Terminal Block

Abstract

To provide a highly versatile terminal block.SOLUTION: A terminal block 1 includes a case, a first bolt 4 and a second bolt 4 fixed to the case, a nut 5, and a metal plate 6 accommodated in the case. A shaft part of the first bolt 4 and a shaft part of the second bolt 4 are passed through a through hole formed in the metal plate 6 and stand vertically from a surface of the metal plate 6, and stand parallel to each other. The first bolt 4 and the nut 5 fasten a terminal 9 connected to an end of a first electric wire together with the metal plate 6. The second bolt 4 and the nut 5 fasten the terminal 9 connected to an end of a second electric wire together with the metal plate 6. The case includes a first lead-out path 21 that leads the first electric wire out of the case, and a plurality of second lead-out paths 22, 23, 24 that lead the second electric wire out of the case. The second electric wire is led out of any one of the plurality of second lead-out paths 22, 23, 24.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Terminal blocks for connecting wires have various structures (see, for example, Patent Document 1), one example of which is shown in Fig. 4. Terminal block 501 shown in Fig. 4 is used to relay electric wires routed in an automobile, and includes case 502, first bolt 504a, second bolt 504b, and metal plate 506.

[0003] The first bolt 504a fastens a terminal connected to an end of the first electric wire together with the metal plate 506. Arrow D11 in FIG. 4 indicates the lead-out direction of the first electric wire. The second bolt 504b fastens a terminal connected to an end of the second electric wire together with the metal plate 506. Arrow D12 in FIG. 4 indicates the lead-out direction of the second electric wire. The first electric wire and the second electric wire are electrically connected via the terminals and the metal plate 506.

[0004] Case 502 has fixing portion 525 that is fixed to the vehicle body. Fixing portion 525 has a socket into which a bracket formed as part of the vehicle body is inserted, and a locking piece that is provided in the socket and locks onto the bracket. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-9773 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In addition to the above terminal block 501, there are terminal blocks of various shapes to suit the installation conditions of each vehicle. In other words, the shape of the terminal block is easily affected by the electric wire routing path of each vehicle, and each terminal block is often unique. The above terminal block 501 shown as an example also has limited versatility, as the direction in which the electric wires can be taken out is limited to one direction.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a terminal block that is highly versatile. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention provides an electric wiring system comprising: a case; a first bolt and a second bolt fixed to the case; nuts fastened to the first bolt and the second bolt, respectively; and a metal plate accommodated in the case, wherein the shank of the first bolt and the shank of the second bolt are passed through a through hole formed in the metal plate and stand perpendicularly from the surface of the metal plate and stand parallel to each other, the first bolt and the nut fasten together with the metal plate a terminal connected to an end of a first electric wire, the second bolt and the nut fasten together with the metal plate a terminal connected to an end of a second electric wire, the case having a first lead-out path for leading the first electric wire out of the case and a plurality of second lead-out paths for leading the second electric wire out of the case, A first fixing part and a second fixing part of the same shape and size that can be fixed to a fixed part The second electric wire is formed so as to be able to be led out from any one of the plurality of second lead-out paths. The first and second fixing portions each have an elastically deformable locking piece, and the locking piece of the first fixing portion and the locking piece of the second fixing portion are formed so that the direction of bending of the locking piece of the first fixing portion is perpendicular to the direction of bending of the locking piece of the second fixing portion. The terminal block is characterized by the above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The terminal block of the present invention allows the direction in which the electric wires are taken out to be selected, and therefore can be widely applied to various electric wire routing paths. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a terminal block according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cover of the terminal block in FIG. 1 is removed. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating how to use the terminal block of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a conventional terminal block. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A terminal block according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0012] 1 and 2, the terminal block 1 is used to relay electric wires routed in an automobile, and is fixed to a bracket (fixed portion) formed as part of the automobile body. The terminal block 1 includes a case 11, a first bolt 4 and a second bolt 4 fixed to the case 11, nuts 5 fastened to the first bolt 4 and the second bolt 4, respectively, and a metal plate 6 housed in the case 11.

[0013] The case 11 includes a case body 2 and a cover 3 attached to the top surface 2a of the case body 2. The case body 2 and the cover 3 are made of insulating synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 1, the cover 3 includes a shallow box-shaped main body 30 and a locking portion 36 that locks onto the locking portion 26 of the case body 2.

[0014] The case body 2 is formed in a block shape with a top surface 2a, a bottom surface 2b, and side surfaces 2c, 2d, 2e, and 2f. The corner where side surface 2e and side surface 2f intersect is chamfered, and a locking portion 26 is provided at this point. A locking portion 26 is also provided on side surface 2d. These locking portions 26 lock with the locking portions 36 of the cover 3 as described above.

[0015] The case 11 includes a storage portion 20 recessed from the upper surface 2a of the case body 2, one first outlet path 21, and three second outlet paths 22, 23, and 24.

[0016] The housing portion 20 houses a first bolt 4 and a second bolt 4, and accommodates a metal plate 6. The metal plate 6 is formed in a rectangular plate shape and has two through holes formed therein. The first bolt 4 and the second bolt 4 have the same shape and size and include a head and a shank. For ease of explanation, the bolt 4 located on the side surface 2d of the case body 2 will be referred to as the first bolt 4, and the bolt 4 located on the side surface 2f of the case body 2 will be referred to as the second bolt 4. The heads of the first bolt 4 and the second bolt 4 are embedded in the resin of the case body 2. The shanks of the first bolt 4 and the second bolt 4 are passed through the respective through holes formed in the metal plate 6 and stand perpendicularly from the surface of the metal plate 6 toward the cover 3, and are also arranged parallel to each other.

[0017] The first bolt 4 and the nut 5 fastened thereto fasten together the terminal 9 connected to the end of the first electric wire to the metal plate 6. The second bolt 4 and the nut 5 fastened thereto fasten together the terminal 9 connected to the end of the second electric wire to the metal plate 6. The first electric wire and the second electric wire are electrically connected via each terminal 9 and the metal plate 6. As shown in FIG. 3 , each terminal 9 is a round terminal that is placed on the metal plate 6 and includes an annular connecting portion 91 through which the shank of the bolt 4 passes, and an electric wire connecting portion 92 that is crimped to the core wire of the electric wire.

[0018] The first lead-out path 21 is for leading the first electric wire out of the case 11, and the three second lead-out paths 22, 23, and 24 are for leading the second electric wire out of the case 11. The second electric wire is led out from one of the three second lead-out paths 22, 23, and 24. Arrow D1 in FIG. 3 indicates the lead-out direction of the first electric wire led out of the first lead-out path 21. Arrow D2 in FIG. 3 indicates the lead-out direction of the second electric wire led out of the second lead-out path 22. Arrow D3 in FIG. 3 indicates the lead-out direction of the second electric wire led out of the second lead-out path 23. Arrow D4 in FIG. 3 indicates the lead-out direction of the second electric wire led out of the second lead-out path 24. Note that FIG. 3 only illustrates each terminal 9 when the first electric wire is led out of the first lead-out path 21 and the second electric wire is led out of the second lead-out path 22.

[0019] The first guide path 21 extends from the storage section 20 parallel to the side surfaces 2d and 2f, and has an outlet formed on the side surface 2c. The second guide path 22 extends from the storage section 20 parallel to the first guide path 21, and has an outlet formed on the side surface 2c. The first guide path 21 is disposed closer to the side surface 2d, and the second guide path 22 is disposed closer to the side surface 2f. A partition wall 29 is interposed between the first guide path 21 and the second guide path 22. The second guide path 23 extends from the storage section 20 parallel to the side surfaces 2c and 2e, and has an outlet formed on the side surface 2f. In other words, the second guide path 23 extends at a right angle to the first guide path 21 and the second guide path 22. The second guide path 24 extends from the storage section 20 parallel to the side surfaces 2d and 2f, and has an outlet formed on the side surface 2e. That is, the second outlet path 24 extends in the opposite direction by 180° to the second outlet path 22. By attaching the cover 3 to the case body 2, the first outlet path 21 and the second outlet paths 22, 23, 24 each become a passage surrounded by walls on four sides.

[0020] The terminal block 1 also includes three lids 27 that can open and close the outlets of the second lead-out paths 22, 23, and 24. In this example, to reduce the number of parts, each lid 27 is connected to the case body 2 via an elastically deformable thin hinge 27a. That is, the thin hinge 27a and the lid 27 are integrally molded with the case body 2. Each lid 27 is formed with a locking hole 27b, and locking claws 28a and 28b that can be locked to the locking hole 27b are formed on each side surface 2c, 2e, and 2f of the case body 2. The locking claws 28a are engaged with the locking hole 27b of the lid 27 when it is positioned in the open position. The locking claws 28b are engaged with the locking hole 27b of the lid 27 when it is positioned in the closed position. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the outlet of the second lead-out path 22 that is used is opened, and the outlets of the second lead-out paths 23 and 24 that are not used are closed.

[0021] The case body 2 also includes a first fixing portion 25 and a second fixing portion 25 that can be fixed to a bracket on the vehicle body. The first fixing portion 25 and the second fixing portion 25 are formed to have the same shape and size, and include an insertion opening 25a into which the bracket is inserted, and a locking piece 25b that is provided within the insertion opening 25a and locks onto the bracket. The locking piece 25b is formed in an elastically deformable claw shape. The first fixing portion 25 is provided near the corner where the side surface 2d and the side surface 2e intersect, and the second fixing portion 25 is provided near the corner where the side surface 2c and the side surface 2f intersect. The second bolt 4 is disposed in the center of the case body 2, and the first fixing portion 25 and the second fixing portion 25 position the second bolt 4 between each other.

[0022] Arrow D5 in Fig. 3 indicates the bending direction of locking piece 25b when the bracket is inserted into insertion port 25a of first fixing portion 25. Arrow D6 in Fig. 3 indicates the bending direction of locking piece 25b when the bracket is inserted into insertion port 25a of second fixing portion 25. When viewed from above as shown in Fig. 3, arrows D5 and D6 are perpendicular to each other.

[0023] In this type of terminal block 1, one of the three second lead-out paths 22, 23, and 24 can be selected as the lead-out path for the second electric wire. Furthermore, by rotating the terminal block 1 (changing the mounting direction of the terminal block 1 on the vehicle body), the options for the direction in which the first and second electric wires are taken out can be increased. Furthermore, since the terminal block 1 includes the first fixing portion 25 and the second fixing portion 25 described above, the mounting direction can be selected according to the bracket arrangement for each vehicle. With these configurations, the terminal block 1 can be widely applied to various vehicle models.

[0024] Furthermore, the terminal block 1 of this example has only one first lead-out path 21, which is a lead-out path for the first electric wire. For example, there are cases where one electric wire is connected to the terminal block 1 at a manufacturing factory for the terminal block 1, and then the other electric wire is connected to the terminal block 1 later at an automobile assembly factory. In such cases, by connecting the first electric wire, which has only one lead-out path, to the terminal block 1 at the automobile assembly factory, it is possible to prevent incorrect assembly (wire installation direction incorrect) at the automobile assembly factory.

[0025] In the above-described embodiment, three second outlet paths are formed in the case, but in the present invention, the number of second outlet paths formed in the case may be two, or four or more. In addition, in the present invention, a plurality of first outlet paths may be formed in the case.

[0026] The above-described embodiment merely shows a typical form of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In other words, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention. As long as such modifications still include the configuration of the present invention, they are of course included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1 Terminal block 2 Case body 3 Cover 4 bolts (1st bolt, 2nd bolt) 5 Nuts 6 metal plate 9 terminals 11 cases 21 First outlet 22, 23, 24 Second outlet

Claims

1. Case and a first bolt and a second bolt fixed to the case; nuts fastened to the first bolt and the second bolt, respectively; a metal plate housed in the case, the shank of the first bolt and the shank of the second bolt are passed through a through hole formed in the metal plate and stand perpendicularly from the surface of the metal plate, and stand parallel to each other; the first bolt and the nut fasten together a terminal connected to an end of the first electric wire to the metal plate, the second bolt and the nut fasten together a terminal connected to an end of the second electric wire to the metal plate, the case includes a first lead-out path for leading the first electric wire out of the case, a plurality of second lead-out paths for leading the second electric wire out of the case, and a first fixing portion and a second fixing portion having the same shape and size and capable of being fixed to a fixed portion, the second electric wire is formed so as to be able to be led out from any one of the plurality of second lead-out paths, the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion each include an elastically deformable locking piece, The direction of deflection of the locking piece of the first fixing portion and the direction of deflection of the locking piece of the second fixing portion are formed so as to be perpendicular to each other. A terminal block characterized by:

2. Only one first outlet path is provided.

2. The terminal block according to claim 1.

3. A plurality of lids are provided which can open and close the outlets of the plurality of second outlet paths, respectively.

2. The terminal block according to claim 1.

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