JP5336768B2 - Terminal cover - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal cover that accommodates a terminal crimped to an end of an electric wire.

A terminal cover made of resin may be provided on the terminal in order to protect the terminal fitting and facilitate the attachment / detachment of the terminal.
The following are known as terminal covers.
The terminal cover disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be opened and closed by a hinge. The terminal cover is closed in a state where the terminal is accommodated in the terminal cover, and the terminal cover is restrained to a closed state by a lock provided on a side of the terminal cover facing the hinge.
The terminal cover disclosed in Patent Document 2 has locks on the side close to the hinge and the side away from the hinge. The terminal cover is constrained to be closed by both the lock on the side close to the hinge and the lock on the side away from the hinge.

JP 2007-227165 A JP 2003-157916 A

However, the above-described prior art has the following problems.
The terminal cover disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided with a lock only on the side facing the hinge. Therefore, when the hinge breaks, the terminal cover may open on the side where the hinge is provided.

On the other hand, since the terminal cover disclosed in Patent Document 2 is provided with a lock on the side close to the hinge, the terminal cover can be prevented from opening even when the hinge is broken. However, the terminal cover disclosed in Patent Document 2 is opened 180 ° by the hinge. When the opening angle of the hinge is large, the reaction force in the direction of opening the terminal cover by the hinge increases when the terminal cover is closed, so that the restraining force in the lock must be increased. As a result, the convex part etc. which form a lock | rock will enlarge, and it will be necessary to close with a big force when enlarging a terminal cover and closing a terminal cover.
Further, the lock on the side close to the hinge is provided with a lock piece having an opening portion with which the engaging piece is engaged. Since this lock piece extends in a band shape, if the lock piece is deformed for some reason, the lock is released. In addition, it is difficult to form a lock piece extending in a belt shape from the viewpoint of shape stability, dimensional stability, and the like.

In addition, if the number of the lock portions is small, the fitting in each lock becomes tight, and there is a problem that deformation or breakage is likely to occur when the lock is engaged or released.
In addition, a force other than the opening / closing direction centered on the hinge may be applied to the terminal cover, and the conventional lock sometimes lacks the restraining force to keep the terminal cover closed.
The present invention has been made based on such a technical problem, and effectively exerts restraining force against various directions of force to open the terminal cover without opening even when the hinge is broken. An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal cover that can be used.

For this purpose, the terminal cover of the present invention is a terminal cover that accommodates a terminal that is crimped to an end of an electric wire, and is a second half that fits into the first half and the first half that holds the terminal. A half body, a hinge for connecting the first half body and the second half body in an openable / closable manner at one end side of the first half body and the second half body, and at the other end side of the first half body and the second half body A first locking portion for engaging the first half and the second half, a second locking portion for engaging the first half and the second half near the hinge, and the first lock A third locking portion that restrains relative movement between the first half and the second half along the direction connecting the one end side and the other end side between the first locking portion and the second locking portion. It is characterized by that. The third lock portion is formed by a convex portion formed in one of the first half and the second half, and a slit formed in the other of the first half and the second half, and the convex portion Is located in the slit and restricts the movement of the convex portion in the width direction of the slit, thereby allowing relative movement between the first half and the second half along the direction connecting the one end side and the other end side. to bound.
By providing the second lock portion in addition to the first lock portion, it is possible to prevent the first half and the second half from opening from the hinge side even when the hinge is broken.
Furthermore, the relative movement of the first half and the second half along the direction connecting the one end and the other end provided with the hinge can be restricted by the third lock portion. When the first half and the second half are opened around one end or the other end where the hinge is provided, the first half and the second half are connected in the direction connecting the one end and the other end. A relative displacement between the first half and the second half occurs. By restricting this relative displacement with the third locking portion, the first half and the second half are prevented from opening around the hinge, and when the hinge breaks, the first half from the hinge side is prevented. And the second half can be prevented from opening.

The terminal cover of the present invention restrains the first half and the second half from being separated from each other in a portion where the electric wire is led out from the terminal cover while the terminal is held by the first half. A fourth lock portion may be further provided.
When the external force is applied to the terminal cover via the electric wire, the fourth lock portion can prevent the first half and the second half from being separated from each other, that is, the terminal cover can be prevented from opening.
The fourth lock is particularly effective when the terminal insertion / extraction direction is orthogonal to the electric wire. This is because when the terminal and the electric wire are substantially L-shaped orthogonal to each other, a force that twists the terminal cover by the electric wire is likely to act.

The second lock portion is formed on one of the first half and the second half, and is formed on the other of the first half and the second half. And a locking recess that engages with the side surface far from the hinge. By making the locking convex part into a block shape, it is possible to reduce the size, improve the dimensional stability, and improve the shape stability as compared with a locking claw or the like.
The second lock portion can restrain the first half and the second half from separating on the side where the hinge is provided when the hinge is broken.

  According to the present invention, even when the hinge is broken, it does not open, and a restraining force can be effectively exerted against forces in various directions for opening the terminal cover.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view of a terminal cover in the present embodiment, where (a) is a side view of the terminal cover, (b) is a front view from the first half side of the terminal cover, and (c) is the terminal cover. It is a side view from an electric wire derivation side. 2A and 2B are external views of the terminal cover in an opened state, in which FIG. 2A is a perspective view from the opposite side of the hinge, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view from the hinge side. 3A and 3B are external views of the terminal cover in a closed state, in which FIG. 3A is a perspective view from the second half side, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view from the first half side. 4A and 4B are side views of the terminal cover in an opened state, where FIG. 4A is a side view from the same direction as FIG. 1A, and FIG. 4B is a side view from the same direction as FIG. is there. FIG. 5A is a schematic side view showing a state where the terminal cover is about to be opened from the hinge side, and FIG. 5B is a state where the terminal cover is about to be opened from the side opposite to the hinge when the hinge is broken. It is a schematic side view which shows. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing the restraining direction exerted by the wire lead-out portion lock when the force from the wiring acts on the wiring cover, and FIG. 6B is the wire lead-out portion lock when the hinge is broken. It is a figure which shows the displacement restraint direction of the 2nd half with respect to a 1st half.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal cover 10 accommodates a receptacle terminal 20 that engages with a plug terminal. The receptacle terminal 20 is formed from a conductive material such as a copper alloy. The receptacle terminal 20 is formed of a barrel portion 21 that is crimped to the tip of the electric wire 100, and a receptacle portion 22 that extends from the barrel portion 21 in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the electric wire 100 and into which the plug terminal is inserted and removed. The barrel portion 21 includes a wire barrel 21 a that is crimped to the core wire of the electric wire 100 and an insulation barrel 21 b that is crimped to the sheath of the electric wire 100.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the terminal cover 10 includes a first half 30, a second half 40, and a hinge 50 that connects the first half 30 and the second half 40 so as to be openable and closable. Formed from. As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal cover 10 has a box shape as a whole when the first half 30 and the second half 40 are closed.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the first half 30 has a cylindrical terminal holding portion 32 that holds the receptacle portion 22 of the receptacle terminal 20 on one end side of the plate-like main body portion 31. Yes. The hinge 50 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal holding portion 32.

  The second half 40 includes a substantially rectangular plate-like base portion 41 having one side connected to the hinge 50, a wall portion 42 rising from a side adjacent to the hinge in the base portion 41, and a wall rising from a side facing the hinge. It is formed from the part 43 and the wall part 44 formed along the remaining one side. The wall portion 44 is formed with a substantially U-shaped recess 45 for passing the electric wire 100 connected to the receptacle terminal 20. In order to support the electric wire 100, an electric wire support portion 46 extending in a direction orthogonal to the wall portion 44 and having a substantially U-shaped cross section is formed on the wall portion 44 in order to support the electric wire 100.

  The terminal cover 10 has an opening 32a (FIG. 2 (b)) for inserting a plug terminal that engages with the receptacle terminal 20 with the first half 30 and the second half 40 closed. And an opening 46a (see FIG. 1 (c)) into which the electric wire 100 formed between the electric wire support portion 46 and the main body portion 31 is inserted has a box shape.

  In order to maintain the first half 30 and the second half 40 in a closed state, the terminal cover 10 includes a hinge side lock (second lock portion) 60 and an auxiliary lock (first lock portion) 70. A side lock (third lock portion) 80 and a wire lead-out portion lock (fourth lock portion) 90 are provided.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the hinge side lock 60 is provided on both sides of the hinge 50 provided on one end side of the first half 30. The hinge-side lock 60 includes a locking projection 61 formed on each side of the terminal holding portion 32 in the first half 30 and a locking recess 62 formed in the walls 42 and 44 in the second half 40. It consists of.
The locking projection 61 and the locking recess 62 have locking surfaces 61 a and 62 a on the side far from the hinge 50. The locking corner 61b positioned at one end of the locking surface 61a is formed at a right angle, whereas the locking corner 62b positioned at one end of the locking surface 62a is formed at an acute angle. When the first half 30 and the second half 40 are closed around the hinge 50, the locking corner 61b gets over the locking corner 62b, and the locking surface 61a and the locking surface 62a face each other. The locking projection 61 and the locking recess 62 engage with each other.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the hinge-side lock 60 is engaged with the first half 30 even when the hinge 50 is broken, as shown in FIG. In contrast, the second half 40 is prevented from opening on the hinge 50 side (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 5A).

As shown in FIG. 2, two sets of the auxiliary lock 70 are provided on the side (the other end side) facing the hinge 50 in the first half 30 and the second half 40. The auxiliary lock 70 includes a stepped portion 71 formed at the end of the main body portion 31 of the first half 30, and a locking claw 72 formed to protrude upward from the upper end of the wall portion 43 of the second half 40. Formed from.
As illustrated in FIG. 3B, the first half 30 and the second half 40 are locked on the side facing the hinge 50 by the locking claw 72 being locked to the stepped portion 71. . As shown in FIG. 5B, the auxiliary lock 70 restrains the opening of the first half 30 and the second half 40 around the hinge 50 (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5B). To do.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A, the side lock 80 is a side adjacent to the hinge 50 in the main body 31 of the first half 30 and the base 41 of the second half 40. And is provided. That is, the side lock 80 includes a locking projection (projection) 81 formed on the first half 30 and a locking slit (slit) 82 formed on the wall 42 of the second half 40. . The locking slit 82 is formed continuously in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the base portion 41 at the intermediate portion between the hinge 50 side and the auxiliary lock 70 side in the wall portion 42. The main body 31 is formed with a wall 83 that protrudes toward the second half 40 along the side adjacent to the hinge 50. The locking projection 81 is formed to protrude outward from the wall portion 83. The locking projection 81 has a trapezoidal shape in which the cross-sectional shape in the width direction of the locking slit 82, that is, in the direction along the surface of the main body 31 is gradually reduced toward the tip.

  As shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 3B, when the side lock 80 closes the first half 30 and the second half 40, the locking projection 81 becomes the locking slit 82. Fit in. When the locking projection 81 is positioned in the locking slit 82, the movement of the locking projection 81 in the width direction of the locking slit 82 is restricted. This restrains the opening of the first half 30 and the second half 40 (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5B) by the reaction force of the hinge 50 and the like. Further, when the hinge 50 is broken, the second half 40 is prevented from opening on the hinge 50 side with respect to the first half 30 (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 5A).

As shown in FIG. 2B, the wire lead-out lock 90 includes a locking claw 91 provided on the side far from the hinge 50 in the main body 31 of the first half 30 and the second half. It consists of a locking claw 92 formed at the end of 40 electric wire support portions 46.
As shown in FIG. 1C, when the first half body 30 and the second half body 40 are closed, the electric wire lead-out portion lock 90 engages with the engaging claws 91 and the engaging claws 92. . The wire lead-out lock 90 restrains the first half 30 and the second half 40 from opening (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5B). Furthermore, as shown to Fig.6 (a), the electric wire 100 is twisted etc., and the direction which the main-body part 31 of the 1st half 30 and the electric wire support part 46 of the 2nd half 40 open from the electric wire 100 side ( 6 (a), in the direction of arrow C), that is, when a force in the direction of twisting and opening the terminal cover 10 is applied, the main body 31 of the first half 30 and the wire support 46 of the second half 40 To prevent opening. Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the hinge 50 is broken, the second half 40 moves in the direction along the surface of the main body 31 with respect to the first half 30 (see FIG. 6B). 6 (b), the direction of arrow D) is prevented.

According to the terminal cover 10 described above, the first half 30 and the second half 40 are engaged by the hinge side lock 60, the auxiliary lock 70, the side lock 80, and the electric wire lead-out part lock 90. The half body 30 and the second half body 40 can be reliably maintained in a closed state.
Moreover, by using a total of four types of locks, that is, the hinge-side lock 60, the auxiliary lock 70, the side lock 80, and the wire lead-out lock 90, the hinge-side lock 60, the auxiliary lock 70, the side lock 80, and the wire lead-out lock 90 In each case, the projection dimensions of the locking projection 61, the locking claw 72, the locking projection 81, the locking claw 91, and the locking claw 92 for locking may be small. Therefore, it has excellent dimensional stability and shape stability when molding the locking projection 61, the locking claw 72, the locking projection 81, the locking claw 91, and the locking claw 92, stable quality and high durability. Can be obtained.
In addition, by using a total of four types of locks of the hinge side lock 60, the auxiliary lock 70, the side lock 80, and the electric wire outlet lock 90, when the terminal cover 10 is closed, the binding force in various directions is high. Moreover, even if the hinge 50 is broken, the terminal cover 10 can be reliably prevented from opening.
Further, the hinge-side lock 60 is not a restriction due to the engagement of the claws, but a restriction on the surfaces of the locking projections 61 and 62 and the locking surfaces 61a and 62a. When the claw is engaged, the restraint may be inadvertently released due to deformation, breakage, deflection, or the like of the claw, but inadvertent release of the restraint is unlikely to occur with the restraint by the surface.

In the above embodiment, the configuration of the terminal cover 10 has been described, but the shape of the details and the like can be changed as appropriate. Moreover, it is not essential to include all of the hinge side lock 60, the auxiliary lock 70, the side lock 80, and the wire lead-out portion lock 90, and two or more of these can be combined as appropriate.
Furthermore, as long as the hinge side lock 60, the auxiliary lock 70, the side lock 80, and the wire lead-out portion lock 90 can exhibit the same restraining function, the specific shape and the like of the locking portion are configured as other than those described above. Also good.
In addition to this, as long as it does not depart from the gist of the present invention, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to another configuration as appropriate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external view of the terminal cover in this Embodiment, (a) is a side view of a terminal cover, (b) is a front view from the 1st half side of a terminal cover, (c) is from the electric wire outlet side of a terminal cover. FIG. It is an external view of the state which opened the terminal cover, (a) is a perspective view from the opposite side of a hinge, (b) is a perspective view from the hinge side. It is an external view of the state which closed the terminal cover, (a) is a perspective view from the 2nd half body side, (b) is a perspective view from the 1st half body side. It is a side view in the state where a terminal cover was opened, (a) is a side view from the same direction as Drawing 1 (a), and (b) is a side view from the same direction as Drawing 1 (c). (A) is a schematic side view which shows the state which the terminal cover tried to open from the hinge side, (b) is a schematic side view which shows the state which the terminal cover tried to open from the hinge and the other side when a hinge fracture | ruptures FIG. (A) is a figure which shows the restraint direction exhibited by an electric wire lead-out part lock when the force from wiring acts on a wiring cover, (b) is the first half by an electric wire lead-out part lock when a hinge cuts. It is a figure which shows the displacement restraint direction of the 2nd half with respect to a body.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Terminal cover, 20 ... Receptacle terminal, 21 ... Barrel part, 22 ... Receptacle part, 30 ... 1st half body, 31 ... Main body part, 32 ... Terminal holding part, 40 ... 2nd half body, 41 ... Base part, 46 ... Electric wire support part, 50 ... Hinge, 60 ... Hinge side lock (second lock part), 61 ... Locking convex part, 61a ... Locking surface, 62 ... Locking concave part, 62a ... Locking surface, 70 ... Auxiliary lock (first lock part), 71 ... step part, 72 ... locking claw, 80 ... side lock (third lock part), 81 ... locking convex part (convex part), 82 ... locking slit ( Slit), 90 ... Electric wire outlet lock (fourth lock part), 91, 92 ... Locking claw, 100 ... Electric wire

Claims (5)

A terminal cover for accommodating a terminal to be crimped to an end of an electric wire,
A first half holding the terminal;
A second half that fits over the first half;
A hinge for connecting the first half and the second half so as to be openable and closable at one end side of the first half and the second half;
A first locking portion that engages the first half and the second half on the other end side of the first half and the second half;
A second locking portion for engaging the first half and the second half in the vicinity of the hinge;
Constrains relative movement between the first half and the second half along the direction connecting the one end side and the other end side between the first lock part and the second lock part. A third locking part to
Equipped with a,
The third lock portion is formed from a convex portion formed in one of the first half and the second half, and a slit formed in the other of the first half and the second half. The first half along the direction connecting the one end side and the other end side by restricting movement of the convex portion in the width direction of the slit by positioning the convex portion in the slit. A terminal cover for restraining relative movement between a body and the second half .   Fourth, which restrains the first half and the second half from being separated from each other in a portion where the electric wire is led out from the terminal cover in a state where the terminal is held by the first half. The terminal cover according to claim 1, further comprising a lock portion.   The terminal cover according to claim 2, wherein the terminal has an insertion / extraction direction orthogonal to the electric wire.   The second lock portion is formed on one of the first half and the second half, and is formed on the other of the first half and the second half. 4. The terminal cover according to claim 1, wherein the terminal cover is formed from a locking recess that engages with a side surface of the locking projection that is far from the hinge. 5.   The said 2nd lock part restrains that the said 1st half and the said 2nd half are separated in the said one end side, when the said hinge fracture | ruptures. Terminal cover.

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