Electricity: conductors and insulators – Covers or face plates
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-06
2003-06-10
Ngo, Hung V. (Department: 2831)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Covers or face plates
C174S050000, C174S135000, C174S13800J, C439S522000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06576838
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective cover and a fuse box which are applied to a fuse unit directly attached to a battery post of a battery to be mounted on a vehicle and serve to protect a fuse.
2. Related Art
A battery to be mounted on a vehicle has a pair of battery posts formed of a lead alloy. In order to supply a power from the battery to various electrical equipment, a chain type fuse element (fuse-element) having a plurality of terminal connecting portions is attached to some battery posts. The fuse element is provided in a resin body to constitute a fuse unit. There is also provided a fuse unit having a plurality of terminal connecting portions that is attached to some battery posts. The fuse unit is constituted by a fuse element formed integrally with a fuse and a resin body for accommodating the fuse element.
Since the terminal connecting portion and the fuse in the fuse element are exposed to the outside, they are apt to be corroded and are generally covered with a protective cover. The protective cover is formed to be a separate piece in consideration of the necessity for exchanging a terminal or viewing a fuse at time of vehicle assembly or maintenance. Such a protective cover is removably attached to the resin body of the fuse unit by various engaging means. The protective cover and the fuse unit constitute a fuse box.
Further, the terminal connecting portion and the fuse are exposed from the resin body and corrosion is apt to be caused by the invasion of water drops. In general, therefore, the upper part of the fuse unit is covered with a battery cover in order to carry out insulation, waterproofing and dustproofing in such a portion.
FIG. 9
shows an example of a conventional fuse box disclosed in JP-A-10-338085. A fuse box
101
thus shown can efficiently carry out a work for exchanging a fusible link
102
.
The fuse box
101
comprises a box body
110
for accommodating the fusible link
102
and a cover member
120
for covering the box body
110
. The box body
110
is provided with a housing portion
111
for the fusible link
102
in which an upper part
111
a
and both lower sides
111
b
and
111
c
are opened. In the conventional example, the fusible link
102
and the box body
110
constitute a fuse unit.
The fusible link
102
is inserted from the upper part
111
a
into the housing portion
111
, a head portion
102
a
is exposed from the upper part
111
a
, and furthermore, tab terminals
102
b
and
102
c
are exposed from both lower sides
111
b
and
111
c
. Moreover, a terminal
130
for power supply is connected through an attachment bolt to the tab terminal
102
b
of the fusible link
102
accommodated in the housing portion
111
, and a terminal
140
having an electric wire is connected to the tab terminal
102
c
through an attachment bolt. Furthermore, a terminal
103
for battery connection is connected to the terminal
130
for power supply through a nut, and the terminal
103
for battery connection is connected to a battery post of a battery.
The cover member
120
comprises an upper cover portion
121
for covering the upper part
111
a
of the box body
110
, a lower cover portion
122
provided vertically under the upper cover portion
121
and serving to cover both lower sides
111
b
and
111
c
of the housing portion
111
, and a battery post cover portion
123
for covering the battery post of the battery. The battery post cover portion
123
is provided successively to the upper cover portion
121
. Such a cover member
120
is provided in the box body
110
to be rotatable at 90 degrees through a hinge
124
including a rotating shaft
124
a
and a bearing
124
b.
However, while the box body
110
and the cover member
120
are removably coupled to each other through the hinge
124
and the cover member
120
can be supported rotatably, the bearing
124
b
for supporting the rotating shaft
124
a
is curved to have a small thickness. In some cases in which an operation for opening and closing the cover member
120
is repeated for a long period of time, therefore, the bearing
124
b
is plastically deformed. In some cases in which the bearing
124
b
is plastically deformed, it cannot hold the rotating shaft
124
a
. There is a possibility that the cover member
120
might be removed from the box body
110
so as not to fulfill the original function of the protective cover.
Moreover, when the cover member
120
is to be closed, a stopper
122
a
protruded from the lower cover portion
122
abuts on the box body
110
to regulate rotation. In some cases in which the cover member
120
is to be opened, the cover member
120
is excessively opened to plastically deform the bearing
124
b
so that the cover member
120
is separated from the box body
110
as described above because there is no stopper for regulating the rotation.
Also in the case in which the box body and the cover member are coupled integrally through a hinge, the same problem arises. Usually, the hinge is formed to have a small thickness in order to enhance the operability of an opening and closing cover and might be broken due to a fatigue when an opening and closing operation is repeated. In some cases, thus, the cover member is removed so as not to fulfill the function of the protective cover.
The battery cover is formed integrally with the resin body or is formed separately in consideration of the necessity for exchanging a terminal or viewing a fuse at time of vehicle assembly or maintenance. The separate battery cover is removably attached to the resin body by engaging means.
FIGS. 17 and 18
show an example of a conventional battery cover constituted separately. As shown in
FIG. 17
, a battery cover
400
is integrally constituted by a first cover
401
for covering the upper part of a fuse unit (not shown) a second cover
411
for covering a battery post, and a hinge portion
408
for coupling the first cover
401
to the second cover
411
. The battery cover
400
is formed of a synthetic resin such as heat-resistant vinyl chloride.
The first cover
401
takes the shape of a box cover having a housing space for the fuse unit in an internal space. One of the sides of the first cover
401
is provided with an opening
404
such that a terminal having an electric wire can be inserted therein. A hinge portion
408
for openably rotating and holding the second cover
411
is integrally formed on the other side of the first cover
401
along the edge portion of an upper wall
402
.
The first cover
401
is removably attached to a resin body (not shown) formed by insert molding a fuse element with the use of engaging means. A lock portion
405
provided on a side wall
403
of the first cover
401
is engaged with a concave portion formed on the side wall of the resin body.
The second cover
411
is an openable protective cover which is integrally formed successively to the hinge portion
408
and serves to cover the battery post connecting portion side of the fuse unit and the battery post, and is constituted by an almost crank-shaped upper wall
412
seen on a plane and a side wall
413
linked to the periphery of the upper wall
412
at an almost right angle. The upper wall
412
is crank-shaped because it is formed corresponding to the shape of the fuse unit.
The hinge portion
408
is a junction member for coupling the first cover
401
to the second cover
411
and is formed successively to the upper wall
402
of the first cover
401
and the upper wall
412
of the second cover
111
. The hinge portion
408
is plate-shaped and functions as a center of rotation for the second cover
411
.
FIG. 18
shows an opening and closing track
420
of the second cover
411
. The second cover
411
is opened and closed by describing a circular hole curve with the hinge portion
408
to be the center of rotation. Moreover,
FIG. 18
also illustrates that the second cover
411
opposed to a bulged wall
416
of a battery
415
interferes with the upper part of the bulged wall
416
so that the opening
Estrada Angel R.
Ngo Hung V.
Yazaki -Corporation
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