JP5821804B2 - Terminal block and method of manufacturing terminal block - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal block and a method for manufacturing the terminal block.

Conventionally, a terminal block described in Patent Document 1 is known as a terminal block for electrically connecting conductive members such as bus bars extending from devices such as a motor and an inverter.
This terminal block includes a nut on which a conductive member extending from the device is placed, and a bracket fixed to the device. A metal bracket is arranged below the nut via an insulating sheet, and these are resin It is comprised by fixing integrally by. And a terminal block is fixed to an apparatus by inserting a volt | bolt in the bolt insertion hole provided in the bracket, and fastening to an apparatus.

JP 2008-98007 A

  By the way, in recent years, when a nut and a bracket are fixed together by resin molding, an insulating sheet is not disposed between the nut and the bracket, and the nut and the bracket are insulated by pouring resin between the nut and the bracket. It is being considered. In a mold that opens in the vertical direction, in order to pour resin between the nut and the bracket, the nut is usually supported from the lower side by a support pin or the like to create a gap between the nut and the bracket. The resin will be poured into the gap. However, if the nut is supported from below so as to cover the entire lower end of the nut, the nut and bracket must be shifted so that they do not overlap in the vertical direction, and the terminal block is in the direction in which the nut and bracket are shifted. It will increase in size. As an example of a method that does not increase the size of the terminal block, a nut and bracket are provided by providing a through-hole penetrating vertically in the bracket, inserting a support pin into the through-hole, and supporting the nut with the support pin from below. Although a method of stacking up and down is also conceivable, there is a case where a seal surface or the like exists on the back surface of the bracket, and a through hole or the like cannot be provided in the bracket, and a countermeasure for this is desired.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and aims to reduce the size of a terminal block that is molded integrally by pouring resin between a nut and a bracket without using an insulating sheet. To do.

The present invention as means for achieving the above objects have been secured together in a state in which the bracket conductive member is fixed to the nut and equipment are placed on the upper surface bolt is fastened is separated by the resin a terminal block, the opening edge of the bolt hole of the nut is supported pins of the molding die to mold opening vertically is formed fittable fitting recess from below, in the bracket face of the side fixed to the equipment, the are a sealing surface for holding the sealing member with the device, the sealing surface, the arrangement not overlapping with mated the support pins in the fitting recess It is, the previous SL nut and the bracket, when viewed from the fitting direction between the support pin and the fitting recess, having characterized in that are arranged close to at least partially overlap .

  The present invention is also a method of manufacturing a terminal block in which a nut on which a conductive member is placed and a bolt is fastened, and a bracket fixed to a device are integrally formed of resin, and includes an upper mold and a lower mold The bracket is arranged so that the support pin formed on the lower mold among the molds that open and close in the vertical direction does not penetrate the seal surface formed on the surface of the bracket fixed to the device. And a nut arrangement step of arranging the nut so as to face the nut in the vertical direction above the bracket by fitting the bolt fastening hole of the nut to the support pin after the bracket arrangement step. And after the nut placing step, a mold closing step for closing the upper die and the lower die, and after the die closing step, the tree between the nut and the bracket. By pouring, with the features of the bracket and the nut so as to overlap at least a portion of the said nut bracket vertically at and a fixing step of fixing together by the resin.

  According to the terminal block having such a configuration, the nut is supported from the lower side at the position where the fitting recess is formed without providing a hole in the sealing surface of the bracket in the molding die that opens in the vertical direction. Can do. That is, it is possible to integrally form the nut and the bracket so as to partially overlap each other while insulating the nut and the bracket without providing an insulating sheet between the nut and the bracket. Thereby, compared with the case where the nut and the bracket do not overlap, the nut and the bracket can be arranged close to each other by the amount that the nut and the bracket overlap each other in the vertical direction, and the terminal block can be downsized. . In addition, since it can also be used as a positioning recess for positioning the fitting recess, the molding die is simplified compared to the case where both the support pin for supporting the nut and the positioning pin for positioning the nut are provided in the molding die. can do.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
The bolt fastening hole may be formed so as to penetrate the nut in the vertical direction, and the fitting recess may be formed at both opening edges of the bolt fastening hole in the nut in the vertical direction.
According to such a configuration, when the nut is arranged on the support pin of the molding die, it is not necessary to arrange the nut after confirming the side on which the fitting recess is formed. Thereby, the workability | operativity which sets a nut in a shaping die can be improved.

A side surface of the nut may be covered with a nut cover portion formed of the resin, and a thinned portion that opens downward may be formed in the nut cover portion.
In general, when the structure of the upper mold is more complex than the lower mold due to the formation of multiple hollow parts that open upward on the molded product molded by the mold that opens up and down When the mold is released, the upper mold release resistance is higher than that of the lower mold, so that a phenomenon that the molded product is left in the upper mold, the so-called “cavity removal phenomenon” occurs. There is a fear. However, according to the above configuration, since the support pin is fitted into the fitting recess and the nut is supported, the resin can be sufficiently poured into the lower outer peripheral edge of the nut. A lightening portion that opens downward with respect to the nut covering portion that covers the side surface can be formed. That is, by complicating the structure of the lower mold, the resin can be more closely attached to the lower mold when the mold is released. As a result, it is possible to prevent the phenomenon that the terminal block is left behind in the upper mold and is removed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of a terminal block that is molded integrally by pouring resin between a nut and a bracket without using an insulating sheet.

The perspective view of the terminal block which concerns on Embodiment 1. Plan view Bottom view AA line sectional view of FIG. Top view of nut Nut side view Perspective view of bracket Sectional drawing which shows the state which shape | molded the terminal block with the shaping die Sectional view showing the terminal block released from the upper and lower molds The perspective view of the terminal block which concerns on Embodiment 2. Plan view Bottom view BB sectional view of FIG. Sectional view showing the terminal block molded with a mold Sectional view showing the terminal block released from the upper and lower molds

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This embodiment is fixed to a motor case (not shown) mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, and has a three-pole bus bar (an example of a “conductive member”) provided on a three-phase AC motor, The terminal block 10 which electrically connects with the bus bar (an example of a "conductive member") of the three poles provided in the inverter which is not shown in figure is illustrated.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal block 10 is fixed to a plurality of (in this embodiment, five) metal nuts 20 on which bus bars or terminals are placed, and a motor case (an example of “apparatus”). And a resin portion 50 made of a synthetic resin that integrally fixes the plurality of nuts 20 and the bracket 30 together. In the following description, the vertical direction is based on the vertical direction in FIG. 4, and the horizontal direction is based on the horizontal direction in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the nut 20 has a substantially cylindrical shape. The outer peripheral surface of the nut 20 is knurled, and when the nut 20 is molded integrally with the resin portion 50, the outer peripheral surface of the nut 20 bites into the resin portion 50, and the resin portion 50 prevents the nut 20 from coming off.

  A bolt fastening hole 21 to which a bolt (not shown) is fastened is formed at a substantially central portion of the nut 20 so as to penetrate the nut 20 in the vertical direction. A fitting recess 22 having a diameter slightly larger than that of the hole 21 is formed. The fitting recess 22 has a circular shape in plan view, and the back surface of the fitting recess 22 is formed in parallel with the upper and lower surfaces of the nut 20. That is, the nut 20 is formed in a vertically symmetrical shape, and when the nut 20 and the bracket 30 are integrally formed by the resin portion 50, the nut 20 can be disposed without checking the top and bottom of the nut 20. It is like that.

  The upper surface of the nut 20 is a fastening surface 20A. After a plurality of bus bars are stacked on the fastening surface 20A, the bus bar is fastened together with the bolts in the bolt fastening holes 21 so that the bus bar is fastened. They are electrically connected to each other. Further, a stepped portion 23 is formed on the upper outer peripheral edge of the nut 20 so as to be lowered by one step from the upper surface of the nut 20, and the nut 20 has a lower outer peripheral edge. A stepped portion 23 having a shape raised by one step from the lower surface is formed over the entire circumference.

  The bracket 30 is made of aluminum die-casting and has a horizontally long flat plate shape as shown in FIG. Bolt insertion holes 31 that penetrate the bracket 30 in the plate thickness direction are formed at both left and right ends of the bracket 30. The bracket 30 is fixed to the motor case by inserting a bolt (not shown) into the bolt insertion hole 31 and tightening it to the motor case.

  Further, between the bolt insertion holes 31 on the lower surface of the bracket 30, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a smooth seal surface 30 </ b> A having no unevenness that closes an opening (not shown) provided in the motor case is formed. When the bracket 30 is fixed to the motor case, an opening of the motor case is sealed by sandwiching a seal member (not shown) between the seal surface 30A and the outer surface of the motor case.

As shown in FIG. 4, the resin portion 50 insulates between the nut cover portion 51 that fixes the plurality of nuts 20 side by side, the bracket cover portion 52 that covers the bracket 30, and the nut 20 and the bracket 30. And an insulating portion 54.
The nut cover portion 51 is formed in close contact with each nut by covering the entire side surface of each nut 20 and covering the lower portion of each nut 20. The nut fastening surface 20A is exposed. Further, the nut cover portion 51 covers the upper stepped portion 23 of each nut 20 from the upper side over the entire circumference, and when the bolt is fastened to the nut 20, the nut 20 moves upward from the nut cover portion 51. To prevent it from being pulled out.

  A partition wall 53 is formed on the top surface of the nut cover 51 to partition between the adjacent nuts 20. The partition wall 53 is configured to rise upward from the upper surface of the nut cover portion 51, and ensures electrical insulation between the bus bars placed on the fastening surface 20 </ b> A of each nut 20.

  The bracket covering portion 52 is configured to cover the bracket 30 so as to sandwich the bracket 30 from above and below, and is in close contact with the bracket 30.

  The insulating portion 54 is formed so as to connect the nut cover portion 51 and the bracket cover portion 52 in the vertical direction and to separate the nut 20 and the bracket 30 in the vertical direction. That is, the nut cover portion 51 that is in close contact with the nut 20 and the bracket cover portion 52 that is in close contact with the bracket 30 are connected in the vertical direction by the insulating portion 54, so that the resin portion in a state where the nut 20 and the bracket 30 are insulated from each other. 50 are integrally fixed.

  Now, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the nut 20 and the bracket 30 are arranged close to each other so as to partially overlap each other via the insulating portion 54. Specifically, a portion from a position slightly outside the fitting recess 22 on one side of the nut 20 (left side in FIG. 4) to the side surface of the nut 20 is insulated from the end of the bracket 30 (right side in FIG. 4). It is arranged so as to partially overlap in the vertical direction via the portion 54. That is, the nut 20 and the bracket 30 are insulated by the insulating portion 54 and partially overlapped in the vertical direction.

The terminal block 10 of the present embodiment has the structure as described above. Next, a method for manufacturing the terminal block 10 will be described. In the following description, the front-rear direction is based on the left-right direction in FIG. 4, and the left side in FIG. 4 is the front side.
The terminal block 10 is manufactured by setting the nut 20 and the bracket 30 in a molding die 70 that opens in the vertical direction and molding the resin portion 50.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the molding die 70 includes an upper mold 71 and a lower mold 72 that open in the vertical direction. The nut cover 51 is molded by the upper mold 71, and the lower mold 72. Thus, the bracket covering portion 52 is formed.

  A bracket 30 is set on the front side of the bottom of the lower die 72, and a columnar positioning pin 73 protruding upward is provided slightly behind the bracket 30 in the lower die 72. Is provided. The fitting recess 22 of the nut 20 can be fitted to the upper end portion of the positioning pin 73. Then, by fitting the fitting recess 22 of the nut 20 to the positioning pin 73 so that the upper end surface of the positioning pin 73 is in contact with the inner surface of the fitting recess 22 of the nut 20, the nut 20 is only front, rear, left and right. Instead, it is arranged on the lower mold 72 in a state where it is also positioned in the vertical direction.

  In order to mold the resin portion 50, first, a bracket placement step of setting the bracket 30 on the bottom portion of the lower mold 72 is performed. At this time, since the positioning pin 73 of the lower mold 72 is disposed slightly rearward of the position where the bracket 30 is disposed, the bracket 30 is set without penetrating the positioning pin 73 into the seal surface 30A of the bracket 30. can do.

Next, when the bracket 30 is arranged, in the nut arranging step, the fitting recess 22 is fitted to the positioning pin 73 and the nut 20 is set to the positioning pin 73. Thereby, the nut 20 can be disposed above the bracket 30 so as to face the vertical direction.
Then, when the bracket 30 and the nut 20 are set, a mold closing process for covering the lower mold 72 with the upper mold 71 is performed. Then, in the molding die 70, the nut 20 is sandwiched between the positioning pin 73 and the upper die 71 in the vertical direction, and the nut 20 and the bracket 30 are positioned at their normal positions. That is, by fitting the fitting recess 22 to the positioning pin 73, the fitting recess 22 can also be used as the positioning recess.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, by pouring resin into the molding die 70, the resin flows between the nut 20 and the bracket 30, and a fixing process in which the nut 20 and the bracket 30 are fixed integrally is performed. Is called. As a result, the resin portion 50 is molded, the nut 20 and the bracket 30 are positioned at their normal positions, and the nut 20 and the bracket 30 partially overlap in the vertical direction via the insulating portion 54. It becomes.
Finally, when the resin part 50 is cured, the terminal block 10 of the present embodiment is completed by opening the molding die 70 in the vertical direction.

  By the way, in a molding die that opens in the vertical direction, in order to form an insulating portion between the nut and the bracket by pouring resin between the nut and the bracket, the nut is supported from below by a support pin or the like. A gap is formed between the nut and the bracket, and the resin is poured into this gap. However, if the nut is to be supported from the lower side so as to cover the entire lower end of the nut from the lower side, the nut and the bracket must be shifted so as not to overlap in the vertical direction. For this reason, if it is set as the structure which shifted the nut and the bracket to the front-back direction, a terminal block will enlarge in the front-back direction. As an example of a method that does not increase the size of the terminal block, a nut and bracket are provided by providing a through-hole penetrating vertically in the bracket, inserting a support pin into the through-hole, and supporting the nut with the support pin from below. Although a method of stacking up and down in the vertical direction is also conceivable, there may be a case where a through hole or the like cannot be provided in the bracket, for example, a seal surface is provided on the lower surface (back surface) of the bracket.

  However, according to this embodiment, the fitting recess 22 of the nut 20 is fitted to the positioning pin 73 of the lower mold 72, so that the nut 20 is not provided in the seal surface 30 </ b> A formed on the lower surface of the bracket 30. And the bracket 30 are integrally formed so as to partially overlap in the vertical direction. That is, compared with the case where the nut and the bracket do not overlap in the vertical direction, the size of the terminal block 10 in the front-rear direction can be reduced by the amount that the nut 20 and the bracket 30 overlap in the vertical direction.

  As described above, in the terminal block 10 according to the present embodiment, the fitting recess 22 of the nut 20 is fitted to the positioning pin 73 of the lower mold 72 in the molding die 70 that opens in the vertical direction, whereby the nut 20 The resin is poured between the bracket 30 and the nut 20 and the bracket 30 are fixed so as to partially overlap in the vertical direction while insulating between the nut 20 and the bracket 30 by the insulating portion 54 formed of resin. . Thereby, compared with the case where the nut and the bracket do not overlap in the vertical direction, the terminal block 10 can be reduced in size by the amount that the nut 20 and the bracket 30 overlap in the vertical direction. That is, it is possible to reduce the size of the terminal block 10 that is molded integrally by pouring resin between the nut 20 and the bracket 30 without using an insulating sheet.

  Further, by fitting the nut 20 to the positioning pin 73 of the lower mold 72, the resin portion 50 is formed in a state where the nut 20 is positioned. Therefore, compared to the case where the positioning portion is separately formed on the nut, The nut 20 can be reduced in size. Further, the structure of the molding die 70 can be simplified as compared with the case where a positioning portion for positioning the nut 20 is separately formed on the molding die.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the nut 20 is formed in a vertically symmetrical shape, the nut 20 is set on the positioning pin 73 in the nut placing step for setting the nut 20 on the positioning pin 73 without confirming whether the nut 20 is up or down. The nut 20 can be set. Thereby, workability | operativity in a nut arrangement | positioning process can be improved.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the second embodiment, the shape of the resin portion 50 in the first embodiment is changed, and since the configuration, operation, and effect common to the first embodiment are duplicated, the description thereof is omitted. The same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, the resin portion 150 in the terminal block 110 according to the second embodiment is formed with a plurality of upper cutout portions 154 that open upward at the front portion of the nut cover portion 151. The lower portion of the lower portion 151 (corresponding to the “thickening portion”) 155 having the same size and the same size as the upper side portion 154 at the rear portion of the portion 151 is substantially the same as the upper side portion 154. Is formed. That is, according to the second embodiment, in the molding die 170, the nut 20 and the bracket 30 are arranged so as to be shifted in the front-rear direction so as to partially overlap in the vertical direction, and the resin is disposed on the lower outer peripheral edge of the nut 20. The nut cover 151 is formed by sufficiently pouring the upper cover, so that the upper lightening portion 154 and the lower lightening portion 155 are formed almost uniformly around the periphery of the nut cover 151.

  By the way, when the structure of the upper mold is more complicated than the lower mold due to the formation of a plurality of hollow parts that open to the upper side of the molded product molded by the mold that opens up and down When the mold is released, the upper mold release resistance is higher than that of the lower mold, so that a phenomenon that the molded product is left in the upper mold, the so-called “cavity removal phenomenon” occurs. There is a fear.

  However, according to the present embodiment, the same number of lower side meat removal portions 155 as the upper side meat extraction portions 154 are arranged on the rear side of the nut cover portion 151. That is, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, when the molding die 170 is released, the upper lightening pin 174 and the lower lightening part 155 that form the upper lightening part 154 on both the front and rear sides of the nut 20 are provided. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which approximately the same number of lower meat removal pins 175 are formed. That is, since the lower mold pin 175 is formed to form the lower mold 172 in a complicated structure, the mold release resistance of the lower mold 172 is reduced when the mold 170 is released. It can be made higher than the resistance. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the phenomenon that the terminal block 110 is left behind in the upper mold 171 and is taken off.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the above embodiment, the bracket 30 is made of aluminum die-cast, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and the bracket may be formed of a metal such as iron.
(2) In the above embodiment, the nut 20 is configured in a vertically symmetrical shape, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the fitting recess is only at one opening edge of the bolt fastening hole. By being configured, the nut may not be formed in a vertically symmetrical shape.
(3) In the above embodiment, the fitting recess 22 is formed in a circular shape and the positioning pin 73 is formed in a cylindrical shape. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. The fitting recess may be formed in a square shape and the positioning pin may be formed in a prismatic shape.

10, 110: terminal block 20: nut 21: bolt fastening hole 22: fitting recess 30: bracket 30A: seal surface 70, 170: molding die 73: positioning pin (support pin)
155: Lower side thinning part (thickening part)

Claims (4)

A terminal block that is integrally fixed in a state where a conductive member is placed on the upper surface and a bolt is fastened and a bracket that is fixed to the device is separated by a resin,
The opening edge of the bolt hole of the nut is a support pin provided on the molding die to mold opening vertically is formed fittable fitting recess from below,
Surface on the side that is fixed to the equipment in the bracket is the sealing surface for holding the sealing member between said devices,
The seal surface is arranged so as not to overlap the support pin fitted in the fitting recess,
The said the previous SL nut bracket, when viewed from the fitting direction between the support pin and the fitting recess, the terminal board that is arranged close to at least partially overlap.   2. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the bolt fastening hole is formed so as to penetrate the nut in a vertical direction, and the fitting recess is formed at both edges in the vertical direction of the bolt fastening hole in the nut. Stand.   The side surface of the nut is covered with a nut cover portion formed of the resin, and a lightening portion that opens downward is formed in the nut cover portion. Terminal block. A method of manufacturing a terminal block in which a nut on which a conductive member is placed and a bolt is fastened, and a bracket fixed to the device are integrally formed of resin,
Of the molding dies in which the upper mold and the lower mold open in the vertical direction, the support pins formed on the lower mold do not penetrate the seal surface formed on the surface of the bracket fixed to the device. A bracket placement step of placing the bracket on
After the bracket placement step, by fitting a bolt fastening hole of the nut to the support pin, a nut placement step of placing the nut so as to face the vertical direction above the bracket;
After the nut placement step, a mold closing step of closing the upper die and the lower die, and
After the mold closing step, by pouring the resin between the nut and the bracket, the nut and the bracket are integrated with the resin so that the nut and the bracket overlap at least partially in the vertical direction. A manufacturing method of a terminal block comprising a fixing step of fixing.

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