Relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure

Abstract

To provide an incorrect insertion detection structure of a relay terminal which can easily discriminate incorrect assembly when a relay terminal is erroneously assembled.SOLUTION: An incorrect insertion detection structure of a relay terminal includes: a bus bar 20 which is inserted into a first insertion space 12 of a relay terminal 10 having a first insertion space 12 and a second insertion space 14 for inserting a plate-like terminal 23 and a tab terminal 51 from mutually different directions; and a lower cover 30 having a terminal receiving part 33 for positioning a loading position of the relay terminal 10. The bus bar 20 has an engagement projection 37 for blocking enter of the plate-like terminal 23 of the bus bar 20 by interfering with a lower end face 16 of the relay terminal 10 in an insertion direction of the plate-like terminal 23, when the plate-like terminal 23 of the bus bar 20 is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14, or the plate-like terminal 23 of the bus bar 20 is erroneously inserted into the first insertion space 12 in opposite directions with respect to the front / rear direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a structure for detecting incorrect insertion of a relay terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] FIG. 11 shows one example of a conventional connection structure between a bus bar and a relay terminal. The relay terminal 10 is used to interconnect a tab terminal (plate-shaped terminal portion) 81 of a relay 80 and a tab terminal (plate-shaped terminal portion) 71 of a bus bar 70 in an electrical connection box. The relay terminal 10 has a resilient contact piece (spring portion) 17 integrally formed inside a rectangular tubular portion (tubular portion) 15 having a pair of opposing walls 11, 13. The resilient contact piece 17 has a short side portion 19 folded back toward the tip end of a long side portion 18.

[0003] Then, the tab terminal 71 of the bus bar 70 is inserted into the first insertion space 12 defined between the short side portion 19 and one of the opposing walls 11, and the tab terminal 81 of the relay 80 is inserted into the second insertion space 14 defined between the long side portion 18 and the other of the opposing walls 13. As a result, the tab terminal 71 of the bus bar 70 and the tab terminal 81 of the relay 80 are connected to each other via the elastic contact piece 17. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-40704 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above-described conventional connection structure between a bus bar and a relay terminal, when relay terminal 10 is used in an electrical connection box, bus bar 70 is placed on the circuit board of the electrical connection box in advance, and relay terminal 10 is then attached to tab terminal 71 of bus bar 70. At this time, there is a possibility that tab terminal 71 of bus bar 70 may be erroneously inserted into first insertion space 12 in the reversed orientation, as shown in FIG. 12, or that tab terminal 71 of bus bar 70 may be erroneously inserted into second insertion space 14, as shown in FIG. 13.

[0006] If the relay terminal 10 is assembled incorrectly in this way, it is difficult to distinguish visually and there is a possibility that it may be overlooked. Furthermore, the tab terminal 81 of the relay 80 cannot be inserted correctly into the relay terminal 10 that is incorrectly assembled to the tab terminal 71 of the bus bar 70, and the tab terminal 81 of the relay 80 and the elastic contact piece 17 inside the relay terminal 10 may be pressed hard, causing deformation or damage.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure that can easily detect mis-assembly when a relay terminal is mis-assembled. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure according to the present invention has the following features. a bus bar to be inserted into a first insertion space of a relay terminal having a first insertion space and a second insertion space into which a plate-like terminal portion is inserted from mutually different directions; a housing having a terminal receiving portion for determining a mounting position of the relay terminal, the bus bar has a locking protrusion that interferes with a lower end surface of the relay terminal along the insertion direction of the plate terminal portion of the bus bar to prevent the plate terminal portion of the bus bar from entering the second insertion space or the first insertion space when the plate terminal portion of the bus bar is erroneously inserted in the wrong direction, or when the plate terminal portion of the bus bar is erroneously inserted in the wrong direction into the first insertion space. Relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The relay terminal erroneous insertion detection structure according to the present invention has the effect of easily detecting the erroneous assembly when the relay terminal is erroneously assembled.

[0010] The present invention has been briefly described above. The details of the present invention will become clearer by reading the following detailed description of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of an electrical junction box equipped with a relay terminal erroneous insertion detection structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part showing a relay terminal to be assembled to a bus bar arranged in a housing of the electrical junction box shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the bus bar and the relay terminal shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the relay terminal in which the bus bar shown in FIG. 3 is properly assembled in the first insertion space. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a relay terminal in which the bus bar shown in FIG. 3 is erroneously inserted in the first insertion space in the reversed front-to-rear direction. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the relay terminal in which the bus bar shown in FIG. 3 is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space. [Figure 8] 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view showing a bus bar and a relay terminal equipped with a relay terminal erroneous insertion detection structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10]FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the relay terminal in which the bus bar shown in FIG. 9 is properly assembled in the first insertion space. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing one form of a conventional connection structure between a bus bar and a relay terminal. [Figure 12] 12 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the relay terminal in which the bus bar shown in FIG. 11 is erroneously inserted in the first insertion space in the reversed front-to-rear direction. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the relay terminal in which the bus bar shown in FIG. 11 is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of an electrical junction box 100 equipped with a relay terminal erroneous insertion detection structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a relay terminal 10 to be assembled to a bus bar 20 arranged in a lower cover 30 of the electrical junction box 100 shown in FIG.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the electrical junction box 100 according to this embodiment is mounted on, for example, a vehicle and includes a lower cover (housing) 30 and an upper cover 40, which are the junction box main body made of synthetic resin, electrical components 50 such as relays and fuses mounted on the upper cover 40, a plurality of bus bars 20 arranged on a bus bar mounting surface 31 on the bottom wall of the lower cover 30, and a plurality of relay terminals 10.

[0014] Predetermined bus bars 20 are placed on the bus bar mounting surface 31 of the lower cover 30, and the upper cover 40 is attached thereon, and electrical components 50 are attached to the sockets 41 of the upper cover 40.

[0015] 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the bus bar 20 and relay terminal 10 shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the relay terminal 10 in which the bus bar 20 shown in FIG. 3 is properly assembled in the first insertion space 12. The relay terminal 10 is the same as that shown in the conventional example (Figure 11) and is used to interconnect the tab terminal (plate-shaped terminal portion) 51 of the electrical component 50 and the plate-shaped terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20 in the electrical connection box 100.

[0016] 3 and 4, the relay terminal 10 has a spring portion (elastic contact piece) 17 integrally formed inside a rectangular tubular portion 15 having a pair of opposing walls 11, 13. The spring portion 17 has a short side portion 19 folded back toward the tip end of a long side portion 18.

[0017] The plate terminal portion 23 of the busbar 20 is inserted into the first insertion space 12 defined between the short side portion 19 and one of the opposing walls 11, and the tab terminal 51 of the electrical component 50 is inserted into the second insertion space 14 defined between the long side portion 18 and the other of the opposing walls 13. That is, the relay terminal 10 has the first insertion space 12 and the second insertion space 14 for inserting the plate terminal portion 23 and the tab terminal 51 from different directions. As a result, the plate terminal portion 23 of the busbar 20 and the tab terminal 51 of the electrical component 50 are connected to each other via the spring portion 17.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a bus bar mounting surface 31 of a lower cover 30 serving as a housing is provided with terminal receiving portions 33 corresponding to the plate-like terminal portions 23 of the bus bars 20 arranged on the bus bar mounting surface 31. The terminal receiving portion 33 is intended to position the mounting position of the relay terminal 10 attached to the plate-shaped terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20 relative to the bus bar mounting surface 31, and has a standing wall portion 35 that is erected in an upward direction that intersects with the bus bar mounting surface 31 of the lower cover 30 (i.e., in a direction perpendicular to the bus bar mounting surface 31).

[0019] The standing wall portion 35 is a rectangular cylindrical base that is vertically disposed on the bus bar mounting surface 31. One side surface 35b of the standing wall portion 35 is adjacent to and faces the corner-side plate surface 23a of the plate-like terminal portion 23 that is bent and formed at the end of the mounting portion 21, as shown in FIG.

[0020] As shown in Figure 4, the upper end surface 35a of the vertical wall portion 35 abuts against the lower end surface 16 of the relay terminal 10 when the relay terminal 10 is properly inserted into the plate-shaped terminal portion 23, thereby regulating the assembly height of the relay terminal 10.

[0021] The bus bar 20 is punched out of a conductive metal plate into an appropriate shape and bent to form the circuit of the electrical connection box 100, thereby forming a mounting portion 21 that is placed on the bus bar mounting surface 31 and a plate-shaped terminal portion 23 that extends in a direction that intersects with the mounting portion 21 (in this embodiment, in an upward direction perpendicular to the mounting portion 21).

[0022] Furthermore, the busbar 20 has a locking protrusion 37 that interferes with the lower end surface 16 of the relay terminal 10 along the insertion direction of the plate terminal portion 23 to prevent it from entering when the plate terminal portion 23 of the busbar 20 is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14 or when the plate terminal portion 23 of the busbar 20 is erroneously inserted backwards into the first insertion space 12.

[0023] The locking protrusion 37 in the first embodiment is configured as a embossed projection formed on the corner side plate surface 23a of the plate terminal portion 23 which is bent and formed at the end of the mounting portion 21. As shown in Fig. 4, the locking protrusion 37 is provided at a position on the plate terminal portion 23 higher than the height of the upper end surface 35a of the standing wall portion 35.

[0024] If the plate-like terminal portion 23 of the busbar 20 is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14 (see FIG. 8), the protruding corner side plate surface 23a is elastically biased by the long side portion 18 of the spring portion 17 and slides along the inner surface of the other opposing wall 13. Then, the lower end surface 16 of the other opposing wall 13 abuts against the upper end of the locking protrusion 37, reliably preventing the relay terminal 10 from entering.

[0025] Furthermore, if the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20 is erroneously inserted backwards into the first insertion space 12 (see FIG. 6), the projecting corner side plate surface 23a slides along the inner surface of one of the opposing walls 11 while being elastically biased by the short side portion 19 of the spring portion 17. Then, the lower end surface 16 of one of the opposing walls 11 abuts against the upper end of the locking protrusion 37, thereby reliably preventing the relay terminal 10 from entering.

[0026] When the plate terminal portion 23 of the busbar 20 is properly inserted into the first insertion space 12 (see FIG. 4), the inside corner plate surface 23b is elastically biased by the short side portion 19 of the spring portion 17 and slides along the inner surface of one of the opposing walls 11. At this time, since the locking protrusion 37 is located inside the relay terminal 10, the lower end surface 16 of the one of the opposing walls 11 does not abut against the upper end of the locking protrusion 37 and prevent the relay terminal 10 from entering.

[0027] Next, an example of a method for assembling the electrical junction box 100 will be described. 1 and 2, predetermined bus bars 20 are respectively placed on the bus bar mounting surface 31 of the lower cover 30. The bus bars 20, with the mounting portions 21 placed on the bus bar mounting surface 31, are placed near the terminal receiving portions 33 corresponding to the plate terminal portions 23. The corner-side plate surfaces 23a of the plate terminal portions 23 face one side surface 35b of the standing wall portion 35.

[0028] 2 and 3, the relay terminal 10 is attached from above to the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20. At this time, when the relay terminal 10 is properly inserted, the plate terminal portion 23 is inserted into the first insertion space 12 of the relay terminal 10 so that the projected corner side plate surface 23a faces the short side portion 19 of the spring portion 17, as shown in Fig. 4. The lower end surface 16 of the relay terminal 10 attached to the plate terminal portion 23 abuts against the upper end surface 35a of the standing wall portion 35 of the terminal receiving portion 33, thereby restricting the assembly height. At this time, since the locking protrusion 37 of the plate-shaped terminal portion 23 is located inside the relay terminal 10, the lower end surface 16 of one of the opposing walls 11 does not abut against the upper end of the locking protrusion 37 to prevent the relay terminal 10 from entering.

[0029] 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing the relay terminal 10 in which the bus bar 20 shown in FIG. 3 has been erroneously inserted into the first insertion space 12 in the reversed front-to-back direction, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the relay terminal 10 in which the bus bar 20 shown in FIG. 3 has been erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7.

[0030] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, when the relay terminal 10 is attached to the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20 from above, if the plate terminal portion 23 is erroneously inserted backwards into the first insertion space 12 of the relay terminal 10 so that the protruding corner side plate surface 23a faces one of the opposing walls 11 of the tubular portion 15, the lower end surface 16 of the one opposing wall 11 abuts against the locking protrusion 37 of the plate terminal portion 23, preventing the relay terminal 10 from entering.

[0031] Therefore, when a relay terminal 10 is erroneously inserted backwards into the plate terminal portion 23, the lower end surface 16 of one of the opposing walls 11 interferes with the locking protrusion 37 of the plate terminal portion 23, preventing the relay terminal 10 from entering, and the lower end surface 16 does not reach the upper end surface 35a of the standing wall portion 35 of the terminal receiving portion 33. Therefore, the relay terminal 10 erroneously inserted backwards protrudes above its normal mounting position (see FIGS. 3 and 4), allowing the operator to notice the abnormality.

[0032] Also, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, when the relay terminal 10 is attached to the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20 from above, if the plate terminal portion 23 of the relay terminal 10 is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14 of the relay terminal 10, the lower end surface 16 of the other opposing wall 13 will abut against the locking protrusion 37 of the plate terminal portion 23, preventing the relay terminal 10 from entering.

[0033] Therefore, when the relay terminal 10 has its plate terminal portion 23 erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14, the lower end surface 16 of the other opposing wall 13 interferes with the locking protrusion 37 of the plate terminal portion 23, preventing it from entering, and the lower end surface 16 does not reach the upper end surface 35a of the standing wall portion 35 of the terminal receiving portion 33. Therefore, the relay terminal 10 has its plate terminal portion 23 erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14, protruding upward from the mounting position during normal insertion (see FIGS. 3 and 4), allowing the operator to notice the abnormality.

[0034] Therefore, when the relay terminal 10 is attached from above to the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20, the worker can easily identify that an incorrect relay terminal 10 has been attached. Then, the worker can remove the incorrectly inserted relay terminal 10 and quickly reattach it in the correct orientation.

[0035] After all of the relay terminals 10 have been properly attached to the plate terminal portions 23 of the bus bars 20, the upper cover 40 is attached over the lower cover 30. Then, the relay terminals 10 attached to the plate terminal portions 23 are accommodated in the terminal accommodating portions provided inside the sockets 41 of the upper cover 40.

[0036] Furthermore, when the electrical component 50 is attached to the socket 41, the tab terminal 51 that passes through the slit 43 of the upper cover 40 is inserted into the second insertion space 14 of the relay terminal 10 (see FIG. 4). Thus, the tab terminal 51 of the electrical component 50 is electrically connected to the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20 via the relay terminal 10.

[0037] As described above, the relay terminal incorrect insertion detection structure according to the first embodiment has the advantage of easily detecting incorrect assembly of the relay terminal 10. As a result, incorrect assembly of the relay terminal 10 can be prevented, and the electrical junction box 100 can be easily assembled. Furthermore, the relay terminal erroneous insertion detection structure according to the first embodiment prevents erroneous assembly of the relay terminal 10, thereby preventing the relay terminal 10 that has been erroneously assembled to the plate-shaped terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20 from being forcibly inserted into the terminal accommodating portion of the upper cover 40, which could cause deformation, damage, etc.

[0038] Fig. 9 is an enlarged perspective view showing a busbar 20A and a relay terminal 10 equipped with a relay terminal erroneous insertion detection structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the relay terminal 10 in which the busbar 20A shown in Fig. 9 has been properly assembled into the first insertion space 12. Note that the busbar 20A according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as the busbar 20 according to the first embodiment, except for the use of the locking projection 38, and therefore similar components are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 9, a bus bar 20A according to the second embodiment includes a locking projection 38 instead of the locking projection 37 according to the first embodiment. The locking protrusion 38 in the second embodiment is configured as a cut-and-raised piece formed to protrude from the corner-side plate surface 23a of the plate terminal portion 23 which is bent and formed at the end of the mounting portion 21. As shown in Fig. 10, the locking protrusion 38 is provided at a position on the plate terminal portion 23 higher than the height of the upper end surface 35a of the standing wall portion 35.

[0040] Similar to the locking protrusion 37 in the first embodiment, the locking protrusion 38 in the second embodiment can interfere with the lower end surface 16 of the relay terminal 10 along the insertion direction of the plate terminal portion 23 to prevent it from entering when the plate terminal portion 23 of the busbar 20A is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14 or when the plate terminal portion 23 of the busbar 20A is erroneously inserted backwards into the first insertion space 12.

[0041] Therefore, when the relay terminal 10 is attached from above to the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20A, the worker can easily identify that the relay terminal 10 is not properly attached. Then, the worker can remove the incorrectly inserted relay terminal 10 and quickly reattach it in the correct orientation.

[0042] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. Furthermore, the material, shape, size, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary and not limited as long as they can achieve the present invention.

[0043] For example, in the above embodiment, the tab terminal 51 of the electrical component 50 is used as an example of the plate-shaped terminal portion to be inserted into the second insertion space 14 of the relay terminal 10, but this is not limited to this, and the plate-shaped terminal portion may also be the plate-shaped terminal portion of an upper layer bus bar stacked on a bus bar via an insulating substrate.

[0044] In addition, in the above embodiment, the worker can notice the abnormality by visually observing that the incorrectly inserted relay terminal 10 protrudes above the mounting position during normal insertion. However, for example, the difference in height of the relay terminal 10 in the normal insertion state and the incorrect insertion state can also be detected by an optical sensor, a contact sensor, or the like.

[0045] Here, the features of the embodiments of the relay terminal erroneous insertion detection structure according to the present invention described above will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [5].

[0046] [1] A relay terminal (10) has a first insertion space (12) and a second insertion space (14) for inserting a plate-like terminal portion (23) and a tab terminal (51) from different directions. The relay terminal (10) has a bus bar (20, 20A) inserted into the first insertion space (12); a housing (lower cover 30) having a terminal receiving portion (33) for determining the mounting position of the relay terminal (10), The busbars (20, 20A) have locking protrusions (37, 38) that interfere with a lower end surface (16) of the relay terminal (10) along the insertion direction of the plate terminal portion (23) of the busbar (20, 20A) to prevent the plate terminal portion (23) of the busbar (20, 20A) from entering when the plate terminal portion (23) of the busbar (20, 20A) is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space (14) or when the plate terminal portion (23) of the busbar (20, 20A) is erroneously inserted backwards into the first insertion space (12). Relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure.

[0047] According to the relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure of the above-mentioned [1], when a relay terminal (10) is mis-inserted backwards into the plate-like terminal portion (23) of the bus bar (20, 20A), the relay terminal (10) interferes with the locking protrusions (37, 38) of the bus bar (20, 20A) and is prevented from entering. Therefore, the relay terminal (10) mis-inserted backwards protrudes upward from its normal installation position, allowing an operator to notice the abnormality. Furthermore, when the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20, 20A is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14 of the relay terminal 10, the relay terminal 10 interferes with the locking projections 37, 38 of the bus bar 20, 20A and is prevented from entering. Therefore, the relay terminal 10, whose plate terminal portion 23 is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14, protrudes above its normal insertion position, allowing the operator to notice the abnormality. Therefore, when the relay terminal (10) is attached to the plate-like terminal portion (23) of the bus bar (20, 20A) from above, the worker can easily identify that the relay terminal (10) is not properly assembled.

[0048] [2] The terminal receiving portion (33) provided on the bus bar mounting surface (31) of the housing (lower cover 30) has a standing wall portion (35) erected in a direction intersecting the bus bar mounting surface (31) of the housing (lower cover 30), The bus bar (20) has a mounting portion (21) to be mounted on the bus bar mounting surface (31) and the plate-like terminal portion (23) extending in a direction intersecting the mounting portion (21), When the relay terminal (10) is inserted normally, an upper end surface (35a) of the upright wall portion (35) abuts against the relay terminal (10) to regulate the assembled height of the relay terminal (10); The locking projection (37) is provided at a position on the plate-shaped terminal portion (23) higher than the height of the upper end surface (35a) of the standing wall portion (35). The relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure described in [1] above.

[0049] According to the relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure of the configuration [2] above, when the relay terminal (10) is properly inserted into the plate-shaped terminal portion (23) of the bus bar (20, 20A), the relay terminal (10) abuts against the upper end surface (35a) of the vertical wall portion (35) of the terminal receiving portion (33), thereby restricting the assembly height. When the relay terminal 10 is erroneously inserted backwards into the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20, 20A, it interferes with the locking projections 37, 38 provided on the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20, 20A and is prevented from entering, so that the lower end surface 16 does not reach the upper end surface 35a of the standing wall portion 35. Therefore, the relay terminal 10 erroneously inserted backwards protrudes upward from its normal installation position, allowing the operator to notice the abnormality. Furthermore, if the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20, 20A is erroneously inserted into the second insertion space 14 of the relay terminal 10, the relay terminal 10 interferes with the locking projections 37, 38 provided on the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20, 20A and is prevented from entering, so that the lower end surface 16 does not reach the upper end surface 35a of the standing wall portion 35. Therefore, the relay terminal 10 erroneously inserted backwards will protrude upward from its normal installation position, allowing the operator to notice the abnormality.

[0050] [3] The relay terminal (10) has a tubular portion (15) having a pair of opposing opposing walls (11, 13), and a spring portion (17) arranged in the tubular portion (15) to sandwich the plate-like terminal portion (23) inserted into the tubular portion (15) from one side between the spring portion (17) and one of the opposing walls (11) which is the first insertion space (12), and to sandwich the plate-like terminal portion (tab terminal 51) inserted into the tubular portion (15) from the other side between the spring portion (17) and the other opposing wall (13) which is the second insertion space (14), The locking projections (37, 38) interfere with the lower end surfaces (16) of the opposing walls (11, 13) when the relay terminal (10) is incorrectly inserted. The relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure described in [1] or [2] above.

[0051] According to the relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure of the configuration [3] above, when the plate terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20 is mis-inserted into the second insertion space 14, the corner side plate surface 23a slides along the inner surface of the other opposing wall 13 while being elastically biased by the spring portion 17. Then, the lower end surface 16 of the other opposing wall 13 abuts against the upper ends of the locking protrusions 37, 38, reliably preventing the relay terminal 10 from entering.

[0052] Furthermore, if the plate-like terminal portion 23 of the bus bar 20 is erroneously inserted backwards into the first insertion space 12, the corner side plate surface 23a slides along the inner surface of one of the opposing walls 11 while being elastically biased by the spring portion 17. Then, the lower end surface 16 of one of the opposing walls 11 abuts against the upper ends of the locking projections 37, 38, reliably preventing the relay terminal 10 from entering.

[0053] [4] The locking protrusion (37) is a embossed projection formed on the corner side plate surface (23a) of the plate-like terminal portion (23) bent and formed at the end of the placing portion (21). The relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure described in [2] above.

[0054] According to the relay terminal erroneous insertion detection structure having the configuration [4] above, the locking projection (37) can be easily formed integrally with the plate-like terminal portion (23) of the bus bar (20).

[0055] [5] The locking protrusion (38) is a cut-and-raised piece formed on the corner side plate surface (23a) of the plate-like terminal portion (23) bent and formed at the end of the placing portion (21). The relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure described in [2] above.

[0056] According to the relay terminal erroneous insertion detection structure having the configuration [5] above, the locking projection (38) can be easily formed integrally with the plate-like terminal portion (23) of the bus bar (20). [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 10...Relay terminal 12...First insertion space 14...Second insertion space 20...busbar 23...Plate terminal part 30...Lower cover (housing) 33...Terminal receiving part 37...Latching protrusion 51...Tab terminal (plate-shaped terminal part)

Claims

1. a bus bar to be inserted into the first insertion space of a relay terminal having a first insertion space and a second insertion space into which a plate-like terminal portion is inserted from mutually different directions; a housing having a terminal receiving portion for determining a mounting position of the relay terminal, the bus bar has a locking protrusion that interferes with a lower end surface of the relay terminal along the insertion direction of the plate terminal portion of the bus bar to prevent the plate terminal portion of the bus bar from entering the second insertion space or the first insertion space when the plate terminal portion of the bus bar is erroneously inserted in the wrong direction, or when the plate terminal portion of the bus bar is erroneously inserted in the wrong direction into the first insertion space, the relay terminal has a tubular portion having a pair of opposing walls, and a spring portion disposed within the tubular portion, the spring portion sandwiching the plate terminal portion inserted into the tubular portion from one side between the spring portion and one of the opposing walls, which is the first insertion space, and sandwiching the plate terminal portion inserted into the tubular portion from the other side between the spring portion and the other opposing wall, which is the second insertion space; The locking protrusion interferes with the lower end surface of the opposing wall when the relay terminal is erroneously inserted. Relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure.

2. The terminal receiving portion provided on the bus bar mounting surface of the housing has a vertical wall portion erected in a direction intersecting the bus bar mounting surface of the housing, the bus bar has a mounting portion to be mounted on the bus bar mounting surface, and the plate-like terminal portion extending in a direction intersecting the mounting portion, When the relay terminal is inserted normally, an upper end surface of the upright wall portion abuts against a lower end surface of the relay terminal to regulate an assembly height of the relay terminal, The locking protrusion is provided at a position on the plate terminal portion that is higher than the height of an upper end surface of the standing wall portion. The relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure according to claim 1.

3. The locking protrusion is a embossed protrusion formed on the outer corner side plate surface of the plate-shaped terminal portion formed by bending the end portion of the placing portion. The relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure according to claim 2.

4. the locking protrusion is a cut-and-raised piece formed on a projecting corner side plate surface of the plate-like terminal portion formed by bending the end portion of the placement portion; The relay terminal mis-insertion detection structure according to claim 2.

Images