JPH04301384A - Lock control system for connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a mistake of mounting and removing a connector, relating to a lock control system for the connector. CONSTITUTION:In the case of a lock control system for a connector whereby a lock or unlock of a condition of mounting/removing a plurality of connectors 1 is controlled by a command from a connector control part 3, this connector 1 is provided with mountable/removable male/female connectors and a lock part 2 for locking a mount/removal condition of the connectors, and this connector control part 3 is provided with a connector to be controlled and a table 33 of recording a control order of the connector, so that by feeding a control signal to this lock part 2 from this connector control part 3 based on this table 33, a plurality of the connectors are locked or unlocked.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector lock control system. A computer system operates as one system by transmitting and receiving data between a large number of component devices electrically connected by wiring cables. When maintaining a computer system or recovering from a failure, work should be done by electrically isolating only the relevant component devices from other component devices, and keeping other component devices powered on and operating as much as possible. It is desirable to avoid stopping the computer system itself.

[0002] When performing the above work, it is necessary to connect and disconnect only the necessary parts of the connectors installed at the ends of many wiring cables, and if you accidentally connect or disconnect a connector, This also causes the component devices that are energized to stop, causing a serious problem in the operation of the computer system, so countermeasures are required.

0003

[Background Art] Between the constituent devices of a computer system,
Electrically connected by a distribution cable. A pair of male and female connectors is provided at the tip of the wiring cable, and by attaching and detaching these connectors, each component device is electrically separated or coupled.

[0004] When performing maintenance or troubleshooting of a specific component device, an operator refers to a manual or the like to check the connectors to be connected and disconnected and the order in which these connectors are connected and disconnected, and then connects the specified connectors to the specified positions as confirmed. When the work is completed, the parts are separated or combined again in a predetermined order.

[0005] When performing the above-mentioned connector attachment/detachment work, various improvements have been made to the connector mechanism in order to prevent accidents such as poor contact between the connected connectors. Mistakes such as separating male and female connectors that should not be separated, or connecting male and female connectors that should not be separated, or connecting multiple male and female connectors when they should not be. Preventing mistakes in the order of attachment and detachment was left solely to the judgment of the operator.

[0006]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, when the number of connectors to be handled increases, the conventional method of leaving it up to the judgment of the operator inevitably causes errors in connecting and disconnecting the connectors as described above. There was a problem that caused a serious problem in the operation of the system. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to prevent mistakes in connecting and disconnecting connectors.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above-mentioned problem is solved by a connector lock control method that controls locking or unlocking of a plurality of connectors 1 in an attached/detached state based on an instruction from a connector control section 3. includes a detachable male and female connector and a lock section 2 for locking the attached/disconnected state, and the connector control section 3 includes a table 33 recording connectors to be controlled and their control order, and controls the connector based on the table 33. part 3 to the lock part 2
This is achieved by a connector attachment/detachment control method characterized by locking or unlocking a plurality of connectors by sending control signals to the connectors.

[0008]

[Operation] In the present invention, when each connector 1 is in a connected or disconnected state, the locking portion 2 locks the connector 1 so that it cannot be changed from one connected state to the other connected state. It is equipped with and,
The connector control unit 3 includes a table 33 that records connectors to be controlled and control order.
3, a control signal for locking or unlocking is sent to each lock section 2. Therefore, by sending a lock release signal to the connector of the faulty component and sending a lock signal to other normal components, accidents such as an operator accidentally disconnecting the connector of a normal component can be prevented. It can be prevented. Furthermore, when a plurality of failed component devices must be separated in a predetermined order, the order in which the lock release signals are sent can be recorded in the table 33 to prevent mistakes in the separation order.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. The connector 1 (indicated by A, B, C, etc. in Figure 1) consists of detachable male and female connectors, and the ends of the wiring cables are housed inside the connector 1 (indicated by A, B, C, etc. in Figure 1). (not shown). Each component device is electrically coupled or separated via a connector 1. Reference numeral 2 denotes a lock portion that locks the connector 1 in its attached/detached state. The configurations of the connector 1 and the lock portion 2 will be described later.

3 is a connector control section that sends a control signal for locking or unlocking to the locking section 2;
Input section 31, display section 32, table 33, line control section 3
4. It has a CPU 35.

Before starting work, the operator inputs the connectors to be locked or unlocked and the order thereof through the input section 31. The input results are displayed on the display section 32 and recorded in the table 33. Then, the CPU 35 sends a control signal for locking or unlocking to each lock section 2 via the line section 34 according to the table 33 described above.

In this embodiment, as will be described later, the lock portion 2
is locked by control signal "1" and unlocked by control signal "0". 3 to 6 are cross-sectional views showing the configurations of the connector 1 and the lock portion 2 in FIG. 1, and illustrate states in which the connector is attached or detached in a locked or unlocked state. As seen in FIG. 3, the connector 1 consists of a pair of male and female connectors 11 and 12. The female connector 11 is provided with a pin insertion port 13, and the male connector 12 is provided with a pin 14, and by inserting the pin 14 into the pin insertion port 13, an electrical connection is made for each pin. be. In addition, the pin insertion hole 13
The wiring cables 18 and 19 connected to the pin 14 are respectively sent to each component of the computer system.

The locking portion 2 consists of a locking rod 15 and a locking rod driving portion 16 provided on the female connector 11, and a recess 17 provided on the male connector 12. Locking or unlocking is performed as follows. Can be done. That is, an electromagnet (not shown) is provided on the surface 16a of the lock rod drive unit 16 that faces the surface 15a of the lock rod 15, and by turning on and off a current to this electromagnet, the lock rod 15 is moved as shown in the figure. Move it up and down to lock or unlock. On/off of the current can be controlled by a control signal sent from the connector control section 3 to the lock rod drive section 16 via the wiring cable 18 using one of the pin insertion holes 13. Therefore, when the control signal is "1", the current is turned off to perform locking, and when the control signal is "0", the current is turned on to release the lock.

FIG. 3 shows a case where a control signal "0" is sent from the connector control section 3 to the lock rod drive section 16 of the separated connector to release the lock. The connector can be connected by inserting the pin 14 into the pin insertion opening 13.

FIG. 4 shows a case where a control signal "1" is sent from the connector control section 3 to the lock rod drive section 16 of the separated connector and the connector is locked. cannot be combined.

FIG. 5 shows a case where a control signal "0" is sent from the connector control section 3 to the lock rod drive section 16 of the connected connector to release the lock. The pin 14 can be pulled out from the pin insertion opening 13 and separated.

FIG. 6 shows a case where a control signal "1" is sent from the connector control section 3 to the lock rod drive section 16 of the combined connectors to lock them. It is not possible to pull out the pin 14 from the insertion port 13 and separate it.

As described above, when the control signal "1" is sent from the connector control section 3, the separated or coupled state of the connector is maintained as it is, and the state changes from the separated state to the coupled state or from the coupled state. It is not possible to change from the state to the separated state, and only when the control signal "0" is being sent.

Next, in FIG. 1, it is assumed that all connectors A, B, C, etc. are locked before work, and in this state, for computer system failure recovery work, connectors A → D → C are connected. If you want to release the lock in the order of →E, keep the connector B locked, and then lock it again in the reverse order after completing the work, create a table like the one shown in FIG. This table 33 includes the connector number, control signal “0”
” and the control signal “1” are recorded.

Therefore, before work, the control signal "0" is applied to each lock part 2 in the order according to the table 33 shown in FIG.
The connectors are sent out one by one, and the worker separates the unlocked connector each time. When the work is completed, the operator can connect the separated connectors one by one and send the control signal "1" each time in the order according to the table 33 shown in FIG. Mistakes in status and attachment/detachment order can be prevented.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent mistakes in the connection/detachment state and connection/detachment order of a large number of connectors, which is useful in improving the reliability of computer system maintenance work.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;

[Figure 2] Diagram showing the contents of the table,

[Fig. 3] Cross-sectional view (part 1) showing the state of the connector and lock part,

[Fig. 4] Cross-sectional view (part 2) showing the state of the connector and lock part,

[Fig. 5] Cross-sectional view (part 3) showing the state of the connector and lock part,

[Fig. 6] Cross-sectional view (part 4) showing the state of the connector and lock part,

[Explanation of symbols]

1 connector,
16 lock rod drive section, 2 lock section,
17 recess, 3 connector control section,
18, 19 Wiring cable,

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A connector lock control method for controlling the locking or unlocking of the attached/detached state of a plurality of connectors (1) according to instructions from a connector control section (3), wherein the connectors (1) are detachable. Equipped with a male and female connector and a locking part (2) that locks the connection/removal state,
The connector control unit (3) includes a table (33) recording connectors to be controlled and their control order, and the connector control unit (3) controls the lock unit (2) based on the table (33). A connector lock control method characterized by locking or unlocking multiple connectors by sending a signal.