JP5731307B2 - Circuit board storage case, seat belt retractor device, and seat belt device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a circuit board storage case for storing a circuit board, a seat belt retractor device including the circuit board storage case, and a seat belt device.

  Various ECUs (electronic control units) are mounted on the vehicle. And the circuit board of these ECUs may be used in the form stored in a storage case. For example, a technique described in Patent Document 1 is known for this vehicle circuit board storage case.

  The circuit board storage case includes a main body case (case member) and a cover (cover member) made of synthetic resin. And after fitting the claw part (convex part) of the main body case to the fitting part (concave part) provided on the projecting piece of the cover, it is pressed and fixed using the elasticity of the projecting piece (so-called snap) The cover is assembled to the main body case by the fitting structure.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-291938

  By the way, in the snap fit structure as described above, it is necessary to securely fit the claw portion and the fitted portion in a correct posture. For this purpose, it is desirable that the operator can easily determine the fitting state visually during assembly work. Furthermore, after assembling, it is desired to suppress the disengagement between the claw portion and the fitted portion even when aged deterioration or the like occurs.

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, these points are not particularly taken into consideration, and it is not always easy to visually determine the fitting state, and it is difficult to prevent the claw portion and the fitted portion from coming off. there were.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a circuit board storage case, a seat belt retractor device, and a seat belt device that can easily determine the fitting state in a snap-fit structure and can suppress the disengagement. It is in.

To achieve the above object, the first invention of the present application is a circuit board storage case having a main body case in which a circuit board is stored, and a cover assembled to the main body case, wherein the cover and the main body case are provided. One of the members has a claw portion having a locking surface inclined at a predetermined direction and angle, and the other member of the cover and the main body case is used when the one member is assembled. An opening for receiving the claw portion and locking the locking surface, and the one member is further provided to protrude from the locking surface and extends along an outer edge portion of the opening the ridges that possess the protrusion is along each direction of the extending, the first face of the far side from the outer edge of the opening, the side of the second near the outer edge of the opening The cross section of the surface is approximately triangular, and the front The second surface is located closer to the outer edge of the opening, the first surface is formed so as to be perpendicular to the and are substantially plane-parallel to the outer edge of the opening It is characterized by that.
According to a second invention, in the first invention, the one member is the cover, and the other member is the main body case.

  In the first and second inventions of the present application, the locking surface is provided with a protrusion along the outer edge of the opening. Therefore, for example, the distance between the outer edge portion and the ridge is reduced if the fitting of the claw portion to the opening is insufficient, while the outer edge and the ridge if the claw portion is sufficiently fitted to the opening. For example, the protrusion portion can be used as an index of the fitting state of the claw portion to the opening. Thereby, determination of the fitting state in a snap fit structure can be performed easily.

  In addition, due to a change in the relative position of the main body case and the cover due to deterioration over time, etc., the state where the claw part is fully fitted to the opening (normal position) is not fully fitted (non-regular position). As described above, the distance between the protrusion and the outer edge of the opening is shortened. At this time, since the ridge extends along the outer edge portion of the opening as described above, the direction in which the distance between the ridge and the opening is shortened as described above is close to the ridge. It becomes a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of the front end portion. Therefore, when the claw portion moves from the normal position to the non-regular position as described above, the protruding protrusion becomes a stopper when reaching the protruding protrusion provided from the locking surface, and further movement can be suppressed. Can do. As a result, it is possible to suppress the disengagement.

Moreover, the said protrusion is a crossing provided with the 1st surface on the side far from the outer edge part of the said opening part, and the 2nd surface near the outer edge part of the said opening part along the said extension direction, respectively. The surface has a substantially triangular shape .

  By providing the protrusion with a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape, the second surface on the side close to the outer edge of the opening of the inclined surface having a substantially triangular cross-section is brought into contact with the outer edge as close as possible to the surface contact. And can function as a good stopper. On the other hand, among the inclined surfaces having a substantially triangular cross section, the first surface on the opposite side far from the outer edge portion of the opening can be displayed with good indication of the quality of fitting according to the distance from the outer edge of the opening. It can function as a wide visual indicator.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the first surface is formed on the protrusion so as to intersect the locking surface at substantially the same angle as the inclination angle of the locking surface with respect to a predetermined reference surface. It is provided.

  As a result, when the claw portion is fitted with the opening portion in order to attach the main body case to the cover, the second surface on the side close to the outer edge portion of the opening portion of the protruding portion is substantially the same as the outer edge portion of the opening portion. It is parallel and can be brought into contact with the outer edge by surface contact. Thereby, the function as a stopper of the second surface can be further enhanced. Further, since the intersection angle of the first surface with the locking surface is substantially the same as the inclination angle of the locking surface, the first surface is changed to the reference surface (for example, the main body of the cover). Of the outer peripheral surface). Thereby, the function as a parameter | index showing the fitting state of the 1st surface can further be improved.

A fourth invention is controlled by the motor control unit including the circuit board storage case according to any one of the first to third inventions, a spool that winds up a seat belt that restrains an occupant, and the motor control unit, And a motor for rotating the spool.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a seat belt retractor device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a seat belt that is wound so as to be pulled out by the seat belt retractor device and restrains an occupant, a buckle connected to a stationary member, It has a tongue provided on a seat belt and engaged with the buckle.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, determination of the fitting state in a snap fit structure can be performed easily, and it can suppress that fitting is removed.

It is a schematic diagram showing the seatbelt apparatus provided with the seatbelt retractor apparatus which is an application object of this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the seatbelt retractor to which the circuit board storage case by one Embodiment of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows a circuit board storage case in a disassembled perspective state. It is a whole external appearance perspective view of a circuit board storage case. It is a figure which expands and shows the cross section along the DD line | wire in FIG. It is an arrow view showing the state seen from the E direction in FIG. It is a figure which shows the reference example regarding the stopper function of a protrusion. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the crossing angle with respect to the locking surface of a 2nd surface, and the inclination angle of a locking surface.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a motor control ECU of a seat belt retractor device which is one of vehicle ECUs will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows a seat belt device including a seat belt retractor device to which the present embodiment is applied. In FIG. 1, a seat belt apparatus 100 includes a seat belt 112 in which a belt anchor 112a at a front end is fixed to a floor of a vehicle body or a seat 106, a seat belt retractor S that winds up the seat belt 112, and the seat belt. A guide anchor 107 that guides the seat belt 112 pulled out from the retractor device S toward the occupant's shoulder, a tongue 108 that is slidably supported by the seat belt 112 guided from the guide anchor 107, and a vehicle body It has a buckle 109 fixed to the floor or seat 106 and into which a tongue 108 is detachably inserted.

  The seat belt retractor device S includes at least a spool 113 that winds up the seat belt 112 and a motor 114 that rotates the spool 113. The driving force of the motor 114 that rotates the spool 113 is transmitted to the spool 113 via a power transmission mechanism. A circuit board 4 (see FIG. 3 described later) having a driver (not shown) for driving the motor 114 is provided in an electronic control unit (ECU) 102 (see FIG. 2 described later).

  In FIG. 2, the external appearance of the said seatbelt retractor apparatus S is shown. The seat belt retractor device S includes a frame F for attachment to the vehicle body. The ECU 102 and the motor 114 are attached to the frame F. At this time, the circuit board storage case 1 constituting the outer shell of the ECU 102 is fixed to the frame F via the metal bracket K. The motor 114 and the circuit board 4 (see FIG. 3 described later) provided in the ECU 102 are connected by a harness 119.

  FIG. 3 shows the circuit board storage case 1 in an exploded perspective state. The circuit board storage case 1 is composed of a synthetic resin body case 2 (corresponding to the other member described in each claim) and a cover 3 (corresponding to one member described in each claim). Storing.

  The main body case 2 is formed in a box shape in which an upper portion and a front portion are opened, and the circuit board 4 is fixed and accommodated therein. For this purpose, a fixing base 5 on which the circuit board 4 can be placed and fixed is provided inside. The fixed base 5 is provided with two screw receiving holes 6 and two engaging bosses 7. Corresponding to the structure of the fixing base 5, the circuit board 4 is provided with two screw through holes 8 and two boss engaging holes 9.

  The circuit board 4 is fixed to the fixing base 5 by engaging the two engaging bosses 7 with the boss engaging holes 9 and the two screws 11 passing through the two screw receiving holes 6 respectively. Is done by. Note that a wiring box 12 is assembled to the circuit board 4, and a harness 119 between the circuit board 4 and the motor 114 can be pulled out via the wiring box 12.

  In addition, the main body case 2 is provided with a double wall structure including an outer peripheral wall 13 and an inner peripheral wall 14 for assembling the cover 3. The outer peripheral wall 13 forms the outer periphery of the main body case 2 which is a box shape whose upper part and front part are opened. The inner peripheral wall 14 is provided so that a fitting gap 15 having a certain width is formed inside the outer peripheral wall 13. On the other hand, the cover 3 is formed as a lower open box having a peripheral wall 16.

  FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of the circuit board storage case 1, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. FIG. 5A shows a normal fitting state (normal position contact state) described later, and FIG. 5B shows a fitting state before reaching the normal fitting state, or a non-normal fitting described later. The combined state (non-regular position contact state) is shown. 6 shows an arrow view seen from the direction E in FIG. 6A corresponds to FIG. 5A, and FIG. 6B corresponds to FIG. 5B.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the cover 3 is assembled to the main body case 2 by fitting the peripheral wall 16 of the cover 3 into the fitting gap 15 of the main body case 2. For this purpose, a structure for snap-fit engagement is provided in each of the main body case 2 and the cover 3.

  That is, the main body case 2 is provided with a rectangular opening 17 as a fitted portion at the lower end portion of the outer peripheral wall 13. Two openings 17 are provided for each of the left and right outer peripheral walls 13. The two openings 17 are biased toward the front side (front side, see arrow indication in FIG. 3) and the rear side (back side, see arrow indication in FIG. 3) of the main body case 2. The claw portions 18 described later are respectively received and engaged with each other.

  On the other hand, the cover 3 is provided with a snap-fit claw portion 18 at the distal end portion of the peripheral wall 16, and the peripheral wall 16 functions as a snap-fit beam in the snap-fit structure, and an outer peripheral surface 16a (see FIG. 5). It becomes a reference plane regarding the inclination mentioned later. The claw portion 18 has a trapezoidal cross section and is formed so as to protrude from the peripheral wall 16 in a tapered shape. The claw portion 18 includes a locking surface 21 that is inclined at a predetermined angle toward the distal end side with respect to the outer peripheral surface 16a of the peripheral wall 16 that is the reference surface, a top surface 22 that is substantially parallel to the peripheral wall 16, and an engagement surface 21. It has a fitting guide surface 23 that is inclined at a predetermined angle in the opposite direction to the stop surface 21.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the locking surface 21 is provided with a protrusion 24 on the locking surface 21. The ridge 24 extends in the width direction of the locking surface 21, in other words, along the outer edge 17 a of the opening 17. Further, the ridge 24 is a triangular ridge having a triangular cross section, and has a first surface 25 and a second surface 26 along the extending direction. The first surface 25 is located on the far side from the outer edge portion 17 a of the opening 17, and is formed so as to intersect the locking surface 21 at the same angle as the inclination angle of the locking surface 21. On the other hand, the second surface 26 is located on the side close to the outer edge portion 17 a of the opening 17 and is formed so as to be orthogonal to the first surface 25. That is, the protrusion 24 is a triangular protrusion having a right triangle.

  When the cover 3 is assembled to the main body case 2, the peripheral wall 16 enters the fitting gap 15 while being bent while being guided by the fitting guide surface 23. When the claw portion 18 reaches the opening portion 17, the claw portion 18 is received and fitted into the opening portion 17 by the elastic force due to the bending of the peripheral wall 16, and the edge of the opening portion 17 receives the elastic force of the peripheral wall 16. In contact with the locking surface 21. As a result, the locking surface 21 is locked to the outer edge portion 17a of the opening 17, and the snap fit engagement is completed.

  Here, the protrusion 24 provided on the locking surface 21 of the claw 18 has two functions. One is a function that serves as an index for making it easy to determine the state of engagement of the claw 18 with the opening 17. As shown in FIG. 5A, the snap fit engagement as described above is in a normal fitting state (normal position contact state) in which the claw portion 18 sufficiently enters the opening portion 17 and is securely fitted. There is a need. Therefore, when the cover 3 is assembled to the main body case 2, the assembly operator visually determines whether or not the fitting is normal.

  The determination of the fitting state by the visual inspection of the assembling worker is performed based on the “design” that can be seen through the opening 17. In the present embodiment, since the protrusion 24 is provided on the locking surface 21 as described above, the first surface 25 of the protrusion 24 is used to visually check the normal fitting state and the non-normal fitting state. The “design” can be different. That is, in the regular fitting state shown in FIG. 6A, since the claw portion 18 has sufficiently entered the opening portion 17, the distance between the outer edge portion 17a and the protrusion 24 becomes large, and the locking surface 21 is obtained. Then, the first surface 25, the top surface 22, and the fitting guide surface 23 can be seen as “designs”.

  On the other hand, in the non-normal fitting state shown in FIG. 6B, the claw portion 18 does not sufficiently enter the opening portion 17, so that the distance between the outer edge portion 17a and the protrusion 24 becomes small and is locked. The surface 21 becomes invisible and becomes a “design” in which only the first surface 25, the top surface 22, and the fitting guide surface 23 are visible. Such a “design” difference makes it easy to determine the fitting state by visual observation, so that an operator can easily determine the fitting state during assembly work. In the example of FIGS. 5 to 6, in particular, an example is shown in which the first surface 25 is given a pattern (a lattice pattern in this example) or a coloring so as to be particularly noticeable. Thereby, further visual determination can be easily performed. However, the pattern and the coloring are not necessarily required and can be visually determined without them.

  Another one of the two functions of the protrusion 24 is a function as a stopper for suppressing the fitting of the claw portion 18 to the opening 17 from being removed. Even when the claw portion 18 is correctly fitted to the opening portion 17 based on the determination as described above, the contact position of the opening portion 17 with respect to the locking surface 21 is related due to, for example, deterioration of the body case 2 over time. It may move from the normal position to the non-normal position side along the stop surface 21, and the distance between the protrusion 24 and the outer edge portion 17 a of the opening 17 may be shortened. At this time, since the protrusion 24 extends along the outer edge portion 17a of the opening 17 as described above, the distance between the protrusion 24 and the opening 17 is shortened and approaches as described above. The direction is a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of the distal end portion 24a of the protrusion 24 (see FIG. 3, FIG. 6A, etc.). Further, the protrusion 24 is provided so as to protrude from the locking surface 21 as described above. As a result, even if the above movement occurs, when the contact position reaches the position of the protrusion 24, the protrusion 24 functions as a stopper for the movement of the contact position, and further movement can be suppressed. Can do. Thereby, it can suppress that the said fitting disengages.

  By the way, the crossing angle of the second surface 26 with respect to the locking surface 21 affects the degree of the function of preventing the fitting of the protrusions 24 as described above. That is, if the crossing angle shown in FIG. 5 or the crossing angle smaller than this crossing angle is used, the second surface 26 has an inclination opposite to the locking surface 21, and the stopper function is sufficiently exerted. can do. On the other hand, when the crossing angle is as in another example shown in FIG. 7, the second surface 26 has an inclination in the same direction as the locking surface 21, and the stopper function is slightly weakened.

  Such a crossing angle of the second surface 26 with respect to the locking surface 21 can be defined in relation to the inclination angle of the locking surface 21 as shown in FIG. That is, the crossing angle β of the second surface 26 with respect to the locking surface 21 is the inclination angle of the locking surface 21, that is, the locking with respect to the outer peripheral surface 16 a of the peripheral wall 16 (which becomes a reference surface regarding the inclination of the locking surface 21). When β ≧ 90 ° −α with respect to the inclination angle α of the surface 21, the second surface 26 has an inclination opposite to that of the locking surface 21, and the stopper function can be sufficiently exhibited. In the example of FIG. 5, the first surface 25 and the second surface 26 are orthogonal to each other and β = 90 ° −α.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the protrusion 24 is provided on the locking surface 21 along the outer edge portion 17 a of the opening 17. Therefore, the distance between the outer edge portion 17a and the ridge 24 changes depending on whether the claw portion 18 is sufficiently or insufficiently fitted to the opening portion 17, and the ridge 24 is connected to the opening portion 17 of the claw portion 18. It can be used as an indicator of the fitted state. Thereby, determination of the fitting state in a snap fit structure can be performed easily.

  In addition, due to a change in the relative position of the main body case 2 and the cover 3 due to deterioration over time or the like, the state in which the claw portion 18 is sufficiently fitted to the opening 17 is changed to a state in which the fitting is insufficient. When 18 moves, the protrusion 24 which protruded and provided from the latching surface 21 becomes a stopper, and the further movement can be suppressed. As a result, it is possible to suppress the disengagement.

  Further, in the present embodiment, in particular, the first surface 25 of the ridge 24 is formed on the ridge 24 so that it intersects the locking surface 21 at substantially the same angle β as the inclination angle α of the locking surface 21 with respect to the peripheral wall 16. Is provided. Thereby, at the time of the fitting, the second surface 26 can be made substantially parallel to the outer edge portion 17a of the opening portion 17, and can be brought into contact with the outer edge portion 17a by surface contact (see FIGS. 5A and 5B). . Thereby, the function as a stopper of the 2nd surface 26 can further be improved. Further, since the intersecting angle β of the first surface 25 with the locking surface 21 is substantially the same as the inclination angle α of the locking surface 21, the first surface 25 is used as a reference for the inclination of the locking surface 21. It can be made substantially parallel to the surface (the outer peripheral surface 16a of the peripheral wall 16) and widened visually. Thereby, the function as a parameter | index showing the fitting state of the 1st surface 25 can further be improved (refer Fig.6 (a) (b)).

  In the above description, on the premise of a snap-fit structure in which the claw portion 18 of the cover 3 is engaged with the opening portion 17 of the main body case 2, the locking surface 21 of the claw portion 18 extends along the outer edge portion 17 a of the opening portion 17. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the snap fit structure is provided with a claw portion (equivalent to the claw portion 18) on the main body case 2 side and an opening portion (equivalent to the opening portion 17) on the cover 3 side, contrary to the above. It may be realized. In this case as well, a protrusion (equivalent to the protrusion 24) is provided on the locking surface 21 of the claw 18 on the main body case 2 side along the outer edge of the opening 17 on the cover 3 side. Thus, the protrusion can be used as an index of the fitting state of the claw portion to the opening, and the fitting state in the snap-fit structure can be easily determined.

  The above is an example in the case where the circuit board of the motor control ECU in the seat belt retractor is to be stored, but is not limited to this, and can be applied to various circuit boards to be stored. Get the effect.

  In addition to those already described above, the methods according to the above-described embodiments and modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

2 Body case (the other member)
3 Cover (one member)
4 Circuit Board 17 Opening 18 Claw 21 Locking Surface 24 Projection 25 First Surface 26 Second Surface

Claims (5)

A body case that houses the circuit board inside,
A cover assembled to the main body case;
A circuit board storage case having
One member of the cover and the body case is:
Having a claw portion with a locking surface inclined at a predetermined orientation and angle;
Of the cover and the main body case, the other member is:
Receiving the claw when assembling the one member, and having an opening for locking the locking surface;
The one member further includes:
Protrudes from the locking surface, have a protrusion extending along the outer edge of the opening,
The protrusion is
Each of the first surface on the side far from the outer edge of the opening and the second surface near the outer edge of the opening along the extending direction has a substantially triangular cross section. Presents
The second surface is
The opening is located on the side close to the outer edge, is formed to be orthogonal to the first surface, and is substantially parallel to the outer edge of the opening. A circuit board storage case. The circuit board storage case according to claim 1,
The one member is the cover;
The circuit board storage case, wherein the other member is the main body case. The circuit board storage case according to claim 2 ,
The first surface is
A circuit board storage case provided on the protrusion so as to intersect the locking surface at substantially the same angle as the inclination angle of the locking surface with respect to a predetermined reference surface. A motor control unit comprising the circuit board storage case according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A spool that winds up a seat belt that restrains an occupant;
A motor controlled by the motor control unit to rotate the spool;
A seat belt retractor comprising: The seat belt retractor device according to claim 4 ,
A seatbelt that is retractably wound by the seatbelt retractor device and restrains the occupant;
A buckle connected to the stationary member;
A seat belt device comprising a tongue provided on the seat belt and engaged with the buckle.

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