JP3501099B2 - 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 an automobile, for example, and more particularly to a structure of a wiring board in which a plurality of bus bars are laminated and assembled in an electrically isolated state via an insulating substrate. Is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various electric connection boxes such as a junction box, a relay box, a fusible link box, and an electric control unit used for an electric circuit of an automobile have been proposed.

As shown in FIG. 5, a box main body 41 forming a part of an electric junction box has an upper case 43 with respect to a wiring board 42.
And the lower case 44 are fitted together. The wiring board 42 is configured by alternately stacking and assembling the bus bar 45 and the insulating substrate 46 in the electrically isolated state. A through hole 47 is formed in the insulating substrate 46.
Is provided. A terminal piece 45a is formed on the bus bar 45 by bending. The terminal piece 45a is inserted through the through hole 47 and the insertion hole 48 provided in the upper case 43.
As a result, the terminal piece 45 a projects from the bottom surface of the connector 49 provided on the upper surface of the upper case 43. A female terminal of an electric component (not shown) is connected to the protruding portion of the terminal piece 45a.

[0004]

By the way, the connector 49 provided in the upper case 43 is the smallest in size up to now, and is the 090 type. However, in recent years, it has become necessary to mount a 040 type connector, which is smaller than the 090 type, on an electrical junction box in response to the needs for higher density and smaller size. Therefore, instead of the conventional 090 type terminal, 040
It became necessary to use mold terminals. However, 04
In the case of forming the 0-type terminal, there is a problem that the terminal piece 45a has a small thickness and thus is poor in strength, and the terminal piece 45a is bent. In addition, the width of the through-hole 47 was the same for each insulating substrate 46, or decreased as the insulating substrate 46 on the lower layer side was formed as shown in FIG. Therefore, it was difficult to insert the terminal piece 45a into the correct position of the through hole 47.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in recent years, the wiring board 4 has
2 tended to be multi-layered. Therefore, the terminal piece 45
a tends to be longer than before, and the terminal piece 45a
There is a problem that the work of inserting the through hole into the correct position of the through hole 47 becomes more difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an electric junction box which can be easily manufactured because the work of inserting the terminal piece into a correct position is easy. It is in.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the invention as set forth in claim 1, a bus bar having a bent terminal piece and an insulating substrate are provided, and the terminal piece is used as the insulating substrate. While inserting it into the provided through hole,
For the wiring board in which the bus bars and the insulating substrate are alternately laminated and assembled, the upper case and the lower case are fitted in a state in which the terminal piece is inserted into an insertion hole provided in the upper case. In the electrical junction box
Increased with increasing the width of the through hole in the insulating substrate of the lower layer side, the insulating substrate or the bottom of the lower case
A terminal strip correction rib adjacent to the bent portion of the terminal strip.
The gist is that it has been erected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the plate thickness of the insertion hole forming portion of the upper case is made larger than the plate thickness of the insulating substrate, and the width of the insertion hole is larger than the width of the through hole. The gist of the invention is to make the size of the bus bar substantially the same as the width of the bus bar.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that a tapered insertion guide is formed at a lower end portion of the through hole or the insertion hole .

The "action" of the present invention will be described below. According to the invention of claim 1, when the terminal piece is inserted into the through hole in the insulating substrate, the terminal piece is guided to the inner wall surface of the through hole in the insulating substrate. Therefore, the inclination of the terminal piece is corrected to some extent. When this terminal piece is inserted into the through hole in the upper insulating substrate, the terminal piece is guided to the inner wall surface of the through hole in the upper insulating substrate. Therefore, the inclination of the terminal piece is further corrected. In this way, at the same time when the terminal piece and the insulating substrate are inserted, the terminal piece is gradually corrected so as to stand upright. Therefore, the work of inserting the terminal piece into the correct position can be efficiently performed, and the electric junction box can be easily manufactured.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the width of the insertion hole is smaller than the width of the through hole, and the width of the insertion hole is substantially the same as the plate thickness of the terminal piece. That is, the width of the through hole is larger than the plate thickness of the terminal piece. Therefore, even when the terminal piece is bent at the waist, the terminal piece is inserted into the correct position of the through hole. Therefore, the electric junction box can be easily manufactured. Further, the plate thickness of the insertion hole forming portion of the upper case is larger than the plate thickness of the insulating substrate. Therefore, the terminal piece is inserted in a place having a large plate thickness. Therefore, the terminal piece can be surely corrected.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the terminal piece is guided to the inner wall surface of the insertion guide when the upper case is attached to the wiring board or when the insulating substrates are laminated.
Therefore, the inclination of the terminal piece is corrected more reliably. As a result, the terminal piece is smoothly inserted into the through hole or the insertion hole. Therefore, the insertion work of the terminal piece can be performed more efficiently.

[0013] According to the invention described in the claims,
When the bus bar is arranged on the bottom of the insulating substrate or the lower case, the bent portion of the terminal piece is corrected by coming into contact with the terminal piece correction rib. Therefore, the terminal piece can be corrected more reliably.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of an electric junction box for an automobile embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
And it demonstrates in detail based on FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the box body 12 forming the electrical junction box is made of synthetic resin and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The box body 12 is configured by covering the wiring board 20 with the upper case 18 and the lower case 19, respectively. Locking protrusions 21 are provided at a plurality of locations on the upper end of the outer surface of the lower case 19. A plurality of external connectors (not shown) are provided on the lower surface of the lower case 19. An electric wire (not shown) is connected to each external connector.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper case 1
At the lower end of the inner side surface of 8, a locking groove 25 is provided so as to correspond to the locking projection 21. On the upper surface of the upper case 18, substantially rectangular connector mounting portions 26 are provided at a plurality of locations. A connector (not shown) is mounted on each connector mounting portion 26.

Insertion holes 28 are provided at a plurality of positions on the inner bottom surface of each connector mounting portion 26. The depth of the insertion hole 28 is the same as the plate thickness on the upper surface of the upper case 18. A taper portion 29 as an insertion guide is provided at the lower end of each insertion hole 28.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a wiring board 20 is housed inside the box body 12. Wiring board 20
The insulating substrate 30 made of synthetic resin and the bus bar 31 made of metal are alternately laminated and assembled in an electrically isolated state. In the first embodiment, the wiring board 20 includes an insulating substrate 30 having three layers and a bus bar 31 having four layers.
It consists of

On each bus bar 31, a male tab 31a as a terminal piece is bent and formed. This male stub 31a
Stands upright with respect to the bus bar 31. Male tab 31
The plate thickness of a is slightly larger than the width of the insertion hole 28. Therefore, each male tab 31a is press-fitted into the insertion hole 28. Each male tab 31a projects from the upper surface of the upper case 18. When the box body 12 is manufactured, the male tab 31 a is arranged in the connector mounting portion 26.

On each insulating substrate 30, each male tab 31
Through holes 32 are provided at positions corresponding to a. The depth of the through hole 32 is slightly larger than the plate thickness of the bus bar 31. The width at the upper end of the through hole 32 is the same as the width at the lower end of the through hole 32. The width of the through hole 32 is larger than the width of the insertion hole 28. Further, the width of the through hole 32 is larger than the plate thickness of the male tab 31a. The width of the through hole 32 increases at a constant rate as the insulating substrate 30 on the lower layer side is formed. That is, the clearance between the inner wall surface of the through hole 32 and the male tab 31a becomes larger as the lower insulating substrate 30 is formed. The male tab 31a is inserted into the through hole 32.

Next, a method for manufacturing the box body 12 of the first embodiment will be described in detail. First, the male tab 31 a provided on the bus bar 31 is inserted into the through hole 32 provided in the insulating substrate 30. In this case, the width of the through hole 32 is larger than the plate thickness of the male tab 31a. Therefore, even if the male stub 31a is bent at the waist,
The male tab 31a is guided to the inner wall surface of the through hole 32. Therefore, the inclination of the male tab 31a is corrected to some extent. When this male tab 31a is inserted into the through hole 32 in the upper insulating substrate 30, the male tab 31a is guided to the inner wall surface of the through hole 32 in the upper insulating substrate 30. Therefore, the inclination of the male tab 31a is further corrected. In this way, the male tab 31a and the insulating substrate 30
Simultaneously with the insertion work, the male tab 31a is gradually corrected so as to stand upright. As a result, the bus bar 31 and the insulating substrate 3
The wiring board 20 is formed by stacking 0 and 0.

Next, the male tab 31a protruding from the uppermost insulating substrate 30 is inserted into the insertion hole 28 provided in the upper case 18. A taper portion 29 is formed at the lower end of the insertion hole 28. Therefore, the male tab 31a is guided to the inner wall surface of the tapered portion 29. And the male stub 31a
Are pressed into the inner wall surface of the insertion hole 28. As a result, the male tab 31a and the inner wall surface of the insertion hole 28 are in close contact with each other without any clearance. Insertion hole 28 in upper case 18
The plate thickness of the portion where is formed is larger than the plate thickness of the insulating substrate 30. Further, the male tab 31 a is sandwiched by the inner wall surface of the insertion hole 28 located above the through hole 32. Therefore, even when a large moment acts on the base end of the male tab 31a, the male tab 31a is reliably supported. Therefore, the inclination of the male tab 31a is corrected more reliably.

Next, the engagement groove 25 provided in the upper case 18 and the engagement protrusion 21 provided in the lower case 19 are engaged with each other. As a result, the upper case 18 and the lower case 19 form the box body 12.

Therefore, according to the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) The width of the through hole 32 becomes wider toward the lower insulating substrate 30. Therefore, when the male tab 31a is inserted into the through hole 32 in the insulating substrate 30, the male tab 31a is guided to the inner wall surface of the through hole 32,
The inclination of the male tab 31a is corrected to some extent. And
When this male tab 31a is inserted into the through hole 32 in the upper insulating substrate 30, the male tab 31a is guided to the inner wall surface of the through hole 32, and the inclination of the male tab 31a is further corrected. In this way, at the same time when the male tab 31a and the insulating substrate 30 are inserted, the male tab 31a is gradually corrected so as to stand upright. Therefore, the work of inserting the male tab 31a in the correct position can be efficiently performed.

(2) The width of the insertion hole 28 is smaller than the width of the through hole 32, and the width of the insertion hole 28 is slightly smaller than the plate thickness of the male tab 31a. That is, the width of the through hole 32 is larger than the plate thickness of the male tab 31a. Therefore, even when the male tab 31a is bent, the male tab 31a is correctly guided to the inner wall surface of the through hole 32. Therefore, the box body 12 can be easily manufactured. Further, the plate thickness on the upper surface of the upper case 18 is larger than the plate thickness of the insulating substrate 30. Therefore, the male tab 31a is inserted in a place having a large plate thickness. Therefore, the male tab 31a can be reliably corrected.

(3) The tapered portion 2 is provided at the lower end of the insertion hole 28.
9 is formed. When the upper case 18 is attached to the wiring board 20, the male tab 31a protruding from the uppermost insulating substrate 30 is guided to the inner wall surface of the tapered portion 29. Therefore, the inclination of the male tab 31a is corrected more reliably. As a result, the male tab 31a is smoothly inserted into the insertion hole 28. Therefore, the insertion work between the male tab 31a and the insulating substrate 30 can be performed more efficiently.

(4) The thickness of the male tab 31a is the insertion hole 28.
It is slightly larger than the width of. Therefore, the male tab 31a is press-fitted into the insertion hole 28. Therefore, rattling of the male tab 31a can be prevented.

(5) The plate thickness of the upper case 18 is larger than the plate thickness of the insulating substrate 30. Therefore, even when the tapered portion 29 is formed at the lower end of the insertion hole 28, the strength of the upper case 18 can be maintained.

(6) The male tab 31a is held by the inner wall surface of the insertion hole 28. Therefore, even when a large moment acts on the base end of the male tab 31a, the male tab 31a
a is reliably supported. Therefore, the male tab 31a can be more reliably fixed. (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of an electric junction box for an automobile embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Here, mainly the points different from the first embodiment will be described.
Regarding the common points, only the same member numbers are given and the description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, a taper portion 29a as an insertion guide is formed in the insertion hole 28 provided in the upper case 18 constituting the box body 12. The depth of the tapered portion 29a is the same as the plate thickness on the upper surface of the upper case 18.

The wiring board 20 is a seven-layer insulating substrate 30.
And the eight-layer bus bar 31 are alternately laminated and assembled in an electrically isolated state. That is, the wiring board 20 of the present embodiment is multi-layered as compared with the first embodiment. The convex portion 53 is provided on the upper surface of each insulating substrate 30.
Is provided. The convex portion 53 provided on the uppermost insulating substrate 30 is formed so as to correspond to the insertion hole 28. The upper surface of the convex portion 53 is flush with the inner bottom surface of the connector mounting portion 26.

A tapered portion 29 as an insertion guide is formed at the lower end of the through hole 32 provided in each insulating substrate 30. Therefore, the width at the lower end of the through hole 32 is
The width is about twice the width at the upper end of the through hole 32. Through hole 32 provided in uppermost insulating substrate 30
The width of the male tab 31a is formed by bending the bus bar 31.
It is slightly larger than the plate thickness of. In other words, between the inner wall surface of the through hole 32 and the side surface of the male tab 31a,
It is separated with a predetermined clearance. In the second embodiment, the size of the clearance is about 0.08 mm.

Further, a rib 51 for correcting the terminal piece is adjacent to the bent portion 52 of the male tab 31a bent and formed on the bus bar 31. The side surface of the terminal piece correction rib 51 is perpendicular to the inner surface of the bottom portion of the lower case 19, and the side surface of the male tab 31a is in contact with such a side surface. The terminal piece correction rib 51 is provided on the inner surface of the bottom portion of the lower case 19 forming the box body 12 so as to project therefrom. The terminal piece correcting rib 51 is formed integrally with the lower case 19. The height of the upper end surface of the rib 51 for correcting the terminal strip is determined by the insulating substrate 30
It has the same height as the upper surface of. Rib for terminal strip correction 5
The thickness of 1 is set to be slightly larger than the clearance generated between the inner wall surface of the through hole 32 and the side surface of the male tab 31a.

Next, a method for producing the box body 12 of the second embodiment will be described in detail. First, the male tab 31 a provided on the bus bar 31 is inserted into the through hole 32 provided in the insulating substrate 30. A tapered portion 29 is formed at the lower end of the through hole 32. Therefore, the male tab 31a is guided to the inner wall surface of the tapered portion 29. Therefore, male tab 3
The inclination of 1a is corrected to some extent. This male stub 31a
Is inserted into the through-hole 32 in the upper insulating substrate 30, the male tab 31a is placed on the upper insulating substrate 30.
Is guided to the taper portion 29. Therefore, the inclination of the male tab 31a is further corrected. In this way, the male tab 31a is straightened gradually so as to be erected simultaneously with the insertion work of the male tab 31a and the insulating substrate 30. As a result, the wiring board 20 is formed by stacking the bus bar 31 and the insulating substrate 30.

Next, the convex portion 53 provided from the uppermost insulating substrate 30 is inserted into the insertion hole 2 provided in the upper case 18.
Insert through 8. A taper portion 29a is formed in the insertion hole 28. Therefore, the convex portion 53 is guided to the inner wall surface of the tapered portion 29a. In this state, the box body 12 is formed by engaging the upper case 18 and the lower case 19.

Therefore, according to the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects described in the above (1) and (5) in the first embodiment. (1) A tapered portion 29 is formed at the lower end of each through hole 32. When the insulating substrates 30 are stacked, the male tab 31a is guided to the inner wall surface of the tapered portion 29. Therefore,
The inclination of the male stub 31a is corrected more reliably. As a result, the male tab 31a is smoothly inserted into the through hole 32. Therefore, the insertion work between the male tab 31a and the insulating substrate 30 can be performed more efficiently.

(2) Bus bar 3 on the bottom of lower case 19
When 1 is arranged, the bent portion 52 of the male tab 31 a is corrected by coming into contact with the terminal piece correction rib 51. Therefore, the male tab 31a can be corrected more reliably.

The embodiment of the present invention may be modified as follows. In the first and second embodiments, the total plate thickness on the upper surface of the upper case 18 is larger than the plate thickness of the insulating substrate 30. On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
In the upper case 18, only the plate thickness of the portion where the insertion hole 28 is formed may be increased. Further, the overall plate thickness with respect to the upper surface of the upper case 18 may be smaller than the plate thickness of the insulating substrate 30, or may have the same size.

In the first embodiment, the male tab 31a
The plate thickness was slightly larger than the width of the insertion hole 28. However, the width of the insertion hole 28 may be the same as the plate thickness of the male tab 31a. With this configuration, the male tab 31a can be inserted more smoothly.

In the first embodiment, the tapered portion 29 is formed at the lower end of the insertion hole 28. Further, in the second embodiment, the tapered portion 29 is also formed at the lower end portion of the through hole 32. However, the tapered portion 29 may not be provided.

In the second embodiment, the lower case 19
A rib 51 for correcting the terminal piece was provided on the bottom of the so as to be adjacent to the bent portion 52 of the male tab 31a. But,
Also in the first embodiment, a rib 51 for correcting a terminal piece may be provided on the bottom of the lower case 19 so as to be adjacent to the bent portion 52 of the male tab 31a.

In the second embodiment, the terminal piece straightening rib 51 is provided on the inner surface of the bottom portion of the lower case 19 in a protruding manner. However, the terminal piece correction ribs 51 may be provided on the lower surface of the lowermost insulating substrate 30, or the lowermost bus bar 31 may be provided.
The insulating substrate 30 may be added to the lower side of the insulating substrate 30, and the terminal piece correction ribs 51 may be provided on the upper surface of the insulating substrate 30 so as to project. Further, the rib 51 for correcting the terminal piece may not be provided.

Next, in addition to the technical ideas described in the claims, the technical ideas grasped by the above-described embodiment will be listed below. (1) Oite to claim 1-3, the thickness of the upper case, the electrical connection box, characterized in that is larger than the thickness of the insulating substrate. Therefore, according to the technical idea (1), the strength of the upper case can be maintained.

[0044] (2) Oite to claim 1-3, the width of the through holes, electrical connection box being larger than the plate thickness of the terminal strip. Therefore, according to the technical idea (2),
The electrical junction box can be easily manufactured.

[0045] (3) according to claim 1 Oite to 3, the electrical connection box, wherein a size of a width of the through hole has a rate of change to a certain size. (4) Oite to claims 1 to 3, the electrical connection box, characterized in that the height of the upper end surface of the terminal piece orthodontic rib and the upper surface the same height as the insulating substrate.

(5) A bus bar having a bent terminal piece and an insulating substrate are provided on the same insulating board, and the terminal piece is provided with respect to the through hole whose width is increased toward the lower insulating board. A wiring board in which the bus bars and the insulating substrates are alternately laminated and assembled while inserting the above.

[0047]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the work of inserting the terminal piece into the correct position can be efficiently performed, and the electric junction box can be easily manufactured. it can.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the electrical junction box can be easily manufactured. Further, the terminal piece can be surely corrected. According to the invention of claim 3, the work of inserting the terminal piece can be performed more efficiently.

[0049]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a box body according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of the box body.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an essential part showing a box body according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part showing a box body according to another example.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a box body according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an essential part showing the box body.

[Explanation of symbols]

12 ... Box main body constituting an electric junction box, 18 ... Upper case, 19 ... Lower case, 20 ... Wiring board, 28 ... Insertion hole,
29, 29a ... Tapered portion as insertion guide, 30 ... Insulating substrate, 31 ... Bus bar, 31a ... Male tab as terminal piece, 32 ... Through hole, 51 ... Rib for correcting terminal piece, 52 ...
Bent part.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H02G 3/16 H05K 5/02

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bus bar having a bent terminal piece and an insulating substrate are alternately inserted into the bus bar and the insulating substrate while the terminal piece is inserted into a through hole provided in the insulating substrate. With respect to the wiring board assembled in a laminated manner, in a state in which the terminal piece is inserted into the insertion hole provided in the upper case, in the electrical connection box adapted to fit the upper case and the lower case, the through hole increased with increasing the width in the insulating substrate of the lower layer side, the insulating substrate or the bottom of the lower case
A terminal strip correction rib adjacent to the bent portion of the terminal strip.
Electrical connection box, characterized in that projecting from such. 2. The bus bar is configured such that a plate thickness of the insertion hole forming portion of the upper case is larger than a plate thickness of the insulating substrate and a width of the insertion hole is smaller than a width of the through hole. The electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein the electrical junction box has substantially the same size as the width of the electrical connection box. 3. The electric junction box according to claim 1, wherein a tapered insertion guide is formed at a lower end portion of the through hole or the insertion hole.