JP2010033919A - Battery terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery terminal capable of increasing reliability and operability regarding its installation on a battery post. <P>SOLUTION: The battery terminal 1 includes a battery terminal body 2 and a terminal lower cover 3. The battery terminal body 2 includes annular sections 4, 5 and fastened sections 6, 6. The terminal lower cover 3 includes a base section 18 and a caught section raised from the base section 18 and inserted in a clamping space 16. The caught section 19 has an indicator function such that it can indicate a state where the fastened sections 6, 6 are fully fastened by a fastening bolt 11 and a nut 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery terminal including a battery terminal main body attached to a battery post of a battery, and a terminal lower cover disposed between the battery terminal main body and the battery.

  Conventionally, a battery terminal has been used as a member for electrically connecting a battery mounted on a vehicle and cables connected to various electrical components. As this battery terminal, there is a battery terminal configured to include a battery terminal body made of a conductive metal material and a terminal lower cover that is molded of synthetic resin and prevents corrosion of the battery terminal body due to battery liquid. What was disclosed by the following patent document 1 is known.

  In FIG. 7, the battery terminal main body 101 has a pair of annular portions 102 and 103 arranged in the vertical direction. A battery post insertion hole 105 through which the battery post 104 is inserted is formed through the annular portions 102 and 103. The annular portions 102 and 103 have a fastening gap 106 formed by dividing one place in the circumferential direction of the battery post insertion hole 105. The annular portions 102 and 103 are opened by the tightening gap 106.

  The pair of annular portions 102 and 103 are connected to each other by a pair of tightening portions 107 and 107 on the tightening gap 106 side. Further, on the opposite side of the tightening gap 106, the joining plates 108 and 109 are overlapped to form the electric wire connecting portion 110. A terminal fixing bolt 111 is erected on the lower joining plate 108. This terminal fixing bolt 111 is in a state of standing up through the upper joining plate 109.

  A through hole 112 is formed in the tightening portions 107 and 107 that connect the annular portions 102 and 103 arranged vertically. A tightening bolt 113 that crosses the tightening gap 106 is inserted into the through hole 112.

  The tightening bolt 113 that has passed through the through hole 112 of the tightening portions 107 and 107 cooperates with the nut 114 that is screwed to the tip to tighten the left and right tightening portions 107 and 107 that are arranged on both sides of the tightening gap 106 in the approaching direction. It is like that. By this tightening, the battery post insertion holes 105 of the annular portions 102 and 103 are reduced in diameter.

  The terminal lower cover 115 is provided between the battery terminal main body 101 and a battery (not shown). The terminal lower cover 115 has a bottom plate portion 116, and a wall portion 117 surrounding the annular portion 103 is provided around the bottom plate portion 116. Further, an insertion hole 118 for inserting the battery post 104 is formed in a substantially central position of the bottom plate portion 116.

  On one end side of the bottom plate portion 116, an insertion portion 119 inserted into the tightening gap 106 is erected. A through-hole 120 through which the fastening bolt 113 is inserted is formed through the insertion portion 119. The sandwiching portion 119 is formed in a tapered shape that gradually decreases in thickness toward the tip, and this taper angle is formed substantially the same as the taper angle of the battery post 104.

  In the above configuration, the insertion portion 119 of the terminal lower cover 115 is inserted into the tightening gap 106 between the annular portions 102 and 103. The terminal lower cover 115 and the battery terminal main body 101 are combined together, and the battery post 104 is inserted into the insertion hole 118 and the battery post insertion hole 105 with the terminal lower cover 115 facing down. When the tightening bolt 113 is inserted into the pair of tightening portions 107 and 107 and the sandwiching portion 119 and the nut 114 is screwed and tightened, the pair of tightening portions 107 and 107 approach each other, and the annular portions 102 and 103 are connected to the battery post. It will be in the state closely attached to the peripheral side. At this time, the annular portions 102 and 103 that are in close contact with the tapered battery post 104 are deformed along the taper, and the opposing surfaces of the fastening portions 107 and 107 are inclined in a C shape. As a result, the opposing surfaces of the fastening portions 107 and 107 are parallel to both surfaces of the sandwiching portion 119. Further, when the nut 114 is tightened, the opposing surfaces of the tightening portions 107 and 107 move in parallel and come into close contact with both surfaces of the sandwiching portion 119.

According to such a conventional technique, the nut 114 can be tightened in a state in which the opposing surfaces of the tightening portions 107 and 107 are in parallel contact with both surfaces of the sandwiching portion 119, so that the terminal lower cover 115 is pinched by excessive tightening. It is possible to consider the deformation / breakage of the entrance 119 or the like.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-12214

  However, in the above-described prior art, even when the opposing surfaces of the fastening portions 107 and 107 and both surfaces of the sandwiching portion 119 are in contact, further tightening can be performed by applying force. Combined with this factor and the necessity of sufficient tightening so that the battery terminal does not come off the battery post, excessive tightening is often performed. Excessive tightening may cause permanent deformation of the battery terminal main body, the terminal lower cover, and the like, which may cause the battery terminal to become non-functional, which is a problem. Further, whether or not sufficient tightening is performed is determined by the work intuition of each worker. Therefore, skill is required to perform tightening with an appropriate strength, and as a result, there is a problem that workability is not good.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a battery terminal capable of improving the reliability and workability related to attachment to a battery post.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a battery terminal of the present invention according to claim 1 is provided with a battery terminal main body attached to a battery post of a battery, a lower portion of the battery terminal main body disposed between the battery terminal main body and the battery. And a terminal lower cover for preventing corrosion of the battery terminal body by covering the battery terminal body, the battery terminal body having a battery post insertion hole for inserting the battery post and an inner periphery of the battery post insertion hole. An annular portion having the battery post insertion hole opened by a dividing portion that divides the ring portion, and a clamping gap that is connected to the dividing portion side of the annular portion so as to be lined up on the left and right sides and that is continuous with the dividing portion. Tightening bolt crossing the gap A tightening portion having a through hole for penetrating the screw, and a nut for being screwed into the tightening bolt and tightening the pair of tightening portions in a proximity direction, the terminal lower cover inserting the battery post A battery terminal comprising: a substrate portion through which an insertion hole is formed; and a pinching portion that is erected from the substrate portion and into which a bolt insertion hole into which the tightening bolt is inserted is formed and is inserted into the tightening gap. The clamping part is a clamping part with an indicator function having an indicator function capable of showing a state in which the fastening part is sufficiently fastened by the fastening bolt and the nut.

  According to the present invention having such a feature, when the battery terminal is attached to the battery post, since it has a sandwiched portion with an indicator function, it is only necessary to tighten until the sandwiched portion with the indicator function shows sufficient tightening. Installation is complete. Moreover, according to this invention, since it has an insertion part with an indicator function, it can visually recognize that sufficient tightening was made. Accordingly, excessive tightening can be prevented, and work related to tightening can be easily performed. That is, according to the present invention, workability and reliability related to attachment to the battery post can be improved.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the sandwiching portion with an indicator function includes a pair of flexible sandwiching pieces having flexibility, and the pair of flexible sandwiching pieces has a predetermined interval. The pair of flexible sandwiching pieces are provided so as to face the opposing surface of the tightening portion while being inserted into the tightening gap, and are pressed by the tightening portion when the tightening portion is tightened in the proximity direction. Also, the distal end side is bent in the proximity direction, and when the tightening portion is sufficiently tightened, the distal end sides are in contact with each other.

  According to the present invention having such a feature, the sandwiching portion with an indicator function is formed by a pair of flexible sandwiching pieces in order to show a state where the tightening portion is sufficiently tightened. According to the present invention, when the tightening portion is sufficiently tightened, the distal ends of the pair of flexible sandwich pieces come into contact with each other. That is, it is in a state where the tightening portion has been sufficiently tightened.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the battery terminal according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein the pair of clamping portions are inserted into the clamping gap at the distal ends of the pair of flexible sandwiching pieces. A latching protrusion that protrudes in the left-right direction so as to be hooked is provided.

  According to the present invention having such a feature, when the sandwiching portion with an indicator function is inserted into the tightening gap, the locking protrusions are caught by the respective tightening portions. Therefore, temporary holding can be performed before inserting the fastening bolt. Thereby, the assembled state of the battery terminal main body and the terminal lower cover can be stabilized.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a battery terminal capable of improving the reliability and workability related to the attachment to the battery post. According to the present invention, there is an effect that excessive tightening of the tightening portion can be prevented. According to the present invention, it is possible to visually recognize a state where the tightening of the tightening portion is completed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a better form of the insertion portion with an indicator function.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the workability related to the work of assembling the battery terminal can be considered.

  Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a battery terminal of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the battery terminal. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the battery terminal. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before the tightening portion is tightened. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the tightening portion is sufficiently tightened.

  1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a battery terminal. The battery terminal 1 is wound around a known battery post 104 (see FIG. 7; the same applies hereinafter) having a tapered peripheral side surface whose tip end diameter is smaller than the base end diameter. The battery terminal 1 is not particularly limited, but is a battery terminal body 2 that is attached to and electrically connected to a battery post 104 of a battery (not shown) mounted on a moving body such as an automobile, and the battery terminal. A terminal lower cover 3 that prevents corrosion of the battery terminal main body 2 by covering the lower side of the main body 2 is provided. Hereinafter, each component will be described in detail.

  The battery terminal body 2 is manufactured by pressing a conductive metal plate. In this embodiment, Sn plating is applied. The battery terminal main body 2 includes a pair of annular portions 4 and 5, a pair of tightening portions 6 and 6, and a cable connection portion 9 including a pair of joining plates 7 and 8. Further, the battery terminal main body 2 includes a terminal fixing bolt 10 held by the pair of joining plates 7 and 8 and a nut (not shown) that is screwed to the terminal fixing bolt 10. Further, the battery terminal main body 2 has a tightening bolt 11 described later, a nut 12 screwed into the tightening bolt 11, and a washer 13 inserted through the tightening bolt 11. An external connection terminal (not shown) is connected to the cable connection portion 9 of the battery terminal body 2.

  In this specification, the axial direction of the battery post 104 is defined as the vertical direction, and the tip of the battery post 104 is defined as the upper side and the base end is defined as the lower side. Accordingly, the annular portion 4 is arranged on the upper side and the annular portion 5 is arranged on the lower side. Similarly, the joining plate 7 is arranged on the upper side and the joining plate 8 is arranged on the lower side. In addition, the left-right direction and the front-rear direction are determined based on the up-down direction.

  A battery post insertion hole 14 into which the battery post 104 is inserted is formed in a substantially central position of the annular portion 4 so as to penetrate in the vertical direction. The battery post insertion hole 14 is formed in an annular shape in accordance with the diameter on the tip side of the battery post 104. The battery post insertion hole 14 is formed in a state where a portion between the tightening portions 6 and 6 is divided. The battery post insertion hole 14 is opened by the dividing portion.

  A battery post insertion hole 15 into which the battery post 104 is inserted is formed in a substantially central position of the annular portion 5 so as to penetrate in the vertical direction. The battery post insertion hole 15 is formed in an annular shape in accordance with the diameter of the base end side of the battery post 104. The battery post insertion hole 15 is formed in a state where a portion between the tightening portions 6 and 6 is divided. The battery post insertion hole 15 is opened by this dividing portion. It is assumed that the dividing portion of the battery post insertion hole 15 is formed immediately below the dividing portion of the battery post 104.

  The fastening portions 6 and 6 are portions that connect the annular portions 4 and 5 so as to be arranged vertically, and are formed in a shape that curves in a U-shape in the front-rear direction. The tightening portions 6 and 6 are arranged and formed so as to have a tightening gap 16 that is continuous with the divided portions of the battery post insertion holes 14 and 15. The fastening portions 6 and 6 are also arranged and formed so as to be arranged in the left-right direction. A through hole 17 is formed inside the tightening portions 6 and 6.

  The fastening bolt 11 is inserted into the through hole 17. When the tightening bolt 11 is inserted into the through hole 17, the tightening bolt 11 crosses the tightening gap 16 in the left-right direction. The tightening bolt 11 cooperates with the nut 12 screwed to the tip, and tightens the tightening portions 6 and 6 disposed on both sides of the tightening gap 16 in a direction close to each other (when tightening occurs, The battery post insertion holes 14 and 15 are reduced in diameter so that the connection to the battery post 104 can be fixed.

  1 to 3, a terminal lower cover 3 is a member interposed between a battery (not shown) and the battery terminal main body 2 and is formed of a synthetic resin material to give corrosion resistance to the battery liquid. Has been. The terminal lower cover 3 is formed so as to cover the lower side of the battery terminal main body 2. Since the terminal lower cover 3 is also an inexpensive material in this embodiment, it is molded from PP (polypropylene) (not limited to this). The terminal lower cover 3 has a substrate part 18 and a sandwiching part 19 with an indicator function.

  The board portion 18 is formed in accordance with the shape of the battery terminal main body 2 in plan view. That is, the substrate portion 18 is formed so as to face and closely contact the annular portion 5 and the joining plate 8 of the battery terminal body 2. The board portion 18 is formed in a plate shape and has an insertion hole 20 through which the battery post 104 is inserted. The insertion hole 20 is formed in a substantially annular shape that matches the diameter of the base end side of the battery post 104.

  A side wall 21 is formed on the substrate portion 18 so as to surround the battery terminal body 2. On the side wall 21 on the rear end side of the substrate portion 18, a locked portion 22 that is locked to the cable connection portion 9 of the battery terminal body 2 is formed. In this embodiment, the locked portion 22 is formed in a claw-like shape (see FIG. 3). A groove-shaped escape portion 23 corresponding to the head of the terminal fixing bolt 10 of the battery terminal body 2 is formed on the rear end side of the substrate portion 18. An insertion portion 19 with an indicator function is provided upright at the tip position of the substrate portion 18.

  The insertion part 19 with an indicator function is formed as a part that characterizes the present invention. The sandwiching portion 19 with an indicator function is a portion that is inserted into the tightening gap 16 of the tightening portions 6, 6 and includes a pair of flexible sandwiching pieces 24, 24 having flexibility. The pair of flexible sandwiching pieces 24, 24 are formed in a plate shape and have bolt insertion holes 25, 25 for inserting the fastening bolts 11. The pair of flexible sandwiching pieces 24, 24 are provided so as to face each other with a predetermined interval, and are provided so as to face the opposing surfaces of the fastening portions 6, 6 when inserted into the fastening gap 16. It has been.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the pair of flexible sandwiching pieces 24, 24 inserted into the tightening gap 16 is in a state where the distal end side is open. When the flexible clamping pieces 24 and 24 are tightened by the tightening bolt 11 and the nut 12 in the direction in which the tightening portions 6 and 6 are close to each other, as shown in FIG. The distal end sides of the flexible sandwiching pieces 24, 24 are bent in a direction close to each other.

  Such a pair of flexible sandwiching pieces 24, 24 come into contact with the distal ends of the pair of flexible sandwiching pieces 24, 24 when the fastening portions 6, 6 are sufficiently fastened. Is formed. That is, the front end side of the pair of flexible sandwich pieces 24, 24 is bent and closed to indicate that the tightening is completed. The pair of flexible sandwiching pieces 24, 24 are formed so as to have an indicator function indicating that the fastening has been sufficiently performed.

  Further, locking projections 26 and 26 are provided on the distal ends of the pair of flexible sandwiching pieces 24 and 24. The locking protrusions 26 are formed so as to protrude outward in the left-right direction. That is, the flexible sandwiching pieces 24 and 24 are formed so as to protrude toward the fastening portions 6 and 6 while being inserted into the fastening gap 16 for insertion. That is, the locking protrusions 26 and 26 are formed so as to be hooked on the upper side of the tightening portions 6 and 6. In this embodiment, the locking protrusions 26 and 26 are formed in a tapered shape so that the thickness decreases toward the distal end side in order to facilitate the insertion of the flexible sandwiching pieces 24 and 24 into the clamping gap 16. . Such locking projections 26 and 26 can be temporarily held when the terminal lower cover 3 and the battery terminal main body 2 are assembled.

  Next, an example of assembling the terminal lower cover 3 to the battery terminal body 2 (an example of assembling the battery terminal 1) will be described based on the above configuration.

  First, the terminal lower cover 3 is moved upward from the lower side of the battery terminal main body 2, and the clamping part 19 with an indicator function (a pair of flexible clamping pieces 24, 24) is inserted into the clamping gap 16 between the clamping parts 6, 6. Insert. As a result, the through hole 17 and the bolt insertion hole 25 communicate with each other. Further, the locking protrusions 26 and 26 of the flexible sandwiching pieces 24 and 24 are hooked on the tightening portions 6 and 6. Then, the tightening bolt 11 is inserted from the lateral direction (inserted so as to cross the tightening gap 16), and the washer 13 is inserted from the end side of the tightening bolt 11, and the nut 12 is inserted into the end of the tightening bolt 11. Screw together. As a result, the clamping part 11 with the indicator function is supported by the fastening bolt 11.

  Next, the terminal lower cover 3 on which the insertion part 19 with the indicator function is supported by the tightening bolt 11 is rotated and the locked part 22 is hooked on the cable connecting part 9 to be locked. Thereby, the lower part of the battery terminal main body 2 is covered with the terminal lower cover 3, and the assembly of the battery terminal 1 is completed (see FIG. 1). The terminal lower cover 3 is in close contact with the lower portion of the battery terminal body 2.

  Next, attachment of the battery terminal 1 to the battery post 104 will be described.

  First, the battery terminal 1 is moved downward toward the battery post 104 of the battery (not shown), and the battery post insertion holes 14 and 15 and the insertion hole 20 are brought into contact with the peripheral side surface of the battery post 104. Next, the battery terminal 1 is arranged in a predetermined direction. Subsequently, the nut 12 is tightened from the lateral direction of the battery terminal 1 using a tool (not shown) such as an impact wrench. This tightening is performed until the flexible sandwiching pieces 24, 24 of the sandwiching section 19 with an indicator function are bent and the tip ends contact each other (see FIG. 5). Thereby, the battery post insertion holes 14 and 15 are contracted in the direction of reducing the diameter, and the battery post insertion holes 14 and 15 are brought into a pressure contact state with respect to the peripheral side surface of the battery post 104, and the attachment of the battery terminal 1 is completed.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, according to the battery terminal 1 of the present invention, when the battery terminal 104 is attached to the battery post 104, the flexible sandwiching pieces 24, 24 of the sandwiching section 19 with an indicator function are provided. The attachment to the battery post 104 is completed simply by tightening until the leading ends come into contact with each other. This is because the distal end sides of the flexible sandwiching pieces 24 and 24 are in contact with each other to indicate that sufficient tightening has been performed. Therefore, excessive tightening will not occur unless tightening is further performed. According to the battery terminal 1 of the present invention, since the insertion portion 19 with an indicator function is provided, it can be visually confirmed that sufficient tightening has been performed. Therefore, appropriate tightening can be performed without depending on the operator, and work related to tightening can be easily performed as a result. According to the battery terminal 1 of the present invention, it is possible to improve workability and reliability related to attachment to the battery post 104.

  Further, according to the battery terminal 1 of the present invention, when the insertion portion 19 with an indicator function is inserted into the tightening gap 16, the locking protrusions 26 and 26 are hooked on the tightening portions 6 and 6. Therefore, it is possible to temporarily hold the tightening bolt 11 as it is inserted. According to the battery terminal 1 of the present invention, the battery terminal main body 2 and the terminal lower cover 3 can be assembled in a more stable state.

  Here, to supplement the battery terminal 1, as shown in FIG. 6, it may be modified into a current sensor integrated terminal lower cover 3 ′ in which a current sensor (not shown) is built in the substrate portion 18. The current sensor is for detecting the current supplied from the battery and monitoring the remaining capacity of the battery.

  In addition, the present invention can of course be modified in various ways within the scope not changing the gist of the present invention.

It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the battery terminal of this invention. It is a front view of a battery terminal. It is a disassembled perspective view of a battery terminal. It is sectional drawing which shows the state before fastening of a fastening part. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the clamping of the clamping part was completed. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the battery terminal of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the conventional battery terminal.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Battery terminal 2 Battery terminal main body 3 Terminal lower cover 4, 5 Annular part 6 Tightening part 7, 8 Joint plate 9 Cable terminal part 10 Terminal fixing bolt 11 Tightening bolt 12 Nut 13 Washer 14, 15 Battery post insertion hole 16 Tightening gap 17 Through hole 18 Substrate part 19 Insertion part with indicator function 20 Insertion hole 21 Side wall 22 Locked part 23 Relief part 24 Flexible insertion piece 25 Bolt insertion hole 26 Locking protrusion 30 Current sensor

Claims (3)

A battery terminal body attached to a battery post of a battery, and a terminal lower cover disposed between the battery terminal body and the battery and covering the lower part of the battery terminal body to prevent corrosion of the battery terminal body. The battery terminal body has a battery post insertion hole into which the battery post is inserted and an annular part in which the battery post insertion hole is opened by a dividing part that divides the inner periphery of the battery post insertion hole; A tightening portion that is coupled to be arranged on the left and right sides of the split portion and has a through hole for passing a tightening bolt that passes through the tightening gap. Screwed into the bolt A nut for tightening the pair of tightening portions in a direction approaching the terminal lower cover, a substrate portion through which an insertion hole for inserting the battery post is formed, a standing portion from the substrate portion, and the In the battery terminal, including a bolt insertion hole through which the fastening bolt is inserted and a sandwiching portion inserted into the fastening gap,
The battery terminal, wherein the sandwiching portion is a sandwiching portion with an indicator function having an indicator function capable of indicating a state in which the tightening portion is sufficiently tightened by the tightening bolt and the nut. The battery terminal according to claim 1,
The insertion part with an indicator function consists of a pair of flexible insertion pieces having flexibility,
The pair of flexible sandwiching pieces are provided so as to face a facing surface of the tightening portion in a state of having a predetermined interval and being inserted into the tightening gap, and tightening the tightening portion in the proximity direction. The battery is characterized in that the pair of flexible sandwich pieces pressed by the tightening portion bends in the proximity direction at the front end side so that the front end sides come into contact with each other when the tightening portion is sufficiently tightened. Terminal. The battery terminal according to claim 2,
The battery terminal according to claim 1, wherein a locking protrusion is provided on a distal end side of the pair of flexible sandwiching pieces so as to protrude in the left-right direction so as to be caught by the pair of tightening portions when inserted into the tightening gap.

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