Patent Abstract:
A receptacle protection cover that is attachable to and detachable from a casing of an electronic device including a receptacle into which a plug is inserted, and that protects the receptacle provided in a concave part by covering the concave part formed in the casing, includes: a rectangular plate-shaped cover plate; and a plug attachment part that is provided on an inner side face of the cover plate and that fixes the plug such that a terminal part of the plug projects from one end or the other end of the cover plate in a longitudinal direction, wherein as the receptacle protection cover is detached from the casing, the receptacle protection cover serves as a jig for inserting the plug attached to the plug attachment part into the receptacle.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2013/062188 filed Apr. 25, 2013, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a receptacle protection cover that protects a receptacle included in an electronic device and to an electronic device that connects a plug and a receptacle. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Conventionally, when a plug is inserted into a receptacle (such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus)) provided in a device, the terminal part of the plug is inserted into the receptacle while one grips the housing of the plug with one&#39;s fingers; however, if the receptacle is provided at a deeply recessed position of the device, the fingers cannot reach the receptacle. In such a case, the terminal part is inserted into the receptacle while gripping the cable part; however, because the cable part is flexible, the insertion direction cannot be settled, and thus it is difficult to insert the terminal part into the receptacle. 
     When two receptacles are provided at a deeply recessed position, the receptacles are difficult to see, and thus there is a possibility that a terminal part is erroneously inserted into an unintended receptacle. 
     Furthermore, when a locking mechanism is not provided in a plug, the plug is held in place only by the contact pressure to the receptacle; therefore, the plug easily comes out when it is pulled. If the plug comes out during communication, there is a possibility that a device will operate erroneously or malfunction. 
     Patent Literature 1 discloses a configuration for preventing a cable housing from coming out of a connector (a plug from coming out of a receptacle) even when a force is applied to a cable in a direction in which the plug comes out. 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-266993 
     SUMMARY 
     Technical Problem 
     However, with the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 listed above, although it is possible to prevent a plug from coming out of a receptacle, if it is difficult to grip the housing when the plug is inserted into the receptacle, the problem with holding the cable part to insert the plug into the receptacle remains. 
     The present invention has been achieved in view of the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a receptacle protection cover and an electronic device in which, even when a receptacle is provided at a deeply recessed position, a plug can be easily inserted into the receptacle. 
     Solution to Problem 
     In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, an aspect of the present invention is a receptacle protection cover that is attachable to and detachable from a casing of an electronic device including a receptacle into which a plug is inserted, and that protects the receptacle provided in a concave part by covering the concave part formed in the casing, the receptacle protection cover including: a rectangular plate-shaped cover plate; and a plug attachment part that is provided on one face of the cover plate and that fixes the plug such that a terminal part of the plug projects from an end part of the cover plate in a longitudinal direction, wherein as the receptacle protection cover is detached from the casing, the receptacle protection cover serves as a jig for inserting the plug attached to the plug attachment part into the receptacle. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     In the receptacle protection cover and the electronic device according to the present invention, an effect is obtained where even when a receptacle is provided at a deeply recessed position, a plug can be easily inserted into the receptacle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a receptacle protection cover according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1B  is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the receptacle protection cover according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover according to the embodiment is used. 
         FIG. 3  is a partial enlarged view around a concave part of the electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover is used. 
         FIG. 4  is a partial enlarged view around a concave part of a front cover of the electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover is used. 
         FIG. 5A  is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a plug that is inserted into a receptacle. 
         FIG. 5B  is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a plug that is inserted into a receptacle. 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating a state where a plug is being fitted into a plug attachment part. 
         FIG. 7A  is a plan view illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part. 
         FIG. 7B  is a plan view illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part. 
         FIG. 8A  is a perspective view illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part. 
         FIG. 8B  is a perspective view illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part. 
         FIG. 9A  is a partial cross-sectional view of an electronic device with a receptacle protection cover in a closed state. 
         FIG. 9B  is a partial cross-sectional view of the electronic device with the receptacle protection cover in an open state. 
         FIG. 9C  is a diagram illustrating a state where the receptacle protection cover is being detached from a front cover. 
         FIG. 10A  is a diagram illustrating a state where a plug having a non-matching shape has been attached to a plug attachment part. 
         FIG. 10B  is a diagram illustrating a state where a plug having a non-matching shape has been attached to a plug attachment part. 
         FIG. 11A  is a diagram illustrating a state where one end side of a receptacle protection cover is being inserted into a concave part. 
         FIG. 11B  is a diagram illustrating a state where the other end side of the receptacle protection cover is being inserted into a concave part. 
         FIG. 12A  is a diagram illustrating a state where a cover plate is inserted into a concave part from one end side. 
         FIG. 12B  is a diagram illustrating a state where a cover plate is inserted into a concave part from the other end side. 
         FIG. 13A  is a diagram illustrating a state where a receptacle protection cover having been inserted into a concave part from one end side is fixed to a front cover. 
         FIG. 13B  is a diagram illustrating a state where a receptacle protection cover having been inserted into a concave part from the other end side is fixed to a front cover. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Exemplary embodiments of a receptacle protection cover according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments. 
     Embodiment 
       FIGS. 1A and 1B  are diagrams each illustrating a configuration of a receptacle protection cover according to an embodiment of the present invention. A receptacle protection cover  3  includes a substantially rectangular plate-shaped cover plate  30 . Bearing parts  311  and plug attachment parts  312  and  313  are provided on an inner side face  31  of the cover plate  30 , and engagement projections  321 ,  322 , and  323  are provided on an outer side face  32  thereof. 
     The plug attachment part  312  and the plug attachment part  313  are provided at positions having different distances in the longitudinal direction from the end parts of the cover plate  30 . Specifically, the distance between the plug attachment part  312  and one end  3   a  of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction is longer than the distance between the plug attachment part  313  and the other end  3   b  of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction. The engagement projection  321  is provided at the one end  3   a  of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction, and the engagement projections  322  and  323  are provided at the other end  3   b . The bearing parts  311  are provided such that one of them is at the one end  3   a  of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction and the other one of them is at the other end  3   b  of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction. A width “a” of the plug attachment part  312  is set to be larger than a width “b” of the plug attachment part  313 . 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover according to the embodiment is used.  FIG. 3  is a partial enlarged view around a concave part of the electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover is used.  FIG. 4  is a partial enlarged view around a concave part of a front cover of the electronic device in which the receptacle protection cover is used. In an electronic device  1 , a part of a casing thereof is constituted by a front cover  2 . On the front cover  2 , there is a concave part  21  that is concave so that a substantially rectangular bottom face  211  is surrounded by an inner wall  220 . The electronic device  1  includes two receptacles  11  and  12  having different shapes. The receptacles  11  and  12  are provided such that plugs  4  and  5 , described later, are insertable and removable through plug insertion holes  212  and  213 , which are described later and are provided in the bottom face  211  of the concave part  21 . 
     The receptacle protection cover  3  protects the receptacles  11  and  12  as the receptacle protection cover  3  is attached to the front cover  2  so as to cover the concave part  21 . 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  are diagrams each illustrating a configuration of a plug that is inserted into a receptacle, where  FIG. 5A  illustrates the configuration of the plug  4  that is inserted into the receptacle  11  and  FIG. 5B  illustrates the configuration of the plug  5  that is inserted into the receptacle  12 . The plug  4  includes a terminal part  41 , a housing  42 , and a cable part  43 . The terminal part  41  is a portion that is inserted into the receptacle  11  to make the electrical connection. The housing  42  is a portion that protects a connecting portion between the terminal part  41  and the cable part  43 , and the housing  42  is provided with a tension relieving part  421  on the cable part  43  side. The tension relieving part  421  relieves the tension created around the boundary between the housing  42  and the cable part  43  when the cable part  43  is bent. The cable part  43  is connected to a device as a communication counterpart or to a plug connected to the device. The plug  5  includes a terminal part  51 , a housing  52 , and a cable part  53 . The terminal part  51  is a portion that is inserted into the receptacle  12  to make the electrical connection. The housing  52  is a portion that protects a connecting portion between the terminal part  51  and the cable part  53 , and the housing  52  is provided with a tension relieving part  521  on the cable part  53  side. The tension relieving part  521  relieves the tension created around the boundary between the housing  52  and the cable part  53  when the cable part  53  is bent. The cable part  53  is connected to a device as a communication counterpart or to a plug connected to the device. Because the receptacle  11  and the receptacle  12  have different shapes, respective parts of the plug  4  and the plug  5  that are inserted into the receptacles  11  and  12  have different shapes and different sizes. In this example, the housing  42  of the plug  4  is assumed to be wider and longer than the housing  52  of the plug  5 . 
     A width “c” of the tension relieving part  421  is substantially equal to the width “a” of the plug attachment part  312  (c≅a). A width “d” of the tension relieving part  521  is substantially equal to the width “b” of the plug attachment part  313  (d≅b). 
     Because the width “c” of the tension relieving part  421  is substantially equal to the width “a” of the plug attachment part  312 , the plug  4  is fixed to the receptacle protection cover  3  as the tension relieving part  421  is fitted into the plug attachment part  312 . Because the width “d” of the tension relieving part  521  is substantially equal to the width “b” of the plug attachment part  313 , the plug  5  is fixed to the receptacle protection cover  3  as the tension relieving part  521  is fitted into the plug attachment part  313 .  FIG. 6  is a diagram illustrating a state where a plug is being fitted into a plug attachment part. The plug  5  is fixed to the receptacle protection cover  3  as the tension relieving part  521  is inserted into the plug attachment part  313  in the direction of arrow A so as to attach the plug  5  to the receptacle protection cover  3 . 
     The front cover  2  includes, in the concave part  21 , shaft parts  216 , the plug insertion holes  212  and  213 , guides  214  and  215 , and engagement concave parts  217 ,  218 , and  219 . The engagement concave part  217  is provided in a portion adjacent to the plug insertion hole  212  of the inner wall  220 , and the engagement concave parts  218  and  219  are provided in a portion adjacent to the plug insertion hole  213  of the inner wall  220 . A pair of guides  214  is provided in a rib shape to sandwich the engagement concave part  217  therebetween, and the guide  215  is provided in a rib shape between the engagement concave parts  218  and  219 . The plug insertion holes  212  and  213  are provided in the bottom face  211  of the concave part  21 , and thus the plugs  4  and  5  are insertable into the receptacles  11  and  12  within the electronic device  1  through the plug insertion holes  212  and  213 . 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  are plan views each illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part, where  FIG. 7A  illustrates a state where the plug  4  has been attached to the plug attachment part  312  and  FIG. 7B  illustrates a state where the plug  5  has been attached to the plug attachment part  313 .  FIGS. 8A and 8B  are perspective views each illustrating a state where a plug has been attached to a plug attachment part, where  FIG. 8A  illustrates a state where the plug  4  has been attached to the plug attachment part  312  and  FIG. 8B  illustrates a state where the plug  5  has been attached to the plug attachment part  313 . By attaching the plug  4  to the plug attachment part  312 , a portion of the terminal part  41  projects from the one end  3   a  of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, by attaching the plug  5  to the plug attachment part  313 , a portion of the terminal part  51  projects from the other end  3   b  of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction. 
     By engaging the bearing parts  311  with the shaft parts  216  of the front cover  2 , the receptacle protection cover  3  is pivotally supported between a closed state where the concave part  21  is covered and an open state where the concave part  21  is exposed.  FIG. 9A  is a partial cross-sectional view of an electronic device with a receptacle protection cover in a closed state.  FIG. 9B  is a partial cross-sectional view of the electronic device with the receptacle protection cover in an open state. The receptacle protection cover  3  can engage the bearing parts  311  with the shaft parts  216  or cancel the engagement therebetween in a fully open state, and thus it is possible to attach and detach the receptacle protection cover  3  to and from the front cover  2 .  FIG. 9C  is a diagram illustrating a state where the receptacle protection cover is being detached from a front cover. In a fully open state, the engagement projection  321  formed on the outer side face  32  of the cover plate  30  is in contact with the front cover  2 . Therefore, by applying a force in a direction (direction indicated by arrow B) of further opening the receptacle protection cover  3  in the fully open state to an end part  314  on the long side, which is the side opposite to the side where the bearing parts  311  of the cover plate  30  are provided, and by employing the principle of leverage in which the end part  314  is the point of effort, the engagement projection  321  is the fulcrum, and the bearing parts  311  are the points of load, the bearing parts  311  move in the direction of arrow C. With this configuration, the engagement between the shaft parts  216  and the bearing parts  311  is canceled, and the receptacle protection cover  3  is separated from the front cover  2 . Commonly-known structures can be used as the bearing structure in which shaft parts and bearing parts are separable when in a fully open state. 
       FIGS. 10A and 10B  are diagrams each illustrating a state where a plug having a non-matching shape has been attached to a plug attachment part, where  FIG. 10A  illustrates a state where the plug  5  is attached to the plug attachment part  312  and  FIG. 10B  is a diagram illustrating a state where the plug  4  is attached to the plug attachment part  313 . The length of the housing  52  of the plug  5  is shorter than that of the housing  42  of the plug  4 , and the distance between the plug attachment part  312  and the one end  3   a  of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction is longer than that between the plug attachment part  313  and the other end  3   b  of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, when the plug  5  is attached to the plug attachment part  312 , the terminal part  51  does not project from the one end  3   a  side of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction. In contrast, when the plug  4  is to be attached to the plug attachment part  313 , because the width of the tension relieving part  421  is larger than that of the plug attachment part  313  (c&gt;b), the tension relieving part  421  interferes with the plug attachment part  313 , so that the plug  4  cannot be inserted into the plug attachment part  313 . Therefore, when the plug  4  is attached to the plug attachment part  313  and when the plug  5  is attached to the plug attachment part  312 , in both cases, it is possible to easily determine that the attachment orientation is reversed. While there has been exemplified a configuration in which the plug attachment part  313  itself functions as an erroneous-attachment prevention projection by the tension relieving part  421  interfering with the plug attachment part  313 , it is also possible to provide an erroneous-attachment prevention projection, which inhibits attachment of a plug having a non-matching shape, separately from the plug attachment part. 
     The one end  3   a  side of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction engages with the engagement concave part  217  only on the plug insertion hole  212  side, and the other end  3   b  side of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction engages with the engagement concave parts  218  and  219  only on the plug insertion hole  213  side. That is, the position of the engagement concave part  217  on the plug insertion hole  212  side and the positions of the engagement projections  322  and  323  on the other end  3   b  side of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction do not match each other, and the positions of the engagement concave parts  218  and  219  on the plug insertion hole  213  side and the position of the engagement projection  321  on the one end  3   a  side of the cover plate  30  in the longitudinal direction do not match each other; therefore, erroneous insertion of the plugs can be prevented. 
       FIG. 11A  is a diagram illustrating a state where one end side of a receptacle protection cover is being inserted into a concave part. To facilitate the understanding of the position of the engagement projection  321 , in  FIG. 11A , the receptacle protection cover  3  is illustrated with the outer side face  32  facing upward; however, in practice, the receptacle protection cover  3  is inserted into the concave part  21  in a state where the inner side face  31  faces upward. Because the position of the engagement projection  321  and the position of the engagement concave part  217  match each other, the engagement projection  321  and the engagement concave part  217  can engage with each other.  FIG. 11B  is a diagram illustrating a state where the other end side of a receptacle protection cover is being inserted into a concave part. To facilitate the understanding of the positions of the engagement projections  322  and  323 , in  FIG. 11B , the receptacle protection cover  3  is illustrated with the outer side face  32  facing upward; however, in practice, the receptacle protection cover  3  is inserted into the concave part  21  in a state where the inner side face  31  faces upward. Because the positions of the engagement projections  322  and  323  and the positions of the engagement concave parts  218  and  219  match each other, the engagement projections  322  and  323  and the engagement concave parts  218  and  219  can engage with each other. 
     When the plug  4  having been attached to the plug attachment part  312  is inserted into the receptacle  11 , the cover plate  30  is inserted into the concave part  21  from the one end  3   a  side in the longitudinal direction. At this point, because the cover plate  30  is guided by causing the engagement projection  321  to be sandwiched between the guides  214 , the plug  4  can be easily put through the plug insertion hole  212  provided in the bottom face  211  of the concave part  21 .  FIG. 12A  is a diagram illustrating a state where a cover plate is inserted into a concave part from one end side. The cover plate  30  is guided by causing the engagement projection  321  to be sandwiched between the guides  214 . When the cover plate  30  is inserted into the concave part  21  from the other end  3   b  side, the guides  214  inhibit the engagement projections  322  and  323  from advancing into the concave part  21 ; therefore, the cover plate  30  can be inserted only part-way into the concave part  21 . 
     Similarly, when the plug  5  having been attached to the plug attachment part  313  is inserted into the receptacle  12 , the cover plate  30  is inserted into the concave part  21  from the other end  3   b  side in the longitudinal direction. At this point, because the cover plate  30  is guided by causing the guide  215  to be sandwiched between the engagement projections  322  and  323 , the plug  5  can be easily put through the plug insertion hole  213  provided in the bottom face  211  of the concave part  21 .  FIG. 12B  is a diagram illustrating a state where a cover plate is inserted into a concave part from the other end side. The cover plate  30  is guided by causing the guide  215  to be sandwiched between the engagement projections  322  and  323 . When the cover plate  30  is inserted into the concave part  21  from the one end  3   a  side, the guide  215  inhibits the engagement projection  321  from advancing into the concave part  21 ; therefore, the cover plate  30  can be inserted only partway into the concave part  21 . 
     When the cover plate  30  is inserted deep enough to have the plug  4  inserted into the receptacle  11 , the engagement projection  321  and the engagement concave part  217  engage with each other, and the receptacle protection cover  3  is fixed to the front cover  2 . With this configuration, the plug  4  is locked in a state where the plug  4  is inserted into the receptacle  11 .  FIG. 13A  is a diagram illustrating a state where a receptacle protection cover having been inserted into a concave part from one end side is fixed to a front cover. As is the case of the above configuration, when the cover plate  30  is inserted deep enough to have the plug  5  inserted into the receptacle  12 , the engagement projections  322  and  323  and the engagement concave parts  218  and  219  engage with each other, and the receptacle protection cover  3  is fixed to the front cover  2 . With this configuration, the plug  5  is locked in a state where the plug  5  is inserted into the receptacle  12 .  FIG. 13B  is a diagram illustrating a state where a receptacle protection cover having been inserted into a concave part from the other end side is fixed to a front cover. 
     In the above descriptions, a case where an electronic device including two receptacles having different shapes has been exemplified; however, it is also permissible that the electronic device includes only one receptacle (or one type of receptacle). In this case, it suffices that one plug attachment part is provided in the receptacle protection cover. 
     According to the present embodiment, because a plug can be inserted into a receptacle while a receptacle protection cover is held by a user, even if the concave part is deep and the user&#39;s fingers cannot reach enough into the concave part, the plug can be easily inserted into the receptacle. 
     Even when the electronic device includes two types of receptacles having different shapes, it is still possible to accommodate the two plug shapes with a single protection cover. 
     When a plug is inserted into a receptacle, an engagement projection is guided to an engagement concave part along a guide; therefore, the plug can be easily inserted into the receptacle. Thus, erroneous insertion of a plug and damage to the receptacle and the plug due to such erroneous insertion can be prevented. 
     When a plug is inserted into a receptacle, the plug is locked due to the engagement between an engagement projection and an engagement concave part, and thus it is possible to prevent erroneous operations and malfunctions of a device due to the plug coming out of the receptacle during communication. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     As described above, the receptacle protection cover and the electronic device according to the present invention are useful in terms of enabling a plug to be easily connected to a receptacle that is provided in a concave part, which is provided in a casing of an electronic device and has a narrow width. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
       1  electronic device,  2  front cover,  3  receptacle protection cover,  3   a  one end,  3   b  other end,  4 ,  5  plug,  11 ,  12  receptacle,  21  concave part,  30  cover plate,  31  inner side face,  32  outer side face,  41 ,  51  terminal part,  42 ,  52  housing,  43 ,  53  cable part,  211  bottom face,  212 ,  213  plug insertion hole,  214 ,  215  guide,  216  shaft part,  217 ,  218 ,  219  engagement concave part,  220  inner wall,  311  bearing part,  312 ,  313  plug attachment part,  314  end part,  321 ,  322 ,  323  engagement projection,  421 ,  521  tension relieving part.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7