Electric connection box

Abstract

To provide an electric connection box which improves loading efficiency of components and is capable of suppressing invasion of foreign substances via an air exhaust port.SOLUTION: An electric connection box comprises a box-shaped body and a fuse. In the box-shaped body, an internal space is formed. The fuse is an electrical electronic component, which is stored in the internal space of the box-shaped body, and has a high pyrogenic property. In the box-shaped body, an air suction port and an air exhaust port 44 are formed. The air suction port is positioned lower than the fuse in a state of installation in a vehicle. The air exhaust port 44 is positioned higher than the air suction port and positioned higher than the fuse in the state of installation in the vehicle. The air exhaust port 44 is formed in a holding part 40 which holds a spare fuse 52.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention mainly relates to an electrical junction box having a heat dissipation structure. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a heat dissipation structure that dissipates heat by convection of air within an electrical junction box. In this electrical junction box, a heating element is located in the middle in the height direction. An intake port is formed on the lower side of the electrical junction box, and an exhaust port is formed on the upper side of the electrical junction box. With this configuration, outside air can be introduced through the intake port, and gas containing heat from the heating element can be exhausted through the exhaust port. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5166945 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The electrical junction box of Patent Document 1 requires a special area for forming the exhaust port. As a result, the component mounting efficiency of the electrical junction box (the number of components mounted per unit volume of the electrical junction box or the mounted volume) tends to be low. Furthermore, the electrical junction box of Patent Document 1 has a large exhaust port, which makes it easy for foreign matter to enter the interior of the electrical junction box through the exhaust port.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a main object of the present invention is to provide an electrical junction box that allows for high component mounting efficiency and can prevent foreign matter from entering through the exhaust port.

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above. Next, the means for solving this problem and the effects thereof will be explained.

[0007] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical junction box having the following configuration. That is, the electrical junction box includes a box-shaped body and a heat-generating component. An internal space is formed in the box-shaped body. The heat-generating component is an electric / electronic component that is housed in the internal space of the box-shaped body and has high heat generation properties. The box-shaped body is formed with an air intake port and an exhaust port. When installed in a vehicle, the air intake port is located at a lower position than the heat-generating component. When installed in a vehicle, the exhaust port is located at a higher position than the air intake port and higher than the heat-generating component. The exhaust port is formed in a holding portion that holds a maintenance component.

[0008] This allows the exhaust port to be formed in the maintenance component holder, which increases the component mounting efficiency compared to a configuration in which the exhaust port is formed separately. Also, since the maintenance component is placed at the exhaust port, foreign matter is less likely to enter the interior of the electrical junction box through the exhaust port.

[0009] The electrical junction box preferably has the following configuration: the holding portion has a base surface and a protrusion protruding from the base surface, and when the maintenance component is attached to the holding portion, a gap is formed between the base surface and the maintenance component.

[0010] This allows a gap to be formed between the maintenance part and the base surface, which can be used to release heat.

[0011] In the electrical junction box, it is preferable that the air intake port is formed at a lower end of the internal space when the electrical junction box is installed in a vehicle.

[0012] This allows water that has entered the internal space to be drained through the air intake. The air intake and drain hole can be shared, simplifying the structure of the electrical junction box.

[0013] In the electrical junction box, the intake port is preferably divided into a plurality of openings by a partition.

[0014] This makes it difficult for foreign matter to enter the interior of the electrical junction box through the air intake.

[0015] In the electrical connection box, it is preferable that at least one of the first opening length in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the partition portion and the second opening length in the opening surface in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the partition portion among the multiple openings of the intake port is less than 1 mm.

[0016] This prevents even a 1mm square member from entering the electrical junction box through the air intake, preventing the entry of external conductors for the purpose of theft, for example.

[0017] The electrical junction box preferably has the following configuration: the maintenance part is a spare fuse. The spare fuse has legs and a body connected to the legs. The holder has an insertion part into which the legs are inserted. An opening formed at the bottom of the insertion part is an exhaust port.

[0018] This allows a compact configuration including a spare fuse holding structure and an exhaust port. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of an electrical junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the electrical junction box installed in the vehicle. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are perspective views showing a state before and after a spare fuse is inserted into a holder portion. [Figure 4] 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views showing a state before and after inserting a spare fuse into a holder portion. [Figure 5] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, an electric junction box 1 will be described with reference to Figs.

[0021] The electrical junction box 1 is installed in a vehicle. The electrical junction box 1 is provided with a plurality of relays and a plurality of fuses. The electrical junction box 1 may also be provided with a control board that controls on-board devices. The electrical junction box 1 distributes power supplied from a battery or a generator and supplies it to each on-board device.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the electrical junction box 1 includes a box-shaped body 10. The box-shaped body 10 is a rectangular parallelepiped member. Note that a rectangular parallelepiped member only needs to have a rough external shape that is rectangular, and does not necessarily need to be a strict rectangular parallelepiped. For example, if there are three pairs of two opposing faces, it can be considered to be rectangular. Note that the box-shaped body 10 being rectangular is just one example, and the box-shaped body 10 may have other shapes.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 1, the box-shaped body 10 has a top surface 11, four side surfaces 12, and a bottom surface 13. In this specification, the up-down direction of the electrical junction box 1 is defined as the up-down direction (vertical direction) when the electrical junction box 1 is installed in a vehicle. In other words, when the electrical junction box 1 is installed in a vehicle, the uppermost surface is the top surface 11, and the surface opposite to that (the lowermost surface) is the bottom surface 13. The remaining four surfaces are side surfaces 12.

[0024] An internal space is formed in the box-shaped body 10. The box-shaped body 10 can be separated into, for example, a lower case and an upper case, and the space surrounded by the lower case and the upper case is the internal space.

[0025] Electrical and electronic components are disposed in the internal space of the electrical junction box 1. Disposed in the internal space means that at least a portion of the electrical and electronic components is located in the internal space. In this case, at least a portion of the heat generated by the electrical and electronic components is retained in the internal space. The electrical and electronic components are electrical or electronic components, and examples thereof include relays, fuses, resistors, diodes, connectors, sensors, transistors, circuit boards, capacitors, and ICs. Furthermore, in this specification, components that generate high heat are referred to as "heat-generating components." High heat-generating components are components that consume relatively large amounts of power and therefore generate significantly more heat than other electrical and electronic components. For example, relays, fuses, resistors, transistors, capacitors, and ICs are examples of heat-generating components. The electrical junction box 1 of this embodiment is provided with multiple fuses 51 and relays 53, which are components that generate high heat.

[0026] The electrical junction box 1 is further provided with a spare fuse 52. The spare fuse 52 is used as a spare for the fuse 51. Specifically, in maintenance performed when a current exceeding a predetermined level flows through the fuse 51 and blows the electrical circuit, the blown fuse 51 is removed and the spare fuse 52 is installed in its place. Therefore, the spare fuse 52 is a maintenance part. A maintenance part is a part used when performing maintenance on electrical and electronic components, and specifically, is a replacement part or a tool used for maintenance work.

[0027] In this embodiment, the spare fuse 52 is held by a holding portion 40. The holding portion 40 is formed on the surface of the box-shaped body 10. The detailed holding structure of the spare fuse 52 will be described later.

[0028] Next, the heat dissipation structure of the electrical junction box 1 will be described.

[0029] The box-shaped body 10 is formed with an air intake 21 and an air exhaust 44. The air intake 21 is formed at a position lower than the heat-generating components, fuses 51 and relays 53. More specifically, the electrical junction box 1 is provided with a plurality of heat-generating components, including fuses 51 and relays 53, and the air intake 21 is formed at a position lower than all of the heat-generating components. The air exhaust 44 is formed at a position higher than the air intake 21 and higher than the heat-generating components, fuses 51 and relays 53. More specifically, the electrical junction box 1 is provided with a plurality of heat-generating components, including fuses 51 and relays 53, and the air exhaust 44 is formed at a position higher than all of the heat-generating components.

[0030] In the internal space, gas containing heat generated by the heat-generating components flows upward by convection and is discharged to the outside of the internal space through exhaust port 44. Along with this, outside air is introduced into the internal space through intake port 21. As described above, the outside air introduced into the internal space flows upward together with the heat generated by the heat-generating components and is discharged to the outside of the internal space. As this gas flow continues, heat dissipation from electrical junction box 1 is continuous.

[0031] The layout of the intake port 21 and the exhaust port 44 will be described below.

[0032] To efficiently dissipate heat, it is preferable that the intake port 21, the heat-generating components, and the exhaust port 44 are located in this order from bottom to top. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the heat-generating components are located in the area connecting the intake port 21 and the exhaust port 44 when viewed from the front, resulting in high heat dissipation efficiency. In other words, when the internal space is divided evenly into two, left and right, when viewed from the front, the intake port 21 and the exhaust port 44 are located on the same side, which allows for smooth gas flow and a high heat dissipation effect. However, this layout is one example, and the heat-generating components may be located away from the area connecting the intake port 21 and the exhaust port 44 when viewed from the front.

[0033] In this embodiment, the air intake port 21 is formed at the lower end of the box-shaped body 10. With this configuration, the air intake port 21 also functions as a drain hole. However, the air intake port 21 functioning as a drain hole is just one example, and the air intake port 21 may be located above the lower end of the box-shaped body 10. Furthermore, the exhaust port 44 is formed at a position lower than the upper end of the box-shaped body 10, but may be formed at the upper end of the box-shaped body 10.

[0034] In this embodiment, one intake port 21 is formed, and two exhaust ports 44 are formed. However, multiple intake ports 21 may be formed, and one or three or more exhaust ports 44 may be formed. When multiple intake ports 21 are formed, it is sufficient that at least one intake port 21 satisfies the above-mentioned conditions for the vertical layout (the same applies to exhaust port 44).

[0035] Next, the detailed shapes of the intake port 21 and the exhaust port 44 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0036] In this embodiment, the exhaust port 44 is formed in the holding portion 40. More specifically, a portion of the portion constituting the holding portion 40 is open, and this opening functions as the exhaust port 44. The holding portion 40 is formed on the side surface 12. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the holding portion 40 is formed with a base surface 41, a protrusion 42, an insertion portion 43, and a retaining portion 45. The spare fuse 52 also includes a main body portion 52a and leg portions 52b. The leg portions 52b include portions extending downward from the main body portion 52a.

[0037] The base surface 41 is a surface that serves as a base for attaching the spare fuse 52. The base surface 41 is a portion that is approximately parallel to the side surface 12. The base surface 41 is also a surface that is perpendicular to the insertion direction of the spare fuse 52.

[0038] The protrusion 42 is a portion that protrudes from the base surface 41. In this embodiment, the protrusion 42 is rib-shaped and formed along the surface of the base surface 41, but the protrusion 42 may have a shape other than a rib. As shown in FIG. 4, when the spare fuse 52 is attached to the holder 40, the spare fuse 52 and the protrusion 42 come into contact with each other. Also, a gap is formed between the base surface 41 and the spare fuse 52. By forming a gap between the base surface 41 and the spare fuse 52, the outer surface of the base surface 41 comes into contact with the outside air. Therefore, some of the heat transferred to the inner surface of the base surface 41 can be dissipated.

[0039] Since the spare fuse 52 of this embodiment has the leg portion 52b, a gap is formed between the base surface 41 and the spare fuse 52 regardless of whether the protrusion 42 is present or not. On the other hand, if the spare fuse 52 does not have the leg portion 52b, and if the protrusion 42 is not formed, no gap is formed. As a result, heat is not sufficiently dissipated through the base surface 41. In this regard, by forming the protrusion 42 on the base surface 41, a gap is formed regardless of the shape of the spare fuse 52, and heat is easily dissipated through the base surface 41. The protrusion 42 is not an essential component and can be omitted.

[0040] The insertion portion 43 is the portion into which the spare fuse 52 (particularly the leg portion 52b) is inserted. The insertion portion 43 is a passage-shaped (hole-shaped) portion. Furthermore, the end of the insertion portion 43 on the tip side in the insertion direction (the side closer to the internal space) does not have a surface and is open. In other words, a hole (mouth) that connects the inside and outside of the box-shaped body 10 is formed. This portion is the exhaust port 44.

[0041] 4, leg portion 52b covers only a portion of exhaust port 44. Therefore, even when spare fuse 52 is attached to holder 40, a portion of exhaust port 44 remains open. Therefore, even when spare fuse 52 is attached to holder 40, gas containing heat generated from the heat-generating component can be discharged through exhaust port 44.

[0042] In this embodiment, exhaust ports 44 are formed at positions corresponding to one end and the other end of spare fuse 52. This is just one example, and one exhaust port 44 may be formed in one holding portion 40. Also, exhaust port 44 may be formed in a position different from insertion portion 43 (for example, in base surface 41).

[0043] The retaining portion 45 is deformable in directions toward and away from the holding space that holds the spare fuse 52. When the spare fuse 52 is attached to the holding portion 40, the retaining portion 45 is pressed by the spare fuse 52, causing the retaining portion 45 to deform in a direction away from the holding space. When the spare fuse 52 is attached, the retaining portion 45 returns to its original shape. As described above, the retaining portion 45 functions to prevent the spare fuse 52 from being removed. The retaining portion 45 is not an essential component and can be omitted.

[0044] As described above, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the exhaust port is not shared with another part, and therefore a special area is required to form the exhaust port. As a result, the component mounting efficiency of the electrical junction box (the number of components mounted or the mounted volume per unit volume of the electrical junction box) is likely to be low. For example, a configuration in which the electrical junction box is extended upward to form the exhaust port may be adopted. In contrast, in this embodiment, the exhaust port 44 is formed in the holding portion 40, and therefore a special area for forming the exhaust port 44 is not required. As a result, the mounting efficiency of the electrical junction box 1 is likely to be high.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 5, air intake 21 is formed so as to straddle side surface 12 and bottom surface 13. Air intake 21 is provided with partitions 22 that divide air intake 21 into multiple openings. In this embodiment, two partitions 22 extending vertically are provided, so air intake 21 is divided into three parts on the left and right. The formation of partitions 22 makes it difficult for foreign matter to enter the inside of box-shaped body 10 through air intake 21.

[0046] The foreign object may be, for example, a rod-shaped conductor intended for theft. A rod-shaped conductor may be inserted into the box-shaped body 10, causing the control board inside the box-shaped body 10 to stop functioning, resulting in the theft of the vehicle. Theft-related standards sometimes stipulate a condition that "a rod-shaped object with a square cross-section measuring 1 mm on each side cannot penetrate." The electrical junction box 1 of this embodiment satisfies this condition. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5 , the opening length in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the partition 22 (vertical direction) is referred to as the first opening length L1, and the opening length in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the partition 22 on the opening surface (horizontal direction) is referred to as the second opening length L2. In this embodiment, the second opening length L2 is less than 1 mm. Therefore, a rod-shaped object with a square cross-section measuring 1 mm on each side cannot penetrate into the box-shaped body 10 through the air intake 21. Note that the first opening length L1 may be less than 1 mm instead of or in addition to the second opening length L2.

[0047] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the gap between the holding portion 40 and the spare fuse 52 (specifically, the length from the wall surface of the insertion portion 43 to the spare fuse 52) is also less than 1 mm. Therefore, a rod-shaped object having a cross section of 1 mm on each side cannot enter the inside of the box-shaped body 10 through the exhaust port 44. A rod-shaped object cannot enter the inside of the box-shaped body 10 through any of the openings of the box-shaped body 10. Therefore, resistance to theft can be increased.

[0048] In particular, in this embodiment, the retaining portion 45 and the main body portion 52a are located at a position spaced away from the exhaust port 44 on the opposite side of the insertion direction. Therefore, the retaining portion 45 or the main body portion 52a gets in the way, making it difficult for a straight rod-shaped object to enter the inside of the box-shaped body 10 through the exhaust port 44. From this perspective as well, resistance to theft can be increased.

[0049] The foreign object is not limited to a rod-shaped object having a square cross section with sides of 1 mm, but may be a conductive rod-shaped object of another shape. In this embodiment, the foreign object is assumed to be a rod-shaped object used for theft, but the foreign object may also be garbage or the like. Note that the partition 22 is not an essential component and can be omitted.

[0050] As described above, the electrical junction box 1 of this embodiment includes a box-shaped body 10 and a fuse 51 (and a relay 53, the same applies hereinafter). An internal space is formed in the box-shaped body 10. The fuse 51 is an electric / electronic component housed in the internal space of the box-shaped body 10 and has high heat generation properties. The box-shaped body 10 is formed with an air intake 21 and an exhaust vent 44. When installed in a vehicle, the air intake vent 21 is located at a lower position than the fuse 51. When installed in a vehicle, the exhaust vent 44 is located at a higher position than the air intake 21 and higher than the fuse 51. The exhaust vent 44 is formed in a holder 40 that holds a spare fuse 52.

[0051] As a result, exhaust port 44 is formed in holding portion 40 of spare fuse 52, which tends to improve the efficiency of mounting components compared to a configuration in which exhaust port 44 is formed independently. Also, because spare fuse 52 is disposed in exhaust port 44, foreign matter is less likely to enter the interior of electrical junction box 1 through exhaust port 44.

[0052] In the electrical junction box 1 of this embodiment, the holding portion 40 is formed with a base surface 41 and a protrusion 42 that protrudes from the base surface 41. When the spare fuse 52 is attached to the holding portion 40, a gap is formed between the base surface 41 and the spare fuse 52.

[0053] This allows a gap to be formed between the spare fuse 52 and the base surface 41, allowing heat to be released by utilizing this gap.

[0054] In the electrical junction box 1 of this embodiment, the air intake port 21 is formed at the lower end of the internal space when the box is installed in a vehicle.

[0055] This allows water that has entered the internal space to be drained through the air inlet. Because the air inlet and the drain hole can be shared, the structure of the electrical junction box 1 can be simplified.

[0056] In the electrical junction box 1 of this embodiment, the air intake 21 is divided into a plurality of openings by partitions 22.

[0057] This makes it difficult for foreign matter to enter the interior of the electrical junction box 1 through the air intake 21.

[0058] In the electrical connection box 1 of this embodiment, of the multiple openings of the air intake port 21, at least one of the first opening length L1 in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the partition portion 22 and the second opening length L2 in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the partition portion 22 at the opening surface is less than 1 mm.

[0059] This prevents even a 1 mm square member from entering the interior of the electrical junction box 1 through the air intake 21. This prevents external conductors from entering the box 1 for the purpose of theft, for example.

[0060] In the electrical junction box 1 of this embodiment, the spare fuse 52 has a leg portion 52b and a body portion 52a connected to the leg portion 52b. The holder 40 is formed with an insertion portion 43 into which the leg portion 52b is inserted. An opening formed at the bottom of the insertion portion 43 is an exhaust port 44.

[0061] This allows the configuration including the holding structure for the spare fuse 52 and the exhaust port 44 to be compact.

[0062] The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the above configuration can be modified, for example, as follows. Each modification may be made alone, or multiple modifications may be made in any combination.

[0063] In the above embodiment, the rectangular parallelepiped box-shaped body 10 is arranged so that one of its sides is parallel to the vertical direction. However, this layout is just an example, and the box-shaped body 10 may be arranged so that one of its sides is inclined relative to the vertical direction.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the exhaust ports 44 are formed in all of the holding portions 40, but the exhaust ports 44 may be formed in only some of the holding portions 40.

[0065] After replacing fuse 51 with spare fuse 52, the blown fuse 51 may be held in holding portion 40. In other words, holding portion 40 only needs to be configured to hold at least spare fuse 52, and may be used for other purposes or have other functions.

[0066] In the above embodiment, a spare fuse is disclosed as an example of a maintenance part, but the present invention can also be applied to other maintenance parts. Examples of other maintenance parts include a fuse puller or a relay puller, which are tools used in maintenance work. That is, a holder for holding the fuse puller or relay puller may be formed in the electrical junction box 1, and an exhaust port may be formed in this holder. The present invention can also be applied to replacement parts other than spare fuses. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1 Electrical junction box 10 Box-shaped body 21 Air intake 40 Holding part 44 Exhaust port 51 Fuse (heat generating component) 53 Relay (heat generating component) 52 Spare fuse (maintenance part)

Claims

1. a box-shaped body in which an internal space is formed; a heat-generating electric / electronic component housed in the internal space of the box-shaped body, the heat-generating component being a high-heat-generating component; Equipped with The box-shaped body has: an intake port located lower than the heat-generating component when the device is installed in a vehicle; an exhaust port that is located higher than the intake port and higher than the heat-generating component when the device is installed in a vehicle; is formed, The electrical junction box is characterized in that the exhaust port is formed in a holding portion that holds a maintenance part.

2. 2. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, The holding portion is formed with a base surface and a protruding portion protruding from the base surface, An electrical junction box, characterized in that, when the maintenance component is attached to the holding portion, a gap is formed between the base surface and the maintenance component.

3. 2. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, The electrical junction box is characterized in that the air intake is formed at a lower end of the internal space when the electrical junction box is installed in a vehicle.

4. 4. The electrical connection box according to claim 3, The electrical junction box is characterized in that the air intake is divided into a plurality of openings by partitions.

5. 5. The electrical connection box according to claim 4, An electrical connection box characterized in that, among the multiple openings of the air intake port, at least one of a first opening length in a direction along the longitudinal direction of the partition portion and a second opening length in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the partition portion at the opening surface is less than 1 mm.

6. 2. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, the maintenance part is a spare fuse, the spare fuse has a leg portion and a body portion connected to the leg portion; The holding portion is formed with an insertion portion into which the leg portion is inserted, The electrical junction box is characterized in that the opening formed in the bottom of the insertion portion is an exhaust port.

Images