JP2004072849A - Cover installation or removal structure of electric connection box - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify the cover installation or removal work of an electric connection box and make the work space small. <P>SOLUTION: A cover 20 is shaped to block an opening 14 abutting on the end face of the peripheral frame 13 of the opening 14 of the case body 14, and the periphery of a lock 22 projected inward is projected in V shape. Also it is provided with a hollow to allow shrinkage, besides a hold 21 is projected at the outside of the cover 20, and the lock 22 is inserted and locked into a securing hole 16 bored in the case body 11. For removal, the user can remove the cover 20 blocking the above opening 14 while unlocking the lock 22 by holding and pulling the hold 21 vertically to the opening 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a structure for attaching and detaching a cover of an electric connection box mounted on an automobile, and more particularly, it is suitably used for a fuse box arranged inside an instrument panel, and easily attaches and detaches a cover of a fuse box when replacing a fuse. To make it possible.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The cover of the electric connection box mounted on the automobile is, for example, an electric connection box 1 composed of a fuse box shown in FIG. 7A, a peripheral wall 2 a surrounding the opening 4 of the fuse housing portion of the case body 2, and a peripheral wall of the cover 5. The cover 5a is externally fitted, and the locked portion 2b provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the cover 5 is locked and attached to the locked portion 2b provided at a position facing the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the case body. On the peripheral wall 5a of the cover 5, a lock release portion 5c having a finger insertion recess 5d provided on the outer surface facing one lock portion 5b is provided in a protruding manner.
[0003]
It is necessary to remove the cover 5 from the case body 2 at the time of fuse replacement or maintenance. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7B, put a finger on the finger insertion recess 5d of the unlocking portion 5c, and about 15 °. Pushing outward to release the lock, tilting one side of the peripheral wall 5a outward, and in this state, moving the other side in the horizontal direction and moving downward to release the lock on the other side, FIG. As shown in (C), the cover 5 is removed obliquely downward with respect to the case body 2.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the case of the above structure, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 7C, a finger is placed on the unlocking portion 5c around the cover 5, especially around the unlocking portion 5c, in order to remove the cover 5. It is necessary to secure a work space that can be pulled down with a hook. Further, since the cover 5 has a structure to be locked on the outer surface of the peripheral wall 2a of the fuse accommodating portion, the cover 5 has a size slightly larger than the peripheral wall 2a of the fuse accommodating portion. Large space is required.
However, with the recent increase in the performance of automobiles, the number of in-vehicle components has become extremely large, and there is a great demand for high-density and effective utilization of limited space. Therefore, there is a problem in securing a large space for the cover removing operation.
[0005]
In addition, since the work of removing the cover 5 at the time of maintenance is often performed at a place where it cannot be seen, the position of the finger insertion recess 5d of the lock release part 5c is not known, and the work of removing the cover 5 is often not easy. .
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a cover for an electric connection box, which can easily perform a work of removing a cover at the time of maintenance and the like, can also easily perform an installation work, and can reduce the work space. It is an object to provide a detachable structure.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has a cover detachably attached to an opening for attaching an electric component provided in a part of a case body of an electric connection box,
In the case body, a locking hole is formed in a partition wall portion of the electric component housing portion located inside the outer peripheral frame of the opening,
The cover has a flat plate shape that closes the opening by being brought into contact with the outer peripheral frame end surface of the opening, and a locking portion protrudes at an inner surface position facing the locking hole, and the locking portion has an outer peripheral surface. Are projected in a V-shape and a lightening portion is provided to allow bending in the diameter-reducing direction, and a grip portion is protruded on the outer surface of the cover at the position where the locking portion is protruded,
The cover which closes the opening by locking the protruding end of the locking portion to the inner edge of the locking hole and pulling the cover with a gripper in a direction perpendicular to the opening causes the locking. The cover is detachable from the electric connection box, wherein the cover is detachable by bending the portion to be pulled out from the locking hole.
[0008]
The locking portion protruding from the cover has a narrow distal end and a proximal end, a large-diameter portion provided in an intermediate portion, and an outer peripheral surface from the distal end to the large-diameter portion and from the large-diameter portion to the proximal end. Are substantially rhombic in cross section with inclined surfaces.
[0009]
With the above configuration, when the locking portion is inserted into the locking hole formed in the case main body in order to attach the cover, simply pressing the locking portion with the grip portion on the outer surface side of the cover causes the locking portion. Is bent in the diameter reducing direction, the protruding end passes through the locking hole, and after penetrating, returns to its original state, protrudes outward, locks on the inner peripheral edge of the locking hole, and the cover can be attached to the case body. To remove the cover, simply hold the outer grip and pull in the direction perpendicular to the opening. Can be.
In this way, both the work of attaching and removing the cover can be done simply by holding and grasping and pushing and pulling in the vertical direction. Then, the cover attaching / detaching operation can be simplified as compared with the complicated operation of releasing the lock of the other side by shifting in the horizontal direction. As a result, the work of attaching and detaching the cover can be easily and reliably performed even in a place where it cannot be seen.
[0010]
Further, since it is only necessary to hold the grip and pull it straight out or to push it in, the operability when attaching and detaching the cover is good and the space for operation can be reduced. Furthermore, this cover does not require a peripheral wall that fits over the case main body, and has the same shape and the same size as the peripheral wall of the case main body. Therefore, the cover itself can be made smaller than before, so that the space reserved for the attachment / detachment work of the cover can be reduced, and the limited space in the vehicle can be effectively used.
[0011]
The electric connection box is composed of a fuse box disposed inside an instrument panel of an automobile, an opening of the case main body is on a lower surface, and the cover is used when exchanging a fuse into an electric component receiving portion of the case main body through the opening. It can be opened and closed.
[0012]
That is, it is necessary for an operator to insert his / her hand into the instrument panel and attach / detach the cover in a state where the cover of the fuse box cannot be viewed. Even in a state where the workability is poor, the operation can be easily performed because it is only necessary to grasp the unlocking portion protruding from the outer surface of the cover and push it straight in or out.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the embodiment, the present invention is applied to a structure for attaching and detaching a cover of an electric connection box including a fuse box disposed inside an instrument panel of an automobile.
[0014]
FIGS. 1 to 3A, 3B, and 3C show a fuse box 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. A fuse housing 12 surrounded by a peripheral wall 13 below a case body 11 of the fuse box 10 is shown. And an opening 14 for mounting a fuse is provided on the lower surface, and a cover 20 is detachably attached to the opening 14.
[0015]
A partition wall 15 is provided inside the fuse accommodating portion 12, and the fuse 30 is inserted and locked from below through the opening 14 in each of the compartments defined by the partition wall 15.
A locking hole 16 is formed in the opening side end surface of the partition wall 15 located substantially at the center of the opening 14.
[0016]
The cover 20 has a flat plate shape substantially the same as the outer shape of the peripheral wall of the opening 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the cover 20 has a locking portion 22 protruding at an inner surface position facing the locking hole 16, and a gripping portion 21 at a position corresponding to the locking portion 22 on the outer surface of the cover. Is protruding. The cover 20, the locking portion 22, and the grip portion 21 are integrally formed. Alternatively, the locking portion 22 and the grip portion 21 may be formed separately from the cover 20 and attached later.
[0017]
The locking portion 22 is composed of a shaft portion 23 projecting vertically upward from the inner surface side of the cover 20 and a blade portion 24 formed by folding the shaft portion 23 from the distal end to the proximal direction. The outer peripheral surface of the blade portion 24 is formed into a V-shape, and includes a thin tip portion 25, an intermediate large-diameter portion 26, and a small-diameter base end portion 27 that is bent inward downward. An upper slope 28a extends from the distal end portion 25 to the large-diameter portion 26, and a lower slope 28b extends from the large-diameter portion 26 to the base end portion 27. As a whole, the cross-section is substantially rhombic, but the base end portion 27 is separated from the shaft portion 23. are doing. A cavity 29 is formed between the blade portion 24 and the shaft portion 23 by removing the thickness.
[0018]
In the fuse box 10 having the above structure, the cover 20 is removed when replacing the fuse through the opening 14 for maintenance or the like.
In this removal operation, as shown in FIG. 3A, first, the grip portion 21 is grasped from the outer surface side of the cover 20 and pulled vertically downward with respect to the opening 14. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3B, the blade portion 24 of the locking portion 22 is formed in the locking hole 16 by the lower slope 28b from the base end portion 27 bent inward to the large-diameter portion 26 at the middle portion. At the same time, the large-diameter portion 26 is pushed by the inner peripheral surface of the locking hole 16 and deflects while shrinking the cavity 29 in the diameter-reducing direction. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3 (C), the locking portion 22 can be pulled out smoothly out of the locking hole 16 while releasing the locking, and the cover 20 can be moved vertically downward from the case main body 11. Can be removed.
[0019]
After replacing the fuse, the cover 20 is attached to the case body 11.
In this mounting operation, first, the cover 20 is made to correspond to the position of the outer peripheral frame 13 of the fuse accommodating portion 12, and the locking hole 16 and the locking portion 22 are opposed to each other, as shown in FIG. While holding the grip portion 21 on the outer surface side of 20, the locking portion 22 is pushed into the locking hole 16 as it is. Thereby, the blade portion 24 of the locking portion 22 can slide into the locking hole 16 by the upper slope 28a extending from the thin tip portion 25 to the large-diameter portion 26 at the intermediate portion, and at the same time, as shown in FIG. As described above, the large diameter portion 26 bends inward while crushing the cavity 29. As a result, the large-diameter portion 26 smoothly penetrating the locking hole 16 is expanded by the return to the original state and locked to the inner peripheral edge of the locking hole 16 as shown in FIG. The opening 14 can be closed by contacting the end face of the peripheral wall 13 of the fuse housing portion 11 of the eleventh embodiment.
[0020]
Due to the above structure, the space required for the work of attaching and detaching the cover 20 from the case body 11 can be achieved by pushing the cover 20 straight into the opening 14 vertically in the vertical direction as shown by the broken line in FIG. The space required for pulling out is sufficient, and no work space is required around the horizontal direction. Further, since the cover 20 is locked to the case body 11 by the locking portion 22 protruding inward, the size and shape of the cover 20 are different from those of the conventional cover, and the size and shape of the peripheral wall 13 of the fuse accommodating portion 12 are different. If it is the same as suffices. As described above, since the space for the cover attaching / detaching operation can be reduced, the space in the vehicle with many restrictions can be effectively used.
[0021]
In addition, since the cover attaching / detaching operation can be performed only by holding and holding the grip 21 outside the cover and pushing and pulling in the vertical direction, the operation is very simple. Can be done.
[0022]
FIGS. 4 to 6A and 6B show a cover 40 of the electric junction box 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
The only difference from the first embodiment is the shape of the locking portion 42 of the cover 40, and the other points are the same.
[0023]
On the inner surface side of the cover 40, a locking portion 42 is protruded at a position facing the locking hole 16 when the cover 40 is mounted on the case body 11, and a cover outer surface at a position corresponding to the locking portion 42 is provided. The cover 40, the locking portion 42, and the grip portion 41 are integrally formed.
[0024]
The locking portion 42 is formed by continuously and integrally forming a large diameter portion 44 at an intermediate portion between a thin base end portion 43 and a thin end portion 45. More specifically, the base end portion 43 projects vertically upward from the inner surface side of the cover 40 in the form of a short axis, a lower slope 46 b extending from the base end portion 43 to the large diameter portion 44, and a leading end portion 45 extending from the large diameter portion 44 to the front end portion 45. , An upper inclined surface 46a is formed, and the locking portion 42 as a whole has a substantially rhombic cross section. In addition, a hole 47 having a V-shaped cross section is formed vertically downward in the distal end portion 45 of the locking portion 42 so as to be lightened.
[0025]
When the cover 40 having the above configuration is detached from the case main body 11, by holding the grip portion 41 and pulling it down vertically, as shown in FIG. To the large-diameter portion 44, and slides into the locking hole 16. At the same time, the large-diameter portion 44 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the locking hole 16 to reduce the diameter of the hole 47, and the lock is released smoothly as it is. The locking portion 42 can be pulled out from the locking hole 16 while being pressed.
[0026]
On the other hand, when the cover 40 is mounted on the case main body 11 and the opening 14 is closed, the locking portion 42 is pushed into the locking hole 16 so that the tip portion is formed by the upper slope 46a as shown in FIG. From 45 to the large-diameter portion 44, it slides into the locking hole 16, and at the same time, the large-diameter portion 44 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the locking hole 16 to reduce the diameter of the hole 47. As a result, the large-diameter portion 44 smoothly passes through the locking hole 16 as it is, returns to its original state and expands after penetrating, and is locked to the inner peripheral edge of the locking hole 16 to be prevented from falling off as shown in FIG. .
[0027]
In the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the work of attaching and detaching the cover 40 only needs to have a space in which the cover 40 can be moved vertically and vertically with respect to the opening 14. Further, since the locking and unlocking of the cover can be performed by simply pushing out the locking portion 42 vertically and vertically with respect to the locking hole 16, it is very easy.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As is clear from the above description, according to the cover attaching / detaching device of the present invention, the cover for opening and closing the opening of the case main body has the locking portion projecting from the inside of the cover and the locking hole formed in the case main body. And can be removed by pulling out the locking portion from the locking hole. Therefore, since the cover can be detached simply by holding and holding the grip formed on the outer surface of the cover and vertically pushing and pulling the cover up and down with respect to the opening, the space for the attaching and detaching work is such that the cover is attached to the opening. Space that can be moved vertically up and down.
[0029]
In addition, since there is no need to perform locking and unlocking work on the outer edge of the opening as in the related art, the shape and size of the cover itself are the same as the shape and size of the outer peripheral frame of the opening. The space required for the cover attaching / detaching operation can be reduced, and the limited space in the vehicle can be effectively used.
[0030]
Further, since the cover attaching / detaching operation is simple, the cover attaching / detaching operation can be easily and reliably performed even in a place where the instrument panel cannot be seen, such as inside the instrument panel.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric junction box according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a cover shown in FIG.
FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are cross-sectional views of essential parts showing a procedure for attaching and detaching the cover shown in FIG. 1 to and from a case main body.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a cover of an electric junction box according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state when the cover shown in FIG. 4 is attached to a case main body.
6 (A) and 6 (B) are cross-sectional views of main parts showing an operation of attaching / detaching the cover shown in FIG. 4 to / from the case main body.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a cover attaching / detaching operation of a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electric connection box 11 Case main body 13 Outer frame 14 Opening 16 Locking hole 20, 40 Cover 21, 41 Gripping part 22, 42 Locking part 25, 45 Tip part 26, 44 Large diameter part 27, 43 Base end part 28a, 46a outer peripheral upper slope 28b, 46b outer peripheral lower slope

Claims (2)

A cover is detachably attached to the opening for attaching electric parts provided in a part of the case body of the electric connection box,
In the case body, a locking hole is formed in a partition wall portion of the electric component housing portion located inside the outer peripheral frame of the opening,
The cover has a flat plate shape that closes the opening by being brought into contact with the outer peripheral frame end surface of the opening, and a locking portion protrudes at an inner surface position facing the locking hole, and the locking portion has an outer peripheral surface. Are projected in a V-shape and a lightening portion is provided to allow bending in the diameter-reducing direction, and a grip portion is protruded on the outer surface of the cover at the position where the locking portion is protruded,
When the cover that closes the opening by locking the protruding end of the locking portion to the inner edge of the locking hole and pulls the cover with a gripper in a direction perpendicular to the opening, the locking portion Wherein the cover is detachable by being bent out of the locking hole so that the cover can be removed. The electric connection box is composed of a fuse box arranged inside an instrument panel of an automobile, an opening of the case body is on a lower surface, and the cover passes through the opening when exchanging a fuse of an electric component housing of the case body. 2. The structure for attaching / detaching a cover of an electric junction box according to claim 1, wherein the cover is opened / closed.

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