Flexible bus bar

Abstract

Provided is a flexible bus bar that is capable of not only achieving improved appearance but also of contributing to stabilizing the quality of a product. A flexible bus bar 1 comprises: a bus bar body 2 having flexibility; and a left fixing part 2a1 and a right fixing part 2b1 for fixing both lateral sides of the flexible bus bar body 2. When performing air bending on the flexible bus bar body 2, the left fixing part 2a1, which is close to the bending line S1, has said bending line S1 included therewithin.

Description

Flexible Bus Bar

[0001] The present invention relates to a flexible busbar.

[0002] It is generally known that flexible bus bars are used to connect electrically conductive components (for example, batteries installed in electric vehicles, hybrid cars, etc.) One such flexible bus bar is described in, for example, Patent Document 1.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-41330

[0004] However, when bending the flexible bus bar as described above, the following problems arise, which will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0005] As shown in Fig. 2(a), a conventional flexible busbar 100 includes a horizontally elongated rectangular flexible busbar body 101. As shown in Fig. 2(b), this flexible busbar body 101 is formed by laminating thin, flexible conductive material foils 102 made of a metal such as copper. The flexible busbar body 101 formed in this manner is capable of carrying a large current.

[0006] Thus, as shown in Fig. 2(a), the flexible busbar body 101 configured as described above has the left side surface 101a fixed to form the left fixed portion 101a1, and the right side surface 101b fixed to form the right fixed portion 101b1. As a result, as shown in Fig. 2(a), a non-fixed portion 101c is formed between the left fixed portion 101a1 and the right fixed portion 101b1. Thus, the flexible busbar 100 shown in Fig. 2(a) is formed in this manner. The non-fixed portion 101c is flexible.

[0007] When the flexible busbar 100 thus formed is bent 90 degrees along the bending line S100 shown in Fig. 2(a), it becomes in the state shown in Fig. 2(b). That is, as shown in Fig. 2(b), since the non-fixed portion 101c is involved in the 90-degree bending, a difference in distance occurs between the conductive material foil 102 located on the outermost peripheral surface 101ca side of the non-fixed portion 101c and the conductive material foil 102 located on the innermost peripheral surface 101cb side of the non-fixed portion 101c when the flexible busbar 100 is bent 90 degrees along the bending line S100 shown in Fig. 2(a), resulting in a difference between the inside and outside. 2(a) and 2(b), when the left fixing portion 101a1 and the right fixing portion 101b1 are formed, the difference between the inside and outside causes the conductive material foil 102 located on the innermost circumferential surface 101cb side of the non-fixed portion 101c to swell and wrinkle, as shown in Fig. 2(b). A flexible busbar 100 in which this phenomenon occurs has an unsightly appearance and, when connecting electrically conductive components (for example, batteries installed in electric vehicles, hybrid cars, etc.), it is difficult to properly connect them due to size mismatch or other reasons.

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, a method as shown in FIG. 3 can be considered.

[0009] That is, as shown in Fig. 3(a), only the left side surface 101a of the flexible busbar body 101 is fixed to form the left fixed portion 101a1. Then, when this state is bent 90 degrees along the bending line S101 shown in Fig. 3(a), the state shown in Fig. 3(b) results. That is, as shown in Fig. 3(b), the non-fixed portion 101c is involved in the 90-degree bending, and therefore, when the non-fixed portion 101c is bent 90 degrees along the bending line S101 shown in Fig. 3(a), a difference in distance occurs between the conductive material foil 102 located on the outermost peripheral surface 101ca side of the non-fixed portion 101c and the conductive material foil 102 located on the innermost peripheral surface 101cb side of the non-fixed portion 101c. However, as shown in Fig. 3(b), since the right fixed portion 101b1 shown in Fig. 2 is not formed, the length of the conductive material foil 102 located on the outermost peripheral surface 101ca of the non-fixed portion 101c is long, and the length gradually decreases toward the conductive material foil 102 located on the innermost peripheral surface 101cb of the non-fixed portion 101c. This makes it possible to prevent the wrinkling phenomenon shown in Fig. 2(b).

[0010] Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 3(c), the right side surface 101b of the flexible busbar main body 101 is fixed to form the right fixing portion 101b1. At this time, in order to align the end face of the right fixing portion 101b1 (the right side surface 101b of the flexible busbar main body 101) shown in Fig. 3(c), the right fixing portion 101b1 is cut along the cutting line S102. This allows the flexible busbar 100 to be bent 90 degrees along the bending line S101 shown in Fig. 3(a) without causing the wrinkling phenomenon shown in Fig. 2(b).

[0011] However, this not only increases the number of cutting steps, but also increases the likelihood of product variations, potentially resulting in unstable product quality.

[0012] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a flexible bus bar that not only improves the appearance but also stabilizes the quality of the product.

[0013] The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following means: Note that the parentheses indicate reference symbols of embodiments to be described later, but the present invention is not limited to these.

[0014] The flexible busbar according to claim 1 is a flexible busbar (1) having a flexible busbar main body (2) and fixing portions (left fixing portion 2a1, right fixing portion 2b1) that fix both side portions of the flexible busbar main body (2), characterized in that, when bending the flexible busbar main body (2) from a predetermined position (bending line S1), the fixing portions (left fixing portion 2a1, right fixing portion 2b1) fix both side portions of the flexible busbar main body (2) so as to include the predetermined position (bending line S1).

[0015] The flexible busbar according to claim 2 is the flexible busbar according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing portion (left fixing portion 2a1) on either side of the flexible busbar main body (2) that is close to the predetermined position (bending line S1) fixes the flexible busbar main body so as to include the predetermined position (bending line S1).

[0016] The flexible busbar according to claim 3 is the flexible busbar according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the fixing portions (left fixing portion 2a1, right fixing portion 2b1) are fixed to both side portions of the flexible busbar body (2) by thermal welding.

[0017] Next, the effects of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the reference symbols in parentheses are those of the embodiments described below, but the present invention is not limited to these.

[0018] According to the first aspect of the present invention, when bending the flexible busbar body (2) from a predetermined position (bending line S1), the fixing portions (left fixing portion 2a1, right fixing portion 2b1) are fixed to both sides of the flexible busbar body (2) so as to include the predetermined position (bending line S1). This prevents the flexible portion of the flexible busbar body (2) (for example, the non-fixed portion (2c) as shown in FIG. 1 ) from being affected, even when bending the flexible busbar body (2) from the predetermined position (bending line S1).

[0019] Therefore, according to the present invention, not only can the appearance be improved, but also the quality of the product can be stabilized.

[0020] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the flexibility of the flexible busbar main body (2) (for example, the non-fixed portion (2c) as shown in FIG. 1) can be maximized.

[0021] According to the invention of claim 3, there is no possibility that the solder used in soldering or the like will melt when heat is applied to the flexible bus bar 1. Furthermore, there is no possibility that the desired resistance value of the flexible bus bar 1 will not be obtained due to the influence of the material used in soldering or the like.

[0022] 1A is a plan view of a flexible busbar according to an embodiment of the present invention, (b) is a side view of the flexible busbar according to the embodiment after being bent 90 degrees, (a) is a plan view of a conventional flexible busbar, (b) is a side view of the flexible busbar of (a) after being bent 90 degrees, (a) is a plan view of the conventional flexible busbar, (b) is a side view of the flexible busbar of (a) after being bent 90 degrees, and (c) is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state during cutting.

[0023] A flexible busbar according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, when directions such as up, down, left, and right are indicated, they refer to the up, down, left, and right directions when viewed from the front of the illustration.

[0024] <Overview of Flexible Busbar> The flexible busbar 1 according to this embodiment can be bent to prevent wrinkling and to stabilize product quality. Specifically, the flexible busbar 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a flexible busbar body 2.

[0025] <Description of Flexible Busbar Body> As shown in Fig. 1(a), the flexible busbar body 2 is formed in a horizontally elongated rectangular shape in a plan view, and as shown in Fig. 1(b), it is formed by laminating thin, flexible conductive material foils 3 made of a metal such as copper. The flexible busbar body 2 formed in this manner is capable of passing a large current.

[0026] 1(a), the flexible busbar body 2 configured as described above has the left side surface 2a fixed by thermal welding to form a left fixed portion 2a1, and the right side surface 2b fixed by thermal welding to form a right fixed portion 2b1. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1(a), a non-fixed portion 2c is formed between the left fixed portion 2a1 and the right fixed portion 2b1, and this non-fixed portion 2c is flexible.

[0027] Therefore, the flexible bus bar 1 is configured in this manner.

[0028] <Explanation of the bending process of the flexible busbar> Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 1( a), the left fixing portion 2a1 is formed so as to include the bending line S1 when the flexible busbar main body 2 is bent 90 degrees along the bending line S1 shown in FIG.

[0029] Thus, by forming the left fixed portion 2a1 in this manner, the flexible busbar 1, i.e., the flexible busbar body 2, is folded along the folding line S1 shown in FIG. 1(a) to obtain the state shown in FIG. 1(b). This folding process results in no difference in distance, i.e., no difference in inner / outer width, between the conductive material foil 3 located on the outermost peripheral surface 2ca side of the non-fixed portion 2c and the conductive material foil 3 located on the innermost peripheral surface 2cb side, as shown in FIG. 1(b). In other words, as shown in FIG. 1(b), the non-fixed portion 2c is not involved in the folding process and is therefore not affected by the folding process. Therefore, no difference in distance, i.e., no difference in inner / outer width, is generated. Therefore, the phenomenon of wrinkles occurring in the conductive material foil 3 located on the innermost peripheral surface 2cb side due to the difference in distance, i.e., the difference in inner / outer width, as shown in FIG. 2(b), does not occur.

[0030] Furthermore, there is no need to perform cutting to align the end face of the right fixing portion 2b1 (the right side face 2b of the flexible busbar main body 2) as shown in Figure 3(c), which occurs due to a difference in distance, i.e., a difference between the inside and outside.

[0031] Therefore, according to the present embodiment described above, there is no difference in distance, i.e., no difference between the inside and outside, between the conductive material foil 3 located on the outermost peripheral surface 2ca side of the non-fixed portion 2c and the conductive material foil 3 located on the innermost peripheral surface 2cb side, so the phenomenon of wrinkling as in the conventional case does not occur, and there is no problem that the number of cutting steps is increased, which makes the product more likely to vary and may result in unstable product quality.

[0032] Therefore, according to this embodiment, not only can the appearance be improved, but also the quality of the product can be stabilized.

[0033] <Explanation of Modifications> The shapes and the like shown in this embodiment are merely examples, and various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims. For example, in this embodiment, the left fixed portion 2a1 is formed so as to include the bending line S1, but the right fixed portion 2b1 may also be formed so as to include the bending line S1. However, it is preferable to include the bending line S1 in the left fixed portion 2a1 closer to the bending line S1, as in this embodiment. This is because doing so maximizes the flexibility of the non-fixed portion 2c.

[0034] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the left fixing portion 2a1 and the right fixing portion 2b1 are formed by thermal welding, but this is not limiting and they may be formed using solder or the like. However, thermal welding is preferable. If solder or the like is used to form them, the wax used in the solder may melt when heat is applied to the flexible busbar 1. Furthermore, the desired resistance value for the flexible busbar 1 may not be obtained due to the influence of the materials used in the solder or the like. For this reason, thermal welding is preferable.

[0035] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the bending process has been described using an example of bending at 90 degrees, but of course, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to various bending angles such as 80 degrees or 100 degrees.

[0036] 1 Flexible bus bar 2 Flexible bus bar body 2a1 Left fixed portion (fixed portion) 2b1 Right fixed portion (fixed portion) 2c Non-fixed portion S1 Bending line (predetermined position)

Claims

1. A flexible busbar comprising: a flexible busbar body having flexibility; and fastening portions for fastening both side portions of the flexible busbar body, wherein, when the flexible busbar body is bent from a predetermined position, the fastening portions fasten both side portions of the flexible busbar body to include the predetermined position.

2. The flexible busbar according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion on either side of the flexible busbar body closest to the predetermined position fixes the flexible busbar body so as to include the predetermined position.

3. The flexible busbar according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixing portions are fixed to both side portions of the flexible busbar body by thermal welding.

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