JPH09237645A - Terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal device which has small dimension in the depth of a total unit in a thin type further with automatization easily realizable of an assembly process, though having an automatic reset structure automatically separating from a terminal metal fitting (internal thread) a screw, when it is untightened, without coming off of the terminal screw with washer of a controlling equipment of push button switch, select switch, display lamp, etc. SOLUTION: This device has a belt-shaped terminal metal fitting 6 provided with an internal thread screwing a terminal screw 8, washer guide 15 bending one side of a washer supporting the terminal screw 8 at a right angle to be extended and a resetting twist coil spring 16 engaging with a tip end of this washer guide 15 to be elastically deformed. Here, a thickness direction of this device is divided into two parts by a housing, so as to provide in obverse/reverse both sides of its partitioning wall a barrel part storage space of the terminal screw 8 Nd a storage space of the resetting twist coil spring 16.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal device provided in a control device such as a push button switch, a select switch and an indicator lamp.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 shows a conventional push button switch. A contact portion 32 is connected to the back of the push button operating portion 31, and the contact portion 32 is provided with terminal fittings 33, 33 that are electrically connected to the fixed contact and the movable contact, and terminal screws with washers 34, 34 that are screwed into the fitting. There is. When connecting, for example, an electric wire with a round crimp terminal to the terminal fitting 33 of the contact portion 32, it is necessary to completely loosen the terminal screw 34, detach it, and screw it again, which increases the number of wiring work steps. There is a risk that the terminal screw may be lost or the terminal screw may fall, resulting in a short circuit in the circuit where it falls, and that it is difficult to screw the terminal screw with washer into the terminal fitting when there is not enough space around it. .

Expanding the technical field and looking at the prior art of a terminal block for simply connecting electric wires to each other, the actual technology is found in 2-1-2666.
In the publication, as shown in FIG. 2, a washer that supports the terminal screw 40 at the neck is bent downward to provide a washer guide portion 42, which is penetrated from the upper side to the lower side of the terminal metal fitting 41. A terminal block in which a coil portion of a screw coil spring 44 is attached to a shaft 43 below the screw coil to support the screw coil spring 44 and a free end of which is engaged with a lower end of the washer guide portion 42 is described.

If this automatic return structure of the terminal block is to be diverted to a control element such as a push button switch, the coil portion of the torsion coil spring 44 is mounted on the shaft 43, and the spring 44 is attached.
Since it has to be engaged with the lower end of the washer guide portion 42 while pressing and bending, there is a drawback that the assembly work is difficult and the automation is very difficult. Also, the terminal screw 40
Since the return spring 44 is arranged on the axial extension of the terminal screw 40 at the lower part, there is a drawback that the depth dimension becomes long.

A recently increasing demand for control elements or control devices is a finger protection structure. This is a structure that is protected by an insulator so that it is hard to touch the finger because there is a risk of electric shock when touching the finger when the energized portion such as the head of the terminal screw is exposed.

The prior art of this finger protect structure is, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a method of providing a detachable finger protect cover 36 on the contact portion main body 35 so as to cover the terminal screw 34, or FIG.
As shown in FIG.
There is a method of fixing the finger protection pieces 38, 38 covering the head of 34 by adhesion or the like. However, any of the methods has a drawback that the number of parts increases, and in particular, the method of providing the finger protect cover 36 has a drawback that the finger protect cover 36 falls off or forgets to be attached once removed.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks all at once, and provides an automatic return structure in which a terminal screw with a washer is automatically released from the terminal fitting when the screw is loosened without dropping. An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal device which can be easily realized because it can be assembled simply by sliding and moving without preloading the torsion coil spring in the assembly process.

[0008]

The terminal device of the present invention comprises a terminal screw with a washer, a strip-shaped terminal fitting for connecting a female screw screwed to the terminal screw and a switching contact, and one side of the washer. A washer guide that bends toward the terminal fitting and crosses the terminal fitting through a side edge of the terminal fitting, and a screw coil spring (return spring) arranged between the tip of the washer guide and the housing. The body of the terminal screw is stored on the back side of a housing partition wall that divides the thickness direction of the terminal device into two parts, and the screw coil spring is stored on the front side thereof.

According to this structure, the restoring force of the torsion coil spring constantly presses the washer guide in the direction in which the terminal screw is disengaged. Therefore, when the terminal screw is loosened, the terminal screw is immediately disengaged from the female screw. A "clearance" is formed so that the wire can be inserted and the wire can be inserted. At that time, since the terminal screw and the washer guide always move together, there is no risk of the terminal screw falling off.

Further, since the washer guide intersects through the side edge of the terminal fitting, the thickness of that portion is the sum of the width of the terminal fitting and the thickness of the washer guide, and the thickness of the entire terminal device. It is easy to keep it small. Further, the torsion coil spring usually has a small number of turns of one to several turns, the windings are always in close contact with each other, and the axial length thereof does not expand and contract like a helical coil spring, so that the thickness direction of the terminal device is Since the length occupied by the terminal device is small, the thickness of the entire terminal device can be kept small from this point as well. In addition, when the terminal screw is tightened, the penetration length of the terminal metal fitting in the body part (screw part) of the terminal screw becomes the maximum, which requires a space to store it. Since the storage space of the coil spring is divided into two parts, that is, the front and back sides of the partition wall, the depth dimension of the terminal device is shortened.

Among the terminal devices of the present invention, the structure relating to the torsion coil spring provided on the front side of the partition wall is as follows.
A protrusion to which the coil portion of the torsion coil spring is mounted is provided at a position distant from the passage where the washer guide is displaced by a predetermined distance, and an inclined surface facing downward on the surface of the partition wall on the passage side of the protrusion. Is formed.

Further, barriers are formed on two intersecting sides forming a boundary of the surface of the partition wall, the protrusions are arranged at the corners, and the through holes of the washer guide are provided at predetermined positions of the barriers on the two sides. A locking portion for locking the fixed arm of the coil spring is provided, and the torsion coil spring can be mounted in the space on the surface of the partition wall.

According to this structure, the coil spring can be mounted on the projection over the inclined surface only by placing the torsion coil spring on the surface of the partition wall and moving it while sliding on the surface from the washer guide passage side toward the projection. Since the arm length of the coil spring is manufactured in advance to a predetermined length, the arm length of the coil spring is locked by the washer guide tip and the locking portion following attachment to the protrusion. This is of great importance for the automation of the assembly process.

In the terminal device of the present invention, a finger protect portion may be formed integrally with the housing body that holds the terminal fitting, and the finger protect portion may also function as a stopper when the terminal screw is removed. The upward movement of the terminal screw can be controlled, the terminal screw can be held, and the terminal screw can be prevented from falling off.

When the present invention is applied to a control device, the configuration comprises a front stage portion such as an operating portion and a contact portion detachably connected to the front stage portion, the contact portion being an electric contact and the electric contact. A terminal fitting that conducts with the terminal fitting, a terminal screw that engages with the terminal fitting, a transmitter that opens and closes contacts in response to the operation of the operating portion, a housing body that holds these members, and a housing body that is mounted to the housing body. And a device including a main body case including a front wall that abuts against the front part, wherein a washer guide that bends toward the terminal fitting and extends parallel to the axis of the terminal screw is provided on one side of the washer supporting the terminal screw. A screw coil spring is provided between the tip of the washer guide and the locking portion of the housing body, and the terminal screw is provided on the back side of the housing partition wall that divides the thickness direction of the terminal device into two parts. Barrel is housed, and wherein said torsion coil spring is accommodated in the front side.

In this case, it is preferable that the axial direction of the terminal screw is inclined so that the screw head opens with respect to the front-back direction of the control device, that is, the moving direction of the transmitter.

[0017]

FIG. 5 is an external view of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a rear view thereof, and (B) is a side view thereof. In addition, in the figure (B), the lower side is the front in a normal use state, and the upper side is the back. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the contact portion 2 taken along the plane passing through the center lines of the two terminal screws 8 and 8 to cut the housing.

The contact portion 2 is connected to the back of the push button operating portion 1 by the elastic engagement piece 12 of the case body 10, the instruction of the operating portion 1 is transmitted to the transmitting element 3, and the transmitting element 3 serves as the operating portion. In response to an operation, the movable contact 4 is turned on / off with respect to the fixed contact 5. The fixed contact 5 is provided at one end of the terminal fitting 6, and the female screw 7 is engraved on the embossed portion of the terminal fitting 6, and the terminal screw 8 with a washer is screwed into the female screw 7, and the surface of the terminal fitting 6 and the washer 14 are joined together. The wire terminals are sandwiched between them.
The above-mentioned members are held by the housing body 9.

As shown in FIG. 7, the housing has a two-part fitting structure composed of a housing main body 9 and a main body case 10 covering the three surfaces thereof. The main body case 10 has both left and right side wall portions and push button operation. A front wall 11 that abuts on the portion 1 and engaging portions 12 and 12 that engage with the operating portion 1 are provided, and contact windows 23 and 23 for checking the on / off state of the contacts 4 and 5 are provided on one side of both side wall portions. And the wire insertion holes 24, 24 are open. Also, the housing body 9 has terminal screws 8,
Finger protect portions 13, 13 which cover the head portion of 8 and also serve as stoppers are integrally formed.

When the push button operating portion 1 is in the off state, the transmitter 3 is displaced forward (downward in the figure), the contacts 4 and 5 are off, and when the push button operating portion 1 is turned on, the transmitter 3 moves. It is displaced rearward and the contacts 4 and 5 are turned on. Axial directions B and B of the terminal screws 8 and 8 are inclined with respect to the moving direction A of the transmitter 3 so that the heads of the screws open. The inclination of the terminal screw shaft not only facilitates the driver operation of the terminal screw, but also has the effect of effectively applying the restoring force of the screw coil spring as described later.

FIG. 8 shows a side view on the opposite side of FIG. 6 with the main body case 10 of the above embodiment removed, and FIG. 9 shows a front view thereof. FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of the torsion coil spring of FIG. 8 and its periphery, and FIG.
It is B sectional drawing.

A hanging piece is formed on one side (the back side of the paper surface in FIG. 6) of a substantially rectangular washer 14 which fits into the neck portion of the terminal screws 8 and 8 shown in FIG. Is bent at a right angle in parallel to the axis of the terminal screw 8 and extends toward and intersects with the terminal fitting 6, which forms a washer guide 15. As shown in FIG.
8 and the terminal screws 8 and 8 and contacts 4 and 5 shown in FIG.
A partition wall for partitioning the return torsion coil springs 16, 16 shown in FIG. This partition wall is provided in a direction that bisects the thickness direction of the terminal device. The surface 17 of the partition wall on the side where the torsion coil spring 16 is provided has a first barrier 18 in the front-rear direction that partitions the transmitter 3.
And the second barrier 19 in the left-right direction that separates the contact points 4 and 5 from each other. Near the intersection of the two barriers 18 and 19, that is, at the corner of the surface 17, the torsion coil spring 16 is provided.
The circular protrusion 20 to which the coil portion of is attached is integrally formed.

The first barrier 18 has a torsion coil spring 1
An engaging portion with which the tip of the fixed arm 21 of 6 is hooked is formed, and a through hole through which the washer guide 15 passes is formed in the second barrier 19. The washer guide 15 has a distal end on which the distal end of the movable arm 22 of the torsion coil spring 16 hangs, and a locking portion for slidably supporting the movable arm 22 is formed. In FIG. 10, the alternate long and short dash line K indicates the center line of the passage in which the washer guide 15 is displaced. The protrusion 20 is provided at a position separated from the passage K of the washer guide by a predetermined distance D.

As shown in FIG. 11, the circular protrusion 20 has an inclined surface 25 that is lower than the surface 17 of the partition wall toward the passage side of the washer guide and has its lower end continuous with the surface 17. Are formed. This inclined surface 25 facilitates mounting work of the torsion coil spring 16 together with the surface 17.

Next, a method of using this embodiment will be described. In the returning state, as shown in FIGS. 6, 8 and 10, the restoring force of the restoring spring 16 causes the terminal screw 8 to move away from the terminal fitting 6 together with the washer 14, and the tip of the terminal screw 8 and the terminal fitting 6
There is a sufficient "gap" between the wires to insert an electric wire or the like. The electric wires and the like can be inserted from two directions orthogonal to each other, that is, the W ₁ direction shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 or the W ₂ direction shown in FIG. When the terminal screw 8 is tightened,
The screw washer guide 15 is displaced accordingly, and the return spring 16 is deformed as shown in FIG. The terminal screw 8 is loosened to remove the electric wire, etc.
When it is disengaged from the female screw 7, the restoring force of the restoring spring 16 causes the restoring force to return to the restoring state.

FIGS. 13A to 13D are explanatory views of the assembling method of the above embodiment. The washer-equipped terminal screws 8 and 8 are attached to the housing body 9 (A), and then the contact kit including the terminal fittings 6 and 6 and the transmission piece 3 is attached (B). Subsequently, the return springs 16 and 16 are placed on the surface 17 in the natural state (C), and the spring 16 is slid on the surface 17 and moved toward the protrusion 20 to show the state shown in FIGS. Is attached to the protrusion 20. Finally, the main body case 10 is attached, and the assembly process (D) is completed.

[0027]

The present invention has the following various effects. (1) When the wire is not wired, it can be immediately inserted into the space above the terminal fitting due to the force of the return spring and the wire can be immediately inserted. Because it automatically returns to the return state by force,
Wiring work man-hours can be reduced, and wiring workability is good even when the device is mounted closely.

(2) In the restored state, the terminal screw is held in the restored state by the stopper function of the finger protector 13 of the housing, so there is no risk of the terminal screw falling off or being lost.

(3) Since the housing partition wall 17 which divides the thickness direction of the terminal device is provided, and the body of the terminal screw and the return spring are provided on both sides of the housing partition wall, the depth length of the terminal device is increased. It can be kept short.

(4) Since the washer guides intersect through the side edges of the terminal fitting, there is no need to reduce the width of the terminal fitting or to form an opening for crossing, and the thickness of the terminal device. Can be kept small.

(5) At the time of assembling work, the return spring is placed on the surface 17 of the partition wall in a free state where no preload is applied, and the coil portion is slid along the surface 17 and moved to be mounted on the protrusion 20. As a result, the assembling work is easy, and the automatic assembling machine can be easily handled.

(6) At this time, since the projection 20 is provided at the corner near the intersection of the barriers 18 and 19 forming the boundary of the surface 17, when the coil portion is moved and mounted on the projection, The two arms 21 and 22 of the torsion coil spring also come into contact with the barriers 18 and 19 and are set in a predetermined state. Therefore, there is no fear that the coil portion will go over the protrusion 20 and go too far.
It facilitates assembly work and its automation.

(7) Since the finger protect portion is formed integrally with the housing body, the number of parts is reduced, and the safety is high because there is no possibility of coming off.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a conventional example.

FIG. 2 shows a conventional example.

FIG. 3 shows a conventional example.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional example.

5A and 5B are external views of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5A is a rear view thereof, and FIG. 5B is a side view thereof.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the above embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the housing body 9 and the body case 10 of the above embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side view on the opposite side of FIG. 6 with the main body case 10 of the above embodiment removed.

FIG. 9 is a front view of FIG.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the return spring of FIG. 8 and its peripheral portion.

11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AB in FIG.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view of the action of the washer guide 15 and the return spring 16.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an assembly process of the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ・ ・ ・ Push button operation part 2 ・ ・ ・ Contact part 3 ・ ・ ・ Transfer element 4 ・ ・ ・ Moving contact 5 ・ ・ ・ Fixed contact 6 ・ ・ ・ Terminal metal fitting 7 ・ ・ ・ Female screw 8 ・ ・ ・ Terminal screw 9 ・ ・ ・ Housing body 10 ・ ・ ・ Body case 11 ... front wall of main body case 12 ... engagement part 13 ... finger protection part 14 ... washer 15 ... washer guide 16 ... torsion coil spring (return spring) 17 ... partition wall surface 18 ... 1st Barrier 19 Second barrier 20 Projection 21 Fixed arm of screw coil spring 22 Movable arm of coil spring 23 Contact window of body case 24 Wire insertion hole 25 Inclined surface of protrusion

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A terminal screw with a washer, a strip-shaped terminal fitting for connecting a female screw screwed to the terminal screw and a switching contact, one side of the washer is bent toward the terminal fitting, and a side edge of the terminal fitting is formed. Has a washer guide that intersects with the terminal fitting and a screw coil spring disposed between the tip of the washer guide and the housing, and the terminal screw is provided on the back side of the housing partition wall that bisects the thickness direction of the terminal device. A terminal device in which the body portion of the above is housed and the above-mentioned torsion coil spring is housed on the front side thereof. 2. A structure formed on the front side of the partition wall, wherein a projection to which the coil portion of the torsion coil spring is mounted is provided at a position distant from the passage in which the washer guide is displaced by a predetermined distance. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein an inclined surface is formed on the passage side of the projection so as to be lower than the surface of the partition wall. 3. A barrier is formed at two intersecting sides that form a boundary of the surface of the partition wall, the protrusion is disposed near the intersection where the two sides intersect, and the washer is provided at a predetermined position of the first barrier. A guide through hole is provided, a locking portion is provided at a predetermined position of the second barrier, a coil portion of the torsion coil spring is mounted on the protrusion, and a fixed arm thereof is locked to the locking portion. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein a movable arm is locked to a tip of the washer guide. 4. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein a finger protect portion is formed integrally with a housing body that holds the terminal fitting, and the finger protect portion also serves as a stopper function when the terminal screw is detached. . 5. A front part such as an operation part and a contact part detachably connected to the front part, the contact part being an electric contact, a terminal fitting electrically connected to the electric contact, a terminal fitting and a screw. A terminal screw to be fitted, a transmitter that opens and closes contacts in response to the operation of the operation portion, a housing body that holds these members, and a front wall that is attached to the housing body and is in contact with the preceding stage portion. A device provided with a body case including a washer guide, which is bent to one side of the washer supporting the terminal screw and extends parallel to the axis of the terminal screw, the washer guide tip and the housing body A screw coil spring is provided between the locking parts, and the terminal screw is housed on the back side of the housing partition wall that divides the thickness direction of the terminal device in two, and the screw coil coil is on the front side. A terminal device for electric equipment, characterized in that the terminal is stored therein.