JP2000195581A - Terminal protection cap structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal protection cap structure effective in preventing a size increase of a die by employing a structure in which a cap body and a bracket are linked together by an appropriate lock fit force in such a manner that a lock part can be visually checked from the outside. SOLUTION: A link pin 12 of a cap body 11 is inserted from the outside into and fitted to a bearing part 22 of a bracket 20. The cap body 11 is turned in the cap-applying direction by means of the link pin 12. a circumferential wall 13 for lock of the cap body 11 is circuitously brought into the back of the bearing part 22 on the bracket 20 side by utilizing an elastic reactive force, and a lock hole 13a in the circumferential wall 13 is elastically engaged with a lock projection part 22b on the back of the bearing part 22. The cap body 11 is firmly linked to the bracket 20 by utilizing elastic deformation and elastic reactive force caused by undercut fitting, The distance L1 is minimized between an outer surface of the bearing part 22 and a lock part where the lock hole 13a and the lock projection part 22b are locked together.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cap structure for protecting terminal terminals of various electric devices such as generators and starters mounted on automobiles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 5 to 8 are assembly drawings showing a conventional example of this type of terminal protection cap structure. As shown in FIG. 5, a terminal cap 1 manufactured by injection molding or the like of an insulating resin material is provided. Covering the cap body 2 prevents the surrounding objects from contacting the connection terminals and the terminals to prevent the current from leaking (leakage), and also allows the connection of the connection terminals and the terminals due to entry of moisture and dust. Protects from function deterioration by adhering to parts. One end of the cap body 2 is rotatably supported by a bracket 6 via a rod-type connecting pin 3, and the cap body 2 can be opened and closed with respect to the bracket 6.

FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (c) are a plan view of the cap body 2, a front sectional view and a side sectional view showing a cross section taken along a line A1-A1 and a line A2-A2, respectively. At one end of the cap body 2, a rod-type connecting pin 3 is provided in the width direction thereof. FIG.
(C) is a plan view, a front view, and a side view of the bracket 6. The bracket 6 includes a pair of left and right bearings 7 that rotatably support the connection pin 3 of the cap body 2 at both ends.
7 and a pair of right and left lock portions 8, 8 are provided upright on the inner side facing the bearing portions 7, 7.

FIGS. 8 (a) to 8 (c) are front cross-sectional views showing only a spindle connecting portion which sequentially shows an operation mode of the operation when assembling the cap body 2 to the bracket 6. As shown in FIG.

[0005] First, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), the cap body 2 is inclined to face the bearings 7, 7 of the bracket 6, and is dropped onto the connecting pin at one end of the cap body 2. 3 is fitted. Subsequently, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the cap body 2 is rotated in the crowned direction via the fitted connecting pins 3 to fall down, and the lock receiver 4 protruding from the inner surface of the cap body 2 is locked by the lock portions 7 on the bracket 6 side. 7 is engaged from the inside by undercut fitting or the like. FIG. 3C shows a crowned state in which the cap body 2 is assembled to the bracket 6 by fitting utilizing elastic deformation at the time of such undercut fitting.

[0006]

The terminal protection cap structure shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 shown as a conventional example has the following problems to be solved.

[0008] One of the reasons is that the lock receiver 4 provided on the cap body 2 side and the lock portion 8 provided on the bracket 6 side are undercut-fitted, as is particularly apparent from FIGS. The elastic locking force is weak, and the connection structure at the time of crowning lacks reliability. In addition, both members are fragile in shape and easily deformed.

Another problem is that the depth L2 from the outer bearing portion 7 to the inner locking portion 8 of the bracket 6 in the connection structure is long, and the entire connection structure due to fitting with the cap body 2 becomes large. There is. Thereby,
Since the bracket 6 is long and bites into the inside of the cap body 2 at the distance L2, the accommodation space for the internal terminal components is restricted.

[0009] One is a state in which the cap main body 2 is covered with the cap shown in FIG. 8 (c), and the lock state between the internal lock receiver 4 and the lock portion 8 is completely fitted or incomplete. It is not possible to visually confirm from outside whether it is fitting.

Further, one is that, in the molding of the mold, it is necessary to allow for the die-cutting distance by slide molding only for the dimension of the rising height of the lock receiver 4 and the lock portion 8 in the mold. The point is that the cost of the mold rises as the price increases.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved terminal protection cap structure for all of the above problems.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal protection cap structure, wherein a cap body is fixed to the outside of one end of the cap body via a rod-shaped connecting pin provided on a bracket side. The terminal is connected rotatably in the opening and closing direction to the portion, and protects the terminal connection component internally housed by the cap of the cap body, and the peripheral wall of the cap body on the side facing the position close to the connection pin. Utilizing a lock concave portion, and providing an engagement opening of the bearing portion outward so that the connection pin can engage with the bearing portion of the bracket from the outside by undercut fitting, and on a back surface of the bearing portion. A lock projection is provided that protrudes and elastically engages with the lock recess, and in a state where the connection pin is engaged with the bearing portion from the outside, the crown is inserted through the connection pin. Following the operation of the cap body, the cap recess provided on the peripheral wall of the cap body is turned around behind the bearing portion, and the lock recess is elastically engaged with the lock projection, so that the cap body can be locked to the required lock. The bracket is elastically sandwiched with strength and can be connected.

With the above arrangement, the lock concave portion is provided here by utilizing one end side of the peripheral wall of the cap body. Since the lock concave portion is provided on the bracket side of the bearing with a lock convex portion that elastically engages when the cap is covered, the flat member with the lock concave portion is raised from the inner surface of the cap body as in the conventional structure. The brittleness of the structure to be formed is eliminated, and the required lock strength can be secured.

In the terminal protection cap structure according to a second aspect of the present invention, the engagement portion between the lock concave portion and the lock convex portion can be visually confirmed from outside when the cap body is covered. It is characterized by the following.

In this case, since the engagement between the lock concave portion and the lock convex portion can be visually confirmed from the outside, it can be determined whether or not the fitting state between the cap body and the bracket is sufficient.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the terminal protective cap structure, a distance from a connecting portion between the connecting pin and the bearing portion to an engaging portion between the lock concave portion and the lock convex portion is set to be minimum and minimum. It is characterized by having.

That is, in the conventional structure, the distance is long and the space for accommodating the terminal connection parts inside the cap main body is restricted. On the other hand, the present structure has the shortest minimum distance. The storage space can be maximized.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the terminal protection cap structure, the lock recesses provided on the peripheral wall of the cap main body are provided in a pair on both sides, and the bearings of the bracket correspond to the lock recesses. The lock projection provided on the back surface of the portion is formed as a pair on both sides.

That is, in order to secure the rigidity, it is not necessary to provide the lock concave portion over the entire length of the corresponding peripheral wall of the cap main body, and it is sufficient to provide at least one pair on both sides thereof. Therefore, a strong lock engagement force can be obtained by utilizing the elastic force only by providing a pair of lock protrusions on the back surface of the bearing portion correspondingly.

In each of the above inventions, as described above, by setting the distance from the shaft support connecting portion between the connecting pin and the bearing portion to the engaging portion between the lock concave portion and the lock convex portion to be minimum and minimum. It is not necessary to suppress the increase in the size of the mold, and it is not necessary to allow for the die-cutting distance due to the slide molding at the time of molding the mold as in the conventional structure.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a terminal protection cap structure according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are assembly views of the terminal protection cap structure according to the present embodiment. Cap 1
0 is a rod-type connecting pin 1 provided at one end.
The terminal components are connected to the bracket 20 via a bracket 2 so as to be freely openable and closable via the cover 2, and cover and protect the terminal components housed therein.

FIGS. 2A to 2C show the cap body 11.
And a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along each of the arrows A4-A4 and A5-A5. A rod-type connecting pin 12 extending in the width direction is provided at one end of the cap body 11 with a support stay 12 at both ends.
a. In addition, on the peripheral wall provided over the entire periphery of the cap body 11, the connection pin 1
2 is used as the lock peripheral wall 13 of the gist of the present invention. The important point is that the distance between the inner locking peripheral wall 13 and the outer connecting pin 12 is set to a minimum minimum distance within a range permitted by circumstances such as molding. Further, the lock peripheral wall 13 is provided with two lock holes (lock concave portions) 13a on both sides in the width direction through the wall.

FIGS. 3A to 3D are a plan view, a left side view, a front view, and a right side view of the bracket 20, respectively. The bracket 20 is provided at its upper end with a bearing portion 22 for rotatably supporting the connecting pin 3 on the cap body 2 side over the entire length of the pin, and cooperating with the bearing portion 22 to prevent the pin from coming off. Two 22a are provided on both sides. The bearing portion 22 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a portion cut out, with the notch opening facing outward.

Here, a pair of lock projections, which are essential parts of the present invention, are provided on both sides of the back of the bearing portion 22 of the bracket 20 corresponding to the pair of lock holes 13a on both sides provided on the cap body 11 side. 22b is provided.

Next, FIGS. 4A to 4C are front cross-sectional views showing only the connecting portions which sequentially show the operation mode during the assembling work of the cap 10 and the bracket 20 having the above configuration.

First, as shown in FIG. 4A, one end of the cap body 11 is connected to the bearing 2 at the upper end of the bracket 20.
2, the connecting pin 12 is dropped into the bearing portion 22 from the outside and is engaged with the stopper 22a as undercut fitting. This alone ensures a certain degree of connection strength of the cap body 11 to the bracket 20.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the cap body 11 is turned down in the direction of the crown via the fitted connecting pins 12 to fall down, and the locking peripheral wall 13 of the cap body 2 is turned down.
Is turned behind the bearing portion 22 on the bracket 20 side using an elastic reaction force. With this operation, the lock hole 13a of the lock peripheral wall 13 is locked to the lock convex portion 22b on the back of the bearing portion 22.
To elastically engage.

As shown in FIG. 4 (c), the cap body 11 is rigidly connected to the bracket 6 and assembled using the elastic deformation and the elastic reaction force caused by the undercut fitting between the two members. The state is shown.

As is apparent from the enlarged portion in the circle in FIG. 4, the distance L1 from the outer surface of the stopper 22a on the bracket 20 side of the connecting portion to the lock portion formed by the lock hole 13a and the lock protrusion 22b is minimized. be able to. When compared with the same specification, the distance L1 is the same as that of the conventional example shown in FIG.
The distance L2 is much smaller than the distance L2 shown in FIG.
L2. There is an advantage that the smaller the protruding structure portion into the inside of the cap main body 11, the wider the inside of the cap main body 11 can be used, and the degree of freedom of the accommodation space for the terminal components is increased.

In addition, since the distance L1 is minimized, it is not necessary to allow for a large die-cutting allowance. This is effective in reducing the size of the die and reducing costs.

Further, regarding the complete lock which is one of the important points of the present invention, the lock fitting portion formed by the lock hole 13a on the cap body 11 and the lock projection 22b on the bracket 20 is visually confirmed from the outside. What you can do. As a result, it can be determined in advance whether or not the fitting is sufficient, and a high-quality terminal protection cap structure can be provided in a firmly locked state. At the same time, since the lock hole 13a is provided by using the peripheral wall of the cap body 11, the required rigidity as the lock portion is higher than that of the conventional weak lock receiver 4 which is raised as shown in FIG. Strength is secured.

[0033]

As described above, in the terminal protection cap structure according to the present invention, a lock recess is provided here by utilizing one end of the peripheral wall of the cap body, and the lock recess is provided on the bearing portion on the bracket side. Since the lock convex portion that elastically engages at the time of the crown is provided, the fragility such as the structure in which the flat member with the lock concave portion is raised and formed from the inner surface of the cap main body as in the conventional structure is eliminated,
The required lock strength can be secured.

Further, since the engagement portion between the lock concave portion and the lock convex portion can be visually confirmed from the outside, it is effective to judge whether the fitting state between the cap body and the bracket is appropriate.

Further, as in the conventional structure, the distance from the shaft connecting portion between the connecting pin and the bearing portion to the engaging portion between the lock concave portion and the lock convex portion is long, and the space for accommodating the terminal connection component inside the cap body is provided. Was constrained,
Since this structure has a minimum and minimum distance, the storage space inside the cap body can be maximized.

Further, unlike the conventional structure, there is no need to consider the die-cutting distance due to the slide molding at the time of mold molding.
In this case, too, there is an advantage that the mold can be reduced in size and the rise in mold cost can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A and 1B show an embodiment of a terminal protection cap structure according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is an assembled front view and FIG. 1B is an assembled plan view.

2 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 2 (b) is a front sectional view, and FIG. 2 (c) is a side sectional view showing a cap body according to the present embodiment.

3 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 3 (b) is a left side view, FIG. 3 (c) is a front view, and FIG. 3 (d) is a right side view showing a bracket according to the present embodiment. It is.

FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c) are partial front sectional views showing the assembling operation of a lock structure, which is the gist of the present embodiment, in order, and showing an enlarged main part thereof.

FIG. 5 is an assembly front view showing a conventional terminal protection cap structure.

6 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 6 (b) is a front sectional view, and FIG. 6 (c) is a side sectional view showing the conventional cap body.

FIG. 7A is a plan view showing the conventional bracket, FIG. 7B is a front view, and FIG. 7C is a right side view.

8 (a) to 8 (c) are partial front sectional views sequentially showing the assembling operation of the conventional lock structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Cap main body 12 Rod-type connecting pin 13 Locking peripheral wall 13a Lock hole (lock concave part) 20 Bracket 21 Bracket main body 22 Bearing part 22a Stopper for pin removal prevention 22b Lock convex part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cap body is rotatably connected to a bearing part on a bracket side through a rod-shaped connecting pin fixedly provided outside of one end of the cap body so as to be rotatable in an opening / closing direction. A terminal protection cap structure for protecting a stored terminal connection component, wherein a lock recess is provided using a peripheral wall of the cap body on a side facing a position close to the connection pin, and the connection pin is provided on the bracket. An engagement opening of the bearing portion is provided outward so that the engagement portion can be engaged with the bearing portion from the outside by undercut fitting, and a lock convex portion that protrudes from the back surface of the bearing portion and elastically engages with the lock concave portion is provided. In a state where the connecting pin is engaged with the bearing portion from the outside, the peripheral wall of the cap follows the operation of the cap body that is rotated in the crowned direction via the connecting pin. The cap body is elastically clamped to the bracket with a required lock strength by connecting the provided lock concave portion behind the bearing portion and elastically engaging the lock concave portion with the lock convex portion. Terminal protection cap structure characterized by the following. 2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein an engagement portion between the lock concave portion and the lock convex portion is visually recognizable from outside in a state where the cap body is covered. Protection cap structure. 3. A distance from a connecting portion between the connecting pin and the bearing portion to an engaging portion between the lock concave portion and the lock convex portion is set to a minimum and minimum. 3. The terminal protection cap structure according to item 1. 4. The lock concave portion provided by utilizing the peripheral wall of the cap main body is formed in a pair on both sides, and the lock convex portion provided on the back surface of the bearing portion of the bracket corresponding to the lock concave portion is formed on both sides. The terminal protection cap structure according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the terminal protection cap structure comprises a pair.