Flexible busbar

Abstract

Provided is a flexible busbar with which it is possible to not only improve appearance but also ensure the quality of a product. A flexible busbar 1 comprises a flexible busbar body 2 that exhibits flexibility, and a left fixing part 2a1 and a right fixing part 2b1 that firmly fix both side sections of the flexible busbar body 2. In association with the bending of the flexible busbar body 2 at a folding line S1, a fold fixing part 2d that includes the folding line S1 is formed on the busbar body 2 separate from the left fixing part 2a1 and the right fixing part 2b1.

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. 4(a), a conventional flexible busbar 100 includes a horizontally elongated rectangular flexible busbar body 101. As shown in Fig. 4(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. 4(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. 4(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. 4(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. 4(a), it becomes in the state shown in Fig. 4(b). That is, as shown in Fig. 4(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. 4(a), resulting in a difference between the inside and outside. 4(a) and 4(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. 4(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. 5 can be considered.

[0009] That is, as shown in Fig. 5(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. 5(a), the state shown in Fig. 5(b) results. That is, as shown in Fig. 5(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. 5(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. 5(b), since the right fixed portion 101b1 shown in Fig. 3 is not formed, the length of the conductive material foil 102 located on the outermost peripheral surface 101ca side 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 side of the non-fixed portion 101c. This makes it possible to prevent the wrinkling phenomenon shown in Fig. 4(b).

[0010] Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 5(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. 5(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. 5(a) without causing the wrinkling phenomenon shown in Fig. 4(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 first fixing portions (left fixing portion 2a1, right fixing portion 2b1) that fix both side portions of the flexible busbar main body (2), wherein, when bending the flexible busbar main body (2) from a predetermined position (bending line S1), second fixing portions (bending fixing portions 2d) that include the predetermined position (bending line S1) are formed on the flexible busbar main body (2) separately from the first fixing portions (left fixing portion 2a1, right fixing portion 2b1).

[0015] The flexible busbar according to claim 2 is the flexible busbar (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that when bending the flexible busbar main body (2) from a plurality of predetermined positions, the second fixing portions (bending fixing portions 2d) are formed on the flexible busbar main body (2) separately from the first fixing portions (left fixing portion 2a1, right fixing portion 2b1) so that the plurality of predetermined positions are included in each of the plurality of predetermined positions.

[0016] The flexible busbar according to claim 3 is the flexible busbar (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first fixing portion (left fixing portion 2a1, right fixing portion 2b1) and the second fixing portion (bending fixing portion 2d) are formed 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), a second fixing portion (fixing portion for bending 2d) including the predetermined position (bending line S1) is formed on the flexible busbar body 2. This prevents the flexible portion of the flexible busbar body 2 (for example, the non-fixing 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] Furthermore, according to the present invention, the second fixing portion (the fixing portion for bending 2d) is formed only in the portion including the predetermined position (the bending line S1), so that 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 2, if the second fixing portions (bending fixing portions 2d) are formed on the flexible busbar body (2) so that each of the plurality of predetermined positions includes a plurality of predetermined positions, complex bending processing becomes possible.

[0022] 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.

[0023] 1A is a plan view of a flexible busbar according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the flexible busbar according to the embodiment after being bent 90 degrees; FIG. 1C is a side view of the flexible busbar according to the embodiment after being bent into a staircase shape; and FIG. 1D is a side view of the flexible busbar according to the embodiment after being bent into a U-shape. FIG. 1A is a plan view of a conventional flexible busbar, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the flexible busbar of FIG. 1A after being bent 90 degrees. FIG. 1C is a plan view of the conventional flexible busbar, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the flexible busbar of FIG. 1A after being bent 90 degrees.

[0024] 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.

[0025] <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.

[0026] <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.

[0027] 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.

[0028] Therefore, the flexible bus bar 1 is configured in this manner.

[0029] 1A, the non-fixed portion 2c has a fixed portion 2d for bending, which is fixed by thermal welding, at the left side of the center, separate from the left fixed portion 2a1 and the right fixed portion 2b1. As shown in FIG. 1A, the fixed portion 2d for bending includes a bending line S1 that is formed when the flexible busbar body 2 is bent 90 degrees.

[0030] Thus, by forming such a bending fixing portion 2d, the flexible busbar 1, i.e., the flexible busbar body 2, is bent along the bending line S1 shown in FIG. 1(a), resulting in the state shown in FIG. 1(b). That is, as a result of this bending process, no difference in distance, i.e., no difference in inner / outer dimensions, occurs 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 bending fixing portion 2d prevents the flexible portion of the non-fixed portion 2c from being involved in the bending process and therefore is not affected by the bending process. Therefore, no difference in distance, i.e., no difference in inner / outer dimensions, occurs. Therefore, the phenomenon of wrinkles occurring in the conductive material foil 3 located on the innermost peripheral surface 2cb side, which would occur due to a difference in distance, i.e., a difference in inner / outer dimensions, does not occur.

[0031] 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 5(c), which occurs due to a distance difference, i.e., a difference between the inside and outside.

[0032] 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.

[0033] Therefore, according to this embodiment, not only can the appearance be improved, but also the quality of the product can be stabilized.

[0034] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the fixed portion 2d for bending is formed only at the portion located at the folding line S1 shown in Fig. 1(a), so that the influence of the flexibility of the non-fixed portion 2c can be minimized, and the flexibility of the non-fixed portion 2c can be maximized.

[0035] Furthermore, forming the above-described fold-fixing portions 2d enables complex bending processes such as those shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. Specifically, when the flexible busbar 1, i.e., the flexible busbar main body 2, is bent to form a stepped shape as shown in Fig. 2, fold-fixing portions 2d can be formed at the respective bending portions (portions indicated by dashed lines X1 and X2 in Fig. 2). When the flexible busbar 1, i.e., the flexible busbar main body 2, is bent to form a U-shape as shown in Fig. 3, fold-fixing portions 2d can be formed at the respective bending portions (portions indicated by dashed lines X3 and X4 in Fig. 3). This eliminates a difference in distance, i.e., an inner-outer difference, between the conductive material foil 3 located on the outermost peripheral surface 2ca side and the conductive material foil 3 located on the innermost peripheral surface 2cb side of the non-fixing portion 2c, even when complex bending processes are performed. This prevents the occurrence of wrinkling as occurs in conventional products. 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 body 2) as shown in FIG. 5(c), which occurs due to a difference in distance, that is, a difference between the inside and outside. This eliminates the problem of an increase in the number of cutting steps, which can easily cause product variations and lead to unstable product quality.

[0036] Therefore, by forming the fixing portion 2d for folding at each of the portions to be folded (portions indicated by dashed lines X1 and X2 in FIG. 2 and portions indicated by dashed lines X3 and X4 in FIG. 3), not only can the appearance be improved, but the quality of the product can be stabilized, and further, complex folding processing can be performed.

[0037] <Explanation of Modifications> The shapes and other features shown in the present embodiment are merely examples, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as defined in the claims. For example, in the present embodiment, the left fixing portion 2a1, the right fixing portion 2b1, and the bending fixing portion 2d are formed by thermal welding. However, this is not a limitation, and they may be formed using solder or other materials. However, thermal welding is preferable. If solder or other materials are used, the wax used in soldering may melt when heat is applied to the flexible busbar 1. Furthermore, the desired resistance value for the flexible busbar 1 may not be achieved due to the influence of the materials used in the solder or other materials. Therefore, thermal welding is preferable.

[0038] 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.

[0039] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Flexible busbar 2 Flexible busbar body 2a1 Left fixing portion (first fixing portion) 2b1 Right fixing portion (first fixing portion) 2c Non-fixed portion 2d Fixing portion for bending (second fixing portion) S1 Bending line (predetermined position)

Claims

1. A flexible busbar comprising a flexible busbar body and first fixing portions fixing both side portions of the flexible busbar body, wherein, when bending the flexible busbar body from a predetermined position, second fixing portions including the predetermined position are formed on the flexible busbar body separately from the first fixing portions.

2. A flexible busbar as described in claim 1, wherein, when bending the flexible busbar body from each of a plurality of predetermined positions, the second fixing portions are formed on the flexible busbar body separately from the first fixing portions so that each of the plurality of predetermined positions includes the plurality of predetermined positions.

3. The flexible busbar according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first and second fixing portions are formed by thermal welding.

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