Hinged Terminal Cover for Junction Box Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrical junction boxes expose L-shaped terminals when the upper cover is removed, leading to potential electrical shocks and complicated mounting processes, with a risk of lost terminal covers during maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A hingedly connected terminal cover that pivots to cover the L-shaped terminal, including a top cover for the bolt fastening portion and a side cover for the wire connection portion, preventing exposure and enhancing operability by allowing easy attachment and detachment without losing the cover.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the terminal cover is detachably attached to the L-shaped terminal, then the terminal cover can cover the exposed portion, but the terminal cover may be lost during maintenance and the mounting operation becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal cover is divided into a cover body and a cover plate that can be separated. The cover body remains attached to the junction box while the cover plate can be easily removed and reattached, simplifying maintenance operations while maintaining coverage when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The cover plate acts as an intermediary element between the cover body and the terminal. It provides easy attachment and detachment capability while maintaining the protective coverage function, resolving the conflict between reliability and ease of operation
2Ease of operation
If the L-shaped terminal is exposed after upper cover removal, then the terminal can be accessed for maintenance, but electrical shock risk occurs when the exposed portion is touched
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal cover system transitions from a static fixed cover to a dynamic system where the cover plate can be moved between covering and exposed positions. This allows the terminal to be accessible for maintenance while maintaining protection when the cover plate is in place
Solution Approach 2:
The cover plate functions as a flexible protective element that can be easily positioned to cover or expose the terminal as needed, providing electrical protection when required while allowing access when needed
3Reliability
If the terminal cover is permanently fixed, then the terminal is always covered and protected, but the mounting and maintenance process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The cover system is segmented into a permanently fixed cover body and a removable cover plate. This segmentation maintains protection through the fixed cover body while simplifying the attachment mechanism to basic snap-fit or clip connections on the cover plate, reducing overall complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the entire cover removable, the invention inverts the approach by making the majority of the cover (cover body) fixed and only the necessary access portion (cover plate) removable. This reduces complexity while maintaining protection
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively prevents electrical shocks and simplifies the mounting process by ensuring the L-shaped terminal is fully covered, even when the upper cover is removed, while improving operability and reducing the risk of lost terminal covers during maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
the terminal cover is hingedly connected to the box body via a hinge portion extending in a direction orthogonal to the first peripheral wall portion of the box body, and the terminal cover is pivotable about the hinge portion
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an electrical junction box with which it is possible to reliably prevent exposure to the outside of the entire L-shaped terminal that is fastened to a stud bolt conductively connected to a conductive member of a box body even when an upper cover is removed, while making it easier to fasten the L-shaped terminal to the stud bolt. A terminal cover is hingedly connected to a box body, is pivotable about hinge portions between an open state and a closed state, and includes a top cover that covers a bolt fastening portion, and a side cover that covers a wire connection portion. The side cover includes a front-surface cover wall that covers a wire connection portion from an outer circumference side of a first peripheral wall portion, and a side-surface cover wall that covers a front side surface of two side surfaces of the wire connection portion.