Vehicle-mounted electrical equipment

Abstract

The present invention provides an in-vehicle electrical device. The in-vehicle electrical device (10) includes normally open mechanical relays (20A, 20B). The direction (D(B)) of the contacts of the second mechanical relay (20B) relative to each other is inclined at more than 70 degrees relative to the direction (D(A)) of the contacts of the first mechanical relay (20A) relative to each other.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to vehicle-mounted electrical equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a vehicle-mounted battery pack comprising multiple battery cells, a positive-side relay, a negative-side relay, and a housing.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2024-120972

[0004] As a relay used in automotive electrical equipment, such as a normally open mechanical relay. A normally open mechanical relay refers to a type of relay in which the relay contacts open to disconnect the circuit in the normal state (when the relay is not in operation). Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this disclosure is to suppress unexpected path continuity in onboard electrical equipment that uses normally open mechanical relays.

[0006] The vehicle electrical equipment involved in the first method includes a normally open first mechanical relay and a second mechanical relay arranged in series adjacent to each other, wherein the direction in which the contacts of the second mechanical relay are opposite to each other is tilted at more than 70 degrees relative to the direction in which the contacts of the first mechanical relay are opposite to each other.

[0007] This method involves vehicle-mounted electrical equipment. The vehicle-mounted electrical equipment has normally open mechanical relays.

[0008] Furthermore, normally open mechanical relays in vehicle electrical equipment may accidentally conduct due to impact loads during a vehicle collision. In this solution, since the normally open first and second mechanical relays are arranged adjacent to each other in series, the possibility of accidental conduction in the path where these two relays are installed can be suppressed. However, further improvement is desired.

[0009] Therefore, in this method, the direction in which the contacts of the second mechanical relay are opposite to each other is tilted at more than 70 degrees relative to the direction in which the contacts of the first mechanical relay are opposite to each other.

[0010] Therefore, in the event of a vehicle collision, the accidental conduction of the path equipped with the first and second mechanical relays can be suppressed more reliably. This is because the mechanical relays are more likely to conduct accidentally when an impact load is applied along the direction in which the contacts are opposite to each other. For this reason, the first and second mechanical relays are configured such that the direction in which the contacts are opposite to each other is approximately 90 degrees (or more than 70 degrees).

[0011] Furthermore, in the embodiments described later, the direction in which the contacts of the second mechanical relay are opposite to each other is tilted by 90 degrees relative to the direction in which the contacts of the first mechanical relay are opposite to each other, but this method is not limited to this.

[0012] Furthermore, in the embodiments described later, the contacts of the first mechanical relay and the second mechanical relay are both oriented in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction of the vehicle (horizontal direction), but this method is not limited to this.

[0013] Furthermore, in the embodiments described later, no other electronic components such as fuses are disposed between the first mechanical relay and the second mechanical relay, but this method is not limited to this.

[0014] Furthermore, in the embodiments described later, the first mechanical relay and the second mechanical relay have the same structure, but their mounting directions on the substrate are different. However, this method is not limited to this. For example, the structures of the first mechanical relay and the second mechanical relay can be quite different.

[0015] Furthermore, in the embodiments described later, the mechanical relay has two fixed contacts and two movable contacts. However, the mechanical relay of this embodiment is not limited to this, and may also have one fixed contact and one movable contact.

[0016] The vehicle electrical equipment involved in the second method is that, in the first method, the contacts of the first mechanical relay and the second mechanical relay are both perpendicular to the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0017] In this configuration, the contacts of the first and second mechanical relays are both oriented in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction of the vehicle (horizontal direction).

[0018] Therefore, both the first and second mechanical relays are less susceptible to vibrations in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0019] Furthermore, in the embodiments described later, the contacts of the first mechanical relay are oriented relative to each other in either the vehicle's longitudinal direction or the vehicle's width direction, and the contacts of the second mechanical relay are oriented relative to each other in either the vehicle's longitudinal direction or the vehicle's width direction. However, this method is not limited to this; for example, the contacts of the first mechanical relay may also be oriented in a direction inclined relative to the vehicle's longitudinal direction.

[0020] The vehicle electrical equipment involved in the third method is that, in the first or second method, the contacts of the first mechanical relay are opposite to each other in either the vehicle's longitudinal direction or the vehicle's width direction, and the contacts of the second mechanical relay are opposite to each other in either the vehicle's longitudinal direction or the vehicle's width direction.

[0021] In this method, the contacts of the first mechanical relay are opposite each other in either the vehicle's longitudinal direction or the vehicle's width direction, and the contacts of the second mechanical relay are opposite each other in either the vehicle's longitudinal direction or the vehicle's width direction.

[0022] Therefore, both the first and second mechanical relays are less susceptible to vibrations in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and the circuit reliability is improved against impact loads from a frontal collision. This is because, against impact loads from a frontal collision, the mechanical relays with their contacts facing each other in the width direction of the vehicle are less likely to accidentally conduct.

[0023] The vehicle electrical equipment involved in the fourth method is, in any of the methods 1 to 3, a junction box located between the vehicle battery and the vehicle drive motor.

[0024] In this method, the on-board electrical equipment is a junction box located between the on-board battery and the vehicle drive motor.

[0025] Therefore, it is possible to suppress the possibility of accidental connection between the vehicle battery and the vehicle drive motor.

[0026] As explained above, according to this disclosure, in vehicle electrical equipment using normally open mechanical relays, it is possible to suppress the situation of accidental path continuity. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vehicle's electrical equipment.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a mechanical relay.

[0029] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0030] 10… Junction box (vehicle electrical equipment); 20… Mechanical relay; 20A… First mechanical relay; 20B… Second mechanical relay; D… Direction of contacts relative to each other. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The following describes the vehicle-mounted electrical equipment 10 according to the embodiment.

[0032] Furthermore, in the diagrams, arrow FR appropriately indicates the front of the vehicle, arrow UP indicates the top of the vehicle, and arrow LH indicates the left side in the vehicle width direction. Additionally, in the following descriptions, unless otherwise specified, the directions front-back, up-down, and left-right refer to front-back in the front-back direction, up-down in the up-down direction, and left-right in the vehicle width direction.

[0033] The vehicle electrical equipment 10 involved in this embodiment is a junction box 10 disposed between the vehicle battery and the vehicle drive motor.

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle-mounted electrical equipment 10 includes a first mechanical relay 20A and a second mechanical relay 20B.

[0035] Both the first mechanical relay 20A and the second mechanical relay 20B are normally open relays. The first mechanical relay 20A and the second mechanical relay 20B are arranged adjacent to each other in series. Specifically, no fuses or other electronic components are placed between the first mechanical relay 20A and the second mechanical relay 20B.

[0036] The contacts of the first mechanical relay 20A are in the same direction (D(A)) relative to each other in the vehicle width direction, and the contacts of the second mechanical relay 20B are in the same direction (D(B)) relative to each other in the vehicle front-to-back direction.

[0037] That is, the contacts of the first and second mechanical relays are both perpendicular to the vertical direction of the vehicle (horizontal direction). In addition, the contact direction D (B) of the second mechanical relay 20B is tilted by 90 degrees relative to the contact direction of the first mechanical relay 20A.

[0038] In addition, such as Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle-mounted electrical equipment 10 includes a base plate 30 and a housing 40.

[0039] The thickness direction of the substrate 30 is along the vertical direction of the vehicle. Circuit forming components such as the first mechanical relay 20A and the second mechanical relay 20B are mounted on the upper surface of the substrate 30. In addition, electronic components such as busbars that serve as conductive lines and fuses are also included as circuit forming components.

[0040] The housing 40 houses the substrate 30, which contains various circuit forming components, and forms the outline of the vehicle electrical equipment 10.

[0041] The first mechanical relay 20A and the second mechanical relay 20B have the same structure. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the two, they will be referred to as mechanical relay 20.

[0042] The following uses Figure 2 An example of the structure of the mechanical relay 20 will be described.

[0043] The mechanical relay 20 includes a housing 21, a dividing member 22 that divides the space inside the housing 21, fixed terminals 23A and 23B, movable terminals 24, and a drive unit 25.

[0044] The drive unit 25 has a yoke 26, a coil 27, a movable part 28, a first spring 29A, and a second spring 29B.

[0045] The movable member 28 is configured to move axially. Specifically, the movable member 28 has a shaft portion 28A, a large-diameter portion 28B, and a magnetic circuit portion 28C. The shaft portion 28A of the movable member 28 is movably inserted into the dividing member 22.

[0046] The movable terminal 24 is movably mounted on the shaft portion 28A of the movable component 28. The first spring 29A applies force to the movable terminal 24 towards the large-diameter portion 28B. Specifically, the first spring 29A is disposed between the movable terminal 24 and the additional component 28D.

[0047] The second spring 29B is directed to the side opposite to the fixed contacts 23A1 and 23B1. Figure 2 Force is applied to the movable part 28 from the lower side of the middle.

[0048] When the coil 27 is not energized, the elastic force of the second spring 29B applies force to the movable part 28 on the side opposite to the fixed contacts 23A1 and 23B1, thus making the fixed contacts 23A1 and 23B1 and the movable contacts 24A1 and 24B1 not connected (disconnected state).

[0049] If the coil 27 is energized, the movable part 28 will move towards the fixed contacts 23A1 and 23B1 due to the generation of a magnetic field, overcoming the elastic force of the second spring 29B. This will result in the fixed contacts 23A1 and 23B1 being connected to the movable contacts 24A1 and 24B1 (closed state).

[0050] <Effects>

[0051] Next, the effects of this implementation method will be explained.

[0052] This embodiment relates to vehicle-mounted electrical equipment 10. The vehicle-mounted electrical equipment 10 includes normally open mechanical relays 20A and 20B.

[0053] Furthermore, the normally open mechanical relays 20A and 20B of the vehicle electrical equipment 10 may accidentally conduct due to the impact load during a vehicle collision. In this embodiment, since the normally open first mechanical relay 20A and second mechanical relay 20B are arranged adjacent to each other in series, the possibility of accidental conduction in the path where the two relays 20A and 20B are provided can be suppressed. However, further improvement is desired.

[0054] Therefore, in this embodiment, the direction D(B) in which the contacts of the second mechanical relay 20B are opposite to each other is a direction that is tilted by more than 70 degrees relative to the direction D(A) in which the contacts of the first mechanical relay 20A are opposite to each other.

[0055] Therefore, in the event of a vehicle collision, the accidental conduction of the path equipped with the first mechanical relay 20A and the second mechanical relay 20B can be suppressed more reliably. This is because, when an impact load is applied along the direction in which the contacts are opposite to each other, the mechanical relays 20A and 20B are very likely to conduct accidentally, and the first mechanical relay 20A and the second mechanical relay 20B are configured such that the directions in which the contacts are opposite to each other differ by approximately 90 degrees (more than 70 degrees).

[0056] In addition, in this embodiment, the directions D(A) and D(B) of the contacts of the first mechanical relay 20A and the second mechanical relay 20B relative to each other are both perpendicular to the vertical direction of the vehicle (horizontal direction).

[0057] Therefore, both the first mechanical relay 20A and the second mechanical relay 20B are unlikely to be affected by vibrations in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0058] In addition, in this embodiment, the direction D(A) of the contacts of the first mechanical relay 20A relative to each other is either the vehicle front-to-back direction or the vehicle width direction, and the direction of the contacts of the second mechanical relay 20B relative to each other is either the vehicle front-to-back direction or the vehicle width direction.

[0059] Therefore, both the first mechanical relay 20A and the second mechanical relay 20B are less susceptible to vibrations in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and the reliability of the circuit is improved in the face of impact loads from a frontal collision. This is because, in the face of impact loads from a frontal collision, the mechanical relays 20A and 20B, whose contacts are opposite each other in the width direction of the vehicle, have a low probability of accidental conduction.

[0060] In addition, in this embodiment, the vehicle electrical equipment 10 is a junction box 10 disposed between the vehicle battery and the vehicle drive motor.

[0061] Therefore, it is possible to suppress the possibility of accidental connection between the vehicle battery and the vehicle drive motor.

[0062] The preferred embodiments of this disclosure have been described above, but this disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted electrical device, wherein, The vehicle-mounted electrical equipment includes a normally open first mechanical relay and a second mechanical relay arranged in series adjacent to each other. The contacts of the second mechanical relay are tilted at an angle of more than 70 degrees relative to the direction in which the contacts of the first mechanical relay are tilted relative to each other.

2. The vehicle-mounted electrical equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The contacts of the first mechanical relay and the second mechanical relay are both oriented in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle-mounted electrical equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The contacts of the first mechanical relay are oriented relative to each other in either the vehicle's longitudinal direction or the vehicle's width direction. The contacts of the second mechanical relay are opposite each other in either the vehicle's longitudinal direction or the vehicle's width direction.

4. The vehicle-mounted electrical equipment according to claim 1, wherein, The on-board electrical equipment is a junction box located between the on-board battery and the vehicle drive motor.

Images