JP3008663B2 - Terminal device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal device for connecting an electric wire using a lock spring suitable for a wiring device or a breaker, that is, without using screws.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional terminal device such as a breaker, there is one having a configuration shown in FIGS.

[0003] In the drawing, reference numeral 10 denotes a case constituting the outside of the breaker, which has a wire insertion hole 13 having a circular cross section and an inner accommodating portion 14 communicating with the hole.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a locking spring, which is formed by bending a well-known elastic conductive plate of this kind into a deformed S-shape to lock a wire conductor 15 inserted through a wire insertion hole 13 on one side. Locking piece 21 and push-up piece 22 for pushing up an operation member to be described later
And a pressing piece 23 for pressing the wire conductor on the other side.
Is provided.

[0005] Reference numeral 30 denotes a terminal member, which is a terminal plate which faces inclining.
31 and a bottom plate 32 provided with a vertical support wall 33,
It is arranged in. Then, the lock spring 20 is mounted so that the contact portions 23c between the tips of the lock pieces 21 and the push-up pieces 22 and the contact pressure pieces 23 face the terminal plate. At this time, the tip of the locking piece 21 and the terminal plate
A gap smaller than the outer diameter of the wire conductor 15 exists between the wire conductor 31 and the wire conductor 31. At the end of the terminal plate 31, a locking portion 31a for locking a latch plate described later is formed.

An operation member 40 comprises a plastic operation member main body 47 and a latch plate 48 made of an elastic thin plate provided integrally with the operation member main body 47, and is reciprocated in the inner accommodating portion 14. The lower surface of the operating member main body 47 is formed with first and second pressing portions 41 and 42 for pushing up the push-up piece 22 and the lock piece 21 of the locking spring 20, and the terminal member 31 is provided near the lower end of the latch plate 48. Locking part
A locked portion 48a which can be locked and released is provided at 31a.
That is, the operating member 40 pushes down the wire conductor 15 when connecting the wire conductor 15, but at least the first pressing portion 41 pushes down the push-up piece 22 simultaneously with the lowering of the operating member 40,
When a predetermined gap δ is formed between the end of the terminal plate 31 and the terminal plate 31, the latched portion 48a of the latch plate 48 is locked. As a result, the operating member 40 stays in the depressed operating position (see FIG. 9) while receiving the spring force of the push-up piece 22, and indicates that the wire conductor 15 is to be inserted. At this time, the lower end of the latch plate 48 is located on the extension of the wire insertion hole 15.

Next, the operation of connecting the electric wires will be described. FIG. 9 shows a state in which the wire conductor 15 is not inserted, and
Is held in the operating position. In this state, the wire conductor 15 having the predetermined length and the coating removed is inserted from the wire insertion hole 13. As a result, the wire conductor 15 is inserted while bending the tip of the locking piece 21 and the tip presses the latch plate 48 locked by the locking portion 31a.
Then, it returns to the return position (see FIG. 10) by the elastic repulsive force of the push-up piece 22, indicating that the wire conductor 15 has been securely connected.

When unlocking the connection of the electric wire, the operating member 40 is pressed from the return position to the operating position, and
By pressing the locking piece 21 to the outer diameter of the wire conductor 15 or more with the pressing portion 42, the wire conductor 15 is easily pulled out, and the wire may be pulled out in this state.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An electric wire inserted from an electric wire insertion hole is provided by providing a locking portion on the terminal plate, providing a locked portion on the operating member, and locking the locking portion to the locked portion to hold the operating member in the operating position. Since the latched portion is released from the latching portion by pressing the latch plate provided with the latched portion with the tip of the conductor, and the contact pressure piece contacts and fixes the wire conductor with a predetermined pressure, The operating member is held in the operating position even when the contact pressure piece cannot obtain the predetermined pressure due to the method of assembling the locking spring during deformation or processing. If the electric wire conductor is connected in this state, the connection will be incomplete, and when energized, it will generate heat and may be burned out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to hold an operating member in an operating position when a contact pressure piece is elastically pressed at a predetermined pressure, thereby achieving a good connection operation. To provide a terminal device capable of performing the above.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal device having a case having an electric wire insertion hole and an inner receiving portion communicating with the electric wire insertion hole, and engaging the electric wire conductor inserted from the electric wire insertion hole on one side. A locking spring having a lock piece to be pressed, a push-up piece that exerts a pressing force in the same direction as the lock piece, and a contact pressure piece provided on the other side for pressing the electric wire conductor, and the lock spring are provided in the inner receiving portion. A terminal member having at least a terminal plate for contacting and fixing the wire conductor, a terminal member for mounting a locking spring such that the tip of the locking piece and the contact pressure piece face the terminal plate, and an inner housing. The first portion and the second pressing portion for pressing the push-up piece and the lock piece, and between the operating position for pressing the push-up piece and the return position for opening. And a movable operation member, the terminal member being close to the contact pressure piece of the operation member. A locking portion is provided at the position and a locking portion is provided on the contact piece so that the locking portion can be locked and released, and the tip of the wire conductor inserted between the lock piece and the terminal plate is a contact piece. By pressing, the locking portion is released from the locked portion, and the operating member is moved to the return position by the push-up piece.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the terminal device of the first aspect, the gap between the terminal plate and the contact pressure piece is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the wire conductor in a state where the locking portion is locked to the locked portion. It is configured to be formed as follows.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined force is applied to the operating member from a state in which the locking portion of the first aspect is locked to the locked portion, the locking portion moves from the locked portion. A sliding surface is formed on at least one of the locking portion and the locked portion so as to move off.

[0014]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a locking portion is provided at a position of the operating member close to the contact pressure piece, and a locked portion to which the locking portion is detachably provided is provided on the contact pressure piece. By the tip of the wire conductor inserted between the piece and the terminal plate pressing the contact pressure piece, the locking portion is released from the locked portion, and the operating member is moved to the return position by the push-up piece, When the contact pressure piece is elastically pressed at a predetermined pressure, the operating member is held at the operating position.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the gap between the terminal plate and the contact pressure piece is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the wire conductor in a state where the locking portion is locked to the locked portion. With such a configuration, in addition to the above-described operation, if the operator erroneously inserts a wire conductor other than the predetermined wire conductor, the operation member does not move to the return position.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined force is applied to the operating member from a state in which the locking portion is locked to the locked portion, the locking portion moves from the locked portion. A sliding surface is formed on at least one of the locking portion and the locked portion so as to move off, and in addition to the above-described operation, the wire conductor is inserted from a state where the operation member is held in the operating position. It can be moved to the return position with a predetermined force without any problem.

[0017]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described below based on Members having the same basic functions as those of the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals.

That is, the case 10 is made of an insulating material such as plastic, and is formed in a box shape by superimposing the upper body 11 and the lower body 12, and forms the wire insertion hole 13 and the inner accommodating portion 14 communicating therewith. Have. The electric wire insertion hole 13 is formed so that the boundary between the upper main body 11 and the lower main body 12 is substantially a boundary, and the electric wire conductor 15 is inserted through this hole. In addition, the upper body 11 has an opening hole 11 on its upper surface for confirming movement of an operation member described later.
a is provided. An operation member and a terminal member, which will be described later, are housed in the inner housing portion 14.

The lock spring 20 is formed by bending a well-known elastic conductive plate of this kind into a deformed S-shape to lock the wire conductor 15 inserted from the wire insertion hole 13 on one side. A lock piece 21 and a push-up piece 22 for moving an operation member to be described later to a return position (see FIG. 2) are provided, and a contact pressure piece 23 for pressing the wire conductor 15 is provided on the other side. The contact pressure piece 23 is provided at its tip with a locked part 23a from which a locking part of an operation member described later can be locked and released.

The terminal member 30 has a bottom plate 32 provided with a terminal plate 31 and a vertical support wall 33 facing each other, and is housed in the inner housing portion 14. An electric wire stopper 34 is formed on the far side so that the electric wire conductor 15 is completely inserted. And a piece of lock
The locking spring 20 is mounted so that the end of the push-up piece 21 and the locked portion 23a of the contact pressure piece 23 face the terminal plate 31.

The operating member 40 is formed of an insulating material such as a thermoplastic synthetic resin, and is disposed in the inner accommodating portion 14 of the case 10 so as to be operable from the outside. ) And a return position to open (see FIG. 2). The operating member 40 has first and second pressing portions 41 and 42 for pressing the push-up piece 22 and the locking piece 21 when in the operating position, and is locked to the locked portion 23a of the contact pressure piece 23. A locking groove 43 for indicating that the wire conductor 15 inserted from the wire insertion hole 13 has come into contact with the pressure contact piece 23, and a display groove provided for unlocking the wire conductor 15.
44, a rotation support portion 45 serving as a center of rotation, and a guide groove 46 provided to be mounted on the terminal plate 31.

Next, the operation of connecting the electric wires will be described. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the electric wire conductor 15 is not inserted, and the display groove 44 is rotated from the return position toward the operation position, and the first and second grooves are turned.
By pressing the push-up piece 22 and the lock piece 21 to lock the locking portion 43 with the locked portion 23a,
The operating member 40 is held in the operating position. At this time, the outer diameter of the wire conductor 15 is formed substantially between the terminal plate 31 and the contact pressure piece 23. In this state, the wire conductor 15 (outer diameter 1.6 mm) is inserted from the wire insertion hole 13 and the tip of the wire conductor 15 is brought into contact with the pressure contact piece.
By pushing down 23, the locking portion 43 of the operating member 40 is disengaged from the locked portion 23a. Then, the operating member 40 is moved to the return position by the elastic repulsive force of the push-up piece 22. In this state, since the wire conductor 15 is not always completely fixed in contact, as shown in FIG.
15 is inserted until the tip of 15 contacts the wire stopper 34 of the terminal member 40. At this time, since the second pressing portion 42 does not abut on the locking piece 21, the wire conductor 15 is prevented from coming off by the tip of the locking piece 21, and the wire conductor 15 and the terminal plate 31 are separated by the pressing piece 23. Contact fixed.

When the connection of the wire conductor 15 is unlocked, the display groove 44 is rotated from the return position to the operating position with a jig such as a screwdriver, and the lock piece 21 is pressed by the second pressing portion 42. Pressing the outer diameter of the conductor 15
15 can be easily pulled out, and the wire conductor 15 may be pulled out in this state.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. That is, the case 10 is formed of an insulating material such as plastic so that the upper body 11 and the lower body 12 are overlapped and formed in a box shape, and has an electric wire insertion hole 13 and an inner accommodating portion 14 communicating with the hole. The electric wire insertion hole 13 is formed so that the boundary between the upper main body 11 and the lower main body 12 is substantially a boundary, and the electric wire conductor 15 is inserted through this hole. In addition, the upper body 11 is provided with a moving hole 16 on an oblique upper surface thereof for moving an operation member described later. An operation member and a terminal member, which will be described later, are housed in the inner housing portion 14.

The locking spring 20 and the terminal member 30 are substantially the same as in the first embodiment. The operation member 40 is formed of an insulating material such as a thermoplastic synthetic resin, and is
And is movably arranged between an operating position (see FIG. 4) for pressing the push-up piece 22 and a return position (see FIG. 5) for opening. The operating member 40 includes a push-up piece 22 and a lock piece when in the operating position.
First and second pressing portions 41 and 42 for pressing the pressing member 21
In order to indicate that the wire conductor 15 inserted from the wire insertion hole 13 has come into contact with the pressure contact piece 23, and to unlock the wire conductor 15, And a pressing surface 44 provided.

Next, the operation of connecting the electric wires will be described. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the electric wire conductor 15 is not inserted, and the pressing surface 44 is moved from the return position toward the operating position.
By pressing the push-up piece 22 and the lock piece 21 to lock the locking portion 43 with the locked portion 23a,
The operating member 40 is held in the operating position. At this time, the outer diameter of the wire conductor 15 is formed substantially between the terminal plate 31 and the contact pressure piece 23. In this state, the wire conductor 15 (outer diameter 1.6 mm) is inserted from the wire insertion hole 13 and the tip of the wire conductor 15 is brought into contact with the pressure contact piece.
By pushing down 23, the locking portion 43 of the operating member 40 is disengaged from the locked portion 23a. Then, the operating member 40 is moved to the return position by the elastic repulsive force of the push-up piece 22. In this state, since the wire conductor 15 is not always completely fixed in contact, as shown in FIG.
15 is inserted until the tip of 15 contacts the wire stopper 34 of the terminal member 40. At this time, since the second pressing portion 42 does not abut on the locking piece 21, the wire conductor 15 is prevented from coming off by the tip of the locking piece 21, and the wire conductor 15 and the terminal plate 31 are separated by the pressing piece 23. Contact fixed.

When unlocking the connection of the wire conductor 15, the pressing surface 44 is manually moved from the return position to the operating position, and the locking piece 21 is The wire conductor 15 can be easily pulled out by pressing the wire conductor to an outer diameter or more, and the wire conductor 15 may be pulled out in this state.

In the first and second embodiments, the electric wire conductor 15
Although the outside diameter of the wire conductor is 1.6 mm, if the operator mistakenly inserts a wire conductor with an outside diameter of less than 1.6 mm, the tip of the wire conductor will not contact the pressure contact piece 23, so operation Member 40 is held in the operative position. Also, if you try to insert a wire conductor with a diameter larger than 1.6 mm, the wire insertion hole 13
Do not enter. For this reason, the operation member 40 moves only when a predetermined wire conductor (outer diameter 1.6 mm) is inserted.
By checking whether or not the 40 moves, it is possible to prevent a worker from erroneously connecting an electric wire conductor other than the predetermined electric wire conductor, and it is possible to prevent burning due to heat generation due to energization in a poor connection state.

According to the first and second embodiments, the operating member is a rotating body and a reciprocating moving body. However, the operating position for pressing the push-up piece and the lock piece and the return position for opening. Any method can be applied as long as it can be moved between them.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment has almost the same members as the first embodiment, and different members are the lock spring 20 and the operating member 40.

That is, the locking spring 20 is formed by bending a well-known elastic conductive plate of this kind into a deformed S-shape to lock the wire conductor 15 inserted from the wire insertion hole 13 on one side. The locking piece 21 to be locked and an operation member described later are returned to the return position (FIG. 8).
And a contact piece 23 for pressing the wire conductor 15 is provided on the other side. Further, the contact pressure piece 23 is provided with a locked portion 23a to which a locking portion of an operation member described later can be attached and detached. A predetermined force (force required to manually move the operating member from the operating position to the return position) from the state in which a locking portion described later is locked to the locked portion 23a is applied to the locked portion 23a. Is provided, a sliding surface 23b (curved surface) is provided so that the locking portion comes off and moves.

The connection and unlocking operations of the electric wires are performed in the first step.
Although the third embodiment is substantially the same as the first embodiment,
Unlike the second embodiment, even when the wire conductor 15 is not inserted, the wire conductor 15 can be manually moved from the state held in the operating position to the return position. That is, when the display groove 44 is rotated in the direction of arrow A with a jig such as a screwdriver from the state of FIG. 7, the locking portion 43 of the operating member 40 is moved to the sliding surface 23b of the locked portion 23a.
Along with the locked portion 23a. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, it moves to the return position.

According to the third embodiment, the operating member can be manually moved from the state held in the operating position to the return position.
Even if the connection is unlocked, the operation member 40 can be held at the return position. Thereby, the elastic repulsive force of the lock piece 23 can be maintained for a long time.

Although the sliding surface is provided on the locked portion according to the third embodiment, the sliding surface may be provided on the locking portion or on both the locking portion and the locked portion. The sliding surface is not limited to a curved surface but may be a continuous shape such as an inclined shape.

[0035]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a locking portion is provided at a position close to the contact pressure piece of the operating member, and the locked portion to which the locking portion can be locked and released is provided on the contact pressure piece. Provided, the tip of the wire conductor inserted between the locking piece and the terminal plate presses the contact pressure piece, whereby the locking portion is released from the locked portion, and the operating member is moved to the return position by the push-up piece. By doing so, the operation member is held at the operating position when the contact pressure piece is elastically pressed at a predetermined pressure, and a good connection operation can be performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the gap between the terminal plate and the contact pressure piece is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the wire conductor in a state where the locking portion is locked to the locked portion. In addition to the above effects, if the operator mistakenly inserts a wire conductor other than the predetermined wire conductor, the operating member does not move to the return position. Can be connected.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the operating member is moved by a predetermined force from the state in which the locking portion is locked to the locked portion, the locking portion is moved to the locked portion. As described above, the sliding surface is formed on at least one of the locking portion and the locked portion, in addition to the above-described effects, without inserting the wire conductor from the state where the operating member is held in the operating position. It can be moved to the return position with a predetermined force,
The service life of the locking spring can be extended.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state when an electric wire conductor is connected to that of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state when an electric wire conductor is connected to that of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state when an electric wire conductor is connected to that of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state when an electric wire conductor is connected to that of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Case 13 Wire insertion hole 14 Inner housing 15 Wire conductor 20 Lock spring 21 Lock piece 22 Push-up piece 23 Contact piece 23a Locked part 23b Sliding surface 30 Terminal member 31 Terminal plate 32 Bottom plate 40 Operating member 41 First pressing part 42 Second pressing part 43 Locking part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-82184 (JP, A) JP-A-5-275124 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model Application No. 54-57382 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Utility Model No. 3- 10475 (JP, U) JP-A 5-135809 (JP, U) JP-A 55-87667 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 4/48

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A case having an electric wire insertion hole and an inner accommodating portion communicating with the electric wire insertion hole, a lock piece for locking an electric wire conductor inserted from the electric wire insertion hole on one side, and a lock piece in the same direction as the lock piece. A locking spring, in which a push-up piece on which a pressing force works is provided, and a contact pressure piece for pressing the wire conductor is provided on the other side, and is disposed in the inner receiving portion, and at least the wire conductor is contact-fixed. A terminal member for mounting a locking spring such that the tip of the locking piece and the contact pressure piece face the terminal plate; and a terminal member that is operable from the outside in the inner receiving portion. A terminal device provided with first and second pressing portions for pressing the push-up piece and the lock piece, and an operation member movable between an operation position for pressing the push-up piece and a return position for opening the release piece; In the above, the engaging member is provided at a position close to the contact pressure piece of the operation member, and the contact pressure piece is provided. The locking part is provided with a locked part that can be locked and released, and the locking part is locked by the tip of the wire conductor inserted between the locking piece and the terminal plate pressing the contact pressure piece. A terminal device, wherein the operating member is disengaged from the part and is moved to a return position by a push-up piece. 2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the gap between the terminal plate and the contact piece is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the wire conductor in a state where the locking portion is locked to the locked portion. . 3. A locking portion or a locked portion so that when a predetermined force is applied to the operating member from a state where the locking portion is locked to the locked portion, the locking portion is disengaged from the locked portion and moves. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein a sliding surface is formed on at least one of the locking portions.