Terminal strip

Abstract

To provide a terminal strip capable of properly achieving assembly of a seal member.SOLUTION: The terminal strip 1 includes the attachment surface 21a that abuts on the attachment target, and the bus bar holding portion 22 that holds the bus bar 10 extending in the axial direction X so as to intersect the attachment surface 21a, and is provided on the attachment surface 21a outside the bus bar holding portion 22 around the axial direction X. And an annular sealing member 30 disposed in the annular groove 23, wherein the sealing member 30 has a plurality of abutting portions 35 respectively disposed on an inner side surface 33 and an outer side surface 34 of the annular sealing member 30 and protruding to abut against a sidewall 23a of the annular groove 23 opposite to the inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34, and the annular groove 23 has a bottom 23b and two sidewall 23b. The abutting part 35 is brought into close contact with the sidewall 23a in a normal mounting attitude positioned on the bottom surface 23b side, and is exposed from the annular recessed groove 23 in an abnormal mounting attitude positioned on the opposite side to the bottom surface 23a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] As a conventional terminal block technology, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a terminal block with a seal structure in which an annular packing is fitted into a circumferential groove formed on the outer periphery of a cylinder. This terminal block has two protrusions of different sizes that are asymmetrical about the axis of the packing and protrude in the same direction along the axis, and notches into which each protrusion fits are provided on the cylinder extending from the circumferential groove. This reduces the risk of incorrect assembly of the packing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-139017 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, there is a demand for further reducing incorrect assembly and improving workability when assembling sealing members such as packings for waterproofing in such terminal blocks, and there is room for further improvement.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal block that allows proper assembly of a sealing member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the terminal block of the present invention comprises a housing having a mounting surface that abuts against an object to be mounted, a bus bar holding portion that holds a bus bar extending in an axial direction so as to intersect with the mounting surface, an annular groove that is provided on the mounting surface outside the bus bar holding portion around the axial direction and has a bottom surface and two side walls rising from the bottom surface, and an annular sealing member provided in the annular groove, the sealing member having a plurality of abutment portions that are provided on inner and outer surfaces of the annular member and that protrude so as to abut against each of the side walls of the annular groove that face the inner and outer surfaces, and at least some of the abutment portions are in close contact with the side walls in a normal mounting position where they are located on the bottom surface side, and are exposed from the annular groove in an abnormal mounting position where they are located opposite the bottom surface side. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The terminal block according to the present invention has an effect of enabling proper assembly of the sealing member. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a terminal block and an object to be attached according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal block according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a front view of the terminal block according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a section corresponding to the section IV-IV in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Furthermore, the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same.

[0010] [Embodiment] The terminal block 1 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, attached to an attachment target 70, and relays an electrical connection between a first device and a second device (not shown). The terminal block 1 of this embodiment includes 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 of the plurality of bus bars 10. In addition, the terminal block 1 of this embodiment electrically connects an external terminal of a second device to a second connection portion 12 provided at the other end of the plurality of bus bars 10. The first device is, for example, one of a motor and an inverter, and the second device is, for example, the other of the motor and the inverter. Note that the terminal block 1 is not limited to this example and may be used, for example, to relay between the first device or the second device and a wiring material, or between wiring materials.

[0011] In the following description, the direction in which the busbars 10 extend is referred to as the axial direction X, the direction perpendicular to the axial direction X and in which the busbars 10 are arranged is referred to as the width direction Y, and the direction perpendicular to both the axial direction X and the width direction Y is referred to as the height direction Z. One side of the axial direction X is referred to as one side X1, and the other side is referred to as the other side X2. Similarly, the width direction Y is referred to as one side Y1 and the other side Y2, and the height direction Z is referred to as one side Z1 and the other side Z2.

[0012] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the terminal block 1 has a housing 20 in which a plurality of bus bars 10 are provided. The housing 20 is provided with a seal member 30. The seal member 30 is made of an elastically deformable material such as rubber or resin. The bus bars 10 are terminal fittings made of a conductive metal material, and are electrically and mechanically connected to the above-mentioned external terminals. The terminal block 1 has three bus bars 10 arranged side by side along the width direction Y.

[0013] 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. The first connecting portion 11 and the second connecting portion 12 are formed integrally in a crank shape by performing various processes, such as bending, to match the shapes of the respective portions. The first connecting portion 11 and the second connecting portion 12 each extend in the axial direction X and are formed as a plate with its plate surface facing the height direction Z. The intermediate portion 13 rises approximately perpendicularly from an end of the second connecting portion 12 on the other side X2 in the axial direction X to one side Z1 in the height direction Z, and is connected approximately perpendicularly to the end of the first connecting portion 11 on the one side X1. The first connecting portion 11 has a connection hole 11a penetrating in the height direction Z on the other side X2 in the axial direction X. Similarly, the second connecting portion 12 has a connection hole 12a penetrating in the height direction Z on one side X1 in the axial direction X. The connection hole 11a of the first connection part 11 is connected to the first device, and the connection hole 12a of the second connection part 12 is connected to the second device.

[0014] The housing 20 is made of an insulating synthetic resin material or the like, and has a housing main body 21 in the shape of a substantially rectangular plate with the longitudinal direction being the width direction Y. One side X1 of the housing main body 21 in the axial direction X forms a substantially flat mounting surface 21a that abuts against or is close to a mounting surface 71 of the mounting object 70. Mounting holes 21b are provided near the ends of the housing main body 21 on the one side Y1 and the other side Y2 in the width direction Y. The mounting holes 21b are holes that penetrate in the axial direction X, and bolts (not shown) are inserted through the mounting holes 21b to fix the terminal block 1 to the mounting object 70 via the mounting holes 21b.

[0015] A busbar holding portion 22 is provided in an approximate center portion in the width direction Y of the housing main body 21 of the housing 20. The busbar holding portion 22 holds a plurality of busbars 10 extending in the axial direction X so as to intersect with the mounting surface 21a. The busbar holding portion 22 is provided with a busbar holding protrusion 22a that protrudes toward one side X1 in the axial direction X. The busbar holding protrusion 22a is formed in an approximately flat plate shape with its plate surface facing the height direction Z. The busbar holding portion 22 is also provided with three insertion holes 22b into which the first connection portions 11 of the busbars 10 are inserted. The insertion holes 22b penetrate in the axial direction X and correspond to the surface of the busbar holding protrusion 22a on one side Z1 in the height direction Z. Each bus bar 10 is held by the bus bar holding portion 22 such that each first connection portion 11 is inserted into each insertion hole 22b from the other side X2 in the axial direction X and placed on one side Z1 in the height direction Z of the bus bar holding protrusion 22a. The bus bar holding protrusion 22a is provided with partition plates corresponding to the three insertion holes 22b. In this way, the bus bar holding portion 22 is formed to be able to hold a plurality of bus bars 10 arranged in the width direction Y.

[0016] Furthermore, an annular groove 23 is provided on the outer mounting surface 21a of the bus bar holding portion 22 in the axial direction X, surrounding the bus bar holding portion 22. The annular groove 23 is formed in an elongated ring shape that is long in the width direction Y, that is, in the direction in which the bus bars 10 are arranged. A seal member 30 is fitted into the annular groove 23. The seal member 30 is formed in an elongated ring shape that is long in the direction in which the bus bars 10 are arranged.

[0017] The seal member 30 has a cross section formed in a substantially rectangular shape (see FIG. 4). One side X1 of the seal member 30 in the axial direction X forms a contact surface 31 that comes into close contact with an attachment surface 71 of an attachment object 70. The other side X2 of the seal member 30 in the axial direction X forms a groove-side contact surface 32 on which two lip portions 32a, 32b having a mountain-shaped cross section are provided. The lip portion 32a is annularly provided on the inside of the seal member 30, and the lip portion 32b is annularly provided on the outside of the seal member 30.

[0018] The seal member 30 has an inner surface 33 on the inside and an outer surface 34 on the outside, connecting the contact surface 31 and the groove-side contact surface 32. The inner surface 33 and the outer surface 34 of the seal member 30 are provided with a plurality of abutment portions 35 protruding from the inner surface 33 and the outer surface 34, respectively. The abutment portions 35 include a plurality of abutment portions 35a provided on the inner surface 33 and a plurality of abutment portions 35b provided on the outer surface 34. As shown in FIG. 3 , the abutment portions 35 are provided on two inner surfaces 33 in the width direction Y (the inner surfaces 33 on one side Z1 and the other side Z2 in the height direction Z) and two outer surfaces 34 in the width direction Y (the outer surfaces 34 on one side Z1 and the other side Z2 in the height direction Z). Each abutment portion 35 is arranged at a predetermined interval in the width direction Y from the adjacent abutment portion 35. On the opposing inner surface 33 and outer surface 34, the abutting portion 35a provided on the inner surface 33 and the abutting portion 35b provided on the outer surface 34 are arranged opposite to each other. This allows the sealing member 30 to be deformed in a balanced manner when the terminal block 1 is attached to the attachment object 70, thereby achieving appropriate sealing.

[0019] The contact portions 35 are not provided on the inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34 along the height direction Z, nor on the curved inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34 connecting the inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34 along the width direction Y and the height direction Z. By providing a plurality of contact portions 35 on the inner side surface 33 and the outer side surface 34 along the width direction Y, which are formed in an elongated shape, the sealing member 30 can be stably held in the annular groove 23.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 4 , the annular groove 23 into which the seal member 30 is fitted has a bottom surface 23a and a side wall 23b including two side walls 23b1 and 23b2 rising from the bottom surface 23a. The side wall 23b1 is provided on the inside of the annular groove 23, and the side wall 23b2 is provided on the outside of the annular groove 23. The contact portion 35 protrudes to contact and closely contact the side wall 23b of the annular groove 23 that faces the inner surface 33 and the outer surface 34. Here, when the seal member 30 is fitted into the annular groove 23, the inner surface 33 faces the inner side wall 23b1, and the outer surface 34 faces the outer side wall 23b2. The contact portion 35 is disposed toward the other side X2 in the axial direction X, i.e., toward the groove-side contact surface 32. The contact surface 31 of the seal member 30 bulges slightly near the center between the inner surface 33 and the outer surface 34. In other words, the contact surface 31 has a gentle mountain shape.

[0021] When the terminal block 1 is attached to the attachment target 70, the attachment target surface 71 of the attachment target 70 comes into contact with or close to the attachment surface 21a, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 . At this time, the seal member 30 is elastically deformed by being crushed along the axial direction X, so that the contact surface 31 of the seal member 30 comes into close contact with the attachment target surface 71 of the attachment target 70, and the groove-side contact surface 32 comes into close contact with the bottom surface 23a of the annular groove 23. The seal member 30 then elastically deforms and is substantially contained within a depth Da from the attachment surface 21a to the bottom surface 23a. This seals the gap between the contact surface 31 and the attachment target surface 71, and the gap between the groove-side contact surface 32 and the bottom surface 23a, preventing water and other foreign matter from entering the busbar holding portion 22 (busbar 10) disposed inside the annular groove 23 (seal member 30).

[0022] In the process of attaching the terminal block 1 to the attachment target 70, the sealing member 30 is fitted into the annular groove 23 and temporarily fixed before attaching the terminal block 1 to the attachment target 70. At this time, the multiple abutment portions 35 abut against the side wall 23b, elastically deforming and closely adhering, thereby temporarily fixing the sealing member 30 to the annular groove 23. In other words, when the sealing member 30 is fitted into the annular groove 23, the multiple abutment portions 35 abut against the side wall 23b in a pressure-welding manner, so that the sealing member 30 does not easily fall off from the annular groove 23. Therefore, when attaching the terminal block 1 to the attachment target 70, it is possible to reduce the risk of the sealing member 30 falling off, twisting, or misalignment.

[0023] The end 352 of the abutting portion 35 on the other side X2 in the axial direction X (the groove-side contact surface 32 side) is formed in a tapered shape. This, together with the arrangement of the abutting portions 35 arranged opposite each other, makes it easy to insert the seal member 30 into the annular groove 23, and the abutting portion 35 is able to properly abut against the side wall 23b and elastically deform to come into close contact without being twisted or unintentionally deformed.

[0024] Here, the sealing member 30 needs to be attached to the annular groove 23 in the correct orientation, i.e., in the correct attachment position, as shown in Fig. 4. If the sealing member 30 is not attached in the correct attachment position, for example, if the sealing member 30 is attached to the annular groove 23 in an incorrect attachment position with the contact surface 31 facing the bottom surface 23a as shown in Fig. 5, there is a risk that proper sealing will not be achieved between the attachment surface 71 and the attachment surface 21a, or between the sealing member 30 and the bottom surface 23a of the annular groove 23.

[0025] When the sealing member 30 is attached to the annular groove 23 in the non-attached position shown in FIG. 5 , the abutting portion 35 abuts against the side wall 23b and does not adhere tightly. In the non-attached position, the abutting portion 35 is exposed from the annular groove 23. This causes the sealing member 30 to easily fall off from the annular groove 23. Therefore, even if the sealing member 30 is attached to the annular groove 23 in the non-attached position, the sealing member 30 will immediately fall off from the annular groove 23. Therefore, the worker will recognize that the sealing member 30 has been attached to the annular groove 23 in the non-attached position before attaching the terminal block 1 to the attachment target 70.

[0026] In this way, at least some of the multiple abutment portions 35 are positioned in the axial direction X closer to the groove-side contact surface 32, so that in the normal mounting position where they are located on the bottom surface 23a side, they are in close contact with the side wall 23b, and in the non-mounting position where they are located on the opposite side from the bottom surface 23a side, they are exposed from the annular groove 23.

[0027] More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the distance L from the contact surface 31 (more specifically, the apex 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 greater than the distance D from the bottom surface 23a to the opening end position 231 of the side wall 23b at which the contact portion 35 can contact the side wall 23b (L>D). Here, the contact portion 35 contacts the side wall 23b, which is formed as a flat surface of the annular groove 23, and elastically deforms to form close contact. However, the contact portion 35 does not contact or form close contact with the rounded edge 233 of the opening 232 of the annular groove 23. Therefore, by setting the contact portion 35 to be closer to the opening 232 than the opening end position 231, which is the end of the side wall 23b on the opening 232 side in the non-attached position (i.e., exposed from the annular groove 23), the seal member 30 cannot be temporarily fastened.

[0028] In other words, the opening edge position 231 is the position where the R-shaped corner (the end of the curved surface) ends on the side wall 23b side of the R-shaped corner at the edge 233, which is the ridge where the side wall 23b and the mounting surface 21a connect, on the opening 232 side of the annular groove 23. The contact portion 35 can be in close contact with the side wall 23b in the normal mounting position, which is positioned closer to the bottom surface 23a than the opening edge position 231.

[0029] The terminal block 1 described above includes a housing 20 having a mounting surface 21a that abuts against a mounting object 70, a bus bar holding portion 22 that holds the bus bar 10 extending in the axial direction X so as to intersect with the mounting surface 21a, and an annular recessed groove 23 that is provided on the mounting surface 21a on the outer side of the bus bar holding portion 22 around the axial direction X and has a bottom surface 23a and two side walls 23b (23b1, 23b2) rising from the bottom surface 23a; and an annular sealing member 3 provided in the annular recessed groove 23. The sealing member 30 has a plurality of abutment portions 35 provided on an inner surface 33 and an outer surface 34 of the annular shape, respectively, and protruding to abut on side walls 23b of the annular groove 23 facing the inner surface 33 and the outer surface 34, and at least some of the abutment portions 35 are in close contact with the side walls 23b in the normal mounting position where they are located on the bottom surface 23a side, and are exposed from the annular groove 23 in the abnormal mounting position where they are located opposite the bottom surface 23a.

[0030] As a result, even if the sealing member 30 is attached to the annular groove 23 of the terminal block 1, the sealing member 30 will immediately fall off if it is attached in an incorrect attachment position, so that the sealing member 30 is less likely to be attached to the attachment object 70 in an incorrect attachment position, and the assembly of the sealing member 30 can be properly achieved.

[0031] More specifically, in the terminal block 1 described above, the distance L from the contact surface 31 of the seal member 30 that comes into close contact with the mounting object 70 to the end 351 of the abutting portion 35 on the contact surface 31 side is set to be greater than the distance D from the bottom surface 23a to the open end position 231 of the side wall 23b where the abutting portion 35 can come into contact with the side wall 23b (L>D). With this configuration, the terminal block 1 can be configured such that the abutting portion 35 comes into close contact with the side wall 23b in the normal mounting position where the abutting portion 35 is located on the bottom surface 23a side, and is exposed from the annular groove 23 in the incorrect mounting position where the abutting portion 35 is located opposite the bottom surface 23a. As a result, the terminal block 1 can properly assemble the seal member 30 as described above.

[0032] Furthermore, the bus bar holding portion 22 is formed to be able to hold a plurality of bus bars 10 arranged in a width direction Y that is a direction perpendicular to the axial direction X, the annular groove 23 and the seal member 30 are formed in an elongated ring shape that is long in the width direction Y, the plurality of abutment portions 35 are provided on the inner surface 33 and the outer surface 34 along the width direction Y, and the abutment portions 35a provided on the inner surface 33 and the abutment portions 35b provided on the outer surface 34 are arranged opposite to each other. This allows the seal member 30 to be temporarily fastened in a balanced manner to the annular groove 23, so that the seal member 30 can be attached to the attachment target 70 while maintaining a proper posture, and proper sealing by the seal member 30 can be achieved.

[0033] The terminal block according to the embodiment of the present invention described above is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0034] In the above description, a total of 12 abutment portions 35 are provided on the inner surface 33 and outer surface 34 on one side Z1 and the other side Z2 of the seal member 30 in the height direction Z, but the number is not limited to this and any appropriate number may be provided. Also, some of the multiple abutment portions 35 may be exposed from the annular groove 23 in an incorrect installation position, so that the seal member 30 cannot be temporarily fastened in an incorrect installation position.

[0035] The terminal block according to this embodiment may be configured by appropriately combining the components of the above-described embodiments and modified examples. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1:Terminal block 10: Bus bar 20: Housing 21a: Mounting surface 22: Bus bar holding part 23: Circular groove 23a: Bottom 23b: Side wall 23b1: Side wall 23b2: Side wall 30: Sealing material 31: Contact surface 33: Inner surface 34:Outer surface 35: Contact part 35a: Contact part 35b: Contact part 70: Mounting target 231: Open end position 232:Aperture 351:End 352:End X: Axial direction

Claims

1. a housing having a mounting surface that contacts an object to be mounted, a bus bar holding portion that holds a bus bar extending in an axial direction so as to intersect with the mounting surface, and an annular groove that is provided in the mounting surface on the outer side of the bus bar holding portion around the axial direction, the annular groove having a bottom surface and two side walls rising from the bottom surface; an annular seal member provided in the annular groove; Equipped with the sealing member has a plurality of abutment portions provided on an inner surface and an outer surface of the annular portion, respectively, and protruding to abut on each of the side walls of the annular groove facing the inner surface and the outer surface, At least some of the contact portions are in close contact with the side wall in a normal mounting position where they are located on the bottom surface side, and are exposed from the annular groove in an abnormal mounting position where they are located on the opposite side from the bottom surface side. terminal block.

2. 2. The terminal block according to claim 1, wherein the distance from the contact surface of the sealing member that contacts the attachment object to the end of the abutment portion on the contact surface side is set to be greater than the distance from the bottom surface to the open end position of the side wall at which the abutment portion can abut against the side wall.

3. the bus bar holding portion is formed to be able to hold a plurality of the bus bars arranged in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, the annular groove and the sealing member are formed in an elongated annular shape that is long in a direction in which the plurality of bus bars are arranged, 3. The terminal block according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of abutment portions are provided on the inner surface and the outer surface along a direction in which the plurality of bus bars are arranged, and the abutment portions provided on the inner surface and the abutment portions provided on the outer surface are arranged opposite each other.

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