JP2003338350A - Method and structure of terminal connection - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a structure of terminal connection using a lead wire of aluminum for lighter weight, having an excellent electrical connection status, a uniform quality, and an excellent productivity. <P>SOLUTION: A cylindrical body 4 is fitted externally to an end part 2 of the lead wire 1 of aluminum or an aluminum alloy to integrate the cylindrical body 4 with the end part 2. End faces of the lead wire 1 and the cylindrical body 4 are machined flush to form a joint surface 5 to joint the joint surface 5 and a terminal joint surface 8 of a terminal member 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal connecting method and a terminal connecting structure for a conductor and a terminal member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A connection between an electric device and a conductor is carried out by mechanically attaching a terminal member connected to an end of the conductor to the electric device so that the conductor is electrically connected. Copper, which has a large electric conductivity, is used as the material for the conductors (cables) and terminal members that have been widely used from the past, and these are mechanically connected by means such as caulking.

[0003]

In a machine equipped with electric equipment (for example, a vehicle equipped with a battery),
In recent years, weight reduction has been achieved, and the material of the conductor wire connected to the electric device is changed from copper to aluminum or aluminum alloy. However, if the conductor wire is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy and is connected to the terminal member by caulking, the contact resistance with the terminal member increases due to the effect of the oxide film formed on the surface of the conductor wire, causing the contact failure. Becomes Further, in compression bonding by crimping, aluminum has a larger stress relaxation than copper, and mechanical bonding strength may be insufficient, resulting in poor electrical contact.

Therefore, the present invention uses a conductor wire made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy to reduce the weight, has a good electrical connection state, does not vary in quality, and is highly productive. It is intended to provide a structure.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the terminal connecting method according to the present invention is such that a tubular body is externally fitted to the end of a conductor wire made of aluminum or aluminum alloy, The end face of the conductor and the end face of the tubular body are processed into the same plane to form a joint surface, and then the joint face and the terminal joint surface of the terminal member are formed. To join. Further, the joining between the joining surface and the terminal joining surface is resistance welding and / or cold pressure welding. Further, a tubular covering body is externally fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the joint between the joining surface and the terminal joining surface, and the tubular covering body is crimped.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the terminal connection structure according to the present invention includes a conductor wire made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, which is externally fitted to an end portion of the conductor wire and integrated with the end portion. A tubular body having an end surface that is coplanar with the end surface of the conductor, and a terminal member having a terminal joint surface that is joined to the coplanar joint surface that is formed with the end surface of the conductor and the end surface of the tubular body. Be prepared.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below in detail based on the illustrated embodiments.

1 and 2 are side sectional views for explaining the terminal connection structure of the present invention. This terminal connection structure includes a conductor 1 made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, a tubular body 4 externally fitted to the end 2 of the conductor 1 and integrated with the end 2, and a terminal member 3. There is.

The conductor 1 used in the present invention may be made of aluminum (aluminum alloy) stranded wire or aggregate stranded wire. As the structure of the conductor 1, for example,
Twenty-five strands with a diameter of 0.32 mm are used to make one set twisted wire (child twisted wire), one in the center, six in the inner layer, and twelve in the outer layer.
There are books with concentric strands and conductor diameters of 8.8 to 8.9 mm.

The material of the terminal member 3 is copper, brass,
Made of copper alloy such as free-cutting brass, aluminum, aluminum alloy, etc., specifically JIS H 4080, A5056
And Cu-Zn based ones are used. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal member 3 is continuous with the terminal main body 11 and a terminal main body 11 having a flat terminal bonding surface 8 to which the integrated conductor 1 and the tubular body 4 are bonded. A device connecting portion (10) connected to a terminal of an electric device (not shown) is provided.

The device connecting portion 10 of the terminal member 3 shown in FIG.
For example, it has a connection hole portion 12 that is connected (fixed) by inserting a battery terminal of an automobile into an insertion shape, but its shape can be variously changed, and it corresponds to the terminal shape of the electric device to be connected. do it.

The tubular body (bush) 4 is made of aluminum, aluminum alloy, copper, copper alloy such as brass and free-cutting brass. The tubular body 4 is a short tubular member that is externally fitted to the end portion 2 of the conductive wire 1, and the inner diameter before the diameter-reducing plastic deformation described later is set to be substantially equal to the outer diameter of the conductive wire 1, and the wall thickness (plate thickness ) Is set to 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm. The wall thickness is 0.
If it is less than 5 mm, the bonding strength between the conductive wire 1 and the terminal member 3 cannot be expected and sufficient bonding cannot be performed, which will be described later. If the wall thickness is larger than 3.0 mm, it is difficult to perform the diameter-reducing plastic working, and the sufficient bonding strength with the conductor 1 cannot be obtained. Further, the weight of the tubular body 4 increases and the effect of reducing the weight of the conductor 1 is reduced. I will end up. If the conductor diameter is 7.0 to 10.0 mm, the wall thickness
If it is 0.6 to 1.0 mm, reliable joining is possible.

The terminal connection structure of the present invention is the conductor 1.
And a tubular body 4 which is externally fitted to the end 2 of the conductor 1 and is integrated with the end 2 and which has an end face flush with the end face of the conductor 1.
And a terminal member 3 having a terminal bonding surface 8 bonded to a coplanar bonding surface 5 formed by the end surface of the conductor 1 and the end surface of the tubular body 4.

Further, according to the terminal connecting method of the present invention, the tubular body 4 is externally fitted to the end portion 2 of the conductor wire 1 made of aluminum or aluminum alloy in a state where these end faces are substantially aligned with each other. Then, the tubular body 4 and the end portion 2 are integrated. The tubular body 4 and the conducting wire 1 are integrally joined together by performing a diameter-reducing plastic working (caulking) from the outer surface of the tubular body 4 with a pressing machine or the like as shown in the arrow P direction in FIG. Get strength.
At this time, it is necessary to set the diameter-reducing plastic deformation amount (caulking amount) such that the end portion 2 of the lead wire 1 in the inserted state is plastically deformed, and the entire outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 4 or the cylindrical body 4 Is subjected to diameter-reducing plastic working only in the vicinity of the end face of the cylindrical body 4, for example, as shown in FIG.
The conductor 1 has a reduced diameter. Thereby, the conductor 1 and the tubular body 4
Is a denser state (solid state) than before plastic working,
Further, even if the conductive wire 1 is composed of a large number of strands, they are condensed to be in a dense state. Furthermore, the tubular body 4 and the conductor 1 may be integrated by using the diameter-reducing plastic working and ultrasonic welding together, so that even greater joining strength can be obtained and the electrical contact resistance can be reduced.

In this compression plastic working, the compression plastic working is performed uniformly (with a uniform pressure and a uniform deformation amount) from the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 4 toward the center of the conducting wire 1. A terminal connection structure can be obtained well.

Next, the end surface of the conducting wire 1 and the end surface of the tubular body 4 are formed on the joint surface 5 having the same plane. The joining surface 5 is formed to be flush by a mechanical treatment such as grinding. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the joint surface 5 and the terminal joint surface 8 of the terminal member 3 are joined. The shape of the terminal joint surface 8 corresponds to (matches) the shape of the tubular body 4 that is crimped onto the conductor wire 1, that is, the shape of the joint surface 5.

The joint surface 5 and the terminal joint surface 8 are joined by resistance welding, cold pressure welding, or both resistance welding and cold pressure welding. Integrated conductor 1 and tubular body 4,
By joining the terminal member 3 with resistance welding,
Excellent electrical continuity can be obtained between them.
This is between the end faces ── joint surface 5 and terminal joint surface 8 ──
This makes it possible to join and the interface between the conductor 1 and the terminal member 3 does not exist.

Further, since the joint surface 5 is machined into the same plane as described above and the terminal joint surface 8 is also flat, when these are abutted, there is no uneven clearance between them and they are in close contact with each other. As a result, a more preferable state can be obtained when performing resistance welding, and a uniform and stable joint portion 9 can be obtained.

The terminal member 3 and the conductor 1 are also welded by resistance welding.
Since the end surface of the cylindrical body 4 is joined to the terminal member 3 while the end surface of the terminal body 3 is joined to the end surface of the tubular body 4, more firm joining is possible. The resistance welding includes resistance butt welding, upset / butt welding, flash welding and the like.

In addition, the conducting wire 1 and the tubular body 4 which are integrated with each other.
And the terminal member 3 are joined by cold pressure welding,
Excellent electrical continuity can be obtained between them.
Cold pressure welding has no thermal effect, and is advantageous for work-hardening materials. Furthermore, since it produces almost no intermetallic compound, it is suitable for joining dissimilar metals. Even in the case of cold pressure welding, since the conductor 1 and the tubular body 4 are in a dense state and the end faces are processed, the entire joining surface 5 can be joined uniformly.

Furthermore, when resistance welding and cold pressure welding are used together, that is, by performing resistance welding and then cold pressure welding, the contact resistance can be further reduced and excellent electrical continuity can be obtained. it can. In resistance welding, the formation of intermetallic compounds by dissimilar metals is unavoidable, so the required joint strength may not be obtained depending on the handling, but cold welding is performed after that, so sufficient joint strength is obtained. be able to.

Further, resistance welding and cold pressure welding will be described. First, the end faces are temporarily attached by resistance welding, and then cold welding is performed for joining. According to this method
The resistance wires are welded together to melt the wires (thin wires) of the conductors 1 and the cylindrical body 4 and the conductors 1 to form the joint surface 5 into an integral surface (solid shape), and then cold pressure welding to strengthen the joints. It enables excellent bonding and has excellent electrical continuity.

Therefore, substantially the entire cross section of the conductor 1 (all strands)
Is integrated with the terminal member 3, so that contact resistance can be eliminated. Furthermore, by welding, the oxide films on the joint surface 5 and the terminal joint surface 8 can be destroyed, and the activated metal atoms can bond to each other. Further, in order to alleviate the joining of dissimilar metal materials on the joint surface 5, although not shown, an intermediate component made of the same metal (same metal) as the conductor 1 is disposed on the terminal joint surface 8, and the intermediate component and the conductor 1 side. The joining surface 5 may be joined by selecting the joining method described above.

Further, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, a cylindrical covering body 7 is externally fitted to the joint outer peripheral portion 6 of the joint surface 5 and the terminal joint surface 8 --- the outer peripheral surface of the joint portion 9. Then, the tubular covering body 7 is pressure-bonded to the joint outer peripheral portion 6 and its vicinity. Tubular cover 7
Is made of aluminum, aluminum alloy, copper, copper alloy, or the like, and is made of the same kind (same) material as the conductor 1 or the terminal member 3. As a result, the bonding strength between the conductive wire 1 and the terminal member 3 is further increased, and long-term stability can be further improved.

The conductor 1 (cylindrical body 4) and the terminal member 3
When and are joined, the joint outer peripheral portion 6 or the outer peripheral surface side of the tubular covering body 7 is covered with a heat-shrinkable tube or the like to be waterproofed to give a corrosion prevention effect, although not shown. .
Further, the terminal member 3 is plated with Sn, Ni, Ag or the like to have corrosion resistance.

To further explain the material of the conductor 1,
The conductor 1 is made of an aluminum alloy, but specifically, an Al-Zr alloy (60% conductivity heat-resistant aluminum alloy), an Al-Mg-Si alloy (aluminum alloy a), or the like is used. The Al-Zr alloy can improve heat resistance, and the Al-Mg-Si alloy, Al-Fe alloy, and Al-Fe-Mg alloy can improve mechanical strength. Therefore, the bonding can be performed firmly. According to the present invention, it is possible to connect the same kind and different kinds of materials, and it is possible to obtain a good electrically connected state.

[0027]

The present invention has the following effects due to the above configuration.

Excellent electrical connection can be obtained (according to claim 1), the quality of the terminal connection can be made uniform, and further, the reproducibility of the joint portion 9 is good and the manufacturing efficiency can be improved. Further, by using the conductor 1 according to this terminal connection method for a battery cable of an automobile or the like, it is possible to improve the conductive characteristics, reduce the weight of the automobile, and improve the fuel consumption of the automobile.

(According to the second aspect) The entire end surface (all strands) of the conducting wire 1 can be fused and integrated with the terminal member 3 to reduce the contact resistance, and a very excellent electrical connection can be obtained. Even if the conductor wire 1 made of aluminum or aluminum alloy is used, the lack of joint strength due to stress relaxation is solved, and further, by welding, the oxide film on the aluminum surface is completely removed to obtain a stable electrical connection. Is possible. Further, by using welding and pressure welding together, it becomes possible to obtain a joint portion 9 having high soundness and high quality. And the terminal member 3
It is possible to provide long-term stability in the connection between the conductor 1 and the conductor 1.

(According to claim 3) the conductor 1 and the terminal member 3
The joint strength with and can be further increased, and the long-term stability can be further improved.

(According to claim 4) It is possible to obtain a terminal connection structure which is in an excellent electrical connection state and whose quality is uniform. In addition, by using the conductor 1 having this terminal connection structure for a battery cable of an automobile, etc., it is possible to improve the conductive property, reduce the weight of the automobile, and improve the fuel consumption of the automobile.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view illustrating an embodiment of a terminal connecting method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the next state of the terminal connecting method.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a further next state of the terminal connecting method.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 conductor 2 ends 3 terminal member 4 tubular 5 Bonding surface 6 Bonding outer periphery 7 Cylindrical covering 8 terminal joint surface 9 joints

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor, Shoichi Honda             Mitsubishi Electric, 8 Nishino-cho, Higashi-Mukojima, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture             Line Industry Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5E051 LA02 LA06 LB03                 5E085 BB03 BB12 CC03 DD03 DD13                       DD16 EE11 FF01 FF08 GG11                       HH06 HH11 JJ03 JJ38

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A tubular body 4 is externally fitted to an end 2 of a conductor 1 made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy so that the tubular body 4 and the end 2 are integrated with each other to form an end face of the conductor 1. A terminal connecting method characterized in that the end surface of the tubular body 4 is processed into the same plane to form a joint surface 5, and then the joint surface 5 and the terminal joint surface 8 of the terminal member 3 are joined. . 2. The terminal connecting method according to claim 1, wherein the joining between the joining surface 5 and the terminal joining surface 8 is resistance welding and / or cold pressure welding. 3. The terminal connection according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a cylindrical covering body 7 is externally fitted to a joint outer peripheral portion 6 between the joint surface 5 and the terminal joint surface 8, and the cylindrical cover body 7 is crimped. Method. 4. A conductor wire 1 made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and an outer surface of the conductor wire 1 which is fitted onto the end portion 2 of the conductor wire 1 and is integrated with the end portion 2 and has an end face flush with the end face of the conductor wire 1. A tubular member 4; and a terminal member 3 having a terminal joining surface 8 joined to a coplanar joining surface 5 formed by the end surface of the conductor 1 and the end surface of the tubular body 4. And terminal connection structure.