JP2006269435A - Electric connection box fitted with fuse - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To downsize an electric connection box loading fuses. <P>SOLUTION: A tab 12 having a slot 13 for pressure welding is formed integrally with a busbar 15 housed in a housing 10 which has a fuse box 11 on the surface, and is projected upright from the bottom. A fuse 1 is composed of an insulating resin case 2 and a conductor having an input terminal 3 as well as an output terminal 4 punched out of one metal sheet and a fuse blowout part 5. The input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 are exposed for contacting with the tab 12 projected from a bottom face 11a of the fuse box 11, and a tip of the exposed part is positioned, not projected over and above the bottom face 2a of the above resin case 2, and is made to contact at a position higher than the bottom (2a) of the case (2) by inserting into the pressure welding slot 13 of the tab 12. The bottom face 2a of the case 2 is made in contact with the bottom face 11a of the fuse box 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuse and an electrical junction box to which the fuse is attached, and particularly to miniaturizing the electrical junction box by reducing the height of a fuse mounted on an electrical junction box such as an automobile junction box.

  As shown in FIG. 12, fuses 50 used in an electric junction box mounted on an automobile have input terminals arranged in parallel to each other so as to protrude from an insulating resin case 51 to the bottom side in the mounting direction. 52 and an output terminal 53, and a fusing part 54 that connects the input / output terminals 52, 53 and is accommodated in the case 51. These fuses 50 are attached to an electric junction box such as a junction box for automobiles, and when an overcurrent flows between a power source side and a load side composed of various electrical components, the fusing part 54 is blown to cut off the overcurrent. It is a function.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13, on the side of the electric connection box 55 for an automobile to which the fuse 50 is attached, a bus bar 57 and an insulating plate 58 to be connected to the terminals 52 and 53 are laminated and installed inside the housing 56. The bus bar 57 is bent at the tip to integrally form a tab 59, and the relay terminal 60 is fitted and fitted to the tab 59. A relay terminal 60 is disposed inside the housing facing the fuse accommodating portion 61 provided on the front side of the housing 56 with the tip directed toward the opening of the fuse accommodating portion 61. By inserting and pressing the input / output terminals 52 and 53 of the fuse 50, the terminals 52 and 53 and the relay terminal 60 are connected, and the fuse 50 is attached to the electrical connection box 55.

However, the conventional fuse 50 has a problem that it is tall and not compact. Since a large number of fuses 50 are attached to the electrical junction box 55, it is strongly desired to make the fuses 50 compact. However, in the case of the fuse 50, more than the sum of the thickness da of the housing 56, the distance db between the tip of the relay terminal 60 and the contact point, and the margin allowance dc that is accumulated by dimensional tolerances, that is, da + db + dc ≦ Da. Otherwise, since the input / output terminals 52 and 53 cannot be securely connected to the relay terminal 60, the protruding length Da of the input / output terminals 52 and 53 becomes long, resulting in a tall fuse 50.
Further, the electrical connection box 55 also has a problem that it is difficult to reduce the size because it is necessary to secure a thickness that allows the relay terminals 60 to be stacked on the tip of the tab 59. Since the number of mounted parts is increasing rapidly in an automobile and there is not enough room for installing the electrical junction box, it is strongly desired to reduce the size of the electrical junction box.

  As shown in FIG. 14, it is considered that the tab 62 provided with the pressure contact slot 63 is used and the input / output terminals 52 and 53 of the fuse 50 are inserted into the pressure contact slot 63 and the relay terminal 60 is omitted. It is done. In this case, the height of the fuse 50 can be made slightly lower or the thickness of the electrical connection box 55 can be made somewhat thinner as much as the relay terminal 60 can be omitted, and the problem cannot be solved truly. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. It is a first object of the present invention to provide a fuse having a reduced height, and further to provide an electrical junction box to which the fuse can be attached and the size can be reduced. Is a second problem.

In order to solve the first problem, the present invention includes an insulating resin case, and an input terminal and an output terminal arranged inside the case, and a conductor including a fuse blown portion connecting the input / output terminals. Configured,
The front end surfaces of the input terminal and output terminal are in the same position as the one end surface of the case, and the input terminal and output terminal are partially exposed over the required length range from the front end surface of the input terminal and output terminal. Notches are provided on both the front and back sides of the case, the exposed parts of these input terminals and output terminals are used as electrical contact parts with the counterpart terminal, and the overall height is reduced, and
The case is provided with anti-slip ribs protruding outward in the thickness direction from both edges of the front and back sides of the case on both side outer surfaces in the thickness direction perpendicular to the front and back surfaces of the case where the input / output terminals are arranged in parallel. And provide fuses.

  In the fuse described above, the portion exposed by the cutout of the case serves as a contact portion with the counterpart terminal, and electrical contact can be performed without hindrance. Also, the input / output terminals do not protrude from the bottom surface on the case mounting side, and the height of the fuse can be lowered to the height of the case.

  In the fuse of the present invention, the case is shaped into a flat shape with a reduced thickness between the front and back surfaces, and input / output terminals are arranged so as to be aligned in a direction parallel to the front and back surfaces of the case. In addition to the normal form, a twist prevention rib is provided that protrudes outward in a direction (thickness direction) perpendicular to the front and back surfaces of the case. In other words, since ribs are provided at the four corners of the case, when inserting into the fuse housing part of the electrical junction box, the above-described kink preventing rib can be inserted while sliding along the inner surface of the fuse housing part. Thus, it is possible to prevent the input / output terminals from being inserted in a twisted state.

  The case that is shaped into a flat shape is compact, but the case tends to tilt when it is press-fitted into the mating terminal (tab with a press-fit slot), and the input / output terminal of the fuse tends to be twisted without being inserted straight. Become. However, since the rib is provided in the case, it is guided straight by the rib and can prevent the input / output terminal of the fuse from being twisted.

  The notches on both the front and back sides of the case are provided on both sides in the width direction, and the kink preventing ribs are provided on the outer edges of the both sides where the notches are provided. These kink preventing ribs may be provided only in the notch portion or in the entire height direction of the case.

Further, an identification rib protruding in the thickness direction is provided at one or both inner ends of the pair of notches exposing the input terminal and the output terminal.
The identification rib can identify the capacity of the fuse. For example, in the case of a 5 amp fuse, one identification rib is provided at the inner end of one of the notches, and in the case of a 10 amp fuse, a pair of notches is provided. If two are provided at both inner ends, the fuse capacity can be identified by the number of identification ribs.

  The number of input / output terminals and fusing parts in the fuse of the present invention is not limited to a specific number, but one input terminal is provided, two output terminals and two fusing parts are provided, and one input is provided. Two output terminals may be connected to the terminal via a fusing part to form a so-called multi-fuse. When the multi-fuse is used, it is possible to reduce the volume occupied by the fuse to one because it has been conventionally required, which contributes to the miniaturization of the electrical junction box.

The present invention secondly provides an electrical junction box to which the fuse is attached. That is, an electrical junction box to which the fuse according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is attached,
While the fuse is mounted on the fuse accommodating portion provided on the housing surface of the electrical junction box, a tab provided with a pressure contact slot is integrally formed on the bus bar accommodated in the housing, and the tab is formed on the fuse accommodating portion. Project to
The exposed portion of the input / output terminal of the fuse is inserted into the press-contacting slot of the tab and brought into electrical contact, and the kink preventing rib is brought into contact with the inner surface of the fuse housing portion.

In the electrical junction box of the present invention, the fuse is connected to the press contact slot at the notch position above the bottom surface of the case by inserting the exposed portion of the input / output terminal of the fuse into the press contact slot provided on the bus bar. It will be.
In this way, when the height of the fuse is lowered to the height of the case and the connection position of the fuse input / output terminal and the pressure contact slot is above the bottom surface of the case, the gap between the fuse and the pressure contact slot becomes narrow, Accordingly, the thickness of the electrical junction box can be reduced. Furthermore, if the tip end side of the tab is a slot that receives and press-fits the fuse terminal, no relay terminal is required, and the thickness of the electrical junction box can be reduced accordingly.

As is clear from the above description, according to the fuse of the present invention, the input / output terminal is exposed by the notch provided on the insertion side in the case made of insulating resin, so that the other part of the input / output terminal is exposed. The tip does not protrude beyond the bottom surface of the case, and the height of the fuse is reduced to the height of the case, so that the fuse can be made sufficiently compact.
And even if the fuse case has a flat shape with a thin thickness between the front and back sides, the ribs are provided at the four corners of the case, so that it will be twisted when inserted into the fuse housing of the electrical junction box. Since the prevention rib is inserted while being in contact with the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the fuse accommodating portion, it is possible to prevent the case input and output terminals from being inserted straight without causing the case to be stably tilted and preventing the terminals from being twisted.

  Further, according to the electrical junction box of the present invention, the height of the fuse connected to and attached to the press contact slot provided on the bus bar is lowered to the height of the case, and the input / output terminals of the fuse and the press contact slot Since the connection position is above the bottom of the case, and the gap between the fuse and the pressure welding slot is narrowed, the thickness of the electrical connection box can be reduced accordingly, and the end of the tab accepts the fuse terminal. Since the slot is pressed and clamped, and no relay terminal is required, the thickness of the electrical junction box can be reduced accordingly, so that the electrical junction box can be sufficiently downsized.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 (A) and 1 (B), the fuse 1 includes a case 2 made of transparent insulating resin, and each of the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 and the fuse fusing part 5 are integrated with each other. A conductor punched from a conductive metal plate is provided. The case 2 of the fuse 1 has a rectangular flat shape by reducing the thickness t between the front and back surfaces, and the terminals 3 and 4 are parallel to each other along the direction parallel to the front and back surfaces of the case 2 (width direction W). Is arranged.
The input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 are partly housed inside the case 2, while the other side of the terminals 3, 4 is the bottom side that is the mounting side from the case 2 as a contact portion with the counterpart terminal ( X). In addition, the input terminal 3 and the output terminal 4 are continuously connected by a fusing part 5 inside the case 2.
The conductor and the case may be formed by insert molding of the conductor, or the conductor may be incorporated into the case of the molded product.

  In the fuse 1, notches 6A and 6B are provided on both the front and back surfaces so as to expose the input / output terminals 3 and 4 on the bottom side of the case 2, and the exposed portions of the input / output terminals 3 and 4 are exposed. The front end side is cut off so as not to come out of the notches 6A and 6B, and the front and rear ends 3a and 4a of the other portions of the input / output terminals 3 and 4 do not protrude beyond the bottom surface 2a of the case 2. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1A, in the case of the fuse 1, since the bottom surface 2a of the case 2 is the most protruding portion, the height of the fuse 1 is related to the input / output terminals 3 and 4. It disappears, and it falls to the height h of case 2 at a stretch.

  Further, the fuse 1 is provided with protrusion prevention ribs 2d to 2g projecting outwardly in the thickness direction from both edges of the front and back sides of the case on both side outer surfaces 2b and 2c in the thickness direction orthogonal to the front and back surfaces of the case 2. . These ribs 2 d to 2 g are formed over the entire height range of the case 2.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the electrical connection box 7 such as a junction box is provided with mounting portions for a large number of fuses 1, relays 8, and connectors 9 on the surface side. As shown in FIG. 4, in the electrical junction box 7, a tab 11 is provided with a housing portion 11 for the fuse 1 projecting from the front side of the housing 10, and a pressure contact slot 13 provided at the bottom 11 a of the fuse housing portion 11. 12 protrudes in an upright state.

  On the other hand, inside the housing 10, the bus bar 15 and the insulating plate 16 are laminated, and the bus bar 15 is bent at the tip to integrally form the tab 12, as shown in FIGS. 12 is processed to integrally form a pressure contact slot 13 on the tab 12. In the tab 12, the exposed portions of the terminals 3 and 4 of the fuse 1 can be sufficiently inserted between two divided pieces 12b and 12b formed by dividing the tip 12a in the width direction, and between the divided pieces 12b and 12b. A press-contacting slot 13 is provided in which the front and back surfaces of the terminals 3 and 4 of the fuse 1 to be inserted into the gap are sandwiched between the inner end surfaces 12c and 12c near the front ends of the divided pieces 12b and 12b. That is, in the case of the tab 12, each divided piece 12b protrudes inward near the tip, and in addition to shaping the gap 12d between the two divided pieces 12b and 12b on the root side, the tip 12a and the gap 12d are formed. The distance dg between the bottoms of the fuses 1 is longer than the insertion length of the terminals 3 and 4 of the fuse 1.

When the fuse 1 is mounted on the electrical junction box 7, the fuse 1 is inserted into the fuse housing 11.
At that time, first, the corner prevention ribs 2d to 2g at the four corners of the case 2 come into contact with the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the fuse accommodating portion 11, and the case prevention ribs 2d to 2g are guided by the inner surface of the peripheral wall to be in sliding contact with each other. Therefore, the case 2 is not twisted when inserted.

  When the case 2 is inserted, as shown in FIG. 7, the exposed portions of the terminals 3 and 4 of the fuse 1 are sufficiently press-fitted into the press-contacting slot 13 and are press-contacted by the divided pieces 12b and 12b. As a result, the input / output terminals 3 and 4 of the fuse 1 are firmly connected to the tab 12 at the positions of the notches 6A and 6B and attached to the electrical junction box 7.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, since the position of the case 2 is restricted by the kink preventing ribs 2d to 2g even during the press-fitting, the input / output terminals 3 and 4 are press-fitted straight into the press-contacting slot 13. These terminals are not deformed.
That is, the case 2 shaped into a square flat shape is compact, but without the kink preventing ribs 2d to 2g, the case 2 is easily tilted when connected to the press contact slot 13 which is the counterpart terminal, and the fuse 1 is inserted.・ The output terminals 3 and 4 cannot be inserted straight and tend to be twisted. However, since the kink preventing ribs 2d to 2g are in contact with the inner surface of the fuse housing portion, the orientation of the case 2 to be inserted is not always stably tilted, and the input / output terminals 3 and 4 of the fuse 1 are inserted straight and the terminals are twisted. No worries. In addition, since the terminals 3 and 4 are surrounded by the kink preventing ribs 2d to 2g, the kink preventing ribs 2d to 2g also exhibit a function of protecting the terminals 3 and 4.

  Thus, in the electrical junction box 7, the height of the fuse 1 is lowered to the height h of the case 2, and the connection position between the input / output terminals 3 and 4 of the fuse 1 and the press contact slot 13 is the bottom surface 2 a of the case 2. If the distance is higher, the distance between the fuse 1 and the press-contacting slot 13 becomes narrower, so that the thickness of the electrical junction box 7 can be reduced accordingly. Further, the tip end side of the tab 12 is a press-contacting slot 13 in which the exposed portions of the terminals 3 and 4 of the fuse 1 are inserted and sandwiched, and no relay terminal is required, so that the thickness can be reduced accordingly. Become. As a result, the electrical junction box 7 can be sufficiently downsized.

FIG. 9 shows a fuse 1 ′ according to the second embodiment, and identification ribs 20 and 21 project from the inner edges of the notches 6A and 6B that expose the input / output terminals 3 and 4, respectively.
As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the identification rib 20 or 21 may be provided in one of the notches 6A and 6B.
As described above, when both the identification ribs 20 and 21 are provided, three types of cases where only one side is provided can be configured. These three types of identification ribs are selectively used in accordance with the fuse capacity, and are provided with identification rib 20 only for 1 ampere, only identification rib 21 for 5 ampere, and identification ribs 20 and 21 for 10 ampere. It is supposed to be.
Thus, the fuse capacity can be easily identified by properly using the identification rib.

FIG. 11 shows the fuse 1 ″ according to the third embodiment, in which the kink preventing ribs 2d ″ to 2g ″ are formed at a height of approximately ½ of the total height near the bottom of the case provided with the notches 6A and 6B.
Thus, even when the kink preventing ribs 2d "to 2g" are provided only on the bottom side of the case, the kink preventing ribs 2d "to 2g" contact the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the fuse accommodating portion when the fuse is inserted into the fuse accommodating portion. Since it comes into contact, the occurrence of twisting can be prevented.

  In the fuse 1, the number of the input / output terminals 3 and 4 and the fusing part 5 is one each, but it is not limited to this. For example, one input terminal is provided, two output terminals and two fusing parts are provided, and two output terminals are connected to one input terminal via a fusing part to form a so-called multi-fuse. Also good. In the case of a multi-fuse, it is possible to use only one fuse, which is conventionally required, and the occupied volume of the fuse can be reduced, so that the electrical junction box can be further downsized.

(A) is a front view showing the fuse of the embodiment, (B) is a bottom view showing the fuse of the embodiment. It is a perspective view of the said fuse. It is a schematic plan view which shows the electrical junction box of embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the surroundings of the fuse accommodating part of an electrical junction box. It is sectional drawing which shows the surroundings of the tab arrange | positioned at a fuse accommodating part. It is a perspective view which shows a tab and a bus bar. It is sectional drawing which shows the connection condition of the terminal of a fuse, and the slot for pressure welding. It is a schematic horizontal sectional view in a state where a fuse is fitted in a fuse housing part. (A) is a perspective view which shows the fuse of 2nd Embodiment, (B) is a schematic horizontal sectional view which shows the state which fitted the fuse of 2nd Embodiment to the fuse accommodating part. (A) (B) is the schematic of the fuse of the modification of 2nd Embodiment. It is a perspective view of the fuse of 3rd Embodiment. It is a front view which shows the conventional fuse. It is sectional drawing which shows the example of attachment to the electrical junction box of the conventional fuse. It is sectional drawing which shows the other example of attachment to the electrical junction box of the conventional fuse.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuse 2 Case 2a Case bottom 2d-2g Twisting prevention rib 3 Input terminal 4 Output terminal 5 Fuse fuse part 6A, 6B Notch 7 Electrical connection box 10 Housing 11 Fuse accommodating part 11a Fuse accommodating part bottom 12 Tab 13 Pressure contact slot 15 Busbar 20, 21 Identification rib

Claims (4)

A fuse housing is provided on the surface of the housing where a fuse is mounted.
A tab provided with a pressure contact slot is integrally formed on the bus bar accommodated in the housing, and the tab protrudes in a standing state from the bottom surface in the fuse accommodating portion,
The fuse mounted in the fuse housing part is a conductor in which an insulating resin case, a fuse fusing part for connecting the input terminal, the output terminal, and the input / output terminal are punched out from one conductive metal plate The fuse blown portion and a part of the input / output terminal are accommodated in the case, and the other portion of the input / output terminal is in contact with a tab protruding from the bottom surface of the fuse accommodating portion. It is exposed for use, and the tip of this exposed part is a position that does not protrude from the bottom of the case,
The exposed portion of the input / output terminal of the fuse is inserted into the pressure contact slot of the tab and brought into electrical contact so that the contact position is higher than the bottom surface of the case, and the bottom surface of the fuse case is the fuse housing portion. An electrical junction box to which a fuse is attached, characterized by being in contact with the bottom surface of the housing. The fuse input terminal and output terminal are in the form of a flat plate arranged in parallel in the width direction with the fuse blown part sandwiched therebetween, and the fuse case covers the outer edges of the input / output terminals and both the front and back surfaces of the case More equipped with a pair of kink prevention ribs protruding outward in the thickness direction of the input / output terminals than
2. An electrical junction box to which a fuse according to claim 1 is attached, wherein the kink preventing rib is in contact with the inner surface of the fuse accommodating portion to serve as a guide when the fuse is inserted.   3. The structure according to claim 2, wherein the kink preventing ribs are configured to project outward on both sides in the thickness direction, project at the four corners of the case, and contact the four corners of the peripheral wall of the fuse housing portion. An electrical junction box to which a fuse is attached.   4. The electrical connection to which the fuse according to claim 2 or 3 is formed, wherein the kink preventing rib is formed over the entire height range of the case or over the height range of the exposed portion of the input / output terminal. box.

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