JP3267149B2 - Electrical junction box - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric connection box whose main body is protected by a cover.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as one of electric wiring systems for vehicles, an electric connection box using a circuit-shaped metal plate called a bus bar is known. In this type of electrical junction box, an electrical junction box main body is used, which is composed of a laminate in which bus bars and insulating substrates are alternately laminated. Usually, the laminate is housed in a case made of a resin such as PPT. Such a main body is protected by a cover made of a resin such as PPT.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate two prior arts. The electric connection box 21 shown in FIG. 4 is called a so-called integral body type, and the electric connection box 22 shown in FIG.
Is called a separate body type. The electric connection boxes 21 and 22 using the bus bar 23 are generally roughly classified into these two types.

In the electric junction box 21 integrated with the main body, the main body 2
4 is provided with a lower cover 26
Covered by The lower case 25 has a box shape. The busbar 23 is located in the lower case 25.
And an insulating substrate 27 are accommodated, and a wiring board assembly 28 is accommodated therein, and they are covered by an upper case 29. The upper surface of the lower case 25 is covered by an upper cover 30. In this case, the side surface of the lower case 25 is exposed to the outside.

[0005] In the electric junction box 22 of a separate body type, the main body 2
4 is completely accommodated in the accommodation space defined by the upper cover 30 and the lower cover 26. The upper case 29 constituting the main body 24 is fixed to the lower cover 26 by fasteners such as fastening bolts 31.

[0006]

A vehicle equipped with the electric connection boxes 21 and 22 may be subjected to a large impact. In this case, the main body 24 includes a pair of upper and lower covers 2.
6, 30 so that deformation and breakage of the main body 24 is reduced to some extent.

[0007] However, in recent years, the electric connection box 21,
More sophisticated measures for preventing deformation and breakage of the body 22 (particularly, the main body 24) are desired. That is, there is a demand for minimizing the damage to the main body 24 and maintaining the function of the power supply circuit in the main body 24.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric junction box which can maintain the function of a main body even when an impact is encountered.

[0009]

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a main body made of resin having circuit wiring and the main body are housed inside to protect the main body. An electric connection box constituted by a resin cover and an upper cover and a lower cover.
Thereby composed of a bar, the body is formed so as to be resistant to impact than the upper <br/> cover and lower cover, the body on the inner wall surface of the front kilometers Akaba upon impact encountering exit from the lower cover The gist of the invention is to provide an electric junction box having a structure for lifting up.

According to the invention described in claim 2, in claim 1, the main body is formed using an impact-resistant resin material, and the upper cover and the upper cover are formed using a resin material having an impact resistance lower than the same material. A lower cover was formed.

[0012] The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the above, the lifting structure is a plurality of lifting ribs formed on the inner wall surface of the lower cover, and the main body support surface of the rib is an inclined surface.

[0013] The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claims 1 to 3.
In any one of the above, the first locking portion formed on the inner wall surface of the lower cover and the second locking portion formed on the side surface of the main body are engaged, whereby the main body is formed. The lower cover is fixed to be detachable.

The "action" of the present invention will be described below. According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, since the so-called separate body type is adopted, the main body is housed inside the cover without being exposed to the outside. Therefore, when an impact is encountered, the cover that is relatively vulnerable to impact is preferentially deformed or damaged, so that the impact is absorbed to some extent. For this reason,
The body protected inside the cover is less likely to be damaged. Therefore, even in such a case, the function of the main body is maintained.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, if the main body is configured to fall out of the lower cover when an impact is encountered, the main body can escape under the influence of a force that causes deformation and breakage of the lower cover. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the main body from being damaged.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, not only the impact resistance of the main body itself is improved, but also the impact is concentrated on the resin material having relatively low impact resistance, so that the cover is formed on the cover. Deformation and breakage occur preferentially.

According to the third aspect of the invention, before the impact is encountered, the main body is fixed to the lower cover by the main body being supported at a plurality of locations by the main body supporting surface of the rib. When the lower cover is going to be deformed or the like at the time of impact, the main body moves upward along the inclined main body supporting surface, and as a result, the main body comes off from the lower cover.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, unlike the related art in which the lower cover and the main body are irremovably fixed by fasteners such as bolts, both are engaged and disengaged by the engagement of the locking portions. It is fixed as possible. Therefore, even if this configuration is adopted, the main body does not come off when an impact is encountered.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an electric junction box 1 mounted on a vehicle will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electric junction box 1 of this embodiment is of a separate body type as described above, and is housed in an engine room under a hood 2 of an automobile. ing. This electric junction box 1 is composed of a main body 3,
The lower cover 4 and the upper cover 5 are main components. The lower cover 4 is a box-shaped resin member having a bottom, and its bottom surface 4a is curved so as to conform to the shape of the tire house. Further, a wire harness insertion hole 6 for inserting the wire harness W1 is formed in the bottom surface 4a. In FIG. 1, the front left side is the vehicle front side, and the front surface 4b of the lower cover 4 faces in that direction. Therefore, the surface opposite to the front surface 4b is the rear surface 4c.

On the inner wall surface of the lower cover 4, a plurality of escape ribs 7 as an escape structure are integrally formed. These lifting ribs 7 extend to the vicinity of the opening along the up-down direction, and the upper end surface thereof is inclined. The upper end surface inclined in this manner serves as a main body support surface 8 that supports the lower part of the main body 3. Further, claw-shaped first locking portions 9 used for fixing the main body 3 are protruded from a plurality of locations on the inner wall surface of the opening of the lower cover 4.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body 3
It is composed of an upper case 10, a lower case 11, and a wiring board assembly (not shown). Lower case 1
A plurality of connector connecting portions 12 are protruded from 1 and a connector provided at the tip of the wire harness H1 is connected to them. In the case of the electric junction box 1, a surplus length (several tens of cm) of the rising of the main body 3 is provided in advance to the electric wire constituting the wire harness H1. In addition, as shown in FIG.
The extra length of the electric wire is accommodated in the space formed by the lower case 11 and the main body 3 in a loose state.

A plurality of lifting ribs 13 are formed on four side surfaces of the upper case 10, respectively. These lifting ribs 13 correspond to the formation positions of the lifting ribs 7 on the lower cover 4 side. The supported surface 14 of the lifting rib 13 is a slope having the same degree of inclination as the main body support surface 8. At the time of assembling, the main body 3 is supported by the opening of the lower cover 4 by the contact between the main body supporting surfaces 8 and the respective supported surfaces 14.

On some side surfaces of the upper case 10, there are formed second locking portions 15 which can be engaged and disengaged from the first locking portions 9. The main body 3 is fixed to the lower cover 4 by the engagement between the second locking portion 15 and the first locking portion 9. The locking portions 9 and 15 are relatively easily detached from each other when a large impact is encountered.

On the upper surface of the upper case 10, a component connection portion 18 for mounting electronic components such as the fusible link 16 and the fuse 17 is provided. In that case, the terminals of the electronic component are electrically connected to a bus bar (not shown) located in the component connection portion 18. Particularly important electronic components (in other words, components whose function is to be surely maintained) are arranged in the upper case 10 in a region on the rear side of the vehicle.

The upper cover 5 is a box-shaped resin member having a bottom and is fitted into the opening of the lower cover 4 as shown in FIG. At this time,
Is housed in the space formed by the upper cover 5 and the lower cover 4, so that it is completely hidden inside them.

Next, the material of each component in the electric junction box 1 of the present embodiment will be described. In the electric junction box 1, the lower cover 4, the upper cover 5, and the main body 3 (specifically, the upper case 10 and the lower case 11 thereof).
In that the same material is not used.

That is, while the upper case 10 and the lower case 11 are formed using an impact-resistant resin material,
The lower cover 4 and the upper cover 5 are formed using a resin material having lower impact resistance. In the present embodiment, specifically, the upper case 10 and the lower case 1
Nylon-based (i.e., polyamide-based) resins such as nylon 6, nylon 6,6, nylon 6 alloy and the like are used as the impact-resistant resin material for forming 1.
On the other hand, as a resin material for forming the lower cover 4 and the upper cover 5, PPT such as PPT or PPGT is used.
P (polypropylene) resin or the like is used. Therefore, the lower cover 4 and the upper cover 5 are relatively weaker against an impact than the upper case 10 and the lower case 11 constituting the main body 3 and are more easily broken than those. When a large impact is applied from the front side of the vehicle (for example, when the vehicle collides with something),
As shown in FIG. 3, the lower cover 4 and the like located outside are preferentially deformed or damaged.
Further, in this case, the main body 3 comes off from the lower cover 4.

The characteristic effects of the present invention will be listed below. (A) In the present embodiment, since a so-called separate body type is adopted, the body 3 is not exposed to the outside,
5 is completely housed inside. Therefore, when an impact is encountered, the impact concentrates on the lower cover 4 or the like which is relatively weak against the impact, and the lower cover 4 or the like is preferentially deformed or damaged. That is, the impact is absorbed to some extent. For this reason,
The impact force applied to the main body 3 is reduced, and the main body 3 protected inside the two covers 4 and 5 is hardly damaged. Therefore, even in such a case, the function of the electric circuit of the main body 3 is reliably maintained.

(B) In the present embodiment, the upper case 10 and the lower case 11 are formed using a polyamide resin which is an impact-resistant resin material, and a polypropylene-based resin which is a resin material having a lower impact resistance than the same material. Are used to form the covers 4 and 5. Therefore, the impact resistance of the main body 3 itself is improved in the first place, and the main body 3 is hardly damaged as compared with the related art.

(C) In the present embodiment, as the lifting structure for lifting the main body 3 from the lower cover 4 when an impact is encountered, lifting ribs 7 and 13 are provided on both the lower cover 4 side and the main body 3 side. Have been. Therefore, the main body 3 comes out of the lower cover 4 when an impact is encountered. As a result, the main body 3 can escape from the influence of the force that causes the lower cover 4 to deform or break. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to more reliably prevent the main body 3 from being damaged.

(D) In the present embodiment, a plurality of lifting ribs 7 are formed on the inner wall surface of the lower cover 4, and the main body supporting surfaces 8 of the ribs 7 are inclined surfaces. The same applies to the lifting rib 13 on the main body 3 side. Therefore, when an impact is encountered, for example, when the front surface 4b of the lower cover 4 is to be deformed so as to be depressed inward, the main body 3 moves upward along the inclined main body support surface 8. As a result, the main body 3 easily comes out of the lower cover 4.

(E) In this embodiment, unlike the conventional case in which the lower cover 4 and the main body 3 are irremovably fixed by fasteners such as bolts, the two 3 and 4 are connected to each other by the locking portions 9 and 15. It is fixed removably by engagement. Therefore,
Even if this configuration is adopted, the main body 3 will not be prevented from coming off when an impact is encountered, and the main body 3 can be reliably prevented from being damaged.

(F) In this electric junction box 1, the wire harness H1 is provided in advance with an extra length for the body 3 to come off. For this reason, disconnection of the connector when the main body 3 comes off, disconnection of the electric wire, and the like are reliably prevented. Therefore, a poor connection between the wire harness H1 and the main body 3 can be avoided.

(E) In the electric junction box 1, particularly important electronic components are arranged in the upper case 10 in a region on the rear side of the vehicle. Therefore, the impact received when the impact is applied from the front side is also smaller than when the impact is applied to the front area of the vehicle. This is also the main body 3
This is advantageous in maintaining the function of

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified as follows, for example. (1) The materials of the lower cover 4, the upper cover 5, and the main body 3 are not limited to the combinations of the resin materials exemplified in the above embodiment, and other combinations can be selected. Further, only the lower cover 4, not both the lower cover 4 and the upper cover 5, may be made of a resin material having a low impact resistance, so that only the lower cover 4 may be relatively more easily broken than others.

(2) The covers 4 and 5 are attached to the main body 3 by, for example, thinning or meshing.
It may be structurally more fragile than. That is, the materials of the covers 4 and 5 and the body 3 do not necessarily have to be different.

(3) The lifting ribs 7 and 13 as the lifting structure may be formed on either the lower cover 4 side or the main body 3 side. However,
It is more preferable that both are formed as in the embodiment.

(4) For example, a member capable of absorbing an impact, such as a sponge, may be arranged between the lower cover 4 and the main body 3 or between the upper cover 5 and the main body 3. Here, in addition to the technical idea described in the claims,
The technical ideas grasped by the embodiment described above are listed below.

(1) In any one of claims 2 to 4 , the impact-resistant resin material is a polyamide resin.
The electrical junction box, wherein the resin material having low impact resistance is a polypropylene resin. With this configuration,
Even when a shock is encountered, the function of the main body can be reliably maintained.

(2) The electronic component according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and the technical idea 1, wherein a particularly important one of the electronic components is located on a rear side of the vehicle when an electric connection box is installed in the vehicle. An electrical junction box, wherein the electrical junction box is arranged in a box. With this configuration, the function of the main body can be more reliably maintained because the electronic component is less likely to be broken.

(3) Claims 1 to 4 , technical ideas 1 and 2
The electrical connection box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a surplus length of the wire harness connected to the main body is provided in advance. With this configuration, disconnection of the connector and disconnection of the electric wire at the time of lifting can be prevented.

(4) The electrical connection box according to the technical concept 3, wherein an extra length of the wire harness is accommodated in a space formed by the lower case and the main body. With this configuration, the extra length does not interfere.

[0044] (5) according to claim 1-4, technical ideas 1-4
The electrical junction box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the main body is disposed in an opening of the lower cover. With this configuration, the main body can be easily pulled out.

The technical terms used in this specification are defined as follows. "Electronic components: Fuse, fusible link, relay, diode, etc."

[0046]

As described in detail above, according to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide an electric junction box which can maintain the function of the main body even when an impact is encountered.

Further, since the escape destruction by the body rises missing, it is possible to more reliably body functions retention. According to the invention described in 請 Motomeko 2, since the improvement in impact resistance of the body itself can be achieved, it is possible to more reliably body functions retention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an electric connection box and a lower cover according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing an electric junction box, a lower cover, and an upper cover before a collision.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an electric junction box, a lower cover, and an upper cover after a collision.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional electric junction box and a cover.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional electric junction box and a cover.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electrical connection box, 3 ... Main body, 4 ... Lower cover, 5 ... Upper cover, 7 ... Rising rib as a lifting structure, 8 ... Main body support surface, 9 ... First locking part, 15 ... 2 locking part.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electric junction box comprising a resin main body having circuit wiring and a resin cover for housing the main body to protect the main body, wherein the cover is an upper cover and a lower cover. Composed of
And the main body is connected to the upper cover and the lower
It formed so as to be resistant to impact than the cover, before Symbol
The inner wall surface of the furnace Akaba, electrical junction box of the body upon impact encountered characterized in that a rising structural loss causes loss rise from the lower cover. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the main body is formed using an impact-resistant resin material, and the upper cover and the lower cover are formed using a resin material having a lower impact resistance than the material. Electrical connection box as described in. 3. The lifting structure comprises a plurality of lifting ribs formed on an inner wall surface of the lower cover,
The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein a main body support surface of the rib is an inclined surface. 4. A first cover formed on an inner wall surface of the lower cover.
The main body is removably fixed to the lower cover by engaging the locking portion of the main body with a second locking portion formed on a side surface of the main body. Item 1
The electrical junction box according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein