Cap structure of electric connection part

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to improve the operability of a cap structure of an electric connection part.　An electric connection part (100) has: a case (10) having an insertion port (12) into which a terminal (40) is inserted, and a shaft part (11); and a cap (30) having a hinge part (20) in which a bearing hole (21) is formed, the cap (30) opening and closing the insertion port (12). Relatively inserting the shaft part (11) of the case (10) into the bearing hole (21) of the hinge part (20) makes it possible for the cap (30) to rotate between an open position and a closed position around the axis of the shaft part (11).

Description

Cap structure for electrical connection

[0001] The present technology relates to a cap structure for an electrical connection.

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electrical connection portion mounted on a vehicle or the like has been known that includes a case formed with a socket into which an external connection terminal is inserted, and a cap that closes the socket.

[0003] Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a configuration in which a case and a cap are connected by a flexible elastic member, and the cap can be attached to or detached from the case by moving the cap due to elastic deformation of the elastic member.

[0004] JP2013-80665A JP10-334981A

[0005] However, in the configurations of Patent Documents 1 and 2, the movement of the cap is mediated by elastic deformation of the elastic member, so the trajectory of the cap during the opening and closing process is not constant. For example, to close the socket, the cap must be aligned with the socket, making the closing operation not necessarily simple. Therefore, there is room for improvement in terms of making the opening and closing operation of the cap easier.

[0006] The purpose of this technology is to improve operability.

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the cap structure of the electrical connection part of the present technology comprises a case having a socket into which a terminal is inserted and a shaft portion, and a cap having a hinge portion with a bearing hole formed therein, which opens and closes the socket, and by inserting the shaft portion into the bearing hole, the cap can rotate around the axis of the shaft portion between an open position and a closed position.

[0008] According to the present technology, it is possible to improve operability.

[0009] 2 is a perspective view of the electrical connection portion; FIG. 3 is a view of the main part of the electrical connection portion from the +Z side; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2; and FIG. 5 is a view of the main part of the electrical connection portion from the +Z side when the cap is in the open position.

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present technology will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connection to which a cap structure according to an embodiment of the present technology is applied. This electrical connection 100 is applied to a vehicle as an example, but the application is not limited thereto. The electrical connection 100 is applied to, for example, a power supply socket, a cigarette lighter socket, a USB terminal, etc., but the type and application are not limited thereto. Hereinafter, the directions of each part will be referred to based on the X, Y, and Z coordinate axes shown in each figure.

[0012] The electrical connection unit 100 includes a case 10 and a cap 30, which is a cover member. The case 10 includes a socket 12 into which a terminal 40 of an external device (not shown) is inserted. The cap 30 opens and closes the socket 12. The cap 30 is rotatable between an open position and a closed position around a rotation center C0 parallel to the Z axis.

[0013] Fig. 2 is a view of the main parts of the electrical connection part 100 as seen from the +Z side. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. 2. The cross-sectional position shown in Fig. 3 is slightly closer to the -Y side than the center of rotation C0. In Fig. 1, the cap 30 is in the open position. In Figs. 2 and 3, the cap 30 is in a position rotated approximately 90° from the closed position (slightly closer to the closed position than the open position).

[0014] As shown in Fig. 1, case 10 has a shaft portion 11. Shaft portion 11 is disposed on the -X side of socket 12. Case 10 has fitting portion 14, which is an annular protrusion, formed around socket 12. Recess 17 is provided on the +X side of socket 12.

[0015] The cap 30 has a hinge portion 20. A bearing hole 21 is formed in the hinge portion 20 in the axial direction (Z direction) of the rotation center C0 ( FIG. 3 ). The shaft portion 11 of the case 10 is inserted relatively into the bearing hole 21 of the hinge portion 20. This allows the cap 30 to rotate around the axis of the shaft portion 11 (around the axis of the rotation center C0; around the Z axis) between an open position and a closed position.

[0016] The cap 30 has a protrusion 33 near the free end. A mating-compatible portion 31, which is an annular groove corresponding to the mating portion 14, is disposed between the hinge portion 20 and the protrusion 33. When the cap 30 rotates to the closed position, the protrusion 33 engages with the recess 17, and the mating-compatible portion 31 fits into the mating portion 14. The trajectory of the rotation of the cap 30 is substantially constant because it is restricted by the engagement between the shaft portion 11 and the bearing hole 21. Therefore, the engagement between the protrusion 33 and the recess 17 and the mating between the mating-compatible portion 31 and the mating portion 14 are smoothly achieved without the user being particularly aware of it. This provides high operability.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 3, the hinge portion 20 is formed with a first hole H1 and a second hole H2 as two holes connected to the bearing hole 21. These two holes open on opposite sides of the axis of the shaft portion 11. For example, in the state shown in FIG. 3, the first hole H1 opens to the -X side, and the second hole H2 opens to the +X side. The first hole H1 has a first end face H1a at one end side (+Z side) in the axial direction. The second hole H2 has a second end face H2a at the other end side (-Z side) in the axial direction.

[0018] The case 10 is integrally formed from resin or the like. The cap 30 is made of a material such as resin (e.g., CR rubber) that is more elastic than the case 10. Note that the materials of the cap 30 and the case 10 are not limited to those exemplified. A protrusion 13 that is long in the Z direction is formed on the outer periphery of the shaft portion 11. When the shaft portion 11 is inserted into the bearing hole 21, the first hole H1 engages with the protrusion 13 via elastic deformation of the hinge portion 20. The first hole H1 engages with the protrusion 13 when the shaft portion 11 is inserted into the bearing hole 21, thereby preventing the shaft portion 11 from slipping out of the bearing hole 21.

[0019] FIG. 4 shows the essential parts of the electrical connection unit 100 when the cap 30 is in the open position, viewed from the +Z side. Note that FIG. 4 also shows a cross section of a portion near the receptacle 12. The open position shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 is the position where the cap 30 is rotated from the closed position to the furthest extent in the open direction (clockwise in FIG. 4). The rotation angle between the open and closed positions is defined as θ. When the cap 30 is in the open position, the terminal 40 inserted into the receptacle 12 of the case 10 and the cap 30 do not overlap when viewed from the insertion direction (Y direction). In other words, the rotation angle θ is set so that the cap 30 in the open position is not positioned on an imaginary extension line of the receptacle 12. In other words, as shown in FIG. 4, the cap 30 in the open position is not positioned within the imaginary extension region E of the receptacle 12 in the insertion direction. To facilitate insertion, it is desirable for the rotation angle θ to exceed 90°.

[0020] As shown in Figure 4, a rib 22 protrudes from the outer surface of the hinge portion 20. Meanwhile, a rib engagement portion 15 protrudes from the case 10. When the cap 30 is in the open position, the rib 22 engages with the rib engagement portion 15, thereby stabilizing the cap 30 in the open position.

[0021] Furthermore, cap 30 is provided with a contact portion 32, and case 10 is provided with a restriction portion 16. When cap 30 is opened, abutment portion 32 comes into contact with restriction portion 16, thereby restricting the open position of cap 30. More specifically, when cap 30 is opened, rib 22 moves over rib engagement portion 15, generating a clicking sensation, and immediately after rib 22 moves over rib engagement portion 15, abutment portion 32 and restriction portion 16 come into contact with each other.

[0022] The engagement between the rib 22 and the rib engagement portion 15 biases the cap 30 in the opening direction or acts as a resistance force against rotation in the closing direction, stabilizing the contact or proximity state between the abutment portion 32 and the restriction portion 16. Therefore, strictly speaking, the cooperation of the rib 22, the rib engagement portion 15, the abutment portion 32, and the restriction portion 16 stabilizes the open state of the cap 30, making the opening operation easy and preventing interference with the insertion operation of the terminal 40.

[0023] The cap 30 is formed by injection molding using a pair of molds (not shown). The pair of molds consists of a cavity-side mold and a core-side mold. The shape of the cap 30 is designed to prevent undercuts when molded from a predetermined direction using the pair of molds. In particular, the hinge portion 20 has a hole, so the following measures are taken to prevent undercuts from occurring. The predetermined direction, which is the mold opening direction, is the X direction in the position shown in Figures 2 and 3.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3 , the first end face H1a of the first hole H1 is located at the same position as or on the +Z side of the second end face H2a of the second hole H2 in the Z direction. This allows a mating surface (a so-called "chamfered surface") along the mold opening direction to be formed between the inner end position of the first end face H1a and the inner end position of the second end face H2a. This chamfered surface is formed within the bearing hole 21. This makes it possible to design the mold so that no undercut portion is created when molding with a pair of molds from a predetermined direction. This eliminates the need for a slide core, making manufacturing easier.

[0025] According to this embodiment, the shaft 11 of the case 10 is relatively inserted into the bearing hole 21 of the hinge portion 20 of the cap 30, so that the cap 30 can rotate between the open position and the closed position around the axis of the shaft 11. Therefore, the trajectory of the cap 30 during the opening and closing stroke is constant, thereby improving operability.

[0026] Furthermore, the first end face H1a of the first hole H1 is located at the same position as or on the +Z side of the second end face H2a of the second hole H2 in the Z direction, thereby eliminating the need for a slide core during molding using a mold. Moreover, the first hole H1 engages with the protrusion 13 of the shaft portion 11, thereby serving as an engagement portion that prevents the shaft portion 11 from slipping out of the bearing hole 21. In this way, the configuration that eliminates the need for a slide core also functions as a slip-out prevention function, thereby preventing the configuration from becoming too complicated.

[0027] In order to eliminate the need for a slide core, the number of holes connected to the bearing hole 21 and opening on opposite sides of the axis of the shaft portion 11 may be three or more. Of these three or more holes, any one of the holes may be the engaging portion that engages with the protrusion 13.

[0028] Furthermore, when the cap 30 is in the closed position, the mating portion 31 is mated with the mating portion 14, so that simply rotating the cap 30 to the closed position will result in natural mating, facilitating the closing operation.

[0029] In addition, in the open position, the terminals 40 and the cap 30 do not overlap when viewed from the insertion direction, making insertion easy. Moreover, the open position of the cap 30 is stabilized by the engagement of the rib 22 with the rib engagement portion 15, making opening and insertion operations easy.

[0030] The present technology has been described above in detail based on preferred embodiments thereof, but the present technology is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the gist of the present technology are also included in the present technology.

[0031] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-149046, filed on August 30, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0032] 10 Case, 11 Shaft, 12 Insertion port, 20 Hinge portion, 21 Bearing hole, 30 Cap, 40 Terminal, 100 Electrical connection portion

Claims

1. A cap structure for an electrical connection part, comprising: a case having a socket into which a terminal is inserted and a shaft; and a cap having a hinge with a bearing hole formed therein, which opens and closes the socket, wherein the shaft is inserted into the bearing hole, so that the cap can rotate around the axis of the shaft between an open position and a closed position.

2. The cap structure for an electrical connection part according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion is formed on the outer periphery of the shaft part, and an engaging part is formed in the bearing hole that engages with the protrusion when the shaft part is inserted.

3. The cap structure for an electrical connection part according to claim 1, wherein the case has a fitting portion around the periphery of the socket, and the cap has a corresponding fitting portion that fits into the fitting portion when the cap is in the closed position.

4. The cap structure for an electrical connection part according to claim 1, wherein the rotation angle between the open position and the closed position is an angle at which the cap is not positioned on an imaginary extension line of the socket in the open position.

5. The cap structure for an electrical connection part according to claim 1, wherein a rib is provided on the outer surface of the hinge part, and the case has a rib engagement part that engages with the rib when the cap is in the open position, thereby stabilizing the cap in the open position.

6. A cap structure for an electrical connection part according to any one of claims 1, 3 to 5, wherein a first hole and a second hole are formed in the hinge part as two holes each connected to the bearing hole and opening on opposite sides of the axis, the first hole having a first end face at one end side in the axial direction, the second hole having a second end face at the other end side in the axial direction, and the first end face being located at the same position as or on the one end side of the second end face in the axial direction.

7. A cap structure for an electrical connection part as described in claim 6, wherein a protrusion is formed on the outer periphery of the shaft part, and at least one of the first hole or the second hole engages with the protrusion when the shaft part is inserted into the bearing hole, thereby preventing the shaft part from slipping out of the bearing hole.

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