JPH0732035B2 - Electrode cap - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electrode cap attached to an electrode portion of an electric equipment such as a starter motor of an automobile.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as this kind of electrode cap, for example, there is one as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 (Shokai Sho 60-8717).
That is, 100 is a connection terminal attached to the end of the wire harness 101, and the connection terminal 100 is a terminal plate 102 fixed to an electrode part of an electrical device and a terminal plate 102 protruding at a right angle from one end of the terminal plate 102. And a wire barrel portion 103 that is crimped onto the end of the wire harness 101. Holes for inserting electrode fixing bolts through the terminal board 102 1
04 is formed. On the other hand, reference numeral 105 denotes a rubber electrode cap formed into an inner hollow by dip molding, which is inserted into the wire harness 101 in advance. Thus, this electrode cap 105 fixes the terminal 100 to the electrode portion and then moves it to the electrode portion side along the wire harness 101 to adhere to the connection terminal 100 as shown in FIG. 12 to insulate and protect the electrode portion. I was trying. The electrode cap 105 is substantially L-shaped, and has a bag-shaped portion 106 attached to the terminal plate 102 and a wire barrel portion 103.
And a tubular portion 107 attached to the bag portion 106. The bag-shaped portion 106 and the tubular portion 107 are provided with openings 106a, 107a for inserting wire harnesses, respectively. Connect the bag 106 to the terminal board 10
When the bag 2 is covered, the opening 106a of the bag-shaped part 106 is spread by a dedicated jig (not shown) and covered on the terminal plate 102.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, in such a conventional example, since the electrode cap 105 is made of soft rubber, for example, when a tool is dropped on the electrode cap 105 during inspection and maintenance of the engine, the electrode cap 105 If the tool 105 is broken, the tool may directly contact the connection terminal 100. In particular, if the space inside the engine room is small and one end of the tool is in contact with the connection terminal 100 and the other end is in contact with a component of the engine, there is a risk of sparking and damage to the contact part. Further, since the electrode cap 105 is made of rubber, it is likely to be displaced or peeled from the connection terminal 100. Further, the bag-shaped portion 106 is covered on the terminal plate 102, but as shown in FIG. 13, the bag-shaped portion 106 is provided by the amount of the protrusion of the fixing bolt 108 head 108a.
And the opening 106a expands, and the exposed area of the connection terminal 100 increases. Further electrode cap 10
When 5 is moved along the wire harness 101, since the electrode cap 105 is bent in an L shape, the electrode cap 105 is caught and cannot be moved smoothly. Therefore, conventionally, silicone 109 is attached to the inner surface of the electrode cap 105 to make it slippery, but it is difficult to move because the wire harness 101 is slid while bending in the electrode cap 105. Further bag-shaped part 10
When the 6 is attached to the terminal plate 102, a dedicated jig is required, and the work is troublesome.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrode cap which has high strength and can be easily attached.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a terminal plate connected to an electrode part of an electric device and a terminal plate projecting from one end of the terminal plate at a substantially right angle are provided. A resin electrode cap attached to a connection terminal including a wire barrel portion fixed to a terminal of a wire harness, the resin electrode cap covering the lower surface side of the terminal plate and standing along the wire barrel portion. A lower case having fixing ribs, a holding member for fixing and holding the fixing ribs to the wire barrel portion, an upper case that covers the upper surface side of the terminal plate and is detachably locked to the lower case, and the wire And an insulating member that covers the barrel portion. It is preferable that the holding member and the insulating member are both configured by an insulative and stretchable tube that is inserted in advance in the wire harness and has a length substantially equal to that of the wire barrel portion.

Further, the holding member is composed of a clip portion provided on the upper end portion of the fixing rib whose height dimension is substantially the same as the vertical dimension of the wire barrel portion, and the insulating member has a height dimension which is the same as the vertical dimension of the wire barrel portion. Substantially the same insulating fixing ribs, flanges extending along the both side surfaces of the wire barrel portion on both side edges of the fixing ribs, and projecting from the notched peripheral edge of the rear edge of the upper case and fitted on the outer surface of the flange. It is also possible to use a matching insulating rib.

(Operation) In the present invention, the electrode cap is attached by first covering the lower surface side of the terminal plate by the lower case and fixing and holding the fixing rib on the wire barrel portion by the holding member to attach the terminal plate to the electrode portion of the electrical equipment. Then, the upper case is covered with the upper case to lock the upper case to the lower case, and the wire barrel is covered with the insulating member. Thus, the terminal plate and the wire barrel portion of the connection terminal are insulated and protected by the strong resin upper case, lower case and insulating member. Further, the electrode cap is firmly fixed and held on the wire barrel portion by the holding member via the fixing rib. And in the tube,
When configured to serve as both a holding member and an insulating member, the fixing rib is fixed and held in the wire barrel portion by inserting the tube into the fixing rib in a state where the fixing rib is overlapped with the wire barrel portion, The wire barrel is completely covered with an insulating tube to protect the wire.

When the holding member is composed of a clip portion and the insulating member is composed of a fixing rib, a flange and an insulating rib, the fixing rib is fixedly held by the clip portion to the wire barrel portion and the wire barrel portion is fixed to the fixing rib. Since it is completely covered with the insulating ribs fitted to the outer surface of the flange, the insulation is protected.

(Example) Below, this invention is demonstrated based on the Example shown in figure. In FIGS. 1 to 3 showing the electrode cap according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the same components as those of the conventional example will be denoted by the same reference numerals.
Is an L-shaped connection terminal that is attached to the terminal, and is used for an electrode part of an electric equipment such as a starter motor arranged in the engine room of an automobile. The connection terminal 100 includes a flat terminal plate 102, and a wire barrel portion 103 protruding from one end 102a of the terminal plate 102 at a right angle and crimped and fixed to the end of the wire harness 101. The terminal plate 102 is formed with a hole 104 into which a bolt for fixing an electrode is inserted. On the other hand, reference numeral 1 denotes an electrode cap, which is composed of an upper case 3 and a lower case 4 which are openably and closably connected via a hinge 2, and is integrally formed of an insulating resin. The lower case 4 includes a bottom plate portion 41 having a substantially rectangular shape following the shape of the rear end portion of the terminal plate 100, a rear wall 42 protruding along the rear edge of the bottom plate portion 41, and a side edge of the bottom plate portion 41. It is provided with side walls 43, 43 that are projected. The side walls 43, 43 are parallel to each other, and the distance between them is equal to the width of the terminal plate 102, so that the terminal plate 102 is housed between the side walls 43, 43. On the other hand, ribs 44, 44 projecting inward in the width direction of the bottom plate portion 41 are provided at the upper edges of both side walls 43, 43, and are engaged with both side edges of the terminal plate 102 housed in the lower case 4. It Therefore, the terminal 100 is slidably mounted in the lower case 4 using the ribs 44, 44 as guides. The protrusion width of the ribs 44, 44 is set so as not to interfere with the wire barrel portion 103. Also, the bottom plate of the lower case 4
The length of 41 is shorter than the length of the terminal plate 102, and the front edge 41a of the bottom plate portion 41 of the lower case 4 is located at the position where the rear edge 102a of the terminal plate 102 contacts the rear wall 42 of the lower case 4. The bolt 104 has a hole 104 formed in the terminal plate 102 through which the bolt is inserted so as to be exposed from the lower case 4. A notch 41b is provided at the front edge 41a of the bottom plate portion 41 of the lower case 4 so as not to interfere with the hole 104.

On the other hand, a fixing rib 45 protruding upward is provided at the center of the rear wall 42 of the lower case 4. The width of the fixing rib 45 is substantially equal to the width of the wire barrel portion 103 of the connection terminal 100, and the front surface thereof abuts on the rear surface of the wire barrel portion 103. The length of the fixing rib 45 is shorter than the length of the wire barrel portion 103 and supports the lower end portion of the wire barrel portion 103. On the other hand, the elastic tube 5 as a holding member is inserted through the wire harness 101 in advance, and the fixing rib 45 is inserted into the fixing rib 45 in a state where the fixing rib 45 is superposed on the wire barrel portion 103. The barrel 103 is fixed and held. The length of the tube 5 is substantially equal to that of the wire barrel portion 103, and the wire barrel portion 103 is
The tube 5 also functions as an insulating member because the tube 5 is completely covered and insulated and protected.

The upper case 3 is composed of a rear rectangular portion 31 attached to the lower case 4 and a front circular portion 32 attached to the front portion of the terminal plate 102. The rectangular portion 31 includes a rectangular top plate portion 33, a side edge of the top plate portion 33, and a side wall 3 standing on the rear edge.
It is composed of 4, 34 and the rear wall 35, and is adapted to be fitted to the outer circumferences of the side walls 43, 43 of the lower case 4 and the rear wall 42. Thus, the engaging holes 6 are formed in the both side walls 34, 34 of the upper case 3.
a and 6a are bored, and locking projections 6b and 6b projecting outward in the width direction are locked to the upper edge of the side wall 43 of the lower case 4 to fix the upper case 3 and the lower case 4. It is like this. A ridge 7 extending in the width direction is provided on the back surface of the top plate portion 33 of the rectangular portion 31, and when the upper case 3 is closed, the ridge 7 comes into contact with the upper surface of the terminal plate 102 and between the upper case 3 and the lower case 4. It prevents the occurrence of backlash. Further, a cutout 36 is provided at the rear edge of the rectangular portion 31 in order to avoid interference with the wire barrel portion 103 when the upper case 3 is closed.

On the other hand, the circular portion 32 has a dome shape, and the terminal plate 102
The bolts 8 and the nuts 9 inserted into the holes 104 are prevented from interfering with each other. Furthermore, the open end 32 of the circular portion 32
The inner diameter of a is substantially equal to the R shape of the front edge of the terminal plate 102, and when the upper case 3 is closed, the front edge of the terminal plate 102 is covered by the open end 32a of the circular portion 32.

The hinge 2 connects the side edge of the bottom plate portion 41 of the lower case 4 and the leading edge of the side wall 34 of the upper case 3. Hinge 2
Is a flexible strip-shaped member, and the upper case 3 and the lower case 4 are
It is long so that it can be easily handled when it is attached to.

In the electrode cap having the above structure, first, the lower case 4
Then, the connection terminal 100 is inserted from the wire barrel portion 103 side. That is, both side edges 102b, 102b of the terminal plate 102 are sandwiched between the lower edges of the ribs 44, 44 provided on the side walls 43, 43 of the lower case 4 and the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 41, and as shown in FIG. Push in until the end contacts the rear wall 42 of the lower case 4. Therefore, the lower surface of the terminal plate 102 is insulated by the bottom plate portion 41 of the lower case 4 except for the portion that comes into contact with the electrode portion of the electrical equipment (not shown), and the side edge and the rear edge of the terminal plate 102 are lower cases 4.
It is insulated and protected by the side walls 43, 43 and the rear wall 42 of the.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the tube 5 previously inserted in the wire harness 101 is moved downward to move the fixing rib 45.
The wire barrel portion 103 is inserted into the wire barrel portion 103 to hold the fixing rib 45 on the wire barrel portion 103, and the wire barrel portion 103 is insulated and protected. A tape 10 is wound around the upper end of the tube 5 as shown in FIG.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 7, the hole 104 of the terminal board 102 is inserted into the bolt 8 for the electrode of the electrical equipment (not shown) and the nut 9 is inserted.
It is fixed by tightening.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper case 3 is attached to the lower case 4 to complete the attachment. That is, lower case 4
The locking projections 6b, 6b provided on the side walls 43, 43 are elastically locked to the locking holes 6a, 6a provided on the side walls 34, 34 of the upper case 3. In this state, the upper surface of the terminal plate 102 and the bolts 8 and the nuts 9 are covered with the upper case 3, and the front edge of the terminal plate 102 is covered with the opening end 32a of the circular portion 32 of the upper case 3 for insulation protection. .

Next, FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, a clip portion as a holding member is provided on the upper end portion of the fixing rib 45 'provided on the rear wall 42 of the lower case 4.
47 is provided, and the fixing rib 45 ′ is fixedly held to the wire barrel portion 103 by the clip portion 47. The height dimension of the fixing rib 45 'is the same as the vertical dimension of the wire barrel portion 103, and the fixing rib 4'
Flanges 46, 46 extending along both side surfaces of the wire barrel portion 103 are provided on both side edges of the 5 '. Therefore, the rear surface and the side surface of the wire barrel portion 103 have fixing ribs 45 '.
And, the fixing rib 45 'also functions as an insulating member, being insulated and protected by the flanges 46, 46. Further, an insulating rib 37 as an insulating member having a U-shaped cross section is projected from the periphery of the notch 36 provided at the rear edge of the upper case 3, and the flanges 46 and 46 of the fixing rib 45 'of the lower case 4 are provided. The front surface of the wire barrel portion 103 is insulated and protected by fitting on the outer side surface. Other configurations and operations are similar to those of the first embodiment, and therefore their explanations are omitted.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention has the above-described configuration and operation. The electrode cap is divided into two parts, an upper cap made of resin and a lower cap made of resin, to protect the upper and lower surfaces of the terminal plate of the connection terminal from insulation, and to prevent the wire barrel portion from being damaged. Since the insulation protection is performed by the insulating member, the strength is stronger than that of the conventional one made of rubber, and even if the tool is dropped on the electrode cap, there is no fear of breaking and the safety is improved. Further, since it is made of resin, it has high rigidity, and since it is securely fixed and held by the holding member on the wire barrel portion, it is firmly fixed without the risk of slipping or peeling as in the conventional case. Furthermore, since the terminal is sandwiched and attached as a two-part configuration, it is possible to save the labor of moving it along the wire harness as in the conventional case.
Further, there is no need to use a dedicated jig, and various effects such as improved workability can be obtained. And especially in the tube,
In the case of being configured as a holding member and an insulating member as well, the tube can perform two functions of holding and insulating, so that the structure can be simplified and the molding becomes easy.

Further, when the holding member is made of a clip portion and the insulating member is made of a fixing rib, a flange and an insulating rib, the holding member and the insulating member are integrated with the electrode cap, so that the number of parts can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an electrode cap according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are side views and plan views of the electrode cap of FIG. 1, and FIGS. Fig. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing a work sequence of attaching the electrode cap shown in Fig. 1;
FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of an electrode cap according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional electrode cap, FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the electrode cap of FIG. 10, and FIG. Is the
FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electrode cap in the attached state, and FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electrode cap of FIG. 12 near the bolt head. (Description of symbols) 1 ... Electrode cap, 3 ... Upper case 4 ... Lower case 45, 45 '... Fixing rib, 5 ... Tube 6a ... Locking hole, 6b ... Locking protrusion 47 ... Clip part, 37 ... Insulating rib 100 ... Connection terminal 101 ... Wire harness 102 ... Terminal board 103 ... Wire barrel

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A terminal plate connected to an electrode portion of an electric device,
A resin electrode cap to be attached to a connection terminal consisting of a wire barrel portion protruding from one end of the terminal plate at a substantially right angle and fixed to a terminal of a wire harness, wherein the lower surface side of the terminal plate is A lower case having a fixing rib that covers and is provided upright along the wire barrel portion, a holding member that fixes and holds the fixing rib to the wire barrel portion, and an upper surface side of the terminal plate and a lower case. An electrode cap, comprising: an upper case that is detachably locked and an insulating member that covers the wire barrel portion. 2. A holding member and an insulating member which are preliminarily inserted into a wire harness and which have a length substantially equal to that of the wire barrel portion and which are insulative and stretchable. Item electrode cap. 3. The holding member comprises a clip portion provided on an upper end portion of a fixing rib whose height dimension is substantially the same as the vertical dimension of the wire barrel portion, and the insulating member has a height dimension of the wire barrel portion. Insulating fixing ribs that have almost the same vertical dimensions,
Claims comprising flanges extending along both side surfaces of the wire barrel portion on both side edges of the fixing ribs, and insulating ribs protruding from the notched peripheral edge of the rear edge of the upper case and fitted to the outer side surfaces of the flanges. The electrode cap according to claim 1.