Electrical Junction Box

Abstract

To enhance workability during assembly.SOLUTION: An electric connection box A includes a base member 10 to which an electric component 66 is attached, and a pair of left and right side wall members 40 that can be attached to and detached from the base member 10. The base member 10 and the pair of side wall members 40 form a component storage chamber 65 having an opened upper surface, the electric component 66 attached to the base member 10 is accommodated in the component storage chamber 65, and the side surface of the component storage chamber 65 is opened in a state where the side wall member 40 is detached from the base member 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which a cutoff element is attached in a cutoff element accommodating section formed in a junction box body. The cutoff element accommodating section is a space that is open on the upper surface of the junction box body, and the cutoff element is fitted into the cutoff element accommodating section from above the junction box body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-002441 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-described structure, the peripheral wall of the interrupting element accommodating portion surrounds the electrical component from the front, rear, left, and right sides, so that when the interrupting element is picked up with fingers and attached to the interrupting element accommodating portion, there is a risk that the fingers gripping the interrupting element may interfere with the peripheral wall.

[0005] The electrical junction box of the present disclosure has been completed in view of the above circumstances, and aims to improve the ease of assembly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The electrical connection box of the present disclosure comprises: A base member on which electrical components are mounted; a pair of left and right side wall members that are detachable from the base member; a component receiving chamber having an open upper surface is formed by the base member and the pair of side wall members, The electrical component attached to the base member is accommodated in the component accommodation chamber, When the side wall member is detached from the base member, the side surface of the component housing chamber is open.

[0007] It is. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the workability during assembly. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical junction box according to a first embodiment, as viewed obliquely from above and from the front. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electrical junction box as viewed obliquely from above and behind. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the electrical junction box separated into a base member and a side wall member, as viewed obliquely from above and from the front. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the electrical junction box separated into a base member and a side wall member, as viewed obliquely from above and rear. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing how an electric component is attached to a base member from above, as viewed obliquely from above and in front. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the side wall member separated into a side wall main body and a bus bar, as viewed obliquely from below and from the front. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] [Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. The electrical connection box of the present disclosure comprises: (1) A base member on which an electric component is attached and a pair of left and right sidewall members that can be attached to and detached from the base member are provided, and a component storage chamber with an open top is formed by the base member and the electric component attached to the base member is stored in the component storage chamber, and when the sidewall members are removed from the base member, the side of the component storage chamber is opened. According to the present disclosure, if the sidewall members are removed from the base member when attaching the electric component to the base member, the sidewall members do not get in the way. Therefore, the workability during assembly can be improved.

[0011] (2) It is preferable that a connecting member is attached to the base member, a bus bar is attached to the side wall member, and a direction in which the side wall member is attached to the base member is the same as a direction in which the bus bar is attached to the connecting member. With this configuration, the connecting member and the bus bar can be connected by attaching the side wall member to the base member.

[0012] (3) In (2), it is preferable that the connecting member is disposed at the front end of the base member, the connecting member and the bus bar are fixed by a fastening member, and an elastic locking portion is formed at the rear end of the base member for elastically locking with the sidewall member to hold the sidewall member in an assembled state. According to this configuration, the sidewall member is held by the base member at two locations, the front and rear ends of the base member, so that the assembled state of the base member and the sidewall member is stable. Since the fastening work using the fastening member needs to be performed only at the front end of the base member, workability is improved compared to the case where the fastening member is fastened at both the front and rear ends.

[0013] (4) It is preferable that the base member is provided with a separation restriction portion that restricts the sidewall member from separating laterally from the base member. According to this configuration, the sidewall member is restricted from separating from the base member by the separation restriction portion, so that the base member and the sidewall member can be maintained in a stable assembled state.

[0014] [Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure] [Example 1] A first embodiment of the electrical junction box of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6. The present invention is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. In this first embodiment, the front is defined as the diagonally lower left in Figs. 1, 3, and 5, and the diagonally upper left in Figs. 2 and 4, with respect to the front and rear directions of the electrical junction box A. The up and down directions are defined as the directions shown in Figs. 1 to 5.

[0015] <Outline of Electrical Junction Box A> As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the electrical junction box A of the first embodiment includes a base member 10 and a pair of symmetrical side wall members 40 which are separate members from the base member 10. The pair of side wall members 40 are assembled to the base member 10 so as to sandwich the base member 10 from the left and right. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the electrical junction box A has a component receiving chamber 65 defined by the base member 10 and the pair of side wall members 40. The component receiving chamber 65 is open to the top surface of the electrical junction box A. A plurality of electrical components 66 such as fusible links are accommodated in the component receiving chamber 65.

[0016] 1 to 5, a pair of left and right front fitting portions 29 are formed at the front end of the base member 10, and a pair of left and right rear fitting portions 15 are formed at the rear end of the base member 10. As shown in Figures 3, 4, and 6, a pair of left and right front fitting portions 42 are formed at the front end of the sidewall member 40, and a pair of left and right rear fitting portions 44 are formed at the rear end of the sidewall member 40. The base member 10 and the sidewall member 40 are held in an assembled state by the fitting of the front fitting portions 29 with the front fitting portions 42 and the fitting of the rear fitting portions 15 with the rear fitting portions 44.

[0017] <Base member 10> The base member 10 includes a synthetic resin holding member 11, a synthetic resin terminal block 25 which is a separate part from the holding member 11, and a pair of symmetrical metal plates 31. As shown in Figs. 3 to 5, the holding member 11 is a single part having a rectangular body portion 12 with its long sides facing the front-rear direction, a front plate portion 13 extending upward from the front edge of the body portion 12, and a rear plate portion 14 extending upward from the rear edge of the body portion 12. A space surrounded by the upper surface of the body portion 12, the rear surface of the front plate portion 13, and the front surface of the rear plate portion 14 functions as a component storage chamber 65. When the sidewall member 40 is not attached to the base member 10, the component storage chamber 65 is open to the outside of the base member 10 at the upper surface of the base member 10 and both the left and right side surfaces of the base member 10.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of symmetrical rear fitting parts 15 are formed on both left and right ends of the rear plate part 14. The rear fitting part 15 has a plate-shaped elastic locking part 16 whose plate thickness direction faces the front-rear direction, and a plate-shaped regulating part 17 whose plate thickness direction faces the left-right direction. A locking hole 18 is formed on the rear surface of the elastic locking part 16. The side edge of the elastic locking part 16 and the rear edge of the plate-shaped regulating part 17 are connected at a right angle. The lower edge of the elastic locking part 16 and the lower edge of the plate-shaped regulating part 17 are connected to the outer surface of the lower end part of the main body part 12 via a reinforcing part 19. The space surrounded by the main body part 12, the elastic locking part 16, and the plate-shaped regulating part 17 functions as a guide groove 20 that is open forward and upward.

[0019] The terminal block 25 is a single component having a support plate portion 26 whose thickness direction is oriented in the front-rear direction and a receiving plate portion 27 whose thickness direction is oriented in the up-down direction. The receiving plate portion 27 is formed with a bolt hole (not shown) penetrating vertically. As shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the terminal block 25 is attached to the holding member 11 in a state in which it covers the front surface of the front plate portion 13. A pair of left and right accommodation spaces 28 are formed between the front plate portion 13 of the holding member 11 and the support plate portion 26 of the terminal block 25. The upper end of the accommodation space 28 is opened in the form of a slit in the left-right direction toward the front of the base member 10. A pair of left and right front fitting portions 29 are formed symmetrically on both left and right ends of the terminal block 25. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a groove portion 30 is formed in the up-down direction on the rear surface of the front fitting portion 29. The upper end of the groove portion 30 is opened to the upper surface of the terminal block 25.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 5, the plate 31 is a single part formed by bending a long and narrow metal plate. The plate 31 has a plate-shaped power supply part 32 and a plate-shaped mounting part 33 that are connected at right angles to each other. The plate-shaped power supply part 32 is flat with its thickness direction facing the front-rear direction. The plate-shaped mounting part 33 is flat with its thickness direction facing the up-down direction and extends forward from the upper end edge of the plate-shaped power supply part 32. The plate-shaped mounting part 33 has a mounting hole 34 that penetrates in the up-down direction. The plate 31 is assembled to the base member 10 with the plate-shaped power supply part 32 accommodated in the accommodation space 28 and the plate-shaped mounting part 33 exposed to the outside of the accommodation space 28 and placed on the receiving plate part 27. The plate-shaped power supply part 32 is adapted to be connected to a power supply terminal (not shown) that is connected to a battery (not shown).

[0021] <Side wall member 40> The sidewall member 40 is configured by assembling a sidewall main body 41 made of synthetic resin and a bus bar 52 made of metal. The sidewall main body 41 is a single component that is elongated in the front-rear direction in a plan view and has a wall thickness direction oriented in the left-right direction. As shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6, a lower portion of the front edge of the sidewall main body 41 functions as a front fitting portion 42. A stopper 43 that protrudes forward in a stepped shape is formed at the upper end of the front fitting portion 42. A lower portion of the rear edge of the sidewall main body 41 functions as a rear fitting portion 44. A locking projection 45 is formed on the rear end surface of the sidewall main body 41.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 6, a busbar accommodating chamber 46 is formed inside the sidewall main body 41. The busbar accommodating chamber 46 is a narrow space whose left-right dimension is smaller than its front-rear and up-down dimensions. The lower end of the busbar accommodating chamber 46 opens in a slit shape as a busbar attachment port 47 on the lower surface of the sidewall main body 41. A wide widened portion 48 is formed on the upper end of the sidewall main body 41. Within the widened portion 48, a plurality of fuse accommodating chambers 49 are formed so as to be aligned in a line in the front-rear direction and open on the upper surface of the sidewall main body 41. The plurality of fuse accommodating chambers 49 are in communication with the busbar accommodating chamber 46. In a region of the widened portion 48 below the fuse accommodating chamber 49, a plurality of cavities 50 are formed so as to be aligned in a line in the front-rear direction.

[0023] The busbar 52 is a single component made of a metal plate material that is punched into a predetermined shape and then bent. As shown in FIG. 6, the busbar 52 has one substrate portion 53, one heat sink portion 54, one connection plate portion 55, and a plurality of tabs 58. The substrate portion 53 and the heat sink portion 54 are rectangular flat plates with their plate thicknesses facing the left-right direction. The heat sink portion 54 extends from the lower edge of the substrate portion 53 so as to overlap with the inner surface of the substrate portion 53. The connection plate portion 55 protrudes horizontally inward from the upper edge of the support portion 56 at the front end of the substrate portion 53. The connection plate portion 55 has a through hole 57 that penetrates in the vertical direction. The plurality of tabs 58 protrude upward from the upper edge of the substrate portion 53 and are arranged in a line at intervals in the front-rear direction.

[0024] The busbar 52 is attached to the sidewall main body 41 with the board portion 53, heat sink portion 54, and tab 58 accommodated in the busbar accommodating chamber 46 through the busbar attachment opening 47. The connection plate portion 55 protrudes out of the sidewall main body 41 and protrudes inward in the width direction from the sidewall main body 41, i.e., toward the base member 10. A fuse 60 (see FIG. 3) is attached to the fuse accommodating chamber 49 from above the sidewall member 40. One lead 61 of the fuse 60 is connected to the tab 58 of the busbar 52. A harness terminal 63 connected to an electric wire 62 is accommodated in the cavity 50. The harness terminal 63 is connected to the other lead 61 of the fuse 60.

[0025] <Electrical junction box A assembly procedure> When assembling the electrical junction box A, with the holding member 11 and the terminal block 25 separated, the plate-shaped mounting portion 33 is placed on the receiving plate portion 27, and the plate 31 is temporarily held on the terminal block 25. When the terminal block 25 and the holding member 11 are assembled from this state, an accommodation space 28 is formed between the terminal block 25 and the holding member 11, and the plate-shaped power supply portion 32 of the plate 31 is accommodated in the accommodation space 28, completing the assembly of the base member 10.

[0026] After the base member 10 is assembled, the electric component 66 is attached to the holding member 11 so as to be accommodated in the component accommodation chamber 65 from above the base member 10. Since the component accommodation chamber 65 is open on both the left and right sides of the base member 10, if an operator picks up the electric component 66 from the left and right, the fingers holding the electric component 66 will not interfere with the base member 10. This improves workability when attaching the electric component 66. Even when the electric component 66 is attached by an automatic machine, if the electric component 66 is held by being pinched from the left and right with the fingers of the automatic machine, the fingers will not interfere with the base member 10.

[0027] Next, the pair of sidewall members 40 are assembled to the base member 10. During assembly, the front fitting portion 42 is inserted from above into the groove portion 30 of the front fitting portion 29, and the rear fitting portion 44 is inserted from above into the guide groove 20 of the rear fitting portion 15. When the sidewall member 40 reaches a predetermined assembled state with respect to the base member 10, the stopper 43 abuts against the upper end of the front fitting portion 29, and the rear fitting portion 44 abuts against the reinforcing portion 19. The front fitting portion 42 is fitted into the front fitting portion 29, so that the sidewall member 40 is positioned in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction with respect to the base member 10. The sidewall member 40 is restricted from being separated upward from the base member 10 by the engagement of the locking protrusion 45 with the locking hole 18.

[0028] When the sidewall member 40 is attached to the base member 10, the component storage chamber 65 is covered from both the left and right sides by the sidewall member 40, and the assembly of the electrical connection box A is completed. The component storage chamber 65 is surrounded from the front-rear and left-right directions. When the sidewall member 40 is attached to the base member 10, the connection plate portion 55 of the busbar 52 is placed on the upper surface of the plate-shaped mounting portion 33 of the plate 31 from above. In other words, the assembly direction of the sidewall member 40 to the base member 10 and the assembly direction of the connection plate portion 55 to the plate-shaped mounting portion 33 are the same. The bolts 67 inserted into the through holes 57, the mounting holes 34, and the bolt holes are screwed into nuts 68 provided on the lower surface of the receiving plate portion 27 and tightened, thereby fixing the plate 31 and the busbar 52 to the terminal block 25. By fixing the connecting plate portion 55 to the receiving plate portion 27 , the front end portion of the side wall member 40 is fixed to the front end portion of the base member 10 .

[0029] <Actions and Effects of the Examples> The electrical connection box A of this embodiment includes a base member 10 to which an electrical component 66 is attached, and a pair of left and right side wall members 40 that can be attached to and detached from the base member 10. A component receiving chamber 65 with an open top is formed by the base member 10 and the pair of side wall members 40. The electrical component 66 attached to the base member 10 is accommodated in the component receiving chamber 65. When the side wall members 40 are removed from the base member 10, the side of the component receiving chamber 65 is open. According to this configuration, if the side wall members 40 are removed from the base member 10 when the electrical component 66 is attached to the base member 10, the side wall members 40 do not get in the way. Therefore, the workability during assembly can be improved.

[0030] Plate 31 is attached to base member 10. Bus bar 52 is attached to side wall member 40. The direction in which side wall member 40 is attached to base member 10 is the same as the direction in which bus bar 52 is attached to plate 31. According to this configuration, by attaching side wall member 40 to base member 10, plate 31 and bus bar 52 can be connected.

[0031] The plate 31 is disposed at the front end of the base member 10. The plate 31 and the bus bar 52 are fixed together by fastening members, bolts 67 and nuts 68. The rear end of the base member 10 is formed with an elastic locking portion 16 that elastically locks to the side wall member 40 to hold the side wall member 40 in an assembled state. With this configuration, the side wall member 40 is held by the base member 10 at two locations, the front and rear ends of the base member 10, so that the assembled state of the base member 10 and the side wall member 40 is stable. The fastening operation using the bolts 67 and nuts 68 only needs to be performed at the front end of the base member 10, so workability is improved compared to when fastening members are performed at both the front and rear ends.

[0032] The base member 10 is provided with a separation restriction portion that restricts the sidewall member 40 from being separated laterally from the base member 10. That is, a front fitting portion 29 having a groove portion 30 is formed at the front end of the base member 10. The groove portion 30 functions as a separation restriction portion that restricts the sidewall member 40 from being separated laterally from the base member 10 by fitting the front fitting portion 42 therein. A rear fitting portion 15 having a plate-shaped restriction portion 17 is formed at the rear end of the base member 10. The plate-shaped restriction portion 17 functions as a separation restriction portion that restricts the sidewall member 40 from being separated laterally from the base member 10 by abutting the rear fitting portion 44 thereon. Since the sidewall member 40 is restricted from being separated from the base member 10 by these separation restriction portions, the base member 10 and the sidewall member 40 can be held in a stable assembled state.

[0033] [Other Examples] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but is indicated by the claims. The present invention includes the equivalent meaning of the claims and all modifications within the scope of the claims, and is intended to include the following embodiments. In the above embodiment, the base member is provided with the separation restriction portion, but the base member may not have the separation restriction portion. In the above embodiment, the assembly direction of the side wall member to the base member is the same as the assembly direction of the bus bar to the plate, but the assembly direction of the side wall member to the base member may be different from the assembly direction of the bus bar to the plate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] A…Electrical junction box 10...Base member 11...Retaining member 12...Main body 13…Front plate part 14...Rear plate part 15...Rear side fitting part 16...Elastic locking part 17...Plate-shaped regulation portion (separation regulation portion) 18...Latching hole 19…Reinforcement 20...Guide groove 25...Terminal block 26...Support plate part 27…Receiving plate section 28…Containment space 29…Front side fitting part 30...Groove portion (separation control portion) 31...Plate (connecting member) 32…Plate-shaped power supply section 33...Plate-shaped mounting part 34…Mounting hole 40...Side wall member 41…Side wall body 42…Front fitting part 43...Stopper 44…Rear fitting part 45...Latching protrusion 46…Busbar Containment Room 47…Busbar mounting port 48…Wide section 49…Hughes Containment Room 50…Cavity 52…Busbar 53... Circuit board 54...Heat sink section 55…Connection plate section 56...Support part 57...Through hole 58…Tab 60…Fuse 61…Lead 62...Electric wire 63...Harness terminal 65… Parts storage room 66…Electrical components 67...Bolt (fastening member) 68...Nut (fastening member)

Claims

1. A base member on which electrical components are mounted; a pair of left and right side wall members that are detachable from the base member; a component receiving chamber having an open upper surface is formed by the base member and the pair of side wall members, The electrical component attached to the base member is accommodated in the component accommodation chamber, When the side wall member is detached from the base member, a side surface of the component housing chamber is open, A connecting member is attached to the base member, A bus bar is attached to the side wall member, An electrical junction box, wherein an assembly direction of the side wall member to the base member is the same as an assembly direction of the bus bar to the connection member.

2. The connecting member is disposed at a front end of the base member, the connection member and the bus bar are fixed by a fastening member, 2. The electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein a resilient engaging portion is formed at a rear end of the base member for resiliently engaging with the side wall member to hold the side wall member in an assembled state.

3. An electrical connection box as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the base member is provided with a separation restriction portion that restricts the side wall member from separating laterally from the base member.

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