Patent Publication Number: US-7591670-B2

Title: Connector device having counter thereof

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to connectors, and more particularly to an electrical connector having a counter. 
   DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
   An electrical connector is a device for joining electrical circuits together. Most electrical connectors provide an electrical connection that can be easily established and separated, and connectors are also available to facilitate permanent connections. There are hundreds of types of electrical connectors used in the fields of peripheral equipment, communication devices, and consumer products and so on. Quality of the electrical connectors is quite important for transmission reliability of signals therein. 
   Plug and socket connectors are usually made up of a male plug and a female socket. A plug generally has one or more pins or prongs that are insertable into one or more openings of a mating socket. The connection between the mating plug and socket must be sufficiently tight to make a good electrical connection. Generally, a cable with two plug connectors at two terminals thereof is needed to connect two different electronic components for testing electrical connection thereof. For testing, one of the plug connectors is inserted into the corresponding socket connector of one of the electronic components. Another plug connector is plugged into and pulled out of the other socket connector repeatedly. Typically, the number of times the plug is inserted and removed is counted manually, resulting in human error. 
   What is desired, therefore, is a connector device having a counter thereof that can display a count of plug-in times of the connector. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In one preferred embodiment, a connector device having a counter thereof includes a connector, a micro control unit, an encoder, a display drive unit, and a display unit. The connector provides a power signal to the micro control unit when plugged an electrified device. The micro control unit outputs data and clock signals to the display drive unit to make the display drive unit count plug-in times of the connector, and also outputs a drive signal to the encoder after receiving the power signal. The encoder encodes the drive signal and outputs corresponding signals to the display drive unit to make the display drive unit control the display unit to display a count of plug-in times of the connector. 
   Other advantages and novel features will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a connector device having a counter thereof in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 2  is a circuit diagram of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a connector device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a connector  10 , a micro control unit  20 , an encoder  30 , a display drive unit  40 , and a display unit  50 . The micro control unit  20 , encoder  30 , display drive  40 , and display unit  50  are incorporated to the connector  10 . The connector  10 , encoder  30 , and the display drive unit  40  are electrically connected to the micro control unit  20 . The encoder  30  is electrically connected to the display unit  50  via the display drive unit  40 . The micro control unit  20  controls the display unit  50  to display a number of times the connector  10  has been plugged-in. 
   The micro control unit  20  includes a first micro-controller  22 , a second micro-controller  24 , a battery  26 , a resistor R, and a reset switch K. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, both the first micro-controller  22  and the second micro-controller  24  are PIC10F200s produced by Microchip Corporation. According to written programs of the micro control unit  20 , a detecting pin  0  of the first micro-controller  22  is connected to a power pin of the connector  10  for receiving a power signal from the connector  10 . A data exchange pin  3  of the first micro-controller  22  outputs an actuating signal to a data exchange pin  0  of the second micro-controller  24  for controlling the second micro-controller  24  to output a drive signal to the encoder  30 . Power pins VCC of both the first micro-controller  22  and the second micro-controller  24  are coupled to the battery  26  via the resistor R. A reset pin  1  of the second micro-controller  24  is grounded via the reset switch K. 
   The encoder  30  is a 74139 2-4 encoder. Input pins A, B of the encoder  30  are respectively coupled to encode pins  2 ,  3  of the second micro-controller  24  to receive the drive signal. The encoder  30  then encodes the drive signal and outputs a set of encoded signals to the display drive unit  40 . 
   The display drive unit  40  includes four 8-bit serial input/parallel output shift-registers  42 . In this embodiment, the shift-registers  42  are 74164 chips. The shift-registers  42  can transform serial signals into parallel signals. A DATA pin and a CLK pin of each shift-register  42  are respectively connected to data pin  1  and clock pin  2  of the first micro-controller  22 . Data and clock signals from the first micro-controller  22  can make the display drive unit  40  to count plug-in times of the connector  10 . Selective pins MR of the shift-registers  42  are respectively connected to input pins D 1 , D 2 , D 3 , and D 4  of the encoder  30 . The display drive unit  40  transforms the encoded signals from the encoder  30  into signals acceptable by the display unit  50  and then drives the display unit  50  to show a number of times the connector  10  has been plugged-in. 
   The display unit  50  includes four numeric light emitting diode (LED) indicators  52 . Each indicator  52  is connected to an output pin of the corresponding shift-register  42 . The indicators  52  are located side by side on the surface of the connector device. 
   Before testing, the first, and second micro-controllers  22 ,  24  are programmed and tested. The connector device is reset by the reset switch K if the first, and second micro-controllers  22 ,  24  test good. 
   In use, every time the connector  10  is plugged into an electrical device which is electrified, the connector  10  receives the power signal. The first micro-controller  22  then receives the power signal from the connector  10  and outputs the actuating signal to the second micro-controller  24 . The first micro-controller  22  also outputs the data and clock signals to the display drive unit  40  to make the display drive unit  40  count. The second micro-controller  24  outputs the drive signal to the encoder  30  after receiving the actuating signal. The encoder  30  encodes the drive signal and outputs the encoded signals to the display drive unit  40 . According to the encoded signals, the display drive unit  40  controls the display unit  50  to show a counting result, that is, the number of plug-in times of the connector  10 . It is clear that the connector device is accurate in counting the number of plug-in times of the connector  10 . 
   It is known that the micro control unit  20  also can be a signal microprocessor chip which has enough pins for any programming required. 
   It is believed that the present embodiment and its advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the example hereinbefore described merely being a preferred or exemplary embodiment.