Electric connection box

Abstract

To detect erroneous insertion of an electric wire with a terminal.SOLUTION: An electric connection part 12b of a terminal fitting 12 has a projection 12f that is projected in a direction orthogonal to a terminal insertion direction and a hole axis direction of a male screw insertion hole 12c, and is arranged at a position eccentric in the hole axis direction when seen from an extension line of an axis of a terminal of an electric wire 11 connected to an electric wire connection part 12a. A cylindrical storage part 23, when the terminal fitting is inserted into an electric wire lead-out port 23a from a leading end of the electric connection part in a regular posture, allows insertion of an electric wire 10 with a terminal, and has therein an insertion hole 23b that is a through hole allowing the electric connection part to reach a screw stopping and fixing position, and that, when the terminal fitting is inserted in an erroneous insertion posture into the electric wire lead-out port from the leading end of the electric connection part, brings the projection into contact with a hole peripheral part 23b1 on a side of the electric wire lead-out port to lock the projection.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there is known an electric connection box in which a terminal fitting of an electric wire with a terminal is arranged in a housing chamber of a housing member, and the electric wire of the electric wire with a terminal is passed through a tubular part protruding from a side wall part of the housing chamber and is drawn out from an electric wire outlet. For example, this type of electric connection box is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-230329 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the conventional electrical connection box, the terminal fitting of the electric wire with terminal is inserted into the cylindrical portion through the electric wire outlet and drawn into the accommodating chamber through the cylindrical portion. The terminal fitting has an electric connection part that is physically and electrically connected to the counterpart in the drawn-in accommodating chamber, and an electric wire connection part that is physically and electrically connected to the end of the electric wire. In general, the electric connection part of the terminal fitting is disposed at an eccentric position when viewed from the extension of the axis of the end of the electric wire connected to the electric wire connection part. Therefore, in the electrical connection box, it is difficult to determine whether the terminal fitting is inserted into the cylindrical portion in the correct position or in an incorrect insertion position in which the terminal fitting is rotated around the axis of the end of the electric wire with respect to the correct position.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical junction box capable of detecting erroneous insertion of an electric wire with a terminal. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention includes a terminal-attached electric wire, the terminal fitting being physically and electrically connected to an end of an electric wire by an electric wire connection portion, the terminal fitting having a male screw insertion hole for inserting a male screw portion of a male screw member formed in a rectangular flat-plate-shaped electric connection portion serving as a screw-fastening fixing portion of the terminal fitting; a female screw member on which the electric connection portion is placed with a first plane facing each other, the male screw portion inserted into the male screw insertion hole from a second plane side of the electric connection portion being screwed into a female screw portion, and the electric connection portion is screw-fastened and fixed between the male screw member and the female screw member; and an accommodating member in which the female screw member is embedded in the bottom side of the accommodating chamber, with the screw axis of the female screw portion facing from a bottom side of the accommodating chamber toward an opening and the female screw portion exposed to the opening side, the accommodating member being a tube portion protruding from a side wall portion of the accommodating chamber outside the accommodating chamber, one end of which is connected to the accommodating chamber, and which is accommodated in the tube together with the electric wire connection portion. the electrical connection portion has a protrusion that protrudes in a direction perpendicular to a terminal insertion direction of the terminal fitting within the cylindrical accommodating portion and a hole axial direction of the male screw insertion hole, and is disposed at a position eccentric in the hole axial direction as viewed from an extension of the axis of the end of the electric wire connected to the electric wire connection portion; the cylindrical accommodating portion is a through hole through which the electric wire with terminal is inserted and which allows the electric connection portion to reach a screw-fastened position when the terminal fitting is inserted into the electric wire outlet from the tip of the electric connection portion in a correct orientation with the first plane facing the bottom side, and has an insertion hole within the cylindrical portion for abutting and engaging the protrusion against a hole periphery on the wire outlet side when the terminal fitting is inserted into the electric wire outlet from the tip of the electric connection portion in an incorrect insertion orientation with the second plane facing the bottom side. Effect of the Invention

[0007] In the electrical connection box according to the present invention, when the terminal fitting inserted into the cylindrical accommodating portion reaches the screw-fixed position in the accommodating chamber, it is determined that the terminal fitting has been inserted into the cylindrical accommodating portion in the correct position. On the other hand, in this electrical connection box, when the terminal fitting inserted into the cylindrical accommodating portion cannot proceed any further in the tube, it is determined that the protruding portion of the electrical connection portion is engaged with the peripheral portion of the insertion hole on the wire outlet side, and the terminal fitting has been inserted into the cylindrical accommodating portion in an incorrect insertion position. Therefore, in the electrical connection box according to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether the terminal fitting has been inserted into the cylindrical accommodating portion in the correct position or in an incorrect insertion position. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electric junction box (before a cover member is attached) according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the electrical junction box (without a cover member) according to the embodiment, as viewed from the opening side. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a schematic diagram of the electric wire with terminal and the cylindrical receiving portion at a screw-fixed position. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a view of the electric wire with terminal and the cylindrical housing of FIG. 3 as viewed in the direction of an arrow A. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an electric wire with a terminal. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line Y1-Y1 in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a terminal-attached electric wire in which a terminal fitting in an incorrectly inserted position is locked by the second locking portion, and a cylindrical receiving portion. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line Y2-Y2 in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the external shape of an electric wire with a terminal and the external shape of an insertion hole. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the outline shape of the insertion hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an electrical junction box according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

[0010] [Embodiment] One embodiment of an electrical junction box according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0011] Reference numeral 1 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 indicates an electric junction box of this embodiment. This electric junction box 1 includes an electric wire with terminal 10, a housing member 20 that houses the electric wire with terminal 10, a cover member 30 that closes an opening 20a of the housing member 20, and a female screw member 41 and a male screw member 42 that screw-fix the electric wire with terminal 10 to the housing member 20 (Figs. 1 to 5).

[0012] The electric wire with terminal 10 includes an electric wire 11 and a terminal fitting 12 that is physically and electrically connected to an end of the electric wire 11 (FIGS. 1 to 6).

[0013] The terminal fitting 12 is made of a conductive material such as metal. The terminal fitting 12 has an electric wire connection part 12a that physically and electrically connects to the end of the electric wire 11 (FIGS. 4 to 7). The electric wire connection part 12a shown here is a crimping part that crimps two barrel pieces to the end of the electric wire 11 placed on the bottom, and physically and electrically connects to the core wire of the end.

[0014] The terminal fitting 12 also has an electrical connection portion 12b as a screw-fastening portion using a female screw member 41 and a male screw member 42 (FIGS. 1 to 7). This electrical connection portion 12b is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape. A through hole (hereinafter referred to as a "male screw insertion hole") 12c for inserting the male screw portion of the male screw member 42 is formed in the plate thickness direction in this electrical connection portion 12b (FIGS. 5 to 7). This male screw insertion hole 12c is formed in a circular shape.

[0015] The female screw member 41 has a female screw portion 41a into which a male screw portion of a male screw member 42 is screwed, and is embedded in the housing member 20 with the female screw portion 41a exposed to the opening 20a side as described below (FIG. 5). In the female screw member 41, the electrical connection portion 12b is placed with the first flat surface 12d facing each other (FIG. 5), and the male screw portion inserted into the male screw insertion hole 12c from the second flat surface 12e side of the electrical connection portion 12b is screwed into the female screw portion 41a, and the electrical connection portion 12b is screwed and fixed between the male screw member 42 and the female screw member 41. The terminal-fitted electric wire 10 is fixed to the housing member 20 by screwing and fixing the electrical connection portion 12b with the female screw member 41 and the male screw member 42.

[0016] In the electrical connection portion 12b shown here, one plane connected to the placement surface of the end of the electric wire 11 at the bottom of the electric wire connection portion 12a is the second plane 12e, and the other plane on the back side of the second plane 12e is the first plane 12d (FIGS. 5 and 6). The width direction of the electrical connection portion 12b is perpendicular to the terminal insertion direction of the terminal fitting 12 in the cylindrical accommodating portion 23 described later and the hole axial direction of the male screw insertion hole 12c.

[0017] In the following, unless otherwise specified, the terminal insertion direction of the terminal fitting 12 inside the cylindrical accommodating portion 23 will be simply referred to as the "terminal insertion direction", and the hole axis direction of the male screw insertion hole 12c will be simply referred to as the "hole axis direction".

[0018] Here, the electrical connection portion 12b of this embodiment has a protruding portion 12f protruding in a direction perpendicular to the terminal insertion direction and the hole axis direction (FIGS. 3, 4, 6, and 7). This protruding portion 12f protrudes from both end sides in a direction (width direction) perpendicular to the terminal insertion direction and the hole axis direction of the electrical connection portion 12b, or the both end sides protrude in the perpendicular direction. The protruding portion 12f shown here is protruding from both end sides in the width direction of the electrical connection portion 12b in the width direction (FIGS. 3, 4, 6, and 7). Furthermore, the protruding portion 12f shown here protrudes further than the electric wire connection portion 12a in the width direction (FIGS. 4, 6, and 7).

[0019] Furthermore, the electrical connection portion 12b in this embodiment is positioned on an extension of the bottom of the electric wire connection portion 12a, and is therefore positioned eccentrically in the hole axis direction when viewed from an extension of the axis of the end of the electric wire 11 connected to this electric wire connection portion 12a (Figures 5 and 6).

[0020] The electrical connection box 1 illustrated here further includes an electronic component 50 accommodated in the accommodation member 20 (FIGS. 1 and 2). The electronic component 50 is, for example, a fuse or a relay, and a terminal fitting 12 of the terminal-fitted electric wire 10 is physically and electrically connected to the electronic component 50. The terminal fitting 12 is fastened to a mating electrical connection member 51 such as a bus bar of the electronic component 50 by a screw-fastening structure of a female screw member 41 and a male screw member 42, thereby establishing an electrical connection relationship with the mating electrical connection member 51 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Therefore, the electrical connection portion 12b illustrated here can be said to be a portion fastened to the mating electrical connection member 51 by using the female screw member 41 and the male screw member 42.

[0021] The housing member 20 is molded from an insulating material such as synthetic resin. The housing member 20 has a bottom 21 and a side wall 22 that form the housing chamber 20b (FIGS. 1 and 2). The bottom 21 is disposed opposite the opening 20a with the housing chamber 20b therebetween. The side wall 22 is a vertical wall that is vertically erected in a cylindrical shape from the outer periphery of the bottom 21, and the opening 20a is formed by an annular end portion in the vertical direction.

[0022] In this housing member 20, the female screw member 41 is embedded in the bottom 21 of the housing chamber 20b with the screw axis of the female screw portion 41a directed from the bottom 21 of the housing chamber 20b to the opening 20a (FIG. 5). Furthermore, in this housing member 20, the female screw member 41 is embedded in the bottom 21 of the housing chamber 20b with the female screw portion 41a exposed to the opening 20a (FIG. 5). For example, this housing member 20 is insert molded with respect to the female screw member 41 in a mold, thereby holding the female screw member 41 integrally. In this housing member 20, the female screw member 41 is embedded with the annular surface 41b of one end on the opening 20a side exposed (FIG. 5).

[0023] The housing member 20 is a tube portion protruding from a side wall portion 22 of the housing chamber 20b outside the housing chamber 20b, and has a tube-shaped housing portion 23 whose one end communicates with the housing chamber 20b and through which the electric wire 11 housed in the tube together with the electric wire connection portion 12a is pulled out from an electric wire pull-out port 23a at the other end (FIGS. 1 to 6). The tube-shaped housing portion 23 shown here is formed in a cylindrical shape.

[0024] In the housing member 20, the female screw member 41 is embedded near one end of the cylindrical housing portion 23 (FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5). Thus, in the electric wire with terminal 10, the electric wire connection portion 12a between the electric wire 11 and the terminal fitting 12 is housed in the cylindrical housing portion 23, and the electric connection portion 12b of the terminal fitting 12 is placed on the annular surface 41b of the female screw member 41 in the housing chamber 20b in a state protruding from the cylindrical housing portion 23 (FIG. 5). The electric connection portion 12b is placed on the annular surface 41b of the female screw member 41 with the first flat surface 12d facing the bottom 21 side at a screw-fastened position where the hole axis of the male screw insertion hole 12c is aligned coaxially with the screw axis of the female screw portion 41a. In the housing member 20, the electrical connection portion 12b protruding into the housing chamber 20b is fixed by screwing the female screw member 41 and the male screw member 42 which are screwed together in the housing chamber 20b.

[0025] Here, the terminal fitting 12 of the electric wire with terminal 10 is inserted into the electric wire outlet 23a from the tip of the electric connection portion 12b in a correct position with the first flat surface 12d facing the bottom 21, and the electric connection portion 12b is passed through the inside of the cylindrical housing portion 23 in the correct position and reaches a screw-fixed position. For this reason, in the electric wire with terminal 10, if the terminal fitting 12 is inserted into the electric wire outlet 23a with the second flat surface 12e facing the bottom 21, it will be erroneously inserted into the cylindrical housing portion 23. Therefore, in the electric connection box 1, if it is possible to determine that the terminal fitting 12 is erroneously inserted at an early stage when the terminal fitting 12 is inserted into the electric wire outlet 23a from the tip of the electric connection portion 12b in the erroneous insertion position, it is possible to eliminate unnecessary man-hours such as reassembling the electric wire with terminal 10. Therefore, in this electrical connection box 1, not only is a tip protrusion 12f provided on the electrical connection portion 12b of the terminal fitting 12, but the interior of the cylindrical accommodating portion 23 is formed as described below, making it possible to quickly detect erroneous insertion of the terminal-attached electric wire 10.

[0026] The cylindrical accommodating portion 23 is a through hole through which the terminal-attached wire 10 is inserted and through which the electrical connection portion 12b reaches a screw-fixing position when the terminal fitting 12 is inserted into the electrical wire outlet 23a from the tip of the electrical connection portion 12b in the correct position, and has an insertion hole 23b inside the cylinder which engages the protrusion 12f by abutting against the hole periphery 23b1 on the electrical wire outlet 23a side when the terminal fitting 12 is inserted into the electrical wire outlet 23a from the tip of the electrical connection portion 12b in the incorrect insertion position (FIGS. 4, 5, and 7 to 9).

[0027] The insertion hole 23b may be, for example, a through hole penetrating a plate-shaped partition provided in the cylindrical accommodating portion 23 in the cylindrical axial direction, or may be a passage-shaped through hole penetrating a three-dimensional closure body filling the cylindrical accommodating portion 23 in the cylindrical axial direction. The insertion hole 23b shown here is a passage-shaped through hole formed to form a guide path for guiding the protruding portion 12f of the terminal fitting 12 in the correct position to a screw-fixing position. For example, the insertion hole 23b may be formed such that the outline shape of the cylindrical accommodating portion 23 as viewed in the cylindrical axial direction (i.e., the peripheral wall surface shape forming the through hole) is similar to the outline shape of the electric wire with terminal 10 as viewed in the terminal insertion direction inside the cylindrical accommodating portion 23 (i.e., the outline shape of the projected shape of the electric wire with terminal 10 as viewed in the terminal insertion direction inside the cylindrical accommodating portion 23), and the similar shape extends in the cylindrical axial direction to form a passage (FIGS. 10 and 11).

[0028] In the electric connection box 1 of this embodiment, when the terminal fitting 12 inserted into the cylindrical housing portion 23 reaches the screw-fixed position of the housing chamber 20b, it is determined that the terminal fitting 12 is inserted into the cylindrical housing portion 23 in the correct position (FIGS. 3 to 5, 7 and 10). On the other hand, in this electric connection box 1, when the terminal fitting 12 inserted into the cylindrical housing portion 23 cannot proceed any further in the cylinder, the protrusion 12f of the electric connection portion 12b is engaged with the hole periphery 23b1 on the electric wire outlet 23a side (in other words, the inlet 23b2 side) of the insertion hole 23b (FIGS. 8 and 9), and it is determined that the terminal fitting 12 is inserted into the cylindrical housing portion 23 in an incorrect insertion position. Therefore, in the electric connection box 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to determine whether the terminal fitting 12 is inserted into the cylindrical housing portion 23 in the correct position or in an incorrect insertion position.

[0029] Here, in the electric connection box 1 of this embodiment, the entrance 23b2 of the insertion hole 23b is formed between one end and the other end (electric wire outlet 23a) of the cylindrical housing portion 23, closer to the electric wire outlet 23a side than the center (FIGS. 5, 7, and 9). Therefore, in the electric connection box 1 of this embodiment, when the terminal fitting 12 is inserted from the tip of the electric connection portion 12b into the electric wire outlet 23a in an incorrect insertion position, the protrusion 12f of the electric connection portion 12b is locked at an early stage by the hole periphery 23b1 on the electric wire outlet 23a side (entrance 23b2 side) of the insertion hole 23b. Therefore, in this electric connection box 1, incorrect insertion of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 can be detected at an earlier stage than when it is inserted in the correct position.

[0030] As described above, the electrical connection box 1 of this embodiment can determine whether the terminal fitting 12 is inserted into the tube of the tubular accommodating portion 23 in the correct position or in the incorrect insertion position, and can further detect the incorrect insertion of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 at an earlier stage than when it is inserted in the correct position. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 Electrical junction box 10 Wires with terminals 11 Electric wire 12 Terminal fitting 12a Wire connection part 12b Electrical connection 12c Male screw insertion hole 12d 1st plane 12e 2nd plane 12f protrusion 20. Storage material 20a opening 20b Containment Room 21 Bottom 22 Side wall 23 Cylindrical container 23a Electric wire outlet 23b Insertion hole 23b1 hole periphery 41 Female screw member 41a Female thread 42 Male screw member

Claims

1. a terminal fitting that is physically and electrically connected to an end of the electric wire by an electric wire connection portion, and a male screw insertion hole for inserting a male screw portion of a male screw member is formed in a rectangular flat-plate-shaped electrical connection portion serving as a screw fastening portion of the terminal fitting; a female screw member on which the electrical connection portion is placed with first flat surfaces facing each other, and the male screw portion is inserted into the male screw insertion hole from the second flat surface side of the electrical connection portion and screwed into a female screw portion to screw-fix the electrical connection portion between the male screw member and the female screw member; a housing member in which the female screw member is embedded in the bottom side of the housing chamber, with the screw axis of the female screw portion facing from the bottom of the housing chamber to the opening and the female screw portion exposed on the opening side; Equipped with the accommodating member is a cylindrical portion protruding from a side wall portion of the accommodating chamber outside the accommodating chamber, the cylindrical accommodating portion having one end communicating with the accommodating chamber and allowing the electric wire accommodated in the cylinder together with the electric wire connection portion to be pulled out from an electric wire pull-out port at the other end, the electrical connection portion has a protruding portion that protrudes in a direction perpendicular to a terminal insertion direction of the terminal fitting in the cylindrical accommodating portion and a hole axial direction of the male screw insertion hole, and is disposed at a position eccentric in the hole axial direction as viewed from an extension of an axis of the end of the electric wire connected to the electric wire connection portion, the cylindrical accommodating portion is a through hole through which the terminal-attached wire is inserted and which allows the electrical connection portion to reach a screw-fixing position when the terminal fitting is inserted into the electrical connection outlet from the tip of the electrical connection portion in a correct position with the first plane facing the bottom side, and the cylindrical accommodating portion has an insertion hole within it which engages the protrusion by abutting against the hole peripheral portion on the electrical connection outlet side when the terminal fitting is inserted into the electrical connection outlet from the tip of the electrical connection portion in an incorrect insertion position with the second plane facing the bottom side.

2. 2. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions protrude from both end side portions in a direction perpendicular to the terminal insertion direction and the hole axis direction of the electrical connection portion, or the end side portions protrude in the perpendicular direction.

3. 3. The electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein the insertion hole forms a guide path for guiding the protruding portion of the terminal fitting in a correct position to the screw fixing position.

4. 3. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein the insertion hole is formed such that its outline shape when viewed in the axial direction of the cylindrical accommodating portion is similar to the outline shape when the terminal-attached electric wire is viewed in the terminal insertion direction within the cylindrical accommodating portion.

Images