JP2002199550A - Junction box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve workability for connecting a connector module and a fuse module disposed in a junction box. SOLUTION: A connector connecting circuit part and a fuse connecting circuit part are divided to provide separately a connector module 11 and a fuse module 12. A board 22 on a protruding side of welded tabs 21b on the connector side of the connector module 11 is provided with a correcting frame 70 in which fitting grooves 70a for internally fitting bases of the tabs 21b are formed in parallel. A board 32 on a protruding side of welded tabs 33b, 34b on a fuse side of the fuse module 12 is provided with guide ribs 80 interposed between adjacent welded tabs. The guide ribs 80 are inserted between adjacent tabs 21b of the connector module 11 to be placed on the upper surface of the correcting frame 70 to be positioned and held.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a junction box connected to a wire harness for an automobile, and more particularly, to a junction box in a junction box.
In the arrangement of the fuse module and the relay module, the welding tab of the bus bar of each module is positioned and held at a regular position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the rapid increase of electric components mounted on automobiles, the number of circuits accommodated in a junction box has rapidly increased. As a result, it takes a lot of time and labor to assemble.

In order to reduce the thickness of the junction box, easily cope with circuit changes, and to reduce the number of assembling steps, the applicant of the present application has previously filed a patent application for a junction box 1 as shown in FIG. 2000-11
2691.

The junction box 1 includes a connector connection circuit section (base circuit section), a fuse connection circuit section,
By dividing the relay connection circuit section, connector module 2,
A fuse module 3 and a relay module 4 are separately provided, and these modules 2, 3, and 4 are incorporated in a case including a lower case 5 and an upper case 6. Each of the modules 2, 3, and 4 is an insulating substrate 2
The bus bars 2b, 3b, and 4b are crimped and fixed on the base plates a, 3a, and 4a, and the bus bars 2b, 3b, and 4b project from the peripheral edges of the insulating substrates 2a, 3a, and 4a and are connected to each other by welding. .

[0005] As described above, the junction box is
When divided into a connector module, a fuse module, and a relay module, the connector connection circuit, the fuse connection circuit, and the relay connection circuit are divided, so that the tabs of the bus bar do not overlap. Can be reduced in thickness. 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. Furthermore, if there is a specification change in each connector circuit, fuse circuit, and relay circuit, only the corresponding module needs to be changed, and it is possible to easily cope with the specification change and easily cope with the circuit change. .

[0006]

As described above, when the circuit in the junction box is divided into a connector connection circuit, a fuse connection circuit, and a relay connection circuit to be modularized, there is a great merit as described above. . However, the welding tabs at the tips of the bus bars 2b, 3b, 4b, which are the joints between the modules 2, 3, 4, are linearly juxtaposed at a very narrow pitch. In such a case, there is a problem that misalignment is likely to occur and assembly workability at the time of joining the modules is poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the workability of assembling each module in a junction box.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a connector connection circuit section and a fuse connection circuit section provided in a junction box are divided and provided separately as a connector module and a fuse module. In the junction box, the connector module is configured by laminating a circuit board having a bus bar fixed to an insulating plate, and the fuse module is configured to have a bus bar connected to each terminal of a fuse fixed to an insulating substrate. Welding tabs are provided at the ends of the bus bars of the modules, and these welding tabs are juxtaposed on a straight line at a distance from one side of each module and projected.
By joining and welding these welding tabs, the bus bars between the modules are connected, and the board on the projecting side of the welding tab of the connector module has a fitting groove for internally fitting the base of each welding tab. While the straightening frame formed in parallel is provided, a guide rib interposed between adjacent welding tabs is provided on the substrate on the projecting side of the welding tab of the fuse module, and the guide rib is provided between adjacent welding tabs of the connector module. A junction box, wherein the welding tab of the connector module and the welding tab of the fuse module are positioned and held in a joined state. ing.

According to the above configuration, since the base of the welding tab of the connector module is fitted in the fitting groove of the correction frame, the welding tab projects linearly in parallel with an interval from one side of the connector module. The welding tab can be reliably positioned and held at the proper position. On the other hand, in the fuse module, similarly, the welding tabs that are arranged in a straight line at intervals are positioned at regular positions by interposing guide ribs provided on the substrate between the welding tabs. Furthermore, when joining the fuse module to the connector module, the guide ribs of the fuse module are inserted between the welding tabs of the connector module, so that the welding tabs to be joined are surely opposed to each other and positioned in a proper joining state. can do.

Further, the junction box has a structure in which a relay connection circuit portion is further divided to separately provide a relay module, and the relay module has a structure in which a bus bar connected to each terminal of the relay is fixed to an insulating substrate.
A welding tab is provided at the end of the bus bar of the relay module, and the welding tabs are juxtaposed in a straight line at a distance from one side of the relay module so as to protrude. Arranged so as to protrude in parallel on a straight line, the board on the projecting side of the welding tab of the relay module is provided with a straightening frame formed in parallel with a fitting groove for internally fitting the base of each welding tab, The guide rib of the fuse module is inserted between the adjacent welding tabs of the relay module and fixed on the upper surface of the correction frame. In this state, the welding tab of the relay module and the welding tab of the fuse module are positioned and held in a joined state. May be welded.

With this configuration, the relay module separately provided can be connected to the welding tab of the fuse module in a state where the welding tab is positioned at the proper position by the correction frame. When connecting, the welding tabs of the relay module are arranged on the same straight line as the welding tabs of the connector module, so the welding tabs of the relay module are also welded continuously when welding the welding tabs of the connector module and the fuse module. Can work.

More specifically, the tip of the guide rib is tapered to be tapered. Since a large number of welding tabs to be joined are arranged in parallel, when inserting the guide ribs between the welding tabs, if there is a slight deviation, the tip of the guide rib abuts the edge of the welding tab, making it difficult to insert. Since the guide rib can be inserted while being corrected by the taper, the operation of inserting the guide rib can be performed smoothly.

Further, the connector module is disposed in the lower case and the upper case, and the fuse module is disposed orthogonally to the connector module and provided on one side between peripheral walls of the lower case and the upper case. And the fuse modules are arranged in two rows in parallel and the fuses are mounted from below.

In the above configuration, each module can be compactly housed in the case, and can be operated from below when replacing the fuse, so that maintenance workability can be improved.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of components constituting a junction box 10 connected to an automobile wire harness, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an assembled state.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a connector module;
Is a fuse module, 13 is a relay module, 14
Is a lower case, 15 is an upper case, and 16 is an electronic control unit.

In the junction box 10, a relay module 13, a connector module 11, and an electronic control unit 16 are sequentially arranged in a vertical direction between a rectangular lower case 14 vertically arranged vertically and an upper case 15. It is assembled. A fuse module accommodating portion 15a is provided on the lower surface side between the peripheral walls of the lower case 14 and the upper case 15, and the fuse module 12 is accommodated in the fuse module accommodating portion 15a in a horizontal direction. 11 is perpendicular to the arrangement direction. The fuse 30 is attached to the fuse module 12 so that it can be inserted and removed from below the outside. The relay 40 attached to the side of the relay module 13 is provided with an opening 14 b provided on the side of the lower case 14.
From the outside. Further, on the side surface of the lower case 14, a plurality of connector accommodating portions 14a connected to the connector module 11 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 5, the connector module 11 includes a bus bar 21 for connector connection formed by punching a single conductive plate to form a circuit of a required shape.
It is configured by laminating a plurality of circuit boards 23 fixed to 2. The outermost insulating substrate 22 is provided with a connector-side connection tab 21c protruding from the bus bar 21 of each circuit board 23 to the lower case 14 side.
As shown in FIG. 2, the connector is projected into a connector accommodating portion 14 a provided in the lower case 14. A connector (not shown) connected to the distal end of the wire harness is fitted into the connector accommodating portion 14a, so that terminals in each connector are connected to the connector-side connection tab 21c.

On the lower side of the connector module 11 facing the fuse module 12, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of connectors are formed by projecting the ends of the bus bar 21 in an L-shape toward both left and right sides. The side welding tabs 21b are arranged in a concentrated manner by juxtaposing them on a straight line. As shown in FIG. 6A, fitting grooves 70 for internally fitting the bases of the connector-side welding tabs 21b are provided on both sides of the insulating plate 22 on the projecting side of the connector-side welding tabs 21b in the connector module 11.
A correction frame 70 is formed in parallel with a in accordance with the pitch of the connector-side welding tab 21b. The connector-side welding tabs 21b are aligned at a regular pitch by the straightening frame 70 in a state where the distal end portions, which are welding points, are projected.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a relay-side intermediate tab 1 protruding from a relay module 13 described later is provided at a position near the center of the connector module 11.
An elongated opening 11a for receiving the connector 3a is formed, and a connector-side intermediate tab 21a connected to the relay-side intermediate tab 13a is moved along an edge of the opening 11a so that an end of a required bus bar 21 is raised. It protrudes by standing up.

As shown in FIG. 8, the fuse module 12 horizontally arranged adjacent to the lower side of the connector module 11 has a large number of
The insulating substrates 32 are arranged side by side in the (R) direction and are formed in two rows in the upper and lower directions. Inside the insulating substrate 32,
As shown in FIG. 9 (B), a pair of press-contact terminals 33 on the power supply side and the load side protruding into the respective fuse accommodating portions 31.
busbars 33, 3 having a
4 is molded (FIGS. 5, 10 (A) and 10 (B)).
These bus bars 33 and 34 are bent and formed so that the other ends are bent in an L-shape toward the left and right sides of the insulating substrate 32.
Each of them is projected and arranged in parallel on a straight line so as to face the connector-side welding tab 21b of the connector module 11,
The tabs at each end are welding side welding tabs 33b and 34b.

The fuse-side welding tabs 33b and 34b are bent further stepwise toward the connector module 11 at the tip end, so that the fuse-side welding tabs 3 serving as welding points are formed.
Only 3b and 34b are projected from both sides of the insulating substrate 32. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the adjacent fuse-side welding tabs 33 b, 3 b are formed on the insulating substrate 32 on the projecting side of the fuse-side welding tabs 33 b, 34 b.
The guide ribs 80 interposed between the respective parts 4b protrude. The protruding height of the guide rib 80 is at least twice as large as the thickness of each of the fuse-side welding tabs 33b and 34b. When the connector module 11 and the fuse module 12 are joined, the guide rib 80 is connected to each of the connector-side welding tabs 21b.
It is possible to intervene between them. Further, a tapered portion 80a that is tapered at the tip end on the adjacent side of each guide rib 80
Is formed so that the guide can be guided when the guide rib 80 is inserted between the connector-side welding tabs 21b.

When connecting the connector module 11 and the fuse module 12, the two modules 11 and 12 are provided with a locking structure for temporarily fixing the modules 11 and 12 in a mutually orthogonally arranged state, as shown in FIG. That is, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9 (B), a wide connecting portion 22a is integrally protruded on one side of the laminated edge of the insulating substrate 22 from which the connector-side welding tab 21b is protruded in the connector module 11, while FIGS. As shown in (), a through-hole 32a is formed in the center width direction of the insulating substrate 32 of the fuse module 12 so that the coupling portion 22a can be fitted therein. Further, a slit 22b is formed near the outer surface on both sides of the connecting portion 22a toward the projecting direction of the connecting portion 22a.
The portion separated in the width direction by b is a flexible locking projection 22c. As shown in FIG. 12 (A), on the outer surface of the protruding end portion of the locking projection 22c, there is provided a guide portion 22c1 projecting obliquely outward from the distal end portion toward the base portion, and the guide portion. A recessed locking step 22c2 is formed continuously from 22c1, and the locking step 22c2 is locked to the periphery of the through hole 32a. In addition, a chamfered portion 22a1 for allowing the locking protrusion 22c to bend inward is formed at the tip of the opposing surface of the coupling portion 22a separated via the slit 22b.

On the other hand, the inner peripheral surfaces of both ends of the through-hole 32a formed in the insulating substrate 32 of the fuse module 12 are formed so as to expand toward the connector module 11 in opposition to the guide portions 22c1 of the locking projections 22c. Tapered part 32a1
Is formed.

The fuse module 12 has the configuration shown in FIG.
(A) As shown in (B), the fuse 30 is inserted into each fuse accommodating portion 31, and the insulation holding portion 30c of the fuse 30 is inserted.
A pair of terminals 30a and 30b projecting in parallel from the terminal are press-fitted into the press-contact terminals 33a and 34a to be detachably press-connected. Further, a cover 35 for preventing the fuse 30 from dropping is mounted on the outer wall of the fuse housing 31.

The relay module 13 is shown in FIGS.
1 (A) and (B), the connector module 11
And a bus bar 41 is molded and fixed in an insulating substrate 42, and a press contact terminal 41 a for connecting to a terminal 40 a of the relay 40 is mounted on the substrate 42. It protrudes outward from. One end of the bus bar 41 connected to the terminal 40a of the relay 40 is bent so as to protrude laterally from one side of the upper end of the substrate 42 to form a relay-side intermediate tab 13a facing the connector-side intermediate tab 21a. The tip of the other end of the bus bar 41 is bent toward the L-shape from one side of the lower end of the insulating substrate 42 as a relay-side welding tab 40b, and is projected in parallel on a straight line at intervals.
These relay-side welding tabs 40b are arranged to face the fuse-side welding tabs 33b and 34b of the fuse module 12. In addition, similarly to the connector module 11, the insulating substrate 42 on the protruding side of the relay-side welding tab 40b is provided with a straightening frame 90 in which a plurality of fitting grooves 90a for internally fitting the bases of the respective relay-side welding tabs 40b are arranged. ing.

The relay side welding tab 40b of the relay module 13 is welded to the fuse side welding tab 33b of the fuse module 12.
That is, the relay module 13 is connected to the connector module 11
As shown in FIG. 13, the relay-side welding tab 40b is disposed at an intermediate portion or an end of the connector module 11 where the connector-side welding tabs 21b are not arranged. , Are arranged in parallel on the same straight line as the connector-side welding tab 21b. Thus, the relay side welding tab 40b and the fuse side welding tab 33b are directly opposed and welded.

As shown in FIG. 4, the electronic control unit 16 has an electronic component (not shown) mounted on one side of a substrate 50, and is held by a column 51 projecting from a side surface of the connector module 11. The vertical side surface of the upper case 15 and the connector module 11 are fixed by screws 52. In this state, the electronic component is located in the space S between the board 50 and the upper case 15. Also,
A conductor printed on the substrate 50 is arranged side by side at one edge, and the relay terminal 53 in the form of a vertical bus bar in the horizontal direction in the figure and the conductor are directly connected via an ECU connector or without a connector. The end of the relay terminal 53 is connected to the bus bar 21 of the connector module 11.

In order to assemble the junction box 10 comprising the above components, as described above, the relay module 13, the connector module 11, the electronic control unit 1
6 are placed one on top of another, and the conductor of the electronic control unit 16 is connected to the bus bar 21 of the connector module 11 via the relay terminal 53. Then, with the connector module 11 and the relay module 13 overlapping,
The relay-side intermediate tab 13a of the relay module 13 protruding from the opening 11a of the connector module 11 and the connector-side connection tab 21c opposed thereto are joined by welding.

Next, when connecting the connector module 11 and the fuse module 12 in an orthogonal arrangement, first,
As shown in FIG. 12A, the fuse module 12 is pressed so that the connecting portion 22 a protruding from one side of the laminated edge of the connector module 11 is inserted into the through hole 32 a of the fuse module 12. Then, FIG.
As shown in (B), the guide portions 22c1 of the locking projections 22c formed at both ends of the coupling portion 22a abut against the tapered portion 32a1 of the through hole 32a, and are elastically deformed inward. When the fuse module 12 is further pushed in, as shown in FIG. 11C, when the through hole 32a has passed over the guide portion 22c1 of the locking projection 22c, the locking projection 22c is elastically restored, and the through hole 32a is returned. Is fitted to and locked in the locking step 22c2.

When the connector module 11 and the fuse module 12 are connected in an orthogonal arrangement as described above, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the guide rib 80 of the fuse module 12 By being inserted between the corresponding connector-side welding tabs 21b, the fuse-side welding tabs 33b and 34b and the connector-side welding tab 21b are reliably positioned and joined.
When the guide rib 80 is inserted between the connector-side welding tabs 21b, the tapered portion 8 at the tip of the guide rib 80 is used.
0a allows a smooth joining operation. In this way, as shown in FIG. 14, the connector module 11 and the fuse module 12 are temporarily fixed in an orthogonal arrangement state, and in this state, the connector side welding tab 21b of the connector module 11 and the corresponding fuse module 12 The fuse-side welding tabs 33b and 34b are in contact with each other. Also, the relay side welding tab 4 of the relay module 13 is used.
0b is also in a state of contacting and contacting a required portion of the fuse-side welding tab 33b. Then, the connector-side welding tab 21b or / relay-side welding tab 40b and the fuse-side welding tab 33b arranged in parallel to one another are continuously welded by a welding machine, and subsequently, the connector module in which the fuse module 12 and the relay module 13 are integrated. The welding operation between the modules is completed by inverting 11 and welding the fuse side welding tab 34b on the opposite side in the same manner.

As described above, when the connector module 11, the fuse module 12, and the relay module 13 are connected, the connector side welding tab 21b, the fuse side welding tab 33b, and the relay side welding tab 40b to be joined are connected to one side of the fuse module 12 side. Since they are arranged in parallel on a straight line, the welding operation can be performed efficiently.
After the welding operation is completed, the connector module 11, the fuse module 12, and the relay module 1 joined to each other between the lower case 14 and the upper case 15.
3 and the electronic control unit 16 are arranged and fixed. Further, the fuse 30 is inserted into the fuse accommodating portion 31 of the fuse module 12, and the cover 35 is attached and locked.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the junction box of the present invention, when the fuse module is connected to the connector module or the relay module, the connector-side welding tab and the relay-side welding tab are formed by the straightening frame. Since the fuse-side welding tab is positioned at the regular position by the guide rib while being positioned at the regular position, deformation of each welding tab can be prevented. In welding between the welding tabs, the welding tabs are reliably positioned and held in a state of being opposed to each other, so that the assembling workability in the welding process can be greatly improved.

[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 side view of the outer side of a lower case.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the outside of the upper case.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a state where the junction box is assembled.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a connector module, a fuse module, and a relay module are separated.

6A is a perspective view of a main part showing a state before the correction frame of the connector module and the guide rib of the fuse module are joined, and FIG. 6B is a partially enlarged view of the guide rib.

FIG. 7A is a plan view of a lower portion of the connector module,
(B) is a bottom view.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the fuse module as viewed from the bottom side in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9A is a bottom view of the fuse module,
(B) is an XX sectional view, and (C) is a YY sectional view.

10A is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a fuse module, and FIG. 10B is a schematic exploded perspective view of a fuse module mounting portion.

11A is a partial cross-sectional view showing an assembled state of a relay module, and FIG. 11B is a schematic view showing a connected state of a relay and a bus bar in the relay module.

12A to 12C are enlarged views of a main part showing a process of connecting the connector module and the relay module.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing a state where the connector module, the fuse module, and the relay module are joined.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a main part showing a connection state of a correction frame of the connector module and a guide rib of the fuse module.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional junction box.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Junction box 11 Connector module 12 Fuse module 13 Relay module 14 Lower case 14a Connector accommodating part 15 Upper case 15a Fuse module accommodating part 21 Bus bar 21b Connector side welding tab 22 Insulating board 22a Coupling part 23 Circuit board 30 Fuse 31 Fuse accommodation part 32 Insulation Substrates 33, 34 Busbars 33b, 34b Fuse-side welding tab 40 Relay 40b Relay-side welding tab 41 Busbar 42 Insulating substrate 70 Straightening frame 70a Fitting groove 80 Guide rib 80a Tapered portion 90 Straightening frame 90a Fitting groove

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yukiki Saito 1-14 Nishisuehiro-cho, Yokkaichi-shi, Mie F-term in Sumitomo Wiring Systems Co., Ltd. 5E085 BB06 CC03 DD03 EE02 JJ38 5G361 BA04 BB01

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A junction box in which a connector connection circuit section and a fuse connection circuit section provided in a junction box are divided and separately provided as a connector module and a fuse module, and the circuits of these modules are connected to each other. A circuit board in which a bus bar is fixed to an insulating plate is laminated, and the fuse module is configured such that a bus bar connected to each terminal of a fuse is fixed to an insulating substrate.A welding tab is provided at a tip of the bus bar of each module,
These welding tabs are spaced apart from one side of each module and juxtaposed in a straight line to protrude, and the welding tabs are joined and welded to connect the bus bars between the modules. The board on the projecting side of the tab is provided with a straightening frame in which fitting grooves for internally fitting the bases of the welding tabs are formed in parallel, while the board on the projecting side of the welding tab of the fuse module is adjacent to the board. Providing guide ribs interposed between the welding tabs, inserting the guide ribs between adjacent welding tabs of the connector module and fixing the guide ribs on the upper surface of the correction frame, and welding the welding tabs of the connector module and the fuse module in this state. A junction box, wherein a tab and a tab are positioned and held in a joined state. 2. The junction box according to claim 1, wherein the relay connection circuit section is further divided to separately provide a relay module, and the relay module has a configuration in which a bus bar connected to each terminal of the relay is fixed to an insulating substrate. A welding tab is provided at the end of the bus bar of the module, and the welding tabs are juxtaposed on a straight line at an interval from one side of the relay module and protruded.The welding tabs of these relay modules are aligned with the welding tab of the connector module. The relay module is arranged so as to protrude in parallel.
A straightening frame in which fitting grooves for internally fitting the bases of the respective welding tabs are formed is provided, and guide ribs of the fuse module are inserted between welding tabs adjacent to the relay module and fixed on the upper face of the straightening frame. In the state, the welding tab of the relay module,
The junction box according to claim 1, wherein the welding tab is positioned and held in a joined state with the welding tab of the fuse module and welded. 3. The junction box according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the guide rib is tapered to be tapered. 4. A fuse module accommodating portion provided on one side between peripheral walls of the lower case and the upper case so that the connector module is disposed in the lower case and the upper case, and the fuse module is disposed orthogonal to the connector module. The junction box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fuse modules are arranged in parallel, and the fuse modules are arranged in parallel in two rows so that the fuses are mounted from below.