JP2002084623A - Electrical junction box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrical junction box, capable of maintaining the shape of a flexible printed circuit board easily, even when the flexible printed circuit board is bent. SOLUTION: Connecting terminals 12b, 13b provided on part of flexible printed circuit boards 12, 13, are protruded from the outside of a lower case 3. The ends of the connecting terminals 12b, 13b are bent when both cases 2 and 3 are fitted to each other, and are arranged in the vicinity of the connector insertion inlet 40a of a connector attaching section 40. The thickness of each of copper foil patterns 12a, 13a on the respective printed circuit boards 12, 13 is set so as to be within the range of 75-150 μm. Thus, the shapes of the flexible printed circuit boards 12, 13 are maintained, even when they are bent.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric junction box mounted on, for example, an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electric junction box of this type, a main body case is composed of an upper case and a lower case. The upper case contains a bus bar laminate in which bus bars and insulating plates are alternately laminated. The bus bar is formed by stamping a single metal plate, and a part of the bus bar is bent toward the upper case by a press device, and a tab terminal is formed at an end of the bus bar. The tab terminals are inserted and arranged in a connector mounting portion formed in the upper case in which the bus bar laminate is accommodated, and a connector is externally inserted into the connector mounting portion to achieve electrical connection.

[0003] By the way, with the increasing complexity of electric circuits in recent years,
The number of connector mounting parts tends to increase. However,
When the number of connector mounting portions increases, the bus bar alone is used to cope with the increase, so that the bus bar laminate becomes large, and as a result, the entire electric connection box becomes large.
Therefore, it is conceivable to solve the above-mentioned problems by using not only the bus bar laminate but also a flexible printed circuit board. More specifically, the connection terminal portion formed on the flexible printed circuit board is protruded outside the case, and the protruding portion is bent while fitting the two cases together, and is disposed near the connector insertion opening of the connector mounting portion. In this state, by inserting the connector into the connector mounting portion, the connection terminal portion is inserted into the connector mounting portion, and the connector and the connection terminal portion are connected.

[0004]

However, since the thickness of the conventional copper foil pattern is about 35 μm, it easily returns to its original shape even when the flexible printed circuit board is bent.
Therefore, it is difficult to dispose the connection terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board near the connector insertion port in the connector mounting portion, and it is difficult to insert the connector into the connector mounting portion.

[0005] 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 easily maintain the shape of a flexible printed circuit board when it is bent.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a first case including a plurality of types of electrical component mounting portions, and a first case that can be mounted on the first case. A main case is constituted by the two cases, and an electric connection box containing a flexible printed circuit board and a bus bar laminated body in which bus bars and insulating plates are alternately laminated in the main case is provided on a part of the flexible printed circuit board. A connection terminal portion is projected outside the main body case, the connection terminal portion is bent and disposed near a connector insertion opening of a connector mounting portion provided in the second case, and the connection terminal portion is connected to the connector mounting portion. Fold it, electrically connect the connection terminal part and the connector inserted into the connector mounting part, and form the copper foil pattern formed on the flexible printed circuit board. Electrical junction box, characterized in that it has been set himself to 75~150μm.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electrical junction box according to the first aspect, the copper foil pattern has a thickness of 9%.
The gist is that it is set to 0 to 120 μm. Claim 3
According to the invention described in (1), in the electric connection box according to claim 1 or 2, a plurality of copper foil patterns are arranged along a direction substantially orthogonal to a line that bends the connection terminal portion,
The gist is that the copper foil patterns are arranged at equal intervals.

Hereinafter, the "action" of the present invention will be described. According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the thickness of the copper foil pattern formed on the flexible printed circuit board is 75
Since it is set to 150 μm, 90 to 120 μm, or 100 μm, even if the flexible printed circuit board is bent, the shape is maintained as it is. Therefore, the distal end portion of the connection terminal portion can be held in a state where it is arranged near the connector insertion opening, so that the connector can be easily mounted on the connector mounting portion.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the plurality of copper foil patterns are arranged along a direction substantially orthogonal to the bending line of the connection terminal portion. Moreover, the copper foil patterns are arranged at equal intervals. Therefore, the connection terminal portion can be reliably and easily bent along the bending line.

[0010]

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

As shown in FIG. 1, the electric junction box 1
An upper case 2 as a case and a lower case 3 as a second case are provided. On the upper surface of the upper case 2, there are formed a connector mounting portion 4 for attaching and detaching a plurality of connectors, a fuse attaching portion 5 for attaching and detaching a plurality of fuses, and a relay attaching portion 6 for attaching and detaching a plurality of relays. The connector mounting section 4 and the fuse mounting section 5 constitute an electrical component mounting section. In the present embodiment, the upper case 2 will be described as an upward direction, and the lower case 3 will be described as a downward direction.

A connector mounting section 40 is also formed on both sides of the lower case 3 (only one side is shown in FIG. 1). The connector mounting section 40 has a connector insertion port 40 a at an outer end thereof, and the connector insertion port 40 a is opened on the same surface as the side surface of the lower case 3. A connector 41 can be attached to the connector insertion opening 40a from the side of the lower case 3.

The upper case 2 and the lower case 3 are formed to be detachable from each other. When the two cases 2 and 3 are assembled, a main body case C having an internal space is formed. The busbar laminate 11, the first flexible printed circuit board 12, the second flexible printed circuit board 13, and the printed circuit board 14 are accommodated in the main body case C. More specifically, the bus bar laminate 11 is housed in the upper case 2, and the substrates 12 to 14 are housed in the lower case 3.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bus bar laminate 11
Is constituted by alternately laminating a plurality of bus bars 7 made of a conductive metal plate material formed in a predetermined shape and insulating plates 8 made of synthetic resin. A part of the bus bar 7 is bent to form a bus bar terminal 11a.

As also shown in FIG. 2, the first and second flexible printed boards 12 and 13 are formed of copper foil patterns 12a and 1 as conductor circuits formed in a predetermined shape.
3a is covered with a resin sheet. The second flexible printed board 13 is formed smaller than the first flexible printed board. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 13 are accommodated in a state of being superposed.
That is, the flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 13 have a two-layer structure. 4 and 5, the configuration of the bus bar laminate 11 is shown in a simplified manner.

A plurality of connection terminals 12b and 13b are formed at predetermined locations on each of the flexible printed boards 12 and 13. A plurality of copper foil patterns 12a, 13a are provided in these connection terminal portions 12b, 13b, respectively. The resin sheet on one side of each connection terminal portion 12b, 13b is peeled off, and the copper foil patterns 12a, 13a are exposed.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of connection pads 12c and 13c are formed at predetermined positions of the flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 13 as connection portions. These connection pads 12c and 13c are
It is formed by peeling off a part of the resin sheet covering a and 13a. That is, each connection pad 1
2c, 13c are flexible printed circuit boards 12, 1
3 is formed by the copper foil patterns 12a and 13a exposed on the surface of No.3. In this embodiment, each connection pad 1
2c and 13c have a substantially rectangular shape. The connection pads 12c and 13c are formed in a state of being aligned on a straight line, and have a positional relationship corresponding to each other. For more information,
The connection pads 12c and 13c are juxtaposed so that their long sides are parallel to each other. That is, each connection pad 12c,
13c is formed in a part of the flexible printed circuit boards 12, 13. In other words, the copper foil patterns 12a, 13 of the flexible printed circuit boards 12, 13
a is formed so that the connection pads 12c and 13c can be formed in a state of being aligned on a straight line.

The connection pads 12c and 13c are formed close to each other, and some of them are formed at equal intervals. As shown in FIG.
c, 13c, the closest connection pad 12c, 1
The distance L between 3c is set to be 5.0 mm. The corresponding connection pads 12c and 13c are electrically connected to each other by welding using a welding method such as ultrasonic welding.

The copper foil patterns 12a and 13a are obtained by laminating the copper foil patterns 12a and 13a and a polyimide film covering the same with an adhesive. The copper foil patterns 12a and 13a are set to have a thickness of 100 μm and a width of about 2 mm so that a maximum current of 10 amperes can flow. In addition to this value, the copper foil pattern 12
The thickness of a, 13a may be changed to any value within the range of 75 μm to 150 μm, preferably within the range of 90 to 120 μm.

The reason for setting the above range is that if the thickness of the copper foil patterns 12a, 13a is smaller than 75 μm, the shape of each connection terminal portion 12b, 13b can be maintained when it is bent. It is. In addition, the copper foil patterns 12a and 13a have a large current (10
This is because the width of the flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 13 needs to be increased in order to flow ampere. On the other hand, the copper foil patterns 12a,
If the thickness of 13a is larger than 150 μm, the surfaces of the flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 13 become uneven, the polyimide film is easily peeled, and the reliability is reduced.

In this embodiment, the connection terminals 12b,
13b is bent to the lower side, that is, to the lower case 3 side along a bending line (shown by a broken line in FIG. 2) S located at the base end portion. A plurality of copper foil patterns 12a and 13a are arranged along a direction orthogonal to the bending line S. Moreover, each copper foil pattern 12a,
13a are arranged at equal intervals.

The bus bar laminate 11 thus configured
The flexible printed boards 12 and 13 are accommodated in the electric junction box 1 so that the bus bar laminate 11 is the uppermost layer (upper case 2 side). The first flexible printed circuit board 12 is accommodated in the electric connection box 1 such that the first flexible printed circuit board 12 is an intermediate layer and the second flexible printed circuit board 13 is a lowermost layer (lower case 3 side). That is, each of the flexible printed boards 12 and 13 is arranged in close contact with a surface of the bus bar laminate 11 where the bus bar terminals 11a are not formed. Further, a printed circuit board 14 is disposed further below the second flexible printed circuit board 13. In the present embodiment, the printed circuit board 14 functions as an ECU unit that performs electronic control of the engine and the like, and includes various electronic components such as a CPU and a ROM.

By the way, the first flexible printed circuit board 12 is placed on the lower case 3 when it is accommodated in the electric junction box 1. At this time, the first flexible printed circuit board 12 is arranged such that the connection terminal portions 12b and 13b are located on the positioning step 3a as a positioning portion provided on the upper edge of the side wall of the lower case 3.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 are mounted, each of the connection terminal portions 12b, 13b
Is bent by the side wall of the upper case 2 and the side wall of the lower case 3, and is sandwiched between both side walls. Thereby, each connection terminal part 12b is arranged in the corresponding connector mounting part 40. More specifically, it is arranged so as to close a part of the connector insertion opening 40a formed in the connector mounting portion 40.

Then, as shown in FIG. 9, when the connector 41 is mounted on the connector mounting portion 40, each connection terminal portion 12b of the first flexible printed circuit board 12 is folded into the connector mounting portion 40, The first flexible printed circuit board 12 and the connector 41 are electrically connected.

The first flexible printed circuit board 12
The connection terminal portion 12b is sandwiched between the side walls on both sides of the two cases 2 and 3. On the other hand, the connection terminal portion 13b of the second flexible printed board 13 is sandwiched between the side walls on one side of the two cases 2 and 3.

As shown in FIG. 5, one of the connection terminals 13b of the second flexible printed circuit board 13 is
It is bent so as to contact a conductor pattern (not shown) wired on the printed board 14. The connection terminal portion 18b and the printed circuit board 14 are sandwiched and held by the connection clip 21. For this reason, the connection terminal portion 13b is electrically connected to the conductor pattern of the printed board 14. That is, the second flexible printed board 13 and the printed board 14 are electrically connected.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, one of the connection terminals 13b of the second flexible printed circuit board 13 is connected to a board connection portion 11b formed on the bus bar laminate 11.
It is bent so that it contacts. The board connecting portion 11b is formed by bending a part of the bus bar constituting the bus bar laminated body 11 downward, and the bus bar is formed at a position corresponding to the copper foil pattern 13a of the connection terminal portion 13b. . The connection terminal portion 13b and the board connection portion 11b are sandwiched and held by the connection clip 21. For this reason, the connection terminal 13b and the board connection 11b are electrically connected. That is, the second flexible printed board 13 and the bus bar laminate 11 are electrically connected.

When changing the circuit configuration of the connector connection circuit in the electric connection box 1 of the present embodiment, for example, a third flexible printed circuit board 31 as shown in FIG. 2C is used. The third flexible printed circuit board 31 is the same as the second flexible printed circuit board 13.
It is formed in a size substantially equal to. On the third flexible printed board 31, a copper foil pattern 31a having a pattern shape different from that of the copper foil pattern 13a of the second flexible printed board 13 is formed. Further, two connection terminal portions 31b are formed on the third flexible printed board 31 at positions different from the connection terminal portions 13b of the second flexible printed board 13. The third flexible printed board 31 has connection pads 31c formed at locations corresponding to the connection pads 12c of the first flexible printed board 12, respectively. Note that the copper foil pattern 31a of the flexible printed board 31 is also 1
In order to be able to carry a current of 0 amps, the thickness is 100
μm and a width of about 2 mm. Note that the thickness of the copper foil pattern 31a may be changed to an arbitrary value within a range of 75 μm to 150 μm, preferably within a range of 90 to 120 μm.

The third flexible printed circuit board 31 thus constructed is replaced with the second flexible printed circuit board 13.
Used in place of That is, the third flexible printed board 31 is used as a sub-board, and the first flexible printed board 12 and the third flexible printed board 31 form a connector connection circuit. Thereby, the connector connection circuit has a different circuit configuration.

Next, how to assemble the electric junction box 11 configured as described above will be described. As shown in FIG.
The flat flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 13 which have been welded in advance are superimposed and accommodated in the lower case 3, and the connection terminal portions 12b and 13b are engaged with the positioning step portions 3a. When the upper case 2 is attached to the lower case 3 in this state, as shown in FIG. 8, each connection terminal portion 12b, 13b is bent downward by 90 ° along the bending line S at the base end thereof. The lower case 3 is sandwiched between the lower edge of the upper case 2 and the upper edge of the lower case 3. At this time, since the connection terminal portions 12b and 13b are engaged with the positioning step portions 3a formed on the lower case 3, there is no displacement in the horizontal direction. The connection terminal portions 12b and 13b are arranged so as to cover a part of the connector insertion opening 40a of each connector mounting portion 40. Since the thickness of the copper foil patterns 12a, 13a is set to 100 μm, each of the flexible printed circuit boards 12, 1
The third connection terminal portions 12b and 13b are held in a bent shape. Therefore, the tips of the copper foil patterns 12a and 13a do not separate from the vicinity of the connector insertion port 40a with the passage of time.

As shown in FIG. 9, each connection terminal portion 12b,
13b is sandwiched between the side walls of the two cases 2 and 3, and the connector mounting portion 4 is inserted through the connector insertion opening 40a.
The connector 41 is inserted into the “0”. Then, the connection terminal portions 12 on the first flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 13 are formed.
The distal ends of b and 13b are folded into the connector mounting section 40. As a result, the terminals exposed to the outside of the connector 41 and the copper foil patterns 12a, 13a provided on the connection terminal portions 12b, 13b make electrical contact.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The connection terminals 12b and 13b provided on a part of the flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 13
Of the connection terminals 12b and 13b are bent when the two cases 2 and 3 are fitted together,
It is arranged near the connector insertion port 40a of the connector mounting section 40. Then, each of the flexible printed boards 12, 1
3, the thickness of the copper foil patterns 12a and 13a is 75
It is in the range of 150 to 150 μm, preferably in the range of 90 to 120 μm, and the optimal value is 100 μm. Therefore, the connection terminals 12 of the flexible printed boards 12 and 13
Even if b and 13b are bent, it is difficult to return to the original shape (flat shape). For this reason, the distal ends of the connection terminal portions 12b and 13b on the substrates 12 and 13 are connected to the connector mounting portion 4
0 can be maintained in the vicinity of the connector insertion port 40a. Therefore, the connector 41 can be easily inserted into the connector mounting section 40.

(2) The thickness of the copper foil patterns 12a, 13a is in the range of 75 to 150 μm, preferably 90 to 120 μm.
In the range of μm, the optimal value is 100 μm. Therefore, a large current can flow through the copper foil patterns 12a and 13a, and the width of the copper foil patterns 12a and 13a can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the area of each of the flexible printed boards 12 and 13 from increasing.
As a result, an increase in the size of the main body case C can be prevented.
In addition, the corresponding connection pads 12c and 13c of the flexible printed boards 12 and 13 can be easily and reliably connected to each other by ultrasonic welding. Further, even if the connector 41 is repeatedly inserted into and removed from the connector mounting portion 40, the copper foil patterns 12a and 13a are not easily worn even when the terminals provided on the connector 41 are slid.

(3) A plurality of copper foil patterns 12a, 13 are formed with respect to the bending line S of the connection terminal portions 12b, 13b.
a are arranged along the direction orthogonal to each other, and the copper foil patterns 12a and 13a are arranged at equal intervals. Therefore, for example, the copper foil patterns 12a,
The connection terminal portions 12b and 13b can be bent more accurately along the bending line S than when the connection terminals 13a are arranged diagonally and at irregular intervals.

(4) The connection terminals 12b and 13b of the first flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 13 are engaged with the positioning step 3a formed on the upper edge of the lower case 3. Then, the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 are fitted together in the positioning state. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the first flexible printed circuit board 12 from being displaced in the horizontal direction, and it is possible to reliably bend the connection terminal portions 12b and 13b at predetermined positions. Therefore, the distal ends of the connection terminal portions 12b and 13b can be reliably arranged at positions where they face the connector insertion openings 40a of the connector mounting portions 40. In addition, since members for positioning the flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 13 in the lower case 3 can be eliminated, the number of components can be reduced, and
An increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

(5) Each flexible printed circuit board 1
The connection terminal portions 12b and 13b of the two cases 13
At the same time as the three are fitted together, they are clamped while being bent by their side walls. Therefore, when the connector 41 is inserted into the connector mounting section 40, the connection terminal sections 12b and 13b can be maintained in a positioned state. As a result, the connection terminal portions 12b and 13b can be reliably folded into the connector mounting portion 40, and the electrical connection between the connector 41 and each of the flexible printed boards 12 and 13 can be ensured.

(6) First Flexible Printed Circuit Board 1
The two connection terminal portions 12b are sandwiched between respective side walls on both sides of the two cases 2 and 3. In short, the first
Both sides of the flexible printed circuit board 12 are sandwiched between the side walls of the cases 2 and 3. Therefore, the clamping force on the first flexible printed circuit board 12 can be increased, so that the first flexible printed circuit board 12 can be further prevented from being displaced.

(7) First Flexible Printed Circuit Board 1
2, a connection terminal portion 12b protruding outside the main body case C is formed. The connection terminal portion 12b
When the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 are fitted to each other, they are arranged near the insertion opening of the connector mounting section 40.
Then, a connector 41 that is detachable from the connector mounting portion 40
Is inserted into the connector mounting portion 40,
The connection terminal portion 12b of the flexible printed circuit board 12 is folded so that electrical connection can be achieved. Therefore, the connector mounting portions 40 can be provided not only in the upper case 2 but also in the lower case 3, so that the connector mounting portions 4 and 40 are not concentrated only on the upper case 2. As a result, it is not necessary to secure an installation space for the connector mounting portion 40 in the upper case 2, so that the entire electric connection box 1 can be prevented from being enlarged.

(8) The connector insertion port 40 a of the connector mounting section 40 is formed integrally with the side wall of the lower case 3. Therefore, for example, when the connector mounting portion 40 is turned upward, the lower case 3 is inserted into the lower case 3 by the depth thereof, and the lower case 3 is lengthened in the up-down direction by the amount of the insertion. Therefore, the effect can be exerted when the size of the electrical junction box 1 in the vertical direction is limited due to differences in grades and specifications of vehicle types.

(9) Second Flexible Printed Circuit Board 13
Can be changed to the third flexible printed circuit board 31 to change the circuit configuration of the connector connection circuit. That is, the circuit configuration of the connector connection circuit can be changed by selectively using the second and third flexible printed boards 13 and 31. In other words, in order to change the circuit configuration, the bus bar laminate 11
In addition, there is no need to change the configuration of the first flexible printed circuit board 12. Therefore, the circuit configuration of the connector connection circuit can be easily changed.

Further, the connection pads 13c and 31c of the second and third flexible printed boards 13 and 31 are connected to the connection pads 12c of the first flexible printed board 12 respectively.
Is formed at a position corresponding to. Therefore, each connection pad 12c of the first flexible printed board 12 and each connection pad 13c of the second flexible printed board 13
Alternatively, the connection pads 31c of the third flexible printed board 31 can be easily associated with each other. Therefore,
The connection pads 12c, 13c or the connection pads 12
Electrical connection between c and 31c can be easily made.

(10) First Flexible Printed Circuit Board 1
The second connection pads 12c and the connection pads 13c, 31c of the second and third flexible printed circuit boards 31 are electrically connected by welding. Therefore, electrical connection between the two substrates 12, 13, 31 can be easily made.

(11) Each connection pad 12c, 13c, 3
1c denotes flexible printed circuit boards 12 and 1 respectively.
3, 3 and 31 are provided in a concentrated manner. Therefore, the second and third flexible printed circuit boards 13 and 31
Need not be formed larger than necessary. That is, the first
Each connection pad 12c of the flexible printed circuit board 12
Are formed discretely over the entire substrate 12, the second and third flexible printed boards 13, 31
Are formed in a size similar to that of the first flexible printed circuit board 12, and the connection pads 13c, 31
It is necessary to form c. However, in this embodiment, since each connection pad 12c is formed concentrated at a predetermined location, the second and third flexible printed boards 13, 3
1 can be formed smaller than the first flexible printed circuit board 12.

(12) Since the connection pads 12c and 13c are provided in a row, the connection pads 12c and 13c
Can be easily positioned with respect to the welding machine.
In particular, in the present embodiment, the connection pads 12c and 13c are formed in a state of being aligned on a straight line. For this reason, each connection pad 12c can easily correspond to each connection pad 13c or each connection pad 31c.

The embodiment of the present invention may be modified as follows. -In the said embodiment, the 2nd flexible printed circuit board 1
3 also has connection terminal portions 13b formed on both sides thereof,
The connection terminal portion 13b may be sandwiched between respective side walls on both sides of the two cases 2 and 3.

In the above embodiment, the connector mounting section 40
Is provided on the side wall of the lower case 3, but may be provided on the bottom surface of the lower case 3. In this case, the connector 41 is attached to and detached from the connector mounting section 40 along the vertical direction.

In the above embodiment, the connection terminals 12b of the first flexible printed circuit board 12 are bent by fitting the two cases 2 and 3, but the connection terminals 12b are bent at right angles in advance. May be.

In the above embodiment, the second and third connection pads 13c and 31c are provided at positions corresponding to all the connection pads 12c of the first flexible printed circuit board 12.
The flexible printed boards 13 and 31 are used as sub-boards. However, the sub-substrate is not limited to the second and third flexible printed boards 13 and 31, but may be applied as long as connection pads are provided at positions corresponding to at least a part of each connection pad 12c.

The fourth flexible printed circuit board 32 and the fifth flexible printed circuit board 33 provided with connection pads 32a and 33a at locations corresponding to a part of each connection pad 12c may be used as a sub-board. That is, a connector connection circuit may be configured by three or more flexible printed boards 12, 32, and 33.

Each flexible printed circuit board 12, 1
The 3 and 31 connection pads 12c, 13c and 31c do not necessarily have to be arranged on a straight line. By doing so, the degree of freedom of the pattern shape of each of the copper foil patterns 12a, 13a, 31a can be increased.

Each flexible printed circuit board 12, 1
3, 31 connection pads 12c, 13c, 31c
Not limited to ultrasonic welding, electrical connection may be performed by another welding method such as resistance welding or laser welding. Further, the two connection pads 12c, 13c, 31c are not limited to welding,
For example, connection may be made by soldering using cream solder. In this case, the connection pads 12c, 13
The connection circuit is changed depending on whether or not soldering is performed between c and 31c.

In the above embodiment, the copper foil pattern 1 of the first to third flexible printed circuit boards 12, 13, 31 is
2a, 13a and 31a are set so that a current of 10 amperes or less can be supplied. However, the copper foil patterns 12a,
The thickness and width of 13a and 31a may be changed so that a current of 10 amperes or more can be passed. Also, the maximum energizing current may be set to 10 amps or less.

In the above embodiment, a part of the connector connection circuit is constituted by the flexible printed boards 12, 13, 31. However, the entire connector connection circuit or a part of the fuse connection circuit or the relay connection circuit may be configured by the flexible printed circuit boards 12, 13, and 31.

In the above embodiment, each of the flexible printed boards 12 and 13 is arranged below the bus bar laminate 11. However, each flexible printed circuit board 1
2 and 13 may be arranged on the upper layer of the bus bar laminate 11. However, in this case, each flexible printed circuit board 1
Desirably, 2 and 13 are arranged in regions where the bus bar terminals 11a are not formed.

In the above embodiment, the upper case 2
Although the side is described as upward and the lower case 3 side as downward, when assembling the electric junction box 1 to a vehicle, for example, the upper case 2 may be located below and the lower case 3 may be located above. Further, the upper case 2 and the lower case 3 may be assembled to the vehicle such that the side walls of the lower case 3 face upward, that is, the electric connection box 1 is rotated by 90 °. That is, the electric connection box 1 is
May be assembled in any direction.

Next, in addition to the technical ideas described in the claims, the technical ideas grasped by the above-described embodiment will be listed below. (1) a first case including a plurality of types of electrical component mounting portions;
A second case attachable to the first case, a main body case is formed, and an electric connection box containing a bus bar laminate and a flexible printed circuit board in which bus bars and insulating plates are alternately laminated in the main body case; A flexible printed circuit board is housed in one of the first case and the second case, and the connection terminal portion provided on the flexible printed circuit board is bent and sandwiched between both side walls of both cases. The thickness of the copper foil pattern formed on the flexible printed board is 75 to 150
An electric junction box, which is set to μm. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the connection terminal portion from being restored to its original shape even when bent.

(2) In the above (1), one of the cases accommodating the flexible printed circuit board includes:
An electric connection box, wherein a positioning portion (positioning step portion 3a) for positioning the connection terminal portion at a predetermined position is formed.

(3) In the above (1) or (2), a connector mounting portion is provided on a side of the other case where the flexible printed circuit board is not accommodated, and a connector is inserted into the connector mounting portion. An electrical connection box, wherein the connection terminal portion of the flexible printed circuit board is folded into the connector mounting portion.

(4) A main case is constituted by a first case provided with a plurality of types of electric component mounting portions and a second case mountable to the first case, and bus bars and insulating plates are alternately provided in the main case. An electrical junction box containing a bus bar laminate and a flexible printed circuit board, wherein the thickness of a copper foil pattern formed on the printed circuit board is set to 75 to 150 μm.

[0061]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
When the flexible printed board is bent, an electric connection box which can be easily held in the shape can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an electric junction box used in an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a plan view of a base board housed in the electric junction box of the embodiment, FIG. 2B is a plan view of a sub-board housed in the electric junction box, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a modification.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary plan view of the electric junction box according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view when the upper case and the lower case are assembled.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view following the operation in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view following the operation in FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... electric junction box, 2 ... upper case (first case),
3 Lower case (second case), 3a Positioning step,
4: Connector mounting section (electrical component mounting section), 5: fuse mounting section (electrical component mounting section), 6: relay mounting section, 7: bus bar, 8: insulating plate, 11: bus bar laminate, 12b: connection terminal section , 13 ... second flexible printed circuit board, 14 ...
Printed circuit board, 40: connector mounting portion, 40a: connector insertion port, 41: connector S: bending line.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main body case comprising a first case having a plurality of types of electric component mounting portions and a second case mountable to the first case, wherein bus bars and insulating plates are alternately provided in the main body case. In the electric connection box containing the laminated bus bar laminate and the flexible printed circuit board, a connection terminal portion provided on a part of the flexible printed circuit board is projected outside the main body case, and the connection terminal portion is bent. It is arranged near the connector insertion opening of the connector mounting portion provided in the second case, the connection terminal portion is folded into the connector mounting portion, and the connection terminal portion and the connector inserted into the connector mounting portion are electrically connected. An electric connection box, wherein the thickness of the copper foil pattern formed on the flexible printed circuit board is set to 75 to 150 μm. 2. The copper foil pattern has a thickness of 90 to 120.
2. The electric junction box according to claim 1, wherein the electric connection box is set to μm. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of copper foil patterns are arranged along a direction substantially orthogonal to a bending line of the connection terminal portion, and the copper foil patterns are arranged at equal intervals. Item 3. The electric connection box according to item 1 or 2.