Bracket

Abstract

To provide a bracket singly applicable to various objects.SOLUTION: A bracket 1 connects an electric connection box 2 and a vehicle. The bracket 1 comprises: a body 10 fixed to the electric connection box 2; and a connection part 30 fixed to the vehicle. The bracket 1 comprises a variable part 20 that is provided between the body 10 and the connection part 30 and that displaces the position of the connection part 30 with respect to the body 10, and an edge part 43 that holds the connection part 30 displaced by the variable part 20 at a prescribed position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a bracket. [Background technology]

[0002] A bracket that connects an electrical junction box to a vehicle body panel or the like is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The bracket described in Patent Document 1 has a plate-shaped vehicle body mounting part that protrudes from the outer wall of the electrical junction box. The vehicle body mounting part has a hole part through which a bolt is inserted, and the electrical junction box is fixed to the vehicle body panel by tightening the bolt inserted into the hole part. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-95447 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the object to which the electrical connection box is connected may be diverse in addition to the vehicle body panel, and the above-mentioned bracket may not be applicable depending on the shape of the object or the structure around the object. Specifically, if the vehicle body mounting portion of the bracket interferes with other structures, the bolt position may shift and the electrical connection box cannot be connected to the object. For this reason, it is necessary to manufacture a dedicated bracket optimized for each object, which increases the manufacturing cost of the bracket. In this regard, for example, it is possible to install an adapter or the like between the bracket and the object to change the orientation of the bracket, but in this case, the number of parts increases and the cost of connecting the bracket to the object increases.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a bracket that can be applied to a variety of subjects independently. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the above objectives, the bracket is a bracket that connects an electrical junction box and a vehicle, and is characterized in that it comprises a main body portion fixed to the electrical junction box, a connection portion fixed to the vehicle, a variable portion provided between the main body portion and the connection portion and displaces the position of the connection portion relative to the main body portion, and a locking portion that holds the connection portion displaced by the variable portion in a predetermined position. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, a bracket that can be applied to various subjects by itself can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a bracket according to an embodiment of the present invention and an electrical junction box to which the bracket is attached; [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a side view showing the bracket in a first deformed state. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a side view showing the bracket in a second deformed state. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the bracket attached to the electrical junction box in a normal state. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a bracket in a first deformed state attached to the electrical junction box. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the bracket 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. In this embodiment, the longitudinal direction of the bracket 1 is indicated by an arrow X in the drawings, and this arrow X is referred to as the "front-rear direction X". One side of the front-rear direction X is referred to as the "front side X1", and the other side is referred to as the "rear side X2". The width direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction X is indicated by an arrow Y, and this arrow Y is referred to as the "left-right direction Y". One side of the left-right direction Y is referred to as the "left side Y1", and the other side is referred to as the "right side Y2". The height direction of the bracket 1 is indicated by an arrow Z, and this arrow Z is referred to as the "up-down direction Z". One side of the up-down direction Z is referred to as the "upper side Z1", and the other side is referred to as the "lower side Z2". This is merely for the convenience of explanation, and does not necessarily limit the direction when the bracket 1 is manufactured or used.

[0010] The bracket 1 is a connection member that connects, for example, a structure such as a body panel of a vehicle (hereinafter, collectively referred to as a vehicle) to an electric connection box 2. The electric connection box 2 includes a J / B (junction box), an R / B (relay box), or a fuse box (F / B), which electrically connects a plurality of devices mounted on the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the electric connection box 2 is formed into a substantially rectangular box shape by a front cover 3 and a rear cover 4, and accommodates a circuit board, a bus bar, and the like (not shown) inside. A connector section 5 for connecting a terminal of a terminal-equipped electric wire is formed on the side surface and the wall surface of the rear side X2 of the electric connection box 2. A mounting section 6 for fixing a connection section 30 of the bracket 1, which will be described later, is formed on the wall surface of the upper side Z1 of the electric connection box 2. The mounting section 6 protrudes from the upper wall surface of the electric connection box 2 to the upper side Z1 to form a platform shape, and two groove sections 7 that open to the upper side Z1 and the rear side X2 are formed side by side in the left-right direction Y on the upper wall surface.

[0011] The bracket 1 includes a main body 10, a variable part 20, a connection part 30, and a holding part 40, which are integrally molded using, for example, a resin material. The main body 10 is a part fixed to the mounting part 6 of the electric connection box 2, and includes a rectangular flat plate part 11 and a side wall 12 extending from both left and right edges and a rear edge of the flat plate part 11 to the lower side Z2. On the surface of the lower side Z2 of the flat plate part 11, two rails (not shown) protruding to the lower side Z2 are formed side by side in the left-right direction Y, and these rails are fitted into the groove part 7 when the main body 10 is fixed to the mounting part 6. The variable part 20 is formed of a thin plate extending in the front side X1 and the left-right direction Y continuously from the front end of the main body 10. The variable part 20 is formed of an elastically deformable resin material, and its intermediate part in the front-rear direction X constitutes a hinge part 21 having an imaginary axis part A extending in the left-right direction Y.

[0012] Since the intermediate portion of the variable portion 20 constitutes the hinge portion 21, in the normal state shown in FIG. 2, the variable portion 20 is in a state in which its front end portion 22 faces the front side X1. On the other hand, in the first deformation state shown in FIG. 3 and the second deformation state shown in FIG. 4, the variable portion 20 is bent with the hinge portion 21 as a starting point, and its front end portion 22 faces the rear side X2. Note that, in this embodiment, the variable portion 20 is constituted by an elastically deformable thin plate made of resin, and its intermediate portion in the front-rear direction X is the hinge portion 21, but the configuration of the variable portion 20 is not limited thereto. For example, the variable portion 20 may be constituted by forming the variable portion 20 with a front side X1 portion and a rear side X2 portion, and the front side X1 portion and the rear side X2 portion may be connected by a shaft portion extending in the left-right direction Y so as to be rotatable around the shaft.

[0013] The connection part 30 is a part fixed to the vehicle, and includes a vertical wall 31, an upper wall 32, a horizontal wall 33, and a fixing part 36, as shown in FIG. 1. The vertical wall 31 extends from the front end 22 of the variable part 20 to the upper side Z1. The upper wall 32 extends from the upper edge of the vertical wall 31 to the front side X1. The horizontal wall 33 extends from the edge of the left side Y1 of the vertical wall 31 to the front side X1. A thin plate-like locking piece 34 protruding to the lower side Z2 is formed at the lower end of the horizontal wall 33. The locking piece 34 is provided so as to be elastically deformable in the left-right direction Y, and a locking claw 35 protruding outward in the left-right direction Y is formed on the wall surface of the locking piece 34. The locking claw 35 is locked to an edge part 43 (lock part) of the holding part 40 described later. The fixing part 36 is composed of a plate member protruding from the edge of the right side Y2 of the vertical wall 31 to the rear side X2. A fixing hole 37 penetrating in the plate thickness direction is formed in the center of the fixing part 36, and a bolt (not shown) is inserted into this fixing hole 37. The bolt inserted into the fixing hole 37 screws into a female thread formed in the vehicle, and this screwing fixes the connection part 30 to the vehicle.

[0014] The holding part 40 includes a frame part 41 that covers the flat plate part 11 and the side wall 12 of the main body part 10. The frame part 41 has two locking grooves 42 that open to the upper side Z1 and the left-right direction Y, aligned in the front-rear direction X. A gap 44 in the left-right direction Y is formed between an edge part 43 on the left side Y1 of the locking groove 42 and the side wall 12 of the main body part 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the locking piece 34 of the connection part 30 displaced in accordance with the deformation of the variable part 20 is inserted from the lower side Z2 to the upper side Z1 into the gap 44. In this state, the locking claw 35 of the locking piece 34 is engaged by contacting the edge part 43. In this manner, the edge part 43 constitutes a locking part that holds the connection part 30 displaced by the variable part 20 in a predetermined position.

[0015] Next, the connection of the electric junction box 2 to the vehicle using the bracket 1 will be described. When connecting the electric junction box 2 to the vehicle, first, the main body 10 of the bracket 1 is fixed to the electric junction box 2. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the bracket 1 and the electric junction box 2 are arranged at a position where the front end of the bracket 1 and the rear end of the mounting part 6 of the electric junction box 2 face each other in the front-rear direction X. Then, from this state, the bracket 1 is moved to the front side X1. At this time, the above-mentioned rail (not shown) fits into the groove part 7 of the mounting part 6, and the bracket 1 moves to the front side X1 while being guided by the edge of the groove part 7. Then, the rail abuts against the front end of the groove part 7, thereby restricting the displacement of the bracket 1, and the main body part 10 is fixed to the electric junction box 2 as shown in FIG. 5.

[0016] In a state where the main body 10 is fixed to the electric connection box 2, the front end of the connection part 30 protrudes from the electric connection box 2 to the front side X1 (outward). Next, the variable part 20 is deformed with the hinge part 21 as a starting point. Specifically, the front side X1 part of the variable part 20 is bent to the lower side Z2 and the rear side X2 with the hinge part 21 as a starting point, so that the front end 22 of the variable part 20 faces the rear side X2. At this time, as described above, the vertical wall 31 of the connection part 30 is continuous with the front end 22 of the variable part 20. Therefore, in accordance with the deformation of the variable part 20, the position of the vertical wall 31 is displaced, and the position of the connection part 30 with respect to the main body 10 is displaced. Then, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the connection part 30 rotates around the axis of the imaginary axis part A of the hinge part 21. Then, the connection part 30 displaced in this way is held at a predetermined position by the holding part 40.

[0017] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the locking piece 34 of the connection portion 30 is inserted into the above-mentioned gap 44 from the lower side Z2 toward the upper side Z1. At this time, the locking claw 35 abuts against the inner wall surface of the frame portion 41, so that the locking piece 34 is pressed inward in the left-right direction Y, and the locking piece 34 is elastically deformed in the same direction. Then, when the insertion of the locking piece 34 into the gap 44 is completed, the locking piece 34 returns to the state before the elastic deformation, and the locking claw 35 abuts against the edge portion 43 and is locked by this restoration. Next, the integrated electric connection box 2 and bracket 1 are moved to a predetermined connection location provided on the vehicle, and a bolt is inserted into the fixing hole 37 of the fixing portion 36. Then, the connection portion 30 of the bracket 1 is fixed to the vehicle via the bolt.

[0018] This fixation completes the connection of the electric connection box 2 to the vehicle using the bracket 1. In this embodiment, two edge portions 43 are provided side by side in the front-rear direction X. Due to this configuration, the locking claw 35 of the connection portion 30 may be locked to the edge portion 43 on the front side X1 as shown in FIG. 3, or may be locked to the edge portion 43 on the rear side X2 as shown in FIG. 4. The state in which the locking claw 35 is locked to the edge portion 43 on the front side X1 is a first deformation state, and the state in which the locking claw 35 is locked to the edge portion 43 on the rear side X2 is a second deformation state. In this way, by providing a plurality of positions for locking the locking claw 35, the length of the bracket 1 in the front-rear direction X can be changed, and the protruding amount of the connection portion 30 relative to the electric connection box 2 can be changed in multiple stages.

[0019] According to the above-described embodiment, the bracket 1 connecting the electric junction box 2 and the vehicle includes a main body 10 fixed to the electric junction box 2 and a connection part 30 fixed to the vehicle. The bracket 1 also includes a variable part 20 provided between the main body 10 and the connection part 30, which displaces the position of the connection part 30 relative to the main body 10, and an edge part 43 (lock part) which holds the connection part 30 displaced by the variable part 20 in a predetermined position.

[0020] According to this configuration, the main body 10 is fixed to the electric connection box 2, and the connection portion 30 is fixed to the vehicle, so that the electric connection box 2 and the vehicle can be connected. At this time, the position of the connection portion 30 relative to the main body 10 is displaced by the variable portion 20, and the displaced connection portion 30 is held by the edge portion 43, so that the connection portion 30 can be placed at an optimal position relative to the vehicle. Therefore, the cost of the bracket 1 can be reduced compared to a configuration in which the position of the connection portion is changed using a separate part such as an adapter. Furthermore, when the electric connection box 2 is connected to a plurality of objects in a vehicle that have different shapes and surrounding structures, the position of the connection portion 30 can be adjusted so that it is optimally positioned for each object. This adjustment can prevent the connection portion 30 from interfering with other structures. Therefore, it is possible to provide a bracket 1 that can be applied to various vehicles (objects) by itself.

[0021] Also, in this embodiment, the variable portion 20 can change the amount of protrusion of the connection portion 30. According to this configuration, for example, in a case where the bracket 1 interferes with another structure in a normal state, the variable portion 20 can reduce the amount of protrusion of the connection portion 30 to avoid such interference. On the other hand, in a case where the connection portion 30 does not reach the target when connecting the bracket 1 with a reduced amount of protrusion of the connection portion 30 to a vehicle, the variable portion 20 can increase the amount of protrusion of the connection portion 30, thereby making it possible to position the connection portion 30 at an optimal position with respect to the vehicle.

[0022] In this embodiment, the hinge portion 21 is provided to rotate the connection portion 30 around the axis of the imaginary shaft portion A extending in the left-right direction Y, and at least two edge portions 43 are provided as locking portions in a line in the front-rear direction X. According to this configuration, the projection amount of the connection portion 30 can be changed by rotating the connection portion 30 around the axis of the shaft portion A by the hinge portion 21. In addition, at this time, since at least two edge portions 43 are provided in a line in the front-rear direction X, i.e., in the projection direction of the connection portion 30, the position at which the connection portion 30 is locked can be changed in multiple stages. Therefore, the projection amount of the connection portion 30 can be finely adjusted, and the versatility of the bracket 1 can be improved.

[0023] Although an embodiment of the bracket 1 has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention includes design changes within the scope of the present invention. For example, in this embodiment, two edge portions 43 as locking portions are provided side by side in the front-rear direction X, but the present invention is not limited to this. Only one edge portion 43 may be provided, or three or more edge portions 43 may be provided. However, since the position for holding the connection portion 30 can be changed in multiple stages by providing multiple edge portions 43, it is preferable to provide at least two edge portions 43 side by side in the front-rear direction X. In addition, the variable portion 20 is deformed with the hinge portion 21 as a starting point, and the connection portion 30 is provided so as to be displaced around the axis of the virtual axis portion A of the hinge portion 21, but the structure of the variable portion 20 is not limited to this.

[0024] For example, the variable part 20 may be configured using a structure other than the hinge part 21, and the protruding direction of the connection part 30 protruding to the front side X1 may be changed to various directions such as diagonally forward, left and right direction Y, diagonally backward, and rear side X2. That is, the variable part 20 may be configured so that the protruding direction of the connection part 30 can be changed, not limited to the protruding amount of the connection part 30. In addition, by configuring the variable part 20 from a material with high rigidity, the position of the connection part 30 may be determined at a predetermined position even before the variable part 20 is deformed, and the connection part 30 and the vehicle may be connected in this state. With such a configuration, the variation in the protruding direction and protruding amount of the connection part 30 increases, so that the number of targets to which the bracket 1 can be applied further increases, and the versatility of the bracket 1 is further improved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1 Bracket 2 Electrical junction box 10 Main body 20 Variable Part 30 Connection 43 Edge (lock part)

Claims

1. A bracket for connecting an electric junction box and a vehicle, A main body portion fixed to the electrical junction box; A connection portion fixed to the vehicle; a variable portion provided between the main body portion and the connection portion and configured to displace a position of the connection portion relative to the main body portion; a locking portion that holds the connection portion in a predetermined position after being displaced by the variable portion.

2. the connection portion is provided so as to protrude outward from the electrical connection box in a state in which the main body portion is fixed to the electrical connection box, The bracket according to claim 1 , wherein the variable portion is provided so as to be capable of changing an amount of protrusion of the connecting portion.

3. the variable portion includes a hinge portion that rotates the connection portion around an axis that intersects with a protruding direction, The bracket according to claim 2 , wherein at least two of the locking portions are provided and aligned in the protruding direction.

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