Socket box and lock thereof

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to provide a socket box and a lock thereof, which can make the process of opening and closing the socket box more convenient. The lock for achieving the above-mentioned object includes a locking assembly and a groove. The locking assembly is arranged on the box body, and includes a locking unit and a matching unit, and the groove is arranged in the box cover. Among them, rotating the locking unit can make the locking assembly and the groove move from the locked position to the unlocked position. In the locked position, the lock tongue is located in a position that can be inserted into the groove. In the unlocked position, the lock tongue is located in a position that can be disengaged from the groove. The first matching part cooperates with the second matching part to limit the movement of the locking unit toward the locked position. The first elastic member makes the locking unit always have a tendency to move toward the locked position. When the box cover moves toward the position of closing the box body, the groove wall of the groove can contact the second matching part, so that the first matching part and the second matching part are released.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of electrical equipment, and in particular to a socket box and a lock thereof. Background Art

[0002] The socket box is mainly composed of a plastic box, a plug, a socket, a protection window, and electrical components. Due to the high safety requirements for industrial electricity use and the wide variety of plug-ins, socket boxes are often used in some necessary occasions.

[0003] Most of the existing combined socket boxes are equipped with safety switches (screw fuses, fault current circuit breakers, etc.) to ensure safety. The safety switches are located inside the protection window. The existing protection window is often fixed to the box body by tightening a knurled screw. When the operator needs to operate the safety switch, the operator often needs to loosen the knurled screw before operating.

[0004] However, the inventors have found that the operation of the switch protection window of the existing combination socket box is very cumbersome, and often after operating the safety switch, the screws are forgotten to be tightened, resulting in the loss of the protective effect of the box body, which is easy to cause accidents. Summary of the invention

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a lock that can make the process of opening and closing a socket box more convenient.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide a socket box, which uses the lock as described above to open and close the socket box.

[0007] A lock for achieving the above-mentioned purpose is used for opening and closing a box, the box having a box body and a box cover, and the lock comprises:

[0008] A locking assembly, disposed on one of the box body and the box cover, comprises:

[0009] A locking unit, hingedly connected to the one side through a first elastic member, has a unit body, a first matching portion is provided in the unit body, and a locking tongue is protruding outward from the unit body;

[0010] The matching unit has a second matching portion and is hinged to the one side through a second elastic member;

[0011] A groove portion, provided on the other of the box body and the box cover;

[0012] Wherein, rotating the locking unit can make the locking assembly and the groove portion move from a locked position to an unlocked position, wherein in the locked position, the locking tongue is located at a position where it can be inserted into the groove portion; in the unlocked position, the locking tongue is located at a position where it can be removed from the groove portion, and the first matching portion cooperates with the second matching portion to limit the locking unit from moving toward the locked position, and the first elastic member makes the locking unit always have a tendency to move toward the locked position, and when the box cover moves toward the position of closing the box body, the groove wall of the groove portion can contact the second matching portion, so that after the matching unit overcomes the elastic force applied by the second elastic member, the first matching portion and the second matching portion are released from matching.

[0013] In one or more embodiments, the first matching portion is a matching groove opened in the unit body, and the second matching portion is a ratchet.

[0014] In one or more embodiments, when the locking assembly and the groove portion move from a locked position to an unlocked position, a portion of the peripheral side wall of the unit body engages with the pawl;

[0015] Wherein, a portion of the outer peripheral side wall is configured as: an inclined surface inclined from the inner side of the unit body toward the outer side in the positive direction when the locking unit moves from the locking position to the unlocking position.

[0016] In one or more embodiments, the distance between the groove bottom of the matching groove and the center of the unit body is greater than the minimum distance between the inclined surface and the center of the unit body.

[0017] In one or more embodiments, the groove wall in contact with the second matching portion is configured as an inclined surface.

[0018] In one or more embodiments, one end of the locking assembly is configured as a handle.

[0019] To achieve the aforementioned other purpose, a socket box comprises a box body and a box cover, wherein the aforementioned lock is arranged between the box body and the box cover;

[0020] The box body is provided with an opening on its side, the locking assembly is provided on the box body, the locking tongue and the second matching portion can extend out of or retract into the opening, and the groove is provided in the box cover.

[0021] In one or more embodiments, the box cover and the box body can move from an open position to a closed position, the box cover has a first convex portion, and the box body has a second convex portion;

[0022] Wherein, at least one of the first convex portion and the second convex portion is configured as an elastic member, and when the box cover and the box body move from the closed position to the open position, at least one of the first convex portion and the second convex portion is elastically deformed so that the first convex portion and the second convex portion abut against each other and limit the movement of the box cover and the box body from the open position to the closed position.

[0023] In one or more embodiments, a third elastic member is provided at the connection between the box cover and the box body, and the third elastic member enables the box cover to always have a tendency to move toward the closed position.

[0024] In one or more embodiments, the lock is a pair disposed between the box body and the box cover, and the locking components and the grooves in a pair of the locks can be moved from a locked position to an unlocked position respectively by rotating the locking units in different directions.

[0025] The improved effects of the present invention include one or a combination of the following:

[0026] The socket box with the lock can quickly open and close the box body by rotating the handle, and when the box cover is closed, the lock tongue of the locking unit can be inserted into the groove to lock the box cover. The operation is simple, which can make the process of opening and closing the socket box more convenient. At the same time, the box cover and the box body can be locked at the same time, which can avoid the phenomenon that the box cover and the box body are not locked due to the operator forgetting. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The above and other features, properties and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments, in which:

[0028] Figure 1 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of one viewing angle under an embodiment of the socket box is shown;

[0029] Figure 2 A three-dimensional schematic diagram from another perspective is shown under one embodiment of the socket box;

[0030] Figure 3 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of a locking assembly in one embodiment is shown;

[0031] Figure 4 A schematic top view of an embodiment of the socket box in one state is shown;

[0032] Figure 5 A schematic top view of another state of an embodiment of the socket box is shown;

[0033] Figure 6 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of a locking assembly in a locking position is shown in one embodiment;

[0034] Figure 7 A half-section schematic diagram of an embodiment of the socket box in a locked position is shown;

[0035] Figure 8 A half-section schematic diagram of an embodiment of the socket box in an unlocked position is shown;

[0036] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram showing an open state of an embodiment of the socket box is shown;

[0037] Fig.10 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of a box body is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The following discloses a variety of different implementation methods or embodiments of the subject technical solution. To simplify the disclosure, specific examples of each element and arrangement are described below. Of course, these are only examples and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. In addition, the disclosure may repeat the figure numerals and / or letters in different examples. This repetition is for brevity and clarity and does not in itself represent the relationship between the various embodiments and / or structures to be discussed.

[0039] At the same time, the present application uses specific words to describe the embodiments of the present application, such as "one embodiment", "an embodiment", and / or "some embodiments" refer to a certain feature, structure or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" mentioned twice or more in different locations in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, certain features, structures or characteristics in one or more embodiments of the present application may be appropriately combined. In addition, the use of words such as "first" and "second" to limit components is only for the convenience of distinguishing the corresponding components. If not otherwise stated, the above words have no special meaning and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present application.

[0040] It should be noted that, when used, the above, below, top and bottom in the following description are only used for convenience and do not imply any specific fixed direction. In fact, they are used to reflect the relative position and / or direction between the various parts of the object.

[0041] It should be noted that these and other subsequent drawings are only examples, are not drawn in accordance with the conditions of equal proportion, and should not be used as a limitation on the actual protection scope of the present invention. In addition, the transformation methods under different embodiments can be appropriately combined.

[0042] In order to provide a convenient way to open and close a socket box, one aspect of the present invention provides a lock for opening and closing a box, which may be a socket box. Another aspect of the present invention provides a socket box that uses the aforementioned lock to open and close the box body and the box cover.

[0043] Figure 1 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of one viewing angle under an embodiment of the socket box is shown. Figure 2 A three-dimensional schematic diagram from another viewing angle is shown in one embodiment of the socket box.

[0044] The socket box includes a box body 1 and a box cover 2. A lock is provided between the box body 1 and the box cover 2. The box body 1 and the box cover 2 are opened and closed by the lock.

[0045] The lock includes a locking assembly 3 disposed on the box body 1 and a groove 4 disposed on the box cover 2. It is understandable that in other embodiments different from those shown in the figure, the locking assembly 3 may also be disposed on the box cover 2, and the groove 4 is correspondingly disposed on the box body 1. One or more of the following embodiments are described by taking the embodiment in which the locking assembly 3 is disposed on the box body 1 and the groove 4 is disposed on the box cover 2 as an example.

[0046] Figure 3 The three-dimensional schematic diagram of an embodiment of the locking assembly is shown, and the locking assembly 3 includes a locking unit 30 and a matching unit 31. The locking unit 30 is hinged to the box body 1 through a first elastic member 32, and has a unit body 300, a first matching portion 301 is provided in the unit body, a locking tongue 302 is protruded outward from the unit body 300, and a second matching portion 310 is provided in the matching unit 31, and is hinged to the box body 1 through a second elastic member (not shown in the figure).

[0047] The locking unit 30 can be rotated to move the locking assembly 3 and the groove 4 from the locked position to the unlocked position. Specifically, in the embodiment shown in the figure, one end of the locking assembly 3 is configured as a handle 33, and the locking assembly 3 can be rotated by the handle 33. For example, the handle 33 can be configured as a strip as shown in the figure or have a strip-shaped indicator. By judging the relative position between the strip-shaped handle 33 and the side wall of the box body 1, the relative position relationship between the locking assembly 3 and the groove 4 can be judged.

[0048] Figure 4FIG. 1 shows a schematic top view of an embodiment of the socket box in one state. Figure 5 FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of another state of an embodiment of the socket box. Figure 4 In the state shown in FIG, the strip-shaped handle 33 is relatively horizontal with the box body 1, and the locking assembly 3 and the groove portion 4 are in a locked position. When the handle 33 is rotated, the handle 33 will drive the locking unit 30 to rotate together, so that the locking assembly 3 and the groove portion 4 move to the position shown in FIG. Figure 5 In the unlocked position shown in FIG. 1 , the strip-shaped handle 33 is relatively perpendicular to the box body 1 , and the locking assembly in the unlocked position is as shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, the locking assembly in the locked position is as shown in FIG. Figure 6 shown.

[0049] It is understandable that the relative position relationship between the strip-shaped handle 33 and the box body 1 and the association between the unlocking position and the locking position can be adaptively adjusted according to actual conditions, and is not used to limit the socket box.

[0050] Figure 7 A half-section schematic diagram of an embodiment of the socket box in a locked position is shown. Figure 8 A half-section schematic diagram of an embodiment of the socket box in an unlocked position is shown.

[0051] Please refer to Figures 1 to 8 , in the locked position, such as Figure 6 , Figure 7 As shown, the locking tongue 302 is located in a position to be inserted into the groove portion 4. Figure 7 As shown in , the locking tongue 302 has been inserted into the groove 4 to limit the opening of the box cover 2 relative to the box body 1. In the unlocked position, as shown in Figure 3 , Figure 8 As shown, the locking tongue 302 is located in a position where it can be disengaged from the groove 4, that is, there is no interference between the locking tongue 302 and the groove 4, and the box cover 2 can be opened relative to the box body 1. Since the locking unit 30 is hinged to the box body 1 through the first elastic member 32, the first elastic member 32 makes the locking unit 30 located in the unlocked position always have a tendency to move toward the locked position. Therefore, in the unlocked position, the first matching portion 301 matches with the second matching portion 310 to limit the rotation of the locking unit 30, thereby limiting the rotation of the locking unit 30 from the unlocked position to the locked position. Specifically, the locking unit 30 is rotated so that the outer periphery of the unit body 300 contacts the second matching portion 310, so that the second matching portion 310 overcomes the elastic force applied by the second elastic member and rotates to match the second matching portion 310.

[0052] like Figure 1As shown, when the box cover 2 moves toward the position of closing the box body 1, the groove wall 40 of the groove portion 4 can contact the second matching portion 310, so that the matching unit 31 overcomes the elastic force applied by the second elastic member and then rotates to release the first matching portion 301 from the second matching portion 310. Under the action of the first elastic member 32, the locking unit 30 that is free from the restriction of the matching unit 31 quickly moves toward the locking position, so that the locking tongue 302 moves into the groove portion 4, thereby locking the socket box.

[0053] In a specific embodiment, Figure 2 As shown in the figure, an opening 10 is provided on the side of the box body 1, and the lock tongue part 302 of the locking unit 30 can be extended or retracted into the opening 10, and the second matching part 310 of the matching unit 31 can also be extended or retracted into the opening 10, and the opening 10 has a corresponding relative position relationship with the groove part 4, so that when the groove wall 40 contacts the second matching part 310, the groove part 4 is located at a position corresponding to the unit body 300 of the locking unit 30.

[0054] The socket box with the lock can quickly open and close the box body 1 by rotating the handle 33, and when the box cover 2 is closed, the lock tongue part 302 of the locking unit 30 can be inserted into the groove part 4 to lock the box cover 2. The operation is simple, which can make the process of opening and closing the socket box more convenient. At the same time, the box cover can be locked with the box body when the box cover is closed, which can avoid the phenomenon that the box cover and the box body are not locked due to the operator forgetting.

[0055] Although one embodiment of the socket box and the lock thereof is described above, in other embodiments of the socket box and the lock thereof, the socket box and the lock thereof may have more details in many aspects relative to the above embodiments, and at least a part of these details may have various variations. At least a part of these details and variations will be described below with some embodiments.

[0056] In one embodiment of the lock, the first mating portion 301 is a mating groove opened in the unit body 300, and the second mating portion 310 is a pawl. When the locking component 3 and the groove portion 4 move from the locked position to the unlocked position, the pawl (second mating portion 310) is inserted into the mating groove (first mating portion 301).

[0057] It is understandable that in some other embodiments, the configuration and matching mode of the first matching portion 301 and the second matching portion 310 may have other suitable deformations or changes. For example, in one embodiment, the first matching portion is configured as a convex portion and the second matching portion is configured as a groove portion.

[0058] In one embodiment of the lock, when the locking assembly 3 and the groove 4 move from the locked position to the unlocked position, a portion of the outer peripheral side wall of the unit body 300 contacts the pawl (the second matching portion 310) to apply pressure and make the pawl (the second matching portion 310) rotate to overcome the elastic force and then snap into the matching groove (the first matching portion 301). The portion in contact with the pawl (the second matching portion 310) is configured as follows: when the locking unit 30 moves from the locked position to the unlocked position in the positive direction ( Figure 3 The inclined surface 303 is inclined from the inside of the unit body 300 to the outside in the direction of the arrow a shown in FIG. The portion of the unit body 300 that contacts with the pawl (the second matching portion 310) is configured as the inclined surface 303 having the aforementioned structure, so that the pawl (the second matching portion 310) can gradually overcome the elastic force and rotate under the guidance of the inclined surface, so as to reduce the jamming of the locking unit 30 during the rotation process.

[0059] Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present lock, the distance between the bottom 301a of the matching groove 301 and the center of the unit body 300 is greater than the minimum distance between the inclined surface 303 and the center of the unit body. The center of the unit body 300 can only be hinged to the rotation center of the locking unit 30 on the box body 1 when it rotates. Such a configuration can ensure that when the pawl (second matching portion 310) is engaged with the matching groove 301, at least a part of the matching unit 31 can protrude out of the opening 10, and when the locking assembly 3 and the groove portion 4 move from the locked position to the unlocked position, the matching unit 31 can be completely retracted into the opening 10, thereby avoiding interference between the matching unit 31 and the groove portion 4 during the opening process between the box cover 2 and the box body 1.

[0060] In one embodiment of the lock, when the box cover 2 is closed, the groove wall 40 where the groove portion 4 contacts the pawl (second matching portion 310) is configured as an inclined surface, so that the pawl (second matching portion 310) can be more easily rotated through the matching of the inclined surface.

[0061] In one embodiment of the lock, Figure 1 As shown, when the locking unit 30 moves from the locking position to the unlocking position in the positive direction ( Figure 3 The mating groove 301 has a first wall 301b and a second wall 301c in sequence. With respect to the symmetry center of the mating groove 301, the first wall 301b has a larger inclination angle than the second wall 301c, so that the pawl (the second mating portion 310) is easier to escape from the mating groove 301 from one side of the second wall 301c, so that the first mating portion 301 and the second mating portion 310 are released from each other.

[0062] Fig. 9A schematic diagram of an open state of an embodiment of the socket box is shown. In an embodiment of the socket box, the box body 1 and the box cover 2 can move from an open position to a closed position. Fig. 9 The box body 1 and the box cover 2 are in the open position. Figure 8 The box body 1 and the box cover 2 shown in the figure are in a closed position. The box cover 2 has a first protrusion 21, and the box body 1 has a second protrusion 11. The first protrusion 21 is configured as an elastic member. When the box cover 2 moves from the closed position to the open position, the first protrusion 21 elastically deforms so that the first protrusion 21 can abut against the second protrusion 11, and cooperate to limit the movement of the box cover 2 and the box body 1 from the open position to the closed position. When the box cover 2 needs to be closed, an external force can be applied to the outside of the box cover 2 to release the abutment state between the first protrusion 21 and the second protrusion 11 after the elastic deformation, allowing the box cover 2 to be closed on the box body 1. In the specific embodiment shown in the figure, the first protrusion 21 is a section extending along the width direction of the box cover 2 and toward the connection between the box cover 2 and the box body 1, and the second protrusion 11 is a section protruding upward from the bottom surface of the box body 1, so that the configuration of the first protrusion 21 and the second protrusion 11 that can be matched with each other is realized with a relatively simple structure.

[0063] In some other suitable implementations, the second protrusion 11 may be configured as an elastic member. In another implementation, both the first protrusion 21 and the second protrusion 11 may be configured as elastic members.

[0064] In a specific embodiment, the first protrusion 21 and the second protrusion 11 are made of plastic or rubber that can be elastically deformed under the action of external force.

[0065] Fig.10 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of an embodiment of the box is shown, wherein a third elastic member 12 is provided at the connection between the box cover 2 and the box body 1, and under the action of the third elastic member 12, the box cover 2 always has a tendency to move toward a closed position with the box body 1. With such an arrangement, it is only necessary to provide an external force to release the abutment between the first convex portion 21 and the second convex portion 11, and the box cover 2 can be quickly moved toward the box body 1 under the action of the third elastic member 12, so that the groove portion 4 contacts the pawl (the second matching portion 310). This arrangement can simplify the locking operation and further avoid the phenomenon that the operator closes the box cover 2 but does not lock the box cover 2 with the box body 1.

[0066] In a specific embodiment, the first elastic member 32 and / or the second elastic member and / or the third elastic member 12 in one or more embodiments described above are torsion springs. In other suitable embodiments, the first elastic member 32 and / or the second elastic member and / or the third elastic member 12 may also be elastic wires with elastic reset function.

[0067] In one embodiment of the socket box, the lock is a pair of locks arranged between the box body 1 and the box cover 2. By rotating the locking unit 30 in different directions, the locking assembly 3 and the groove 4 in the pair of locks can be moved from the locked position to the unlocked position. By providing two sets of locks with different rotation directions to lock the box body 1 and the box cover 2, the user's operation can be simplified, and the locking effect is more stable. In other embodiments different from those shown in the figure, the number of locks can also be one or more than two, and is not limited thereto.

[0068] Although the present invention is disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make possible changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, any modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lock for opening and closing a box, the box having a box body and a box cover, characterized in that: The lock comprises: A locking assembly, disposed on one of the box body and the box cover, comprises: A locking unit is hingedly connected to the one side through a first elastic member, and has a unit body, a first matching portion is provided in the unit body, and a locking tongue is protruded outward from the unit body; The matching unit has a second matching portion and is hinged to the one side through a second elastic member; A groove portion, provided on the other of the box body and the box cover; Wherein, rotating the locking unit can make the locking component and the groove portion move from the locked position to the unlocked position, in the locked position, the locking tongue is located at a position where it can be inserted into the groove portion; in the unlocked position, the locking tongue is located at a position where it can be disengaged from the groove portion, the first matching portion cooperates with the second matching portion to limit the locking unit from moving toward the locked position, the first elastic member enables the locking unit to always have a tendency to move toward the locked position, when the box cover moves toward the position of closing the box body, the groove wall of the groove portion can contact the second matching portion, so that the matching unit overcomes the elastic force applied by the second elastic member, so that the first matching portion and the second matching portion are released from matching; the first matching portion is a matching groove opened in the unit body, and the second matching portion is a pawl; when the locking component and the groove portion move from the locked position to the unlocked position, a part of the outer peripheral side wall of the unit body is in contact with the pawl; Wherein, a portion of the outer peripheral side wall is configured as: an inclined surface inclined from the inner side of the unit body toward the outer side in the positive direction of the locking unit moving from the locking position to the unlocking position; the distance between the groove bottom of the matching groove and the center of the unit body is greater than the minimum distance between the inclined surface and the center of the unit body; The groove wall in contact with the second matching portion is configured as an inclined surface; An opening is provided on the side of one of the box body and the box cover, the locking tongue portion of the locking unit can be extended or retracted into the opening, and the second matching portion of the matching unit can also be extended or retracted into the opening, and the opening and the groove portion have a corresponding relative position relationship.

2. The lock according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the locking assembly is configured as a handle.

3. A socket box, comprising a box body and a box cover, characterized in that: A lock as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 2 is arranged between the box body and the box cover; The box body is provided with an opening on its side, the locking assembly is provided on the box body, the locking tongue and the second matching portion can extend out of or retract into the opening, and the groove is provided in the box cover.

4. The socket box according to claim 3, characterized in that: The box cover and the box body can move from an open position to a closed position, the box cover has a first convex portion, and the box body has a second convex portion; Wherein, at least one of the first convex portion and the second convex portion is configured as an elastic member, and when the box cover and the box body move from the closed position to the open position, at least one of the first convex portion and the second convex portion is elastically deformed so that the first convex portion and the second convex portion abut against each other and limit the movement of the box cover and the box body from the open position to the closed position.

5. The socket box according to claim 4, characterized in that: A third elastic member is provided at the connection between the box cover and the box body, and the third elastic member enables the box cover to always have a tendency to move toward the closed position.

6. The socket box according to claim 3, characterized in that: The locks are a pair disposed between the box body and the box cover. By rotating the locking units in different directions, the locking components and the grooves in the pair of locks can be moved from a locked position to an unlocked position respectively.

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