JPH09308054A - Joint box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small-sized and thinned joint box. SOLUTION: This joint box is equipped with connector terminals 3 which connect at least two pieces of power 1 lines 2 (2a, 2b, and 2c) arranged at a specified interval with the flat cables being external power cables not less than the number of power lines 2 (2a, 2b, and 2c), at the end position of the power lines 2 (2a, 2b, and 2c), and release parts which connect the plural power lines out of the flat cables to the connector terminals in a lump at a time. In this case, some or whole of the members which constitute the release parts 4 are interposed at the specified positions among the power lines 2 (2a, 2b, and 2c), and the members of the release parts 4 of the sections where they are interposed are constituted of insulating members. Then, as the kind of this joint box, this is a three-pole-type and/or T-type joint box.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of thin joint boxes that can be used, for example, for floor heating.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a joint box used for connecting or extending an AC power supply line, an I-shaped joint box having connecting terminals in two directions, based on the number of connecting terminals (see FIG. 8A). And a T-shaped joint box having connection terminals in three directions (see FIG. 8B). When the number of power supply lines is used as a reference, a two-pole joint box that uses two power supply lines as power supply lines to be connected, and a total of three power supply lines with two ground lines added to the ground line. There is a 3-pole joint box (see Fig. 8) used.

As described above, both the I-shaped joint box and the T-shaped joint box are of the two-pole type or the three-pole type. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an internal connection state in the I-shaped and T-shaped joint boxes, and the I-shaped and T-shaped joint boxes shown in FIG.
An example of a polar joint box is shown. In FIG. 8,
,, indicate the connection terminal part of each power line, 2
In the case of the polar joint box, the connection terminal portion indicated by and the power supply line portion corresponding to the connection terminal are omitted in the figure. FIG. 9 shows the classification of joint boxes.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a connection end of a three-wire flat cable used in the joint box shown in FIG. 8. The flat cable C is, for example, a core wire C1 made of a single wire of copper or the like, and an inner coating material C2. , The outer coating material C3. In the case of a two-wire flat cable, the core wire C1 and the inner coating material C2 of the flat cable C shown in FIG.
It will be a book.

In the joint box, the flat cable C having the number of core wires corresponding to the number of power supply lines is connected to the connection terminal portion to extend or branch the cable. The connection terminal portion generally has a release structure so that the flat cable C can be easily attached and detached.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a typical release structure in a two-pole joint box. The connection terminal 11 of the joint box 10 has an outer coating material C
A cable insertion port 12 having a smaller diameter than 3 and a larger diameter than the inner coating material C2 is provided. Further, inside thereof, two metal fittings 13a and 13b provided to hold the core wire C1 of the flat cable C are arranged. The metal fitting 13a is a conductive metal fitting that also serves as a power supply line inside the joint box 10, and the metal fitting 13b is a pressing metal fitting having a biasing force in the direction in which the metal fitting 13a is located.

A groove portion 14 is formed at a position on the outer surface of the joint box 10 corresponding to the position where the metal fittings 13a and 13b are arranged, and a release button 15 serving as a release operation portion for performing a release operation is formed in the groove portion 14. It is slidable. This release button 15
Has a protrusion 15a formed on the inner side of the joint box 10. The protrusion 15a applies a force to the metal fitting 13b in a direction opposite to the biasing direction of the metal fitting 13b as the release button 15 slides. It is like this.

That is, when the flat cable C is attached to the connection terminal 11 of the joint box 10, first,
By sliding the release button 15, the space between the metal fittings 13a and 13b is widened. And the metal fitting 13
The tip portion of the flat cable C is inserted into the insertion port 12 with the space between a and 13b widened. Here, the release button 15 is returned to the original position. Then, the metal fitting 13b has a core wire C
1 is pressed against the metal fitting 13a and the core wire C1 is attached to the metal fittings 13a, 13
It will be sandwiched between b and will not come off easily.
When the flat cable C is disconnected from the connection terminal 11, the above procedure is reversed.

As described above, in the joint box 10 having the release structure, the flat cable C can be attached / detached simultaneously by operating the release button 15.

[0010]

However, in such a conventional joint box as described above, it is necessary to provide an operating portion therein in order to provide a release structure. This has been a major obstacle in reducing the size of the joint box. In particular, in the T-joint box, since there are three connecting terminals, it is necessary to provide the operating portions at three locations, which makes it difficult to reduce the size.

Further, in the conventional release structure, FIG.
As shown in Fig. 12, the number of poles for attaching / detaching the flat cable C can be limited to 2 poles with one member, and in the case of a 3 pole type joint box, as shown in FIG. Two release buttons 15 had to be provided. For this reason, in the case of the three-pole T-joint box, a total of six operating parts are required, which makes structural miniaturization extremely difficult.

Further, in such a three-pole type joint box, since two release buttons are required for one operation portion, the flat cable C cannot be inserted at one time, and the work is divided into two. Will need to be done.
In this case, since the work is performed easily at the insertion portion of the flat cable C, it is necessary to sufficiently secure the stripping margin of the outer coating material C3. Then, after mounting the flat cable on the joint box, too much is left in the inner coating material C2, which is also inconvenient in this respect.

Further, since a high-voltage power supply current flows in the power supply line inside the joint box, insulation is required between the power supply lines. As a result, it is possible to arrange the power supply lines with a certain insulation distance. Will be needed. However, in the case of the T-type joint box, as compared with the I-type joint box, as shown in FIG. 8B, since there is a portion where the power supply lines intersect, there is a problem that the insulation distance cannot be secured if it is too thin. This is a major obstacle to making the device thinner. As described above, in the three-pole joint box, particularly in the T-type joint box, the internal structure is complicated, so that it is difficult to reduce the size and the thickness of the joint box as a whole.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a joint box which is downsized and thinned.

[0015]

In the joint box of the present invention, at least two power supply lines arranged at a predetermined distance and at least the number of external power supply lines at the end position of the power supply line are provided. A joint box comprising a connection terminal to be connected and a release operation unit for collectively connecting a plurality of power supply lines among external power supply lines to the connection terminal, the release box being provided at a predetermined position between the power supply lines. A part or all of the members constituting the operation portion are interposed, and the interposed release operation portion member is constituted by an insulating member. Thus, the required insulation performance can be ensured by interposing an insulating member at a location where a sufficient insulation distance cannot be secured between the power supply lines.

Further, the connection terminal comprises a first member electrically connected to or integrally formed with the power supply line, and a second member for applying a biasing force to the first member in a fixed direction. The connector parts are provided in correspondence with the number of the power supply lines, and the release operation part is provided with a release button slidably provided on the outer surface of the joint box, and the release button is slidably provided on each connector part. It is effective to configure the second member to move in the direction opposite to the biasing force direction of the second member.

As a joint box to which the present invention is applied, it is preferable that the power supply line is a three-pole type joint box including two AC power supply lines and one ground line. It is preferably a T-shaped joint box including three sets of terminals.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below based on the embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a joint box according to the present embodiment, and FIG.
Is a plan view of the joint box in the present embodiment,
A front view and a right side view are shown. The joint box 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a 3-pole T-type joint box, and the flat cable C used in this joint box is a 3-wire flat cable as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the joint box 1 of the present embodiment includes an upper case 1a and a lower case 1b constituting a joint box body, a conductive metal fitting 2 serving as a power line, and a flat cable C. A connection terminal 3 for connection and a release operation portion 4 for easy connection are provided.

The upper case 1a and the lower case 1b are, for example, cases made of a curable resin or the like, and a release button 4a of a release operating portion 4 described later is slidably positioned on the upper case 1a. Three cutouts 5 are formed. The outer case C3 and the upper case 1a and the lower case 1b are overlapped with each other.
A cable insertion port 6 having a smaller diameter and a larger diameter than the inner coating material C2 is formed. FIG. 3A is a plan view of the joint box in the present embodiment with the upper case taken, and FIG. 3B is a plan view of only the lower case.

FIG. 4 is a plan view, a front view, and a right side view of the conductive metal fitting in this embodiment. The conductive metal fitting 2 is made of a conductive metal such as a copper material, and serves as a power supply line of the joint box 1. Since the joint box 1 in the present embodiment is of the three-pole type, the conductive metal fitting 2 is composed of three types of conductive metal fittings 2a, 2b, 2c as shown in FIG. ing.

The connection terminal 3 is for connecting the three-wire flat cable C, and is a conductive member 3 which is a first member.
It has three connector parts 7 each of which is composed of a and a pressing fitting 3b which is a second member. The conductive metal fitting 3a is a metal fitting that is electrically connected to the end positions of the conductive metal fittings 2a, 2b, and 2c, which are power supply lines. The pressing fitting 3b is for applying a biasing force to the conductive fitting 3a in a certain direction so that the core wire C1 contacts the conductive fitting 3a when the flat cable C is attached. In addition, a locking piece 3c is formed at an end position of the pressing fitting 3b in order to obtain a release structure described later. FIG. 5 shows a front view and a side view of the conductive metal fitting 3a and the pressing metal fitting 3b constituting the connector portion 7.

FIG. 6 is a front view and a side view of the release operating portion in this embodiment. The release operation part 4 is a substantially flat plate-like member for connecting the three power lines in the flat cable C to the connection terminal 3 all at once, and the release button 4a and the moving part of the moving part are provided on the upper surface side. Three locking portions 4b and a guide groove 4c having a function are formed, and a protrusion 4d is formed on the lower surface side. The release operation unit 4 is entirely made of an insulating member.

The release button 4a is slidably positioned with respect to the cutout portion 5 formed in the upper case 1a, and the locking portion 4b forms a cutout portion or a hole in the main body of the release operation portion 4. The locking piece 3c formed on the pressing fitting 3b is locked. The guide groove 4c is
When the release operation portion 4 is provided in the connection terminal 3 portion shown at the position B in FIG. 3, the release operation portion 4 is a groove for positioning the conductive metal fitting 2c, and the protrusion 4d allows the release operation portion 4 to slide. It is provided in order to prevent misalignment.

Note that the release operation unit 4 includes A to A in FIG.
It is composed of a common member so that it can be arranged at any of the C positions, and in particular, as shown in FIG.
When it is arranged at the inside B position, the release operating portion 4 is arranged between the conductive metal fittings 2b and 2c. This is because in the joint box 1 of the present embodiment, the distance between the conductive metal fittings 2b and 2c is the narrowest in order to reduce the thickness, and the required insulation distance can be secured in that state. Because it is gone.

That is, according to the present invention, in order to reduce the size and thickness of the joint box body, if the required insulation distance cannot be secured between the power supply lines, the release operation portion 4 is placed at the position. By providing a portion where the insulation distance cannot be ensured and interposing an insulating member between them, the required insulation is ensured. Although the release operation unit 4 in the present embodiment is entirely made of an insulating member, at least the portion located between the power supply lines may be made of an insulating member.

Further, the locking piece 3 formed on the pressing fitting 3b
Since c is locked to the locking portion 4b, when the release button 4a is slid, the pressing fitting 3b bends in the direction opposite to the direction in which the biasing force is applied. Accordingly, when the flat cable C is attached / detached, the three release wires 4a can be slid to attach / detach the three core wires C1 at the same time.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the problem that the insulation distance between the power supply lines is secured, which is an obstacle to the miniaturization and thinning of the joint box 1, is a portion where the insulation distance cannot be secured. By interposing the release operation portion 4 which also serves as an insulating member, it is possible to reduce the size and thickness while ensuring the required insulating performance.

FIG. 7 shows a plan view, a front view and a right side view of a conductive fitting according to another embodiment of the present invention. The conductive metal fitting 8 (8a to 8c) of the present embodiment is the conductive metal fitting 2 shown in FIG.
Conductive metal fitting 3 serving as a first member at the end position of (2a to 2c)
a is integrally provided. by this,
The present embodiment has the same effects as the above-described embodiments, and further, the step of spot welding, which is necessary to connect the conductive fitting 2 and the conductive fitting 3a in the above-described embodiment, can be omitted.

As described above, in the present embodiment, even if it is difficult to secure the insulation distance due to the miniaturization and thinning, the miniaturization and thinning can be achieved while maintaining the required insulating property. You can As a result, in the joint box 1 to which the present embodiment is applied, it is possible to realize a thin type that has not been considered in the past.

In the above embodiment, the joint box to which the present invention is applied is described by taking a three-pole T-joint box as an example. However, the joint box is not limited to this and it is difficult to reduce the size and thickness. Pole I type joint box,
It is also applicable to a 2-pole T-joint box.

[0032]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the restriction of the insulation distance between the power supply lines can be remarkably relaxed, so that the main body of the apparatus can be easily made smaller and thinner. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a joint box according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view, a front view, and a right side view of a joint box according to this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the joint box in the present embodiment with an upper case taken, and a plan view of only a lower case.

FIG. 4 is a plan view, a front view, and a right side view of a conductive metal fitting according to the present embodiment.

5A and 5B are a front view and a side view of a conductive metal fitting and a pressing metal fitting constituting a connector portion.

FIG. 6 is a front view and a side view of a release operation unit.

FIG. 7 is a plan view, a front view, and a right side view of a conductive fitting according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an internal connection state in the I-shaped and T-shaped joint boxes.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing classification of joint boxes.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a connection end of a three-wire flat cable.

FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of a typical release structure in a conventional two-pole joint box.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a typical release structure in a conventional three-pole joint box.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Joint Box 1a Upper Case 1b Lower Case 2 Conductive Metal Fitting (Power Line) 3 Connection Terminal 3a Conductive Metal Fitting (First Member) 3b Pressing Metal Fitting (Second Member) 3c Locking Piece 4 Release Operation Section 4a Release Button 4b Locking Section (Movement part) 4c Guide groove 4d Projection part 5 Notch part 6 Cable insertion port 7 Connector part 8 Conductive metal fitting (power line) 10 Joint box 11 Connection terminal 12 Cable insertion opening 13a, 13b Metal fitting 14 Groove part 15 Release button 15a Projection part C Flat cable C1 Core wire C2 Inner coating material C3 Outer coating material

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. At least two arranged at a predetermined distance.
A power supply line, a connection terminal for connecting more than the number of the power supply lines to external power supply lines at the end positions of the power supply line, and a plurality of power supply lines among the external power supply lines are collectively connected to the connection terminal. And a release operation section for operating the release operation section, wherein a part or all of the members constituting the release operation section are interposed at predetermined positions between the power supply lines, and the interposed release operation section A joint box characterized in that the member is made of an insulating member. 2. The connection terminal includes a first member electrically connected to or integrally formed with the power supply line, and a second member that applies a biasing force to the first member in a fixed direction. Connector parts are provided in correspondence with the number of the power supply lines, and the release operation part has a release button slidably provided on the outer surface of the joint box, and in each connector part in association with the slide operation of the release button. The joint box according to claim 1, further comprising a moving portion that moves the second member in a direction opposite to a biasing direction of the second member. 3. The joint box according to claim 1, wherein the power supply line includes two AC power supply lines and one ground line. 4. The joint box according to claim 1, wherein the joint box comprises three sets of the connection terminals.