Control box capable of reliably positioning relay without mounting feet and assembly method thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control box and an assembly method thereof in which a relay without mounting feet can be reliably positioned. By adopting a relay without mounting feet, the layout of the electrical components of the control box can be as compact as possible, which is more conducive to miniaturized design. In the present invention, the upper cover is the main installation and support component of the relay. During assembly, the relay and the upper cover are first positioned to ensure that the lead-out end of the relay and the mounting hole of the connecting copper busbar can be accurately aligned, thereby solving the problems of inaccurate positioning and accumulated errors that may exist in relays without mounting feet, thereby ensuring that the control signal pins are installed at a straight angle to avoid the risk of bending or breaking. The base of the present invention is used to achieve an auxiliary positioning function and to limit the swing or vibration of the end of the relay. In the assembly method, the suspended fixation of the relay is achieved by a pre-locking mechanism, thereby achieving an assembly sequence from top to bottom, and production is carried out in an assembly method that is completely different from the prior art, and can ensure smooth assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of control boxes, and more particularly to a control box capable of reliably positioning a relay without mounting feet, and an assembly method of the control box. Background Art

[0002] As the energy storage device of electric vehicles, the power battery has an increasing demand for driving range. OEMs usually choose to increase the battery size to increase the energy density. At the same time, in order to ensure the convenience of power battery system maintenance and reduce the number of times the power battery pack is disassembled, the high-voltage control box came into being.

[0003] However, due to the size and layout of the vehicle, the space for installing the power battery is very limited, and thus, the space reserved for the high-voltage control box is extremely limited.

[0004] The high-voltage control boxes in the mainstream market generally use a large-sized base as the main installation and support structure to ensure its rigidity; a small-sized upper cover is used as an auxiliary installation and positioning structure. Among them, relays with mounting feet are usually used, that is, the relays extend the mounting feet horizontally, thus occupying a larger installation area, and the size of the base is often larger, which ultimately results in a larger volume of the high-voltage control box. The larger volume of the high-voltage control box has a narrower adaptation range. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a control box with a compact structure, reliable positioning of relays without mounting feet, and convenient assembly, as well as an assembly method suitable for the control box.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0007] A control box in which a relay without mounting feet can be reliably positioned comprises a plurality of relays without mounting feet, a PCB board, an upper cover and a base. The relay is positioned on the upper cover, an axial rotation restriction is formed between the relay and the upper cover, a signal control pin of the relay extends out of the upper cover and is connected to the PCB board; the base is connected to the upper cover and covers the relay.

[0008] Preferably, an end face of the relay is provided with an insulating plate extending toward the upper cover, and a recess is formed in the upper cover corresponding to the insulating plate, and the insulating plate is inserted into the recess.

[0009] Preferably, the upper cover is provided with a lead-out hole corresponding to the lead-out end of the relay. When the relay is positioned on the upper cover, the pre-locking mechanism extends from the lead-out hole and connects with the lead-out end, thereby integrating the relay with the upper cover and limiting the axial rotation of the relay.

[0010] Preferably, the pre-locking mechanism is a bolt, which is screwed into the threaded hole of the lead-out end for connection.

[0011] Preferably, the bolt is in contact and conduction with a conductive sheet on the PCB board.

[0012] Preferably, the upper cover is provided with a mounting groove corresponding to the relay, and the relay is arranged in the mounting groove to achieve positioning.

[0013] Preferably, a connecting copper busbar is provided on the inner side of the upper cover corresponding to the lead-out terminal of the relay.

[0014] Preferably, the connecting copper busbar is integrally injection-molded on the inner side of the upper cover, and the connecting copper busbar is insulated from the PCB board through the isolation of the upper cover.

[0015] Preferably, the base is provided with a plurality of auxiliary positioning grooves, the inner walls of the auxiliary positioning grooves are provided with fastening ribs, the ends of the relays are inserted into the auxiliary positioning grooves and are tightly fitted in the auxiliary positioning grooves through the fastening ribs.

[0016] Preferably, the relay includes one or more of a circular relay, a square relay, and a special-shaped relay with or without a mounting housing.

[0017] A control box assembly method adopts an assembly sequence of first up and then down, and the steps are as follows:

[0018] 1) The PCB board, the relay and the upper cover are integrated, wherein the relay is positioned on the upper cover, and an axial rotation restriction is formed between the relay and the upper cover;

[0019] 2) Connect the base to the upper cover to cover the relay.

[0020] Preferably, in step 1), after the relay is positioned, the relay and the upper cover are connected as one through a pre-locking mechanism to form a pre-lock.

[0021] Preferably, step 1) is specifically as follows: first fix the PCB board to the outer side of the upper cover, then install the relay on the inner side of the upper cover, then connect the relay and the upper cover together through a pre-locking mechanism, and connect the control signal pin of the relay to the PCB board.

[0022] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0023] The control box in which the relay without mounting feet described in the present invention can be reliably positioned adopts the relay without mounting feet, so that the layout of the electrical components of the control box is as compact as possible, which is more conducive to miniaturized design. Based on this, the present invention provides a new assembly idea, with the upper cover as the main installation and support component of the relay. During assembly, the relay and the upper cover are first positioned to ensure that the lead-out end of the relay and the mounting hole of the copper busbar can be accurately aligned, solving the problems of inaccurate positioning and accumulated errors that may exist in the relay without mounting feet; further, it is ensured that the control signal pins of the relay are accurately aligned with the pin holes of the upper cover and the welding holes of the PCB board, and pass through the PCB board at the straightest possible angle, which is convenient for installation and avoids the risk of the control signal pins being bent or broken. The base of the present invention is used to achieve auxiliary positioning and limit the swing or vibration of the end of the relay.

[0024] The connecting copper bar of the present invention is arranged on the inner side of the upper cover for high voltage routing to achieve the purpose of insulation from the PCB board, and can be realized through an integral injection molding process. The overall wiring is neat and simple, which is more conducive to miniaturized design.

[0025] The present invention adopts a design scheme of integrating control signal pins and high-voltage sampling signals on a PCB board to achieve the purpose of neat wiring.

[0026] Based on the structure of the present invention, it can be implemented as a structure with a small-sized base and a large-sized upper cover. The assembly method described in the present invention realizes the suspended fixation of the relay through a pre-locking mechanism, and then realizes the assembly sequence from top to bottom. It is produced in an assembly method that is completely different from the prior art and can ensure the smooth progress of the assembly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the control box of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 It is a structural exploded diagram of the control box of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the upper cover of the present invention (from an outside perspective);

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the upper cover of the present invention (inner side perspective);

[0031] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the base of the present invention (inner side perspective);

[0032] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the assembly step A) of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the assembly step B) of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the assembly step C) of the present invention;

[0035] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the assembly step D) of the present invention (the fuse is not shown);

[0036] In the figure: 10 is an upper cover, 11 is a lead-out hole, 12 is a give way groove, 131 is an inner mounting blind groove, 132 is an outer mounting blind groove, 133 is an upper fastening convex rib, 14 is a pin hole, 20 is a PCB board, 21 is a wiring harness interface, 22 is a conductive sheet, 30 is a relay, 31 is a lead-out terminal, 32 is a control signal pin, 33 is an insulating plate, 34 is a bolt, 40 is a base, 41 is an auxiliary positioning groove, 42 is a lower fastening convex rib, 50 is a connecting copper bus, and 60 is a fuse. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0038] In order to solve the problem that relays with mounting feet in the prior art occupy a large installation area, the present invention provides a control box that can reliably position a relay without mounting feet, and a corresponding assembly method, which can prevent the defects of easy accumulation of installation errors and easy bending or breaking of control signal pins in the traditional installation process of relays without mounting feet, thereby achieving the effect of reliable positioning and convenient assembly of relays without mounting feet.

[0039] The control box of the relay without mounting feet of the present invention can be reliably positioned, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, it includes a plurality of relays 30, a PCB board 20, an upper cover 10, a base 40, and a plurality of fuses 60; from a general structural point of view, the relay 30 is covered between the upper cover 10 and the base 40; after the upper cover 10 and the base 40 are connected as one, a plurality of installation positions for installing the fuses 60 are formed on the side wall, and the fuses 60 are correspondingly arranged on the installation positions; the PCB board 20 is arranged on the outer side of the upper cover 10, and a plurality of wiring harness interfaces 21 are arranged on the PCB board 20; the control signal pins 32 of the relay 30 extend out of the PCB board 20 and are connected to the PCB board 20. The relay 30 is positioned on the upper cover 10, and an axial rotation restriction is formed between the relay 30 and the upper cover 10, and the signal control pins of the relay 30 extend out of the upper cover 10 and are connected to the PCB board 20; the base 40 is connected to the upper cover 10 and covers the relay 30.

[0040] The present invention is applicable to relays without mounting feet. Therefore, no matter the relay is a relay without a mounting housing or a relay with a mounting housing, as long as the mounting feet are not provided, the implementation requirements of the present invention can be met. Moreover, the present invention is applicable to various forms of relays 30. In this embodiment, the relay 30 includes one or more of a circular relay or a square relay without a mounting housing or with a mounting housing. Since the upper cover 10 is the main mounting and supporting component of the relay 30, after a plurality of relays 30 are installed on the upper cover 10, the upper cover 10 is subjected to greater force. The structural strength of the upper cover 10 can be enhanced according to the implementation requirements, for example, by adding reinforcing ribs to improve the structural strength of the upper cover 10.

[0041] Since the present invention adopts a relay 30 without mounting feet, and the upper cover 10 is used as the main mounting and supporting component of the relay 30, especially for a circular relay 30, when an axial rotation restriction is formed between the relay 30 and the upper cover 10, the accurate positioning of the relay 30 in the box body is ensured, especially when multiple relays 30 are installed, the positioning accuracy is required to be high, and the installation error is prevented from accumulating on the installation contact of the relay 30, and the position of the installation hole of the relay 30 and the connection copper bar 50 can be aligned, thereby improving reliability. At the same time, since the control signal pin 32 of the relay 30 is welded on the PCB board 20, the positioning of the relay 30 is accurate, thereby ensuring that the control signal pin 32 of the relay 30 and the pin hole 14 of the upper cover 10 and the welding hole of the PCB board 20 can be accurately aligned, ensuring that the control signal pin 32 passes through the PCB board 20 at a straight angle as much as possible, which is convenient for installation, and avoids the risk of poor contact due to the bending of the control signal pin 32, forming a hidden danger of functional failure.

[0042] In the present invention, the upper cover 10 is the main installation and support component of the relay 30, and the base 40 only plays an auxiliary positioning role. It can change the inevitable structure of the traditional high-voltage control box, that is, the structure of a large-sized base 40 and a small-sized upper cover 10, and can more simply realize the positioning and axial rotation restriction of the relay 30, and adopt a completely different design concept, that is, a small-sized base 40 and a large-sized upper cover 10.

[0043] In the present invention, the relay 30 is positioned on the upper cover 10, and an axial rotation restriction is also formed, that is, the mutual positional relationship between the relay 30 and the upper cover 10 is fixed, and the mutual positional relationship between the connecting copper bar 50 and the upper cover 10 is usually fixed. In the present invention, the inner side of the upper cover 10 is provided with a connecting copper bar 50 corresponding to the lead-out terminal 31 of the relay 30. Furthermore, when the relay 30 is positioned on the upper cover 10, it has a one-to-one correspondence with the mounting hole of the connecting copper bar 50. When the relays 30 are installed on the upper cover 10 one by one, the lead-out terminal 31 of the relay 30 and the mounting hole of the connecting copper bar 50 can be achieved. The disadvantages of the prior art, such as the difficulty in positioning, the difficulty in limiting axial rotation, the accumulation of installation errors, and the misalignment with the mounting holes, are avoided, and the reliability of the product is ensured, which not only improves the production efficiency, but also can improve the yield rate.

[0044] Judging from the volume of the product after assembly, the control box of the present invention is smaller and more compact than the prior art. For battery modules with preset volume and capacity, more space can be reserved inside for optimization of the layout of internal parts, design of heat dissipation structure, etc.; when necessary, it can be used to set up more battery packs, which is conducive to increasing the cruising range of electric vehicles.

[0045] In this embodiment, the connecting copper busbar 50 is integrally injection molded (in-mold injection molding) on ​​the inner side of the upper cover 10, which can simplify the assembly process and ensure a sufficiently high connection strength, so as to achieve neat and simple overall wiring, make the structure of the present invention compact, and be more conducive to miniaturization design. Based on the integral injection molding structure, the connecting copper busbar 50 is insulated from the PCB board 20 through the isolation of the upper cover 10.

[0046] Based on the above structure, the present invention provides a control box assembly method, which changes the bottom-to-top assembly order of the high-voltage control box in the prior art, that is, adopts the top-to-bottom assembly order, that is, assembling from the upper cover 10 first, and the specific steps are as follows:

[0047] 1) The PCB board 20, the relay 30, and the upper cover 10 are integrated, wherein the relay 30 is positioned on the upper cover 10, and an axial rotation restriction is formed between the relay 30 and the upper cover 10;

[0048] 2) Connect the base 40 to the upper cover 10 to cover the relay 30 .

[0049] Since the present invention adopts an assembly sequence from top to bottom, usually, it will cause components to be suspended, making it difficult to assemble easily. At the same time, since the control signal pin 32 of the relay 30 extends out of the upper cover 10, it is impossible to assemble the upper cover 10 at an upside-down angle. This is also the reason why the structure of the prior art cannot achieve assembly from top to bottom. In the present invention, in order to solve the problem of suspended components, the structure is as follows: Figure 3As shown, the upper cover 10 is provided with a lead-out hole 11 corresponding to the lead-out end 31 of the relay 30. When the relay 30 is positioned on the upper cover 10, the pre-locking mechanism extends from the lead-out hole 11 and connects with the lead-out end 31, thereby realizing the connection between the relay 30 and the upper cover 10 and limiting the axial rotation of the relay 30. In this embodiment, the pre-locking mechanism is a bolt 34, which is screwed into the threaded hole of the lead-out end 31 for connection.

[0050] In the assembly steps, i.e., step 1), the PCB board 20 is first fixed to the outer side of the upper cover 10, and then the relay 30 is installed on the inner side of the upper cover 10, and then the relay 30 and the upper cover 10 are connected as one body through the pre-locking mechanism to form a pre-lock. After the relay 30 is pre-locked, the control signal pin 32 of the relay 30 is connected to the PCB board 20. Since the relay 30 is pre-locked, that is, the relay 30 and the upper cover 10 are connected as one body and will not be separated, when other assembly steps are performed, even if the relay 30 is suspended in the air, it can be stably and firmly connected to the upper cover 10 as one body, which is convenient for other assembly processes, that is, other assembly operations located at the position of the upper cover 10 can be successfully completed. During the assembly process, there is no need to turn the upper cover 10 upside down, and finally the assembly sequence from top to bottom is realized.

[0051] Another function of implementing the pre-locking mechanism as the bolt 34 is to use the bolt 34 as a conductor to transmit the high-voltage sampling signal to the PCB board 20. In the corresponding structure, the bolt 34 is in contact with the conductive sheet 22 on the PCB board 20 for conduction. During installation, the installation surface of the bolt 34 is the conductive surface of the PCB board 20, that is, the conductive surface of the PCB board 20 faces outward, and the bolt 34 is installed from the outside of the upper cover 10, passing through the PCB board 20 and the upper cover 10 in turn, and screwed into the threaded hole of the lead-out terminal 31 for connection. After being installed in place, the bolt 34 contacts the conductive sheet 22 provided on the surface of the PCB board 20 to achieve effective conduction.

[0052] In order to achieve the positioning of the relay 30, as Figure 4 As shown, the upper cover 10 is provided with a mounting groove corresponding to the relay 30, and the relay 30 is arranged in the mounting groove to achieve positioning. In this embodiment, different mounting grooves are provided corresponding to different types of relays 30, including an inner mounting blind groove 131 provided on the inner side of the upper cover 10 and an outer mounting blind groove 132 provided on the outer side of the upper cover 10, wherein the relay 30 with a larger size is provided in the inner mounting blind groove 131 from bottom to top, and the relay 30 with a smaller size is provided in the outer mounting blind groove 132 from top to bottom.

[0053] The base 40 of the present invention is used to realize auxiliary positioning of the relay 30, such as Figure 5As shown, the base 40 is provided with a plurality of auxiliary positioning grooves 41, and the inner wall of the auxiliary positioning groove 41 is provided with fastening ribs. The ends of the relay 30 are inserted into the auxiliary positioning grooves 41. The fastening ribs are tightly fitted in the auxiliary positioning grooves 41 to limit the swing or vibration of the ends of the relay 30, thereby ensuring the stability of the relay 30 during production and use.

[0054] Among them, the assembly method of the external mounting blind groove 132 and the auxiliary positioning groove 41 is similar to that of the relay 30. In this embodiment, in order to further realize the reliable positioning of the relay 30, the inner wall of the external mounting blind groove 132 is provided with at least one upper fastening rib 133, and the inner wall of the auxiliary positioning groove 41 is provided with at least one lower fastening rib 42.

[0055] For high-voltage relays or high-current relays, in order to form insulation between the lead-out terminals 31 and the corresponding bolts 34, in this embodiment, the end face of the relay 30 is provided with an insulating plate 33 extending toward the upper cover 10. The insulating plate 33 can increase the creepage distance between the lead-out terminals 31, thereby achieving an insulation effect. The upper cover 10 is provided with a clearance groove 12 corresponding to the insulating plate 33. The insulating plate 33 is inserted into the clearance groove 12 and extends out of the upper cover 10 and the PCB board 20, thereby forming insulation between the lead-out terminals 31 and the corresponding bolts 34 from the inside to the outside. Low-voltage relays or low-current relays may not be provided with an insulating plate.

[0056] In summary, if Figures 6 to 9 As shown, the assembly steps of this embodiment are as follows:

[0057] A) Figure 6 As shown, the relay 30 with a smaller size is installed in the outer mounting blind groove 132;

[0058] B) Figure 7 As shown, the PCB board 20 is installed on the outer side of the upper cover 10, and the control signal pins 32 of the relay 30 installed in step A) are passed through the corresponding welding holes of the PCB board 20;

[0059] C) Figure 8 As shown, a larger relay 30 is installed in the inner blind groove 131, the lead-out end 31 of the relay 30 is directly opposite to the lead-out hole 11 of the upper cover 10, the control signal pin 32 just passes through the corresponding pin hole 14 (when the distance between the pin hole 14 and the limit hole is close, the pin hole 14 and the limit hole can be implemented as the same through hole) and the welding hole, and the bolt 34 is screwed in to pre-lock the relay 30;

[0060] D) Fig. 9 As shown, the base 40 is installed.

[0061] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention. As long as they are based on the technical essence of the present invention, changes and modifications to the above embodiments will fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control box for reliably positioning a relay without mounting feet, comprising a plurality of relays without mounting feet, a PCB board, an upper cover, a base and a connecting copper bar, characterized in that: The relay is positioned on the upper cover, and an axial rotation restriction is formed between the relay and the upper cover. The signal control pin of the relay extends out of the upper cover and is connected to the PCB board; the base is connected to the upper cover and covers the relay. The connecting copper bus is arranged on the upper cover, and a lead-out hole is opened on the upper cover corresponding to the lead-out end of the relay. When the relay is positioned on the upper cover, the pre-locking mechanism uses a bolt and extends from the lead-out hole to be connected with the threaded hole of the lead-out end, so that the relay and the upper cover are connected as one, and the axial rotation of the relay is restricted.

2. The control box for enabling reliable positioning of relays without mounting feet according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end surface of the relay is provided with an insulating plate extending toward the upper cover, the upper cover is provided with a recess corresponding to the insulating plate, and the insulating plate is inserted into the recess.

3. The control box for enabling reliable positioning of relays without mounting feet according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bolt is in contact with the conductive sheet on the PCB board to achieve conduction.

4. The control box for enabling reliable positioning of relays without mounting feet according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper cover is provided with a mounting groove corresponding to the relay, and the relay is arranged in the mounting groove to achieve positioning.

5. The control box for enabling reliable positioning of relays without mounting feet according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that: The connecting copper bar is arranged on the inner side of the upper cover at the lead-out end corresponding to the relay.

6. The control box for enabling reliable positioning of relays without mounting feet according to claim 5, characterized in that: The connecting copper busbar is integrally injection-molded on the inner side of the upper cover, and the connecting copper busbar is insulated from the PCB board through the isolation of the upper cover.

7. The control box for enabling reliable positioning of relays without mounting feet according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base is provided with a plurality of auxiliary positioning grooves, the inner walls of which are provided with fastening convex ribs, the ends of the relays are inserted into the auxiliary positioning grooves and matched in the auxiliary positioning grooves through the fastening convex ribs.

8. The control box for enabling reliable positioning of relays without mounting feet according to claim 1, characterized in that: The relay includes one or more of a circular relay, a square relay, and a special-shaped relay with or without a mounting housing.

9. An assembly method of a control box according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The assembly sequence is from top to bottom, the steps are as follows: 1) The PCB board, relay and upper cover are integrated, wherein the relay is positioned on the upper cover, and an axial rotation restriction is formed between the relay and the upper cover; 2) Connect the base to the upper cover to cover the relay.

10. The assembly method according to claim 9, characterized in that: In step 1), after the relay is positioned, the relay and the upper cover are connected together through the pre-locking mechanism to form a pre-lock.

11. The assembly method according to claim 10, characterized in that: Step 1) is as follows: first fix the PCB board to the outside of the upper cover, then install the relay on the inside of the upper cover, then connect the relay and the upper cover together through the pre-locking mechanism, and connect the control signal pin of the relay to the PCB board.

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