Fuse box support and method of fixing such a support.

Abstract

The invention relates to a fuse box support (1) designed to be secured to a metal crossmember (2) of a vehicle, the support (1) being shaped to receive and fix a box by clipping, the support (1) comprising a first part (9) designed to be secured to the crossmember (2) and having a first fixing lug (7) designed to interact with the box to ensure its fixing, the support (1) comprising a second part (12) designed to be welded to the crossmember (2), the second part (12) comprising a second fixing lug (8) designed to interact with the box, the second part (12) being shaped to allow an adjustment of its position on the crossmember (2), before its welding, in order to allow the spacing between a first (7) and a second (8) lugs to be adjusted in order to obtain a spacing dimension (Y) included in a predefined interval. (Figure 3)

Description

Title of the invention: Fuse box support and method of fixing such a support.

[0001] The technical field concerns fuse box supports, assemblies comprising such a support and a fuse box, as well as motor vehicles.

[0002] Motor vehicles are made of many different materials, each material obviously having its own implementation constraints. Thus, a first element made of plastic material can easily be obtained, for example by molding, with relatively small tolerance intervals for each of its dimensions. Conversely, some materials use imprecise assembly methods which generate high tolerance intervals, such as for example welding assemblies.

[0003] The tolerance intervals thus imposed by the different materials and the different assembly methods can make the combination of elements of different materials difficult to achieve, unless complex and costly adjustments are put in place.

[0004] In this context, each vehicle is equipped with a fuse box, belonging for example to the electrical harness of the driver's position, generally made of plastic material. This fuse box is generally fixed to a metal crossmember. In order to facilitate the assembly of the fuse box, it is desirable to be able to fix it by clipping onto a support before ensuring a positive fixing, for example by screwing, of the box on its support. However, in order to obtain a clipping, it is imperative to respect small tolerance intervals in order to obtain a precise relative positioning of the clipping means of the box with those of the support. Also, when the support is metallic, the tolerance intervals become incompatible with a clipping fixing.

[0005] Thus, there is a need for a solution allowing the combination of elements of different materials imposing different tolerance intervals.

[0006] The present invention aims to overcome the problems set out above. In this technical context, one aim of the present invention is to provide a metal fuse box support designed to be fixed by welding to a crosspiece and allowing clipping of a plastic fuse box.

[0007] To this end, the present invention relates to a fuse box support designed to be secured to a metal crossmember of a motor vehicle, the support being shaped to accommodate and fix a fuse box by clipping onto the support, the support comprising a first part designed to be secured to the crosspiece and having at least one first fixing lug designed to interact with the fuse box to ensure its fixing, the support comprising a second part designed to be welded to the crosspiece, the second part comprising at least one second fixing lug designed to interact with the fuse box to ensure its fixing, the second part being shaped to allow adjustment of its position on the crosspiece, before its welding to the crosspiece, in order to allow adjustment of the spacing between a first and a second lug in order to obtain a spacing dimension included in a predefined interval, when the first and second parts are secured to the crosspiece, to allow the box to be clipped.

[0008] The invention also relates to an assembly comprising a housing support according to the invention and a fuse box, having at least one first and one second clipping interface designed to interact respectively with at least one first and one second fixing tab in order to allow the housing to be clipped onto the support.

[0009] The invention also relates to a motor vehicle having a support according to the invention or an assembly according to the invention.

[0010] The invention finally relates to a method for fixing a housing support according to the invention on a cross member of a vehicle, the method comprising a first step consisting of fixing the first part to the cross member, the first step being followed by a step consisting of adjusting the position of the second part on the cross member in order to obtain a spacing dimension included in a predefined interval to allow the housing to be clipped, the second step being followed by a third step consisting of welding the second part in the adjusted position of the second step.

[0011] Thus, the housing support according to the invention makes it possible to implement the method according to the invention to circumvent the problems linked to incompatible tolerance intervals. Thus, the first part is fixed to the crosspiece and then the method is implemented to precisely adjust the positioning of the second part, to obtain a spacing dimension included in a predefined interval compatible with the clipping of the housing of the assembly. The adjustment of the position of the second part is easily obtained using suitable tooling making it possible to guarantee the desired spacing dimension.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the invention, the first part forms a frame for receiving the fuse box.

[0013] According to one possibility of the support, the second part forms an L-shaped plate, one of the ends of the plate allowing the clipping of the housing, the other end allowing the adjustment of the position of the second fixing lug on the crosspiece before its welding.

[0014] In one embodiment of the housing support, each first and second fixing lug has a clipping hole designed to receive a clipping tab of the first and second clipping interfaces of the housing.

[0015] In one embodiment, the housing support comprises screwing means designed to screw the clipped housing onto the support.

[0016] According to one possibility of the assembly, the housing is made of plastic.

[0017] The invention will be better understood on reading the detailed description which follows, given solely by way of non-limiting example and made with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0018] [Fig-1] [Fig.l] represents a perspective view of an assembly according to the invention;

[0019] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] represents a cross-sectional view of the entire [Fig.l] showing the first and second fixing legs;

[0020] [Fig.3] [Fig.3] represents a cross-sectional view of the support of [Fig.l], during the second step of the method according to the invention;

[0021] In these figures, the same references are used to designate the same elements.

[0022] A fuse box support 1 according to the invention, illustrated in the figures, is designed to be secured to a metal cross member 2, illustrated in the figures, of a motor vehicle in order to accommodate and fix a fuse box 3, illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The fuse support 1 as well as the fuse box 3 form an assembly 4 according to the invention. In order to allow the fixing of the box 3 on the support 1, the box 3 comprises a first 5 and a second 6 clipping interface, illustrated in [Fig.l], designed to interact with respectively at least a first fixing tab 7 and at least a second fixing tab 8 of the support 1, illustrated in [Fig.3]. The box 3 is, for example, made of plastic. The support 1 is, for example, made of metal.

[0023] The support 1 comprises a first part 9 designed to be secured to the crosspiece 2 and has each first fixing lug 7 designed to interact with the fuse box 3 to ensure its fixing. In this case, the first part 9 comprises a first fixing lug 7. In the example illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the first part 9 forms a frame 10 for receiving the fuse box 3. The frame 10 thus has, for example, a substantially rectangular shape to receive the box 3 in the space delimited by the frame 10. The first fixing lug 7 is, for example, arranged on a side 11 of the frame 10 opposite the crosspiece 2.

[0024] The support 1 comprises a second part 12 designed to be welded to the crosspiece 2. The second part 12 also comprises each second fixing lug 8 designed to interact with the fuse box 3, to ensure its fixing on the support 1. In this case, the second part 12 comprises a second fixing lug 8. As illustrated in the figures, the second part 12 forms an L-shaped plate 13: a 14 of the ends 14, 15 of the plate 13 is shaped to allow the clipping of the housing 3, while the other end 15 is shaped to allow the fixing of the second part 12 on the crosspiece 2.

[0025] The second part 12 is shaped to allow adjustment of its position on the crosspiece 2, before its welding to the crosspiece 2, as illustrated in [Fig. 3], in order to allow adjustment of the spacing between a first 7 and a second 8 tab, to obtain a spacing dimension Y included in a predefined interval, when the first 9 and second 12 parts are secured to the crosspiece 2. The predefined interval is chosen to allow clipping of the fuse box 3.

[0026] As illustrated in [Fig.3], each first 7 and second 8 fixing lug comprises a clipping hole 16, partially illustrated in [Fig.3], designed to receive a clipping tab 17, partially illustrated in [Fig.2], of the first 5 and second 6 clipping interfaces of the fuse box 3.

[0027] Advantageously, the housing support 1 comprises screwing means, not illustrated, designed to screw the housing 3 clipped onto the support 1.

[0028] The support 1 makes it possible to implement the method according to the invention for fixing the box support 1 to a cross member 2 of the vehicle. The method comprises a first step consisting of fixing the first part 9 to the cross member 2. The first step is followed by a step consisting of adjusting the position of the second part 12 on the cross member 2, in the directions indicated by the arrows Y+ and Y- in [Fig. 3], in order to obtain a spacing dimension Y included in the predefined interval to allow the clipping of the fuse box 3. In order to illustrate the adjustment of the position of the second part 12, the latter is shown in three distinct positions in [Fig. 3]. The second step is then followed by a third step consisting of welding the second part 12 in the adjusted position of the second step.

[0029] Thus, the housing support 1 makes it possible to implement the method to circumvent the problems linked to incompatible tolerance intervals. Thus, the first part 9 is fixed to the crosspiece 2 and then the method is implemented to precisely adjust the positioning of the second part 12 to obtain the spacing dimension Y included in the predefined interval compatible with the clipping of the housing 3 of the assembly 4. The adjustment of the position of the second part 12 is easily obtained using suitable tooling making it possible to guarantee the desired spacing dimension Y.

[0030] The invention is not limited to the embodiment of the fuse box support described above, only by way of example, but other embodiments can be designed by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claims

1. Fuse box support (1) designed to be secured to a metal crossmember (2) of a motor vehicle, the support (1) being shaped to accommodate and fix a fuse box (3) by clipping onto the support (1), the support (1) comprising a first part (9) designed to be secured to the crossmember (2) and having at least one first fixing lug designed to interact with the fuse box (3) to ensure its fixing, the support (1) comprising a second part (12) designed to be welded to the crossmember (2), the second part (12) comprising at least one second fixing lug designed to interact with the fuse box (3) to ensure its fixing, the second part (12) being shaped to allow adjustment of its position on the crossmember (2), before its welding to the crossmember (2),in order to allow the spacing between a first and a second leg to be adjusted in order to obtain a spacing dimension (Y) within a predefined interval, when the first (9) and second (12) parts are secured to the crosspiece (2), to allow the box (3) to be clipped.,

2. Support (1) for a box according to claim 1, characterized in that the first part (9) forms a frame (10) for receiving the fuse box (3).

3. Support (1) for a housing according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second part (12) forms an L-shaped plate (13), one (14) of the ends (14, 15) of the plate (13) allowing the housing (3) to be clipped, the other end (15) allowing the position of the second fixing lug (8) to be adjusted on the crosspiece (2) before it is welded.

4. Support (1) for a housing according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each first (7) and second (8) fixing lug comprises a clipping orifice (16) designed to accommodate a clipping tab (17) of the first (5) and second (6) clipping interfaces of the housing (3).

5. Support (1) for a housing according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises screwing means designed to screw the housing (3) clipped onto the support (1).

6. Assembly (4) comprising a box support (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5 and a fuse box (3), having at least a first (5) and a second (6) clipping interfaces designed for interact respectively with at least a first (7) and a second (8) fixing lug in order to allow clipping of the housing (3) onto the support (1).

7. Assembly (4) according to claim 6 characterized in that the housing (3) is made of plastic.

8. Motor vehicle having a support (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5 or an assembly (4) according to claim 6 or 7.

9. Method for fixing a support (1) of a housing according to one of claims 1 to 5 on a cross member (2) of a vehicle, the method comprising a first step consisting of fixing the first part (9) to the cross member (2), the first step being followed by a step consisting of adjusting the position of the second part (12) on the cross member (2) in order to obtain a spacing dimension (Y) included in a predefined interval to allow the clipping of the housing (3), the second step being followed by a third step consisting of welding the second part (12) in the adjusted position of the second step.

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