Electric connection box and wire harness

Abstract

To provide an electric connection box capable of securing a cutoff function of a seal member, and a wire harness.SOLUTION: An electric connection box 1 comprises: a housing 2 including a housing main body 10 in which a storage space part 18 where an electronic component 4 is stored inside is provided and a cover 20 which is attached to the housing main body 10 so as to cover the storage space part 18; and a seal member 3 which is provided in an open end of the storage space part 18 and seals an annular gap between the housing main body 10 and the cover 20. The housing 2 includes: an attachment part 13 which protrudes from an outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing main body 10 and is fixed to an attachment target of a vehicle; a wiring material insertion part 14 which protrudes from the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing main body 10 and through which a wiring material W electrically connected with the electronic component 4 is inserted; and a fastening part 15 which protrudes from the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing main body 10 while being separated from the attachment part 13 and the wiring material insertion part 14 and is fastened with the cover 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical junction box and a wire harness. [Background technology]

[0002] As an example of technology relating to an electrical junction box for a conventional wire harness, Patent Document 1 discloses an electrical junction box including a housing having a housing main body with an accommodating space inside which electronic components are housed, and a cover attached to the housing main body so as to cover the accommodating space, and a sealing member provided at the open end of the accommodating space to seal an annular gap between the housing main body and the cover. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-251724 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the electrical junction box described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 has room for further improvement in terms of, for example, ensuring the waterproofing function of the sealing member.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide an electric junction box and a wire harness that can ensure the waterproofing function of a sealing member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the electrical junction box of the present invention comprises a housing having a housing body having an accommodating space inside which an electronic component is accommodated, and a cover attached to the housing body so as to cover the accommodating space, and a sealing member provided at the open end of the accommodating space and sealing an annular gap between the housing body and the cover, wherein the housing has an attachment portion protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the housing body and fixed to an attachment target of a vehicle, a wiring material insertion portion protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the housing body and through which a wiring material electrically connected to the electronic component is inserted, and a fastening portion protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the housing body spaced apart from each of the attachment portion and the wiring material insertion portion and fastened to the cover. Effect of the Invention

[0007] In the electrical junction box and wire harness according to the present invention, the fastening portion protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the housing body while being spaced apart from the mounting portion and the wiring material insertion portion. With this configuration, the electrical junction box and wire harness can suppress, for example, the vibration of the vehicle that may be input to the mounting portion and the stress of the wiring material that may be input to the wiring material insertion portion from being transmitted to the sealing member via the fastening portion and the cover, and thus suppress deformation of the sealing member caused by the transmitted vibration, stress, etc. As a result, the electrical junction box and wire harness have the effect of ensuring the watertight function of the sealing member. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view of a wire harness to which an electric junction box according to an embodiment is applied. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exemplary exploded perspective view of the electrical junction box according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an exemplary cross-sectional view of the electrical junction box according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an exemplary plan view of the electrical junction box according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5]FIG. 5 is an exemplary perspective view of the vicinity of a fastening portion of the electrical junction box according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, 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. Furthermore, the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same. Note that in this specification, ordinal numbers are used only to distinguish between parts, members, parts, positions, directions, etc., and do not indicate order or priority.

[0010] [Embodiment] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wire harness WH to which an electric junction box 1 according to an embodiment is applied. The electric junction box 1 of this embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is incorporated into the wire harness WH that is routed in a vehicle such as an automobile. Here, the wire harness WH is, for example, a collective component made by bundling wiring materials W used for power supply and signal communication to connect each device mounted on the vehicle, and the wiring materials W are connected to each device by connectors or the like. The wire harness WH of this embodiment includes, for example, a plurality of wiring materials W having electrical conductivity, and an electric junction box 1 electrically connected to the plurality of wiring materials W.

[0011] The wiring material W includes, for example, a conductor portion (core wire) formed by twisting together a plurality of linear metal wires, and an insulating coating that covers the outside of the conductor portion. The electric connection box 1 includes, for example, a housing 2 that accommodates electronic components 4 (see FIG. 2 ) therein, and a sealing member 3 (described later) that provides waterproofing between a housing body 10 of the housing 2 and a cover 20. The electronic components 4 are, for example, fuses. The electric connection box 1 is what is called a fuse box or junction box, and is, for example, attached to a load portion provided in a vehicle, and is capable of passing or cutting off a current flowing through the load portion. The wire harness WH may further include various other components, such as grommets, protectors, fixtures, and connectors.

[0012] In the following description, among the first, second, and third directions intersecting each other, the first direction is referred to as the "axial direction X", the second direction is referred to as the "width direction Y", and the third direction is referred to as the "height direction Z". Here, the axial direction X, the width direction Y, and the height direction Z are approximately perpendicular to each other. The axial direction X typically corresponds to the extension direction of the wiring material W, the insertion direction of the wiring material W into the electric connection box 1, the depth direction (front-back direction) of the electric connection box 1, etc. The width direction Y typically corresponds to the width direction (left-right direction) of the electric connection box 1, etc. The height direction Z typically corresponds to the height direction (up-down direction) of the electric connection box 1, the stacking direction of the housing body 10 and the cover 20 of the electric connection box 1, etc. In addition, each direction used in the following description will be described as a direction in a state in which the electric connection box 1 is assembled to a vehicle, unless otherwise specified.

[0013] Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electric junction box 1, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the electric junction box 1. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the housing 2 is a box for accommodating the electronic components 4, and is made of an insulating synthetic resin material or the like. The housing 2 includes, for example, a housing main body 10 having an accommodating space 18 provided therein, and a cover 20 that covers the accommodating space 18 of the housing main body 10 from one side (upper side) in the height direction Z. The electronic components 4 are accommodated in the housing 2, which is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, in a diagonal direction, and are fastened and fixed in the housing 2 by bolts or the like.

[0014] The housing body 10 has, for example, a bottom wall portion 11 and a peripheral wall portion 12 provided on the peripheral edge portion of the bottom wall portion 11. The bottom wall portion 11 and the peripheral wall portion 12 are structures for partitioning the above-mentioned storage space portion 18 as an internal space portion of the housing 2. The storage space portion 18 is a space portion in which the electronic components 4 are stored. The bottom wall portion 11 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape extending along a direction perpendicular to the height direction Z. A plurality of beads protruding along the height direction Z are provided on the outer surface of the bottom wall portion 11. The plurality of beads are for reinforcing the housing body 10, and are formed, for example, in a lattice shape extending along the axial direction X and the width direction Y.

[0015] The peripheral wall portion 12 protrudes from the peripheral edge of the lower wall portion 11 toward one side (upward) in the height direction Z. The peripheral wall portion 12 is configured to include, for example, a pair of first side wall portions provided parallel to each other with a gap in the axial direction X, and a pair of second side wall portions provided parallel to each other with a gap in the width direction Y. The housing main body 10 is formed integrally with the lower wall portion 11 and the peripheral wall portion 12, and the space surrounded by the lower wall portion 11 and the peripheral wall portion 12 functions as the above-mentioned storage space portion 18. In addition, the outer peripheral surface 12a of the peripheral wall portion 12 is provided with a plurality of mounting portions 13, a plurality of wiring material insertion portions 14, a plurality of fastening portions 15, etc., which will be described later.

[0016] The cover 20 is attached to the housing body 10 and covers (closes) the storage space 18 in the housing body 10. The cover 20 has, for example, an upper wall portion 21 and mounting pieces 22 provided at the four corners of the upper wall portion 21. The upper wall portion 21 is a structure for partitioning the above-mentioned storage space 18 as the internal space of the housing 2. The upper wall portion 21 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape extending along a direction perpendicular to the height direction Z. A plurality of beads protruding along the height direction Z are provided on the outer surface of the upper wall portion 21. The plurality of beads are for reinforcing the cover 20 and are formed, for example, in a lattice shape extending along the axial direction X and the width direction Y.

[0017] The mounting piece portions 22 protrude from the four corners of the upper wall portion 21 in the diagonal direction of the cover 20. In other words, the mounting piece portions 22 are provided at positions offset toward the outer periphery of the accommodation space portion 18. The mounting piece portions 22 are portions to which fastening members 23 are fastened together with the fastening portions 15 of the housing main body 10. The mounting piece portions 22 are provided with insertion holes through which the fastening members 23 are inserted in the height direction Z. The fastening members 23 are, for example, bolts or screws, and fasten the housing main body 10 and the cover 20 together.

[0018] The wiring material insertion portion 14 is a wiring material lead-out portion for drawing out the wiring material W accommodated in the housing 2 to the outside of the housing 2. The wiring material insertion portion 14 functions as an insertion path for the wiring material W when the wiring material W is assembled. The wiring material insertion portion 14 is provided according to the number of wiring materials W to be installed, for example, two are provided for two wiring materials W. The wiring material insertion portion 14 is provided protruding from the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing main body 10 and formed along the extension direction of the wiring material W. The two wiring material insertion portions 14 are provided protruding in opposite directions from the opposing peripheral wall portions 12. The wiring material insertion portion 14 is cylindrical and formed to penetrate the peripheral wall portion 12, and communicates with the storage space portion 18 of the housing 2 and the external space portion.

[0019] The wiring material W is, for example, a terminal-attached electric wire configured by attaching a terminal 5 to the end of an electric wire. The terminal 5 is, for example, a crimp terminal that is attached to the electric wire by crimping. The terminal 5 may also be attached to the electric wire and function as a bus bar. For example, the terminal 5 is electrically connected to the electronic component 4 inside the housing 2. The electric wire is, for example, a coated electric wire in which a conductor core wire is coated with an insulating material. The wiring material W functions as, for example, a part of a wire harness WH.

[0020] A packing 6 is attached to the outer periphery of the wiring material W. The packing 6 is a water-stopping member that stops water between the wiring material insertion portion 14 and the wiring material W, and is composed of, for example, a ring-shaped elastic member. The packing 6 is disposed inside the wiring material insertion portion 14 and used, and is inserted into the wiring material insertion portion 14 while attached to the outer periphery of the wiring material W and installed, for example. A holder 7 is attached to the wiring material insertion portion 14. The holder 7 is a member that holds the packing 6 installed in the wiring material insertion portion 14, and is attached to the tip of the wiring material insertion portion 14 so as to cover the outer periphery.

[0021] The seal member 3 prevents foreign matter such as moisture from entering the inside of the housing 2 through an annular gap between the housing main body 10 and the cover 20. The seal member 3 is made of an elastically deformable material such as rubber or resin. The seal member 3 includes, for example, an annular main body portion 31 along the inner peripheral surface of the housing main body 10, a plurality of locking portions 32 provided on the upper end portion of the main body portion 31, and a plurality of lip portions 33 (see FIG. 3) provided on the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion 31.

[0022] The main body 31 is provided at the open end of the accommodation space 18, and is interposed between the inner circumferential surface of the housing main body 10 and the cover 20. The main body 31 is attached to the housing main body 10, for example, in a state where it is integrated with the cover 20 by a plurality of locking portions 32. That is, the main body 31 is provided with a plurality of locking portions 32 extending toward the cover 20 side, and can be attached to the housing main body 10 by locking the locking portions 32 to the cover 20. The main body 31 has a plurality of locking portions 32 formed at predetermined distances along the circumferential direction of the seal member 3.

[0023] The lip portion 33 is a pleated water-stopping portion formed along the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the main body portion 31. Here, the lip portion 33 is formed in a substantially annular shape along the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the main body portion 31. In this embodiment, a plurality of lip portions 33 are provided on the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the main body portion 31, lined up in the height direction Z. Each lip portion 33 contacts the inner circumferential surface of the housing main body 10 and the outer circumferential surface of the cover 20 in a state in which the main body portion 31 is fitted between the housing main body 10 and the cover 20. Each lip portion 33 is configured to be in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the housing main body 10 and the outer circumferential surface of the cover 20 by elastic deformation, and to seal the annular gap between the housing main body 10 and the cover 20.

[0024] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the electric junction box 1, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the fastening portion 15 of the electric junction box 1. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the mounting portion 13 is a fixing portion for fixing the housing 2 to an attachment target of the vehicle. The mounting portion 13 is formed to protrude from the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing main body 10. The mounting portion 13 is provided with a through hole 13a penetrating along the height direction Z. A fastening member such as a bolt for fastening the housing 2 to the attachment target of the vehicle is fastened to the through hole 13a. The housing main body 10 is provided with a plurality of mounting portions 13 spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, a clamp 8 for holding a wiring separate from the wiring material W to be wired to the vehicle is provided near the mounting portion 13 in the housing main body 10.

[0025] The fastening portion 15 is a portion to which the fastening member 23 is fastened together with the mounting piece portion 22 of the cover 20. In this embodiment, the fastening portion 15 is provided at the four corners of the outer circumferential surface 12a of the housing body 10. That is, the fastening portion 15 is provided at a position corresponding to the mounting piece portion 22 of the cover 20. The fastening portion 15 is configured to include, for example, a cylindrical boss portion 15a (see FIG. 5) to which the fastening member 23 is fastened, and a plurality of ribs 15b that connect the boss portion 15a and the outer circumferential surface 12a of the housing body 10. The inner circumferential surface of the boss portion 15a is provided with a female thread that meshes with the male thread of the fastening member 23. The plurality of ribs 15b are formed, for example, protruding from the outer circumferential surface 12a of the housing body 10, and have a function of reinforcing the strength of the boss portion 15a.

[0026] Here, in this embodiment, the multiple fastening portions 15 protrude from the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing body 10 while being spaced apart from each of the multiple mounting portions 13 and the multiple wiring material insertion portions 14. That is, the multiple fastening portions 15 are provided independently of each of the mounting portions 13 and the wiring material insertion portions 14 on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing body 10. Specifically, the fastening portions 15 are provided such that the respective boss portions 15a, ribs 15b, etc. are not connected to the main body portion and rib 13b of the mounting portions 13 or the main body portion 14a and rib 14b of the wiring material insertion portions 14 on the outer peripheral surface 12a.

[0027] If the multiple fastening parts 15 are provided on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing body 10 in connection (connection) with the mounting part 13 and the wiring material insertion part 14, the vibration of the vehicle that may be input to the mounting part 13 and the stress of the wiring material W that may be input to the wiring material insertion part 14 may be transmitted to the seal member 3 via the fastening parts 15. As a result, the seal member 3 may be deformed by the transmitted vibration, stress, etc., and the sealing property (surface pressure) of the seal member 3 may be reduced. In this regard, in this embodiment, since the multiple fastening parts 15 are separated from the mounting part 13 and the wiring material insertion part 14 on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing body 10, the vibration of the vehicle that may be input to the mounting part 13 and the stress of the wiring material W that may be input to the wiring material insertion part 14 may be suppressed from being transmitted to the seal member 3 via the fastening parts 15.

[0028] In this embodiment, the multiple fastening portions 15 are arranged at intervals from each of the multiple mounting portions 13 and the multiple wiring material insertion portions 14 in the circumferential direction. Specifically, of the fastening portions 15 at the four corners (see FIG. 4), the lower left fastening portion 15 is positioned between the first mounting portion of the mounting portion 13 and the first wiring material insertion portion of the wiring material insertion portion 14, and the upper left fastening portion 15 is positioned between the second mounting portion of the mounting portion 13 and the portion that holds the clamp 8. The upper right fastening portion 15 is positioned between the portion that holds the clamp 8 and the second wiring material insertion portion of the wiring material insertion portion 14, and the lower right fastening portion 15 is positioned between the third mounting portion of the mounting portion 13 and the first mounting portion.

[0029] As described above, in the electric connection box 1 and the wire harness WH of the present embodiment, the housing 2 has the mounting portion 13 that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing body 10 and is fixed to a mounting target of the vehicle, the wiring material insertion portion 14 that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing body 10 and through which the wiring material W that is electrically connected to the electronic component 4 is inserted, and the fastening portion 15 that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing body 10 and is fastened to the cover 20 while being spaced apart from the mounting portion 13 and the wiring material insertion portion 14. With this configuration, the electric connection box 1 and the wire harness WH can suppress, for example, the vibration of the vehicle that may be input to the mounting portion 13 and the stress of the wiring material W that may be input to the wiring material insertion portion 14 from being transmitted to the seal member 3 via the fastening portion 15 and the cover 20, and thus can suppress the deformation of the seal member 3 caused by the transmitted vibration, stress, etc. As a result, the electric connection box 1 and the wire harness WH can ensure the watertight function of the seal member 3.

[0030] In the electric junction box 1 and wire harness WH of this embodiment, the housing 2 has a plurality of fastening portions 15, which are provided at the four corners of the outer circumferential surface 12a of the housing main body 10. With this configuration, the electric junction box 1 and wire harness WH can, for example, fasten the housing main body 10 and the cover 20 together, so that the seal member 3 can be maintained in an elastically compressed state between the housing main body 10 and the cover 20 by the fastening portions 15 at the four corners. This allows the electric junction box 1 and wire harness WH to further ensure, for example, the waterproofing function of the seal member 3.

[0031] In the electric junction box 1 and the wire harness WH of this embodiment, the housing 2 further has a plurality of mounting portions 13 and a plurality of wiring material insertion portions 14, and the plurality of fastening portions 15 are provided spaced apart from the plurality of mounting portions 13 and the plurality of wiring material insertion portions 14. With this configuration, the electric junction box 1 and the wire harness WH suppress, for example, the vibration of the vehicle that may be input to the plurality of mounting portions 13 and the stress of the wiring material W that may be input to the plurality of wiring material insertion portions 14, etc. from being transmitted to the seal member 3 via the plurality of fastening portions 15 and the cover 20, and thus the deformation of the seal member 3 caused by the transmitted vibration, stress, etc. can be further suppressed.

[0032] In the present embodiment, the case where four fastening parts 15 are provided on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing body 10 is illustrated, but the number of fastening parts 15 is not limited to this example, and for example, five, six or more fastening parts 15 may be provided at equal intervals on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing body 10. In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where three mounting parts 13 and two wiring material insertion parts 14 are provided on the outer peripheral surface 12a of the housing body 10 is illustrated, but the numbers of mounting parts 13 and wiring material insertion parts 14 are not limited to this example and can be changed in various ways. In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where the electrical connection box 1 is applied to a fuse box mounted on a vehicle is illustrated, but the electrical connection box 1 is not limited to this example, and may be applied to something other than a fuse box, or may be applied to something not mounted on a vehicle.

[0033] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated above, the above embodiment is merely an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, combinations, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, the specifications of each configuration, shape, and the like (structure, type, direction, format, size, length, width, thickness, height, number, arrangement, position, material, etc.) can be appropriately changed and implemented. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1 Electrical junction box 2. Housing 3. Sealing material 4. Electronic Components 10 Housing body 12a Outer surface 13 Mounting part 14 Cable passage 15 Fastening Part 18 Storage space 20 Cover W Routing material WH Wire harness

Claims

1. a housing including a housing main body having an accommodating space for accommodating an electronic component therein, and a cover attached to the housing main body so as to cover the accommodating space; a seal member provided at an open end of the accommodating space for sealing an annular gap between the housing body and the cover; Equipped with The housing has an attachment portion that protrudes from an outer peripheral surface of the housing body and is fixed to an attachment target of a vehicle, a wiring material insertion portion that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the housing body and through which a wiring material that is electrically connected to the electronic component is inserted, and a fastening portion that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the housing body while being spaced apart from each of the attachment portion and the wiring material insertion portion and is fastened to the cover. Electrical junction box.

2. The housing has a plurality of the fastening portions, The plurality of fastening portions are provided at four corners of the outer circumferential surface of the housing main body.

2. The electrical junction box according to claim 1.

3. The housing further includes a plurality of the mounting portions and a plurality of the wiring material insertion portions, The plurality of fastening portions are provided spaced apart from the plurality of mounting portions and the plurality of wiring material insertion portions, 3. The electrical junction box according to claim 2.

4. A conductive wiring material; An electrical connection box electrically connected to the wiring material, The electrical connection box includes: a housing including a housing main body having an accommodating space for accommodating an electronic component therein, and a cover attached to the housing main body so as to cover the accommodating space; a seal member provided at an open end of the accommodating space for sealing an annular gap between the housing body and the cover; Equipped with The housing has an attachment portion that protrudes from an outer peripheral surface of the housing body and is fixed to an attachment target of a vehicle, a wiring material insertion portion that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the housing body and through which the wiring material that is electrically connected to the electronic component is inserted, and a fastening portion that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the housing body while being spaced apart from each of the attachment portion and the wiring material insertion portion and is fastened to the cover. Wire harness.

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