KR20160044376A - Fork terminal assembly and electric junction box having this - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fork terminal assembly and a junction box having the same. The fork terminal assembly comprises: a fork terminal (10) having a pair of terminal arms (14) and an insertion part (12) inserted into a through hole of a printed circuit board (PCB); and a terminal shield (30) coupled to the fork terminal to enclose the terminal arms (14) with the insertion part (12) exposed downwards. In the present invention, the fork terminal (10) is kept enclosed by the terminal shield (30), the fork terminal (10) can be prevented from being changed and damaged by an external force. Therefore, durability of the fork terminal assembly and assembly convenience of the junction box can be improved.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a fork terminal assembly and a junction box having the same,

The present invention relates to a fork terminal, and more particularly, to a fork terminal assembly having a terminal shield for protecting a fork terminal and a junction box including the fork terminal assembly.

The junction box located in the vehicle engine room mainly performs functions such as power supply and distribution and wire protection. In addition, the junction box stores and protects electronic devices (fuses, relays, etc.) , And maintenance of operating efficiency through rapid heat dissipation.

These junction boxes can be classified into Conventional, Bus-Bar, Cylindrical, PCB (Printed CircuitBoard) according to their types. Among them, the PCB type junction box can be classified into a flat insertion type And vertical insertion type.

Due to the addition and refinement of various convenience features of the vehicle, it is required to accommodate more electronic devices inside the junction box, so that a more compact and integrated junction box is required to be developed. Therefore, the PCB type junction box is required to be flat It is being developed as a vertical insertion type rather than an insertion type.

1, a conventional vertically-insertable PCB type junction box includes a PCB 1, which is a kind of bottom-most circuit board, and a terminal assembly that covers the top of the PCB 1, And includes a fork terminal (3) and a housing (5) coupled to the top of the fork terminal (3).

An electronic component such as a fuse 7 is coupled to the terminal arms 4 and 4 'of the fork terminal 3. The fuse 7 passes through the housing 5, And is coupled to the arms 4, 4 '.

The fuse 7 is instantaneously short-circuited when a current equal to or greater than a predetermined value flows to prevent an excessive current from flowing into various electrical components of the vehicle. The fuse 7 has a lower end portion connected to the fuse terminal 3 Is detachably inserted into the terminal arms 4 and 4 '.

Such conventional techniques have the following problems.

There is a problem that the fork terminal 3 is easily deformed by an external force in the moving process for the next assembly or the assembling process of other parts in a state where the fork terminal 3 is installed in the junction box. Particularly, before the housing 5 is coupled to the upper portion of the fork terminal 3, the external force is more easily deformed. This makes it difficult to assemble the housing 5 and the fuse 7 have. 1, a portion 4 'of the terminal arms 4 and 4' is bent by an external force.

The fork terminal 3 is formed in a relatively small size so that the allowable current is very limited. In the case where a current equal to or higher than the allowable reference is applied, the fork terminal 3 is overheated and dissolves parts of the synthetic resin material around the housing 5, .

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0070196

It is an object of the present invention to prevent deformation of a fork terminal due to an external force.

Another object of the present invention is to increase the allowable current of the fork terminal assembly by using a terminal shield surrounding the fork terminal.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a connector comprising: a fork terminal having a pair of terminal arms coupled with terminals of a counterpart and an inserting portion inserted into the through hole of the PCB substrate; And a terminal shield coupled to the fork terminal to surround the side surfaces of the pair of terminal arms in a state that the terminal arms are exposed upward.

Wherein the terminal shield is formed to be open upward and the center of the terminal shield is formed with a relative insertion portion being opened along a direction in which the fork terminal is coupled with a pair of arm shield portions Respectively.

The outer surface of the fork terminal and the inner surface of the terminal shield facing the outer surface of the fork terminal are provided with moving slits and hooking protrusions corresponding to each other, and the moving slit extends in the elastic deformation direction of the arm shield portion of the terminal shield.

The outer surfaces of the fork terminals and the inner surfaces of the terminal shields facing the outer surfaces of the fork terminals are provided with coupling grooves and coupling protrusions corresponding to each other to prevent separation of the fork terminals and the terminal shield.

The terminal shield is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

A deformed slit is formed between the pair of female shield portions of the terminal shield so as to extend in the direction of joining the terminal shield and the fork terminal.

And an extension portion is formed at one end of the arm shield portion so as to extend in a direction corresponding to a direction in which the pair of terminal arms are apart from each other.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a junction box comprising: a junction box body; a PCB substrate mounted on the junction box body; a fork terminal having a pair of terminal arms, And a terminal shield which is coupled to the fork terminal so as to surround the pair of terminal arms while exposing the inserting portion downwardly, and a terminal shield which is fixed to the junction box body so as to expose the fork terminal, .

The housing includes an actuator protruding thereon, and an arm shield portion of the terminal shield is provided with an inclined portion corresponding to the actuator. When the housing is coupled to the junction box body, the actuator contacts the arm shield portion of the terminal shield And elastically deforms in a direction away from the terminal arm.

A pair of arm shield portions corresponding to the terminal arms are provided on both sides of the relative insertion portion, and the pair of arm shield portions are provided at both sides of the arm shield portion, A deformed slit is formed between the arm shield portions so as to extend in the direction of joining the terminal shield and the fork terminal.

In the fork terminal assembly according to the present invention as described above and the junction box having the same, the following effects can be expected.

In the present invention, since the fork terminal is held in a state surrounded by the terminal shield, it is possible to prevent the fork terminal from being deformed or damaged by an external force, and thus the durability of the fork terminal assembly and the convenience of assembling the junction box can be improved have.

In the present invention, since the terminal shield is made of a metal material such as aluminum and is coupled to the fork terminal so as to perform the function of current transfer, the allowable current of the fork terminal assembly is increased. As a result, Durability and compatibility are also improved.

In addition, in the present invention, since the fork terminal is wrapped by the terminal shield, the fork terminal is prevented from being excessively deformed outwardly so that the terminal inserting force of the fork terminal is maintained at a certain level or more, Level, and as a result, the operation reliability of the junction box is improved.

According to the present invention, in the course of coupling the housing to the fork terminal assembly, the actuator shield of the housing is opened naturally to the outside, thereby ensuring a sufficient space for elastically deforming the fork terminal, So that the assembling property of the junction box can be improved.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a fork terminal and a fuse provided in a junction box according to a related art;
2 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a preferred embodiment of the fork terminal assembly according to the present invention.
3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a fork terminal assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a perspective view showing a mating box coupled to a junction box provided with the fork terminal assembly according to the present invention;
5 to 7 are assembly flowcharts sequentially showing a process of coupling a housing and a mating member to a junction box having a fork terminal assembly according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that, in adding reference numerals to the constituent elements of the drawings, the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals whenever possible, even if they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the understanding why the present invention is not intended to be interpreted.

In describing the components of the embodiment of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. These terms are intended to distinguish the constituent elements from other constituent elements, and the terms do not limit the nature, order or order of the constituent elements. When a component is described as being "connected", "coupled", or "connected" to another component, the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, Quot; may be "connected," "coupled," or "connected. &Quot;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the fork terminal assembly according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of a fork terminal assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention. For reference, the junction box and the PCB substrate are omitted from the drawings.

According to these drawings, a PCB substrate is mounted on the junction box, and a fork terminal assembly (not shown) is coupled to the PCB substrate. Here, the junction box is a general PCB type junction box, and a detailed description will be omitted.

The fork terminal assembly includes a fork terminal (10) and a terminal shield (30) surrounding the fork terminal (10). The fork terminal 10 includes a pair of terminal arms 14 and an insertion portion 12 provided at a lower end of the terminal arm 14 and inserted into a through hole of the PCB substrate.

The terminal arm 14 is for electrically coupling with a mating object, for example, a fuse or a relay. As shown in Fig. 4, the terminal portion 60 of the mating object is inserted between the pair of terminal arms 14, And is electrically connected.

On the outer surface of the terminal arm 14, a moving slit 16 is formed. The moving slit 16 is formed on the outer surface of the terminal arm 14 so as to extend along the elastic deformation direction of the terminal arm 14 or through the outer surface of the terminal arm 14. The terminal arm 14 and the terminal shield 14 The terminal arm 14 and the terminal shield 30 can be moved independently of each other while maintaining the state of engagement between the terminal arm 14 and the terminal shield 30. More specifically, the hooking protrusion 37 of the terminal shield 30, which will be described below, is inserted into the moving slit 16 so that the terminal arm 14 and the terminal shield 30 are engaged with each other, The terminal arm 14 and the terminal shield 30 can be deformed independently of each other as the terminal arm 37 is moved in the moving slit 16.

An engaging groove 18 is formed on an outer surface of the terminal arm 14. The coupling groove 18 is formed on the outer surface of the terminal arm 14 or penetrates the outer surface thereof and is a portion into which the coupling protrusion 39 of the terminal shield 30 is inserted. That is, by inserting the coupling protrusion 39 into the coupling groove 18, separation between the fork terminal 10 and the terminal shield 30 can be prevented. 2, each of the coupling grooves 18 is formed on both sides of the lower ends of the pair of terminal arms 14 of the fork terminal 10. However, the positions and the number of the coupling grooves 18 are not limited to the deformation It is possible.

The terminal shield 30 is coupled to the fork terminal 10. The terminal shield 30 is opened upward to allow the fork terminal 10 to be inserted from the upside, and a storage space in which the fork terminal 10 is seated is formed.

The terminal shield 30 is formed at the center of the terminal shield 30 in such a manner that a relative inserting portion (not designated) is cut out along the direction of engagement with the fork terminal 10, And a pair of arm shield portions 31 corresponding to the arms 14 are provided.

The arm shield portion 31 is a portion corresponding to the terminal arm 14 of the fork terminal 10 and accommodates the terminal arm 14 therein. So that the terminal arm 14 of the fork terminal 10 is provided with a space capable of being deformed to some extent (see the modified space S in Fig. 5)

A terminal such as a fuse, which is a counterpart, can be inserted from above, and a pair of the arm shield portions 31 of the terminal shield 30 are also inserted into the terminal shield 30, And is elastically deformable in a direction extending toward both sides around the relative insertion portion.

The deformation slit 34 is formed so that the pair of the arm shield portions 31 of the terminal shield 30 can easily be elastically deformed in a direction away from each other. The deformed slit 34 is formed between the pair of the arm shield portions 31 of the terminal shield 30 so as to extend in the direction of joining the terminal shield 30 and the fork terminal 10.

The arm shield portion 31 is provided with an extended portion 33. The extension portion 33 is formed at an upper end of the arm shield portion 31 so as to extend in a direction corresponding to a direction in which the pair of terminal arms 14 are away from each other. And is formed in a direction to widen the space inlet.

The extended portion 33 is formed with an inclined portion 33 '. The inclined portion 33 'is formed to be inclined downward toward the center of the relative insertion portion of the terminal shield 30 from the outer side of the extended portion 33 toward the inner side of the extended portion 33. The inclined portion 33' So that the arm shield portion 31 can be elastically deformed. (See Fig. 6)

The arm shield portion 31 of the terminal shield 30 is provided with a hook projection 37. The hooking protrusion 37 protrudes from the inner surface of the terminal shield 30 and is inserted into the moving slit 16 of the fork terminal 10. The hooking protrusion 37 may be formed by embossing the outer surface of the terminal shield 30 by a press.

The terminal shield 30 is provided with a coupling protrusion 39. The coupling protrusion 39 corresponds to the coupling groove 18 of the fork terminal 10 and is inserted into the coupling groove 18 to prevent the terminal shield 30 and the fork terminal 10 from being separated from each other. . The engaging protrusion 39 may be formed by embossing the outer surface of the terminal shield 30 by a press in the same manner as the hook protrusion 37.

The terminal shield 30 is formed by opening a part of its bottom surface. This is to allow the inserting portion 12 of the fork terminal 10 to be exposed downward through the bottom surface of the terminal shield 30.

Meanwhile, the terminal shield 30 is made of a metal material. This is to allow the terminal shield 30 to contact the fork terminal 10 and to perform the function of current transfer together, so that the allowable current of the fork terminal assembly can be increased. In addition, since the terminal shield 30, which is made of a metal and has relatively higher melting point than the housing made of synthetic resin, covers the fork terminal 10, the body of the housing or the junction box It is also possible to prevent melting. In the present embodiment, the terminal shield 30 is made of aluminum.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, a junction box having a fork terminal assembly according to the present invention will be described. A junction box is provided with a housing. The housing is coupled to the junction box on the inner side relative to the cover coupled to the uppermost portion of the junction box to protect or fix components mounted on the junction box and may serve as a kind of cover.

The housing is provided with an actuator (40). The actuator 40 extends downwardly of the housing and is formed as a pair as shown in FIG. The actuator 40 elastically deforms the terminal shield 30 by contacting the terminal shield 30 in the process of coupling the housing to the junction box.

More precisely, an inclined surface 45 is formed at one projected end of the actuator 40, and the inclined surface 45 is in contact with the inclined portion 33 'formed on the extended portion 33 of the terminal shield 30 The arm shield portion 31 of the terminal shield 30 is elastically deformed in a direction away from the fork terminal 10 by the actuator 40 when the actuator 40 is lowered in the state shown in Fig.

The actuator 40 elastically deforms the terminal shield 30 so that the deformation space S capable of elastically deforming the fork terminal 10 can be widened later so that the terminal portion 30 of the terminal portion 30 60 can be made easier.

The actuator 40 prevents the fork terminal 10 from being excessively deformed by supporting one side of the terminal arm 14 of the fork terminal 10 during the process of coupling the counterpart to the fork terminal 10, So that the fork terminal 10 can maintain a bonding force equal to or higher than a certain level.

Hereinafter, a process of assembling the junction box having the fork terminal assembly according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the process of assembling the fork terminal assembly will be described. The fork terminal 10 is inserted downward from above the terminal shield 30. That is, the fork terminal 10 is inserted into the arm shield portion 31 of the terminal shield 30 so that the terminal arm 14 of the fork terminal 10 is positioned, The engaging protrusion 39 of the terminal shield 30 is inserted into the engaging groove 18 of the fork terminal 10 while the engaging projection 37 of the terminal shield 30 is inserted into the moving slit 16 of the fork terminal 10.

The engagement between the hooking protrusion 37 and the moving slit 16 prevents separation between the terminal arm 14 of the fork terminal 10 and the terminal shield 30 and also prevents the hooking protrusion 37 from moving The terminal arm 14 and the terminal shield 30 of the fork terminal 10 can be deformed independently of each other by being movable in the slit 16. At the same time, separation of the fork terminal 10 and the terminal shield 30 is prevented by the engaging projections 39 and the engaging recesses 18.

Since the terminal shield 30 protects the fork terminal 10, it is possible to prevent the fork terminal 10 from being deformed or damaged by an external force. As shown in FIG. 5, a deformation space S is formed in the fork terminal assembly so that the terminal arm 14 of the fork terminal 10 can be deformed.

In this state, the housing is coupled to the upper portion of the fork terminal assembly. The housing is fixedly coupled to the junction box such that the fork terminal 10 is exposed upward.

6, the actuator 40 of the housing elastically deforms the terminal shield 30 in the process of coupling the housing to the junction box. More precisely, the inclined surface 45 of the actuator 40 presses the inclined portion 33 'formed on the extended portion 33 of the terminal shield 30 so that the pair of arm shield portions 31 are separated from each other As shown in Fig.

The upper end of the terminal arm 14 of the fork terminal 10 is more exposed to the outside so that the terminal space 60 of the counterpart is inserted. The larger the size becomes.

Since the hook protrusion 37 is movable in the moving slit 16 as described above, even if the arm shield portion 31 of the terminal shield 30 is elastically deformed, The arms 14 can be held together without being deformed.

In this state, the terminal portion 60 of the partner is coupled to the fork terminal 10. The counterpart is an electronic component such as a fuse or a relay in which a terminal portion 60 is formed under the electronic component, and only terminals are shown in Figs. 4 and 7.

7, the mating portion 60 of the mating object is inserted between the pair of the terminal arms 14 of the fork terminal 10 and the mating portion of the terminal shield 60 is inserted into the mating portion of the terminal shield 60, Lt; / RTI > In this process, the pair of terminal arms 14 of the fork terminal 10 are elastically deformed in directions away from each other, and the degree of deformation thereof is limited by the actuator 40 positioned at one side. Accordingly, the terminal inserting force of the fork terminal 10 is maintained at a predetermined level or higher, so that the coupling force between the fork terminal 10 and the terminal portion 60 of the mating object can be maintained at a certain level or more.

In this case, the fork terminal 10 is electrically connected to the counterpart. At this time, since the fork terminal 10 is in contact with the terminal shield 30 made of aluminum and is electrically connected, the fork terminal 10 and the terminal shield 30 transmit current together. Accordingly, the allowable current of the entirety of the fork terminal assembly can be relatively large as compared with the case where only the fork terminal 10 carries the current alone.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention but to limit the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

10: fork terminal 12:
14: terminal arm 16: moving slit
18: coupling groove 30: terminal shield
31: an arm shield part 33: an extension part
33 ': inclined portion 37: hook projection
39: engaging projection 40: actuator
60: terminal portion of the object

Claims (12)

A fork terminal having a pair of terminal arms selectively engaged with terminal portions of the mating object and an inserting portion inserted into the through holes of the PCB substrate,
And the terminal shield is coupled to the fork terminal so as to surround the pair of terminal arms in a state that the insertion portion protrudes downward and the pair of terminal arms are exposed upward.
The terminal shield according to claim 1, wherein the terminal shield is formed to be open upward, a center of the terminal shield is formed with a counterpart inserting portion opened along a direction of engagement with the fork terminal, and on both sides of the counterpart inserting portion, Wherein a pair of female shield portions are provided.
The terminal shield according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the outer surface of the fork terminal and the inner surface of the arm shield portion of the terminal shield facing the outer surface of the fork terminal are provided with moving slits and hooking protrusions corresponding to each other, And extending in the direction of the elastic deformation of the fork terminal assembly.
The connector according to claim 3, wherein an engaging groove and an engaging projection are provided on the lower portion of the terminal arm of the fork terminal and the inner surface of the terminal shield facing the terminal arm to prevent the fork terminal and the terminal shield from being separated from each other. Terminal assembly.
The fork terminal assembly according to claim 1, wherein the terminal shield is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.
The fork terminal assembly according to claim 1, wherein a deformed slit is formed between the pair of female shield portions of the terminal shield so as to extend in a direction of joining the terminal shield and the fork terminal.
The fork terminal assembly according to claim 2, wherein an extension is formed at one end of the arm shield part in a direction corresponding to a direction in which the pair of terminal arms are separated from each other.
A junction box body,
A PCB substrate mounted on the junction box body,
A terminal shield inserted into the through hole of the PCB substrate and having a fork terminal having a pair of terminal arms and a terminal shield coupled to the fork terminal so as to surround the pair of terminal arms while the inserting portion is exposed downward, A fork terminal assembly,
And a housing fixed to the junction box body such that the fork terminal is exposed upwardly.
The connector as claimed in claim 8, wherein the housing includes an actuator protruding thereon, and the arm shield portion of the terminal shield is provided with an inclined portion corresponding to the actuator, and in the process of coupling the housing to the junction box body, And the arm shield portion of the terminal shield is elastically deformed in a direction away from the terminal arm.
[9] The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a center of the terminal shield is formed with a relative insertion portion opened along a direction of engagement with the fork terminal, and a pair of arm shield portions corresponding to the terminal arms are provided on both sides of the relative insertion portion And a deformed slit is formed between the pair of female shield portions to extend in a direction of joining the terminal shield and the fork terminal.
The connector according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein an outer surface of the fork terminal and an inner surface of the terminal shield facing the terminal are provided with moving slits and hooking protrusions corresponding to each other, Wherein the arm shield portion of the junction box is independently elastically deformable.
12. The junction box as claimed in claim 11, wherein the terminal shield is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

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