JP3022256B2 - Temporary holding mechanism for 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 a temporary holding mechanism for an electric junction box, and more particularly to a cowl / wire harness routed to a vehicle body and an instrument panel (hereinafter abbreviated as an instrument panel). An electric connection box for connecting a wire harness to be laid is temporarily held on the vehicle body when the instrument panel is attached.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the connection between a cowl wire harness routed on the vehicle body (dashboard) side of an automobile and a wire harness routed inside an instrument panel on which instruments are installed is connected via an electric connection box. Have gone.

As shown in FIG. 4, a cowl / wire harness is routed on a dashboard D separating an engine room side and a vehicle room side of a vehicle body. Leave it hanging. Next, the instrument panel P is fixed to the dashboard D with bolts and nuts. Then, the connector 2 connected to the terminal of the wire harness W / H-2 routed inside the instrument panel P
Is connected to the electric junction box 1. Finally, the electric junction box 1 is fixed to a predetermined position of the vehicle body such as the dashboard D by tightening with a nut.

[0004]

When the instrument panel is fixed to the vehicle body (dashboard) before the instrument panel is fixed to the vehicle body (dashboard), the electric connection box 1 connected to the cowl / wire harness W / H-1 has an electric power consumption. Connection box 1 and instrument panel side harness W / H
Since it is difficult to connect to the connector-2, etc., as described above, before fixing the instrument panel to the vehicle body, the instrument panel is held in the cowl / wire harness W / H-1 and is hung.

However, when the electric connection box 1 is not fixed as described above and hangs down from the cowl and wire harness W / H-1, the electric connection box 1 comes into contact with other members such as a vehicle body such as a dashboard and a floor. And the problem of corruption occurs. Further, when the instrument panel P is mounted in this state, the instrument panel P and the electric connection box 1 come into contact with each other, and the electric connection box 1 may be damaged, and the electric connection box 1 and the cowl / wire harness W / H-1 may be damaged. , Instrument panel P and dashboard D
There is a problem in that the pinch pinches between the two and hinders the mounting operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an electric connection box for connecting a cowl wire harness routed on the vehicle body side and a wire harness routed inside the instrument panel is provided in the instrument panel. An object of the present invention is to improve mounting workability by temporarily holding the vehicle body at the time of mounting.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a cowl, which is disposed on a vehicle body side.
The electrical connection box connected to the wire harness is temporarily held before mounting the instrument panel, and after fixing the instrument panel to the vehicle body, the electrical connection box is connected to the wire harness routed to the instrument panel. Thereafter, the electric connection box is fixed at a predetermined position, and a provisional holding suspension having a U-shape is provided by connecting the tips of a pair of fixing arms projecting from the electric connection box, A fixing bolt provided in advance on the vehicle body is used as a projecting member, and the temporary holding hanging portion is hooked on the projecting member and temporarily held. When fixed, a bolt hole drilled at the tip of the fixing arm is used. An object of the present invention is to provide a temporary holding mechanism for an electric connection box, in which the fixing bolt is inserted and fixed with a nut.

[0008]

[0009]

According to the temporary holding mechanism of the electric connection box according to the first aspect of the present invention, the electric connection box attached to the end of the cowl wire harness is connected to the projecting member projecting from the vehicle body by:
The electric connection box is temporarily held on the vehicle body by hooking the U-shaped or hook-shaped temporary holding suspension portion of the electric connection box. As described above, since the electric connection box can be temporarily held on the vehicle body, the electric connection box is prevented from being damaged by contact with other members such as the vehicle body and the floor. In addition, in this temporary holding state, the instrument panel (instrument panel) is attached to the vehicle body, so that the electrical connection box and the cowl and wire harness connected to the electrical connection box bite between the instrument panel and the vehicle body. , Can be prevented from hindering the mounting operation.

After the instrument panel is fixed to the vehicle body, an operator inserts his / her hand into the lower part of the instrument panel to fit the connector of the wire harness routed on the instrument panel into a predetermined connector fitting portion of the electric connection box. Then, the cowl wire harness on the vehicle body and the wire harness on the instrument panel are connected. At this time, since the electric connection box is at the temporary holding position, the operator does not need to groping for the place where the electric connection box is located or the like, thereby improving the workability of fitting the connector. Finally,
The temporary holding portion of the electric connection box is removed from the protruding member to release the temporary holding state of the electric connection box, and the electric connection box is fixed to the mounting position of the vehicle body.

According to the temporary holding mechanism of the electric connection box, the U-shaped temporary holding suspension is provided by using a pair of fixing arms protruding from the electric connection box.
With the electric junction box fixed to the vehicle body, the temporary holding suspension does not interfere with other members.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a temporary holding mechanism for an electric junction box according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, a cowl arranged on a dashboard D that partitions an engine room side and a passenger compartment side of a vehicle body. A temporary holding suspension 11 protruding in a U-shape is provided in the electric connection box 10 connected to the wire harness W / H-1, and a projecting member that projects the temporary holding suspension 11 from the dash panel. To temporarily hold the electrical connection box 10.

The electric connection box 10 includes an upper case 1
5 and a lower case 16 are assembled into a box. The electric connection box 10 is provided with a fixing arm 12 for mounting the vehicle body on the outer surface thereof and a plurality of connector fitting portions 13.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fixing arm 12 is provided at both ends of one end of the upper case 15 in the longitudinal direction.
A pair of fixing arms 12A, 12 protruding in the same direction
B and a fixing arm 12 projecting outward from both side surfaces.
C and 12D, and four are protruded. These fixing arms 12A to 12D are provided with bolt holes 12a for inserting fixing bolts 20 protruding from a mounting position of the vehicle body.

The temporary holding suspension 11 is formed using the fixing arms 12A and 12B. That is, a linear connecting portion 21 for connecting the fixing arms 12A and 12B to each other is provided, and the U-shaped temporary holding suspension 11 is formed on the outer surface of the upper case 15.

A connector 24 connected to the instrument panel-side wire harness W / H-2 is fitted into the connector fitting portion 13 of the electric connection box 10 connected to the cowl / wire harness W / H-1. Via the bus bars constituting the internal circuit of the connection box 10, the wire harnesses W / H-1, W /
H-2 is electrically connected.

Next, an operation process for connecting the wire harnesses W / H-1 and W / H-2 using the electric connection box 10 will be described. In this embodiment, a fixing bolt 20 protruding from the dashboard D is used as a protruding member for hooking the temporary holding suspension 11.

First, cowl wire harness W / H-1
Are arranged on the dashboard D via a clip or the like, and the electric connection box 10 previously fixed to the cowl / wire harness W / H-1 is hung from the cowl / wire harness W / H-1. I have. Electric junction box 1 in this state
As shown in FIG. 1, the temporary holding suspension 11 is hooked on a fixing bolt 20 protruding from the dashboard D as shown in FIG. 1 to temporarily hold the electric connection box 10 on the dashboard.
In this temporary holding state, as shown in FIG.
The inner surface side of the first connecting portion 21 is hooked on the fixing bolt 20, and the dashboard side end of the electric connection box 10 contacts the dashboard D and is kept in a stable state. As described above, since the electric connection box 10 can be temporarily held in a stable state on the dash panel D, the electric connection box 10 can be reliably prevented from being damaged by contact with other members such as the vehicle body and the floor.

Next, the instrument panel P is fastened and fixed to the dashboard D side with bolts 27 and nuts 28. At this time,
Since the electric connection box 10 is temporarily held on the dashboard D, the electric connection box 10 and the cowl / wire harness W / H connected to the electric connection box 10 during the fixing operation of the instrument panel P.
-1 can be prevented from coming into contact with the instrument panel P or biting between the instrument panel P and the dashboard D, thereby hindering the mounting operation. An instrument panel-side wire harness W / H-2 is pre-arranged on the inner surface side (the surface facing the dashboard D) of the instrument panel P.

When the installation of the instrument panel P is completed as described above, the operator puts his hand into the inside of the instrument panel P from the lower part, and the wire harness W / H-
2 connector 24 and connector fitting portion 1 of electrical connection box 10.
3 and wire harness W / H-1 and W / H-2
And connect. At this time, since the electric connection box 10 is at the temporary holding position, the operator does not need to search for the place where the electric connection box 10 is located by fumbling, and thus, the workability of fitting the connector 24 can be improved. I can do it.

Finally, the temporary holding suspension 11 of the electric connection box 10 is removed from the fixing bolt 20 and the electric connection box 1 is removed.
The temporary holding state of 0 is released, the bolt holes 12a of the fixing arms 12 are inserted into the corresponding fixing bolts 20, and the electric connection box 10 is fixed to the dashboard D by tightening with nuts (not shown). . At this time, between the pair of fixing arms 12A and 12B of the electric connection box 10 made of resin, the connecting portion 2 is formed to form the temporary holding suspension 11.
1, the fixing arms 12A, 12A
B can be prevented from being displaced in the pitch between the bolts 12B.
1 to easily fix the electrical junction box 10. In this fixed state, the temporary holding suspension 11
Is formed in a U-shape using the fixing arm 12 for mounting the vehicle body, so that the electric connection box 10 can be securely fixed at a predetermined mounting position without interfering with other members. . Further, the connecting portion 21 is connected to the fixing arm 12.
A and 12B are provided in the vicinity of the tips, so that the fluidity of the resin is improved at the time of molding, and it is possible to prevent a shape defect due to insufficient resin and a weld line to be generated around the bolt hole 12a. The strength of the fixing arm 12 can be increased.

FIG. 3 shows a temporary holding suspension 30 of the electric connection box 10 of the reference embodiment. The temporary holding suspension 30 is provided with other members in a state where the electric connection box 10 is fixed to the mounting position of the vehicle body. A hook-shaped protruding portion is provided only for temporary holding from the outer surface of the upper case 15 or the lower case 16 at a portion that does not interfere with the above.

The temporary holding suspension 30 has a protrusion 30a.
Is hooked on a protruding member such as the above-mentioned fixing bolt for mounting the vehicle body, which is protruded from the dashboard D, and is temporarily held. Needless to say, a protruding member may be provided for temporary holding only at a position where the electric connection box 10 does not interfere with other members in the fixed state.

[0024]

As is apparent from the above description, in the temporary holding mechanism for an electric connection box according to the first aspect of the present invention, a U-shaped or hook-shaped temporary holding suspension from the outer surface of the electric connection box. Is provided so that it can be temporarily held by being hooked on a protruding portion protruding from the vehicle body, so that it is possible to reliably prevent the electric connection box from being damaged by contact with other members such as the vehicle body and the floor during the assembly work. I can do it. Also, by setting the temporary holding state before mounting the instrument panel, when mounting the instrument panel,
It is possible to reliably prevent the electric connection box and the cowl / wire harness connected to the electric connection box from being caught between the instrument panel and the vehicle body and hindering the mounting operation. Further, after the instrument panel is mounted, when the operator inserts his / her hand into the inside from the lower part of the instrument panel and fixes the connector of the wire harness routed inside the instrument panel to the connector fitting part of the electrical connection box, the electrical connection box is temporarily Since it is at the holding position, the operator does not need to search for the position of the electric connection box by groping, and thus the connector fitting workability can be improved.

Further, in the temporary holding mechanism of the electric connection box of the present invention, the U-shaped temporary holding suspension is provided by using a pair of fixing arms protruding from the electric connection box.
In a state where the electric connection box is fixed to the mounting position of the vehicle body, it is possible to reliably prevent the inconvenience of interfering with other members such as devices installed on the vehicle body.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a temporary holding mechanism of an electric junction box according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electric junction box of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a suspension portion for temporarily holding the electric connection box of the reference example.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining a problem of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 Electrical connection box 11, 30 Temporary holding suspension 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D Fixing arm 13 Connector fitting portion 20 Fixing bolt (projecting member) D Dashboard (vehicle body) P Instrument panel (instrument panel) W / H-1 Cowl wire harness W / H-2 Instrument panel side wire harness

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An electric connection box connected to a cowl and a wire harness arranged on a vehicle body side is temporarily held before mounting an instrument panel, and after the instrument panel is fixed to the vehicle body, the instrument panel is fixed. The connection panel is connected to a wire harness that is routed to the instrument panel, and thereafter, the electric connection box is fixed at a predetermined position, and a pair of fixing arms protruding from the electric connection box.
Provide a temporary holding suspension with a U-shape by connecting the tips.
On the other hand, project the fixing bolts that are protruded from the body
Used as a member, and pulling the suspension
Hook and temporarily hold, and when fixing, the tip of the fixing arm
Insert the fixing bolts into the bolt holes
A temporary holding mechanism for the electrical junction box that is fixed with