Terminal protective cap

Details Terminal protective cap Terminal protective cap

2000-05-24

2001-10-02

Bradley, Paula (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

With provision to restrict environment effects

Including contact cover or case

C439S447000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06296517

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a terminal protective cap. In particular, this invention relates to a terminal protective cap that protects a terminal of an electric wire connected to electrical equipment of an automobile, such as a starter motor, from being exposed.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, electrical equipment provided on an automobile and the like are connected by using wire harnesses. In particular, electric wires to be connected to electrical equipment, such as a starter motor, having a high voltage, are covered by a cap to prevent metal parts from being exposed, and thus, to prevent short circuiting of terminals connected to the starter motor.
FIGS.
4
(
a
) through
5
illustrate an example of a conventional cap of this type. FIG.
4
(
a
) shows an electric wire
1
and an terminal
1
a
of the electric wire
1
. The terminal
1
a
is fixed to a starter motor by using a bolt. FIG.
4
(
b
) shows a cap
2
that is made from a macromolecular material, such as EPDM. The terminal
1
a
is inserted into the cap
2
, as shown in
FIG. 5
, to become a unit. Thus, the cap
2
covers the terminal
1
a.
The cap
2
can be flipped over so that the terminal
1
a
is exposed. The terminal
1
a
is mounted to the starter motor by using a bolt when the cap
2
is flipped over. After mounting, the cap
2
covers the terminal
1
a
to protect the terminal
1
a
from outside.
However, with the conventional cap
2
, there is no means to engage the cap
2
with the terminal
1
a
. Therefore, the cap
2
is sometimes inadvertently separated from the terminal due to vibrations of the starter motor or the like, and the terminal
1
a
is exposed to outside. Accordingly, the terminal
1
a
cannot be sufficiently protected and a short circuit may occur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To resolve the problem described above, the present invention provides a terminal protective cap that prevents a terminal from being exposed and securely protects the terminal. The terminal protective cap covering a terminal of an electric wire has an engaging portion that engages with a projecting portion provided on an outer periphery of the terminal.
According to the features of the present invention, since the projecting portion of a terminal engages with an engaging portion of the terminal protective cap, the cap is prevented from being inadvertently separated due to an external factor, such as vibrations. Thus, the terminal is securely protected. Accordingly, the terminal is prevented from being exposed and from being short-circuit.
In another aspect of the present invention, the engaging portion of the terminal protective cap includes a hole in which the projecting portion is accommodated, and an opening is provided through which the projecting portion of the terminal is inserted into the hole. The opening is provided in the bottom surface of the engaging portion. The opening can be formed as a slot or a slit.
In this case, the projecting portion is inserted through the opening. In other words, the projecting portion can be inserted into the hole by pressing the engaging portion from the top when the cap is being mounted on the terminal. Thus, the operability of the mounting task of the cap improves.
In a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal protective cap that covers a terminal of an electric wire and protects the terminal from outside. The terminal protective cap has a hollow portion, a concave portion, and an engaging portion. The hollow portion has an opening at a proximal end thereof to receive the terminal. The concave portion is provided at a distal end of the hollow portion and has an opening at the bottom. The engaging portion is provided on an outer periphery of the concave portion and engages with a projecting portion provided on an outer periphery of the terminal.
According to the features of the present invention, the proximal part of the terminal is wrapped by the hollow portion, and a distal part of the terminal engages with the engaging portion of the terminal protective cap. Thus, the terminal is securely covered by the terminal protective cap.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for mounting a terminal protective cap to a terminal. First, the terminal is inserted into the terminal protective cap. Then, an insertion aperture provided in the terminal is aligned with an opening portion provided in a bottom of the terminal protective cap. While the terminal protective cap is flipped over to expose the terminal, the terminal is fixed to an electric equipment. After the terminal protective cap covers the terminal, a top of an engaging portion of the terminal protective cap is pressed so that a projecting portion of the terminal passes through an opening provided in a bottom of the engaging portion and is accommodated in a hole provided in the engaging portion.
According to the features of the present invention, the operability of the mounting task of the terminal protective cap becomes simple.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2800522 (1957-07-01), Coleman et al.
patent: 3914529 (1975-10-01), Holloway
patent: 4921443 (1990-05-01), Sato
patent: 5021305 (1991-06-01), Turner
patent: 5169338 (1992-12-01), Dewar et al.
patent: 5188537 (1993-02-01), Itoh et al.
patent: 5503642 (1996-04-01), Lippert et al.

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