JPS618845A - Connecting terminal for storage battery - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a connection terminal for connecting a cable to an electrode support of a storage battery with low electrical resistance, and particularly to a connection terminal useful for connecting a cable to an automotive lead-acid battery.

Conventional connection terminals for the above-mentioned applications include, for example, those of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. These conventional connection terminals have two problems. The disadvantage is that even when the fixing bolt of the connecting terminal is tightened, only a small portion of the circumferential surface of the electrode support of the storage battery comes into contact with the terminal. The cause of this is that the circular hole in the connecting terminal deforms when the bolt is tightened. In connection terminals of the type shown, deformation of the holes during tightening is inevitable. This point will be specifically explained with reference to FIGS. 1-3.

1 and 2 show two sides of a conventional connection terminal 10 for a lead-acid motor vehicle battery. The connecting terminal 10 shown in FIG. 1 is manufactured by casting the connecting terminal main body 14 into which the end of the copper wire bundle of the cable 12 is directly inserted. On the other hand, the connecting terminal 10 shown in FIG. 2 is intended for replacement, and is designed so that the purchaser or the like attaches the cable 12 to the connecting terminal body 14. That is, the connection terminal main body 14 shown in FIG. 2 is attached with a bolted clamp plate 16 for fixing the main body 14 to the copper wire bundle of the cable 12. In this type of connection terminal, the clamp plate 16 and the bolt are usually made of steel, and the main body 1
4 (both the one in Fig. 1 and the one in Fig. 2) are made of an alloy of 97% salicum and 3% antimony. Antimony is added to lead to increase hardness.

On both sides shown, the connecting terminal main body 14 has an annular portion with a vertical cut, and the hole 22 in the center is approximately circular.
Two tightening overhangs 2 that are symmetrical and parallel with respect to the cut, with the parts forming each semicircle of the hole overhanging the outside.
It is 4. Since the diameter of the central hole is slightly larger than the standard outer diameter of the storage battery electrode support, attachment of the connection terminal is easy. In FIG. 3, 28 is a storage battery, and 26 is its electrode support. To tighten the connection terminal 10 to the electrode support 26, pass the steel bolt 18 through the hole in the overhang 24, screw the steel nut 20 onto the bolt, and tighten the distance between the two overhangs 24 by one spacing. Shrink.

Two overhangs 24 are formed by bolts 18 and nuts 20.
As shown in FIG.
The middle man's hole 22 is deformed from its original circular shape. Therefore, the connection terminal 1
0 will not come into contact and a gap 30 will be created. In addition, the outer diameter of the electrode support 26 is usually not uniform, but gradually becomes smaller toward the top, and is the minimum at the upper end.
The inner edge of the lower surface makes relatively good contact with the electrode support 26, and the inner edge of the upper surface does not make good contact with it. In reality, the contact area between the connecting terminal 10 and the electrode support 26 is
Even half the IK of the cylindrical inner surface area of 0 is not reached. terminal 1
It is a matter of course that the smaller the contact area between the support 26 and the support 26, the higher the electrical resistance of the connection.

The second problem is corrosion of the connection terminals, which is particularly noticeable in the case of lead-acid batteries, and can cause engine starting problems in the case of automobile batteries. That is, since the electrical resistance between the connection terminal and the battery electrode column increases due to corrosion, the current that actually flows is limited when a large current is desired to flow, such as when starting an engine. Corrosion also reduces the efficiency with which the on-board generator charges the battery. The cause of corrosion in conventional connection terminals is the use of dissimilar metals, ie lead alloy as the main material and steel as the material of the bolts. If different metals come into contact with each other (-), electrochemical action will naturally occur, leading to corrosion.In the case of lead-acid batteries, the presence of acid vapor accelerates the electrochemical action, making corrosion visible to the naked eye. progress to an acceptable level.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide a connection terminal for connecting an electrode support of a storage battery to a cable, which is free from the above-mentioned problems.

The connecting terminal according to the present invention uses substantially only one type of metal material in order to eliminate the problem of corrosion, and in order to reduce the electrical resistance of the connection with the electrode support of the storage battery, the actual contact with the electrode support is The structure is such that the contact area is sufficiently large.

The connecting terminal of the present invention is a combination of two parts,
The material of both parts is the same alloy. The first component is a connecting terminal body that is connected to a cable, and one end thereof is divided into two parts to form two parallel annular parts spaced apart in the vertical direction. The center of the circular hole in each annular portion is eccentric from the center of the annular portion.

The round hole in the podium-like part is concentric and has an inner diameter that is just right for attachment to the tapered storage battery electrode support. The second component is a fixing annular body, and the knob portion protruding from the outer surface thereof is formed with an ear portion extending upwardly from the upper surface of the annular body and an ear portion extending downwardly from the lower surface of the annular body. The fixing annular part has a thickness that fits between the two annular parts of the main body, and has a round hole with approximately the same diameter as the circular hole in the annular part of the main body.

When attaching to the electrode support of the storage battery, place the fixing annular body in an unfixed angular position and insert it into the bifurcated part of the connecting terminal body so that the three circular holes are concentric. In this state, attach the connection terminal to the electrode support. To secure the connection terminal, turn the securing ring in either direction. Then, due to the force caused by the movement of the ear portion along the outer periphery of the annular portion of the main body, the circular hole of the fixing annular body gradually becomes eccentric from the two circular holes of the main body, and as a result, the connection terminal as a whole The circular hole will be tightened. This occurs because the center of the circular hole in the main body is eccentric from the center of the annular main body, and the width of the annular main body in the radial direction is not uniform.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, one embodiment of the connection terminal of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4a is a top view of the components of a connecting terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4b is a side view of the same components. In the figure, 50 is a connecting terminal main body, and 52 is a fixing annular body. As with conventional connection terminals, the main body 50 may be cast with the cable directly inserted therein, or may be attached to the cable after manufacture.

The connection terminals shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b are of the latter type. When attaching to a cable, remove the coating from the end of the cable and insert the exposed copper wire bundle deep into a cavity 60 (indicated by a dotted line) inside one end of the main body 50. To secure body 50 to the cable, screw 54 is screwed into hole 58 in the body, with the head of the screw fully seated in receptacle 56 . Then, the tip of the screw 54 enters the cavity 60 and presses the copper wire bundle of the cable against the inner wall surface of the main body 50 that defines the cavity 60.

The screw 54 is necessary only in the case of such a replaceable connection terminal.

One end of the main body 50 is a hollow trunk 62 for attaching to a cable, and the other end is bifurcated to form two annular parts 64 spaced apart in the vertical direction. , each annular portion 64 is substantially circular and has a circular hole, and the circular holes of the podium-like portion 64 are concentric and one is directly above the other.

Since the electrode supports of a storage battery are normally tapered, the diameter of the circular hole in the upper annular portion 64 is usually made slightly smaller than the diameter of the circular hole in the lower annular portion 64 in accordance with this. Also,
The center of the circular hole in the podium-like portion 64 is eccentric from the center of the podium-like portion. Therefore, the width (
radial direction) is smallest at the tip furthest from the hollow trunk 62 of the main body 50 (on the right side in the figure), and gradually increases in width as the circumference of the annular portion 640 is followed clockwise or counterclockwise from that tip.

The annular portion 66 of the fixing annular body 52 has a circular hole with a diameter approximately equal to the average diameter of the two circular holes in the podium-shaped portion 64 of the main body 50, and the width of the outer peripheral portion of the circular hole is approximately the same over the entire circumference. It's like that. The thickness of this annular portion 66 is approximately equal to the distance between the two annular portions 640 of the main body 50. The fixing annular body 52 has a knob portion 68 projecting from the outer surface, and ear portions 70 on the upper and lower surfaces of the annular body 52 extend upward from the upper surface and downward from the lower surface of the annular portion 66, respectively. The ear portion 70 is configured so that the fixing annular body 52 is inserted into the bifurcated portion of the main body 50.
It is formed so as to be close to the side surface of the annular portion 64 of No. 0.

Details will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

5a and 5b show the state in which the fixing annular body 52 is inserted between the podium-shaped portions 64 of the main body 50. FIGS. In both figures, the fixing annular body 52 is in an unfixed angular position, and its circular hole is concentric with the circular hole of the podium-shaped portion 640 of the main body 50. In this state, attach the entire connection terminal to the electrode support of the storage battery. (
The electrode support often passes through the three circular holes of the connection terminal. ) As shown in the figure, in this unfixed position, the ears 70 of the annular body 52 are separated from the circumferential side surface of the tip of the annular part 64 of the main body 50.

6a and 6b show the state in which the fixing annular body 52 has reached the fixing position. That is, the annular body 52 in both figures is in a position when rotated approximately 90 degrees clockwise from the position shown in Figures 5a and 5b. As can be seen in FIG. 6a, when the position is reached, the circular hole in the annular body 52 is no longer concentric with the circular hole in the annular portion of the body 50. This is because the center of the circular hole in the annular portion 64 of the main body 50 is eccentric from the center of the outer circumferential circle of the annular portion 64. Therefore, when the fixing annular body 52 is rotated, the circular hole of the annular body 52 moves from the concentric position with the circular hole of the main body annular part 64 due to the cam action of the ear part 70 and the outer peripheral surface of the annular part 64 of the main body.

When the fixing annular body 52 is rotated at fixed position 1 with this connection terminal attached to the electrode post of the storage battery, the electrode post will not close to the circular hole during rotation (either clockwise or counterclockwise). This results in resistance to the tendency of eccentricity, so that the ear portion 70 is attracted and pushes against the outer circumferential surface of the main body annular portion 64. Ultimately, the inner surface of the fixing annular body 52 is in close contact with the electrode support circumferential surface over approximately 180°, and the inner surface of the main body annular portion 64 is in close contact with the electrode support support over 180° on the opposite side. It turns out.

When fixed in this way, the contact between the connecting terminal and the circumferential surface of the battery's electrode support will be continuous over the entire circumference, and the contact area will be sufficiently large, so the electrical resistance of the connection will be sufficient and reliably low. . No bolts or the like are required to fix this connection terminal, and the fixation is maintained by the frictional force between the ear portion 70 of the fixing annular body and the outer peripheral surface of the main body annular portion 64.

As a result of experiments, it was confirmed that an alloy of 91% lead and 9% antimony is suitable as a material for this connection terminal. This alloy connection terminal has sufficient strength and there is no risk of damage even if it is repeatedly attached to and detached from the electrode support.

This connection terminal can be easily attached to the electrode support of a lead-acid battery, and can be easily removed.

Furthermore, since the use of dissimilar metals is minimized (only the screws 54), there is almost no risk of corrosion of the connection terminals.
``'1 As can be seen from the above explanation, the storage battery connection terminal according to the present invention is of a completely new type and has many advantages.It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and its basic It goes without saying that the invention can be implemented in any manner as long as it does not deviate from the concept.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views showing conventional connection terminals for lead-acid batteries, Figure 3 is a top view showing the connection terminal in Figure 1 attached to the electrode support of a lead-acid battery, and Figure 4a. 4b is a side view of the components of a connecting terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 5a and 5b are connecting terminals constructed from the components shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b. 6a and 6b are top and side views showing the central annular body in the unfixed position, and Figures 6a and 6b are top and side views showing the central annular body in the fixed position. It is a diagram.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A connection terminal for connecting a cable to the electrode support of a storage battery with low electrical resistance, consisting of a connection terminal body and a separate fixing annular body, with one end of the connection terminal body divided into two parts parallel to each other. two annular portions having concentric circular holes are formed with an interval between them, and the central axis of the circular hole is eccentric from the common central axis of the two annular portions toward the tip of the annular portion side of the connecting terminal body; The fixing annular body has an outer diameter and a thickness that fits between the two annular parts of the connecting terminal body, and has a circular hole with approximately the same diameter as the circular hole in the annular part of the connecting terminal body. The annular body has an ear protruding from its outer surface, and when the fixing annular body, which is engaged with the electrode support of the storage battery together with the connection terminal main body, is rotated, the connection terminal is attached to the electrode support due to cam action and frictional force. A connection terminal characterized in that it is configured to be fixed to. (2) The connecting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the connecting terminal body is cast with the end of the cable inserted. (3) The end of the connecting terminal main body opposite to the annular portion is a hollow trunk, and therein is a cavity for inserting the end of the cable, and a section extending from the cavity with a smaller cross-sectional area than the cavity is formed on the outer surface of the hollow trunk. 2. The connection terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a fastener which is formed with an opening hole, reaches the cavity through the hole, and presses the end of the cable against an inner wall surface defining the cavity. (4) When the ear part of the fixing annular body is located close to the annular part side tip of the connecting terminal body, the circular holes of the two annular parts of the connecting terminal body and the fixing annular body The connection terminal according to claim 1, wherein the circular holes are concentric and engage with the electrode supports of the storage battery, respectively.