Connector fastening structure in drive unit

Abstract

To provide a technique with which a terminal of a connector can be fastened to a terminal of a housing of a drive unit in an appropriate conduction state.SOLUTION: There is provided a fastening structure for fastening a connector to a drive unit. The drive unit includes a housing having a housing recess for accommodating a first terminal. The connector includes a connector sleeve that is inserted into the housing recess while holding a second terminal to be fastened and fixed to the first terminal, and a flange that is arranged such that the flange can be fastened and fixed, with housing bolts, to the outer peripheral side of the housing recess while overhanging from an outer peripheral edge of the connector sleeve. On the inner peripheral surface of a peripheral wall of the housing recess, there is provided a guide recess for receiving a guide projection that projects from a peripheral wall of the connector sleeve toward an inner peripheral surface of a peripheral wall of the housing recess. The connector sleeve is positioned relative to the housing recess.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a connector fastening structure in a drive unit mounted on a vehicle or the like.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a connector that electrically connects a power distribution cable from a battery to an inverter of a drive unit.

[0003] The connector described in Patent Document 1 is configured to connect terminals provided in the connector to terminals (bus bars) provided in a housing recess of the drive unit by fastening with bolts. The connector has a connector sleeve that holds the terminals and bolts so that the fastening direction (axial direction) of the bolts coincides with the insertion direction into the bolt holes in the housing recess (axial direction of the bolt holes). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-022638 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When attaching a connector to a drive unit's housing recess, the connector is first fastened to the housing with a housing bolt. If the connector sleeve is tilted relative to the housing recess, the axial force fastening the housing and connector will be reduced even if the specified fastening torque is applied. In this state, if an attempt is made to fasten the connector terminal to the terminal in the housing recess, the fastening torque will not reach the specified value, resulting in insufficient axial fastening force for the terminal, and there is a risk that proper electrical continuity will not be achieved.

[0006] The present specification provides a technique for fastening terminals of a connector to terminals of a housing of a drive unit in a suitable conductive state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The technology disclosed in this specification is embodied in a fastening structure for fastening a connector to a drive unit. The drive unit includes a housing having a housing recess that accommodates a first terminal. The connector includes a connector sleeve that is inserted into the housing recess and holds a second terminal that is fastened to the first terminal, and a flange that protrudes from the outer periphery of the connector sleeve and is arranged on the outer periphery of the housing recess so that it can be fastened to the housing with a housing bolt. The inner circumferential surface of the peripheral wall of the housing recess has a guide recess that receives a guide protrusion that protrudes from the peripheral wall of the connector sleeve toward the inner circumferential surface, and the connector sleeve is positioned relative to the housing recess.

[0008] According to this fastening structure, the guide protrusion and the guide recess ensure that the connector sleeve is properly positioned in the housing recess without tilting. Therefore, the connector is fastened to the housing with the housing bolt at an appropriate axial force. As a result, the second terminal is also fastened to the first terminal with an appropriate axial force, and an appropriate electrical conductivity is established. As a result, heat generation and burnout during current flow due to an inappropriate electrical conductivity are avoided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view of a fastening structure disclosed in the present specification. [Figure 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view of the fastening structure shown in FIG. 1 before bolt fastening. [Figure 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view of the fastening structure shown in FIG. 1 after the bolts have been fastened. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The connector structure of a drive unit will be described below with reference to the drawings. The drive unit is, for example, an inverter, a combination of an inverter and a converter, or an e-axle that combines these with a gear set and / or a motor. The drive unit is mounted, for example, on a vehicle. Examples of the vehicle include various electric vehicles (BEV, HEV, PHEV, and fuel cell vehicle).

[0011] Fig. 1 shows an example of a connector fastening structure 100 in an e-axle 2 serving as a drive unit before fastening. As shown in Fig. 1, the fastening structure 100 is a structure for connecting the P terminal 4 and N terminal 6 of the e-axle 2 with the P terminal 24 and N terminal 26 of the connector 20. The e-axle 2 is equipped with a motor, gear set, and inverter serving as a drive unit (not shown), which are contained within a housing 3.

[0012] 1, the P terminal 4 and the N terminal 6 are connected to the P terminal 24 and the N terminal 26 of the connector 20, which connects a cable from a battery (not shown), in order to supply power to the inverter. The P terminal 4 and the N terminal 6 are an example of the first terminal disclosed in this specification, and the P terminal 24 and the N terminal 26 are an example of the second terminal disclosed in this specification.

[0013] 1, the mounting portion of the housing 3 for the connector 20 is formed as a concave housing recess 8 that accommodates the P terminal 4 and the N terminal 6. When viewed from the connector 20 side before the terminals are fastened and fixed, the housing recess 8 has, for example, an elliptical peripheral wall 8a that defines the outer edge of the housing recess 8.

[0014] A bolt hole 10 for a bolt 28 for fixing the P terminal 24 to the P terminal 4 and a bolt hole 12 for a bolt 30 for fixing the N terminal 26 to the N terminal 6 are formed in the innermost part of the housing recess 8. The bolt holes 10 and 12 are each formed as a cylinder extending straight toward the connector 20.

[0015] The P terminal 4 and the N terminal 6 are formed, for example, as bus bars having tip portions that abut against the top surfaces 10a and 12a that face the connectors 20 of the bolt holes 10 and 12, respectively, and the other tip portions are connected to the inverter inside the e-axle 2.

[0016] The housing 3 has bolt holes 14, 16 for fastening and fixing the connector 20 to the housing 2a on the outer periphery of the peripheral wall 8a of the housing recess 8. The bolt holes 14, 16 are formed so that housing bolts 32, 34 can be inserted into them to fasten and fix the connector 20.

[0017] Connector 20 includes a connector sleeve (hereinafter simply referred to as sleeve) 21 that is inserted into housing recess 8. Sleeve 21 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a peripheral wall 21a that corresponds to the inner peripheral shape of peripheral wall 8a of housing recess 8. Sleeve 21 holds P terminal 24 and N terminal 26 in predetermined positions inside peripheral wall 21a so that they can be connected to P terminal 4 and N terminal 6. Bolts 28 and 30, which are terminal fastening bolts, are fastened to bolt holes 10 and 12, respectively, and are held in place so as not to come loose by P terminal 24 and N terminal 26.

[0018] 1, connector 20 has flanges 22a and 22b that protrude outward from the outer periphery of sleeve 21. Flanges 22a and 22b are provided, for example, symmetrically at two locations on the outer periphery of sleeve 21. Housing bolts 32 and 34 are held in flanges 22a and 22b so as to be fastened and fixed to bolt holes 14 and 16 of housing 3, respectively, and are prevented from slipping out.

[0019] The sleeve 21 is provided with a seal 36 that protrudes toward the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 21a at a position that faces the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 8a of the housing recess 8 when the connector 20 is fastened to the housing 3. The seal 36 seals the opposing surface between the peripheral wall 8a and the sleeve 20a and absorbs the tolerances of the bolts, etc.

[0020] The sleeve 21 has guide protrusions 40a, 40b on the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 21a at positions that face the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 8a of the housing recess 8 when the connector 20 is fixed. The guide protrusions 40a, 40b are formed at positions that are farther away from the P terminal 4 and the like in the housing recess 8 than the seal 36. The guide protrusions 40a, 40b protrude toward the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 8a. The guide protrusions 40a, 40b are provided symmetrically at two locations on the outer peripheral edge of the sleeve 21.

[0021] Guide recesses 42a, 42b that receive and accommodate the guide protrusions 40a, 40b are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 8a of the housing recess 8. The guide recesses 42a, 42b are formed so that, when the guide protrusions 40a, 40b are accommodated, the sleeve 21 is positioned without tilting relative to the housing recess 8.

[0022] Next, the operation of fastening and fixing the connector 20 to the housing 3 of the e-axle 2 will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. First, as shown in Figure 2, the sleeve 21 of the connector 20 is inserted into the housing recess 8. The sleeve 21 is inserted into the housing recess 8 with the seal 36 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 21a abutting against the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 8a of the housing recess 8.

[0023] 3, the guide protrusions 40a and 40b of the sleeve 21 are respectively received in the guide recesses 42a and 42b of the peripheral wall 8a, thereby stopping the sleeve 21 from being inserted further into the housing recess 8. At the same time, the sleeve 21 is properly inserted into the housing recess 8 without tilting.

[0024] As a result, housing bolts 32, 34 are fastened and fixed with an appropriate axial force to bolt holes 14, 16 at a specified fastening torque, and connector 20 is fixed to housing 3. Furthermore, terminal fastening bolts 28, 30 are also fastened and fixed with an appropriate axial force to bolt holes 10, 12 at a specified fastening torque, and P terminals 4, 24 and N terminals 6, 26 are each properly fastened and fixed, thereby establishing an appropriate electrical continuity.

[0025] The positions of the guide protrusions 40a, 40b and the guide recesses 42a, 42b are not limited to those in the above embodiment. The guide protrusions 40a, 40b and the guide recesses 42a, 42b may be provided in any form as long as the sleeve 21 can be accommodated in the housing recess 8 without being tilted appropriately. For example, the guide protrusions 40a, 40b and the guide recesses 42a, 42b may be formed with a single guide protrusion and a single guide recess accommodated in the guide protrusion. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 2 drive unit, 3 housing, 4 P terminal (drive unit), 6 N terminal (drive unit), 8 housing recess, 8a peripheral wall, 10, 12 bolt holes (for fastening and fixing terminal fixing bolts), 14, 16 bolt holes (for fastening and fixing housing bolts), 20 connector, 21 connector sleeve, 21a peripheral wall, 22a, 22b flange, 24 P terminal (connector), 26 N terminal (connector), 28, 30 terminal fastening and fixing bolts, 32, 34 housing bolt, 36 seal, 40a, 40b guide protrusions, 42a, 42b guide recesses, 100 fastening structure

Claims

[Claim 1] A fastening structure for fastening a connector to a drive unit, the drive unit includes a housing having a housing recess that accommodates the first terminal; The connector includes a connector sleeve that is inserted into the housing recess and that holds a second terminal that is fastened to the first terminal, and a flange that protrudes from an outer peripheral edge of the connector sleeve and is arranged on the housing on the outer peripheral side of the housing recess so that it can be fastened to the housing with a housing bolt, A fastening structure in which the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the housing recess has a guide recess that receives a guide protrusion that protrudes from the peripheral wall of the connector sleeve toward the inner surface, and the connector sleeve is positioned relative to the housing recess.

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