Connector Unit

Abstract

To provide a connector unit capable of lighting for proper recognition of insertion / removal ports of a connector.SOLUTION: A connector unit includes: a substrate 3 on which a connector 1, a light emitter 2, and a light guide member 10 that directs light of the light emitter 2 to an illumination part 11 near the insertion / removal port of the connector 1 are mounted; and enclosures 21 and 22 that house the substrate 3. The light guide member 10 has an annular part 12 that is located in an area surrounding outer peripheries of the connector 1 to direct the light coming from an incident part 14 to the illumination part 11. The substrate 3 has the connector 1 and the light emitter 2 on a same mounting surface. A hole part H is formed in the annular part 12 on an opposite side of the mounting surface with respect to the connector 1 and penetrates in the thickness direction of the annular part 12. The enclosure 21 has an engagement projection 28 inserted into the hole part H with the substrate 3 housed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a connector adapter provided in a housing, and a status indicator that illuminates the outer periphery of a portion of the connector adapter that protrudes from the housing.

[0003] In this Patent Document 1, the status indicator is formed of a light guide member in which a light collecting section, a connection section, and a display section are integrally formed, and an LED (light emitting diode) that sends light to the light collecting section is provided on a board. By emitting light from this LED according to the operating state of the electronic device, the status of the electronic device can be visually confirmed from the light emitted by the status display section.

[0004] Patent Document 2 shows a connector box having a receptacle connector section in a casing and a light guiding lens for guiding light to the receptacle connector section.

[0005] In Patent Document 2, the light guide lens has an annular portion surrounding the receptacle connector portion and a pair of locking portions protruding from the annular portion, and is integrally formed from a transparent resin, etc. The substrate is also provided with an LED that sends light to the locking portions, and the light from this LED is guided from the locking portions to the annular portion, causing the annular portion to shine and improving visibility. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-97207 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-67604 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Taking a connector unit installed inside an automobile as an example, one can imagine its use when connecting information terminals such as tablets and smartphones to in-car devices inside the vehicle and when charging these information terminals.

[0008] Furthermore, in order to make it easier to visually determine the location of a connector installed inside an automobile at night, it is also possible to light up the area around the insertion / removal port of the connector, as described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. In order to light up the area around the insertion / removal port in this way, it is effective to use a status indicator as described in Patent Document 1 or a light guide member such as a light guide lens as described in Patent Document 2 to guide light from an illuminator such as an LED.

[0009] However, in a configuration having a light-guiding member with an annular portion surrounding the insertion / removal port of the connector and an light-emitting body that guides light to this light-guiding member, when the light from the light-emitting body is guided inside the light-guiding member, the amount of light increases in the part of the annular portion of the light-guiding member that is closer to the light-emitting body and the amount of light decreases in the parts further away from the light-emitting body. This can result in differences in the amount of light depending on the location of the annular portion that illuminates the insertion / removal port of the connector, and it is conceivable that this could lead to a misrecognition of the position and size of the insertion / removal port of the connector.

[0010] For these reasons, there is a demand for a connector unit that can illuminate the connector insertion / removal port with a uniform amount of light to enable proper recognition. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] A characteristic configuration of the connector unit according to the present invention includes a board, a connector mounted on the board and into which a plug can be inserted, a light-emitting body mounted on the board and emitting light, a light-guiding member made of a transparent material mounted on the board, which allows light from the light-emitting body to enter from an incident portion and guides it to an illumination portion near an insertion / removal opening at an outer end of the connector, and a housing that houses the board and has an opening that exposes the insertion / removal opening and the illumination portion, wherein the light-guiding member has an annular portion that is arranged in a region surrounding the outer periphery of the connector to guide the light incident from the incident portion to the illumination portion, the board has the connector and the light-emitting body mounted on the same mounting surface, the annular portion has a hole portion that penetrates the annular portion in a thickness direction on the side opposite to the mounting surface with the connector as a reference, and the housing has an engagement protrusion that is inserted into the hole portion with the board housed therein. By this, a part of the light guided through the annular portion is blocked, and the amount of light guided to the illumination portion is adjusted. It's at the point.

[0012] According to this characteristic configuration, light from the light emitter provided on the board is guided from the entrance portion of the light guide member to the illumination portion via the annular portion of the light guide member, so that the light can be irradiated from the illumination portion to the area surrounding the insertion / removal port of the connector. Also, in this configuration, a hole portion is formed in the annular portion on the opposite side of the mounting surface of the board with the connector as a reference, and a locking protrusion of the housing is inserted into the hole portion of the annular portion with the board accommodated in the housing, thereby realizing fixation of the light guide member.

[0013] In particular, in this configuration, a hole is formed in the annular portion through which the light introduced from the incident portion into the inside of the light-guiding member is guided, and an engaging protrusion is inserted into the hole.By setting the position and shape of the hole and the engaging protrusion, it is possible to adjust the amount of light guided from the incident portion to each location in the illumination portion and to uniformize the amount of light irradiated from the illumination portion to the insertion / removal port. Therefore, a connector unit has been configured that can provide illumination that allows the insertion / removal opening of the connector to be properly recognized by making the amount of light that illuminates the insertion / removal opening uniform.

[0014] In addition to the above configuration, the housing may include a first housing, a second housing, and a wall member supported by the first housing or the second housing and having the opening that exposes the illumination portion, and the substrate may be supported by the first housing or the second housing.

[0015] According to this, for example, when assembling the connector unit, the board is supported on one of the first housing and the second housing, and the light illuminating portion of the light guide member is exposed from the opening of the wall member. Also, in this configuration, the wall member can be manufactured separately from the first housing and the second housing, and, for example, assuming that the connector unit is provided inside an automobile, it is possible to use a wall member having a common color tone or texture with the panel portion inside the automobile in which the connector unit is provided.

[0016] In addition to the above configuration, the wall member may be integrated with either the first housing or the second housing.

[0017] According to this, since the wall member is integrated with either the first housing or the second housing, it is possible to select the object with which the wall member is integrated, and it is also possible to increase the supporting strength of the wall member.

[0018] In addition to the above configuration, the board may have a plurality of the connectors mounted thereon, and the vicinity of the insertion / removal opening at an outer end of at least one of the plurality of connectors may be illuminated by the illumination portion of the light-guiding member.

[0019] With this, even if the housing is equipped with multiple connectors, the insertion / removal port of at least one of the multiple connectors is illuminated, improving visibility even in a dark environment. This configuration also makes it possible to use multiple connectors with different standards and structures.

[0020] In addition to the above configuration, the housing may include a light shield that blocks light from the light emitter that travels in a direction away from the incident portion.

[0021] With this, light from the light emitter that travels in a direction away from the incident section is blocked by the light shielding body, so that light unintended at the time of design does not enter the light-guiding member, upsetting the balance of the amount of light irradiated at the illumination section, or causing the inconvenience of light leaking through gaps in the housing, etc.

[0022] In addition to the above configuration, the incident portion may include a first incident surface that is parallel to the mounting surface, and a second incident surface that is inclined relative to the first incident surface.

[0023] For example, when a light-emitting body is used that is mounted on a substrate and has the property of emitting light so that it spreads all over from its light-emitting surface, light emitted from the light-emitting surface of the light-emitting body in a direction perpendicular to the substrate is sent into the light-guiding member from the first incident surface, and light emitted from the light-emitting surface of the light-emitting body in a direction inclined to the substrate is sent into the light-guiding member from the second incident surface.

[0024] In addition to the above configuration, the engagement protrusion may have a vertical surface that is perpendicular to the mounting surface of the board when inserted through the hole portion, and an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the vertical surface when inserted through the hole portion.

[0025] According to this, when the engaging protrusion is inserted into the hole formed in the annular portion, the light guided inside the light guide member along the mounting surface of the board and emitted into the hole is reflected by the vertical surface of the engaging protrusion and returned into the light guide member, and the light guided inside the light guide member in a direction inclined to the vertical surface of the engaging protrusion and emitted into the hole is reflected by the inclined surface and returned into the light guide member. This makes it possible to reflect light leaking from the opening edge into the space inside the hole by the vertical surface and the inclined surface of the engaging protrusion and return it to the light guide member, suppressing the inconvenience of a large amount of light being transmitted to a specific position in the illumination portion when there is no hole and engaging protrusion, and to uniform the amount of light irradiated in the illumination portion.

[0026] In addition to the above configuration, the housing may be composed of a first housing and a second housing, and the engagement protrusion may be integrally formed with the first housing or the second housing to which the board is fixed, and the engagement protrusion may have an abutment surface that is adjacent to the connector when inserted through the hole portion.

[0027] By configuring it in this manner, it is possible to insert the engagement protrusion formed integrally with the first or second housing to which the substrate is fixed into the hole portion of the light-guiding member, and to position the abutment surface of this engagement member in a position close to the connector. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector unit. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector unit. [Diagram 3] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between a substrate, a light-emitting diode, and a light-guiding member. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the substrate, the connector, and the light-guiding member. FIG. [Diagram 5] 13 is a bottom view showing a state in which the light guide member is separated from the substrate. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the light guide member is separated from the substrate. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view showing an arrangement state of the light guide member. [Figure 9] 4 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between a front end portion of a first housing and a light guide member. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [Basic configuration] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, connector unit A is configured by housing a substrate 3 in a housing 20, the substrate 3 having, on a mounting surface 3s (the bottom surface in Figure 2, see Figures 3 and 4), two connectors 1, four light-emitting diodes 2 (an example of an light-emitting body), and two light-guiding members 10 corresponding to the connectors 1 so as to guide light from the light-emitting diodes 2 to the vicinity of the insertion / removal port 1a at the outer end of the connector 1.

[0030] The housing 20 is formed with an insertion / removal opening 1a through which a plug (not shown) of the connector 1 is inserted and removed, and two openings 25 that expose a part of the light guide member 10 surrounding the insertion / removal opening 1a.

[0031] This connector unit A is intended for connecting information terminals such as tablets and smartphones to in-vehicle devices inside an automobile or the like, or for connecting such information terminals to information terminals via cables or the like in order to charge the information terminals.

[0032] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, when there is insufficient lighting inside the vehicle, such as at night, connector unit A illuminates the outer periphery of insertion / removal port 1a of connector 1 by guiding light from light-emitting diode 2 (light-emitting body) through light-guiding member 10 and directing it to illumination section 11 surrounding insertion / removal port 1a of connector 1, thereby making it possible to easily see the position and operating status of connector 1.

[0033] This connector unit A functions regardless of the position, but in the following, the up-down direction will be described based on the position shown in FIG. 1, and the front-rear direction will be described with the position of the front wall 24 in the same figure as the front side.

[0034] [Substrate: Connector: Light-guiding member] As shown in Figures 2 to 6, the two connectors 1 are mounted on the board 3 in a positional relationship parallel to the horizontal direction (direction perpendicular to the up-down and horizontal directions) at the front end of the mounting surface 3s (lower surface) of the board 3. An input case 4 is provided at the rear end of the mounting surface 3s of the board 3. The connector 1 is, for example, a small interface called Type-C of USB (abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus), and printed wiring is formed between the two connectors 1 and terminals inside the input case 4.

[0035] 3 to 7, the light guide member 10 is integrally formed of a transparent material with an illumination portion 11 arranged in a region surrounding the insertion / removal port 1a at the outer end side of the connector 1, an annular portion 12 arranged at a position surrounding the connector 1, a pair of arm portions 13 extending from the annular portion 12 to the opposite side to the illumination portion 11, and an incidence portion 14 formed at the extending end of the arm portion 13. Note that acrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, or the like is used for the light guide member 10. In addition, the transparent material includes not only colorless materials but also general materials having translucency such as transparent materials and translucent materials.

[0036] 3, 4, and 7, the illumination portion 11 is formed with an insertion hole portion 11a that is connected to the insertion / removal port 1a of the connector 1, and an annular rib 11b is formed in the area surrounding the insertion hole portion 11a. The annular portion 12 is connected to the illumination portion 11 and is molded in a cylindrical shape that generally surrounds the connector 1. In addition, a hole portion H is formed in the annular portion 12 on the opposite side of the mounting surface 3s with respect to the connector 1, penetrating the annular portion 12 in the wall thickness direction.

[0037] As shown in Figures 5 and 7, hole portion H is formed in a shape that approximates a parallelogram (shape in unfolded state) by having a pair of first opening edges Ha that are oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (front-to-back direction) of connector 1, and a pair of second opening edges Hb that are inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of connector 1.

[0038] 3 and 6, the pair of arm portions 13 are connected to the outer end positions of the annular portion 12 in the lateral direction, and extend linearly from both lateral ends of the annular portion 12 in the rear direction (from the illumination portion 11 toward the input case 4), and are formed with a thickness equal to that of the annular portion 12. However, depending on the size of the light emitter, the arm portion 13 may be thicker or thinner than the annular portion 12. In addition, the arm portion 13 is formed with a linear contact surface 13a that comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate 3.

[0039] 3, the incident portion 14 has a first incident surface 14a parallel to the mounting surface 3s of the substrate 3, and a second incident surface 14b inclined from the first incident surface 14a toward the mounting surface 3s at a position closer to the annular portion 12 than the first incident surface 14a. Furthermore, the incident portion 14 has a reflective surface 14c disposed at the extending end of the arm portion 13, which reflects the light introduced from the first incident surface 14a into the arm portion 13 in the longitudinal direction (forward direction) of the arm portion 13.

[0040] In this embodiment, the angle θ formed by the reference line extended from the first incident surface 14a and the second incident surface 14b may be any right angle or acute angle suitable for receiving light, and can be set to, for example, 45 degrees.

[0041] [Fitting recess of board] As shown in Figure 5, in a plan view, the connector 1 is positioned so that its outer end position protrudes slightly forward from the front end position of the board 3, and the light-guiding member 10 is supported on the board 3 in a positional relationship in which the inner surface of the illumination section 11 is close to (or may be abutting) the outer end position of the connector 1.

[0042] In order to enable such an arrangement of the light-guiding member 10, slit-shaped mating recesses 3a extending in the front-to-rear direction are formed at two locations on the front end of the substrate 3 that sandwich the connector 1, and by inserting the annular portion 12 of the light-guiding member 10 into the pair of mating recesses 3a from the front end of the substrate 3, the inner surface of the illumination portion 11 is brought close to the outer end position of the connector 1, and the light-guiding member 10 is supported on the substrate 3 in a positional relationship in which the annular portion 12 is positioned in the area surrounding the connector 1.

[0043] When the light-guiding member 10 is supported on the substrate 3 in this manner, the contact surface 13a formed on the arm portion 13 abuts against the mounting surface 3s of the substrate 3, thereby determining the position of the light-guiding member 10 in the thickness direction of the substrate 3.

[0044] [Light emitting diode and incident part] 3, the light-emitting diode 2 (an example of a light-emitting body) is block-shaped and is directly connected by solder or the like to the printed wiring on the mounting surface 3s of the substrate 3. The light-emitting diode 2 has the ability to emit light not only in a direction perpendicular to the light-emitting surface (mounting surface 3s) but also in a direction inclined to the light-emitting surface.

[0045] A pair of arm portions 13 are formed on one light-guiding member 10, and one light-emitting diode 2 corresponds to one arm portion 13. Since two connectors 1 are mounted on the substrate 3, a total of four light-emitting diodes 2 are supported on the substrate 3.

[0046] As described above, in a state in which the light guide member 10 is supported by the substrate 3, the first incident surface 14a of the incident portion 14 is disposed at a position overlapping the light emitting surface of the light emitting diode 2 when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 3s of the substrate 3. In this case, the light emitting diode 2 is projectively covered and hidden by the first incident surface 14a when viewed from the top-bottom direction of the substrate.

[0047] 3, of the light emitted from the light-emitting diode 2, the light traveling in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 3s is guided from the first incident surface 14a into the inside of the arm portion 13, and is reflected by the reflecting surface 14c to be guided in the direction of the annular portion 12 along the longitudinal direction of the arm portion 13. In contrast, a portion of the light emitted in an inclined position with respect to the mounting surface is guided into the inside of the arm portion 13 from the second incident surface 14b.

[0048] Since the light guide member 10 is made of a transparent material, for example, light guided from the first incident surface 14a to the inside of the arm portion 13 is guided inside the arm portion 13 so as to repeatedly undergo total reflection before reaching the annular portion 12.

[0049] [Housing] 2, the housing 20 is formed into a box shape by stacking a first housing 21 on a lower side and a second housing 22 on an upper side. The board 3 is supported inside the first housing 21 by a plurality of screws 23.

[0050] Further, the second housing 22 is provided with a front wall 24 (an example of a wall member), and the above-mentioned two openings 25 are formed in this front wall 24. This front wall 24 is supported detachably on the front end of the second housing 22, and may be made of a material different from that of the main body portion (upper wall, side walls, etc.) of the second housing 22. Furthermore, the rear end of the input case 4 is exposed on the rear end side of the second housing 22.

[0051] 2, 8 and 9, a reinforcing rib 26 is formed integrally with the bottom wall surface in a lateral extending position near the front end of the first housing 21. In order to support the light guide member 10 in an fitted state at two points in the front end portion of the first housing 21, a pair of vertical wall-like rib bodies 27 (an example of a light shielding body) extending in the front-rear direction are formed and connected to the reinforcing rib 26 at an interval equal to the width of the light guide member 10.

[0052] Moreover, a pair of engagement protrusions 28 that fit into holes H of the annular portion 12 of the light guide member 10 are formed inside the pair of rib bodies 27 that are positioned opposite to each other and near the front end of the first housing 21. Furthermore, a light shielding wall 29 (an example of a light shielding body) having walls at a position that sandwiches the light emitting diode 2 from the width direction and at a rear position is formed inside the pair of rib bodies 27 and near the rear end.

[0053] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, each engagement protrusion 28 has a pair of vertical surfaces 28a that are perpendicular to the mounting surface 3s of the board 3 at the front and rear positions of the engagement protrusion 28, a pair of inclined surfaces 28b that are inclined relative to the pair of vertical surfaces 28a, and further has an abutment surface 28c that is close to the connector 1 and oriented parallel to the bottom wall surface of the first housing 21 between the pair of inclined surfaces 28b.

[0054] As a result, with the engaging protrusion 28 inserted into the hole H of the light-guiding member 10, the pair of vertical surfaces 28a are disposed in proximity to the first opening edge Ha of the hole H, the pair of inclined surfaces 28b are disposed in proximity to the second opening edge Hb, and the abutment surface 28c is disposed in proximity to the connector 1 (see FIG. 4). Furthermore, by disposing the abutment surface 28c in a position close to the connector 1, when an external force is applied to the connector 1 in the vertical direction of the board by twisting or the like, the connector 1 is sandwiched between the abutment surface 28c integrally formed with the engaging protrusion 28 and the board 3 fixed to the first housing 21 with screws, and damage such as peeling off of the board can be suppressed.

[0055] [Assembled state] With this configuration, it is possible to provide two connectors 1, four light-emitting diodes 2 (light-emitting bodies), and an input case 4 on the substrate 3, and to provide a light-guiding member 10 on the substrate 3 corresponding to the connectors 1 so that a portion of the annular portion 12 is inserted into a pair of mating recesses 3a formed at positions sandwiching each of the connectors 1.

[0056] Furthermore, by providing two light guide members 10 on substrate 3, incident portions 14 at the extending ends of a pair of arm portions 13 of light guide member 10 are disposed at positions overlapping light emitting diode 2.

[0057] By disposing the substrate 3 in this state at an appropriate position in the first housing 21 and fixing it with the screws 23, the pair of light guide members 10 are fitted between the corresponding pair of rib bodies 27, and the engagement protrusions 28 are fitted into the holes H of the annular portions 12 of the pair of light guide members 10, as shown in Figures 8 and 9. Furthermore, when the substrate 3 is fixed to the first housing 21 in this manner, the four light emitting diodes 2 are housed inside the space formed by the rib body 27 and the light shielding wall 29, and light emitted in a direction away from the entrance portion 14 of the light guide member 10 is blocked from being diffusely reflected inside the housing 20, and the light can be reflected by the rib body 27 and the light shielding wall 29 to enter the light guide member 10.

[0058] Furthermore, the position of the front wall 24 is determined so that the annular ribs 11b of the illumination portions 11 of the pair of light-guiding members 10 can be positioned to fit into corresponding ones of the two openings 25 in the front wall 24, and the second housing 22 and the first housing 21 are connected to complete the connector unit A.

[0059] [Effects of the embodiment] Since the pair of arm portions 13 of the light-guiding member 10 are connected to the widthwise end positions of the annular portion 12, if, for example, hole portion H is not formed in the light-guiding member 10, the light from the light-emitting diode 2 will be guided in a straight line to the annular portion 12, increasing the amount of light at both lateral ends of the illumination portion 11 and causing the amount of light irradiated from the illumination portion 11 to vary depending on the location on the illumination portion 11, resulting in an unbalanced state.

[0060] In response to this, by forming holes H penetrating the light-guiding member 10 in the thickness direction at two locations on the annular portion 12 of the light-guiding member 10 where the light from the pair of arm portions 13 is linearly guided, the holes H block part of the light from the light-emitting diodes 2, thereby making it possible to suppress the phenomenon in which the light from the light-emitting diodes 2 is linearly guided to the annular portion 12. As a result, it is possible to make the amount of light irradiated from the illumination portion 11 uniform regardless of location, without inviting the inconvenience of increasing the amount of light at both ends of the illumination portion 11 in the lateral direction.

[0061] In particular, the engaging protrusion 28 is inserted into a hole H formed in the annular portion 12 of the light-guiding member 10, and a pair of vertical surfaces 28a of the engaging protrusion 28 is brought into proximity with a first opening edge Ha of the hole H, and a pair of inclined surfaces 28b is brought into proximity with a second opening edge Hb of the hole H. As a result, even if light leaks from the opening edge of the hole H into the inside of the hole H, the light is blocked and reflected by the vertical surface 28a and the inclined surface 28b, preventing the phenomenon in which the light leaked into the inside of the hole H is directly transmitted to the illumination section 11, and the light leaked into the hole H is returned again to the inside of the light-guiding member 10, so that the inconvenience of losing the balance of the amount of light irradiated from the illumination section 11 is not caused.

[0062] Furthermore, by forming hole H in light-guiding member 10, it is possible to reflect light toward the inside of light-guiding member 10 without the light being emitted to the inside of hole H at the opening edge of hole H. The light reflected in this manner can be guided to the center in the width direction of annular portion 12, making the light uniform over the entire portion of illumination portion 11 exposed from opening 25 in front wall 24, thereby providing good illumination with no unevenness in illumination intensity.

[0063] Furthermore, the light from the light-emitting diode 2 that is not guided into the light-guiding member 10 is blocked by the rib body 27 and the light-shielding wall 29 inside the housing 20, which prevents the light from being diffused inside the housing 20 and reaching the insertion / removal port 1a of the connector 1 from the outer periphery of the light-illuminating section 11, thereby preventing the light from changing the distribution of the amount of light. The rib body 27 and the light-shielding wall 29 can also function to reflect light back to the light-guiding member 10, and this function makes it possible to guide the required amount of light to the light-illuminating section 11 even if a light-emitting diode 2 with a small amount of light is used.

[0064] Since the front wall 24 (wall member) can be manufactured from a material different from that of the main body portion (top wall, side wall, etc.) of the second housing 22, for example, when the connector unit A is installed inside a vehicle, by using a material that has the same interior color tone and surface texture as the interior walls of the vehicle, the connector unit A can be installed inside the vehicle without any sense of incongruity.

[0065] This connector unit A has slit-shaped mating recesses 3a formed on both sides of the connector 1 on the substrate 3, so that while the connector 1 is provided at the front end of the substrate 3, the annular portion 12 can be positioned in a position that covers the entire circumference of the connector 1, enabling the light-guiding member 10 to be stably supported on the substrate 3.

[0066] [Another embodiment] The present invention may be configured as follows other than the above-described embodiment (common numbers and symbols as in the embodiment are used to designate components having the same functions as in the embodiment).

[0067] (a) In the embodiment, hole H was formed in the annular portion 12 of the light-guiding member 10 on the side (lower side) away from the surface of the substrate 3 on which the connector 1 is mounted. However, instead, it is also conceivable to form hole H in the annular portion 12 on the surface opposite to the surface of the substrate 3 on which the connector 1 is mounted (the surface above the substrate 3).

[0068] In particular, in this alternative embodiment (a), by combining with the configuration in which the hole H is formed on the lower side of the annular portion 12 as shown in the embodiment, it is also possible to form the hole H on the upper and lower sides that sandwich the connector 1. In this way, by forming the hole H on two surfaces of the annular portion 12 that sandwich the connector 1, the amount of light guided from the light-emitting diode 2 (light-emitting body) to the illumination portion 11 can be adjusted more satisfactorily.

[0069] (b) The engaging protrusion 28 may be a simple rod-like or block-like shape. Even if the engaging protrusion 28 is formed into such a rod-like or block-like shape, it can still function to block light in the hole H.

[0070] (c) The front wall 24 (wall member) is configured to be supported by the first housing 21, or configured to be supported by the front end of the substrate 3. When the front wall 24 is configured to be supported by any of the first housing 21, the second housing 22, or the substrate 3, it may be configured to be detachable from the member on the supporting side. Alternatively, the front wall 24 may be formed integrally with either the first housing 21 or the second housing 22.

[0071] (d) The connector is not limited to USB (short for Universal Serial Bus) and may be, for example, another connector structure having a dedicated electrode for use in charging electronic devices.

[0072] (e) When information is accessed via the connector 1, the light emitting diode 2 (light emitter) may be configured to blink or change brightness or color of light emitted so that the fact that information is being accessed can be visually confirmed. Also, when the connector 1 is used for charging, the light may be emitted in a different form from that when information is being accessed.

[0073] (f) In the embodiment, light from two light emitting diodes 2 (light emitters) is guided to the light guide member 10, but instead, light is supplied from three or more light emitting diodes 2. By using many light emitting diodes 2 in this manner, the distribution of the light amount that illuminates the insertion / removal port 1a of the connector 1 from the illumination portion 11 can be well averaged.

[0074] (g) When three or more light-emitting diodes 2 are used as in another embodiment (c), for example, three or more arm portions 13 are provided in order to average the distribution of the amount of light. By setting the length of the arm portions 13, the position at which they are connected to the annular portion 12, and the thickness of the arm portions 13, the distribution of the amount of light illuminating the insertion / removal port 1a of the connector 1 can be more effectively averaged. [Industrial Applicability]

[0075] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in a connector unit capable of illuminating an insertion / removal port of a connector. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 1 Connector 1a Insertion / Extraction Port 2. Light-emitting diode (light emitter) 3. Substrate 3s Mounting surface 10 Light guide member 11 Illumination section 12 Annular section 14 Input part 14a 1st entrance part 14b 2nd entrance part 20. Cabinet 21 1st cabinet 22 Second cabinet 24 Front wall (wall member) 25 Aperture 27 Rib body (shading team) 28 Engagement protrusion 28c Contact surface 29 Shading wall (shading body) H hole

Claims

1. A substrate; a connector mounted on the board and into which a plug can be inserted; A light emitter mounted on the substrate and emitting light; The connector is mounted on the board, and the light from the light emitter is incident on the incident portion. a light guide member made of a transparent material for guiding the light to an illumination portion near the insertion / removal opening; a housing that houses the board and has an opening that exposes the insertion / removal opening and the illumination unit; picture, The light guide member is disposed outside the connector to guide the light incident from the incident portion to the illumination portion. an annular portion disposed in a region surrounding the circumference; the board has the connector and the light emitter mounted on the same mounting surface, The annular portion is formed in a thickness direction on the opposite side of the mounting surface with respect to the connector. A hole is provided through the A connector unit in which the housing has an engagement protrusion that is inserted into the hole while the substrate is housed therein, thereby blocking a portion of the light guided through the annular portion and adjusting the amount of light guided to the illumination portion.

2. The housing includes a first housing, a second housing, and a front end supported by the first housing or the second housing. a wall member having the opening for exposing the illumination portion, and the substrate is disposed in the first housing. The connector unit according to claim 1 , wherein the connector unit is supported by the main body or the second housing.

3. The wall member is integrated with either the first housing or the second housing.

3. The connector unit according to claim 2.

4. The substrate mounts a plurality of the connectors, and an outer periphery of at least one of the plurality of connectors is 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vicinity of the insertion / removal opening at the end is illuminated by the illumination portion of the light guide member. The connector unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

5. The housing blocks light from the light emitter that travels in a direction away from the incident portion. The connector unit according to claim 1 , further comprising a light blocking body for blocking light from the light source.

6. The incident portion has a first incident surface parallel to the mounting surface and a second incident surface inclined with respect to the first incident surface. The connector unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a second entrance surface in a position where the second entrance surface is ... Yat.

7. a vertical surface perpendicular to the mounting surface of the board when the engagement protrusion is inserted through the hole; and a sloped surface that is inclined with respect to the vertical surface when the fitting is inserted into the hole. A connector unit as described in any one of 1 to 6.

8. The housing is composed of a first housing and a second housing, and the front of the first housing and the front of the second housing The engaging projection is formed integrally with the substrate, and the engaging projection is inserted into the hole.

8. The connector according to claim 1, further comprising a contact surface adjacent to the connector when the connector is inserted. The connector unit according to claim 1 .

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