Flexible busbar

Abstract

Provided is a flexible busbar that can prevent misalignment of laminated conductive material foils. The flexible busbar comprises a flexible busbar body 2 having flexibility. The left and the right portions of the flexible busbar body 2 are fixed to form a left fixing portion 21 and a right fixing portion 22. The left fixing portion 21 and the right fixing portion 22 are fixed in a dowel-caulked state (see dowel-caulked portion 24). In addition, the left fixing portion 21 and the right fixing portion 22 are formed by thermocompression bonding.

Description

Flexible bus bar

[0001] The present invention relates to a flexible bus bar.

[0002] In general, it is known to use flexible bus bars to connect members that can conduct electricity (for example, batteries mounted on electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and the like). As such a flexible bus bar, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known.

[0003] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-41330

[0004] By the way, the flexible bus bar as described above is manufactured by processing a conductive material foil made of a thin, flexible metal such as copper, then laminating the processed foils, and fixing required portions (for example, both side portions) thereof.

[0005] However, there has been a problem that misalignment may occur in the laminated conductive material foils when moving to the step of fixing the required portions (for example, both side portions).

[0006] In view of the above problem, the present invention aims to provide a flexible bus bar capable of preventing misalignment of laminated conductive material foils.

[0007] The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means. Note that reference numerals of the embodiments described later are added in parentheses, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0008] The flexible bus bar according to claim 1 is a flexible bus bar (1, 1A to 1D) having a flexible bus bar main body (2, 2D) with flexibility, wherein the flexible bus bar main body (2, 2D) is formed with fixed portions (left fixed portions 21, 21D, right fixed portions 22, 22D) where both side portions of the flexible bus bar main body (2, 2D) are fixed, and a non-fixed portion (23, 23D) is further formed between the fixed portions, and a part of the flexible bus bar main body (2, 2D) is dowel caulked (see the dowel caulked portion 24 shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 to Fig. 6).

[0009] The flexible busbar according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the flexible busbar (1B to 1D) described in claim 1, the non-fixed portion (23, 23D) is fitted with the dowel crimp.

[0010] The flexible busbar according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the flexible busbar (1, 1A to 1D) described in claim 1, the fixing portions (left fixing portions 21, 21D, right fixing portions 22, 22D) are formed by heat compression bonding.

[0011] Next, the effects of the present invention will be described with reference to the reference numerals in the drawings. Note that the reference numerals in parentheses are those of embodiments described later, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0012] According to the invention of claim 1, since a part of the flexible busbar body (2, 2D) is crimped with a dowel (see crimped part 24 shown in Figures 1, 3 to 6), the positions of the multiple conductive material foils (20) are fixed, so that when moving on to the process of fixing the necessary parts (the process of forming the left fixing part (21, 21D) and the right fixing part (22, 22D)), misalignment of the laminated conductive material foils (20) can be prevented.

[0013] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent misalignment of the laminated conductive material foil (20).

[0014] According to the invention of claim 2, since the non-fixed parts (23, 23D) are riveted, when distortion occurs in the non-fixed parts (23, 23D), the distortion in the non-fixed parts (23, 23D) can be adjusted using the riveted part (24).

[0015] According to the invention of claim 3, changes in resistance can be minimized.

[0016] This is a perspective view showing a flexible busbar according to one embodiment of the present invention. (a) is a side view of the flexible busbar according to the present embodiment, and (b) is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view of a part of the dowel crimping portion. This is a perspective view showing a flexible busbar according to another embodiment. This is a perspective view showing a flexible busbar different from Figures 1 and 3. This is a perspective view showing a flexible busbar different from Figures 1 and 3 to 4. This is a plan view showing a flexible busbar different from Figures 1 and 3 to 5.

[0017] A flexible busbar according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, when the directions of up, down, left, and right are indicated, they refer to the up, down, left, and right directions as viewed from the front as shown in the drawings.

[0018] <Outline Description of Flexible Busbar> The flexible busbar according to this embodiment can prevent misalignment of laminated conductive material foils. Specifically, the flexible busbar 1 shown in Figure 1 comprises a flexible busbar body 2.

[0019] <Description of the Flexible Busbar Body> As shown in Figure 2(a), the flexible busbar body 2 is formed in a horizontally elongated rectangular shape when viewed from the side, and is formed by laminating thin, flexible conductive material foils 20 made of metal such as copper. The flexible busbar body 2 formed in this manner can carry a large current.

[0020] Thus, as shown in Figure 2(a), the flexible busbar body 2, configured in this way, has its left side 2a fixed by heat compression to form the left fixing portion 21, and its right side 2b fixed by heat compression to form the right fixing portion 22. As a result, as shown in Figures 1 and 2(a), a non-fixed portion 23 is formed between the left fixing portion 21 and the right fixing portion 22, and this non-fixed portion 23 is flexible. The left fixing portion 21 and the right fixing portion 22 serve as fastening portions that connect electrically conductive members (for example, batteries mounted in electric vehicles or hybrid cars). Therefore, as shown in Figures 1 and 2(a), the left fixing portion 21 is provided with a circular left bolt hole 21a that penetrates it in the vertical direction, and the right fixing portion 22 is provided with a circular right bolt hole 22a that penetrates it in the vertical direction.

[0021] Incidentally, as shown in Figure 1, the flexible busbar body 2 configured as described above has dowel crimping portions 24 formed at each of the four corners of the left fixing portion 21 and the right fixing portion 22. These dowel crimping portions 24 are formed as shown in Figure 2(b). That is, as shown in Figure 2(b), crimping protrusions 24a are formed on the conductive material foil 20 by press molding. Then, as shown in Figure 2(b), the dowel crimping portions 24 are formed by fitting these crimping protrusions 24a together. As a result, as shown in Figure 2(b), the multiple conductive material foils 20 are connected in the lamination direction. Note that dowel crimping itself is a conventionally known method.

[0022] The above is a description of the flexible busbar body 2.

[0023] Thus, by doing this, the positions of the multiple conductive material foils 20 are fixed by the dowel crimping portion 24, so that when moving on to the process of fixing the necessary parts (in this embodiment, the process of forming the left fixing portion 21 and the right fixing portion 22), it is possible to prevent the laminated conductive material foils 20 from shifting.

[0024] Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent misalignment of the laminated conductive material foil 20.

[0025] <Explanation of Modifications> The shapes shown in this embodiment are merely examples, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims. For example, in this embodiment, the shapes of the left bolt hole 21a and the right bolt hole 22a are illustrated as circular as shown in Figure 1, but they are not limited to this, and any shape is acceptable. For example, they can be shaped like the flexible busbar 1A shown in Figure 3. That is, they can be formed in an elongated elliptical shape, like the left bolt hole 21Aa and the right bolt hole 22Aa of the flexible busbar body 2 of the flexible busbar 1A shown in Figure 3. Note that the flexible busbar 1 shown in Figure 1 and the flexible busbar 1A shown in Figure 3 are identical in all other respects except for this difference. Therefore, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and their explanations are omitted.

[0026] Furthermore, in this embodiment, an example is shown in which dowel crimping portions 24 are formed at the four corners of the left fixing portion 21 and the right fixing portion 22, but it is not limited to this, and the dowel crimping portions 24 may also be formed on the non-fixing portion 23. For example, it can be shaped like the flexible busbar 1B shown in Figure 4. That is, the non-fixing portion 23 of the flexible busbar body 2 of the flexible busbar 1B shown in Figure 4 has a pair of dowel crimping portions 24 formed in the left-right direction. Thus, even in this case, the positions of the multiple conductive material foils 20 (see Figure 2(a)) are fixed by the dowel crimping portions 24, so that when moving on to the process of fixing the necessary parts (in this embodiment, the process of forming the left fixing portion 21 and the right fixing portion 22), it is possible to prevent the laminated conductive material foils 20 from shifting. Furthermore, by forming a dowel crimping portion 24 on the non-fixed portion 23 in this manner, if distortion occurs in the non-fixed portion 23, the distortion in the non-fixed portion 23 can be adjusted using the dowel crimping portion 24. Note that the flexible busbar 1 shown in Figure 1 and the flexible busbar 1B shown in Figure 4 are identical in all other respects except for this point. Therefore, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and their explanations are omitted.

[0027] On the other hand, in the flexible busbar 1B shown in Figure 4, in addition to forming dowel crimping portions 24 at the four corners of the left fixing portion 21 and the right fixing portion 22, an example is shown in which dowel crimping portions 24 are also formed on the non-fixing portion 23. However, it is not limited to this, and as in the flexible busbar 1C shown in Figure 5, dowel crimping portions 24 may be formed only on the non-fixing portion 23.

[0028] Furthermore, although a straight shape was exemplified as the flexible busbar 1 in this embodiment, it is not limited to this and can also be applied to complex shapes (non-straight shapes). For example, it can be applied to a flexible busbar 1D as shown in Figure 6. That is, as shown in Figure 6, the flexible busbar 1D comprises a flexible busbar body 2D. As shown in Figure 6, this flexible busbar body 2D is formed in a horizontally elongated elliptical shape with a recess in the central part, and, similar to the flexible busbar body 2 described above, is formed by laminating a conductive material foil 20 (see Figure 2(a)) made of a thin, flexible metal such as copper.

[0029] Thus, as shown in Figure 6, the flexible busbar body 2D configured in this way has its left side 2Da fixed by heat compression to form the left fixing portion 21D, and its right side 2Db fixed by heat compression to form the right fixing portion 22D. As a result, as shown in Figure 6, a non-fixed portion 23D is formed between the left fixing portion 21D and the right fixing portion 22D, and this non-fixed portion 23D is flexible. The left fixing portion 21D and the right fixing portion 22D serve as fastening portions that connect electrically conductive members (for example, batteries installed in electric vehicles or hybrid cars). Therefore, as shown in Figure 6, the left fixing portion 21D is provided with a circular left bolt hole 21D extending vertically up and down, and the right fixing portion 22D is provided with an elongated elliptical right bolt hole 22D extending vertically up and down.

[0030] Incidentally, as shown in Figure 6, the flexible busbar body 2D configured as described above has a pair of dowel crimping portions 24 formed in the vertical direction shown, spanning the left fixed portion 21D and the non-fixed portion 23D. Furthermore, a dowel crimping portion 24 is also formed to the right of the non-fixed portion 23D.

[0031] Thus, even in this manner, misalignment of the laminated conductive material foil 20 can be prevented. Furthermore, if distortion occurs in the non-adhered portion 23D, the dowel crimp portion 24 can be used to adjust the distortion in the non-adhered portion 23D.

[0032] Furthermore, although this embodiment shows an example in which dowel crimping portions 24 are formed on all of the multiple conductive material foils 20, it is not necessary to form dowel crimping portions 24 on all of them. For example, dowel crimping portions 24 may not be formed on the conductive material foils 20 located in the uppermost and lowermost layers, while dowel crimping portions 24 may be formed on the other conductive material foils 20.

[0033] Furthermore, in this embodiment, an example is shown in which the left fixing portion 21, 21D and the right fixing portion 22, 22D are formed by thermocompression bonding, but they may also be formed by other methods such as heat welding. However, thermocompression bonding is preferred. In the case of thermocompression bonding, the left fixing portion 21, 21D and the right fixing portion 22, 22D can be formed without melting the material, so changes in resistance can be minimized.

[0034] 1, 1A-1D Flexible bus bar 2, 2D Flexible bus bar body 21, 21D Left fixing part (fixing part) 22, 22D Right fixing part (fixing part) 24 Dowel crimping part

Claims

1. A flexible busbar having a flexible busbar body, wherein the flexible busbar body has fixed portions formed on both sides of the flexible busbar body, and non-fixed portions formed between the fixed portions, and a part of the flexible busbar body is riveted with a dowel.

2. The flexible bus bar according to claim 1, wherein the non-fixed portion is fitted with the dowel crimp.

3. The flexible bus bar according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixing portion is formed by heat compression bonding.

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