JP2010102856A - Terminal block - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To aim at securing of mechanical strength while cutting off cost through thinning of a conductive plate. <P>SOLUTION: A first member 10 with high electric conductivity and thin thickness and a second member 20 with low electric conductivity and large thickness are superposed on each other, and terminals T1, T2 are attached to a first member 10 side. An elasticity of the second member 20 is higher than that of the first member 10. Further, the second member 20 has a higher heat-radiating property than the first member 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal block, and more particularly to a power supply terminal block for electrical components including an air conditioner.

  A power supply terminal block of an electrical component including an air conditioner has a configuration in which a plurality of terminals can be fixed to a metal conductive plate, and a terminal fixing method is generally screwed. As a document disclosing such a technique, there is the following Patent Document 1.

JP-A-8-126349

  The price of the conductive plate occupies most of the price of such a terminal block. In general, as the conductivity increases, the price also increases. Therefore, it is desired to reduce the thickness of the conductive plate from the viewpoint of cost reduction.

  However, in the embodiment in which the terminal is screwed, it is necessary to secure a screw thread at a certain depth or more, and there is a limit to making the conductive plate thin because of the requirement of mechanical strength. Also, from the viewpoint of electrical conduction, when the thickness of the conductive plate is reduced, Joule heat increases, which is not desirable. In the technique of Patent Document 1 described above, a mode in which screws are fixed to spacers for the purpose of avoiding overlapping with adjacent conductive plates is disclosed, but other members (specifically, spacers) other than the screwed portions of the conductive plates are disclosed. Therefore, the spacer does not contribute to reinforcement of mechanical strength other than the screwing portion. Further, the spacer does not contribute to securing heat dissipation other than the screwing portion.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for ensuring mechanical strength and electrical conductivity while reducing the cost by thinning the conductive plate.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first invention is a terminal block (100) for electrically connecting a pair of terminals to each other, and the pair of terminals at the first and second positions (P1, P2). At least the first main surface (12) to which the first main surface (12) is attached, the second main surface (14) opposite to the first main surface, and the second main surface. The second member (20) that is continuously in contact with the region between the first position and the second position, and penetrates between the first main surface side and the second main surface side. And a screw (30) for attaching one of the pair of terminals on the first main surface and fixing the first member to the second member on the second main surface. The first member has an electric conduction characteristic higher than that of the second member, and the rigidity of the second member is Higher than the rigidity of the serial first member.

  2nd invention is 1st invention, Comprising: The said 2nd member (20) has electroconductivity.

  3rd invention is 1st or 2nd invention, Comprising: The thickness of the direction through which the said screw of the said 1st member (10) penetrates is thinner than the thickness of the said direction of the said 2nd member (20) .

  A fourth invention is any one of the first to third inventions, wherein the elastic modulus of the second member (20) is higher than the elastic modulus of the first member (10).

  A fifth invention is any one of the first to fourth inventions, wherein the second member (20) has higher heat dissipation characteristics than the first member (10).

  According to the first invention, it is possible to manufacture the terminal block at a low cost while ensuring electrical conductivity and mechanical strength. In addition, there is no need to separately provide a component for fixing the first member to the second member.

  According to the second invention, even if the first member is thinned, the conductive characteristics are not easily impaired.

  According to the third invention, the screw hole can be made long by the second member. Usually, the mechanical strength of the terminal block can be obtained while reducing the first member, which is higher in cost than the second member.

  According to the fourth invention, it is possible to reduce the size while maintaining rigidity.

  According to the fifth aspect, even if the first member is thinned, overheating of the first member, and thus overheating of the terminal block can be avoided or suppressed.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings including FIG. 1, only elements related to the present invention are shown.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a terminal block 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of a relay terminal block that includes a plurality (three in FIG. 1) of terminal blocks 100 and is connected to a three-phase power source or the like. Show. FIG. 2 is a side view of one terminal block 100. FIG. 3 is an exploded side view of the terminal block 100, and shows a side view when the first terminal T1 side is disassembled. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the terminal block 100.

  The terminal block 100 electrically connects, for example, a pair of terminals T1 and T2. In this embodiment, a mode in which the first terminal T1 and the second terminal T2 are electrically connected to each other will be described. However, a branch terminal block having a third terminal (not shown) may be used. . In this case, the “pair of terminals” refers to the first terminal T1 and the second terminal T2, the second terminal T2 and the third terminal, and the third terminal and the first terminal T1, respectively. Point to.

  The first member 10 is, for example, a copper plate having high electrical conductivity, and has a first main surface 12 and a second main surface 14 that faces the first main surface 12. A first terminal T1 is attached to the first position P1 on the first main surface 12, and a second terminal T2 is attached to the second position P2, so that the first terminal T1 and the second terminal T2 are connected to each other. Are electrically connected to each other.

  The second member 20 is made of a material having a lower electrical conductivity than the first member 10 (for example, iron when the first member 10 is copper) and is in contact with the second main surface 14 of the first member 10. Specifically, the second member 20 contacts the second main surface 14 of the first member 10 continuously in at least a region facing the region between the first position P1 and the second position P2. To do. In addition, a screw groove that is screwed into the screw 30 is threaded at each position corresponding to the first position P1 and the second position P2.

  That is, the terminal T1 is sandwiched between the head 31 of the screw 30 that is screwed into the second member 20 at the first position P1 on the first main surface 12 of the first member 10 and the first main surface 12. Mounted. In the present embodiment, a washer 33 is inserted between the head 31 of the screw 30 and the terminal T1.

  When comparing the first member 10 and the second member 20 from the viewpoint of rigidity, the rigidity of the second member 20 is higher than the rigidity of the first member 10. In other words, the rigidity of the first member 10 is lower than the rigidity of the second member 20. Here, “low rigidity” means that the first member 10 is easily deformed when a non-parallel bending moment acts on the extending surface of the first member 10.

  That is, the thickness of the second member 20 (the width in the same direction as the thickness direction of the first member 10) is larger than the thickness of the first member 10. When the thickness of the first member 10 is reduced, it is difficult to screw the groove to be screwed with the screw 30 into the first member 10. Even if the groove to be screwed with the screw 30 can be screwed into the first member 10, the rigidity of the first member 10 is lower than the rigidity of the second member 20 as described above. It is difficult to attach T2 with the screw 30. However, since the second member 20 is thicker and more rigid than the first member 10, a groove that engages with the screw 30 can be screwed into the second member 20. Therefore, the first member 10 is not necessarily screwed with the screw 30.

  Further, since the second main surface 14 of the first member 10 is in contact with the second member 20, the mechanical strength of the terminal block 100 can be increased by increasing the rigidity of the second member 20, even if the rigidity of the first member is low. Strength can be secured. A material with high electrical conductivity is more expensive than a material with low electrical conductivity. Therefore, the first member 10 is made of a material having high electrical conductivity, and the second member 20 is made of a material having high rigidity even though the electrical conductivity is lower than that of the first member 10. The thickness can be reduced to reduce the cost.

  In addition, even if the 2nd member 20 is not as high as the 1st member 10, it is desirable to have a predetermined electrical conductivity. This is because the second member 20 has a predetermined electrical conductivity, so that even if the first member 10 is thinned, the overall conductive characteristics are not easily impaired.

  Furthermore, from the viewpoint of increasing the rigidity of the second member 20, the elastic modulus of the second member 20 is desirably higher than a predetermined elastic modulus higher than the elastic modulus of the first member 10. By adopting a material having a high elastic modulus as the material of the second member 20, the rigidity of the second member 20 is increased, and the second member 20 can be reliably screwed into the screw 30. As a result, since the length of the screw hole can be kept short, the terminal block 100 can be reduced in size while maintaining rigidity.

  By reducing the thickness of the first member 10, the Joule heat generated here may increase. Therefore, it is desirable that the second member 20 has higher heat dissipation characteristics than the first member 10. As a specific example, it is desirable to employ a material in which the thermal conductivity of the second member 20 is larger than the thermal conductivity of the first member 10. However, as described above, it is necessary that the electrical conduction characteristics of the first member 10 be superior to the electrical conduction characteristics of the second member 20, so that the shape of the second member 20 is appropriately formed to increase the surface area. However, heat dissipation may be secured.

  As mentioned above, although the suitable aspect of this invention was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the material, shape, and dimensions of the first member 10 (particularly the distance between the first main surface 12 and the second main surface 14) and the material, shape, and dimensions of the second member 20 are appropriately changed according to various requirements. Is possible.

  In the present embodiment, the terminals T1 and T2 are both attached with the screws 30, but both the terminals T1 and T2 are not necessarily attached with the screws 30, and only one of them is required. What is necessary is just to attach with the screw | thread 30. As shown in FIG. 1, if the resin case 110 is provided on the side of the terminal block 100 and one terminal is attached with the screw 30, the first member 10 rotates relative to the second member 20. Can be avoided. Accordingly, it is possible to maintain a state in which the first member 10 and the second member 20 are continuously in contact between both terminals T1 and T2.

  In other words, if one of the terminals is attached with the screw 30, the other terminal can be attached with an arbitrary technique. Thus, for example, when the terminal block 100 is attached to a device having a three-phase power supply and is connected to a three-phase power supply on one side of the terminal and connected to a load driven by the three-phase power supply on the other side, The terminal on the side (three-phase power supply side) can be attached with screws 30 and shipped from the factory, and the terminal on the other side (load side) can be easily attached at the place where the three-phase power supply is installed.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the terminal plate 100 is a flat plate, that is, the mode in which the terminals T1 and T2 are mounted on the same plane has been described. However, the first member 10 does not necessarily have a flat shape, for example, The first member 10 and the second member 20 may be bent (not shown) so that the surface on which the first terminal T1 is attached and the surface on which the second terminal T2 is attached may be non-parallel.

It is a front view of the terminal block concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of one terminal block. It is a disassembled side view of a terminal block. It is a top view of a terminal block.

Explanation of symbols

100 Terminal Block 10 First Member 12 First Main Surface 14 Second Main Surface 20 Second Member 30 Screw P1, P2 Position

Claims (5)

A terminal block (100) for electrically connecting a pair of terminals to each other,
A first member that presents a first main surface (12) to which the pair of terminals are attached at the first and second positions (P1, P2) and a second main surface (14) facing the first main surface. (10) and
A second member (20) continuously contacting at least a region facing the region between the first position and the second position with respect to the second main surface;
Passing between the first main surface side and the second main surface side to reach the second member, attaching one of the pair of terminals on the first main surface, A screw (30) for fixing the first member to the second member;
The electrical conductivity of the first member is higher than the electrical conductivity of the second member,
The terminal block has rigidity of the second member higher than that of the first member. A terminal block (100) according to claim 1,
The second member (20) is a terminal block having conductivity. A terminal block (100) according to claim 1 or claim 2,
A terminal block in which a thickness of the first member (10) in a direction in which the screw passes is thinner than a thickness of the second member (20) in the direction. A terminal block (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The terminal block, wherein the elastic modulus of the second member (20) is higher than the elastic modulus of the first member (10). A terminal block (100) according to any of claims 1 to 4,
The second member (20) is a terminal block having higher heat dissipation characteristics than the first member (10).

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