JPH0517820Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a connector that is installed inside a box.

PRIOR ART In the case of a connector installed in a box, if you want to easily make it waterproof, you can simply connect the mating connector from below with the open joint surface of the connector facing downward.

Gravity prevents water from entering the connector, and simple ways to improve the posture of the connector can prevent rust and electrical contact at the connection terminals inside the connector.

Furthermore, if necessary, the connector can be made waterproof to sufficiently prevent rust and electrical contact of the terminals.

However, having the opening mating surface of the connector facing downward generally makes it difficult to join the connector and makes maintenance difficult.

Furthermore, the use of waterproof connectors has the disadvantage that the structure becomes complicated and expensive, and that it takes too much space to be installed in a small box.

Another problem is that when the connector is placed in a place where there is little risk of water intrusion, it is not economical to use a waterproof connector in case water intrudes.

Means and Effects for Solving the Problems The present invention has been devised in view of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a water draining structure for connectors that has a simple structure, has excellent drainage performance, and is easy to connect connectors. The point is that it can be provided at low cost.

In other words, the present invention provides a connector that is placed in a box with the connecting terminal surrounded by a side wall and the opening joint surface facing upward, in which a part of the side wall of the connector bulges out to form a connecting part, and the inner element of the connecting part is filled with water. A connector structure in which a punching hole is formed and a fitting part is formed on the outside, an opening is formed in the side wall or bottom wall of the box, and the fitting part of the connector is fitted into the opening. be.

Since the water drain hole is formed in the connecting portion where a part of the side wall of the connector bulges out, it is possible to reliably drain water from the inside of the connector to the outside of the box.

In addition, a fitting part is formed on the outside of the connecting part, and the structure is simple and fits into the opening of the box, so it is easy to attach.

It is economical and suitable for waterproofing in places where there is little risk of water intrusion.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 7 will be described below.

This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a current detection device built into a main fuse box in a circuit that supplies power to various devices in an automobile.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main fuse box 10 with the cover 12 open.

The main fuse box 10 consists of a U-shaped box 11 and a cover 12 that covers it from above, both of which are made of resin and have a main fuse 13 inside.
and various other fuses 14 are arranged, and the internal wiring is mainly carried out on the plate-shaped bus bar 1 on the bottom of the box 11.
This is done by installing 5.

A cord 18 connected to the battery 1 is fitted into one wire harness attachment portion 16 of the main fuse box 10, and a cord 19 connected to various devices is attached to the other wire harness attachment portion 17. It is attached via a holder 20.

The terminal portion of each cord 18, 19 is connected to the bus bar 1.
5 and are connected by wiring via main fuses 13 and 14.

In addition, a current detection unit 30 is arranged adjacent to the main fuse 13 in the main fuse box 10, and a mating connector 32 is connected to a connector 60 directly attached to the current detection unit 30. A cord 33 extending from 32 stops the member 3 at a required location.
4, and is arranged so as to be pulled out from the wire harness attachment part 17.

A schematic diagram of the power supply circuit of this embodiment via the main fuse box 10 described above is shown in FIG.

The part surrounded by the broken line is the main fuse box 10, which contains a current detection unit 30 and fuses 13 and 14, and is connected from the battery 1 to the main fuse 13 via a cord 18.
A cord 19 connected to various loads extends from the output fuse 14, and a current detection unit 30
is directly connected to ECU 2 via cord 33.

Other one end of main fuse 13 is code 4
(not shown in FIG. 2) to the ACG 3.

The circuit configuration is as described above, and the current detection unit 30 uses a non-contact type current detector using a Hall element.

The structure of the current detection unit 30 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 10.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of only the current detection unit 30 with the top cover removed, FIG. 4 is a sectional view thereof, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view thereof, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are side views of the connector. Figures 8 and 9
The figure is a perspective view of the main part, and FIG. 10 is a top view of the main part.

A cylindrical body 41 is provided inside a rectangular box 40, oriented vertically, and a flat rectangular hole 42 of the cylindrical body 41 is bored through the bottom wall of the box 40. Bus bar 43 is box 40
It penetrates upward from the lower side of the box 40, and its upper end protrudes above the box 40.

The upper end portion of a separate bus bar 44 is overlapped with the upper end protruding portion of this bus bar 43, and both are connected to the washer 4.
It is tightened by screwing together a bolt 45 and a nut 46 via 7 and 48.

The outer periphery of the cylindrical body 41 is partially surrounded by a mouth-shaped magnetic core 50 having a gap 50a.
A Hall element 51, which is a magnetoelectric transducer, is arranged at 0a.

The Hall element 51 is installed upright on the substrate 52 (see FIG. 8), and the substrate 52 also has an amplifier circuit 53.
is mounted, and the connector 60 is also fixed integrally.

Although not shown, the amplifier circuit 5 from the Hall element 51
The wiring connected to the connector 60 via the board 5
It is printed on 2.

A board 52 on which the hose element 51, amplifier circuit 53, and connector 60 are mounted is fitted into the box 40.

The assembly process of the current detection unit 30 having the above structure will be explained based on the exploded perspective view of FIG.

In the figure, the hose element 51, the amplifier circuit 53, the connector 60, etc. which are integrally fixed to the substrate 52 are already fitted into the box 40.

First, the magnetic core 50 is fitted into the cylindrical body 41 inside the box 40, and at this time, the cavity 5 of the magnetic core 50 is
The Hall element 51 is positioned at 0a, and a temporary fixing member 70 for temporarily fixing the magnetic core 50 is sandwiched between the cylindrical body 41 from above.

In this state (the state shown in FIG. 9), the inside of the box 40 is filled with a liquid molding material that solidifies over time to completely fix the internal members within the box 40.

After that, main fuse box 10 box 11
The box 40 is disposed in the box 11 so that the vertical part bent upward of the bus bar 43 installed in the cylinder body 41 passes through the rectangular hole 42 of the cylinder body 41.
The upper end of the bus bar 44 is overlapped with the upper end of the bus bar 43 that protrudes further upwards, and the two are attached with a washer 47,
A bolt 45 passes through the bolt 48 and engages with a nut 46 to tighten both bus bars 43 and 44.

Although FIGS. 3 and 4 show the state after the above steps have been completed, the molding material filled inside the box 40 is not shown.

The current detection unit 30 has the above structure, and the current supplied from the battery 1 enters the main fuse box 10 through the cord 18 and flows through the bus bar 43 via the main fuse 13. It flows through the inside of the penetrating magnetic core 50 in a non-contact manner to the bus bar 44 .

A magnetic force is concentrated on the magnetic core 50 due to the current flowing inside the magnetic core 50 of the bus bar 43, and the Hall element 51 detects the strength of the magnetic field formed in the gap 50a due to the magnetic force, and is proportional to the current value. This output voltage is amplified by the amplifier circuit 53 and outputted from the current detection unit 30 via the connector 60.

The output signal is an analog signal, and connect 6
The signal goes out from the main fuse box 10 through a cord 33 through a mating connector 32 connected to the main fuse box 10 and is input directly to the ECU 2.

In the current detection device as described above, the shape and mounting structure of the connector 60 installed inside the box 40 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10.

The connector 60 is provided with a rectangular joining hole 61 having an opening at the top, and a connecting terminal 66 is provided upright inside.

A vertically long drain hole 62 with an open top is formed in one corner of the side wall of the connector 60, and a connecting portion that bulges outward and fits into the side wall of the box 40 near the drain hole 62. A fitting portion 63 is formed.

The fitting part 63 has a vertically long drain hole 62 passing through its center, and plate-shaped U-shaped pieces 64 projecting left and right and downward on both sides and at the bottom of the opening communicating with the outside. The glyph 64 is parallel to the longitudinally parallel side wall 60a of the connector 60.

A groove 65 is formed extending from the right edge to the lower edge of the U-shaped piece 64, and the groove 65 communicates with the groove between the left side of the U-shaped piece 64 and the side wall 60a of the connector 60. There is.

Box 4 on the side to which connector 60 is fitted
0 has a U-shaped notch 40a formed in a part of its side wall, and the U-shaped inner edge 40b of the side wall of the box 40, which is around the notch 40a, is located slightly retreating inside the box 40. ing.

Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The notch 40a of the connector 60 is aligned with the U-shaped piece 64 of the connector 60, and the connector 60 integrated with the board 52 is positioned above the box 40, and the inner edge 40b of the box 40 is fitted into the groove 65 from above. In this manner, the board 52 and connector 60 are fitted into the box 40.

In this way, the connector 60 can be easily attached to the box 40, and assembly is easy.

The thickness of the U-shaped inner edge 40b of the box 40 is equal to the width of the groove 65 of the fitting part 63 on the connector 60 side. The edges 40b are held watertight, and the inside of the box 40 is sealed except for the upper part.

At this time, the surface of the U-shaped piece 64 forms the box 40.
is substantially flush with the side surface of the connector 60, and the joining hole 6 of the connector 60
1 communicates with the outside via a drain hole 62.

Therefore, water can be reliably drained from the joint hole 61 of the connector 60 to the outside of the box 40.

As described above, from this state, the magnetic core 50 is fitted into the cylindrical body 41 in the box 40, and the temporary fixing member 70 is fitted.
The state in which it is temporarily fixed is shown in FIG.

In this state, a molding material is injected into the inside of the box 40.

Since the notch 40a of the box 40 is watertightly sealed by the fitting part 63 of the connector 60, the mold material does not leak to the outside, and the inside of the box 40 has a rectangular hole 42, a joint hole 61 of the connector 60, and a water drain. All except the hole 62 are filled with molding material.

The current detection unit 30 assembled in this way is installed in the main fuse box 10 with the opening of the joining hole 61 of the connector 60 facing upward.
Connector 60 is connected to mating connector 32 from above.
A cover 12 covers the main fuse box 10, and the main fuse box 10 is placed in the engine room and covered above by a bonnet.

Therefore, the upper part of the connector 60 is covered with multiple layers of covers, etc., and normally water does not enter the main fuse box 10, and the only time when there is a possibility of water entering is during maintenance.

Since the opening of the joining hole 61 of the connector 60 faces upward, the connector 32 can be joined and removed very easily, but on the other hand, there is a possibility that water may enter the joining hole 61.

However, even if water should intrude into the joint hole 61, the water will be discharged to the outside through the drain hole 62, thereby preventing rust or electrical contact on the connection terminal 66.

Since the main fuse box 10 is installed in the engine room with the battery input wire harness attachment part 16 side inclined downward, the current detection unit 30 is also installed in the drain hole 6 of the connector 60.
The opening 2 faces downward, and water that has entered the joint hole 61 can easily escape from the drain hole 62.

The water that has leaked out of the current detection unit 30 flows into the main fuse box 10 and flows out into the engine room from the water drain hole on the main fuse box 10 side.

By providing a simple water draining structure as described above, it is not necessary to employ a complicated and space-consuming structure such as a waterproof connector, and the current detection unit 30 can be made smaller and lighter.

By slanting the bottom of the joint hole 61 of the connector 60 so that it gradually descends toward the drain hole 62, the water draining effect can be made more pronounced, and the current detection unit 30 can be maintained horizontally. Water can be drained even if

Effects of the invention The present invention forms a drainage hole inside the connecting part that bulges out from a part of the side wall of the connector, and a fitting part on the outside, and the fitting part fits into the opening of the box. Therefore, the structure is simple, does not require a complicated structure like a waterproof connector, and does not take up space.

It has excellent decorative properties, and water can be reliably drained to the outside of the box through the drain hole in the connecting portion, and rust and electrical contact on the connecting terminals can be prevented.

Therefore, the box can be made smaller and lighter.

Furthermore, since the joint opening surface of the connector is maintained upward, the connector can be easily joined and removed, and maintenance is good.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fuse box according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a power supply circuit of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a current detection unit of the embodiment. Figure 4 is a sectional view of the same, Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the same, Figures 6 and 7 are side views of the connector, Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of main parts of the current detection unit, and Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of the current detection unit. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the main part, and FIG. 10 is a top view of the main part. 1...Battery, 2...ECU, 3...ACG,
4... Cord, 10... Main fuse box, 11... Box, 12... Cover, 13... Main fuse, 14... Fuse, 15... Bus bar, 16, 17... Wire harness mounting part, 1
8, 19... Cord, 20... Harness holder, 30... Current detection unit, 32... Connector, 33... Cord, 34... Stopping member, 40...
...Box, 40a...U-shaped notch, 40b...
Inner edge, 41... Cylindrical body, 42... Rectangular hole, 43,
44...bus bar, 45...bolt, 45a...
Groove, 45b...Protrusion, 46...Nut, 47,4
8... Watshiya, 50... Magnetic core, 50a...
Gap portion, 51...Hall element, 52...Substrate, 5
3...Amplification circuit, 60...Connector, 60a...
Side wall, 61...Joining hole, 62...Drain hole, 63
... Fitting portion, 64 ... U-shaped piece, 65 ... Groove, 66 ... Connection terminal, 70 ... Temporary fixing member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a connector that is placed in a box with a connecting terminal surrounded by a side wall and an opening joining surface facing upward, a part of the side wall of the connector bulges out to form a connecting part, and a drain hole is formed inside the connecting part. A connector structure characterized in that a fitting part is formed on the outside, an opening is formed in a side wall or a bottom wall of the box, and the fitting part of the connector is fitted into the opening.