JP6406789B2 - Electrical junction box - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical junction box that can efficiently produce a plurality of types of automobile electrical junction boxes having different circuits depending on the type of vehicle.

  Conventionally, an electric junction box has been used for the purpose of improving the efficiency of electric wiring of automobiles and improving maintainability. In such an electrical junction box, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-80841 (Patent Document 1), a bus bar is assembled to the electrical junction box body to constitute a power supply circuit.

  By the way, in such an electric junction box, in order to supply electric power to many electric loads mounted on the automobile, a power supply device including a lead storage battery that can be charged by the generated electric power of the on-vehicle generator is mounted. Furthermore, in recent years, electric loads mounted on automobiles tend to increase year by year. In response to such an increase in electrical load, a conventional power supply system includes a second battery such as a lithium ion battery that can be charged and discharged at a higher voltage than a first battery such as a conventional lead storage battery, and an in-vehicle generator. And a booster that boosts the electric power generated by the booster, and the second battery is charged by the power boosted by the booster, and a power supply device that can supply higher-voltage power to the load is proposed. Yes. For example, those described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-125159 (Patent Document 2). Thus, depending on the type of vehicle and the like, when the power supply device may be composed of only a lead storage battery or a lead storage battery and a lithium ion battery, an electrical junction box body and a bus bar corresponding to each case are prepared. It had been.

  However, in such a method that changes the specifications of the electrical junction box main body and the bus bar according to the type of the power supply device in this way, a bus bar that constitutes a plurality of types of electrical junction box main bodies and a plurality of types of bus bar specifications for each type of vehicle. The product management has become complicated. Moreover, since it is necessary to change the molding die of the electrical junction box body, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases.

JP 2004-80841 A JP 2008-125159 A

  The present invention has been made in the background of the above-mentioned circumstances, and the solution is to manufacture an inexpensive and simple product without increasing the types of electrical junction box bodies even when the circuit differs depending on the type of vehicle. An object is to provide an electric junction box having a novel structure that can be managed.

  The first aspect of the present invention includes one type of electrical junction box body and a plurality of types of bus bar specifications that form different circuits by being selectively selected and assembled to the electrical junction box body. The electric junction box main body is provided with a common bus bar accommodating portion capable of accommodating the plurality of types of bus bar specifications, respectively, while the common bus bar accommodating portion is provided with an insulating plate accommodating portion. When the specification of the bus bar accommodated in the bus bar accommodating portion is composed of a plurality of bus bars, an insulating plate is accommodated in the insulating plate accommodating portion to insulate and isolate adjacent bus bars. It is characterized by.

  According to this aspect, a plurality of types of bus bar specifications forming different circuits can be accommodated in the common bus bar accommodating portion of one type of electrical junction box body. As a result, there is no need to provide an electrical junction box body having a different shape for each of a plurality of types of bus bar specifications as in the prior art, and the electrical junction box body can be made common to reduce manufacturing costs and simplify product management. .

  In addition, when the selected bus bar specification is composed of a plurality of bus bars, it is possible to insulate and separate adjacent bus bars simply by accommodating and arranging the insulating plates in the insulating plate accommodating portion. It is possible to stably secure the insulation between adjacent bus bars, which is a concern when using.

  The second aspect of the present invention is the one described in the first aspect, wherein the insulating plate housing portion is provided with a fitting visual recognition portion visible from the outside, while the insulating portion plate A fitting confirmation portion is provided, and when the insulating plate is properly fitted in the insulating plate housing portion, the fitting confirmation portion is arranged in the fitting visual recognition portion. is there.

  According to this aspect, since the insulating plate can be visually confirmed from the outside whether or not the insulating plate is properly fitted in the insulating plate accommodating portion provided in the common bus bar accommodating portion, the insulating property of the adjacent bus bar by the insulating plate can be increased. It can be secured more reliably.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the one described in the second aspect, the insulating plate extends in the insertion direction of the insulating plate into the insulating plate housing portion and the flat plate shape. A lock projection that protrudes on the surface of the main body is configured, and a locked portion provided in the insulating plate housing portion is fitted to a base end portion in the insertion direction of the lock projection. The insulating plate is held in a locked state with respect to the insulating plate housing portion, and the fitting confirmation portion is provided at a distal end portion in the insertion direction of the lock protrusion, A fitting confirmation part is arranged in the fitting visual recognition part.

  According to this aspect, since the insulating plate has the flat plate-like main body portion, space is saved by accommodating the insulating plate so that adjacent bus bars are arranged on both sides of the flat plate-like main body portion in the plate thickness direction. A reliable insulating structure between adjacent bus bars can be provided. Furthermore, since the insulating plate is held in a locked state in the insulating plate housing portion, problems such as the falling off of the insulating plate from the insulating plate housing portion can be advantageously prevented.

  In addition, the locking projection that protrudes from the flat plate-like main body and extends in the direction of insertion of the insulating plate into the insulating plate receiving portion makes sure and stable fitting and fitting of the insulating plate into the insulating plate receiving portion. The confirmation part can be formed at the same time. Thereby, confirmation of the regular fitting of the insulating plate and holding at the regular fitting position can be realized in a compact and reliable manner with a small number of parts.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect, the insulating plate is provided in a color different from that of the electric junction box body.

  According to this aspect, since the color of the electrical connection box main body and the insulating plate is different, the arrangement state of the insulation confirmation portion of the insulation plate in the fitting visual recognition portion of the electrical connection box main body can be more easily confirmed, It becomes possible to advantageously discriminate the irregularly fitted state of the insulating plate.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the one described in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the plurality of types of bus bar specifications include a first specification including one type of whole bus bar, and the one type. The entire bus bar is cut and separated so as to include a second specification composed of a plurality of bus bars.

  According to this aspect, the plurality of types of bus bar specifications includes a first specification including one type of overall bus bar, and a second specification including a plurality of bus bars formed by cutting and separating one type of overall bus bar. Is included. Therefore, since the second specification can be provided simply by cutting and separating the entire bus bar of the first specification, it is possible to manufacture an electrical junction box that can handle a plurality of circuit differences by sharing the bus bar mold. This can further reduce the cost.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of types of bus bar specifications forming different circuits can be accommodated in a common bus bar accommodating portion of one type of electrical junction box body. Thereby, since it is not necessary to provide an electrical junction box main body having a different shape for each of a plurality of types of bus bar specifications as in the prior art, it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs and simplify product management. In addition, when the selected bus bar specification is composed of a plurality of bus bars, it is possible to insulate and separate adjacent bus bars simply by accommodating and arranging the insulating plate in the insulating plate accommodating portion. Therefore, it is possible to stably ensure insulation between adjacent bus bars, which is a concern when using the common bus bar accommodating portion.

The disassembled perspective view which shows one electrical junction box as one Embodiment of this invention. The disassembled perspective view which shows another electric junction box as one Embodiment of this invention. The bottom view of the electric junction box main body common to FIG. 1 and FIG. The bottom view of the electrical junction box shown in FIG. The top view of the electrical-connection box shown in FIG. The perspective view seen from another direction of the insulating plate shown in FIG. The principal part enlarged view of the VII-VII cross section in FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show two electrical junction boxes 10a and 10b as an embodiment of the present invention, respectively. The two electrical junction boxes 10a and 10b have the same type of electrical junction box main body 12, but have different bus bar specifications that are selectively selected and assembled to the electrical junction box main body 12. That is, the bus bar specification of one electrical connection box 10a is the first specification 16 composed of one type of overall bus bar 14, while the bus bar specification of the other electrical connection box 10b cuts one type of overall bus bar 14. The second specification 20 is made up of two bus bars 18a and 18b formed by separation. Accordingly, different circuits are configured in the two electrical junction boxes 10a and 10b. In the following description, “upper” means the upper side in FIG. 1, and “lower” means the lower side in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electrical junction box main body 12 has a long rectangular block shape as a whole, and is injection-molded with an insulating synthetic resin such as polypropylene (PP) or polyamide (PA). Etc. are integrally formed. A large number of electrical component mounting parts such as a relay mounting part 26 and a fuse mounting part 28 are formed in the upper surface 22 of the electrical junction box body 12 so as to open upward. On the other hand, on the lower surface 24 of the electrical junction box body 12, a large number of terminal accommodating portions are formed to open downward, and constitute crimp terminals and internal circuits that are crimped to the ends of electric wires as conductive members (not shown). Various bus bars and the like are accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion. The upper surface 22 and the lower surface 24 of the electrical junction box body 12 are covered by attaching an upper cover and a lower cover (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the lower surface 24 of the electrical junction box body 12 extends in the shape of a narrow groove in the longitudinal direction (left and right direction in FIG. 3) of the electrical junction box body 12 and opens to the lower surface 24. A common bus bar accommodating portion 30 having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape is provided. The common bus bar accommodating portion 30 is formed so as to accommodate one type of the entire bus bar 14 of the first specification 16 constituting one electrical connection box 10a. Therefore, the two bus bars 18a and 18b of the second specification 20 constituting the other electrical connection box 10b are also formed by cutting and separating one type of the entire bus bar 14, and therefore, the common bus bar accommodating portion 30 is formed. Of course, it can be accommodated. In addition, in order to make an understanding easy, in FIGS. 3-5, the electrical-connection box main body 12 is described with the virtual line.

  Here, each bus bar 14, 18a, 18b is a plate formed by punching a conductive metal plate or the like as shown in FIGS. A tab terminal 34 and the like are provided. In addition, a crimping portion 36 and a stopper portion 38 connected to the end of the electric wire led out to the outside are provided at the base end portion, while an engagement hole 40 is provided through the intermediate portion in the thickness direction. Has been. When each bus bar 14, 18 a, 18 b is inserted into the common bus bar accommodating portion 30, a resin lance 66 (described later) is engaged with the engagement hole 40, and the stopper 38 abuts against the lower surface 24 (see FIG. 7), the bus bars 14, 18a, 18b are stably housed in the locked state in the common bus bar housing portion 30 and are prevented from being pushed in more than necessary. In such a state, the tuning fork terminal 32 and the tab terminal 34 at the tip are arranged in the relay mounting portion 26 and the fuse mounting portion 28 (see FIG. 5).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the common bus bar accommodating portion 30 is formed with an insulating plate having a substantially bowl-like cross-sectional shape formed so that the insulating plate 44 constituting the other electrical junction box 10 b can be accommodated. A housing portion 42 is provided. The insulating plate 44 is configured to extend from the middle portion in the longitudinal direction of the common bus bar accommodating portion 30 in both directions orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 4, when two bus bars 18a and 18b are accommodated in the common bus bar accommodating portion 30, an insulating plate accommodating portion 42 is provided between the two adjacent bus bars 18a and 18b. Therefore, by arranging the insulating plate 44 in the insulating plate accommodating portion 42, the two adjacent bus bars 18a and 18b can be insulated and separated by the insulating plate 44. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the insulating plate housing portion 42 has a fitting visual recognition portion 46 having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape that opens to the upper surface 22 of the electrical junction box body 12 and is visible from the outside. Is provided.

  The insulating plate 44 is integrally formed by injection molding or the like with an insulating synthetic resin such as polypropylene (PP) or polyamide (PA). 2 and 6, the insulating plate 44 includes a substantially rectangular flat plate-like main body 48 and an insertion direction of the insulating plate 44 into the insulating plate accommodating portion 42 (in FIG. 2, And a lock protrusion 52 having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape that extends upward) and protrudes on the surface 50 of the flat plate-like main body portion 48. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the flat plate-like main body portion 48 has one side edge portion extending in the longitudinal direction cut out in a substantially vertically long rectangular shape over the entire length from the intermediate portion to the tip portion. As a result, an abutment portion 54 that protrudes in a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is formed on the base end side of one side edge portion. Further, the lock projection 52 is formed so as to extend over the entire length of the side edge portion extending in the longitudinal direction of the notched portion and further protrude upwardly beyond the tip portion of the flat plate-like main body portion 48. ing. And the fitting confirmation part 56 is comprised by the front-end | tip part of the lock | rock protrusion 52 which protruded upwards. In the present embodiment, the insulating plate 44 is provided in a color different from that of the electrical junction box body 12. As a method of forming the insulating plate 44 in a color different from that of the electrical junction box body 12, an arbitrary method such as adding a pigment of a different color to the synthetic resin material or applying a paint after molding may be employed.

  When the insulating plate 44 is properly fitted in the insulating plate housing portion 42, as shown in FIG. 7, the locked end provided in the insulating plate housing portion 42 at the base end portion 58 of the lock protrusion 52 is provided. The engagement protrusion 60 having a substantially triangular cross-section as a part is fitted, and the insulating plate 44 is held in a locked state with respect to the insulating plate accommodating portion 42. More specifically, when the insulating plate 44 is inserted into the insulating plate housing portion 42, first, the distal end portion of the locking projection 52 of the insulating plate 44 contacts the engaging projection 60 provided on the insulating plate housing portion 42. Touch. Further, when the insulating plate 44 is pushed toward the insulating plate housing portion 42, the engagement protrusion 60 is crushed and the opening of the insulating plate housing portion 42 is expanded, so that further insertion of the insulating plate 44 into the insulating plate housing portion 42 is allowed. Is done. When the base end portion 58 of the lock projection 52 of the insulating plate 44 exceeds the engagement projection 60 provided in the insulation plate housing portion 42, the engagement projection 60 is elastically restored. As a result, the engagement protrusion 60 is fitted to the base end portion 58 of the lock protrusion 52, and the insulating plate 44 is held in a locked state with respect to the insulating plate housing portion 42. In this locked state, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the fitting confirmation part 56 provided at the tip of the locking protrusion 52 is arranged in the fitting visual recognition part 46. Here, the front end surface 62 of the fitting confirmation part 56 and the front end surface 64 of the fitting visual recognition part 46 are substantially flush. Further, in FIG. 7, the bus bar 18 b inserted into the common bus bar accommodating portion 30 is stably accommodated in the common bus bar accommodating portion 30 in a locked state by the resin lance 66 engaging with the engagement hole 40. The state is also shown.

  According to the electrical junction box 10 (10a, 10b) of the present embodiment having such a structure, two types of bus bar specifications that form different circuits with respect to the common bus bar accommodating portion 30 of the electrical junction box body 12 are provided. The bus bars 14, 18 a, 18 b configuring the 16, 20 can be accommodated. As a result, there is no need to form an electrical junction box body having a different shape for each bus bar specification as in the prior art. By using the common electrical junction box body 12, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the product management can be simplified. Can be achieved. In the present embodiment, the two bus bars 18a, 18b constituting the second specification 20 are formed by cutting and separating one type of the entire bus bar 14 constituting the first specification 16, so that the bus bar These dies can also be manufactured in common, and the cost can be further reduced.

  In addition, even if the selected bus bar specification is composed of the two bus bars 18a and 18b, the two adjacent bus bars 18a and 18b are accommodated by accommodating and arranging the insulating plate 44 in the insulating plate accommodating portion 42. The insulating plate 44 can insulate and isolate the gap. Therefore, it is possible to stably ensure the insulation between the adjacent bus bars 18a and 18b, which is a concern when using the common bus bar accommodating portion 30.

  Moreover, since the fitting visual recognition part 46 visible from the outside is provided in the insulating plate accommodating part 42, it can be visually confirmed from the outside whether the insulating plate 44 is normally fitted to the insulating plate accommodating part 42. Become. Therefore, the insulation between the adjacent bus bars 18a, 18b by the insulating plate 44 can be more reliably ensured. In particular, in this embodiment, since the insulating plate 44 is provided in a color different from that of the electrical junction box main body 12, the fitting confirmation portion 56 of the insulating plate 44 in the fitting visual recognition portion 46 of the electrical junction box main body 12 is provided. It is possible to more easily check the arrangement state, and it is possible to advantageously determine whether or not the insulating plate 44 is properly fitted in the insulating plate housing portion 42.

  In addition, since the insulating plate 44 has the flat plate-like main body portion 48, the insulating plate 44 is accommodated and arranged so that the bus bars 18a and 18b adjacent to both sides of the flat plate-like main body portion 48 in the plate thickness direction are arranged. Thus, it is possible to ensure insulation between the adjacent bus bars 18a and 18b in a space-saving manner. In addition, since the insulating plate 44 is held in a locked state in the insulating plate housing portion 42, problems such as the insulating plate 44 falling off from the insulating plate housing portion 42 can be advantageously prevented.

  In addition, the locking protrusion 52 of the insulating plate 44 can achieve both reliable and stable fitting of the insulating plate 44 to the insulating plate housing portion 42 and formation of the fitting confirmation portion 56. Thereby, it is possible to realize whether the insulating plate 44 is properly fitted to the insulating plate accommodating portion 42 and to hold it at the normal fitting position in a compact and reliable manner with a small number of parts.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited by the specific description. For example, in this embodiment, there are two types of bus bar specifications 16 and 20, but there may be three or more types. In addition, the bus bar specification of the second specification 20 is composed of the two bus bars 18a and 18b, but may be composed of three or more bus bars. Furthermore, the insulating plate 44 does not necessarily have to be provided in a color different from that of the electrical junction box body 12. Even when the insulation plate 44 is provided in the same color as the electrical junction box body 12, the insulation plate 44 can be visually confirmed by the fitting confirmation portion 56 in the fitting visual recognition portion 46. Thus, it is possible to reliably determine the normal fitting state.

10, 10a, 10b: Electrical junction box, 12: Electrical junction box body, 14: 1 type of overall bus bar, 16: First specification (bus bar specification), 18a, 18b: Bus bar, 20: Second specification (bus bar specification) , 30: common bus bar accommodating portion, 42: insulating plate accommodating portion, 44: insulating plate, 46: fitting visual recognition portion, 48: flat plate main body portion, 50: surface, 52: lock protrusion, 56: fitting confirmation portion 58: Base end portion, 60: Engagement protrusion (locked portion)

Claims (5)

One kind of electrical junction box body,
Including a plurality of types of bus bar specifications that form different circuits by being selectively selected and assembled to the electrical junction box body,
While the electric junction box main body is provided with a common bus bar accommodating portion capable of accommodating the plurality of types of bus bar specifications,
An insulating plate accommodating portion is provided in the common bus bar accommodating portion,
When the specification of the bus bar accommodated in the common bus bar accommodating portion is composed of a plurality of bus bars, an insulating plate is accommodated in the insulating plate accommodating portion so as to insulate and isolate the adjacent bus bars. An electrical junction box characterized by   The insulating plate housing portion is provided with a fitting visual recognition portion that is visible from the outside, while the insulating plate is provided with a fitting confirmation portion, and the insulating plate is provided in the insulating plate housing portion. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein the fitting confirmation portion is arranged in the fitting visual recognition portion when the fitting is properly performed. The insulating plate includes a flat plate-like main body portion, and a lock protrusion that extends in the insertion direction of the insulating plate into the insulating plate housing portion and protrudes on the surface of the flat plate-shaped main body portion,
A locked portion provided in the insulating plate housing portion is fitted to a base end portion of the locking protrusion in the insertion direction, and the insulating plate is held in a locked state with respect to the insulating plate housing portion. on the other hand,
The fitting confirmation portion is provided at a distal end portion in the insertion direction of the lock protrusion, and the fitting confirmation portion is arranged in the fitting visual recognition portion in the locked state. 2. The electrical junction box according to 2.   The electrical junction box according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the insulating plate is provided in a color different from that of the electrical junction box main body.   The plurality of types of bus bar specifications include a first specification consisting of one type of overall bus bar and a second specification consisting of a plurality of bus bars formed by cutting and separating the one type of overall bus bar. The electrical junction box according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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