined surface that intersects with the lower surface 21f and the right side surface 21d at a predetermined angle. Specifically, the connection part C1 is a C surface that is inclined at an angle of 45° with respect to each surface. The formation of such a connection part C1 can also make it difficult for the housing 21A to get caught.

[0039] In the case of such an inclined surface-shaped connection portion C1, in order to make it easier to remove the housing 21 from the mounting hole 2a, the distance dx is set to be shorter than the chamfer dimension d4 of the connection portion C1, as shown in FIG. 8(b).

[0040] 8(a) illustrates a configuration in which the connection portion C1 is formed at a portion connecting the lower surface 21f and the right side surface 21d and at a portion connecting the lower surface 21f and the left side surface 21c, but the above-mentioned similar connection portion may be formed at a portion connecting the lower surface 21f and the front surface and at a portion connecting the lower surface 21f and the back surface. As in the first embodiment, the chamfer dimension d4 of the connection portion C1 may be made larger, and the electric wire 25 may be drawn out from the connection portion C1 (or from the boundary portion between the lower surface 21f and the connection portion C1).

[0041] <Modification> Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a modified example of the sensor repeater of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 9(a), the number of electric wires 25 drawn out from the housing 21 of the sensor repeater may be, for example, four. As shown in Fig. 9(b), the electric wires 25 may be drawn out from a predetermined surface other than the maximum surface of the housing 21 and from the other surfaces. In the example of Fig. 9, as an example, a plurality of electric wires 25 are drawn out from each of the bottom surface and the top surface of the housing 21.

[0042] Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by distributing or integrating functionally or physically in any unit. In addition, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment resulting from the combination combines the effect of the original embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1. Sensor system 2 Ceiling Panel 2a Mounting hole 10 Fire detector 11 Cases 20 Sensor repeater 21 Case 21A Housing 21a front 21b Back 21c left side 21d Right side 21e Top 21f Bottom 25 Electric wire 25A 1st wire 25B 2nd wire 27 Substrate 27a Corner 220 Sensor repeater 221 Case C1 Connection CL center line R1 connection R2 connection Sa area

Claims

1. A housing that houses the substrate; an electric wire extending from the housing and connecting the board and a fire detector; Equipped with a first surface of the housing from which the electric wire is drawn out and a second surface adjacent to the first surface are connected by a curved or inclined surface-shaped connection portion, A distance from an outer surface of the electric wire to a starting point of the connection portion is shorter than a distance from the starting point of the connection portion to the second surface. Sensor repeater.

2. The connection portion is an R surface that connects the first surface and the second surface with a curved surface that is curved in an arc shape.

2. A sensor repeater according to claim 1.

3. The connection portion is a C-surface that connects the first surface and the second surface with an inclined surface.

2. A sensor repeater according to claim 1.

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