Terminal block

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10944188-B2
Application number	US-201916643583-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 6, 2019
Priority date	Mar 14, 2018
Publication date	Mar 9, 2021
Grant date	Mar 9, 2021

Abstract

A terminal block includes a display-use moveable member which has a main body portion that can reciprocate in the direction intersecting a terminal connection surface and a contact moveable portion that extends along a guide surface, has a first end portion in an extension direction that is disposed so as to come into contact with a conductor portion in an electric wire passage portion and move in a first direction away from the terminal connection surface, and has a second end portion in the extension direction that is connected to the main body portion, and moves in an array direction in response to movement of the first end portion in the first direction to move the main body portion in a second direction toward the terminal connection surface.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A terminal block comprising:
a housing having insulation properties, the housing comprising:
a holding portion provided in the housing and a terminal connection surface;
a first opening portion through which a conductor portion of an electric wire can be inserted and pulled out;
a second opening portion that is adjacent to the first opening portion and through which a jig can be inserted and pulled out; and
a third opening portion that is adjacent to the second opening portion and through which a connection state of the conductor portion can be displayed, wherein the first opening portion, the second opening portion, and the third opening portion are arranged in series on the terminal connection surface and each communicate with the holding portion; and

a terminal electrode portion, a leaf spring portion, a display-use moveable member, and a return spring portion that are disposed in the holding portion, wherein:
the holding portion comprises:
an electric wire passage portion that extends in a direction intersecting the terminal connection surface, communicates with the first opening portion, and through which the conductor portion of the electric wire can move;
a jig passage portion that extends in the direction intersecting the terminal connection surface, communicates with the second opening portion, and through which the jig can move;
a guide surface that extends in an array direction of the first opening portion, the second opening portion, and the third opening portion and is disposed so as to cause the electric wire passage portion and the jig passage portion to be interposed between the guide surface and the terminal connection surface in the direction intersecting the terminal connection surface; and
a moveable member passage portion that extends in the direction intersecting the terminal connection surface, communicates with the third opening portion, is disposed between the terminal connection surface and the guide surface in the direction intersecting the terminal connection surface, is disposed so as to cause the third opening portion to be located between the moveable member passage portion and the second opening portion, and through which the main body portion of the display-use moveable member can move, the moveable member passage portion comprising a curved portion provided at an end portion adjacent to the third opening portion and curved in the second direction toward the second opening portion, and the distal end portion of the main body portion of the display-use moveable member is curved along the curved shape of the curved portion;

the terminal electrode portion comprises:
a contact portion that extends along the electric wire passage portion and is disposed so as to come into contact with the conductor portion inserted through the first opening portion into the electric wire passage portion;

the leaf spring portion comprises:
a fixed portion that is provided at one end portion of the leaf spring portion and is fixed to the housing to cause the electric wire passage portion and the jig passage portion to be located between the fixed portion and the contact portion of the terminal electrode portion in the array direction; and
a moveable portion that is provided at the other end of the leaf spring portion and is disposed between the fixed portion and the terminal electrode portion in the array direction, the moveable portion facing the contact portion of the terminal electrode portion, extending over the electric wire passage portion and the jig passage portion, and being moveable relative to the fixed portion;

the moveable portion is disposed so as to cause the conductor portion inserted through the first opening portion into the electric wire passage portion to be held between the moveable portion and the contact portion of the terminal electrode portion to bring the conductor portion and the terminal electrode portion into a connected state and to come into contact with the jig inserted through the second opening portion into the jig passage portion to release the contact between the moveable portion and the conductor portion to bring the conductor portion and the terminal electrode portion into a disconnected state;
the display-use moveable member comprises:
a main body portion that extends in the direction intersecting the terminal connection surface and can reciprocate between a display position where a distal end portion is exposed outside the housing through the third opening portion and a non-display position where the distal end portion is held in the holding portion; and
a contact moveable portion that extends along the guide surface, comprises a first end portion that is disposed so as to come into contact with the conductor portion in the electric wire passage portion and move in a first direction intersecting the terminal connection surface and away from the terminal connection surface, and comprises a second end portion that is connected to the main body portion, and moves in the array direction in response to movement of the first end portion in the first direction to move the main body portion in a second direction intersecting the terminal connection surface and toward the terminal connection surface;

the return spring portion is configured to push the main body portion of the display-use moveable member in the first direction;
in response to the conductor portion being inserted through the first opening portion into the electric wire passage portion to move the first end portion of the contact moveable portion in the first direction, the main body portion moves in the second direction, and the distal end portion of the main body portion adjacent to the terminal connection surface moves from the non-display position to the display position to display a state where the connection state of the conductor portion with respect to the terminal electrode portion is changed from the disconnected state to the connected state; and
in response to the conductor portion being pulled out from the electric wire passage portion to move the main body portion in the first direction by pushing force of the return spring portion, the distal end portion moves from the display position to the non-display position to display a state where the connection state of the conductor portion with respect to the terminal electrode portion is changed from the connected state to the disconnected state.

2. The terminal block according to claim 1 ,
wherein the display-use moveable member and the return spring portion are provided integrally.

3. The terminal block according to claim 1 ,
wherein the contact moveable portion of the display-use moveable member comprises:
a first member that extends along the guide surface, comprises one end portion serving as the second end portion, and comprises an abutting portion that slides on the guide surface in response to the movement of the first end portion in the first direction and the second direction, and
a second member that extends in the array direction and toward the terminal connection surface as a distance from the main body portion increases, has one end portion connected to the other end portion of the first member, and has the other end portion serving as the first end portion.

4. The terminal block according to claim 1 ,
wherein the return spring portion comprises a metal member.

5. The terminal block according to claim 4 ,
wherein the return spring portion is configured by a leaf spring disposed extending in the direction intersecting the terminal connection surface.

6. The terminal block according to claim 5 ,
wherein the return spring portion is provided integrally with the contact moveable portion between the first end portion and the second end portion of the contact movea

Assignees

• Omron Tateisi Electronics Co

Inventors

• Ono Masahiro
• Matoba Masato
• Hashimoto Kiyotaka
• Fujiwara Taijiro
• Hoshino Hirokazu
• Nagase Masao
• Nishida Masami

Classifications

• H01R4/485

  Single busbar common to multiple springs · CPC title

• H01R4/4842

  the spring housing being provided with a single opening for insertion of a spring-activating tool · CPC title

• H01R4/4821 Primary

  Single-blade spring · CPC title

• H01R9/24 Primary

  Terminal blocks · CPC title

• H01R4/48

  utilising a spring, clip, or other resilient member (H01R4/52 takes precedence) · CPC title