JP2019215995A - Busbar and nut positioning structure - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a novel busbar and nut positioning structure that can directly perform positioning of a busbar and a nut, and can eliminate or reduce inspection for confirming the position of the busbar and the nut.SOLUTION: A busbar and nut positioning structure includes a bus bar 14 having a bolt insertion hole 30 at one end and a nut 16 having a bolt fastening hole 32 in the center, and while one end of the bus bar 14 is supported by a resin base material 34, the base material 34 has a nut receiving hole 38 that is opened on a side surface 37 of the base material 34, and while the nut 16 is pressed into the nut receiving hole 38, one and the other of a concave engaging portion 50 and a convex engaging portion 46 for directly positioning the bus bar 14 and the nut 16 are respectively connected to the bus bar 14 and the nut 16.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a bus bar and nut positioning structure for positioning a bolt insertion hole of a bus bar with respect to a bolt fastening hole of a nut and fastening the bolt.

  Conventionally, when branching a connection in a connector or an electric junction box used in a vehicle, the bolt insertion hole of the bus bar is positioned in the bolt fastening hole of the nut, and then the terminal at the branch destination is overlapped and bolted. Running by

  By the way, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-209743 (Patent Document 1), conventionally, positioning of a bolt insertion hole of a bus bar and a bolt fastening hole of a nut is performed by a resin molded product (a lower case in Patent Document 1). Has been done through. That is, the bus bar is positioned and arranged with respect to the lower case by engaging its holding portion with the engaging projection of the lower case, while the nut is arranged in the nut receiving hole of the lower case so that the bus bar is positioned relative to the lower case. They are positioned and arranged.

  However, when the positioning of the bus bar and the nut is performed indirectly via a resin molded product (lower case in Patent Document 1), there is a possibility that the positioning accuracy of the bus bar and the nut cannot be sufficiently ensured. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a 100% inspection to confirm whether or not the positioning of the bolt insertion hole of the bus bar and the bolt fastening hole of the nut has been reliably performed, and there is a problem that the working efficiency is inferior.

JP 2000-209743 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a problem to be solved is that the positioning of the busbar and the nut can be directly performed, and the confirmation inspection of the position of the busbar and the nut is unnecessary. An object of the present invention is to provide a novel bus bar and nut positioning structure which can be reduced.

  A first aspect of the present invention includes a bus bar having a bolt insertion hole at one end and a nut having a bolt fastening hole at a central portion, wherein the one end of the bus bar is supported by a resin base material. On the other hand, the base material is provided with a nut receiving hole that opens on a side surface of the base material, and the nut is press-fitted into the nut receiving hole, while the bus bar and the nut are directly connected to each other. One and the other of the concave engaging portion and the convex engaging portion to be positioned are provided on the bus bar and the nut, respectively.

  According to this aspect, while the nut is press-fitted into the nut receiving hole of the resin base material supporting one end of the bus bar, the concave engagement portion for directly positioning the bus bar and the nut and the convex engagement portion. One and the other of the joints are provided on the bus bar and the nut, respectively. Therefore, since the nut and the bus bar can be directly positioned and fixed and stably held by the direct engagement between the concave engaging portion and the convex engaging portion, the nut and the bus bar are displaced by vibrations during running of the vehicle or the like. The possibility that the electrical characteristics deteriorate is advantageously eliminated or reduced. In addition, since one and the other of the concave engaging portion and the convex engaging portion for directly positioning the bus bar and the nut are directly provided on the bus bar and the nut, respectively, indirectly with respect to other members as in the prior art. As compared with the case of providing the bus bar and the nut, the positioning accuracy of the bus bar and the nut can be sufficiently ensured, and the conventionally required inspection for confirming the position of the bus bar and the nut can be unnecessary or reduced.

  In order to allow one end of the bus bar to be supported by the resin base material, any known method such as, for example, insert molding or press fitting the bus bar into the resin base material can be adopted. It is.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the device according to the first aspect, a protrusion extending in the press-fitting direction is provided on one of the bus bar and the nut as the convex engagement portion, As the concave engaging portion, a concave groove is provided in the other of the bus bar and the nut, the concave groove extending in the press-fitting direction and being fitted with the ridge, and the side surface of the ridge is opposed to the side surface in the orthogonal direction. The bus bars and the nut are positioned in a direction orthogonal to the press-fitting direction by the engagement of the side walls of the grooves with the respective grooves.

  According to this aspect, while the protrusion extending in the press-fitting direction is provided on one of the bus bar and the nut as the convex engaging portion, the concave groove extending in the press-fitting direction is provided on the other of the bus bar and the nut as the concave engaging portion. Have been. Thus, the nut can be easily and smoothly pressed into the nut receiving hole by the guide effect of the ridge and the concave groove. Further, since the bus bar and the nut can be engaged in a wide range by the side wall of the groove that is opposed to the side surface of the ridge in a direction orthogonal to the side surface, the bus bar and the nut can be stably held in the positioning state. In the bus bar, the ridges and the grooves can be formed by, for example, press working, while the nuts can be formed by, for example, cutting.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the positioning is performed by abutting the nut on an inner wall of the nut receiving hole.

  According to this aspect, positioning is performed by the nut abutting on the inner wall of the nut receiving hole. As a result, the nut can be positioned even in the press-fit direction, so that the positioning can be performed more accurately.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the device according to the first aspect, the concave engagement portion includes both a top surface of the nut and a rear side surface facing a rear wall of the nut receiving hole of the nut. The convex engaging portion is formed by a projection housed and arranged in the concave portion by cutting and raising a part of the bus bar in a plate thickness direction to protrude and deform the bus bar. By engaging the concave portion and the projection in the press-fitting direction, the bus bar and the nut are positioned in the press-fitting direction, while the side surface of the protrusion is formed in a direction orthogonal to the press-fitting direction. The bus bar and the nut are positioned in a direction orthogonal to the press-fitting direction by engaging with the side wall.

  According to this aspect, the concave engagement portion is formed by the concave portion that is opened on both the top surface of the nut and the rear side surface facing the rear wall of the nut receiving hole of the nut, and the concave engagement portion is accommodated in the concave portion at a predetermined portion of the bus bar. By adopting a special structure in which the projection is cut and raised to project, the projection does not interfere with the nut when the nut is press-fitted. Thereby, the press-fitting end of the projection can be reliably held by the contact with the side wall of the recess while the press-fitting operation of the nut is performed smoothly. Therefore, the positioning of the bus bar and the nut in both the nut press-fitting direction and the direction orthogonal thereto can be reliably and compactly realized. The projections and recesses can be formed by, for example, press working in the bus bar, and can be formed by, for example, cutting in the nut.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a pair of side walls extending in the press-fitting direction of the nut receiving hole are respectively press-fitted in the press-fitting direction. A rib is provided.

  According to this aspect, a press-fit rib extending in the press-fit direction is provided on a side wall of the nut receiving hole extending in the press-fit direction. By the guide effect of the press-fitting rib, the nut can be press-fitted while being smoothly centered in the nut receiving hole. Therefore, the positioning stability of the bus bar and the nut can be more advantageously achieved by utilizing the nut receiving hole. In addition, the bus bar and the nut can be stably held in the positioning state by the press-fit rib.

  According to the present invention, the nut is press-fitted into the nut accommodating hole of the resin base material supporting the one end of the bus bar, while the concave engaging portion and the convex engaging portion for directly positioning the bus bar and the nut are provided. One and the other of the joints are provided on the bus bar and the nut, respectively. Therefore, since the nut and the bus bar can be directly positioned and fixed and stably held by the concave engagement portion and the convex engagement portion, the nut and the bus bar are displaced by vibration during running of the vehicle, and the electric characteristics are deteriorated. This is advantageously eliminated or reduced. Further, since the bus bar and the nut can be directly positioned, it is possible to sufficiently secure the positioning accuracy of the bus bar and the nut as compared with the conventional case where the bus bar and the nut are indirectly positioned with respect to other members. The inspection for checking the position of the bus bar and the nut thus performed can be unnecessary or reduced.

FIG. 1 is an exploded plan view showing a connector having a positioning structure between a bus bar and a nut as a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded plan view in which one nut, one bus bar, and parts around the same are extracted from FIG. 1. The perspective view of FIG. IV-IV sectional enlarged view in FIG. VV sectional enlarged view in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the nut is housed in the nut housing hole, which corresponds to FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the nut is housed in the nut housing hole, and is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is an exploded plan view showing a positioning structure between a bus bar and a nut according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a view corresponding to FIG. 2. The perspective view of FIG. XX sectional enlarged view in FIG. XI-XI sectional enlarged view in FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the nut is housed in the nut housing hole, which corresponds to FIG. 10. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the nut is housed in the nut housing hole, which corresponds to FIG. 11.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, FIG. 1 shows a connector 10 having a positioning structure between a bus bar and a nut as a first embodiment of the present invention. As the connector 10, for example, a connector that supplies power to an electric device such as a motor housed in a metal case in an electric vehicle or the like is known. The connector housing 12 of the connector 10 holds a plurality (three in the present embodiment) of bus bars 14 connected to terminals on the electric device (not shown). More specifically, the connector housing 12 is formed by extending a plurality of bus bars 14 in the longitudinal direction and arranging the bus bars 14 at equal intervals in the width direction, and then performing insert molding using a synthetic resin such as polypropylene (PP). It is formed integrally. Then, after the nut 16 is press-fitted into a nut accommodating hole 38 described later, one end (the left end in FIG. 1) of each bus bar 14 of the connector housing 12 is connected to a terminal-equipped electric wire 18 connected to a power source (not shown). The connecting portion 22 of the terminal fitting 20 is overlapped with one end of each bus bar 14 and bolted. As a result, the electric wires with terminals 18 and the bus bars 14 are electrically connected to each other, and power is supplied to electric equipment such as a motor (not shown) via the bus bars 14. In addition, the electric wire 18 with a terminal is electrically connected to the base 26 of the terminal 20 having a substantially rectangular plate shape by, for example, resistance welding, by peeling off the insulating coating 24 on the distal end side (right side in FIG. 1) and exposing the core wire 26. A connection part 22 having a bolt insertion hole 28 is formed at the distal end side of the terminal fitting 20. In FIG. 1, the electric wire with terminal 18 is shown by a virtual line for easy understanding. Further, in the following description, “upper” means vertically above the paper surface in FIG. 1, and “downward” means vertically lower than the paper surface in FIG. 1, and “forward” means leftward and rearward in FIG. 1. 1 means the right side in FIG. 1, and the longitudinal direction means the left-right direction in FIG. 1, and the width direction means the up-down direction in FIG.

  Next, in order to describe the positioning structure between the bus bar and the nut according to the present embodiment in more detail, attention is focused on one bus bar 14 in FIG. That is, a detailed description will be given below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7 in which one nut 16, one bus bar 14, and surrounding parts are extracted from FIG. 1.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a substantially rectangular flat plate-shaped bus bar 14 having a bolt insertion hole 30 having a substantially circular shape at one end at a plan view, and a substantially circular bus bar at a central portion at a plan view. It includes a nut 16 having a bolt fastening hole 32 having a shape. More specifically, the bus bar 14 is formed integrally with a substantially long block-shaped resin base material 34 that forms the connector housing 12 by insert molding, and extends from the upper surface 36 of the base material 34 in the thickness direction (FIG. 3, a substantially half portion in the vertical direction) is exposed upward. Thus, one end of the bus bar 14 is supported by the resin base material 34. A nut receiving hole 38 that opens toward the front side in the longitudinal direction is provided on a side surface 37 on the front side in the longitudinal direction (left side in FIG. 2) of the base material 34 at one end of the bus bar 14 (FIG. 3). reference). Press-fit ribs 42 extending in the press-fit direction are provided on the pair of side walls 40, 40 extending in the press-fit direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 2) for press-fitting the nut 16 into the nut receiving hole 38 (see FIG. 5). ).

  The bus bar 14 is integrally formed using various metal materials having conductivity and capable of being subjected to press working, punching, and the like, for example, brass, copper, copper alloy, aluminum, and aluminum alloy. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a central portion in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2) of the back surface 44 at one end of the bus bar 14 projects downward with a substantially constant projecting dimension. A substantially rectangular ridge 46 is provided as a convex engagement portion extending toward the press-fit direction of the nut 16.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the nut 16 has a substantially block shape, and is made of various metal materials that are conductive and can be cut or the like, for example, brass, copper, or copper. It is integrally formed using an alloy, aluminum, an aluminum alloy, or the like. The top surface 48 of the nut 16 is provided with a substantially rectangular concave groove 50 that opens upward in the press-fitting direction and upwards, extends in the press-fitting direction, and is a concave engaging portion into which the ridge 46 is fitted. .

  Next, a procedure for positioning the bus bar 14 and the nut 16 having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the nut 16 is pressed into the nut receiving hole 38. The pair of side walls 40, 40 of the nut receiving hole 38 are provided with press-fit ribs 42 extending in the press-fit direction (see FIG. 5). Press-fitting can be performed while centering smoothly into the accommodation hole 38, and the positioning stability of the bus bar 14 and the nut 16 by the press-fitting rib 42 can be advantageously achieved. When the nut 16 is press-fitted into the nut receiving hole 38, the side walls 52 of the ridge 46 of the bus bar 14 and the side walls of the concave groove 50 that oppose the side surfaces 52 in the orthogonal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2). With the engagement of the protrusions 54 with each other (see FIG. 7), the projections 46 of the bus bar 14 and the concave grooves 50 of the nut 16 position the bus bar 14 and the nut 16 in a direction orthogonal to the press-fitting direction. Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, positioning is performed by the rear side surface 55 of the nut 16 abutting against the rear wall 56 of the nut receiving hole 38. As a result, the nut 16 can be positioned even in the press-fit direction, so that the positioning can be performed more accurately. In short, the nut 16 is press-fitted into the nut accommodating hole 38, and the concave groove 50 as the concave engaging portion for directly engaging and positioning the bus bar 14 and the nut 16 and the convex engagement. The projecting ridges 46 are provided on the bus bar 14 and the nut 16, respectively.

  According to the positioning structure of the bus bar and the nut according to the present embodiment, the nut 16 and the bus bar 14 are directly connected to each other by the direct engagement between the concave groove 50 as the concave engaging portion and the ridge 46 as the convex engaging portion. Since the positioning and fixing can be performed, the possibility that the nut 16 and the bus bar 14 are displaced due to vibration during running of the vehicle or the like and the electrical characteristics are deteriorated is advantageously eliminated or reduced. Further, since the nut 16 and the bus bar 14 can be directly positioned and fixed and held, the positioning accuracy of the bus bar 14 and the nut 16 can be sufficiently ensured as compared with the conventional case where the nut 16 and the bus bar 14 are indirectly provided to other members. The position check inspection of the bus bar 14 and the nut 16 which has been conventionally required can be unnecessary or reduced.

  In addition, the nut 16 can be easily and smoothly press-fitted into the nut receiving hole 38 by the guiding effect of the concave groove 50 as the concave engaging portion and the ridge 46 as the convex engaging portion. In addition, the bus bar 14 and the nut 16 can be engaged with the bus bar 14 and the nut 16 in a wide range by the both side surfaces 52 of the ridge 46 of the bus bar 14 and the both side walls 54 of the concave groove 50 of the nut 16. It can be held stably.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described, but the present invention is not limited in any way by specific descriptions in the embodiments. For example, in the above-described first embodiment, the convex engaging portion is the ridge 46 provided on the bus bar 14 and the concave engaging portion is the concave groove 50 provided on the nut 16. As in the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 13 to 13, the convex engaging portion is a projection 60 provided on the bus bar 58 and the concave engaging portion is a concave portion 64 provided on the nut 62. Is also good. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 10, the concave engagement portions are provided on both the top surface 48 of the nut 62 and the rear side surface 55 facing the rear wall 56 of the nut receiving hole 38 of the nut 62. It is constituted by a concave portion 64 that opens. On the other hand, the convex engaging portion cuts and raises a part of the one end portion of the bus bar 58 on the rear side of the bolt insertion hole 30 in a substantially crank shape downward in the plate thickness direction to protrude and deform, and is accommodated in the concave portion 64. The projections 60 are arranged. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, the recess 64 of the nut 62 engages with the projection 60 of the bus bar 58 in the press-fitting direction, thereby positioning the bus bar 58 and the nut 62 in the press-fitting direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the side surfaces 52, 52 of the projection 60 of the bus bar 58 engage with the side walls 54, 54 of the recess 64 of the nut 62 in a direction orthogonal to the press-fitting direction, so that The bus bar 58 and the nut 62 are positioned in a direction perpendicular to the direction. Therefore, the positioning of the bus bar 58 and the nut 62 can be reliably and compactly realized in both the press-fitting direction of the nut 62 and the direction orthogonal thereto. Moreover, since the projections 60 of the bus bar 58 do not abut on the nut 62 when the nut 62 is press-fitted, the press-fitting end of the projection 60 of the bus bar 58 is made It can be securely held by contact with the side wall.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the bus bar 14 is insert-molded on the resin base material 34 in order to support one end of the bus bar 14 on the resin base material 34. Any known method such as press-fitting the bus bar 14 into the resin base material 34 can be adopted. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the bus bar 14 is formed by pressing or the like, and the nut 16 is formed by cutting or the like. However, any known processing means can be adopted. In addition, in the first embodiment, the bushing 14 and the nut 16 each have one ridge 46 as the convex engaging portion and one concave groove 50 as the concave engaging portion. A plurality of them may be provided apart from each other. In the second embodiment, a plurality of protrusions 60 serving as convex engagement portions and a plurality of recesses 64 serving as concave engagement portions may be provided in the width direction so as to be separated from each other. As a result, the busbars 14, 58 and the nuts 16, 62 can be engaged in a wide range, so that the busbars 14, 58 and the nuts 16, 62 can be more stably held in the positioning state.

14, 58: bus bar, 16, 62: nut, 30: bolt insertion hole, 32: bolt fastening hole, 34: base material, 37: side surface, 38: nut receiving hole, 40: side wall, 42: press-fit rib, 46: Ridge (convex engagement portion), 48: top surface, 50: concave groove (concave engagement portion), 52: side surface, 54: side wall, 55: depth side surface, 56: depth wall, 60: projection (convex shape) Engaging portion), 64: concave portion (concave engaging portion)

Claims (5)

Including a bus bar having a bolt insertion hole at one end and a nut having a bolt fastening hole at the center,
While the one end of the bus bar is supported by a resin base material, the base material is provided with a nut receiving hole that opens on a side surface of the base material,
While the nut is press-fitted into the nut receiving hole, one and the other of the concave engaging portion and the convex engaging portion for directly positioning the bus bar and the nut are provided on the bus bar and the nut, respectively. A positioning structure for a bus bar and a nut, wherein the positioning is performed.   A protrusion extending in the press-fitting direction is provided on one of the bus bar and the nut as the convex engagement portion, and the protrusion extending in the press-fit direction on the other of the busbar and the nut as the concave engagement portion is provided. A concave groove into which the ridge is fitted is provided, and a side surface of the ridge and a side wall of the concave groove opposing the side surface in an orthogonal direction are engaged with each other, so that the ridge and the concave groove are formed. The bus bar and nut positioning structure according to claim 1, wherein the bus bar and the nut are positioned in a direction orthogonal to the press-fitting direction.   The busbar and nut positioning structure according to claim 2, wherein the positioning is performed by abutting the nut on an inner wall of the nut receiving hole. The concave engagement portion is constituted by a concave portion that opens on both a top surface of the nut and a rear side surface facing a rear wall of the nut receiving hole of the nut,
The convex engagement portion is configured by a projection housed and arranged in the concave portion by cutting and raising a part of the bus bar in a plate thickness direction to protrude and deform,
By engaging the recess and the protrusion in the press-fitting direction, the bus bar and the nut are positioned in the press-fitting direction,
The bus bar according to claim 1, wherein the bus bar and the nut are positioned in a direction perpendicular to the press-fitting direction by engaging a side surface of the protrusion with a side wall of the recess in a direction perpendicular to the press-fitting direction. And nut positioning structure.   The bus bar and nut positioning structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a pair of side walls extending in the press-fit direction of the nut receiving hole are provided with press-fit ribs extending in the press-fit direction.

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