JP2010283966A - Electrical junction box - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrical junction box with a novel structure for forming cover members for covering electric wires connected by a connector and extended to the opposite sides with a smaller number of parts. <P>SOLUTION: A first cover portion 34 covering the electric wires 58a extended out of a box body 12 on one side, and a second cover portion 36 covering the wires on the other side are partially coupled together at their outer circumferential edge portions and integrally molded to form a cover member 14. The cover member 14 is fit onto the box body 12 from an unconnected opening 40 of the outer circumferential edge of the first cover portion 34 and the second cover portion 36. Thus the cover member is detachably assembled to the box body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical junction box such as a connector holder and a relay box, and more particularly to an electrical junction box having a cover structure that covers a wire harness extending from a connector.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a wire harness is routed in an automobile in order to supply electric power to various in-vehicle electric devices such as lamps and motors. The wire harness is provided with a connector and is connected to other wire harnesses and electrical devices.

  By the way, the connector connection part in a wire harness is generally accommodated in electrical connection boxes, such as a connector holder, and the connector connection part is positioned by fixing an electrical connection box to a vehicle body. Further, the electrical connection box is provided with a cover member for the purpose of protecting the electric wire extending to the outside from the connector connection part and preventing water from entering the electrical connection box. For example, those described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-195612 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-215648 (Patent Document 2).

  However, in an electrical junction box, electric wires connected by connectors often extend in opposite directions. Therefore, it is necessary to attach separate cover members on both sides of the electrical junction box, and there is a problem that the number of parts increases and the assembly work is troublesome.

  Moreover, in addition to the attachment portion to the vehicle body, a support portion for supporting other members may be formed on the outer peripheral portion of the electrical junction box. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a cover member that protects the extended portion of the electric wire in a state where the formation space of the mounting portion, the support portion, etc. is not covered and is exposed to the outside. There was also a problem that it would be more complicated.

JP 2000-195612 A JP 11-215648 A

  The present invention has been made in the background of the above-described circumstances, and the solution is to realize a novel cover member that covers each of the electric wires that are connected by connectors and extend to the opposite sides with a small number of parts. Is to provide an electrical junction box with a simple structure.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, a connector mounting portion is provided on the inside of a box body having a mounting portion on the vehicle body side provided outside, and extends from a connector mounted on the connector mounting portion. In the electrical junction box in which the electric wires to be extended extend toward opposite sides, a first cover portion covering one side of the box body in the extending direction of the electric wires and a second cover portion covering the other side And a box member that is integrally formed by partially connecting the outer peripheral edge of the first cover part and the second cover part to the box body from the unconnected opening part of the outer peripheral edge part of the first cover part and the second cover part. It is characterized by being attached to be detachable by being extrapolated to.

  According to the present invention, the cover member is an integrally formed product having an opening portion, and the first cover portion and the second cover portion can be formed by simply extrapolating a single cover member from the opening portion to the box body. Both of the electric wires extending from the box body to the opposite sides can be covered at the same time. Thereby, the number of parts can be reduced and the efficiency of the assembly work can be improved.

  Furthermore, at the opening portion of the cover member, by partially exposing the box main body to the outside, it is possible to easily form a mounting portion for the vehicle body, a support portion for other members, etc. on the box main body. The ease of design and the degree of design freedom can be improved.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the one described in the first aspect, in the box body and the cover member, a guide mechanism that extends linearly in an extrapolation direction of the cover member with respect to the box body is provided. It is what. If it does in this way, extrapolation to the box body of a cover member can be performed more easily and reliably, and the further reduction of an assembly man-hour can be aimed at.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the support portion supports the other member with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the box body exposed through the opening portion of the cover member. Is provided. If it does in this way, other members, such as a connector block, can be attached to a box main part, without interfering with a cover member. Thereby, extrapolation of the cover member to the box body with the other member attached, and attachment of the other member to the box body extraneous to the cover member can be easily performed.

  According to the present invention, the cover member is extrapolated from the opening portion to the box body using the integrally formed cover member in which the first cover portion and the second cover portion are connected at the outer peripheral portion. Both electric wires extending to the opposite side can be covered with a single cover member, and the number of parts of the cover member can be reduced.

The disassembled perspective view of the electrical-connection box as one Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the assembly | attachment state of the electrical-connection box shown in FIG. The top view of the box main body which comprises the electrical-connection box shown in FIG. The perspective view seen from the direction opposite to FIG. 1 of the cover member which comprises the electrical junction box shown in FIG.

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

  First, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a connector holder 10 according to an electrical junction box as one embodiment of the present invention. The connector holder 10 includes a box body 12 and a cover member 14 that is externally inserted into the box body 12.

  FIG. 3 shows the box body 12. The box body 12 is an integrally molded product made of synthetic resin. Inside the box body 12, a plurality (two in this embodiment) of connector mounting portions 16 are formed in a rectangular box shape that opens up and down. A cassette lock 17 for fixing and supporting connectors 56a and 56b, which will be described later, is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the connector mounting portion 16.

  Further, one outer peripheral wall 18a of the box main body 12 facing in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction to the cover member 14 (vertical direction in FIG. 3) protrudes from the outer peripheral wall 18a in the vertical direction of the box main body 12 to the outer periphery. A guide rib 20 extending linearly along the wall 18a is formed. The outer peripheral wall 18a extends forward from the connector mounting portion 16 in the insertion direction (upward in FIG. 3), and a pair of outwardly projecting surfaces is formed on the outer surface of the extending portion from the connector mounting portion 16. A locking claw 22 is formed to protrude. The positions at which the pair of locking claws 22 are formed are different from each other in the direction in which the box body 12 is inserted into the cover member 14.

  On the other hand, an outer peripheral wall 18b opposite to the outer peripheral wall 18a is formed with a block-shaped mounting portion 24 protruding outward, and the box body 12 is connected to the vehicle via a bracket (not shown) attached to the mounting portion 24. Can be attached to. Similar to the outer peripheral wall 18a, the mounting portion 24 extends from the connector mounting portion 16 in the same direction as the outer peripheral wall 18a, and protrudes in the vertical direction on both upper and lower end surfaces of the extended portion. A locking claw 26 is formed. The pair of locking claws 26 are formed at substantially the same position in the vertical direction of the box body 12. In addition, a wire harness fixing portion 27 extending in the vertical direction of the box body 12 is formed on the surface of the mounting portion 24 that faces the outer peripheral wall 18a.

  Further, cassette locks 30 as support portions are respectively formed on the outer peripheral wall 18a of the box body 12 and the outer peripheral wall 18c located in the insertion direction to the cover member 14 between the outer peripheral wall 18a and the outer peripheral wall 18b. Yes. In particular, the cassette lock 30 on the outer peripheral wall 18a is formed rearward (downward in FIG. 3) of the locking claw 22 in the insertion direction of the box body 12 into the cover member 14. These cassette locks 30 allow other members such as the connector block 32 to be attached to and detached from the box body 12.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the cover member 14 includes an upper wall portion 34 as a first cover portion and a lower wall portion 36 as a second cover portion, and the outer peripheral edge portions thereof are connecting wall portions 38. It is considered as an integrally molded product made of synthetic resin partially connected by As a result, the cover member 14 has a U-shape when viewed from the side, and an opening 40 is formed at a non-connection portion between the upper wall portion 34 and the connection wall portion 38 at the outer peripheral edge portion of the lower wall portion 36. ing. The box body 12 can be inserted through the opening 40.

  The upper wall portion 34 and the lower wall portion 36 have a substantially plate shape that covers substantially the entire upper and lower surfaces of the box body 12. In particular, side wall portions 42 projecting toward the lower wall portion 36 are formed at both edge portions orthogonal to the insertion direction of the box body 12 in the upper wall portion 34, and the opening edge portion of the upper wall portion 34 is The shape is substantially U-shaped. On the other hand, the lower wall portion 36 is formed with a side wall portion 44 that protrudes toward the upper wall portion 34 at one end edge perpendicular to the insertion direction of the box body 12. The edge is substantially L-shaped. Further, a notch 46 is formed on the lower wall 36 opposite to the side wall 44.

  In addition, a groove 48 that extends linearly in the insertion direction of the box body 12 is formed on the protruding edge of the side wall 42 in the upper wall 34 and the protruding edge of the side wall 44 in the lower wall 36. Has been.

  Further, a frame-shaped engagement piece 50 is formed between the side wall portion 42 and the side wall portion 44 on the side where the concave groove 48 is formed, and protrudes from the connecting wall portion 38 in the opening direction of the cover member 14. The pair of engaging pieces 50 have different projecting dimensions corresponding to the locking claws 22 whose formation positions in the box body 12 are different in the insertion direction. Further, between the engaging pieces 50, a restricting protruding piece 51 that protrudes from the connecting wall portion 38 in the same direction as the engaging piece 50 is formed. On the other hand, on the side of the side wall portion 42 where the concave groove 48 is not formed, a housing portion 52 that protrudes outward from the connecting wall portion 38 is formed, and the opening of the cover member 14 is formed at both upper and lower ends of the housing portion 52. A frame-shaped engaging piece 54 protruding in the direction is formed.

  When the box body 12 and the cover member 14 are assembled to each other, first, as shown in FIG. 1, a pair of connectors 56a and 56b are inserted into the connector mounting portions 16 of the box body 12 from opposite sides. Then, it is fitted in the connector mounting portion 16 and fixed in a state of being accommodated in the connector mounting portion 16 by the cassette lock 17. In the state in which the connectors 56a and 56b are accommodated in the connector mounting portion 16, the electric wire 58a connected to the connector 56a extends above the box body 12, while the electric wire 58b connected to the connector 56b extends below the box body 12. The wire harness 60 is formed by being bundled and fixed to the wire harness fixing portion 27 of the box body 12 with a binding band or the like. Further, a connector block 32 is fixed to the outer peripheral walls 18 a and 18 c of the box body 12 using a cassette lock 30.

  And the cover member 14 is extrapolated from the opening part 40 to the box main body 12 with which these connectors 56a and 56b, the wire harness 60, etc. were assembled | attached. Specifically, first, the guide rib 20 formed on the outer peripheral wall 18 a of the box body 12 is inserted into the groove 48 from the opening 40 side of the cover member 14. Then, the box body 12 is inserted into the cover member 14 from the opening 40 in accordance with the guiding action of the guide rib 20 and the recessed groove 48. As described above, in the present embodiment, the guide rib 20 and the concave groove 48 constitute a guide mechanism.

  And the attachment part 24 is accommodated in the accommodating part 52 by further inserting the box main body 12 into the inside of the cover member 14. Subsequently, the locking claw 22 formed on the outer peripheral wall 18a of the box body 12 engages with the engaging piece 50 of the cover member 14, and the locking claw 26 formed on the mounting portion 24 of the box body 12 covers the cover. By engaging with the engagement piece 54 of the member 14, the cover member 14 is detachably fixed in an extrapolated state to the box body 12. In particular, in the present embodiment, a locking mechanism is realized by the locking claws 22 and 26 and the engagement pieces 50 and 54. The locking claws 22 and 26 are integrally formed with the box body 12, and The combined pieces 50 and 54 are integrally formed with the cover member 14. These members are elastic and can be locked and released. Thereby, compared with bolt fixation etc., for example, attachment / detachment of the cover member 14 to the box body 12 can be performed more easily, and an increase in the number of parts of the locking mechanism is also avoided. Note that the amount of insertion of the box body 12 into the cover member 14 is regulated by the cassette lock 30 protruding from the outer peripheral wall 18 a of the box body 12 hitting the regulation protrusion 51 of the cover member 14.

  In the extrapolation state of the cover member 14 to the box body 12, substantially the entire upper surface of the box body 12 is covered with the upper wall portion 34 of the cover member 14, and substantially the entire lower surface of the box body 12 is covered with the cover member 14. Covered with the lower wall 36. Accordingly, the electric wire 58a protruding from the connector 56a is covered with the upper wall portion 34, and the electric wire 58b protruding from the connector 56b is covered with the lower wall portion 36. The wire harness 60 fixed to the box body 12 is extended to the outside through a notch 46 formed in the lower wall portion 36 without being greatly bent. As described above, in the present embodiment, the upper wall portion 34 covers substantially the entire upper surface of the box body 12, thereby preventing interference and scratches with other members of the electric wire 58 a protruding from the connector 56 a, and This prevents water from penetrating and provides a more reliable waterproof effect. On the other hand, the lower wall portion 36 partially covers the lower surface of the box body 12. That is, the take-out part of the wire harness 60 in which a large number of wires are bundled can be protected from interference of other members by tape winding or the like, but the wire 58b taken out from the connector 56b is not bundled, There is a risk of breakage due to interference with other members from the outside. Therefore, the wire harness 60 taken out from the connector 56b is covered with the lower wall portion 36 to avoid the possibility of breakage, and the wire harness 60 can be easily routed through the notch 46.

  Further, the connector block 32 fixedly supported by the outer peripheral wall 18c of the box body 12 is positioned between the connecting wall portion 38 of the cover member 14 and the box body 12 in the extrapolated state of the cover member 14, so that the box body 12, the upper and lower surfaces are covered with the upper wall portion 34 and the lower wall portion 36. On the other hand, a part of the outer peripheral wall 18a of the box body 12 is exposed to the outside of the cover member 14 from between the pair of concave grooves 48 of the cover member 14, and is assembled to the cassette lock 30 formed in this exposed portion. The connector block 32 is supported by the box body 12 outside the cover member 14.

  According to the connector holder 10 having such a structure, both the electric wires 58a and 58b extending in the opposite directions from the box body 12 can be protected by the single cover member 14. Thereby, the number of parts of the cover assembled to the box body 12 can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Furthermore, both sides of the box main body 12 can be covered simultaneously by an extremely simple assembling operation of fitting the box main body 12 through the opening 40 of the cover member 14, and the number of assembling steps can be reduced.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited by the specific description. For example, the notch 46 formed in the lower wall portion 36 of the cover member 14 in the above embodiment is not always necessary. Further, depending on how the wire harness 60 is taken out, a cutout may be formed in the upper wall portion 34 instead of or in addition to the lower wall portion 36.

  Further, a mechanism for preventing the cover member 14 from falling off may be provided by using a bracket attached to the mounting portion 24. That is, in the above-described embodiment, the attachment portion 24 provided on the box body 12 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 52 provided on the cover member 14 so as to be detachably fitted. In this case, an insertion hole that opens to the side opposite to the side where the attachment portion 24 is inserted may be formed, and the bracket may be attached to the attachment portion 24 through the insertion hole.

  As a result, even if the cover member 14 is unexpectedly detached from the box body 12, the state in which the bracket passes through the insertion hole formed in the housing portion 52 is maintained. Will be locked. Thereby, for example, a fail-safe mechanism is realized that prevents the occurrence of a serious problem such that only the cover member 14 falls off and is sandwiched between the brake pedal and the vehicle body floor and the brake operation becomes impossible.

  Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to other electrical connection boxes such as relay boxes in which electric wires connected by connectors extend in opposite directions and are accommodated.

10: connector holder, 12: box body, 14: cover member, 16: connector mounting portion, 18: outer peripheral wall, 20: guide rib (guide mechanism), 24: mounting portion, 30: cassette lock (support portion), 32: Connector block (other member), 34: upper wall portion (first cover portion), 36: lower wall portion (second cover portion), 38: connecting wall portion, 40: opening, 48: concave groove (guide mechanism) 56a, b: connector, 58a, b: electric wire

Claims (3)

A connector mounting portion is provided inside the box body having a mounting portion on the vehicle body side provided on the outside, and electric wires extending from the connector mounted on the connector mounting portion are directed to opposite sides. In an electrical junction box designed to extend,
Using a cover member that is integrally formed by partially connecting a first cover portion that covers one side in the extending direction of the electric wire in the box body and a second cover portion that covers the other side at the outer peripheral edge portion, An electrical junction box, wherein the cover member is detachably assembled to the box body from an unconnected opening portion at the outer peripheral edge of the first cover and the second cover.   The electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein a guide mechanism that extends linearly in an extrapolation direction of the cover member with respect to the box body is provided in the box body and the cover member.   The electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein a support portion that supports another member is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the box body exposed through the opening portion of the cover member.

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