JP2989475B2 - 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 connection box for fixing terminals and bus bars to a box body using stud bolts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electric connection box of an automobile, when a bus bar for supplying power and an LA terminal are screwed, a stud bolt is attached to a box body of the electric connection box, and a bus bar and an LA terminal are connected to the stud bolt by a nut. It is often performed to fasten.

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of an example of a conventional electric junction box described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-62474.
The box body 2 of the electric connection box 1 is formed of resin, and has an insertion portion 2a of the bus bar 3 and a bolt housing 2b. A bolt 6 having a square head 6a is press-fitted into the bolt housing 2b with the screw 6b facing upward. At an end of the bus bar 3, a fixing plate portion 7 having a fixing hole 7a is integrally formed. An LA terminal 5 having a fixing hole 5a is attached to an end of the electric wire 4.

In order to fix the LA terminal 5 and the bus bar 3,
With the fixing plate portion 7 of the bus bar 3 and the LA terminal 5 overlapped, the fixing holes 7a and 5a are fitted into the screw portion 6b of the bolt 6, and a nut is screwed onto the screw portion 6b of the bolt 6 from above. tighten. Thereby, the fixing of the bus bar 3 and the LA terminal 5 and the electrical connection between them are simultaneously achieved.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show an electric connection box in which bolts are insert-molded in a box body. FIG. 8 shows a state before fixing the LA terminal 5 and the bus bar 13, and FIG. 9 shows a state after fixing.

In the electric junction box 11, the box body 12 is insert-molded with the bolt 16 positioned in the mold. In this case, the head 16a of the bolt 16
It is embedded in the resin constituting the box body 12 and has a screw portion 16b.
Project out of the resin. The box body 12 has a receiving groove 12a for the bus bar 13 formed therein, and a lance 12b for engaging with the locking hole 13b of the bus bar 13 is provided in the receiving groove 12a. A mounting surface 12c on which the bus bar 13 is mounted is formed in the box body 12, and the screw portion 16b of the bolt 16 projects outward with reference to the mounting surface 12c.

When the LA terminal 5 and the bus bar 13 are fixed to the electric junction box 11, as shown in FIG.
The terminal 5 and the fixing plate portion 17 of the bus bar 13 are overlapped, the fixing holes 17a are fitted into the screw portions 16b of the bolts 16, and the nuts 18 are screwed onto the screw portions 16b of the bolts 16 from above. Thereby, the fixing of the bus bar 13 and the LA terminal 5 and the electrical connection between them are simultaneously achieved.

The reason why the bolts are integrated with the electric junction box is to rationalize the parts management and to prevent the bolts from turning and coming off.

[0009]

Generally, LA
The terminal fixing and the final fixing of the bus bar are performed in a work area or a manufacturer different from the manufacturing of the electric junction box, such as a wire harness assembling process or an outfitting process.
At that time, the screw part of the bolt may be damaged by tightening the nut, but in the past, the bolt was integrated into the box body by press fitting or insert molding, so only the bolt can be replaced However, there is a problem that the entire electric junction box or the whole wire harness must be replaced, which is uneconomical. In the case of press-fitting, it is possible to remove the bolt, but it is necessary to pry, so that there is a problem that it is difficult to reuse the box body after all.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an electric junction box in which even if a bolt is damaged when tightening a nut, only the bolt can be easily replaced.

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

[0014]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a box book is provided .
The body and the screw part are protruded outside so that it can be detached from the box body
A bolt to be mounted; and the bolt formed on the box body.
A bolt fixing hole to accommodate the head of the
The bolt fixing hole is formed on a peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole.
And a flexible lock piece for preventing the bolt from coming off.
The flexible lock piece is cantilevered on the back side of the bolt fixing hole.
With the free end extending to the opening edge of the bolt fixing hole.
A flexible space for the flexible lock piece is secured on the outer peripheral side.
It is, and the free end of the flexible locking piece, between the head outer periphery of the bolt adjacent to said free end when accommodating the bolt into the bolt fixing holes, to ensure a clearance for releasing jig insertion It is characterized by the following.

The invention of claim 2 provides an electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein the gap, and the free end of the elastic lock piece, the head outer periphery of the bolt adjacent thereto, at least one Characterized in that it is formed by the notch formed in the groove.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electrical junction box according to the first or second aspect , the flexible space is formed by a vertical groove formed on a peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole. The flexible lock piece is housed therein.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electrical junction box according to any one of the first to third aspects, the flexible lock piece is engaged with an engagement groove formed in a head of the bolt. A mating engagement convex portion is formed, and when the bolt is inserted into the bolt fixing hole, the engagement convex portion is pressed by the head of the bolt,
A guide slope for bending the flexible lock piece in the disengagement direction is formed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electric connection box according to the fourth aspect , wherein the engaging groove of the head of the bolt is formed continuously around the entire circumference of the head. .

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electrical junction box according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the flexible lock piece comprises:
A plurality of the bolt fixing holes are arranged at intervals in a circumferential direction.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the electrical junction box according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the head of the bolt is formed in a polygonal cross section, and the bolt fixing hole is formed in the polygonal cross section. Is formed in a polygonal hole corresponding to the head of the bolt.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the electrical junction box according to the seventh aspect , the flexible lock piece is a flat peripheral wall between the corners of the bolt fixing hole formed by the polygonal hole. Are formed respectively.

[0022]

[0023]

[0024]

[0025]

[Action] In the present invention of claim 1, the bolt head bolt solid
By inserting it into the fixed hole, the bolt is prevented from turning and
It is retained by the flexible lock piece. Therefore, the box book
The body and the bolt can be integrated, and in this state the screw part of the bolt
To the terminal and busbar fixing holes, and screw the nut
Screw the terminal or bus bar to the bolt.
Terminals and busbars.
Can be Also, when removing the bolt,
The bolt is bent in the direction of disengagement,
It can be pulled out from the fixing hole and the bolt can be replaced freely
You . Also, the flexible lock piece is on the peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole,
It is hidden from the outside during normal handling, so carelessly
The bolts can be manipulated to prevent the bolts from coming off. Also,
The free end of the cantilevered flexible lock piece is
Free end extending to this opening edge
Is bent toward the flexible space, so that the locking
Can be canceled. Furthermore , insert the release jig into the gap,
The flexible lock piece can be bent toward the flexible space, and the bolt can be easily removed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the gap is formed by the notch, there is no gap, but rattling of the bolt does not occur.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the flexible lock piece is housed in the vertical groove formed on the peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole, the peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole is not hindered by the flexible lock piece. Can hold the head of the bolt.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, as the bolt is inserted into the bolt fixing hole, the flexible locking piece is automatically bent by the action of the guide slope to engage with the head of the bolt.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the bolt engaging groove is provided on the entire circumference of the head, regardless of the position in the bolt rotating direction,
The head of the bolt can be engaged with the flexible arm.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the plurality of flexible lock pieces are provided at equal intervals, the bolts are prevented from coming off in a well-balanced manner.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the bolt is securely prevented from rotating by the bolt fixing hole formed by the polygonal hole.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the flexible lock piece is located at a position avoiding the corner of the polygonal hole for stopping the rotation of the bolt, no excessive force acts on the flexible lock piece.

[0033]

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

FIG. 1 is a view showing the structure of the box body of the electric connection box of the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a view showing a state where bolts are mounted on the box body, and FIG. 3 is a view showing a state where LA terminals and bus bars are fixed to the bolts. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a bolt.

First, the structure of the bolt 50A will be described first. Bolts 50A, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 4, and a square pole head 52 and a threaded portion 54, the head 5
2 , an engaging groove 53 having a rectangular cross section continuous over the entire circumference is formed at the intermediate portion in the height direction. The bottom surface of the engagement groove 53 is formed as a square cylindrical surface concentric with the outer peripheral surface (square cylindrical surface) of the head 52.

The box body 22 has a bolt fixing hole 24 into which the head 52 of the bolt 50A can be inserted from above. The bolt fixing hole 24 is formed as a square hole corresponding to the shape of the head 52 of the bolt 50A. Bolt fixing hole 24
Has a bottom portion closed by a back wall 26 and a bolt 50
The head 52 of A is formed so as to have a depth that just fits. A jig insertion hole 28 for pushing up the bolt 50A is appropriately formed in the back wall 26 of the bolt fixing hole 24.

On the four flat peripheral walls of the bolt fixing hole 24, the bolt 50A is positioned at the center in the width direction.
The vertical groove 30 is formed along the insertion direction. Each flute 3
0 is formed from the opening edge of the bolt fixing hole 24 to the back, and has a rectangular cross section. In the center of the cross section, a flexible lock piece 32 is accommodated with a predetermined gap between the flexible lock piece 32 and the surrounding wall. This flexible lock piece 3
Numeral 2 is integrated with the peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole 24 at its rear end, and is configured as a cantilever having a free end 32 a extending to the opening edge of the bolt fixing hole 24. And
The gap between the outer peripheral surface of the flexible lock piece 32 and the inner peripheral surface of the vertical groove 30 is configured as a flexible space of the flexible lock piece 32.

An engagement groove 53 formed in the head 52 of the bolt 50A is formed on the inner surface of the flexible lock piece 32 at the middle portion in the longitudinal direction.
Is formed, and when the bolt 50A is inserted into the bolt fixing hole 24, the engaging convex portion 34 is pressed by the head 52 of the bolt 50A to form a flexible lock. A guide slope 34a for bending the piece 32 toward the flexible space is formed.

In addition, a receiving groove 22a of the bus bar 13 is formed at a position beside the bolt fixing hole 24, and a lance 22b is formed in the bus bar receiving groove 22a. A bus bar mounting surface 22c is formed around the opening edge of the bolt fixing hole 24.

Then, the box main body 22 thus configured
By inserting the head 52 of the bolt 50A into the bolt fixing hole 24, an electric connection box 20A as an assembly as shown in FIG. 2 is formed.

At this time, when the head 52 of the bolt 50A is inserted into the bolt fixing hole 24, the flexible lock piece 32 is moved in the flexible space by the action of the guide slope 34a of the engaging projection 34 of the flexible lock piece 32. The flexible lock piece 32 is restored to the original position when the engagement groove 53 of the bolt 50A is aligned with the engagement protrusion 34, and the flexible lock piece 32 is engaged with the engagement protrusion 34. The mating groove 53 is engaged to prevent the bolt 50A from coming off. Therefore, the bolt 50A can be easily assembled. In addition, since the engagement groove 53 of the head 52 of the bolt 50A is formed continuously around the entire circumference of the head, the bolt 50A can be reliably engaged no matter which direction the bolt 50A is inserted.

In this state, since the bolt 50A is handled as one part, it is not necessary to manage the bolt 50A as a single part, and it is easy to manage. In particular, since the flexible lock piece 32 is formed on the peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole 24, the flexible lock piece 32 is inadvertently operated during normal handling such as transportation, and the bolt 5
OA does not come off. Further, since the flexible lock piece 32 is located in the vertical groove 30, the flexible lock piece 32
Without being disturbed by the bolt 5
The head 52 of OA can be strongly held. Further, since the flexible lock pieces 32 are respectively disposed on all four flat peripheral walls, the bolts 50A are prevented from coming off in a well-balanced manner.
Unless all the plurality of flexible lock pieces 32 are released, the bolts 50 do not come off, so there is no fear that the bolts 50 will fall off carelessly.

At this point, the bus bar 13 may be mounted. The bus bar 13 is mounted in the housing groove 2 of the box body 22.
This is performed by inserting the base end of the bus bar 13 into 2a. When the bus bar 13 is inserted, as shown in FIG.
3 is locked by the lance 22b. At the same time, busbar 13
The fixing hole 17a of the fixing plate part 17 is fitted into the screw part 54 of the bolt 50A.
0 is configured.

Then, the electric connection box 20A is carried into a wire harness assembling step or the like, and the fixing holes 5a of the LA terminals 5 are fitted into the screw portions 54 of the bolts 50A as shown in FIG. Is assembled to complete the assembly.

When tightening the nut 18, the bolt 50
Since A is securely prevented from rotating by the square bolt fixing hole 24 and is prevented from coming off by the flexible lock piece 32, it can be easily tightened. In addition, bolt 50A
Since the flexible lock piece 32 is located at a position avoiding the corner of the square hole for preventing the rotation of the flexible lock piece 32, there is no fear that an excessive force is applied to the flexible lock piece 32 and there is no possibility of breakage.

Here, if the nut 18 is tightened,
When the screw portion 54 of the bolt 50A is damaged, the bus bar 13 is removed to bring it into the state shown in FIG. 2, and all the flexible lock pieces 32 are bent outward. When the flexible lock piece 32 is bent outward, the engagement between the engagement protrusion 34 and the engagement groove 53 is released, and the bolt 50 comes off. And the broken bolt 5
Remove 0A, replace it with a new one, and continue the work. As described above, when the bolt 50A is damaged, the bolt 50A can be removed by bending the flexible lock piece 32, so that only the bolt 50A can be replaced, and the box body 22 can be used as it is. it can.

When the flexible lock pieces 32 are bent outward, the free ends 32a of the flexible lock pieces 32 extend to the opening edges of the bolt fixing holes 24. By inserting a release jig into the gap P between the head 32 of the bolt 50A and the bolt 32A, the flexible lock piece 32 can be bent.

In this case, if the bolt 50B shown in FIG. 5 is used in advance, the bolt 50B can be more easily removed.

The bolt 50B has a notch 56 cut obliquely in the portion of the edge of the head 52 adjacent to the free end 32a of the flexible lock piece 32. Other than that,
It is exactly the same as the bolt 50A.

When this is used, as shown in FIG. 6, the clearance P can be made large, so that the release jig can be easily inserted.
The bolt 50B can be more easily removed.

The same effect can be obtained even if the notch is provided on the flexible lock piece 32 side.

As described above, when the gap is secured by the notch 56, it is not necessary to secure a gap between the inner surface of the flexible lock piece 32 and the peripheral surface of the head 52 of the bolt 50B. The integrity of the main body 22 can be further improved, and rattling of the bolt 50B can be prevented.

In the above embodiment, the bolts 50A, 5
Although the cross-sectional shape of the head 52 of 0B is square, other shapes may be used. However, a polygon is desirable.
When the head shapes of the bolts 50A and 50B are changed, the bolt fixing holes 24 are naturally changed accordingly.

[0054]

[0055]

[0056]

[0057]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to this, when the head of the bolt is housed in the bolt fixing hole,
The bolts are prevented from falling out, so the integrity of the box body and bolts
Can be secured. Therefore, handling as one part
Is possible and easy to manage. In addition, screw parts of bolts
If is damaged, bend the flexible lock piece
Bolts can be removed, so only bolts can be replaced
No, the box body can be used as it is. I
Therefore, there is little waste and only by changing bolts,
You can continue your work . In addition, the present invention
According to the description, the flexible lock piece is on the peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole,
Because it is hidden from outside during normal handling, carelessly flexible lock
Manipulating the piece prevents the bolt from coming off. Also,
The free end of the flexible lock piece extending to the opening edge of the
By bending to the flexible space side, easily by the flexible lock piece
Can be disengaged and the bolt can be removed from the bolt fixing hole
Can be pulled out. Furthermore, the bolt can be pulled out by easily bending the flexible lock piece using the release jig.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is no possibility that the bolt is rattled, and the bolt can be easily removed using the release jig.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the head of the bolt can be securely held by the peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole, and the holding strength is increased.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the bolt can be locked only by inserting it into the bolt fixing hole, so that the bolt can be easily assembled.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the bolt can be engaged in any direction, assembly can be facilitated.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the bolt can be reliably prevented from coming off in a well-balanced manner. In addition, unless all the plurality of flexible lock pieces are released, the bolt does not come off, so there is no risk of accidentally dropping the bolt.

According to the invention of claim 7 , the bolt can be reliably and firmly prevented from turning.

According to the invention of claim 8 , since no excessive force acts on the flexible lock piece, there is no possibility of breakage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views showing a state before mounting a stud bolt of an electric junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. FIG.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are views showing a state in which stud bolts are attached to the electric junction box according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 2A is a plan view and FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a bus bar and a terminal are connected to stud bolts of the electric connection box according to one embodiment of the present invention;
(A) is a plan view, (b) is IIIb-III in FIG.
FIG.

4A and 4B show a stud bolt used in one embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A is a side view, FIG. 4B is a front view, and FIG. 4C is a rear view.

5A and 5B show a stud bolt used in another embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 5A is a side view, FIG. 5B is a front view, and FIG. 5C is a rear view.

6A and 6B are diagrams showing a stud bolt mounted state of an electric junction box according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 6A is a plan view and FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along the line VIb-VIb in FIG. .

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional electric junction box.

8A and 8B show another example of a conventional electric junction box, in which FIG. 8A is a plan view, and FIG. 8B is a sectional view taken along the line IIXb-IIXb in FIG.

9A and 9B are diagrams showing a state in which a bus bar and a terminal are connected to stud bolts of the electric connection box in FIG. 8, wherein FIG. 9A is a plan view and FIG. 9B is a sectional view taken along the line IXb-IXb in FIG. is there.

[Explanation of symbols]

 22 Box main body 24 Bolt fixing hole 30 Vertical groove (Flexible space) 32 Flexible lock piece 32a Free end 34 Engagement convex part 34a Guide slope 50A Bolt 50B Bolt 52 Head 53 Engagement groove 54 Screw part 56 Notch P gap

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-1-129707 (JP, A) JP-A-57-5518 (JP, U) JP-A-3-62474 (JP, U) JP-A-6 12816 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model No. 5-91122 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model No. 3-40765 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model No. 5-62124 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Application No. Sho 61-166454 (JP, U) 6-9325 (JP, U) 1-9747 (JP, Y2) 48-14990 (JP, Y1) (58) Fields studied (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H02G 3/08-3/20

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A box main body, and a screw portion is detachably mounted on the box main body by projecting outwardly.
And the head of the bolt formed on the box body and detented
A bolt fixing hole to be housed in a state, and a bolt fixing hole formed on a peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole.
With bolts and a flexible locking piece to prevent dislodgement from said flexible lock piece is cantilever supported at a rear side of the bolt fixing hole
With the free end extending to the opening edge of the bolt fixing hole.
A flexible space for the flexible lock piece is secured on the outer peripheral side.
It is, and the free end of the flexible locking piece, between the head outer periphery of the bolt adjacent to said free end when accommodating the bolt into the bolt fixing holes, to ensure a clearance for releasing jig insertion An electric junction box characterized by the above. 2. The electrical junction box according to claim 1 , wherein the gap is formed in at least one of a free end of the flexible lock piece and an outer periphery of a head of the bolt adjacent to the flexible lock piece. An electrical junction box formed by: 3. The electric junction box according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible space is formed by a vertical groove formed in a peripheral wall of the bolt fixing hole, and the flexible space is formed in the vertical groove. An electric connection box in which a lock piece is accommodated. 4. The electric connection box according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible lock piece has an engagement protrusion that engages with an engagement groove formed in a head of the bolt. A guide bevel is formed on the engaging projection so that, when the bolt is inserted into the bolt fixing hole, the guiding slope is pressed by the head of the bolt to bend the flexible lock piece in the disengaging direction. An electrical junction box characterized by being formed. 5. The electric junction box according to claim 4 , wherein the engaging groove of the head of the bolt is formed continuously around the entire circumference of the head. 6. The electric connection box according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of said flexible lock pieces are arranged at intervals in a circumferential direction of said bolt fixing hole. And electrical junction box. 7. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein the bolt head is formed in a polygonal cross section, the head of the bolt fixing holes of said polygonal section bolt An electric junction box formed in a polygonal hole corresponding to the above. 8. The electric junction box according to claim 7 , wherein the flexible lock pieces are formed on flat peripheral walls between the corners of the bolt fixing holes formed by the polygonal holes. An electrical junction box characterized by the following.