JP2005108755A - Vehicle body-side earth connector and assembling method of vehicle body-side earth connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle body-side earth connector facilitating the attachment work of a vehicle body-side earth terminal to a vehicle body while surely preventing a connection failure of an earth route. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicle body-side earth connector 11 comprises the vehicle body-side earth terminal 13 to be fixed to the vehicle body 10 and a vehicle body-side housing 14 to be attached to the earth terminal 13. The housing 14 includes a tab insert hole 16 for inserting a tab part 13c of the earth terminal 13 in the attachment process to the earth terminal 13, the insert hole having a dimension smaller than the thickness dimension of the tab part 13c including a coat thereof, so that the coat of the tab part 13c can be scraped off by inserting the tab part 13c to the tab insert hole 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle body side ground connector used for ground connection of an electric circuit of a vehicle and a method for assembling the vehicle body side ground connector.

  For example, an electric circuit of a vehicle generally uses a body panel (vehicle body) as a grounding portion. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the ground connection structure is to fasten the load side ground terminal 4 to the body panel 3 with a weld nut 1 and a bolt 2.

  The specific procedure of the assembly will be described. As shown in FIG. 5A, the weld nut 1 is fixed to the body panel 3 by welding. After this welding, the body panel 3 is subjected to cationic coating. At this time, the cation coating film 5 is formed on the outer surface of the body panel 3, and the cation coating film 5 is also formed on the outer surface of the weld nut 1.

  Then, after painting the body panel 3 and the weld nut 1, the bolt 2 is inserted into the locking hole 4 a of the load side ground terminal 4, and the screw portion 2 a of the bolt 2 is screwed into the screw hole 1 a of the weld nut 1. . Here, the bolt 2 having a small protrusion 2b on the screw portion 2a is used. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), in the process of screwing the bolt 2 into the screw hole 1 a of the weld nut 1, the minute protrusion 2 b scrapes off the cation coating film 5. Thereby, a ground path of the load side ground terminal 4, the bolt 2, the weld nut 1 and the body panel 3 is formed.

By the way, as a ground connection structure, there is one utilizing a vehicle body side ground connector and a load side ground connector as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-16039. The structure of the ground connector has an advantage that a large number of ground terminals can be connected at a time by mounting between the connectors. The fixing of the vehicle body side ground connector to the body panel is also substantially the same as described above. A weld nut is fixed to the body panel by welding, and after the vehicle body is painted, the vehicle body side ground terminal is fastened to the weld nut with a bolt. And since the cation coating film is formed in the outer surface of a weld nut, a cation coating film is peeled using the same volt | bolt as the above-mentioned. As described above, the ground paths of the load side ground terminal, the vehicle body side ground terminal, the bottle, the weld nut, and the body panel are formed.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-16039

  However, in the conventional vehicle body side ground connector, since it is necessary to attach the vehicle body side ground terminal using a weld nut and a bolt, there is a problem that the work of attaching the vehicle body side ground terminal to the body panel is troublesome. Here, it is conceivable to fix the vehicle body-side ground terminal to the body panel by welding after the body panel painting process, but problems such as a division of the welding process occur.

  Further, since it is impossible to visually confirm whether or not the cationic coating film formed on the outer surface of the weld nut has been peeled off by fastening the bolt, there is a problem that connection failure of the ground path cannot be reliably prevented.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can easily attach the vehicle body side ground terminal to the vehicle body, and can reliably prevent poor connection of the ground path. It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for assembling a vehicle body side ground connector.

  The invention of claim 1 is a vehicle body side ground connector comprising a vehicle body side ground terminal fixed to the vehicle body and a vehicle body side housing attached to the vehicle body side ground terminal. The tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal is inserted in the process of mounting on the side ground terminal, and a tab insertion hole having a size smaller than the thickness size including the coating film of the tab portion is provided.

  With this vehicle body side ground connector, if the vehicle body is grounded after the vehicle body side ground terminal is fixed to the vehicle body, a coating film is formed on the outer surface of the vehicle body side ground terminal during the coating process on the vehicle body. When the vehicle body side housing is installed, the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal is inserted into the narrow tab insertion hole of the vehicle body side housing. The load-side ground terminal is connected, and a good ground path is formed. Therefore, the vehicle body side ground terminal is fixed to the vehicle body by welding, and the state of peeling of the coating film on the vehicle body side ground terminal is visually confirmed.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the vehicle body side ground connector according to claim 1, wherein the tab insertion hole is set to have a thickness dimension smaller than that of the tab portion only in a partial region, and the partial region is a load side ground terminal. It is a position corresponding to the sliding area of.

  In this vehicle body-side ground connector, in addition to the operation of the first aspect of the invention, the vehicle body-side housing is attached to the vehicle body-side ground terminal with a weak insertion force, and electrical connection between the two ground terminals is ensured.

  A third aspect of the invention is the vehicle body-side ground connector according to the first aspect, wherein a conductive plating film is provided on the outer surface of the vehicle-body-side ground terminal.

  In this vehicle body side ground connector, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, when the vehicle body side housing is attached to the vehicle body side ground terminal, only the coating of the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal at the edge of the tab insertion hole is plated. Therefore, the paint on the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal is reliably peeled off.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method of assembling the vehicle body side ground connector, the vehicle body side ground terminal is fixed to the vehicle body by welding, and then the vehicle body and the vehicle body side ground terminal are respectively coated, The vehicle body side housing is attached to the ground terminal, and the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal is inserted into the narrow tab insertion hole of the vehicle body side housing during this attachment process, and the coating film on each tab portion is scraped off during this insertion process. It is characterized by.

  In this vehicle body side ground connector assembling method, the load side ground terminal is connected to the tab portion from which the coating film has been peeled off, thereby forming a good ground path. Therefore, the vehicle body side ground terminal is fixed to the vehicle body by welding, and the state of peeling of the coating film on the vehicle body side ground terminal is visually confirmed.

  As described above, according to the vehicle body side ground connector of the present invention, the vehicle body side ground terminal fixed to the vehicle body and the vehicle body side housing attached to the vehicle body side ground terminal are provided. Since the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal is inserted in the process of mounting on the vehicle body side ground terminal and the tab insertion hole having a size smaller than the thickness size including the coating film of the tab portion is provided in the housing, the vehicle body If the vehicle body is painted after fixing the vehicle body side ground terminal, a coating film is formed on the outer surface of the vehicle side ground terminal during the vehicle body painting process. The tab part of the ground terminal is inserted into the narrow tab insertion hole of the vehicle body side housing. During this insertion process, the paint film on each tab part is scraped off, and the load side ground terminal is attached to the tab part from which the paint film has been peeled off. Connected, it forms a good ground path. Therefore, since the vehicle body side ground terminal can be fixed to the vehicle body by welding, the vehicle body side ground terminal can be easily attached as compared with the case where the bolt and the weld nut are used for fastening. Moreover, since the peeling state of the coating film of the vehicle body-side ground terminal can be visually confirmed, poor connection of the ground path can be reliably prevented. Furthermore, since bolts and weld nuts are not used, the number of parts is reduced and costs are reduced.

  According to the vehicle body side ground connector of the second aspect of the present invention, the tab insertion hole is set to have a thickness dimension smaller than a partial region of the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal, and the partial region is slid on the load side ground terminal. Since the position corresponds to the region, the vehicle body side housing can be attached to the vehicle body side ground terminal with a weak insertion force, and the electrical connection between the two ground terminals can be secured.

  According to the vehicle body side ground connector of the invention of claim 3, since the conductive plating film is provided on the outer surface of the vehicle body side ground terminal, the edge of the tab insertion hole is attached when the vehicle body side housing is mounted on the vehicle body side ground terminal. Since only the coating of the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal is easily scraped off through the plating film, the coating of the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal can be reliably peeled off. Therefore, a favorable connection state of the ground path can be reliably formed.

  According to the assembly method of the vehicle body side ground connector of the invention of claim 4, after the vehicle body side ground terminal is fixed to the vehicle body by welding, the vehicle body is painted, and then the vehicle body side ground terminal is fitted with the vehicle body side housing. In this mounting process, the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal is inserted into the narrow tab insertion hole of the vehicle body side housing, and in this insertion process, the coating film on each tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal is scraped off. The load side ground terminal is connected to the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal from which the is peeled off, and a good ground path can be formed. Therefore, since the vehicle body side ground terminal can be fixed to the vehicle body by welding, the vehicle body side ground terminal can be easily attached as compared with the case where the bolt and the weld nut are used for fastening. Moreover, since the peeling state of the coating film of the vehicle body-side ground terminal can be visually confirmed, poor connection of the ground path can be reliably prevented.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle body side ground connector and a load side ground connector, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vehicle body side ground connector and a load side ground connector, and FIG. FIG. 4A is a perspective view for explaining dimensions of a tab insertion hole and a tab portion of a tab holding plate of the vehicle body side housing. FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the load side ground terminal and the vehicle side ground terminal. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the tab portion after the cationic coating of the vehicle body, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the tab portion after the vehicle body side housing is mounted, and FIG. 4C is a connection of the load side ground terminal to the tab portion. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which carried out.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ground connection structure to the body panel (vehicle body) 10 includes a vehicle body side ground connector 11 and a load side ground connector 12. The vehicle body side ground connector 11 includes a vehicle body side ground terminal 13 formed by bending a conductive bus bar into a predetermined shape, and a vehicle body side housing 14 made of synthetic resin to be attached to the vehicle body side ground terminal 13. Consists of.

  The vehicle body side ground terminal 13 includes a substrate portion 13a, a welded portion 13b extending downward from the substrate portion 13a, and a plurality of tab portions 13c extending upward from the substrate portion 13a. The welded portion 13b is fixed to the body panel 10 by welding. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a conductive plating film 15 is formed on the outer surface of the base material of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 by painting. The plating coating is, for example, tin plating.

  The vehicle body side housing 14 is composed of a rectangular tube-shaped synthetic resin housing main body 14a whose upper and lower surfaces are opened, and a rectangular metal plate-like tab holding plate 14b insert-molded in the housing main body 14a. The tab holding plate 14 b is provided with tab insertion holes 16 at positions corresponding to the tab portions 13 c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 when inserted into the vehicle body side housing 14. As shown in FIG. 3A, the width direction of each tab insertion hole 16 is a dimension t1 that is slightly larger in the center than the thickness dimension t of the tab portion 13c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13, and the left and right end portions thereof are Each is set to a slightly smaller dimension t2. The region of the left and right end portions set to be small is a position corresponding to a sliding region of a load side ground terminal 17 described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the load-side ground connector 12 includes a plurality of load-side ground terminals 17 connected to the ends of the electric wires W and loads made of synthetic resin that fix the load-side ground terminals 17 inside. Side housing 18.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (b), each load-side ground terminal 17 is formed integrally with the wire fastening portion 17a for fastening the terminal of the wire W and the wire fastening portion 17a, and both ends are centered. It consists of a bent female terminal portion 17b. The female terminal portion 17b has an insertion space for the tab portion 13c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13, and the tab is formed by elastic deformation in the direction of expanding the insertion space by insertion of the tab portion 13c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13. Each arcuate convex portion (contact portion) 17c at the tip is pressed against the portion 13c. The load-side housing 18 is inserted into the vehicle body-side housing 14 so that both the housings 18 and 14 are fitted.

  Next, an assembly procedure of the vehicle body side ground connector 11 and a procedure of attaching the load side ground connector 12 to the assembled vehicle body side ground connector 11 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a welded portion 13 b of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 is fixed to a proper position of the body panel 10 by welding. Next, the body panel (vehicle body) 10 is dipped in the cation electrolytic layer and is subjected to cation electrodeposition coating. In this painting process, a cation coating film 20 is formed on the outer surface of the body panel 10 and, as shown in FIG. 20 is formed.

  Next, when the vehicle body side housing 14 is attached to the vehicle body side ground terminal 13, the tab portions 13 c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 are inserted into the narrow tab insertion holes 16 of the tab holding plate 14 b of the vehicle body side housing 14. As shown in (b), the cationic coating film 20 of each tab portion 13c is scraped off in a partial region during this insertion process. Thereby, the assembly of the vehicle body side ground connector 11 is completed. In this assembled state, the operator can confirm whether or not a partial region of the cationic coating film 20 has been peeled off by visually observing each tab portion 13c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13.

  Next, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 2, when the load side ground connector 12 is attached to the vehicle body side ground connector 11, each tab portion 13 c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 is connected to the female terminal portion 17 b of each load side ground terminal 17. Inserted. 4C, each tab portion 13c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 is connected to each convex portion 17c of the female terminal portion 17b of each load side ground terminal 17. A portion of each tab portion 13c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 has the cation coating film 20 peeled off, and the load side ground terminal 17 and the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 are electrically connected through this portion. And the earth path | route of the load side earth terminal 17, the vehicle body side earth terminal 13, and the body panel 10 is formed.

  As described above, in the vehicle body side ground connector 11 described above, the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 can be fixed to the body panel 10 by welding, so that the vehicle body side ground is compared with the case of the conventional example that is fastened using bolts and weld nuts. The attachment work of the terminal 13 becomes easy. Moreover, since the peeling state of the cation coating film 20 of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 can be visually confirmed, connection failure of the ground path can be reliably prevented. Furthermore, since bolts and weld nuts are not used, the number of parts is reduced and costs are reduced.

  Further, each tab insertion hole 16 formed in the tab holding plate 14 b is set to have a thickness dimension smaller than that of the tab portion 13 c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13, and this partial area is slid on the load side ground terminal 17. Since the position corresponds to the moving region, the vehicle body side housing 14 can be attached to the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 with a weak insertion force, and electrical connection between both the ground terminals 13 and 17 can be secured. Therefore, it is possible to reliably form a good connection state of the ground path while improving the mounting workability of the vehicle body side housing 14.

  Further, since the conductive plating film 15 is provided on the outer surface of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13, the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 is formed at the edge of the tab insertion hole 16 when the vehicle body side housing 14 is attached to the vehicle body side ground terminal 13. Only the cation coating film 20 of the tab portion 13 c is easily scraped off through the plating film 15. For this reason, the coating of the tab part 13c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 can be reliably peeled off. Therefore, a favorable connection state of the ground path can be reliably formed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle body side housing 14 includes the housing main body 14a and the tab holding plate 14b which is insert-molded to the housing main body 14a and has the tab insertion hole 16. However, the housing main body 14a and the tab holding plate 14b are formed. May be formed separately and assembled by later inserting the tab holding plate 14b into the housing body 14a. If it does in this way, it can respond easily to the dimension change of the tab part 13c of the vehicle body side ground terminal 13 only by the change of the tab holding plate 14b.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle body side ground connector and a load side ground connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle body side ground connector and a load side ground connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a perspective view for explaining dimensions of a tab insertion hole and a tab portion of a tab holding plate of a vehicle body side housing, and (b) is a perspective view of a load side ground terminal and a vehicle body side ground terminal. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a cross-sectional view of a tab portion after cation coating of a vehicle body, (b) is a cross-sectional view of the tab portion after mounting a vehicle body side housing, and (c) is a load side ground terminal. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which connected to the tab part. A conventional example is shown, (a) is an exploded perspective view of a ground connection structure, (b) is a perspective view of the ground connection structure.

Explanation of symbols

10 Body panel (car body)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Car body side earth connector 13 Car body side earth terminal 13c Tab part 14 Car body side housing 15 Plating film 16 Tab insertion hole 17 Load side earth terminal 20 Cationic coating film (painting film)

Claims (4)

A vehicle body side ground connector having a vehicle body side ground terminal fixed to the vehicle body and a vehicle body side housing attached to the vehicle body side ground terminal,
A tab insertion hole in which the tab portion of the vehicle body side ground terminal is inserted into the vehicle body side housing in the process of being attached to the vehicle body side ground terminal and has a size smaller than the thickness size including the coating film of the tab portion. A vehicle body side ground connector characterized by being provided. The vehicle body-side ground connector according to claim 1,
The tab insertion hole is set to have a thickness dimension smaller than that of the tab portion only in a partial region, and the partial region is a position corresponding to a sliding region of the load side ground terminal. The vehicle body-side ground connector according to claim 1,
A vehicle body side ground connector, wherein a conductive plating film is provided on an outer surface of the vehicle body side ground terminal. In the assembly method of the vehicle body side ground connector,
A vehicle body side ground terminal is fixed to the vehicle body by welding, and then the vehicle body and the vehicle body side ground terminal are painted, and then a vehicle body side housing is mounted on the vehicle body side ground terminal. A method of assembling a vehicle body side ground connector, wherein a tab portion of a ground terminal is inserted into a narrow tab insertion hole of the vehicle body side housing, and the coating film on each tab portion is scraped off during the insertion process.

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