Box-shaped body, and electric connection box

Abstract

To provide a box-shaped body which can be miniaturized by effectively using an internal space.SOLUTION: A box-shaped body 1 comprises: a case 10 having a cylindrical peripheral wall 11; and a cover 20 attached to the peripheral wall 11 to cover an opening end of the case 10. The case 10 comprises: a component fitting part 15 in which an electronic component 3 to be accommodated in an internal space of the peripheral wall 11 can be fitted; and a recess 17 provided at an edge part on an opening end side of the peripheral wall 11 and having a concaved shape formed by cutting off a part of the edge part. The cover 20 covers the recess 17 so that the recess 17 is not exposed to the outside when the cover is attached to the case 10. The peripheral wall 11 of the case 10 has multi-layered wall structure comprising an inside wall 12 and an outside wall 13 and the recess 17 is provided on the inside wall 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a box-shaped body including a case having a cylindrical peripheral wall and a cover attached to the peripheral wall so as to cover an open end of the case, and to an electrical junction box. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there have been proposed box-shaped bodies configured by assembling a plurality of components together, such as an electrical connection box (e.g., a relay box) mounted on a vehicle. For example, one conventional electrical connection box has a main body case having a component fitting portion into which electronic components are fitted, and a cover that is assembled to the main body case (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-182314 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Depending on the specifications of the vehicle in which the electrical junction box is to be installed, some component fitting portions of the main case may be left blank during the manufacturing process of the electrical junction box, with no electronic components installed. For example, these blank portions are used to install electronic components (e.g., semiconductor power integration (P / I) for driving loads) that are compatible with the vehicle's specifications, either during the installation process of the electrical junction box or during the preparation process. In this case, connector-equipped electric wires to be connected to the installed electronic components are typically pre-installed in the electrical junction box prior to the installation of the electronic components (i.e., during the manufacturing process of the electrical junction box). For example, a dedicated connector temporary-locking portion is provided in the electrical junction box, and the connector-equipped electric wires to be installed later are temporarily locked in this connector temporary-locking portion during the manufacturing process of the electrical junction box. However, when a connector-equipped electric wire is temporarily locked in the electrical junction box in this manner, the provision of the dedicated connector temporary-locking portion in the main case reduces the internal space of the main case that can be used to house the electronic components, or increases the size of the main case. From the viewpoint of both making effective use of the internal space of the electrical junction box and reducing the size of the electrical junction box, there is room for improvement in the structure for temporarily holding an electric wire with a connector for retrofitting in the electrical junction box. As can be understood from the above explanation, there is room for similar improvement not only in electrical junction boxes but also in box-shaped structures that house electronic components.

[0005] One object of the present invention is to provide a box-shaped body and an electrical junction box that can be made compact by effectively utilizing the internal space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the box-shaped body and the electrical junction box according to the present invention have the following features.

[0007] A box-shaped body comprising a case having a cylindrical peripheral wall and a cover attached to the peripheral wall so as to cover an open end of the case, The case is a component fitting portion into which an electronic component to be accommodated in the internal space of the peripheral wall can be fitted, and a recessed portion provided on an edge portion of the peripheral wall on the opening end side and having a recessed shape formed by cutting out a part of the edge portion, The cover is When the cover is attached to the case, the cover covers the recessed portion so that the recessed portion is not exposed to the outside. It is box-shaped.

[0008] An electrical connection box including the box-shaped body described above and a connector-equipped electric wire that is drawn from the component fitting portion of the case to the outside of the component fitting portion, The connector-attached electric wire is The battery is engaged with the case by being sandwiched between the recessed portion and the protruding portion of the case. It must be an electrical junction box. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the box-shaped body and electrical junction box of the present invention, the case is provided with a component fitting portion into which an electronic component can be fitted, and a recessed portion formed on the edge of the peripheral wall of the case near the open end and having a recessed shape with a portion of the edge notched. Therefore, for example, the wire portion of a retrofitted connector-attached electric wire can be press-fitted into the recessed portion of the case, temporarily holding the connector-attached electric wire in the box-shaped body. This holding structure using the recessed portion utilizes the peripheral wall of the box-shaped body, and therefore occupies less space than conventional dedicated connector temporary locking portions. Furthermore, even if a recessed portion is provided in the peripheral wall of the box-shaped body, by attaching a cover to the case, the recessed portion is covered and not exposed to the outside. Therefore, the original function of the peripheral wall, such as waterproofing, is not impaired. Furthermore, by projecting the connector portion of the connector-attached electric wire outside the peripheral wall, the retrofitted connector-attached electric wire is less likely to interfere with quality inspections of the box-shaped body or electrical junction box using images of the inside of the peripheral wall of the box-shaped body. Therefore, the box-shaped body and the electrical junction box of the present invention can be made smaller by effectively utilizing the internal space.

[0010] The present invention has been briefly described above. The details of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of the invention set forth below, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a box-shaped body according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. [Figure 3] 3 is a side view of part A in FIG. 1 as seen from the thickness direction of the peripheral wall of the main body case. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing how the connector-equipped electric wires drawn out from the main body case are connected to an electronic component to be retrofitted. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing how an after-installation electronic component to which a connector-equipped electric wire is connected is fitted into a component fitting portion of the main body case. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing how the upper cover is attached to the main body case in which the retrofit electronic component is fitted into the component fitting portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] <Embodiment> Hereinafter, a box-shaped body 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 6 will be described with reference to the drawings. The box-shaped body 1 is typically a relay box (electrical junction box) that is attached to the frame of a vehicle or the like and houses electronic components such as relays. The box-shaped body 1 and a connector-equipped electric wire 4 (see Figs. 2 and 4) described below constitute an electrical junction box 7 (see Figs. 2 and 6) of the present invention.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the box-shaped body 1 is a box-shaped body configured to include a main body case 10 in which electronic components such as relays (and other components, not shown) are housed, an upper cover 20 attached to the upper end of the main body case 10 so as to close the upper opening (opening end) of the main body case 10, and a lower cover 30 attached to the lower end of the main body case 10 so as to close the lower opening (opening end) of the main body case 10. Each of the main body case 10, the upper cover 20, and the lower cover 30 is a resin molded body. The main body case 10 corresponds to the "case" of the present invention, and the upper cover 20 corresponds to the "cover" of the present invention.

[0014] For ease of explanation, the following definitions are used: the direction of the box-shaped body 1 in the vehicle-mounted position corresponding to the vertical direction of the vehicle is the "vertical direction," the circumferential direction of a peripheral wall 11 (described later) of the main body case 10 is the "circumferential direction," and the thickness direction of the peripheral wall 11 is the "inner-outer direction." The "vertical direction," "circumferential direction," and "inner-outer direction" are perpendicular to each other (see FIG. 2). The "inner" and "outer" in the "inner-outer direction" correspond to the interior and exterior sides of the box-shaped body 1, respectively. Note that the "vertical direction" is defined merely for ease of explanation and does not necessarily correspond to the vertical direction of the vehicle when the box-shaped body 1 is mounted on the vehicle. For example, the box-shaped body 1 may be used with the upper cover 20 positioned on the lower side or with the lower cover 30 positioned on the upper side. The main body case 10 and upper cover 20 constituting the box-shaped body 1 will be described in detail below.

[0015] First, the main body case 10 will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the main body case 10 has a cylindrical peripheral wall 11 that is generally L-shaped when viewed from the top and bottom and extends in the up-down direction. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the peripheral wall 11 has a so-called two-layer wall structure that includes an inner wall 12 and an outer wall 13 that is spaced apart from the inner wall 12 and positioned outside the inner wall 12, all around the circumferential direction. As shown in Fig. 1, the internal space of the main body case 10 defined by the peripheral wall 11 is provided with a plurality of housing sections 14 for housing electronic components 2 (and other components) such as relays. The electronic components 2 are housed in the housing sections 14 during the manufacturing process of the box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7).

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the internal space of the main body case 10 defined by the peripheral wall 11 is further provided with a single component fitting portion 15 for fitting an electronic component 3 to be installed later. In this example, the electronic component 3 is an electronic component (for example, a semiconductor power integration for driving a load, a so-called P / I) that corresponds to the specifications of the vehicle. The electronic component 3 is not fitted into the component fitting portion 15 during the manufacturing stage of the box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7), but is later fitted into the component fitting portion 15 (see FIG. 1) during the subsequent stage of mounting the box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7) on the vehicle or during preparation for mounting. Therefore, during the manufacturing stage of the box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7), the component fitting portion 15 is a blank portion (see FIG. 1).

[0017] 2, the component fitting portion 15 is specifically configured with a substantially rectangular cylindrical wall 16 extending in the vertical direction, and the electronic component 3 is fitted into the internal space defined by the cylindrical wall 16. A circumferential portion of the cylindrical wall 16 is configured with a circumferential portion of the inner wall 12 that constitutes the peripheral wall 11.

[0018] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a portion of the peripheral wall 11 located near one corner of the substantially rectangular cylindrical wall 16 has a recessed portion 17 formed by cutting out a portion of the upper edge of the inner wall 12. In this example, the recessed portion 17 has a semicircular recessed shape, but it may have a slit-like recessed shape narrow enough to allow the electric wire 5 of the terminal-attached electric wire 4 to be press-fitted. In the portion of the peripheral wall 11 where the recessed portion 17 is provided, the position of the bottom (lower end portion) of the recessed portion 17 and the position of the upper edge of the outer wall 13 are approximately aligned in the vertical direction (see Figure 3). A protrusion 18 extends from the one corner of the cylindrical wall 16 along the peripheral wall 11 so as to face the recessed portion 17 (the upper end opening) with a gap in the vertical direction when viewed in the thickness direction of the peripheral wall 11. As described above, the recessed portion 17 is provided in the inner wall 12, and therefore the provision of the recessed portion 17 does not affect the waterproofing or other functions of the outer wall 13. However, from the viewpoint of improving the waterproofing of the box-shaped body 1, it is preferable to provide the recessed portion 17 at a circumferential position on the peripheral wall 11 where the possibility of the box-shaped body 1 being wetted is relatively low when the box-shaped body 1 is mounted on a vehicle.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, a connector-equipped electric wire 4 to be connected to an electronic component 3 is drawn from inside the main body case 10 to the outside of the component fitting portion 15 through an internal space defined by a cylindrical wall 16 of the component fitting portion 15. The connector-equipped electric wire 4 is composed of an electric wire 5 and a connector 6 connected to an end of the electric wire 5. The number of connector-equipped electric wires 4 drawn from the component fitting portion 15 to the outside of the component fitting portion 15 may be one or more. Fig. 2 shows an example in which one connector-equipped electric wire 4 is drawn, and Fig. 4 shows another example in which four connector-equipped electric wires 4 are drawn.

[0020] At the manufacturing stage of the box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7), there is no connection target (i.e., electronic component 3 to be installed later) for the connector-attached electric wire 4. Therefore, at the manufacturing stage of the box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7), as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the electric wire 5 located near the connector 6 of the connector-attached electric wire 4 is sandwiched between the recessed portion 17 and the protruding portion 18, thereby temporarily holding the connector-attached electric wire 4 in the box-shaped body 1. When multiple connector-attached electric wires 4 are pulled out from the component fitting portion 15, a bundle of multiple electric wires 5 that each of the multiple connector-attached electric wires 4 has is sandwiched between the recessed portion 17 and the protruding portion 18. When the connector-attached electric wires 4 are temporarily held in the box-shaped body 1 in this manner, the connectors 6 of the connector-attached electric wires 4 are positioned outside the peripheral wall 11 (see FIG. 2 ).

[0021] 1, the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 11 (outer wall 13) is provided with engaged portions 19 at multiple locations (three locations in this example) in the circumferential direction. When the main body case 10 and the upper cover 20 are completely assembled (see FIG. 6), the engaged portions 19 will engage with multiple engaging portions 23 (described later) of the upper cover 20 (see FIG. 6).

[0022] Next, the upper cover 20 will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the upper cover 20 integrally comprises a cylindrical peripheral wall 21 that extends in the vertical direction and has a substantially L-shape when viewed from the vertical direction corresponding to the peripheral wall 11 of the main body case 10, and a bottom wall portion 22 that closes the upper end opening (open end) of the peripheral wall 21. On the outer surface of the peripheral wall 21, engaging portions 23 are provided at multiple locations (three locations in this example) in the circumferential direction corresponding to the multiple engaged portions 19 of the main body case 10. The main body case 10 and the upper cover 20 that constitute the box-shaped body 1 have been described above.

[0023] The box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7) after completion of manufacturing and in which the connector-attached electric wires 4 are temporarily held is then mounted on a vehicle. At the stage of mounting the box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7) on a vehicle or in preparation for mounting, electronic components 3 corresponding to the vehicle specifications are prepared, and then, with the upper cover 20 separated from the main body case 10, the temporary holding of the connector-attached electric wires 4 is released and the electronic components 3 and the connectors 6 of the connector-attached electric wires 4 are connected (see FIG. 4). Next, the electronic components 3 are fitted into the component fitting portion 15 of the box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7) (see FIG. 5).

[0024] Next, the upper cover 20 is assembled to the main body case 10 (see FIG. 6). To assemble the main body case 10 and the upper cover 20, first, the main body case 10 and the upper cover 20 are positioned so that the main body case 10 is positioned below the upper cover 20. Next, the main body case 10 and the upper cover 20 are brought closer together in the vertical direction, and the upper edge of the peripheral wall 11 of the main body case 10 is fitted with the lower edge of the peripheral wall 21 of the upper cover 20. This fitting is carried out so that the lower edge of the peripheral wall 21 is positioned outside the upper edge of the peripheral wall 11 (outer wall 13) (i.e., so that the lower edge of the peripheral wall 21 covers the upper edge of the peripheral wall 11 (outer wall 13)), and so that the multiple engaged portions 19 and the multiple engaging portions 23 are engaged with each other. When the main body case 10 and the upper cover 20 are completely assembled (see FIG. 6), the engaged portions 19 and the engaging portions 23 are locked together, preventing the main body case 10 and the upper cover 20 from separating in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the lower edge of the peripheral wall 21 of the upper cover 20 covers the upper edge of the peripheral wall 11 (outer wall 13) of the main body case 10, so the recessed portion 17 of the main body case 10 is covered by the upper cover 20 and is not exposed to the outside. As a result, the provision of the recessed portion 17 does not reduce the waterproofness of the box-shaped body 1.

[0025] <Actions and Effects> As described above, according to the box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7) of this embodiment, the main body case 10 is provided with a component fitting portion 15 into which the electronic component 3 can be fitted, a recessed portion 17 provided on the edge (upper edge) of the peripheral wall 11 of the main body case 10 on the opening end side and having a concave shape with a portion of the edge cut out, and a protrusion 18 extending from the component fitting portion 15 so as to face the recessed portion 17 when viewed in the thickness direction of the peripheral wall 11 of the main body case 10. Therefore, for example, by sandwiching the electric wire 5 of a retrofit connector-attached electric wire 4 between the recessed portion 17 and the protrusion 18 of the main body case 10, the connector-attached electric wire 4 can be temporarily held in the box-shaped body 1. This holding structure using the recessed portion 17 and the protrusion 18 utilizes the peripheral wall 11 of the box-shaped body 1 and therefore occupies less space than a conventional dedicated connector temporary locking portion. The connector-attached electric wire 4 may be temporarily held in the box-shaped body 1 by press-fitting the electric wire 5 into the recessed portion 17 without providing the protrusion 18. Furthermore, even if the recessed portion 17 is provided in the peripheral wall 11 of the box-shaped body 1, by attaching the upper cover 20 to the main body case 10, the recessed portion 17 is covered by the upper cover 20 and is not exposed to the outside. Furthermore, by projecting the connector 6 portion of the connector-attached electric wire 4 outside the peripheral wall 11, when quality inspection of the box-shaped body 1 or the electrical junction box 7 is performed using an image of the inside of the peripheral wall 11 of the box-shaped body 1 taken from above, the retrofitted connector-attached electric wire 4 is less likely to interfere with the quality inspection. Therefore, the original functions of the peripheral wall, such as waterproofing, are not impaired. Therefore, the box-shaped body 1 (electrical junction box 7) according to this embodiment can be made smaller by effectively utilizing the internal space.

[0026] Furthermore, the peripheral wall 11 of the main body case 10 has a multi-layer wall structure including an inner wall 12 and an outer wall 13, and the recessed portion 17 is provided in the inner wall 12. As a result, by providing the recessed portion 17 in the inner wall 12, it is possible to temporarily hold the connector-equipped electric wire 4 for later installation without affecting the waterproofing function of the outer wall 13.

[0027] <Other aspects> It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be adopted within the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, etc. are possible as appropriate. Furthermore, the material, shape, dimensions, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary as long as they can achieve the present invention, and are not limited thereto.

[0028] Here, the features of the box-shaped body 1 and the electrical junction box 7 according to the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [4].

[0029] [1] A box-shaped body (1) comprising a case (10) having a cylindrical peripheral wall (11) and a cover (20) attached to the peripheral wall (11) so as to cover an open end of the case (10), The case (10) is a component fitting portion (15) into which an electronic component (3) to be accommodated in the internal space of the peripheral wall (11) can be fitted, and a recessed portion (17) provided on the edge portion of the peripheral wall (11) on the opening end side and having a recessed shape with a part of the edge portion cut out, The cover (20) is When the cover (20) is attached to the case (10), the cover (20) covers the recessed portion (17) so that the recessed portion (17) is not exposed to the outside. Box (1).

[0030] According to the box-shaped body having the configuration [1] above, the case is provided with a component fitting portion into which an electronic component can be fitted, and a recessed portion formed on the edge of the peripheral wall of the case, with a recessed shape formed by partially cutting out the edge. For example, the wire portion of a retrofitted connector-attached electric wire can be press-fitted into the recessed portion of the case to temporarily hold the connector-attached electric wire in the box-shaped body. This holding structure using the recessed portion utilizes the peripheral wall of the box-shaped body, thereby occupying less space than conventional dedicated connector temporary locking portions. Furthermore, even if a recessed portion is provided in the peripheral wall of the box-shaped body, by attaching a cover to the case, the recessed portion is covered and not exposed to the outside. Therefore, the original function of the peripheral wall, such as waterproofing, is not impaired. Furthermore, by projecting the connector portion of the connector-attached electric wire outside the peripheral wall, the retrofitted connector-attached electric wire is less likely to interfere with quality inspections of the box-shaped body or electrical junction box using images of the inside of the peripheral wall of the box-shaped body. Therefore, the box-shaped body of this configuration can be made smaller by effectively utilizing the internal space.

[0031] [2] In the box-shaped body (1) described in [1] above, The case (10) is a protrusion (18) extending from the part fitting portion (15) so as to face the recessed portion (17) when viewed from the thickness direction of the peripheral wall (11); Box (1).

[0032] According to the box-shaped body having the configuration [2] above, the wire portion of the connector-equipped wire to be attached can be clamped between the recessed portion and the protruding portion of the case, thereby making it possible to temporarily hold the connector-equipped wire in the box-shaped body more firmly.

[0033] [3] In the box-shaped body (1) described in [1] above, The peripheral wall (11) of the case (10) is It has a multi-layer wall structure including an inner wall (12) and an outer wall (13), The recessed portion (17) is Provided on the inner wall (12), Box (1).

[0034] According to the box-shaped body having the configuration [3] above, the peripheral wall of the case has a multi-layered structure including an inner wall and an outer wall, and the recess is provided in the inner wall. This allows the recess to temporarily hold a connector-equipped electric wire for retrofitting without affecting the waterproofing function of the outer wall.

[0035] [4] An electric connection box (7) comprising the box-shaped body (1) according to any one of [1] to [3] above, and a connector-equipped electric wire (4) drawn out from the component fitting portion (15) of the case (10) to the outside of the component fitting portion (15), The connector-equipped electric wire (4) is The device is placed in the recess (17) of the case (10) and is thereby locked to the case (10). Electrical junction box (7).

[0036] According to the electrical junction box having the configuration [4] above, the case is provided with a component fitting portion into which an electronic component can be fitted, and a recessed portion formed on the edge of the peripheral wall of the case, with a recessed shape formed by partially cutting out the edge. For example, the wire portion of a retrofitted connector-attached electric wire can be press-fitted into the recessed portion of the case to temporarily hold the connector-attached electric wire in the box-shaped body. This holding structure using the recessed portion utilizes the peripheral wall of the box-shaped body, and therefore occupies less space than a conventional dedicated connector temporary locking portion. Furthermore, even if a recessed portion is provided in the peripheral wall of the box-shaped body, by attaching a cover to the case, the recessed portion is covered and not exposed to the outside. Therefore, the original function of the peripheral wall, such as waterproofing, is not impaired. Furthermore, by projecting the connector portion of the connector-attached electric wire outside the peripheral wall, the retrofitted connector-attached electric wire is less likely to interfere with quality inspections of the box-shaped body or electrical junction box using images of the inside of the peripheral wall of the box-shaped body. Therefore, the electrical junction box of this configuration can be made smaller by effectively utilizing the internal space. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1 Box-shaped body 3. Electronic Components 4. Wires with connectors 7 Electrical junction box 10 Main unit case (case) 11 Peripheral wall 12 Inner wall 13 Outer wall 15 Part fitting section 17 Recess 18 Protrusion 20 Upper cover (cover)

Claims

1. A box-shaped body comprising a case having a cylindrical peripheral wall and a cover attached to the peripheral wall so as to cover an open end of the case, The case is a component fitting portion into which an electronic component to be accommodated in the internal space of the peripheral wall can be fitted, and a recessed portion provided on an edge portion of the peripheral wall on the opening end side and having a recessed shape formed by cutting out a part of the edge portion, The cover is When the cover is attached to the case, the cover covers the recessed portion so that the recessed portion is not exposed to the outside. Box-shaped body.

2. The box-shaped body according to claim 1, The case is a protrusion extending from the component fitting portion so as to face the recess portion when viewed from the thickness direction of the peripheral wall; Box-shaped body.

3. The box-shaped body according to claim 1, The peripheral wall of the case is a multi-layer wall structure including an inner wall and an outer wall; The recessed portion is provided on the inner wall, Box-shaped body.

4. An electrical connection box comprising: the box-shaped body according to any one of claims 1 to 3; and a connector-equipped electric wire that is drawn from the component fitting portion of the case to the outside of the component fitting portion, The connector-attached electric wire comprises: The device is placed in the recess of the case and is thereby locked to the case. Electrical junction box.

Images