case

The case design with a sliding shutter and guide slits, incorporating a thick portion on the shutter member, addresses the issue of smooth ejection of small components by preventing them from entering the guide slits, ensuring efficient discharge.

JP7768250B2Active Publication Date: 2025-11-12MURATA MFG CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2023573843
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2022-01-12
Filing Date
2022-10-12
Publication Date
2025-11-12
Estimated Expiration
2042-10-12

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Small electronic components can get caught in the gap between the opening and closing member and the case, preventing smooth discharge during ejection.

Method used

A case design with a guide slit and a shutter member that slides to open and close the outlet, featuring a thick portion on one of the main surfaces to prevent components from entering the guide slit and ensure smooth ejection.

Benefits of technology

The design allows for easy and smooth ejection of electronic components from the ejection port, reducing the likelihood of components getting stuck or lost in the guide slits.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

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    Figure 0007768250000001
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    Figure 0007768250000003
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

Provided is a case configured to allow for easy and smooth discharge of parts from a discharge port. The case includes a case body 10 that houses a plurality of electronic components M and has a discharge port 19 through which the electronic components M are discharged, an upper guide slit 41 and a lower guide slit 51 that are provided in the case body 10 and connected to the discharge port 19, and a shutter member 30 that is slidably inserted into these guide slits and opens and closes the discharge port 19 by sliding, wherein the case body 10 has a pair of front and rear inner walls 14a1 and 14b1 that face each other and form an upper guide slit 41 therebetween, and a pair of lower and upper inner walls 13a1 and 17b1 that form the lower guide slit 51, and the shutter member 30 has a pair of first and second main surfaces 38a and 38b, at least one of which has a thick-walled portion 39b extending in the sliding direction of the shutter member 30.
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a case for accommodating electronic components such as chip components. [Background technology]

[0002] When mounting electronic components on a circuit board, a mounting device is used to mount the electronic components in a predetermined position on the circuit board. Such a mounting device requires that the electronic components be supplied individually. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a case in which loose electronic components are stored together and dropped into a feeder by their own weight from a discharge port at the bottom. The electronic components are supplied individually to the mounting device by the feeder. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-295618 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In this type of case, if a member for opening and closing the discharge port is provided, small electronic components may get caught in the gap between the opening and closing member and the case, preventing smooth discharge.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a case that allows parts to be easily and smoothly ejected from the ejection port. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The case of the present invention comprises a case body that accommodates a plurality of parts and has an outlet through which the parts are discharged, a guide slit that is provided in the case body and communicates with the outlet, and a shutter member that is slidably inserted into the guide slit and slides to open and close the outlet, wherein the case body has a pair of inner wall surfaces that face each other and form the guide slit therebetween, and the shutter member has a pair of main surfaces that face each of the pair of inner wall surfaces, and at least one of the pair of main surfaces has a thick portion that extends in the sliding direction of the shutter member. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a case that allows parts to be easily and smoothly ejected from the ejection opening. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the case according to the embodiment, seen from below. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the case according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the case according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a view of the inside of the case according to the embodiment as seen from one side. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a view of the inside of the front portion of the case according to the embodiment, seen from one side, showing the case in an opened state with the outlet opening. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion VI in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of part VII in FIG. 5. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a part of a cross section taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a shutter member according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing another example of the shutter member according to the embodiment. [Figure 11]FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a portion of a modified example corresponding to part VII in FIG. 5. [Figure 12] 12 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line XII-XII in FIG. 11. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] (Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the case 1 according to the embodiment, seen from below. Fig. 2 is a front view of the case 1, seen from the front. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the case 1. Fig. 4 is a view of the inside of the case 1, seen from one side. Fig. 5 is a view of the inside of the front part of the case 1, seen from one side.

[0010] As shown in Fig. 4, case 1 accommodates a plurality of loose electronic components M therein. Case 1 accommodating the plurality of electronic components M is set in a feeder (not shown), and the feeder vibrates to eject the electronic components M from inside case 1 and supply them to a mounting device or the like. The electronic components M of this embodiment are minute rectangular parallelepiped electronic components with a longitudinal length of, for example, 1.2 mm or less. Examples of such electronic components include capacitors and inductors, but this embodiment is not limited to these.

[0011] The arrows X, Y, and Z in the reference drawings respectively indicate the left-right direction (width direction), front-rear direction, and up-down direction of the case 1 when it is set in the feeder and in use. In the left-right direction X, X1 indicates the left, and X2 indicates the right. In the front-rear direction Y, Y1 indicates the front, Y2 indicates the rear, and in the up-down direction Z, Z1 indicates the top, and Z2 indicates the bottom. In the following description, the left-right direction, front-rear direction, and up-down direction are based on the directions indicated by the arrows above.

[0012] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the case 1 includes a case body 10 that houses a plurality of electronic components M, and a shutter member 30. As shown in FIG.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 1, the case body 10 includes a first member 2 and a second member 3 that are divided into left and right halves. The first member 2 and the second member 3 are molded bodies made of resin such as ABS resin. The first member 2 and the second member 3 are combined and joined together to form the case body 10. The first member 2 and the second member 3 are joined by means such as ultrasonic bonding or adhesive bonding, but are not limited to these means.

[0014] 4 shows the inside of the second member 3 on the right side without the first member 2 on the left side. The case body 10 has a flat box shape that is long in the front-to-rear direction and thin in the left-to-right direction. In the following explanation, unless necessary, the first member 2 and the second member 3 will not be explained individually, but the configuration in which the first member 2 and the second member 3 are joined will be explained.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 4, the case body 10 has a top panel 12 and a bottom panel 13 extending in the front-rear direction, a front wall 14 and a rear wall 15 extending in the up-down direction, a pair of left and right side walls 16, and an inclined panel 17 that divides the interior of the case body 10 into upper and lower sections. The rear wall 15 includes an outer rear wall 15a that forms the outer surface, and an inner rear wall 15b in front of the outer rear wall. The inner rear wall 15b is an example of a wall. A storage space 11 is formed inside the case body 10 to store multiple electronic components M loosely.

[0016] The electronic components M accommodated in the accommodation space 11 are discharged to the outside of the case body 10 through the discharge opening 19. The discharge opening 19 is provided in the lower part of the front wall portion 14. The discharge opening 19 is a rectangular opening. However, the shape of the discharge opening 19 is not limited to a rectangle, and it may be an opening having a circular or elliptical shape, for example. The discharge opening 19 is opened and closed by a shutter member 30.

[0017] The inclined plate portion 17 is a plate member that extends between the left and right side wall portions 16 and from the inner rear wall portion 15b to the lower part of the discharge port 19. The inclined plate portion 17 is disposed below the center in the vertical direction inside the case body 10. Inside the case body 10, the upper side of the inclined plate portion 17 forms the storage space 11, and the lower side forms the lower space 18.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 4, the inclined plate portion 17 is inclined downward toward the discharge port 19, and its upper surface forms an inclined surface 17a that is also inclined downward toward the discharge port 19. In this embodiment, the inclination angle θ1 of the inclined surface 17a is approximately 10° with respect to the horizontal direction when the case 1 is set in the feeder. The inclination angle θ1 of the inclined surface 17a is preferably 3° or more and 10° or less. The inclination angle θ1 of the inclined surface 17a is adjusted appropriately depending on the vibration conditions of the feeder, etc. An upper guide protrusion 17b that constitutes the lower guide portion 5, which will be described later, is formed at the lower front end of the inclined plate portion 17.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 4, a strip-shaped RFID tag 27 that is long in the front-rear direction is disposed at the rear of the lower space 18. The RFID tag 27 is configured as, for example, a sticker and is attached to the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 13. The RFID tag 27 is stored in the lower space 18 through a hole 16a that extends in the front-rear direction and is provided in the side wall portion 16 shown in Fig. 1. The RFID tag 27 has a known configuration including a transmitter / receiver, a memory, an antenna, etc. For example, a reader / writer that reads and writes information from the RFID tag 27 is disposed in the feeder in which the case 1 is set.

[0020] The case body 10 has an upper grip portion 28A and a rear grip portion 28B. The upper grip portion 28A is a pair of front and rear recesses provided at both front and rear ends of the upper side of the case body 10. The rear grip portion 28B is a pair of upper and lower recesses provided at both top and bottom ends of the rear side of the case body 10. The upper grip portion 28A and the rear grip portion 28B are each gripped by a robot hand, for example, when the case 1 is transported by the robot hand.

[0021] The case body 10 has a plurality of claws on its bottom surface for detachably setting the case body 10 on the feeder. In this embodiment, a first claw 61, a second claw 62, and a third claw 63 are provided on the bottom surface at intervals in the front-to-rear direction. The first claw 61, the second claw 62, and the third claw 63 are each molded integrally with the case body 10. Each of the first claw 61 and the second claw 62 is configured as a T-slot that has an inverted T-shape in cross section in a plane along the top-bottom and left-right directions. The third claw 63 is a plate portion that extends rearward and is L-shaped in side view.

[0022] The shutter member 30 slides to open and close the discharge port 19. The shutter member 30 extends continuously from the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 13 to the inside of the front wall portion 14, and is slidable along the direction of extension. A lower guide protrusion 13a that constitutes the lower guide portion 5, which will be described later, is formed on the front end of the bottom plate portion 13.

[0023] The shutter member 30 is a thin, strip-shaped film member having a certain width. The shutter member 30 is made of a flexible material that has a certain degree of rigidity and is bendable, such as PET (Polyethylene terephthalate). The thickness of the shutter member 30 made of such a film-like member is not limited, but is preferably 0.1 mm or more and 0.5 mm or less. The width of the shutter member 30 is slightly larger than the width of the discharge port 19 and is wide enough to cover the discharge port 19 without any gaps. An opening 31 having approximately the same shape as the discharge port 19 is provided at the front end of the shutter member 30.

[0024] The shutter member 30 is slidable along an upper guide portion 4 and a lower guide portion 5 provided on the case body 10. The upper guide portion 4 is disposed above the discharge port 19, and the lower guide portion 5 is disposed below the inclined plate portion 17. The front side of the shutter member 30 slides vertically along the upper guide portion 4, and the rear side slides generally horizontally along the lower guide portion 5. The upper guide portion 4 and the lower guide portion 5 each form a passage that slidably holds the shutter member 30 while keeping the surface direction of the shutter member 30 aligned with the left-right direction. The upper guide portion 4 and the lower guide portion 5 will be described in detail later.

[0025] The shutter member 30 is slid by a slide member 35. As shown in FIG.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the bottom plate 13 of the case body 10 has a protruding plate 21 on its front side. The protruding plate 21 protrudes downward and extends in the front-rear direction. A long hole 21a extending in the front-rear direction is formed in the protruding plate 21. A plate 26 is disposed above the protruding plate 21, with a predetermined space 22 between it and the protruding plate 21. The plate 26 is substantially parallel to the protruding plate 21 and is molded integrally with the bottom plate 13. The space 22 is surrounded by the protruding plate 21, the plate 26, and the left and right sidewalls 16. The slide member 35 is disposed within the space 22. A front protrusion 26a protruding downward is formed at the front end of the plate 26. A rear protrusion 26b protruding downward is formed at the rear end of the plate 26.

[0027] The slide member 35 is a rectangular plate piece that is long in the front-rear direction. A circular operation hole 36 that penetrates the slide member 35 in the up-down direction is formed in the slide member 35. The operation hole 36 communicates with the elongated hole 21a of the case body 10 and is exposed to the outside through the elongated hole 21a.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 5 , a slit 37 extending along the front-rear direction and opening to the front is formed in the middle of the slide member 35 in the up-down direction. The rear end of the shutter member 30 is inserted into the slit 37 from a front end opening 37a that opens to the front of the slit 37. The slit 37 does not open to the rear. The slit 37 may also open to the left and right sides of the slide member 35. The shutter member 30 is fixed to the slide member 35 by means of adhesion or the like. This allows the shutter member 30 to slide integrally with the slide member 35. The slide member 35 slides in the front-rear direction while being guided by the protruding plate portion 21, the plate portion 26, and the left and right side wall portions 16 of the bottom plate portion 13.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 5, the upper surface of the slide member 35 has a front recess 32a at its front end and a rear recess 32b at its rear end. When the slide member 35 slides forward, the front protrusion 26a of the plate portion 26 enters and engages with the front recess 32a, restricting further forward sliding. At this time, the opening hole 31 of the shutter member 30 is positioned above the discharge port 19, as shown in Fig. 4, and the discharge port 19 is closed by the lower part of the opening hole 31 in the shutter member 30.

[0030] On the other hand, when the slide member 35 slides rearward, the rear convex portion 26b of the plate portion 26 enters and engages with the rear concave portion 32b, restricting further rearward sliding, as shown in Fig. 5. At this time, the opening hole 31 of the shutter member 30 aligns with the discharge port 19, opening the discharge port 19.

[0031] After a predetermined number of electronic components M have been accommodated in the accommodation space 11 through the outlet 19, the case 1 is shipped to the destination of the electronic components in a state in which the slide member 35 is slid forward to close the outlet 19 with the shutter member 30. Therefore, Figure 4 shows the interior of the case 1 at the time of shipment. A user who receives the case 1 can open the outlet 19, for example, as follows.

[0032] 5, the operation pin 60 is inserted into the operation hole 36 of the slide member 35, and the operation pin 60 is moved in the opening direction of the shutter member, i.e., rearward. As a result, the shutter member 30 slides rearward in conjunction with the slide member 35, and the opening hole 31 of the shutter member 30 aligns with the discharge port 19, opening the discharge port 19.

[0033] The mechanism for sliding the shutter member 30 to open and close the discharge port 19 is not limited to the configuration in which the slide member 35 is integrally provided with the shutter member 30 as described above, and other mechanisms may also be used.

[0034] The above is the basic configuration of case 1 according to the embodiment. This case 1 is used, for example, as follows: After a predetermined number of electronic components M are accommodated in storage space 11 of case body 10 through discharge outlet 19, which is opened in advance, discharge outlet 19 is closed and case 1 is supplied to a predetermined supply destination. At the supply destination, case 1 is set in a feeder as described above, discharge outlet 19 is opened, and the feeder vibrates, causing electronic components M to be discharged from discharge outlet 19 and supplied to a mounting device or the like.

[0035] Next, the upper guide portion 4 and the lower guide portion 5 that guide the sliding movement of the shutter member 30, and the shutter member 30 will be described in detail.

[0036] 5, the upper guide portion 4 includes an upper guide slit 41 that serves as a guide slit extending in the vertical direction and is disposed above the discharge port 19. The upper guide slit 41 is formed in the front wall portion 14. The front wall portion 14 has a front plate portion 14a and a rear plate portion 14b that sandwich the upper guide slit 41 therebetween.

[0037] As shown in Figure 6, the upper guide slit 41 communicates with the discharge port 19 via an opening 42 at the lower end. The front plate 14a and the rear plate 14b each have a pair of opposing front inner wall surfaces 14a1 and 14b1. The upper guide slit 41 is formed between the front inner wall surface 14a1 and the rear inner wall surface 14b1. The front end of the shutter member 30 is inserted into the upper guide slit 41 through the opening 42 and slides up and down within the upper guide slit 41.

[0038] 5, the lower guide portion 5 includes a lower guide slit 51 serving as a guide slit arranged below the discharge opening 19. The lower guide slit 51 is formed between the lower guide protrusion 13a of the bottom plate portion 13 and the upper guide protrusion 17b of the inclined plate portion 17.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 7 , the lower guide slit 51 communicates with the discharge port 19 through an opening 52 at its upper end. The lower guide protrusion 13a and the upper guide protrusion 17b each have a pair of opposing lower inner wall surfaces 13a1 and upper inner wall surfaces 17b1. The lower guide slit 51 is formed between the lower inner wall surface 13a1 and the upper inner wall surface 17b1. The lower inner wall surface 13a1 on the bottom plate portion 13 side is curved to extend gently upward toward the front. The upper inner wall surface 17b1 on the inclined plate portion 17 side is curved to correspond to the lower inner wall surface 13a1 so that the thickness of the lower guide slit 51 is approximately constant. Therefore, the lower guide slit 51 is curved to extend gently upward toward the front.

[0040] The rear portion of the shutter member 30 slides in the front-to-rear direction directly above the bottom plate portion 13. The front end portion of the shutter member 30 on the bottom plate portion 13 slides through the lower guide slit 51, which is concavely curved in the front-to-rear direction, and is thereby bent upward at an angle of approximately 90° from the horizontal direction, and changes to a posture extending in the vertical direction.

[0041] 2, side guide slits 43 communicating with the upper guide slit 41 and the lower guide slit 51 are provided on both the left and right sides of the lower part of the front wall 14 in the portion corresponding to the discharge port 19. The left and right edge portions of the shutter member 30 passing through the discharge port 19 fit into the side guide slits 43. This allows the entire discharge port 19 to be closed by the shutter member 30.

[0042] The upper guide slit 41 and the lower guide slit 51 have approximately the same thickness dimension, which allows the shutter member 30 to pass through smoothly and holds the shutter member 30. For example, the thickness dimension is approximately one to two times the thickness of the shutter member 30, and is preferably, for example, 0.1 mm to 1 mm.

[0043] As described above, the case body 10 of the embodiment is formed by combining the left and right first and second members 2 and 3, which are resin molded bodies. This type of resin molded body usually has a tapered surface that comes into contact with the mold as necessary, so that it can be removed from the mold without any undercuts that could get caught in the mold when removed.

[0044] 8, for example, the lower inner wall surface 13a2 on the first member 2 side and the lower inner wall surface 13a3 on the second member 3 side that constitute the lower inner wall surface 13a1 of the lower guide portion 5 each have a tapered surface so that the lower guide slit 51 widens in the direction D2 opposite to the demolding direction D1. FIG. 8 shows the surrounding area of ​​the lower guide slit 51 in the cross section VIII-VIII of FIG.

[0045] 8, the upper inner wall surface 17b2 on the first member 2 side and the upper inner wall surface 17b3 on the second member 3 side that constitute the upper inner wall surface 17b1 of the lower guide portion 5 each have a tapered surface so that the lower guide slit 51 widens in the direction D2 opposite to the mold removal direction D1. Therefore, the lower inner wall surface 13a1 and the upper inner wall surface 17b1 are each formed into a groove shape with an isosceles triangle cross section. The lower inner wall surface 13a1 and the upper inner wall surface 17b1 each have a groove bottom 13a4 and a groove bottom 17b4 in their widthwise central portions.

[0046] The front inner wall surface 14a1 and the rear inner wall surface 14b1 of the upper guide portion 4 on the first member 2 side and the second member 3 side are also similarly formed in a tapered shape, but are not shown here.

[0047] 7 and 8, the film-like shutter member 30 has a pair of main surfaces, a first main surface 38a and a second main surface 38b. Here, the surface facing the front at the position of the discharge port 19 is the first main surface 38a, and the surface facing the rear is the second main surface 38b. On the bottom plate portion 13, the first main surface 38a faces downward, and the second main surface 38b faces upward.

[0048] The second main surface 38b has a second thick portion 39b as a thick portion that extends in the length direction of the shutter member 30, i.e., the sliding direction. The second thick portion 39b is a convex ridge that protrudes toward the inside of the case 1. The second thick portion 39b has an isosceles triangular cross section. The second thick portion 39b is located in the center of the shutter member 30 in the width direction. The second thick portion 39b has a second vertex 39b1 in the center of the width direction.

[0049] 9 is a plan view of the second main surface 38b side, showing the entire length of the shutter member 30. As shown in FIG. 9, the second thick portion 39b is provided over the entire length of the shutter member 30. The second thick portion 39b is partially interrupted in the length direction by the opening hole 31.

[0050] 8, at the opening 52 of the lower guide slit 51, a front gap 52a is formed between the first main surface 38a of the shutter member 30 and the lower inner wall surface 13a1. Also, a rear gap 52b is formed between the second main surface 38b of the shutter member 30 and the upper inner wall surface 17b1.

[0051] 8, when the shutter member 30 inserted into the lower guide slit 51 slides to open or close the discharge opening 19 of the case 1, the second vertex 39b1 of the second thick portion 39b on the second main surface 38b side may abut against the groove bottom 17b4 of the upper inner wall surface 17b1. Also, both widthwise ends of the first main surface 38a may abut against the lower inner wall surface 13a1.

[0052] In the case 1 of the embodiment, the second thick portion 39b of the shutter member 30 is disposed in the rear gap 52b. As described above, when the case 1 is set in the feeder and the electronic component M is discharged from the discharge port 19, even if the electronic component M is so small that it can fit into the rear gap 52b, the presence of the second thick portion 39b in the rear gap 52b makes it difficult for the electronic component M to fall from the rear gap 52b into the lower guide slit 51. Therefore, the electronic component M can be easily discharged from the discharge port 19 smoothly.

[0053] Furthermore, even when the discharge opening 19 is closed by the shutter member 30 or while the shutter member 30 is sliding, the second thick portion 39b is disposed in the rear gap 52b. Therefore, electronic components M are less likely to enter the rear gap 52b. This allows the shutter member 30 to always slide smoothly. When transporting or storing the case 1, the case 1 may not be in the position it is in when it is used and set in the feeder. For example, the discharge opening 19 may face downward or the case 1 may be upside down. In such cases, the electronic components M may move toward the opening 42 of the upper guide slit 41. However, because the second thick portion 39b is disposed in the opening 42 of the upper guide slit 41, just as in the lower guide slit 51, the electronic components M are less likely to enter the opening 42. Therefore, electronic components M are less likely to enter the upper guide slit 41, allowing the shutter member 30 to always slide smoothly. Furthermore, electronic components M are less likely to get lost when they get mixed up in the upper guide slit 41 or the lower guide slit 51.

[0054] 8, when the apex 39b1 of the second thick portion 39b abuts against the upper inner wall surface 17b1, the electronic component M is even less likely to fall into the lower guide slit 51. Furthermore, since the apex 39b1 moves along the groove bottom 17b4, the shutter member 30 can slide smoothly.

[0055] 9, the second thick portion 39b in this embodiment is provided over the entire length of the shutter member 30, i.e., the entire length in the sliding direction. Therefore, the second thick portion 39b is reliably positioned in the opening 42 of the upper guide slit 41 and the opening 52 of the lower guide slit 51. Furthermore, since there is no need to partially form the second thick portion 39b when manufacturing the shutter member 30, manufacturing is easy.

[0056] The second thick portion 39b only needs to be disposed in correspondence with the opening 42 of the upper guide slit 41 and the opening 52 of the lower guide slit 51 at least in the sliding range from when the shutter member 30 closes the discharge outlet 19 to when the shutter member 30 opens the discharge outlet 19. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 10, the thick portion 39b does not have to be provided over the entire length of the shutter member 30, but may be provided partially. In this case, the length of the second thick portion 39b is kept to the minimum necessary, which has the advantage of saving material in manufacturing, for example.

[0057] The upper inner wall surface 17b1 has a groove bottom 17b4 formed in the widthwise center by the tapered upper inner wall surface 17b2 on the first member 2 side and the upper inner wall surface 17b3 on the second member 3 side, and therefore the rear gap 52b is largest in the widthwise center. In contrast, the second thick portion 39b is provided in approximately the widthwise center of the shutter member 30, and therefore the rear gap 52b is effectively blocked by the second thick portion 39b. This makes it possible to obtain a significant effect of preventing the electronic component M from falling by the second thick portion 39b.

[0058] The case 1 according to the embodiment described above includes a case body 10 that accommodates a plurality of electronic components M and has a discharge port 19 through which the electronic components M are discharged, an upper guide slit 41 and a lower guide slit 51 that are provided in the case body 10 and serve as guide slits that communicate with the discharge port 19, and a shutter member 30 that is slidably inserted into the upper guide slit 41 and the lower guide slit 51 and slides to open and close the discharge port 19. The case body 10 is configured such that the upper guide slit 41 and the lower guide slit 51 face each other and are spaced apart from each other by the shutter member 30. The shutter member 30 has a front inner wall surface 14a1 and a rear inner wall surface 14b1 as a pair of inner wall surfaces forming the lower guide slit 51, and a lower inner wall surface 13a1 and an upper inner wall surface 17b1 as a pair of inner wall surfaces forming the lower guide slit 51, and the shutter member 30 has a first main surface 38a and a second main surface 38b as a pair of main surfaces facing each other, and has a second thick portion 39b as a thick portion extending in the sliding direction of the shutter member 30 on at least one of the first main surface 38a and the second main surface 38b, which in this embodiment is the second main surface 38b.

[0059] This makes it difficult for the electronic component M to enter the upper guide slit 41 and the lower guide slit 51, and the electronic component M can be more easily discharged from the discharge port 19.

[0060] In the case 1 according to this embodiment, the second thick portion 39b is preferably provided over the entire length of the shutter member 30 in the sliding direction.

[0061] This ensures that the second thick portion 39b is positioned at the opening 42 of the upper guide slit 41 and the opening 52 of the lower guide slit 51. Furthermore, since there is no need to partially form the second thick portion 39b when manufacturing the shutter member 30, manufacturing is easy.

[0062] In the case 1 according to this embodiment, the second thick portion 39b preferably abuts against the upper inner wall surface 17b1 that faces the second thick portion 39b.

[0063] This makes it even more difficult for the electronic component M to fall into the lower guide slit 51. Furthermore, the shutter member 30 slides while the second thick portion 39b abuts against the upper inner wall surface 17b1, allowing the shutter member 30 to slide smoothly.

[0064] In the case 1 according to the embodiment, the second thick portion 39b may be configured to be positioned corresponding to the discharge outlet 19, at least in the sliding range from when the shutter member 30 closes the discharge outlet 19 to when the shutter member 30 opens the discharge outlet 19.

[0065] This reduces the length of the second thick portion 39b to the minimum necessary, thereby saving material in manufacturing.

[0066] In the case 1 according to this embodiment, the shutter member 30 has a strip shape with a certain width, and the second thick portion 39b is preferably provided in the approximate center of the shutter member 30 in the width direction.

[0067] As a result, in the case body 10 which combines the first member 2 and the second member 3 of the resin molded body, the second thick portion 39b can be positioned in the widthwise center where the gap in the front-to-rear direction of the opening 52 of the lower guide slit 51 is largest, and as a result, a significant effect of preventing the electronic component M from falling can be obtained.

[0068] In the case 1 according to the embodiment, the shutter member 30 has an opening 31 for opening the discharge port 19, and the opening 31 partially interrupts the second thick portion 39b in the sliding direction.

[0069] As a result, when the opening hole 31 is aligned with the discharge outlet 19 and the discharge outlet 19 is open, the second thick portion 39b is securely positioned on both the upper guide slit 41 side and the lower guide slit 51 side of the discharge outlet 19, thereby preventing the electronic component M from falling into these upper guide slits 41 and lower guide slits 51.

[0070] (Variation) Next, a modified example in which part of the above embodiment is changed will be described with reference to Figures 11 and 12. This modified example differs from the above embodiment in that the first main surface 38a of the shutter member 30 also has a thick portion, but the other configurations are the same. Therefore, in the following explanation, the same components as those in the above embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals and explanations will be omitted, and differences will mainly be described.

[0071] As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the shutter member 30 of the modified example has a second thick portion 39b on the second main surface 38b and a first thick portion 39a on the first main surface 38a.

[0072] The first thick portion 39a is a protruding ridge that protrudes outward from the case 1. Like the second thick portion 39b, the first thick portion 39a has an isosceles triangular cross-sectional shape. The first thick portion 39a is located at the center of the width of the shutter member 30 and has a first vertex 39a1 approximately at the center of the width. The first thick portion 39a may be provided over the entire length of the shutter member 30. Alternatively, like the second thick portion 39b shown in FIG. 10 , the first thick portion 39a may have a minimum necessary length to correspond to the opening 42 of the upper guide slit 41 and the opening 52 of the lower guide slit 51 within the sliding range from when the shutter member 30 closes the discharge port 19 to when the shutter member 30 opens the discharge port 19.

[0073] The first thick portion 39a is disposed in a front gap 52a between the second main surface 38b of the shutter member 30 and the lower inner wall surface 13a1 at the opening 52 of the lower guide slit 51. In the shutter member 30 inserted into the lower guide slit 51, the first vertex 39a1 of the first thick portion 39a may come into contact with the groove bottom 13a4 of the lower inner wall surface 13a1.

[0074] In this modified example, the first thick portion 39a is formed on the first main surface 38a of the shutter member 30, which also prevents the electronic component M from falling from the front gap 52a into the lower guide slit 51. Therefore, the electronic component M can be more easily discharged from the discharge port 19.

[0075] Furthermore, in this modified example, in the case body 10 formed by combining the first member 2 and the second member 3 of the resin molded body, the first thick portion 39a can be positioned in the widthwise center where the gap in the front-to-rear direction of the opening 52 of the lower guide slit 51 is largest, and as a result, a significant effect of preventing the electronic component M from falling can be obtained.

[0076] Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention includes modifications and improvements within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention.

[0077] For example, the cross-sectional shape of the thick portion provided on at least one of the first main surface 38a and the second main surface 38b of the shutter member 30 is not limited to a triangular shape and may be any shape. Furthermore, the number of thick portions is not limited to one as in the embodiment, and multiple thick portions may be provided. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 1 case 10 Case body 13a1 Lower inner wall surface (inner wall surface) 14a1 Front inner wall surface (inner wall surface) 14b1 Rear inner wall surface (inner wall surface) 17b1 Upper inner wall surface (inner wall surface) 19 Outlet 30 Shutter parts 31 Opening hole 38a First main surface (main surface) 38b Second principal surface (principal surface) 39a 1st thick part (thick part) 39b 2nd thick part (thick part) 41 Upper guide slit (guide slit) 51 Lower guide slit (guide slit) M Electronic parts (parts)

Claims

1. a case body that accommodates a plurality of components and has an outlet through which the components are discharged; a guide slit provided in the case body and communicating with the discharge port; a shutter member that is slidably inserted into the guide slit and slides to open and close the discharge port, the case body has a pair of inner wall surfaces that face each other and form the guide slit therebetween, the shutter member has a pair of main surfaces facing the pair of inner wall surfaces, and at least one of the pair of main surfaces has a thick portion extending in a sliding direction of the shutter member; The thick portion abuts against the inner wall surface facing the thick portion.

2. The case according to claim 1 , wherein the thick portion is provided over the entire length of the shutter member in the sliding direction.

3. The case according to claim 1 , wherein the shutter member has the thick portion on each of the pair of main surfaces.

4. The case according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thick portion is positioned to correspond to the discharge outlet at least in a sliding range from when the shutter member closes the discharge outlet to when the shutter member opens the discharge outlet.

5. 3. The case according to claim 1, wherein the shutter member has a strip shape with a constant width, and the thick portion is provided at a substantially central portion in the width direction of the shutter member.

6. the shutter member has an opening hole for opening the discharge port, The case according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thick portion is partially interrupted in the sliding direction by the opening.

Citation Information

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