Terminal strip

Abstract

To simplify assembling work.SOLUTION: The bus bar 10 has a terminal connection part 11, an inter-bus bar connection part 12, a first connection part 13 on the terminal connection part side, a second connection part 14 on the inter-bus bar connection part side, and a third connection part 15 between the first connection part and the second connection part. The case 20 includes the accommodation chamber 21 that accommodates the bus bar at the accommodation completion position, the fitting portion 22 that exposes the inter-bus bar connection portion at the accommodation completion position and presses the inserted and fitted counterpart inter-bus bar connection portion against the inter-bus bar connection portion at the accommodation completion position in the insertion and fitting direction to bring the counterpart inter-bus bar connection portion into contact with the inter-bus bar connection portion, and the bus bar locking portion 23 that locks the movement of the first coupling portion in the insertion and fitting direction to hold the bus bar at the accommodation completion position. A reaction force caused by the elastic deformation is applied from the inter-bus bar connection portion to the counterpart inter-bus bar connection portion to maintain a contact pressure between the inter-bus bar connection portion and the counterpart inter-bus bar connection portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, a terminal block includes a bus bar that electrically connects to one electrical device and a case that houses the bus bar. This terminal block electrically connects the two electrical devices by fitting and connecting a mating terminal block of the other electrical device to the bus bar. This terminal block includes an elastic member that presses the bus bar against the mating bus bar to ensure contact pressure between the bus bar and the mating bus bar of the mating terminal block. This type of technology is disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 listed below. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-187559 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-187540 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional terminal blocks have complex structures, such as bus bars made of multiple plate-like members integrated together, and members for holding the elastic member inside the case, etc. Therefore, the assembly of the components of conventional terminal blocks is complicated.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a terminal block that allows for simplified assembly work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention relates to a bus bar and a case for accommodating the bus bar, wherein the bus bar has terminal connection portions for physically and electrically connecting terminal fittings of an electric device, bus bar-to-bus bar connection portions for physically and electrically connecting counterpart bus bar-to-bus bar connection portions of a counterpart bus bar provided on a counterpart terminal block, and linking portions for linking the terminal connection portions and the bus bar-to-bus bar connection portions, the linking portions being broadly divided into a first linking portion on the terminal connection portion side, a second linking portion on the bus bar-to-bus bar connection portion side, and a third linking portion between the first linking portion and the second linking portion, and the case has an accommodation chamber for accommodating the bus bar in a fully accommodated position with the terminal connection portions protruding outward, and a case for accommodating the bus bar in the fully accommodated position. and a busbar locking portion that locks the movement of the first connecting portion in the insertion and fitting direction to hold the busbar at the completed accommodation position, wherein the third connecting portion elastically deforms in response to a pressing force from the opposing inter-busbar connection portion input to the inter-busbar connection portion, and applies a reaction force associated with the elastic deformation from the inter-busbar connection portion to the opposing inter-busbar connection portion, thereby maintaining contact pressure between the inter-busbar connection portion and the opposing inter-busbar connection portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The terminal block according to the present invention can fix the bus bar inserted into the accommodating chamber in its fully accommodated position simply by engaging the bus bar engaging portion of the accommodating chamber. Furthermore, the terminal block according to the present invention does not require a separate elastic member to ensure contact pressure between the bus bar and the mating bus bar. Instead, the elastic portion (third connecting portion) provided on the bus bar functions as the elastic member, eliminating the need for an assembly process for such an elastic member. In this way, the terminal block according to the present invention can simplify the assembly process. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a terminal block according to an embodiment and a mating terminal block before they are fitted together and connected. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the terminal block of the embodiment and the mating terminal block, seen from a different angle, before they are fitted together and connected. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the terminal block of the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the terminal block according to the embodiment, seen from a different angle. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the terminal block of the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a bus bar. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the bus bar as viewed from a different angle. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the cylindrical portion of the housing. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the bus bar is inserted into the accommodation chamber. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the claw portions of the bus bar locking portions are inserted into the locking holes of the bus bar. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the bus bar in the accommodation complete position. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the terminal block before the cover is attached. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the terminal block of the embodiment and the mating terminal block in the middle of fitting and connecting. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the terminal block of the embodiment and the mating terminal block after fitting and connection. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A terminal block according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment.

[0010] [Embodiment] One embodiment of a terminal block according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0011] 1 to 6, reference numeral 1 indicates a terminal block of this embodiment. This terminal block 1 is assembled to a housing C1 on the electrical device side, and is physically and electrically connected to a mating terminal block 101 assembled to a mating housing C2 on the mating electrical device side. By assembling the housing C1 and the mating housing C2, the terminal block 1 and the mating terminal block 101 are fitted and connected to each other, electrically connecting the electrical device and the mating electrical device.

[0012] Terminal block 1 includes bus bar 10 (FIGS. 1 to 8). Counterpart terminal block 101 includes counter part bus bar 110 (FIGS. 1 to 3). Bus bar 10 and counter part bus bar 110 are plate-like conductive members press-formed from a metal plate as a base material.

[0013] The busbar 10 has a terminal connection portion 11 that physically and electrically connects terminal fittings (not shown) of an electric device (FIGS. 1 to 8). The terminal connection portion 11 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape. A circular through-hole (hereinafter referred to as a "male screw insertion hole") 11a is formed in the terminal connection portion 11, and the terminal fittings of the electric device are fastened together by a male screw member (not shown) and a female screw member (not shown) that are passed through the male screw insertion hole 11a.

[0014] The mating busbar 110 has a mating terminal connection portion 111 that physically and electrically connects to a mating terminal fitting (not shown) of a mating electrical device (FIGS. 1 to 3). This mating terminal connection portion 111 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape. A circular through-hole (hereinafter referred to as a "male screw insertion hole") 111a is formed in this mating terminal connection portion 111, and a male screw member (not shown) and a female screw member (not shown) are passed through this male screw insertion hole 111a to fasten the mating terminal fitting of the mating electrical device together.

[0015] The busbar 10 has a busbar-to-busbar connection portion 12 that physically and electrically connects it to the mating busbar 110 (FIGS. 2, 3, and 5 to 8). The mating busbar 110 has a mating busbar-to-busbar connection portion 112 that physically and electrically connects it to the busbar 10 (FIGS. 1 and 3). The busbar 10 and the mating busbar 110 are physically and electrically connected to each other by bringing their busbar-to-busbar connection portions 12 and mating busbar connection portions 112 into contact with each other. The busbar-to-busbar connection portion 12 and the mating busbar connection portion 112 are brought into contact with each other by fitting and connecting the terminal block 1 and the mating terminal block 101. Therefore, the busbar-to-busbar connection portion 12 and the mating busbar connection portion 112 are formed in a planar shape that is orthogonal to the fitting connection direction of the terminal block 1 and the mating terminal block 101 (the insertion and fitting direction of the mating busbar connection portion 112, which will be described later). The busbar-to-busbar connection portion 12 and the mating busbar connection portion 112 shown here are formed in the shape of a rectangular plate. The mating busbar connection portion 112 is pressed against the busbar-to-busbar connection portion 12 in the insertion / fitting direction, and the pressing force from the mating busbar connection portion 112 keeps the busbar-to-busbar connection portion 12 in contact with the mating busbar connection portion 112.

[0016] Busbar 10 has a connecting portion between terminal connection portion 11 and inter-busbar connection portion 12. This connecting portion is roughly divided into a first connecting portion 13 on the terminal connection portion 11 side, a second connecting portion 14 on the inter-busbar connection portion 12 side, and a third connecting portion 15 between first connecting portion 13 and second connecting portion 14 (FIGS. 3 and 6 to 8).

[0017] The first coupling portion 13 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape having a plane perpendicular to the plane of the busbar connection portion 12 (FIGS. 3 and 6 to 8). The first coupling portion 13 is arranged on the same plane as the terminal connection portion 11. The busbar 10 shown here has a plane perpendicular to the plane of the busbar connection portion 12 (i.e., a plane along the mating connection direction of the terminal block 1 and the mating terminal block 101), and has a rectangular flat plate portion with the mating connection direction as its longitudinal direction. In this busbar 10, one longitudinal end of the rectangular flat plate portion is used as the terminal connection portion 11, and the other longitudinal end of the rectangular flat plate portion is used as the first coupling portion 13.

[0018] The second connecting portion 14 is formed in the shape of a rectangular flat plate having a plane perpendicular to the plane of the busbar connection portion 12 and arranged opposite one of the planes of the first connecting portion 13 with a gap therebetween (Figures 3 and 6 to 8).

[0019] Third connecting portion 15 elastically deforms upon receiving a pressing force from mating busbar connection portion 112 that is input to busbar connection portion 12. Third connecting portion 15 elastically deforms upon receiving the pressing force, and a reaction force accompanying the elastic deformation acts from busbar connection portion 12 to mating busbar connection portion 112, thereby maintaining contact pressure between busbar connection portion 12 and mating busbar connection portion 112. Third connecting portion 15 is formed in an S-shape that connects first connecting portion 13 and second connecting portion 14, in order to perform elastic deformation that allows the generation of such a force (FIGS. 3 and 6 to 8).

[0020] Here, it is desirable to provide a contact portion having an arcuate surface shape on either one of the busbar connection portion 12 or the mating busbar connection portion 112, which bulges toward the other of the busbar connection portion 12 and remains in contact with the other portion even after elastic deformation of the third coupling portion 15. In this busbar 10, the third coupling portion 15 is formed in an S-shape. Therefore, when the third coupling portion 15 is elastically deformed, a load acts on the bent portion between the busbar connection portion 12 and the second coupling portion 14, which may deform the bent portion. However, in this busbar 10, by providing a contact portion on either the busbar connection portion 12 or the mating busbar connection portion 112, it is possible to elastically deform the third coupling portion 15 without deforming the bent portion. Here, the contact portion 12a is provided on the busbar connection portion 12 (FIGS. 2, 3, and 5 to 8).

[0021] The mating bus bar 110 is formed in an L-shape with the mating terminal connection portion 111 and the mating inter-bus bar connection portion 112 intersecting at right angles.

[0022] The terminal block 1 includes a case 20 that accommodates the bus bar 10 (FIGS. 1 to 6). The case 20 includes a housing 30 that has an accommodating chamber 21, a fitting portion 22, and a bus bar locking portion 23 (FIGS. 1 to 6 and 9). The case 20 further includes a cover 40 that is attached to the housing 30 (FIGS. 1 to 6). The housing 30 and the cover 40 are molded from an insulating material such as synthetic resin.

[0023] The accommodation chamber 21 is a chamber for accommodating the bus bar 10 in the accommodation complete position. The bus bar 10 is accommodated in the accommodation chamber 21 with the terminal connection portion 11 protruding outward at the accommodation complete position.

[0024] The fitting portion 22 is a chamber that exposes the busbar connection portion 12 at the accommodation completion position, and the mating busbar connection portion 112 is inserted and fitted into the fitting portion 22 along the insertion and fitting direction. In the fitting portion 22, the inserted and fitted mating busbar connection portion 112 is pressed in the insertion and fitting direction against the busbar connection portion 12 at the accommodation completion position to come into contact with the busbar connection portion 12.

[0025] Bus bar locking portion 23 locks bus bar 10 in the accommodation completion position so that it will not be displaced by the pressing force when bus bar connection portion 12 receives a pressing force from mating bus bar connection portion 112. Bus bar locking portion 23 is a locking protrusion that locks first coupling portion 13 against movement in the insertion / fitting direction to keep bus bar 10 in the accommodation completion position, and is provided in accommodation chamber 21.

[0026] In the housing 30, the space inside the cylindrical portion is allocated to the accommodation chamber 21 and the fitting portion 22, and the bus bar locking portion 23 is provided on the wall surface of the accommodation chamber 21. The housing 30 shown here has a cylindrical portion 31 formed in a square cylindrical shape, and the internal space on one end side of the cylindrical portion 31 in the cylindrical axis direction is used as the accommodation chamber 21, and the internal space on the other end side of the cylindrical portion 31 in the cylindrical axis direction is used as the fitting portion 22 (FIGS. 3, 5, 6, and 9).

[0027] In the accommodation chamber 21, the flat surface of the first connecting portion 13 is disposed opposite one of a pair of opposing inner wall surfaces, and the flat surface of the second connecting portion 14 is disposed opposite the other of the pair of inner wall surfaces. The accommodation chamber 21 has a busbar locking portion 23, which is a cantilever-shaped shaft portion 23a hanging down from one of the inner wall surfaces and a claw portion 23b provided at the free end of the shaft portion 23a (FIGS. 3 and 9). The first connecting portion 13 is a through-hole through which the busbar locking portion 23 is inserted from the claw portion 23b, and has a locking hole 13a through which the hole periphery is locked by the claw portion 23b and which locks the hole periphery to the shaft portion 23a between the claw portion 23b and one of the inner wall surfaces of the accommodation chamber 21 (FIGS. 3 and 7).

[0028] The accommodation chamber 21 has an opening 21a that is disposed opposite the inter-busbar connection portion 12 in the accommodation complete position with the first connecting portion 13, the second connecting portion 14, and the third connecting portion 15 interposed therebetween (FIGS. 6 and 9). The opening 21a is an opening on one end side of the rectangular cylindrical tubular portion 31. The accommodation chamber 21 allows the terminal connection portion 11 to protrude from the opening 21a.

[0029] The cover 40 is formed in a cap shape that encloses one end side (the accommodation chamber 21 side) of the rectangular cylindrical tubular portion 31 from the outside, and has a lid portion 41 that closes the opening 21a on the one end side (FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 6). The lid portion 41 is provided with a through-hole (hereinafter referred to as a "terminal insertion hole") 41a through which the terminal connection portion 11 is inserted (FIGS. 3 and 6). The busbar 10 in the accommodation chamber 21 is locked by the lid portion 41 so as not to slip out of the opening 21a.

[0030] The housing 30 shown here has three rectangular cylindrical portions 31 (combinations of accommodating chambers 21, fitting portions 22, and bus bar locking portions 23) arranged in a direction perpendicular to the cylindrical axis direction. The housing 30 has an oval flange portion 32 provided to hold the three cylindrical portions 31 (FIGS. 1 to 6). The flange portion 32 is provided on the outer wall surface of the cylindrical portion 31 on the fitting portion 22 side.

[0031] The cover 40 shown here is formed in a cap shape that encloses one end side (the housing chamber 21 side) of each of the three tubular portions 31 from the outside. Therefore, the lid portion 41 is formed with a terminal insertion hole 41a provided for each opening 21a of the tubular portion 31. The housing 30 and the cover 40 are provided with a locking mechanism 24 that holds them together by hooking a claw portion provided on one of them with a locking portion on the other (FIGS. 4 and 5).

[0032] The terminal block 1 includes a metal plate member 50 that is placed on top of the flat surface of the flange portion 32 on the cover 40 side (FIGS. 1 to 6). The plate member 50 is an annular flat member whose outer peripheral edge extends beyond the outer peripheral edge of the flange portion 32. The terminal block 1 is attached to the housing C1 by fastening the outer peripheral edge of the plate member 50 to the housing C1 with male screw members 61 (FIGS. 1 and 2). In the case 20, for example, the plate member 50 is placed in a mold, and the housing 30 is insert-molded using a liquid synthetic resin material that is poured into the mold.

[0033] In this terminal block 1, bus bars 10 are inserted into accommodating chambers 21 through openings 21a of housing 30 (FIG. 10). In accommodating chambers 21, bus bar locking portions 23 are inserted into locking holes 13a of bus bar 10 from claw portions 23b (FIG. 11), and bus bar 10 is assembled to the fully accommodated position (FIG. 12). In this terminal block 1, after all bus bars 10 are assembled into accommodating chambers 21, cover 40 is assembled to housing 30 (FIG. 13).

[0034] On the other hand, the mating terminal block 101 includes a mating housing 120 (FIGS. 1 to 3) that accommodates the mating bus bar 110. This mating housing 120 is molded from an insulating material such as synthetic resin.

[0035] The mating housing 120 has a mating fitting portion 121 on which the mating busbar connection portion 112 of the mating busbar 110 is placed and which is fitted into the fitting portion 22 of the housing 30 together with the mating busbar connection portion 112 (FIGS. 1 and 3). The mating fitting portion 121 is formed in a rectangular shape.

[0036] The mating housing 120 has a mating fitting portion 121 for each fitting portion 22, and has an oval mating flange portion 122 that is provided to hold the three mating fitting portions 121 (FIGS. 1 to 3). An oval annular groove that surrounds the three mating fitting portions 121 is formed in the flat surface of the mating flange portion 122 on the side facing the three mating fitting portions 121, and an oval annular seal member 130 is fitted into this groove (FIGS. 1 and 3). The seal member 130 is in close contact with the flat surface of the flange portion 32 of the housing 30 on the side opposite the cover 40 side, and ensures waterproofing of the busbar-to-busbar connection portion 12 and the mating busbar-to-busbar connection portion 112 that are in contact with each other.

[0037] This mating terminal block 101 is equipped with a flat metal mating plate member 140 that protrudes annularly from the outer circumferential surface of the mating flange portion 122 (FIGS. 1 to 3). The mating terminal block 101 is attached to the mating housing C2 by fastening the outer circumferential edge of this mating plate member 140 to the mating housing C2 with male screw members 151 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The mating housing 120 is, for example, insert-molded from a liquid synthetic resin material poured into a mold in which the mating plate member 140 is placed.

[0038] The mating terminal block 101 is mated and connected to the terminal block 1. During this mating connection, the mating inter-busbar connection portion 112 of the mating bus bar 110 and the mating mating portion 121 of the mating housing 120 are fitted into the mating portion 22 (FIGS. 14 and 15). When the assembly of the housing C1 and the mating housing C2 is completed, the mating connection between the terminal block 1 and the mating terminal block 101 is completed (FIGS. 16 and 17).

[0039] In the terminal block 1, during the process until the mating connection is completed, the mating busbar connection portion 112 and the mating fitting portion 121 apply a pressing force to the busbar connection portion 12 of the busbar 10. In the busbar 10, the peripheral portion of the locking hole 13a in the first connecting portion 13 is locked with the busbar locking portion 23 of the accommodation chamber 21. In addition, the movement of the busbar 10 in the direction in which the pressing force acts is locked by the cover 40. Therefore, in this busbar 10, the busbar connection portion 12 elastically deforms the third connecting portion 15 due to the pressing force received from the mating busbar connection portion 112, and the busbar connection portion 12 applies the reaction force to the mating busbar connection portion 112. In the mating terminal block 101, the reaction force from the busbar connection portion 12 is received by the mating busbar connection portion 112 and the mating fitting portion 121. Therefore, in this terminal block 1, the contact pressure between the busbar connection portion 12 and the mating busbar connection portion 112 can be ensured.

[0040] As described above, the terminal block 1 of this embodiment can fix the bus bar 10 inserted into the accommodating chamber 21 at the fully accommodated position in the accommodating chamber 21 simply by engaging the bus bar 10 with the bus bar engaging portion 23 of the accommodating chamber 21 (here, by hooking the bus bar engaging portion 23). Furthermore, the terminal block 1 of this embodiment does not require a separate elastic member to ensure contact pressure between the bus bar 10 and the mating bus bar 110; instead, the elastic portion (third connecting portion 15) provided on the bus bar 10 functions as the elastic member, eliminating the need for an assembly process for such an elastic member. In this way, the terminal block 1 of this embodiment can simplify the assembly process.

[0041] The terminal block 1 of this embodiment uses the bus bar 10 molded as a single component, and can be more productive than a terminal block using a bus bar made up of a combination of multiple components. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1 Terminal block 10 Bus Bar 11 Terminal connection 12 Busbar connection 12a Contact part 13 1st connection part 13a Locking hole 14 2nd connection part 15 Third connection part 20 cases 21 Containment Room 21a opening 22 Fitting part 23 Bus bar locking portion 30 Housing 40 Cover 41 Lid 41a Terminal insertion hole (through hole) 101 Counterpart terminal block 110 Counterparty bus bar 112 Connection between opposing bus bars

Claims

1. Bus bar and a case that houses the bus bar; Equipped with the bus bar has a terminal connection portion that physically and electrically connects a terminal fitting of an electrical device, a bus bar-to-bus bar connection portion that physically and electrically connects a counterpart bus bar-to-substrate connection portion of a counterpart bus bar provided on a counterpart terminal block, and a coupling portion that couples the terminal connection portion and the bus bar-to-substrate connection portion, the coupling portion is broadly divided into a first coupling portion on the terminal connection portion side, a second coupling portion on the inter-busbar connection portion side, and a third coupling portion between the first coupling portion and the second coupling portion, the case has an accommodation chamber that accommodates the bus bar at a completed accommodation position by causing the terminal connection portion to protrude outward; a fitting portion that exposes the bus bar connection portion at the completed accommodation position and presses the inserted and fitted counterpart bus bar connection portion in an insertion and fitting direction against the bus bar connection portion at the completed accommodation position to bring them into contact; and a bus bar locking portion that locks movement of the first coupling portion in the insertion and fitting direction to hold the bus bar at the completed accommodation position, the third connecting portion elastically deforms in response to a pressing force input from the opposing busbar connection portion to the busbar connection portion, and a reaction force accompanying the elastic deformation is applied from the busbar connection portion to the opposing busbar connection portion, thereby maintaining contact pressure between the busbar connection portion and the opposing busbar connection portion.

2. the busbar-to-busbar connection portion and the mating busbar-to-busbar connection portion are formed in a planar shape perpendicular to the insertion and fitting direction, The terminal block according to claim 1 , wherein the third connecting portion is formed in an S-shape connecting the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion.

3. 3. The terminal block according to claim 2, wherein one of the busbar connection portion and the mating busbar connection portion is provided with a contact portion having an arcuate surface shape that bulges toward the other of the busbar connection portion and remains in contact with the other portion even after elastic deformation of the third connecting portion.

4. the case includes a housing having the accommodating chamber, the fitting portion, and the bus bar locking portion, and a cover to be assembled to the housing, the accommodation chamber has an opening that is arranged to face the inter-busbar connection portion in the accommodation completion position with the first connecting portion, the second connecting portion, and the third connecting portion interposed therebetween, and the terminal connection portion protrudes from the opening; The cover has a lid portion that closes the opening.

4. The terminal block according to claim 1, wherein the cover portion is provided with a through hole through which the terminal connecting portion is inserted.

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