JP3397143B2 - Earth terminal connection aid - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grounding terminal connecting aid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when connecting a grounding electric wire used for a wire harness of an automobile to a grounding stud bolt provided on a vehicle body, terminals fixed to terminals of a plurality of electric wires are individually inserted into the bolt. Instead, by integrally connecting the terminals, it is possible to improve the work efficiency by completing the insertion work in the field only once.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of such a ground terminal. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ground terminal of FIG. 3 is assembled. With reference to these drawings, the ground terminals 11 and 12 of this type are connected to barrel portions 11a and 12a that are crimped to the ends of the covered electric wires 2 and 3 and the tip portions of the barrel portions 11a and 12a. It has connection parts 11c and 12c having insertion holes 11b and 12b for inserting stud bolts (not shown).
The ground terminals 11 and 12 are of a type in which the connecting portions 11c and 12c are formed symmetrically in a plane and are integrated into a pair.

The connecting portion 11c of each ground terminal 11 and 12,
The reference numeral 12c has a plate shape and is formed so as to project from the tips of the barrel portions 11a, 12a toward the mating ground terminal 12 (11) to be coupled, and is assembled to each other in the projecting direction. Thus, they are connected to each other. The through-holes 11b and 12b opened at substantially central portions of the connecting portions 11c and 12c and the sides 11e and 12e located on the downstream side in the projecting direction are connected to the ground terminal 12 (11) of the mating side. ), A pair of locking pieces 11f, 11g, 12f, 12g are formed, and are undulated so that they can be fitted to each other. Then, as shown by an arrow A1 in FIG. 3, the locking piece 11g formed on the side 11e of the one ground terminal 11 is inserted into the insertion hole 12b of the other ground terminal 12.
It is submerged inside, and the insertion hole 12 of the other ground terminal 12 concerned.
It is locked to the lower surface of the locking piece 12f formed in b, and the locking piece 12g formed on the side 12e of the other ground terminal 12 is inserted into the through hole of one ground terminal 11 as shown by an arrow A2. As shown in FIG. 4, by submerging into 11b and engaging with the upper surface of a locking piece 11f formed in the insertion hole 11b of the one ground terminal 11 and joining both connecting portions 11c and 12c. In addition, the insertion holes 11b and 12b are connected in a state where they are substantially vertically overlapped with each other. In order to firmly maintain the connected state of the ground terminals 11 and 12, the locking pieces 1 of the ground terminals 11 and 12 are secured.
The locking projections 11h and 12h are cut and raised on 1g and 12g, respectively, and the ground terminal 1 on the other side is
Locking holes 11j and 12j for locking the locking protrusions 12h (11h) of Nos. 1 and 12 are formed at predetermined positions.
Then, as shown in FIG. 4, these ground terminals 11,
When 12 is properly connected, the locking protrusions 11h, 1
2h are set so as to fit into the corresponding locking holes 12j and 11j.

By the way, this kind of ground terminals 11, 12
If the work of connecting the two is performed entirely by hand, the workability is poor and a fitting failure may occur. Therefore, the applicant of the present application has previously made a connection tool 20 for connecting the ground terminals 11 and 12 of this type. Or a connection method is proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-250).
253). FIG. 5 shows the ground terminals 11 and 1 of FIG.
2 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which 2 is temporarily assembled, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a connecting work using a connecting tool proposed by the applicant of the present application.

First, referring to FIG. 5, an operator preliminarily stacks the ground terminals 11, 12 so that they can be connected to each other, and before the locking projections 11h, 12h are fitted into the locking holes 12j, 11j. Assemble in the state (temporary assembled state). In this state, the insertion holes 11b that divide the two ground terminals 11 and 12
The opening 12b has a width d that is narrower than that in a normally assembled state.

Next, the ground terminals 11 and 12 in the temporarily assembled state are introduced into the rod-shaped connecting tool 20, and the insertion holes 11b and 12b are partitioned from the top portion 21 of the connecting tool 20 by the lower nut 22. Insert into the shoulder portion 23. Here, the connecting tool 20 has a guide portion 24 formed in a tapered shape on the side of the top portion 21, and from the lower end of the guide portion 24 to the shoulder portion 23, the horizontal height is set to a constant height. Part 2
5 in succession. The guide portion 24 is the top portion 21.
Is set to have a diameter smaller than the opening width d of the insertion holes 11b and 12b of the ground terminals 11 and 12 in the temporarily assembled state, and the opening width d is widened in the vicinity of the horizontal portion 25. , The locking protrusions 11h of both ground terminals 11 and 12,
The diameter of 12h is set so that it can be assembled in a state where it is properly fitted into the locking holes 12j and 11j (main fitting state).

Therefore, the worker simply introduces the ground terminals 11 and 12 in the temporarily assembled state into the top portion 21 of the connecting tool 20 which is erected at a predetermined position, and each ground terminal 1
It was possible to perform the main fitting of Nos. 1 and 12.

[0009]

However, recently, the force (fitting force) required to properly fit the locking projections 11h, 12h into the locking holes 12j, 11j is set to a very large value. Has become. Therefore, as in the conventional case, the worker manually holds the ground terminal 11 in a temporarily assembled state,
By simply pressing 12 downward with a finger, it is quite easy to connect the grounding terminals 11 and 12 to the position where the grounding terminals 11 and 12 are properly connected.
It was not possible to insert it into the, and the workability was poor.
In addition, the resulting poor connection resulted in a poor yield.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a grounding terminal connecting aid that can improve the efficiency of connecting work.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is directed to a guide portion of a connecting tool which is formed in a tapered shape in an insertion hole defined by a plurality of ground terminals in a temporarily assembled state. Introducing, and pushing each ground terminal to the shoulder part of the connecting tool extended to the lower end of this guide part to widen the opening width of the insertion hole, thereby grounding each ground terminal for final fitting. A terminal coupling aid, comprising a cylindrical push-in portion into which the guide portion of the coupling tool can be introduced so that the ground terminal can be pushed into the shoulder of the coupling tool, and a handle provided at the end of the pushing-in section. An auxiliary tool for connecting a ground terminal, which is characterized by having.

In the invention including this specific matter, when the plurality of ground terminals in the temporarily assembled state are introduced into the guide portion of the connecting tool, the handle of the connecting aid for the ground terminal is grasped,
The push-in portion is introduced from the top of the guide portion, and the push-in portion pushes the ground terminal to the shoulder portion of the connector. As a result, the opening width defined by the insertion hole of each ground terminal is expanded by the guide portion, and each ground terminal is permanently fitted by the displacement. In addition, the shape of the pushing portion is "cylindrical", in addition to being tubular over the entire length,
It also includes a solid rod that is partially cylindrical.

In a preferred embodiment, the push-in portion is formed in a bottomed shape that comes into contact with the top portion of the connector with a stroke necessary and sufficient for the ground terminal to be fully fitted. In the invention including this specific matter, when the operator grips the connection assisting tool and pushes in the temporarily assembled ground terminal at the pushing portion, the ground terminal is pushed in by a stroke sufficient and necessary for the final fitting. By the way, the pushing portion comes into contact with the top portion of the coupling tool, and further pushing is restricted.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the accompanying drawings,
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of use of a connection assistant tool 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the same members as those described with reference to FIG. 3 and the like are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 1, the connection assisting tool 3 shown in FIG.
0 is a rod 31 and a rod 31 that are partially hollow.
And a grip ball 32 as a handle fixed to the end portion of the. A bottomed introduction hole 33 is opened at the free end of the rod 31. The introduction hole 33 is set to a depth H capable of introducing from the top portion 21 of the coupling tool 20 to the shoulder portion 23.

The grip ball 32 is a resin molded product screwed into a screw portion 34 formed at the base end portion of the rod 31, and an operator grips the grip ball 32 and pushes the rod 31 in. The outer diameter is set so that it can be easily gripped. In the above configuration, when the ground terminals 11 and 12 in the temporarily assembled state shown in FIG. 5 are introduced into the guide portion of the connector 20, the plurality of ground terminals 11 and 12 in the temporarily assembled state are connected. Grasping the ball 32 of the hand with one hand F, the introduction hole 33 of the rod 31 to the top 21 of the guide portion 24
And the free end side of the rod 31 is introduced into the guide portion 24. As a result, the ground terminals 11 and 12 are pressed by the rod 31 and introduced into the lower shoulder portion 23. As a result, the respective ground terminals 11 and 12 are fully fitted without imposing a heavy burden on the operator.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the ground terminal can be pushed in by the rod 31 of the auxiliary tool for connecting the ground terminal, so that the operator can reasonably apply a large force to the ground terminals 11 and 12. Even if the fitting force of the ground terminals 11 and 12 is set to be large, the work of connecting the ground terminals 11 and 12 can be performed smoothly.

Therefore, the above-described embodiment has a remarkable effect that the efficiency of the connecting work can be improved. The above-described embodiments are merely examples of preferred examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the fully fitted state of the ground terminal according to the modification of the embodiment of FIG. As shown in the figure, in setting the depth H of the rod 31, in the illustrated embodiment, the thickness of the ground terminals 11 and 12 is t.
H = h1-2t (2t is the ground terminal 11,
(Corresponding to the thickness of 12 assembled bodies). In this form, when the operator grips the grip ball 32 and pushes in the ground terminals 11 and 12 temporarily assembled by the rod 31,
When the ground terminals 11 and 12 are pushed in by a stroke sufficient and necessary for the final fitting, the rod 31 comes into contact with the top portion 21 of the coupling tool 20 and restricts further pushing. As a result, the ground terminal is caused by excessive pushing. There is an advantage that the deformation of 11 and 12 can be prevented.

Needless to say, various design changes can be made within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When expanding the opening of the ground terminal in the temporarily assembled state with a connecting tool and finally fitting each ground terminal, the ground terminal can be pushed in via the pushing part of the ground terminal connection auxiliary tool, so work A person can reasonably apply a large force to the ground terminal, and even when the ground terminal is set to have a large fitting force, the ground terminal can be smoothly connected.

Further, in the case where the push-in portion is formed with a predetermined bottom so that the earth terminal is not pushed in more than necessary, it is possible to prevent deformation of the earth terminal due to excessive pushing. There is. Therefore,
According to the present invention, there is a remarkable effect that the efficiency of connection work can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a usage example of a connection assistant according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a fully fitted state of a ground terminal according to a modification of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a ground terminal.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ground terminal of FIG. 3 is assembled.

5 is a schematic plan view showing a state where the ground terminal of FIG. 3 is temporarily assembled.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a connecting operation using a connecting tool proposed by the applicant of the present application.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 12 Ground terminal 20 Connector 21 top 23 Shoulder 24 Guide 25 Horizontal part 30 Connection aid 31 Rod (push-in part) 32 ball 33 introduction hole d opening width H depth h1 height t Ground terminal thickness

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Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connecting member extending into the lower end of the guide member, wherein a guide portion of the connecting member formed in a tapered shape is introduced into an insertion hole defining a plurality of ground terminals in a temporarily assembled state. A grounding terminal connecting aid for permanently fitting each grounding terminal by pushing each grounding terminal up to the shoulder portion to widen the opening width of the insertion hole. A grounding terminal connection aid, comprising: a cylindrical push-in portion into which a guide portion of the connecting tool can be inserted so as to be able to be pushed into a shoulder portion; and a handle provided at an end of the push-in portion. 2. The grounding terminal connecting aid according to claim 1, wherein the pushing portion is formed in a bottomed shape that comes into contact with the top of the connecting tool with a stroke necessary and sufficient for the grounding terminal to be fully fitted. A grounding terminal connection aid.