JP4252992B2 - Electrical junction box - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical junction box that is excellent in waterproofness and that is suitable for mounting in an engine room of a vehicle, for example.

  In recent years, with increasing needs for vehicle comfort, the number of electrical components mounted on a vehicle tends to increase. Specifically, for example, various electrical components such as audio, navigation, television, electric antenna, air conditioner, rear window heater, seat heater, power seat, suspension hardness control device and the like are mounted on the vehicle. Yes.

  Power supply to these electrical components is performed via an electrical connection box attached near the battery in the engine room. The electrical junction box is equipped with a fuse that prevents the occurrence of a vehicle fire in the event of a short circuit with the body of the wire harness or a fault in the load of the motor, etc. Various electric parts and electronic parts such as a relay for controlling supply are mounted.

  Since the electrical junction box incorporates a large number of electrical components and electronic components as described above, it has a large number of connectors for connection to an external wire harness on the side surface of the electrical junction box. And the other party connector of the wire harness routed to the vehicle is fitted and connected to these connectors. There is also known an electrical junction box that employs a special seal structure in order to ensure waterproofness of the connector portion of the electrical junction box (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

When such a box-shaped electrical junction box is mounted in the engine room of a vehicle, the following problems occur.
JP 2001-266997 A (page 2-3, FIG. 1)

  When a box-shaped electrical junction box having a connector on the side surface is attached to the engine room of the vehicle so that the side surface is substantially vertical, the fitting surface of the connector provided on the side surface faces in the horizontal direction. For this reason, when connecting a wire harness that is routed on the relatively upper side of the engine room to the electrical junction box, when the mating connector of the wire harness is fitted to this connector, the wire harness is substantially horizontal from these connector joints. It will be extended upwards.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle travels in the rain, a large amount of rainwater enters the engine room due to intrusion of rainwater from the engine hood and front grille and rebounding rainwater from the road surface.

  For this reason, rainwater that has entered such an engine compartment travels through the wire harness to the connector of the electrical junction box due to its own weight and vibration during vehicle travel, and eventually enters the electrical junction box via the gap around the connector. May invade the electrical connection box due to water exposure.

  The above problems may occur not only when the vehicle is traveling in the rain, but also in a shower booth for water leakage inspection in the final process of the vehicle assembly line.

  In order to avoid such a problem, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the wire harness 200 that is routed relatively above the engine room is temporarily extended below the electrical connection box 2 so as to extend the wire harness. It is also conceivable to connect to the connectors 51 to 56 of the electrical junction box 2 located above the extending portion 201 of the 200. However, since various vehicle-mounted products are mounted in a limited space in the engine room, it is difficult to secure such a degree of freedom for wiring the wire harness. Further, once the wire harness 200 is routed below the electrical junction box, an extra path is required in the wire harness itself, resulting in an increase in weight and cost.

  When a connector is provided only on a specific side of a box-shaped electrical junction box, the electrical junction box itself is attached to the vehicle so that the side faces slightly downward from the horizontal direction. It is also conceivable that the wire harness to be dropped is hung down and the rainwater transmitted through the wire harness is dropped at the hung portion.

  However, in recent years, the electrical connection box has been reduced in size and the number of connectors accompanying the increase in the number of types of electrical components and electronic components accommodated in the electrical connection box itself has led to such connectors being connected to a plurality of electrical connection boxes. It must be provided on the side surface, and it is not possible to cope with a measure in which only one side surface of the electrical junction box is directed downward from the horizontal direction. In addition, the electrical junction box in the engine room may not be installed with the electrical junction box tilted from the viewpoint of space limitation due to space saving. In addition, if there are connectors on both sides facing each other, tilting the electrical junction box itself so that only one side is slightly downward will cause the other side to face slightly upward, and the connector on the other side will There is a risk of rainwater entering the junction box.

  On the other hand, even when the electrical junction box described in Patent Document 1 having the special seal structure described above is used, the wire harness extends horizontally or upward from the connector provided on the side surface of the electrical junction box. Therefore, when rainwater reaches the connector through the wire harness for a long period of time, the seal portion deteriorates and eventually rainwater enters the inside of the electrical junction box.

  In addition, the electrical junction box in the passenger compartment is often non-waterproof, but when condensation of the air conditioner duct is generated, when water enters the passenger compartment, or when the passenger compartment is washed with water. A similar problem occurs and the damage is serious.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical junction box that is resistant to rainwater and that is excellent in waterproofness even when the vehicle is raining.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an electrical junction box according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided.
In the electrical junction box mounted on the vehicle,
The electrical junction box has at least one side surface extending in a substantially vertical direction in an attached state to the vehicle;
Provided on the side surface is a connector part for electrically connecting the wire harness outside the electrical junction box and the electrical junction box,
In a state where the electrical connection box is attached to the vehicle, the connector fitting surface of the connector is formed downward by a predetermined angle from the horizontal direction,
In the state where the electrical junction box is attached to a vehicle, an electrical junction box for extending a wire harness connected to the connector downward from the connector by a predetermined angle from the horizontal direction,
The electrical junction box has a box shape, at least a pair of side surfaces of the electrical junction box facing each other form the side surface, and a plurality of the connectors are vertically arranged on the side surface when the electrical junction box is attached to a vehicle. In addition, each wire harness connected to each of the plurality of connectors is extended downward from the plurality of connectors by a predetermined angle from the horizontal direction ,
The plurality of connectors are arranged in a vertically long orientation in a state where the electrical connection box is attached to a vehicle,
The plurality of connectors are integrally molded and have a stepped structure in which the lower part of the connector adjacent to the upper part of each connector is retracted to the inner side of the electric connection box when the electric connection box is attached to the vehicle. It is characterized in that there.

  With the electrical junction box having such a structure, the wire harness connected to the connector of the electrical junction box once extends downward. Therefore, rainwater that travels through the wire harness when the vehicle is running in the rain drops near the connector of the electrical junction box and at the most drooped part of the wire harness, making it difficult to reach the connector of the electrical junction box. Prevent rainwater from entering.

  In addition, by providing such connectors on both sides of the electrical junction box, it becomes possible to provide the electrical junction box with a plurality of connectors that are difficult to infiltrate rainwater. It becomes possible to improve the waterproofness of the accommodated electrical junction box.

The electrical junction box according to claim 2 is the electrical junction box according to claim 1 ,
The electrical junction box is attached to an engine room of a vehicle.

  In the engine room of the vehicle, rainwater easily enters from the engine hood, the front grille, and the lower surface of the engine room when the vehicle travels in the rain, so that the waterproofness of the electrical junction box attached to such a part can be reliably improved.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electrical junction box that is resistant to rainwater and that has excellent waterproofness even when the vehicle is running in the rain.

  Hereinafter, an electrical junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. An electrical junction box 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a casing 10 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIG. 1 and wire harnesses arranged in a vehicle on both sides thereof as shown in FIG. A plurality of connectors 21 to 26 for connection with 100 are provided (three in this embodiment). As shown in FIG. 1, a connection box mounting portion 11 is formed so as to protrude upward at the upper end portion of the electrical connection box 1, and the case side surfaces 10a and 10b provided with the connectors 21 to 26 extend substantially vertically. It is attached to a member 150 of the engine room via a suitable fastener 151 such as a bolt.

  FIG. 2 shows a connector housing 20 and a board 30 inside the electrical junction box. The board 30 includes a vehicle audio, a navigation, a TV, an electric antenna, an air conditioner, a rear window heater, a seat heater, a power seat, and a hard suspension. A power transistor for controlling various electrical components such as a control device, an electrical component 31 such as an IC and a relay, and other electronic components 32 are mounted.

  The connector housing 20 is made of a resin excellent in strength, moldability, and heat resistance, such as PP (polypropylene) or PBT (polybutylene terephthalate). And each is provided with the three connectors 21-23, 24-26 in the housing up-down direction, and has the step part 20a between these connectors. And the housing attachment part 20b to a board | substrate is protrudingly formed in the both ends of the connector housing 20, and fastening of screws etc. is carried out in the state where the upper end part of the connector housing 20 was separated from the side edge part of the board | substrate 30 rather than the lower end part. It is attached to the substrate 30 via a tool 33. Further, the connectors 21 to 26 and the electric circuit (not shown) of the substrate 30 are connected by a large number of terminals 29.

  3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the connector 21 of the connector housing 20 shown in FIG. 2 cut along a plane perpendicular to the connector fitting surface 21a. As shown in FIG. 3, the connector housing 20 is mounted on the substrate 30, one end side of the terminal 29 is fixed to the connector housing 20 in a press-fit state, for example, and the other end side is inserted into the through hole of the substrate 30, not shown. It is fixed with solder and is electrically connected to the circuit on the substrate 30.

Further, individual female terminals 111 a are attached to the electric wires 101 c constituting the wire harness 101 and are fixed in the connector 111.

  A connector 111 fixed to the tip of the wire harness 101 is fitted and connected in such a connector 21. That is, by inserting the connector 111 into the connector 21, the one end side of the terminal 29 and the female terminal 111 a are fitted and connected as shown by the arrows in the figure, and thereby the electrical connection between the wire harness and the substrate 30 is established. Established. Here, this fitting method is in a direction orthogonal to the connector fitting surface 21a.

  In this manner, a plurality of (three in the present embodiment) connectors 21 to 23 and 24 to 26 are arranged in parallel on opposite side surfaces of the electrical junction box 1 via the connector housing 20. And each connector 21-23, 24-26 with which these board | substrates were equipped has the connector fitting surface 21a-23a, 24a-26a rather than a horizontal direction in the state which attached the electric junction box 1 to the engine room of the vehicle. It is directed slightly downward by a predetermined angle.

  In addition, the clearance gap between the connectors 21-26 with which the connector housing 20 is equipped, and the housing | casing 10 of the electrical junction box 1 is sealed by the general sealing means which is not shown in detail here, and liquid-tightness is ensured. .

  Then, the effect | action of the electrical-connection box 1 concerning this embodiment is demonstrated.

  When the wire harness is connected to the connector provided on the side surface of the conventional electrical junction box shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the wire harness extends horizontally or upward from the connector of the electrical junction box.

  However, since the electrical junction box 1 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, the mating connectors 111 and 114 of the wire harness 100 disposed on the relatively upper side of the engine room of the vehicle are connected to the electrical junction box 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the wire harnesses 101 and 104 once hang downward and extend as shown in FIGS. As a result, when the vehicle travels in rainy weather, rainwater enters the engine room vigorously and the wire harness 100 gets wet with the rainwater. Even in the direction toward the electrical junction box 1, the rainwater drops downward at the lower end portions 101 a and 104 a (see FIG. 4) where the wire harnesses 101 and 104 in the vicinity of the connector of the electrical junction box 1 are most suspended. Drainage is performed and rainwater hardly reaches the connectors 21 and 24 of the electrical junction box 1.

In the present embodiment, the wire harness 102,103,105,106 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, these connectors branch from the wire harness (not shown) is routed to below the engine room 112 and 113 115, 116 are fitted and connected to the connectors 22, 23, 25, 26 of the electrical junction box 1, respectively. However, when these wire harnesses are also extended from the wire harnesses arranged on the upper side of the engine room, the connectors 22 of the electrical connection box 1 to which the respective connectors are fitted and connected in the same manner as the wire harnesses 101 and 104, 23, 25, and 26 hang down once and extend, and the above-described draining effect at the lower end of the wire harness can be similarly exhibited.

  Thereby, it is possible to effectively prevent rainwater from entering the inside of the electrical junction box from the connector.

  Such an effect can also be exhibited in a shower booth in a water leak inspection process on a vehicle assembly line.

  By having such an action, it is not necessary to provide a special sealing structure in the connector portion as in the conventional electric connection box described in Patent Document 1, and other conventional electric connection boxes are mounted on the vehicle. In addition, it is not necessary to take measures to extend the wire harness below the connector of the electric connection box by wiring the wire harness arranged on the upper side of the engine room to the lower side of the electric connection box.

  Therefore, by mounting the electrical junction box 1 of the present invention in the engine room, the electrical junction box having a large number of connectors can be attached to the engine room in a limited space while ensuring waterproofness.

  In addition, the connector of the electrical junction box mentioned above does not necessarily need to be provided on both side surfaces of the electrical junction box. However, by providing connectors on both sides of the electrical junction box, it becomes possible to provide the electrical junction box with a plurality of connectors that are difficult to infiltrate rainwater, and it is small in size and contains many electrical and electronic components. It becomes possible to improve the waterproofness of the connection box.

  Further, the electrical junction box of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the rectangular parallelepiped shape in the above-described embodiment. That is, it is sufficient that at least one side surface extending in a substantially vertical direction and provided with a connector is provided in a state where the electrical junction box is attached to the vehicle, and the electrical junction box is composed of a casing having a polygonal shape in a top view. It may be.

  Moreover, the mounting position of the electrical junction box according to the present invention is not limited to the engine room of the vehicle. However, when the electrical junction box according to the present invention is mounted in an engine room of a vehicle, the influence of the wetted water on the electrical junction box from rainwater entering the engine room can be minimized.

1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an electrical junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to an engine room of a vehicle and a connector of a wire harness routed in the engine room of the vehicle is fitted to the connector of the electrical junction box. . It is the front view which showed the board | substrate accommodated inside the electrical junction box shown in FIG. 1, elements, such as an electrical component and an electronic component, and a connector housing. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the connector housing in FIG. 2 cut along a plane perpendicular to the connector fitting surface. It is a front view of the electric junction box shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the state which fitted the connector of the wire harness routed in the engine room of the vehicle with the connector of the electric connection box while attaching the conventional electrical connection box to the engine room of the vehicle. FIG. 6 is a front view corresponding to FIG. 5.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Electrical connection box 10 Housing | casing 10a, 10b Housing side surface 11 Connection box attaching part 20 Connector housing 20a Step part 20b Housing attaching part 21-26 Connector 21a-26a Connector fitting surface 29 Terminal 30 Board | substrate 31 Electrical component 32 Electron Component 33 Fastener 51-56 Connector 100, 101 Wire harness 101a Lower end
101c electric wire 104 wire harness 104a lower end 111,114 mating connector 150 member 151 fastener 200 wire harness 201 extending portion

Claims (2)

In the electrical junction box mounted on the vehicle,
The electrical junction box has at least one side surface extending in a substantially vertical direction in an attached state to the vehicle;
Provided on the side surface is a connector part for electrically connecting the wire harness outside the electrical junction box and the electrical junction box,
In a state where the electrical connection box is attached to the vehicle, the connector fitting surface of the connector is formed downward by a predetermined angle from the horizontal direction,
In the state where the electrical junction box is attached to a vehicle, an electrical junction box for extending a wire harness connected to the connector downward from the connector by a predetermined angle from the horizontal direction,
The electrical junction box has a box shape, at least a pair of side surfaces of the electrical junction box facing each other form the side surface, and a plurality of the connectors are vertically arranged on the side surface when the electrical junction box is attached to a vehicle. In addition, each wire harness connected to each of the plurality of connectors is extended downward from the plurality of connectors by a predetermined angle from the horizontal direction ,
The plurality of connectors are arranged in a vertically long orientation in a state where the electrical connection box is attached to a vehicle,
The plurality of connectors are integrally molded and have a stepped structure in which the lower part of the connector adjacent to the upper part of each connector is retracted to the inner side of the electric connection box when the electric connection box is attached to the vehicle. electrical connection box, characterized in that there. The electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein the electrical junction box is attached to an engine room of a vehicle .

Images