Electric connection box

Abstract

To provide an electric connection box that can suppress heat accumulation inside it.SOLUTION: An electric connection box 1 comprises: a frame 11 having a wiring material housing space 14B and an opening 15; and a lower cover 12 formed attachably to the frame 11 and blocking a part of the opening 15. The opening 15 has: a first open region 31 that corresponds to a region where a degree of congestion of a wiring material W laid in the wiring material housing space 14B is relatively low to an open surface 15a of the opening 15 ; and a second opening region 32 that corresponds to a region where the degree of congestion of the wiring material W is relatively high to the first open region 31. The lower cover 12 is formed so as to cover the second open region 32 with the first open region 31 exposed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical junction box. [Background technology]

[0002] Some conventional electrical junction boxes have case bodies with the same structure for both left-hand drive vehicles and right-hand drive vehicles, eliminating the need for nested molds (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-69567 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the electrical junction box, a part of the wiring material is routed from inside the housing to the outside through the opening of the housing. Therefore, some electrical junction boxes have the opening of the housing closed with a cover member to prevent the wiring material from interfering with devices around the electrical junction box. If the entire opening of the housing is covered with a cover member, there is a risk that heat generated inside the housing will be trapped, so there is room for improvement.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical junction box capable of suppressing heat buildup inside. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the electrical connection box of the present invention comprises a housing main body having a wiring material storage space that stores one end side of a wiring material, and an opening that connects the wiring material storage space to the outside and leads the other end side of the wiring material from the wiring material storage space to the outside, and a cover member that is formed to be attachable to the housing main body and blocks a portion of the opening, wherein the opening has, with respect to an opening surface of the opening, a first opening region that corresponds to an area where the density of the wiring material arranged in the wiring material storage space is relatively low, and a second opening region that corresponds to an area where the density of the wiring material is relatively high compared to the first opening region, and the cover member is formed to cover the second opening region while exposing the first opening region. Effect of the Invention

[0007] Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the electrical junction box of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to suppress internal heat build-up. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an electrical junction box according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical junction box according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the electrical junction box according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a housing body to which the cover member of the embodiment is applied. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a cover member in the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of another housing body to which the cover member of the embodiment is applied. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of another housing body to which the cover member of the embodiment is applied. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In other words, the components in the following embodiments include those that a person skilled in the art can easily imagine or that are substantially the same, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0010] In the following description, for convenience, among the illustrated X, Y, and Z directions, the X direction is referred to as the "first width direction X", the Y direction is referred to as the "second width direction Y", and the Z direction is referred to as the "opening direction Z". The first width direction X, the second width direction Y, and the opening direction Z are mutually orthogonal. The first width direction X corresponds to the long side direction of the housing 3 described later, and the second width direction Y corresponds to the short side direction of the housing 3 described later. The opening direction Z corresponds to the opening direction of an opening provided in a frame 11 constituting the housing 3 described later. In the following description, the side on which an upper cover 13 described later is provided in the opening direction Z may be referred to as the upper side, and the side on which a lower cover 12 described later is provided may be referred to as the lower side. In addition, in Figs. 1 to 6, the upper side and the lower side of the opening direction Z are depicted in reverse. Unless otherwise specified, each direction used in the following description will be described as a direction in a state in which each part of the electric junction box 1 is assembled to each other and the electric junction box 1 is mounted on a vehicle.

[0011] The electrical junction box 1 shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3 is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and incorporated into a wire harness WH. The wire harness WH is, for example, an assembly component made by bundling together a plurality of wiring materials W used for power supply and signal communication to connect each device mounted on the vehicle, and the plurality of wiring materials W are connected to each device using connectors or the like. The wire harness WH includes a conductive wiring material W and an electrical junction box 1 that houses a portion of the wiring material W. The wire harness WH is electrically connected to the electrical junction box 1 via a terminal (not shown) provided at an end of the wiring material W.

[0012] The wiring material W is formed, for example, by an electric wire in which the outside of a conductor part (core wire) made of a plurality of conductive metal wires is covered with an insulating covering part, or by an electric wire bundle in which the electric wires are bundled together.

[0013] In the wire harness WH, terminal fittings (not shown) provided at the ends of the wiring material W are electrically connected to an electrical junction box 1. The electrical junction box 1 consolidates and houses electrical components such as connectors, fuses, relays, capacitors, branches, and electronic control units. The electrical junction box 1 is installed, for example, in the vehicle cabin and is connected between a power source such as a battery and various electronic devices installed in the vehicle. Here, the wiring material W connects the electrical junction box 1 to the various electronic devices installed in the vehicle.

[0014] The electric junction box 1 distributes power supplied from a power source to various electronic devices in a vehicle. The electric junction box 1 may also be called a junction box, a fuse box, a relay box, etc., but in this embodiment, these are collectively called the electric junction box. The wire harness WH may further include a grommet, a protector, a fixing device, etc. Each component of the electric junction box 1 will be specifically described below with reference to each drawing.

[0015] 1, the electrical junction box 1 includes an electronic component 2 and a housing 3. In the electrical junction box 1, various electronic components 2 and a part of a wiring material W are housed in a housing space 14 formed in the housing 3.

[0016] The electronic component 2 is housed inside the housing 3 and is electrically connected to the wiring material W. A plurality of electronic components 2 are provided in the housing 3. The electronic components 2 are, for example, connectors, fuses, relays, capacitors, branches, electronic control units, electronic component units formed by unitizing these, and the like.

[0017] The housing 3 accommodates and holds the electronic component 2 in the component accommodating space 14A of the internal accommodating space 14. Here, the accommodating space 14 is composed of the component accommodating space 14A formed on the upper side of the opening direction Z of the housing 3 and accommodating the electronic component 2, and the wiring material accommodating space 14B formed on the lower side of the opening direction Z of the housing 3 and accommodating one end side of the wiring material W.

[0018] The housing 3 includes a frame 11 as a housing main body, a lower cover 12 as a bottom member, and an upper cover 13 as a lid member, and is formed as a hollow box shape as a whole by combining the frame 11, the lower cover 12, and the upper cover 13. The housing 3 has a three-layer structure in which the frame 11, the lower cover 12, and the upper cover 13 are separated, and are stacked and assembled to each other along the opening direction Z, and define an internal storage space 14. The frame 11, the lower cover 12, and the upper cover 13 are all molded from an insulating synthetic resin material or the like. In FIG. 1 (including FIG. 6), the upper cover 13 (including the upper cover 13A shown in FIG. 6) is omitted and illustrated by a two-dot chain line.

[0019] The frame 11 is a main member forming the accommodation space 14. The frame 11 is formed hollow by an outer peripheral wall 16 formed in a polygonal cylindrical shape (approximately rectangular cylindrical shape). The frame 11 has openings on both sides in the opening direction Z. The lower cover 12 is a lid-shaped member that closes a lower opening in the opening direction Z of the frame 11. The upper cover 13 is a lid-shaped member that closes an upper opening in the opening direction Z of the frame 11. The lower cover 12 is assembled to the lower side of the opening direction Z of the frame 11, and the upper cover 13 is assembled to the upper side of the opening direction Z of the frame 11, so that the lower opening in the opening direction Z of the frame 11 and the opening of the lower cover 12 face each other, and the upper opening in the opening direction Z of the frame 11 and the opening of the upper cover 13 face each other. The housing 3 has various types of locking mechanisms, and the upper cover 13 and the lower cover 12 are locked to the frame 11 via various types of locking mechanisms. The housing 3 is generally formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with its long sides extending along the first width direction X and its short sides extending along the second width direction Y.

[0020] The frame 11 has an opening 15 , a wiring material outlet portion 18 , and a block 19 .

[0021] The opening 15 is provided on the lower side of the frame 11 in the opening direction Z. When the lower cover 12 is assembled to the frame 11, a part of the opening surface 15a of the opening 15 is blocked by the lower cover 12. The opening 15 communicates the wiring material storage space 14B with the outside, and leads the other end side of the wiring material W from the wiring material storage space 14B to the outside. The opening 15 of this embodiment is divided into two regions when viewed from the opening direction Z, as shown in FIG. 3. The opening 15 is divided into a first opening region 31 and a second opening region 32 with respect to the opening surface 15a of the opening 15.

[0022] The first opening region 31 is a region corresponding to a region where the density of the wiring material W arranged in the wiring material accommodation space 14B is relatively low. Here, the density is judged, for example, by appearance, but is not limited to this. The first opening region 31 is a region of the opening surface 15a of the opening 15 that is not blocked by the lower cover 12 in the assembled state where the lower cover 12 is assembled to the frame 11. In principle, the first opening region 31 has a different shape from the second opening region 32, but is not limited to this.

[0023] The second opening region 32 is a region corresponding to a region where the density of the wiring material W is relatively high compared to the first opening region 31. The second opening region 32 is a region of the opening surface 15a of the opening 15 that is blocked by the lower cover 12 in the above-mentioned assembled state. That is, the second opening region 32 has the same shape as the lower cover 12 when viewed from the opening direction Z. The second opening region 32 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the opening direction Z.

[0024] The wiring material lead-out portion 18 constitutes a part of the opening 15, and is formed in a concave shape from the lower end face of the outer peripheral wall 16 in the opening direction Z toward the upper side (see Figs. 1, 2, and 4 (including Fig. 6)). The wiring material lead-out portion 18 communicates the wiring material storage space 14B with the outside, and leads the other end side of the wiring material W from the wiring material storage space 14B to the outside.

[0025] The block 19 is detachably assembled to the frame 11 (see Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 (including Fig. 6 and Fig. 7)). The block 19 is formed of an insulating synthetic resin material, similar to the frame 11, and has a plurality of cavities formed therein. The electronic components 2 are assembled in the cavities. The electronic components 2 are inserted into the cavities of the block 19 from above in the opening direction Z and fitted therein. The block 19 has a bus bar (not shown) provided to communicate the plurality of cavities. The bus bar is made of a conductive metal material or the like. The electronic components 2 inserted into the cavities are electrically connected to the wiring material W via the bus bar by inserting and fitting a terminal or the like provided at the end of the wiring material W that is wired through the wiring material lead-out portion 18 provided on the outer peripheral wall 16 of the frame 11 into the block 19 (see Figs. 1 to 3).

[0026] 5, the lower cover 12 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the opening direction Z. The lower cover 12 is formed so as to be attachable to the frame 11, and is a cover member that closes a part of the opening 15. The lower cover 12 has a cover main body 21, an outer peripheral wall 22, a cutout portion 23, and locking portions 24 and 25.

[0027] The cover body 21 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from the opening direction Z. In an assembled state in which the lower cover 12 is assembled to the frame 11, the cover body 21 faces the second opening region 32 in the opening direction Z and closes the second opening region 32 of the opening 15. The lower cover 12 has a shape that is line-symmetrical in the first width direction X with respect to a virtual line P shown in Fig. 5 as a line of symmetry. That is, the cover body 21 has a shape that is line-symmetrical with respect to the virtual line P as a line of symmetry.

[0028] The outer peripheral wall 22 is formed along the entire outer periphery of the cover body 21 and stands upright toward the frame 11 in the assembled state.

[0029] The cutout portion 23 is provided in the outer peripheral wall 22 as shown in FIG. 4. The cutout portion 23 is formed in a concave shape from an upper end of the outer peripheral wall 22 in the opening direction Z toward the lower side. The cutout portion 23 is disposed on the other side of the outer peripheral wall 22 in the second width direction Y, i.e., the side on which the locking portion 25 is provided. The cutout portion 23 is provided at two locations along the first width direction X and is located between the two locking portions 25. In the above-mentioned assembled state, one of the two cutout portions 23 faces the wiring material lead-out portion 18 on the frame 11 side in the opening direction Z and, together with the wiring material lead-out portion 18, forms a lead-out hole from which the wiring material W is led out.

[0030] The locking portion 24 is provided at one end of the cover body 21 in the second width direction Y. The locking portions 24 are arranged at two locations along the first width direction X. Each of the two locking portions 24 is locked to a locked portion 34 provided on the frame 11 side. The locking portion 25 is provided at the other end of the cover body 21 in the second width direction Y. The locking portions 25 are provided at two locations along the first width direction X. Each of the two locking portions 25 is locked to a locked portion 35 provided on the frame 11 side.

[0031] The lower cover 12 of the present embodiment is applied to the housing 3 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, but is formed so as to be applicable to the housing 3A shown in FIGS.

[0032] The housing 3A has a different shape from the housing 3. The housing 3A is configured to include a frame 11A as a housing main body, a lower cover 12, and an upper cover 13A, and the frame 11A, the lower cover 12, and the upper cover 13A are combined to form a hollow box shape as a whole.

[0033] Frame 11A has a different shape from frame 11, but has an opening 15A, a wiring material outlet portion 18A, and a block 19A. Opening 15A is divided into a first opening region 31A and a second opening region 32 with respect to an opening surface 15Aa of opening 15A.

[0034] The first opening region 31A corresponds to an area where the density of the wiring material W arranged in the wiring material accommodation space 14BA is relatively low. The first opening region 31A is an area of ​​the opening surface 15Aa of the opening 15A that is not blocked by the lower cover 12 in an assembled state in which the lower cover 12 is assembled to the frame 11A.

[0035] As described above, the electrical connection box 1 according to the present embodiment includes the frame 11 having the wiring material receiving space 14B and the opening 15, and the lower cover 12 that is formed to be mountable to the frame 11 and closes a part of the opening 15. The opening 15 has, with respect to the opening surface 15a of the opening 15, a first opening region 31 that corresponds to an area where the density of the wiring material W wired in the wiring material receiving space 14B is relatively low, and a second opening region 32 where the density of the wiring material W is relatively high compared to the first opening region 31. The lower cover 12 is formed to cover the second opening region 32 while exposing the first opening region 31.

[0036] In the electric junction box 1 according to the present embodiment, the lower cover 12 does not cover the entire opening surface 15a of the frame 11, but covers only the second opening region 32 where the density of the wiring material W is relatively high, as compared with the conventional electric junction box, due to the above-mentioned configuration. As a result, in the electric junction box 1, heat generated in the second opening region 32 where the density of the wiring material W is relatively high in the wiring material accommodation space 14B can be easily released to the outside through the second opening region 32 where the density of the wiring material W is relatively low, without being blocked by the lower cover 12, and it is possible to suppress heat build-up inside the electric junction box 1.

[0037] Moreover, in the electrical junction box 1 according to this embodiment, the frame 11 is formed of either one of the frame 11 and the frame 11A, which have different shapes. The lower cover 12 has a shape common to the second opening region 32 in the frame 11 and the second opening region 32 in the frame 11A. As a result, the electrical junction box 1 is able to share the components that constitute the housing 3 by forming the lower cover 12 applicable to the frame 11 and the frame 11A, which has a different shape from the frame 11. As a result, the electrical junction box 1 does not need to newly design the lower cover 12 to match the shape of the frame 11, and it is possible to reduce the man-hours of the design work and the component costs of the entire electrical junction box.

[0038] Furthermore, since the electrical connection box 1 is mainly arranged inside the vehicle cabin, a portion of the opening 15 (including opening 15A) of the frame 11 (including frame 11A) is not blocked by the lower cover 12, and even if a portion of the wiring material storage space 14B is open to the outside, water does not enter the interior of the electrical connection box.

[0039] In the electric junction box 1 in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the lower cover 12 of the housing 3, but is not limited to this and may be applied to the upper cover 13. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Electrical junction box 2. Electronic Components 3,3A housing 11,11A Frame 12 Lower cover 13,13A Upper cover 14B, 14BA Cable accommodating space 15,15A opening 16 Peripheral wall 21 Cover body 22 Outer wall 23 Cutout 24,25 Locking part 31,31A First opening area 32 Second opening area W Routing material WH Wire harness

Claims

1. A housing body having a wiring material storage space that stores one end of the wiring material, and an opening that connects the wiring material storage space to the outside and leads the other end of the wiring material from the wiring material storage space to the outside; a cover member that is formed to be attachable to the housing body and closes a part of the opening, The opening is A first opening region corresponding to a region where the density of the wiring material arranged in the wiring material storage space is relatively low with respect to the opening surface of the opening; A second opening region corresponding to a region in which the density of the wiring material is relatively high compared to the first opening region, The cover member is The second opening region is covered with the first opening region. An electrical junction box comprising:

2. The housing body includes: The device is configured with either a first housing body or a second housing body having mutually different shapes, The cover member is The second opening region in the first housing body and the second opening region in the second housing body have a common shape.

2. The electrical junction box according to claim 1.

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