JP5503603B2 - Terminal cover - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal cover having an openable / closable opening / closing part.

  Conventionally, a terminal cover that is attached to an end portion of an electric wire and covers and protects the terminal of the electric wire has been used.

  However, in a state where the terminal is still covered with the terminal cover, it is not possible to perform an operation for fastening the terminal to the electrical component with a bolt or a nut. In view of this, a terminal cover has been proposed in which a part of the terminal can be exposed by opening and closing a part of the terminal cover. This type of terminal cover is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. The terminal cap described in Patent Document 1 includes a protective opening / closing body coupled to the cap body via a hinge. Thereby, the protection opening / closing body can be opened and closed.

  In addition, Patent Document 1 is troublesome for a conventional terminal cover because it is necessary for an operator to perform an operation while holding the protective opening / closing body with a hand and maintaining an open state when fastening or releasing a bolt. It points out that.

  In this regard, the terminal cap described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a temporary locking boss on the cap body, and a protective opening / closing body with a locking hole that engages with the temporary locking boss. The structure which provided the thin part in the edge part is disclosed. In Patent Document 1, since the protective opening / closing body can be maintained open by engaging the temporary locking boss and the locking hole, the operator performs work while pressing the protective opening / closing body during the fastening operation. It is no longer necessary and workability is improved.

Japanese Patent No. 34005625

  Patent Document 1 states that the temporary locking boss can be easily detached from the locking hole of the protective opening / closing body by simply applying an appropriate turning force in the rotational direction of the protective opening / closing body. However, since the configuration of Patent Document 1 is a configuration in which the engagement protrusion formed on the temporary locking boss is engaged with the locking hole, when turning force is applied in the rotation direction of the protective opening / closing body, The engaging projection is forcibly pulled out from the locking hole, and it is inevitable that a large burden is applied to the temporary locking boss and the locking hole. Therefore, if the protective opening / closing body temporarily locked is forced to rotate, the temporary locking boss and the locking hole may be damaged. Further, since it is considered that a large force is required when the temporary locking boss is detached from the locking hole of the protective opening / closing body, it cannot be said that the temporary locking can be easily released.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal cover that can easily release the temporary fixing of the opening / closing portion.

Means and effects for solving the problems

  The problems to be solved by the present invention are as described above. Next, means for solving the problems and the effects thereof will be described.

According to the viewpoint of this invention, the terminal cover of the following structures is provided. That is, the terminal cover includes a main body portion, an opening / closing portion, and a thin hinge . The main body is attached to an electric wire. The opening / closing part is rotatable between a closed state in which the terminal of the electric wire is covered and an open state in which at least a part of the terminal is opened. The thin hinge connects the main body and the opening / closing part. The first locking surface formed on the main body portion and the second locking surface formed on the opening / closing portion are in contact with each other, so that the opening / closing portion is temporarily fixed in the open state. Yes. In a cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis of the opening / closing portion when the direction in which the opening / closing portion is rotated from the open state to the closed state about the thin hinge is the rotation direction, The first locking surface and the second locking surface are formed to be inclined with respect to the rotation direction. In the cross section, the first locking surface is in contact with the second locking surface of the opening / closing portion in the open state from the downstream side in the rotation direction. In the cross section, an end of the first locking surface on the downstream side in the rotation direction is open. In addition, in the cross section, the upstream end of the second locking surface in the rotation direction is open. Then, the temporarily opened and closed opening / closing portion can be moved to a position where the first locking surface and the second locking surface do not contact within the deformation range of the thin hinge.

  Thus, the opening / closing part can be temporarily fixed by bringing the first locking surface and the second locking surface into contact with each other. Moreover, since it is only temporarily fixed by the contact of the locking surface, the temporary locking of the opening / closing unit can be released simply by sliding the opening / closing unit in a direction parallel to the locking surface. Particularly, since the first locking surface and the second locking surface are arranged obliquely with respect to the rotation direction, the opening / closing portion is guided by the locking surface by applying a force in the rotation direction to the opening / closing portion. And can be slid in the above direction. Therefore, the temporary fixing of the opening / closing part can be released by natural operation. In addition, since the end portions of the first locking surface and the second locking surface are opened, no catching occurs when the opening / closing portion is slid in a direction parallel to the locking surface. Therefore, the temporary fixing of the opening / closing part can be released smoothly.

  The terminal cover is preferably configured as follows. That is, from the state where the first locking surface and the second locking surface are in contact, the opening / closing portion is moved in the direction along the first locking surface, and the first locking surface and the second locking surface. During the movement until the locking surface is not in contact, the main body portion and the opening / closing portion do not come into contact with each other in the section other than the first locking surface and the second locking surface.

  That is, since the opening / closing part does not come into contact with the main body part in the middle of the slide, the temporary fixing can be released simply by sliding the opening / closing part.

  The terminal cover is preferably configured as follows. That is, the main body part and the opening / closing part are integrally formed of synthetic resin. The main body part and the opening / closing part are connected by a thin hinge.

  Thus, by connecting the main body part and the opening / closing part by the thin-walled hinge, the opening / closing part can be rotated around the hinge part. Moreover, since the thin hinge can be flexibly deformed, the opening / closing part can be slid as described above.

The perspective view in the closed state of the terminal cover which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The perspective view in the open state of a terminal cover. Side surface sectional drawing in the closed state of the terminal cover attached to the electric wire. Side surface sectional drawing in the open state of the terminal cover attached to the electric wire. The side sectional drawing which expanded the contact part vicinity of the 1st locking surface and the 2nd locking surface. The perspective view in the closed state of the terminal cover of a modification. The perspective view in the open state of the terminal cover of a modification. Side surface sectional drawing in the closed state of the terminal cover of the modification attached to the electric wire. Side surface sectional drawing in the open state of the terminal cover of the modification attached to the electric wire.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a terminal cover 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal cover 10 is made of synthetic resin, and has a configuration in which a main body 11 and an opening / closing part 12 are integrally formed as shown in FIG. The terminal cover 10 is attached to an end portion of an electric wire and covers and protects the terminal portion of the electric wire.

  First, the electric wire to which the terminal cover 10 of this embodiment is attached will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 3, the electric wire 13 has a known configuration in which an outer periphery of a conductor 14 made of a plurality of metal strands is covered with an insulating coating 15. At the end of the electric wire 13, the insulating coating 15 is removed to expose the conductor 14.

  A metal terminal 16 is attached to the electric wire 13. The terminal 16 includes a conductor fixing portion 17 that is fixed to the conductor 14 of the electric wire by a method such as caulking, and a connection portion 18 that is connected to an electrical component (not shown).

  A terminal connection portion 20 as shown in FIG. 3 is provided in an electrical component (for example, a battery or a relay). The terminal connection portion 20 is formed with a metal terminal mounting bolt 21 that protrudes in a predetermined direction. On the other hand, an insertion hole (not shown) for inserting the terminal mounting bolt 21 is formed in the connection portion 18 of the terminal 16.

  The operation | work which connects the electric wire 13 comprised as mentioned above with respect to an electrical component is performed as follows. That is, the terminal mounting bolt 21 of the terminal connection portion 20 is inserted through the insertion hole of the connection portion 18 of the terminal 16. Further, the terminal mounting bolt 21 is inserted into the nut 22 and the nut 22 is tightened, whereby the terminal 16 and the terminal connecting portion 20 are fastened to form the fastening portion 23. By forming the fastening portion 23 as described above, the electric wire 13 can be connected to the electrical component.

  Next, the configuration of the terminal cover 10 will be described in detail.

  The main body portion 11 of the terminal cover 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape, and is configured so that the end portion of the electric wire 13 and the conductor fixing portion 17 of the terminal 16 can be accommodated therein. As shown in FIG. 3, the connection portion 18 of the terminal 16 protrudes outside the main body portion 11.

  The bottom 24 of the main body 11 is configured to be openable and closable. By setting the bottom 24 open, the end of the electric wire 13 (and the conductor fixing portion 17 of the terminal 16) can be disposed in the main body 11. And the terminal cover 10 can be fixed with respect to the said electric wire 13 by closing the bottom part 24 in the state which has arrange | positioned the electric wire 13 in the main-body part 11. FIG.

  A portion of the rectangular tube-shaped main body portion 11 that faces the bottom portion 24 is a ceiling portion 25. The opening / closing part 12 is connected to the outer surface of the ceiling part 25 through a thin hinge 26. With this configuration, the opening / closing part 12 can rotate between a closed state (the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 3) and an open state (the state shown in FIGS. 2 and 4) around the thin hinge 26. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the connection part 18 of the terminal 16 protruding from the main body part 11 can be covered with the opening / closing part 12 by closing the opening / closing part 12. Furthermore, a space that can accommodate a terminal mounting bolt 21 inserted into the connection portion 18, a nut 22 that closes the connection portion 18, and the like is secured inside the opening / closing portion 12. In other words, the fastening portion 23 can be protected by being covered with the opening / closing portion 12.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the opening / closing part 12 is in an open state so that the connection part 18 of the terminal 16, the terminal mounting bolt 21, the nut 22 and the like can be completely exposed. Therefore, the operation of fastening or releasing the fastening of the nut 22 can be performed by keeping the opening / closing part 12 in the open state.

  A first locking portion 31 is formed on the ceiling portion 25 of the main body portion 11 so as to protrude from the outer surface of the ceiling portion 25. On the other hand, a second locking portion 32 is formed on the opening / closing portion 12 so as to protrude from the outer surface of the opening / closing portion 12. When the opening / closing part 12 is in the open state, as shown in FIG. 4, the first locking part 31 and the second locking part 32 are engaged to temporarily fix the position of the opening / closing part 12. It is configured to be able to. Thus, since the position of the opening / closing part 12 can be temporarily fixed in the open state, it is not necessary to hold the opening / closing part 12 by hand so that the opening / closing part 12 is not closed without permission when the nut 22 is fastened. Therefore, workability such as the fastening work can be improved.

  Next, a characteristic configuration of the terminal cover 10 of the present embodiment will be described in detail. In the following description, the “rotation direction” refers to a direction when the opening / closing part 12 is rotated from the open state to the closed state. Further, in the following description, “upstream side” and “downstream side” refer to the upstream side and the downstream side in the rotation direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the first locking portion has a first locking surface 33. The second locking portion has a second locking surface 34. As shown in FIG. 5, the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34 are configured to abut in a substantially parallel state when the opening / closing part 12 is opened.

  In a cross section (shown in FIGS. 3 to 5) orthogonal to the rotation axis of the opening / closing portion 12, the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34 are in the rotation direction of the opening / closing portion 12 (FIGS. 3 to 5). In the direction indicated by the two-dot chain line arrow). In other words, in the cross section orthogonal to the rotation axis of the opening / closing part 12, the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34 are in contact with the arc tangent about the opening / closing part 12 rotation axis (thin wall hinge 26). It is formed to be diagonal.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the first locking surface 33 comes into contact with the second locking surface 34 from the downstream side in the rotation direction. As described above, in the terminal cover 10 of the present embodiment, the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34 are arranged obliquely with respect to the rotation direction, and the first locking surface 33 is disposed from the downstream side. 2 By being brought into contact with the locking surface 34, the opening / closing part 12 is locked, and the opening / closing part 12 is temporarily fixed in an open state.

  Since the opening / closing part 12 is only temporarily fixed by the contact of the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34, the temporary locking can be easily released. Specifically, the opening / closing part 12 is slid in the direction in which the downstream end of the first locking surface 33 faces (the direction indicated by the thick arrow in FIG. 5), and the first locking surface 33 and the second engagement By moving the opening / closing part 12 to a position where the stop surface 34 does not contact, the temporary fixing of the opening / closing part 12 can be released. In the terminal cover 10 of this embodiment, the main body portion 11 and the opening / closing portion 12 are connected by a thin hinge 26. Since the thin-walled hinge 26 can be deformed flexibly to some extent, the opening / closing part 12 can be slid in the above-described direction.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since it is comprised so that the 1st locking surface 33 and the 2nd locking surface 34 may become diagonal with respect to a rotation direction, force is applied with respect to the opening / closing part 12 in a rotation direction. Only temporarily can be released. That is, when a force in the rotation direction (direction indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5) is applied to the opening / closing portion 12 in the temporarily fixed state, the opening / closing portion 12 is moved by the first locking surface 33 of the main body portion 11. It is guided and naturally slides in the direction parallel to the first locking surface (the direction indicated by the thick arrow in FIG. 5). Thereby, the temporary fixing of the opening-and-closing part 12 is cancelled | released. As described above, since the temporary fixing is released only by applying a force in the rotational direction to the opening / closing portion 12 in the temporary fixing state, a special operation for releasing the temporary fixing is not necessary. Accordingly, the opening / closing part 12 in the temporarily fixed state can be easily rotated to the closed state.

  In the present embodiment, the downstream end portion of the first locking surface 33 is opened in a cross section (shown in FIGS. 3 to 5) orthogonal to the rotation axis of the opening / closing portion 12. In the cross section, the upstream end of the second locking surface 34 is open. Here, the fact that the downstream end of the first locking surface 33 is open means that in the cross section, the main body portion 11 extends along a virtual line 35 (FIG. 3) that extends the first locking surface 33 downstream. Indicates no interference. Further, the fact that the upstream end of the second locking surface 34 is open means that, in the cross section, the opening / closing portion 12 is located on a virtual line 36 (FIG. 3) that extends the second locking surface 34 upstream. It means not to interfere. This means that there are no obstacles at the tip of the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34.

  Since it is configured in this way, when the opening / closing part 12 is slid along the first locking surface 33, no catch or resistance occurs. Thereby, the temporary fixing of the opening / closing part 12 can be smoothly performed.

  Further, the terminal cover 10 of the present embodiment is configured such that when the open / close portion 12 is slid along the first locking surface 33, the main body portion 11 and the opening / closing portion 12 (at locations other than the locking surfaces 33 and 34). ) It is configured not to touch. That is, when the opening / closing part 12 is slid, if the opening / closing part 12 comes into contact with the main body part 11, the sliding is hindered, so that the temporary fixing of the opening / closing part 12 can be smoothly released. Disappear. In this regard, by configuring as described above, the temporary fixing of the opening / closing part 12 can be smoothly performed.

  As described above, the terminal cover 10 of this embodiment includes the main body 11 and the opening / closing part 12. The main body 11 is attached to the electric wire 13. The opening / closing part 12 is rotatable between a closed state in which the terminal 16 of the electric wire 13 is covered and an open state in which a part of the terminal 16 is opened. The first locking surface 33 formed on the main body 11 and the second locking surface 34 formed on the opening / closing portion 12 come into contact with each other, so that the opening / closing portion 12 is temporarily fixed in the open state. ing. In the cross section orthogonal to the rotation axis of the opening / closing part 12, the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34 are formed to be inclined with respect to the rotation direction. In the cross section, the first locking surface 33 comes into contact with the second locking surface of the open / close portion 12 from the downstream side. In the cross section, the downstream end of the first locking surface 33 is open. In the cross section, the upstream end of the second locking surface 34 is open.

  Thus, the opening / closing part 12 can be temporarily fixed by bringing the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34 into contact with each other. Moreover, since it is only temporarily fixed by contact with the locking surface, the temporary locking of the opening / closing unit 12 can be released simply by sliding the opening / closing unit 12 in a direction parallel to the locking surface. In particular, since the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34 are disposed obliquely with respect to the rotation direction, the opening / closing portion 12 is engaged by applying a force in the rotation direction to the opening / closing portion 12. It can be guided by a stop surface and slid in the above direction. Therefore, the temporary fixing of the opening / closing part 12 can be released by a natural operation. Further, since the end portions of the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34 are opened, no catching occurs when the opening / closing portion 12 is slid in a direction parallel to the locking surface. Therefore, the temporary fixing of the opening / closing part 12 can be released smoothly.

  Moreover, in said embodiment, the terminal cover 10 is comprised as follows. That is, from the state where the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34 are in contact, the opening / closing part 12 is moved in the direction along the first locking surface 33 in the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface. While moving until the stop surface 34 is not in contact, the main body portion 11 and the opening / closing portion 12 do not come into contact with each other in the section other than the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34.

  That is, since the opening / closing part 12 does not come into contact with the main body part 11 in the middle of sliding, the temporary fixing can be released simply by sliding the opening / closing part 12.

  Moreover, the terminal cover 10 of this embodiment is comprised as follows. That is, the main body 11 and the opening / closing part 12 are integrally formed of synthetic resin. The main body 11 and the opening / closing part 12 are connected by a thin hinge 26.

  Thus, by connecting the main body part 11 and the opening / closing part 12 by the thin hinge 26, the opening / closing part 12 can be rotated around the hinge part. Moreover, since the thin hinge 26 can be flexibly deformed, the opening / closing part 12 can be slid as described above.

  Next, a modification of the above embodiment will be described. A terminal cover 100 according to this modification is shown in FIGS. In the description of this modification, the same or similar members as those in the above-described embodiment may be denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and the description may be omitted.

  The difference between the terminal cover 100 of this embodiment and the terminal cover 10 of the above embodiment is mainly the shapes of the first locking portion 31 and the second locking portion 32.

  That is, in the terminal cover 10 of the above embodiment, the first locking portion 31 is provided to protrude outward from the ceiling portion 25. On the other hand, in the terminal cover 100 of the present modification, an insertion hole is formed in the ceiling portion 25, and this insertion hole is the first locking portion 31. And as shown in FIG. 8 etc., the cross-section collar of the edge of the 1st latching | locking part 31 comprised as an insertion hole is formed diagonally, and it is set as the 1st latching surface 33. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, the second locking portion 32 is formed so as to protrude from the opening / closing portion 12 so that it can be inserted into the first locking portion 31. And the 2nd latching | locking part 32 is provided with the 2nd latching surface 34 which can contact the 1st latching surface 33 in the state inserted in the 1st latching | locking part 31. FIG.

  Similarly to the above-described embodiment, also in this modification, the first locking surface 33 and the second locking surface 34 are formed obliquely with respect to the rotation direction. Further, the downstream end of the first locking surface 33 and the upstream end of the second locking surface 34 are open. As described above, the shapes of the first locking portion 31 and the second locking portion 32 can be changed as appropriate.

  In this modification, the conductor 14 of the electric wire 13 and the conductor fixing portion 17 of the terminal 16 are protected by the taping 38. Thus, when the conductor 14 and the terminal 16 are protected by the taping 38 or the like, the taping portion is not necessarily covered with the terminal cover. Therefore, in the terminal cover 100 of the present modification, the main body 11 is shorter than the above embodiment. Thereby, a part of the conductor fixing part 17 protrudes from the main body part 11. Thus, the terminal cover does not need to cover the entire terminal 16 and may be configured to cover only a part of the terminal 16.

  The preferred embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, but the above configuration can be modified as follows, for example.

  In the drawings used for the description, the terminal 16 is bent halfway, and the longitudinal direction of the connecting portion 18 is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the conductor fixing portion 17. However, it goes without saying that the configuration of the present invention can be applied not only to the terminal cover for the terminal 16 bent in the middle but also to a terminal cover for a straight terminal.

  The method of connecting the terminal of the electric wire 13 to the electrical component is not limited to the tightening of the nut 22, and an appropriate method can be used.

  In the above description, the ceiling portion 25 and the bottom portion 24 have been described. However, these are names for convenience of description, and do not limit the vertical relationship.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Terminal cover 11 Main-body part 12 Opening / closing part 26 Thin hinge 33 1st locking surface 34 2nd locking surface

Claims (3)

A main body attached to the electric wire;
An opening / closing part rotatable between a closed state covering the terminal of the electric wire and an open state opening at least a part of the terminal;
A thin hinge connecting the main body and the opening / closing part;
In the terminal cover with
The first locking surface formed on the main body portion and the second locking surface formed on the opening / closing portion are in contact with each other, so that the opening / closing portion is temporarily fixed in the open state. And
When the direction when the opening / closing part is rotated from the open state to the closed state with the thin hinge as an axis center is a rotation direction,
In a cross section orthogonal to the rotation axis of the opening / closing part,
The first locking surface and the second locking surface are formed to be inclined with respect to the rotation direction,
The first locking surface is in contact with the second locking surface of the opening / closing portion in the open state from the downstream side in the rotation direction,
The downstream end of the first locking surface in the rotational direction is open,
The upstream end of the second locking surface in the rotational direction is open ,
The opening / closing portion temporarily fixed can be moved to a position where the first locking surface and the second locking surface do not contact within the deformation range of the thin hinge. Terminal cover. The terminal cover according to claim 1,
From the state in which the first locking surface and the second locking surface are in contact, the opening / closing portion is moved in the direction along the first locking surface, and the first locking surface and the second locking surface During the movement until the surfaces do not come into contact with each other, in the cross section, the main body portion and the opening / closing portion are not in contact with each other except the first locking surface and the second locking surface. Terminal cover. The terminal cover according to claim 1 or 2,
The main body portion and the opening / closing portion are integrally formed of synthetic resin,
The body cover and the opening / closing part are connected by a thin hinge.

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