GB2330020A

GB2330020A - Cover with partition wall for covering two connection boxes

Info

Publication number: GB2330020A
Application number: GB9820958A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tomohiro Sugiura
Original assignee: Yazaki Corp
Current assignee: Yazaki Corp
Priority date: 1997-10-01
Filing date: 1998-09-25
Publication date: 1999-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 2018-09-25
Also published as: DE19845311A1; GB2330020B; GB9820958D0; JP3311657B2; JPH11113137A; DE19845311B4

Abstract

An electric connection box (10) includes a connection box body (20), having a recessed mounting portion (21), a subordinate connection box body (30) mounted on the mounting portion (21) of the connection box body (20), and a waterproof cover (40) covering the connection box body (20) and the subordinate connection box body (30). A partition wall (44) is provided within the waterproof cover (40), and separates the connection box body (20) and the subordinate connection box body (30) from each other. The mounting portion (21) is defined by a recess formed by notching one corner portion of the connection box body (20), and the partition wall (44) extends in a forward-backward direction and a right-left direction so as to extend along this mounting portion (21).

Description

1 2330020 ELECTRIC CONNECTION BOX This invention relates to an electric

connection box, such as a relay box and a fuse box, which is mounted on a vehicle or the like, with its connection box body and subordinate connection box body covered with a waterproof cover.

One known electric connection box of the type described is a relay box 1 shown in Fig. 4. This relay box 1 comprises a main relay box (connection box body) 2, having a recessed mounting portion 3, a subordinate relay box (subordinate connection box body) 4 mounted on the mounting portion 3 of the main relay box 2, a waterproof cover 7 covering only the main relay box 2, and a waterproof cover 8 covering only the subordinate relay box 4.

A plurality of relay-mounting housings 2a are formed in an upper surface of the main relay box 2. The recessed mounting portion 3 is provided in a right upper corner portion (in the drawings) of the main relay box 2, and a pair of mounting brackets 5A and 5B for being fixedly secured to a vehicle are provided respectively at a left upper corner portion and a right lower corner portion (in the drawings) of the main relay box 2.

A plurality of relay-mounting housings 4a are formed in an upper surface of the subordinate relay box 4. Wire harnesses 6A and 6B are connected respectively to the main relay box 2 and the subordinate relay box 4. The main relay box 2 and the subordinate relay box 4 are delivered separately, for example, to a vehicle-assembling line. In this vehicleassembling line, the subordinate relay box 4 is mounted on the mounting portion 3 of the main relay box 2, and in this condition the waterproof covers 7 and 8 are fitted respectively on the boxes 2 and 4, thus assembling the relay box 1, and this relay box is fixedly secured to a predetermined portion of the vehicle through the mounting brackets 5A and 5B.

In the conventional relay box 1, however, the waterproof covers 7 and 8 are fitted separately on the boxes 2 and 4, respectively, and therefore the number of the component parts is increased, which increases the cost. To deal with this, a relay box 11, shown in Fig. 5, has been developed. This relay box 11 comprises a main relay box (connection box body) 2, a subordinate relay box (subordinate connection box body) 4 mounted on a mounting portion 3 of the main relay box 2, and a waterproof cover 9 covering the main relay box 2 and the subordinate relay box 4.

The main relay box 2, beforehand fitted in the waterproof cover 9, and the subordinate relay box 4 are delivered separately, for example, to a vehicle-assembling line, and in this vehicle-assembling line, the waterproof cover 9 is removed f rom the main relay box 2, and the subordinate relay box 4 is mounted on the mounting portion 3 of the main relay box 2, and then the main relay box 2 and the subordinate relay box 4 are covered with the waterproof cover 9, thus assembling the relay box 1'.

A technique analogous to this electric connection box is disclosed, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei. 169315.

In the above conventional relay box 1', however, the main relay box 2, having the waterproof cover 9 attached thereto, and the subordinate relay box 4 are delivered separately to the vehicle-assembling line, and therefore a gap for receiving the subordinate relay box 4 is present in the waterproof cover 9 attached to having the main relay box 2, and there is a possibility that foreign matters, such as sand and dust, intrude through this gap. And besides, the waterproof cover 9 is increased in overall size since it is designed to receive the subordinate relay box 4, and therefore deformation such as warp is liable to develop in the waterproof cover 9, and if the degree of the deformation is large, there is a possibility that the operation of covering the main relay box 2 and the subordinate relay box 4 with the waterproof cover 9 is difficult. Furthermore, a control unit 2b and so on are mounted on the upper surf ace of the main relay box 2, and therefore if foreign matters, such as sand and dust, intrude, this may cause a malfunction or the like.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric connection box in which the intrusion of foreign matters such as sand and dust, as well as the deformation (e.g. warp) of a waterproof cover, is positively prevented.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric connection box which comprises:

connection box body, including a recessed mounting portion; subordinate connection box body attachable to the mounting portion of the connection box body; a waterproof cover fittable to the connection box body and the subordinate connection box body to cover them; and a partition wall formed within the waterproof cover, the partition wall separating the connection box body and the subordinate connection box body from each other.

In the electric connection box according to the first aspect, when the connection box body is fitted in and covered with the waterproof cover before the subordinate connection box body is mounted on the mounting portion of the connection box body, no gap is present between the connection box body and the waterproof cover because of the provision of the partition wall, thereby positively preventing foreign matters, such as sand and dust, from intruding into the connection box body.

According to the second aspect of the present invention depending on the first aspect, in the electric connection box, the mounting portion is defined by a recess formed by notching one corner portion of the connection box body, and the partition wall extends in a forward-backward direction and a right-left direction so as to extend along the mounting portion.

In the electric connection box according to the second aspect, the deformation (e.g. warp) of the waterproof cover in the forward-backward direction and the right-left direction is positively prevented by the partition wall separating the connection box body and the subordinate connection box body from each other.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one preferred embodiment of an electric connection box of the present invention, showing a condition before it is assembled; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a waterproof cover used in the electric connection box; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a plan view of a conventional electric connection box, showing a condition before it is assembled; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of another conventional electric connection box, showing a condition before it is assembled.

In the accompanying drawings:

one preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3. As shown in Fig. 1, the relay box 10, serving as the electric connection box, comprises a main relay box (connection box body) 20, which is made of a synthetic resin, and has an L-shape when viewed from its top, and includes a recessed mounting portion 21, a subordinate relay box (subordinate connection box body) 30 of the cassette type which is made of a synthetic resin, and is mounted on the mounting portion 21 of the main relay box 20, and a box-shaped waterproof cover 40 which is made of a synthetic resin, and has an open bottom, and covers the main relay box 20 and the subordinate relay box 30. The main relay box 20, beforehand fitted in the waterproof cover 40, and the subordinate relay box 30 are delivered separately, for example, to a vehicle- assembling line, and the two relay boxes are assembled together in this vehicle-assembling line.

As shown in Fig. 1, the mounting portion 21 is defined by a recess which is formed in the rear side of the main relay box 20, and extends from a generally central portion of this rear side to a right upper corner portion (in the drawings) thereof, the recess having a rectangular shape when viewed from its top. Namely, the mounting portion 21 is defined by the recess formed by notching one corner portion (right upper corner portion in the drawings) of the main relay box 20, the recess having a rectangular shape when viewed from the top. A mounting bracket 22 is integrally formed on and projects obliquely upwardly from the upper corner portion of the main relay box 20 disposed'at a right end portion of the mounting portion 21. A reinforcement rib 22a is formed integrally on and projects from a lower portion of an inclined left side surface of the mounting bracket 22. Another mounting bracket 23 is formed integrally with and projects from a left lower corner portion (in the drawings) of the main relay box 20. A reinforcement rib 23a is also formed integrally on and projects from one side surface of this mounting bracket 23.

A plurality of relay-mounting housings 24 are formed in a central portion of an upper surface 20a of the main relay box 20. A plurality of terminal fitting-type fusible link-mounting housings 25 are formed in an upper central portion of the upper surface 20a, and also a plurality of terminal fitting-type fusible link-mounting housings 25 are formed in a left portion of the upper surface 20a. A threaded-type fusible linkmounting housing 26 is formed in a left upper portion (in the drawings) of the upper surface 20a of the main relay box 20. The terminal fitting-type fusible link-mounting housings 25 are connected to the threaded-type fusible link-mounting housing 26 by a pair of bus bars 27A and 27B. A control unit 28 is provided at a right portion of the upper surface 20a of the main relay box 20. A wire harness 29 is connected to that portion of the main relay box 20 disposed adjacent to the mounting bracket 23 formed on the left side surface of the main relay box 20.

A plurality of relay-mounting housings 31 are formed in an upper surface 30a of the subordinate relay box 30. A notch portion 32 is formed in that portion of a bottom (or lower) surface of the subordinate relay box 30 opposed to the reinforcement rib 22a of the mounting bracket 22, and the reinforcement rib 22a is received in this notch portion 32. A wire harness 33 is connected to a left side surface (in the drawings) of the subordinate relay box 30.

-B- As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the waterproof cover 40 has a box-shape with an open bottom, and is defined by a top wall 41, front and rear side walls 42a and 42b and left and right side walls 43a and 43b. A rib (partition wall) 44 is formed integrally on inner surfaces of the top wall 41, the rear side wall 42b and the right side wall 43b, and is provided in a projected manner within the waterproof cover 40, and this rib 44 separates the main relay box 20 and the subordinate relay box 30 from each other. The rib 44 has an L-shape when viewed from the top, and comprises a longitudinal wall portion 44a extending in a forward-backward direction, and a transverse wall portion 44b extending in a right-left direction, and therefore the rib 44 is so formed as to extend along the mounting portion 21 formed at the right upper corner portion (in the drawings) of the main relay box 20.

In the relay box 10 of this embodiment, the main relay box 20, beforehand fitted in the waterproof cover 40, and the subordinate relay box 30 are delivered separately, for example, to the vehicle-assembling line, and then are assembled together in this vehicle-assembling line. When this delivering operation is to be effected, that is, when the waterproof cover 40 is fitted on the main relay box 20 before the subordinate relay box 30 is mounted on the mounting portion 21 of the main relay box 20, no gap is present between the main relay box 20 and the rib 44 of the waterproof cover 40 because of the provision of the rib 44 (having an L-shape when viewed from the top) within the waterproof cover 40, and therefore the intrusion of foreign matters, such as sand and dust, into the main relay box 20, is positively prevented by the rib 44.

The rib 44 of an L-shape, formed integrally within the waterproof cover 40 so as to separate the main relay box 20 and the subordinate relay box 30 from each other, extends in the forward-backward direction and the right-left direction so as to extend along the mounting portion 21 formed at one corner portion (right upper corner portion in the drawings) of the main relay box 20, and with this construction, the deformation (e.g. warp) of the waterproof cover 40 in the forward-backward direction and the right-left direction is positively prevented, thus increasing the strength of the waterproof cover 40. This is effective particularly when the waterproof cover 40 has a large size, and has a thin design, and a malfunction of the control unit 28 of the main relay box 20 due to foreign matters, such as sand and dust, is positively prevented. The waterproof cover 40 is increased in overall size since it is designed to receive the subordinate relay box 30, but because of the provision of the rib 44, the waterproof cover 40 is less liable to undergo deformation such as warp, and therefore the operation of covering the main relay box 20 and the subordinate relay box 30 with the waterproof cover 40 can becarried out easily.

When the main relay box 20, fitted in the waterproof cover 40, and the subordinate relay box 30, which have been delivered separately, for example, to the vehicle-assembling line, are to be assembled together, the waterproof cover 40 is removed from the main relay box 20, and then the subordinate relay box 30 of the cassette type is mounted on the mounting portion 21 of the main relay box 20. Then, the main relay box 20 and the subordinate relay box 30 are fitted in and covered with the waterproof cover 40, so that the relay box 10, having excellent dustproof and waterproof properties, is assembled. The thus assembled relay box 10 is fixedly mounted on a predetermined portion of a vehicle through the mounting brackets 22 and 23.

Although the electric connection box comprises the relay box, the above embodiment can be applied to other electric connection box such as a fuse box and a junction box.

As described above, in the first aspect of the present invention, the partition wall, which separates the connection box body and the subordinate connection box body from each other, is provided within the waterproof cover, and therefore when the connection box body is covered with the waterproof cover before the subordinate connection box body is mounted on the mounting portion of the connection box body, no gap is present between the connection box body and the waterproof cover because of the provision of the partition wall, and the intrusion of foreign matters, such as sand and dust, into the connection box body is positively prevented.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the partition wall, which separates the connection box body and the subordinate connection box from each other, extends in the forward-backward direction and the right-left direction so as to extend along the mounting portion formed at one corner portion of the connection box body. Therefore, the deformation (e.g. warp) of the waterproof cover in the forward-backward direction and the right-left direction is positively prevented, and the strength of the waterproof cover is increased.

Claims

1. An electric connection box, comprising:

a connection box body, including a recessed mounting portion; subordinate connection box body attachable to the mounting portion of the connection box body; waterproof cover fittable to the connection box body and the subordinate connection box body to cover them; and a partition wall formed within the waterproof cover, the partition wall separating the connection box body and the subordinate connection box body from each other.

2. The electric connection box of claim 1, in which the mounting portion is defined by a recess formed by notching one corner portion of the connection box body, and the partition wall extends in a forward-backward direction and a right-left direction so as to extend along the mounting portion.

3. An electric connection box substantially as described with reference to figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings