Abstract:
A battery direct-mounted fusible link that is to be directly connected to a battery post and has an L-shape extending over a top surface and a lateral surface of a battery, the battery direct-mounted fusible link having a novel structure which may be capable of achieving a more compact size while effectively reducing a risk of rotation with respect to the battery Only a battery connecting portion to be connected to a battery post is provided in a horizontal portion to be arranged on a top surface of the battery, whereas a stud bolt and a load connecting portion to be connected to a load are provided in a vertical portion to be arranged on a lateral surface of the battery.

Description:
[0001]    The present application relates to a battery direct-mounted fusible link to be directly mounted to a battery to connect electric wires from an alternator and various loads to the battery. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Conventionally, battery direct-mounted fusible links have been used in automobiles and the like in order to allow electric wires to be connected via fusible portions to a battery without using a fuse box or the like away from the battery. The battery direct-mounted fusible link described in JP 2005-190735A (Patent Document 1), for example, has a structure including a battery connecting portion to be connected to a battery post, a stud bolt for bolt-fixing a connecting terminal provided at an end of an electric wire from an alternator or the like, and load connecting portions for connecting electric wires from various loads such as a motor, electronic components, and the like that are provided in an automobile via fusible portions to a battery. 
         [0003]    Incidentally, as also described in Patent Document 1, the battery direct-mounted fusible link is formed in an L-shape having a horizontal portion to be arranged on an upper surface of the battery and a vertical portion to be arranged on a lateral surface of the battery. The horizontal portion and the vertical portion of the battery direct-mounted fusible link are arranged over the edge portion of the upper surface of the battery, thus reducing the size of an arrangement space. 
         [0004]    However, batteries to be mounted in automobiles slightly differ in size depending on the types, makers, and the like. Therefore, battery direct-mounted fusible links can be provided with margins in the length of the horizontal portion so as to be capable of being attached to a larger number of types of batteries, and thus are configured such that, even when the battery is large, the horizontal portion goes over the edge portion of the upper surface of the battery and the vertical portion can be arranged on the lateral surface of the battery. However, there is a problem with such a structure in that the horizontal portion significantly projects from the battery to form a large gap between the vertical portion and the lateral surface of the battery if the battery is small, thus causing a decrease in efficiency of the arrangement space. Moreover, as also mentioned in Patent Document 1, in the battery direct-mounted fusible link, the battery connecting portion provided in the horizontal portion is generally fastened to the bolt-shaped battery post of the battery with a bolt. Therefore, if the gap between the vertical portion and the lateral surface of the battery is large, there is a risk that the battery direct-mounted fusible link rotates about the battery post, and thus the reliability of the connection with the battery and the electric wires deteriorates. 
         [0005]    In order to address these problems, JP 2009.76409A (Patent Document 2) proposes a structure for preventing the rotation of the battery direct-mounted fusible link by interposing a block-shaped member between the vertical portion and the lateral surface of the battery. Moreover, JP 2010-61813A (Patent Document 3) proposes a structure for preventing the rotation by bringing a bent metal piece into contact with the outer surface of the battery. However, since the gap dimension between the vertical portion and the lateral surface of the battery remains the same in the structures mentioned in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, the problem of the arrangement space cannot be solved, and there is a risk that the size of the arrangement space is further increased due to a newly provided special member. 
         [0006]    Patent Document 1: JP 2005-190735A 
         [0007]    Patent Document 2: JP 2009-76409A 
         [0008]    Patent Document 3: JP 2010-61813A 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    The present application has been achieved in light of the above-described circumstances, and the problem to be solved of the present application is to provide a battery direct-mounted fusible link having a novel structure capable of achieving a more compact size while effectively reducing a risk of rotation with respect to a battery. 
         [0010]    A first aspect of the present application is a battery direct-mounted fusible link having an L-shape including a horizontal portion to be arranged on a top surface of a battery and a vertical portion to be arranged on a lateral surface of the battery, the battery direct-mounted fusible link being provided with a battery connecting portion to be connected to a battery post of the battery, at least one stud bolt to which a connecting terminal provided at an end of an electric wire is to be fastened, and at least one load connecting portion to be connected to a load, the load connecting portion being coupled via a fusible portion to the battery connecting portion, wherein only the battery connecting portion is provided in the horizontal portion, and the stud bolt and the load connecting portion are provided in the vertical portion, the stud bolt projecting from the vertical portion in a horizontal direction parallel to the horizontal portion. 
         [0011]    In the battery direct-mounted fusible link having the structure according to the present application, only the battery connecting portion to be connected to the battery post is provided in the horizontal portion to be arranged on the upper surface of the battery. This makes it possible to reduce the length dimension of the horizontal portion compared with cases where a stud bolt and the like are also provided in the horizontal portion. As a result, the vertical portion can be arranged nearer to the lateral surface of the battery, thus making it possible to make the arrangement space for the battery direct-mounted fusible link more compact. Since the gap between the vertical portion and the lateral surface of the battery is made small, when the battery direct-mounted fusible link is to rotate about the battery post, the rotation of the battery direct-mounted fusible link can be prevented by the vertical portion coming into contact with the lateral surface of the battery, thus making it possible to improve the reliability of the connection with the battery and the electric wires. 
         [0012]    Moreover, since the stud bolt is provided in the vertical portion and projects from the vertical portion in a horizontal direction parallel to the horizontal portion, it becomes unnecessary to form a connecting terminal of the electric wire on a side to be connected to the stud bolt into an L-shape in order to extend the electric wire downward, thus making it possible to simplify the shape of the connecting terminal and to reduce cost. 
         [0013]    A second aspect of the present application is the battery direct-mounted fusible link according to the first aspect, wherein an end of an electric wire to be connected to the load is directly secured to the load connecting portion. 
         [0014]    In this aspect, the end of the electric wire is directly secured to the load connecting portion without using a connector or the like. Accordingly, it becomes unnecessary to form a space or the like for accommodating the connector in the battery direct-mounted fusible link, thus reducing the size. It should be noted that in an embodiment wherein the end of the electric wire is directly secured to the load connecting portion, soldering, welding, or the like may be performed, or a crimping piece may be provided in the load connecting portion and the end of the electric wire may be crimped, for example. 
         [0015]    A third aspect of the present application is the battery direct-mounted fusible link according to the second aspect, wherein the load connecting portion is provided with a crimping piece for crimping the end of the electric wire to be connected to the load. 
         [0016]    With this aspect, the end of the electric wire can be firmly fixed with a simple operation by being crimped. 
         [0017]    A fourth aspect of the present application is the battery direct-mounted fusible link according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the stud bolt and the load connecting portion are lined up in a direction in which the vertical portion extends from the horizontal portion. 
         [0018]    With this aspect, the stud bolt and the load connecting portion are lined up in the direction in which the vertical portion extends, thus making it possible to stack and compactly dispose the electric wire extending from the stud bolt and the electric wire extending from the load connecting portion. 
         [0019]    A fifth aspect of the present application is the battery direct-mounted fusible link according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the stud bolt and the load connecting portion are lined up in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the vertical portion extends from the horizontal portion. 
         [0020]    With this aspect, the electric wire extending from the stud bolt and the electric wire extending from the load connecting portion are disposed in parallel in the horizontal direction, thus making it possible to reduce the risk that the electric wires become tangled with one another. 
         [0021]    In the battery direct-mounted fusible link according to the present application, only the battery connecting portion to be connected to the battery post is provided in the horizontal portion to be arranged on the upper surface of the battery, and the stud bolt and the load connecting portion are provided in the vertical portion to be arranged on the lateral surface of the battery. This makes it possible to reduce the length dimension of the horizontal portion and the gap dimension between the vertical portion and the lateral surface of the battery. As a result, a more compact size can be achieved, and when the rotation about the battery post is to occur, the rotation can be prevented by the vertical portion coming into contact with the lateral surface of the battery, thus making it possible to improve the reliability of the connection with the battery and the electric wires. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a battery direct-mounted fusible link according to a first embodiment of the present application. 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the battery direct-mounted fusible link shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the battery direct-mounted fusible link shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  is a front view of a bus bar to be provided in the battery direct-mounted fusible link shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  is a front view of a battery direct-mounted fusible link according to a second embodiment of the present application. 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  is a bottom view of the battery direct-mounted fusible link shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0028]      FIG. 7  is a side view of the battery direct-mounted fusible link shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0029]    Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present application will be described with reference to the drawings. 
         [0030]    First, a battery direct-mounted fusible link  10  according to a first embodiment of the present application is shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , for example, the battery direct-mounted fusible link  10  is directly fixed to a battery  12  provided in an automobile and is used. The battery direct-mounted fusible link  10  has a structure in which a bus bar  16  is accommodated in a housing  14 . 
         [0031]    The housing  14  is made of a non-conductive member such as a synthetic resin. The housing  14  is formed in an L-shape including a horizontal portion  20  that is to be arranged along a top surface  18  of the battery  12  and extends in a horizontal direction (left-right direction in  FIG. 3 ), and a vertical portion  24  that extends perpendicularly from the horizontal portion  20  in a vertical direction (up-down direction in  FIG. 3 ) and is arranged along a lateral surface  22  of the battery  12 . 
         [0032]    As is clear from  FIG. 2 , the horizontal portion  20  is substantially rectangular. A bolt inserting hole  28  through which a bolt-shaped battery post  26  (see  FIG. 3 ) projecting from the battery  12  is to be inserted is formed in a central portion of the horizontal portion  20 . 
         [0033]    On the other hand, the vertical portion  24  has a hollow box shape that is open downward (downward in  FIG. 1 ). Two bolt arranging portions  30  are formed at the end portion on an upper side (upper side in  FIG. 1 ) of the vertical portion  24 . The bolt arranging portions  30  each have a substantially rectangular block shape protruding upward and are open to their front side  32 . 
         [0034]    The bus bar  16  is accommodated in this housing  14 .  FIG. 4  shows the bus bar  16  and load electric wires  34  connected to the bus bar  16 . The bus bar  16  is formed by bending a punched metal plate. 
         [0035]    The bus bar  16  is provided with a battery connecting terminal  36 . As also shown in  FIG. 2 , the battery connecting terminal  36  has a rectangular plate shape formed by being bent at a right angle from a main portion  38  of the bus bar  16 , and is provided with a circular bolt inserting hole that penetrates the battery connecting terminal  36  at a position overlapping the bolt inserting hole  28  of the housing  14 . 
         [0036]    Furthermore, two terminal plate portions  40  are formed in the bus bar  16 . The terminal plate portions  40  each have a rectangular plate shape that extends perpendicularly. The terminal plate portions  40  are formed by bending upward the front end-side edge portions of base end portions  44  that are respectively coupled to the front ends of coupling portions  42  extending from the main portion  38  of the bus bar  16  and that extend perpendicularly with respect to the main portion  38 . It should be noted that the terminal plate portions  40  are to be connected to an alternator and a starter (not shown), respectively. 
         [0037]    Furthermore, the bus bar  16  is provided with a plurality of (five in this embodiment) load connecting portions  46 . The load connecting portions  46  each have a shape in which a tab-shaped plate is provided with a pair of crimping pieces  50 , and are coupled to the main portion  38  via a fusible portion  48  that fuses when an overcurrent flows. These (five in this embodiment) load connecting portions  46  are formed in parallel with appropriate spacings between them on a lower side (lower side in  FIG. 4 ) of the main portion  38 . 
         [0038]    The load electric wires  34  to be connected to loads provided in a vehicle body, such as a motor and other electric components, are connected to the load connecting portions  46 , respectively. The load electric wires  34  are directly secured to the load connecting portions  46  without using a connector, a connecting terminal, or the like by crimping a core wire  54  exposed from the end of the load electric wire  34  to the load connecting portion  46  with the crimping pieces  50 . 
         [0039]    The battery direct-mounted fusible link  10  is configured by accommodating this bus bar  16  in the housing  14 . The battery connecting terminal  36  of the bus bar  16  is arranged in the horizontal portion  20  of the housing  14  in a state in which the bus bar  16  is accommodated in the housing  14 . Accordingly, the battery connecting portion  58  is formed in the horizontal portion  20  of the housing  14 . The load connecting portions  46  are coupled via the fusible portions  48  to the battery connecting terminal  36  included in the battery connecting portion  58 , and thus are coupled via the fusible portions  48  to the battery connecting portion  58 . 
         [0040]    The terminal plate portions  40  of the bus bar  16  are arranged in the bolt arranging portions  30  of the housing  14 , respectively. Stud bolts  60  are inserted into the bolt arranging portions  30  and overlap the terminal plate portions  40 . Accordingly, the stud bolts  60  are arranged in the vertical portion  24  and project in the horizontal direction (left-right direction in  FIG. 3 ). Therefore, in this embodiment, the stud bolts  60  are arranged on the upper side of the vertical portion  24 , whereas the load connecting portions  46  are arranged on the lower side of the vertical portion  24 , and thus the stud bolts  60  and the load connecting portions  46  are lined up in the direction in which the vertical portion  24  extends (up-down direction in  FIG. 1 ). In the battery direct-mounted fusible link  10  of this embodiment, in this manner, only the battery connecting portion  58  is provided in the horizontal portion  20 , and the stud bolts  60  and all of the load connecting portions  46  are provided in the vertical portion  24 . 
         [0041]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the battery post  26  is inserted into the bolt inserting hole  28  of the battery connecting portion  58  and connected thereto by being fastened with a nut or the like, and thus the battery direct-mounted fusible link  10  configured to have this structure is directly fixed to the battery  12  in the state in which the horizontal portion  20  is arranged along the top surface  18  of the battery  12  and the vertical portion  24  is arranged along the lateral surface  22  of the battery  12 . As also shown in  FIG. 1 , the stud bolts  60  are inserted into connecting terminals  64  provided at the ends of electric wires  62  connected to an alternator or the like and are fastened with nuts or the like, and thus the electric wires  62  are connected via the bus bar  16  to the battery  12 . 
         [0042]    With the battery direct-mounted fusible link  10  of this embodiment, only the battery connecting portion  58  is provided in the horizontal portion  20  to be arranged along the top surface  18  of the battery  12 . This makes it possible to reduce the length dimension L of the horizontal portion  20  compared with a case where the stud bolts  60  are also provided in the horizontal portion  20 . As a result, the size of the battery direct-mounted fusible link  10  can be reduced, and the efficiency of the arrangement space can be improved. Furthermore, the gap dimension G between the vertical portion  24  and the lateral surface  22  of the battery  12  can be reduced, and when the battery direct-mounted fusible link is to rotate about the battery post  26 , the rotation can be prevented by the vertical portion  24  coming into contact with the lateral surface  22  of the battery  12 . As a result, it is possible to improve the reliability of the connection between the battery direct-mounted fusible link  10  and the load electric wires  34  and electric wires  62 . 
         [0043]    Since the stud bolts  60  are arranged in the vertical portion  24  and project in the horizontal direction, it becomes unnecessary to bend the connecting terminals  64  into an L-shape in order to extend the electric wires  62  connected to the stud bolts  60  downward (toward the lower side in  FIG. 1 ), thus making it also possible to simplify the shape of the connecting terminals  64  and reduce the manufacturing cost. 
         [0044]    Furthermore, in this embodiment, the stud bolts  60  and the load connecting portions  46  are lined up in the direction in which the vertical portion  24  extends from the horizontal portion  20 , that is, in the up-down direction. This makes it possible to stack and compactly dispose the electric wires  62  connected to the stud bolts  60  and the load electric wires  34  connected to the load connecting portions  46 . 
         [0045]    Moreover, the load electric wires  34  to be connected to the load connecting portions  46  are directly secured to the load connecting portions  46  with the crimping pieces  50 . Accordingly, connectors, connecting terminals, and the like can be made unnecessary, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Furthermore, it is unnecessary to form connector accommodating portions and the like in the housing  14 , thus making it possible to reduce the size of the battery direct-mounted fusible link  10 . 
         [0046]    Next, a battery direct-mounted fusible link  70  according to a second embodiment according to the present application is shown in  FIGS. 5 to 7 . It should be noted that  FIG. 6  shows the lower surface of the battery direct-mounted fusible link  70 . Moreover, in the following description, structures similar to those of the first embodiment are denoted in the drawings by the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment, and thus their description will be omitted. 
         [0047]    The vertical portion  24  of the housing  14  of this embodiment is formed into a laterally elongated shape as a whole in which the length in the horizontal direction (left-right direction in  FIG. 5 ) is longer. The horizontal portion  20  is located at the end portion on one side (right side in  FIG. 6 ) in the longitudinal direction of the vertical portion  24 , and the battery connecting portion  58  is provided in the horizontal portion  20 . 
         [0048]    Moreover, the two bolt arranging portions  30  are formed in parallel at the lower end portion of the housing  14  on one side (right side in  FIG. 5 ) in the longitudinal direction. The terminal plate portions  40  (see  FIG. 4  etc.) of the bus bar  16  accommodated in the housing  14  are arranged in the bolt arranging portions  30 , and the stud bolts  60  project in the horizontal direction (left-right direction in  FIG. 7 ). On the other hand, three connector accommodating portions  72   a,    72   b  and  72   c  that are open downward are formed at the lower end portion of the housing  14  on a side opposite to the bolt arranging portions  30 . It should be noted that a projecting portion  74  that projects in the same direction (downward in  FIG. 6 ) as the direction in which the horizontal portion  20  projects is formed in the connector accommodating portion  72   b,  which is located at the center. The load connecting portions  46  of the bus bar  16  are arranged inside the connector accommodating portions  72   a,    72   b  and  72   c.  Accordingly, at the lower end portion of the housing  14 , the stud bolts  60  and the load connecting portions  46  of this embodiment are lined up in the horizontal direction, which is orthogonal to the direction (up-down direction in  FIG. 5 ) in which the vertical portion  24  extends from the horizontal portion  20 . It should be noted that the load connecting portions  46  of this embodiment are each formed into a tab-shaped plate to which the crimping pieces  50  of the first embodiment are not provided. As also shown in  FIG. 5 , connectors  76   a,    76   b  and  76   c  that are provided at the ends of the load electric wires  34  are connected to the connector accommodating portions  72   a,    72   b  and  72   c,  and thus the load connecting portions  46  are connected to the load electric wires  34 . 
         [0049]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , the battery direct-mounted fusible link  70  of this embodiment is directly fixed to the battery  12  by fixing the battery connecting portion  58  to the battery post  26  as in the first embodiment. Since only the battery connecting portion  58  is formed in the horizontal portion  20 , the length dimension L of the horizontal portion  20  can be reduced and the entire size can be made compact, and the gap dimension G between the vertical portion  24  and the lateral surface  22  of the battery  12  can be reduced and the rotation about the battery post  26  can be prevented. In particular, in this embodiment, the connector accommodating portion  72   b  is provided with the projecting portion  74 , and thus the gap dimension G between the vertical portion  24  and the lateral surface  22  of the battery  12  is further reduced. 
         [0050]    In the battery direct-mounted fusible link  70  of this embodiment, the stud bolts  60  and the load connecting portions  46  are lined up in the horizontal direction. This makes it possible to dispose the electric wires  62  connected to the stud bolts  60  and the load electric wires  34  connected to the load connecting portions  46  in parallel such that they do not overlap one another, and to reduce a risk that the electric wires  62  and load electric wires  34  are tangled with one another. 
         [0051]    Although the embodiments according to the present application have been described in detail, the present application is not limited to the specific description. For example, the numbers of the stud bolts and the load connecting portions can be set as desired. 
         [0052]    Moreover, as an embodiment of the direct securing of the electric wires to the load connecting portions, the ends of the electric wires may be secured by crimping as described in the above embodiment as well as by soldering or welding, or may be secured using a glue, for example.