Bus bar holding tool and bus bar assembly using the same

Abstract

To ensure an assembling and connection work in an inverter assembly site while preventing wrong assembly such as mistaking of bus bars or assembling error of bus bars without requiring excessively high accuracy of manufacturing tolerances of a bus bar assembly.SOLUTION: A bus bar holding tool 100 is formed of a raw material having electrical insulation properties, and is a member coupling two bus bars 200 and 300. The bus bar holding tool includes two support parts 110 and 120 for supporting the two bus bars 200 and 300, and a coupling part 130 coupling the support parts 110 and 120. The coupling part 130 is formed into a flexible shape. The support parts 110 and 120 have first pinching pieces 112 and 122, and second pinching pieces 160 and 170 that are hinge-coupled to the first pinching pieces 112 and 122, respectively. The first pinching pieces 112, 122 and the second pinching pieces 160, 170 pinch the bus bars 200 and 300, whereby the bus bars 200 and 300 are supported.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a busbar holder that holds a plurality of busbars used in inverters for controlling motor power or regenerative power in motor-driven automobiles, such as electric automobiles and hybrid automobiles, and a busbar assembly using this busbar holder. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, inverters for motor power control and regenerative power control in motor-driven vehicles such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles have busbars through which large currents flow. Metal conductors with good electrical conductivity (e.g., copper, copper alloys, and aluminum alloys) are generally used for busbars. Busbars are formed by pressing plate material (cutting, bending, punching bolt holes, etc.) or by forming wire with a rectangular cross section (bar-in-coil). The ends of the busbar have bolt holes for crimping the busbar to the input and output terminals.

[0003] Inverters for electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, etc. contain a DC section (two-wire type with positive and negative poles) and an AC section (three-phase type with UVW), and are equipped with sets of two or three bus bars.

[0004] The spacing between the multiple input terminals and the multiple output terminals is not necessarily equal because the electrical insulation structures are different and because there is a need to ensure a tool insertion range during connection work. In addition, the input and output terminals are fixed inside the inverter case. For this reason, the shape of the bus bar is different for each input and output terminal to be connected.

[0005] In the assembly work of inverters to be mounted on electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, etc., it is necessary to take out bus bars having different shapes, identify them, place them in the correct installation position, and tighten the bolts that crimp the bus bars to the input / output terminals for each bus bar. Therefore, inverter assembly workers may erroneously assemble the bus bars (mix up bus bars, assemble the bus bars incorrectly). In order to prevent such erroneous assembly by inverter assembly workers, there are resin molded products that hold multiple bus bars in groups, such as a resin molded case that stores ferrite cores and has the function of holding multiple bus bars (Patent Document 1: JP 2019-186406 A).

[0006] In addition, there are many ideas for integrally molding multiple bus bars with an injection-molded product made of electrically insulating resin to provide electrical insulation between the bus bars (Patent Document 2: JP 2021-123104 A, etc.).

[0007] 1, there may also be a busbar holder 100 that integrally holds two busbars 200 and 300. This busbar holder 100 is made of an electrically insulating material, and has two support parts 110 and 120 that support the busbars 200 and 300, and one connecting part 130 that connects the support parts 110 and 120. The busbars 200 and 300 are supported by the support parts 110 and 120 through insert molding by injection molding, and are integrated together through the flat connecting part 130.

[0008] However, when two busbars 200 and 300 are integrated with busbar holder 100, which is an injection-molded product, it becomes very difficult to ensure the accuracy of the positions of bolt holes 211 and 311 of busbars 200 and 300 relative to the two terminals of the inverter due to errors in busbars 200 and 300 themselves, which have a large dimension between the input and output terminals, and deformation due to cooling shrinkage, sink marks, etc. of busbar holder 100 (particularly joint 130), which is an injection-molded product of resin. In particular, because busbars 200 and 300 have a large dimension between the input and output terminals, even slight deformation due to cooling shrinkage, sink marks, etc. of busbar holder 100 (particularly joint 130) has an effect on the lever ratio, causing a large deviation in the relative positional relationship of bolt holes 211 and 311.

[0009] 1, protruding electrical insulation barriers 910, 920, 930, and 940 are formed around the two terminals of the inverter case to ensure insulation between the terminals. Therefore, even if one bus bar 200 can be placed between electrical insulation barriers 910 and 920 on both sides of one terminal and the bolt hole 211 can be connected to the terminal, interference occurs between the other bus bar and electrical insulation barriers 930 and 940 on both sides of the other terminal due to the misalignment of the relative positions of bolt holes 211 and 311 as described above. As a result, a situation arises in which the other terminal cannot be connected to bolt hole 311 of the other bus bar 300.

[0010] From a mechanical standpoint, it is possible to solve this problem by enlarging bolt holes 211 and 311 to a degree that can absorb the relative positional misalignment between bolt holes 211 and 311 of bus bars 200 and 300 and the terminals. However, this solution is not preferable because it reduces the contact area of ​​the electrical contacts with the terminals of bus bars 200 and 300, which may make it impossible to ensure a contact capacity commensurate with the amount of current.

[0011] Also, rather than solving the problem by enlarging bolt holes 211 and 311, it is possible to address this issue by cutting the positions of bolt holes 211 and 311 of busbars 200 and 300 after injection molding of busbar holder 100. However, cutting bolt holes 211 and 311 into busbars 200 and 300 after injection molding of busbar holder 100 has the disadvantage of inviting an increase in the number of machining processes, and is therefore not realistic.

[0012] There are many different types of busbar assemblies of this kind depending on the vehicle model, for example, the busbar holder 100 is the same but the busbars are different. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0013] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-186406 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2021-123104 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0014] The injection-molded product described in Patent Document 2 simply prevents variation in the spacing between bus bars by arranging multiple bus bars on top of each other, and does not absorb any error in the bolt hole spacing due to the finished state of the injection-molded product.

[0015] This type of busbar assembly is usually delivered as a finished product from a separate factory to a production line for electric vehicles or the like, and a wide variety of busbar assemblies are prepared corresponding to the vehicle models to be manufactured. Here, in the busbar manufacturing process, a large number of busbar assemblies corresponding to vehicle models with high demand must be prepared, but busbar assemblies corresponding to vehicle models with less high demand do not need to be prepared as many. From the perspective of the busbar assembly manufacturing process, this situation requires the production of many different types of busbar assemblies for each vehicle model, which is very inefficient.

[0016] The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and aims to prevent misassembly by workers during assembly (mixing up busbars or assembling the busbars incorrectly) and to enable the transportation of multiple busbars while maintaining their integrity when they are transported between processes. Another object of the present invention is to provide a busbar assembly that can be reliably connected to input / output terminals fixed inside an inverter case and that can improve inefficiencies in the manufacturing process of busbar assemblies. [Means for solving the problem]

[0017] A busbar holder according to one embodiment of the present invention is made of an electrically insulating material and is a busbar holder that holds (connects) a number of busbars, and includes a number of support parts that support the multiple busbars shown in FIG. 2, and at least one connecting part that connects the support parts and has a flexible shape. The support parts have first clamping pieces 112 and 122 shown in FIG. 12, and second clamping pieces 160 and 170 hingedly connected to the first clamping pieces 112 and 122, respectively, and support the busbar by clamping it between the first clamping piece and the second clamping piece.

[0018] The connecting portion 130 is configured so that, by deforming due to the flexibility of the connecting portion as shown in Figures 14 and 15, the spacing between the support portions and the angle of the bus bars can be easily changed to match the terminal positions inside the inverter case, and is formed, for example, in a wavy shape.

[0019] In a busbar assembly according to one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of busbars can be handled as an integrated part (busbar assembly) by assembling the busbars to a busbar holder that is integrally formed with a plurality of support parts that respectively support the plurality of busbars and at least one connecting part that connects the plurality of support parts, as shown in Fig. 2. This makes it possible for workers to prevent incorrect assembly, such as mistaking the busbars or assembling the busbars incorrectly, during the busbar assembly work.

[0020] Furthermore, due to the flexibility of the joints of the bus bar holder, the bus bars can be accurately attached to the input / output terminals fixed inside the inverter case.

[0021] The first clamping piece has recesses 113 and 123 as shown in FIG. 12, and the bus bar has protrusions 231 and 331 that fit into the recesses at locations corresponding to the recesses shown in FIG. 9. Since the recesses formed in the first clamping piece correspond only to the protrusions of the bus bar that should be supported by that support part, it will not support an incorrect bus bar that should not be supported. Effect of the Invention

[0022] The busbar holder according to the present invention allows a plurality of busbars to be handled as an integrated part (busbar assembly) by integrally forming the support parts that support the busbars and at least one connecting part that connects the support parts to the busbars. This prevents workers from mistaking the busbars or assembling the busbars incorrectly during the busbar assembly work. In addition, the flexibility of the connecting parts of the busbar holder allows the busbars to be accurately assembled to the input / output terminals fixed inside the inverter case. Furthermore, since the plurality of busbars can be transported while maintaining their integrity, separation or scattering of the busbars during transportation between processes can be prevented. In addition, this busbar holder has the advantage of being able to flexibly respond to situations by incorporating the busbars that constitute the necessary busbar assembly into a pre-manufactured busbar holder, thereby improving inefficiencies in the manufacturing process of busbar assemblies. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a conventional busbar assembly and electrical isolation barrier illustrating problems with integrating the busbars. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic plan view of a bus bar assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view of a busbar assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic front view of a bus bar assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic rear view of the bus bar assembly according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic right side view of the bus bar assembly according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic left side view of the bus bar assembly according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a bus bar held by the bus bar holder according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9]FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view of a bus bar held by the bus bar holder according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a bus bar held by a bus bar holder according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a schematic rear view of a bus bar held by the bus bar holder according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a bus bar holder according to an embodiment of the present invention in an open state. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a schematic rear view of the bus bar holder according to the embodiment of the present invention in an open state. [Figure 14] 1 is a front view (schematic front view viewed obliquely from above on the right side) of a hinge in an open state of the bus bar holder according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 15] 1 is a front view (schematic front view from diagonally below on the left side) of a hinge in an open state of the bus bar holder according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of a bus bar assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of a bus bar holder according to another embodiment of the present invention in an open state. [Figure 18] 13 is a schematic plan view of a cover portion constituting a bus bar holder according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a schematic bottom view of a cover portion constituting a bus bar holder according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] 13 is a schematic plan view of a bus bar supported by a bus bar holder according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 21] 13 is a schematic front view of a bus bar supported by a bus bar holder according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a schematic enlarged plan view of a main portion of a bus bar assembly according to still another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23]FIG. 13 is a schematic enlarged plan view of a main portion of a bus bar assembly according to still another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] A busbar holder 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 2 is made of an electrically insulating material and is a busbar holder for connecting two busbars 200 and 300, and includes two support parts 110 and 120 that support the busbars 200 and 300, and a connecting part 130 that connects the support parts 110 and 120. The connecting part 130 is formed in a flexible shape. As shown in Fig. 12, the support parts 110 and 120 include first clamping pieces 112 and 122 and second clamping pieces 160 and 170 that are hingedly connected to the first clamping pieces 112 and 122, and support the busbars 200 and 300 by clamping them between the first clamping pieces 112 and 122 and the second clamping pieces 160 and 170.

[0025] The busbars 200 and 300 supported by the busbar holder 100 are metal conductors that are bent in several ways to avoid interference between the terminal positions in the inverter case and the internal components of the inverter and to ensure electrical insulation gaps, as shown in Figures 8, 9, 10, and 11. One busbar 200 is an integral part, but for convenience of explanation, the side where the bolt hole 211 for inserting the connection bolt of the input terminal is provided is called the input end 210, the side where the bolt hole 221 for inserting the connection bolt of the output terminal is provided is called the output end 220, and the approximately crank-shaped part connecting the input and output ends is called the middle part 230. The other busbar 300 is also an integral part, but for convenience of explanation, the side where the bolt hole 311 for inserting the connection bolt of the input terminal is provided is called the input end 310, the side where the bolt hole 321 for inserting the connection bolt of the output terminal is provided is called the output end 320, and the approximately crank-shaped part connecting the input and output ends is called the middle part 330.

[0026] The intermediate portions 230 and 330 are connected to the input ends 210 and 310 via the input side steps 240 and 340, and to the output ends 220 and 320 via the output side steps 250 and 350. The intermediate portions 230 and 330 between the input side steps 240 and 340 and the output side steps 250 and 350 are formed in a substantially crank shape as shown in Fig. 8 when viewed from the top, and are formed flat as shown in Figs. 10 and 11 when viewed from the front.

[0027] 9, protrusions 231 and 231 are formed in intermediate portion 230 of one busbar 200, and protrusion 331 is formed in intermediate portion 330 of the other busbar 300. These protrusions 231 and 331 are formed by press working.

[0028] The input side ends 210 and 310 of the busbars 200 and 300 are formed flat up to the intermediate portions 230 and 330, and are connected to the intermediate portions 230 and 330 via input side steps 240 and 340. The input side ends 210 and 310 are located above the intermediate portions 230 and 330. The input side ends 210 and 310 are set longer than the output side ends 220 and 320 and the intermediate portions 230 and 330.

[0029] On the other hand, the output side ends 220 and 320 are connected to the intermediate portions 230 and 330 via the output side steps 250 and 350, and are bent obliquely upward from the output side steps 250 and 350. Therefore, the tips of the output side ends 220 and 320 are located at a higher position than the input side ends 210 and 310 (see Figures 10 and 11).

[0030] It goes without saying that the busbars 200 and 300 to be joined by the busbar holder 100 according to the present invention are not limited to the shapes described above, but may have various other shapes.

[0031] The bus bar holder 100 is made of an electrically insulating resin (e.g., PET or PBT), and connects two bus bars 200 and 300. The bus bar holder 100 is made up of two support parts 110 and 120 that are roughly crank-shaped when viewed from above and that conform to the shapes of middle parts 230 and 330 of bus bars 200 and 300, and a connecting part 130 that has a flexible shape and connects these support parts 110 and 120.

[0032] The support portions 110 and 120 are electrical insulating coatings of the roughly crank-shaped intermediate portions 230 and 330 of the busbars 200 and 300. Meanwhile, the coupling portion 130 is formed in a corrugated plate shape to ensure flexibility. Specifically, the coupling portion 130 is formed in a corrugated plate shape that is curved in a direction along the plate thickness direction of the busbars 200 and 300 in a state in which the busbars 200 and 300 are supported by the support portions 110 and 120, respectively. Note that, although the two busbars 200 and 300 are roughly parallel to each other in the drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this.

[0033] Support part 110 supporting one busbar 200 is made up of a first clamping piece 112 and a second clamping piece 160 hinged to first clamping piece 112, as shown in Figures 12 and 13. First clamping piece 112 and second clamping piece 160 sandwich and support busbar 200. Restricting walls 114 and 115 are provided on both sides of first clamping piece 112, as shown in Figure 12. The distance between restricting walls 114 and 115 is set to be equal to the width of busbar 200 to be supported.

[0034] As shown in Figs. 14 and 15, the height of regulating walls 114 and 115 of first clamping piece 112 is set to be equal to the thickness of bus bar 200 to be supported.

[0035] The first clamping piece 112 and the second clamping piece 160 are hingedly connected by a hinge portion 161. More specifically, when the first clamping piece 112 and the second clamping piece 160 are in an open state, the hinge portion 161 that hinges the first clamping piece 112 and the second clamping piece 160 is formed between the first clamping piece 112 and the second clamping piece 160.

[0036] In addition, a locking claw 162 is formed on the edge of the second clamping piece 160 (the side farther away from the other support part 120 when the first clamping piece 112 and the second clamping piece 160 are opened), and a locking protrusion 111 corresponding to the locking claw 162 is formed on the edge of the first clamping piece 112 (the side closer to the other support part 120).

[0037] Furthermore, first clamping piece 112 of supporting portion 110 is formed with recesses 113, 113 that correspond only to protrusions 231, 231 of middle portion 230 of busbar 200. These recesses 113, 113 have the function of preventing support of an incorrect busbar that should not be supported, as well as the function of positioning busbar 200 that should be supported.

[0038] Busbar 200 is placed on first clamping piece 112 of support part 110 configured in this manner (naturally, convex portion 231 of busbar 200 fits into concave portion 113 of first clamping piece 112), and second clamping piece 160 is folded toward first clamping piece 112 around hinge portion 161, and locking claw 162 of second clamping piece 160 is engaged with locking projection 111 of first clamping piece 112. In this way, busbar 200 to be supported is properly supported by support part 110.

[0039] Since the width dimension of busbar 200, the dimension between restricting walls 114 and 115 of first clamping piece 112, the thickness dimension of busbar 200, and the height dimension of restricting walls 114 and 115 of first clamping piece 112 are configured as described above, when busbar 200 is supported by supporting portion 110, movement of busbar 200 in the width direction is restricted by restricting walls 114 and 115, and movement of busbar 200 in the thickness direction is restricted by first clamping piece 112 and base portion 163 of second clamping piece 160 (see FIG. 14 ). As a result, busbar 200 supported by supporting portion 110 is supported without shifting relative to busbar holder 100.

[0040] Even if an attempt is made to have supporting portion 110 support bus bar 300 that should not be supported, the bus bar cannot be supported because two recesses 113 of supporting portion 110 do not correspond to one protrusion 331 of bus bar 300. In other words, erroneous support of a bus bar can be prevented in advance.

[0041] The other support part 120 is similar to the above-mentioned support part 110 and is composed of a first clamping piece 122 and a second clamping piece 170 hingedly connected to the first clamping piece 122 by a hinge part 171. The first clamping piece 122 and the second clamping piece 170 sandwich and support the bus bar 300. The first clamping piece 122 is provided with restricting walls 126 and 127 on both sides. The distance between the restricting walls 126 and 127 is set to be equal to the width of the bus bar 300 to be supported.

[0042] Moreover, the height dimension of the regulating walls 126 and 127 of the first clamping piece 122 is set to be equal to the thickness dimension of the bus bar 300 to be supported.

[0043] In this support portion 120, when the first clamping piece 122 and the second clamping piece 170 are in an open state, a hinge portion 171 is formed between the first clamping piece 122 and the second clamping piece 170, which hinge-connects the first clamping piece 122 and the second clamping piece 170.

[0044] In addition, a locking claw 172 is formed on the edge of the second clamping piece 170 (the side farther from one support part 110 when the first clamping piece 122 and the second clamping piece 170 are opened), and a locking protrusion 121 corresponding to the locking claw 172 is formed on the edge of the second clamping piece 170 (the side closer to one support part 110).

[0045] Furthermore, first clamping piece 122 of supporting portion 120 is formed with recess 123 that corresponds only to protrusion 331 of middle portion 330 of busbar 300. This recess 123 has the function of preventing the support of an incorrect busbar that should not be supported, and also the function of positioning busbar 300 that should be supported.

[0046] Bus bar 300 is placed on first clamping piece 122 of support part 120 configured in this manner (naturally, convex portion 331 of bus bar 300 fits into concave portion 123 of first clamping piece 122), and second clamping piece 170 is folded toward first clamping piece 122 around hinge portion 171, and locking claw 172 of second clamping piece 170 is engaged with locking projection 121 of first clamping piece 122. In this way, bus bar 300 to be supported is properly supported by support part 120. Since the width dimension of busbar 300, the dimension between restricting walls 126 and 127 of first clamping piece 122, the thickness dimension of busbar 300, and the height dimension of restricting walls 126 and 127 of first clamping piece 122 are configured as described above, when busbar 300 is supported by supporting portion 120, movement of busbar 300 in the width direction is restricted by restricting walls 126 and 127, and movement of busbar 300 in the thickness direction is restricted by first clamping piece 122 and base portion 173 (see FIG. 15 ) of second clamping piece 170. As a result, busbar 300 supported by supporting portion 120 is supported without shifting relative to busbar holder 100.

[0047] Even if an attempt is made to have supporting portion 120 support bus bar 200 that should not be supported, the bus bar cannot be supported because concave portion 123 of supporting portion 120 does not correspond to convex portion 231 of bus bar 200. In other words, erroneous support of the bus bar can be prevented in advance.

[0048] Since the coupling portion 130 is formed in a corrugated plate shape, it can be easily deformed from the finished state of the busbar assembly 1000 to match the positions of the input terminals and the output terminals. This coupling portion 130 couples the first clamping piece 112 of the support portion 110 and the first clamping piece 122 of the support portion 120. This busbar assembly 1000 is designed to match the spacing between a plurality of input terminals and the spacing between a plurality of output terminals. If the finished state of the busbar assembly 1000 is as designed, the bolt holes 211 and 311 into which the connection bolts between the input terminals are inserted, and the bolt holes 221 and 321 into which the connection bolts between the output terminals are inserted, are configured to match each other.

[0049] However, bus bar holder 100 is formed by injection molding of electrically insulating resin. In this resin injection molding, as the molten resin cools, the resin that becomes support parts 110 and 120 and joint part 130 shrinks slightly. This causes the parallelism of two bus bars 200 and 300 to be lost, and the positions of bolt holes 211 and 311 for inserting connecting bolts of the input terminals and bolt holes 221 and 321 for inserting connecting bolts of the output terminals to deviate from the designed positions, which may cause problems when assembling bus bar assembly 1000 to the input / output terminals inside the inverter case.

[0050] Improving the assembly problem by reducing the design tolerance of the bolt hole positions is not preferable because it reduces the production yield of the bus bar assembly 1000 and increases the manufacturing cost of the bus bar assembly 1000.

[0051] The busbar assembly 1000 of the present invention has a flexible connecting portion 130 that connects the two support portions 110 and 120, and therefore can be easily deformed to fit the bolt holes 211 and 311 for inserting the connection bolts between the input terminals of the two busbars 200 and 300, and the bolt holes 221 and 321 for inserting the connection bolts between the output terminals of the two busbars 200 and 300.

[0052] This allows bolt holes 211 and 311, into which connecting bolts between the input terminals are inserted, and bolt holes 221 and 321, into which connecting bolts between the output terminals are inserted, to be aligned, and the connecting bolts can be inserted and tightened.

[0053] In addition, multiple types of busbar holders 100 and multiple types of busbars 200 and 300 can be manufactured in advance, and the necessary busbar holders 100 and busbars 200 and 300 can be selected in response to requests from a production line for electric vehicles, etc., and the busbar assembly 1000 can be manufactured by incorporating the busbars 200 and 300 into the busbar holder 100, which has the advantage of allowing the busbar assemblies 1000 to be supplied to the production line more efficiently and flexibly.

[0054] Although the bus bar holder 100 according to the embodiment described above has a corrugated plate-like joint, other shapes may be used. For example, as another joint 130, a shape in which a hinge structure having a thin wall portion is continuously formed as shown in FIG. 22 may be used. Also, it is possible to form a W-shape or an S-shape (see FIG. 23) when viewed from above. In short, it is sufficient that this joint 130 has a flexible shape so that it can be easily deformed and can be deformed to match the positions of the input / output terminals.

[0055] The busbar assembly 1000 in the above-described embodiment integrates two busbars 200 and 300, but in the case of three-phase AC, three busbars 200, 300 and 400 are used, so that the busbar holder 100 is formed with a joining portion 130 that joins the supports 110 and 120, and a joining portion 150 that joins the supports 120 and 140, as shown in FIG. 16 .

[0056] In this case, the bus bar 300 is supported by the support portion 120 as shown in FIG. 16. The bus bar 400 in this case is supported by the support portion 140, and the side where the bolt hole 411 for inserting the connection bolt of the input terminal is provided is called the input side end 410, and the side where the bolt hole 421 for inserting the connection bolt of the output terminal is provided is called the output side end 420, and the approximately crank-shaped portion connecting the input and output ends is integrally formed with the intermediate portion 430. The intermediate portion 430 is connected to the input side end 410 via the input side step 440 and to the output side end 420 via the output side step 450. The intermediate portion 430 between the input side step 440 and the output side step 450 is formed approximately crank-shaped as shown in FIG. 20 when viewed from above, and is formed flat as shown in FIG. 21 when viewed from the front. Moreover, a convex portion 431 is formed in the intermediate portion 430 of the bus bar 400. The convex portion 431 is formed by pressing. Busbar 400 has approximately the same shape as busbars 200 and 300, which are supported by supporting portions 110 and 120 other than supporting portion 140, but has slightly different dimensions, etc. To prevent the busbars from being supported by different supporting portions, convex portion 231 formed on intermediate portion 230 of busbar 200, convex portion 331 formed on intermediate portion 330 of busbar 300, and convex portion 431 formed on intermediate portion 430 of busbar 400 differ in size, number, position, etc.

[0057] 17, the support parts 110 and 140 on both sides are composed of first clamping pieces 112 and 142, and second clamping pieces 160 and 170 hinged to the first clamping pieces 112 and 142 at hinge parts 161 and 171, as described above. Therefore, the support part 140 is provided with the restricting walls 144 and 145 and the locking projection 141, as described above. On the other hand, the central support part 120 has a different configuration from the support parts 110 and 140 on both sides.

[0058] That is, the central support part 120 sandwiched between the support parts 110 and 140 is different from the first clamping pieces 112 and 142 of the support parts 110 and 140, and the integrated second clamping pieces 160 and 170 hinged to the first clamping pieces 112 and 142 at the hinge parts. The support part 120 is composed of a base part 124 (corresponding to the first clamping pieces 112 and 142) and a cover part 180 (corresponding to the second clamping pieces 160 and 170) that fits into the base part 124. A recessed part 123 is formed in the base part 124. This recessed part 123 corresponds to the protruding part 331 of the bus bar 300 to be supported. That is, recesses 113 formed in support portion 110, recesses 123 formed in support portion 120, and recesses 143 formed in support portion 140 differ in size, number, and position, which prevents incorrect support of the busbar.

[0059] Restriction walls 126 and 127 are provided on both sides of base portion 124. Furthermore, locking projections 121 and 125 are formed on the edge of base portion 124. Meanwhile, locking claws 181 and 182 corresponding to locking projections 121 and 125 are provided on both edges of cover portion 180. The distance between restriction walls 126 and 127 is set to be equal to the width of bus bar 300 to be supported. The height of each restriction wall 126 and 127 is set to the thickness of bus bar 300 to be supported.

[0060] Bus bar 300 is placed on base portion 124 of support portion 120 configured in this manner (naturally, convex portions 331 of bus bar 300 fit into concave portions 123 of base portion 124), and cover portion 180 is fitted into base portion 124 so that locking claws 181 and 182 of cover portion 180 engage with locking projections 121 and 125 of base portion 124. In this way, bus bar 300 is properly supported by support portion 120. Since the width dimension of busbar 300, the dimension between restricting walls 126 and 127 of base portion 124, and the height dimension of restricting walls 126 and 127 of base portion 124 are configured as described above, when busbar 300 is supported by supporting portion 120, movement of busbar 300 in the width direction is restricted by restricting walls 126 and 127, and movement of busbar 300 in the thickness direction is restricted by base portion 124 of supporting portion 120 and base portion 183 of cover portion 180 (see FIG. 19 ). As a result, busbar 300 supported by supporting portion 120 is supported without misalignment with busbar holder 100.

[0061] In the case of busbar holder 100, which is an injection-molded resin product, the resin forming supporting portions 110, 120, and 140 and connecting portions 130 and 150 may shrink slightly as the molten resin cools during the injection molding of the resin, causing the designed support state of three busbars 200, 300, and 400 to be lost, and the positions of bolt holes 211 for inserting the connecting bolts of the input terminals, bolt holes 221 for inserting the connecting bolts of the output terminals, bolt holes 311 for inserting the connecting bolts of the input terminals, bolt holes 321 for inserting the connecting bolts of the output terminals, bolt holes 411 for inserting the connecting bolts of the input terminals, and bolt holes 421 for inserting the connecting bolts of the output terminals may shift from their designed positions. However, connecting portion 130 connecting supporting portions 110 and 140 and connecting portion 150 connecting supporting portions 120 and 140 have a flexible shape, for example a corrugated plate shape, and can be easily deformed to match the positions of the input and output terminals. Therefore, there is no problem in assembling the bus bar assembly 1000 to the input / output terminals inside the inverter case.

[0062] As an alternative, four or more bus bars may be integrated, and the connecting portion 130 may have a thin hinge as shown in FIG. 22, or may be W-shaped or S-shaped (see FIG. 23). [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 100 Busbar holder 110 Busbar support (+ pole or U phase) 111 Locking protrusion 112 First clamping piece 113 Recess 114 Regulatory Wall 115 Regulatory Wall 120 Busbar support (-pole or V phase) 121 Locking protrusion 122 First clamping piece 123 Recess 124 Base 125 Locking protrusion 126 Regulatory Wall 127 Regulatory Wall 130 Busbar joint 140 Busbar support part (W phase) 141 Locking protrusion 142 First clamping piece 143 Recess 144 Regulatory Wall 145 Regulatory Wall 150 Busbar joint 160 Second clamping piece 161 Hinge part 162 Locking claw 163 Base 170 Second clamping piece 171 Hinge part 172 Locking claw 173 Base 180 Cover part 181 Locking claw 182 Locking claw 200 busbar (+ pole or U phase) 210 Input side end (+ pole or U phase) 211 Input side bolt hole (+ pole or U phase) 220 Output side end (+ pole or U phase) 221 Output side bolt hole (+ pole or U phase) 230 Middle section (+ pole or U phase) 231 Convex 240 Input side step (+ pole or U phase) 250 Output step (+ pole or U phase) 300 busbar (-pole or V phase) 310 Input side end (-pole or V phase) 311 Input side bolt hole (-pole or V phase) 320 Output side end (-pole or V phase) 321 Output side bolt hole (-pole or V phase) 330 Middle section (-pole or V phase) 331 Convex 340 Input side step (-pole or V phase) 350 Output step (-pole or V phase) 400 Busbar (W phase) 410 Input side end (W phase) 411 Input side bolt hole (W phase) 420 Output side end (W phase) 421 Output side bolt hole (W phase) 430 Middle part (W phase) 431 Convex 440 Input side step (W phase) 450 Output step (W phase) 910 Input side electrical insulation barrier (+ pole or U phase) 920 Input side electrical insulation barrier (+ pole or U phase) 930 Input side electrical insulation barrier (-pole or V phase) 940 Input side electrical insulation barrier (-pole or V phase) 1000 Busbar assembly

Claims

1. 1. A busbar holder made of an electrically insulating material and connecting a plurality of busbars, the busbar holder comprising a plurality of support portions supporting the busbars and one or more connecting portions connecting the support portions, the connecting portions being formed in a flexible shape, the support portions having a first clamping piece and a second clamping piece hingedly connected to the first clamping piece, the busbar being supported by being clamped between the first clamping piece and the second clamping piece.

2. The bus bar holder according to claim 1 , wherein the connecting portion is capable of easily changing a dimension between the supporting portions and an angle of the bus bar by being deformed.

3. The bus bar holder according to claim 1 , wherein the connecting portion is formed in a corrugated plate shape.

4. 2. The bus bar holder according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portion is connected to the first clamping piece of the first and second clamping pieces that constitute the support portion.

5. 2. The bus bar holder according to claim 1, wherein the first clamping piece is formed with a recess, and the bus bar is formed with a protrusion at a location corresponding to the recess, the protrusion fitting into the recess.

6. 6. The bus bar holder according to claim 5, wherein the recess formed in the first clamping piece of the support portion corresponds only to the protrusion of the bus bar to be supported by the support portion.

7. a plurality of busbars; and an electrically insulating busbar holder that connects the busbars, the busbar holder having a plurality of support portions that support the busbars and one or more connecting portions that connect the support portions, the connecting portions being formed in a flexible shape, the support portion having a first clamping piece and a second clamping piece hingedly connected to the first clamping piece, and supporting the busbars by clamping them between the first clamping piece and the second clamping piece.

8. The bus bar assembly according to claim 7 , wherein the connecting portion is capable of easily changing a dimension between the supporting portions and an angle of the bus bar by being deformed.

9. The busbar assembly according to claim 7, wherein the coupling portion is formed in a corrugated plate shape.

10. The busbar assembly according to claim 7 , wherein the connecting portion is connected to the first clamping piece of the first and second clamping pieces that constitute the support portion.

11. 8. The bus bar assembly according to claim 7, wherein the first clamping piece is formed with a recess, and the bus bar is formed with a protrusion at a location corresponding to the recess, the protrusion fitting into the recess.

12. 8. The bus bar assembly according to claim 7, wherein the recess formed in the first clamping piece of the support portion corresponds only to the protrusion of the bus bar to be supported by the support portion.

Images