JP3373108B2 - Electrical connection structure between battery terminals - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure for electrically connecting terminals of a pair of batteries by using connection terminals, and more specifically, it is necessary to screw the connection terminals to the battery terminals using nuts. The present invention relates to an electrical connection structure between battery terminals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, high-performance electric vehicles have been developed in order to improve air pollution caused by exhaust gas from the vehicles. However, a plurality of batteries mounted on the electric vehicle are connected in series or in parallel with each other. Therefore, it is possible to supply a large amount of electric power to the drive motor.

A connection terminal is used for electrical connection between the terminals of the battery, and such a connection terminal is described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 51-15654 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-140020. . These connection terminals include a flat plate-shaped terminal portion having an insertion hole for receiving a short rod-shaped battery terminal, and a connection portion for electrically connecting these terminals. This connecting portion is formed to be bendable from a strip material or a thin metal plate in which a stranded copper wire is braided so as to absorb dimensional variations between battery terminals.

A conventional connection structure between battery terminals using the above-mentioned connection terminal will be described with reference to FIG. The connection terminal 5 that electrically connects the battery terminals 3 and 4 of the first and second batteries 1 and 2 has a pair of terminal portions 7 having through holes 6 that receive the battery terminals 3 and 4, respectively.
And a connecting portion 8 for electrically connecting the terminal portions 7 to each other. After the terminal portions 7 of the connection terminals 5 are attached to the battery ends 3 and 4, respectively, the nuts 9 are screwed onto the male screw portions of the battery terminals 3 and 4 and tightened. It is electrically connected.

[0005]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional connection structure between battery terminals, in order to prevent the connection terminal 5 from being loosely fixed to the battery terminals 3 and 4 due to vibration accompanying traveling of the electric vehicle. First, it is necessary to strongly tighten the nut 9. As a result, a tool such as an impact wrench or an electric wrench must be used for tightening the nut 9, which complicates the connection work, and causes a problem that the weight of the tool imposes a physical burden on the operator. Also, when tightening the nut 9, the terminal portion 7 of the connection terminal 5 is
There is a problem in that the connecting portion 8 is easily deformed as shown in FIG. 6 and the connecting portion 8 is damaged in the worst case as shown in FIG.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a connection structure between battery terminals which can fix the terminal portion of the connection terminal to the battery terminal without tightening the nut. is there.

[0007]

The above problem is a structure for electrically connecting a pair of battery terminals to each other, and a pair of cylindrical adapters respectively screwed into the male screw portions of the pair of battery terminals, A pair of terminal portions that are respectively fitted onto the outer peripheral surface of the adapter, and a connecting terminal that electrically connects between the terminal portions are cast into the terminal portion, and engages with the outer periphery of the adapter. In addition to providing a groove,
The problem can be solved by the electrical connection structure between the battery terminals according to claim 1 , wherein an engagement protrusion engaged with the engagement groove is provided on the inner circumference of the terminal portion . In the electrical connection structure between the battery terminals having the above configuration, after the pair of adapters are screwed into the pair of battery terminals, respectively, and then the pair of terminal portions of the connection terminals are externally fitted to the pair of adapters, respectively , The terminal portion is locked to the adapter by the engaging groove and the engaging protrusion of the terminal portion, and the pair of battery terminals are electrically connected.

Further, the above problem is a structure for electrically connecting a pair of battery terminals, and a pair of cylindrical adapters respectively screwed into the male screw portions of the pair of battery terminals, and an outer periphery of the adapters. A pair of terminal portions that are externally fitted to the respective surfaces, and a connection terminal that has a connecting portion that electrically connects the terminal portions, and a locking member that is externally fitted to the pair of adapters, respectively . Engagement groove on the outer circumference
And engaging with the engaging groove on the inner circumference of the locking member.
The problem can be solved by the electrical connection structure between the battery terminals according to claim 2 in which engaging mating protrusions are provided. In the electrical connection structure between the battery terminals having the above-mentioned configuration, after the pair of adapters are screwed into the pair of battery terminals, respectively, the pair of terminal portions of the connection terminals are externally fitted to the pair of adapters, respectively, and then When the stopper is externally fitted to the tip of the adapter, it engages with the engaging groove of the adapter.
The engagement protrusion of the member causes the engagement member to engage the adapter in a state of being in close contact with the terminal portion, and the pair of battery terminals are electrically connected by the connection terminal.

That is, in the electrical connection structure between battery terminals of the present invention, the terminal portion of the connection terminal is simply fitted onto the adapter attached to the battery terminal, or the terminal portion of the connection terminal and the locking member are attached. Since the attachment of the connection terminal is completed only by externally fitting it on the adapter, it is not necessary to tighten the nut with a tightening tool, and a uniform connection state can be obtained reliably and easily.
Therefore, the connection work between the battery terminals can be significantly improved, and a highly reliable connection structure between the battery terminals can be obtained.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an electrical connection structure between battery terminals according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an essential part of a first embodiment of a connection structure between battery terminals according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the connection structure between battery terminals in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a second embodiment of the connection structure between battery terminals according to the invention.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a connection structure between battery terminals in FIG. 3.

A first embodiment of an electrical connection structure between battery terminals according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the electrical connection structure 100 between the battery terminals of the present embodiment is the same as the first battery 1
A pair of adapters 20 screwed into male screw portions of the first battery terminal 12 and the battery terminal 14 of the second battery 13, respectively, and a connection for electrically connecting the battery terminals 12 and 14 via these adapters 20. And a terminal 30.

The adapter 20 is a member molded from a conductive metal material and has a cylindrical shape with its upper part closed. Then, the battery terminal 12,
A female screw portion that is screwed with the male screw portion 14 is formed. Further, a taper portion 22 is formed at the tip thereof to facilitate the attachment of the connection terminal 30 to the adapter 20. Further, below the tapered portion 22 , an engagement groove 23, which is a concave groove having a substantially semicircular cross-sectional shape , is formed over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction.

The connection terminals 30 are a pair of left and right terminal portions 3.
1 and a connecting portion 3 for electrically connecting these terminal portions 31
2 and. The terminal portion 31 is formed by machining a raw material that is cast from a conductive metal material, and has a cylindrical shape with an upper portion closed. And the inner cylindrical surface 3
The inner diameter of 3 is set to a dimension that allows external fitting with a slight gap from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder of the adapter 20. Further, on the upper part of the inner cylindrical surface 33, an engagement projection 34 that fits with the engagement groove 23 formed in the adapter 20 is provided so as to project over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction. The connecting portion 32 is a member formed by knitting a stranded copper wire into a flexible strip shape, and both ends thereof are respectively a pair of terminal portions 31.
Is cast at the upper end of the.

Next, a procedure for electrically connecting the battery terminals 12 and 14 using the adapter 20 and the connection terminal 30 described above will be described. First, the battery terminal 1
The adapter 20 is attached to the battery terminal 1 by screwing the female screw portions of the adapter 20 into the male screw portions 2 and 14.
2, 14 and the adapter 20, the battery terminal 12,
14 are electrically connected to each other. It should be noted that this work is performed in advance for each of the batteries 11 and 13 by using an automatic machine.

Next, the pair of terminal portions 31 of the connection terminal 30.
After being externally fitted to the pair of adapters 20, respectively, the pair of terminal portions 31 is pressed by a hand, or is hit with a resin hammer or the like, so that the connection terminals 30 are engaged with each other as shown in FIG. The mating protrusion 34 is engaged with the engaging groove 23 of the adapter 20. As a result, the connection terminal 30 is locked so that it cannot be displaced relative to the adapter 20, and
It is electrically connected to the adapter 20. The battery terminals 12 and 14 are electrically connected by the connection terminals 30 via the adapters 20 attached to the battery terminals 12 and 14, respectively.

That is, according to the electrical connection structure 100 between battery terminals of the present embodiment, the connection terminals 30 can easily connect the battery terminals 12 and 14 without tightening the nut. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the terminal portion 31 of the connection terminal 30 from rotating together with the tightening nut, and the connection portion 32 from being greatly deformed or damaged. Further, since a heavy tool such as a pneumatic impact wrench or a hydraulic wrench for tightening the nut is not required, the connection work can be performed very easily and reliably, and the physical burden on the operator is significantly reduced. You can

Next, a second embodiment of the electrical connection structure between battery terminals according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown in FIG. 3, unlike the first embodiment described above, the electrical connection structure 200 between the battery terminals of the present embodiment is configured so that existing connection terminals can be utilized. is there. That is, the battery terminal 12 of the first battery 11 and the second battery 13
A pair of adapters 20 are attached to the battery terminals 14 of FIG. Then, the connection terminal 40 having the flexible connection portion 43 is externally fitted to the adapter 20, and the pair of locking members 50 is externally fitted to the adapter 20.

The connection terminal 40 includes a pair of rectangular flat plate-like terminal portions 42 having terminal insertion holes 41 for receiving the adapter 20 and a copper stranded wire for electrically connecting the terminal portions 42. And a connection portion 43 formed in a flexible band shape, and has the same configuration as the existing connection terminal except that the inner diameter of the terminal insertion hole 41 is expanded to match the outer diameter of the adapter 20. It is said that.

The locking member 50 is a member made of a conductive metal material, and has a cylindrical shape with its upper end closed. The inner diameter of the inner cylindrical surface 51 is set to a dimension such that it can be fitted onto the outer peripheral cylindrical surface of the adapter 20 with a slight gap. Furthermore, the inner cylindrical surface 5
In the upper part of 1, the engaging groove 2 formed in the adapter 20
Engagement projections 52 that fit with 3 are provided so as to project over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction.

Next, the above-mentioned adapter 20 and connection terminal 4
0 and the locking member 50, the battery terminals 12, 1
A procedure for electrically connecting the four will be described. First,
Similar to the above-described first embodiment, the battery terminal 1
The adapter 20 is attached to 2, 14. Next, the adapter 20 is received in the insertion hole 41 of the connection terminal 40, and the pair of terminal portions 42 are fitted onto the pair of adapters 20, respectively. Further, after fitting the pair of locking members 50 onto the pair of adapters 20, the locking members 50 are respectively pressed by hand, or hit with a resin hammer or the like,
The engaging projection 53 of the locking member 50 is fitted into the engaging groove 2 of the adapter 20.
Engage with 4. As a result, the locking member 50 is locked to the adapter 20 while being in close contact with the terminal portion 42 of the connection terminal 40, so that the terminal portion 42 of the connection terminal 40 engages with the base portions 12a and 14a of the battery terminals 12 and 14. It is fixed in a state of being sandwiched by the stopper member 50, and the battery terminals 12, 1
4 is electrically connected to.

That is, according to the electrical connection structure 200 between the battery terminals of this embodiment, the connection terminal 40 is provided between the battery terminals 12 and 14 without tightening the nut.
Can be easily connected by. This causes the terminal portion 42 of the connection terminal 40 to rotate together with the tightening nut,
It is possible to reliably prevent the connecting portion 43 from being greatly deformed or damaged. Further, since a heavy tool such as a pneumatic impact wrench or a hydraulic wrench for tightening the nut is not required, the connection work can be performed very easily and reliably, and the physical burden on the operator is significantly reduced. You can Further, since the connection terminal 40 having the same structure as the existing connection terminal can be used, the manufacturing cost of the connection terminal 40 can be significantly reduced as compared with the connection terminal 30 of the first embodiment described above. it can.

The embodiments of the electrical connection structure between battery terminals according to the present invention have been described in detail above.
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and various modifications can be made .

[0023]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention.
According to the electrical connection structure between the battery terminals described in (1), a pair of cylindrical adapters that are respectively screwed into the male screw portions of the pair of battery terminals, and a pair of terminal portions that are externally fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the adapter, and and a connecting terminal connecting portion for electrically connecting the terminal portion is molded into the terminal unit, Ada
The engaging groove is provided on the outer circumference of the connector, and
An engagement protrusion that engages with the mating groove is provided. Therefore, the battery terminals can be easily connected to each other by the connection terminals without tightening the nuts, so that the terminal portions of the connection terminals rotate together with the tightening nuts, and the connection portions are greatly deformed or damaged. Can be reliably prevented. Further, since a heavy tool such as a pneumatic impact wrench or a hydraulic wrench for tightening the nut is not required, the connection work can be performed very easily and the physical burden on the operator can be remarkably reduced.

Further, according to the electrical connection structure between the battery terminals according to claim 2 of the present invention, a pair of cylindrical adapters respectively screwed into the male screw portions of the pair of battery terminals, and the outer periphery of the adapters. A pair of terminal portions that are externally fitted to the surfaces, and a connection terminal that has a connecting portion that electrically connects the terminal portions; and a locking member that is externally fitted to the pair of adapters, and the outer periphery of the adapter is provided. When the engaging groove is provided
In both cases, an engagement protrusion engaged with the engagement groove is provided on the inner circumference of the locking member . Therefore, similar to the effect of the electrical connection structure between the battery terminals according to claim 1, the battery terminals can be easily connected by the connection terminals. Since it is possible to reliably prevent damage and does not require heavy tools such as a pneumatic impact wrench or hydraulic wrench,
The connection work can be performed extremely easily, and the physical burden on the operator can be significantly reduced. Further, since the connection terminal having the same structure as the existing connection terminal can be used, it is possible to significantly reduce the cost for manufacturing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a first embodiment of an electrical connection structure between battery terminals according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a second structure for connecting battery terminals according to the present invention.
It is an exploded perspective view showing an example of an embodiment.

4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional connection structure between battery terminals.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 13 Battery 12, 14 Battery terminal 20 Adapter (first embodiment) 21 Inner peripheral surface (female screw portion) 22 Tip tapered portion 23 Engaging groove 30 Connection terminal (first embodiment) 31 Terminal portion 32 Connection portion 33 Inside Cylindrical surface 34 Engagement projection 40 Connection terminal (second embodiment) 41 Terminal insertion hole 42 Terminal part 43 Connection part 50 Locking member (second embodiment) 51 Inner cylindrical surface 52 Engagement projection 100 Battery of the first embodiment Electrical connection structure between terminals 200 Electrical connection structure between battery terminals of the second embodiment

Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-8-77994 (JP, A) JP-A-7-335193 (JP, A) JP-A-8-69832 (JP, A) JP-A-5-306790 (JP , A) Actually open 60-48667 (JP, U) Actually open 3-77375 (JP, U) Actually open 2-140771 (JP, U) Actually open 51-89225 (JP, U) Actually open 2-64169 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01M 2/20 H01M 2/30

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A structure for electrically connecting a pair of battery terminals, wherein a pair of cylindrical adapters are respectively screwed into the male screw portions of the pair of battery terminals, and externally mounted on the outer peripheral surfaces of the adapters. A pair of terminal parts to be fitted and a connecting part for electrically connecting the terminal parts are formed on the terminal parts by casting.
Equipped with embedded connection terminal , engages with the outer circumference of the adapter
A groove is provided, and the engaging groove is engaged with the inner circumference of the terminal portion.
An electrical connection structure between battery terminals, characterized in that engaging projections are provided. 2. A structure for electrically connecting a pair of battery terminals to each other, wherein a pair of cylindrical adapters are respectively screwed into male screw portions of the pair of battery terminals, and externally mounted on outer peripheral surfaces of the adapters. A connection terminal having a pair of terminal portions to be fitted and a connecting portion for electrically connecting the terminal portions, and a locking member that is fitted to the pair of adapters respectively, and engages with the outer periphery of the adapter. With a groove,
An electric connection structure between battery terminals , wherein an engagement protrusion engaged with the engagement groove is provided on an inner circumference of the locking member .