Branch joint box

Claim 1

A bus bar blank formed of an electrically conductive metal plate, comprising: an elongated carrier having a longitudinal direction; a plurality of pairs of opposite coupling portions, each pair extending perpendicularly from respective opposite sides of the carrier at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the carrier; a pair of opposite connecting portions, each having a predetermined length and extending from respective distal ends end of each of the pairs of the opposite coupling portions in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the carrier; a pair of opposite first terminal portions which extend perpendicularly from respective opposite connecting portions of each pair thereof; a pair of opposite second terminal portions which extend perpendicularly from respective opposite connecting portions of each pair thereof, such that the first and second terminal portions are disposed symmetrically with respect to a center of the respective coupling portions; and a pair of opposite third terminal portions which extend perpendicularly from respective opposite connecting portions, of each pair thereof at a location outside the respective first and second terminal portions and spaced a predetermined distance from at least one of the first and second terminal portions and spaced the predetermined distance from the respective first and second terminal portions; wherein the bus bar blank includes a plurality of bus bar sets each including a pair of .the opposite coupling portions, a pair of the opposite connecting portions and a pair of the opposite first, second and third terminal portions; wherein at a boundary of neighboring bus bar sets, a first boundary of one of the first, second and third terminal portions of one of the neighboring bus bar sets lies next to an opposed boundary of one of the first, second and third terminal portions of the other of the neighboring bus bar sets and a gap is formed between the first boundary and the opposed boundary of the first, second and third terminal portions, such that a bus bar is formed from one of the bus bar sets or a plurality of the bus bar sets by cutting the carrier; and wherein by cutting off an unnecessary one of the first, second and third terminal portions from the bus bar, a bus bar of a different pattern, can be formed.