JPH08195237A - Battery terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent effectively a battery terminal from deforming excessively. CONSTITUTION: A first stopper 18 is formed at the end of one leg piece 6 and a second stopper 19 is formed at the end of the other leg piece 5 while the stoppers sandwich the mounting position of a bolt 11. Restraining projections 20, 21 that restrain the stoppers 18, 19 from slipping on the leg piece 5 or 6 and deforming are provided alongside the abutting positions of the stoppers 18, 19. When an electrode holding portion 2 is reduced in diameter by a predetermined amount because of the tightening of the bolt 11, the stoppers 18, 19 simultaneously abut to the opposite leg pieces 6, 5 to stop the tightening. Since the tightening force is received by the two stoppers 18, 19, the stoppers 18, 19 resist deforming. Should either of the stoppers slip over the leg piece 5 or 6 and tend to deform, it is blocked by the restraining projection 20 or 21 and thus prevented from deforming.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery terminal used for connecting an electric wire to an electrode of a battery mounted on an automobile or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional battery terminal of this type, one shown in FIG. 5 is known. This is formed by bending a metal strip in an annular shape to form an electrode holding portion 31, and a pair of leg pieces 32 and 33 extending from both ends thereof in an opposed manner. A crimp barrel 35 for connecting an electric wire 34 is formed on one leg piece 32, and a stopper 36 that can abut the opposing leg piece 32 by bending the tip of the other leg piece 33 at a right angle. Is formed, and bolt holes are correspondingly opened in both leg pieces 32, 33.

After fitting the electrode holding portion 31 to the electrode P projecting from the battery B, the bolt 37 passed through the bolt hole and the nut 38 screwed onto the tip of the bolt 37 are tightened. , 33 are attracted to each other to reduce the diameter of the electrode holding portion 31, and the electrode holding portion 31 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the electrode P to establish a connection. Further, the stopper 36 abuts the opposing leg piece 32, so that excessive tightening of the terminal is restricted.

[0004]

However, the conventional structure has a structure in which one stopper 36 receives the tightening force, while the electrode P is formed of a relatively soft lead. Therefore, even after the stopper 36 abuts on the leg piece 32, as shown in FIG. 6, the tip of the stopper 36 is deformed so that the tip of the stopper 36 slides on the leg piece 32 and is tilted flat. The terminal may be excessively tightened while the bite further penetrates into the electrode P. This may result in excessive deformation of the terminal beyond the elastic limit, and it may not be possible to obtain a proper holding force when the terminal is repeatedly used by once detaching it from the electrode P and reattaching it. The present invention was completed in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to effectively prevent excessive deformation of a battery terminal.

[0005]

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is an electrode holding part formed by bending a metal strip in an annular shape, and an electrode holding part of the electrode holding part. A pair of leg pieces extending outward from both ends in an opposing manner,
A bolt mounted between both leg pieces, and the pair of leg pieces are displaced in a direction in which the pair of leg pieces approach each other by tightening the bolt, whereby the electrode holding portion is contracted and deformed, and fitted into the electrode holding portion. In the battery terminal adapted to be pressed against and connected to the electrode of the battery, a stopper that protrudes from one leg piece and abuts the other leg piece to restrict the approach displacement of both leg pieces, is installed at the bolt mounting position. It is characterized in that it is arranged on both sides in the length direction sandwiching the.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the stopper is brought into contact with the leg piece, and then the leg piece is placed on the side of the abutment position of the leg piece with which the stopper abuts. It is characterized in that it has a structure in which a restricting protrusion that restricts deformation while sliding is provided.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the invention, when the bolt is tightened to the specified amount, both stoppers come into contact with the opposing leg pieces, and further tightening is stopped. That is, since the tightening force is received by the two stoppers, the tightening force is distributed to both stoppers and the force applied to each stopper is reduced, whereby each stopper is not excessively tightened without deformation. Effectively prevent. Moreover, since the two stoppers are abutted on both sides of the tightening position, the tightening force can be received in a balanced manner on both sides of the tightening position.
It is prevented that the leg pieces cause a partial deformation. In the invention of claim 2, each stopper hits the restriction protrusion,
It is regulated to allow excessive tightening while sliding and deforming on the leg pieces.

[0008]

According to the invention of claim 1, the stopper is
By providing a large amount of force against the tightening, it can be received in a balanced manner on both sides of the tightening position, effectively preventing the terminal from excessive deformation while preventing partial distortion. it can. As a result, even when repeatedly used, the elastic force is continuously retained, and the electrode can be properly held. According to the invention of claim 2, there is an effect that the deformation of the stopper is prevented by the restriction projection, and the excessive deformation of the terminal can be prevented more reliably.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, reference numeral P is an electrode projecting from a battery B mounted in an automobile or the like, and is formed of lead as a raw material into a tapered columnar shape whose diameter gradually decreases toward the upper end side. There is.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a battery terminal according to the present embodiment, which uses a conductive metal strip as a base material, and bends the strip into a ring shape at the center in the longitudinal direction. The electrode holding part 2 fitted to the above-mentioned electrode P is formed. This electrode holding portion 2 is also the electrode P
Corresponding to the outer shape of, the taper is formed such that the diameter gradually decreases toward the upper end side. Further, on the inner peripheral surface of the electrode holding portion 2, a plurality of bite grooves 3 oriented in the vertical direction are formed.
Are recessed at intervals in the circumferential direction. These bite grooves 3 function so as to bite the outer peripheral surface of the electrode P as described later.

At both ends of the electrode holding portion 2, a pair of leg pieces 5,
6 are formed so as to extend outward in a facing manner. A reinforcing flange 7 is formed from the electrode holding portion 2 to both leg pieces 5 and 6 by bending both side edges of the strip outward at right angles. A crimp barrel 10 for connecting an end of the electric wire 9 is formed on the protruding end of the one leg piece 5. Also, on both leg pieces 5, 6,
Bolt hole 16 for inserting the shaft portion 12 of the tightening bolt 11
Is correspondingly opened. In addition, the above-mentioned flange 7
By fitting a pair of parallel two surfaces of the head 13 of the bolt 11, the bolt 11 functions as a detent for the bolt 11 (see FIG. 4).

In the natural state, the above-mentioned electrode holding portion 2 is formed so as to open to a diameter that allows it to fit into the electrode P with a clearance, and by elastically moving the leg pieces 5 and 6 in a direction in which they approach each other. The diameter is reduced.

In the present embodiment, the crimp barrel 10 described above is used.
The first stopper 18 is provided at the tip of the leg piece 6 on the side opposite to the side where the above is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the first stopper 18 is formed by bending a strip extending from the tip of the leg piece 6 toward the inside at a substantially right angle. Further, a second stopper 19 is provided on the base end side of the other leg piece 5. The second stopper 19 is formed by cutting and raising the strip material that constitutes the leg piece 5 inwardly at a substantially right angle, and has a width that is approximately half the width of the leg piece 5.

That is, the stoppers 18 and 19 are provided at positions on both sides of the tightening position of the bolt 11 so as to be able to contact the leg pieces 5 or 6 which project from the one leg piece 6 or 5 and face each other. ing. Also, both stoppers 18, 1
The projecting length of 9 is such that when the two electrode pieces 5 and 6 approach each other and the electrode holding part 2 is reduced in diameter and deformed, the electrode holding part 2 is reduced in diameter by a predetermined amount so as to bite slightly into the electrode P. The stoppers 18 and 19 are set so as to be able to simultaneously contact the leg pieces 5 and 6 that face each other.

The first regulating projection 2 is provided just outside the position where the tip of the first stopper 18 abuts on the inner surface of the leg piece 5.
0 is formed by upsetting. The first restriction protrusion 20 contacts the side surface of the tip of the first stopper 18 and restricts the first stopper 18 from being deformed flat while sliding on the inner surface of the leg piece 5. In addition, the inner side of the other leg piece 6 is immediately inside the position where the second stopper 19 abuts (see FIG. 2).
The second regulating projection 21 is also formed by punching up on the left side of the second stopper 19 and the second stopper 19 slides on the inner surface of the leg piece 6 by hitting the side surface of the tip of the second stopper 19. It is designed to control the flat deformation.

The present embodiment has the above-mentioned structure, and its operation will be described subsequently. When making the connection, first, the end of the electric wire 9 is connected to the crimp barrel 10, and at the same time, from the outside of the leg piece 6 on the side where the first stopper 18 is provided, both leg pieces 5, 6 are connected.
Then, the shaft portion 12 of the bolt 11 is passed through the bolt hole 16 of FIG. At this time, the pair of parallel two surfaces of the head 13 of the bolt 11 are fitted between the upper and lower reinforcing flanges 7 to prevent the bolt 11 from rotating.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 2, the electrode holding portion 2 of the terminal 1 in which the bolt 11 and the nut 14 are temporarily assembled.
Is fitted to the electrode P of the battery B, and the bolt 11 and the nut 14 are tightened using a torque wrench. By this tightening, the two leg pieces 5 and 6 are displaced in a direction in which they approach each other, and the electrode holding part 2 is gradually reduced in diameter. The holding portion 2 is firmly connected while biting into the biting groove 3 on the inner circumference.

When the electrode holding portion 2 is reduced in diameter by a predetermined amount in this way, as shown in FIG. 3, both stoppers 18 and 19 simultaneously come into contact with the opposing leg pieces 6 and 5, and a certain torque is applied to the torque wrench. The action stops the tightening. In that case, since the tightening force is received by the two stoppers 18 and 19, the tightening force is distributed to both stoppers 18 and 19 and the force applied to each stopper 18 and 19 is reduced, whereby each stopper 18 and 19 is reduced. The stoppers 18 and 19 are less likely to be deformed. Also,
Even if you try to deform while sliding on the leg 5 or 6,
It is blocked by hitting the restriction protrusion 20 or 21 provided near the contact position.

If the stopper is to be strengthened so that it cannot be deformed against the tightening force, the stopper provided at the tip of one leg piece 6 as in the prior art is preliminarily taken to have a long dimension. It may be possible to increase the thickness by increasing the thickness by folding. However, in that case, since only one side of the tightening position is strengthened,
For example, bending deformation may occur at the connection between the leg pieces 5 and 6 and the electrode holding portion 2. In that respect, in this embodiment, since the pair of stoppers 18 and 19 are abutted on both sides of the tightening position, the tightening force can be received on both sides of the tightening position in good balance, and the terminal 1 is partially Deformation is prevented.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the two stoppers 18 and 19 are provided, the tightening force can be individually shared and received, and the restricting protrusions 20 and 21 are provided. Therefore, the stoppers 18 and 19 are extremely difficult to be deformed. Moreover, the stoppers 18 and 19 are provided on both sides of the tightening position of the bolt 11 so as to act in a well-balanced manner. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the battery terminal 1 from being excessively deformed while preventing the partial distortion. As a result, even when the terminal 1 is used repeatedly, the elastic force is continuously retained,
It is possible to properly hold the electrode P.

<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. In addition to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, one stopper is provided for each of the pair of leg pieces, but two stoppers may be provided for one leg piece. (2) Alternatively, the stopper may be formed separately and fixed to the leg piece by welding or the like. Alternatively, a small screw may be screwed into the leg piece and used as a stopper.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of a state before tightening bolts and nuts.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the state after the completion of tightening.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a conventional example before tightening.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which it is excessively tightened.

[Explanation of symbols]

 B ... Battery P ... Electrode 1 ... Battery terminal 2 ... Electrode holding part 5, 6 ... Leg piece 11 ... Bolt 14 ... Nut 18 ... First stopper 19 ... Second stopper 20 ... First regulation projection 21 ... Second regulation projection Department

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electrode holding portion formed by bending a metal strip in an annular shape, a pair of leg pieces extending outward from both ends of the electrode holding portion, and both leg pieces. And a bolt fitted between the electrodes, and the pair of leg pieces are displaced in a direction in which they approach each other by tightening the bolt, whereby the electrode holding portion is contracted and deformed, and the battery fitted in the electrode holding portion. In the battery terminal adapted to be pressed against the electrode of and connected to, the stopper protruding from one leg and abutting against the other leg restricts the displacement of both legs toward each other, sandwiching the mounting position of the bolt. Battery terminals that are arranged on both sides in the longitudinal direction. 2. A regulating projection, which is provided on a side of the contact position of the leg piece on the side where the stopper abuts, restricts the stopper from abutting the leg piece and then deforming while sliding on the leg piece. The battery terminal according to claim 1, wherein the battery terminal is provided.