JP6651964B2 - Circuit breaker - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a circuit breaker, and more particularly to a technique effective when applied to a circuit breaker having a terminal cover.

  As a circuit breaker, a circuit protector used for protecting equipment in a low-voltage distribution system is known. This circuit protector includes a case body in which a connection terminal portion is disposed between a pair of partition walls facing each other. Terminal fittings for connecting to external wiring are arranged in the connection terminal portion. Patent Literature 1 discloses a circuit protector including a case body including an alarm switch in which a terminal block, a terminal fitting, and the like are arranged at a connection terminal portion between a pair of partition walls.

JP 2002-298717 A

By the way, also in the circuit protector disclosed in Patent Document 1, a terminal cover covering the connection terminal portion is attached to the case body so that a finger of a person does not contact the connection terminal portion.
To attach the terminal cover to the case body, insert the fulcrum through-hole of the terminal cover into the fulcrum projection of the case body, and rotate the terminal cover around this fulcrum projection as an axis. This is performed by hooking the engaging portion of the terminal cover to a locked state.
On the other hand, when removing the terminal cover from the case body, the operator grips the side piece of the terminal cover with a finger and pulls the side piece away from the case body to lock the engaged portion and the engaging portion. This is done by releasing the state.

In the removal of the terminal cover, in the conventional circuit protector, the engaging portion moves in the direction in which the engaged portion and the engaging portion are arranged to release the locked state between the engaged portion and the engaging portion. Therefore, it is necessary for the engaging portion to climb over the engaged portion, and it has been difficult to remove the terminal cover smoothly (smoothly).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a circuit breaker capable of smoothly removing a terminal cover from a case body. is there.

  In order to achieve the above object, a circuit breaker according to one embodiment of the present invention has an upper edge provided with a support portion, a side edge extending in a direction intersecting the upper edge, and a side opposite to the upper edge. A case body in which a connection terminal portion is disposed between a pair of partition walls having an engaged portion provided on a lower edge thereof, and further has flexibility, and an upper piece portion extends along the upper edge. The supporting member is formed in a bent shape in which the side piece extends along the side edge, and a fulcrum that is rotatably supported by the support is provided in the upper piece and is engaged with the engaged portion. The joint portion includes a terminal cover provided on the side piece. The terminal cover has a fulcrum portion supported by the support portion, the engagement portion is locked to the engaged portion and attached to the case body, and the terminal cover is pressed against the engagement portion by pressing the terminal cover from above. The engagement with the engaged portion is released.

  According to the circuit breaker of one embodiment of the present invention, the terminal cover can be smoothly removed from the case body.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external structure of a circuit protector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the circuit protector of FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of the circuit protector of FIG. 1 with a terminal cover removed. It is a side view of the circuit protector of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view in which a part of FIG. 3 is enlarged. It is a perspective view of the terminal cover of FIG. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an internal structure of the circuit protector of FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view for explaining a procedure for removing a terminal cover in the circuit protector of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a side view for explaining a procedure for removing a terminal cover in the circuit protector of FIG. 1.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the accompanying drawings described in the following embodiments are not drawn to an exact scale and dimensional ratio for easy viewing or understanding. The present invention is not limited to the description of the embodiments described below unless it exceeds the gist.
In the following description, the definitions of “upper” and “lower” such as “upper edge”, “upper piece”, and “lower edge” are merely expressions in the drawings shown in the drawings, for example, circuit breakers. If the direction of the protective cover is changed by 90 ° and observed, the names of “up” and “down” will be “left” and “right”. Of course, the opposite is true. Therefore, in this specification and the accompanying drawings, the “upper edge” and “upper piece” may be defined as “first edge” and “first piece”. Further, the “side edge” and the “side piece” extending in the direction intersecting with the “upper edge” and the “upper edge” may be defined as the “second edge” and the “second piece”. Further, a “lower edge” located on the opposite side to the “upper edge” and extending in a direction intersecting with the “side edge” may be defined as a “third edge”.
In the following embodiments, a circuit protector will be exemplarily described as a typical example of the “circuit breaker” of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the circuit protector 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a case body 30 and a terminal cover 40 detachably attached to the case body 30. A gap is provided between a lower end of the terminal cover 40 and a slope portion 35 described later provided on the case body 30.
The case body 30 includes the main body 2 and an auxiliary switch 20 as an attached switch detachably attached to the main body 2. There are auxiliary switches and warning switches as attached switches, but in this embodiment, the auxiliary switch 20 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the main body 2 includes a main body case 4 including a first divided case 4a and a second divided case 4b having a two-divided structure in a width direction. The handle 5 is arranged. The main body case 4 is formed by integrating the first divided case 4a and the second divided case 4b with rivets 4c penetrating in the width direction.
As shown in FIG. 7, the main body case 4 is provided with a main circuit terminal block 6a on the load side and a main circuit terminal block 7a on the power supply side. The main circuit terminal blocks 6a, 7a have terminal fittings 6b, 7b is mounted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a switch mounting opening 13 is formed in the main body case 4 located above the main circuit terminal block 6 a on the load side. As shown in FIG. 7, a hinge guide portion 14 is formed on the main body case 4 at a position below the lower edge of the switch mounting opening portion 13 so as to protrude upward and extend linearly in the width direction. ing. An engagement protrusion 15 is formed on the inner wall of the main body case 4 near the upper edge of the switch mounting opening 13 and extends in the width direction while protruding downward.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a fixed contact 8 having a fixed contact 8a, a movable contact 9 having a movable contact 9a, a movable contact 9 and a main circuit terminal 7 on the power supply side are provided inside the main body case 4. A flexible lead wire 10, an opening / closing mechanism 11, and a solenoid-type overcurrent trip device 12 are connected. The movable contact 9 is integrally connected with a movable contact side lever 16 which is engaged with an auxiliary actuator mechanism 21 of an auxiliary switch 20 described later.

The auxiliary switch 20 includes a resin-molded switch case 22 and a microswitch and an auxiliary actuator mechanism (not shown) fixed to the switch case 22.
As shown in FIG. 7, a two-stage first terminal block 24a and a second terminal block 25a are formed on the front side (left side in FIG. 7) of the switch case 22, and these first and second terminal blocks 24a are formed. , 25a are provided with first and second terminal fittings 24b, 25b. Here, the two-stage first and second terminal blocks 24a and 25a are formed at positions closer to one side in the width direction of the switch case 22.

As shown in FIG. 7, on the upper part of the switch case 22, a rear side (the right side in FIG. 7) is formed integrally with the switch case 22 and extends to the front side (the left side in FIG. 7). An elastic engaging piece 26 provided with 26a is formed, and an engaging recess 26b is formed on the upper surface of the elastic engaging piece 26 on the open end 26a side.
As shown in FIG. 7, a concave hinge portion 27 that engages with a hinge guide portion 14 formed on the periphery of the switch mounting opening 13 of the main body case 4 is formed at a lower portion of the switch case 22.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the switch case 22 includes a pair of partition walls 31 that are separated from each other, and a connection terminal portion 36 disposed between the pair of partition walls 31. In the connection terminal portion 36, the above-mentioned first terminal block 24a, second terminal block 25a, first terminal fitting 24b, second terminal fitting 25b, and the like necessary for connecting external wiring are arranged. The auxiliary switch 20 including the switch case 22 is detachably mounted on the main body 2. Therefore, the case body 30 has a connection terminal portion 36 disposed between the pair of partition walls 31, and the terminal cover 40 is detachably attached to the case body 30 so as to cover the connection terminal portion 36.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, each of the pair of partition walls 31 includes an upper edge 31a provided with the support portion 32, a side edge 31b extending in a direction intersecting the upper edge 31a, and an upper edge 31a. And the engaged portion 33 provided on the lower edge 31c on the opposite side to the engaging portion 33. The side edge 31b extends in a direction orthogonal to the upper edge 31a, for example. The upper edge 31a of each of the pair of partition walls 31 has a step shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the terminal cover 40 has an upper piece 44 and a side piece 45, and the upper piece 44 extends along the upper edge 31 a of the partition 31, and the side piece 45 is The partition 31 is formed in a bent shape extending along the side edge 31b. The terminal cover 40 is provided with a fulcrum portion 42 rotatably supported by the support portion 32 of the partition wall 31 on the upper piece portion 44, and is engaged with the engaged portion 33 of the partition wall 31 by the side piece portion 45. The configuration is such that an engaging portion 43 to be stopped is provided. The fulcrum 42 is provided on one end side of the upper piece 44. One end of the side piece 45 is connected to the other end of the upper piece 44. The engagement portion 43 is provided, for example, on the other end of the side piece 45. The engaging portion 43 is engaged with the engaged portion 33 so as to be freely detachable.

The upper piece portion 44 is formed of a plate-like upper plate, and has a stepped shape in which one end is higher than the other end by one step according to the stepped shape of the upper edge 31a of each of the pair of partition walls 31.
The side piece 45 extends along the side edge 31 b of the partition wall 31, one end of which is connected to both sides in the width direction of the other end of the upper piece 44, and the engagement part 43 is provided on the other end. Side plate 46. The side piece 45 extends along the extending direction of the pair of side plates 46 from the end on the other end side of the upper piece 44 between the pair of side plates 46, and extends with each of the pair of side plates 46. It has a front plate 47 connected thereto. The front plate 47 is provided with an opening 48 opened at the other end of the front plate 47, and the other end of the front plate 47 is divided. Wiring is connected to the connection terminal through the opening 48.

The support portion 32 of the partition wall 31 is formed, for example, as a concave portion that is depressed in the depth direction from the upper edge 31a. The fulcrum portion 42 of the terminal cover 40 is formed of, for example, a protrusion protruding from both side surfaces in the width direction opposite to the side piece portion 45 side of the upper piece portion 44, and is turned inside the concave portion as the support portion 32. It is stored movably.
As shown in FIG. 5, a hook 49 is provided on each of the pair of side plates 46. The hook 49 is provided so as to protrude from the side surface of the side plate 46 facing the side edge 31 b of the partition wall 31 in the width direction side surface. An engaging portion 43 is provided on the tip end of the hook 49. The engagement portion 43 is formed by a protrusion that protrudes from the tip end side of the hook 49 toward the lower edge 31c of the partition wall 31. On the other hand, the engaged portion 33 is formed of, for example, a projection that protrudes by forming a concave portion 34 in the lower edge 31 c of the partition wall 31.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the engaging portion 43 is locked so as to be hooked on the engaged portion 33, and is fitted in the concave portion 34. That is, in the terminal cover 40, the fulcrum portion 42 is supported by the support portion 32 of the partition 31, and the engaging portion 43 is adjacent to the engaged portion 33 in a direction intersecting with the extending direction of the side edge 31 b of the partition 31. It is attached to the case body 30 in a stopped state. The engaged portion 33 and the engaging portion 43 are arranged such that the engaged portion 33 is located closer to the side edge 31b of the partition wall 31 than the engaging portion 43 is. That is, the terminal cover 40 is detachably attached to the case body 30 by snap-fit connection.

  The terminal cover 40 is formed of, for example, a polycarbonate (PC) resin having excellent flexibility. As shown in FIG. 8, the terminal cover 40 engages the side piece 45 along the side edge 31 b of the partition 31 with the fulcrum 42 of the upper piece 44 supported by the support 32 of the partition 31. It has flexibility that allows it to bend when moved to the joint 33 side. As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal cover 40 separates the side piece 45 from the side edge 31 b of the partition 31 while supporting the fulcrum 42 of the upper piece 44 on the support 32 of the partition 31. It has flexibility that allows it to bend even when moved.

  The upper piece portion 44 is formed with a width w2 (see FIG. 2) smaller than the interval w1 (see FIG. 3) between the pair of partition walls 31, and is not supported by the pair of partition walls 31 except for the fulcrum portion 42 on one end side. That is, the terminal cover 40 can bend the upper piece 44 between the pair of partitions 31 in a state where the fulcrum portion 42 is supported by the support portion 32 of the partition 31, and thus, as shown in FIG. The portion 45 can be moved toward the engaged portion 33 along the side edge 31 b of the partition wall 31. Further, the engaging portion 43 can be moved in a direction away from the lower edge 31c of the partition wall 31 following the movement of the side piece 45 on the engaged portion 33 side. The engagement between the engaged portion 33 and the engaging portion 43 can be released by the movement of the joint portion 33 side.

The side piece portion 45 is formed with a width w3 (see FIG. 2) wider than the interval w1 between the pair of partition walls (see FIG. 3) such that the pair of side plates 46 face the side pieces of the pair of partition walls 31. I have.
As shown in FIG. 8, the case body 30 moves in the direction in which the engaging portion 43 releases the locked state of the engaged portion 33 and the engaging portion 43, and the side piece 45 of the terminal cover 40 comes into contact with the case body 30. As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal cover 40 has a slope 35 for moving the side piece 45 of the terminal cover 40 in a direction away from the side edge 31 b of the partition wall 31 when it comes into contact.

The attachment of the terminal cover 40 to the case body 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The engaging portion 43 of the terminal cover 40 is attached to the support portion 32 of the partition wall 31 while supporting the fulcrum portion 42 of the terminal cover 40. This is performed by hooking the engaging portion 43 on the engaged portion 33 while turning the terminal cover 40 in a direction approaching the engaged portion 33 of the partition wall 31 so as to be in a locked state.
When the terminal cover 40 is attached, the terminal cover 40 has flexibility, so that the engaging portion 43 rides on the engaged portion 33 (falls down in FIG. 5), so that The portion 44 bends toward the partition 31 side. When the engaging portion 43 gets over the engaged portion 33 and is fitted into the concave portion 34, the bending of the terminal cover 40 is eliminated, and the engaging portion 43 is hooked on the engaged portion 33 to enter the locked state. Become.

When the terminal cover 40 is attached, the engaging portion 43 is locked adjacent to the engaged portion 33 in a direction intersecting the extending direction of the side edge 31b of the partition wall 31.
In addition, when the terminal cover 40 is attached, since the engaging portion 43 gets over the engaged portion 33 and is locked, the engaged portion 33 is closer to the side edge 31 b of the partition wall 31 than the engaging portion 43. Exists. Therefore, even if the terminal cover 40 is pulled in a direction in which the side piece 45 of the terminal cover 40 is separated from the side edge 31b of the partition wall 31, the locked state between the engaged portion 33 and the engaging portion 43 is easily released. Never. In the terminal cover 40, the pair of side plates 46 face the side edges 31 b of the pair of partition walls 31. For this reason, by pressing the side piece 45 of the terminal cover 40 toward the side edge 31 b of the partition wall 31, the engaged portion 33 and the engaging portion 43 can be brought into the locked state. It can be easily attached to the case body 30.

The removal of the terminal cover 40 from the case body 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. As shown in FIG. 8, the fulcrum 42 of the terminal cover 40 is supported by the support 32 of the partition 31. In this state, the operator pushes the side piece 45 of the terminal cover 40 from the upper surface to move the side piece 45 along the side edge 31 b of the partition wall 31 to the engaged portion 33 side.
When the terminal cover 40 is removed, as shown in FIG. 8, the engagement portion 43 moves in a direction away from the lower edge 31 c of the partition wall 31 following the movement of the side piece portion 45, and By the movement, the locked state between the engaged portion 33 and the engaging portion 43 is released. At this time, since the engaged portion 33 does not exist in the direction in which the locked state between the engaged portion 33 and the engaging portion 43 is released, the engaging portion 43 does not climb over the engaged portion 33 and The locked state between the joining portion 33 and the engaging portion 43 can be released. Thus, the terminal cover 40 can be smoothly removed from the case body 30.

  When the terminal cover 40 is removed, as shown in FIG. 8, the engaging portion 43 moves in a direction of releasing the locked state between the engaged portion 33 and the engaging portion 43, and When the piece 45 contacts the slope 35, the side 45 of the terminal cover 40 moves in a direction away from the side edge 31 b of the partition wall 31 by the slope 35 as shown in FIG. 9. For this reason, even if an operator releases his / her hand from the terminal cover 40, it does not return to the original locked state.

  The direction of the force when removing the terminal cover 40 is a direction along the side edge 31 b of the partition wall 31. On the other hand, the direction of the force applied to the terminal cover 40 by the wiring connected to the connection terminal portion 36 is a direction mainly orthogonal to the side edge 31 b of the partition wall 31. That is, since the direction of the force when removing the terminal cover 40 is different from the direction of the force applied to the terminal cover 40 depending on the wiring, the locked state between the engaged portion 33 and the engaging portion 43 is affected by the wiring. It will not be released.

  In the conventional terminal cover, the operator removes the terminal cover by putting a finger under or inside the terminal cover and pulling the terminal cover to release the locked state between the engaged portion and the engaging portion. In that case, it was necessary to avoid wiring. On the other hand, in the removal of the terminal cover 40 of this embodiment, the operator pushes the side piece 45 from the upper surface with a finger to move the side piece 45 along the side edge 31b of the partition wall 31 so that the side piece 45 is engaged. Since the locked state between the portion 33 and the engaging portion 43 is released, it is not necessary to avoid wiring as in the related art. Further, even when the circuit protector 1 is closely attached, the terminal cover 40 can be easily removed. Therefore, also from this point, the removal of the terminal cover 40 from the case body 30 can be performed smoothly.

As described above, according to the circuit protector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to smoothly remove the terminal cover 40 from the case body 30.
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the engaged portion 33 is provided on the partition 31 and the engaging portion 43 is provided on the terminal cover 40 has been described, but the engaging portion 43 is provided on the partition 31 and the terminal cover 40 is provided on the terminal cover 40. The engagement portions 33 may be provided respectively.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the support portion 32 of the partition wall 31 is formed by a concave portion and the fulcrum portion 42 of the terminal cover 40 is formed by protrusions protruding from both side surfaces of the upper piece portion 44 in the width direction has been described. However, the support portion 32 of the partition wall 31 may be formed in a shape in which a convex portion projecting from the upper edge 31a is provided with a concave portion for rotatably supporting the fulcrum portion 42 of the terminal cover 40. Further, the fulcrum portion 42 of the terminal cover 40 may be formed as a protrusion projecting from the upper surface or the lower surface of the upper piece portion 44 to the side surface.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the engaging portion 43 of the terminal cover 40 is provided at one end of the side piece 45 has been described, but the engaging portion 43 is provided at an intermediate portion of the side piece 45. You may.
As described above, the present invention has been specifically described based on the above-described one embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described one embodiment, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. .

For example, the present invention can be applied to a circuit protector having a warning switch as an auxiliary switch.
Further, the present invention is not limited to a circuit protector, and can be applied to a circuit breaker having a case body having a connection terminal portion between a pair of partition walls.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Circuit protector 2 ... Body part 4 ... Body case, 4a ... 1st divided case, 4b ... 2nd divided case, 4c ... Rivet 5 ... Operating handle 6a, 7a ... Main circuit terminal block, 6b, 7b ... Terminal fitting 7 ... Main circuit terminal 8 ... Fixed contact, 8a ... Fixed contact 9 ... Movable contact, 9a ... Movable contact 10 ... Flexible lead wire 11 ... Opening / closing mechanism 13 ... Switch mounting opening 14 ... Hinge guide section 16 ... Movable contact Child side lever 20 ... Auxiliary switch 22 ... Switch case 24a ... First terminal block 25a ... Second terminal block 26 ... Elastic engaging piece, 26a ... Open end, 26b ... Engaging recess 27 ... Hinge part 30 ... Case body 31 ... Partition wall, 31a Upper edge, 31b Side edge, 31c Lower edge 32 Support portion 33 Engaged portion 34 Depressed portion 35 Slope portion 36 Connection terminal portion 40 Terminal cover 42 Support point portion 43 Engaging portion 44 Upper piece 45 Side piece 46 Side plate 48 Front plate 48 Opening 49 Hook

Claims (5)

A pair of partition walls each having an upper edge provided with a support portion, a side edge extending in a direction intersecting the upper edge, and an engaged portion provided on a lower edge opposite to the upper edge. A case body in which the connection terminal portion is arranged between
Flexible and upper arm part is extended along the upper edge, the fulcrum of the side piece portions extending along said side edges from the upper arm part, is rotatably supported to the support portion A terminal cover provided on the side piece portion, wherein a portion is provided on the upper piece portion, and an engaging portion locked to the engaged portion is provided on the side piece portion.
In the terminal cover, the fulcrum portion is supported by the support portion, the engaging portion is locked to the engaged portion and attached to the case body, and the terminal cover is moved from the upper half portion side. A circuit breaker, wherein the engagement between the engaging portion and the engaged portion is released by pressing.   When the engaging portion moves in a direction in which the engaged portion releases the locked state between the engaged portion and the engaging portion and the side portion abuts, the side portion is The circuit breaker according to claim 1, further comprising a slope portion that moves in a direction away from the side edge.   The circuit breaker according to claim 1, wherein the upper piece has a width smaller than a distance between the pair of partition walls. Before SL fulcrum portion, the the said side piece portions of the upper piece are formed by protrusions projecting from both sides in the width direction of the opposite side,
The circuit breaker according to claim 3, wherein the support portion is formed by a concave portion that accommodates the protrusion rotatably .   4. The circuit breaker according to claim 3, wherein the side piece has a width wider than a distance between the pair of partition walls. 5.

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