Bus bar and electrical junction box

Abstract

To provide a bus bar capable of properly achieving improvement in workability of assembly.SOLUTION: The bus bar 1 includes the flat plate-shaped bus bar main body 10 in which the plurality of connecting portions 11 electrically connected to the bus bar 100200 to be connected are provided as the connecting portion 11a and the 11b, the first protrusion 21 provided to protrude from the plate surface 10a on one side of the bus bar main body 10, and the second protrusion 22 provided to protrude from the plate surface 10b on the other side of the bus bar main body 10. The recessed part 12 and the rib 52 are engaged with each other in a normal mounting attitude of being mounted on an electric connection box 50 as an installation object provided with the rib 52 as a projecting part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] As an example of conventional technology relating to bus bars and electrical junction boxes, Patent Document 1 discloses a bus bar that includes a main bus bar formed by punching a conductive metal plate along a circuit pattern and a separate auxiliary bus bar that is laminated and fixed to a portion of the main bus bar that cannot be punched to the required circuit width, and the auxiliary bus bar is welded to the main bus bar to form an integrated unit. The main bus bar is provided with a protrusion for welding. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-50830 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, such bus bars are sometimes formed into a flat plate shape by, for example, punching using a press. However, there is room for further improvement in the configuration of such bus bars to improve the workability of assembly.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a bus bar and an electrical junction box that can appropriately improve the workability of assembly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the busbar of the present invention comprises a flat busbar body provided with a plurality of connection portions for electrically connecting to connection partners, a first protrusion provided to protrude from a plate surface on one side of the busbar body, and a second protrusion provided to protrude from a plate surface on the other side of the busbar body, wherein the busbar body has one of a concave portion or a convex portion, and when the busbar body is in a normal mounting position where it is mounted to an installation object provided with the other of the concave portion or the convex portion, the concave portion and the convex portion engage with each other.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the electrical connection box of the present invention comprises a housing including a rib provided inside, and a bus bar attached to the housing, wherein the bus bar has a flat bus bar body provided with a plurality of connection portions for electrically connecting to connection partners, a first protrusion provided protruding from one plate surface of the bus bar body, and a second protrusion provided protruding from the other plate surface of the bus bar body, and the bus bar body has a recessed portion, and when attached to the housing in a normal attachment position, the recessed portion engages with the rib. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The bus bar and the electrical junction box according to the present invention have the effect of appropriately improving the workability of assembly. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a bus bar according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a bus bar according to the embodiment attached to an electrical junction box in a normal attachment position. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a state in which bus bars according to the embodiment are stacked. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a comparative plan view showing a schematic configuration in which a bus bar without a recessed portion is attached to an electrical junction box. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a comparative diagram showing a schematic configuration in which a bus bar without a recessed portion is attached to an electrical junction box, and is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the cross section taken along line III-III in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Furthermore, the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same.

[0011] [Embodiment] The busbar 1 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has a busbar body 10 formed in the shape of a rectangular flat plate. The busbar body 10 is formed by performing press work such as punching on predetermined locations of a conductive sheet metal material. The busbar body 10 is provided with a plurality of connection portions 11 that electrically connect to the connection partner to which the busbar body 10 is connected. In this embodiment, the busbar body 10 is provided with a connection portion 11a as a first connection portion on one side in the longitudinal direction of the busbar body 10, and a connection portion 11b as a second connection portion on the other side. In this embodiment, the connection portions 11a and 11b are formed as elongated holes that penetrate the busbar body 10 and are long in the longitudinal direction of the busbar body 10.

[0012] The busbar body 10 has a flat one-side plate surface 10a and a flat other-side plate surface 10b opposite the one-side plate surface 10a. The one-side plate surface 10a of the busbar body 10 has a plurality of first protrusions 21 protruding from the one-side plate surface 10a. The other-side plate surface 10b of the busbar body 10 has a plurality of second protrusions 22 protruding from the other-side plate surface 10b (see also FIG. 3 ). Four first protrusions 21 and four second protrusions 22 are provided. The four first protrusions 21 and four second protrusions 22 are arranged so that each of the four first protrusions 21 and the four second protrusions 22 is located at the apex of a rectangle. The first protrusions 21 and the second protrusions 22 can be formed integrally with the busbar body 10 by, for example, press working. The second protrusions 22 are provided so as to overlap the projected area S, as will be described in detail later. The projection area S is the area where the busbar 100 is projected onto the plate surface 10b on the other side of the busbar body 10 when the busbar 100 is connected to the connection portion 11a on the plate surface 10a on one side of the busbar body 10.

[0013] The busbar body 10 has a recess 12 on one edge 10c of the longitudinal edges 10c, 10d of the busbar body 10. The recess 12 is formed as a notch cut from the outside into the edge 10c of the busbar body 10. The recess 12 along the longitudinal direction of the busbar body 10 is located between the first protrusion 21 and the connection portion 11b on the other side. As a result, when assembling the busbar body 10 with the plate surface 10a on one side facing up, for example, the recess 12 is positioned closer to the connection portion 11b where the busbar 200 is connected to the plate surface 10b on the other side of the busbar body 10 than the first protrusion 21, which is easily visible from above, thereby further improving the ease of assembly.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2 , the bus bar 1 can be mounted in a housing 50a of an electrical junction box 50, which is the installation target. The housing 50a of the electrical junction box 50 is generally box-shaped and made of an insulating resin material or the like (not shown), and includes insulating walls such as a top plate, a bottom plate, and side plates on the back and sides. FIG. 2 shows an insulating wall 51 constituting the housing 50a. The insulating wall 51 is provided with a rib 52 as a convex portion that protrudes inward from the housing 50a. The rib 52, together with the insulating wall 51, is formed elongated in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. The bus bar 1 is mounted in the housing 50a of the electrical junction box 50 so that the recessed portion 12 of the bus bar body 10 engages with the rib 52 of the electrical junction box 50. In other words, the bus bar 1 is mounted in the housing 50a of the electrical junction box 50 in a normal mounting position, in which the recessed portion 12 of the bus bar body 10 engages with the rib 52 of the electrical junction box 50.

[0015] The electrical junction box 50 is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and incorporated into a wire harness. The wire harness is a component that bundles together multiple wiring materials used for power supply and signal communication to connect various devices mounted on the vehicle, and the multiple wiring materials W are connected to the devices using connectors or the like. In addition to the above components, the electrical junction box 50 also includes electronic components such as connectors, relays, fuses, capacitors, branching sections, various bus bars, and an electronic control unit, which are all housed in a housing 50a. The electrical junction box 50 is connected between a power source such as a battery and various electronic devices mounted on the vehicle via wiring or the like. The electrical junction box 50 distributes power supplied from the power source to the various electronic devices in the vehicle. The electrical junction box 50 may also be called a junction box, fuse box, relay box, etc., but in this embodiment, these are collectively referred to as an electrical junction box.

[0016] When the busbar 1 is attached to the electrical junction box 50 in the correct attachment position, the connection portion 11a of the busbar 1 is connected to the busbar 100, which serves as a first connection partner. The busbar 100 is made of a conductive sheet metal material and has a substantially rectangular first busbar body 101 and a substantially rectangular second busbar body 102 extending from the other end of the first busbar body 101 perpendicular to the direction in which the first busbar body 101 extends. The busbar 100 has a connection portion 110, which is a circular through-hole, near one end of the first busbar body 101. The busbar 100 has a plate surface 100a on one side of the busbar 100 and a plate surface 100b on the other side. Both the plate surface 100a on the one side and the plate surface 100b on the other side are formed flat. The busbar 1 and busbar 100 are connected by inserting the shaft 31 of the bolt 30 into both the connection portion 11a of the busbar 1 and the connection portion 110 of the busbar 100, and then screwing and tightening a nut 32 onto the shaft 31. The busbar 100 is electrically connected to the busbar 1 by abutting the plate surface 10a on one side of the busbar body 10 with the plate surface 100b on the other side of the busbar 100.

[0017] On the other hand, connection portion 11b of busbar 1 is connected to busbar 200, which serves as a second connection partner. Busbar 200 is made of a conductive sheet metal material and is formed into a substantially rectangular plate. Busbar 200 has connection portion 210, which is a circular through-hole, near one end. Busbar 200 has plate surface 200a on one side of busbar 200 and plate surface 200b on the other side. Both plate surface 200a on one side and plate surface 200b on the other side are formed flat. Busbar 1 and busbar 200 are connected by inserting shank 41 of bolt 40 into both connection portion 11b of busbar 1 and connection portion 210 of busbar 200, and screwing nut 42 onto shank 41 to form a connection. The bus bar 200 is connected to the bus bar 1 by abutting a plate surface 200a on one side of the bus bar 200 against a plate surface 10b on the other side of the bus bar body 10.

[0018] The busbar 1 described above includes a flat busbar body 10 having a plurality of connection portions 11a, 11b for electrically connecting with mating busbars 100, 200, a first protrusion 21 protruding from one plate surface 10a of the busbar body 10, and a second protrusion 22 protruding from the other plate surface 10b of the busbar body 10. The busbar body 10 has a recessed portion 12, and the recessed portion 12 and the rib 52 engage with each other in a normal mounting position when the busbar body 10 is mounted to an electrical junction box 50 having a rib 52 as a protruding portion. The electrical junction box 50 has a housing 50a, and the busbar 1 is mounted within the housing 50a.

[0019] For example, a large number of bus bars 1 are packed in a single shipping box and shipped. According to the bus bar 1 of this embodiment, even when a large number of bus bars 1 are packed in a single box, even when the bus bars 1 are stacked as shown in FIG. 4 , the first protrusions 21 and the second protrusions 22 reduce contact between the flat plate surfaces of the bus bars 1, thereby reducing the likelihood of the bus bars 1 sticking to each other. This reduces the need to peel off the stuck bus bars 1 during installation, thereby improving the efficiency of assembly. Furthermore, the engagement between the recessed portions 12 and the protruding ribs 52 allows the worker to easily recognize the correct installation position, further improving the efficiency of assembly.

[0020] Furthermore, in the normal mounting position of the busbar 1 relative to the electrical junction box 50, when the busbar 100 is connected to the connection portion 11a of the busbar 1 on the plate surface 10a side of the busbar body 10, the busbar 100 does not interfere with the first protrusion 21. Similarly, in the normal mounting position of the busbar 1 relative to the electrical junction box 50, when the busbar 200 is connected to the connection portion 11b of the busbar 1 on the plate surface 10b side of the busbar body 10, the busbar 200 does not interfere with the second protrusion 22.

[0021] If the busbar 1A does not have the recessed portion 12, the misassembly shown in FIG. 5 may occur. That is, the busbar 100 and the busbar 1A are connected to each other at the connection portion 110 of the busbar 100 and the connection portion 11b of the busbar 1A on one plate surface 10a of the busbar body 10. The busbar 200 and the busbar 1A are connected to each other at the connection portion 210 of the busbar 200 and the connection portion 11a of the busbar 1A on the other plate surface 10b of the busbar body 10. The arrangement of the busbar 1A shown in FIG. 5 is equivalent to the busbar 1 in FIG. 2 rotated 180 degrees around an axis perpendicular to the paper surface. If the misassembly shown in FIG. 5 occurs, the busbar 100 will interfere with the first protrusion 21, and the busbar 200 will interfere with the second protrusion 22, as indicated by the "X" marks in FIG. 5. This may result in a loss of electrical connection between bus bar 1A and bus bars 100 and 200. However, with bus bar 1 of this embodiment, an operator can easily recognize the correct installation position in which recessed portion 12 of bus bar body 10 and rib 52 of electrical junction box 50 are engaged, thereby reducing the likelihood of incorrect assembly of bus bar 1 as shown in Figure 5.

[0022] In addition, the other plate surface 10b of the busbar main body 10 has a projection area S as the area where the busbar 100 is projected when the busbar 100 is connected to the connection portion 11a of the busbar main body 10 on the one plate surface 10a side, and the second protrusion 22 is arranged superimposed on the projection area S.

[0023] If the busbar 1A does not have the recessed portion 12, the misassembly shown in FIG. 6 may occur. That is, the busbar 100 and the busbar 1A are connected by connecting portion 110 of the busbar 100 to connecting portion 11a of the busbar 1A from the other plate surface 10b side of the busbar 1A so that the other plate surface 100b of the busbar 100 abuts against the other plate surface 10b of the busbar 1A. The busbar 200 and the busbar 1A are connected by connecting portion 210 of the busbar 200 to connecting portion 11b of the busbar 1A from the one plate surface 10a side of the busbar 1A so that the one plate surface 200a of the busbar 200 abuts against the one plate surface 10a of the busbar 1A. The arrangement of the busbar 1A shown in FIG. 6 is equivalent to the busbar 1 in FIG. 3 turned upside down. If an incorrect assembly such as that shown in Figure 6 occurs, the bus bar 100 will interfere with the second protrusion 22, as indicated by the "X" mark in Figure 6. However, even in this case, with the bus bar 1 of this embodiment, an operator can easily recognize the correct installation position in which the recessed portion 12 of the bus bar body 10 and the rib 52 of the electrical connection box 50 are engaged, thereby reducing the likelihood of incorrect assembly of the bus bar 1 as shown in Figure 6.

[0024] In this way, the bus bars 1 are prevented from sticking together, and the recessed portions 12 engage with the protruding portions, such as the ribs 52, of the electrical junction box 50, allowing the assembly worker to easily recognize the correct installation position. The electrical junction box 50 allows the bus bars 1 to be easily recognized as being installed in the correct installation position, and the ribs 52 serve as reinforcing ribs 52 for the insulating walls 51 of the housing 50a of the electrical junction box 50, thereby increasing the rigidity of the electrical junction box 50.

[0025] The bus bars according to the embodiments of the present invention described above are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0026] In the above description, the busbar 1 includes the recessed portion 12, and the rib 52 of the electrical junction box 50 serves as a protruding portion for engagement. However, for example, a protruding portion may be provided on the busbar 1, and a recessed portion may be provided on the electrical junction box 50. That is, the busbar body 10 of the busbar 1 may have either a recessed portion or a protruding portion, and the installation target (electrical junction box 50) may have the other recessed portion or a protruding portion. Furthermore, the electrical junction box 50 as the installation target of the busbar 1 is merely an example, and the busbar 1 may be installed and assembled to another installation target. Furthermore, the number and arrangement of the first protrusions 21 and the second protrusions 22 may be appropriately determined. In the present embodiment, the first protrusions 21 and the second protrusions 22 are formed integrally with the busbar body 10 by press working, but they may also be formed separately. In the present embodiment, the busbar 1 is connected to the busbars 100 and 200, but this is not limiting and other electrical devices may also be used. Furthermore, regardless of the present embodiment, the bus bar 1 may also be configured to have, for example, three or more connection portions 11 and be electrically connected to three or more connection partners.

[0027] The bus bar according to this embodiment may be configured by appropriately combining the components of the above-described embodiment and modified examples. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1,1A: Bus bar 10: Busbar body 10a: One side of the board 10b: Other side of the plate 11: Connection part 11a: Connection part (first connection part) 11b: Connection part (second connection part) 12: Concave part 21: 1st protrusion 22:Second protrusion 50: Electrical junction box (installation target) 50a: Cabinet 52: Rib (convex part) 100: Bus bar (first connection partner) 110: Connection part 200: Bus bar (second connection partner) 210: Connection part S: Projection area

Claims

1. a flat busbar body provided with a plurality of connection portions electrically connected to connection partners; a first projection provided to protrude from a plate surface on one side of the bus bar main body; a second projection provided to protrude from the other plate surface of the bus bar main body; Equipped with the busbar body has one of a concave portion and a convex portion, In a normal mounting position in which the other of the concave portion or the convex portion is mounted to an installation object provided with the concave portion and the convex portion engage with each other. Bus bar.

2. In the normal mounting position, the first connection partner does not interfere with the first protrusion when connected to the first connection portion on the one plate surface side, the second connection partner does not interfere with the second protrusion when connected to the second connection portion on the other plate surface side; The bus bar according to claim 1 .

3. the other-side plate surface has a projection area as an area onto which the first connection partner is projected when the first connection partner is connected to the first connection portion on the one-side plate surface side, The second protrusion is provided so as to overlap the projection area. The bus bar according to claim 1 or 2.

4. a housing including a rib provided therein; a bus bar attached to the housing; Equipped with The bus bar has a flat bus bar body provided with a plurality of connection portions for electrically connecting to connection partners, a first protrusion provided to protrude from a plate surface on one side of the bus bar body, and a second protrusion provided to protrude from a plate surface on the other side of the bus bar body, the bus bar body has a recessed portion, When the electrical junction box is attached to the housing in a normal mounting position, the recessed portion and the rib are engaged with each other.

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