Series Unit

Abstract

To provide an easily attachable serial unit. [Solution] The unit housing 2 has a front portion 21 facing the front side of the switch box and a rear portion 22 opposite the front portion 21. The input terminal 3 and output terminal 4 have hollow cylindrical outer conductors 30, 40 and center conductors 35, 45. The outer conductors 30, 40 have connection ends 31, 41, which form one end of their L-shapes, connected to the rear portion 22 of the unit housing 2, and detachable ends 32, 42, which form the other end of the L-shapes, attached to and detached from an F-type connector connected to the tip of a coaxial cable. The center conductor is arranged concentrically with the center of the outer conductor. The outlet terminal 5 protrudes from the front portion 21 of the unit housing 2 toward the front side of the switch box and branches and outputs a portion of the signal input from the input terminal 3. The input terminal 3 and output terminal 4 are movable terminals that can rotate at the connection ends 31, 41 by a predetermined angle or more, and at least one of the input terminal 3 or the output terminal 4 can rotate 360°.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a series unit. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a series unit is known that is housed in a switch box installed on the wall of a building and is connected to a coaxial cable that transmits radio waves from an antenna. For example, the series unit disclosed in Patent Document 1 has an input terminal, an output terminal, and an outlet terminal (TV terminal), and these terminals are supported by a unit housing. Both the input terminal and the output terminal have an L-shape in which the connection end with the unit housing and the detachable end where the terminal on the cable is attached and detached are orthogonal to each other, and are configured as movable terminals that can rotate at the connection end with the unit housing.

[0003] Here, a specification in which the central axis of the detachable end rotates within a plane parallel to the central axis of the outlet terminal is called "vertical movement," and a specification in which the central axis of the detachable end rotates along a plane intersecting the central axis of the outlet terminal is called "horizontal movement." Patent Document 1 describes a series unit in which the input terminal is vertically movable and the output terminal is horizontally movable. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4789858 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As shown in Figure 5 of Patent Document 1, the feasibility of installation and ease of installation vary depending on the terminal structure of the series unit and the wiring direction of the coaxial cable in the switch box. Fixed-terminal types (B-1 to B-3) for both input and output terminals are difficult to install, and when there is limited cable length due to renovation work, etc., installation may be impossible depending on the wiring situation, or the cable may have to be bent extremely to install. Vertically movable-terminal types (C-1 to C-3) may be difficult to install depending on the wiring situation, as the cable may hit the boss.

[0006] The input terminal vertically movable and output terminal horizontally movable type (D-1 to D-3) proposed in Patent Document 1 offers greater installation flexibility than both terminal fixed types or both terminal vertically movable types, but the movable angle range is limited, so there is a possibility that the cable may interfere with the boss during installation. Also, due to its thickness, there is little space inside the switch box, making installation difficult.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its object is to provide a series unit that is easy to install. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] This device is a series unit that is housed in a switch box installed on the wall of a building and connects an input coaxial cable and an output coaxial cable in series. This series unit includes a unit housing 2, an input terminal 3, an output terminal 4, and an outlet terminal 5. The unit housing has a front portion 21 facing the front side of the switch box and a rear portion 22 opposite the front portion.

[0009] The input terminal and output terminal each have a hollow cylindrical outer conductor (30, 40) and a center conductor (35, 45). The outer conductor has a connecting end (31, 41) that forms one end of the L-shape and is connected to the rear part of the unit housing, and a detachable end (32, 42) that forms the other end of the L-shape and is detachably attached to an F-type connector connected to the tip of a coaxial cable. The center conductor is disposed concentrically with the center of the outer conductor. The outlet terminal protrudes from the front part of the unit housing toward the front side of the switch box and branches and outputs a portion of the signal input from the input terminal.

[0010] The input terminal and the output terminal are movable terminals that can rotate at least a predetermined angle at the connection end, and at least one of the input terminal and the output terminal can rotate 360°.

[0011] The series unit of the present invention has no limit to the range of movement of either the input or output terminals, making it possible to accommodate various situations in which coaxial cables are pulled into the switch box, and therefore easier to wire than the series unit of the prior art.

[0012] Preferably, both the input terminal and the output terminal are rotatable through 360°.

[0013] Preferably, the rear surface of the unit housing has a reference plane (P0) perpendicular to the central axis of the outlet terminal, and inclined surfaces (P1, P2) inclined from the reference plane toward the front surface from the center of the unit housing toward both ends. The input terminal and the output terminal are connected to the unit housing so that the central axes of the connection ends are perpendicular to the inclined surfaces. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1A is a front view, FIG. 1B is a bottom view, and FIG. 1C is a side view of a series unit according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] (a) A diagram showing the terminal rotation plane as viewed from the direction of the central axis of the input terminal (IIa in FIG. 1(b)), and (b) a diagram showing the terminal rotation plane as viewed from the direction of the central axis of the output terminal (IIb in FIG. 1(b)). [Figure 3]An enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Figure 1(a). [Figure 4] Bottom view of the serial unit with the cable and F-type connector attached. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the rotation plane of the input terminal as viewed from the V direction in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 6A is a bottom view of a series unit (single unit), FIG. 6B is a schematic development of the rear part as viewed from the direction of VIb, and FIG. 6C and FIG. 6D are schematic developments of series units of other embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] (One embodiment) A series unit according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The series unit is housed in a switch box installed on the wall of a building, such as the wall of a room in a house, and is connected to a coaxial cable that transmits radio waves from an antenna. An outlet terminal (TV terminal) is provided facing the front of the series unit.

[0016] For example, when adding a switch box to a wall during renovation work, it is necessary to cut the cable running inside the wall and connect the input coaxial cable and the output coaxial cable in series. As shown in Figure 5 of Patent Document 1 (Patent Publication No. 4789858), which is a conventional technology, if there is a boss or the like in the cable routing path, installation becomes difficult, especially for short cables. In the conventional technology, the input and output terminals can be rotated within a specified angle range, but installation can be difficult depending on the direction in which the cable is pulled out. Therefore, the present invention provides a series unit that is easy to install.

[0017] 1 to 3 show the structure of a single unit of a series unit 10 according to one embodiment. The end face of the outlet terminal 5, which corresponds to the front side of the switch box, is defined as the front side. FIG. 1(a) shows a front view, FIG. 1(b) shows a bottom view, and FIG. 1(c) shows a left side view. Each figure indicates the horizontal, front-rear, and up-down directions when the series unit 10 is installed. In FIG. 1(b), the series unit 10 of this embodiment is symmetrical with respect to the central axis O of the outlet terminal 5. The right side view is omitted because it is symmetrical to the left side view.

[0018] Fig. 2(a) shows a rotational plan view of the input terminal as viewed from the direction IIa, which is the central axis direction of the connection end 31 of the input terminal 3. Fig. 2(b) shows a rotational plan view of the output terminal as viewed from the direction IIb, which is the central axis direction of the connection end 41 of the output terminal 4. The rotational plan views of the input terminal and the output terminal are bilaterally symmetrical. Fig. 3 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view corresponding to the viewing direction of the bottom view.

[0019] The series unit 10 includes a unit housing 2, an input terminal 3, an output terminal 4, and an outlet terminal 5. The unit housing 2 is formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape from a conductive material such as aluminum die-cast, and has a front surface 21 facing the front side of the switch box, and a back surface 22 opposite the front surface 21.

[0020] In this embodiment, a reference plane P0 and inclined planes P1 and P2 are formed on the back surface 22 of the unit housing 2. The reference plane P0 is perpendicular to the central axis O of the outlet terminal 5. The inclined planes P1 and P2 incline from the reference plane P0 toward the front surface 21 as they move from the center of the unit housing 2 to both ends. For example, the inclined planes P1 and P2 are inclined at an angle of approximately 10° to 20° with respect to the reference plane P0. Therefore, the unit housing 2 has a substantially hexagonal shape in bottom view that is a combination of a rectangle and an isosceles trapezoid.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 3, the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 have the same configuration. To distinguish between them, the elements of the input terminal 3 are designated with a reference number having a "3" as the first digit, and the elements of the output terminal 4 are designated with a reference number having a "4" as the first digit, and will be described together. The input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 have hollow cylindrical outer conductors 30, 40 and central conductors 35, 45.

[0022] The outer conductors 30, 40 are formed into a hollow L-shape by, for example, die-casting a zinc alloy. Connection ends 31, 41 forming one end of the L-shape are rotatably connected to the rear surface 22 of the unit housing 2. The input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 are connected to the rear surface 22 of the unit housing 2 so that the central axes of the connection ends 31, 41 are perpendicular to the inclined surfaces P1, P2, respectively. Detachable ends 32, 42 forming the other end of the L-shape are detachably attached to an F-type connector connected to the tip of a coaxial cable (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

[0023] The central conductors 35, 45 are arranged concentrically around the centers of the outer conductors 30, 40. The central conductors 35, 45 are formed by bending a metal piece having spring properties, as shown in FIG. 5 of JP 2019-61768 A (Patent No. 6795846).

[0024] Clamp-shaped connection end clamping portions 36, 46 are provided at the ends of the center conductors 35, 45 that face the connection ends 31, 41 of the outer conductors 30, 40. The connection end clamping portions 36, 46 are housed in voids in the insulating member and clamp the contact pins CP made of a conductive material. Similarly, detachable end clamping portions 37, 47 are provided at the ends that face the detachable ends 32, 42. The connection end clamping portions 36, 46 are housed in voids in the insulating member and clamp the core wire of the coaxial cable when the coaxial cable is attached to the detachable ends 32, 42.

[0025] The outlet terminal 5 protrudes from the front part 21 of the unit housing 2 towards the front side of the switch box, and branches off a part of the signal input from the input terminal 3 and outputs it.

[0026] 1(a) to 1(c) show a position in which the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 face outward in the horizontal direction (hereinafter referred to as the "fully open position"). In FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 in the fully open position are shown by solid lines, and also the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 are shown by two-dot chain lines in states where they have rotated 120° and 240° at the connection ends 31 and 41, respectively. In this manner, in this embodiment, firstly, both the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 are configured individually as movable terminals that can rotate 360° at the connection ends 31 and 41.

[0027] 4 and 5 show a state in which cables 8 are attached to the detachable ends 32, 42 of the input terminal 3 and output terminal 4 of the series unit 10 of one embodiment, and an F-type connector 7 is fastened. FIG. 4 corresponds to the bottom view of FIG. 1(b), and FIG. 5 corresponds to the rotated plan view of the input terminal of FIG. 2(a). In FIG. 5, the input terminal 3 is shown in solid lines in the fully open position and in positions rotated 120° and 240° from the fully open position. Note that the rotated plan view of the output terminal is omitted because it is bilaterally symmetrical to the rotated plan view of the input terminal.

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the series unit 10 of this embodiment, the inclined surfaces P1 and P2 allow the rotation planes of the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 to intersect, and therefore, with the cable 8 and the F-type connector 7 attached, the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 can be rotated freely without interference between the cables 8 or between the cable 8 and the series unit 10.

[0029] The size of the switch box is determined by standards, and there is a limit to how much wider the pitch between the input terminals 3 and the output terminals 4 can be to avoid interference. In this embodiment, by setting the inclined surfaces P1 and P2 to an appropriate angle, interference of the cables 8 can be minimized in a limited space.

[0030] While the movable terminals of conventional serial units have a limited range of rotation, in this embodiment both the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 can rotate 360°. Therefore, even when there is limited cable length, such as during renovation work, installation is possible and easy without bending the cable excessively and placing a load on it. This improves workability, reduces cable damage, and improves durability.

[0031] (Other embodiments) (a) The configuration is not limited to one in which both the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 are rotatable 360°, and one of the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 is rotatable 360°, and the other is configured as a movable terminal that is rotatable within a range of a predetermined angle (for example, 180° to 270°) or more but less than 360°.

[0032] 6(b) to 6(d) are schematic developments along the inclined surfaces P1 and P2 of the rear surface portion 22 in the bottom view of Fig. 6(a). As shown in Fig. 6(b), when the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 are positioned facing each other, the wires interfere with each other. Therefore, as shown in Figs. 6(c) and 6(d), even if the movable range of one terminal (the output terminal 4 in the illustrated example) is set to, for example, 270° or 180°, the actual usable range does not change much.

[0033] (b) The angles of the inclined surfaces P1 and P2 on the rear surface portion 22 may be asymmetric between the input terminal 3 side and the output terminal 4 side. For example, the mounting surface of one terminal may be parallel to a reference plane P0 that is perpendicular to the central axis of the outlet terminal 5, and only the mounting surface of the other terminal may be inclined with respect to the reference plane P0.

[0034] As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10...series units, 2...unit housing, 21...front part, 22...rear part, 3: Input terminal; 4: Output terminal; 30, 40: outer conductor; 31, 41: connection end; 32, 42: detachable end; 35, 45... center conductor, 5···Outlet terminal.

Claims

1. A serial unit that is housed in a switch box installed on the wall of a building and connects an input coaxial cable and an output coaxial cable in series, a unit housing (2) having a front portion (21) facing the front side of the switch box and a back portion (22) on the opposite side to the front portion; an input terminal (3) and an output terminal (4) each having a hollow cylindrical outer conductor (30, 40) whose connecting end (31, 41) forming one end of an L-shape is connected to the rear part of the unit housing and whose detachable end (32, 42) forming the other end of the L-shape is detachably attached to an F-type connector connected to the tip of the coaxial cable, and a center conductor (35, 45) disposed concentrically around the center of the outer conductor; an outlet terminal (5) that protrudes from the front portion of the unit housing toward the front side of the switch box and branches and outputs a part of the signal input from the input terminal; Equipped with The input terminal and the output terminal are movable terminals that can rotate at least a predetermined angle at the connection end, and at least one of the input terminal and the output terminal is rotatable 360°.

2. 2. The series unit of claim 1, wherein both the input terminal and the output terminal are rotatable through 360 degrees.

3. The rear surface of the unit housing is formed with a reference plane (P0) perpendicular to the central axis of the outlet terminal, and inclined surfaces (P1, P2) inclined from the reference plane toward the front surface from the center of the unit housing toward both ends, 3. The series unit according to claim 1, wherein the input terminal and the output terminal are connected to the unit housing so that the central axes of the connection ends are perpendicular to the inclined surface.

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