JP3489502B2 - Electrical junction box - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric junction box mounted on, for example, an automobile. 2. Description of the Related Art Generally, electrical components such as automobile relays and fuses are mounted in a vehicle while being housed in an electrical junction box. Conventionally, an electric connection box 51 as shown in FIG. 10 has been known as one of such electric connection boxes. [0003] As shown in FIG.
Is provided with a box-shaped case main body 52 that opens upward, and an upper cover 53 that is fitted to the open end of the case main body 52. The case body 52 and the upper cover 53 are formed of a synthetic resin. [0004] Two protrusions 54 are formed on one outer surface 52a of the case body 52. Further, a lock portion 55 is formed on the outer surface 52b facing the outer surface 52a. On the other hand, two locking portions 56 corresponding to the respective projections 54 are formed on the outer surface 53a of the upper cover 53 corresponding to the outer surface 52a. And, on the outer surface 53b corresponding to the outer surface 52b,
A lock portion 57 is formed. [0006] The conventional electric junction box 5 configured as described above.
In 1, as shown in FIG. 11, each locking portion 55 is engaged with each projection 54. Then, the upper cover 53 is rotated about the engagement portion, and the lock portions 55 and 5 are rotated.
The upper cover 53 is fitted to the case main body 52 by locking the 7 together. As a result, the upper cover 53 fits into the case main body 52 in a non-separable state. [0007] However, since the electric junction box 51 is usually installed in an engine room, it is exposed to high temperatures. Therefore, the cases 52 and 53 may be warped or deformed by heat or the like. For this reason,
For example, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
When the outer surface 53a of the third member 3 is deformed so as to be warped outward, the allowance between the projection 54 and the locking portion 56 is reduced. Therefore,
When an external force such as vibration is applied to the electric connection box 51, the engagement between the projection 54 and the locking portion 56 is released, and the upper cover 5
There is a risk that the 3 will come off the case body 52. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric connection box that can reliably hold an engaged state between an upper cover and a case body. In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a first engaging portion is provided on an outer surface, and an electrical component is accommodated therein. A case body and an upper cover having a second engagement portion on an outer surface and fitted to an upper portion of the case body, the two engagement portions are engaged with each other, and the engagement portion is centered. By rotating the upper cover, in the electric connection box having a structure in which the upper cover is fitted to the case main body, the first engagement portion projects from an outer surface of the case main body , and
Avoid interference with the upper cover when rotating the upper cover.
Set to lower towards the tip
The horizontal part where the part is provided on the top surface of the tip, and the tip of the horizontal part
From a hook portion comprising a vertical portion extending below lateral, the second engagement portion, and the from the outer surface of the upper cover of the two Ru extends toward the lower support, between the tips of their supporting portion Communicating
Surrounding a connecting portion for binding, by a coupling portion with their support portions
Is, the hook portion Ri annular locking portion der and a can be inserted through hole and the inserting the hook into the insertion hole together
The hook is hooked on the hook, and the hooked portion
By rotating the upper cover about
The lower surface of the horizontal portion and the inner surface of the vertical portion.
Engage the hook and the locking part with the connecting part in contact
It is not the gist of the Rukoto. Hereinafter, the “action” of the present invention will be described. According to the invention described in claim 1, the first engaging portion is a hook which protrudes from the outer surface of the case body, the tip is bent in a state of facing downward. The second engaging portion is an annular locking portion extending downward from the outer surface of the upper cover and having an insertion hole through which the hook portion can be inserted. For this reason,
The locking portion engages with the hook portion. Since the tip of the hook is bent downward, the upward and outward movement of the hook is restricted by the hook in this engaged state. Therefore, for example, even if the outer surface of the upper cover is deformed in a warped state and the locking portion attempts to move outward, the movement is restricted by the hook portion. Therefore, even in such a deformation, the engagement between the locking portion and the hook portion is not released. Therefore, the engagement state between the upper cover and the case main body can be reliably maintained. Further, hook portion is constituted by a horizontal portion which projects from the outer surface of the case body, a vertical portion extending from the tip of the horizontal portion downward. In addition, an inclined portion that becomes lower toward the tip is provided on the upper surface of the tip of the horizontal portion to avoid interference with the upper cover when the upper cover rotates. Therefore, the upper cover can be smoothly rotated without the upper cover being hooked on the hook portion when the upper cover rotates. Therefore, the attachment of the upper cover to the case body can be improved. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an electric junction box for an automobile will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the electric connection box 11 includes a case body 12 and an upper cover 13. The case body 12 and the upper cover 13 are formed by injection molding a synthetic resin. The case body 12 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape opened upward, and the upper cover 13 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape opened downward. A skirt portion 13S that can be fitted to the upper open end of the case body 12 is formed at the open end of the upper cover 13. In the case body 12, there is formed an electrical component mounting portion 15 to which a plurality of (six in this embodiment) electrical components 14, such as relays and fusible links, can be mounted.
In the vicinity of the upper end of the outer surface of each of the four side walls 12a to 12d of the case body 12, a ridge 1 extending continuously in the horizontal direction is provided.
6 are formed. Then, the ridge 16 formed on the side wall 12a is formed.
The outer hook 16 has two hooks 2 as first engagement portions.
1 is formed. These hooks 21 have a substantially “L” shape. As shown also in FIG. 3B, each hook 21 includes a horizontal portion 22 that projects horizontally with respect to the wall surface of the side wall 12a, and a vertical portion 23 that extends downward from the tip of the horizontal portion 22. Have been. Length L1 of vertical part 23
Is set in the range of 0.5 to 2.0 mm. An inclined portion 24 as a retracting portion is provided on the upper surface of the distal end of the horizontal portion 22. The inclined portion 24 becomes lower toward the tip of the horizontal portion 22. That is, the upper surface of the tip of the horizontal portion 22 is chamfered, and the chamfered portion is
It is 4. In the present embodiment, the vertical portion 2
3, the length L1 is set to 1.0 mm, and the inclination angle θ of the inclined portion 24 is set to about 45 °. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3A, a lock portion 25 is formed on the side wall 12c facing the side wall 12a. The lock portion 25 is composed of a pair of support portions 25a extending along the side wall 12c such that the upper ends reach above the ridges 16, and a lock piece 25b extending horizontally by connecting the upper portions of both support portions 25a. Have been. A claw portion 25c is formed on an upper portion of the inner surface of the lock piece 25b. The upper part of the claw portion 25c is chamfered. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, among the four side walls 13a to 13d of the upper cover 13, the lower end of the side wall 13a corresponding to the side wall 12a of the case body 12 is provided.
Two engaging portions 31 are formed as second engaging portions that can engage with the hook portions 21. Each locking portion 31 is shown in FIGS.
As shown also in (b), two supporting portions 32 extending downward and a connecting portion 3 for connecting between the distal ends of the supporting portions 32.
3 and has an annular shape as a whole. The hook 21 can be inserted into the space 34 surrounded by the support portions 32 and the connecting portions 33. As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 (a), the side wall 13c opposite to the side wall 13a is engaged with the lock portion 25 of the case body 12, and
A lock piece 35 is formed to hold the opening in a closed state. The lock piece 35 is suspended from a pair of support portions 36 protruding toward the upper portion of the side wall 13c.
It is formed so as to extend along c. Therefore, when the lock piece 35 is pressed in the direction indicated by the arrow F1 in FIG. 5A, the lock piece 35 bends in the same direction. That is, the lock piece 35 has flexibility. The claw portion 25c of the lock piece 25b of the case body 12 is provided on the lower outer surface of the lock piece 35.
And a claw portion 35a which can be engaged with the hook. Lock piece 3
A pair of ribs 37 are provided on both sides of 5 so as to extend along the lock pieces 35. These ribs 37 play a role in preventing the lock piece 35 from breaking due to an object colliding from the side with the lock piece 35. Next, the upper cover 13 is attached to the case body 12.
The procedure for fitting to will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 6, each locking portion 31 is engaged with the corresponding hook 21.
At this time, as shown in FIG.
4 and hook the connecting portion 33 to the hook portion 21. Next, the upper cover 13 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow F in FIG.
At this time, the skirt portion 13S gradually fits into the upper open end of the case body 12. It should be noted that the hook 21 has a slope 2
Since the upper cover 13 is provided, the upper cover 13 does not catch on the hook 21 when the upper cover 13 rotates. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly rotate the upper cover 13. Subsequently, the upper cover 13 is attached to the case body 1.
2, and the lock piece 35 of the upper cover 13 is engaged with the lock portion 25 of the case body 12. That is, the claw 35a of the lock piece 35 is first brought into contact with the claw 25c of the case body. Then, the upper cover 13 is further rotated, and as shown in FIG. 7A, the claw portion 35a is bent and moved below the claw portion 25c, thereby engaging the two. When the fitting of the upper cover 13 and the case body 12 is completed, as shown in FIG. 7B, the upper surface 33a and the outer surface 33b of the connecting portion 33 in the locking portion 31 are connected to the lower surface of the horizontal portion 22 and the vertical surface. The state is in contact with the inner surface of the portion 23. For this reason, the upper cover 1
3 is inseparably fixed to the case main body 12. A lower cover (not shown) is attached to the lower surface of the case body 12. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The tip of the hook 21 is formed so as to face downward. For this reason, the locking portion 31 is connected to the upper surface 33 of the connecting portion 33.
a and the outer surface 33b are the lower surface of the horizontal portion 22 and the vertical portion 23.
Engages with the hook portion 21 in a state of contacting the inner side surface. Therefore, the locking portion 31 is moved upward and outward by the hook portion 2.
Regulated by 1. For example, even if the side wall 13a of the upper cover 13 is deformed in a state of warping outward, the movement of the locking portion 31 is restricted by the hook 21 even if the locking portion 31 attempts to move outward. Therefore, even at the time of such deformation, it is possible to secure a margin of engagement between the locking portion 31 and the hook portion 21 (the contact area between the upper surface 33a of the connecting portion 33 and the lower surface of the horizontal portion 22). Therefore, the upper cover 13 and the case body 1
2 can be reliably held. (2) On the upper surface of the tip of the horizontal portion 22 of the hook portion 21, an inclined portion 24 is provided as a retracting portion. Therefore, the lower end of the upper cover 13 does not catch on the hook 21 when the upper cover 13 rotates. Therefore, the upper cover 13 can be smoothly rotated. As a result, the attachment of the upper cover 13 to the case body 12 can be improved. (3) The electric connection box 11 is obtained by replacing the projection 54 of the above-described conventional electric connection box 51 with a hook 21. Specifically, the hook 21 is provided at the tip of the projection 54,
A vertical portion 23 extending downward is added. For this reason, it is easy to change the design of the mold for molding the case body 12, and it is possible to prevent a rise in manufacturing cost. (4) The shorter the vertical portion 23 of the hook portion 21 becomes, the more it becomes difficult to restrict the outward movement of the locking portion 31. 21 tends to be difficult to insert, and it is difficult to engage the two. Therefore, the length L1 of the vertical portion 23 is set to 0.
By setting it within the range of 5 to 2.0 mm, the locking portion 3
The locking portion 31 and the hook portion 21 can be easily engaged while reliably restricting the outward movement of the hook 1. The embodiment of the present invention may be modified as follows. As shown in FIG. 8A, the inclined portion 24 may be provided with a convex curved surface. As shown in FIG. 8B, a curved portion 23a having a convex curved surface may be provided at the tip of the vertical portion 23 of the hook portion 21. In this case, the locking portion 31 can be easily hooked on the hook. As shown in FIG. 8C, the vertical portion 23
A contact surface between the inner surface of the horizontal portion and the lower surface of the horizontal portion 22;
A curved portion 21a is provided on a contact surface between the lower surface of the connecting member and the outer surface of the side wall 12a, and the upper surface
A may be provided with a curved surface that can contact the curved portion 21a. This makes it possible to rotate the upper cover 13 more smoothly. Further, the modifications shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C may be combined as appropriate. In the above embodiment, the hook portion 21 is formed on the case body 12 and the locking portion 31 is formed on the upper cover 13.
However, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG.
1 may be formed. In the above embodiment, the length L1 of the vertical portion 23 is set to 1.0 mm. However, this length L
1 is not limited to 1.0 mm, and may be set to an arbitrary length within a range of 1.5 to 2.0 mm. In the above embodiment, the angle θ of the inclined portion 24 is set to about 45 °. However, when the upper cover 13 rotates, the lower end of the upper cover 13 and the hook 2
This angle θ may be changed to an angle other than 45 ° as long as it does not interfere with the angle. In the electric junction box 11 of the embodiment,
Two hook portions 21 and two locking portions 31 are formed. However, the number of the hook portions 21 and the locking portions 31 is not limited to two, and three or more hook portions 21 and three locking portions 31 may be formed as long as they are the same side wall. Also, the hook 21 and the locking part 31 are 1
It may be formed one by one. Next, in addition to the technical ideas described in the claims, the technical ideas grasped by the above-described embodiments are listed below together with their effects. (1) A case main body having a first engaging portion on an outer side surface and accommodating an electrical component therein, and an upper having a second engaging portion on an outer side surface and being fitted to an upper portion of the case main body. An electrical connection box comprising a cover, wherein the two engagement portions are engaged with each other, and the upper cover is rotated around the engagement portion to be fitted to the case body. The joint is
A hook portion protruding from an outer surface of the upper cover and bent so that a tip thereof faces downward, the first engagement portion includes:
An annular locking portion extending downward from the outer surface of the case body and having an insertion hole through which the hook portion can be inserted. [0033] (2) In 請 Motomeko electrical connection box according to 1, wherein the saving unit, it is bent portion forming a curved surface. ( 3) Claim 1, the technical idea (1) ,
(2) In the electrical junction box according to any one of (2) , a tip of the vertical portion has a curved portion having a curved surface. According to the invention described in the technical concept ( 3) , the locking portion can be easily hooked on the hook. ( 4) Claim 1, technical idea (1)-
( 3) In the electrical junction box according to any one of ( 3) , a contact surface between a lower surface of the horizontal portion and an inner surface of the vertical portion is a curved surface, and a portion of the locking portion that contacts the hook. Has a curved part. According to the invention described in the technical concept ( 4) , the upper cover can be rotated more smoothly. ( 5) Claim 1, technical idea (1)-
( 4) In the electrical junction box according to any one of ( 4) , the length of the vertical portion is set in a range of 1.5 to 2.0 mm. According to the invention described in the technical concept ( 5) , the engagement between the hook portion and the locking portion can be easily performed. ( 6) Claim 1, technical idea (1)-
( 5) In the electrical junction box according to any one of ( 5), the electrical junction box is for an automobile. As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the engaged state between the upper cover and the case main body can be reliably maintained. Further , the attachment of the upper cover to the case body can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an electric connection box according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exemplary plan view of a case main body constituting the electric connection box according to the embodiment; 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2, and FIG.
BB sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 4 is an exemplary plan view of an upper cover constituting the electric connection box according to the embodiment; 5A is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4, and FIG.
BB sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 6A is a front view showing an attachment mode of the electric junction box of the embodiment, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view showing a part of FIG. FIG. 7A is a front view showing an attachment mode of the electric junction box according to the embodiment, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view showing a part of FIG. 8 (a) and 8 (b) are enlarged sectional views showing hooks of an electric connection box according to another embodiment, and FIG. 8 (c) is a hook and a locking portion of the electric connection box according to another embodiment. Sectional drawing which expands and shows. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a part of an electric junction box according to another embodiment. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional electric junction box. FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an engagement portion between a case main body and an upper cover in a conventional electric connection box. [Description of Signs] 11 ... Electric junction box, 12 ... Case body, 12a to 12d
... side wall, 13 ... upper cover, 13a to 13d ... side wall,
Reference numeral 16 denotes a ridge, 21 denotes a hook portion as a first engagement portion, 22 denotes a horizontal portion, 23 denotes a vertical portion, and 24 denotes an inclined portion as a retracting portion.
5: Locking part, 31: Locking part as second engaging part, 32
... Supporting part, 33.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] A case main body having a first engagement portion on an outer side surface and accommodating an electric component therein, and a second engagement portion on an outer side surface, An upper cover fitted to the upper part of the case main body, the two engagement portions are engaged with each other, and the upper cover is rotated around the engagement portion,
In the electrical junction box having the structure wherein the upper cover is fitted to the case body, the first engagement portion, to protrude from the outer surface of the case body
When the upper cover is turned, the upper cover is
Lower toward the tip to avoid interference with the
The horizontal part with the set inclined part provided on the top surface of the tip, and the horizontal part
Of a hook portion made of a distal end of the horizontal portion and the vertical portion extending below lateral, the second engagement portion, and two support portions from the outer surface Ru extends downward of the upper cover, which support Part tip
The connecting part that connects between them and the supporting part and connecting part
Surrounded Te, the hook Ri annular locking portion der and a can be inserted through hole, said connecting part with inserting the hook into the insertion hole
On the hook, and center around the hooked point
By rotating the upper cover, the horizontal portion
The connecting portion abuts on the lower surface of the and the inner surface of the vertical portion
The electric connection box , wherein the hook portion and the locking portion are engaged in a state .