JP2002369340A - Electrical connection box and method for assembling the electrical connection box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve working characteristics for assembling and connection of an electrical connection box. SOLUTION: An external terminal housing section 13 for housing a connector 16, a fuse and/or a relay is provided on a side wall 11a of an electrical connection box 10, and a terminal penetration section 19a is provided in the horizontal direction on the inner face position thereof. A step-like terminal reception section 21a, which projects toward the inside of a case, is provided across an uppermost terminal penetration section 19d and a lowermost terminal penetration section 19. Terminals 16a of the connector 16, which project from the respective sections 19a into the inside of the case and a relay terminal connected to these external terminals, are connected on printed boards 25 stacked and arranged on the respective layers and on terminals 30 of the busbar terminals.

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 an automobile and a method of assembling the electric junction box, and more particularly to an improvement in a connection structure and a connection method between a connector, a fuse or / and a relay and an internal circuit. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electric connection box mounted on an automobile has been conventionally used as a method for connecting an external terminal of a connector, a fuse or / and a relay to an internal circuit as shown in FIG.
(B) and the like are employed. In the method shown in FIG. 12 (A), the tip of the bus bar 1 constituting the internal circuit is bent to form a male terminal 1a, which is fitted and connected to the female terminal 3a of the connector 3. In the method shown in FIG. 12B, the printed circuit board 2 constituting the internal circuit is connected to the terminal 3a on the connector side via the lead wire 4.

[0003]

Recently, with the rapid increase of electrical components mounted on automobiles, the number of circuits accommodated in an electrical junction box, that is, the number of stacked bus bars and printed circuit boards, has been rapidly increasing. The number of connector poles is increasing, and the number of components for forming a branch circuit with high density is also increasing. Therefore, the conventional connection method as described above has a problem that the connection structure is complicated, and the assembling work is difficult and more troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an improved connection structure between an external terminal of a connector, a fuse or / and a relay and an internal circuit so that the operation of assembling the internal circuit to a housing can be easily and easily performed. An object of the present invention is to provide an electric junction box that can be efficiently performed and a method for assembling the electric junction box.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an external terminal accommodating portion having an outer opening for accommodating a connector, a fuse or / and a relay on a case side wall of an electric connection box. At the inner surface of the case side wall where the terminal accommodating portion is provided, a terminal penetrating portion is horizontally provided at a position communicating with the terminal holes vertically arranged in parallel with the bottom surface of the external terminal accommodating portion, and the lowermost portion from the uppermost terminal penetrating portion A step-shaped terminal receiving portion protruding toward the inside of the case over the terminal penetrating portion, and a connector attached to the external terminal receiving portion,
A bus bar fixed to a printed circuit board or / and an insulating plate inside the case while projecting external terminals of the fuse and / or the relay or a relay terminal connected to these external terminals from the openings inside the case through the terminal penetration portions. Are stacked one above the other, and these printed circuit boards or /
The length of the insulating plate on which the bus bar is fixed is made different from the length of the terminal receiving portion on the side of the terminal receiving portion so as to correspond to the stepped terminal receiving portion. An electric connection box is provided, wherein the external terminal or the relay terminal connected to the external terminal is connected to the terminal.

That is, the external terminal and the terminal of the internal circuit are aligned in advance so that the internal and external terminals to be connected face each other, the connection position is on the side wall of the case, and the connection position is outward from the lower layer to the upper layer. The connection position is shifted stepwise so as to move. With this configuration, even if the printed circuit board and / or the bus bar constituting the internal circuit are multilayered, the printed circuit board and / or the bus bar can be easily housed in the case in order from the lowest layer, and when housed, the internal / external terminals to be connected are arranged horizontally. Since they face each other, the inner and outer terminals can be layered and arranged accurately and easily one by one, and the workability of assembling the electric connection box can be improved.

As a method of shifting the connection position between the upper and lower layers in a stepwise manner, the length of the external terminal is gradually changed between the upper and lower layers. And the internal terminal may be connected via a relay terminal, and the length of the relay terminal may be gradually increased from the lower layer to the upper layer.

It is preferable that the external terminal or the relay terminal connected to the external terminal is connected to the conductor and / or the bus bar of the printed board by soldering or welding.

Alternatively, one of the external terminal or the relay terminal connected to the external terminal and the conductor and / or the bus bar of the printed circuit board may be a male terminal and a female terminal may be attached to the other to connect the male and female. Good. Further, the other may be connected by pressure connection as a terminal provided with a pressure connection slot.
In this case, by attaching the terminal so that the female terminal opening for inserting the male terminal, or the above-mentioned press-contact slot faces upward, the printed circuit board or / and the bus bar stacked and housed inside the case are only strongly pressed from above, The connection of the inner and outer terminals of all layers in which the connection positions are shifted stepwise can be completed at a stretch, and the efficiency of the terminal connection and assembling work can be greatly improved.

[0010] The present invention also provides a method for assembling the electric junction box described above. That is, the printed circuit board or / and the insulating plate to which the bus bar is fixed, which is vertically stacked and accommodated in the case, is inserted into the case from the top in order from the lowermost layer, and after the insertion, the conductor or the bus bar of the printed circuit board is inserted. Connect to the above external terminal or relay terminal,
After that, after being sequentially inserted into the case, the connection with the external terminal or the relay terminal is repeated to connect the connector, the fuse or / and the relay, and the conductor or / and the bus bar of the printed circuit board which forms the internal circuit. Assembling the electrical junction box.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show an electric connection box 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The electric connection box 10 is provided inside a case composed of a lower case 11 and an upper case 12 from an internal circuit board C1. C4 is housed.

On one side wall 11a of the lower case 11,
As shown in FIG. 3, a connector housing 13 having an outer opening for housing a connector 16 is provided, and a fuse housing 1 having an outer opening for housing a fuse 17 on an upper surface of an upper case 12.
4 and a relay housing 15 having an outer opening for housing the relay 18
Are provided.

On the bottom surface of the connector accommodating portion 13, terminal holes 13a are vertically arranged in four stages.
In the inner surface position of 1a, four upper and lower terminal through-holes 19 are provided horizontally at positions communicating with these terminal holes 13a, and the inside of the case extends from the uppermost terminal through-hole 19 to the lowermost terminal through-hole 19. A step-like portion 21 protruding to the side is formed. The terminal penetrating portion 19 horizontally penetrates the stepped portion 21, and forms a case inner side opening 20 in each floor vertical surface of the stepped portion 21. Further, each floor horizontal surface of the step-like portion 21 constitutes a terminal receiving portion 21a that supports the connector-side terminal 16a that penetrates through the terminal penetration portion 19 and protrudes from the case inner side opening 20. The positions of the terminal holes 13a and the terminal penetrating portions 19 are designed in advance so as to face the positions of the internal terminals connected when the circuit boards C1 to C4 are accommodated in the lower case 11.

The internal circuit boards C1 to C4 stacked in four layers in the lower case 11 are all printed circuit boards 2
Consists of five. The printed boards 25 have different lengths. More specifically, from the lower stage to the upper stage, only the terminal receiving portion 21a is extended to correspond to the length of the terminal receiving portion 21a. The terminal portion of the printed circuit board 25 forms a conductor pattern according to the terminal pitch and width, or the terminal of the conductor has a welding terminal 3
0 is soldered or welded, and the welding terminal 30 is projected from the peripheral edge of the printed board 25 toward the terminal receiving portion 21a.

Next, a description will be given of an operation procedure for housing and assembling the internal circuit bodies C1 to C4 in the electric connection box 10.
First, as shown in FIG. 1, the connector 16 is inserted into the connector accommodating portion 13, the terminal 16 a on the connector side is penetrated through the terminal penetration portion 19 of each stage, and is protruded into the case from the opening 20 inside the case. deep. Next, the lowermost circuit board C1 is inserted into the lower case 11 from above, and the conductor pattern or terminal 30 of the terminal portion of the printed circuit board 25 and the connector side terminal 16a which are opposed to each other are connected by soldering on the terminal receiving portion 21a. I do. Next, the second-stage circuit board C2, the third-stage circuit board C3, and the uppermost-stage circuit board C4 are sequentially inserted, and for each layer,
The opposite terminals 30 of the printed circuit board 25 and the connector-side terminals 16a are connected by soldering on the terminal receiving portions 21a, and the four-layer internal circuit bodies C1 to C4 are connected to the connectors 16 as shown in FIG. I do. The connection may be made by welding instead of soldering.

In the electric junction box 10 assembled by the above method, the stepped portion 21 is formed so that the lower case 11 is greatly opened from the bottom to the top, and the internal circuit bodies C1 to C4 of each layer and the connector 16 are connected. Also, the connection position of the circuit bodies C1 to C is shifted from the inside to the outside, so that the accommodation and the connection of the internal and external terminals in the case are repeated one layer at a time in order from the lowermost circuit body C1.
4 can be easily stacked and arranged. In particular, the terminal pattern on the printed circuit board to be connected or the inner and outer terminals 30
In addition, the terminal arrangement is designed in advance so that the terminals 16a on the connector side face each other, so that it is not necessary to check the internal and external terminals to be connected during the operation, and the efficiency and accuracy of the assembly operation can be improved. it can.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a modification of the first embodiment, which is different from the first embodiment in that the connection of the inner and outer terminals is made not by soldering but by fitting of male and female terminals.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, a male terminal 31 is connected to a conductor terminal of a printed circuit board, and a terminal 16a on one connector side is a female terminal having a pair of spring pieces 32 at its tip. The male terminal 31 is inserted into the female terminal 32 and fitted and connected. At this time, the male terminal 31 is connected to the female terminal 32.
As shown in FIG.
By strongly pressing the printed circuit board 25 to which the substrate 2 is attached from above, the connection of the inner and outer terminals of each layer can be completed at a stretch. Note that, as shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 6a denotes a terminal provided with a press contact slot, which may be press contacted to the male terminal 31.

FIGS. 6 to 10 show an electric junction box 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The electric connection box 100
Accommodates internal circuit boards C1 to C4 inside a case composed of a lower case 110 and an upper case 120.

Adjacent side walls 1 of the lower case 110
10a and 110b, as shown in FIG.
61, 162 for accommodating connector housing 13 having an outer opening
1 and 132 are provided, respectively, and fuse housings 141 and 142 having openings on the outer surface for housing the fuses 171 and 172 are provided in two upper and lower stages on the side wall 110c facing the side wall 110b. On the upper surface of the upper case 120, the relay 1
And a relay housing 15 having an outer surface opening for housing the relay housing 8.

As shown in FIG. 8, a terminal hole 141 into which the fuse terminal 171 is inserted is formed in the fuse accommodating portion 141.
a are arranged in two upper and lower stages, and terminal holes 142a for similarly inserting the fuse terminals 172 are also arranged in two upper and lower stages in the fuse accommodating portion 142, and these terminal holes 141a are provided in the inner surface position of the side wall 110c. Terminal penetrating portions 22 are provided in the horizontal direction at positions where they communicate with each other, and step-like portions 24 projecting toward the inside of the case at the same pitch are formed between the uppermost terminal penetrating portion 22 and the lowermost terminal penetrating portion 22. . The terminal penetrating portion 22 horizontally penetrates the stepped portion 24, and forms a case inner side opening 23 on each floor vertical surface of the stepped portion 24. In addition, each floor horizontal surface of the step-like portion 24 is:
A terminal receiving portion 24a that supports the terminal that penetrates the terminal penetrating portion 22 and protrudes from the case inner side opening 23 is configured. The positions of the terminal holes 141a and the terminal penetrating portions 22 are designed in advance so as to be opposed to the positions of the internal terminals to be connected when the circuit boards C1 to C4 are accommodated in the lower case 110.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the shape of the connector accommodating portion 131 and the structures of the terminal penetrating portion, the case inner side opening, the stepped portion, and the terminal receiving portion formed at the inner surface positions of the side walls 110a and 110b. As described above, the terminal penetrating portion 19, the case inner side opening 20, the step-like portion 2 of the first embodiment,
1, since it is the same as the terminal receiving portion 21a, the same reference numerals are given and the description is omitted. In the present embodiment, the side wall 11
Although the height of the step-shaped portion 21 of Oa and the height of the step-shaped portion 21 of the side wall 110b are set to be the same, they are not necessarily completely the same, and the difference in height can be absorbed by the terminal shape.

Each of the internal circuit boards C1 to C4 stacked in four layers in the lower case 110 has a configuration in which a bus bar 27 is fixed to an insulating plate 26. The insulating plate 26 has different vertical and horizontal dimensions in each layer. More specifically, from the lower stage to the upper stage, the terminal receiving portions 21a and 24a located in three directions are respectively extended in the three directions corresponding to the lengths of the terminal receiving portions 21a and 24a. The terminal of the bus bar 27 is finished in a male shape to form a male terminal 33, and the male terminal 33 is connected to the insulating plate 26.
From the peripheral edge of each of the side walls 110a to 110c.

In the electric connection box 100, the internal circuit bodies C1
An operation procedure for housing and assembling the C4 will be described. First, relay terminals 35 having different lengths corresponding to the respective lengths of the terminal penetration portions 19 and 22 are prepared. The relay terminal 35 is
As shown in FIG. 9, press contact slots 36 are formed at both ends. A press-contact slot 36 at one end of the relay terminal 35
At this time, the terminal of the connector and the terminal of the fuse are pressure-connected. At this time, the longest relay terminal 35 is pressure-connected to the lowermost connector terminal 161a and the fuse terminal 171. Press-connect to each terminal.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the connectors 161 and 162 to which the relay terminal 35 is attached are inserted into the connector housings 131 and 132, and the fuses 171 and 172 are inserted into the fuse housings 141 and 142, respectively. Then, the relay terminal 35 is made to penetrate through the terminal penetration portions 19 and 22 so as to protrude into the case from the case inside openings 20 and 23.
Next, the lowermost circuit board C1 is inserted into the lower case 110 from above, and the terminals 33 of the bus bar 27 and the relay terminals 35, which are opposed to each other in three directions, are pressed and connected on the terminal receiving portion 21a. The connectors 161 and 162 and the fuse 171 are connected. Next, the relay terminal 35
, A second-stage circuit board C2, a third-stage circuit board C3, and a top-level circuit board C4 are sequentially inserted, and a bus bar terminal 33 and a relay terminal that are opposed to each other in three directions for each layer. 35 are pressed into contact with the terminal receiving portions 21a and 24a, and as shown in FIG.
4 to the connectors 161, 162 and the fuses 171, 1
72.

As in the electric connection box 110 having the above-described structure, connector housings 131 and 132 are provided on a plurality of side surfaces of the electric connection box.
Even if the fuses 141 and 142 are provided, the step-like portions 21 and 24 are formed at the inner surface positions of the side walls 110a to 110c, so that the insertion and the connection work are sequentially performed from the lowermost circuit body, so that it is easy and easy. Stacking can be efficiently performed. In addition, since the relay terminal 35 is a general-purpose product and has a variety of sizes, it can easily and at low cost respond to design changes.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11, the tip of the printed circuit board 25 is inserted into the lower surface of the tip of the terminal 16 on the connector side.
The conductor on the upper surface of the printed board 25 and the terminal 16a may be soldered. Further, a configuration may be adopted in which all of the connector, the fuse, and the relay are attached to the side wall.

[0029]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the circuit bodies arranged at the lowermost stage are inserted into the case one layer at a time in order from the circuit body arranged at the lowermost stage, and the alignment is performed from the design stage. Since the upper and lower circuits can be sequentially stacked and assembly and connection can be completed while connecting the opposing inner and outer terminals, workability and accuracy of the previously difficult and complicated electrical junction box assembly work have been improved. Can be done.

Also, a step-like portion is provided at the inner surface position of the case side wall corresponding to the connection position of the inner and outer terminals, and the connection position is shifted inward from the upper stage to the lower stage. By strongly pressing the internal circuit body from above, the internal and external terminals of all layers can be fitted at a stretch to complete the connection.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded cross-sectional view of a main part of an electric junction box according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state where a circuit body is housed in the electric junction box shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the electric junction box shown in FIG.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing modified examples of a connection portion between terminals.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a connection operation between an internal circuit in all layers and external terminals by the terminal connection structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a lower case of the electric junction box according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII showing a state in which internal circuits are stacked on the lower case shown in FIG. 6;

8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII, showing a state in which internal circuits are stacked on the lower case shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a main part showing the inside / outside terminal connection structure shown in FIGS. 7 and 8;

FIG. 10 is an overall perspective view of an electric junction box according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing another modification.

12A, 12B, and 12C are diagrams of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C1 to C4 Internal circuit body 10, 100 Electrical connection box 11, 110 Lower case 13 Connector housing 14 Fuse housing 16 Connector 16a Connector terminal 17 Fuse 171 Fuse terminal 19 Terminal penetration portion 21, 24 Stepped portion 21a, 24a Terminal Receiving part 25 Printed circuit board 27 Bus bar 35 Relay terminal

Claims (4)

[Claims] An external terminal accommodating portion having an external opening for accommodating a connector, a fuse and / or a relay is provided on a case side wall of an electric connection box, and the external terminal is provided on an inner surface position of the case side wall provided with the external terminal accommodating portion. A terminal penetrating portion is provided horizontally at a position communicating with the terminal holes vertically arranged on the bottom surface of the housing portion, and the terminal penetrating portion projects from the uppermost terminal penetrating portion to the lowermost terminal penetrating portion toward the inside of the case, thereby forming a stepped terminal. A receiving portion is provided, and the external terminal of the connector, the fuse or / and the relay attached to the external terminal receiving portion, or the relay terminal connected to these external terminals is projected from the opening inside the case of each of the terminal penetration portions. A bus bar fixed on a printed circuit board or / and an insulating plate is vertically stacked inside, and these printed circuit boards and / or bus bars are The length of the insulating plate on the side of the terminal receiving portion is made different from the length of the terminal receiving portion in correspondence with the stepped terminal receiving portion, and the terminal penetrating portion of the terminal receiving portion is provided on a conductor or / and a bus bar of a printed circuit board. An electric connection box, wherein the external terminal or a relay terminal connected to the external terminal is connected to the external terminal. 2. The printed wiring board according to claim 1, wherein the external terminal or the relay terminal connected to the external terminal is connected to a conductor and / or a bus bar of a printed circuit board by soldering or welding.
Electrical connection box as described in. 3. The external terminal or a relay terminal connected to the external terminal and a conductor or / and a bus bar of a printed circuit board, one of which is a male terminal, and the other of which is provided with a female terminal, and the female and male are fitted and connected. 2. The electric junction box according to claim 1, wherein the other is press-connected to a terminal provided with a press-contact slot. 4. The method for assembling an electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein the printed circuit board and / or the bus bar, which are vertically stacked and housed in the case, are fixed. The insulating plate is inserted into the case from the top in order from the lowermost layer, and after the insertion, the conductor or the bus bar of the printed circuit board is connected to the external terminal or the relay terminal. Alternatively, a method of assembling an electric connection box in which a connector, a fuse or / and a relay is connected to a conductor or / and a bus bar of the printed circuit board serving as an internal circuit by repeating connection with a relay terminal.