JP2013158215A - Electrical junction box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrical junction box with a new structure that can more easily and highly secure the connection reliability between a connection part on a body side provided in a box body side and a connection part on a module side provided in an electrical component module, in an electrical junction box where an electrical component module in which electrical components are modularized is attached to the box body thereof.SOLUTION: Disclosed is an electrical junction box, including a module holder 16 comprising: a first lock part 62 functioning as a body side lock part of a box body 12 side; a connector part 52 functioning as a connection part on the box body side; and a second lock part 68 to be fixed to the box body 12, the first lock part 62 and the connector part 52 being integrally formed with the module holder. Through the first lock part 62, an electrical component module 14 is attached to the module holder 16 to connect a module side connection part 24 of the electrical component module 14 to the connector part 52. The module holder 16 is attached to the box body 12 through the second lock part 68.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical junction box provided in an automobile or the like, and more particularly to an electrical junction box in which an electrical component module in which electrical components such as relays and fuses are modularized is attached to a box body. .

  Conventionally, in an automobile or the like, an electric junction box such as a junction box is used in order to efficiently distribute power from a battery to each load such as a headlamp. Particularly in recent years, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-149527 (Patent Document 1), in order to simplify the wiring, a relay, a fuse, or the like connected to a load included in almost all vehicle types such as a headlamp. There is an electric component module that is modularized by, for example, concentrating them on a printed circuit board, and the electric component module can be commonly attached to an electric junction box of a plurality of vehicle types.

  By the way, in such an electrical junction box, in order to electrically connect the electrical component module and the box body, a body side connection portion such as a connector is provided on the box body side, and the counterpart provided in the electrical component module is provided. It is connected to a module side connection portion such as a side connector.

  However, in the conventional electrical junction box, a connector formed separately from the box body is locked and fixed to the box body as the body side connection portion. Therefore, if the connector is misaligned, there may be a large tolerance between the connector on the main body side of the box body and the connector to fix the electrical component module. There is a risk that the electrical component module to be connected cannot be stably connected to the connector on the main body side.

  Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes an electric connection box that reduces the tolerance between the main body side lock portion and the connector by integrally forming a connector shape as the main body side connection portion on the box main body. However, there are cases where the supplier of the electrical component module and the box body are different. In such a case, the dimensional accuracy of the electrical component module and the box body cannot be managed in a unified manner, and connection may be difficult. there were. In particular, when the electric component module is used in common for many vehicle types, the connection between the box main body and the electric component module of all vehicle types must be managed, which is very time-consuming.

JP-A-9-149527

  The present invention has been made in the background of the above-described circumstances, and the problem to be solved is provided on the box body side in an electrical junction box in which an electrical component module in which electrical components are modularized is attached to the box body. Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connection box having a novel structure that can easily and highly secure the connection reliability between the main body side connection portion and the module side connection portion provided in the electric component module.

  A first aspect of the present invention includes a box main body and an electric component module attached to the box main body, and the electric component module is attached to the box main body via a main body side lock portion provided on the box main body side. A first lock that constitutes the main body side lock portion in an electric connection box that is mounted and connected to a main body side connection portion provided on the box main body side and a module side connection portion provided on the electric component module And a module holder provided with a second lock portion fixed to the box body, wherein the electrical component module is the first part. Attached to the module holder via a lock part, the module side connection part is connected to the connector part, and the electrical component module is attached The module holder that is, that it is to be attached to the box body through the second locking part, characterized.

  In the electrical junction box structured according to this aspect, a module holder that is separate from the box body is provided, and the first lock portion that fixes the electrical component module to the module holder and the module side connection portion of the electrical component module are connected. And a connector portion to be integrally formed. Then, by assembling the module holder to the box body, the first lock portion constitutes the main body side lock portion, and the connector portion constitutes the main body side connection portion. Thereby, the main body side lock part and the main body side connection part are integrally formed with the module holder with high dimensional accuracy, and the electric component module fixed by the main body side lock part is assembled by assembling the electric component module to the module holder. Positioning with high accuracy on the main body side connection part enables stable connection.

  And the module holder which comprises a main body side lock part and a main body side connection part is made into a different body with respect to a box main body. As a result, if the dimensional accuracy of the module holder and the dimensional accuracy of the electrical component module can be secured, the second lock for assembling the module holder to the box body does not secure a high degree of accuracy, but the connection between the electrical component module and the body side connection portion The electrical component module can be assembled to the box body while ensuring reliability. Therefore, even if it is difficult to ensure the dimensional accuracy of the box body due to different providers of the box body, as long as the dimensional accuracy between the electrical component module and the module holder is secured, the electrical component module and the body Connection reliability with the side connection portion can be ensured. As a result, for example, even when an electrical component module is assembled in common to various box bodies, connection reliability with the main body side connection section can be improved without the need to highly manage dimensional accuracy with all box bodies. Can be secured.

  The module holder may be one that accommodates and fixes the electric component module, or one that is fixed in a non-accommodating state. The module-side connecting portion of the electrical component module and the connector portion of the module holder may be either a male connector or a female connector.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the one described in the first aspect, the module holder has a box shape having an opening, and the electric component module is inserted from the opening. In addition, a misbonding prevention rib is formed on one of the inner surface of the module holder and the outer surface of the electrical component module, and a misbonding prevention groove is formed on the other to be fitted to the misbonding prevention rib. It is what has been.

  According to this aspect, since the module holder has a box shape, it can be easily assembled to the module holder by inserting the electric component module. In addition, the module holder and the electrical component module are formed with the misbonding prevention rib and the misbonding prevention groove, so that the electrical component module can be prevented from being assembled to the module holder in the wrong direction. And the connector part of the module holder can be correctly connected.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, an external connection in which an external electrical component is connected to the electrical component module while a through hole is formed in the module holder. A portion is formed, and the external connection portion is exposed to the outside of the module holder through the through hole in a state where the electrical component module is attached to the module holder.

  According to this aspect, an external electrical component such as a connector can be connected to the external connection portion of the electrical component module through the through hole of the module holder. Accordingly, it is unnecessary to form all the connectors connected to the electric component module in the module holder, and it is possible to flexibly cope with a design change such as a change of the connected connector.

  In the present invention, a module holder in which a first lock part constituting the main body side lock part and a connector part constituting the main body side connection part are integrally formed is provided, and the electric component module is assembled to the module holder, The module holder was assembled to the box body. As a result, the electrical component module positioned and fixed by the first lock portion of the module holder can be accurately positioned and connected to the connector portion of the module holder integrally formed with the first lock portion with a high degree of reliability. I can do it. And since the module holder is separated from the box body, the dimensional accuracy between the electrical component module and the module holder can be managed only without managing the dimensional accuracy of the box body. The component module can be stably connected to the main body side connecting portion.

The disassembled perspective view of the electrical-connection box as one Embodiment of this invention. The side view of an electrical component module. The bottom view of the electrical component module shown in FIG. The side view of a module holder. The top view of the module holder shown in FIG. The bottom view of the module holder shown in FIG. VII-VII sectional drawing in FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the assembly | attachment state of the electrical-connection box shown in FIG.

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

  First, FIG. 1 shows an electrical junction box 10 as an embodiment of the present invention. The electrical junction box 10 has a structure in which an electrical component module 14 is assembled to a box body 12 via a module holder 16.

  2 and 3 show the electrical component module 14. The electric component module 14 has a substantially rectangular body shape. Although not shown, a printed circuit board on which a relay, a fuse, and the like are mounted is accommodated inside the electrical component module 14. A plurality of fuse mounting portions 20 are formed in parallel on the upper surface 18 of the electrical component module 14. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a pair of female connectors 24 and 24 as module side connection portions and a plurality of external connection female connectors 26 as external connection portions are formed on the lower surface 22 of the electrical component module 14. Yes.

  The female connectors 24, 24 are formed at both ends of the lower surface 22 in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 3). The female connectors 24 and 24 are formed as concave portions having a substantially rectangular opening shape on the lower surface 22, and tab-shaped male terminals 28 and 28 are provided therein. Further, a plurality of external connection female connectors 26 are provided in parallel between the pair of female connectors 24, 24 in the longitudinal direction of the lower surface 22. The lower surface 22 is formed with a hood portion 30 that surrounds the plurality of external connection female connectors 26 and protrudes downward (downward in FIG. 2). The hood portion 30 has a peripheral wall shape that expands downward (downward in FIG. 2). The pair of female connectors 24, 24 and the plurality of external connection female connectors 26 are electrically connected to a printed circuit board provided in the electrical component module 14.

  Further, on the side surfaces 32a to 32d of the electrical component module 14, lock portions 34 and 34 are provided on the side surfaces 32a and 32c located at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The lock portion 34 is formed with a flexible piece 36 (see FIG. 1) whose upper end (upper in FIG. 2) is a free end, and a locking claw 38 is formed on the flexible piece 36. Yes. Further, on both sides of the flexible piece 36, guide grooves 40, 40 extending in the extending direction of the flexible piece 36 (vertical direction in FIG. 2) are formed. Note that the guide groove 40 is opened only on the lower side (lower side in FIG. 2) in the extending direction.

  Further, a pair of erroneous connection preventing grooves 42 and 42 are formed on the side surface 32b of the electrical component module 14. These erroneous connection preventing grooves 42 and 42 are positioned at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the electrical component module 14, and have a groove shape that opens on the side surface 32 b and extends in the vertical direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2). Yes. The misconnection preventing grooves 42 and 42 are opened on both sides in the extending direction, and are opened on the upper surface 18 and the lower surface 22 of the electrical component module 14.

  Next, the module holder 16 is shown in FIGS. The module holder 16 is an integrally molded product made of synthetic resin, and has a substantially long rectangular box shape with peripheral walls 46 a to 46 d protruding from the outer peripheral portion of the bottom plate 44 and having an opening 48 on one side. . As a result, the module holder 16 is formed with a module housing portion 50 surrounded by the bottom plate 44 and the peripheral walls 46a to 46d.

  In the module holder 16, male connectors 52 and 52 as a pair of connector portions are integrally formed at both ends of the bottom plate 44 in the longitudinal direction. These male connectors 52, 52 are formed so as to protrude from the bottom plate 44 inward of the module housing portion 50. Furthermore, the male connectors 52 and 52 in the present embodiment are formed so as to penetrate the bottom plate 44, and outward projecting portions 54 and 54 projecting outward from the module holder 16 from the bottom plate 44 are formed. . Then, as shown in FIG. 7, female terminals 56, 56 connected to the male terminals 28, 28 of the electrical component module 14 are provided in the male connectors 52, 52, respectively. The extended electric wires 58 and 58 are taken out of the module holder 16 through the outward projections 54 and 54. Further, in the bottom plate 44, a through hole 60 is provided between the pair of male connectors 52, 52.

  Further, first lock portions 62, 62 are integrally formed on the inner surfaces of the peripheral walls 46a, 46c, respectively. As apparent from FIG. 1, the first lock portions 62 and 62 are formed with locking projections 64 that are located on the opening 48 side of the peripheral walls 46 a and 46 c and project inward of the module housing portion 50. Yes. Further, the first lock portions 62, 62 protrude inwardly of the module housing portion 50 on the inner surfaces of the peripheral walls 46b, 46d sandwiching the locking projection 64, and the insertion direction of the electric component module 14 (up and down in FIG. 1). Guide ribs 66 extending in the direction) are formed. As a result, the male connectors 52 and 52 and the first lock portions 62 and 62 are integrally formed in the module holder 16.

  In addition, second lock portions 68 and 68 are formed on the outer surfaces of the peripheral walls 46a and 46c, respectively. As apparent from FIG. 1, the second lock portions 68 and 68 in the present embodiment have the same shape as the lock portion 34 in the electrical component module 14 and are formed in the opposite direction to the electrical component module 14. A flexible piece 70 having a free end on the lower side (lower side in FIG. 1), and guide grooves 72 and 72 are formed on both sides of the flexible piece 70. A locking claw 74 is formed on the flexible piece 70. Further, the guide grooves 72, 72 are opened only on the upper side (upper side in FIG. 1) in the extending direction.

  Furthermore, a pair of erroneous connection preventing ribs 75, 75 is formed on the inner surfaces of the peripheral walls 46b, 46d. These erroneous connection prevention ribs 75 and 75 protrude from the peripheral walls 46b and 46d to the inside of the module housing portion 50, and extend in the insertion direction (vertical direction in FIG. 7) of the electric component module 14 from the bottom plate 44. An opening 48 is formed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the box body 12 is provided with a module mounting portion 76. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the module attachment portion 76 is formed with a longitudinal rectangular space in which the module holder 16 can be accommodated. Box body lock portions 80 and 80 are formed on inner surfaces 78 and 78 located at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the module mounting portion 76, respectively. These box body lock portions 80 have the same shape as the first lock portion 62 that engages with the lock portion 34 of the electric component module 14 in the module holder 16 and is formed in the opposite direction to the electric component module 14. And a guide rib extending in the insertion direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) of the module holder 16 on both sides of the lock protrusion 82. 84 and 84 are formed, respectively. The module mounting portion 76 is formed with an insertion hole 86 that opens below the box body 12 (downward in FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIG. 8, the electrical component module 14 is inserted into the module holder 16, and the module holder 16 into which the electrical component module 14 is inserted is inserted into the module mounting portion 76 of the box body 12. The electrical component module 14 is inserted into the module housing 50 through the opening 48 of the module holder 16. At this time, when the electrical component module 14 is inserted in a normal direction with respect to the module holder 16, the erroneous connection preventing grooves 42 and 42 of the electrical component module 14 shown in FIG. The electrical component module 14 is positioned with respect to the module holder 16 by being fitted to the prevention ribs 75 and 75 and guided in the insertion direction (vertical direction in FIG. 8). On the other hand, when the electrical component module 14 is inserted in the wrong direction with respect to the module holder 16, the erroneous connection preventing ribs 75, 75 come into contact with the electrical component module 14, thereby preventing incorrect insertion. It is like that. In addition, guide ribs 66 and 66 provided in the first lock portions 62 and 62 of the module holder 16 are inserted into the guide grooves 40 and 40 provided in the lock portions 34 and 34 of the electric component module 14, respectively. The locking claws 38 of the electric component module 14 are positioned with respect to the locking projections 64 of the module holder 16. Then, by inserting the electric component module 14, the flexible pieces 36 and 36 of the electric component module 14 are bent, and after the locking claws 38 and 38 get over the locking projections 64 and 64, the flexible piece By returning 36 and 36, the locking claws 38 and 38 are engaged with the locking protrusions 64 and 64. At the same time, the male connectors 52, 52 of the module holder 16 are respectively inserted into the female connectors 24, 24 of the electrical component module 14, and the male terminals 28, 28 in the female connectors 24, 24 shown in FIG. Are connected to the female terminals 56 and 56 in the male connectors 52 and 52 shown in FIG. In this way, the electrical component module 14 is fixed to the module holder 16 in the accommodated state in the module accommodating portion 50.

  Further, the module holder 16 to which the electrical component module 14 is fixed is inserted into the module mounting portion 76 of the box body 12 from below (lower in FIG. 8) through the insertion hole 86 of the module mounting portion 76. It should be noted that guide ribs 84 provided on the box body lock portions 80 and 80 of the module mounting portion 76 are respectively provided in guide grooves 72 and 72 (see FIG. 1) provided on the second lock portions 68 and 68 of the module holder 16. , 84 are inserted, the locking claws 74, 74 of the module holder 16 are positioned with respect to the locking projections 82, 82 of the box body 12. Then, by inserting the module holder 16, the flexible pieces 70, 70 of the module holder 16 are bent, and after the locking claws 74, 74 get over the locking projections 82, 82, By returning 70, the locking claws 74 and 74 are engaged with the locking protrusions 82 and 82.

  As described above, the electrical component module 14 is fixed to the module holder 16 by engaging the lock portion 34 of the electrical component module 14 and the first lock portion 62 of the module holder 16. The module holder 16 is fixed to the box body 12 by engaging the second lock portions 68 and 68 of the module holder 16 to which the electrical component module 14 is fixed and the box body lock portions 80 and 80 of the box body 12. Is done. Thereby, the electrical component module 14 is fixed to the box body 12 via the module holder 16.

  In a fixed state to the module holder 16, the hood portion 30 that protrudes from the lower surface 22 of the electric component module 14 protrudes outward of the module holder 16 through the through hole 60 of the module holder 16. Thereby, the plurality of external connection female connectors 26 provided in the hood portion 30 are exposed to the outside of the module holder 16 through the through holes 60, and the external male connector 88 as an external electrical component is externally connected. Each connection female connector 26 can be connected.

  In the electrical junction box 10 having the structure according to the present embodiment, first lock portions 62 and 62 for locking the electrical component module 14 to the module holder 16 formed separately from the box body 12, and the electrical component module 14. Male connectors 52 and 52 connected to the female connectors 24 and 24 are integrally formed. Accordingly, the first lock portions 62 and 62 and the male connectors 52 and 52 can be formed with high dimensional accuracy, and the female connectors 24 and 24 of the electrical component module 14 that are positioned and fixed by the first lock portions 62 and 62 can be formed. The male connectors 52 and 52 can be accurately positioned. As a result, the connection stability between the female connectors 24, 24 and the male connectors 52, 52 can be highly secured.

  Then, by fixing the module holder 16 to the box body 12 via the second lock portions 68, 68, the electric component module 14 can be fixed to the box body 12 via the module holder 16. Thereby, the first lock portions 62 and 62 of the module holder 16 constitute a main body side lock portion for fixing the electric component module 14 to the box main body 12, and the male connectors 52 and 52 of the module holder 16 A main body side connecting portion on the box main body 12 side connected to the female connectors 24, 24 of the component module 14 is configured.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the first lock portions 62 and 62 constituting the main body side lock portion on the box main body 12 side and the male connectors 52 and 52 constituting the main body side connection portion are integrated with the module holder 16. By forming, the connection stability of the female connectors 24 and 24 of the electrical component module 14 and the male connectors 52 and 52 as the main body side connection portions can be ensured. Therefore, for example, even when the provider of the box body 12 is different from the provider of the electrical component module 14, if the dimensional accuracy between the electrical component module 14 and the module holder 16 is ensured, the female connectors 24, 24 of the electrical component module 14 Connection reliability with the male connectors 52, 52 on the box body 12 side can be ensured. As a result, it is not necessary to highly manage the dimensional accuracy between the box body 12 and the electrical component module 14, especially when the electrical component module 14 is used in common for many types of box bodies 12. This eliminates the need for highly managing the dimensional accuracy with respect to all the box bodies 12, and can greatly improve the manufacturing efficiency.

  Further, erroneous connection preventing grooves 42 and 42 are formed in the electrical component module 14, and erroneous connection preventing ribs 75 and 75 are formed in the module holder 16. As a result, the electrical component module 14 can be prevented from being inserted into the module holder 16 in the wrong direction, and erroneous assembly of the electrical component module 14 can be prevented. In addition, the misconnection prevention grooves 42 and 42 and the misconnection prevention ribs 75 and 75 are fitted to each other, and the guide grooves 40 and 40 provided in the lock portion 34 of the electrical component module 14 are fitted to the first of the module holder 16. By inserting the guide ribs 66, 66 provided in the lock portion 62, the electrical component module 14 can be accurately positioned in the module holder 16, and the female connectors 24, 24 of the electrical component module 14 and the module holder can be positioned. The 16 male connectors 52 and 52 can be more stably connected.

  Furthermore, a plurality of external connection female connectors 26 are provided on the lower surface 22 of the electrical component module 14, and these external connection female connectors 26 are exposed to the outside of the module holder 16 through the through holes 60 of the module holder 16. . Thereby, the electrical component module 14 can be directly connected to the external male connector 88 without using the module holder 16. As a result, it is not always necessary to form all the connector shapes connected to the electrical component module 14 in the module holder 16. For example, when the number of connectors connected to the electrical component module 14 or the connector shape is changed, It is also possible to cope flexibly by changing only the shape of the external connection female connector 26 of the component module 14.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited by the specific description. For example, a male connector shape may be formed on the electric component module 14 side and a female connector shape may be formed on the module holder 16 side in the embodiment. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the module holder 16 was inserted and assembled | attached with respect to the box main body 12 from the downward (lower part in FIG. 8), of course, it is upper with respect to the box main body 12 (FIG. 8 may be inserted and assembled from above.

  Further, the module holder is not necessarily limited to the one that fixes the electric component module in the accommodated state, and may be one that fixes the electric component module in the non-accommodated state. Further, the external connection female connector 26 of the electrical component module 14 in the above embodiment is not necessarily required. Furthermore, the through hole of the module holder that exposes the external connection portion of the electrical component module is not necessarily required. For example, the external connection portion and the through hole are provided on the side surface of the electrical component module and the side surface of the corresponding module holder. It may be provided to expose the external connection portion of the electrical component module to the side surface of the module holder.

10: Electrical connection box, 12: Box body, 14: Electrical component module, 16: Module holder, 24: Female connector (module side connection part), 26: External connection female connector (external connection part), 28: Male terminal, 42: Misconnection prevention groove, 52: Male connector (connector portion, main body side connection portion), 56: Female terminal, 58: Electric wire, 60: Through hole, 62: First lock portion (main body side lock), 68: First Double lock part, 75: Misbonding prevention rib, 88: External male connector (external electrical component)

Claims (3)

A box main body and an electric component module attached to the box main body, and the electric component module is attached to the box main body via a main body side locking portion provided on the box main body side, and on the box main body side In the electrical connection box in which the module side connection portion provided in the electrical component module is connected to the provided body side connection portion,
A module holder in which a first lock part constituting the main body side lock part and a connector part constituting the main body side connection part are integrally formed, and a second lock part fixed to the box body is provided With
The electrical component module is attached to the module holder via the first lock part, and the module side connection part is connected to the connector part,
The electrical connection box, wherein the module holder to which the electrical component module is attached is attached to the box body via the second lock portion. The module holder has a box shape having an opening, the electrical component module is inserted from the opening, and either the inner surface of the module holder or the outer surface of the electrical component module The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein an erroneous connection prevention rib is formed on one side, and an erroneous connection prevention groove is formed on the other side to be fitted to the erroneous connection prevention rib. A through hole is formed in the module holder, and an external connection part to which an external electrical component is connected to the electrical component module is formed. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion is exposed to the outside of the module holder through the through hole.

Images