JP2006320132A - Electric connection box - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric connection box which can enhance workability furthermore in the work for fixing a terminal metal to the electric connection box. <P>SOLUTION: The electric connection box 1 comprises a box body 2 fixed with an electronic component, a lower cover 3 covering the box body 2, and a terminal metal 5 fixed to a terminal fixing portion 9 provided on the innermost wall 2c of the box body 2 from the lower cover 3 side. A first guide portion 23 is formed on the box body 2 to extend from an edge 24 thereof close to the lower cover 3 toward the terminal fixing portion 9, and a second guide portion 33 is formed on the lower cover 3 continuously from the first guide portion 23 to extend from an edge 34 of the lower cover 3 close to the box body 2 in the direction receding from the terminal fixing portion 9. The first guide portion 23 has a width H1 narrower than the width H2 of the second guide portion 33. The first guide portion 23 and the second guide portion 33 guide the terminal metal 5 from the lower cover 3 side to the terminal fixing portion 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical junction box mounted on an automobile or the like as a moving body.

  In general, automobiles as moving bodies are equipped with a wide variety of electronic devices such as lamps such as head lamps and tail lamps, and motors such as motors for starter motors and air conditioners.

  In order to supply electric power to the various electronic devices described above, the automobile has arranged junction blocks at appropriate locations. The junction block is composed of various electric circuit units such as a large number of fuses and relays.

  Note that the junction block may include a fuse, a relay, a bus bar, and the like, and thus is also referred to as a fuse block, a relay box, or an electrical connection box. In the present specification, the above-described fuse block, relay box, and junction block are collectively referred to as an electric connection box (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The electrical connection box includes a box body that forms an outer shell, a cover member that is attached to the box body, and a terminal fitting that is attached to an end of an electric wire connected to the power source side. On the upper surface of the box body, a plurality of mounting portions to which the above-described electrical components such as relays, fuses and fusible links are mounted are provided. Moreover, the connector of the wire harness routed by the motor vehicle mentioned above fits in the lower surface of a box main body. Furthermore, the box body accommodates a bus bar or the like for connecting the above-described electrical component and a terminal fitting such as a wire harness according to a predetermined pattern. When the cover member is attached to the box body, the cover member covers the connector of the wire harness described above.

  The terminal fitting is made of a conductive sheet metal, and includes a flat plate-like electrical contact portion and an electric wire connection portion connected to the electrical contact portion. The electrical contact portion is provided with a hole or notch through which a threaded portion of the bolt can pass. The electrical contact portion is attached to the box body by, for example, screwing a bolt having a threaded portion through the hole or notch into the box body, and is electrically connected to the bus bar accommodated in the box body. The electric wire connecting portion includes a caulking piece for caulking the electric wire connected to the power supply side. An electric wire connection part caulks an electric wire with a caulking piece, and connects with the core wire of this electric wire.

  In this way, the electrical junction box can supply power supplied from the power source via the electric wires and terminal fittings, such as the headlamp described above via the bus bar, fusible link, electric wires of the wire harness, etc. accommodated in the box body. Supply to electronic equipment.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the electric connection box 101 of Patent Document 1 includes a box main body 102 on which an electric component such as a fusible link 108 is mounted on an upper surface 102 a, a box body 102 accommodated in the box main body 102, and a bus bar 112. And the like, a lower cover 103 covering the lower surface 102b side of the box body 102, a terminal fitting 105 attached to the end of the electric wire 104 connected to the power source side, and the like.

  A terminal attachment portion 109 to which the terminal fitting 105 is attached is provided on the side surface of the box body 102. The terminal mounting portion 109 has a structure covered with an outer wall in consideration of protection from an external load and waterproofness.

  The lower cover 103 is provided with a terminal insertion port 113 that communicates the outside and the inside of the lower cover 103. The terminal fitting 105 is inserted into the lower cover 103 from the terminal insertion port 113. Further, a guide portion 114 extending from the terminal insertion port 113 toward the terminal attachment portion 109 is provided inside the lower cover 103. The guide portion 114 includes a bottom wall 114a that is substantially flush with the terminal mounting portion 109 described above, and side walls 114b and 114b that are erected from both side edges of the bottom wall 114a. As shown in FIG. 7, such a guide portion 114 guides the terminal fitting 105 inserted from the terminal insertion port 113 toward the terminal attachment portion 109 while being along the bottom wall 114 a.

  Further, a positioning portion 115 is provided near the terminal attachment portion 109 of the box body 102. The positioning portion 115 includes a contact surface 115a with which the tip of the terminal fitting 105 abuts, and side surfaces 115b and 115b formed on both sides of the terminal fitting 105 in a state in which the contact surface 115a abuts. The terminal fitting 105 that has reached the positioning portion 115 while being guided by the guide portion 114 is guided by the side surfaces 115 b and 115 b, the tip abuts against the contact surface 115 a, and is positioned by the terminal mounting portion 109.

  The terminal fitting 105 positioned on the terminal mounting portion 109 is overlapped with the bus bar 112 forming the surface of the terminal mounting portion 109 and is electrically connected to the bus bar 112. In addition, the bus bar 112 is connected to the terminal portion 108a of the fusible link 108 and various electric components (not shown), and transmits power supplied from the terminal fitting 105 to them. Further, the terminal fitting 105 is fixed to the terminal mounting portion 109 by a bolt 110 inserted from the side of the box body 102 being screwed with a nut 111 embedded in the box body 102.

The electrical junction box 101 described above is assembled as follows. First, a wiring board in which the bus bar 112 or the like is routed is accommodated in the box body 102, and electrical components such as the fusible link 108 are mounted on the upper surface 102 a of the box body 102. And the connector of a wire harness is fitted by the lower surface 102b side of the box main body 102, and the lower cover 103 is attached. Thereafter, the terminal fitting 105 with the electric wire 104 attached is inserted from the terminal insertion port 113, and the terminal fitting 105 guided by the guide portion 114 is overlaid on the terminal attachment portion 109. Then, the terminal fitting 105 is fixed to the terminal mounting portion 109 with the bolt 110, and the electrical connection box 101 is assembled.
JP-A-9-154218

  However, in the electrical connection box 101 disclosed in Patent Document 1, a guide part 114 provided on the lower cover 103 side and a positioning part 115 provided on the box body 102 side are spaced apart. For this reason, since the operation | work which passes the terminal metal fitting 105 between the guide part 114 and the positioning part 115 will be performed by groping, there existed a problem that work efficiency was not good.

  The present invention is to improve the electrical junction box disclosed in Patent Document 1, and to provide an electrical junction box capable of further improving workability in the work of attaching the terminal fitting to the electrical junction box. Is the purpose.

  In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, an electrical junction box according to claim 1 is provided with a box body provided with a mounting portion to which an electrical component is mounted on a surface thereof, and a side opposite to the mounting portion of the box body. An electrical connection comprising: a cover member that covers the outer wall of the box body; and a terminal fitting that is moved in a direction from the cover member toward the box body along the outer wall of the box body and is attached to a terminal mounting portion provided in the box body. A box that is provided on the box body, extends from an edge of the box body near the cover member toward the terminal mounting portion, and guides the terminal fitting to the terminal mounting portion. A guide portion and the cover member are provided on the cover member, are continuous from the first guide portion, and extend in a direction away from the terminal mounting portion from an edge of the cover member closer to the box body. A second guide portion for guiding the tool to the first guide portion, is characterized by comprising a.

  The electrical junction box according to claim 2 is the electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first guide portion and the second guide portion extends from the second guide portion to the electrical junction box. An inclined portion whose width gradually decreases toward the first guide portion is provided.

  In the electrical junction box according to claim 1, since the second guide portion and the first guide portion are continuously formed from the cover member side to the terminal mounting portion of the box body, the terminal fitting is connected to the terminal. Positioning to the mounting portion can be ensured. Therefore, the assembly workability of the electrical junction box can be improved.

  The electrical junction box according to claim 2 is formed so that the width of the first guide portion and the second guide portion is gradually narrowed from the cover member side toward the terminal mounting portion. The metal fitting can be easily inserted up to the terminal mounting portion on the back side in the insertion direction. Therefore, the assembly workability of the electrical junction box can be further improved.

  Hereinafter, an electrical junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The electrical connection box 1 shown in FIG. 1 according to the present embodiment is mounted on an automobile as a moving body and is disposed between a power supply side and a load side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electrical junction box 1 includes a box body 2, a wiring board (not shown), a lower cover 3 as a cover member, a terminal mounting portion 9 provided on the box body 2, and the terminals A terminal fitting 5 attached to the attachment portion 9 is provided.

  The box body 2 is made of an insulating synthetic resin and is molded by a well-known injection molding. The box body 2 is formed in a cylindrical shape (box shape) by a plurality of outer walls 21. A plurality of mounting portions 6 a, 7 a, 8 a to which electrical components such as a relay 6, a fuse 7, and a fusible link 8 are mounted are provided on the upper surface 2 a located on the upper side in FIG. 1 of the box body 2. A connector of a wire harness routed in the automobile is fitted to the lower surface 2b located on the back side of the upper surface 2a of the box body 2.

  A back wall 2c (shown in FIG. 3) connected to the outer wall 21 is formed on the inner side of the outer wall 21 located on the near side of the box body 2 in FIG. The rear wall 2c extends from the edge 24 near the lower cover 3 toward the upper surface 2a along the direction in which the upper surface 2a and the lower surface 2b described above face each other. The back wall 2c is provided with a terminal mounting portion 9 to be described later.

  The wiring board includes a conductive bus bar 12 and an insulating plate. The bus bar 12 is obtained by subjecting a conductive sheet metal to press working such as punching. The plurality of bus bars 12 are overlapped with each other. The insulating plates are arranged between the bus bars 12 stacked on each other, and prevent the bus bars 12 from being electrically connected to each other at an unintended location, that is, short-circuited, and position the bus bars 12.

  When the wiring board is housed in the box body 2, the electrical components attached to the box body 2 such as the relay 6, the fuse 7, and the fusible link 8, and the wire harness connected to the outside of the electrical connection box 1 ( The terminal fitting of the electric wire) and the terminal mounting portion 9 are electrically connected to each other according to a predetermined pattern.

  The lower cover 3 is made of an insulating synthetic resin and is formed by a known injection molding. The lower cover 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape (box shape) by a plurality of outer walls 31. When the lower cover 3 is attached to the lower surface 2b side of the box body 2, the lower cover 3 covers the wire harness connector and the like described above.

  Further, a terminal insertion port 15 communicating from the outside to the inside of the lower cover 3 is provided on the side of the outer wall 31 located on the front side of the lower cover 3 in FIG. A terminal fitting 5 attached to the electric wire 4 described later is passed through the terminal insertion port 15. Further, a back wall 3c (shown in FIG. 3) connected to the outer wall 31 is formed on the inner side of the outer wall 31 in which the terminal insertion port 15 is provided. The back wall 3 c is formed flush with the above-described back wall 2 c of the box body 2 and extends from the edge 34 near the box body 2 toward the terminal insertion port 15. The terminal insertion port 15 and the back wall 3c will be described in detail later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal mounting portion 9 is provided on the back wall 2c of the box body 2, and a part 12a of the bus bar arranged on the above-described wiring board, a positioning portion 14, a bolt 10, and a nut. 11 and the like.

  A part 12a of the bus bar is arranged on the outer wall 21 side of the back wall 2c. On the surface of the bus bar 12a facing the outer wall 21, an electrical contact portion 51 of the terminal fitting 5 described later is overlaid. That is, a part 12 a of the bus bar forms the surface of the terminal mounting portion 9.

  The positioning portion 14 extends from the upper surface 2 a side of the box body 2, and includes a contact surface 14 a that contacts the tip end portion of the terminal fitting 5, and contact side surfaces 14 b and 14 b that contact both side surfaces of the terminal fitting 5. It is formed in the U shape provided with. The positioning unit 14 positions the terminal metal fitting 5 at a predetermined position of the terminal mounting part 9.

  Then, the electric contact portion 51 positioned at a predetermined position is fixed with the bolt 10. A nut 11 to be screwed with the bolt 10 is embedded in the back wall 2c. When tightening the bolt 10, the jig is inserted into the jig insertion hole 22 (shown in FIGS. 1 to 3) provided on the outer wall 21 facing the terminal mounting portion 9 and penetrating from the inside of the outer wall 21 to the outside. Insert (not shown) and tighten.

  The terminal fitting 5 is made of a conductive sheet metal, and includes a flat plate-like electrical contact portion 51 and a wire connection portion 52 connected to the electrical contact portion, as shown in FIG. The electrical contact portion 51 is provided with a notch 53 through which the threaded portion 10a (shown in FIG. 3) of the bolt 10 can be passed. The electric wire connecting portion 52 includes a caulking piece 54 for caulking the electric wire 4. The electric wire connecting portion 52 caulks the electric wire 4 with the caulking piece 54 and connects it to the core wire of the electric wire 4. The electric wire 4 is connected to a power source side such as an alternator.

  In the terminal fitting 5, the electric contact portion 51 is overlaid on a part 12 a of the bus bar that forms the surface of the terminal attachment portion 9 in a state where the electric wire 4 is caulked to the electric wire connection portion 52, and the positioning portion 14 puts the terminal fitting 5 in a specified position. Positioned. Then, the threaded portion 10 a of the bolt 10 passes through the notch 53 and is screwed into the nut 11 to be attached to the terminal attaching portion 9.

  In this way, the terminal fitting 5 attached to the electric wire 4 connected to the power source side and the part 12a of the bus bar connected to the electrical component side of the box body 2 are electrically connected, and the power supplied from the power source is fusible. The electric power is supplied to a load side such as a lamp or a motor via an electric component such as the link 8 or an electric wire of a wire harness.

  The electrical connection box 1 further includes a first guide portion 23 for guiding the terminal fitting 5 attached to the wire 4 described above from the outside of the electrical connection box 1 to the terminal attachment portion 9 described above, and a second guide. Part 33.

  The first guide portion 23 is provided on the box body 2, and includes the back wall 2 c provided with the terminal attachment portion 9 described above, the outer wall 21 facing the back wall 2 c, and the inner surface of the outer wall 21. It is formed in the shape of a square tube comprising four walls with a pair of side walls 25, 25 standing upright and connected to the back wall 2 c. The pair of side walls 25, 25 extend from the edge 24 near the lower cover 3 to the terminal attachment portion 9. That is, the first guide portion 23 is from the edge 24 near the lower cover 3 to the terminal mounting portion 9 in a rectangular tube-shaped portion including the outer wall 21, the pair of side walls 25, 25 and the back wall 2 c. The first guide portion 23 communicates from the edge 24 near the lower cover 3 to the terminal attachment portion 9.

  The terminal fitting 5 guided in the first guide portion 23 slides toward the terminal mounting portion 9 on the surface of the back wall 2 c of the first guide portion 23. The surface of the back wall 2c on which the terminal fitting 5 slides is formed to be flush with the surface of the terminal mounting portion 9 on which the terminal fitting 5 is overlapped.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the pair of side walls 25, 25 are arranged so that the side walls 25, 25 are parallel to each other and parallel to the terminal mounting portion 9 from the edge 24 near the lower cover 3. And an inclined portion 25b formed so that the interval between the side walls 25 is gradually narrowed. The interval between the side walls 25 is hereinafter referred to as a width H1 of the first guide portion 23. The width H1 of the first guide portion 23 refers to the width in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 4 attached to the terminal fitting 5.

  The second guide portion 33 is provided on the lower cover 3, and the above-described back wall 3 c, the outer wall 31 facing the back wall 3 c, and the inner wall of the outer wall 31 erected, and the back wall 3 c It is formed in the shape of a square cylinder consisting of four walls with a pair of side walls 35, 35. The pair of side walls 35, 35 extend in a direction away from the box body 2 from an edge 34 near the box body 2. That is, the second guide portion 33 is from the edge 34 near the box body 2 to the terminal insertion port 15 in a rectangular tube-shaped portion including the outer wall 31, the pair of side walls 35, 35, and the back wall 3c. The second guide portion 33 communicates from the edge 34 near the box body 2 to the terminal insertion port 15.

  The terminal fitting 5 that is inserted from the terminal insertion port 15 and guided in the second guide portion 33 slides on the surface of the back wall 3 c of the second guide portion 33 toward the first guide portion 23. To do.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the pair of side walls 35, 35 is parallel to the parallel part 35 a in which the side walls 35, 35 are arranged in parallel with each other and from the terminal insertion port 15 toward the first guide part 23. And an inclined portion 35b formed so that the interval between the side walls 35 is gradually narrowed. In addition, the space | interval between the side walls 35 and 35 is hereafter called the width H2 of the 2nd guide part 33. FIG. The width H <b> 2 of the second guide portion 33 refers to the width in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 4 attached to the terminal fitting 5.

  In the first guide portion 23 and the second guide portion 33 having the above-described configuration, the end portions on the edge 34 side of the four walls 31, 3 c, 35, and 35 of the second guide portion 33 are the first guide portions. The four walls 21, 2 c, 25, and 25 are in contact with the end portions on the edge 24 side. That is, the second guide portion 33 is formed continuously from the first guide portion 23. As shown in FIG. 4, the width H <b> 1 of the first guide portion 23 is narrower than the width H <b> 2 of the second guide portion 33.

  The terminal fitting 5 guided in the first guide portion 23 and the second guide portion 33 having such a configuration is a width provided on the lower cover 3 side in a state where the electric wire 4 is attached to the electric wire connection portion 52. Is inserted into the second guide portion 33 from the wide terminal insertion port 15. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, the terminal fitting 5 is inserted into the first guide portion 23 while being guided by the side walls 35, 35 having a width H2 that becomes narrower toward the first guide portion 23. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), it is guided by the side walls 25, 25 having a narrower width H 1 toward the terminal mounting portion 9, and overlapped with the terminal mounting portion 9.

  The electrical junction box 1 described above is assembled as follows. First, a wiring board in which the bus bar 12 and the like are routed is accommodated in the box body 2, and electrical components such as the relay 6 and the fusible link 8 are mounted on the upper surface 2 a of the box body 2. And the connector of a wire harness is fitted by the lower surface 2b side of the box main body 2, and the lower cover 3 is attached. Thereafter, the terminal fitting 5 in a state where the electric wire 4 is attached to the electric wire connecting portion 52 is inserted from the terminal insertion port 15, and the terminal passed through the second guide portion 33 and the first guide portion 23. The electrical contact portion 51 of the metal fitting 5 is overlaid on the terminal attachment portion 9. And the terminal metal fitting 5 is fixed to the terminal attachment part 9 with the volt | bolt 10, and the electrical-connection box 1 is assembled.

  Such an electrical connection box 1 is mounted on an automobile and supplies electric power supplied from a power source or the like to an electronic device of the automobile via a bus bar 12, a fusible link 8, an electric wire of a wire harness, or the like.

  According to the electrical connection box 1 of the present embodiment, the terminal mounting portion 9 to which the terminal fitting 5 attached to the electric wire 4 connected to the power source side and the bus bar 12 accommodated in the box main body 2 are connected is the box main body. Since it is covered with the outer wall 21, the terminal mounting part 9 can be protected from external loads, dust, rainwater and the like. Furthermore, since the terminal insertion port 15 communicating with the terminal mounting portion 9 is provided in the lower cover 3, the terminal fitting 5 can be connected to the electrical connection box 1 with the lower cover 3 attached to the box body 2. Therefore, the assembly workability of the electrical junction box 1 can be improved.

  Further, according to the electrical connection box 1 of the present embodiment, the second guide portion 33 and the first guide portion 15 extend from the terminal insertion port 15 provided on the lower cover 3 side to the terminal mounting portion 9 provided in the box body 2. Since the guide portion 23 is formed continuously, the terminal fitting 5 can be reliably guided to the terminal mounting portion 9. Therefore, the assembly workability of the electrical junction box 1 can be improved.

  Furthermore, according to the electrical junction box 1 of the present embodiment, since the width H1 of the first guide portion 23 is formed to be narrower than the width H2 of the second guide portion 33, the terminal fitting 5 can be easily connected to the terminal. It is possible to insert from the insertion port 15 to the terminal mounting portion 9 on the back side in the insertion direction. Therefore, the assembly workability of the electrical junction box 1 can be further improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the inclined portion 25b is formed on the side wall 25 of the first guide portion 23 so that the distance between the side walls 25, 25 becomes narrower toward the terminal mounting portion 9. The inclined portion 35b is formed on the side wall 35 of the second guide portion 33 so that the distance between the side walls 35 is reduced toward the first guide portion 23. In the electrical junction box, it is sufficient that an inclined portion is formed on at least one of the first guide portion and the second guide portion.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the pair of side walls 25, 25 of the first guide portion 23 is formed with the parallel portions 25 a arranged so as to be parallel to each other, and the pair of second guide portions 33 is paired. Although the parallel portions 35a arranged so as to be parallel to each other are formed on the side walls 35, 35, in the electrical junction box of the present invention, the parallel portions 25a, 35a do not necessarily have to be formed. , 35 may be formed in an inclined manner.

  In addition, embodiment mentioned above only showed the typical form of this invention, and this invention is not limited to embodiment. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a perspective view of the electrical junction box concerning one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical junction box shown in FIG. 1. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of the electrical junction box shown by FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the BB line of the electrical junction box shown by FIG. FIG. 5A is an explanatory view showing a state in which the terminal fitting is guided in the second guide portion, and FIG. 5B is an explanatory view showing a state in which the terminal fitting is overlaid on the terminal mounting portion. . It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional electrical junction box. It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional electrical junction box.

Explanation of symbols

1 Electrical junction box 2 Box body 2a Upper surface (surface)
3 Lower cover (cover member)
5 Terminal bracket 6 Relay (electrical parts)
7 Fuses (electrical parts)
8 Fusible links (electric parts)
6a, 7a, 8a Mounting portion 9 Terminal mounting portion 21 Outer wall 23 First guide portion 24 Edge 25b Inclined portion 33 Second guide portion 34 Edge 35b Inclined portion H1 Width of first guide portion H2 of second guide portion width

Claims (2)

A box body provided with a mounting portion on which electrical components are mounted, a cover member covering the opposite side of the box body from the mounting portion, and the cover member heading toward the box body along the outer wall of the box body A terminal fitting that is moved in a direction and is attached to a terminal attachment provided in the box body, and an electrical connection box comprising:
A first guide portion provided on the box body, extending from an edge of the box body near the cover member toward the terminal mounting portion, and guiding the terminal fitting to the terminal mounting portion;
The cover member is provided on the cover member, extends from the edge of the cover member near the box body in a direction away from the terminal mounting portion, and extends from the terminal guide portion to the terminal fitting. An electrical junction box comprising: a second guide portion that guides to one guide portion. At least one of the first guide part and the second guide part is provided with an inclined part that gradually decreases in width from the second guide part toward the first guide part. The electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein

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