Terminal block

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a terminal block in which a sealing member can be suitably assembled. A terminal block (1) is provided with: a housing (20) having: a mounting surface (21a) that comes into contact with a mounting object; a bus bar holding section (22) that holds a bus bar (10) extending in the axial direction so as to intersect the mounting surface; and an annular groove (23) provided on the mounting surface on the outside of the bus bar holding section around the axial direction, the annular groove (23) having a bottom surface (23a) and two side walls (23b). And an annular seal member (30) provided in the annular groove, the seal member having a plurality of contact portions (35) provided on the inner surface (33) and the outer surface (34) of the annular seal member, respectively, and provided so as to protrude so as to come into contact with the side walls of the annular groove facing the inner surface and the outer surface. The contact portion is in close contact with the side wall in a standard mounting posture located on the bottom surface side, and is exposed from the annular groove in a non-standard mounting posture located on the side opposite to the bottom surface.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a terminal block. BACKGROUND

[0002] As a technology related to the conventional terminal block, for example, a terminal block of a sealing structure is disclosed in Patent Literature 1, which is configured by mounting a ring-shaped sealing member to a peripheral groove formed in the outer periphery of a cylindrical body. In the terminal block, two protrusions of different sizes which are not point-symmetrical with the axis of the sealing member as the center are provided to protrude in the same direction along the axis, and a cutout portion for fitting each of the protrusions is provided to the cylindrical body so as to extend from the peripheral groove. Thereby, misassembly of the sealing member is reduced.

[0003] PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

[0004] PATENT LITERATURE

[0005] Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-139017 SUMMARY

[0006] PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0007] However, such a terminal block has room for further improvement in terms of further reducing misassembly and improving workability with respect to assembly of a sealing member or the like for water stop.

[0008] The present application has been achieved in view of the above-described circumstances, and aims to provide a terminal block capable of appropriately achieving assembly of a sealing member.

[0009] MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, a terminal block of the present application includes a housing having a mounting surface which abuts against a mounting object, a bus bar holding portion which holds a bus bar extending in an axial direction in a manner crossing the mounting surface, and a ring-shaped groove which is provided to the mounting surface on the outside of the bus bar holding portion in the axial direction and has a bottom surface and two side walls standing from the bottom surface, and a ring-shaped sealing member which is provided to the ring-shaped groove, the sealing member having a plurality of abutting portions which are respectively provided to the inner side surface and the outer side surface of the ring-shaped sealing member in a manner protruding so as to abut against each of the side walls of the ring-shaped groove which opposes the inner side surface and the outer side surface, at least a part of the abutting portions of the plurality of abutting portions being in close contact with the side walls in a standard mounting posture which is on the side of the bottom surface, and being exposed from the ring-shaped groove in a non-standard mounting posture which is on the side opposite to the side of the bottom surface.

[0011] EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The terminal block of the present application has an effect of enabling proper assembly of the sealing member. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a terminal block and a mounting object of an embodiment.

[0014] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal block of the embodiment.

[0015] Figure 3 is a front view of the terminal block of the embodiment.

[0016] Figure 4 is a partial enlarged sectional view of the IV-IV cross section of Figure 3

[0017] Figure 5 is a partial enlarged sectional view of the cross section corresponding to the IV-IV cross section of Figure 3

[0018] REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0019] 1: Terminal block

[0020] 10: Bus bar

[0021] 20: Housing

[0022] 21a: Mounting surface

[0023] 22: Bus bar holding portion

[0024] 23: Annular groove

[0025] 23a: Bottom surface

[0026] 23b: Side wall

[0027] 23b1: Side wall

[0028] 23b2: Side wall

[0029] 30: Sealing member

[0030] 31: Close-contact surface

[0031] 33: Inner side surface

[0032] 34: Outer side surface

[0033] 35: Abutting portion

[0034] 35a: Abutting portion

[0035] 35b: Abutting portion

[0036] 70: Mounting object ​​

[0037] 231: opening end position

[0038] 232: opening

[0039] 351: end portion

[0040] 352: end portion

[0041] X: axial direction DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present application will be described in detail based on the drawings. In addition, the present application is not limited to this embodiment. In addition, the constituent elements in the following embodiment include elements that can be and are easily replaced by those skilled in the art, or substantially identical elements.

[0043] [EMBODIMENT]

[0044] Figure 1 The terminal block 1 of the present embodiment shown is mounted on a vehicle such as an electric automobile or a hybrid automobile, for example, and is installed on a mounting object 70, and relays electrical connection of a first device and a second device, which are not shown. The terminal block 1 of the present embodiment is configured to include a plurality of bus bars 10, and an external terminal of the first device is electrically connected to a first connection portion 11 provided at one end portion of the plurality of bus bars 10. In addition, in the terminal block 1 of the present embodiment, an external terminal of the second device is electrically connected to a second connection portion 12 provided at the other end portion of the plurality of bus bars 10. The first device is one of a motor and an inverter, for example, and the second device is the other of the motor and the inverter, for example. Furthermore, the terminal block 1 is not limited to this example, and can be used for relay of the first device or the second device and a wiring material, relay of the wiring material and the wiring material, and the like, for example.

[0045] In addition, in the following description, the direction in which the bus bars 10 extend is set as an axial direction X, the direction orthogonal to the axial direction X and in which the plurality of bus bars 10 are arranged is set as a width direction Y, and the direction orthogonal to the axial direction X and the width direction Y, respectively, is set as a height direction Z. In addition, one side of the axial direction X is set as one side XI, and the other side of the axial direction X is set as the other side X2. Similarly, in the width direction Y, one side Yl and the other side Y2 are set, and in the height direction Z, one side Zl and the other side Z2 are set.

[0046] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the terminal block 1 has a housing 20 in which the plurality of bus bars 10 are provided. The housing 20 is provided with a sealing member 30. The sealing member 30 is formed of a material such as rubber or resin that can be elastically deformed. The bus bars 10 are terminal fittings composed of a metal material having electrical conductivity, and are electrically and mechanically connected to the external terminals described above. In the terminal block 1, three bus bars 10 are arranged side by side along the width direction Y. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the terminal block 1 has a housing 20 in which the plurality of bus bars 10 are provided. The housing 20 is provided with a sealing member 30. The sealing member 30 is formed of a material such as rubber or resin that can be elastically deformed. The bus bars 10 are terminal fittings composed of a metal material having electrical conductivity, and are electrically and mechanically connected to the external terminals described above. In the terminal block 1, three bus bars 10 are arranged side by side along the width direction Y.

[0047] The busbar 10 has a first connecting portion 11, a second connecting portion 12, and an intermediate portion 13 connecting the first connecting portion 11 and the second connecting portion 12, and the portions are integrally formed in a crank shape in three dimensions by performing various processes such as bending processes in shapes corresponding to the portions. The first connecting portion 11 and the second connecting portion 12 each extend in the axial direction X and are formed in a plate shape with a plate surface facing the height direction Z. The intermediate portion 13 rises substantially perpendicularly from an end portion on the other side X2 of the second connecting portion 12 in the axial direction X toward the side Z1 of the height direction Z, connects substantially perpendicularly to an end portion on the side X1 of the first connecting portion 11, and is provided in a plate shape with a plate surface facing the axial direction X. A connecting hole 11a that penetrates in the height direction Z is provided on the other side X2 of the first connecting portion 11 in the axial direction X. Similarly, a connecting hole 12a that penetrates in the height direction Z is provided on the side X1 of the second connecting portion 12 in the axial direction X. The first device described above is connected to the connecting hole 11a of the first connecting portion 11, and the second device described above is connected to the connecting hole 12a of the second connecting portion 12.

[0048] The housing 20 is formed of a synthetic resin material or the like having insulating properties and has a housing main body 21 in a substantially long rectangular plate shape with the width direction Y as a long side direction. A side X1 of the housing main body 21 in the axial direction X is a substantially flat mounting surface 21a that abuts or approaches a mounting target surface 71 of a mounting target 70. Mounting holes 21b are provided near end portions on the side Y1 and the other side Y2 of the housing main body 21 in the width direction Y. The mounting holes 21b are holes that penetrate in the axial direction X for insertion of bolts (not shown) and fixation of the terminal stand 1 to the mounting target 70 via the mounting holes 21b.

[0049] A bus bar holding portion 22 is provided at a substantially central portion in the width direction Y of the housing main body 21 of the housing 20. The bus bar holding portion 22 holds a plurality of bus bars 10 extending in the axial direction X in a manner intersecting the mounting surface 21a. The bus bar holding portion 22 is provided with a bus bar holding protruding portion 22a protruding toward one side X1 in the axial direction X. The bus bar holding protruding portion 22a is formed in a substantially flat plate shape with a plate surface facing the height direction Z. Further, the bus bar holding portion 22 is provided with three insertion holes 22b into which the second connecting portions 12 of the bus bars 10 are inserted. The insertion holes 22b are through-holes in the axial direction X, corresponding to the side Z1 in the height direction Z of the bus bar holding protruding portion 22a. Each bus bar 10 is held to the bus bar holding portion 22 in a manner that each second connecting portion 12 is inserted into each insertion hole 22b from the other side X2 in the axial direction X, and each second connecting portion 12 is placed on the one side Z1 in the height direction Z of the bus bar holding protruding portion 22a. The bus bar holding protruding portion 22a is provided with partition plates corresponding to the three insertion holes 22b. In this way, the bus bar holding portion 22 is formed so as to be able to hold a plurality of bus bars 10 arranged in the width direction Y.

[0050] Further, on the mounting surface 21a outside the bus bar holding portion 22, an annular groove 23 is provided in a manner surrounding the bus bar holding portion 22 around the axial direction X, the annular groove 23 being formed annularly with a groove. The annular groove 23 is formed in a long annular shape that is longer in the width direction Y, that is, in the direction in which the plurality of bus bars 10 are arranged. The annular groove 23 has a sealing member 30 fitted therein. The sealing member 30 is formed in a long annular shape that is longer in the direction in which the bus bars 10 are arranged.

[0051] The cross section of the sealing member 30 is formed in a substantially long rectangular shape (see FIG. 6). Figure 4 The side X1 in the axial direction X of the sealing member 30 is a close-contact surface 31 that comes into close contact with the mounting target surface 71 of the mounting target 70. The other side X2 in the axial direction X is provided with a groove-side close-contact surface 32 provided with two lip portions 32a, 32b formed in a mountain-shaped cross section. Further, in the sealing member 30, the lip portion 32a is annularly provided on the inner side, and in the sealing member 30, the lip portion 32b is annularly provided on the outer side.

[0052] Further, in the sealing member 30, an inner side surface 33 on the inner side and an outer side surface 34 on the outer side are provided in a manner connecting the close-contact surface 31 and the groove-side close-contact surface 32. The inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34 of the sealing member 30 are respectively provided with a plurality of abutting portions 35 protruding from the inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34. The plurality of abutting portions 35 include a plurality of abutting portions 35a provided to the inner side surface 33 and a plurality of abutting portions 35b provided to the outer side surface 34. As described above, Figure 3As shown, multiple abutment portions 35 are provided on two inner surfaces 33 (inner surfaces 33 on one side Z1 and the other side Z2 in the height direction Z) in the width direction Y and on two outer surfaces 34 (outer surfaces 34 on one side Z1 and the other side Z2 in the height direction Z) in the width direction Y. Each abutment portion 35 is arranged at a predetermined interval from adjacent abutment portions 35 in the width direction Y. In the opposing inner surfaces 33 and outer surfaces 34, the abutment portion 35a provided on the inner surface 33 and the abutment portion 35b provided on the outer surface 34 are arranged opposite each other. Therefore, when the terminal block 1 is installed on the mounting object 70, the sealing member 30 can be deformed in a balanced and good manner, and a proper seal can be achieved.

[0053] Furthermore, no abutment portion 35 is provided on the inner side surface 33 and outer side surface 34 along the height direction Z, or on the curved inner side surface 33 and outer side surface 34 connecting the inner side surface 33 and outer side surface 34 along the width direction Y and the height direction Z. By providing multiple abutment portions 35 on the inner side surface 33 and outer side surface 34 formed as elongated strips along the width direction Y, the sealing member 30 can be stably held in the annular groove 23.

[0054] like Figure 4 As shown, the annular groove 23 into which the sealing member 30 is inserted has a bottom surface 23a and sidewalls 23b. The sidewalls 23b include two sidewalls 23b1 and 23b2 that rise from the bottom surface 23a. Sidewall 23b1 is located on the inner side of the annular groove 23, and sidewall 23b2 is located on the outer side of the annular groove 23. The abutting portion 35 protrudes and abuts against and adheres tightly to the sidewalls 23b of the annular groove 23, which are opposite to the inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34. Here, when the sealing member 30 is inserted into the annular groove 23, the inner side surface 33 is opposite to the inner sidewall 23b, and the outer side surface 34 is opposite to the outer sidewall 23b. In addition, the abutting portion 35 is positioned near the other side X2 in the axial direction X, i.e., the groove-side contact surface 32. The contact surface 31 of the sealing member 30 bulges slightly near the center between the inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34. In other words, the surface 31 is a gently sloping mountain shape.

[0055] When terminal block 1 is installed on mounting object 70, such as Figure 4As shown by the double-dotted line, the mounting surface 71 of the mounting object 70 abuts against or approaches the mounting surface 21a. At this time, the sealing member 30 elastically deforms by being flattened along the axial direction X, thereby the contact surface 31 of the sealing member 30 is in close contact with the mounting surface 71 of the mounting object 70, and the groove-side contact surface 32 is in close contact with the bottom surface 23a of the annular groove 23. Furthermore, the sealing member 30 is elastically deformed and is approximately contained within a depth Da from the mounting surface 21a to the bottom surface 23a. Thus, the contact surface 31 and the mounting surface 71, as well as the groove-side contact surface 32 and the bottom surface 23a, are sealed, restricting the intrusion of the manifold retaining portion 22 (manifold 10) that is isotropically disposed inside the annular groove 23 (sealing member 30).

[0056] During the installation of the terminal block 1 onto the mounting object 70, the sealing member 30 is temporarily fixed by embedding it into the annular groove 23 before installation. At this time, the multiple abutting portions 35 abut against the side wall 23b, elastically deform and adhere tightly, thereby temporarily fixing the sealing member 30 to the annular groove 23. That is, when the sealing member 30 is embedded into the annular groove 23, the multiple abutting portions 35 abut against the side wall 23b by pressing, so the sealing member 30 is not easily dislodged from the annular groove 23. Therefore, when the terminal block 1 is installed onto the mounting object 70, the dislodging, twisting, and positional displacement of the sealing member 30 can be reduced.

[0057] Furthermore, the end 352 on the other side X2 (the side of the groove-side contact surface 32) of the abutment portion 35 in the axial direction X is formed into a cone shape. Thus, in conjunction with the arrangement of the abutment portions 35 that are arranged opposite each other, the sealing member 30 can be easily inserted into the annular groove 23, the abutment portion 35 will not twist or deform accidentally, and the abutment portion 35 abuts against the side wall 23b appropriately, elastically deforming and fitting tightly.

[0058] Here, as Figure 4 As shown, the sealing component 30 needs to be installed in the annular groove 23 with the correct orientation, i.e., the standard mounting posture. In cases where the sealing component 30 is not installed in the standard mounting posture, for example, as... Figure 5 As shown, when the sealing member 30 is installed in the annular groove 23 in a non-standard installation posture with the contact surface 31 set on the bottom surface 23a side, it may be impossible to properly seal the object surface 71 and the mounting surface 21a, and the sealing member 30 and the bottom surface 23a of the annular groove 23.

[0059] In Figure 5In the non-standard installation posture shown, when the sealing component 30 is installed in the annular groove 23, the abutment portion 35 abuts against the side wall 23b but is not in close contact. In the non-standard installation posture, the abutment portion 35 protrudes from the annular groove 23. As a result, the sealing component 30 easily detaches from the annular groove 23. Therefore, even if the operator installs the sealing component 30 in the annular groove 23 in a non-standard installation posture, the sealing component 30 will immediately detach from the annular groove 23. Thus, before installing the terminal block 1 onto the mounting object 70, it will be recognized that the sealing component 30 has been installed in the annular groove 23 in a non-standard installation posture.

[0060] Thus, at least a portion of the plurality of abutting portions 35 are configured to be positioned close to the groove side of the mating surface 32 in the axial direction X. Therefore, at least a portion of the plurality of abutting portions 35 are in close contact with the sidewall 23b in a standard mounting posture located on the bottom surface 23a side, and exposed from the annular groove 23 in a non-standard mounting posture located on the side opposite to the bottom surface 23a side.

[0061] More specifically, such as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the distance L from the contact surface 31 (more specifically, the top of the mountain-shaped contact surface 31) to the end 351 of the contact portion 35 on the contact surface 31 side is set to be larger than the distance D from the bottom surface 23a to the opening end position 231 of the sidewall 23b (L > D), where the opening end position 231 is the position where the contact portion 35 can abut against the sidewall 23b. Here, the contact portion 35 abuts against the sidewall 23b, which is formed as a flat surface in the annular groove 23, and elastically deforms to fit tightly. However, the contact portion 35 does not abut against the edge 233, which is chamfered by R in the opening 232 of the annular groove 23, and does not fit tightly. Therefore, the contact portion 35 is set to be located closer to the opening 232 side than the end of the sidewall 23b on the opening 232 side (i.e., exposed from the annular groove 23) in a non-standard installation posture, thus making it impossible to temporarily fix the sealing member 30.

[0062] In other words, the opening end position 231 is the position of the R-end (end of the curved surface) of the angle R on the sidewall 23b side of the edge 233 where the sidewall 23b connects to the mounting surface 21a on the opening 232 side of the annular groove 23. The abutment portion 35 can be tightly attached to the sidewall 23b in a standard mounting posture located on the bottom surface 23a side, which is closer to the opening end position 231 than the opening end position 231.

[0063] The terminal block 1 described above is provided with: a housing 20 having a mounting surface 21a that abuts against the mounting object 70, a bus bar holding portion 22 that holds the bus bar 10 extending in the axial direction X in a manner that intersects the mounting surface 21a, and an annular groove 23 that is provided to the mounting surface 21a on the outer side of the bus bar holding portion 22 in the axial direction X, has a bottom surface 23a and two side walls 23b (23b1, 23b2) that rise from the bottom surface 23a; and an annular sealing member 30 that is provided to the annular groove 23, the sealing member 30 having a plurality of abutting portions 35 that are respectively provided to the annular inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34 in a manner that protrude so as to abut against the side walls 23b of the annular groove 23 that oppose the inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34, at least some of the plurality of abutting portions 35 being in close contact with the side walls 23b in a standard mounting posture that is on the side of the bottom surface 23a, and being exposed from the annular groove 23 in a non-standard mounting posture that is on the side opposite the bottom surface 23a.

[0064] Thus, even if the sealing member 30 is mounted to the annular groove 23 of the terminal block 1, the sealing member 30 will immediately fall off in the non-standard mounting posture, so it is possible to reduce the cases in which the sealing member 30 is directly mounted to the mounting object 70 in the non-standard mounting posture, and it is possible to properly achieve assembly of the sealing member 30.

[0065] More specifically, in the terminal block 1 described above, the distance L from the abutting surface 31 of the sealing member 30 that is in close contact with the mounting object 70 to the end portion 351 of the abutting surface 31 on the side of the abutting portion 35 is set to be greater than the distance D from the bottom surface 23a to the opening end position 231 of the side wall 23b, which is the position at which the abutting portion 35 can abut against the side wall 23b (L > D). According to this structure, as described above, the terminal block 1 can achieve a structure in which the abutting portion 35 is in close contact with the side wall 23b in the standard mounting posture in which the abutting portion 35 is on the side of the bottom surface 23a, and is exposed from the annular groove 23 in the non-standard mounting posture in which the abutting portion 35 is on the side opposite the bottom surface 23a. As a result, the terminal block 1 can properly achieve assembly of the sealing member 30 as described above.

[0066] In addition, the bus bar holding portion 22 is formed so as to be able to hold a plurality of bus bars 10 arranged in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction X, i.e., a width direction Y, the annular groove 23 and the sealing member 30 are formed in a long annular shape long in the width direction Y, a plurality of abutting portions 35 are provided to the inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34 along the width direction Y, and each abutting portion 35a provided to the inner side surface 33 and each abutting portion 35b provided to the outer side surface 34 are arranged so as to face each other. Thus, the sealing member 30 can be temporarily fixed to the annular groove 23 in good balance, and therefore, the terminal base 1 can be installed to the installation object 70 while maintaining a proper posture of the sealing member 30, and sealing based on the proper sealing member 30 can be achieved.

[0067] Further, the terminal base according to the above-described embodiment of the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope recited in the claims.

[0068] In the above description, the abutting portions 35 are provided to the inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34 on one side Z1 and the other side Z2 in the height direction Z of the sealing member 30, and the total number of the abutting portions 35 is 12, but the number is not limited thereto, and an appropriate number can be provided. In addition, a part of the plurality of abutting portions 35 can be made to protrude from the annular groove 23 in a non-standard installation posture, so that temporary fixation of the sealing member 30 in the non-standard installation posture cannot be performed.

[0069] The terminal base according to the present embodiment can also be configured by appropriately combining the components of the above-described embodiments and modified examples.

Claims

1. A terminal block, characterized by, Possessing: a housing having: a mounting surface that abuts against a mounting object; a bus bar holding portion that holds a bus bar extending in an axial direction in a manner that intersects the mounting surface; and an annular groove provided on the mounting surface outside the bus bar holding portion in the axial direction and having a bottom surface and two side walls that rise from the bottom surface; and an annular seal member provided in the annular groove, the seal member has a plurality of abutting portions that are respectively provided on an inner side surface and an outer side surface of the annular seal member and that are provided in a manner that protrudes in abutment with each of the side walls of the annular groove that opposes the inner side surface and the outer side surface, and at least some of the abutting portions are in close contact with the side walls in a standard mounting posture in which the bottom surface side is positioned on a lower side, and are exposed from the annular groove in a non-standard mounting posture in which the side opposite the bottom surface side is positioned on the lower side.

2. The terminal block according to claim 1, characterized in that a distance from an abutting surface that abuts against the mounting object to an end portion of the abutting surface on the side of the seal member that is closer to the mounting surface is set to be greater than a distance from the bottom surface to an opening end position of the side wall, where the opening end position of the side wall is a position at which the abutting surface can abut against the side wall.

3. The terminal block according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bus bar holding portion is formed so as to be able to hold a plurality of bus bars arranged in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction, the annular groove and the seal member are formed as long annular shapes that are long in the direction in which the plurality of bus bars are arranged, and the plurality of abutting portions are provided on the inner side surface and the outer side surface in the direction in which the plurality of bus bars are arranged, and each of the abutting portions provided on the inner side surface and each of the abutting portions provided on the outer side surface are arranged so as to oppose each other.

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