Terminal Unit

Abstract

To easily cope with a change in the shape of a connection object.SOLUTION: A terminal unit 1 includes a terminal fitting 10 and a holder 50. The terminal fitting 10 includes a connection portion 10A formed with a bolt insertion hole 10C, and the holder 50 includes a body portion 50A attached to the connection portion 10A, and a rotation preventing portion 50B protruding from the body portion 50A and preventing rotation of the terminal fitting 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a terminal unit. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a connector with a built-in noise filter, which has an earth connection terminal fixed to a vehicle body panel by a bolt. A locking piece provided on the earth connection terminal is inserted into a groove formed in the vehicle body panel. This makes it possible to fix the earth connection terminal to the vehicle body panel while preventing it from rotating together with the bolt when the bolt is tightened. Technologies for preventing the terminal from rotating are also known, as disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-154396 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2000-208172 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2006-324068 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the position of the groove is changed in the body panel, the fastening unit, the fastening partner member, etc., the position of the locking piece must also be changed to correspond to the position of the groove. In such a case, a new mold for the earth connection terminal must be manufactured in which the position of the locking piece corresponds to the position of the groove, which increases costs.

[0005] The terminal unit of the present disclosure has been completed in light of the above circumstances, and has an object to easily accommodate changes in the connection position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The terminal unit of the present disclosure comprises: A terminal fitting, A holder and A terminal unit comprising: The terminal metal fitting has a connection portion in which a bolt insertion hole is formed, The holder has a main body portion attached to the connection portion, and a rotation prevention portion protruding from the main body portion and preventing the terminal fitting from rotating. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to easily accommodate changes in the shape of the connection target. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a terminal unit according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the connection portion. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the holder. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which the tilted holder is disposed in front of the terminal fitting. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the holder is brought close to the connection portion from the front. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the holder is attached to the connection portion. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the holder is attached to the connection portion. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which the anti-rotation portion is inserted into the receiving hole and the terminal unit is brought into contact with the ground surface of the panel. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view of FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a side view showing the state in which the bolts are fastened. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a rotation preventing portion in another embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a rotation preventing portion according to another embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a rotation preventing portion according to another embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a side view showing another embodiment in which the mating fastening member is a starter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] [Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. The terminal unit of the present disclosure comprises: (1) A terminal unit including a terminal fitting and a holder, the terminal fitting having a connection portion with a bolt insertion hole formed therein, and the holder having a main body attached to the connection portion and a rotation prevention portion protruding from the main body for preventing the terminal fitting from rotating. According to this configuration, since the main body of the holder is attached to the connection portion of the terminal fitting, the position of the rotation prevention portion of the holder can be molded to match the connection object to which the connection portion is connected without newly manufacturing a mold for the terminal fitting, and it is easy to accommodate changes in the connection position.

[0010] (2) It is preferable that the lower surface of the connection part is provided with a contact surface for electrical connection, and the main body surrounds the outer periphery of the connection part outside the contact surface. With this configuration, the holder does not impede contact between the contact surface of the connection part and the connection object, and therefore does not impair the electrical conductivity between the terminal fitting and the connection object.

[0011] (3) It is preferable that a recess is formed on the outer circumferential side of the contact surface at the outer circumferential edge of the connection portion, and the holder has a first pressing portion that fits into the recess. According to this configuration, the first pressing portion can hold the holder to the terminal fitting.

[0012] (4) In a plan view, it is preferable that the main body is U-shaped and surrounds the left and right ends to the front end of the connection part. With this configuration, the main body can be attached to the connection part by inserting it from the front, making it easy to fit the first pressing part into the recess.

[0013] (5) It is preferable that the holder has a second pressing part that is bridged between the left and right ends of the main body and is capable of sandwiching and holding the connection part between the first pressing part. With this configuration, the first pressing part and the second pressing part sandwich and hold the connection part, so that the holder can be more effectively held to the terminal fitting. Furthermore, since the second pressing part is bridged between the left and right ends of the main body, it is possible to make the main body less likely to deform.

[0014] (6) The second holding portion is preferably disposed on the opposite side of the bolt insertion hole from the first holding portion. With this configuration, the head of the bolt inserted into the bolt insertion hole is surrounded by the first holding portion and the second holding portion, so that the second holding portion is restricted from moving in a direction that causes the head of the bolt to separate from the connection portion, making it difficult for the main body to separate from the connection portion.

[0015] (7) It is preferable that one of the holder and the connection part has a pair of convex locking parts on both left and right edges, and the other has a pair of concave locking recesses on both left and right edges into which the locking parts fit and are locked. With this configuration, it is possible to more reliably prevent the main body part from coming off the connection part.

[0016] [Embodiment 1] A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 to 9. The terminal unit 1 of the first embodiment is for fixing a terminal fitting 10 in a face-to-face contact state to a ground surface 21 of a mating fastening member 20 to be connected, such as a vehicle body, for conductive connection. In the first embodiment, the left side in Fig. 1 is defined as the front, and the right side as the rear. The up-down direction is defined as the direction shown in Fig. 1 as the up-down direction. The left-right direction is defined as the back side in Fig. 1 as the right side, and the front side as the left side. The up-down direction in Figs. 2, 3, and 7 is opposite to that in Fig. 1.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, a terminal unit 1 of this embodiment includes a terminal fitting 10 and a holder 50 made of synthetic resin.

[0018] [Regarding the mating fastening components] The mating fastening member 20 has a panel 22 made of a flat metal material, and a metal nut 24 fixed to the lower surface (rear surface) of the panel 22 by welding or the like so as to be electrically conductive. The upper surface of the panel 22 is a ground surface 21 for electrically connecting to the terminal fitting 10. The mating fastening member 20 in the first embodiment is a member intended to ground (earth) the attached part.

[0019] A pair of receiving holes 23 are formed in the panel 22, penetrating the panel 22 in the thickness direction. The opening shape of these receiving holes 23 is a rectangle that is long in the front-to-rear direction. The receiving holes 23 combine a positioning function for determining the horizontal position of the terminal fitting 10 on the upper surface of the panel 22 and a rotation prevention function for preventing the terminal fitting 10 from rotating when the bolt 51 is tightened.

[0020] The nut 24 is disposed between the pair of receiving holes 23. The panel 22 is formed with a through hole 25 disposed coaxially with the screw hole 24A formed in the nut 24.

[0021] [About terminal fittings] The terminal fitting 10 is formed by performing bending processing on a metal plate material that has been punched into a predetermined shape. The terminal fitting 10 is configured by integrally forming a flat connecting portion 10A and an open barrel-shaped electric wire connecting portion 10B.

[0022] The connecting portion 10A is in the form of a strip extending in the front-rear direction. The lower surface of the connecting portion 10A is a flat contact surface 10H that contacts the ground surface 21 of the mating fastening member 20 and electrically connects with the mating fastening member 20 (see FIG. 2). A circular bolt insertion hole 10C is formed in the front end of the connecting portion 10A, penetrating the plate thickness direction. A rectangular locking recess 10D is formed in a position rearward of the bolt insertion hole 10C in both left and right edges of the connecting portion 10A toward the center in the left-right direction. The locking recess 10D is formed so as to cut out the connecting portion 10A over the entire thickness in the plate thickness direction. An upwardly recessed recess 10E is formed in the lower side of the front end edge (outer peripheral edge) of the connecting portion 10A (see FIG. 2). The recess 10E is formed on the outer periphery of the front end edge of the connecting portion 10A so as to continuously surround the left side, front side, and right side of the bolt insertion hole 10C (see FIG. 2). In other words, the recess 10E is formed on the outer periphery side of the contact surface 10H.

[0023] The electric wire connection portion 10B is composed of a wire barrel portion 10F and an insulation barrel portion 10G located behind the wire barrel portion 10F. A conductor 61 exposed by removing the insulating coating 60 from the front end of the electric wire W is fixed conductively to the wire barrel portion 10F. A region of the front end of the electric wire W from which the insulating coating 60 has not been removed is fixed to the insulation barrel portion 10G.

[0024] [About the holder] The holder 50 has a main body portion 50A, a pair of anti-rotation portions 50B, a first pressing portion 50C, a second pressing portion 50D, and a pair of locking portions 50E. The main body portion 50A is U-shaped in a plan view and is disposed to surround the connection portion 10A from the left and right ends to the front end.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 3, a pair of anti-rotation portions 50B are provided protruding downward from the bottom surface of each of the left and right sides of the main body portion 50A. The bottom end of each anti-rotation portion 50B is inclined downward toward the center in the front-rear direction. The inner surfaces of the pair of anti-rotation portions 50B in the left-right direction face each other in parallel. When the holder 50 is attached to the connection portion 10A, the anti-rotation portions 50B are disposed on either side of the bolt insertion hole 10C in the left-right direction (see Fig. 7).

[0026] The first pressing portion 50C is provided to extend inward from the lower side of the inner surface of the main body portion 50A. In a plan view, the first pressing portion 50C is U-shaped. The rear ends of the left and right sides of the first pressing portion 50C are flush with the rear ends of the pair of anti-rotation portions 50B. The first pressing portion 50C fits into the recess 10E and is disposed opposite to and contactable with the downward surface 10J of the recess 10E (see FIG. 6).

[0027] The second pressing portion 50D extends in the left-right direction, protrudes upward from the upper surface of each of the left and right sides of the main body portion 50A, and is provided between the rear ends of the left and right ends of the main body portion 50A (see FIG. 1). The second pressing portion 50D is disposed opposite to and in contact with the upper surface of the connection portion 10A (see FIG. 6). The second pressing portion 50D is disposed on the opposite side of the first pressing portion 50C across the bolt insertion hole 10C (see FIG. 9).

[0028] The pair of locking portions 50E are convex and are provided on the inner surface of the main body 50A in the left-right direction and the lower surface of the second pressing portion 50D. The locking portions 50E are provided on both left-right edges of the main body 50A. The locking portions 50E protrude from the inner surface of the main body 50A in the left-right direction toward the center in the left-right direction. The rear surfaces of the locking portions 50E are inclined forward toward the inside in the left-right direction. The front surfaces of the locking portions 50E are perpendicular to the front-rear direction. The locking portions 50E are fitted and locked into the locking recesses 10D formed on both left-right ends of the terminal fitting 10 (see Figs. 6 and 7).

[0029] [Assembling the holder and terminal fittings] A description will now be given of an example of assembly of the holder 50 and the terminal fitting 10. First, the holder 50 is adjusted in position so that the second pressing portion 50D is on the rear side and above the main body portion 50A.

[0030] Next, the holder 50 is attached to the connection part 10A from the front. Specifically, the rear side of the main body part 50A is raised from the front side, and the holder 50 is brought close to the connection part 10A from the front. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the first pressing part 50C is placed below the downward surface 10J of the recess 10E of the connection part 10A, and the pair of locking parts 50E is placed above the upper surface of the connection part 10A, and the holder 50 is brought close to the connection part 10A from the front. At this time, the holder 50 is brought close to the connection part 10A so as to pass through the area surrounded by the main body part 50A and the second pressing part 50D.

[0031] Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the first pressing portion 50C is disposed below the downward surface 10J of the recess 10E of the connection portion 10A, and the pair of locking portions 50E is disposed above the pair of locking recesses 10D. Then, the posture of the holder 50 is changed so that the posture of the main body portion 50A is parallel to the front-rear direction. At this time, the first pressing portion 50C is brought close to the recess 10E of the connection portion 10A from below, and is fitted in contact with and opposed to the downward surface 10J of the recess 10E, and the pair of locking portions 50E are brought close to and fitted in the pair of locking recesses 10D from above. As a result, the second pressing portion 50D holds the connection portion 10A between itself and the first pressing portion 50C. That is, the connection portion 10A is held by the second pressing portion 50D and the first pressing portion 50C from one side and the other side in the plate thickness direction.

[0032] 6, the main body 50A is attached to the connection part 10A, the assembly of the holder 50 and the terminal fitting 10 is completed, and the terminal unit 1 is completed. At this time, the main body 50A surrounds the outer periphery of the connection part 10A outside the contact surface 10H (see FIG. 7).

[0033] [Attaching the terminal unit to the mating fastening component] Next, an example of mounting the terminal unit 1 to the mating fastening member 20 will be described. First, the terminal unit 1 is placed on the ground surface 21 of the panel 22. At this time, the anti-rotation portions 50B of the holder 50 are inserted into the pair of receiving holes 23 from above (see FIG. 8), and the contact surface 10H of the connection portion 10A is brought into contact with the ground surface 21 (see FIG. 9) with the bolt insertion hole 10C coaxially communicating with the through hole 25. The anti-rotation portion 50B prevents the terminal fitting 10 from rotating by being inserted into the receiving hole 23.

[0034] Next, the bolt 51 with the washer 52 inserted therethrough is inserted from above into the bolt insertion hole 10C of the connection portion 10A. Then, the bolt 51 is screwed into the nut 24, and then the bolt 51 is tightened using a tool (see FIG. 10). In this way, the attachment of the terminal unit 1 to the counterpart fastening member 20 is completed.

[0035] Next, the effects of the first embodiment will be described.

[0036] The terminal unit 1 of the present disclosure includes a terminal fitting 10 and a holder 50. The terminal fitting 10 has a connection portion 10A in which a bolt insertion hole 10C is formed. The holder 50 has a main body portion 50A attached to the connection portion 10A, and a rotation prevention portion 50B protruding from the main body portion 50A and preventing the terminal fitting 10 from rotating. According to this configuration, since the main body portion 50A of the holder 50 is attached to the connection portion 10A of the terminal fitting 10, the position of the rotation prevention portion 50B of the holder 50 can be molded to match the counterpart fastening member 20 (connection target) to which the connection portion 10A is connected without newly manufacturing a mold for the terminal fitting 10, and it is possible to easily accommodate changes in the contact position between the terminal fitting 10 and the counterpart fastening member 20.

[0037] A contact surface 10H for electrical connection is provided on the underside of the connection portion 10A of the terminal unit 1 of the present disclosure, and the main body 50A surrounds the outer periphery of the connection portion 10A outside the contact surface 10H. With this configuration, the holder 50 does not impede contact between the contact surface 10H of the connection portion 10A and the mating fastening member 20, so that the electrical conductivity between the terminal fitting 10 and the mating fastening member 20 is not impaired.

[0038] A recess 10E is formed on the outer circumferential side of the contact surface 10H at the outer circumferential edge of the connection portion 10A of the terminal unit 1 of the present disclosure, and the holder 50 has a first pressing portion 50C that fits into the recess 10E. According to this configuration, the holder 50 can be held by the terminal fitting 10 by the first pressing portion 50C.

[0039] In the terminal unit 1 of the present disclosure, the main body 50A is U-shaped in plan view and surrounds the left and right ends to the front end of the connection part 10A. With this configuration, the main body 50A can be attached to the connection part 10A by inserting it from the front, making it easy to fit the first pressing part 50C into the recess 10E.

[0040] The holder 50 of the terminal unit 1 of the present disclosure has a second pressing portion 50D that is bridged between the left and right ends of the main body portion 50A and can hold the connection portion 10A by sandwiching it between the first pressing portion 50C and the second pressing portion 50D. With this configuration, the first pressing portion 50C and the second pressing portion 50D hold the connection portion 10A by sandwiching it, so that the holder 50 can be more effectively held on the terminal fitting 10. Furthermore, since the second pressing portion 50D is bridged between the left and right ends of the main body portion 50A, it is possible to make the main body portion 50A less likely to deform.

[0041] The second pressing portion 50D of the terminal unit 1 of the present disclosure is disposed on the opposite side of the first pressing portion 50C across the bolt insertion hole 10C. With this configuration, the first pressing portion 50C and the second pressing portion 50D surround the head of the bolt 51 inserted into the bolt insertion hole 10C, so that the second pressing portion 50D restricts the head of the bolt 51 from moving in a direction in which the holder 50 separates from the connection portion 10A, making it difficult for the main body portion 50A to separate from the connection portion 10A.

[0042] In the terminal unit 1 of the present disclosure, the holder 50 has a pair of convex locking portions 50E on both left and right edges, and the connection portion 10A has a pair of concave locking recesses 10D on both left and right edges into which the locking portions 50E fit and are locked. This configuration can more reliably prevent the main body portion 50A from coming off the connection portion 10A.

[0043] <Other embodiments> The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment 1 described above and illustrated in the drawings, but is indicated by the claims. The present invention includes the meaning equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope of the claims, and is intended to include the following embodiments. (1) Unlike the first embodiment, a pair of protruding locking portions may be provided at the left and right ends of the connection portion, and a pair of concave locking recesses into which the locking portions fit and are locked may be provided at the left and right ends of the main body portion. In other words, one of the main body portion and the connection portion may have a pair of protruding locking portions at its left and right ends, and the other may have a pair of concave locking recesses into which the locking portions fit and are locked at its left and right ends. The number of locking portions and locking recesses may be one, or three or more. (2) Unlike the first embodiment, the anti-rotation portion of the holder may be aligned and in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the nut welded to the top surface (installation surface) of the panel. Also, the anti-rotation portion may be aligned and in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the head of the stud bolt welded to the top surface of the panel. With this configuration, the process of forming a receiving hole in the panel can be omitted. (3) Unlike the first embodiment, the connection portion behind the locking recess may be bent in a direction rising from the panel. (4) The configuration of the anti-rotation portion of the holder may be different from that of the first embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, anti-rotation portion 150B may be provided so as to protrude downward from one of the left and right undersides of main body portion 50A. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12, anti-rotation portion 250B may be provided away from bolt insertion hole 10C of connection portion 10A. Also, as shown in FIG. 13, a pair of anti-rotation portions 350B may be provided near the front end portion of main body portion 50A. Also, the number of anti-rotation portions may be three or more. In short, it is sufficient that the anti-rotation portion is formed according to the connection position between the terminal fitting and the connection target. (5) Unlike the first embodiment, a plurality of first pressing portions may protrude inwardly (in an internal gear shape) from the main body portion with spaces between them. (6) In the first embodiment, the mating fastening member is assumed to ground a component, but the mating fastening member may be applied to a power supply, a signal circuit, or the like. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the mating fastening member 120 may be a starter. The mating fastening member 120 has a fastening body 120A and a stud bolt 120B. The fastening body 120A is formed with a pair of receiving holes 123. The opening shape of these receiving holes 123 is a rectangle that is long in the front-rear direction. The pair of receiving holes 23 are formed at positions that sandwich the stud bolt 120B from the left-right direction. The stud bolt 120B protrudes upward from the upper surface of the fastening body 120A. The upper surface of the fastening body 120A is the mating contact surface 120C. The stud bolt 120B is integrally connected to the fastening body 120A. The terminal unit 1 has the anti-rotation portions 50B of the holder 50 inserted from above into the pair of receiving holes 123, and the stud bolts 120B inserted into the bolt insertion holes 10C. The contact surface 10H of the terminal unit 1 is in contact with the mating contact surface 120C. A washer 52 is inserted into the stud bolt 120B so as to overlap the terminal unit 1 from above, and a nut 124 is fastened from above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1...Terminal unit 10...Terminal fitting 10A…Connection 10B…Electric wire connection part 10C...Bolt insertion hole 10D…Latching recess 10E…Concave 10F…Wire barrel section 10G…Insulation barrel part 10H…Contact surface 10J…Downward surface of recess 20, 120: Counterpart fastening member 21…Ground surface 22…Panel 23,123…receiving hole 24…Nut 24A...Screw hole 25...Through hole 50…Holder 50A…Main unit 50B, 150B, 250B, 350B... Anti-rotation part 50C…First presser section 50D…Second presser section 50E…Locking part 51…Bolt 60…Insulating coating 61...Conductor 120A… Fastening body 120B…Stud bolt 120C…Mating contact surface W…Electric wire

Claims

1. A terminal fitting, A holder and A terminal unit comprising: The terminal metal fitting has a connection portion in which a bolt insertion hole is formed, the holder has a main body portion attached to the connection portion and a rotation prevention portion protruding from the main body portion and preventing the terminal metal fitting from rotating, A contact surface for electrical connection is provided on the lower surface of the connection portion, the main body portion surrounds an outer periphery of the connection portion from the front and the left and right sides outside the contact surface, A recess is formed on the outer circumferential side of the contact surface at the outer circumferential edge of the connection portion, The recess is formed by being recessed upward from the contact surface and has a closed upper end, The holder is a terminal unit having a first pressing portion that fits into the recess.

2. A terminal unit as described in claim 1, wherein, when viewed in a plane, the main body portion is U-shaped and surrounds the left and right ends of the connection portion to the front end.

3. A terminal unit as described in Claim 2, wherein the holder has a second pressing portion bridged between the left and right ends of the main body portion and capable of clamping and holding the connection portion between the first pressing portion and the second pressing portion.

4. The terminal unit according to claim 3 , wherein the second pressing portion is disposed on an opposite side of the first pressing portion with respect to the bolt insertion hole.

5. A terminal unit as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein one of the holder and the connection portion has a pair of convex locking portions on both left and right edges, and the other has a pair of concave locking recesses on both left and right edges into which the locking portions fit and lock.

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