FR2845831A1 - Bulb socket/wire cover having cover flexible spoke side surface mounted folding towards base trapping wire cover closed position with separate part added space side surface/spoke preventing deformation. - Google Patents

Abstract

The wire over has a flexible spoke (39) on the side surface (34) folding towards the base blocking and trapping the wire cover in place in the closed position. There is a spoke protection section (42) trapping a separate part (m) in the space between the side surface and spoke, preventing spoke plastic deformation.

Description

TERMINAL TRIM AND BULB SOCKET

  The present invention relates to a terminal cover and a bulb socket. As a means of non-removably locking a terminal fitting on the body of a bulb socket or a connector housing, a rod (a metal rod) is cantilevered on a lateral surface ( lower surface) of the terminal trim by cutting this lateral surface and folding down the cut part, obliquely to the lateral surface (see Japanese patent application published in public inspection No. 63-257187) . The terminal trim is inserted into the body of the bulb socket or equivalent while the rod is elastically deformed. When the rod reaches a predetermined position, the rod is returned to its initial state, thereby locking the part to

  lock formed on the body of the bulb socket or equivalent.

  This prevents the terminal trim from separating from the body of the socket

bulb or equivalent.

  According to Japanese patent application released for public inspection No. 63257187, the front end of the rod projects outside the terminal trim.

  Therefore, if a foreign object such as an electric wire is caught in the space between the rod 25 and the side surface of the terminal liner during transport of the bulb socket or the like, there is a risk that the rod either face upward and

plastic deformation.

  The present invention has been carried out with regard to the situation described above.

  It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a terminal liner and a bulb socket capable of preventing plastic deformation of the rod. As a means of achieving this object, there is provided a terminal cover mounted on a support element, comprising: - a rod, elastically deformable, which is formed on a lateral surface 35 of said terminal cover by cutting said lateral surface and folding towards below the cut part, obliquely to said lateral surface, and which resiliently blocks the part at \\ HIRSCH6 \ flREVETS \ Brevets \ 21400 \ 21454.doc - August 21, 2003 - 1/10 block formed on said support member, thereby preventing said terminal trim from separating from said support member; a rod protection part, to prevent a foreign body from entering

  in the space between said rod and said side surface, formed by cutting said side surface and folding down the cut portion near the tip of said rod.

  According to one embodiment, the rod protection part is formed by cutting the lateral surface and folding down the cut part,

  obliquely to the lateral surface.

  According to another embodiment, the rod protection part is formed by cutting the lateral surface and folding down the cut part

  substantially vertical to the lateral surface.

  The invention also provides a bulb socket comprising a body having a bulb mounting portion in which a bulb can be mounted, a terminal cover which is inserted into a cavity formed inside said body, said cover of a terminal having an elastically deformable rod which is formed on the lateral surface thereof by cutting said lateral surface and folding down the cut part, obliquely to said lateral surface, and which locks, elastically, on the blocking part formed inside said cavity, thereby preventing separation between said terminal cover and said body of said bulb socket, in which a rod protection part, intended to prevent a foreign body from entering in the space between said rod and said outer side, is formed by cutting said lateral surface and folding down the cut part near the end of the rod and, on the internal surface of the cavity, a receiving part, receiving the part into which the rod protective part can penetrate,

  is formed in the direction of insertion of the terminal trim.

  According to the present invention, the rod protection part formed on the side surface (bottom surface) of the terminal cover by cutting the side surface 30 thereof and folding down the cut part, thereby preventing foreign bodies such as an electrical wire from entering the space between the rod and the surface

  side of it. This therefore prevents plastic deformation of the rod.

  According to the present invention, the rod protection part is formed on the side surface of the terminal cover by cutting the side surface and folding down the cut part, obliquely to the side surface. In the case where the rod protection part is formed by cutting the lateral surface of the terminal cover and folding down the cut part, vertically, in order to substantially reduce the projected dimension of the rod protection part, the length of the plate \\ HIRSCH6 \ PATENTS \ Patents \ 21400 \ 21454.doc - August 21, 2003 2/10

  to fold down is so small that a complex machining operation must be performed. However, according to the present invention, the rod protection part is formed by cutting the lateral surface of the terminal liner and folding down the cut part at a predetermined angle relative to the part of the substrate. 5 The length of the plate to be folded down is more important than the length. Therefore, the machining operation is easy to perform.

  According to the present invention, the rod protection part is formed by cutting the lateral surface of the terminal cover and by folding down the cut part substantially vertically with respect to the lateral surface. The rod protection part 10 therefore has a higher resistance against an external force applied at this location, in the direction in which the rod protection part is

  biased toward the side surface of the terminal trim.

  Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading

  the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, given by way of example and with reference to the appended drawings showing:

  - Figure 1 is a sectional view of a bulb socket according to a first

  embodiment of the present invention.

  - Figure 2 is a front view of the sleeve.

  - Figure 3 is a rear view of the bulb socket. Figure 4 is a side view of a terminal cover.

  - Figure 5 is a plan view of the terminal trim.

  - Figure 6 is a front view of the terminal trim.

  - Figure 7 is a bottom view of the terminal trim.

  FIG. 8A illustrates a rod protection part formed by cutting a part of the substrate from the terminal liner and by folding down the part

  cut obliquely (first embodiment).

  - Figure 8B illustrates a rod protection part formed by cutting the substrate part of the terminal liner and folding down the cut part vertically (second embodiment). First Embodiment The embodiments of the present invention will be described below

with reference to Figures 1 to 8.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

  It should be noted that the left side of Figure i is defined as the front side,

  while the right side of Figure i is defined as the rear side.

  As illustrated in Figure 1, when a bulb socket 1 0 is used, a bulb base it is mounted thereon. The bulb socket 10 comprises a \\ HIRSCH6 \ PATENTS \ Patents \ 21400 \ 21454.doc- August 21, 2003 - 3/10 body 20 (corresponding to the "support element" of the present invention) made of a synthetic resin and a pair of terminal fittings 30 (a single

  terminal is illustrated to simplify the description) mounted on the body 20.

  The bulb ll comprises an approximately cylindrical bulb part 12, made of glass, receiving a filament and a base part 13, made of glass, which is arranged by extension in an approximately flat plate on the side. lower part of the bulb part 12 formed integrally with the base part 13. A pair of electrode parts 14 comes out from one end of the base part 13. These electrode parts 14

  are arranged symmetrically with respect to the base part 13.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the body 20 has a roughly cylindrical bulb mounting part 21, open towards the front, arranged at the front end of the latter. The base portion 13 of the bulb 11 is inserted into an opening at the front end of the portion 21 of the bulb mounting portion. A pair of rearwardly open cylindrical portions 22 is disposed in the rear portion of the body 20. A cavity 23 into which the terminal liner 30 can be inserted is formed between the interior surface of the cylindrical portions 22 and the surface

  inside of the bulb mounting part 21.

  The terminal cover 30 is formed in the configuration illustrated in Figures 4 to 7, by perforating an electrically conductive metal plate in a developed configuration, and bending it. Terminal pad 30 has in its

  rear part a pair 31 of barrels of right and left wires intended for clamping the central wire of an electric wire W stripped of the part covering it, and a pair of barrels of insulation 33 right and left intended for blocking the part covering the electric wire W and the rubber plug 32 adapted on the periphery thereof. The 25 barrels of wire 31 and the barrels of insulation 33 are arranged from the front to the rear.

  A flat and elongated substrate part 34 (corresponding to the "lateral surface" of the present invention) is disposed in the front part of the terminal cover 30. A pair of protruding parts 35 is formed at the front end of the part of the substrate 34, with the projecting parts 35 formed on both sides, in the direction 30 in width, of the substrate part 34. A pair of side walls 37 stands on the right and left sides of the substrate part 34, with the side walls 37 arranged towards the rear of the substrate part 34. A pair of elastic pieces 38 cantilevered, to the right and to the left, extends forward from the side wall 37. The front ends of the right elastic piece 38 and of the left elastic piece 38 35 are bent inwards in the shape of a mountain. The base portion 13 of the bulb 11 is inserted into the space between the right and left elastic pieces 38 to resiliently grip the bulb 11 in the middle. One of the elastic pieces

  38 comes into electrical contact with the electrode part 14.

  \\ HIRSCH6 \ PATENTS \ Patents \ 21400 \ 21454.doc - August 21, 2003 - 4/10 An elastically deformable rod 39 is cantilevered in the center of the width of the part of the substrate 34 by cutting out the part of the substrate 34 and folding the cut part. More specifically, a roughly U-shaped cutting line 41 (see Figure 5), from front to back, is formed in the portion 34 of the substrate, from front to back. Then a cantilever plate formed inside the cutting line 41 is folded down, obliquely, towards the part 34 of the substrate. The rod 39 is thus formed. The pair of right and left projecting rod parts 42 is formed by cutting and folding down the part 34 of the substrate, near the rear end of the rod 39. More specifically, the two rod parts in protrusion 42 are disposed on the right and left sides of the rear end of the rod 39, with the projection 42 disposed slightly towards the rear of the rear end of the rod 39. A cantilever plate formed at the inside of a cutting line 43, formed in the interval between the part of the substrate 34 and the side wall 37, is folded downwards towards the outside to form a predetermined angle 15 between the plate and the part substrate 34. The two rod protection parts 42 are thus formed. As illustrated in FIG. 6, a projected dimension T (dimension between the lower surface of the substrate part 34 and the lower end of the rod protection part 42) is slightly longer than the dimension between the rear end of the rod 39 and the external surface of part 34 of the substrate. The cavity 23 is roughly rectangular in its sectional view, the front stop part thereof being smaller in its internal dimension than half of the rear part thereof. A slot 24 is formed along the inner surface of the cavity 23, arranged outside the bulb mounting part 21. The substrate part 34 of the terminal cover 30 is inserted into the slot 24. In the center of the interior surface of the cavity 23 facing the slot 24, a rod advance groove 25 into which the rod 39 can penetrate is formed from front to rear. A locking projection 26 (corresponding to the "part to be blocked" of the present invention) capable of locking the rod 39 at this location is formed at the front end of the rod advance groove 25. At the location at 30 the front of the locking projection 26, a locking opening 27 (see Figure 1), into which the rod 39 can be fitted, is formed by penetration through the bulb mounting part 21. A pair of parts for receiving the protruding protruding part receiving the parts 28 into which the rod protection part 42 can penetrate is formed from the front to the rear relative to the internal surface of the cavity 23 facing the slot 24, with the projecting part receiving the parts 28

  enclosing the nozzle advance groove 25 in the middle.

  The terminal cover 30 is inserted into the cavity 23 by its rear side, with

  the electric wire W and the rubber plug 32 caulked by the barrels 31 and 33.

  \\ HIRSCH6 \ PATENTS \ Patents \ 21400 \ 21454.doc - August 21, 2003 - S1 / 0 When the terminal cover 30 is pressed deep into the slot 24, the projecting part 35 of the substrate part 34 fits closely in the slot 24. The position of the terminal cover 30 is thus stabilized. When the rod 39 advances in the rod advance groove 25, the protruding rod part 42 advances in the receiving part of the protruding part 28. When the rod 39 comes into contact with the locking projection 26, the rod 39 is elastically deformed upwards so as to cover the locking projection 26. When the terminal cover 30 reaches a normal insertion position, the rod 39 returns to its initial state in its elastic deformation downwards, thus fitting into the blocking opening 27 10 and being blocked by the locking projection 26. The terminal cover 30 is thus

  prevented from leaving the body 20 of the bulb socket.

  According to the first embodiment, the rod protection part 42 formed on the substrate part 34 of the terminal lining 30 prevents a foreign body M (see FIG. 4), such as an electric wire, from entering the space. vacuum between the rod 39 15 and the substrate part 34 from the rear and side sides. Plastic deformation of the rod 39 is thus prevented. Although the rear end of the nozzle 39 is urged upwards (towards the part 34 of the substrate) by the foreign body M, the rod protection part 42 comes into contact with the foreign body M, thereby preventing the foreign body M to urge the rod 39 more upwards. Plastic deformation of the rod 39 is thus avoided. In the case where the rod protection part 42 is formed by cutting the lateral surface of the terminal trim and by folding down the cut part, vertically, as illustrated in FIG. 8B, to substantially reduce the projected dimension T of the rod protection part 42, the length T2 of the plate to be folded down is so small that a machining operation part 42 of nozzle protection must be carried out. However, according to the first mode

  In one embodiment, the rod protection part 42 is formed by cutting the lateral surface of the terminal lining and by folding down the cut part at a predetermined angle with the part of the substrate 34, as illustrated in FIG. 8A. The length TI of the plate to be folded down is therefore longer than the length T2. A machining operation is therefore simple to execute.

  Second embodiment In the second embodiment, the rod protection part 42 is formed by cutting the part 34 of the substrate and folding down the cut part, substantially vertically with respect to the part of substrate 34, as illustrated in Figure 8B. The other structures of the second embodiment are similar to

  that of the first embodiment. The description is therefore omitted here.

  According to the second embodiment, the rod protection part 42 is formed by folding down the cut part of the substrate part 34, substantially at the \ U \ IRSCH6 \ BFREVETS \ Brevets \ 21400 \ 21454.doc - 21 ao t 2003 - 6/10 vertical with respect to the substrate part 34. The rod protection part 42 therefore has a higher resistance against an external force applied at this location in the direction in which the rod protection part 42 is biased towards part of

substrate 34.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are within the technical limits of the present invention. Furthermore, various modifications of the embodiments can be carried out without departing from the spirit and the

limits of the present invention.

  (1) In the embodiments, the terminal trim is used for a bulb socket. The present invention also applies to a terminal cover used for other applications. For example, the present invention applies to a terminal cover used by mounting it on the housing (element of

support) of a connector.

  (2) It is possible to arbitrarily modify the number, the arrangement, and the configuration of the rod protection part. For example, only the rod protection part can be formed at the central location of the lateral surface (surface

  side right of Figure 1) of the end of the rod.

  \\ HIRSCH6 \ PATENTS \ Patents \ 21400 \ 21454.doc - August 21, 2003 - 7/10

Claims (4)

  1. Terminal cover (30) mounted on a support element, comprising: an elastically deformable rod (39) which is formed on a lateral surface of said terminal cover (30) by cutting said lateral surface (34) and by folding down the cut-out part, obliquely to said lateral surface, and which resiliently blocks the part to be blocked formed on said support element at this point, thereby preventing said terminal cover (30) from separating from said support element; 10 - a rod protection part (42), to prevent a foreign body (m) from entering the space between said rod (39) and said lateral surface, formed by cutting said lateral surface and folding down the   part cut close to the end of said rod (39).   2. A terminal cover according to claim 1, wherein said rod protection part (42) is formed by cutting said side surface and folding down said cut part, obliquely to the side surface. 3. Terminal fitting 1 according to claim 1, in which the rod protection part (42) is formed by cutting said lateral surface and by folding down the cut part, substantially vertically with respect to the lateral surface. 4. A bulb socket comprising: - a body having a bulb mounting part (20) in which a bulb can be mounted, - a terminal cover (30) which is inserted into a cavity (23) formed at the inside said body, said terminal cover (30) having an elastically deformable rod (39) which is formed on the lateral surface (34) thereof by cutting out said lateral surface and folding down the part cut out, obliquely to said side surface, and which locks, elastically, on the blocking part formed inside said cavity, thereby preventing separation between said terminal cover (30) and said body of said bulb socket, in which a rod protection part (42), intended to prevent a foreign body (m) from entering the space between said rod (39) and said outer side, \\ HIRSCH6 \ PATENTS \ frevets \ 21400 \ 21454.doc August 21, 2003 - 8/10 is started n cutting said lateral surface and folding down the cut part near the end of the rod (39) and, on the internal surface of the cavity, a receiving part, receiving the part in which the rod protection part (42 )   can penetrate, is formed in the direction of insertion of the terminal trim.   \\ HIRSCH6 \ PATENTS \ Patents \ 21400 \ 21454 doc - August 21, 2003 - 9/10