JP5664156B2 - Terminal cap - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cap for a terminal connected to an electric wire terminal, and more specifically, a round terminal connected to an electric wire terminal wired to a vehicle body of a two-wheeled vehicle or four-wheeled vehicle is electrically connected by bolt fastening to a counterpart member and then moved. The present invention relates to a cap that covers the terminal.

  Conventionally, a ground terminal connected to a terminal of a ground wire or a terminal connected to a terminal of a starter cable has a shape provided with a bolt hole, and is called a bolt fastening terminal or a round terminal. The terminal is arranged such that the bolt hole of the terminal is communicated with the bolt hole provided in the mating mold member, the bolt is inserted from above and tightened with a nut, and the stud bolt protruding from the mating mold member, etc. There are both cases where a bolt is passed through a bolt hole of a terminal and tightened with a nut, and hereinafter, both patterns are referred to as a bolted terminal.

In many cases, the terminal is secured to the mating member with a bolt or nut and then covered with a rubber cap to provide waterproof and dustproof protection, and the external conductive member contacts to prevent short circuit from occurring.
In order to prevent forgetting to attach the cap, the cap is attached to the electric wire in advance so that it can be moved to a position away from the terminal when tightening with the mating member on the vehicle assembly line. It moves to the position of and covers the terminal. That is, it is necessary to attach the cap to the electric wire so as to be movable to the vehicle assembly line. At that time, if the cap is easily moved along the electric wire, the cap is likely to come off from the terminal at the tip of the electric wire due to vibration or the like during conveyance. On the other hand, if it is prevented from coming out of the terminal, there is a problem that the cap is difficult to move with respect to the electric wire and workability is deteriorated.

As a protective cap for this type of terminal, the present applicant provides a terminal cap 100 shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-147648. The terminal cap 100 has a shape in which a hemispherical spherical shell portion 102 covering the crimp terminal T connected to the end of the electric wire is connected to the tip of a tube 101 through which the electric wire W is inserted. A pair of ribs 103 and 104 are integrally formed so as to cross the tip opening 101 a of the tube 101. The cap 100 is movably attached through the electric wire W as shown in FIG. 9B, and the cap 100 is put on the terminal T after the terminal is fastened to the counterpart member.
The cap 100 has its ribs 103, 104 at the front end abutting against the rear end face Ta of the crimp terminal T so that the cap 100 does not come out of the terminal T.

As described above, the ends of the ribs 103 and 104 of the cap 100 are in contact with the rear end surface Ta of the crimp terminal T crimped and crimped to the electric wire W. The rear end surface Ta of the crimp terminal T is an insulating coating of the crimp terminal T. Since the barrel is crimped to the insulating coating portion of the electric wire W, it is pressed so as to be embedded in the surface of the insulating coating portion of the electric wire W, and the amount of protrusion from the surface of the electric wire W is very small.
Therefore, it is difficult to prevent the ribs 103 and 104 from coming into contact with the rear end surface Ta of the crimp terminal T, and there is a problem that the cap 100 is easily detached from the electric wire W.

JP-A-9-147648

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to prevent a cap for terminal protection, which is movably attached to an electric wire having a terminal attached to an electric wire end, from passing through the terminal at the tip. It is said.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a bolt fastening round terminal which is attached to an electric wire in advance and is crimped and connected to an end of the electric wire after being fastened to a mating member with a bolt or a nut and moved. A cap over a round terminal,
It consists of a resin molded product having flexibility formed by dip molding, and includes a rectangular tube portion having a lower surface opening, and a small-diameter cylindrical portion that is continuous with a through hole provided on one side surface of the rectangular tube portion and has an open end.
A plurality of annular ribs are provided at intervals on the inner surface of the small-diameter cylindrical portion as stoppers for preventing the removal, and the inner diameter of the annular rib is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of the circular electrical contact portion of the round terminal. The outer diameter of the wire connected to the terminal is set larger than the outer diameter, and the inner peripheral surface of the annular rib is a rough surface, or a plurality of small protrusions are provided to increase the friction coefficient,
Before SL square tubular section provides a cap for terminals that are assumed to pass the electric wire connecting part and the connected wire round terminal to the small-diameter cylindrical portion with covering the electrical contact portion of the ring terminal which is bolted .

The cap of the present invention is assembled in advance to an electric wire having a round terminal connected to a terminal. In the assembling operation, the tip of the electrical contact portion of the round terminal is inserted from the tip opening of the small diameter cylindrical portion of the cap. At that time, the inner diameter of the annular rib is made smaller than the outer diameter of the electrical contact portion. However, since the cap is flexible, both sides of the annular rib contacting the outer periphery facing the electrical contact portion are outside. The electric contact portion can be flattened in a flat direction and flattened from a circular cross-section to an elliptical cross-section, and the electrical contact portion can be passed to the square tube portion side. Thereafter, the round terminal is pulled out from the lower surface opening of the square tube portion, and the cap is moved along the electric wire to a position off the round terminal. In this state, the cap is movably attached to the electric wire at a position removed from the round terminal.
Before the round terminal is bolted to the mating member, when the cap moves to a position that covers the terminal of the wire terminal, even if the electrical contact part of the round terminal is inserted from the opening of the rectangular tube part of the cap The electrical contact portion is prevented from being inserted by the annular rib. Therefore, it is difficult to remove the cap from the round terminal, and the cap can be prevented from falling off.

As described above, a plurality of thick annular ribs are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the small-diameter cylindrical portion of the cap to reduce the inner diameter and make the inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the electric contact portion. The contact part is difficult to pass and cannot be removed. In addition, when the cap is passed through the round terminal, the cap is made flexible so that the small diameter cylindrical portion can be bent and the electrical contact portion can be passed therethrough.
Also, since the inner diameter of the annular rib is larger than the outer diameter of the wire connected to the round terminal, the cap can be easily moved along the wire after the round terminal is fastened to the mating member, and the wire connecting portion of the round terminal is reduced in diameter. Through the cylindrical portion, the work of covering the square cylindrical portion on the electrical contact portion can be performed smoothly.

 The annular rib provided on the small-diameter cylindrical portion of the cap is provided with at least two of a first annular rib provided at a continuous position with the rectangular tube portion, and a second annular rib provided with a required dimension apart from the first annular rib, The 1st annular rib is provided in the position contact | abutted to the both-sides edge by the side of the electric wire connection part of the said electrical contact part.

  As described above, when the first annular rib of the small-diameter cylindrical portion of the cap is in a state where the electrical contact portion of the round terminal is held in contact with both side edges of the portion continuing to the wire connection portion, the electrical contact of the round terminal It becomes difficult for the portion to pass through the small-diameter cylindrical portion of the cap, and the cap can be prevented from coming off the round terminal.

Furthermore, it is preferable to provide a third annular rib on the inner peripheral surface in the vicinity of the tip opening of the small-diameter cylindrical portion at a distance from the second annular rib.
Thus, when the number of ribs is increased by providing the third annular rib, the electrical contact portion can hardly pass through the small-diameter cylindrical portion, and the cap can be more reliably prevented from coming off the round terminal.

As described above , the inner peripheral surface of the annular rib is rough, or a large number of small protrusions are provided close together to increase the coefficient of friction, making it difficult for the round terminal to come out .
The small protrusion may be a V-shaped small protrusion or a protruding piece that is inclined toward the square tube portion side to restrict the electrical contact portion of the round terminal from being inserted into the small diameter cylindrical portion side.

Further, the small-diameter cylindrical portion may be inclined so as to be reduced in diameter toward the tip opening.
Thus, it is preferable that the electrical contact portion of the round terminal has a shape that passes through the small-diameter cylindrical portion from the rectangular tube portion and is difficult to escape from the tip opening of the small-diameter cylindrical portion.

  The cap of the present invention is suitably used as a cap for protecting a round terminal for fastening a bolt that is movably attached to a starter cable wired to a two-wheeled vehicle or four-wheeled vehicle and is crimped to the end of the starter cable.

As described above, in the present invention, the terminal cap made of a dip-molded product is formed by connecting the wire connecting portion and the small diameter cylindrical portion through which the electric wire passes to the rectangular tube portion covering the electrical contact portion of the round terminal, and the small diameter cylindrical portion. The cap of the present invention that requires flexibility can be dip-molded and the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced.
In addition, the cap can be prevented from coming off from the round terminal only by providing a plurality of annular ribs on the inner surface of the small diameter cylindrical portion. Furthermore, since it is easy to move along the wire after assembling the cap to the wire connected to the round terminal, the work to move along the wire so that the cap is separated from the round terminal, and the round terminal to the bolt The work of moving the cap along the electric wire in order to cover the round terminal after fastening can be performed smoothly, and workability can be improved.

(A) is a perspective view which shows the terminal of the electric wire terminal protected with the cap of this invention, (B) is a front view which shows the state which has attached the cap to the electric wire movably. The cap for terminals of 1st Embodiment of this invention is shown, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is a horizontal sectional view along the BB line of (A). (A) is an expanded sectional view of the small diameter cylindrical part of FIG. 2 (B), (B) is a sectional view of the orthogonal direction of (A). (A) (B) (C) is a perspective view which shows the process of assembling the terminal of an electric wire terminal to a cap. (A) is sectional drawing of the process shown to FIG. 4 (B), (B) is CC sectional view taken on the line of (A). It is sectional drawing which shows the cap of 2nd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the cap of 3rd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the cap of 4th Embodiment. (A) (B) is drawing which shows a prior art example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5 show a first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1 (A), a round terminal 2 for bolt fastening is crimped and connected to the end of an electric wire 1 made of a starter cable wired to a two-wheeled vehicle, and the round terminal 2 is protected as shown in FIG. 1 (B). A cap 3 is attached to the electric wire 1 so as to be movable, and after the round terminal 2 is fastened with a mating member and a bolt or nut, the cap 3 is put on the round terminal 2. In the present embodiment, a bolt is passed through the bolt hole 2e of the round terminal 2 with a mating member and a nut.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the round terminal 2 covering the cap 3 includes a wire connecting portion 2a connected to the end of the wire 1, and a circular electric contact portion continuous to the tip of the wire connecting portion 2a. 2b. When the electrical contact portion 2b is a head portion, the wire connection portion 2a is a lower neck portion, and a pair of substantially triangular recesses 2c are formed on both sides of the boundary between the electrical contact portion 2b and the wire connection portion 2a that hit the opposite sides of the neck position. 2d.
A bolt hole 2e is provided at the center of the electrical contact portion 2b, and a core wire barrel 2f and an insulation coating barrel 2g are provided at the wire connection portion 2a. At the end of the electric wire 1, the insulation coating is peeled off to expose the core wire, and the core wire barrel 2f is crimped and crimped to the core wire. Connected to.

The cap 3 that covers the round terminal 2 has a shape shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and is formed of a dip-molded product formed by a dip mold. The cap 3 is formed of vinyl chloride or the like, and has an insulating property and flexibility so that it can be easily bent.
The cap 3 includes a rectangular tube portion 10 having a lower surface opening and a small-diameter cylindrical portion 11 which is continuous with a central hole 10d on one side surface 10a of the square tube portion 10 and has an opening 11a at the tip.

On the inner surface of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 11, first, second, and third annular ribs 12, 13, and 14 that are thick at equal intervals L in the axial direction are provided on the entire circumference. The first annular rib 12 is positioned at a continuous end with the rectangular tube portion 10, the second annular rib 13 is provided with the interval L, and the second annular rib 13 is spaced from the distal end opening 11 a with the interval L. Three annular ribs 14 are provided.
The first to third annular ribs 12 to 14 are protruded from the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter cylindrical portion 11 by a thickness t of 1 mm or more. In the present embodiment, the first to third annular ribs 12 to 14 protrude by a thickness of 1 mm. The dimension of the interval L and the dimension of the wall thickness t are L> t.

The first to third annular ribs 12 to 14 have the same thickness and the inner diameter d1 is the same. The inner diameter d1 is set to be smaller than the outer diameter d2 of the electrical contact portion 2b of the round terminal 2 (d1 <d2), and is set to be larger than the outer diameter d3 of the electric wire 1 to be crimped and connected by the electric wire connecting portion 2a of the round terminal 2 ( d3 <d1 <d2). The outer diameter of the wire connecting portion 2a is only slightly larger than the outer diameter d3 of the wire, and the inner diameter d1 of the annular rib is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the wire connecting portion 2a.
The first annular ribs 12 are held in contact with both side edges of the electrical contact portion 2b on the lower neck connection side. Further, the surfaces (inner peripheral surfaces) of the first to third annular ribs 12 to 14 are rough surfaces 12a to 14a to increase the friction coefficient and make it difficult to slip.

  The rectangular tube portion 10 of the cap 3 is sized to have a longitudinal length s1 and a width s2 that are slightly larger than the outer diameter d2 of the electrical contact portion 2b of the round terminal 2, and the electrical contact portion 2b faces the lower surface opening 10b. It is possible to cover it in a horizontally arranged state. And it sets to the magnitude | size which has the height s3 which can accommodate the head of the volt | bolt (not shown) which passes along the volt | bolt hole 2e provided in the center of this electric contact part 2b.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cap 3 is attached to a round terminal 2 that is crimp-connected to the end of the electric wire 1.
First, the cap 3 is attached to the electric wire 1 by inserting the round terminal 2 into the tip opening 11a of the small diameter cylindrical portion 11 as shown in FIG. Inside the small diameter cylindrical portion 11, the third annular rib 14, the second annular rib 13, and the first annular rib 12 protrude from the opening 11 a side to the inner peripheral side, and the inner diameter d 1 of the round contact 2 is connected to the electric contact portion 2 b of the round terminal 2. It is smaller than the outer diameter d2. Therefore, when the electrical contact portion 2b of the round terminal 2 comes into contact with the third to first annular ribs 14 to 12, the third to first annular ribs 14 to 12 are flattened as shown in FIGS. The electric contact portion 2b can be inserted.
When the electrical contact portion 2b passes through the small-diameter cylindrical portion 11 and reaches the rectangular tube portion 10, it is inclined and pulled out from the lower surface opening 10b to the outside as shown in FIG.

  In this state, only the electric wire 1 passes through the cap 3, and the inner diameter d1 of the first to third annular ribs 12 to 14 of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 11 is larger than the outer diameter d3 of the electric wire. It can be smoothly moved along the electric wire 1 so as to be spaced from the round terminal 2 at the tip.

In this manner, the electric wire is conveyed from the wire harness manufacturer to the assembly line of the vehicle manufacturer with the cap 3 attached to the electric wire 1 so as to be movable. That is, the cap 3 is removed from the round terminal 2 so that the cap 3 does not get in the way when the round terminal 2 is tightened with the counterpart member and the bolt.
After the round terminal 2 is bolted to the counterpart member, the cap 3 is smoothly moved along the electric wire 1 to cover the round terminal 2. That is, the rectangular tube portion 10 of the cap 3 is placed on the electrical contact portion 2 b of the round terminal 2, and the wire connection portion 2 a is passed through the small diameter cylindrical portion 11.

  Since the cap 3 can be moved along the electric wire 1 as described above, the cap 3 moves along the electric wire 1 due to vibration or the like during transportation from the wire harness manufacturer to the vehicle manufacturer, and the round terminal. The cap 3 may move to the terminal side to which the 2 is attached.

When the cap 3 moves and reaches the position of the round terminal 2, it is necessary to prevent the round terminal 2 from coming out of the cap 3.
In the cap 3 of the present invention, three first to third annular ribs 12 to 14 are provided at intervals on the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter cylindrical portion 11, and these inner diameters d1 are provided outside the electrical contact portion 2 b of the round terminal 2. It is smaller than the diameter d2. Therefore, the electrical contact portion 2 b of the round terminal 2 is first caught by the first annular rib 12 and is difficult to insert into the small diameter cylindrical portion 11. Even if the pulling force of the electric wire 1 is strong and the first annular rib 12 is deformed and the electric contact portion 2b passes, the second annular rib 13 and then the third annular rib in front of the outlet side of the tip opening 11a. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the electrical contact portion 2b from being caught by these annular ribs 13 and 14 and penetrating the small diameter cylindrical portion 11. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the cap 3 from coming off the electric wire 1 almost certainly.

  As described above, after the round terminal 2 is fastened to the counterpart member by bolting, the worker holds the cap 3 and moves it along the electric wire 1 to the position covering the round terminal 2, so that the bottom surface of the rectangular tube portion 10 is moved. The opening 10b is positioned on the outer periphery of the horizontal electrical contact portion 2b. In this state, the first annular rib 12 comes into contact with both sides of the boundary between the electrical contact portion 2b of the round terminal 2 and the electrical connection portion 2a to sandwich the electrical contact portion 2b. Therefore, the round terminal 2 can be reliably protected by the cap 3.

6 to 8 show caps 3-B to 3-D of the second to fourth embodiments.
The cap 3-B of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is provided with two ribs of the first annular rib 12 and the second annular rib 13 on the inner surface of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 11 and is not provided with the third annular rib.
Other configurations and operational effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The cap 3-C of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is such that the small diameter cylindrical portion 11 is reduced in diameter toward the tip opening 11a, and the electrical contact portion of the round terminal moves in the direction of the arrow Y, thereby reducing the small diameter cylindrical portion 11. It is hard to get out of.
More specifically, the lower half peripheral portion of the small diameter cylindrical portion 11 is inclined in three steps, and first to third annular ribs 12 to 14 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of each step portion. In addition, the first to third annular ribs 12 to 14 are formed by providing a large number of V-shaped small protrusions 12b to 14b to increase the roughness.

  The cap 3-D of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 8 has a conical shape that reduces the diameter of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 11 toward the tip opening 11 a, so that the electrical contact portion of the round terminal does not easily come out of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 11. The first and second annular ribs 12 and 13 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 11 are formed from a large number of projecting pieces 12c and 13c that are inclined toward the rectangular tube portion 10 side. These projecting pieces 12c and 13c function to push back the electrical contact portion of the round terminal that is about to escape in the arrow Y direction.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric wire 2 Round terminal 2a Electric wire connection part 2b Electric contact part 2e Bolt hole 3 Cap 10 Square cylinder part 11 Small diameter cylindrical part 12 1st annular rib 13 2nd annular rib 14 3rd annular rib

Claims (4)

A cap that is attached to the electric wire in advance so as to be movable, and that the round terminal for fastening the bolt that is crimped and connected to the end of the electric wire is tightened with a bolt or a nut on the counterpart member and then moved to cover the round terminal,
It consists of a resin molded product having flexibility formed by dip molding, and includes a rectangular tube portion having a lower surface opening, and a small-diameter cylindrical portion that is continuous with a through hole provided on one side surface of the rectangular tube portion and has an open end.
A plurality of annular ribs are provided at intervals on the inner surface of the small-diameter cylindrical portion as stoppers for preventing the removal, and the inner diameter of the annular rib is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of the circular electrical contact portion of the round terminal. The outer diameter of the wire connected to the terminal is set larger than the outer diameter, and the inner peripheral surface of the annular rib is a rough surface, or a plurality of small protrusions are provided to increase the friction coefficient,
Before Symbol cap terminal square tubular portion which is intended to pass the electric wire connecting part and the connected wire round terminal to the small-diameter cylindrical portion with covering the electrical contact portion of the ring terminal which is bolted.   The annular rib provided on the small-diameter cylindrical portion of the cap is provided with two pieces, a first annular rib provided at a continuous position with the rectangular tube portion, and a second annular rib provided with a required dimension away from the first annular rib, The terminal ring cap according to claim 1, wherein the one annular rib is provided at a position in contact with both side edges of the electric contact portion on the side of the electric wire connection portion.   The terminal cap according to claim 2, wherein a third annular rib is provided on the inner peripheral surface in the vicinity of the tip opening of the small-diameter cylindrical portion at a distance from the second annular rib. Mounted for movement in the starter cable is wired to two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicles, as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 is intended to protect the bolted terminal to be crimped to the terminal of the starter cable Cap for terminals.

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