Electrical connectors – Metallic clamp-type connector for storage battery terminal – Clamping lever – cam – or wedge
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-11
2002-07-02
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Metallic clamp-type connector for storage battery terminal
Clamping lever, cam, or wedge
Reexamination Certificate
active
06413124
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable-terminal connecting device which is connectable a terminal of an electric wire and/or a cable to an electrode post of positive or negative polarity, disposed on a power supply battery which is mounted in a vehicle (e.g., automobile).
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-110888, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a related example of a cable-terminal connecting device, one disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 8-339851 has been known, and is schematically shown in
FIGS. 4A and 4B
.
Two electrode posts
2
(only one is shown in the drawing) of positive polarity and negative polarity, respectively, are provided uprightly on a battery body
1
, and a cable
3
corresponding to each electrode post
2
of positive or negative polarity is connected to the electrode post
2
by a metal terminal
4
provided at an end of the cable
3
. As is apparent from
FIG. 4B
, which is a plan view, the metal terminal
4
is secured to the cable
3
as a crimp portion
4
b
provided at the end of its terminal body
4
a
is crimped against a conductor
3
a
exposed by stripping an insulating coating at the cable end. A distal end portion of the terminal body
4
a
is formed as a post winding-around portion
4
c
which is formed circularly and returns in parallel, and this post winding-around portion
4
c
ia adapted to be wound around the electrode post
2
. In addition, a pivot pin
5
is provided at parallel portions of the terminal body
4
a
. On one end side of the pivot pin
5
, a lever
6
is pivotally supported at a longitudinal end thereof, while the other end of the lever
6
is pivotally supported by a box-shaped protective cover
8
by a pivot pin
7
.
By virtue of the above-described structure, at the time of the cable connecting operation, the post winding-around portion
4
c
of the metal terminal
4
is lowered and fitted around the electrode post
2
in a wrapping manner. Subsequently, the protective cover
8
is rotated in the direction of arrow A, which is a clockwise direction, by pressing down a right end portion in FIG.
4
A. In this operation of pressing down the cover, the lever
6
rotates about the axis of the pivot pin
5
, and the terminal body
4
a
of the metal terminal
4
is subjected to compression in a direction in which the diameter of the post winding-around portion
4
c
is reduced, thereby tightly clasping the electrode post
2
. Thus, the cable
3
is electrically connected to the electrode post
2
on the battery body
1
.
With the device shown in
FIGS. 4A and 4B
, the following problems may be encountered.
First, in general, a typical metal terminal is secured to a cable end by crimping or the like as a single unit, so as to prepare for connection to an apparatus in an ensuing step, and is easy to handle in one aspect. However, in the case of the metal terminal
4
of the above-described structure, the box-shaped protective cover
8
is coupled to and integrated with it by the lever
6
. For this reason, at the time of connection to the electrode post
2
, the integrated structure on the complex metal terminal side is handled, so that the operation is extremely troublesome. Moreover, the number of component parts is large, including the metal terminal
4
, the lever
6
, the protective cover
8
, and the pivot pins
5
and
7
, so that there is a disadvantage in terms of cost.
Second, a situation can occur in which even after the protective cover
8
is pressed down starting from the state shown in
FIG. 4A
, and the cable is set in a state in which its connection to the post
2
has been completed, the lock still fails to function, and the protective cover springs up unexpectedly, causing the metal terminal
4
to come off the electrode post
2
.
Furthermore, another problem is that the metal terminal
4
and the protective cover
8
are not directly coupled, and a pin hinge structure using the lever
6
on one side is adopted. Accordingly, the twisting or distortion of the protective cover
8
are liable to occur particularly with the pivot pin
7
as a fulcrum, and the locked state is unstable even after completion of the cable connection. For this reason, it is conceivable that the metal terminal
4
may become exposed, with the result that the protective cover
8
fails to perform its insulating function.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cable-terminal connecting device for a battery which enhances the operating and handling efficiency by reducing the number of component parts and adopting a simple structure, and which makes it possible to maintain required insulation performance by maintaining a stable locked state after connection to the cable.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cable-terminal connecting device for electrically connecting a cable to one of positive and negative polarity electrode posts of a battery. The cable-terminal connecting device comprises a metal terminal, to which a cable is connectable, including an post winding-around portion which is connectable to an electrode post to clasp from an outer side thereof, the electrode post being projected on a battery body; a lock lever attachable to the metal terminal, wherein when the lock lever is pressed down to a locking position, a clasp by the post winding-around portion with respect to the electrode post is set in a locked state; and an insulating protective cover attachable to the metal terminal so as to cover and accommodate at least an entire connecting portion of the metal terminal, connected to the electrode post, when a distal end portion of the protective cover is pressed down, while using as a fulcrum a proximal end portion of the protective cover abutted against the post winding-around portion, and while causing the lock lever to follow the protective cover so that the lock lever is pressed down to the locking position.
By virtue of the above-described construction in accordance with the first aspect, it is possible to separately form the metal terminal connected to an end portion of the cable and the protective cover for accommodating and protecting the metal terminal. Namely, since a member for coupling the two members is not needed, the number of component parts can be reduced accordingly, and handling during the operation is facilitated. Further, it is possible to overcome the deviating motion, such as shaking, of the protective cover during the pressing-down operation, which has been experienced with the example of the related art due to the fact that a coupling member is interposed. Meanwhile, in a state in which the post winding-around portion of the metal terminal is tentatively positioned after being lowered and fitted around the electrode post, when the protective cover is made to catch that post winding-around portion, and is operated by being pressed down by using the post winding-around portion as a fulcrum, the lock lever on the metal terminal side is pressed against the electrode post by following the movement. Hence, the three members, including the electrode post, the metal terminal, and the protective cover, are automatically locked as a unit. Namely, the connecting operation can be easily effected virtually with a single motion, and there is no chance of the protective cover lifting up or springing up after completion of the connection, which has been experienced with the structure of the related art. Accordingly, such the metal terminal as connected to the electrode post can be insulated and protected reliably.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the device of the first aspect may further comprise a lock cam portion formed on a proximal end portion of the lock lever, wherein the lock cam portion has a cam surface which is pressed against the electrode post when the lock lever is located at the locking position. In this
Fukuda Masaru
Murakami Takao
Nasri Javaid
Sircus Brian
Yazaki -Corporation
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