JP2006313696A - Battery terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery terminal with little clamping loss. <P>SOLUTION: The battery terminal 1 is provided with an electrode retaining part 11 capable of insertion-coupling with a battery post 2 from an axis direction, a right and left pair of side face parts 12, 13 extended in opposition from the electrode retaining part 11 outward and enabling a clamping operation of the electrode retaining part against the battery post 2 with the distance coming closer or separated, a pedestal 14 fixed to the left-side face part 12, an operating axis body 20 erected nearly parallel with an axis direction of the battery post 2 in free rotation around the axis, and a clamping axis body 30 having a fixed end at the right-side face part 13 with the other end extended toward the operating axis body 20 across the left-side face part 12. The operating axis body 20 and the clamping axis body 30 can mate each other enabling a clamping operation by a rotational operation around an axis of the operating axis body 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery terminal.

  In recent years, with the miniaturization of the periphery of an engine, automobile parts have been assembled with other parts densely around the side of the battery. Therefore, in a so-called laterally-restricted battery terminal that is tightened from a direction orthogonal to the axis of the battery post, a sufficient working space cannot be secured on the side of the battery, and workability is deteriorated. There was a problem. Therefore, as a so-called vertically narrowed battery terminal that is tightened from the same direction as the axis of the battery post, a battery terminal described in Patent Document 1 is known.

This consists of a battery terminal main body and a pressing member having a pair of tapered surfaces. The battery terminal body has a pair of tightening portions that are opened outwardly by opening a part of the ring-shaped electrode holding portion, and reducing the diameter of the electrode holding portion by bringing both of the tightening portions closer to each other Is possible. When the pressing member is moved in the vertical direction in accordance with the bolt tightening operation, the taper surfaces of the pressing member abut against both tightening portions, and then the two tightening portions approach each other while sliding along the taper surfaces. The holding portion is reduced in diameter to be fixed to the battery post.
JP 2003-187784 A

  However, in this case, the pressing member is moved by tightening the bolt, so that many rotation operations are required, and it takes time to fix the battery post. In this case, once the rotational force of the bolt is converted into a longitudinal force, it is further converted into a lateral force so that both tightening portions approach each other via the tapered surface of the pressing member, that is, twice There was a problem that transmission loss of operating force occurred due to the conversion operation. The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the time required for fixing to a battery post and reduce the transmission loss of the operating force.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that an electrode holding portion formed by turning a metal strip into an annular shape so that it can be fitted to the battery post from the axial direction, and the electrode A pair of side surface portions that extend radially outward from both ends of the holding portion and allow the electrode holding portion to be tightened with respect to the battery post by being close or spaced apart from each other; and A pedestal fixed to one of the side surfaces, an operating shaft body which stands on the pedestal substantially parallel to the axial direction of the battery post and can rotate about the axis, and is fixed to the other side surface The other end side has a tightening shaft body extending to the operation shaft body side across the one side surface portion, and the other end side of the tightening shaft body and the operation shaft body Is formed with a gear part that can mesh with each other. The axis of rotational operation of the control shaft characterized in was configured to move along the tightening shaft in the axial direction are set to be accessible to or away from the both side surfaces.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the gear portion includes a pinion gear formed on the outer peripheral surface of the operation shaft body along the circumferential direction, and an axial direction on the side surface portion of the tightening shaft body. And a rack formed along the line.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the operation shaft body is formed by a bolt in which the gear portion is formed in the middle of the shaft portion, and a lower end portion thereof is on the pedestal side. It is characterized by being screwed in.

<Invention of Claim 1>
According to the first aspect of the invention, when the battery terminal is mounted on the battery post, first, the electrode holding portion is fitted to the battery post from the axial direction. Thereafter, when the operating shaft body is rotated around the axis, the tightening shaft body moves in the axial direction through the meshing of the gear portions. Thereby, since the other side part approaches one side part, an electrode holding | maintenance part carries out diameter reduction deformation | transformation and a battery post is clamped.

  Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the rotational movement of the operating shaft body is converted into the linear motion of the tightening shaft body to cause the electrode holding portion to perform the tightening operation. That is, in the so-called vertical tightening type battery terminal, the tightening is performed through two conversion operations, whereas in the first aspect, the tightening can be performed by one conversion operation. Loss can be reduced.

<Invention of Claim 2>
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the operating shaft is rotated, the tightening shaft can be moved through the engagement of the rack and the pinion, so that the electrode holding portion can be surely tightened. Can do.

<Invention of Claim 3>
According to the invention of claim 3, since the operating shaft body is screwed into the pedestal, the operating shaft body can be substantially prevented from rotating at a desired rotational position, so that the tightening force on the battery post is continuously applied. Can be adjusted.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The battery terminal 1 in Embodiment 1 is comprised from the main-body part 10, the operation shaft body 20, and the fastening shaft body 30, as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the front-rear direction is described with the left side as the front with reference to the left-right direction in FIG.

  The main body 10 is made of metal and has a long shape in the front and rear direction. Of the main body portion 10 divided into approximately three equal parts in the length direction, the substantially first half portion is an operation portion 3 that performs a tightening operation, and the substantially central portion is a battery post 2 that is erected on the upper surface of a battery (not shown). The electrode holding part 11 is configured to be fitted, and the substantially latter half part is a connection part 15 for connection with a wire harness (not shown).

  The electrode holding portion 11 is formed by turning a metal strip into an annular shape, and can be fitted to the battery post 2 from the axial direction. The electrode holding portion 11 has a substantially truncated cone shape adapted to the side shape of the battery post 2 and is formed such that the diameter gradually decreases toward the tip. Nine biting grooves 18 are formed on the inner surface of the electrode holding portion 11 along the axial direction of the battery post 2 at a predetermined interval. For this reason, when the inner surface of the electrode holding part 11 is strongly pressed against the side surface of the battery post 2 by the tightening operation, the side surface of the battery post 2 bites into the biting groove 18 to increase the tightening force.

  The connection part 15 is provided continuously at the lower end of the rear part of the electrode holding part 11. The connection part 15 has a connection bolt 16 provided upright substantially at the center of its upper surface. The side surface of the connection bolt 16 can be fixed with a nut by fitting a round terminal (not shown) connected to the wire harness.

  The operation unit 3 opens the front portion of the electrode holding unit 11 and then extends a pair of side surfaces with different lengths extending forward from the front portion (in FIG. 3, the long side is the left side surface portion). 12, the short side is referred to as the right side surface portion 13), and the pedestal 14 formed by bending the lower end of the left side surface portion 12 toward the opposite side of the right side surface portion 13 at a substantially right angle. Both side surface parts 12 and 13 approach each other, thereby reducing the diameter of the electrode holding part 11 to enable fixing to the battery post 2.

Next, the detailed structure for approaching or separating the side surface portions 12 and 13 will be described.
In this embodiment, in order to make the both side surface parts 12 and 13 approach or separate, a conversion mechanism is used that utilizes the meshing of the pinion gear 23 and the rack 34 to change the direction of the force as well as the transmission of the operating force. Specifically, an operation shaft body 20 having a pinion gear 23 is rotatably provided on the base 14 of the left side surface portion 12, and a tightening shaft body 30 in which a rack 34 that meshes with the pinion gear 23 is formed on the right side surface portion 13. The both side surface parts 12 and 13 can be made to approach or separate from each other through these engagements.

  The operation shaft body 20 is mainly composed of a hexagonal bolt, and the pinion gear 23 is fitted to the screw shaft 36 and is firmly fixed in a state in which the rotation is firmly prevented by means such as welding. The pinion gear 23 includes a flange portion 24 and a tooth portion 22, and is provided continuously in this order in the clockwise direction shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tightening shaft body 30 has a substrate portion 37 having a substantially square cross section, and an operation portion 38 having a columnar shape having a rectangular cross section is erected at the center portion. A rack 34 is engraved on one edge of the operating portion 38 over a predetermined length range. Further, a straight portion 35 is formed in the operating portion 38 continuously to the rack 34. The straight portion 35 faces the straight portion 35 without facing the through-hole 19 opening in the left side surface portion 12 when the rack and pinion are initially engaged. Further, in this embodiment, a hooking portion 39 is cut out at the base portion of the operating portion 38 and at the edge on the side where the rack 34 is formed.

  The right side surface portion 13 has its front end and upper end folded outward at substantially right angles to form a front end locking surface 13A and an upper end locking surface 13B, respectively (see FIG. 3). The front end locking surface 13A and the upper end locking surface 13B are locked to the front surface and the upper surface of the substrate portion 37 in a state where the tightening shaft body 30 is inserted into the insertion hole 31 that opens at the approximate center of the right side surface portion 13. By doing so, the fastening shaft body 30 is prevented from rotating.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the insertion hole 31 is positioned coaxially with the through hole 19 of the left side surface portion 12, and a hooking surface 32 projects from the lower left portion in FIG. A portion of the insertion hole 31 above the hooking surface 32 is an assembling hole 31 </ b> A, and has substantially the same width as the straight portion 35 of the tightening shaft body 30. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), the tightening shaft body 30 can be inserted along the axial direction of the mounting hole 31A. At the time of insertion, the height position of the mounting hole 31A is set so that the tooth portion 22 of the pinion gear 23 and the rack 34 do not interfere with each other.

  A portion of the insertion hole 31 where the hooking surface 32 is formed is an engagement hole 31B that engages the first tooth portions of the pinion gear 23 and the rack 34. The meshing hole 31 </ b> B has substantially the same width as the hook portion 39 of the tightening shaft body 30. Therefore, if the tightening shaft body 30 is inserted into the assembly hole 31A and then moved downward, the hooking portion 39 of the tightening shaft body 30 and the hooking surface 32 of the insertion hole 31 are fitted as shown in FIG. (See FIG. 7B). Thus, the first tooth portions of the pinion gear 23 and the rack 34 are engaged with each other, and the tightening shaft body 30 is prevented from being pulled out in the axial direction with respect to the right side surface portion 13.

  On the pedestal 14 extending from the lower end of the left side surface portion 12 in the opposite direction to the right side surface portion 13, a burring cylinder 33 having a bolt hole 21 opened substantially parallel to the axial direction of the battery post 2 is formed to project downward. . A screw is engraved on the inner peripheral surface of the bolt hole 21 so that the screw shaft 36 of the operation shaft body 20 can be screwed together. The operating shaft body 20 is screwed into the bolt hole 21 from above the pedestal 14 via the washer 40, and the return of the rack 34 and the pinion gear 23 can be regulated by the frictional force of the screw.

  In the main body 10, before the operation shaft body 20 and the tightening shaft body 30 are assembled, the front wall 25 and the rear wall 26 positioned in front of and behind the base 14 are opened in the front and rear (hereinafter referred to as an initial state: 7 (A) state) and is set at a position that does not hinder the assembly of the operation shaft body 20. In addition, after the operation shaft body 20 and the tightening shaft body 30 are assembled, the main body 10 is in a state where the front wall 25 and the rear wall 26 are closed and the assembly is completed (hereinafter referred to as a completed state: FIG. 5 states).

  The front wall 25 is formed with a holding piece 28 by bending the front end 90 ° inward, and the front end of the holding piece 28 in FIG. 6 is further bent 90 ° inward to form an extension piece 27. Yes. As shown in FIG. 5, the pressing piece 28 presses the upper surface of the flange portion 24 in the completed state. In the completed state, the end face of the extension piece 27 can abut against the end portion 29 on the side that is not continuous with the tooth portion 22 in the collar portion 24, and the first tooth portions of the pinion gear 23 and the rack 34 are engaged with each other. To keep.

  The rear wall 26 is formed with a retaining piece 41 by bending the tip 90 ° inward. In the completed state, the retaining piece 41 restricts the operating portion 38 from swinging up and down by pressing the upper surface of the operating portion 38 as shown in FIG. At this time, the rear wall 26 is in contact with the rear surface of the operating portion 38 and restricts the operating portion 38 from swinging back and forth.

This embodiment has the structure as described above, and the operation thereof will be described subsequently.
First, an example of assembly work of the battery terminal 1 will be described. The operation shaft body 20 and the tightening shaft body 30 are assembled into the operation unit 3. The operating shaft body 20 is screwed into the bolt hole 21 from above via the washer 40 in the initial state. The operation shaft body 20 is positioned so that the end portion 29 of the flange portion 24 can come into contact with the expansion piece 27 of the front wall 25. After the operation shaft body 20 is assembled, the tightening shaft body 30 is assembled. The tightening shaft body 30 is inserted from the outside of the right side surface portion 13 toward the operation shaft body 20 through the assembling hole 31A and the through hole 19 (see the states of FIGS. 7A and 8A). In this state, the pinion gear 23 and the rack 34 are in a position where they do not interfere with each other, and the rear tightening shaft body 30 is moved to the engagement hole 31B, whereby both the gear portions 23 and 34 are engaged with each other (see FIG. 4). At this time, the hooking shaft body 30 is fitted to the hooking surface 32 so that the tightening shaft body 30 is prevented from being pulled out from the right side surface portion 13 in the axial direction.

  When the assembly of the operation shaft body 20 and the tightening shaft body 30 is completed, the front wall 25 and the rear wall 26 are bent so as to be substantially perpendicular to the pedestal 14 to obtain a completed state. At this time, the pressing piece 28 can press the upper surface of the flange 24. Further, since the retaining piece 41 substantially contacts the upper surface of the operating portion 38 of the tightening shaft body 30 and the rear wall 26 substantially contacts the rear surface of the operating portion 38, the tightening shaft body 30 swings in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction. It can be stopped.

  Next, the battery terminal 1 is attached to the battery post 2. The electrode holding part 11 is fitted to the battery post 2 from above, and the operating shaft body 20 is tightened. When the operation shaft body 20 is rotated clockwise, the pinion gear 23 and the rack 34 mesh with each other, so that the tightening shaft body 30 moves toward the operation shaft body 20 along the axial direction. With the movement of the tightening shaft body 30, the right side surface portion 13 is drawn toward the left side surface portion 12 and the electrode holding portion 11 is reduced in diameter, whereby the battery post 2 and the electrode holding portion 11 are fixed (see FIG. 2). Conversely, when the operating shaft body 20 is rotated counterclockwise, the tightening shaft body 30 moves in the direction away from the operating shaft body 20 along the axial direction, and the electrode holding portion 11 is expanded. The fixation with the post 2 is released. In this case, even if the electrode holding portion 11 bites the peripheral surface of the battery post 2, the engagement portion 39 and the hooking surface 32 are locked when the operation shaft body 20 is rotated in the reverse direction. The electrode holding part 11 can be forcibly expanded in diameter.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the rack and pinion mechanism is employed to enable meaningful vertical tightening in terms of work. Furthermore, the rotational movement of the operation shaft body 20 is converted into the linear motion of the tightening shaft body 30, and the electrode holding portion 11 is tightened. That is, in the above-described conventional so-called vertical tightening type battery terminal, after the rotational movement of the bolt is converted into the vertical movement of the tightening device, tightening is performed by shifting the connecting portion by the vertical movement of the tightening device. As described above, tightening is performed through two conversion operations, but in this embodiment, tightening can be performed by one conversion operation, so that transmission loss of operating force can be reduced. Is possible.

  In addition, since the operating shaft body 20 is screwed into the base 14, the operating shaft body 20 can be substantially prevented from rotating at a desired rotation position, and therefore the tightening force for the battery post 2 can be continuously adjusted. Can do.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The top view of the battery terminal in Embodiment 1 in the completion state The top view of the battery terminal in Embodiment 1 which shows the state which tightened the battery post 1 is an exploded plan view of a battery terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The top view of the battery terminal in Embodiment 1 in an initial state Side view of battery terminal in embodiment 1 in completed state The exploded side view of the battery terminal in the first embodiment in the initial state (A) Side view of the battery terminal in the first embodiment in which the tightening shaft body is in the assembly hole in the initial state (B) Side view of the battery terminal in the first embodiment in which the tightening shaft body is in the engagement hole in the initial state (A) Front view of the battery terminal in the first embodiment in which the tightening shaft body is in the assembly hole in the initial state (B) Front view of the battery terminal in the first embodiment in which the tightening shaft body is in the engagement hole in the initial state The front view of the battery terminal in Embodiment 1 in the completion state

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Battery terminal 2 ... Battery post 11 ... Electrode holding part 12 ... Left side part 13 ... Right side part 14 ... Base 20 ... Operation shaft 23 ... Pinion gear (gear part)
30 ... Tightening shaft body 34 ... Rack (gear part)
36 ... Screw part (shaft part)

Claims (3)

An electrode holding portion formed by turning a metal strip into an annular shape so that it can be fitted to the battery post from the axial direction, and extending radially outward from both ends of the electrode holding portion. A pair of side surfaces that enable the electrode holding portion to be tightened with respect to the battery post by approaching or separating these spaces, a base fixed to one of the side surfaces, and the base on the base An operation shaft that is erected substantially parallel to the axial direction of the battery post and is rotatable about the axis, and the other side has a fixed end and the other end crosses the one side and the operation A tightening shaft extending to the shaft body side,
The other end side of the tightening shaft body and the operation shaft body are formed with a gear portion that can mesh with each other, and the tightening shaft body is moved in the axial direction by a rotation operation about the axis of the operation shaft body. The battery terminal is characterized in that the two side surfaces can be moved closer to or separated from each other. The gear portion is formed by a pinion gear formed along the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of the operation shaft body, and a rack formed along the axial direction on the side surface portion of the tightening shaft body. The battery terminal according to claim 1. 3. The battery terminal according to claim 1, wherein the operation shaft body is formed by a bolt having the gear portion formed in the middle of the shaft portion, and a lower end portion of the operation shaft body is screwed to the pedestal side. .

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