JP3133722B2 - 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 mounted and used in an engine room or the like of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electric connection box in which electronic parts such as relays and fuses are mounted by fitting a bus bar between an upper case and a lower case with a bus bar interposed therebetween is known as a bus bar or the like. Except for a few components, from the viewpoint of cost reduction and weight reduction, the upper case and the lower case are formed of a synthetic resin such as nylon (including polymer alloy), polypropylene, and polybutylene terephthalate. I have.

[0003] For this reason, in the electric junction box, components such as an upper case, which are formed of a synthetic resin, are liable to be deformed such as warp or distortion, and this tendency is particularly remarkable in a large electric junction box. When such deformation occurs, there has been a problem that the workability at the time of assembling is extremely deteriorated, for example, it becomes difficult to assemble the electric connection box and it becomes impossible to fit the cases together.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides an electric junction box which can be easily assembled without affecting the workability even if the components are deformed due to molding. The purpose is to:

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a bus bar is provided between a first case having a first side wall and a second case having a second side wall. And a second case fitted with the second case interposed therebetween, wherein the second case is fitted inside the first case, and the second case is fitted with the electronic component .
Pushing the first side wall from the inside to the outside
Then, the holding portion for holding the space between the second side wall and the second side wall constant is projected.
That is, it is configured to be protruded .

Preferably, when the first and second cases are square in plan view, the holding portion is formed on at least one of a pair of side walls facing each other.

[0007]

The holding portion formed in the second case holds the gap between the side wall of the second case and the inner periphery of the first case at a constant level. Does not affect the workability of assembling the electrical junction box.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an electric junction box mounted in an engine room of an automobile as an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The electrical junction box 1
As shown in FIG. 1, there are upper covers 2, 3, an upper case 4, and a lower case 5, which are formed from a synthetic resin such as nylon (including polymer alloy), polypropylene, polybutylene terephthalate, and the like.

The upper covers 2 and 3 are detachably attached to a first section 4a and a second section 4b of an upper case 4 to be described later, respectively, to prevent water, dust and the like from entering the electric connection box 1. I do. The upper case 4 has a first rectangular shape in plan view.
In this case, a first section 4a and a second section 4b are formed, and a housing (not shown) for mounting electronic components such as various fuses and relays is formed in each section 4a, 4b. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper case 4 includes an extension bracket 4 extending downward from the side wall 4c.
In three places d (one place is not shown), a locking projection 4e and a release stopper 4f surrounding the outside of each locking projection 4e are formed integrally at an appropriate position below the side wall 4c. I have.

The lower case 5 has a long side wall 5b and a short side wall 5c formed around the bottom wall 5a. A bus bar (not shown) is interposed between the lower case 5 and the upper case 4. A second case having a rectangular shape in a plan view, which is fitted inside the upper case 4 from below. The bottom wall 5a is the side walls 5 b
Molded so that the sides are low and the center is high. The bottom wall 5a is formed with a large number of male connector housings 51 (see FIG. 4) into which the male connectors are inserted from below, and
A pedestal 5 projecting downward and having a long hole (not shown) in the center
e is formed on the side wall 5c side between the side walls 5b, 5b.
The bottom wall 5a has a lower end formed into a tapered shape 2
The book boss 5f is provided so as to protrude downward. On the other hand, both side walls 5b and 5c are engaged with projections (not shown) provided on the inner periphery of the upper case 4 at appropriate positions on the outer periphery to engage the lower case 5 with the upper case 4.
When provided in the vicinity of the locking projection 5g, the ribs 5h for holding between the upper case 4 constant is formed.

The bus bar may be a single bus bar or a plurality of bus bars with an insulating plate interposed therebetween. In this embodiment, a plurality of bus bars are used. As shown in FIG. 1, the electrical junction box 1 configured as described above has the covers 2 and 3 attached to the first section 4 a and the second section 4 b of the upper case 4, and is connected to the upper case 4. The lower case 5 is fitted to the inside of the upper case 4 from below with a bus bar (not shown) interposed therebetween, assembled as shown in FIG. 2, and then the lower cover (not shown) is attached to the lower portion of the upper case 4. To complete the assembly.

Here, in general, the synthetic resin may be deformed by warping or distortion after molding, and the case and cover constituting the electric connection box 1 of the present invention are not exceptional. For example, in the case of a rectangle, the deformation on the long side is large, and a phenomenon occurs that the long side is largely deformed inward, ie, a warp phenomenon occurs. For this reason,
When fitting the lower case 5 to the upper case 4, the long side wall 5 b on the long side of the lower case 5 is deformed into an inwardly warped state, so that the lower case 5 is hardly fitted to the upper case 4. .

However, in the electric junction box 1 of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
A rib 5h on the outer periphery for keeping a constant distance from the upper case 4
Are formed. For this reason, when fitting the lower case 5 to the upper case 4, the rib 5h pushes the side wall of the upper case 4 from the inside to the outside, and the gap between the side wall of the upper case 4 and the side walls 5b and 5c of the lower case 5 is kept constant. Hold.
Therefore, the electric connection box 1 of the present invention can easily fit the lower case 5 to the upper case 4 without affecting the workability, and can be easily assembled.

Here, when the upper end side of the rib 5h is formed in a tapered or arcuate shape, the engagement between the upper case 4 and the lower case 5 is performed smoothly. In addition, lower case 5
Preferably, the housing 51 formed on the bottom wall 5a is formed as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the housing 51 is formed so that the upper surface 51b shaded in the figure outside the partition wall 51a becomes lower toward the side wall 5b.

When the electric junction box 1 is mounted in an engine room of an automobile, water entering the engine room may enter the interior. For this reason, if the upper surface 51b of the housing 51 is formed as described above, even if water enters the electrical junction box 1 from the outside and enters the lower case 5, it is removed from the housing 51 along the slope of the upper surface 51b. It does not stay. Therefore, in the electric connection box 1, the water that has entered inside does not enter the housing 51 over the partition wall 51a, and the bus bar does not short-circuit, so that the reliability is further improved.

Here, the electric junction box 1 of the above embodiment is
The rib 5h is formed on the outer periphery of the side walls 5b and 5c of the lower case 5. However, the rib 5h may be provided at least on the long side wall 5b on the long side of the lower case 5 having a large degree of being deformed into an inward warp state. Needless to say, it is only required to be provided on one side wall.

[0017]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an electric junction box that can be easily assembled without affecting the workability even if the components are deformed due to molding. . According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the electric connection box accompanying the molding of the holding portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electric junction box of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the electric junction box of FIG. 1 is assembled.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion A of a lower case in the electric connection box of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a housing for a male connector formed in a lower case in the electric connection box of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric connection box 2, 3 Upper cover 4 Upper case (1st case) 4a 1st section 4b 2nd section 4c Side wall 4d Extension bracket 4e Locking protrusion 4f Release stopper 5 Lower case (2nd case) 5a Bottom wall 5b Side wall (long side) 5c Side wall (short side) 5e Pedestal 5f Boss 5g Locking projection 5h Rib (holding part) 51 Housing 51a Partition wall 51b Top surface

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-107617 (JP, A) JP-A-2-37519 (JP, U) JP-A-7-9018 (JP, U) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H02G 3/00 B60R 16/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] And 1. A first case having a first side wall, the
A second case fitted with a busbar between the first case and the first case , wherein the second case is provided with an electronic component. Is fitted inside the first case and the second side
On the outer periphery of the wall, push the first side wall from inside to outside,
The holding portion for holding the space between the second side wall and the second side wall protrudes.
Electrical connection box, characterized in that it is formed Te. 2. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein when the first and second cases are square in plan view, the holding portion is formed on at least one of a pair of side walls facing each other. Connection box.