JP4139287B2 - Electrical junction box - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electrical junction box including a case and a spacer assembled to the case .

  5 and 6 show examples of the conventional assembly proposed by the applicant of the present application (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  The conventional example shown in FIG. 5 (Patent Document 1) is an electrical connection box 50 as an assembly that does not lift the fuse cover 55 from the fuse case 51 even if the hinge 54 connecting the fuse case 51 and the fuse cover 55 is cut. The fuse case 51 and the fuse cover 55 are each provided with a locking portion 52 and an engaging portion 56, and the fuse case 51 is provided with a locking auxiliary portion 53. An engagement assisting portion 57 that engages with the locking assisting portion 53 is provided.

  The electrical junction box 50 includes a fuse case 51, a fuse cover 55 that covers the opening of the fuse case 51, and a fusible link (not shown) accommodated in the fuse case 51. The fuse case 51 has a box shape surrounded by walls on four sides, and a hinge 54 connected to the fuse cover 55 is formed on the rear wall 51b.

  The fuse cover 55 is formed in a shape corresponding to the opening of the fuse case 51. A fitting portion 58 is formed on the opening end side of the fuse cover 55, and the end portion of the fitting portion 58 abuts against the end portion of the fuse case 51, so that the fuse case 51 and the fuse cover 55 are connected to each other. The locking position (alignment position) is determined.

  A locking arm-like engaging portion 56 as a locking means is provided on the front wall 55a of the fuse cover 55 opposite to the hinge 54, and is bent in an L shape on the fuse case 51 side. The locking portion 52 is provided on the front wall 51 a of the fuse case 51 at a position corresponding to the engaging portion 56. When the fuse cover 55 is rotated with the hinge 54 as a rotation fulcrum and the engaging portion 56 is engaged with the locking portion 52, the fuse cover 55 can be closed, and on the contrary, the locking is released and the hinge 54 is rotated. When the fuse cover 55 is rotated in the reverse direction as a fulcrum, the fuse cover 55 can be opened.

  The locking auxiliary portion 53 is provided separately below the hinge 54 of the fuse case 51, and the hook-shaped engagement auxiliary portion 57 is provided downward from the opening end of the fuse cover 55. When the fuse cover 55 is closed, the engaging portion 56 and the locking portion 52 are engaged, and the engagement auxiliary portion 57 and the locking auxiliary portion 53 are engaged, and the fuse cover 55 is damaged even if the hinge 54 is broken. Is not lifted up from the fuse case 51.

  The conventional example (Patent Document 2) shown in FIG. 6 is an electric connection box 60 as an assembly directly attached to one bolt (not shown) and the other bracket (not shown) on the vehicle body side. This relates to the mounting structure. The electrical junction box 60 includes a relay case 61, an upper cover (not shown), and a lower cover (not shown). A mounting seat 64 for a bolt projects from the front wall 61a of the relay case 61, and the rear A mounting lock portion 65 for the bracket projects from the wall 61b.

  The relay case 61 accommodates a relay (not shown), the upper end opening 62 is closed by the upper cover, and the lower end opening 63 is closed by the lower cover, so that water and dust do not enter the case 61. The upper cover is assembled to the relay case 61 by engaging an engaging portion (not shown) formed on the upper cover with an engaging portion 66 formed on the front wall 61a of the relay case 61. It has become.

  The conventional example shown in FIG. 7 (Patent Document 3) provides a locking structure between a main body 71 having a two-stage lock release mechanism and a cover 74, and prevents the cover 74 from being opened. The assembly workability is improved. The assembly 70 is composed of a main body 71 and a cover 74. The main body 71 is provided with a pair of locking claws 72a and 72b and a pair of separation preventing ribs 73a and 73b that are spaced apart from the locking claws 72a and 72b. One locking claw 72a and one separation preventing rib 73a are alternately positioned in the vertical direction, and a gap with respect to the lower end portion 78 of the cover 74 is formed between the locking claw 72a and the separation preventing rib 73a. Has been. Similarly, a gap with respect to the lower end 78 of the cover 74 is formed in the other locking claw 72b and the other separation preventing rib 73b. The cover 74 has a U-shaped cross section, and includes a ceiling wall 75 and vertical walls 76 on both sides. The hanging wall 76 has locking holes 77 a and 77 b that engage with the locking claws 72 a and 72 b of the main body 71.

  The operation of the locking structure of the assembly 70 will be described. When the cover 74 is put on the main body 71, the locking holes 77 a and 77 b of the cover 74 are engaged with the locking claws 72 a and 72 b of the main body 71, so that the cover 74 is The lower end 78 of the cover 74 is positioned between the locking claws 72a and 72b of the main body 71 and the separation preventing ribs 73a and 73b. When removing the cover 74 from the main body 71, the locking of the one locking claw 72 a (72 b) and the locking hole 73 a (73 b) is released by lifting the cover 74, and then the cover 74 is opened with a strong force. As a result, the locking of the other locking claw 72b (72a) and the locking hole 73b (73a) is released, and both locking are released sequentially.

  In the conventional example shown in FIG. 8 (Patent Document 4), the cover 85 can be easily removed from the case 81, and the cover 85 can be protected from external force to prevent the cover 85 from opening. A locking structure is provided. The assembly 80 is composed of a case 81 and a cover 85. The case 81 is provided with a locking claw 82a as locking means, and the cover 85 is provided with a locking hole 87a that engages with the locking claw 82a.

  The locking claw 82a is provided in the recess 82 in which the outer wall portion is cut out. An annular peripheral groove 84 into which the peripheral wall 86 of the cover 85 is fitted is formed on the upper surface 81 a of the case 81. The locking hole 87 a is provided in a locking frame 87 that is a part of the peripheral wall 86. The locking frame 87 is formed so as not to protrude from the lower end of the peripheral wall 86, and slits 87 b are formed on both sides of the locking frame 87.

  According to this locking structure of the assembly 80, the outer wall portion of the recess 82 is notched, so that the locking claw 82a and the locking hole 87a can be easily locked when the cover 85 is removed from the case 81. Can be released. Further, since the peripheral groove 84 is provided on the upper surface 81a of the case 81, the peripheral wall 86 of the cover 85 is protected by the peripheral groove 84 so that an external force does not act.

  However, in the electrical connection boxes 50 and 60 of the first and second conventional examples, a cover (FIG. 6) is provided on the locking portions 52 and 66 formed on the front walls 51a and 61a of the fuse case 51 and the relay case 61. The upper cover (not shown) can be easily assembled to the cases 51 and 61 by engaging the engaging portion 56 formed on the upper cover 55, so that the assembling workability can be improved. Since the cases 51 and 61 and the cover 55 are molded from a synthetic resin material, deformation such as warpage may occur after molding. In such a case, the locking portions 52 and 66 and the engaging portions 56 is difficult to engage. When the case 51, 61 or the cover 55 is forcibly engaged while being distorted, the engagement between the engaging portions 52, 66 and the engaging portion 56 is inadvertently released due to strong vibration or strong impact during traveling of the vehicle, There was a concern that the cover 55 would come off the cases 51 and 61.

  In addition, the opening ends of the cases 51 and 61 and the cover 55 (parts to be joined) may be provided with seal packing that improves the sealing performance of the cases 51 and 61 and the cover 55 to prevent water and dust from entering. When the cases 51 and 61 and the cover 55 are deformed, the sealing performance is deteriorated, and there is a concern that water or the like enters from the gap and the electrical performance of the fusible link or the relay is impaired.

  In the third conventional example, even if the hanging wall 76 of the cover 74 is somewhat deformed due to shrinkage after injection molding, the hanging wall 76 is sandwiched between the locking claws 72a and 72b and the drop-off preventing ribs 73a and 73b. Thus, although the deformation is corrected to some extent, the tongue-shaped dropout prevention ribs 73a and 73b protrude from the main body 71, so that an electric wire or the like is caught and disconnected, or the dropout prevention ribs 73a and 73b. There was a concern that would be damaged by external force.

In the fourth conventional example, the cover 85 is fitted in the circumferential groove 84 so that the peripheral wall 86 of the cover 85 is protected. However, since the notch 83 is formed in the recess 82, There is a concern that the locking between the claw 82a and the locking hole 87a is inadvertently released.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-104510 (page 2-6, FIG. 4) JP-A-8-397931 (page 2, FIG. 5) Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-4144 (Page 2, Fig. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-51931 (page 4-5, FIG. 3)

In view of the above facts, correcting the deformation of the spacer can improve the reliability of the locking of the case and the spacer it is possible to (regulation), and damage such as disconnection due to jamming of the wire An object is to provide an electrical junction box that can be prevented.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 has a plurality of slot-like connector fitting chambers opened on one side formed by providing a plurality of partition walls between opposing side walls, and inserted from the other side. A case housing the conductor portion, a plurality of joint connectors each having a terminal connected to the conductor portion and housed in each of the connector fitting chambers, and a side wall portion of the case, A spacer for collectively holding and fixing the joint connectors housed in each connector fitting chamber, wherein the spacer extends along the side wall of the case; and A horizontal wall portion orthogonal to the vertical wall portion and extending so as to collectively hold the end portions of the accommodated joint connector, and the vertical wall at the longitudinal center portion of the vertical wall portion of the spacer. An engaging portion that is formed integrally with the engaging portion and protrudes toward the side wall of the case, and engages with the engaging portion of the spacer at the center of one end of the side wall of the case. And a vertical wall portion of the spacer between the front end portion and the side wall, the base wall and a front end portion following the base portion at positions apart on both sides of the engaging portion of the side wall. And a reinforcing rib is provided on the inner surface of the tip of the clamping piece .
According to the above configuration, the strength of the sandwiching piece is improved, and when the spacer is sandwiched, the sandwiching piece is prevented from being deformed by being opened outward. Further, it is possible to prevent the wire sandwiched between the wall of the tip and the case by the ribs improves the fitting accuracy of the case and the cover, is prevented resulting gaps, good sealing of the case This prevents water and dust from entering the case.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electrical junction box according to the first aspect , the rib is extended and connected to the tip of the clamping piece, and an upward inclined surface is formed on the extended portion of the rib. It is what.
According to the above configuration, when the extra length portion of the electric wire led out from the joint box inadvertently enters the gap between the wall portion of the case and the clamping piece, the electric wire easily slips out of the inclined surface through the inclined surface. Become.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electrical junction box according to the first or second aspect, a groove that engages with the rib is formed in the spacer .
According to the said structure, even if it extends a rib to the front-end | tip of a clamping piece, interference with a spacer and a rib can be prevented. Moreover, the strength of the sandwiching piece can be further increased by extending the rib to the tip of the sandwiching piece. In addition, the groove | channel should just be a thing which can avoid interference with a rib, and a notch etc. may be sufficient as it.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the sandwiching piece is connected to the wall portion of the case via the reinforcing rib, the strength of the sandwiching piece is improved and the spacer is sandwiched. In addition, it is possible to prevent the clamping piece from being deformed by opening it outward. Therefore, the spacer deformed by the shrinkage after the injection molding is sandwiched between the wall portion of the case and the sandwiching piece and straightened.
Further, the deflection of the spacer is prevented on both sides of the engagement portion, the engagement portion and the engagement portion are strongly engaged, and the engagement is not easily released. Therefore, the locking reliability is improved.
Further, the plurality of joint connectors housed in the connector fitting chamber of the case is prevented from coming off by the spacers coming into contact with the end portions. Therefore, the reliability of the electrical connection is maintained.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 2, there is a case where the extra length portion of the electric wire led out from the joint box or the like inadvertently enters the gap between the wall portion of the case and the holding piece. However, the electric wire can easily slip out of the gap on the inclined surface. Therefore, damage such as disconnection due to the pinching of the electric wire is prevented.

According to the invention described in claim 3, since the groove is formed in the spacer , even if the rib is extended to the tip of the sandwiching piece, interference between the spacer and the rib can be prevented, and the rib By extending to the tip of the sandwiching piece, the strength of the sandwiching piece can be further increased.

Specific examples of embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an electrical junction box according to the present invention.

  This locking structure is applied to the joint box 10 as an assembly, can correct deformation such as warpage of the spacer (assembly member) 37 made of a synthetic resin material, and locks the case 13 and the spacer 37. It is possible to improve the reliability.

  The joint box 10 is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, and an external circuit is connected to a circuit structure such as a bus bar forming a joint circuit via a wire harness (a bundle of electric wires 43), and an electrical connection for branching an electrical signal into a plurality of parts. It is a part. The joint box 10 is not equipped with a fuse or a relay.

  The joint box 10 includes a joint connector block 12 and a joint connector 25. The joint connector block 12 includes an insulating resin case 13, a spacer 37 that is an insulating resin locking member, a conductive bus bar (not shown) that is inserted into the case 13 from below, A cover (not shown) for preventing the drop-out is provided. The joint connector 25 to which the electric wire 43 is connected is inserted from the upper side of the case 13 so that a female terminal (not shown) accommodated in the housing 26 is connected to the tab terminal of the bus bar.

The joint box 10 according to the present invention has a plurality of slot-like connector fitting chambers 18 opened on one side formed by providing a plurality of partition walls between opposing side walls 14a, and accommodates a bus bar inserted from the other side. A plurality of joint connectors 25 each having a terminal connected to the bus bar and housed in each of the connector fitting chambers, and each of the connector fitting chambers. And a spacer 37 for holding and fixing the joint connectors housed in the package collectively, wherein the spacer includes a vertical wall 39 extending along the side wall of the case, and the vertical wall And a horizontal wall 38 extending so as to hold the end of the accommodated joint connector together, and the longitudinal length of the vertical wall of the spacer A locking portion 40d that is formed integrally with the vertical wall portion and faces the side wall of the case is protruded from the central portion in the direction, and the one end of the side of the side wall of the case has a central portion on the opening side. An engaging portion 15 that engages with the engaging portion protrudes, and is formed of a base portion 20a and a distal end portion 20c that follows the base portion at positions apart from both sides of the engaging portion of the side wall. A sandwiching piece 20 that sandwiches the vertical wall portion of the spacer is provided between the side walls and a reinforcing rib 23 is provided on the inner surface of the tip portion of the sandwiching piece .

  According to such a configuration, the spacer 37 deformed by molding shrinkage after the injection molding is sandwiched between the side wall 14a of the case 13 and the sandwiching piece 20, so that the deformation is corrected, and along the side wall 14a. Straightened. Since the sandwiching piece 20 is reinforced by the ribs 23, the deformation amount of the spacer 37 is large, and even when the sandwiching piece 20 receives an outward force, the sandwiching piece 20 is prevented from opening outward. Since both sides of the locking portion 40d are restrained by the sandwiching pieces 20 and 20, the spacer 37 has a strong locking force, and the locking is prevented from being inadvertently released and the spacer 37 is prevented from being pulled out. Is prevented from coming off from the connector fitting portion 17.

  Below, the main components of the joint box 10 will be described in detail.

  For convenience of explanation in the present specification, the concepts of the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction are defined as follows. The front-rear direction is defined as the longitudinal direction of the case 13 (the direction in which the joint connector 25 is aligned), and the left-right direction is the direction in which the female terminals accommodated in the joint connector 25 are aligned (the terminal accommodating portions 30 of the joint connectors 25 are aligned). Direction), and the vertical direction is defined as the insertion direction of the joint connector 25. The upper side in the vertical direction is the side where the connector fitting portion 17 is located, and the lower side is the side where the bus bar accommodating portion 19 is located.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the case 13 forming the joint connector block 12 has a rectangular box shape with four sides surrounded by walls 14a, 14a, 14b, 14c, and a connector fitting portion 17 in the upper half. In the lower half, bus bar accommodating portions 19 are provided back to back.

  The connector fitting portion 17 has a plurality of slot-like connector fitting chambers 18 arranged in parallel, and each connector fitting chamber 18 is partitioned and formed at equal pitches by vertical partition walls 18a. A plurality of ribs 18b project from the partition wall 18a and the rear wall 14b at an equal pitch, and a terminal accommodating space is formed between the ribs 18b. The protruding length of the rib 18b is short, and each partition wall 29 formed in the housing 26 of the joint connector 25 is positioned opposite to each rib 18b.

  Each connector fitting chamber 18 has an opening at the top. The narrow left and right walls are the opposite left and right side walls 14a and 14a of the case 13, and the wide front and rear walls are the partition wall 18a, the front wall 14c, or the rear wall 14b.

  A rectangular recess 33 is formed at the open ends of the left and right side walls 14 a, 14 a of each connector fitting chamber 18. Corresponding to the concave portion 33, projections 34 are formed on both side walls 31, 31 of the joint connector 25 (housing 26) so as to protrude laterally (left-right direction).

  The protrusion 34 is formed on the upper end side of the joint connector 25, and the end surface of the protrusion 34 is formed in the same plane as the end surface of the housing 26. With this formation, the back surface (flat surface) of the horizontal wall 38 of the spacer 37 is directed to the end surface of the projection 34 and the end surface of the housing 26, and the joint connector 25 is pushed into the connector fitting chamber 18. , So that it can be securely locked without rattling. In addition, since the plurality of joint connectors 25 collectively come into contact with the spacers 37, the workability of locking is improved as compared with the case where locking is performed for each joint connector 25.

  The bus bar accommodating portion 19 is formed inside a frame surrounded by the side walls 14a, 14a and the front and rear walls 14b, 14c on both sides of the case 13, and is defined by a plurality of partition walls (not shown) extending in the front-rear direction. A bus bar forming a joint circuit is sandwiched in the groove. The bus bar is formed by punching a conductive substrate and bending it as necessary. The bus bar circuit structure will be proposed in another application, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  A pair of sandwiching pieces 20, 20 sandwiching the spacer 37 is provided on both side walls 14 a, 14 a of the case 13 so as to protrude upward. The pair of sandwiching pieces 20, 20 are positioned away from each other near the center in the longitudinal direction of the side wall 14a (FIG. 2). The number of the clamping pieces 20 formed on each side wall 14a is not limited to a pair, and may be three or more. In this embodiment, the pair of sandwiching pieces 20 is provided because the engagement portions 15 are provided between the respective sandwiching pieces 20 so that the spacers 37 are locked with a strong locking force, and the spacers 37 are supported in a balanced manner. It is to do. In addition, the holding piece 20 is not restricted to be provided on the side walls 14a, 14a on both sides, and when the mounting bracket or the like fixed to the vehicle body panel or the like is provided on the side wall 14a on one side, the holding piece 20 is not provided. You may provide only in the other side wall 14a.

  The sandwiching piece 20 has a tongue-like shape, a base portion 20a formed integrally with the side wall 14a, an inclined portion 20b that rises obliquely from the side wall 14a following the base portion 20a, and a tip portion that is parallel to the side wall 14a following the inclined portion 20b. 20c. Since the base portion 20a and the distal end portion 20c are connected via the inclined portion 20b, no stress concentration occurs on the base side of the distal end portion 20c.

  The tip portion 20 c is a thin protruding portion, and is opposed to the side wall 14 a of the case 13 with a gap 21 corresponding to the plate thickness of the spacer 37. This is because if the gap 21 is opened too much, play occurs when the spacer 37 is sandwiched in the gap 21 and the effect of correcting the deformation is reduced. The arcuate ridgeline portion of the outer surface of the tip portion 20c is chamfered at an angle of about 45 °. By forming the chamfer, it is prevented that the electric wire 43 drawn out and routed from the joint connector 25 is cut and damaged.

A reinforcing rib 23 is formed at the center of the inner surface of the tip portion 20 c, and the tip portion 20 c and the side wall 14 a are connected via the rib 23. The rib 23 extends straight from the root side of the inclined portion 20b to the front end portion 20c in the vertical direction. The leading end side of the rib 23 is smoothly connected to the tip of the leading end portion 20c via an upward inclined surface 23a. By forming the inclined surface 23a on the leading end side of the rib 2, the extra length portion of the electric wire 43 drawn out from the case 13 may inadvertently enter the gap 21 between the side wall 14a and the leading end portion 20c. However, the electric wire 43 comes out of the sliding gap 21 through the inclined surface 23a, and damage such as disconnection due to the electric wire 43 being caught is prevented.

  Between the pair of sandwiching pieces 20, 20, an engaging portion 15 having an upward inclined surface 15a and a locking surface 15b following the inclined surface 15a is formed. The engaging portion 15 is engaged with a locking portion 40d of a spacer 37, which will be described later, so that the spacer 37 is locked. Since the spacer 37 is sandwiched between the pair of sandwiching pieces 20, 20 on both sides of the engaging portion 15, the spacer 37 is prevented from opening outward, and the locking portion 40 d and the engaging portion 15 are strongly engaged, It becomes difficult to release the lock.

  Since the engaging portion 15 is provided above the pair of sandwiching pieces 20 and 20 (FIG. 2) and close to the opening end of the case 13, the spacer 37 is inserted into the rear side of the sandwiching piece 20. The spacer 37 is locked in a state where the locking position is fixed.

  In this embodiment, the projection as the engaging portion 15 is provided on the side wall 14 a of the case 13. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and a recess is provided in the side wall 14 a and the spacer 37. Protrusions may be provided on the surface, and various locking means can be applied.

  The spacers 37 are made of a synthetic resin material and are molded separately from the case 13. The spacers 37 are arranged on both sides in the left and right direction (width direction) at the opening end of the connector fitting portion 17, and are arranged in the longitudinal direction. It is fixed to the case 13 by a locking portion 40d formed at the center. The spacer 37 has an L-shaped cross section and includes a plate-like vertical wall 39 extending in the longitudinal direction and a horizontal wall 38 orthogonal to the wall 39. A bulging portion 40 including an inward locking portion 40 d is provided at the center of the vertical wall portion 39. The vertical wall portion 39 is a portion along the side wall 14 a of the case 13, and the horizontal wall portion 38 is a portion that contacts the upper end portion of the joint connector 25.

  The bulging portion 40 is formed in a U-shape with narrow front and rear wall portions 40a and 40b and a wide wall portion 40c connecting the narrow wall portions 40a and 40b, and a locking portion 40d on the lower end inside. And has an opening (die cutting hole) 40e at the upper end. The narrow wall portions 40a and 40b abut against the front and rear vertical walls 15c and 15d of the engaging portion 15, and the spacer 37 is positioned in the front-rear direction. The locking portion 40d has an upward horizontal locking surface and abuts on the locking surface 15b of the engaging portion 15.

  The vertical wall portion 39 is formed with slits (grooves) 41 that are located on both sides of the bulging portion 40 and engage with the ribs 23 formed on the inner surface of the holding piece 20 (FIG. 3). The width of the slit 41 is formed to be slightly larger than the width of the rib 23, and the length of the slit 41 is formed to be equal to the length of the rib 23. By forming the slit 41 having such dimensions, interference between the spacer 37 and the rib 23 can be prevented even when the rib 23 is extended to the tip of the sandwiching piece 20. Further, by extending the rib 23 to the tip of the sandwiching piece 20, the strength of the sandwiching piece 20 can be further increased.

  In addition, when the spacer 37 becomes a long thing, the some latching | locking part 40d can also be provided. For example, at both ends of the spacer 37, a third wall portion orthogonal to the vertical wall portion 39 and the horizontal wall portion 38 is provided, and a locking portion is formed on the inner surface of the wall portion. It is also possible to engage with the engaging portions formed on the front and rear walls of the case 13. The configuration of the spacer will be proposed in another application, and detailed description in this specification will be omitted.

  The joint connector 25 includes a female terminal connected to the tab terminal of the bus bar and a plate-shaped housing 26. This joint connector 25 and the electric wire 43 connected to the female terminal constitute a wire harness.

  The housing 26 is made of a synthetic resin material and includes a flat substrate 27, a partition wall 29 and a front wall that stand perpendicular to the substrate 27, and side walls 31, 31 on both sides. Between the adjacent partition walls 29, an elongated terminal accommodating portion 30 is formed so that a female terminal is accommodated. A protrusion for preventing the female terminal from coming off protrudes substantially in the middle of the partition wall 29 and is locked so that the female terminal does not come out.

  On both side walls 31, 31 of the joint connector 25 (housing 26), protrusions 34 that engage with the rectangular recesses 33 formed on the left and right side walls 14 a, 14 a of each connector fitting chamber 18 protrude laterally. Has been. The spacer 37 abuts on the protrusion 34, so that the joint connector 25 can be locked without the entire connector fitting chamber 18 being covered with the spacer. In addition, when the spacer 37 contacts the end of the joint connector 25 including the protrusion 34, the contact area is increased, and the locking force of the joint connector is increased.

  According to the first embodiment, the locking structure as the assembly acts as follows.

  When attaching the spacer 37 to the case 13, the spacer 37 is aligned with both sides in the left and right direction at the opening end of the connector fitting portion 17, and the spacer 37 is inserted into the gap 21 between the side wall 14 a and the sandwiching piece 20. The slit 41 formed in the vertical wall portion 39 of the spacer 37 engages with the rib 23 formed on the inner surface of the holding piece 20, and the spacer 37 is inserted deeply while being guided by the rib 23, so that the spacer 37 is warped, etc. Is corrected, and the slit 41 is positioned at the locking position by the abutment 41a (FIG. 3) of the slit 41 abutting against the upper surface 23b of the rib 23. During the insertion of the spacer 37, the engaging portion 40d of the spacer 37 rides on the engaging portion 15 of the side wall 14a, and the engaging portion 40d gets over the inclined surface 15a, so that the engaging portion 40d and the engaging portion 15 are connected. The spacers 37 are attached to the case 13.

  When removing the attached spacer 37 from the case 13, a special tool or the like is used, the vertical wall 39 of the spacer 37 is bent outward, the engagement is released, and the spacer 37 is moved upward, whereby the spacer 37 is moved upward. 37 can be removed from the case 13.

Next, a reference example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, about the same component as this reference example and 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

This reference example is different from the first embodiment in that a rectangular box-shaped cover 45 is used instead of the spacer 37. By replacing the spacer 37 with the cover 45, the opening of the connector fitting portion 17 is covered with the cover 45, so that intrusion of water, dust, or the like is prevented.

  The cover 45 includes an upper wall 46a, side walls 46b, 46b and front and rear walls 46c, 46d on both sides that are orthogonal to the edge of the upper wall 46a, and the lower wall is open. A bulging portion 47 having a locking portion 47d is formed at a position near the opening end portion in the longitudinal center portion of the side walls 46b, 46b on both sides. Small slits 48 are formed on both sides in the immediate vicinity of the bulging portion 47, and slits 49 similar to those of the first embodiment are formed on the outside thereof.

  By forming the small slit 48, the bulging portion 47 is easily bent outward, and the attachment workability when the cover 45 is attached to the case 13 is improved. Even if the small slit 48 is formed, after the cover 45 is attached, the bulging portion 47 is elastically restored to the original shape, so that there is no concern that the cover 45 is detached from the case 13 because the locking is released. Since the bulging portion 47 and the slit (groove) 49 are the same as the spacer 37 of the first embodiment, a detailed description of the configuration will be omitted.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a first embodiment of an electrical junction box according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the joint connector block shown in FIG. 1. It is a side view of the spacer shown by FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the reference example of the electrical junction box which concerns on this invention. It is a side view which shows the 1st prior art example of an assembly. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd prior art example of an assembly | attachment. It is a perspective view which shows the 3rd prior art example of an assembly | attachment. It is a perspective view which shows the 4th prior art example of an assembly | attachment.

Explanation of symbols

10, 10 'joint box (assembly)
13 Case (body)
14a Side wall (wall part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 Engagement part 17 Connector fitting part 20 Clamping piece 20a Base part 20c Tip part 23 Rib 23a Inclined surface 25 Joint connector 37 Spacer (assembly member)
40d, 47d Locking part 41, 49 Slit (groove)
45 Cover (assembly member)

Claims (3)

  A case having a plurality of slotted connector fitting chambers opened in one formed by providing a plurality of partition walls between opposing side walls, and housing a conductor portion inserted from the other;
  A plurality of joint connectors each having a terminal connected to the conductor portion and housed in each of the connector fitting chambers;
  A spacer that is provided on each side wall portion of the case and collectively holds and fixes the joint connectors housed in the connector fitting chambers,
  The spacer includes a vertical wall extending along the side wall of the case, and a horizontal wall extending perpendicularly to the vertical wall so as to collectively hold the end of the accommodated joint connector. ,
  At the center in the longitudinal direction of the vertical wall portion of the spacer, a locking portion is formed integrally with the vertical wall portion and faces the side of the case, and protrudes.
  An engaging portion that engages with the locking portion of the spacer is protruded from a central portion of the one opening side end portion of the side wall of the case, and a base portion is provided at a position away from both sides of the engaging portion of the side wall. And a tip part following the base part, and a clamping piece for sandwiching the vertical wall part of the spacer between the tip part and the side wall is projected,
  An electrical junction box, wherein a reinforcing rib is provided on an inner surface of the tip portion of the clamping piece. 2. The electric junction box according to claim 1, wherein the rib is extended and connected to the tip of the sandwiching piece, and an upward inclined surface is formed on the extended portion of the rib. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein a groove that engages with the rib is formed in the vertical wall portion of the spacer .

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