JP2985716B2 - Electrical junction box - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric junction box used for a wiring harness for an automobile, and more particularly to an electric junction box such as a junk junction box in which branch circuits for various electric components are intensively arranged at a high density. When the selection circuit is different due to a difference in grade or destination, the corresponding branch circuit can be easily configured.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a wire harness for an automobile, when a branch line is branched by splicing to an electric wire of the wire harness to form a branch circuit, the diameter of the wire harness is enlarged and splicing is troublesome and costly. There is a drawback, and as a result, an electrical junction box such as a junk box in which branch circuits are concentrated is formed.

In the electric junction box, the shape of an internal wiring member such as a bus bar and a connection mode between the internal wiring member and an external circuit are changed in accordance with a required branch circuit. Therefore, for example, even in the same vehicle type, the internal wiring material such as the bus bar and the case of the electric connection box are newly designed and formed every time the selection circuit is different due to the difference of the grade and the destination.

[0004]

However, when the above-mentioned bus bar and case are newly formed, there is a disadvantage that a molding die is required and the cost is extremely high. Instead of the bus bar, the internal circuit may be composed of a single-core wire and a press-contact terminal that presses against the single-core wire, but also in this case, a new design must be newly designed each time the circuit is changed. Instead, the case needs to be newly formed with a molding die, and a wiring die corresponding to a circuit is also required.

[0005] In addition to the internal wiring material and the bus bar, a PC
There are B (printed circuit board) and FPC (flexible printed circuit), but in any case, when they are arranged on the same layer in the electrical junction box, short circuit is likely to occur. For this reason, there is a limit to the circuit layout in the same layer, and there is a drawback that the internal structure of the electric connection box becomes complicated and large, inevitably becoming a multilayer wiring. Further, when a large current circuit is required, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the conductors of the PCB and the FPC. In this case, the conductor must be manufactured by a die-stapping method using a blade, and there is a problem that the number of operations is increased.

As described above, conventionally, every time the selection circuit is changed depending on the grade, destination, etc. of the automobile, the internal branch circuit of the electric connection box must be changed, and a new circuit design is required, and Design of molds required for manufacturing wiring materials such as upper and lower cases of electric connection box, bus bars forming internal circuits,
Manufacturing also needs to be performed, and there has been a problem that the development period is prolonged and costs are increased. In particular, there is a drawback that the cost is high for a small-production model.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and does not need to change the case and the internal circuit of the electric connection box even if the selection circuit is changed according to the grade, destination, etc. of the automobile. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric connection box that can be dealt with simply by selecting a selected circuit member and attaching it to the electric connection box.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides, in a case of an electric junction box, a shared circuit commonly used for all types of vehicles and a selection circuit required for any type of vehicle. The internal circuit including all of them is housed in advance, and for each of the selection circuits, a discontinuous portion is provided in a part thereof, and a connection terminal is provided at a terminal serving as the discontinuous portion. Formed openings separately for each of the selection circuits, arranged connection terminals of the selection circuits inside these openings, and provided a connection circuit for connecting discontinuous portions of the selection circuits. A selection circuit member is provided, these selection circuit members are selected and attached to the opening of the case, a connection circuit of the selection circuit member is connected to the connection terminal, a required selection circuit is connected, and an unnecessary selection circuit is provided. Insert the selection circuit member It provides an electrical junction box that is configured to close with the lid as remain discontinuous without.

The openings may not be formed for each selection circuit but may be collectively formed as one opening, and a required selection circuit member corresponding to a required portion of the opening may be inserted. In this case, it is preferable to form a partition in the case for holding each selection circuit member at a required position.
The opening may be provided on the upper surface, the lower surface, or /
And can be formed on the side.

A locking mechanism is provided between the lid and the case to lock. Preferably, the openings are provided for each of the selection circuit members, and the openings are formed in the case in parallel, and a lid for closing the parallel openings is slidably attached to the case.

[0011] Of the internal circuits housed in the case of the electric junction box in advance, the external circuit connection terminals provided on the common circuit are projected to the common circuit connector section provided on the case, while the internal circuit connection terminals are provided. An external circuit connection terminal provided in the selection circuit is protruded from a selection circuit connector provided in the case, and is connected to a wire harness of the external circuit via the external circuit connection terminal. The selection circuit connector section may be formed for each selection circuit,
A plurality of selection circuits may be integrated into one connector unit.

The internal circuit provided with the common circuit and the all-selection circuit previously housed in the case of the electric connection box is composed of a bus bar, a combination of a single-core wire and a press-connecting terminal, an FPC, and a PCB.
Alternatively, they are formed by combining these. It is not necessary to change the design of the internal circuit for each vehicle type. Therefore, even if the internal circuit is formed of a bus bar, the cost of the bus bar punching die is not required, and the bus bar can be arranged in multiple layers via an insulating plate. It is preferable to use When the internal circuit is formed by the bus bar, it is preferable that the external circuit connection terminal to be connected to the wire harness of the shared circuit and the selection circuit is configured by a male tab formed by projecting and bending a part of the bus bar. Also, it is preferable that the connection terminals of the terminals on both sides of the discontinuous portion of the selection circuit are also formed of male tabs.

The selection circuit member to be selectively inserted into the opening provided in the case has a shape in which a circuit member such as an FPC or a PCB is attached to a spacer which is fitted and locked in the opening. A tongue-shaped relay terminal connected to the terminal of the discontinuous part of the selection circuit of the circuit is connected by pressure contact with the conductor of the circuit member. When the internal circuit is formed by a bus bar and a tab of a tongue type is integrally formed with the bus bar, the FPC, P
It can be connected to a conductor such as CB.

The selection circuit member is not limited to the FPC, PCB or the like, but may be formed by attaching a bus bar or a single core wire and a press contact terminal to a spacer. Further, the spacer may have a shape that closes the opening of the case, and a lock portion may be provided between the spacer and the case, so that the lid is not required. In that case, only the spacer may be attached to the case opening where the selection circuit member is not inserted and closed.

The opening into which the selection circuit member is inserted is rectangular, and the terminal of the terminal of the discontinuous portion of the selection circuit of the internal circuit is located inside the opening along two or four sides facing each other. And is connected to a required conductor of the selection circuit member to be inserted into the opening.

[0016]

According to the electric connection box of the first aspect, a required selection circuit member is selected, and among the openings provided in the electric connection box, the selection circuit member is selected in the opening for mounting the selection circuit member. When the selection circuit member is attached, discontinuous portions of the selection circuit provided in the internal circuit of the electric connection box are connected, and a required selection circuit is completed. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the design of the internal circuit of the electric connection box in accordance with the change of the selection circuit, and it is sufficient to simply select the selection circuit member and attach it to the opening of the case.

Also, since the opening is formed in the case separately for each selection circuit, for example, if the number corresponding to the opening and the selection circuit is given, the required opening can be easily and without mistake. The required selection circuit member can be attached to the. In addition, since all openings are closed with lids in both the opening where the selection circuit member is inserted and the opening where the selection circuit member is not inserted, dust or water may enter the inside of the case of the electric connection box from the opening. Can be prevented. Naturally, it is possible to prevent a short circuit or the like from occurring due to another member coming into contact with the terminal exposed inside the opening where the selection circuit member is not inserted.

When the lid is locked and fixed to the case, there is no need to provide a lock mechanism with the case in the selection circuit member.
The selection circuit member need only be inserted into the case through the opening and fitted and held between the upper surface of the upper insulating plate housed in the case and the lid.

Further, if the shared circuit connector section and the selection circuit connector section are separately provided, if the common circuit wire harness is connected to the shared circuit connector section in which only the external circuit connection terminal of the shared circuit is projected. If the wiring harness of the selection circuit is connected to the selection circuit connector that protrudes only the external circuit connection terminal of the selection circuit, the equipment can be electrically connected to the equipment common to all models, Can be electrically connected to In addition, since the selection circuit connector section is provided separately from the shared circuit connector section,
Incorrect connection of the wiring harness is unlikely to occur.

In the electric connection box of the present invention, even if the selection circuit is changed, the internal circuit of the electric connection box is not changed.
There is no problem if the internal circuit is constituted by a bus bar, a combination of a single core wire and a press contact terminal, an FPC, a PCB, or any wiring material combining these.

Further, since the selection circuit member is formed by attaching a circuit member such as an FPC or a PCB to a spacer fitted inside the opening, the size can be reduced. Also,
When a circuit member such as an FPC or a PCB is used, if a tongue-type relay terminal is connected to a terminal of a discontinuous portion of a selection circuit of an internal circuit, a tongue having elasticity of the conductor of the circuit member and the relay terminal is provided. Simply and press-contacting the one-sided terminal portion enables simple and reliable connection.

[0022]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric junction box according to the present invention. FIGS. 1 to 4 show an electric connection box according to a first embodiment, in which an upper case 1a and a lower case 1b are fitted and locked, and a case 1 of a box-shaped electric connection box is shown.
Is composed. As shown in FIG. 2, busbars 2A and 2B are stacked and arranged inside the case 1 with an insulating plate 3B interposed therebetween, and the upper insulating plate 3A is arranged on the upper surface of the upper busbar 2A.

Bus bar 2 housed inside case 1
A and 2B form a shared circuit 4 that is shared by all types of vehicles, and a selection circuit 5 that is used by any type of vehicle.
A selection circuit 5 including all A, 5B, 5C, and 5D is formed. In this embodiment, the main part of the shared circuit 4 is formed by the lower bus bar 2B, the main part of the selection circuit 5 is formed by the upper bus bar 2A, and the selection circuit 5 is arranged in the upper left part of FIG. doing. As shown in FIG. 3, since the shared circuit 4 and a part of the selection circuit 5 are connected, they may be formed evenly in the same layer.

The bus bars 2A and 2B forming the shared circuit 4 and the all-selection circuit 5 are provided with male tabs for external circuit connection terminals for connection to a wire harness, respectively. The common circuit connector portion 7 formed in the case 1 is protruded from the
Male tab 8 protrudes from the selection circuit connector section 9. These connector portions 7, 9 are juxtaposed on one side (the right side in FIG. 1) of the upper case 1a.

Each of the selection circuits 5 constituting the all-selection circuit 5
In the circuits A, 5B, 5C, and 5D, for example, a discontinuous portion X is provided in a part of the circuit, such as a selection circuit 5A indicated by a dashed line in FIG. At the portions located at both ends of these discontinuous portions X, male tabs 10 serving as connection terminals are provided by projecting a part of the bus bar 2A (2B), and these male tabs 10 are passed through openings of the upper insulating plate 3A, It is connected to the tongue type relay terminal 11. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, each of the tongue-type relay terminals 11 connected to the male tabs 10 has a rectangular opening 12A formed in the upper case 1a independently for each of the selection circuits 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D. , 12B,
It is located inside the opening along two opposing sides of 12C and 12D.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the tongue-type relay terminal 11 is formed by bending a metal plate, and a pair of tab members bent inward from both lower sides of the vertical plate portion 11a. The stopper 11b is provided, and the elastic tongue 11c is bent downward from the upper end of the flat plate 11a and then bent inward.

Opening 12A formed in upper case 1a
12D are arranged side by side on the other side (the left side in FIG. 1) of the upper case 1a, and a lid guide groove 14 is provided on the periphery of each of the openings 12A to 12D. These openings 12A to 12A
In D, the lids 13A to 13D inserted into the mounting holes 1c formed in the side wall of the upper case 1a are slid and closed while being guided by the guide grooves 14. A lock claw 16 for fixing the case is projected from each of the slide-type lids 13A to 13D so as to engage with a lock groove (not shown) formed on the case side when the openings 12A to 12D are closed. I have.

As shown in FIG. 4, the openings 12A to 12D are loaded into the discontinuous portions X of the selection circuits 5A to 5D and provided at both terminals of the discontinuous portions of the selection circuits 5A to 5D. Connected to the male tab 10 via a tongue-type relay terminal 11,
The selection circuit members 20A to 20D for connecting the discontinuous portions X are detachably inserted. These selection circuit members 20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D are selectively used in accordance with electrical components mounted on a vehicle.
In some cases, only the selection circuit member 20A is inserted and attached to the opening 12A, and the other selection circuit members 20B, 20C, and 20D are not used. In this case, the lid 13A of the opening 12A is closed after the selection circuit member 20A is inserted, and the openings 12B, 12C, and 12 in which the selection circuit member is not inserted.
D is also closed with lids 13B, 13C, and 13D.

In the present embodiment, the selection circuit members 20A to 20D are FPCs in which a connection circuit 22 formed of a conductor made of copper foil punched into a required shape is sandwiched between two insulating sheets 21. As shown in FIG. 4, the circuit member 23 is formed of a box-shaped spacer 2 made of resin.
5 is adhered with an adhesive from the lower surface to both side surfaces. When the spacer 25 is inserted into the openings 12A to 12D, the spacer 25 is held on the upper surface of the upper insulating plate 3A, and the terminal portions of the conductors 22 located on both sides thereof are connected to the tongue portion 11 of the tongue type relay terminal 11.
c. At the pressure contact portion with the tongue piece portion 11c, the insulating sheet 21 on the front side is removed to connect the circuit 2
2 are exposed and electrically connected. Selection circuit member 20
After inserting A-20D, the lids 13A-13D are closed, so that the selection circuit members 20A-20D are immovably fixed in the gap between the insulating plate 3A and the lids 13A-13D. still,
FIG. 4 shows a state in which the upper insulating sheet 21 of the FPC has been removed.

In the electric junction box having the above-described structure, only one of the selection circuit members 20A to 20D is selected and inserted into the corresponding one of the openings 12A to 12D in accordance with the type of the electric component to be mounted. Thus, the required selection circuits can be completed continuously. In addition, by connecting a wire harness to be connected to an electrical component mounted on the selection circuit connector portion 9 having the male tab 8 projecting from the male tab 8 for connecting the entire selection circuit and the wire harness, the electrical component can be electrically connected.

Therefore, it is not necessary to change the electric connection box itself every time the selection circuit is different, and it is not necessary to newly design and manufacture, and it is possible to easily cope with the circuit change.

The second embodiment shown in FIG.
A lock claw 16 ′ for connecting to the case is provided on the side wall of the spacer 25. As described above, when the selection circuit member 20 is inserted into the opening of the case, and is locked by locking with the locking groove 1d (shown in FIG. 6) formed on the periphery of the opening of the case, the lid is attached to the case. It is not necessary to provide 13. In this case, a spacer 25 having only the lock claw 16 'may be attached to the opening where the selection circuit member 20 is not loaded.

In the second embodiment, the spacer 25
A circuit member 23 made of PCB is adhered to one surface of
Terminal connection portions 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d located along four sides are formed in the connection circuit 22 of the circuit member 23. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The tongue-shaped relay terminal 11 protrudes downward along the four sides of the opening 12 of the case into which the “0” is inserted. Therefore, when the selection circuit member 20 is inserted into the opening 12 with the circuit member 23 facing downward, the upward tongue piece 11c of the relay terminal 11 is pressed against the terminal connection portions 22a to 22d to be electrically connected.

The lid 13 shown in FIG. 7 may be used without providing the spacer 25 with a lock mechanism for the case. The lid 1
3 is different from the first embodiment in that a U-shaped elastic locking arm 30 protrudes from the periphery of the lid 13 without using a sliding lid,
A locking claw 16 protrudes from the lower end. The lid 13 is
The elastic locking arm 30 is fitted from the upper surface of the opening 12 while being bent, and the locking claw 16 is locked in the locking groove formed in the periphery of the opening of the case and fixed to the upper surface of the case, and the opening 12 is closed. ing.

When the relay terminal 11 is arranged along a required side of the case opening shown in FIG. 6, two circuit members 23 made of FPC are laminated and attached to the spacer 25 as shown in FIG. , A terminal connection unit 22a of the connection circuit 22,
It is also possible to use the selection circuit member 20 in which the direction 22b is orthogonal.

FIG. 9 shows an opening 12A, 1
This is a third embodiment in which 2B is formed on the side surface of the case 1. These openings 12A and 12B are formed by cutting out the side surfaces of the upper case 1a, and the insulating plate 3 disposed inside the case is projected to the center of the openings 12A and 12B, and a tongue-type relay terminal is provided on the upper part thereof. 11 project in parallel. These openings 12A and 12B are provided with U-shaped spacers 2.
5 is a selection circuit member 2 having an FPC or a flexible circuit member 23 obtained by bending a rigid substrate adhered to the inner surface of the selection circuit member 2.
0A and 20B are inserted, and the terminal connection portion of the connection circuit 22 of the circuit member 23 is arranged at a position where the connection terminal 22 is connected to the relay terminal 11.

After the selection circuit members 20A and 20B are inserted into the openings 12A and 12B, as shown in FIG. 10, the U-shaped covers 13A and 13B are put on the selection circuit members 20A and 20B.
The locking claw 16 formed in the 3B is locked in a locking groove (not shown) formed in the case, and the selection circuit members 20A and 20B are locked.
The lids 13A and 13B are fixed to the case 1.

FIG. 11 shows a reference embodiment in which openings formed separately for each selection circuit member are combined into one and formed on the side surface of the case 1, and a required selection circuit member is selected. The opening 12 is closed by a cover 13 fitted to a required position of the opening 12 and slidably attached to the case 1 from the side. The insulating plate 3 protruding from the opening 12 is provided with a locking claw 31 for locking each selected circuit member, and locked in a locking groove (not shown) formed in a spacer of the selected circuit member. By doing so, the selection circuit member is positioned at a predetermined position.

In the above embodiment, the internal circuit housed in the case is formed by a bus bar. However, the internal circuit is formed by a single core wire and a pressure contact terminal pressed against the single core wire, and a male tab provided on the pressure contact terminal is provided. You may make it connect to the said relay terminal. Further, the internal circuit side may be formed by FPC, PCB, or the like. Alternatively, the selection circuit member side may be formed by attaching a bus bar to a spacer, and both the internal circuit side housed in the case and the selection circuit side provided in the selection circuit member use appropriate wiring materials. Can be
Not limited.

[0040]

As is apparent from the above description, in the electric connection box according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is not necessary to change the electric connection box even if the vehicle type is different and the selection circuit is different. If only one type of the upper and lower cases of the electric connection box and the internal circuit housed in the case are provided, it is possible to correspond to a plurality of vehicle types. On the other hand, conventionally, for each vehicle type having a different selection circuit, a corresponding case and an internal circuit accommodated in the case were required, so that a mold for forming the case and a mold for forming the circuit were required, respectively. According to the present invention, one type of mold can support a plurality of types of vehicles, so that cost can be significantly reduced and productivity can be dramatically improved.

Further, since the opening is formed in the case separately for each selection circuit, the required selection circuit member can be easily attached to the required opening without mistake. In addition, the opening provided in the case is completely closed by the lid regardless of whether the selection circuit member is inserted or not, so that dust or water can be prevented from entering the case of the electric connection box.

Further, if the lid is covered after the selection circuit member is attached and the lid is provided with a lock portion to the case, there is no need to provide a lock mechanism for the case with the selection circuit member, and the configuration of the selection circuit member can be simplified. it can.

Further, when the connector part for the shared circuit and the connector part for the selection circuit are separately formed in the case in the electric connection box, errors are less likely to occur when the wire harness is connected.

Further, in the electric connection box of the present invention, since the internal circuit is not changed, the internal circuit is constituted by a bus bar, a combination of a single core wire and a press contact terminal, an FPC, a PCB, or any wiring material combining these. However, it is not necessary to form the mold for forming the internal circuit according to the type of vehicle, and it can be appropriately selected according to the use of the electric junction box.

Further, the circuit member of the selection circuit member is FPC,
Since it is formed of a circuit member such as a PCB, the design can be easily changed and the size can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electric junction box according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a sectional view of a main part of the electric connection box of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view showing a tongue-type relay terminal connected to a male stub.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bus bar constituting an internal circuit of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view for explaining a configuration of a selection circuit member of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a selection circuit member according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of an electric junction box according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a modification of the lid used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a modification of the selection circuit member used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partially exploded perspective view of an electric junction box according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a lid used in the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a partial perspective view of the electric junction box of the reference example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 1a Upper case 2 (2A, 2B) Bus bar which comprises an internal circuit 3 (3A, 3B) Insulation board 4 Shared circuit 5 (5A-5D) Selection circuit 6 Male tab of common circuit 7 Connector part for common circuit 8 Selection circuit Male tab 9 connector part for selection circuit 10 tab 11 tongue type relay terminal 12 (12A to 12D) opening 13 (13A to 13D) lid 20 (20A to 20D) selection circuit member 22 connection circuit 23 circuit member

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-62-1321 (JP, A) JP-A-1-2122641 (JP, A) JP-A-55-47931 (JP, A) JP-A-5-47931 3618 (JP, A) JP-A 4-66061 (JP, U) JP-A 62-191318 (JP, U) JP-B 1-52217 (JP, B2) JP-B 5-6411 (JP, B2) 1-35529 (JP, Y2) 61-38350 (JP, Y2) 1-30815 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H02G 3/08-3/20

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] (1)In the case of the electrical junction box,Common to all models
Shared circuit used for
When the internal circuits having all the selection circuits to be provided are housed in advance, and each of the selection circuits is provided with a
In addition, a connection terminal is provided on the terminal which becomes these discontinuous portions,In the case of the above electrical junction box, it is distinguished for each of the above selection circuits
To form openings, and select each of the above options inside these openings.
Arrange the connection terminals of the circuit,  A connection circuit is provided to make the discontinuous part of each selection circuit continuous
Selected circuit membersProvided,  Select these selection circuit members and install them in the opening of the case.
And connecting the connection circuit of the selection circuit member to the connection terminal.
ConnecthandContinue the required selection circuit,Unnecessary selection circuits can be disconnected without inserting the above selection circuit members.
Close with the lid as it is Electrical connections that are configured
box. 2. The method according to claim 2, wherein said case is inserted into an opening provided in said case.
The selectively used circuit member is a switch that fits inside the opening.
Forming by attaching circuit members such as FPC and PCB to the pacer
Connected to the discontinuous terminal of the selection circuit of the internal circuit.
Press the tongue-type relay terminal into contact with the conductor of the circuit
Electrical connection box according to claim 1, which continue to. 3. The electric junction box is housed in advance in the case.
Of the internal circuits that are
Connecting terminal to the common circuit connector section provided in the case.
The external circuit provided in the selection circuit of the internal circuits.
Selective circuit connector with circuit connection terminal provided in the case
To the external circuit wiring harness and the external circuit connection.
The electric connection box according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electric connection box is connected through a connection terminal . 4. The electric junction box is housed in the case in advance.
The internal circuit with the common circuit and all the selection circuits
Sub bar, combination of single core wire and pressure contact terminal, FPC, PC
The electrical junction box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electrical junction box is formed by combining B or a combination thereof .