JPH08227736A - Connecting structure of electric connection box - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To dispense with a relay terminal for the electric connection with a conductive metal plate such as bus bar, and simplify the form of a pressure contact terminal by forming the external terminal part of the pressure contact terminal to be pressure connected to a wire into a tub form having a pressure contact groove. CONSTITUTION: A wire W is inserted between a pair of wire guide projections 18 protruded on the upper surface of a lower case 17 and distributed in a prescribed route, and a pressure contact terminal 20 is driven from above to a prescribed position of the wire W to press the core wire of the wire W into the pressure contact terminal 20. The pressure contact terminal 20 is formed of a substantially flat conductive metal plate, a slot 20b is provided on the lower end opening, and the periphery of the slot 20b forms a pressure contact edge 20c, which is pressure-connected to the core wire of the wire W. The upper side part extended upward from the wire pressure contact part 20b forms an external terminal connecting part 20d, which is formed into a tub protruded in a flat plate, and a slit pressure contact groove 20f is vertically provided from the center part of the upper end surface of the tub.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric connection structure in which an electronic circuit unit or the like is connected to a junction box, and more specifically, one internal circuit is composed of an electric wire and a pressure contact terminal pressed against the electric wire, The present invention relates to a connection structure for directly electrically connecting the pressure contact terminal to a terminal portion of a conductive metal plate of the other circuit of the electronic circuit unit or the like without using a relay terminal or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electrical junction box used for branching and connecting an automobile wire harness or the like to various electric components has branch connection points concentrated in one place to branch and connect wiring reasonably and economically. With the increasing density of wire harnesses, various types have been developed depending on the vehicle type or application.

For example, in the case of connecting an electric connection box composed of a junction box and an electronic circuit unit,
As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the junction box 1 includes an upper cover 2 and a lower cover 3, and a unit fitting portion 2a for fitting the electronic circuit unit 4 from the upper side to the inner side is projectingly provided on the upper surface of the upper cover 2. In addition, the electronic circuit unit 4 is provided inside the unit fitting portion 2a.
A connector fitting portion 2b for fitting the connector housing 5 inward from above is provided in a protruding manner.

When the internal circuit of the junction box 1 is composed of the electric wire w and the press-contact terminal 7 press-contacted to the electric wire w, the external terminal connection terminal of the press-contact terminal 7 is usually a tab 7a of a male terminal, Insert the tab 7a from the slit-shaped opening 2c on the upper surface of the upper cover 2 into the connector fitting portion 2b.
It projects inside.

The electronic circuit unit 4 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), the upper cover 8 and the lower cover 9
The lower cover 9 is covered with the upper cover 8, and the lock claw 9a of the lower cover 9 is engaged with the lock hole 8a of the upper cover 8 to lock the upper cover 8 on the lower cover 9.

In the space between the upper cover 8 and the lower cover 9, a printed circuit board 10 having a circuit 10a formed on the lower surface of the lower cover 9 is housed.
0-shaped upper cover 8 side slit-shaped hole 10b
The rear end 11a of the terminal 11 is inserted into the
1a is joined to the circuit 10a on the lower surface by soldering a or the like. The tip of the terminal 11 is formed into a female terminal portion 11b bent by a press or the like. The semicircular spring portion 11d formed in the intermediate portion of the terminal 11 is a force acting on the semicircular portion a when the female terminal portion 11b of the terminal 11 is inserted and connected to the tab 7a of the bus bar 7. To disperse.

The female terminal portion 11b of the terminal 11 is projected into the connector housing 5 so that the lance portion 5a of the connector housing 5 has a hole 11c in the female terminal portion 11b.
It will be held in place by engaging with.

When the electronic circuit unit 4 is fitted into the unit fitting portion 2a of the electric connection box 1 from above with the upper cover 8 facing downward, the connector housing 5 of the electronic circuit unit 4 is inserted into the junction box 1. The connector fitting part 2b is fitted from above,
On the tab 7a of the pressure contact terminal 7 of the junction box 1,
The female terminal portion 11b of the terminal 11 of the electronic circuit unit 4 is inserted and connected.

[0009]

However, the female terminal portion 11 at the tip of the terminal 11 on the electronic circuit unit 4 side is provided.
Since b needs to be bent by a press or the like, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost becomes high. Further, since the electronic circuit unit 4 needs the upper cover 8, the lower cover 9, the connector housing 5, and the like, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost becomes high.

Further, in an electric junction box such as a junction box, when a part of the internal circuit is composed of electric wires and pressure contact terminals and the other part is composed of a bus bar of a conductive metal plate, FIG. As shown in (), since the terminal portion of the bus bar 12 is normally composed of the male tab 12a, the relay terminal 13 is required to connect with the tab 7a of the wire pressure contact terminal 7.
However, the use of the relay terminal 13 has the drawbacks of occupying space and increasing the size of the electrical junction box, and of increasing the number of parts.

To eliminate the need for the relay terminal 13, FIG.
As shown in (B), it is necessary to form a terminal portion for external terminal connection of the pressure contact terminal 7 that pressure contacts the electric wire w on the female terminal portion 7b, and the shape of the pressure contact terminal 7 becomes complicated and formed. There is a problem that it is costly.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an internal circuit of an electric connection box is composed of an electric wire and a pressure contact terminal which press-contacts the electric wire, and is electrically connected to a conductive metal plate such as a bus bar. In this case, the purpose is to eliminate the need for relay terminals and to simplify the shape of the terminals connected to each other.

[0013]

To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in claim 1, one of the circuits connected to each other is composed of an electric wire and a press-contact terminal press-contacted to the electric wire, and the other The circuit is made of a conductive metal plate, and the pressure contact terminal is connected to the conductive metal plate.The tab for external terminal connection of the pressure contact terminal is provided with a slit-shaped pressure contact groove from its tip, The conductive metal plate is provided with a flat plate-shaped terminal portion that can be inserted into the pressure contact groove, the flat plate terminal portion is arranged so as to intersect the pressure contact terminal at a right angle, and is inserted into the pressure contact groove to be connected. The present invention provides a connection structure for an electric connection box, which is characterized in that

Specifically, the other circuit is composed of an electronic circuit unit, and a metal plate having the flat terminal portion is fixed and projected on a conductive path formed on a printed circuit board of the electronic circuit unit. There is. (Claim 2) The circuit of the printed circuit board and the metal plate can be fixed by various appropriate fixing methods such as soldering, ultrasonic welding, and electric resistance welding. Further, the metal plate to be fixed to the circuit of the printed circuit board is simply a rectangular metal piece, and the plate thickness of the metal piece is
It is preferable to set the thickness such that the pressure contact groove can be inserted into the pressure contact groove formed in the tab of the pressure contact terminal and pressure contact can be performed. Alternatively, the metal piece may have a leg portion projecting from the end face, and the leg portion may be soldered and fixed in a state of being inserted into a mounting hole formed in the printed board.

When the other circuit is composed of bus bars, the bus bar is provided with the plate-like terminal portions. The bus bar is formed of a slender rectangular metal plate and is arranged inside the electric junction box with its wide portion being in the vertical direction, and the thickness of the bus bar is inserted into the pressure contact groove of the pressure contact terminal so that the pressure contact can be performed. It may be set to be a flat plate-shaped terminal portion capable of electrically connecting an arbitrary portion of the elongated metal plate to the pressure contact terminal. Alternatively, the tabular flat terminal portion may be provided inside the electric junction box in a horizontal direction and bent at a desired position in a vertical direction.

In the above pressure contact terminal, the tab provided with the pressure contact groove may be formed in a portion extending on the same straight line as the wire pressure contact portion provided with the pressure contact blade for pressure contact with the wire, or in the wire pressure contact portion. Alternatively, it may be formed by bending it in a direction perpendicular to it, and may be formed in a tab shape provided with a pressure contact groove.

[0017]

According to the structure of the first aspect, the terminal on the side of the conductive metal plate connected to the pressure contact terminal pressed against the electric wire is formed in a flat plate shape which can be inserted into the pressure contact groove formed in the pressure contact terminal for pressure contact. Since it is good, the terminal shape can be made extremely simple. Further, even on the pressure contact terminal side, since only the pressure contact groove is formed in the tab, the manufacturing process can be performed in the same manner as the conventional one, and therefore the cost does not increase.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the connection terminals on the electronic circuit unit side may be simple flat plate shapes, the shape is simpler than that of the conventional one in which the female type electrical connection portion is formed by bending with a press or the like. You can Further, since the conductive metal plate fixed to the printed circuit board is directly connected to the pressure contact terminal of the electric connection plate, it is possible to house the electronic circuit unit inside the case of the electric connection box, which is a conventional external type electronic circuit. The upper cover and lower cover like the unit are not required, and the number of parts can be reduced and the assembling man-hours can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the relay terminal, which has been conventionally required at the place where the pressure contact terminal and the bus bar are connected, can be eliminated, and when the relay terminal is not required, the relay terminal is formed. It is possible to eliminate the conventional female type electric connection part.

[0020]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electric junction box 15 is
The upper case 16 and the lower case 17 are made of synthetic resin and have a rectangular box shape.
It covers and locks, and comprises the box of the electric connection box 15.

On the upper surface of the lower case 17, a pair of electric wire guide projections 18 are provided so as to project at required positions. An electric wire w is inserted between the projections 18 along the upper surface of the lower case 17. The electric wire w is laid in the required route. The pressure contact terminals 20 are driven into the electric wires w from above at required positions to connect the core wires of the electric wires w and the pressure contact terminals 20 by pressure contact.

The pressure contact terminal 20 is made of a conductive metal plate and has a substantially flat plate shape. The lower portion of the pressure contact terminal 20 is an electric wire pressure contact portion 20a. A slot 20b is provided at a lower end opening. A peripheral edge of the slot 20b is a pressure contact blade 20c. In this case, the core of the electric wire w is pressed into contact with the core. The upper portion extending above the wire pressure contact portion 20b is an external terminal connection portion 20d,
A tab 20e protruding in a flat plate shape is formed, and a slit-shaped pressure contact groove 20f is cut out in the vertical direction from the center of the upper end surface of the tab 20e.

An electronic circuit unit 2 is attached to the press contact terminal 20.
The circuit of 1 is connected. The electronic circuit unit 21 is composed of only the printed circuit board 22 without providing the upper cover and the lower cover which are required in the conventional external type. A circuit 23 is formed on the upper surface (the lower surface in FIG. 2) of the printed circuit board 22.
The lower ends of a plurality of rectangular flat plate-shaped conductive metal pieces 24 are fixed to the upper surface on which the circuit 23 is connected with solder 25 so as to be connected to the circuit 23.

The plate thickness S of the conductive metal piece 24 is set to such a size that it can be inserted into the pressure contact groove 20f and press-contacted thereto.
Moreover, when the printed circuit board 22 is inverted by 180 degrees and installed above the press contact terminal 20, the conductive metal plate 24 is arranged so as to intersect the press contact terminal 20 in the orthogonal direction. That is, the conductive metal plate 2 fixed to the printed circuit board 22.
4 is designed so that it can serve as a flat plate-like terminal portion, and is connected to the pressure contact groove 20f of the pressure contact terminal 20 at an arbitrary position. Thus, the terminal 21 on the electronic circuit unit 21 side
Does not have a female-type electrical connection portion that was conventionally bent by a press or the like.

If a circuit is formed on the lower surface of the printed circuit board 21, the legs are projected from the lower end surface of each conductive metal plate 24 while the printed circuit board is provided with insertion holes. The legs are inserted into the insertion holes and soldered, and thus connected to the circuit on the lower surface side.

Due to the above structure, the electronic circuit unit 2 is inverted by 180 degrees as shown by an arrow b in FIG.
When the printed circuit board 22 of No. 1 is put on the press contact terminal 20 from above with the conductive metal plate 24 side facing downward,
The tip of the conductive metal plate 24 of the printed circuit board 22 is inserted and connected in the orthogonal direction into the pressure contact groove 20f of the pressure contact terminal 20,
The state shown in FIG. 2 is obtained. Then, by covering the lower case 17 with the upper case 16, the electronic circuit unit 21 is assembled in a state of being housed inside the box of the electric connection box.

The pressure contact terminal for pressure contact with the wire w is not limited to the pressure contact terminal 20 of the first embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 3, the wire pressure contact portion 20a is bent 90 degrees to connect to an external terminal. It may be provided with the portion 20d. When these two types of pressure contact terminals 20 are used together for pressure contact with the electric wire w, the degree of freedom in the directionality of the conductive metal plate 24 fixed to the printed circuit board 22 of the electronic circuit unit 21 can be increased.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment. Instead of the electronic circuit unit 21 of the first embodiment, an electric junction box 30 having a bus bar 31 attached has an internal circuit composed of an electric wire w and a pressure contact terminal 20. It is connected to the electric junction box 15.
The electrical junction box 30 of the second embodiment does not have a structure in which a bus bar and an insulating plate are stacked inside a conventional upper case and a lower case, but simply has an elongated rectangular conductive shape on the upper surface of the insulating plate 32. The bus bar 33 made of a metal plate is fixed at a required interval with the wide surface in the vertical direction. The bus bar 33 is set to have such a plate thickness that it can be inserted into the pressure contact groove 20f of the pressure contact terminal 20 and pressure-contacted thereto. That is, the entire bus bar 33 can be a flat terminal portion, and the pressure contact terminal 2 can be formed at any position.
It is connected to the zero pressure contact groove 20f. Further, when it is inverted from the state shown in FIG. 4 and connected to the pressure contact terminal 20 as shown by the arrow (b), it is positioned in the direction orthogonal to the pressure contact terminal 20.

The electric connection box 30 having the above structure is replaced with the electric connection box 1
When it is assembled to the connector 5, the press contact terminal 20 connected to the electric wire w can be directly electrically connected to the bus bar 33 without the intermediary of the relay terminal or the like, as in the first embodiment. Thus, the electric wire w and the pressure contact terminal 20 provided on the lower case 17 side of the electric junction box 15
After connecting the bus bar 33 on the side of the electric junction box 30 to the circuit consisting of and, the upper case of the electric junction box 15 is put on the lower case 17 to be locked and assembled. In this state, the electric connection box 30 is accommodated inside the electric connection box 15.

The electric connection box 30 having the bus bar 33 is provided.
Does not have the configuration in which the bus bar 33 is projectingly provided on the insulating plate 32 as in the above-described embodiment, but is configured by accommodating the bus bar inside the upper case and the lower case, and the internal bus bar and the upper case or the lower case. It may be configured to be connected to the bus bar provided on the outer surface of the.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment. In the second embodiment, the bus bar 33 made of an elongated conductive metal plate is arranged vertically, but in the third embodiment, it is horizontal to the upper surface of the insulating plate 32. The tab-shaped plate-like terminal portion 33a is provided by arranging in a vertical direction and bending it at a required position in the vertical direction. These flat plate-shaped terminal portions 33a are arranged so as to be inserted 180 degrees in the direction orthogonal to the pressure contact terminal when inserted into the pressure contact groove 20f of the pressure contact terminal 20 in the direction of the arrow (b).

[0032]

As is apparent from the above description, in the connection structure of the electric connection box according to claim 1 of the present invention, the external terminal connection portion of the pressure contact terminal which pressure contacts the electric wire is formed into a tab shape, and Since the pressure contact groove is provided, it is possible to directly connect the conductive metal plate such as the bus bar by providing the flat plate terminal portion and inserting the flat plate terminal portion into the pressure contact groove. Therefore,
Since the press contact terminal only needs to be provided with the press contact groove and can be manufactured in the same process as the conventional one, the cost does not increase, and even on the conductive metal plate side, compared with the conventional female type terminal part that is bent by a press, Material and manufacturing costs are low.

When the electronic circuit unit according to claim 2 is connected to the electrical junction box, it is not necessary to provide a female terminal portion conventionally required for a terminal of the electronic circuit unit which is connected to a circuit of a printed circuit board. The cost can be reduced as described above. Moreover, since the printed circuit board can be housed inside the electrical junction box, there is no need for the upper cover, lower cover, etc., which is required in conventional external type electronic circuit units.
Since the number of parts is reduced and the number of assembling steps can be reduced, the manufacturing cost is significantly reduced.

Even when the electric connection box having the internal circuit formed by the electric wire and the pressure contact terminal is connected to the electric connection box having the circuit formed by the bus bar, the relay terminal which has been conventionally required is not necessary. In addition, the female external connection terminal of the pressure contact terminal, which is necessary when the relay terminal is unnecessary, can be eliminated. In addition, a dedicated case on the bus bar circuit side can be eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a connection structure between an electric connection box and an electronic circuit unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection state between an electric junction box and an electronic circuit unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a modified example of the pressure contact terminal.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a connection structure between electric connection boxes according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a connection structure between electric connection boxes according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is an exploded perspective view of a connection structure of a conventional electronic circuit unit, and FIG. 6B is an enlarged perspective view of a press contact terminal.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which an electric circuit unit is connected to a conventional electric junction box.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an electronic circuit unit is connected to a conventional electric junction box.

9A is an exploded perspective view showing a connection mode between a conventional pressure contact terminal and a tab of a conductive metal plate, and FIG. 9B is another connection between the conventional pressure contact terminal and a tab of a conductive metal plate. It is an exploded perspective view showing a mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 15 Electric Connection Box 16 Upper Case 17 Lower Case 20 Pressure Contact Terminal 20f Pressure Contact Groove 21 Electronic Circuit Unit 22 Printed Circuit Board 24 Conductive Metal Piece 30 Electric Connection Box 33 Bus Bar w Electric Wire

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] July 5, 1995

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 6

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which an electronic circuit unit is connected to a conventional electric junction box. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] July 5, 1995

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 7

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

FIG. 7A is an exploded perspective view of a connection structure of a conventional electronic circuit unit, and FIG. 7B is an enlarged perspective view of a press contact terminal.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. One of the circuits connected to each other is composed of an electric wire and a press-contact terminal that press-contacts the electric wire, and the other circuit is composed of a conductive metal plate, and the press-connect terminal is connected to the conductive metal plate. The tab for external terminal connection of the pressure contact terminal is provided with a slit-shaped pressure contact groove from its tip, while the conductive metal plate is provided with a flat plate-shaped terminal portion that can be inserted into the pressure contact groove. A connection structure for an electrical connection box, wherein flat plate terminal portions are arranged so as to intersect with the pressure contact terminals at right angles and are inserted into the pressure contact grooves for connection. 2. The other circuit is composed of an electronic circuit unit, and a metal plate having the plate-shaped terminal portion is fixedly provided in a protruding manner on a conductive path formed on a printed circuit board of the electronic circuit unit. The connection structure of the electrical junction box described in 1. 3. The connection structure for an electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein the other circuit is composed of bus bars, and the flat bar-shaped terminal portions are provided on these bus bars.