Electrical box module, electrical box, and electrical box manufacturing method

Abstract

The present invention discloses an electrical box module, an electrical box, and a method for manufacturing an electrical box, in order to solve the technical problems of the existing electrical boxes, such as the complex structure, poor versatility, and cumbersome manufacturing process. The present invention designs an electrical box module, comprising a first shell and a socket, wherein the socket is arranged in the first shell and is used to plug in components for manufacturing the electrical box, and the specifications of the first shell match the components with the largest area required for manufacturing the electrical box. An electrical box is also designed, comprising an upper shell, a bottom shell, a circuit board, components, and an electrical box module, wherein a plurality of the electrical box modules are spliced ​​into an array module and mounted on the circuit board, and the components are mounted on the electrical box module. The beneficial technical effects of the present invention are: high flexibility, high versatility, simplified manufacturing process, and cost savings.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of electrical appliance boxes, and in particular to an electrical appliance box module, an electrical appliance box and a method for manufacturing the electrical appliance box. Background Art

[0002] The electrical box is an essential component for power distribution on engineering vehicles. With recent advancements in PCB technology, integrated PCB electrical boxes can connect complex electrical connections through copper foil wiring and connect to the outside world via standard waterproof connectors (which can be installed through walls). This improves protection levels while streamlining complex wiring, making it easier to organize wiring and simplifying design changes. Furthermore, various anti-interference and fault indicator components can be integrated to facilitate troubleshooting.

[0003] The specifications and quantity of relays and fuses within integrated PCB electrical boxes are generally developed based on the vehicle's configuration requirements. To accommodate the harsh operating conditions of construction vehicles, the boxes require a high level of protection. The housing is typically divided into three sections: upper, middle, and lower. The upper section protects components like relays and fuses, while the middle section houses them. The middle and lower sections house the PCBs, which are fitted with terminal sockets of varying specifications and quantities. The middle section has corresponding slots, into which relays and fuses of varying specifications are inserted. Due to varying vehicle configuration requirements, the configuration and quantity of relays and fuses vary, especially given the large variety and small batch sizes of construction vehicles. Therefore, existing technical solutions offer limited versatility and require the development of different molds for the middle section, resulting in high costs and long lead times.

[0004] Chinese patent document CN113079667A describes a modular automotive electrical box that divides the entire circuit board into different functional modules. Each module is an independent small electrical box with a PCB. Adding and removing modules during use reduces the types and number of junction boxes to a certain extent. However, its functional modules still require different middle shells during production. The simplification of the overall assembly does not simplify the production process. Instead, it requires more parts and a more complicated production process. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides an electrical appliance box module, an electrical appliance box and an electrical appliance box manufacturing method, so as to solve the technical problems of the existing electrical appliance box having a complex structure, poor versatility and a cumbersome manufacturing process.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] The first aspect of the present invention is to design an electrical box module, comprising a first housing and a socket. The socket is disposed within the first housing and is used to connect components (relays, fuses, diodes, resistors, etc.) used to manufacture the electrical box. The specifications of the first housing match the components with the largest area required to manufacture the electrical box. The first housing is assembled from at least one second housing, on which one or more sockets are disposed. The sockets include relay sockets and fuse sockets. The first housing on which the relay socket is disposed is provided with a spacer, and the first housing on which the fuse socket is disposed is provided with a light-transmitting hole. The side of the first housing is provided with a wedge-shaped protrusion and a groove that matches the protrusion.

[0008] The second aspect of the present invention is to design an electrical box, comprising an upper shell, a bottom shell, a circuit board, components, and the above-mentioned electrical box module, wherein a plurality of the electrical box modules are spliced ​​into an array module and mounted on the circuit board, and the components are mounted on the electrical box module. The upper surface of the array module is covered with a label, which is provided with corresponding plug-in holes and is marked with the functions corresponding to the components. The upper shell and the bottom shell are fixedly connected by snap fasteners, and a sealing ring is provided around the periphery of the array module. The array module is fixed to the upper surface of the circuit board, and wiring terminals are mounted on its lower surface. The lower shell is provided with wiring holes corresponding to the wiring terminals.

[0009] The third aspect of the present invention is to design a method for manufacturing an electrical appliance box, comprising the following steps:

[0010] S1: Prepare upper shell, bottom shell, circuit board, and electrical box module;

[0011] S2: Multiple electrical box modules are mounted on a circuit board in an array. The mounting positions of the electrical box modules are pre-planned during the design of the circuit board.

[0012] S3: fixing the circuit board on the bottom shell;

[0013] S4: Plug the required components into the corresponding electrical box module and close the upper shell.

[0014] Furthermore, in step S2, after the electrical box module is installed, a label covering all modules is attached to its upper surface.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial technical effects of the present invention are:

[0016] 1. The present invention adopts electrical box modules with determined size specifications for splicing, and the device layout can be adjusted according to design requirements, thereby improving product versatility.

[0017] 2. The electrical box modules of the present invention can be assembled to form a matrix to replace the middle shell in the traditional electrical box. There is no need to design a separate middle shell mold, which simplifies the production process and saves costs.

[0018] 3. The connection between the electrical box module and the circuit board of the present invention is suitable for standardized production operations of wave soldering and reflow soldering, avoiding heavy asset equipment such as plug-in machines (600,000-2 million yuan / unit). Its flexibility facilitates the construction of flexible production lines and better adapts to the demand for small-batch orders of multiple varieties of engineering vehicles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the relay module of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 2 is a top view of the relay module of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 This is the front view of the relay module of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 It is a structural diagram of the insurance module of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 It is a top view of the safety module of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 It is the front view of the insurance module of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 7 It is a structural diagram of the electrical appliance box of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 8 This is an exploded schematic diagram of the electrical box of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the module installation of the electrical box of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 10 This is a schematic structural diagram of the assembled insurance module of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the decomposed fuse module of the present invention.

[0030] In the figure, upper shell 1, relay 2, fuse 3, array module 4, first shell 41, small relay shell 42, fuse shell 43, wedge-shaped protrusion 401, groove 402, light-transmitting hole 403, relay jack 404, fuse jack 405, pad 406, relay socket 407, fuse socket 408, circuit board 5, terminal block 6, buckle 7, bottom shell 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The specific implementation modes of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. However, the following examples are only used to illustrate the present invention in detail and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

[0032] Example 1: An electrical box module, see Figures 1 to 3 , including a first shell 41 and a relay socket 407. The first shell 41 is a rectangular block made of engineering plastic. The relay socket 407 can be injection molded into the first shell 41 or inserted into the first shell 41 as a tongue structure to form an independent relay module. The position of the relay socket 407 is set according to the relays of different specifications. A relay jack 404 corresponding to the relay socket 407 is set on the upper surface of the first shell 41. Since the pins of the relay 2 are relatively long, pads 406 are set at the four corners of the upper surface of the first shell 41 to prevent the pins of the relay 2 from damaging the circuit board 5 due to excessive insertion. Wedge-shaped protrusions 401 are set on two adjacent side surfaces of the first shell 41, and grooves 402 matching the protrusions 401 are set on the other two side surfaces.

[0033] Example 2: An electrical box module, see Figures 4 to 6 , comprising a first housing 41 and a relay socket 407. The first housing 41 is rectangular and made of engineering plastic. The difference from Example 1 is that the fuse socket 408 is injection-molded into the first housing 41 or inserted into the first housing 41 as a latch structure, forming an independent fuse module. The fuse sockets 408 are arranged side by side, and each fuse socket 408 can be installed with a fuse 3. In this embodiment, the upper surface of the first housing 41 is provided with a fuse socket 405 corresponding to the fuse socket 408. Because the pins of the fuse 3 are relatively short, the pad 406 is not provided on the first housing 41. As in Example 1, wedge-shaped protrusions 401 are still provided on two adjacent side surfaces of the first housing 41, while grooves 402 that match the protrusions 401 are provided on the other two side surfaces. A light-transmitting hole 403 is provided on the fuse module, corresponding to the indicator light on the circuit board 5, for displaying the working status of the fuse 2 and determining whether there is a fault.

[0034] Example 3: An electrical box, see Figures 8 to 11 , including an upper shell 1, a bottom shell 8, a circuit board 5, a relay 2, a fuse 3, and multiple relay and fuse modules. The upper shell 1 and the bottom shell 8 form a sealed cavity through elastic sealing strips. The bottom shell 8 is provided with fixing holes for fixing the circuit board 5 (PCB board). Multiple relay modules and fuse modules are spliced ​​into an array module 4 and installed on the circuit board 5. The relays 2 and fuses 3 are installed on the array module 4. When splicing, the protrusions 401 and grooves 402 on adjacent modules are embedded and fixed. In the production of the module, see Figure 9The area of ​​the first housing 41 can accommodate a largest relay, and the area of ​​the small relay housing 42 is half of the first housing 41, that is, two small relay housings 42 can be spliced ​​into one first housing 41. In some other embodiments, the fuse housing 43 is one-fourth of the area of ​​the first housing 41. Figure 10 and Figure 11 , four fuse housings 42 can be spliced ​​into a first housing 41. It should be noted that after the module area is determined, it can be flexibly adjusted according to the specific area of ​​components, and the maximum module area can be kept unchanged.

[0035] In some embodiments, the upper surface of the array module 4 can be covered with a whole adhesive label, which also has holes on the corresponding plug holes or light-transmitting holes. The label identifies the model and function of the corresponding position relay or fuse, and the label can better fix the array module 4 as a whole.

[0036] In this embodiment, the array module 4 not only plugs in components but also replaces the middle housing, eliminating the need for separate middle housing production and reducing the need for mold-making for different types of middle housings. Furthermore, the modules are based on the largest relay, while smaller relays and fuses are assembled into modules of the same size. This reduces the number of module types, facilitating ease of manufacture and enhancing versatility. While traditional middle housing production requires adjustments based on the circuit board, varying functional or design requirements necessitate countless different middle housing types. However, this embodiment eliminates circuit design reliance and instead focuses solely on the type of relay and fuse. Since most fuses have only two pins, pin placement requirements are minimal. Therefore, manufacturing only requires considering the type of relay. Common relay types are limited, and while this embodiment utilizes only a few molds, it can still create a module array suitable for a variety of circuit requirements, significantly simplifying production and enhancing adaptability. A sealing ring can be placed around the periphery of the module array 4 to enhance protection.

[0037] In addition, the upper shell 1 and the bottom shell 8 are connected by snaps 7. A slide rail can be provided on the upper edge of the bottom shell 8 to accommodate the bottom edge of the upper shell 1, facilitating assembly. Terminal blocks 6 are mounted on the lower surface of the circuit board 5 for connection to external circuits. The bottom shell 8 has corresponding wiring holes for the terminals 6. Grooves and protrusions on the bottom shell 8 match the protrusions 401 and grooves 402 on the edges of the array module 4, allowing the array module 4 to be inserted into the bottom shell 8.

[0038] Example 4: A method for manufacturing an electrical appliance box, comprising the following steps:

[0039] S1: Prepare the upper shell 1, bottom shell 8, circuit board 5, relay module and fuse module according to the shapes of the above components;

[0040] S2: Solder multiple relay modules and fuse modules in an array on a circuit board 5. The circuit board 5 is pre-designed with the module installation positions and solder pads. After the modules are installed, a label covering all modules is attached to the upper surface of the modules to indicate the location and function of the components.

[0041] S3: Fix the circuit board 5 on the bottom shell 8;

[0042] S4: Plug the required components into the corresponding modules and close the upper shell.

[0043] The present invention modularizes relays and fuses, splices them together and combines them to replace the middle shell, and allows relays and fuses of different specifications and quantities to be combined multiple times according to the needs of different vehicle models, thereby improving product versatility, greatly reducing costs, and shortening production cycles. The module welding is suitable for standardized production operations such as wave soldering and reflow soldering, avoiding heavy asset equipment such as plug-in machines (600,000-2 million yuan / unit). Its flexibility facilitates the construction of flexible production lines and better adapts to the demand for small-batch orders of multiple varieties of engineering vehicles.

[0044] The present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, without departing from the spirit of the present invention, the specific parameters in the above embodiments may be modified to form multiple specific embodiments, which are all within the common variation range of the present invention and will not be described in detail here.

Claims

1. An electrical box, comprising an upper shell, a bottom shell, a circuit board, and components, characterized in that: It also includes an electrical box module, multiple electrical box modules are spliced ​​into an array module and installed on the circuit board, the components are installed on the electrical box module, the electrical box module includes a first shell and a socket, the socket is arranged in the first shell, and is used to plug in the components for making the electrical box, the specifications of the first shell match the component with the largest area required for making the electrical box, multiple electrical box modules are used to splice to form the electrical box middle shell, the first shell is assembled from at least one second shell, and the second shell is provided with multiple sockets, and the sockets include relay sockets and fuse sockets.

2. The electrical box according to claim 1, characterized in that: A cushion block is provided on the first shell on which the relay socket is provided, and a light-transmitting hole is provided on the first shell on which the fuse socket is provided.

3. The electrical box according to claim 1, characterized in that: A wedge-shaped protrusion and a groove matching the protrusion are provided on the side surface of the first shell.

4. The electrical box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper surface of the array module is covered with a label, and the label is provided with a corresponding plug-in hole.

5. The electrical appliance box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper shell and the bottom shell are fixedly connected by snap fasteners, and the bottom shell is provided with a bottom shell protrusion that matches the groove on the edge of the array module.

6. The electrical appliance box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The array module is fixed on the upper surface of the circuit board, and the wiring terminals are installed on the lower surface of the circuit board. The bottom shell is provided with wiring holes corresponding to the wiring terminals.

7. A method for manufacturing an electrical appliance box according to claim 1, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1: Prepare upper shell, bottom shell, circuit board, and electrical box module; S2: Multiple electrical box modules are mounted on a circuit board in an array. The mounting positions of the electrical box modules are pre-planned during the design of the circuit board. S3: fixing the circuit board on the bottom shell; S4: Plug the required components into the corresponding electrical box module and close the upper shell.

8. The method for manufacturing an electrical appliance box according to claim 7, characterized in that: In step S2, after the electrical box module is installed, a label covering all modules is attached to its upper surface.

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