JP2012028363A - Housing grounding mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the man hour of a work for connecting a shield member and a conductive housing electrically in a process where the end of a wire harness is connected to the housing of an electrical apparatus.SOLUTION: Housing grounding mechanism 1 comprises a lid member 20 which closes a second opening 12 for access to a terminal block 30 formed in a housing 10 when it is screwed to a conductive housing 10, and a conductive spring member 40 provided on the surface of the lid member 20 facing the inside of the housing 10. When the lid member 20 is attached to the housing 10, the spring member 40 contracts while touching a shield member 54 at the end of a wire harness 50 in a state where a terminal 51 at the end is connected to the terminal block 30.

Description

  The present invention relates to a housing grounding mechanism that electrically connects a shield member of a wire harness and a conductive housing.

  A wire harness mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile often includes a cable, a shield member that covers the periphery of the cable, and a terminal provided at the end of the cable. A general shield member is a braided wire. Such a wire harness has its end inserted into the housing of the electrical equipment through the opening, and the terminal at the end is connected to a terminal block housed in the housing of the electrical equipment. In addition, at the end of the cable, the shield member is electrically connected to a conductive casing in the electrical equipment.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional case grounding mechanism 100 that electrically connects the braided wire of the wire harness and the case of the electrical equipment. The housing 10 of the electrical equipment is made of, for example, a metal (conductor) such as aluminum or copper, and a terminal block 30 that relays electrical connection between the wire harness 60 and an electronic component (not shown) is accommodated therein. Has been.

  Further, the first opening 11 and the second opening 12 are formed in the housing 10 of the electrical equipment relatively close to each other. The first opening 11 is an opening into which an end of a wire harness 60 having a cable 69 with a terminal 61 provided at the end is inserted. The terminal 61 at the end of the cable 69 inserted from the first opening 11 is connected to the terminal block 30 by screws. The second opening 12 is an opening for accessing the terminal block 30 from the outside of the housing 10. Through the second opening 12, an operation of screwing the terminal 61 of the wire harness 60 to the terminal block 30 is performed. The second opening 12 is closed by the lid member 20. The lid member 20 is fixed to the housing 10 with screws 9 in a state of closing the second opening 12.

  A cable holding member 63 and a shield bracket 62 are provided at the end of the cable 69. The cable holding member 63 is a member made of an insulator such as a resin that covers the periphery of the ends of the plurality of cables 69 while holding the plurality of terminals 61 in a parallel state. When the cable holding member 63 is fitted into the first opening 11, the first opening 11 is closed.

  The shield bracket 62 is a metal member attached to the cable holding member 63 so as to be in contact with the braided wire 64 that covers the periphery of the cable 69. For example, the shield bracket 62 is attached to the cable holding member 63 by a caulking fitting (not shown). At that time, the end of the braided wire 64 and a part of the shield bracket 62 are sandwiched between the caulking fitting and the cable holding member 63, so that the shield bracket 62 is in contact with the braided wire 64. Retained. The housing 10 is formed with a screw hole 13 into which the screw 7 is attached. The shield bracket 62 is fixed to the housing 10 with screws 7, whereby the braided wire 64 and the housing 10 are electrically connected. That is, the housing grounding mechanism 100 is configured by caulking metal fittings, a shielding bracket 62, screws 7, and screw holes 13 of the housing 10.

  Moreover, the wire harness shown by patent document 1 is equipped with the metal shielding case attached to the cable in the state which contacts a braided wire, and the shielding case is screwed with respect to a metal housing | casing. Thus, the braided wire and the housing are electrically connected. The shield case is attached to the end of the cable covered with the braided wire by a caulking metal fitting. In other words, the conventional case grounding mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a caulking fitting, a shield case, a screw, and a screw hole of the case. Note that an opening for accessing a bus bar substrate (terminal block) inside the housing is also provided in the housing shown in Patent Document 1, and a lid for closing the opening is provided.

JP 2002-134953 A

  However, the conventional case grounding mechanism is used to fix the conductive member attached to the cable in contact with the shield member (braided wire), such as the shield bracket 62 or the shield case, to the case. Requires screwing work. For this reason, the conventional case grounding mechanism has a problem of increasing labor in the process of connecting the wire harness cable to the electrical equipment.

  An object of the present invention is to reduce the number of man-hours for electrically connecting a shield member and a conductive casing in the step of connecting the end portion of the wire harness to the casing of the electrical equipment.

The housing grounding mechanism according to the present invention includes a shield member in a wire harness having a cable, a shield member covering the periphery of the cable, and a terminal provided at the end of the cable, and a first opening. This is a mechanism that electrically connects a conductive casing that houses a terminal block to which a terminal terminal of a cable inserted from an opening is connected, and includes the following components.
(1) The first component is a conductive lid member that closes the second opening for access to the terminal block formed in the housing by being attached to the housing.
(2) The second component is provided on a surface of the lid member facing the housing, and the end of the wire harness in a state where the terminal is connected to the terminal block by attaching the lid member to the housing. It is the electroconductive spring member which shrink | contracts, contacting with respect to the shield member in the part or the electroconductive member which contacts the shield member.

  It is also conceivable that the housing grounding mechanism according to the present invention further includes a cable holding member described below. The cable holding member has a window that covers the periphery of the plurality of cables and the shield member and exposes a part of the shield member while holding a plurality of terminals provided at the end of the cable in a parallel state at the end of the wire harness. It is a member made of a formed insulator and fitted into the first opening of the housing in a state where the window is positioned inside the housing. In this case, the spring member contacts the shield member through the window of the cable holding member.

  In the housing grounding mechanism according to the present invention, the spring member may be a leaf spring member.

  In the housing grounding mechanism according to the present invention, the leaf spring member may contract while contacting the shield member covering the periphery of the end portion of the flat cable in a posture along the flat surface of the cable.

  According to the present invention, only by attaching the lid member to the casing, the shield member and the conductive casing are electrically connected via the spring member and the lid member. That is, the work of screwing the conductive member in contact with the shield member to the housing is not required. As a result, in the process of connecting the end of the wire harness to the housing of the electrical equipment, the number of man-hours for electrically connecting the shield member and the conductive housing is reduced.

  Further, in the case grounding mechanism according to the present invention, a cable holding member that is fitted into the first opening of the case is provided, and the spring member contacts the shield member through the window of the cable holding member. A dustproof and waterproof structure at the end is easily realized.

  Moreover, if a spring member is a leaf | plate spring member, the contact area of a spring member, a shield member, or the electroconductive member which contacts the shield member can be enlarged. As a result, a poor electrical connection between the shield member and the casing is prevented, and the casing is more reliably grounded.

  Further, the leaf spring member comes into contact with the shield member in a posture along the flat surface of the flat cable, thereby further improving the reliability of the case grounding.

It is a perspective view of case grounding mechanism 1 concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the cover member in the housing grounding mechanism 1 and the spring member provided on the inner surface thereof. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the housing grounding mechanism 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a wire harness that is grounded by a housing grounding mechanism 1. FIG. It is a perspective view of the conventional housing grounding mechanism 100.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and is not an example of limiting the technical scope of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the housing grounding mechanism 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. The case grounding mechanism 1 is a mechanism that is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and electrically connects the shield member 54 included in the wire harness 50 and the conductive case 10 in the electrical equipment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the housing grounding mechanism 1 includes a housing 10 of an electrical equipment, a lid member 20, a screw 9, a leaf spring member 40, and a cable holding member 53. 4, the wire harness 50 grounded by the housing grounding mechanism 1 includes a plurality of flat cables 59, a shield member 54 that collectively covers the periphery of the plurality of flat cables 59, and a shield member. 54 and a corrugated tube 56 covering the periphery of 54. The flat cable 59 includes a plurality of core wires 58 arranged in parallel and an insulating coating 57 that covers the periphery of the plurality of core wires 58. The shield member 54 is, for example, a braided wire formed in a cylindrical shape by knitting metal strands.

  The cable holding member 53 is an insulator made of a synthetic resin such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), ABS resin, polypropylene (PP), or polyamide (PA), and is provided at the end of the flat cable 59. A terminal 51 is provided at the end of the core wire 58 of each of the plurality of flat cables 59. At the end of each flat cable 59, the plurality of core wires 58 are joined to one joint 52 by welding. A terminal 51 is welded to the joint 52.

  The cable holding member 53 holds the plurality of terminals 51 provided at the ends of each of the plurality of flat cables 59 in a parallel state and covers the periphery of the plurality of flat cables 59 and the shield member 54. However, the cable holding member 53 is formed with a window 53A that exposes a part 54A of the shield member.

  The housing 10 of the electrical equipment is a conductive member made of a metal such as aluminum, copper, or stainless steel, and is a container that houses the terminal block 30 and other equipment (not shown). The terminal block 30 is a component that relays electrical connection between the wire harness 50 and an electronic component (not shown). The terminal 51 at the end of the flat cable 59 in the wire harness 50 is screwed to the terminal block 30.

  Further, the housing 10 has a first opening 11 and a second opening 12 formed on different surfaces at relatively close positions. The first opening 11 is an opening into which an end portion of the flat cable 59 provided with the terminal 51 is inserted. The terminal 51 at the end of the flat cable 59 is inserted from the first opening 11 and is screwed to the terminal block 30.

  The cable holding member 53 is fitted into the first opening 11 of the housing 10 with the window 53 </ b> A positioned in the housing 10. Accordingly, the first opening 11 is blocked by the cable holding member 53. A ring-shaped rubber packing 55 is attached to a portion of the cable holding member 53 that is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the first opening 11. As shown in FIG. 3, when the cable holding member 53 is fitted into the first opening 11, the rubber packing 55 comes into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the first opening 11. Thus, the cable holding member 53 constitutes a dustproof and waterproof structure of the first opening 11 together with the rubber packing 55.

  On the other hand, the second opening 12 is an opening for accessing the terminal block 30 from the outside of the housing 10. Through the second opening 12, an operation of screwing the terminal 51 of the wire harness 50 to the terminal block 30 is performed.

  The lid member 20 is a member that closes the second opening 12 by being attached to the housing 10. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the lid member 20 is fixed to the housing 10 with screws 9. Therefore, a screw hole 13 into which the screw 9 is screwed is formed in the housing 10. The lid member 20 is a conductive member made of the same kind of material as that of the housing 10, and is a member made of a metal such as aluminum, copper, or stainless steel.

  A leaf spring member 40 is attached to the inner side surface of the lid member 20 (the surface facing into the housing 10). The leaf spring member 40 is a conductive member, for example, a member made of a metal such as aluminum, copper, or stainless steel.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a part of the leaf spring member 40 is fitted in a groove formed between the two ribs 22 that protrude to face the inner surface of the lid member 20. It is being fixed to the lid member 20 by. In the example shown in FIG. 3, a bent portion 40 </ b> A having elastic stretchability in the width direction is formed in a part of the leaf spring member 40 by being bent in the width direction. The leaf spring member 40 is fixed to the inner surface of the lid member 20 by being fitted into the groove between the two ribs 22 in a state where the bent portion 40A is contracted. Various methods for attaching the leaf spring member 40 to the lid member 20 are conceivable. For example, the leaf spring member 40 may be fixed to the inner surface of the lid member 20 by welding.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the leaf spring member 40 is elastically contracted by the stress received from the direction in which the inner surfaces of the lid member 20 face each other, that is, the stress received from the direction inside the housing 10. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the end of the wire harness 50 in a state where the terminal 51 is connected to the terminal block 30 by being attached to the housing 10 so as to close the second opening 12. The shield member contracts while being in contact with a part 54A of the shield member. The terminal 51 is fixed to the terminal block 30 with screws 8.

  Further, the leaf spring member 40 contacts a part 54 </ b> A of the shield member through the window 53 </ b> A of the cable holding member 53. In this state, the leaf spring member 40 contracts while contacting with a portion 54A of the shield member covering the periphery of the end portion of the flat cable 59 in a posture along the flat surface of the flat cable 59.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a ring-shaped rubber packing 23 along the outer edge of the second opening 12 is attached to the inner surface of the lid member 20. When the lid member 20 is attached to the housing 10 so as to close the second opening 12, the rubber packing 23 is in close contact with the surface forming the outer edge of the second opening 12 in the housing 10. Thus, the lid member 20 constitutes a dustproof and waterproof structure of the second opening 12 together with the rubber packing 23.

  As described above, in the case grounding mechanism 1, the lid member 20 is in contact with the case 10 only by being attached to the case 10, and the plate in contact with the cover member 20. The spring member 40 contacts the part 54A of the shield member. That is, the shield member 54 and the conductive casing 10 are electrically connected via the leaf spring member 40 and the lid member 20. At this time, the work of screwing the conductive member in contact with the shield member 54 to the housing 10 is not required. As a result, in the step of connecting the end of the wire harness 50 to the housing 10 of the electrical equipment, the number of man-hours for electrically connecting the shield member 54 and the conductive housing 10 is reduced.

  Further, the leaf spring member 40 is held in close contact with the part 54A of the shield member by a reaction force generated by the elastic deformation thereof. Further, since the leaf spring member 40 is in surface contact with the part 54A of the shield member, the contact area with the part 54A of the shield member can be increased. Further, the leaf spring member 40 is in contact with a part 54 </ b> A of the shield member in a posture along the flat surface of the flat cable 59. These prevent a poor electrical connection between the shield member 54 and the housing 10 and contribute to a more reliable housing grounding.

  Further, in the case grounding mechanism 1, a cable holding member 53 that is fitted into the first opening 11 of the case 10 is provided at the end of the wire harness 50, and the leaf spring member 40 is a window of the cable holding member 53. A part 54A of the shield member is contacted through 53A. Thereby, in the end portion of the shield member 54, a portion exposed through the window 53 </ b> A is located in the housing 10, and a portion located outside the first opening 11 is covered with the cable holding member 53. In addition, the first opening 11 is closed by the cable holding member 53. Therefore, a dustproof and waterproof structure at the end of the shield member 54 can be easily realized without requiring a work for retrofitting a special waterproofing member. In addition, dustproofing and waterproofing of parts other than the end of the shield member 54 are realized by the corrugated tube 56.

  In the embodiment described above, the leaf spring member 40 is employed as a spring member that electrically connects the lid member 20 and the shield member 54, but other spring members such as a coiled spring member are employed. It is also conceivable.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the structure in which the leaf spring member 40 is in direct contact with the part 54A of the shield member is employed, but the leaf spring member 40 is a conductive member in contact with the shield member 54. It is also conceivable to adopt a structure that contracts while contacting. As such a conductive member, for example, a metal member that is fixed in contact with the shield member 54 by a caulking metal fitting or the like may be adopted, like the shield bracket 62 shown in FIG. .

  In the above-described embodiment, the flat cable 59 is employed as the cable included in the wire harness 50. However, the housing grounding mechanism according to the present invention may be applied to housing grounding of a shield member of a wire harness including another cable such as a cable having a circular cross section.

  In the above-described embodiment, the cable holding member 53 may not be employed. For example, the housing 10 may be formed with a plurality of first openings 11 into which end portions of the plurality of flat cables 59 are fitted. In this case, the edge portions of the plurality of first openings 11 in the housing 10 function as cable holding portions that hold the end portions of the plurality of flat cables 59.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case grounding mechanism 8,9 Screw 10 Case 11 1st opening 12 2nd opening 13 Screw hole 20 Lid member 22 Rib 23 Rubber packing 30 Terminal block 40 Leaf spring member 40A Bending part 50 Wire harness 51 Terminal 52 Joining Portion 53 Cable holding member 53A Window 54 Shield member 54A Part of shield member 55 Rubber packing 56 Corrugated tube 57 Insulation coating 58 Core wire 59 Flat cable

Claims (4)

The shield member in the wire harness having a cable, a shield member covering the periphery of the cable, and a terminal provided at the end of the cable, and a first opening is formed, and the cable inserted from the first opening A housing grounding mechanism for electrically connecting a conductive housing that houses a terminal block to which the terminal at the end is connected,
A conductive lid member that is attached to the housing and closes the second opening for accessing the terminal block formed in the housing;
The lid member is provided on the surface facing into the housing, and the lid member is attached to the housing, whereby the terminal is connected to the terminal block at the end of the wire harness. A housing grounding mechanism comprising: a shield member or a conductive spring member that contracts while being in contact with a conductive member that is in contact with the shield member. A window that covers the periphery of the plurality of cables and the shield member and exposes a part of the shield member while holding the plurality of terminals provided at the end of the cable in a parallel state at the end of the wire harness A cable holding member that is fitted into the first opening of the housing in a state where the window is positioned in the housing,
The housing grounding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the spring member contacts the shield member through the window of the cable holding member.   The housing grounding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the spring member is a leaf spring member.   The housing installation mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the leaf spring member contracts while contacting the shield member covering the periphery of the end portion of the flat cable in a posture along the flat surface of the cable.

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