Patent Description:
With rapid development of mobile terminals, the mobile terminals have become indispensable tools in people's lives and have brought great convenience to all aspects of users' lives. However, with an increasing number of types of mobile terminals, there are also many structural differences between different types of mobile terminals. For example, current Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces arranged on different types of mobile terminals are different, and if a mobile terminal needs to transmit data through a data cable, but the interface of the mobile terminal and the interface of the data cable belong to different types of interfaces, then there is great limitation in the use of the mobile terminal.

The related prior art <CIT> discloses a system relating to the preamble of claim <NUM> with an electronic product charging adapter comprising a socket portion and a plug portion comprising a plug body and a circuit board, wherein plugs of different specifications are arranged at both end of the plug body respectively and electrically connected to the circuit board located between the two plugs. <CIT> discloses a composite connection socket includes a metal housing, an insulative main body, a first row conductive terminal and a second row conductive terminal. <CIT> relates to a connector with a multi type compatible plug. <CIT> provides a joint conversion structure of a data connection device. <CIT> discloses a dual orientation plug connector having a connector tab with first and second major opposing sides and a plurality of electrical contacts carried by the connector tab.

The scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of the appended claims. More precisely, in one aspect, the present disclosure provides an interface adapter system according to claim <NUM> and further detailed in the dependent claims referring to claim <NUM>.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, when the male connector is inserted into the female connector through the first end, the third contact is in contact with the first contact, and at this time, a data cable can match the second interface at the second end of the male connector; and when the male connector is inserted into the female connector through the second end, the fourth contact is in contact with the second contact, and at this time, the data cable can match the first interface at the first end of the male connector.

In order to illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure more apparently, the accompanying drawings required in the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be briefly introduced below. It is evident that the drawings used in the following description relate to only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and based on these drawings, the other drawings can be obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without exercising any creative work.

Embodiments of the present invention provide an interface adapter system comprising an interface adapter device and a mobile terminal to solve the problem that there is great limitation in the use of the mobile terminal due to the interface of the mobile terminal belonging to a different type from an interface of a data cable when it is required to transmit data with the data cable.

In order to solve this technical problem, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are a part, rather than all, of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, an interface adapter device applied to a mobile terminal including a female connector <NUM> is shown. The female connector <NUM> has a first contact <NUM> and a second contact <NUM>, and the interface adapter device includes a male connector <NUM> and a third contact <NUM> and a fourth contact <NUM> provided on the male connector <NUM>. The male connector <NUM> has a first end provided with a first interface <NUM>, and a second end provided with a second interface <NUM>, and the first and second ends are two opposite ends of the male connector <NUM>. The third contact <NUM> is electrically coupled to the second interface <NUM>, the fourth contact <NUM> is electrically coupled to the first interface <NUM>, and the first and second ends of the male connector <NUM> are insertable into the female connector <NUM>. When the male connector <NUM> is inserted into the female connector <NUM> through the first end, the third contact <NUM> is in contact with the first contact <NUM>; and when the male connector <NUM> is inserted into the female connector <NUM> through the second end, the fourth contact <NUM> is in contact with the second contact <NUM>.

A first state is a case where the male connector <NUM> is inserted into the female connector <NUM> through the first end. The first state is specifically shown in <FIG>, in which the male connector <NUM> is inserted into the female connector <NUM> through the first end along a direction A, so that the third contact <NUM> comes into contact with the first contact <NUM> and the first interface <NUM> is located within the mobile terminal, and the second interface <NUM> is exposed on a surface of the mobile terminal or outside the mobile terminal. Thereby, it is convenient for a user to insert a data cable having an interface of a same type as the second interface <NUM>. Based on the first state shown in <FIG>, the male connector <NUM> can be turned <NUM> degrees in a horizontal direction of the mobile terminal, and then turned <NUM> degrees in a vertical direction of the mobile terminal, so that the male connector <NUM> can be inserted into the female connector <NUM> through the second end, which is a second state. Specifically, the second state is shown in <FIG>, in which the male connector <NUM> is inserted into the female connector <NUM> through the second end along a direction B, so that the fourth contact <NUM> comes into contact with the second contact <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> is located within the mobile terminal, and the first interface <NUM> is exposed on the surface the mobile terminal or outside the mobile terminal. As a result, it is convenient for a user to insert a data cable having an interface of a same type as the first interface <NUM>.

The male connector <NUM> may have an external shape of rectangular parallelepiped. For example, the third contact <NUM> and the fourth contact <NUM> may be arranged on two opposite faces of the male connector <NUM>, respectively; and a first end surface at the first end and a second end surface at the second end of the male connector <NUM> are perpendicular to the above two faces, respectively. In addition, the external shape of the male connector <NUM> can be based on the rectangular parallelepiped as described above, and one face of the rectangular parallelepiped can be set to an arc face with the purpose of preventing reverse insertion of the male connector into the female connector, for example.

The first contact <NUM> on the female connector <NUM> is of a same type as the third contact <NUM> on the male connector <NUM>, and the first interface <NUM> at the first end of the male connector <NUM> has a type corresponding to the first contact <NUM> and the third contact <NUM>. Similarly, the second contact <NUM> on female connector <NUM> is of a same type as the fourth contact <NUM> on male connector <NUM>, and the second interface <NUM> at the second end of the male connector <NUM> has a type corresponding to the second contact <NUM> and the fourth contact <NUM>. For example, if both the first contact <NUM> and the third contact <NUM> are Universal Serial Bus (USB) Type-C metal contacts, then the type of the first interface <NUM> should also be a USB Type-C metal interface; and if both the second contact <NUM> and the fourth contact <NUM> are Micro-USB metal contacts, then the second interface <NUM> should also be a Micro-USB metal interface.

The third contact <NUM> and the fourth contact <NUM> may be any two types of USB Type-C, Micro-USB, and lightning. The specific types of the third contact <NUM> and the fourth contact <NUM> on the male connector <NUM> can be determined according to the specific types of the first contact <NUM> and the second contact <NUM> of the female connector <NUM> on the mobile terminal.

According to the invention the third contact <NUM> and the fourth contact <NUM> are located on different planes on the male connector <NUM>. It should be noted that the specific positions of the third contact <NUM> and the fourth contact <NUM> are not limited herein.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the male connector is inserted into the female connector through the first end, the third contact is in contact with the first contact, and at this time, the data cable can match the second interface at the second end of the male connector; and when the male connector is inserted into the female connector through the second end, the fourth contact is in contact with the second contact, and at this time, the data cable can match the first interface at the first end of the male connector. In this way, two types of data cables, which have interfaces of the same types as the first and second interfaces respectively, can be compatible with the same mobile terminal, so that the mobile terminal is not limited to matching only one type of data cable and the use of the mobile terminal is more convenient, which reduces the limitation in the use of the mobile terminal.

The third contact <NUM> is provided on a first plane on the male connector <NUM>, and the fourth contact <NUM> is provided on a second plane on the male connector <NUM>, which is arranged opposite to the first plane. An orthogonal projection of the third contact <NUM> on the second plane does not intersect the fourth contact <NUM> on the second plane.

The first contact <NUM> and the second contact <NUM> of the female connector <NUM> on the mobile terminal are arranged side by side, the third contact <NUM> is provided on the first plane on the male connector <NUM>, and the fourth contact <NUM> is provided on the second plane on the male connector <NUM>. The orthogonal projection of the third contact <NUM> on the second plane does not intersect the fourth contact <NUM> on the second plane, that is, as seen in a direction perpendicular to the second plane, the orthogonal projection of the third contact <NUM> and the fourth contact <NUM> on the second plane are separate from each other without any overlapping portion. Moreover, the orthogonal projection of the third contact <NUM> and the fourth contact <NUM> are located on a same horizontal line.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the first contact and the second contact of the female connector on the mobile terminal are arranged side by side, the third contact is provided on the first plane on the male connector, and the fourth contact is provided on the second plane on the male connector, and the orthogonal projection of the third contact on the second plane does not intersect the fourth contact on the second plane. With the above-mentioned arrangements of the third contact on the first plane and the fourth contact on the second plane, it is easier to distinguish the third contact from the fourth contact, thereby preventing the occurrence of confusion between the third contact and the fourth contact due to the arrangement of the third and the fourth contacts on the same plane.

According to the invention, when the first interface <NUM> is in the female connector <NUM>, the second interface <NUM> is not in the female connector <NUM>; or when the second interface <NUM> is in the female connector <NUM>, the first interface <NUM> is not in the female connector <NUM>.

When the first end of the male connector <NUM> is inserted into the female connector <NUM>, the first contact <NUM> is in contact with the third contact <NUM>, and the second end of the male connector <NUM> is exposed outside the female connector <NUM>. Thus, the second interface <NUM> is not in the female connector <NUM>, but the first interface <NUM> is already in the female connector <NUM>.

When the second end of the male connector <NUM> is inserted into the female connector <NUM>, the second contact <NUM> is in contact with the fourth contact <NUM>, and the first end of the male connector <NUM> is exposed outside the female connector <NUM>. Thus, the first interface <NUM> is not in the female connector <NUM>, but the second interface <NUM> is already in the female connector <NUM>.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, when the first end of the male connector is inserted into the female connector, and the second end of the male connector is exposed outside the female connector; or when the second end of the male connector is inserted into the female connector, the first end of the male connector is exposed outside the female connector. Through the above arrangements, it can be more convenient and labor-saving to pull the male connector out of the female connector.

Optionally, the male connector <NUM> is provided with a first groove <NUM>, a second groove <NUM>, a third groove <NUM>, and a fourth groove <NUM>, the first groove <NUM> and the second groove <NUM> are symmetrically distributed with respect to a center which is the third contact <NUM>, and the third groove <NUM> and the fourth groove <NUM> are symmetrically distributed with respect to a center which is the fourth contact <NUM>. Furthermore, a reserved port <NUM> is provided on the mobile terminal.

When both the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> are located in the female connector <NUM>, the reserved port <NUM> is in communication with the second groove <NUM> or the fourth groove <NUM>. Or, when both the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> are located in the female connector <NUM>, the reserved port <NUM> is in communication with the first groove <NUM> or the third groove <NUM>.

The first groove <NUM>, the second groove <NUM>, the third groove <NUM> and the fourth groove <NUM> may have a same shape. When communicating with the reserved port <NUM> on the mobile terminal, the first groove <NUM>, the second groove <NUM>, the third groove <NUM> and the fourth groove <NUM> may have larger lengths than that of the reserved port <NUM>, and they may have smaller widths than that of the reserved port <NUM>.

When both the first interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> are located in the female connector <NUM>, the reserved port <NUM> is in communication with the second groove <NUM> or the fourth groove <NUM>. Or, when both the second interface <NUM> and the second interface <NUM> are located in the female connector <NUM>, the reserved port <NUM> is in communication with the first groove <NUM> or the third groove <NUM>. In these cases, if it is required to pull the male connector <NUM> out of the female connector <NUM>, an object such as a pick can be used to push against the first groove <NUM>, the second groove <NUM>, the third groove <NUM> or the fourth groove <NUM> so that the male connector <NUM> can be pulled out of the female connector <NUM>.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by providing the first, second, third and fourth grooves on the male connector, when both the first and second interfaces are located in the female connector, the reserved port is in communication with the second or fourth groove; or when both the first and second interfaces are located in the female connector, the reserved port is in communication with the first or third groove, and in these cases, it is easier to pull the male connector out of the female connector.

Optionally, the first contact <NUM> is a Micro-USB metal contact, the second contact <NUM> is a USB Type-C metal contact, the third contact <NUM> is a Micro-USB metal contact, the fourth contact <NUM> is a USB Type-C metal contact, the first interface <NUM> is a USB Type-C interface, and the second interface <NUM> is a Micro-USB interface.

When the first contact <NUM> is the Micro-USB metal contact, the second contact <NUM> may be the USB Type-C metal contact, the third contact <NUM> may be the Micro-USB metal contact, the fourth contact <NUM> may be the USB Type-C metal contact, the first interface <NUM> may be the USB Type-C interface, and the second interface <NUM> may be the Micro-USB interface. Of course, when the first contact <NUM> is the USB Type-C metal contact, the second contact <NUM> may be the Micro-USB metal contact, the third contact <NUM> may be the USB Type-C metal contact, the fourth contact <NUM> may be the Micro-USB metal contact, the first interface <NUM> may be the Micro-USB interface, and the second interface <NUM> may be the USB Type-C metal contact.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by configuring the first and third contacts to be of the same type, the second and fourth contacts to be of the same type, the second interface to correspond to the type of the first and third contacts and the first interface to correspond to the type of the second and fourth contacts, it is possible to achieve the conversion of the two interfaces USB Type-C and Micro-USB on the mobile terminal and increase application scenarios of the mobile terminal.

Optionally, the female connector <NUM> is further provided with a first lightening metal contact which is arranged side by side with the second contact <NUM>, and the male connector <NUM> is provided with a second lightning metal contact, which is in contact with the first lightning metal contact when the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM> is in the female interface <NUM>, and the Micro-USB interface contains a lightning interface therein.

The female connector <NUM> may be further provided with the first lightening metal contact, which is arranged side by side with the first contact <NUM> and the second contact <NUM>. When the first interface <NUM> or the second interface <NUM> is in the female connector <NUM>, the second lightning metal contact on the male connector <NUM> is in contact with the first lightning metal contact, and an end interface is connected as a lightning interface in the Micro-USB interface. Since the lightning interface has a smaller length than the Micro-USB interface, the end interface can be connected as the lightning interface in the Micro-USB interface.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, through the above arrangements, the mobile terminal can also enable the conversion between these three types of interfaces, i.e., USB Type-C, Micro-USB, and lightning, thereby further increasing the application scenarios of the mobile terminal and reducing the limitation in the use of the mobile terminal.

As shown in <FIG>, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a mobile terminal that includes a female connector <NUM> provided with a first contact <NUM> and a second contact <NUM>.

The first contact <NUM> and the second contact <NUM> are arranged side by side on the female connector <NUM> of the mobile terminal. For example, the first contact <NUM> and the second contact <NUM> may be arranged at an upper left corner and an upper right corner on a plane of the mobile terminal, respectively, or may be arranged on different planes of the mobile terminal.

The female connector <NUM> of the mobile terminal may be provided with at least two contacts. For example, it may be provided with two, three, or four contacts, and accordingly, the male connector may be also provided with two, three or four contacts, and the types of the contacts on the male connector are in one-to-one correspondence with the types of the contacts on the female connector. It should be noted that there are generally three types of interfaces for the mobile terminal in the related art. Therefore, at most three types of contacts are provided herein.

The above mobile terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile internet device (MID), or a wearable device and so on.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by providing the first and second contacts on the mobile terminal and then using them with the male connector to realize the conversion between the two types of interfaces which correspond to the first contact and the second contact, respectively, the application scenarios of the mobile terminal is increased.

Optionally, the first contact <NUM> is a Micro-USB metal contact and the second contact <NUM> is a USB Type-C metal contact; or, the first contact <NUM> is a USB Type-C metal contact and the second contact <NUM> is a Micro-USB metal contact.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first contact is the Micro-USB metal contact and the second contact is the USB Type-C metal contact; or the first contact is the USB Type-C metal contact and the second contact is the Micro-USB metal contacts. Through such settings and use with the male connector, it is possible to enable the mobile terminal to realize the conversion between the two types of interfaces, i.e., Micro-USB and USB Type-C, thereby making the use of the mobile terminal more convenient.

According to the invention, the first contact <NUM> and the second contact <NUM> are arranged side by side, and the female connector <NUM> is further optionally provided with a first lightning metal contact, which is arranged side by side with the second contact.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, through providing the first lightning metal contact on the female connector of the mobile terminal and use with the male connector, it is possible to enable the conversion between the three types of interfaces, Micro-USB, USB Type-C and lightning, thereby further increasing the application scenarios of the mobile terminal.

Optionally, as shown in <FIG>, the mobile terminal is further provided with a reserved port <NUM>, which is arranged on the side of the female connector <NUM>.

The mobile terminal may be also provided with a speaker <NUM> or a headphone jack <NUM> in a same straight line direction as the female connector. It should be noted that the mobile terminal may be further provided with other components at places marked by <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG>, such as a screen locking switch or a photographing key, and these places are not limited to the speaker or the headphone jack.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, by providing the reserved port on the mobile terminal, the male connector can be easily pulled out of the female connector.

Claim 1:
An interface adapter system, comprising:
an interface adapter device; and
a mobile terminal, wherein
the interface adapter device is applied to the mobile terminal comprising a female connector (<NUM>), wherein the female connector (<NUM>) comprises a first contact (<NUM>) and a second contact (<NUM>); the interface adapter device comprises a male connector (<NUM>) and a third contact (<NUM>) and a fourth contact (<NUM>) provided on the male connector (<NUM>), wherein the male connector (<NUM>) comprises a first end provided with a first interface (<NUM>) and a second end provided with a second interface (<NUM>), the first and second ends are two opposite ends of the male connector (<NUM>), the third contact (<NUM>) is electrically coupled to the second interface (<NUM>), the fourth contact (<NUM>) is electrically coupled to the first interface (<NUM>), and the first and second ends of the male connector (<NUM>) are insertable into the female connector (<NUM>),
wherein the third contact (<NUM>) is in contact with the first contact (<NUM>) when the male connector (<NUM>) is inserted into the female connector (<NUM>) through the first end;
the fourth contact (<NUM>) is in contact with the second contact (<NUM>) when the male connector (<NUM>) is inserted into the female connector (<NUM>) through the second end;
characterized in that
the first contact (<NUM>) and the second contact (<NUM>) are arranged side by side in the female connector (<NUM>); and
the third contact (<NUM>) is arranged on a first plane on the male connector (<NUM>), the fourth contacts (<NUM>) is arranged on a second plane on the male connector (<NUM>), the second plane being opposite to the first plane, and an orthogonal projection of the third contact (<NUM>) on the second plane does not intersect the fourth contact (<NUM>) on the second plane.