Busbar

Abstract

To provide a busbar that allows easy peeling of an insulating layer.SOLUTION: A busbar (1) is provided, comprising a conductor (10) and an insulating layer (20) covering the conductor (10), the insulating layer (20) having, at a position corresponding to a corner (10a) of the conductor (10), a thin portion (20a) extending in the longitudinal direction of the busbar (1).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a busbar. [Background technology]

[0002] A bus bar is a component used to transmit power between a battery unit and an inverter in electric vehicles such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). In recent years, electric vehicles have been electrified not only for motor drive but also for brakes, steering, and door and window opening and closing. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a bus bar that can be used in such electric vehicles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2022-545548 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Such busbars are often provided with an insulating layer to ensure electrical insulation. The insulating layer is peeled off at the terminals of the busbar to expose the conductors, which are then electrically connected to the battery unit, inverter, or other device. Possible methods for peeling off the insulating layer at the terminals include laser irradiation and physical peeling. However, laser peeling takes time, and physical peeling can damage the internal conductors.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a bus bar from which the insulating layer can be easily peeled off. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, A bus bar having a conductor and an insulating layer covering the conductor, The busbar is characterized in that the insulating layer has thin-walled portions extending in the longitudinal direction of the busbar at positions corresponding to the corners of the conductor. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a bus bar from which the insulating layer can be easily peeled off. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a bus bar according to an embodiment, FIG. 1B is an end view of the bus bar, and FIG. 1C is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1B. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an end view of a bus bar according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A bus bar according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[0010] [Busbar] Fig. 1A is a perspective view of busbar 1, and Fig. 1B is a view showing an end face of busbar 1. As shown in Fig. 1A and Fig. 1B, busbar 1 has conductor 10 and insulator layer 20 that covers conductor 10.

[0011] The busbar 1 is manufactured, for example, by extruding a resin that will become the insulating layer 20 around the conductor 10. In the busbar 1 manufactured in this manner, the conductor 10 is covered with the insulating layer 20 over the entire longitudinal length. When the busbar 1 is to be used, the insulating layers 20 are peeled off from the two terminal portions (both ends) of the busbar 1 to expose the conductor 10. The exposed conductor 10 is electrically connected to a device to be connected, such as a battery unit or an inverter.

[0012] The shape of busbar 1 may be linear (flat) or non-linear. Busbar 1 may have curved or twisted portions depending on the position of the device to which busbar 1 is connected and the shape of the space in which busbar 1 is placed. In this embodiment, busbar 1 is an in-vehicle busbar.

[0013] The conductor 10 and the insulating layer 20 of the bus bar 1 will be described below.

[0014] (conductor) The conductor 10 functions as a conductor. It is sufficient that the conductor 10 is conductive. The size of the conductor 10 is not particularly limited and can be designed appropriately depending on the magnitude of the electric power to be passed through it. Specifically, the thickness and width of the conductor 10 can be set appropriately depending on the magnitude of the electric power to be passed through it. Furthermore, the length of the conductor 10 can be set appropriately depending on the installation location, installation conditions, etc. Examples of metals that can be used to form the conductor 10 include copper, copper alloys, aluminum, and aluminum alloys.

[0015] In this embodiment, the conductor 10 has an end face and a cross section that are substantially rectangular, and has four corners 10a and four sides 10b on the end face as shown in Fig. 1B. In this embodiment, the conductor 10 is thin and has an end face that is elongated and rectangular.

[0016] Conductor 10 may be made of one metal plate or multiple metal plates. When conductor 10 is made of multiple metal plates, for example, thin metal plates of about 0.1 to 0.3 mm in thickness may be stacked and welded together. Conductor 10 may or may not have a linear (flat) shape. That is, conductor 10 may have curved or twisted portions depending on the position of the device to which busbar 1 is connected or the shape of the space in which busbar 1 is placed.

[0017] The conductor 10 may have a structure at its end for connection to a terminal of, for example, a battery, etc. Examples of such a structure include a bolt receiving hole for fastening with a bolt.

[0018] (insulator layer) The insulator layer 20 covers the conductor 10. The insulator layer 20 is, for example, extruded to cover the conductor 10. In this embodiment, the insulator layer 20 covers the entire length of the conductor 10 in the longitudinal direction, and the thickness of the insulator layer 20 is approximately constant in the longitudinal direction of the insulator layer 20.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1B, the insulator layer 20 has thinned portions 20a at positions corresponding to the corners 10a of the conductor 10. The thinned portions 20a are intended to facilitate peeling of the insulator layer 20. That is, when peeling the insulator layer 20 by laser irradiation, irradiating the thinned portions 20a with a laser shortens the processing time. On the other hand, when peeling the insulator layer 20 mechanically, the applied mechanical force causes cracks to develop in the insulator layer 20 along the thinned portions 20a. This makes the insulator layer 20 easier to peel.

[0020] The thickness of the thin-walled portion 20a may be appropriately designed so as to facilitate peeling. Here, the "thickness of the thin-walled portion 20a" refers to the shortest distance between the surface of the conductor 10 and the surface of the insulator layer 20 in the vicinity of the corner of the conductor 10 when the busbar 1 is viewed from the end.

[0021] 1C is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1B. As shown in FIG. 1C, in this embodiment, the thickness t of the thin-walled portion 20a is the shortest distance between the apex of the corner 10a of the conductor 10 and the surface of the insulator layer 20. When the thickness T of the insulator layer 20 in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the side 10b (long side) of the conductor 10 as shown in FIG. 1C is 1, such thickness t can be, for example, 0.5 or less. When the thickness T is 1, the lower limit of the thickness t can be, for example, 0.1 or more. In this embodiment, the thickness t of the thin portion 20a is approximately constant in the longitudinal direction of the insulating layer 20. The thickness t is, for example, about 0.1 to 0.5 mm, and the thickness T is, for example, about 0.5 to 1.0 mm.

[0022] The thin-walled portion 20a may be disposed over the entire length of the insulator layer 20, or may be disposed only in a portion of the insulator layer 20. When the thin-walled portion 20a is disposed only in a portion of the insulator layer 20, the thin-walled portion 20a is preferably disposed near the end face of the busbar 1. This makes it easier to peel the insulator layer 20 from the end portion of the busbar 1.

[0023] In this embodiment, the thin-walled portion 20a is a rectangular parallelepiped portion of the insulator layer 20 that has corners 20b at positions corresponding to the corners 10a of the conductor 10, as shown by the dashed lines in Fig. 1B. That is, the thin-walled portion 20a is a groove with a rectangular cross section.

[0024] The shape of thin-walled portion 20a is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be any shape that facilitates peeling of insulator layer 20. For example, busbar 1 having thin-walled portion 20a may have a shape in which a part of insulator layer 20 having corners 20b is removed so as to form a C-chamfer. In this case, the end face of busbar 1 has a substantially octagonal shape, and thin-walled portion 20a appears as a single flat surface rather than a groove.

[0025] The method for forming the thin-walled portion 20a is not particularly limited. The thin-walled portion 20a may be formed by removing a part of the insulator layer 20 at a position corresponding to the corner portion 10a of the conductor 10, or may be formed simultaneously when the insulator layer 20 is formed by extrusion molding. When the thin-walled portion 20a is formed by removing the insulator layer 20, the insulator layer 20 may be removed by laser irradiation, for example.

[0026] In this embodiment, there are four thin-walled portions 20a as described above when viewed from the end, corresponding to the four corners 10a of the conductor 10, whose end face is approximately rectangular. Note that thin-walled portions 20a do not need to exist corresponding to all corners 10a, and may exist corresponding to some of all corners 10a. Specifically, for example, there may be three, two, or one thin-walled portion 20a corresponding to some of the four corners 10a of the conductor 10.

[0027] The material of the insulator layer 20 is not particularly limited as long as it can perform an insulating function. Examples of materials for the insulator layer 20 include thermoplastic resins. The thermoplastic resin is preferably flame-retardant. Examples of thermoplastic resins include polyamide, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polypropylene.

[0028] <Manufacturing method> An example of a method for manufacturing the bus bar 1 according to the embodiment will be described below. First, a molded product is obtained by extruding an insulator layer 20 including a thin-walled portion 20a around a conductor 10 extending in one direction. Next, the molded product is cut to the required length. This results in a bus bar 1 in which the entire longitudinal length of the conductor 10 is covered with the insulator layer 20.

[0029] (effect) Insulator layer 20 of busbar 1 according to this embodiment has thin-walled portion 20a, which makes it easier for insulator layer 20 to peel off from busbar 1.

[0030] [Variations] 2 shows an end view of a bus bar 2 according to a modified example. In the modified example, the same components as those in the embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 2 , the busbar 2 according to this modification further includes a fire-resistant layer 30 between the conductor 10 and the insulator layer 20. The fire-resistant layer 30 is a layer containing, for example, mica, silicon, or ceramic. Specifically, the fire-resistant layer 30 is a layer made of mica tape or the like. The busbar 2 includes the fire-resistant layer 30, which prevents a short circuit from occurring when a fire or the like breaks out and the insulator layer 20 becomes a conductive carbide.

[0032] An example of a method for manufacturing the bus bar 2 according to the modified example will be described below. First, mica tape is wound vertically or horizontally around the conductor 10 extending in one direction to form the fire-resistant layer 30. Next, a molded product is obtained by extruding the insulator layer 20 including the thin-walled portion 20a around the conductor 10 having the fire-resistant layer 30. The molded product is then cut to the required length to obtain the bus bar 2.

[0033] (effect) The busbar 2 according to the modified example has the same effects as the busbar 1 according to the embodiment. In addition, the busbar 2 according to the modified example has a fire-resistant layer 30 between the conductor 10 and the insulating layer 20. This provides the busbar 2 with fire resistance. [Industrial Applicability]

[0034] The busbar according to the present invention allows the insulating layer to be easily peeled off, and can be easily electrically connected to a target device such as a battery unit or an inverter, making the busbar useful as a busbar that can be used in, for example, an electric vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1, 2 busbars 10 Conductors 10a, 20b corner 20 Insulator layer 20a Thin section 30 Fireproof layer

Claims

1. A bus bar having a conductor and an insulating layer covering the conductor, The busbar, wherein the insulator layer has thin-walled portions extending in the longitudinal direction of the busbar at positions corresponding to corners of the conductor.

2. 2. The bus bar according to claim 1, wherein the thinned portion extends over the entire length of the insulating layer.

3. 3. The bus bar according to claim 1, further comprising a fire-resistant layer between the conductor and the insulating layer.

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