JP2001359227A - Junction box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To slim a junction box by reducing the number of layers of a bus bar in the junction box. SOLUTION: This junction box comprises a base circuit connected to a connector provided therein, a connector module forming the base circuit by dividing a relay connection circuit and/or a fuse connection circuit, and a fuse module and a relay module which are provided separately. The fuse module and the relay module includes bus bars for fuse and bus bars for relay which are connected to a substrate. The fuse module and/or the relay module is assembled to a case storing the connector module, where the bus bars for connector are layered via an insulating plate, and the bus bars of the fuse module and/or the relay module are welded and connected to the bus bars for connector of the connector module.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a junction box for connecting to a wire harness for an automobile,
It is intended to reduce the thickness and size even if the number of circuits increases.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the rapid increase of electrical components mounted on automobiles, the number of electric junction boxes for automobiles, especially the circuits accommodated in junction boxes, has rapidly increased, and branch circuits are formed at high density. In addition, the number of parts is very large, and the number of assembling steps is very large.

In a junction box 1 shown in FIG. 9 among the electric connection boxes for automobiles, bus bars 5A to 5D are stacked and arranged between upper case 2 and lower case 3 with insulating plates 4A to 4E interposed therebetween. Upper case 2
Is provided with a connector accommodating portion 2a, a relay accommodating portion 2b, and a fuse accommodating portion 2c, and a connector 6, a relay 7, and a fuse 8 are mounted on these accommodating portions, and these terminals and tabs protruding from the bus bar are directly or They are connected via relay terminals. The lower case 3 is also provided with a connector accommodating portion 3a, and the tab 5a of the bus bar projects to connect to the connector.

[0004]

In the junction box 1, there is a problem that the area of the bus bar and the number of laminations increase as the number of circuits increases, and the junction box becomes large. When a connector housing, a relay housing, and a fuse housing are provided in both the upper case and the lower case, and the connector, relay, fuse and the internal circuit are connected to the upper and lower surfaces of the junction box, the upper case or It is possible to suppress an increase in the area of the junction box as compared with a case where the junction box is provided only on one side of the lower case.

However, if the connector accommodating portion and the relay accommodating portion or the fuse accommodating portion are provided at the vertically opposed positions, the tabs bent by the bus bar overlap and cannot be developed. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the tab on the bus bar of another layer. This causes the number of layers to increase. As described above, when the number of layers of the bus bar increases, there is a problem that the height of the junction box increases and the size of the junction box increases.

Further, since the connector, the fuse and the relay are connected to the bus bar in the junction box, the whole internal circuit is changed when the specification of the connection between the fuse and the relay and the internal circuit is changed. Therefore, there is a problem that the circuit cannot be easily changed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and it is possible to suppress an increase in the number of bus bars accommodated in a junction box, thereby making it possible to reduce the thickness of the junction box, and to change a circuit. The task is to be able to easily deal with the problem.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention divides a base circuit portion to be connected to a connector provided in a junction box, and a relay connection circuit portion and / or a fuse connection circuit portion. A connector module that constitutes a circuit unit and a fuse module and / or a relay module are separately provided. The fuse module includes a fuse bus bar fixed to a substrate. The relay module includes a relay bus bar fixed to a substrate. And mounting the fuse module or / and the relay module in a case housing the connector module in which the connector bus bars are stacked via an insulating plate. Connection Provides a junction box, characterized in that the welded connection to a connector bus bar of the other module.

As described above, in the junction box of the present invention, the connector module serving as the base circuit for connecting to an external electric wire via the connector, the fuse connection circuit and the relay connection circuit are divided into connectors. The bus bar is provided separately from the bus bar for the fuse and the bus bar for the relay. That is, conventionally, one conductive plate is punched out to provide a base circuit section, a fuse connection circuit section, and a relay connection circuit section, and each of the circuit sections has a connector connection tab, a fuse connection tab, and a relay connection tab. Since the tabs are provided, the circuit layout is complicated, and as a result, the bus bar area is increased and the bus bars are multilayered. On the other hand, in the present invention, the base circuit portion connected to the connector, the fuse connection circuit portion connected to the fuse, and the relay connection circuit portion connected to the relay are divided, so that the tabs do not overlap, Multilayering of the busbar is suppressed, and the junction box can be made thinner. In addition, since the circuit layout of each bus bar is also simplified, the area of each bus bar can be reduced.As a result, even if the bus bar is divided, the overall bus bar area can be reduced, and the increase in the junction box area can be suppressed. it can.

Further, since the fuse module having the fuse connection circuit and the relay module having the relay connection circuit are separately provided, if there is a change in the specifications of the fuse and the relay, the fuse module,
It is only necessary to change the relay module, and it is possible to easily cope with the specification change. Conversely, if the connection form with the fuse and relay is not changed and the connector connection is changed, the bus bar of the base circuit section should be changed,
Also in this case, it is possible to easily cope with a circuit change.

The terminal of the bus bar for the connector is arranged in the connector accommodating portion provided in the case directly or via a relay terminal, and the fuse attaching portion provided on the fuse module and / or the relay attaching portion provided on the relay module are provided. Is exposed through an opening provided in the case.

That is, when the fuse module and the relay module are assembled in the case, the fuse mounting portion and the relay mounting portion of these modules are located in the openings formed in the case. It can be installed and replaced. For example, an opening is provided on one side of the upper case to expose the fuse mounting portion, while a relay mounting portion is exposed on one side of the lower case orthogonal to the fuse mounting portion. The fuse mounting part of the above fuse module and the relay mounting part of the relay module are integrated with the fuse module and the relay module substrate by covering the case where the fuse mounting part and the relay mounting part are formed, or by molding the substrate on which the bus bar is fixed. The molded product is provided with a fuse mounting portion and a relay mounting portion by integral molding.

The bus bar for the fuse and the bus bar for the relay are individually provided with a bus bar respectively connected to each terminal of the fuse and each terminal of the relay. Further, the bus bar for the fuse and the bus bar for the relay are bent from a horizontal portion fixed to the substrate portion to provide a terminal portion, a pressure contact groove is provided at a tip of the terminal portion, and the fuse and the terminal of the relay are press-connected. On the other hand, the other end of the horizontal portion is welded to the welded portion of the connector bus bar as the welded portion. With this configuration, the bus bar, the fuse, and the relay can be connected without using the relay terminal.

Although the fuse module and the relay module may be separately provided as described above, the fuse module and the relay module are integrated to form a fuse / relay combined module, and the fuse / relay combined module is provided in the fuse / relay combined module. The fuse mounting portion and the relay mounting portion may be provided, and the fuse bus bar and the relay bus bar may be fixed on the same substrate. In this case, when it is necessary to connect the circuit between the fuse bus bar and the relay bus bar, the bus bars of the circuit are connected by welding. Alternatively, a bus bar may be provided integrally. The fuse mounting portion and the relay mounting portion provided in the fuse / relay combined module may be formed in a case that covers the substrate similarly to the fuse module and the relay module, or may be formed and provided when the substrate is molded. .

In the connector module housed in the case, bus bars are stacked and arranged via an insulating plate, and a welded portion is provided at an end of a required bus bar, while a welded portion is also provided at the fuse bus bar and the relay bus bar. And the above-mentioned welded portions of the connector bus bar of the connector module and the fuse bus bar and / or the relay bus bar are joined together and connected by ultrasonic welding, resistance welding, laser welding or gas welding. It is preferable that the welded portion protrudes outward from the insulating plate and the substrate.

As described above, the bus bar for the connector and the bus bar for the fuse and the relay are divided but are connected by welding, so that the reliability of the electrical connection does not decrease. When these welds are arranged in parallel, the above-described ultrasonic welding, resistance welding, laser welding or gas welding can be performed efficiently. Further, the welded portions which are brought into contact with each other and welded may be overlapped and welded in a horizontal direction, or may be bent in a vertical direction and overlapped and welded in a vertical direction. The bus bar for the connector, the fuse and the bus bar for the relay may be connected by fitting the male and female terminals.

Although the bus bars and the insulating plates of the connector module are alternately stacked inside the case, an electronic control unit may be accommodated. In this case, it is preferable to connect the welded portion between the connector bus bar and the fuse bus bar or / and the relay bus bar using the dead space below the electronic control unit. Further, if necessary, a circuit including an electric wire and a press contact terminal and / or a circuit body such as an FPC and a PCB may be accommodated.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of components constituting a junction box 10 connected to a wire harness for an automobile, and FIGS. 2 to 5 show a state where each component is assembled.

In FIG. 1, 11 is a lower case, 12 is an upper case, 13 is a connector module constituting a base circuit, 14 is a fuse module, and 15 is a relay module. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the junction box 10 also houses an electronic control unit 40 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5.

The lower case 11 has a connector housing 1
1a is provided in a protruding manner, and a relay opening 11b is provided on one side in the long side direction. The upper case 12 has a fuse opening 12a on one side in the short side direction.
Is provided. The lower case 11 and the upper case 12 are engaged with each other so that the peripheral walls are fitted and locked. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body fixing bracket 12 c protrudes from the peripheral wall of the upper case 12 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6. Further, the upper case 12 is provided with a connector fitting groove 12b of the electronic control unit on a part of a peripheral wall thereof.

In the connector module 13, the connector bus bars 16 are vertically stacked with an insulating plate 17 interposed therebetween. In this embodiment, the connector bus bars 16 have four layers. The connector module 13 is a lower case 11
The size is set so as not to be located at the position of the relay opening 11b inside the case constituted by the upper case 12 and the upper case 12.

Each layer of the connector bus bar 16 of the connector module 13 is formed by punching a single conductive plate to form a circuit portion 16a having a required shape. A tab 16b protruding from the circuit portion 16a toward the lower case 11 is provided, and the terminal hole 1 of the connector accommodating portion 11a provided in the lower case 11 is provided.
1c. Connector housing 1
1a is fitted with a connector (not shown) connected to the tip of the wire harness, so that terminals in the connector are connected to the tab 16b.

The required circuit portion 16a of the connector bus bar 16 is provided with welding portions 16c and 16d protruding from the peripheral edge of the insulating plate 17. The welding portion 16 c is provided so as to protrude from the outer peripheral edge of one side of the insulating plate 17, and the welding portion 20 c of the fuse bus bar 20 of the fuse module 14 is formed.
a to be welded. That is, the welded portion 16c-1 is a welded portion 20a-1, 16c-2 is a welded portion 20a-2, and 16
c-3 and 20a-3 are horizontally overlapped and welded. Also, the welded portion 16 d is
Is protruded from one peripheral edge of the long side of the relay module 15 and is welded to the welded portion 30a of the relay bus bar 30 of the relay module 15, and these welded portions 16d and 30a are bent into an L shape and are bent in the vertical direction. They are overlapped and welded. The welds 16c-1, 16c-2, 16c-
3 has a large number of welds projecting in parallel.

The fuse module 14 includes a substrate 21
The above-mentioned many fuse bus bars 20 are arranged and fixed thereon. Each of the bus bars 20 includes a plurality of bus bars constituting a circuit by individually providing ones to be connected to each terminal of the fuse. As shown in FIG. 2, a resin-molded case 28 is placed over and fixed to the substrate, and a large number of fuse accommodating portions 28a are protruded from the case 28, and fusible link accommodating portions 28b are provided laterally. It is protruding. The fuse housing portion 28a and the fusible link housing portion 28
b is set such that when the fuse module 14 is accommodated in the upper case 12 and the lower case 11, it is located at the opening 12a of the upper case 12 and is exposed to the outside.

As shown in FIG. 6, a large number of bus bars 20 of the fuse module 14 are formed by projecting a terminal portion 20c at one end of a horizontal portion 20b fixed to a substrate 21 by bending the terminal portion 20c. A press contact groove 20d into which the terminal 25a is fitted is provided. The other end of the bus bar 20 is the above-mentioned welded portion 20a, which is bent in a stepped manner so as to overlap the welded portion 16c of the connector bus bar 16 vertically. In FIG. 6, the case 28 is omitted.

The relay module 15 has substantially the same configuration as that of the fuse module 14, and has a large number of relay bus bars 30 fixed to a board 31. These relay bus bars 30 are individually connected to each terminal of the relay. And a plurality of bus bars constituting a circuit. A large number of relay accommodating portions 38a are fixed on the substrate by covering a case 38 in which the relay accommodating portions 38a protrude in series. When the relay module 15 is accommodated in the upper case 12 and the lower case 11, the opening 11 b of the lower case 11
And is set to be exposed to the outside.

As shown in FIG. 7, a large number of bus bars 30 of the relay module 15 are provided with a terminal portion 30c protruding by bending one end of a horizontal portion 30b fixed to the board 31, and a terminal of the relay 35 at the tip. Pressure contact groove 30 into which 35a fits
d is provided. The other end of the bus bar 30 is
0a, refracted into an L shape, and the connector bus bar 1
6 in the vertical direction. In FIG. 7, a case 38 that covers the substrate 31 is used.
Is omitted in the figure.

When assembling the junction box 10 from the above-described components, first, the fuse module 14 is disposed on one side of the connector module 13 constituting the base circuit portion, and the welding portion 20 a of the bus bar 20 is connected to the bus bar 16. It overlaps and welds with the welding part 16c. In addition, the relay module 15 is arranged on one side of the connector module 13, and the welding portion 30 a of the bus bar 30 is joined to the welding portion 16 d of the bus bar 16 of the connector module 13 and welded. This welding is performed by ultrasonic welding, resistance welding, laser welding, gas welding, or the like.

As described above, the fuse module 14 is mounted on the upper side of one short side of the connector module 13,
After arranging and integrating the relay module 15 on the side of the long side, these are accommodated in the lower case 11. At that time, the case 38 of the relay module 15 is exposed to the opening 11b of the lower case 11, and the relay accommodating portion 38a provided in the case 38 projects outside.

Next, the electronic control unit 40 is mounted above the connector module 13 where the fuse module 14 is not mounted. The electronic control unit 40
The connector 44 is formed on one side of the connector 44 by bending a conductive pin 43 connected to the conductor 42 fixed to the substrate 41 and projecting it.
It has. The connector portion 44 is fitted into a connector fitting hole formed by the notch 12b of the peripheral wall of the lower case 11 and the upper case 12, and is exposed to the outside. Further, the conductor 42 of the electronic control unit 40 is connected to the base circuit unit 13.
Connected to a tab 16e protruding from the bus bar 16 of FIG. A large number of electronic components 45 are mounted on a board 41 of the electronic control unit 40 and connected to the conductor 42. These electronic components 45 are fixed to the substrate 41 so as to protrude downward.

After assembling the electronic control unit 40 as described above, the upper case 12 is assembled. At that time, the case 28 of the fuse module 14 is exposed through the opening 12a of the upper case 12, and the fuse housing 28a and the fusible link housing 28 provided in the case 28 are provided.
b projects outside. When the upper case 12 and the lower case 11 are locked together, the assembly of the junction box 10 is completed.

The fuse 25, the fusible link, and the relay 35 are inserted into the junction box 10 by inserting the fuse accommodating portion 28a, the fusible link accommodating portion 28b, and the relay accommodating portion 38a into the press contact grooves 20d of the bus bars 20, 30, respectively. , 30d.

In the above embodiment, the welded portion 20a of the bus bar 20 of the fuse module 14 and the welded portion 16c of the bus bar 16 of the connector module 13 are overlapped and welded in the horizontal direction. When the welding is performed by bending the welded portion 16c of the bus bar 16 upward while joining the fuse module downward, the welding can be performed by utilizing the dead space below the substrate 21 of the fuse module 14. In addition, the dead joint pace below the electronic control unit 40 may be used to determine the welding position of the bus bar.

FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment, in which a composite module 50 in which a fuse module and a relay module are integrated is provided. FIG. 8A shows a state in which a bus bar 52 is arranged on a substrate 51, and FIG. 8B shows a state where the bus bar 52 is fixed on the substrate 51 with a case 58 provided with a fuse accommodating portion 58a and a relay accommodating portion 58b. FIG.

The composite module 50 is arranged substantially all over the upper case side in the junction box. Therefore, while the lower case is provided with only a large number of connector accommodating portions, the upper case is provided with a large opening in the upper wall, and the case 5 of the composite module 50 is provided in the opening.
8, and the fuse accommodating portion 5 protruding from the case 58.
8a and only the relay accommodating portion 58b are projected.

A bus bar 52 for connecting to each terminal of a fuse and a relay is separately provided on a substrate 51 of the composite module 50, and a terminal 52a for connecting to a terminal of the fuse and the relay is provided at one end of the bus bar 52, while the other end is provided. And a plurality of busbars 52 are provided with a plurality of welds 52b projecting downwardly from the base plate 51 along the periphery of the base plate 51 in parallel. The terminal portion 52a is a case 58
In the fuse accommodating portion 58a and the relay accommodating portion 58b.

The composite module 50 is arranged on the connector module 13, and the bus bar weld of the connector module and the weld 52b of the bus bar of the composite module are welded and integrated, and in this state, are housed in the lower case and the upper case. And assemble the junction box.

Note that the junction box of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the fuse module and the relay module may be further divided into two and each divided into two divided modules. If the fuse module and relay module are split, if the fuse or relay specifications change, only the changed module needs to be replaced, but if it is split too much, it takes time to assemble, so a large junction box It is preferable that the fuse module and the relay module are each divided into about two.

The welding pattern of the connector bus bar of the connector module, the fuse bus bar of the fuse module, and the relay bus bar of the relay module constituting the base circuit portion has the following patterns according to the circuit design. Connector bus bar and fuse bus bar Connector bus bar and relay bus bar Connector bus bar, fuse bus bar, and relay bus bar In this case, the fuse bus bar is welded to one end of the connector bus bar of one circuit by welding. Weld the relay busbar to the weld at the other end of the busbar for the connector,
A tab provided on another portion of the connector bus bar is connected to the connector.

In the first embodiment, the electronic control unit is housed in the lower case and the upper case together with the connector module. However, a circuit portion including an electric wire and a press contact terminal is also provided in the connector module. The press contact terminal may be configured to be connected to a bus bar of the connector module or a connector fitted to the connector accommodating portion. In addition, a circuit body formed of an FPC, a PCB, and a conductive portion formed of a highly conductive resin and molded with an insulating resin may be provided as a part of the base circuit portion.

[0041]

As is clear from the above description, according to the junction box of the present invention, since the bus bar for the connector and the bus bar for the fuse and the relay are divided, the junction box is connected to the connector, the fuse and the relay. Tabs are always in different locations and do not overlap,
It is not necessary to increase the number of stacked bus bars to provide the tab. As a result, the thickness of the junction box can be reduced. For example, in the case of the structure of the first embodiment, what conventionally required a six-layer bus bar is now described.
The number of layers can be reduced to four layers, and the junction box can be made much thinner.

Further, since the terminals of the bus bar for the fuse and the relay are separated from the bus bar of the connector module as described above, the layout of the circuit of the bus bar of the connector module is simplified and the required area is reduced. Can be. As a result, even if the bus bars are divided and the ends of the bus bars are connected by welding, the occupied area does not increase as a whole, and the area of the junction box does not increase.

Further, if there is a change in the specifications of the fuse and the relay, the fuse module, the relay module, or a composite module thereof may be changed, and it is not necessary to change the entire upper case and lower case including the connector module. It is possible to respond to the specification change quickly and inexpensively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a junction box according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where the junction box is assembled.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a fuse bus bar.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a relay bus bar.

8A and 8B show a second embodiment, in which FIG. 8A is a schematic perspective view showing a bus bar to be mounted on a board, and FIG. 8B is a board to which the bus bar is fixed, covered with a case provided with a fuse housing section and a relay housing section. It is a schematic perspective view which shows a state.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional junction box.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Junction box 11 Lower case 11a Connector accommodating part 11b Opening 12 Upper case 12a Opening 13 Connector module 14 Fuse module 15 Relay module 16 Connector connection bus bar 16c, 16d Welding part 17 Insulating plate 20 Fuse bus bar 20a Welding part 21 Substrate 25 Fuse 28a Fuse housing section 30 Relay bus bar 30a Weld section 31 Substrate 35 Relay 38a Relay housing section 40 Electronic control unit 50 Composite module 51 Board 52 Bus bar 52b Weld section

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A base circuit section connected to a connector provided in a junction box, a relay connection circuit section and / or a fuse connection circuit section are divided into a base circuit section to form a connector module, a fuse module and / or a relay. The fuse module is provided separately as a module, the fuse module includes a fuse bus bar fixed to a substrate, the relay module includes a relay bus bar fixed to a substrate, and the fuse module or / and the relay module is connected to a connector. A bus bar is assembled to a case housing a connector module laminated via an insulating plate, and the bus bar of the fuse module or / and the relay module is welded to the bus bar for connector of the connector module. Junction box characterized by being. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the terminal of the connector bus bar is disposed directly or via a relay terminal in a connector accommodating portion provided in the case, and a fuse provided in the fuse module and / or a relay provided in the relay module. The junction box according to claim 1, wherein the mounting portion is exposed from an opening provided in the case. 3. The fuse module and the relay module are integrated to form a fuse / relay combined module, wherein the fuse / relay combined module is provided with a fuse mounting portion and a relay mounting portion, and the fuse module is provided on the same substrate. 3. The junction box according to claim 1, wherein the bus bar and the relay bus bar are fixed. 4. A welded portion is provided at an end of a required connector bus bar of the connector module housed in the case, and a welded portion is provided at an end of the fuse bus bar and the relay bus bar. By joining the above-mentioned welded portion of the bus bar for the connector and the bus bar for the fuse or / and the bus bar for the relay,
The junction box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the junction box is connected by ultrasonic welding, resistance welding, laser welding, or gas welding. 5. The fuse bus bar and the relay bus bar according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a bus bar connected to each terminal of the fuse and each terminal of the relay is individually provided. Junction box. 6. The bus bar for a fuse and the bus bar for a relay are bent from a horizontal portion fixed to a substrate to provide a terminal portion, a pressure contact groove is provided at a tip of the terminal portion, and terminals of the fuse and the relay are pressed and connected. The junction box according to claim 5, wherein the other end of the horizontal portion is connected to the welded portion of the connector bus bar as the welded portion while being welded. 7. The junction box according to claim 1, wherein an electronic control unit is housed inside the case. 8. The junction box according to claim 7, wherein the connection between the connector connection bus bar and a welded portion of the fuse bus bar and / or the relay bus bar is made in a dead space below the electronic control unit.