Door-mounted outlet

Abstract

To provide an outlet with a door, capable of reducing a thickness in an insertion direction of a plug blade.SOLUTION: At least one door body 4 is arranged between at least one insertion part 20 and a plurality of knife bearing parts 3, and can be moved to a direction approximately vertical to an insertion direction of a plurality of plug blades 61 between a closed position of closing a plurality of insertion holes 21A and 21B and an open position of opening them. An inner lid 5 movably nips the at least one door body 4 between covers 2. The inner lid 5 includes an intermediate part 51 arranged between the plurality of knife bearing parts 3, and a width of the intermediate part 51 is narrower than the minimum value of an interval of the plurality of knife bearing parts 3 in view of a front side. Each of the plurality of knife bearing parts 3 includes: a pair of narrow parts 31 that is contacted to each plug blade 61 corresponded to one of the plurality of plug blades 61; and a pair of wide parts 32 positioned at a rear side from the pair of narrow parts 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a doored outlet. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a door-mounted outlet including a housing, a prong holder, multiple terminals, one or more doors, a retaining member, and an elastic member. The housing is formed by combining a box-shaped body and a cover, and one or more pairs of prong holder holes are provided on the front surface of the cover. The prong holders are housed within the housing and receive the plug blades inserted through the prong holder holes. Multiple terminals are housed within the housing and electrically connected to the prong holders. The one or more doors are provided within the housing so as to be movable approximately parallel to the front surface of the housing between a position that opens the prong holder holes and a position that closes the prong holder holes. The retaining member movably holds the door between the housing and the cover. The elastic member elastically biases the door from the position that opens the prong holder holes to the position that closes the prong holder holes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-173125 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a doored outlet such as that described in Patent Document 1, the door is disposed between the cover and the blade receivers, which causes a problem of an increased thickness in the blade insertion direction.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a door-equipped outlet that can reduce the thickness in the blade insertion direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A doored outlet according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cover, multiple blade receiving portions, at least one door, and a lid. The cover includes at least one receptacle having multiple insertion holes into which multiple blades of a plug are inserted. The multiple blades are connected to the multiple blade receiving portions. The at least one door is disposed between the at least one receptacle and the multiple blade receiving portions and is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the multiple blades between a closed position that closes the multiple insertion holes and an open position that opens the multiple insertion holes. The lid movably sandwiches the at least one door between the cover and the lid. The lid has an intermediate portion disposed between the multiple blade receiving portions, and the width of the intermediate portion, as viewed from the front, is narrower than the minimum spacing between the multiple blade receiving portions. Each of the multiple blade receiving portions has a pair of narrow portions that contact a corresponding one of the multiple blades and a pair of wide portions located rearward of the pair of narrow portions. The door-mounted outlet further includes a restricting portion that restricts movement of the at least one door from the closed position to the open position by contacting at least a portion of the at least one door when the at least one door is tilted by being pressed by an object inserted into some of the insertion holes. The restricting portion includes a first restricting portion provided on the cover and a second restricting portion provided on the inner lid. The door-mounted outlet further includes a mounting frame for mounting the door-mounted outlet to a target surface. The mounting frame has target contact portions, at least a portion of which contacts the target surface. In the direction along the insertion direction of the blades, the tips of the pair of narrow portions are closer to the at least one door than the target contact portions and are located between the target contact portions and the at least one door. The inner cover has a sliding surface along which the at least one door slides. In the direction along the insertion direction of the blades, the tips of the pair of narrow portions are located closer to the door than the sliding surface in the direction along the insertion direction of the blades.

[0007] A door-mounted outlet according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a body block, a cover block, and a mounting frame for mounting the door-mounted outlet to a target surface. The body block, cover block, and mounting frame are separable from one another. The body block includes a plurality of prong receiving portions and a body that holds the plurality of prong receiving portions. The cover block includes a cover, at least one door, and an inner lid. The cover is provided with at least one receptacle having a plurality of insertion holes into which a plurality of blades of a single plug are respectively inserted. The plurality of blades are connected to the plurality of prong receiving portions. The at least one door is disposed between the at least one receptacle and the plurality of prong receiving portions and is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the plurality of blades between a closed position that closes the plurality of insertion holes and an open position that opens the plurality of insertion holes. The inner lid movably sandwiches the at least one door between the cover and the inner lid. The inner lid has an intermediate portion disposed between the plurality of prong receiving portions, and the width of the intermediate portion, as viewed from the front, is narrower than the minimum spacing between the plurality of prong receiving portions. Each of the plurality of prong receiving portions has a pair of narrow portions that contact a corresponding one of the plurality of blades and a pair of wide portions located rearward of the pair of narrow portions. The door-mounted outlet further includes a restricting portion that contacts at least a portion of the at least one door when the at least one door is tilted by being pressed by an object inserted into one of the plurality of insertion holes, thereby restricting movement of the at least one door from the closed position to the open position. The restricting portion includes a first restricting portion provided on the cover and a second restricting portion provided on the inner lid. The mounting frame has target contact portions, at least a portion of which contacts the target surface. In the direction along the blade insertion direction, the tips of the pair of narrow portions are closer to the at least one door than the target contact portions and are located between the target contact portions and the at least one door. The inner cover has a sliding surface along which the at least one door slides. In the direction along the blade insertion direction, the tips of the pair of narrow portions are located closer to the door than the sliding surface in the direction along the blade insertion direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The present disclosure has the advantage of providing a doored outlet that can reduce the thickness in the blade insertion direction. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a doored outlet according to an embodiment is attached to a target surface. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the above door-equipped outlet. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the above-mentioned doored outlet when no plug is connected. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the above-mentioned doored outlet when a plug is connected to it. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a front view showing the internal structure of the doored outlet. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a front view showing the internal structure of the above door-equipped outlet. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a pin receiving block provided in the above outlet with a door. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a rear view of the above outlet with a door. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a door body of the above door-equipped outlet. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cover of the above-mentioned doored outlet, seen from behind. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an inner cover provided in the above-mentioned outlet with a door. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the door of the above doored outlet. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the door of the above doored outlet. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of a doorless outlet that uses a body block and a mounting frame in common with the doored outlet of the same embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A door-mounted outlet 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment and modifications described below are merely examples of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and modifications. Various modifications other than these embodiments and modifications are possible depending on the design, etc., as long as they do not deviate from the technical concept of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the following embodiments (including modifications) may be realized in appropriate combinations.

[0011] (1) Overview First, an overview of a doored outlet 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.

[0012] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, a two-port outlet for single-phase 100V that can simultaneously connect two plugs is exemplified as the doored outlet 1. In this embodiment, the doored outlet 1 is an outlet that is compatible with, for example, an A-type plug 6 (see Fig. 3) that has a plate-shaped plug blade 61.

[0013] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the doored outlet 1 comprises a cover 2, multiple (four in this embodiment) pin receiving portions 3, at least one (two in this embodiment) door body 4, and an inner lid 5.

[0014] The cover 2 has at least one (two in this embodiment) insertion portion 20. Here, the surface of the cover 2 on which the insertion portion 20 is provided is referred to as the front surface 25. The cover 2 is, for example, rectangular in shape. The two insertion portions 20 are aligned, for example, along the longitudinal direction of the cover 2. Each of the two insertion portions 20 has a plurality (a pair in this embodiment) of insertion holes 21 into which a plurality (a pair in this embodiment) of blades 61 of one plug 6 is inserted. That is, in this embodiment, the cover 2 has two pairs of insertion holes 21. The two insertion holes 21 (21A, 21B) of each pair of the two pairs of insertion holes 21 are aligned, for example, along the lateral direction of the cover 2.

[0015] Of the four blade receivers 3, a pair of blade receivers 3 aligned in the short direction of the cover 2 corresponds to a pair of blades 61 of one plug 6. In other words, the doored outlet 1 has two pairs of blade receivers 3, and each pair of the two pairs of blade receivers 3 is connected to a pair of blades 61 of one plug 6, as shown in Figures 3 and 4 .

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the two doors 4 are disposed between the two insertion portions 20 and the two pairs of blade receiving portions 3. Each of the two doors 4 corresponds to one of the two pairs of insertion holes 21. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each of the two doors 4 is movable in a second direction DR2, which is substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction (first direction DR1) of the pair of blades 61, between a closed position where it closes each pair of insertion holes 21 (insertion holes 21A, 21B) and an open position where it opens each pair of insertion holes 21. For example, the first direction DR1 is the front-rear direction, and the second direction DR2 is the left-right direction. Note that, in the present disclosure, "substantially perpendicular" does not only mean perfectly perpendicular, but also may include a state in which the two directions intersect with an error that allows them to be considered substantially perpendicular.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the inner lid 5 movably sandwiches the two door bodies 4 between the cover 2 and the inner lid 5 .

[0018] 2 to 5 and 11, the inner cover 5 has an intermediate portion 51 disposed between the four pin receiving portions 3. In detail, the intermediate portion 51 is, for example, columnar and extends in the longitudinal direction of the cover 2. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the two pin receiving portions 3 of each pair of the four (two pairs) pin receiving portions 3 are aligned along the second direction DR2, and the intermediate portion 51 is disposed between the two pin receiving portions 3.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 5, the width of the intermediate portion 51 in the second direction DR2 is narrower than the smallest distance between the four (two pairs) of pin receiving portions 3 in the second direction DR2 when viewed from the front (first direction DR1). Specifically, the width of the intermediate portion 51 in the second direction DR2 is narrower than the smallest distance between each pair of the two pin receiving portions 3 arranged in the second direction DR2 when viewed from the first direction DR1. Note that Fig. 5 is a front view of the door-type outlet 1 with the mounting frame 7, cover 2, and two doors 4 (described later) removed.

[0020] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, each of the four blade receiving portions 3 has a pair of narrow portions 31 that contact a corresponding one of the pair of blades 61 that one plug 6 has, and a pair of wide portions 32 that are located behind the pair of narrow portions 31.

[0021] (2) Details The door-mounted outlet 1 according to the embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 14. In the following description, for convenience, a right-handed Cartesian coordinate system having three mutually orthogonal axes, namely, the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis, is defined. Here, the X-axis is parallel to the front surface 25 of the cover 2 and along the long side of the cover 2, with the positive direction of the X-axis representing the downward direction and the negative direction representing the upward direction. The Y-axis is parallel to the front surface 25 of the cover 2 and along the short side of the cover 2, with the positive direction of the Y-axis representing the right side and the negative direction representing the left side. The Z-axis is perpendicular to the front surface 25 of the cover 2, with the positive direction of the Z-axis representing the front side and the negative direction representing the rear side. Note that "parallel" in this disclosure does not only refer to a state in which two things are completely parallel, but also includes a state in which they are approximately parallel within an error range of a few degrees. The X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis are all imaginary axes, and the arrows indicating "X," "Y," and "Z" in the figures are merely shown for illustrative purposes and do not have any physical substance.

[0022] (2.1) Configuration of a door-mounted outlet The configuration of the doored outlet 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0023] As shown in Figure 2, doored outlet 1 includes cover block B2, body block B1, and mounting frame 7 for mounting doored outlet 1 to target surface 10 (see Figure 1). In other words, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, doored outlet 1 is configured by combining main body B3, which is made up of body block B1 and cover block B2 combined in the Z-axis direction, with mounting frame 7. Body block B1, cover block B2, and mounting frame 7 are separable from one another.

[0024] 2, the body block B1 includes four (two pairs) of pin receiving portions 3 and a body 8 that holds the four (two pairs) of pin receiving portions 3. The body block B1 also includes, for example, four lock springs 9 and, for example, two release buttons 11.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , each pair of the two pairs of blades 61 of one plug 6 is connected to one of the two pairs of blades 61. The blade receiver 3 has a pair of narrow portions 31 that contact corresponding ones of the pair of blades 61 and a pair of wide portions 32 that are located rearward of the pair of narrow portions 31. Each pair of blade receivers 3 is spaced apart along the Y axis. Specifically, the blade receiver 3 includes a pair of metal spring pieces 30 that face each other along the Y axis, and each of the pair of spring pieces 30 has one narrow portion 31 and a wide portion 32 that is continuous with the narrow portion 31. Here, the blade receiver 3 is formed, for example, so that the distance between the pair of narrow portions 31 along the Y axis is narrower than the distance between the pair of wide portions 32 along the Y axis. When the pair of blades 61 are connected to the pair of blade receivers 3, the pair of narrow portions 31 hold one blade 61 by sandwiching it in the thickness direction (Y-axis direction in FIG. 4).

[0026] 6 and 7, of the four plug receiving portions 3 provided in the door-mounted outlet 1, two of the plug receiving portions 3 aligned along the X-axis are connected by a connecting portion 12. The connecting portion 12 is coupled to a pair of wide portions 32 of each of the two plug receiving portions 3 aligned along the X-axis. That is, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the two plug receiving portions 3 aligned along the X-axis and the connecting portion 12 constitute a plug receiving unit U1 formed integrally by, for example, sheet metal processing a plate-shaped metal member, and the two plug receiving portions 3 aligned along the X-axis are electrically connected.

[0027] As shown in Figure 6, the body 8 is a box-shaped body made of, for example, synthetic resin, and holds four pin receiving portions 3 and two connecting portions 12. In other words, the body 8 holds two pin receiving units U1. The body 8 also holds four locking springs 9 and two release buttons 11. Figure 6 is a front view of the door-type outlet 1 with the mounting frame 7, cover 2, two door bodies 4, and inner lid 5 removed.

[0028] The lock springs 9 are formed by bending a metal plate, such as stainless steel. Each of the four lock springs 9 is housed between a terminal plate 121 formed by bending a portion of the connecting portion 12 and a boundary plate 122 formed by bending a portion of the connecting portion 12. Each lock spring 9 also has a spring portion 91 that faces the terminal plate 121 along the X-axis with a gap between them. When pressed along the X-axis, the spring portion 91 elastically deforms, widening the gap between the spring portion 91 and the terminal plate 121. This allows an electric wire connected to, for example, a commercial 100V AC power source to be connected to the door-mounted outlet 1. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8 , a terminal hole 82 for inserting an electric wire is provided on the bottom surface 81 of the body 8 at a position corresponding to the gap between the spring portion 91 and the terminal plate 121. By inserting an electric wire from the outside of body 8 through terminal hole 82 into the gap between spring portion 91 and terminal plate 121, spring portion 91 elastically deforms along the X-axis, allowing the electric wire to be inserted deep into the gap between spring portion 91 and terminal plate 121. The electric wire inserted deep into terminal hole 82 is sandwiched and held between spring portion 91 and terminal plate 121 by the elastic force of spring portion 91. Note that when the electric wire is sandwiched between spring portion 91 and terminal plate 121, the tip of spring portion 91 bites into the electric wire, preventing the electric wire from coming loose.

[0029] The release button 11 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin molded product and is held by the body 8. As shown in FIG. 6, the release button 11 has a pair of plate-shaped spring retainers 112 that protrude along the Y axis from each of a pair of opposing side surfaces 83 of the body 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the release button 11 is inserted into a release hole 84 provided in the bottom surface 81 of the body 8. As shown in FIG. 6, each of the pair of spring retainers 112 is provided so as to face, along the X axis, a respective spring portion 91 of a pair of lock springs 9 that are aligned along the Y axis among the four lock springs 9. The thickness of the release button 11 in the X axis direction becomes thinner as it approaches the bottom surface 81 (the negative direction of the Z axis in FIG. 2). As a result, an insertion opening 85 is formed between the release button 11 and the release hole 84, as shown in FIG. 8.

[0030] Here, for example, by inserting the tip of a flat-head screwdriver or the like into insertion port 85 and pressing release button 11 along the X-axis, a pair of spring retaining portions 112 provided on release button 11 presses a pair of spring portions 91 facing each other along the X-axis. As a result, each of the pair of spring portions 91 is elastically deformed and spreads outward, making it possible to remove the electric wire held between spring portion 91 and terminal board 121.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting frame 7 is used to mount the door-mounted outlet 1 to a target surface 10, such as a residential wall, and is formed with approximately the same shape and dimensions as a series of mounting frames standardized by the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) (JISC8375 Mounting Frames for Large Rectangular Interconnect Wiring Devices). The mounting frame 7 may be fixed directly to the target surface 10, or may be attached to a so-called embedded box (switch box) embedded in the target surface 10. The target surface 10 is not limited to a wall, but may also be a ceiling or bottom surface. When the door-mounted outlet 1 is mounted to the target surface 10, the mounting frame 7 is preferably covered with, for example, a plastic outlet cover.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 2, the mounting frame 7 has mounting holes 71 into which the main body B3, which is formed by combining a body block B1 and a cover block B2 in the Z-axis direction, is fitted. Two U-shaped crimping pieces 73 are provided on each of the left and right frame edges of the mounting frame 7. Two protrusions 86 are provided on each of the left and right side surfaces of the body 8, and two protrusions 24 are provided on each of the left and right side surfaces of the cover 2. After the body block B1 and the cover block B2 are combined and the main body B3 is inserted into the mounting holes 71 of the mounting frame 7, the protrusions 86 and 24 are inserted into the holes of the crimping pieces 73. The crimping pieces 73 are then crimped to join the body block B1 and the cover block B2, and the mounting frame 7 is attached to the body block B1 and the cover block B2.

[0033] The mounting frame 7 has an object contact portion 72, at least a portion of which contacts the object surface 10. The upper and lower frame edges of the mounting frame 7 serve as the object contact portions 72, and with the object contact portions 72 in contact with the object surface 10, the mounting frame 7 is fixed to the object surface 10 by, for example, screws, as shown in FIG.

[0034] 3 and 4, the target contact portion 72 is preferably located farther from the two doors 4 in the first direction DR1 (Z-axis direction) than the tip ends of the narrow portions 31 of the four pin receiving portions 3. In other words, the tip ends of the narrow portions 31 of the four pin receiving portions 3 are preferably located closer to the two doors 4 than the target contact portion 72 is to the first direction DR1.

[0035] 2, the cover block B2 includes a cover 2, two door bodies 4, and an inner lid 5. The cover block B2 further includes an elastic member .

[0036] The cover 2 has, on its front surface 25, for example, two receptacles 20 each having a pair of insertion holes 21 (21A, 21B) into which a pair of blades 61 of one plug 6 is inserted. The two receptacles 20 are arranged side by side along the X-axis. In other words, the cover 2 has two pairs of insertion holes 21A, 21B. The cover 2 is made of, for example, urea resin, which has excellent electrical insulation properties.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 2, the two doors 4 are disposed between the two insertion portions 20 and the two pairs of blade receivers 3. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, each of the two doors 4 is movable in a direction (second direction DR2) substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction (first direction DR1) of the pair of blades 61 between a closed position where it closes each pair of insertion holes 21 (21A, 21B) and an open position where it opens each pair of insertion holes 21. In this embodiment, the doors 4 are movable rightward or leftward along the Y axis. When no external force is applied, each of the two doors 4 is held in the closed position by the elastic force of an elastic member 14 (see FIG. 2), such as a leaf spring. As will be described in detail later, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each of the two doors 4 is simultaneously pressed by a pair of blades 61 inserted through the corresponding pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B, and moves rightward from the closed position to the open position against the elastic force of the elastic member 14. Each pair of insertion holes 21 (insertion holes 21A, 21B) of the cover 2 faces a corresponding pair of the two pairs of prong receivers 3 in the Z-axis direction. The operation of inserting a pair of blades 61 into, for example, the upper pair of insertion holes 21 (21A, 21B) of the two pairs of insertion holes 21 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 . In FIG. 4 , the door 4 is simultaneously pressed by the blades 61, thereby opening the pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B. Of the pair of blades 61 inserted into the pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B, the blade 61 inserted into insertion hole 21B passes through an open hole 41, which will be described later, and connects to one of the pair of prong receivers 3. Since the door 4 is not present between the other of the pair of blades 61 and the other of the pair of prong receivers 3, the blade 61 inserted into insertion hole 21A connects directly to the other of the pair of prong receivers 3. The operation of inserting a pair of blades 61 into the lower pair of insertion holes 21 (21A, 21B) of the two pairs of insertion holes 21 is the same as the operation of inserting a pair of blades 61 into the upper pair of insertion holes 21 (21A, 21B), so the explanation will be omitted.

[0038] 9, the door body 4 is, for example, a synthetic resin molded product in the shape of a flat rectangular plate, and has an open hole 41. The open hole 41 penetrates the door body 4 between a front surface 43 and a back surface 45 (rear surface).

[0039] The door body 4 has closing portions 42A and 42B provided on both sides of the open hole 41 in the Y-axis direction. When the door body is in the closed position, the closing portions 42A and 42B close the pair of insertion holes 21A and 21B, respectively, as shown in FIG. 3. In this embodiment, the closing portions 42A and 42B are integrally formed. That is, in this embodiment, the door body 4 has a configuration in which the open hole 41 is provided in an integrally formed synthetic resin molded product. Note that the closing portions 42A and 42B may be formed as separate bodies.

[0040] 9, the blocking portion 42A is provided with an inclined surface 44A so that the width of the blocking portion 42A along the Y axis increases as it moves in the negative direction of the Z axis. In detail, the inclined surface 44A is provided on the blocking portion 42A so that the width of the blocking portion 42A along the Y axis increases in the direction opposite to the direction in which the door body 4 moves from the closed position to the open position (the negative direction of the Y axis) as it moves in the negative direction of the Z axis.

[0041] Further, the closing portion 42B is provided with an inclined surface 44B so that the width of the closing portion 42B along the Y axis increases as it moves in the negative direction of the Z axis. Specifically, the inclined surface 44B is provided on the closing portion 42B so that the width of the closing portion 42B along the Y axis increases in the direction opposite to the direction in which the door body 4 moves from the closed position to the open position (the negative direction of the Y axis) as it moves in the negative direction of the Z axis.

[0042] Furthermore, a pair of sliding contact portions 46 is provided on the back surface 45 of the door body 4 on both sides of the open hole 41 in the X-axis direction. Each of the pair of sliding contact portions 46 has a mountain-like shape that protrudes backward (in the negative direction of the Z-axis in FIG. 9). Here, as shown in FIG. 10, two mating protrusions 23 are provided on the inner surface 22 of the cover 2, and the two mating protrusions 23 are mated with the two open holes 41 of each of the two door bodies 4. At this time, the width of the mating protrusions 23 along the Y-axis is formed to be smaller than the width of the open holes 41 along the Y-axis, so the door body 4 can move in the Y-axis direction relative to the cover 2 by an amount corresponding to the difference in dimension between the width of the open holes 41 along the Y-axis and the width of the mating protrusions 23 along the Y-axis.

[0043] 2, the inner lid 5 movably sandwiches the two door bodies 4 between the cover 2. In other words, the two door bodies 4 are disposed between the inner lid 5 and the two insertion portions 20 of the cover 2.

[0044] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 11 , the inner lid 5 includes an intermediate portion 51, a frame portion 52, and a main portion 53. The intermediate portion 51 is, for example, columnar with a rectangular cross section. The frame portion 52 surrounds the periphery of the intermediate portion 51 and is connected to both ends of the intermediate portion 51 in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction). The main portion 53 is located in front of the intermediate portion 51 and the frame portion 52 (in the positive direction of the Z-axis in FIG. 11 ) and is connected to the intermediate portion 51 and the frame portion 52 at the middle position of the intermediate portion 51 in the X-axis direction. That is, the inner lid 5 has four storage holes 54, which are spaces surrounded by the intermediate portion 51, the frame portion 52, and the main portion 53. Note that two storage holes 54 aligned along the X-axis are connected via a space behind the main portion 53 (in the negative direction of the Z-axis in FIG. 11 ). When the cover block B2 and the body block B1 are combined in the Z-axis direction, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the pair of narrow portions 31 of each of the four pin receiving portions 3 are at least partially received in the four accommodating holes 54. The width of each of the four accommodating holes 54 along the Y-axis is greater than the width of each of the pair of narrow portions 31 of each of the four pin receiving portions 3 along the Y-axis. As a result, at least a portion of each of the four pairs of narrow portions 31 is received in the accommodating hole 54 without interfering with the inner cover 5. As a result, the inner cover 5 can be positioned further rearward than when the narrow portions 31 are positioned behind the inner cover 5, and the front surface 25 of the cover 2 can be positioned further rearward.

[0045] The intermediate portion 51 is disposed between the four (two pairs) of pin receiving portions 3. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5 , the intermediate portion 51 is disposed between each pair of pin receiving portions 3. Here, the width of the intermediate portion 51 along the Y axis is narrower than the minimum value of the spacing between the four (two pairs) of pin receiving portions 3 along the Y axis when viewed from the front. Specifically, the width of the intermediate portion 51 along the Y axis is narrower than the minimum value of the spacing between each pair of pin receiving portions 3 along the Y axis when viewed from the front. This allows the inner lid 5 to be disposed further rearward than when the narrow portion 31 is disposed behind the inner lid 5, and therefore the front surface 25 of the cover 2 can be disposed further rearward.

[0046] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the middle portion 51 has a sliding surface 55 along which each of the two door bodies 4 slides. In this embodiment, the position of the sliding surface 55 and the position of the tip of a pair of narrow portions 31 of each of the four pin receiving portions 3 are the same in the Z-axis direction (first direction DR1). In this disclosure, the "same position" does not necessarily mean that the positions are exactly the same, but also includes cases where they are different within an allowable error range. For example, the positions of the tip of the pair of narrow portions 31 may be located toward the door body 4 along the Z-axis direction relative to the sliding surface 55 by 8% to 10% of the minimum thickness of the door body 4 in the Z-axis direction. In this case, the tip of the pair of narrow portions 31 and the door body 4 are configured not to come into contact with each other.

[0047] (2.2) How to connect a plug to a doored outlet The operation of connecting the plug 6 to the doored outlet 1 will be described below with reference to Figures 3 to 4, 12 and 13. Here, an example is shown in which one plug 6 having a pair of blades 61 is connected to the doored outlet 1 via one insertion portion 20 having a pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B.

[0048] When the pair of blades 61 are simultaneously inserted into the pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B from the front surface 25 of the cover 2 while the door 4 is closing the pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B (FIG. 3), the pair of blades 61 simultaneously contact the inclined surfaces 44A, 44B of the door 4, respectively. When the pair of blades 61 simultaneously contact the inclined surfaces 44A, 44B, the door 4 moves rightward along the Y-axis direction (second direction DR2) against the elastic force of the elastic member 14 while remaining parallel to the front surface 25 of the cover 2 to an open position where the pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B are opened. This allows the pair of blades 61 to be connected to the pair of blade receivers 3, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0049] Furthermore, when the pair of blades 61 are pulled out from the pair of blade receivers 3 and the pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B, the elastic force of the elastic member 14 moves the door 4 leftward along the Y-axis direction from the open position to the closed position. As a result, when the pair of blades 61 are not inserted into the pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B, the pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B are closed by the door 5, preventing dust and other foreign matter from entering the interior of the door-mounted outlet 1 through the pair of insertion holes 21A, 21B.

[0050] Next, the operation of the door body 4 when a foreign object such as the tip of a flat-head screwdriver 15 is inserted into only one of the pair of insertion holes 21 (21A, 21B) will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0051] First, when the tip of, for example, a flat-head screwdriver 15 is inserted only into the insertion hole 21A, the tip of the flat-head screwdriver 15 presses the inclined surface 44A of the closing portion 42A as shown in FIG. 12. As a result, the door body 4 tilts relative to the sliding surface 55 of the intermediate portion 51, with the tip of the mountain-shaped sliding contact portion 46 as a fulcrum. More specifically, the door body 4 receives a force rotating counterclockwise in FIG. 12, with the tip of the sliding contact portion 46 as a fulcrum, and tilts obliquely relative to the front surface 25 of the cover 2. At this time, the corner 47A of the closing portion 42B comes into contact with the restricting portion 16A provided on the inner surface of the cover 2. The contact between the restricting portion 16A and the corner 47A restricts the door body 4 from moving rightward along the Y-axis direction (second direction DR2) from the closed position to the open position.

[0052] On the other hand, when the tip of, for example, a flat-head screwdriver 15 is inserted only into the insertion hole 21B, the tip of the flat-head screwdriver 15 presses the inclined surface 44B of the closing portion 42B as shown in FIG. 13. As a result, the door body 4 tilts relative to the sliding surface 55, with the tip of the sliding contact portion 46 as the fulcrum. In detail, the door body 4 receives a force rotating clockwise in FIG. 13, with the tip of the sliding contact portion 46 as the fulcrum, and tilts obliquely relative to the front surface 25 of the cover 2. At this time, the corner 47B of the closing portion 42B comes into contact with the restricting portion 16B provided on the frame portion 52 of the inner lid 5. The contact between the restricting portion 16B and the corner 47B restricts the door body 4 from moving rightward along the Y-axis direction (second direction DR2) from the closed position to the open position.

[0053] In other words, door-mounted outlet 1 is equipped with restricting portions 16A and 16B. When door 4 is tilted by being pressed through one of the pair of insertion holes 21A and 21B, restricting portion 16A or 16B comes into contact with at least a portion (corner 47A or 47B) of door 4, thereby restricting movement of door 4 from the closed position to the open position along the Y-axis direction (second direction DR2). Note that restricting portions 16A and 16B restrict movement of door 4 by coming into contact with corners 47A and 47B when door 4 is tilted obliquely with respect to front surface 25 of cover 2; however, restricting portions 16A and 16B may restrict movement of door 4 by coming into contact with a portion of the inner surface of inner lid 5 or cover 2.

[0054] (2.3) Advantages As described above, restricting portions 16A and 16B restrict movement of door body 4 along the Y-axis direction. This reduces the possibility of a foreign object, such as a flathead screwdriver, coming into contact with a pair of corresponding pin receiving portions 3 of a pair of insertion holes 21A and 21B, even if the object is inserted through only one of the pair of insertion holes 21A and 21B, for example, by tampering. Here, door-mounted outlet 1 includes cover 2, two door bodies 4, inner lid 5, and four (two pairs) of pin receiving portions 3. When each of two door bodies 4 is tilted and in contact with restricting portions 16A and 16B, each of two door bodies 4 is positioned so that it does not come into contact with any of the four pin receiving portions 3. This advantageously prevents deformation of pin receiving portions 3 due to contact between door body 4 and pin receiving portions 3 and the resulting degradation of electrical performance of pin receiving portions 3.

[0055] As described above, the door-equipped outlet 1 includes a separable cover block B2, a body block B1, and a mounting frame 7, as shown in FIG. 2. The cover block B2 includes the two door bodies 4, the inner lid 5, and the elastic member 14, which are involved in the mechanism for moving the door body 4 in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, the cover block B2 can be replaced with another cover block including the cover 2. For example, by replacing the cover block B2 of the embodiment with a cover block B21 (e.g., only the cover 2) that does not include the door body 4 and the mechanism for moving the door body 4, as shown in FIG. 14, a doorless outlet 17 can be constructed. Furthermore, if the cover block B2 is damaged, it can be replaced with a new cover block B2. This allows the door-equipped outlet 1 and the doorless outlet 17 to share the body block B1 and the mounting frame 7, which has the advantage of reducing manufacturing costs.

[0056] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the intermediate portion 51 of the doored outlet 1 of this embodiment is disposed between each pair of blade receivers 3. The width of the intermediate portion 51 along the Y axis, as viewed from the front, is narrower than the minimum spacing between each pair of blade receivers 3 along the Y axis. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the position of the sliding surface 55 of the intermediate portion 51 and the position of the tip of the pair of narrow portions 31 of each of the four blade receivers 3 are the same in the Z axis direction. This has the advantage of reducing the thickness of the doored outlet 1 in the insertion direction of the blades 61, compared to when the sliding surface 55 is located forward in the Z axis direction relative to the tip of the pair of narrow portions 31 of each of the four blade receivers 3.

[0057] (3) Variations The above embodiment is merely one of various embodiments of the present disclosure. The above embodiment can be modified in various ways depending on the design, etc., as long as the object of the present disclosure can be achieved. Modifications of the above embodiment are listed below. The modifications described below can be applied in appropriate combinations.

[0058] Doored outlet 1 is not limited to a two-port type outlet, but may be a one-port type or a three-port or more type.

[0059] Doored outlet 1 may be an outlet that can accommodate a plug that has a grounding prong in addition to two prongs.

[0060] Doored outlet 1 is not limited to being for single-phase 100V, but may also be for single-phase 200V or three-phase 200V.

[0061] The doored outlet 1 is not limited to an outlet that accepts A-type plugs, but may also be an outlet that accepts plugs with pin-shaped blades, such as B-type or C-type.

[0062] (4) Summary As described above, the door-mounted outlet (1) according to the first aspect includes a cover (2), multiple prong receivers (3), at least one door (4), and an inner lid (5). The cover (2) includes at least one receptacle (20) having multiple insertion holes (21A, 21B) into which multiple blades (61) of a single plug (6) are inserted. The multiple blades (61) are connected to the multiple prong receivers (3). The at least one door (4) is disposed between the at least one receptacle (20) and the multiple prong receivers (3) and is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the multiple blades (61) between a closed position where the door (4) closes the multiple insertion holes (21A, 21B) and an open position where the door (4) opens the multiple insertion holes (21A, 21B). The inner lid (5) movably sandwiches the at least one door (4) between the cover (2) and the inner lid (5). The inner cover (5) has intermediate portions (51) disposed between the plurality of blade receivers (3), and the width of the intermediate portions (51) is narrower than the minimum spacing between the plurality of blade receivers (3) when viewed from the front. Each of the plurality of blade receivers (3) has a pair of narrow portions (31) that contact a corresponding one of the plurality of blades (61) and a pair of wide portions (32) located rearward of the pair of narrow portions (31).

[0063] According to this embodiment, the thickness of the door-equipped outlet (1) in the insertion direction of the blades (61) can be reduced.

[0064] In the door-equipped outlet (1) according to the second aspect, as in the first aspect, at least one door (4) is disposed between at least one insertion portion (20) of the cover (2) and the inner lid (5). The middle portion (51) of the inner lid (5) has a sliding surface (55) along which the at least one door (4) slides. In the direction along which the blades (61) are inserted, the positions of the tips of the pair of narrow portions (31) of the plurality of pin receivers (3) are at the same position as the sliding surface (55) or on the door (4) side.

[0065] According to this embodiment, the thickness of the door-equipped outlet (1) in the insertion direction of the blades (61) can be reduced.

[0066] The doored outlet 1 according to the third aspect is the same as the doored outlet 1 according to the first or second aspect, and further includes a mounting frame 7 for mounting the doored outlet 1 to a target surface 10. The mounting frame 7 has a target contact portion 72, at least a portion of which contacts the target surface 10. In a direction along the insertion direction of the blades 61, the tips of the pair of narrow portions 31 are located closer to at least one door 4 than the target contact portion 72.

[0067] According to this embodiment, the thickness of the door-equipped outlet (1) in the insertion direction of the blades (61) can be reduced.

[0068] The doored outlet (1) according to a fourth aspect is any of the first to third aspects and further includes restricting portions (16A, 16B). When the at least one door (4) is tilted by being pressed by an object inserted into some of the insertion holes (21) of the plurality of insertion holes (21), the restricting portions (16A, 16B) come into contact with at least a portion of the at least one door (4), thereby restricting movement of the at least one door (4) from the closed position to the open position.

[0069] According to this aspect, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from coming into contact with the pin receiving portion (3).

[0070] In a doored outlet (1) according to a fifth aspect, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, at least one door (4) has a plurality of closing portions (42A, 42B) that close the plurality of insertion holes (21) in the closed position. The plurality of closing portions (42A, 42B) are integrally formed.

[0071] According to this aspect, the number of parts can be reduced, and the labor required for assembly can be reduced.

[0072] In a doored outlet (1) according to a sixth aspect, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the inner cover (5) has a plurality of receiving holes (54) that respectively receive at least a portion of the plurality of pin receiving portions (3). The width of each of the plurality of receiving holes (54) is wider than the width of the pair of narrow portions (31).

[0073] According to this embodiment, the pair of narrow portions (31) can be accommodated in the accommodation hole (54) without interfering with the inner cover (5).

[0074] A seventh aspect of the present invention provides a door-mounted outlet (1) comprising a body block (B1), a cover block (B2), and a mounting frame (7) for mounting the door-mounted outlet (1) to a target surface (10). The body block (B1), cover block (B2), and mounting frame (7) are separable from one another. The body block (B1) comprises a plurality of pin receivers (3) and a body (8) that holds the plurality of pin receivers (3). The cover block (B2) comprises a cover (2), at least one door body (4), and an inner cover (5). The cover (2) is provided with at least one insertion portion (20) having a plurality of insertion holes (21) into which a plurality of blades (61) of a single plug (6) are respectively inserted. The plurality of blades (61) are connected to the plurality of pin receivers (3). At least one door (4) is disposed between at least one insertion portion (20) and the plurality of blade receivers (3) and is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the blades (61) between a closed position where it closes the plurality of insertion holes (21) and an open position where it opens the plurality of insertion holes (21). The inner lid (5) movably sandwiches the at least one door (4) between itself and the cover (2). The inner lid (5) has a middle portion (51) disposed between the plurality of blade receivers (3), and the width of the middle portion (51) is narrower than the minimum spacing between the plurality of blade receivers (3) when viewed from the front. Each of the plurality of blade receivers (3) has a pair of narrow portions (31) that contact a corresponding one of the plurality of blades (61) and a pair of wide portions (32) located rearward of the pair of narrow portions (31).

[0075] According to this embodiment, the cover block (B2) can be easily replaced.

[0076] The doored outlet (1) according to the eighth aspect is configured such that the cover block (B2) of the seventh aspect can be replaced with another cover block. The other cover block is provided with a cover (2).

[0077] According to this embodiment, the outlet with door (1) can share parts with an outlet having a different function, such as the outlet without door (17).

[0078] The second to eighth aspects are not essential components of the door-mounted outlet (1) and can be omitted as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1 Doored outlet 2 Cover 3 Blade holder 4 Door body 5 Inner lid 6 plugs 7 Mounting frame 8. Body 10 Target Surface 17 Doorless outlet 20 Insertion part 21 Insertion hole 31 Narrow part 32 Wide section 42A, 42B Occlusion 51 Middle section 54 Receiving hole 55 sliding surface 61 Bung blade 72 Target contact part B1 Body Block B2 Cover Block

Claims

1. a cover having at least one insertion portion having a plurality of insertion holes into which a plurality of blades of one plug are respectively inserted; a plurality of blade receivers to which the plurality of blades are respectively connected; at least one door disposed between the at least one insertion portion and the plurality of blade receiving portions, the door being movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the plurality of blades between a closing position at which the door closes the plurality of insertion holes and an opening position at which the door opens the plurality of insertion holes; an inner lid that movably sandwiches the at least one door body between the inner lid and the cover, The inner cover has an intermediate portion disposed between the plurality of pin receiving portions, When viewed from the front, the width of the intermediate portion is narrower than the minimum value of the intervals between the plurality of pin receiving portions, Each of the blade receivers has a pair of narrow portions that contact corresponding ones of the blades, and a pair of wide portions that are located rearward of the pair of narrow portions, a restricting portion that restricts movement of the at least one door body from the closed position to the open position by contacting at least a portion of the at least one door body when the at least one door body is tilted by being pressed by an object inserted into some of the insertion holes among the plurality of insertion holes, The restricting portion includes a first restricting portion provided on the cover and a second restricting portion provided on the inner lid, Further provided is a mounting frame for mounting the outlet with door on the target surface; the mounting frame has an object contact portion, at least a portion of which contacts the object surface; In a direction along the insertion direction of the blades, tips of the pair of narrow portions are located closer to the at least one door than the target contact portions, and are located between the target contact portions and the at least one door, The inner lid has a sliding surface on which the at least one door body slides, a pair of narrow portions each having a tip end positioned closer to the door body than the sliding surface in the direction along the blade insertion direction; Door-mounted outlet.

2. the at least one door body is disposed between the at least one insertion portion of the cover and the inner lid; The middle portion of the inner lid has the sliding surface. The outlet with a door according to claim 1.

3. The at least one door body has a plurality of blocking portions that block each of the plurality of insertion holes in the blocking position, The plurality of blocking portions are integrally formed The outlet with a door according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The inner cover has a plurality of accommodation holes that respectively accommodate at least a portion of the plurality of blade receiving portions, The width of each of the plurality of receiving holes is wider than the width of the pair of narrow portions. The outlet with a door according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A device comprising: a body block; a cover block; and a mounting frame for mounting a door-equipped outlet on a target surface; the body block, the cover block, and the mounting frame are separable from one another, The body block includes a plurality of pin receiving portions and a body that holds the plurality of pin receiving portions, The cover block includes a cover, at least one door body, and an inner lid, the cover is provided with at least one insertion portion having a plurality of insertion holes into which a plurality of blades of one plug are respectively inserted; The plurality of blade receivers are connected to the plurality of blades, respectively, the at least one door is disposed between the at least one insertion portion and the plurality of blade receiving portions and is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the plurality of blades between a closing position at which the door closes the plurality of insertion holes and an opening position at which the door opens the plurality of insertion holes; the inner lid movably sandwiches the at least one door body between itself and the cover, The inner cover has an intermediate portion disposed between the plurality of pin receiving portions, When viewed from the front, the width of the intermediate portion is narrower than the minimum value of the intervals between the plurality of pin receiving portions, Each of the blade receivers has a pair of narrow portions that contact corresponding ones of the blades, and a pair of wide portions that are located rearward of the pair of narrow portions, a restricting portion that restricts movement of the at least one door body from the closed position to the open position by contacting at least a portion of the at least one door body when the at least one door body is tilted by being pressed by an object inserted into some of the insertion holes among the plurality of insertion holes, The restricting portion includes a first restricting portion provided on the cover and a second restricting portion provided on the inner lid, the mounting frame has an object contact portion, at least a portion of which contacts the object surface; In a direction along the insertion direction of the blades, tips of the pair of narrow portions are located closer to the at least one door than the target contact portions, and are located between the target contact portions and the at least one door, The inner lid has a sliding surface on which the at least one door body slides, a pair of narrow portions each having a tip end positioned closer to the door body than the sliding surface in the direction along the blade insertion direction; Door-mounted outlet.

6. The cover block is structured so that it can be replaced with another cover block, The other cover block includes the cover. The outlet with a door according to claim 5.

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