Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to a terminal, for example a terminal that is crimped on an electric wire of a vehicle and secured to a mating member by a bolt.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    Heretofore, terminals are connected to ends of electric wires arranged in an automobile. Some terminals are secured to a vehicle body by a bolt in order to ground an electric wire to the vehicle body. Other terminals that are connected to high current electric wires are connected to equipment or the like by a bolt.  
           [0005]    For convenience of explanation, a conventional terminal will be described by referring to FIGS. 15A to  16 B. FIG. 15A is a perspective view of a conventional terminal in a position before being secured to a vehicle body. FIG. 15B is a perspective view of the conventional terminal in a position after being secured to a vehicle, illustrating a problem in the terminal. FIG. 16A is a plan view of another conventional terminal. FIG. 16B is a perspective view of this other conventional terminal in a position after being secured to a vehicle, illustrating a problem in the terminal.  
           [0006]    For example, in order to ground electric wires, as shown in FIG. 15A, ends of electric wires W are connected to terminals  1   a  and  1   b  by crimping the terminals  1   a  and  1   b  to the ends of the electric wires W. As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the terminals  1   a  and  1   b  are overlapped on each other and secured to a vehicle body panel P by screwing a bolt into a bolt hole H in the panel P. Therefore, a plurality of electric wires W are together grounded to a vehicle body.  
           [0007]    Since it is necessary to segregate and separately remove parts when disassembling a scrapped vehicle, it is required to completely remove from a vehicle body a wire harness that bundles many electric wires.  
           [0008]    To remove the electric wire W secured to the vehicle body panel P by the bolt B, the bolt B must be removed from the panel P. In the operation of removing the wire harness from the vehicle body panel P, a hook attached to an end of a crane usually hooks the wire harness and draws the wire harness from the vehicle body. It is very troublesome and time consuming to remove the bolts one by one. Accordingly, the operation of removing the bolts from the vehicle body is usually not performed.  
           [0009]    Therefore, when the terminals  1   a  and  1   b  are secured to the vehicle body panel P by the bolts B as shown in FIG. 15B, the electric wires W are cut off at their intermediate portions or at connection ends of the terminals  1   a  and  1   b  (so-called “under-neck position”), thereby leaving a part of the electric wires W on the panel P.  
           [0010]    In view of the above problem, heretofore, a terminal  2  shown in FIG. 16A has been proposed. The terminal  2  has an attaching portion  2   b  with a perforated slit  2   a . It is possible to easily remove the terminal  2  from the panel P even while the terminal  2  is secured to the panel P by the bolt B, since the slit  2   a  is broken when the terminal  2  is pulled.  
           [0011]    However, when a plurality of terminals  2  are overlapped and secured to the panel P by the bolt B in view of workability and space efficiency, as shown in FIG. 16B, since a lower terminal  2 B is covered by an upper terminal  2 A, a stress is not transmitted to the slit of the lower terminal  2 B when the electric wire W 2  crimped in the lower terminal  2 B is drawn by a hook. Therefore, instead of the slit breaking, the electric wire W 2  breaks.  
           [0012]    Additionally, when a slit is formed around the bolt hole, the fixing section is weakened and may be easily broken by a pulling force. However, even a small load such as a vibration of a vehicle may break the slit, thereby lowering the reliability of the connection.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal that can be secured to a vehicle body reliably while withstanding a vibration of a vehicle, can be removed from the vehicle without leaving any electric wires on the vehicle upon disassembly and/or recycling the vehicle, and can maintain a breakable function even if terminals are overlapped on each other.  
           [0014]    In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a terminal that includes a base plate section, a fixing section having a bolt-passing hole and extending from the base plate section, and a removable core barrel forming section provided on one side of said base plate section. The insulator cover barrel extends from the base plate section and crimps a sheath of an electric wire. A line of weakness is provided between the removable core barrel forming section and the base plate section. The removable core barrel forming section is oriented with respect to the base plate section such that, when the removable core barrel forming section is bent about the line of weakness, the removable core barrel forming section overlaps a portion of said base plate section and forms a core barrel adjacent to said insulator cover barrel. The core barrel crimps a core of the electric wire. The line of weakness permits the removable core barrel forming section to be detached from the base section while said fixing section remains fixed by a bolt passing through said bolt-passing hole. Therefore, when the electric wire is pulled, such as during scrapping/recycling of an automobile to which the electric wire is attached, the terminal breaks at the line of weakness and the electric wire can be removed from the fixing section.  
           [0015]    According to the above structure, the terminal may be subject to work hardening at the line of weakness when the core barrel forming section is folded with respect to the base portion at an angle of about 180 degrees. When a load is subsequently applied to the core barrel forming section in a direction that bends the core barrel forming section back away from the base portion, the terminal is easily broken at the line of weakness.  
           [0016]    Therefore, when the electric wire is pulled during disassembly of the vehicle body, a core barrel formed by core barrel forming section and crimped on the electric wire is pulled upwardly, thereby breaking the terminal at the line of weakness. Accordingly, the electric wire can be removed from the vehicle body with the electric wire still being crimped in the core barrel, because the core barrel itself is detached from the terminal at the line of weakness. Consequently, it is unnecessary to remove the bolt to prevent the electric wire from being broken and a piece of the electric wire left attached to the vehicle body.  
           [0017]    The terminal of the present invention is used, for example, as a ground terminal secured to a vehicle body by a bolt, or as a terminal crimped on an end of an electric power source line and secured to a bus bar in a junction box by a bolt. Upon disassembling the vehicle body, the electric wire is easily removed from a bolt-fixing section of the terminal without leaving a piece of the electric wire attached to the vehicle body or bus bar.  
           [0018]    Since the removable core barrel forming section extends from the base plate section and is folded to overlap the base plate section, in the case where a plurality of terminals are overlapped at their fixing sections and connected to a ground at a single position, the removable portion of the lower terminal is not hidden by the fixing section of the upper terminal and the disassembly work is not inhibited.  
           [0019]    The insulator cover barrel is narrower and/or shorter than the core barrel and has a configuration that can easily be opened when the electric wire is pulled during disassembly of the vehicle.  
           [0020]    According to the above-described structure, when the electric wire is pulled during disassembly of the vehicle, the insulator cover barrel crimped on the electric wire can be easily removed from the electric wire. Additionally or alternatively, one or more lines of weakness could also be provided to allow the insulator cover barrel to detach from the terminal when subjected to a load due to pulling of the electric wire.  
           [0021]    Since the electric wire is crimped in the insulation cover barrel and core barrel, the electric wire is removed from the terminal by a pulling force upon disassembly of the vehicle, but the terminal can hold the electric wire securely against a vibration of the vehicle during normal operation of the vehicle.  
           [0022]    One or more slits and/or a groove may be provided at the line of weakness.  
           [0023]    That is, the slits and/or groove make the line of weakness weaker against the force that occurs when the electric wire is pulled during disassembly of the vehicle body.  
           [0024]    A clamp piece may extend from a side surface of the base plate section opposite the side from which the removable core barrel forming section extends, and the clamp piece may be bent to engage with the folded removable core barrel forming section.  
           [0025]    Thus, since the removable core barrel forming portion is held by the clamping piece, during normal use of the vehicle (that is, at times other than the time of disassembling the vehicle), it is possible to keep the core barrel forming portion folded on the base plate section from vibrating and to steadily hold the electric wire on the base plate section.  
           [0026]    In another aspect, the present invention provides a terminal in which a removable portion is formed at a distal end of a bolt-fixing section, and is folded at an angle of about 180 degrees with respect to the bolt-fixing section about a line of weakness.  
           [0027]    Since the above-described terminals are provided with a removable portion, when an electric wire is pulled during disassembly of an automobile, the pulling force is directly applied to the line of weakness to break the terminal and detach the removable portion of the terminal from the bolt-fixing section of the terminal.  
           [0028]    Two terminals may be overlapped, and electric wires connected to the respective terminals may be arranged in parallel with each other. Breakable portions of the respective terminals may be disposed at the opposite sides of overlapped fixing sections.  
           [0029]    When the bolt-fixing sections of two or more terminals are to be overlapped, these terminals may be secured to the vehicle body at the given position with concave and convex portions around the bolt-passing holes being engaged with each other.  
           [0030]    If two terminals overlapping each other, when two electric wires connected to the terminals are pulled either simultaneously or individually, the pulling force can be applied directly to the respective lines of weakness since the lines of weakness are not overlapped on each other. Consequently, the respective terminals can be reliably removed from the bolt-fixing sections. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0031]    The foregoing and other features of the present invention are described in or are apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, which refers to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 1 is a developed view of a terminal in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment the present invention;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 2 is a plan view of a terminal according to the first exemplary embodiment, illustrating a removable core barrel forming section being folded;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of a terminal according to the first exemplary embodiment, illustrating a removable core barrel forming section being folded;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 4(A) is a cross sectional view of the terminal taken along line A-A in FIG. 2;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 4(B) is a cross sectional view of the terminal taken along line B-B in FIG. 3;  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 4(C) is a cross sectional view of the terminal taken along line C-C in FIG. 3;  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 5 is a plan view of the terminal according to the first exemplary embodiment in a position after being crimped;  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 6(A) is a side elevation view of the terminal according to the first exemplary embodiment in a position after being secured to a vehicle;  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 6(B) is a side elevation view of the terminal according to the first exemplary embodiment, illustrating an electric wire being pulled away;  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 7 is a developed view of a terminal in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment according to the present invention;  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of terminals in accordance with a third exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, illustrating terminals in a position before being assembled;  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the terminals shown in FIG. 8 in a position after being assembled;  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 10 is a plan view of an alteration of the third exemplary embodiment;  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a terminal in accordance with a fourth exemplary embodiment according to the present invention;  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory view of a manner of folding the fourth embodiment of the terminal;  
         [0047]    [0047]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of terminals in accordance with a fifth exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, illustrating terminals in a position before being assembled;  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the terminals shown in FIG. 13 in a position after being assembled;  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 15(A) is a perspective view of a conventional terminal in a position before being secured to a vehicle body;  
         [0050]    [0050]FIG. 15(B) is a perspective view of the conventional terminal in a position after being secured to a vehicle body;  
         [0051]    [0051]FIG. 16(A) is a plan view of another conventional terminal; and  
         [0052]    [0052]FIG. 16(B) is a perspective view of the other conventional terminal in a position after being secured to a vehicle body. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0053]    Referring now to the drawings, various exemplary embodiments of a terminal in accordance with the present invention will be described below.  
         [0054]    A terminal  10  in a first exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 by a developed view, may be formed by punching a sheet of conductive metallic plate. The terminal  10  includes a fixing section  11  having a bolt-passing hole  11  a at a central part, a base plate section  13  extending from the fixing section  11 , and a removable core barrel forming section  12  extending from a side of the base plate section  13 .  
         [0055]    The removable core barrel forming section  12  is connected to the base plate section  13  via a line of weakness  14 , and is folded at an angle of about 180 degrees toward the base plate section  13  about the line of weakness  14 . A base plate overlapping portion  12   c  of the removable core barrel forming section  12  extends from the line of weakness  14 , and projecting portions project from opposite sides of the base plate overlapping portion to form core barrels  12   a  and  12   b.    
         [0056]    A clamping piece  13   c  projects from a side edge of the base plate section  13  opposite to the removable core barrel forming section  12 . As shown in FIG. 4(A), the clamping piece  13   c  holds the base plate overlapping portion  12   c  down when the portion  12   c  is disposed on an upper surface of the base plate section  13  by folding the removable core barrel forming section  12  at the line of weakness  14  at an angle of about 180 degrees.  
         [0057]    Insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b  shown in FIG. 1 extend from opposite lateral sides at the other end of the base plate section  13 . The insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b  may be shifted from each other axially and each of them may have a width L2 that is narrower than a width L1 of each of the core barrels  12   a  and  12   b.    
         [0058]    Next, a process of assembling the terminal  10  will be described below.  
         [0059]    As shown in FIG. 2, the base plate overlapping portion  12   c  of the removable core barrel forming section  12  is disposed on the base plate section  13  by folding the removable core barrel forming section  12  along the line of weakness  14  at an angle of about 180 degrees. As shown in FIG. 4(A), the clamping piece  13   c  holds the base plate overlapping portion  12   c  down when the clamping piece  13   c  is folded on the base plate overlapping portion  12   c . As shown in FIGS.  4 (B) and  4 (C), the core barrels  12   a  and  12   b  and the insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b  are bent upwardly. The insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b  are shifted axially on the lateral opposite sides of the base plate section  13  and the core barrels  12   a  and  12   b  project upwardly on a front end of the base plate section  13  (the end nearest the fixing section  11 ). The insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b  and core barrels  12   a  and  12   b  may be aligned in an axial direction.  
         [0060]    As described above, the base plate overlapping portion  12   c  of the removable core barrel forming section  12  (a shaded section in FIG. 5) is disposed on the upper surface of the base plate section  13  and the core barrels  12   a  and  12   b  (also shaded in FIG. 5) extend from opposite sides of the core barrel forming section  12 . As shown in FIG. 5, an electric wire W 1  constituting part of a wire harness is disposed on the base plate section  13  and the base plate overlapping portion  12   c . As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6(A), the core barrels  12   a  and  12   b  are folded to crimp a core W 1   a  exposed from an end of the electric wire W 1  while the insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b  are folded to crimp a sheath W 1   b  of the electric wire W 1 .  
         [0061]    The electric wire W 1  crimped in the terminal  10  is secured to a vehicle body panel P by a bolt B. The bolt B is inserted through a washer R into a bolt-passing hole  11   a  in the fixing section  11  and a bolt hole H in the vehicle body panel P when assembling the vehicle body.  
         [0062]    When the terminal  10  is secured to the vehicle body panel P, the electric wire W 1  is strongly crimped by the core barrels  12   a  and  12   b  and is also crimped by the insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b , which may be narrower in width than the core barrels  12   a  and  12   b . Since the insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b  are shifted axially, and because they are narrower in width than the core barrels  12   a  and  12   b , the barrels  13   a  and  13   b  can be opened more easily than the core barrels  12   a  and  12   b . Accordingly, when the electric wire W 1  is subjected to a great displacement due to a great load, the insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b  are easily opened. However, when the electric wire W 1  is subjected to a small displacement due to a small load caused by a vibration of the vehicle body, the insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b  can continue to hold the wire W 1 .  
         [0063]    Similarly, since the clamping piece  13   c  lightly holds the base plate overlapping portion  12   c  of the folded removable core barrel forming section  12 , when the removable core barrel forming section  12  is subjected to a great displacement due to a great load, the clamping piece  13   c  can be easily opened. However, when the removable core barrel forming section  12  is subjected to a small displacement due to a load caused by, for example, a vibration of the vehicle body, the clamping piece  13   c  can continue to hold the base plate overlapping portion  12   c.    
         [0064]    Next, an operation of removing the electric wire W 1  when disassembling a vehicle will be described below.  
         [0065]    Upon disassembling the vehicle, a wire harness in which the electric wire W 1  is bundled together with other electric wires may be pulled up by a crane (not shown), for example.  
         [0066]    When the crane pulls the electric wire W 1  upwardly, as shown in FIG. 6(B), the electric wire W 1  is pulled up with the core barrels  12   a  and  12   b  staying crimped on the core W 1   a  of the electric wire W 1 . The insulator cover barrels  13   a  and  13   b  that hold the electric wire W 1  and the clamping piece  13   c  that holds the base plate overlapping portion  12   c  are opened (i.e., bent upwards). As the pulling force breaks the terminal  10  at the line of weakness  14  the electric wire W 1  is removed together with the removable barrel forming section  12 .  
         [0067]    That is, the fixing section  11  and base plate section  13  of the terminal  10  is left on the vehicle body, and the electric wire W 1  is removed together with the removable core barrel forming section  12 .  
         [0068]    At this time, since the terminal  11  is subject to work hardening at the line of weakness  14  on account of the removable core barrel forming section  12  being folded about the line of weakness  14  at an angle of about 180 degrees, the terminal  11  is easily broken at the line of weakness  14  by bending back the removable core barrel forming section  12 , and the removable core barrel forming section  12  can be easily removed from the base plate  11 .  
         [0069]    Since the direction of the line of weakness  14  is inclined slightly with respect to an axial direction of the electric wire W 1 , the pulling force on the electric wire W 1  is easily transmitted to the line of weakness  14 . However, if desired, the line of weakness  14  may be parallel to the axial direction of the electric wire W 1 .  
         [0070]    [0070]FIG. 7 shows a terminal in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0071]    The second exemplary embodiment is different from the first exemplary embodiment with respect to the fact that one or more perforated slits  14   a ′ may be formed at a line of weakness  14 ′, and lengths L3 of insulator cover barrels  13   a ′ and  13   b ′ may be short.  
         [0072]    Thus, the perforated slits  14   a ′ at the line of weakness  14 ′ will make the terminal  10 ′ more tearable at the line of weakness  14 ′, thereby enhancing removability of an electric wire.  
         [0073]    A groove (not shown) may be provided at the of weakness  14   a ′ in lieu of or in addition to the slits  14   a ′ to make the terminal  10 ′ thinner at the line of weakness  14   a ′, as seen in cross section. The grooved line of weakness  14   a ′ can provide a preferable breakage effect.  
         [0074]    Since an electric wire holding force of the insulator cover barrels  13   a ′ and  13   b ′ is weakened by shortening the lengths L3 of the insulator cover barrels  13   a ′ and  13   b ′, they can be easily opened upon pulling of the electric wire.  
         [0075]    Next, FIGS. 8 and 9 show terminals in accordance with a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0076]    The third exemplary embodiment is directed to a terminal assembly in which two terminals  10 A and  10 B may be overlapped on each other to connect them to a ground at a single position.  
         [0077]    Electric wires W 1  and W 2  are crimped in terminals  10 A and  10 B, respectively. A bolt (not shown) secures overlapped fixing sections  11  to a vehicle body in a state such that the electric wires W 1  and W 2  in parallel with each other.  
         [0078]    The terminals  10 A and  10 B are provided in their fixing sections  11  with bolt-passing holes  11   a  that are in communication with each other when overlapped, and may be provided, respectively, with a concave engaging portion  11   b  and a convex engaging portion  11   c  around the hole  11   a . When the terminals  10 A and  10 B are overlapped, the concave and convex engaging portions  11   b  and  11   c  engage with each other to hold the terminals at a given rotational position. When the terminals  10 A and  10 B are overlapped, the lines of weakness  14  are disposed on opposite sides such that the line of weakness  14  of the lower terminal  10 B is not overlapped with the line of weakness  14  of the upper terminal  10 A.  
         [0079]    Accordingly, when a pulling force is applied simultaneously to the electric wires W 1  and W 2  by a crane, for example, the respective  10 A and  10 B are readily broken at the respective lines of weakness  14 , and the electric wires W 1  and W 2  may be removed together from the fixing sections  11 , which remain secured to a vehicle body by a bolt.  
         [0080]    Even if the electric wire W 1  on the upper terminal  10 A is not pulled but the electric wire W 2  on the lower terminal  10 B is pulled, the lower terminal  10 B is broken at its line of weakness  14  without interference from the upper terminal  10 A.  
         [0081]    [0081]FIG. 10 shows an alteration of the third exemplary embodiment. The electric wires W 1  and W 2  connected to the upper and lower terminals  10 A and  10 B, respectively, intersect with each other at a right angle, for example.  
         [0082]    In FIG. 10, the same symbols show the same portions as those in FIGS. 8 and 9 and their explanations are omitted.  
         [0083]    In this alteration, similar to FIG. 9, when the electric wires W 1  and W 2  are pulled, terminals  10 A and  10 B may be broken simultaneously at their lines of weakness  14 , or either terminal may be broken at its line of weakness  14  without interference from the other terminal.  
         [0084]    [0084]FIGS. 11 and 12 show a terminal in accordance with a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0085]    A terminal  20  in the fourth exemplary embodiment is formed by punching a sheet of conductive metallic plate in the same manner as the terminal in the first exemplary embodiment.  
         [0086]    The terminal  20  may include a fixing section  21  having a central bolt-passing hole  21   a , a line of weakness  23  on a side end  21   b  of the fixing section  21 , and a removable portion  24  connected via the line of weakness  23  to the fixing section  21 , and foldable about the line of weakness by about 180 degrees. The removable portion  24  extends from a proximal end of the fixing section  21 , and is overlapped on a side of the fixing section  21  when bent about the line of weakness  23 .  
         [0087]    Core barrels  26  and insulator cover barrels  27  may be provided on a base plate section  25  for connection of an electric wire. The fixing section  21  extends from the base plate section  25  in a cantilevered manner.  
         [0088]    The terminal  20  in the fourth exemplary embodiment is different from the terminal  10  in the first exemplary embodiment with respect to the fact that the base plate  25  for connection of the electric wire is provided on the removable portion  24 , and that the insulator cover barrels  27  may be removed from the fixing section  21  together with the core barrels  26  and the electric wire W.  
         [0089]    Thus, the pulling force applied to the electric wire W is transmitted to not only the core barrels  26  but also to the base plate section  25  and the removable portion  24  through the insulator cover barrels  27 . A great force can be applied to the removable portion  24  folded at an angle of about 180 degrees about the line of weakness  23 , thereby reliably removing the removable portion  24  from the fixing section  21 .  
         [0090]    [0090]FIGS. 13 and 14 show a terminal assembly in accordance with a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0091]    A terminal assembly in the fifth exemplary embodiment includes terminals  20 A and  20 B in the same manner as the third exemplary embodiment.  
         [0092]    Fixing sections  21 A and  21 B extending from respective sides of base plate sections  25 A and  25 B of the terminals  20 A and  20 B may be overlapped, and electric wires W 1  and W 2  crimped in core barrels  26  and insulator cover barrels  27  of the base plate sections  25  of the terminals  20 A and  20 B may be arranged in parallel with each other.  
         [0093]    The terminals  20 A and  20 B include the fixing sections  21 A and  21 B, respectively. The fixing sections  21 A and  21 B each have a bolt-passing hole  21   a . The fixing section  21 A has a convex portion  21   b  around its bolt-passing hole  21   a , and the fixing section  21 B has a concave portion  21   c  around its bolt-passing hole  21   a . When the concave and convex portions  21   b  and  21   c  are engaged with each other, the removable portions  24 A and  24 B of the terminals  20 A and  20 B are disposed on opposite sides of the bolt-passing holes  21   a  that are in communication with each other.  
         [0094]    If the terminals  20 A and  20 B are assembled as described above and the fixing sections  21 A and  21 B are overlapped and secured to a vehicle body by a bolt, the terminals  20 A and  20 B are readily broken at their respective lines of weakness  23 A and  23 B when the electric wires W 1  and W 2  are pulled simultaneously by, for example, a crane, and the electric wires W 1  and W 2  may be removed together from the fixing sections  21 A and  21 B secured to the vehicle body by the bolt, in the same manner as the third exemplary embodiment described above.  
         [0095]    Even if the electric wire W 1  on the upper terminal  20 A is not pulled and only the electric wire W 2  on the lower terminal  20 B is pulled, the lower terminal  21 B is broken at its line of weakness  23 B of without interference from the upper terminal  20 A.  
         [0096]    Although in the above exemplary embodiments the terminals  10  and  20  may be ground terminals to be connected to a ground of the vehicle body panel P, they may be applied to any terminals to be secured to equipment by bolts. For example, the terminals  10  and  20  may be connected to ends of electric power source lines and may be connected to bus bars in an electric connection box such as a junction box or the like.  
         [0097]    While the invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments described above, many equivalent alternatives, modifications and variations may become apparent to those skilled in the art when given this disclosure. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention as set forth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.  
         [0098]    The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-043596 filed on Feb. 20, 2001 including the specification, claims, drawings and summary is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technology Category: 5