JP2001275229A - Electric junction box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily connect a bus bar 15 and a flexible printed circuit board 17 at a low cost. SOLUTION: A terminal 15a and a conductor 17a can be placed in contact with each other by sandwiching, the terminal 15a formed on a bus bar 15 and the conductor 17a of the flexible printed circuit board 17 between the projected pieces 20, 21 integrally formed to a case 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric junction box in which a bus bar and a wiring member are connected to each other in a case body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a vehicle such as an automobile, an electric connection box for electrically connecting various electric components has been used. In this type of electrical junction box, a circuit-shaped metal plate called a bus bar is provided in a case body and a flexible printed circuit board (FPC).
And are housed. As a method of connecting the terminal of the bus bar to the conductive portion of the flexible printed circuit board, the terminal and the conductive portion are overlapped with each other, and the overlapped portion is spot-welded or soldered. Alternatively, as another connection method, the overlapping portion of the terminal and the conductive portion is held in contact with a holding metal member separate from the case body.

[0003]

However, the method of spot welding or soldering for connecting the bus bar and the flexible printed circuit board has a problem that it is expensive and is not suitable for mass production. In the case of using the clamp, there is a problem that the number of parts increases and the manufacturing cost increases. In addition, since the bus bar and the flexible printed circuit board are connected to each other by the holding metal fittings and then assembled to the case main body, there is a problem that the assembling of the bus bar and the flexible printed circuit board is troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric connection box which can easily connect a bus bar to a wiring member in spite of low cost. To provide.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric connection box in which a bus bar and a wiring member electrically connected to each other are housed in a case body. The gist is that a holding member for holding and holding the terminal provided on the bus bar and the conductive portion provided on the wiring member in contact with each other is formed integrally with the case body.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electrical junction box according to the first aspect, the holding members are a pair of protruding pieces arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval, The gist is that at least one of the two protruding pieces has an inclined surface on the inner surface of the distal end portion, in which the distance between the protruding pieces becomes narrower toward the direction in which the bus bar and the wiring member are inserted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electric junction box according to the second aspect, the bus bar and the wiring member are provided between the two protruding pieces on one outer surface of the two protruding pieces. The gist of the invention is that reinforcing ribs are provided to prevent the respective projecting pieces from tilting outward when they are inserted.

Hereinafter, the "action" of the present invention will be described. According to the invention described in claim 1, when the terminal provided on the bus bar and the conductive portion provided on the wiring member are sandwiched and arranged inside the holding member, the terminal and the conductive portion contact each other, The bus bar and the wiring member are electrically connected.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the terminal provided on the bus bar and the conductive portion provided on the wiring member are inserted between the projecting pieces, the bus bar or the wiring member is smoothly inserted. It becomes possible.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, even when the terminal provided on the bus bar and the conductive portion provided on the wiring member are inserted between the projecting pieces, the presence of the reinforcing rib allows The protrusion is prevented from tilting outward. Therefore, the terminal of the bus bar and the conductive portion of the wiring member can be connected with a high contact pressure.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The case body 11 has a box-shaped lower case 12, and a box-shaped upper case 13 is detachably attached to an upper portion thereof. In the case body 11, a plurality of insulating plates 14 made of a synthetic resin and bus bars 15 having a flat plate shape are accommodated in a state of being alternately stacked.

A terminal 15a is formed at an end of each bus bar 15, and the terminal 15a is connected to the insulating plate 14 and the bus bar 15.
Are bent along the stacking direction. At the end of the lowermost insulating plate 14, an insertion portion 14a bent along the terminal 15a of the bus bar 15 is formed. The distal end of the insertion portion 14a extends to substantially the same position as the distal end of each terminal 15a.

A flexible printed circuit board 17 as a wiring member is provided in the case body 11, and the flexible printed circuit board 17 is obtained by bonding a polyimide film and a conductor pattern made of copper foil with an adhesive. And is disposed on the upper surface of the insulating base material 18 made of synthetic resin. Insulating base material 18
An insertion portion 18a bent along the vertical direction is formed at an end of the insertion portion 18a. This insertion part 18a
The flexible printed circuit board 17 is bent along, and a part of the conductive pattern is exposed at the bent portion. That is, in the present embodiment, the exposed portion serves as the conductive portion 17a of the flexible printed circuit board 17.

On the upper surface of the lower case 12, projecting pieces 20 and 21 are provided as sandwiching members which are arranged to face each other at a predetermined interval. The lower case 12 and the projecting pieces 20 and 21 are made of synthetic resin, and are integrally formed. And the two protruding pieces 20, 2
The terminal 15a of the bus bar 15 and the conductive portion 17a of the flexible printed board 17 are interposed between the two, so that the two 15a and 17a are in contact with each other. By this contact, electrical connection between the bus bar 15 and the flexible printed circuit board 17 is achieved. Note that the terminal 15a is elastically in contact with the conductive portion 17a because the vicinity of the center of the terminal 15a is curved.

On the inner surfaces of the tips of the protruding pieces 20, 21, inclined surfaces 20a, 21a are formed. This inclined surface 20
a, 21a, the tips of the protruding pieces 20, 21
It is formed thinner than the base end. More specifically, due to the inclined surfaces 20a and 21a, the distance between the protruding pieces 20 and 21 becomes smaller toward the direction in which the terminal 15a and the conductive portion 17a are inserted (the lower side in FIG. 2).

In the electric junction box 10 configured as described above, the connection between the bus bar 15 and the flexible printed circuit board 17 is performed as follows. First, the insertion portion 18a formed on the insulating base 18 is interposed between the projecting pieces 20 and 21. Thus, the conductive portion 17a of the flexible printed board 17 is disposed between the protruding pieces 20 and 21. After that, the insertion portions 14a formed on the insulating plate 14 are
When placed between the terminals, the terminals 15a of the bus bar 15 are brought into contact with the conductive portions 17a already arranged. That is,
The terminal 15a and the conductive portion 17a are held in contact with each other so as to be sandwiched by the protruding pieces 20 and 21. By this contact, the conductor pattern of the flexible printed board 17 and the bus bar 15 are electrically connected.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The terminal 15 a formed on the bus bar 15 and the conductive portion 17 a of the flexible printed circuit board 17 are
The terminal 15a and the conductive portion 17a are in contact with each other by being interposed between the projecting pieces 20 and 21 formed integrally with the terminal 15a.
That is, the terminal 15a can be in contact with the conductive portion 17a without performing troublesome spot welding, soldering, or the like. Therefore, the bus bar 15 and the flexible printed circuit board 17 can be easily connected in spite of low cost.

(2) Since the projecting pieces 20 and 21 are formed integrally on the upper surface of the lower case 12, the bus bar 15 and the flexible printed circuit board 17 can be connected together with the flexible printed circuit board 17 at the same time. it can. Therefore, the number of steps for assembling the bus bar 15 and the flexible printed circuit board 17 can be reduced, and the cost can be further reduced.

(3) Since the inclined surfaces 20a and 21a are formed on the inner surfaces of the tips of the projecting pieces 20 and 21, the distance between the tips of the projecting pieces 20 and 21 is widened. Therefore, even if the insertion direction of the insertion portion 18a of the insulating base material 18 is slightly inclined, the insertion can be smoothly performed while guiding the insertion portion 18a by the inclined surfaces 20a and 21a.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described focusing on parts different from the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, reinforcing ribs 25 are provided on the outer surfaces of the projecting pieces 20 and 21, respectively.
Are protruded from each other. The material for forming the reinforcing rib 25 is a synthetic resin, and the lower case 12
21 are formed integrally. Two reinforcing ribs 25 are provided for each projecting piece 20, 21, and each reinforcing rib 25 is disposed at each end of each projecting piece 20, 21.

In the second embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be exerted. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the reinforcing ribs 25 are provided on the protruding pieces 20 and 21, even if the bus bar 15 and the flexible printed circuit board 17 are interposed between the protruding pieces 20 and 21, It is possible to reliably prevent the protruding pieces 20 and 21 from bending outward. Therefore, a high contact pressure between the terminal 15a of the bus bar 15 and the conductive portion 17a of the flexible printed circuit board 17 can be reliably obtained. As a result, poor electrical connection between the terminal 15a and the conductive portion 17a can be almost eliminated, and the reliability can be improved.

Further, since each reinforcing rib 25 is formed integrally with the lower case 12 and the protruding pieces 20 and 21, the troublesome work of assembling the small reinforcing rib 25 can be eliminated. Further, two reinforcing ribs 25 are provided on each of the projecting pieces 20,
21, when the bus bar 15 and the flexible printed circuit board 17 are sandwiched, each protrusion 2
0, 21 can be further prevented from bending outward.

The embodiment of the present invention may be modified as follows. As shown in FIG. 4, the insertion portion 14a of the insulating plate 14 in the lowermost layer and one protruding piece 20 may be integrally formed. With this configuration, the bus bar 15 and the flexible printed circuit board 17 can be connected only by inserting the flexible printed circuit board 17 between the projecting pieces 20 and 21.

In the above-described embodiment, the inclined surfaces 20a and 21a are formed at the tips of the projecting pieces 20 and 21, respectively. In addition to this configuration, the inclined surfaces 20a, 21a may be formed on only one of the protruding pieces 20, 21. Or,
Both inclined surfaces 20a and 21a may be omitted.

The protruding pieces 20 and 21 may be changed to any shapes as long as they sandwich the terminal 15a of the bus bar 15 and the conductive portion 17a of the flexible printed circuit board 17. For example,
The shape may be changed to a shape like a connector housing, that is, a square tube or the like.

In the embodiment, the flexible printed circuit board 17 is electrically connected to the bus bar 15. Instead of the flexible printed circuit board 17, for example, a rigid printed circuit board (PCB Printed Circuit Board) or a bus bar may be used.

Next, in addition to the technical ideas described in the claims, technical ideas grasped by the above-described embodiment will be enumerated below. (1) The holding member according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is a pair of protrusions arranged so as to face each other at a predetermined interval, and at least one of the protrusions is a terminal of a bus bar and a wiring. An electric connection box, characterized in that it is thicker in the direction of insertion of the conductive part of the member.

(2) The electrical connection box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wiring member is one of a printed board and a bus bar. (3) The electric connection box according to (3), wherein a plurality of the reinforcing ribs are provided, and each of the reinforcing ribs is formed integrally with the holding member and the case body.

(4) In a method for connecting electrical components in which a bus bar and a wiring member housed in a case main body are connected to each other, a terminal provided on the bus bar and a conductive portion provided on the wiring member are connected. The terminal and the conductive portion are brought into contact with each other by being sandwiched and disposed inside a holding member integrally formed with the case body, thereby connecting the electrical component.

(5) In an electric connection box in which a bus bar and a wiring member which are electrically connected to each other are accommodated in a case main body, a terminal provided on the bus bar and a conductive portion provided on the wiring member are connected to each other. An electric connection box, wherein the terminal and the conductive portion are disposed so as to be sandwiched inside a holding member formed integrally with the case body, and the terminals and the conductive portions are brought into contact with each other.

[0033]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, although the cost is low,
The connection between the bus bar and the wiring member can be easily performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the terminal provided on the bus bar or the conductive portion provided on the wiring member can be smoothly inserted between the projecting pieces. Claim 3
According to the invention described in the above, a terminal provided on the bus bar,
Since the conductive portion provided on the wiring member can be connected with a high contact pressure, reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the electric connection box.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary sectional view showing the inside of an electric junction box according to another embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

11 case body, 15 busbar, 15a terminal, 1
7: flexible printed circuit board (wiring member), 17a: conductive part, 20, 21 ... protruding piece (holding member), 20a, 21a ...
Inclined surface, 25 ... reinforcement rib.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tatsuya Oka 1-114, Nishisuehiro-cho, Yokkaichi-shi, Mie Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. F-term (reference) 4E353 AA11 AA16 AA18 BB02 BB05 CC01 CC13 CC16 CC33 DD05 DD08 DD11 DR13 DR15 DR17 DR34 DR36 DR42 GG01 GG21 5E023 AA04 AA16 BB11 BB23 CC24 GG02 HH28 HH30 5E077 BB11 BB18 BB32 DD14 GG13 HH07 JJ20 5G361 BA01 BA04 BB01 BB02 BC01 BC03

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electric connection box in which a bus bar and a wiring member electrically connected to each other are housed in a case body, and sandwiches a terminal provided on the bus bar and a conductive portion provided on the wiring member. An electric connection box, wherein a holding member to be held in contact with the case body is formed integrally with the case body. 2. The holding member is a pair of protruding pieces arranged to face each other at a predetermined distance, and at least one of the two protruding pieces is provided on the inner surface of the distal end thereof with the bus bar. The electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein the electrical junction box has an inclined surface in which the distance between the protruding pieces becomes narrower in a direction in which the wiring member is inserted. 3. An outer surface of one of the two protruding pieces, when the bus bar and the wiring member are sandwiched between the two protruding pieces, prevents the respective protruding pieces from tilting outward. The electric connection box according to claim 2, wherein a reinforcing rib is provided protruding.