Terminal Block Positioning During Resin Molding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional terminal blocks lack effective means to maintain the correct positioning of heat sinks and insulation sheets during resin molding, leading to potential displacement and reduced insulating properties between nuts and heat sinks.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a first positioning means for the nut and insulating plate, and a second positioning means for the insulating plate and heat sink, using nut accommodating portions and bolt escaping recesses, to ensure accurate alignment and contact during resin molding, thereby preventing displacement and maintaining insulating properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If heat sink and insulation sheet are integrally formed by resin molding, then heat transfer performance is improved, but positioning precision between components deteriorates due to lack of positioning means
Solution Approach 1:
Positioning protrusions and positioning recesses are pre-formed on the heat sink and insulation sheet respectively before resin molding. These positioning features are created during the molding process itself, ensuring precise alignment is established in advance before the components are integrally formed, thus preventing displacement while maintaining good heat transfer contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning protrusions and positioning recesses act as intermediary features that mediate between the heat sink and insulation sheet. These features provide a mechanical interface that ensures precise positioning while allowing the components to maintain close contact for effective heat transfer, resolving the contradiction between positioning precision and thermal contact.
2Reliability
If insulation sheet is placed between nut and heat sink, then insulating property is improved, but positioning stability deteriorates due to displacement during molding
Solution Approach 1:
The insulation sheet is pre-positioned on the heat sink using positioning recesses before the resin molding process. This preliminary positioning ensures that the insulation sheet maintains its correct position relative to the heat sink and nut throughout the molding process, preventing displacement while preserving the insulating property between the nut and heat sink.
3Ease of manufacture
If nuts are mounted on positioning pins during molding, then positioning is simplified, but mounting reliability deteriorates because nuts cannot be properly positioned relative to insulation sheet
Solution Approach 1:
Positioning protrusions on the heat sink act as intermediary features that bridge the positioning between the nut and insulation sheet. The positioning protrusions engage with positioning recesses on the insulation sheet, providing a reliable mechanical interface that ensures precise relative positioning while simplifying the molding process by eliminating the need for separate positioning pins.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures correct positioning and close contact between nuts, insulating plates, and heat sinks, enhancing the insulating properties and heat transfer performance of the terminal block.
Implementation Method 1
heat transferred from the conductor to the nut is transferred to the heat sink via the insulation sheet and radiated from the heat sink
Implementation Method 2
heat transferred from the conductor to the nut is transferred to the heat sink via the insulation sheet and radiated from the heat sink
Implementation Method 3
a molded resin part by which the nut, the insulating plate and the heat sink are integrally formed
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An object of the present invention is to prevent displacements of respective members and, hence, ensure an insulating property between nuts and a heat sink. A terminal block in which conductors extending from devices are placed one over another and fastened by a bolt is provided with nuts 10 on which the conductors are placed, a heat sink 40 arranged below the nuts, an insulating plate 20 vertically sandwiched while being held in close contact with the nuts 10 and the heat sink 40, and a molded resin part 60 which covers these three members 10, 20 and 40. The insulating plate 20 includes nut accommodating portions 21 capable of accommodating the nuts 10 and bolt escaping recesses 26 projecting downward from a bottom plate 22 of the insulating plate 20. The heat sink 40 includes accommodation recesses 43 into which the bolt escaping recesses 26 are fittable. The molded resin part 60 is molded with the nuts 10 accommodated in the nut accommodating portions 21 and the accommodation recesses 43 and the bolt escaping recesses 26 fitted to each other.