Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Plural-contact coupling part
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-14
2002-08-06
Bradley, P. Austin (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Plural-contact coupling part
C439S756000, C439S759000, C439S726000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06428363
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a connecting structure for battery terminals and, more particularly, to a connecting structure for surely connecting battery terminals to battery electrodes of corresponding polarity of a battery body mounted on a vehicle without miscontact of the battery terminals with the battery electrode.
2. Related Art
FIGS. 4 and 5
illustrate a related connecting structure for fastening and fixing battery terminals, provided at an end of an electric wire connected to various kinds of electrical equipment, to battery electrodes of a battery body, mounted on a vehicle, by screw members.
This connecting structure for a battery terminal is disclosed in JP-A-4-220947, and configured so that a positive battery electrode
3
and a negative battery electrode
4
of the vehicle-mounted battery body
1
are quadrangular-prism-like posts
3
b
and
4
b
respectively erected on base potions
3
a
and
4
a
on the top surface of the battery body
1
.
Each of the posts
3
b
and
4
b
has a flat abutting surface
6
or
7
formed at the tip thereof. In each of abutting surface portions
6
and
7
, a screw hole
8
or
9
for securing a battery terminal
11
or
12
(to be described later) by screws is formed. These screw holes
8
and
9
are provided so that the central axes thereof are eccentric from the central portions of the abutting surfaces in different directions in such a way as to make the position of the central axis of the positive electrode with respect to the center of the corresponding screw hole differ from that of the central axis of the negative electrode with respect to the center of the other screw hole.
Each of the battery terminals
11
and
12
includes: a flat plate portion
11
a
or
12
a
adapted to abut against a corresponding one of abutting surfaces
6
or
7
respectively formed at the tips of the posts
3
b
and
4
b;
an abutting wall portion
11
b
or
12
b
which is erected on an edge portion of a corresponding one of these flat plate portions
11
a
and
12
a
and abuts against an adjacent side surface of the corresponding post
3
b
or
4
b;
and a wire cramping portion
11
c
or
12
c
to which a corresponding electric wire
16
or
17
is press-attached.
Further, in each of the flat plate portions
11
a
and
12
a,
a screw insertion hole l
4
or l
5
is provided at an eccentric position corresponding to a corresponding one of the screw holes
8
and
9
respectively formed in the posts
3
b
and
4
b
to be connected thereto.
In the aforementioned connecting structure for the battery terminals, the flat plate portions
11
a
and
12
a
of the battery terminals
11
and
12
are set on the abutting surfaces
6
and
7
of the posts
3
b
and
4
b
so that the screw insertion holes
14
and
15
are aligned with the screw holes
8
and
9
of the posts
3
b
and
4
b.
Thus, each of the abutting wall portions
11
b
and
12
b
is caught on the corner portion of a corresponding one of the posts
3
b
and
4
b.
Consequently, the flat plate portions
11
a
and
12
a
serve as rotation inhibiting means.
Therefore, when fastened by bolts
19
screwed into the screw holes
8
and
9
, the battery terminals
11
and
12
are restrained from rotating with respect to the posts
3
b
and
4
b.
This prevents a direction, in which the wire is drawn, from being changed.
Furthermore, as mentioned previously, the position, at which the screw hole
14
is formed, in the battery terminal
11
corresponding to one of the positive and negative battery electrodes is made to differ from the position, at which the screw hole
15
is formed, in the battery terminal
12
corresponding to the other battery electrode. This prevents each of the battery terminals from being misconnected to the battery electrode of the opposite polarity.
However, although the aforementioned related connecting structure for the battery terminals can prevent each of the battery terminals from being misconnected to the battery electrode of the different polarity, each of the battery electrodes
3
and
4
are exposed to the outside, so that the miscontact of each of the battery terminals
11
and
12
with the battery electrode of the opposite polarity may occur. Thus, there is a fear that electric backflow caused by the miscontact may break the equipment.
Especially, in recent years, there has been a tendency to enhance the efficiency of a vehicle power supply by increasing the voltage thereof. Thus, it is studied to replace 12-volt batteries and 24-volt batteries, which are currently in wide use, with 36-volt batteries. However, the implementation of a high-voltage battery increases the degree of seriousness of the problems of accidents due to the miscontact and sparks due to an arc.
Furthermore, recent increase in the power consumption of per vehicle results in increase in the number of batteries mounted on a vehicle. Thus, there is the need for contrivances to prevent occurrences of a misconnection and a miscontact of battery terminals with a plurality of batteries.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to solve the problems, and to provide a connecting structure for reliably connecting each of battery terminals with a corresponding one of battery electrodes of a vehicle body without causing the miscontact of the battery terminals with the battery electrodes.
To achieve the foregoing object, according to the invention, there is provided a connecting structure for battery terminals, which is adapted to fasten and fix each of positive and negative battery terminals, which are respectively connected to end portions of wires, to one of battery electrodes, which is of corresponding polarity, of a battery body by screw members. This connecting structure comprises terminal covers, made of an insulating material, for accommodating and holding the battery terminals. Each of the terminal covers comprises a terminal accommodation space having an opening of a predetermined shape that permits only the battery terminal of corresponding polarity to be fitted thereinto. Each of the battery terminals is formed in such a way as to have a shape that permits fitting thereof into a corresponding one of the terminal accommodation spaces. The battery body comprises cover fitting holes of predetermined configurations, each of which permits only the fitting projection pieces of the terminal cover accommodating and holding the battery terminal of corresponding polarity, in the vicinity of each of the battery electrodes so that only the battery terminals are enabled to be placed at a fastening/fixing position on a corresponding one of the battery electrodes, which each of the fitting projection pieces is formed in such a manner as to have a shape enabled to be fitted into a corresponding one of the cover fitting holes.
With the aforementioned configuration, each of the positive and negative terminals respectively connected to the end portions of the wires is electrically connected to the corresponding battery electrode by being placed at a fastening/fixing position on the battery electrode of the corresponding polarity and fastened and fixed by a screw member thereto after the battery terminals are accommodated and held in the terminal covers for respectively accommodating and holding the battery terminals.
Even when the battery terminal is misfitted into the terminal accommodation space of the terminal cover that does not correspond to this battery terminal, this battery terminal cannot be fitted thereinto owing to the difference in the shape therebetween.
Further, even when the terminal cover having accommodated and held the battery terminal is misplaced at the fastening/fixing position on the battery electrode of the polarity that does not correspond to the terminal cover, the fitting projection piece of the terminal cover cannot be fitted to the cover fitting hole of the battery body owing to the difference in the configuration, such as the opening shape and the position, between the fitting
Gohara Takashi
Hasegawa Tetsuya
Tamai Yasuhiro
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