JP2021089884A - Terminal connection unit - Google Patents

Abstract

To hold a conducting wire with a leaf spring in a more secure manner.SOLUTION: A terminal connection unit 10 includes: a housing; a terminal hole 15 which guides a conducting wire from an exterior of the housing to an interior; an operation hole 16 which guides a driver 20 from the exterior of the housing to the interior; a terminal plate 36 having a conductive contact part 36a which contacts with the conducting wire 12 inserted into the terminal hole 15; and a leaf spring 38 which biases the conducting wire 12 to the conductive contact part 36a side with an elastic force and which is located on an extension line of a center axis of the operation hole 16. The terminal plate 36 has a bent piece 36b which is bent from a tip of the conductive contact part 36a and is parallel to the conductive contact part 36a in an F1 direction in which the leaf spring 38 presses. The housing includes: a front wall 26b supporting the bent piece 36b from the back side in the F1 direction; and a front wall 28b supporting the conductive contact part 36a from the back side in the F1 direction. A protruding part 18 of the bent piece 36b is press-fitted in an input hole 34 of an additional unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal connection unit that connects a conducting wire to a terminal.

There is a so-called spring terminal type terminal connection unit for connecting a conducting wire to a terminal. This type of terminal connection unit includes a metal terminal plate and a leaf spring. When the end of the conductor is inserted into a predetermined terminal hole, the leaf spring presses the conducting wire against the terminal plate to make it conductive with the terminal plate and also prevents the conducting wire from coming off. When the driver is inserted through the predetermined operation hole, the driver comes into contact with the leaf spring and elastically deforms, and the conducting wire is opened so that the driver can be detached.

Compared to the screw terminal type, the spring terminal type terminal connection unit makes it easier to attach and detach the conducting wire, and it is possible to prevent poor contact due to forgetting to close the screw. Examples of the spring terminal type terminal connection unit include those described in Patent Document 1.

In the terminal connection unit described in Patent Document 1, a conductive contact portion in the terminal plate is provided along the housing wall. Then, the conducting wire inserted from the terminal hole is sandwiched between the leaf spring and the conductive contact portion.

JP-A-2017-162579

In the terminal connection unit described in Patent Document 1, even if the inserted lead wire is to be pulled out as it is, a strong tightening force corresponding to the pulling force is generated and the lead wire is not pulled out. However, if a pulling force exceeding the permissible limit is applied to the conducting wire due to improper handling and wiring of the conducting wire, or the weight of an excessively long electric wire, the tightening force generated by the leaf spring becomes excessively large and conductive. There is a concern that the contact part and the housing wall will be deformed (mainly plastic deformation). When such deformation occurs, the holding force of the conducting wire by the leaf spring weakens. Such deformation can be prevented by using a high-strength member for the conductive contact portion and the housing wall, or by making the housing wall thicker, but this causes an increase in weight and cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal connection unit capable of more reliably holding a conducting wire by a leaf spring.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the terminal connection unit according to the present invention has a housing, a terminal hole for guiding a conducting wire from the outside of the housing to the inside, and an operating member from the outside of the housing to the inside. An operation hole for guiding, a terminal plate having a conductive contact portion that comes into contact with the conducting wire inserted into the terminal hole, and the conducting wire inserted into the terminal hole are urged toward the conductive contact portion side by an elastic force. A terminal connection unit comprising a leaf spring located on an extension of the central axis of the operating hole, wherein the terminal plate further has a bent piece bent from the tip of the conductive contact portion, and the housing is It is characterized by including a first support member that supports the bent piece from the back side in the pressing direction of the leaf spring, and a second supporting member that supports the conductive contact portion from the back side in the pressing direction.

Since such a terminal connection unit has a first support member that supports the bent piece from the back side and a second support member that supports the conductive contact portion from the back side, the urging force generated by the leaf spring is the first. It is supported and dispersed by one support member and a second support member. Therefore, the conductive contact portion and the second support member are suppressed from being plastically deformed, and the conductor can be more reliably held by the leaf spring.

The bent piece may be parallel to the conductive contact portion in the pressing direction.

The bent piece may have a protrusion protruding from the housing, and the protrusion may fit into an input / output hole of an accompanying unit combined with the terminal connection unit and conduct with the input / output hole.

The first support member may be supported by a part of the accompanying unit.

The protruding portion may protrude from the base end portion of the conductive contact portion in the direction of the center line between the conductive contact portion and the bent piece.

The housing may have a first housing including the first support member and a second housing including the second support member.

The bent portion between the conductive contact portion and the bent piece may be sandwiched between the first housing and the second housing in the plate thickness direction.

The bent portion between the conductive contact portion and the bent piece has a curved shape, and the end portion thereof may come into contact with the electric contact portion side of the terminal hole.

The conductive contact portion may be arranged parallel to the extension line of the terminal hole, and the bent piece may be arranged at an angle that intersects the extension line of the terminal hole at an acute angle.

The terminal plate may further have a bottom piece that is bent from the base end of the conductive contact portion and is orthogonal to the extension line of the terminal hole.

The terminal connection unit according to the present invention can more reliably hold the conducting wire by the leaf spring.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the terminal connection unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal connection unit and the transformer unit combined with the terminal connection unit. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the terminal connection unit. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the terminals. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the terminal connection unit with the conducting wire attached. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing how the terminal plate is deformed by the urging force of the leaf spring. FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a state in which the terminal connection unit and the transformer unit are combined. FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view in which the terminal connection unit and the transformer unit are combined and the terminals are omitted.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the terminal connection unit according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a terminal connection unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal connection unit 10 connects the conducting wire 12 to the terminal 14, and is a so-called spring terminal type. In the following description, the front-back direction, the up-down direction, and the left-right direction (also referred to as the width direction) of the terminal connection unit 10 are defined by the arrows shown in FIG. The front side of the terminal connection unit 10 is basically the side operated by the operator. In the following description, expressions relating to directions such as up / down, horizontal, left / right, and vertical are for convenience based on the drawings, and the terminal connection unit 10 is not limited in its orientation when used.

The terminal connection unit 10 is box-shaped and has four terminal holes 15 provided diagonally forward and four operation holes 16 provided on the upper surface. The terminal hole 15 is a hole that guides the conducting wire 12 from the outside to the inside. The operation hole 16 is a hole that guides the driver 20 as an operation member from the outside to the inside. Two terminal holes 15 and two operation holes 16 are grouped on the left and right sides, and are arranged in the left-right direction. The terminal hole 15 and the operation hole 16 are arranged in the front-rear direction, respectively. The terminal connection unit 10 has four protrusions 18 below. The protrusions 18 are conductors and are arranged below the terminal holes 15. The two protrusions 18 on the left and right are electrically conductive inside. The conducting wires 12 are individually inserted into the terminal holes 15 and are electrically connected to the protruding portions 18. Drivers 20 are individually inserted into the operation holes 16 to open the conductors 12 inserted and fixed in the terminal holes 15.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal connection unit 10 and the transformer unit (accompanying unit) 24 combined with the terminal connection unit 10. The accompanying unit to be combined with the terminal connection unit 10 is not limited to the transformer unit 24, and may be, for example, a switch unit or a lighting unit. A switch unit, a lighting unit, or the like may be further combined with the transformer unit 24.

The terminal connection unit 10 has a first housing 26, a second housing 28, and two terminals 14. The first housing 26 and the second housing 28 are made of, for example, resin. The transformer unit 24 has a transformer main body 30 and a case 32. The upper surface of the transformer main body 30 is provided with four input holes (input / output holes) 34 in which the four protrusions 18 of the terminal connection unit 10 are individually fitted (including press-fitting) to conduct conduction. The input hole 34 is the primary terminal of the transformer. The transformer main body 30 boosts or lowers the voltage input from the input hole 34 and outputs it from the output unit on the secondary side. The input unit and the output unit of the transformer unit 24 may be reversed.

The case 32 is a tubular body that covers the four surfaces of the transformer body 30, and has a function of holding the transformer body 30 and a function of attaching and detaching the case 32 to and from the terminal connection unit 10. An engagement hole 32a is provided on the side surface of the case 32, and the terminal connection unit 10 and the transformer unit 24 are combined by engaging the claw 35 of the terminal connection unit 10 with the engagement hole 32a. The terminal connection unit 10 and the transformer unit 24 may be fixedly combined by a press-fitting means or the like, or may be detachably combined.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the terminal connection unit 10. The first housing 26 forms five surfaces excluding the lower surface of the terminal connection unit 10, and serves as a cover member for the terminal connection unit 10. The second housing 28 is fitted into the first housing 26 from below. The second housing 28 also serves as an insulating member of the terminal 14 with respect to the transformer unit 24. Most of the terminals 14 are arranged in the space formed by the first housing 26 and the second housing 28.

The first housing 26 includes an upper top wall 26a, a front wall (first support member) 26b, and a rear wall 26c. The top wall 26a forms the upper surface 10a as a whole. The terminal hole 15 is formed at the boundary between the top wall 26a and the front wall 26b. The terminal hole 15 is formed by communicating an upper hole 15a having a slightly large diameter and a lower hole 15b having a slightly smaller diameter. The terminal hole 15 is a hole into which the conducting wire 12 is inserted, the conductor portion 12a at the tip is inserted into the lower hole 15b, and the covering portion 12b is inserted into the upper hole 15a but inserted into the lower hole 15b. However, it is regulated so that the insertion depth is appropriate. The conducting wire 12 is, for example, a ferrule terminal, a single wire, a stranded wire, or the like.

The above-mentioned operation hole 16 penetrates from the upper surface 10a to the inside of the top wall 26a adjacent to the terminal hole 15. The terminal hole 15 and the operation hole 16 are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction and are inclined rearward from the upper side to the lower side. In this case, the inclination angle of the terminal hole 15 and the operation hole 16 is about 60 ° with respect to the horizontal. The opening 16a of the operation hole 16 is formed on the upper surface 10a. The operation hole 16 has a slightly tapered shape downward so that the driver 20 can be guided in the correct direction. The terminal holes 15 and the operation holes 16 are provided in parallel with four sets each in the vertical direction of the paper surface in accordance with the two conductive contact portions 36a described later, but the number of these sets may be 1-3, or 5 or more. Good. The insertion of the lead wire 12 into the terminal hole 15 and the insertion of the driver 20 into the operation hole 16 are performed manually.

The second housing 28 includes a lower bottom wall 28a, a front wall (second support member) 28b, a rear wall 28c, an inclination restricting portion 28d, and an engaging arm 28e. The front end portion of the bottom wall 28a forms a gently sloping portion 28aa facing forward. The front wall 28b extends upward from the front end of the gently sloping portion 28aa toward the front. The gently sloping portion 28aa and the front wall 28b are orthogonal to each other. In this case, the inclination angle of the front wall 28b is about 60 ° with respect to the horizontal, and is parallel to the extending direction of the terminal hole 15 and the operation hole 16.

The engaging arm 28e extends downward from the upper end portion of the front wall 28b, and the tip thereof engages with the engaged hole 36bb (see FIG. 4) of the bent piece 36b described later and is bent. The piece 36b is elastically pressed down. The rear wall 28c is stable with its upper and lower ends in contact with the front surface of the rear wall 26c. The tilt regulating unit 28d regulates the tilt angle of the acting portion 38a, which will be described later. The left and right sides of the terminal connection unit 10 (both sides parallel to the paper surface of FIG. 3) are closed by side plates that are a part of the first housing 26.

The terminal 14 includes a terminal plate 36 and a leaf spring 38. The terminal plate 36 is a component that contacts and conducts with the inserted conductor 12. The leaf spring 38 presses the conducting wire 12 against the terminal plate 36 by an elastic force to fix it, and can be elastically deformed by being pushed by the tip of the driver 20, and the conducting wire 12 is opened by elastically deforming.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the terminal 14. As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal plate 36 is a metal part formed by cutting and bending a single plate material. The terminal plate 36 is made of a material suitable as a conductive material, for example, copper or an alloy thereof. The terminal plate 36 has an appropriate thickness and strength suitable for pressing the conducting wire 12 by the leaf spring 38.

The leaf spring 38 is an elastic part formed by cutting and bending a single plate material. The leaf spring 38 is made of a material suitable as an elastic material, for example, stainless steel or a resin plate. When the leaf spring 38 is used for voltage detection, a conductive material may be used. The leaf spring 38 is thin so that it can be easily elastically deformed. The terminal plate 36 and the leaf spring 38 are separate parts, and have materials and thicknesses suitable for each.

First, the terminal plate 36 will be described. The terminal plate 36 is formed between two conductive contact portions 36a on which the conducting wire 12 is pressed by the leaf spring 38, a bent piece 36b bent from the tip of the conductive contact portion 36a, and between the conductive contact portion 36a and the bent piece 36b. 36c, an inclined bottom piece 36d bent from the base end (lower end) of the conductive contact portion 36a, a horizontal bottom piece 36e connected from the inclined bottom piece 36d, and a fixing that is bent at a right angle from the horizontal bottom piece 36e and extends upward. It has a piece 36f.

The bent portion 36c has a loosely bent shape having a slight width in the front-rear direction. The bent portion 36c and the inclined bottom piece 36d are provided in two in accordance with the two conductive contact portions 36a, but each of them may be one. A notch 36g is formed between the two bent portions 36c, the conductive contact portion 36a, and the inclined bottom piece 36d. A partition plate that is a part of the housing fits into the notch 36 g.

The conductive contact portion 36a is a plate material extending in an oblique direction, and a rearward-facing protrusion 36i is provided near the upper end. The protrusion 36i is formed by, for example, press working, and extends over the entire length of the conductive contact portion 36a in the width direction.

The bent piece 36b has an upper piece 36ba and the above-mentioned two protrusions 18. The upper piece 36ba is a horizontally long rectangle, and an engaged hole 36bb is formed in the center. The tip protrusion of the engaging arm 28e engages with the engaged hole 36bb to prevent the terminal 14 from coming off. Further, the upper piece 36ba is pressed by the engaging arm 28e to stabilize. The protruding portion 18 of the bent piece 36b is conductive with the input hole 34 of the transformer unit 24. Therefore, the bent piece 36b also serves as an input / output unit for the accompanying unit. That is, the bent piece 36b is both a reinforcing means and an energizing means, and does not require a means dedicated to input / output other than the bent piece 36b.

The two projecting portions 18 project downward from both ends of the upper piece 36ba, and a recess 18a is formed in the middle thereof. An elastic protrusion provided inside the input hole 34 (see FIG. 3) engages with the recess 18a. The tip of the protrusion 18 has a tapered shape so that it can be easily inserted into the input hole 34.

The lateral width of the bent piece 36b and the upper piece 36ba is wider than the total width of the two conductive contact portions 36a and the notch 36g. The width of the upper piece 36ba may be set wider than that of the conductive contact portion 36a within an allowable range in the layout. When there is one upper piece 36ba and two conductive contact portions 36a, the width of the upper piece 36ba may be at least twice the width of one conductive contact portion 36a, and more preferably, in the present embodiment. As described above, it is preferable that the width is wider than the total width of the two conductive contact portions 36a and the notch 36g. The width of the upper piece 36ba in this embodiment is about four times the width of one conductive contact portion 36a.

The vertical length of the bent piece 36b, that is, the total length of the upper piece 36ba and the protruding portion 18, may be longer than the length along the extending direction of the conductive contact portion 36a. The vertical length of the bent piece 36b in this embodiment is about 1.7 times the length of the conductive contact portion 36a.

The horizontal bottom piece 36e is a plate material that bends from the rear end of the two inclined bottom pieces 36d and extends horizontally toward the rear. A pair of steps 36j are formed on both sides between the horizontal bottom piece 36e and the inclined bottom piece 36d, and the horizontal bottom piece 36e is narrower than the total width of the two inclined bottom pieces 36d and the notch 36g. A rectangular spring fixing hole 36k penetrating in the vertical direction is formed at the rear end of the horizontal bottom piece 36e. At the center of the fixed piece 36f, a protrusion 36m that slightly protrudes forward is provided.

The terminal plate 36 has a simple shape obtained by cutting and bending a rectangular material, has a low cost, and has a high yield from the base material. The terminal plate 36 has four bent portions. That is, a 90 ° bent portion between the conductive contact portion 36a and the inclined bottom piece 36d, a bent portion between the inclined bottom piece 36d and the horizontal bottom piece 36e, a 90 ° bent portion between the horizontal bottom piece 36e and the fixed piece 36f, and a bent portion. It is 36c. All of these bent portions are creases in the short direction (that is, the width direction) of the base material, and all the folds along the longitudinal direction of the base material are parallel, so that cost reduction can be achieved.

Next, the leaf spring 38 will be described. The leaf spring 38 includes a pair of action portions 38a, a pair of arc portions 38b, and a common fixing portion 38c. That is, the leaf spring 38 is a portion where the front end presses the conductor portion 12a against the conductive contact portion 36a, and the rear end is a fixing portion 38c fixed to the terminal plate 36. The working portion 38a and the arc portion 38b are connected to form a spring body 38d. A pair of spring bodies 38d are arranged in parallel in the width direction, and a notch 38e is formed between them. Each spring body 38d has the same width as the conductive contact portion 36a, and the position in the width direction coincides with the corresponding conductive contact portion 36a.

The working portion 38a is a slightly elongated plate, and its tip extends diagonally forward and downward. The rear end of the working portion 38a is continuously connected to the arc portion 38b. The leaf spring 38 is an elastic body as a whole, but when it is displaced by the operation of the driver 20, most of it is due to the deformation of the arc portion 38b. This is because the arc portion 38b is a portion that is bent in advance, and is also an intermediate portion between the contact portion by the driver 20 and the fixing portion 38c.

The arc portion 38b has an arc shape of, for example, about 240 ° in a side view. The arc portion 38b is elastically deformed so that the arc angle increases or decreases. The arc portion 38b is moderately long, and the total length is equal to or longer than the working portion 38a. Since the arc portion 38b has a large arc angle and a long total length, it is easily elastically deformed, and has a large margin until it reaches the plastic region and is not easily plastically deformed.

The fixing portion 38c includes a connecting portion 38f connected to the two spring bodies 38d, a projecting piece 38g protruding downward from the connecting portion 38f and fitting into the spring fixing hole 36k, and a fitting hole 38h formed substantially in the center. To be equipped. The leaf spring 38 is fixed to the terminal plate 36 by fitting the projecting piece 38g into the spring fixing hole 36k and further fitting the protrusion 36m into the fitting hole 38h. Since the terminal plate 36 is moderately thick, the spring fixing hole 36k is also moderately deep, and the leaf spring 38 can be stably fixed by fitting the projecting piece 38g into the spring fixing hole 36k. Although the terminal plate 36 and the leaf spring 38 are separate parts, the fixing portion 38c may be integrated with the terminal plate 36 by adhesion, welding, caulking, or the like.

Returning to FIG. 3, the arrangement of the terminals 14 in the terminal connection unit 10 will be described. The terminal plate 36 of the terminal 14 has a portion other than the protruding portion 18 arranged along the first housing 26 or the second housing 28. Specifically, the fixed piece 36f, the horizontal bottom piece 36e, the inclined bottom piece 36d, and the conductive contact portion 36a are, in order, the front surface of the rear wall 28c in the second housing 28, the upper surface of the bottom wall 28a, the upper surface of the gently inclined portion 28aa, and the front wall. It is in contact with the upper surface of 28b. Of the bent pieces 36b, the upper piece 36ba is in contact with the rear surface of the front wall 26b in the first housing 26. The bent piece 36b extends vertically and is arranged at an angle that intersects the extension line of the terminal hole 15 at an acute angle. The bent piece 36b and the fixed piece 36f are arranged in parallel and vertically, respectively, and the terminal 14 is compactly housed inside the first housing 26 and the second housing 28. The bent portion 36c has a curved shape, its end is in contact with the conductive contact portion side of the lower hole 15b of the terminal hole 15, and the inlet side of the terminal 14 has a bent shape, so that the electric wire is on the cut surface of the terminal plate. The electric wire can be inserted without getting caught.

The front wall 32b in the case 32 of the transformer unit 24 is further in contact with the bent piece 36b and the front wall 26b on the front side. The front wall 32b and the rear wall 32c described later in the case 32 are fitting portions with the terminal connection unit 10. The protruding portion 18 of the bent piece 36b protrudes from the first housing 26 and the second housing 28, and is fitted into the input hole 34 in the transformer unit 24 as described above.

The inclined bottom piece 36d is bent from the base end of the conductive contact portion 36a and is orthogonal to the extension line of the terminal hole 15. The inclined bottom piece 36d abuts and holds the tip of the conducting wire 12 and restricts excessive entry.

Since the conductive contact portion 36a is in contact with the front wall 28b, its inclination angle is equal to that of the terminal hole 15 and is about 60 ° with respect to the horizontal, and is arranged parallel to the extension line of the terminal hole 15. The upper surface of the conductive contact portion 36a is arranged so as to match the front end of the lower hole 15b, and a gentle bending portion 36c is formed at the upper end of the conductive contact portion 36a, and the end portion faces the lower hole 15c. Therefore, the conducting wire 12 is easily inserted through the terminal hole 15.

The lower surface of the bent portion 36c is in contact with the connecting bent portion 28ba between the conductive contact portion 36a and the engaging arm 28e, and the upper surface is in contact with the holding piece 15c forming a part of the lower hole 15b. That is, the bent portion 36c is sandwiched between the first housing 26 and the second housing 28 in the plate thickness direction and is stable.

The fixing portion 38c of the leaf spring 38 is fixed to the fixing piece 36f and extends vertically. The substantially upper half of the working portion 38a is located on an extension line of the central axis of the operation hole 16. The substantially lower half of the working portion 38a is located on an extension of the central axis of the terminal hole 15.

The leaf spring 38 is slightly elastic from the natural state (single state before assembly with respect to the terminal plate 36) in the initial state (state shown in FIG. 1) when the lead wire 12 is not attached and when the driver 20 is not operated. It is deformed, and the front end of the acting portion 38a is in contact with the lower surface of the protrusion 36i of the conductive contact portion 36a or slightly below it based on the elasticity. The inclination angle of the acting portion 38a at this time is, for example, about 60 ° from the horizontal. When the action portion 38a of the leaf spring 38 is pushed downward by the driver 20, the leaf spring 38 is further elastically deformed to increase the inclination angle, but the deformation is restricted by abutting on the upper surface of the inclination restricting portion 28d. This deformation is within the elastic range, and the leaf spring 38 is hardly plastically deformed.

When assembling the terminal connection unit 10, the leaf spring 38 is fixed to the terminal plate 36 to form the terminal 14, and then the terminal 14 is first attached to the second housing 28. The terminal 14 is fitted into the second housing 28 from above. As a result, the upper edge of the fixed piece 36f engages with the small protrusion 28ca of the rear wall 28c, and the tip of the engaging arm 28e engages with the engaged hole 36bb (see FIG. 4) of the bent piece 36b. It is fixed.

Next, the second housing 28 to which the terminal 14 is mounted is mounted on the first housing 26. The second housing 28 is fitted into the first housing 26 from below. As a result, the upper edge of the rear wall 28c is positioned in contact with the stepped portion 26d formed at the connecting portion between the top wall 26a and the rear wall 26c in the first housing 26. The lower part of the rear wall 26c and the rear wall 28c are in contact with each other. The rear wall 32c in the case 32 of the transformer unit 24 is in contact with the rear wall 26c and the rear wall 28c on the rear side. The second housing 28 has a pair of claws 28f (see FIG. 2) in the front and rear, and the claws 28f are respectively engaged with and fixed to the engaging holes 26e (see FIG. 2) of the first housing 26.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the terminal connection unit 10 in a state where the conductor 12 is attached. As shown in FIG. 5, when the conducting wire 12 is inserted into the terminal hole 15, the conductor portion 12a passes through the lower hole 15b and enters the inside. The conductor portion 12a is slightly tilted so as to push out the acting portion 38a of the leaf spring 38, and enters between the tip of the acting portion 38a and the conductive contact portion 36a. Since the acting portion 38a generates an elastic force in the direction of returning to the initial state, the tip portion thereof presses the conductor portion 12a diagonally downward toward the lower portion of the protrusion 36i against the conductive contact portion 36a. As a result, the conductor portion 12a becomes conductive with the conductive contact portion 36a.

The leaf spring 38 has a relatively small elastic modulus and is easily bent, and the operator can insert the conducting wire 12 into the terminal hole 15 with a light force. The conducting wire 12 is in an engaged state by the acting portion 38a and the protrusion 36i, and when a force in the pulling direction acts, the acting portion 38a presses the conductor portion 12a toward the protrusion 36i more strongly, and the sandwiched conductor portion 12a becomes It is hard to come off. In this way, the conductor 12 is engaged with the terminal 14 fairly strongly.

Although not shown, when the driver 20 is inserted into the operation hole 16, the tip of the driver 20 passes in front of the arc portion 38b and obliquely contacts the upper portion of the working portion 38a arranged inside. .. When the driver 20 is further inserted, the tip of the driver 20 pushes down the acting portion 38a to increase the inclination angle of the acting portion 38a. Then, the tip of the acting portion 38a is separated from the conductor portion 12a, the conducting wire 12 is released from the engaged state by the acting portion 38a and the conductive contact portion 36a, and the conducting wire 12 can be pulled out from the terminal hole 15.

Compared with the screw type terminal connection unit, the terminal connection unit 10 does not require screwing work, the conducting wire 12 can be quickly attached, and poor contact due to forgetting to close the screw can be prevented. Further, as compared with the screw type terminal connection unit, it is not necessary to loosen the screw, and the conductor 12 can be quickly opened. Four terminal holes 15 are provided, and the conducting wires 12 can be individually inserted and attached to each of the four terminal holes 15. Four operation holes 16 are provided, and the driver 20 can be inserted and the conductor 12 can be opened individually for each of the four operation holes 16.

By the way, when the conducting wire 12 is inserted into the terminal hole 15 and the leaf spring 38 is elastically deformed, the conducting wire 12 and the conductive contact portion 36a continue to receive the urging force due to the elasticity from the leaf spring 38. This urging force increases as the conductor 12 becomes thicker. Further, when a pulling force exceeding the permissible limit is applied to the conducting wire 12 due to improper handling and wiring of the conducting wire 12, the own weight of an excessively long electric wire, or the like, the force generated by the leaf spring 38 becomes considerably large. ..

On the other hand, in the terminal connection unit 10, the conductive contact portion 36a and the bent piece 36b are arranged in parallel in the F1 direction (pressing direction) pressed by the acting portion 38a in the leaf spring 38, and the conductive contact portion in the F1 direction. It has a front wall 28b that supports 36a from the back side, and a front wall 28b that supports the bent piece 36b from the back side in the F1 direction. Therefore, the urging force generated by the leaf spring 38 is supported by the front wall 28b via the conductive contact portion 36a and is supported by the front wall 26b via the bent piece 36b, so that the force is dispersed.

The "parallel" of the conductive contact portion 36a and the bent piece 36b referred to here does not have to be "parallel" as is clear from FIG. 5, and may be arranged so as to overlap at least in the F1 direction. .. The F1 direction, which is the acting direction of the leaf spring 38, may have some errors depending on the thickness of the conducting wire 12 and the pulling direction of the conducting wire 12, but the conductive contact portion 36a and the bent piece 36b are parallel to each other within the error range. It is good to have. The F1 direction is generally the movement locus direction of the tip of the working piece 38a.

Further, the angle formed by the extending direction (about 60 ° with respect to the horizontal) of the conductive contact portion 36a and the front wall 28b and the direction F1 is the extending direction (vertical direction) of the bent piece 36b and the front wall 26b. It is shallower than the angle formed by F1. Therefore, the load ratio of the urging force by the leaf spring 38 is smaller in the conductive contact portion 36a and the front wall 28b than in the bent piece 36b and the front wall 26b, and the latter deformation is suppressed.

If the bent piece 36b is parallel to the conductive contact portion 36a in the F1 direction, it is likely to receive the urging force by the leaf spring 38, but the bent piece 36b and the conductive contact portion 36a are not necessarily parallel to each other in the F1 direction depending on the design conditions. It does not have to be. For example, even if the F1 direction is directed to the bent portion 36c instead of the bent piece 36b, the bent piece 36b can appropriately receive the urging force of the leaf spring 38.

Further, as described above, since the lateral widths of the bent piece 36b and the upper piece 36ba are formed wider than the lateral widths of the two conductive contact portions 36a, the pressure receiving area is wide and the urging force by the leaf spring 38 is dispersed. Further, since the protruding portion 18 of the bent piece 36b is inserted into the input hole 34 of the transformer unit 24, the urging force by the leaf spring 38 is also supported by the input hole 34, and the urging force is dispersed. The protrusion 18 is more strongly supported when it is press-fitted into the input hole 34.

Since the front wall 32b of the case 32 of the transformer unit 24 is in contact with the portion where the bent piece 36b and the front wall 26b are in contact with each other, the urging force of the leaf spring 38 can be supported more reliably. Specifically, not only is the portion supporting the bent piece 36b thickened by the front wall 26b and the front wall 32b, but the front wall 26b is a member extending from above to below, whereas the front wall 26b is a member. Since the wall 32b is a member extending from the lower side to the upper side and has different bending and deforming directions, the wall 32b is mutually suppressed from bending by overlapping with each other.

The vertical length of the bent piece 36b, that is, the total length of the upper piece 36ba and the protruding portion 18 is set longer than that of the conductive contact portion 36a, the pressure receiving area is wide, and the urging force by the leaf spring 38 is dispersed. To.

Due to these actions, the conductive contact portion 36a and the front wall 28b are suppressed from being plastically deformed in the terminal connection unit 10, and the conductor wire 12 can be more reliably held by the leaf spring 38. Further, the conductive contact portion 36a and the front wall 28b do not need to use an expensive high-strength member or be excessively thick, and can be reduced in weight and cost.

The urging force of the leaf spring 38 is generally distributed to the first support portion supported by the front wall 26b via the bent piece 36b and the second support portion supported by the front wall 28b via the conductive contact portion 36a. However, the sharing ratio may change depending on the angle, length, area, etc. of the conductive contact portion 36a and the bent piece 36b, respectively. Depending on the design conditions, if the sharing ratio of the second support portion is larger than that of the first support portion, the load on the conductive contact portion 36a and the front wall 28b is reduced, and the deformation is further suppressed.

Further, as is clear from FIG. 5, since the F1 direction by the leaf spring 38 is obliquely upward to some extent, the force acting on the conductive contact portion 36a and the front wall 28b includes some upward components. Since the tip of the conductive contact portion 36a forms a bent portion 36c and the upper surface of the bent portion 36c is supported by the pressing piece 15c, the urging force of the leaf spring 38 is further dispersed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing how the terminal plate 36 is deformed by the urging force of the leaf spring 38. As shown in FIG. 6, the protruding portion 18 protrudes from the base end portion of the conductive contact portion 36a in the direction of the center line J between the conductive contact portion 36a and the bent piece 36b. More specifically, when the base end portion of the conductive contact portion 36a, that is, the 90 ° bent portion between the conductive contact portion 36a and the inclined bottom piece 36d is set as the center O, the protruding portion 18 passes through the center O and with respect to the center line J. It protrudes below the orthogonal line V.

When the conductive contact portion 36a of the terminal plate 36 receives an urging force in the F1 direction from the action portion 38a of the leaf spring 38, the conductive contact portion 36a and the portion on the tip side thereof (that is, the bent portion 36c, the bent piece 36b and the protrusion) Part 18) may be subjected to an action of rotating clockwise as the center O as roughly shown by a virtual line. Then, the portion of the upper piece 36ba of the bent piece 36b receives a forward force and is supported by the front wall 26b. On the other hand, since the protruding portion 18 of the bent piece 36b protrudes in the direction of the center line J from the orthogonal line V, it receives a force toward the rear, and rather than the front wall 34a of the input hole 34. There may be a condition supported by the rear wall 34b. Further, depending on the conditions, it is assumed that the protruding portion 18 receives a forward force together with the upper piece 36ba.

Therefore, the input hole 34 into which the protrusion 18 is inserted not only has an action of electrically conducting with the protrusion 18, but also the front wall 34a and the rear wall 34b are held in contact with the protrusion 18. It has the effect of doing. As a result, the urging force of the leaf spring 38 is further dispersed. Further, since the protruding portion 18 is fitted and supported in the input hole 34, it is possible to prevent the conductive contact portion 36a and the portion on the tip end side thereof from circularly moving with respect to the center O.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a state in which the terminal connection unit 10 and the transformer unit 24 are combined. FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view in which the terminal connection unit 10 and the transformer unit 24 are combined and the terminal 14 is omitted. As shown in FIG. 7, the front surface of the conductive contact portion 36a of the terminal 14 abuts on the front wall 28b, and the front surface of the bent piece 36b abuts on the front wall 26b. Further, the bent portion 36c is sandwiched between the upper and lower connecting bent portions 28ba and the holding piece 15c. As shown in FIG. 8, the front wall 28b, the front wall 26b, the connecting bent portion 28ba, and the holding piece 15c have an appropriate width in the width direction and are suitable for supporting each portion of the terminal 14.

Returning to FIG. 5, in the terminal plate 36, the conductive contact portion 36a and the bent piece 36b receive a force in the F1 direction by the acting portion 38a of the leaf spring 38, while the fixing piece 36f receives a force in the F2 direction by the fixing portion 38c as a reaction force. Receive the power of. This reaction force is a backward force generated at or near the lower end of the fixed portion 38c. The location where this reaction force is generated is supported by the rear wall 28c, the rear wall 26c, and the rear wall 32c via the fixing piece 36f, and has high strength. Further, the portion near the lower end of the rear wall 28c, which is the place where the reaction force acts, is formed thicker than the other portions and has high strength. Therefore, the deformation of the fixed piece 36f can be suppressed by the rear wall 26c, the rear wall 28c, and the rear wall 32c.

Further, since the reaction force acting on the fixed piece 36f generally acts near the lower end portion thereof, the action of extending the horizontal bottom piece 36e is mainly more than the action of changing the bending angle of the fixed piece 36f with respect to the horizontal bottom piece 36e. work. However, since the horizontal bottom piece 36e has an appropriate thickness and width, it hardly undergoes plastic deformation even when it receives a tensile force. Further, in practice, the reaction force acting on the fixed piece 36f is dispersed to some extent according to the area of the fixed piece 36f, so that the bending angle of the fixed piece 36f hardly changes with respect to the horizontal bottom piece 36e.

In the above, as an operation for the acting portion 38a, an example in which the driver 20 is inserted into the operating hole 16 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a pusher (operating member) for pressing the acting portion 38a is provided. May be good. If such a pusher is provided in the terminal connection unit 10, the driver 20 is unnecessary.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be freely modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

10 Terminal connection unit 12 Conductor 14 Terminal 15 Terminal hole 16 Operation hole 18 Protruding part 20 Driver (operation member)
24 Transformer unit (accompanying unit)
26 First housing 26b Front wall (first support member)
28 Second housing 28aa Slowly inclined portion 28b Front wall (second support member)
28ba Connection bending part 28c Rear wall 28e Engagement arm 30 Transformer body 32 Case 34 Input hole (input / output hole)
34a Front wall 34b Rear wall 36 Terminal plate 36a Conductive contact part 36b Bent piece 36ba Upper piece 36c Bending part 36d Inclined bottom piece 36e Horizontal bottom piece 36f Fixed piece 38 Leaf spring 38a Acting part 38b Arc part 38c Fixed part

Claims (10)

With the housing
A terminal hole that guides a conducting wire from the outside of the housing to the inside,
An operation hole that guides the operation member from the outside of the housing to the inside,
A terminal plate having a conductive contact portion that comes into contact with the conducting wire inserted into the terminal hole,
A leaf spring located on an extension of the central axis of the operation hole by urging the conducting wire inserted into the terminal hole toward the conductive contact portion by an elastic force.
It is a terminal connection unit equipped with
The terminal plate further has a bent piece bent from the tip of the conductive contact portion.
The housing is
Regarding the pressing direction of the leaf spring, the first support member that supports the bent piece from the back side and
A second support member that supports the conductive contact portion from the back side in the pressing direction, and
A terminal connection unit characterized by being equipped with. The terminal connection unit according to claim 1, wherein the bent piece is parallel to the conductive contact portion in the pressing direction. The bent piece has a protrusion protruding from the housing and has a protrusion.
The terminal connection unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the protruding portion fits into an input / output hole of an accompanying unit to be combined with the terminal connection unit and conducts with the input / output hole. The terminal connection unit according to claim 3, wherein the first support member is supported by a part of the accompanying unit. The terminal connection unit according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the protruding portion protrudes from the base end portion of the conductive contact portion in the direction of the center line between the conductive contact portion and the bent piece. .. The housing is
A first housing including the first support member and
A second housing including the second support member and
The terminal connection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the terminal connection unit has. The terminal connection unit according to claim 6, wherein the bent portion between the conductive contact portion and the bent piece is sandwiched between the first housing and the second housing in the plate thickness direction. .. Any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the bent portion between the conductive contact portion and the bent piece has a curved shape, and the end portion thereof contacts the electric contact portion side of the terminal hole. The terminal connection unit described in the section. The conductive contact portion is arranged parallel to the extension line of the terminal hole.
The terminal connection unit according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the bent piece is arranged at an angle that intersects an extension line of the terminal hole at an acute angle. The one according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the terminal plate is further bent from a base end of the conductive contact portion and has a bottom piece orthogonal to an extension line of the terminal hole. Terminal connection unit.

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