JP4950841B2 - Terminal block - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal block used for a lighting fixture or the like.

  Conventionally, a terminal block having a locking piece that is locked in contact with an electric wire in a housing is housed in the housing, and an electric wire inserted from an electric wire insertion port provided in the housing is connected to the locking piece. It has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the terminal block 1 ′ disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 includes a resin body 10 ′ with one side opened (upper surface in FIG. 10) and an opening side of the body 10 ′. A housing 2 'is formed by joining a resin cover 20' which is covered so as to surround the outer periphery of the peripheral wall of the body 10 ', and is introduced into the housing 2' through the wire insertion port 24 '. The inclined wall 23a that intersects the terminal portion 34 'having the locking piece 35d' that elastically contacts and locks the electric wire and the introduction wall 23b 'that forms the opening of the electric wire insertion port 24' in the peripheral wall of the housing 2 '. And a release lever portion 25 'that releases the locked state of the electric wire. Here, the release lever portion 25 ′ includes a release operation portion 25 b ′ that receives an external force that presses the release lever portion 25 ′, a release operation portion 25 b ′ at one end, and the other end on the inclined wall 23 a ′. It consists of strip-shaped flexible pieces 25a 'formed continuously, and is formed in a T-shape as a whole.
Japanese Patent No. 3608419

  However, in the terminal block 1 ′ configured as shown in FIG. 10, when an external force that presses the release operation portion 25b ′ is applied when releasing the locked state of the electric wire, the release lever portion 25 ′ swings and In some cases, stress concentrates on the connecting portion of the flexible piece 25a 'of the releasing lever portion 25' with the housing 2 ', and the releasing lever portion 25' is damaged from the connecting portion. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, when the release operation part 25b ′ is pressed by the release tool D such as a driver, the inclination of the inclined wall 23a ′ of the housing 2 ′ is inclined with respect to the direction orthogonal to the inclined wall 23a ′. If the release operation portion 25b ′ is pressed from an oblique direction, a tensile tension is generated in the longitudinal direction (the arrow direction in FIG. 11) on the flexible piece 25a ′ of the release lever portion 25 ′. Since 'is narrow so as not to be broken by bending stress because it is originally subjected to bending operation, the flexible piece 25a' may be broken by the tensile force in the longitudinal direction.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above reasons, and its purpose is to prevent damage to the release lever portion by relaxing the stress applied to the release lever portion when releasing the locked state of the electric wire. It is to provide a terminal block that can be used.

The invention according to claim 1 is inserted through the wire insertion port from an oblique direction with respect to the mounting surface to the resin housing having the wire insertion port into which the electric wire is inserted and the terminal block mounting member which is built in the housing and attaches the housing. Conductive metal fitting having a terminal portion having a locking piece for elastically contacting and locking the formed electric wire, and a release lever portion that is arranged on the peripheral wall of the housing and receives an external force to release the locked state of the electric wire by the locking piece The release lever portion includes a release operation portion that applies an external force to the release lever portion, a release operation portion that is provided at one end portion, and the other end portion that is closer to the wire insertion port is integrally connected to the housing. and a flexible piece, a part of the flexible piece, the bent portion to mitigate stress applied to the release lever portion provided we are when to release the locked state of the electric wire, flexible piece, release lever The part can move with respect to the peripheral wall Therefore, when the bent portion is extended, the release operation portion is elongated at the other end in the longitudinal direction of the elongated hole. It is formed in the shape contact | abutted to the internal peripheral surface of this .

  According to the present invention, since the bent portion is provided in a part of the flexible piece of the release lever portion, the stress applied to the release lever portion is dispersed by increasing the length of the flexible piece. Therefore, the bending stress applied to the connecting portion of the flexible piece with the peripheral wall of the housing when the locked state of the electric wire is released is alleviated, and the connecting portion can be prevented from being damaged.

Further, according to this invention, soluble Shiwahen the longitudinal direction at the other end a long hole of the cancel operation section elongated hole cancel lever portion when the bent portion of the cancel lever portion is stretched since contact with the inner peripheral surface of, and prevent the excessive tensile force is applied thereto in the longitudinal direction of the variable Shiwahen it can be prevented from causing destruction soluble Shiwahen the tension.

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1 , the flexible piece is provided with at least two bent portions.

  According to this invention, since the length of the flexible piece can be increased by providing a plurality of the bent portions on the flexible piece, the bending stress applied to the flexible piece is alleviated, and the lock is locked. It is possible to reduce the pressing force of the release operation portion when the released electric wire is set to the release state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the flexible piece has a shape in which the bent portion protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the peripheral wall of the housing, which is a movable direction of the release operation portion. It is characterized by being provided by.

  According to this invention, the flexible piece is provided with the bent portion so that the bent portion protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the peripheral wall of the housing, which is the movable direction of the release operation portion. Since the whole can be reduced in size, the terminal block can be reduced in size.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the flexible piece has the bent portion laterally in a direction along the peripheral wall of the housing perpendicular to the movable direction of the release operation portion. It is provided in the form which becomes convex.

  According to this invention, the flexible piece is provided in such a manner that the bent portion protrudes laterally in a direction along the peripheral wall of the housing perpendicular to the movable direction of the release operation portion. In the molding die for housing, it is not necessary to make the portion corresponding to the flexible piece thin and have a deep concavo-convex shape, so that the molding die can be easily manufactured and the molding die Can be made difficult to break, and molding defects are less likely to occur, resulting in cost reduction. Moreover, if it is the structure of the said shaping | molding die, the shaping | molding defect by insufficient filling of the resin to the part corresponding to the said flexible piece can be decreased. Further, even when an external force is applied to the release operation portion of the release lever portion from an oblique direction with respect to the movable direction of the release operation portion, the stress applied to the connecting portion of the flexible piece with the peripheral wall of the housing is relieved. Therefore, the breakage of the connecting portion can be prevented.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the bent portion is provided in a part of the flexible piece of the release lever portion, the flexible piece is connected to the peripheral wall of the housing when the locked state of the electric wire is released. The bending stress applied to the part is relaxed, and the breakage of the connecting part can be prevented.

(Embodiment 1)
The terminal block 1 of this embodiment is demonstrated based on FIG. 1 thru | or FIG.

  The housing 2 of the terminal block 1 surrounds the outer periphery of the peripheral wall of the body 10 from the opening side of the body 10 made of resin with one surface (upper surface in FIG. 1) opened and the body 10 with one surface (lower surface in FIG. 1) opened. It is formed by joining a resin cover 20 that is covered in a shape. Assembly claws 11 project from five locations on the outer peripheral surface of the body 10, and assembly holes 21 that fit into the respective assembly claws 11 are formed in five locations on the peripheral wall of the cover 20. Therefore, the body 10 and the cover 20 are coupled by fitting the assembly claw 11 into the assembly hole 21. In the housing 2, two power terminal blocks 3 and 4 and one load terminal block 5 are sequentially arranged. One of the two power terminal blocks 3 and 4 is provided for connecting a wire from a power source, and the other is provided for connecting a wire for feed wiring. Usually, the electric wire C1 (see FIG. 3) is connected to the power terminal block 3, and the electric wire C2 for feed wiring (see FIG. 3) is connected to the power terminal block 4.

  The body 10 is formed in a thin box shape having a bottom surface having a rectangular corner cut out in a rectangular shape. That is, the body 10 is formed in a shape in which a protrusion protrudes from one surface of the rectangular parallelepiped, and the protrusion corresponds to the load terminal base 5. The internal space of the body 10 is partitioned into three storage chambers 13a to 13c by two partition walls 12a and 12b extended in the longitudinal direction (the protruding direction of the load terminal base 5). One partition wall 12a is provided so as to partition the side where the load terminal base part 5 protrudes in the width direction of the body 10 from the remaining side, and the other partition wall 12b projects the load terminal base part 5 It is provided so that the inner space on the side that is being divided into two in the width direction. That is, the storage chamber 13a surrounded by the partition wall 12a and the peripheral wall of the body 10, the storage chamber 13b between the partition walls 12a and 12b, and the storage chamber 13c surrounded by the partition wall 12b and the peripheral wall of the body 10 are provided. It is formed. The storage chambers 13 b and 13 c are also provided with a partition base 14 that partitions a portion corresponding to the load terminal base portion 5 and the remaining portion in the longitudinal direction of the body 10.

  The peripheral wall of the cover 20 is formed along the outer periphery of the peripheral wall of the body 10, and the power terminal block portions 3 and 4 are formed on the bottom plate that covers the opening of the body 10 in the cover 20. The terminal block portions 3 and 4 are inclined wall (peripheral wall) 23a inclined so as to increase the protruding amount in the direction away from the load terminal block portion 5, and one end edge of the inclined wall 23a far from the load terminal block portion 5. And an introduction wall (peripheral wall) 23b that is inclined so as to reduce the amount of protrusion in a direction away from the load terminal base 5 in a continuous manner. Further, a connecting portion 43c is formed between the power supply terminal base portions 3 and 4, and a connecting portion 43d is formed between the power supply terminal base portion 4 and the load terminal base portion 5, and each connecting portion 43c. , 43d have a first horizontal plane 23c and a second horizontal plane 23d substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the body 10 on the side where the inclined wall 23a and the introduction wall 23b of the power terminal blocks 3, 4 protrude. Here, each of the connecting portions 43c and 43d is formed such that the thickness in the direction orthogonal to the first horizontal plane 23c and the second horizontal plane 23d is thinner than the thickness in the same direction in other portions of the housing 2. . In each introduction wall 23b, 23b, three electric wire insertion ports 24, 24, 24 for inserting electric wires are opened. Here, the terminal block 1 is attached in such a manner that the bottom surface of the body 10 abuts on a terminal block attachment member such as a fixture main body (not shown) or a printed board (not shown) of a lighting fixture. That is, the bottom surface of the body 10 is a mounting surface for the terminal block mounting member. And an electric wire is inserted in the electric wire insertion port 24 from the direction which inclines with respect to the bottom face of the body 10 which is an attachment surface.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, two wire insertion openings 15, 15 are juxtaposed in the short direction of the cover 20 on the tip surface of the portion corresponding to the load terminal base portion 5 of the cover 20. Further, a projecting table 29 is provided on the front end surface of the load terminal platform 5, and release holes 29 a and 29 a are formed in the projecting table 29 in the direction in which the wire insertion ports 15 and 15 are arranged in parallel. ing. The function of the release hole 29a will be described later. The electric wire C3 (see FIG. 3) is inserted into the electric wire insertion port 15.

  The load terminal base 5 is a step parallel to the second horizontal plane 23d at a position protruding in the same direction as the inclined wall 23a and the introduction wall 23b of the power supply terminal base 3 and 4 from the second horizontal plane 23d. 30c and 30d. Here, inclined walls 30a and 30a are formed at two locations between the step portion 30c and the second horizontal plane 23d, and an inclined wall 30b is formed between the step portion 30c and the step portion 30d. Here, rectangular drain holes 37, 37 are provided in the inclined walls 30a, 30a.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, mounting legs 26, 26 that protrude from the bottom surface of the body 10 when provided with the body 10 are provided on the outer side surfaces on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the cover 20. . Here, one mounting leg 26 is provided on the outer surface of the portion corresponding to the load terminal base 5 of the cover 20, and the other mounting leg 26 is provided in the substantially central portion of the other outer surface of the cover 20. . Each of the mounting legs 26 includes a pair of leg pieces 27 and 27 that are formed so that the distance between the mounting legs 26 decreases toward the tip, and the tip of each leg piece 27 and 27 has a direction to increase the distance from each other and the cover 20. A hook 27a is formed to protrude in the direction of leaving. The outer surfaces of the hooks 27a, 27a provided on each pair of leg pieces 27, 27 are inclined with respect to the bottom surface of the body 10 so that the distance from each other decreases toward the tip side.

  Note that the housing 2 has the mounting surface of the housing 2 (the side from which the hook 27a protrudes) abutted against the fixture body by inserting the hook 27a into a mounting hole that penetrates the fixture body of the lighting fixture (not shown). It can be attached to the instrument body in the form.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 1, a grounding conductive metal fitting 31 is stored in the storage chamber 13 a provided in the body 10, and voltage conductive fittings 32 and 32 are stored in the storage chambers 13 b and 13 c, respectively. Here, the grounding metal fitting 31 has a shape in which two terminal portions 34, 34 are connected by a connecting piece 31a and the two terminal portions 34, 34 are arranged in a straight line. A grounding piece 36 is provided on the connecting piece 31 a between the terminal portions 34, 34, and the grounding piece 36 passes through a notch groove 10 b provided on the peripheral wall of the body 10 when the body 10 and the cover 20 are coupled. Projects to the back side of the body 10. On the other hand, in the voltage conductive fitting 32, two terminal portions 34, 34 are connected by a connecting piece 32a, and a load connecting terminal portion 33 is connected by one end of the connecting portions 32, 34 in the connecting direction by a connecting piece 32a. The two terminal portions 34 and 34 and the load connection terminal portion 33 have a shape arranged on a straight line. That is, it has a shape in which the load connection terminal portion 33 is coupled to the grounding metal fitting 31. Here, the voltage conductive fittings 32 and 32 disposed in the respective storage chambers 13b and 13c are formed so as to be substantially symmetrical in the short direction of the body 10 when the partition wall 13b is a symmetry plane. .

  Here, the terminal portion 34 has a side piece 35b that is continuous with the side edge of the strip-like main piece 35a disposed along the bottom surface of the body 10 and is orthogonal to the main piece 35a, and the length of the main piece 35a. A base piece 35c orthogonal to the main piece 35a and the side piece 35b extends from one end edge of the side piece 35b in the direction. The base piece 35c is provided with a slanted locking piece 35d extending so as to increase the distance from the main piece 35a toward the distal end side from the edge opposite to the main piece 35a. On the other hand, the central edge of the terminal block 1 is a semi-cylindrical portion at the tip edge of the side piece 35b and away from the base piece 35c so that the distance from the main piece 35a increases as it approaches the base piece 35c. A guide piece 35f that is inclined with respect to the bottom surface of the body 10, which is the mounting surface, is provided continuously and integrally. The inner surface of the guide piece 35f faces the main piece 35a, and the lock piece 35d is elastically contacted with the electric wire inserted along the guide piece 35f, whereby the electric wire is connected between the guide piece 35f and the lock piece 35d. It can be pinched. Further, a strip-shaped opening 35i is formed along the longitudinal direction of the main piece 35a in the middle of the side piece 35b in the longitudinal direction of the main piece 35a, and the base piece 35c side on one side away from the main piece 35a in the opening 35i. A connecting piece 35g extending opposite the main piece 35a and extending along the locking piece 35d is provided at the end of the head. The connecting piece 35g is inclined so that the distance from the main piece 35a increases as the distance from the base piece 35c increases except for the connecting portion with the side piece 35b. Here, the distal end portion of the locking piece 35d is in contact with the inner side surface of the guide piece 35f, and the distal end portion of the connection piece 35g is disposed so as to form a gap with the guide piece 35f.

  The load connection terminal portion 33 is arranged along the bottom surface of the body 10 and is formed by bending the other end portion of a strip-like main piece 33a having one end portion formed continuously with the connecting piece 32a. It comprises a piece 33b, a rectangular introduction hole 33c formed in the upright piece 33b, and a locking piece 33d provided continuously on one side of the introduction hole 33c away from the main piece 33a. Here, the locking piece 33d elastically contacts and locks the electric wire C3 introduced into the housing 2 through the electric wire insertion port 15 of the load terminal base 5 and inserted into the introduction hole 33c. In order to release the locked state of the electric wire C3, an appropriate release jig may be inserted into the release hole 29a.

  Two long holes for allowing the release lever portion 25 to be movable with respect to the cover 20 across the inclined wall 23a and the introduction wall 23b are provided in the power terminal block portions 3 and 4 provided in the cover 20 described above. 41 and 41 are penetrated. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the release lever portion 25 has one end portion of the flexible piece 25 a continuous with the introduction wall 23 b of the housing 2 on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the long hole 41, and the other end. The part is provided with a wide release operation part 25b, and is formed in a T-shape as a whole. Accordingly, the release operation portion 25b of the release lever portion 25 is movable in a direction orthogonal to the inclined wall 23a, and presses the release operation portion 25b to push the release operation portion 25b into the housing 2 inside. By applying an external force in the direction (hereinafter referred to as the electric wire unlocking direction), a part of the release operation part 25b comes into contact with the locking piece 34a of the terminal part 34 that elastically contacts the electric wire, and further pushes the release operation part 25 in the same direction. And the locking piece 34a can be pushed in the same direction to release the locked state of the electric wire.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1B, the release lever portion 25 is provided with a bent portion 25c in a part of the flexible piece 25a, and the entire length of the flexible piece 25a is provided with the bent portion 25c. It is longer than when it is not. Thus, the stress applied to the flexible piece 25a when an external force is applied to the release operation portion 25b can be dispersed, and the bending stress applied to the connecting portion of the flexible piece 25a with the introduction wall 23b is relaxed. It is possible to prevent the connecting portion from being damaged.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the release operation portion 25b is formed so as to contact the inner peripheral surface on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the long hole 41 when the bent portion 25c extends. Thus, when the bent portion 25c is extended by an external force applied to the release lever portion 25 from the oblique direction when releasing the locked state of the electric wire, the release operation portion 25b is moved to the inner side of the elongated hole 41 on the other end side in the longitudinal direction. Since it is possible to prevent excessive tension from being applied in the longitudinal direction of the flexible piece 25a of the release lever portion 25 by contacting the peripheral surface, it is possible to prevent the flexible piece 25a from being broken by a tensile force. it can.

  Moreover, in the terminal block 1 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the two bending parts 25c and 25c may be provided in the flexible piece 25a of the release lever part 25. As shown in FIG.

  In this case, since the bending stress applied to the flexible piece 25a is further relaxed, it is possible to further reduce the external force to be applied to the release operation portion 25b in order to release the locked state of the electric wire. Further, by providing the bent portions 25c, 25c, the release lever portion 25 can be reduced in size in plan view while increasing the overall length of the flexible piece 25a, so that the housing 2 can be reduced in size. .

(Embodiment 2)
The basic configuration of the terminal block 1 of the present embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and the flexible piece 25a of the release lever portion 25 is orthogonal to the wire unlocking direction of the release operation portion 25b as shown in FIG. Bending portion 25c formed in a shape that protrudes in a direction along the inclined wall 23a of the housing 2, and formed in a shape that protrudes in a direction orthogonal to the inclined wall 23a The only difference is that it has 25d.

  9A, when an external force is applied to the release operation part 25b from the direction inclined to one end side in the longitudinal direction of the housing 2 with respect to the wire unlocking direction by the release tool D such as a driver. Without being limited thereto, as shown in FIG. 9B, even when an external force is applied to the release operation portion 25b from a direction inclined to one end side in the short direction of the housing 2 with respect to the wire unlocking direction, the flexible piece 25a and the housing Since the stress applied to the connecting portion between the two introduction walls 23b can be relaxed, the flexible piece 25a can be prevented from being damaged.

Meanwhile, the housing 2 of the terminal block 1. FIG shaped state 1 shown in FIG. 7 is composed of the body 10 and the cover 20. As described above, the body 10 and the cover 20 is formed by resin molding separately. In addition, the flexible piece 25a of the release lever portion 25 of the terminal block 1 of the present embodiment is formed with a bent portion 25c protruding in a direction perpendicular to the inclined wall 23a of the housing 2. The portion of the molding die of the cover 20 corresponding to the flexible piece 25a needs to have a structure with a thin thickness and a deep uneven shape. The molding die having such a structure is easily worn, and molding defects due to insufficient filling of the resin are likely to occur.

  On the other hand, in the terminal block 1 of the present embodiment, the flexible piece 25a is provided with the bent portion 25d so as to protrude sideways in the direction along the inclined wall 23a. Since it is not necessary to make the structure corresponding to the flexible piece 25a in the mold as described above, the mold can be easily manufactured and the mold can be hardly broken. Moreover, if it is the structure of the said shaping | molding die, the shaping | molding defect by the insufficient filling of the resin to the part corresponding to the flexible piece 25a can be decreased.

The terminal block of Embodiment 1 is shown, (a) is a disassembled perspective view, (b) is a principal part schematic side view. It is a top view which shows the same as the above. It is a front view showing the same. It is a bottom view showing the same. It is a left view which shows the same as the above. It is a right view which shows the same as the above. The terminal block of the other example same as the above is shown, (a) is a schematic perspective view partly broken, (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the main part. The terminal block of Embodiment 2 is shown, (a) is the schematic perspective view which fractured | ruptured partially, (b) is a principal part schematic perspective view. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing same as the above, (a) is a schematic explanatory drawing of an example, (b) is a schematic explanatory drawing of another example. It is a perspective view which shows a prior art example. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal block 2 Housing 3, 4 Power supply terminal block part 5 Load terminal block part 23a Inclined wall 23b Introduction wall 25 Release lever part 25a Flexible piece 25b Release operation part 25c Bending part 31 Conductive metal fittings 31a and 32a for grounding Connection piece 32 Conductive metal fitting 33 for voltage 33 Load connection terminal part 34 Terminal part 35d Locking piece 41 Long hole

Claims (4)

A resinous housing with a wire insertion slot into which the electric wire is inserted, and an electric wire inserted through the wire insertion slot in an oblique direction with respect to the mounting surface to the terminal block mounting member built in the housing and mounting the housing A release lever comprising a conductive metal fitting having a terminal portion having a lock piece to be locked, and a release lever portion that is arranged on the peripheral wall of the housing and receives an external force to release the locked state of the electric wire by the lock piece. The portion includes a release operation portion that applies an external force to the release lever portion, and a flexible piece in which the release operation portion is provided at one end portion and the other end portion close to the wire insertion port is integrally continuous with the housing, some of the flexible piece, the bent portion to mitigate stress applied to the release lever portion provided we are when to release the locked state of the electric wire, flexible pieces are movable release lever section against the peripheral wall To make it free One end side in the longitudinal direction of the long hole penetrating into the housing is integrally connected to the housing, and when the bent portion is extended, the release operation portion is brought into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the long hole on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the long hole. A terminal block formed in contact with the terminal block. The terminal block according to claim 1 , wherein at least two of the bent portions are provided on the flexible piece . The flexible piece is pre Symbol bent portion, claim 1, characterized by comprising vignetting set in a manner which is convex in a direction perpendicular to the peripheral wall of the housing is movable direction of the unlocking portion or The terminal block according to claim 2. The flexible piece, wherein said bent portion, characterized by comprising provided in a form which is convex laterally the direction along the peripheral wall of the housing perpendicular to the movable Direction of the unlocking portion 1 or 2 Symbol mounting terminal block according to claim claim.

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