JP3126917B2 - 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 for an automobile, and more particularly, to an electric connection box including a large number of relays, fuses, etc., which is intensively arranged to rationally connect a wiring harness. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electric junction box including an internal circuit including an electric wire and a press-contact terminal that presses against the electric wire, and an internal circuit including a bus bar.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of electric connection box, a bus bar formed by punching a conductive metal plate is used as an internal circuit. However, if the internal circuit is constituted only by the bus bar, it is not possible to easily cope with a change in the design of the internal circuit. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. There has been proposed a circuit using the terminal T as a load-side circuit in which design changes are likely to occur, and using a bus bar B as a power-supply-side circuit. (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-166419)

When electric wires w and bus bars are arranged in a mixed manner inside the electric junction box, as shown in FIG. 6B, an internal circuit I consisting of the electric wires w and press-connecting terminals and a bus bar B are provided. In this state, an insulating plate IP is interposed between the internal case II and the internal circuit II, and is housed inside a case including an upper case U and a lower case L.

[0004]

However, the electric junction box requires a space for interposing an insulating plate IP between the internal circuits I and II. Problem. In particular, in the case of a high-grade vehicle having many electrical components mounted on a vehicle in which an electric connection box is installed, an internal circuit including the electric wires and the pressure contact terminals and a plurality of internal circuits including a bus bar must be stacked. Since it is necessary to interpose an insulating plate IP between them, the number of insulating plates IP increases,
The electric junction box becomes larger. Also, an insulating plate IP is provided between each layer.
Therefore, there is a problem that the number of parts increases and the cost increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems. In an electric junction box provided with an internal circuit including an electric wire and a press-contact terminal for press-contacting the electric wire, an electric connection box including an internal circuit including a bus bar is provided. It is an object of the present invention to reduce the size and cost of the electric junction box by eliminating the need for an insulating plate interposed between the circuits.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, an internal circuit comprising an electric wire and a press-connecting terminal for press-connecting the electric wire and an internal circuit comprising a bus bar are provided in the case. In the electrical junction box provided, a wiring rib is projected from an insulating plate accommodated in an upper case, a lower case, and / or a case assembled from the upper case and the lower case, and the rib is not projected. A wiring groove or a pool for wiring, and laying the coated electric wire in these wiring grooves or the pool for wiring, and driving the press-contact terminal at a required position to cut off the insulation coating of the coated electric wire and the core wire. An electrical connection, wherein the bus bar is placed on the protruding end surface of the rib protruding from the covered electric wire to be wired while being press-connected. There is provided a box.

That is, in the electric connection box, the bus bar is directly connected to the wiring rib without interposing an insulating plate between the internal circuit composed of the electric wire and the pressure contact terminal and the internal circuit composed of the bus bar. On the protruding end face of

[0008] In the above electric junction box, the electric wire constituting the internal circuit has the outer periphery of the core wire coated with an insulating coating.
Even if a bus bar is directly installed on the protruding end face of the rib in a state where the covered electric wire is laid in the wiring groove or the wiring pool between the wiring ribs, the electric wire and the bus bar are arranged in layers. You. Further, even if the electric wire and the bus bar come into contact with each other, the electric wire is insulated by the insulating coating, so that the above-mentioned contact does not cause a short circuit. Therefore, an insulating plate provided between the electric wire layer and the bus bar can be dispensed with, the number of parts can be reduced, and the size can be reduced by the thickness of the insulating plate.

The wiring rib projecting from the insulating plate horizontally disposed in the case is surrounded by the peripheral rib at the height of the protruding end face of the rib projecting from the peripheral edge of the insulating plate. Higher than the height of the protruding end face of the internal rib, and supporting the bus bar on the protruding end face of the internal rib while fitting the bus bar inside the peripheral rib, or supporting the bus bar on the protruding end face of the peripheral rib. Is preferred. (Claim 2)

As described above, of the wiring ribs projecting from the insulating plate, the height of the projecting end surface of the rib projecting from the peripheral edge of the insulating plate is formed higher than the projecting end surface of the internal rib. If the bus bar is fitted inside the peripheral rib, the bus bar can be installed in a state where it is securely positioned. On the other hand, by adopting a configuration in which the bus bar is supported on the protruding end face of the peripheral rib, the electric wire layer and the bus bar can be surely separated, and the non-contact state between the covered electric wire and the bus bar can be reliably maintained.

The internal circuit of the electric junction box is such that a large current circuit connected to a power supply or the like is connected to the bus bar, and a medium current circuit connected to an electrical component for supplying a medium current downstream of the bus bar is connected to a thick electric wire. A crimping terminal for crimping connection to a thick wire, and a small current circuit connecting to an electrical component that supplies a small current downstream of the bus bar is configured by a thin wire and a crimping terminal for crimping to the thin wire. . (Claim 3)

As described above, by forming the medium-current circuit and the small-current circuit other than the large-current circuit with the electric wires and the press-connecting terminals for press-connecting the electric wires, the size of the electric connection box can be further reduced. . Also, inside the electrical junction box,
Since the area occupied by the circuit constituted by the bus bar can be set wide, it is advantageous in terms of thermal performance, such as preventing the bus bar from generating heat.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the electric junction box of the embodiment, wherein 1 is an upper case, 2 is a lower case, 3 is an insulating plate which is horizontally arranged and accommodated in a case assembled by the upper case 1 and the lower case 2, and 4 is an insulating plate 3 5 is a lower wire layer wired on the lower surface side of the insulating plate 3, 6 is a press contact terminal connected to the wire 10 forming the upper wire layer, and 7 is a lower wire layer. Reference numeral 8 denotes a press-connecting terminal connected to the electric wire 10 forming the wire 5, 8 denotes a bus bar arranged above the upper electric wire layer 4, and 9 denotes a bus bar arranged below the lower electric wire layer 5.

The electric connection box has an internal circuit 15 composed of an upper electric wire layer 4 and a press contact terminal 6 connected to the electric wire 10 forming the electric wire layer 4, and a lower electric wire layer 5 and the electric wire layer 5. An internal circuit 16 including a press contact terminal 7 that presses against the electric wire 10 and internal circuits 17 and 18 including bus bars 8 and 9 are provided. Busbars 8 and 9 are directly arranged outside the electric wire layers 4 and 5 without interposing an insulating plate between the internal circuits 15 and 17 and 16 and 18.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electric wire 10 is a covered electric wire in which an outer periphery of a conductive core wire 10a is covered with an insulating coating 10b and subjected to insulation treatment. Therefore, the bus bars 8, 9 are directly arranged on the outer portions of the wire layers 4, 5, and even if the bus bars 8, 9 contact the wires 10, the wires 10 and the bus bars 8, 9 are electrically connected at the contact portions. do not do.

The insulation displacement terminals 6, 7 are
Wire press-contact portions 6a, 7a for cutting the insulation coating 10b of the wire and connecting to the inner core wire 10a, and the wire press-contact portions 6a, 7a
And input / output terminal portions 6b and 7b in the form of tabs that are continuous with the input / output terminals.

The busbars 8 and 9 are formed by punching and bending a conductive metal plate as in the prior art.
The protruding end faces 3f of the wiring ribs 3b, 3c of the insulating plate 3, which will be described later, are directly applied to the electric wire 10 wired on the insulating plate 3.
It is arranged above 3 g. The bus bars 8, 9
Has a female terminal 8a for connecting an external circuit at a required position.
9a is provided. The bus bars 8 and 9 are used for a circuit directly connected to a power source or a ground such as a battery and an alternator. The terminal 8
a, 9a are tab-shaped male type, relay terminals (not shown)
It may be configured to connect to an external circuit via the.

As shown in FIG. 3, wiring ribs 3b and 3c project from the upper and lower surfaces of the wiring board 3a for the wiring so as to project from the upper and lower surfaces of the wiring board 3a with a diameter larger than the diameter of the wire 10. I have. The insulating plate 3 has portions where the ribs 3b and 3c are not protruded as a wiring groove 3d and a wiring pool 3e.
The insulating plate 3 has a wiring groove 3d or a wiring pool 3e.
The bus bars 8 and 9 are arranged on the protruding end surfaces 3f and 3g of the ribs 3b and 3c protruding outside from the electric wire 10 in a state where the electric wire 10 is wired.

The rib 3b protruding from the upper surface of the wiring plate portion 3a is set to the height T1 of the protruding end face 3f-1 of the rib 3b-1 protruding from the peripheral edge of the insulating plate 3 by the peripheral rib 3b-1. T of the protruding end surface 3f-2 of the inner side rib 3b-2 surrounded by
It is higher than 2. Thus, the bus bar 8 disposed above the insulating plate 3 is supported on the protruding end face 3f-2 of the inner rib 3b-2 while being fitted inside the peripheral rib 3b-1, and the peripheral rib 3b It can be installed in a state where it is positioned at -1.

A rib 3c protruding from the lower surface of the insulating plate 3
Is the height T of the protruding end face 3g-1 of the peripheral rib 3c-1.
3 is the height T4 of the protruding end surface 3g-2 of the inner rib 3c-2.
It is set to be flush with. Thus, the bus bar 9 disposed below the insulating plate 3 is supported by the protruding end surfaces 3g of the peripheral rib 3c-1 and the inner rib 3c-2, and the electric wire layer and the bus bar 9 are surely separated and divided. Along with
The non-contact state between the electric wire 10 and the bus bar 9 can be reliably maintained.

In this embodiment, in the insulating plate 3, the peripheral rib 3b-1 projecting upward is replaced with the inner rib 3b.
-2, while peripheral ribs 3c projecting downward
-1 is projected so as to be flush with the inner rib 3c-2, but the upper and lower peripheral ribs 3b-1, 3c-1 are projected from the inner ribs 3b-2, 3c-2. Is also good. Alternatively, the upper and lower peripheral ribs 3b-1, 3c-
1 may be configured to protrude so as to be flush with the inner side ribs 3b-2 and 3c-2.

The insulating plate 3 has guide portions 3h for driving the press contact terminals at portions where the press terminals 6 and 7 are driven.
Are protruded from the upper and lower surfaces of the wiring plate portion 3a so as to be flush with the inner side ribs 3b-2 and 3c-2.

The upper case 1 and the lower case 2
The connector fitting portion 20, the fuse fitting portion 21, and the relay fitting portion for inserting the input / output terminal portions 6b and 7b of the press contact terminals 6 and 7 and the terminal portions 8a and 9a of the bus bars 8 and 9 respectively. 22 are provided on the outer surface.

When assembling the electric junction box having the above-described structure, first, the electric wire 10 is laid on the insulating plate 3 and placed in the wiring groove 3d and the wiring pool 3e. The electric wire 10 is placed in the wiring groove 3d or the wiring pool 3e.
In this case, the wires may be laid up and down in parallel and may be laid in parallel, or may be crossed up and down, and can be laid out freely according to the circuit shape.

Next, the above-mentioned press contact terminals 6, 7 are driven into the insulating plate 3, and the insulation coating 10b of the covered electric wire 10 is cut by the slots of the electric wire press contact portions 6a, 7a, so that the electric wire press contact portions 6a, 7a are connected to the electric wire. The inner core wire 10a is brought into contact with and connected. After connecting the press contact terminals 6 and 7 to the electric wire 10 in this way, a relay terminal (not shown) is connected as necessary.

Next, the bus bars 8 and 9 are directly placed on the protruding end surfaces 3f and 3g of the upper rib 3b and the lower rib 3c of the insulating plate 3, respectively.

Thereafter, the upper case 1 and the lower case 2
Then, the input / output terminal portions 6b and 7b of the press contact terminals 6 and 7 are inserted into the terminal accommodating chambers formed in each case. Further, retrofit parts such as a fuse and a connector are assembled to the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 to complete the assembly of the electric connection box.

In the assembled state of the electric connection box, the bus bar 8 is held between the insulating plate 3 and the upper case 1 in a state where the bus bar 8 is fitted into the inside of the peripheral rib 3b-1 of the insulating plate 3 and is positioned and held. , And are reliably positioned and held.
Further, the bus bar 9 is sandwiched between the insulating plate 3 and the lower case 2, and is reliably positioned and held.

In the above state, the electric wire 10 laid on the insulating plate 3
Is in contact with the bus bars 8 and 9,
No. 0 uses a covered electric wire in which the outer periphery of the core wire 10a is covered with an insulating coating 10b, so that the electric wire 10 and the bus bars 8, 9 can be prevented from conducting at the contact portion.

As described above, in the electric junction box, the electric wires 1
Even when the bus bars 8, 9 are directly disposed on the protruding end surfaces of the ribs 3b, 3c of the insulating plate 3 where the wirings 0 are wired, even if the electric wires 10 and the bus bars come into contact with each other, no electricity is supplied. It is possible to eliminate the need for an insulating plate to be interposed. Therefore, a space for interposing the insulating plate is not required inside the electric connection box, so that the size of the entire electric connection box can be reduced, and the number of parts can be reduced to reduce the cost.

FIG. 4 shows an electric junction box according to a second embodiment.
In the electric junction box, the upper case 1 and the lower case 2 are also provided with wiring ribs 1a and 2a,
Also, the electric wire 10 is laid, and a press contact terminal is driven in to form an internal circuit.

That is, in the electric connection box of the second embodiment, the internal circuits 15, 16, 30, 31 composed of four electric wire layers 4, 5, 25, 26 and the two bus bars 8, 9 are provided inside the case. Internal circuits 17 and 18 are provided.

As described above, the electric junction box in which a plurality of circuits are stacked is conventionally provided between the electric wire layer 25 wired to the upper case 1 and the upper bus bar 8, between the upper bus bar 8 and the electric wire layer 4, Between the electric wire layer 5 and the lower bus bar 9, and
A total of four insulating plates must be interposed between the lower bus bar 9 and the electric wire layer 26 laid on the lower case 2. However, according to the electric junction box of the present invention, since the coated electric wires are used as the electric wires 10, the above four insulating plates can be eliminated.

FIG. 5 shows an electric junction box according to the third embodiment.
In the electric connection box, in the internal circuits 15 to 18, 30, and 31 of the electric connection box of the second embodiment, the large current circuits 17 and 18 connected to the power supply and the like are connected by bus bars 8 and 9 and these bus bars 8 and 9 are connected. Current circuit 31 connected to an electrical component that supplies a medium current on the downstream side of the thick wire 35 and the thick wire 35
A small current circuit 1 connected to an electrical component that supplies a small current downstream of the busbars 8 and 9 with a pressure contact terminal that is press-connected to the busbars 8 and 9.
5, 16, and 30 are constituted by the thin electric wires 36 and the press-contact terminals that are press-connected to the thin electric wires 36. The thick electric wire 35 has a core wire having a cross-sectional area of 1.25 mm ² or more,
Uses an electric wire having a core wire with a cross-sectional area of less than 1.25 mm ² .

In the electric junction box having the above structure, for example, 2% of the entire internal circuit can be constituted by the bus bars 8 and 9; 10% by the thick electric wire 35; and 88% by the thin electric wire 36; 98% of the internal circuits can be constituted by electric wires and press-connecting terminals for press-connecting the electric wires. Thus, the size of the electric connection box can be further reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Also, inside the electrical junction box,
Since the occupied area of the bus bar can be reduced, the electric wires 35, 36
This is very advantageous in terms of thermal performance, such that the wiring space can be widened, the degree of freedom in circuit design is improved, and the bus bar can be prevented from generating heat inside the case.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
For example, an insulating plate for arranging electric wires is not accommodated inside a case composed of an upper case and a lower case, and the inner surface of the upper case and / or the lower case is provided on the inner surface of the upper case and / or the lower case as in the second and third embodiments. The ribs may be protruded, wires may be laid in the wiring groove or the wiring pool, and a bus bar may be placed at the end of the wiring rib.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, in the electric junction box of the present invention, the upper case, the lower case, or the insulating plate housed in these cases is provided with the wiring ribs, and the ribs are projected. Since the covered electric wire is laid in the wiring groove or wiring pool formed in the part where it is not provided, even if the bus bar and the electric wire come into contact with each other, they will conduct electricity at this contact part. There is no. Therefore, an insulating plate interposed between the electric wire and the bus bar can be eliminated, and the number of parts can be reduced and cost can be reduced. In addition, since no space for interposing an insulating plate is required inside the electric connection box, the size of the electric connection box can be reduced.

Further, of the wiring ribs protruding from the insulating plate, the height of the protruding end surface of the rib protruding from the peripheral edge of the insulating plate is formed higher than the protruding end surface of the internal rib. When the configuration is such that the bus bar is fitted into the inside of the device, the bus bar can be reliably installed with the bus bar positioned. Further, when the bus bar is supported on the protruding end face of the peripheral rib, the electric wire layer and the bus bar can be surely divided into layers, and the non-contact state between the covered electric wire and the bus bar can be reliably maintained.

Further, among the internal circuits of the electric connection box, only the large current circuit is constituted by a bus bar, the other medium current circuits are constituted by thick electric wires, and the small current circuits are constituted by thin electric wires. The size of the box can be further reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Moreover, since the area occupied by the circuit constituted by the bus bar can be set wide inside the electric junction box, an effective effect in terms of thermal performance is obtained, such as preventing the bus bar from generating heat inside the case. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a press contact terminal is pressed against an electric wire forming an internal circuit of the electric connection box.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a bus bar is arranged on a protruding end surface of a rib for electric wiring of the insulating plate shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an electric connection box according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an electric connection box according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6A is a circuit diagram housed inside a conventional electric junction box, and FIG. 6B is a schematic sectional view of the electric junction box.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper case 2 Lower case 3 Insulating board 3b, 3c Wiring for wiring 3d Wiring groove 3e Wiring pool 3f, 3g Protruding end surface 4 Upper electric wire layer 5 Lower electric wire layer 6, 7 Pressure contact terminal 8 Upper bus bar 9 Lower side Bus bar 10 Insulated wire 10a Core wire 10b Insulation coating 15,16 Internal circuit consisting of electric wire and press contact terminal 17,18 Internal circuit consisting of bus bar

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References Japanese Utility Model 1-93913 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model 2-17914 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 9/00-9/28

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electric junction box having an internal circuit comprising an electric wire, a press-connecting terminal for press-connecting to the electric wire, and an internal circuit comprising a bus bar inside a case, comprising: an upper case, a lower case, and / or an upper case and a lower case. Wiring ribs are protruded from the insulating plate accommodated in the case, and the portions where the ribs are not protruded are used as wiring grooves or wiring pools. While laying the insulated wire, the insulation displacement of the insulated wire is cut at the required position and the insulation coating of the insulated wire is cut and connected to the core wire by pressure, while the ribs protruding from the insulated wire to be wired are An electric connection box, wherein the bus bar is placed on a protruding end surface and the bus bar is disposed inside the case. 2. The wiring rib protruding from an insulating plate horizontally disposed and housed in the case, the height of the protruding end face of the rib protruding from the peripheral edge of the insulating plate is set to the peripheral rib. The height of the bus bar is higher than the height of the protruding end face of the inner side rib, and the bus bar is supported on the protruding end face of the inner side rib while being fitted inside the peripheral rib, or on the protruding end face of the peripheral rib. The electrical junction box according to claim 1, which supports. 3. An internal circuit of the electric connection box, wherein a large-current circuit connected to a power supply or the like is a busbar, and a medium-current circuit connected to an electrical component for supplying a medium current downstream of the busbar is a thick electric wire. A small current circuit connected to an electrical component that conducts a small current downstream of the bus bar with a crimp terminal that presses and connects to the thick wire. The electrical junction box according to claim 1 or 2, wherein