Electrical junction box

Abstract

To provide an electric connection box with improved waterproofness.SOLUTION: A case 3 includes: a bottom wall portion 61; and a first side wall portion 62 that stands up from the bottom wall portion 61 and has an opening 64 for allowing an electric wire 2 to be inserted. A base 5 is housed in the case 3, and a bus bar 4 connected to the electric wire 2 is mounted thereon. A foam sealant 10 is attached to the electric wire 2 to fill a gap between the opening 64 and the electric wire 2. The base 5 has an escape recess 513 in which a portion covering a lower side of the foam sealant 10 is depressed downward.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] An example of the above-mentioned electrical junction box is proposed in Patent Document 1. In the electrical junction box of Patent Document 1, electric wires are drawn out from an opening. However, the electrical junction box of Patent Document 1 has a problem in that a gap is generated between the opening and the electric wires, making it impossible to waterproof the inside of the electrical junction box.

[0003] Therefore, it has been proposed to attach a grommet to the electric wire to close the gap between the electric wire and the opening, and to provide a waterproof wall between the battery housed in the electrical junction box and the grommet (Patent Document 2).However, the electrical junction box of Patent Document 2 has a problem in that if there is another member around the grommet, the grommet may be deformed by that member, which may reduce waterproofing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-92023 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 3052843 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical junction box with improved waterproofing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the electrical junction box according to the present invention has the following features. a case having a first bottom wall portion and a first side wall portion standing upright from the first bottom wall portion and having an opening portion for inserting an electric wire; a base that is housed in the case and on which a conductor that is connected to the electric wire is mounted, In the electrical connection box, an elastic member is attached to the electric wire to fill a gap between the opening and the electric wire, the base has a recess formed by recessing at least a portion of the elastic member covering the first bottom wall portion side toward the first bottom wall portion, It must be an electrical junction box. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electrical junction box with improved waterproofing.

[0008] The present invention has been briefly described above. The details of the present invention will become clearer by reading the following detailed description of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an electrical junction box according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical junction box shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the electrical junction box shown in FIG. 1 taken along line AA. [Figure 4] 4 is a perspective view of a base that constitutes the electrical junction box shown in FIG. [Figure 5] 5 is a top view of the base constituting the electrical junction box shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a top view showing a state in which the upper case is removed from the electrical junction box shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. For ease of explanation, the following definitions are used, as shown in Figure 1, etc., to define the "front-rear direction," "left-right direction," "up-down direction," "front (F)," "back (B)," "left (L)," "right (R)," "up (U)," and "down (D)." The "front-rear direction," "left-right direction," and "up-down direction" are perpendicular to each other.

[0011] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the electrical junction box of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the electrical junction box shown in Fig. 1. The electrical junction box 1 shown in Fig. 1 is mounted on a vehicle, for example. The electrical junction box 1 includes a case 3 having an opening 64 for inserting electric wires 2, and a base 5 housed in the case 3 and to which a bus bar 4 (=conductor) is attached.

[0012] The case 3 is made of a conductive material such as aluminum. As shown in FIG. 2 and other figures, the case 3 has a lower case 6 and an upper case 7 that covers the upper opening of the lower case 6. The lower case 6 has a bottom wall portion 61 (first bottom wall portion) and a side wall portion 62 (second bottom wall portion) that stands upward from the entire periphery of the bottom wall portion 61, and is open at the top. The bottom wall portion 61 is provided with a boss 63 for fastening the base 5, which will be described later. The boss 63 protrudes upward from the bottom wall portion 61 and is provided with a screw hole into which a screw 8 can be screwed.

[0013] In this embodiment, a pair of openings 64, 64 is provided in the side wall portion 62. The electric wires 2 are passed through each of the pair of openings 64, 64. Each of the pair of openings 64, 64 penetrates the side wall portion 62 in the front-rear direction and extends to the upper end of the side wall portion 62. The pair of openings 64, 64 are provided side by side in the left-right direction (side-up direction) independently of each other without communicating with each other. In this embodiment, the pair of openings 64, 64 are provided to have the same size and the same shape.

[0014] The upper case 7 has a top wall 71 and side walls 72 that stand downward from the entire periphery of the top wall 71, and is open on the bottom. The top wall 71 covers the upper opening of the lower case 6. The top wall 71 is provided with screw insertion holes 73 for fastening the base 5, which will be described later. The screw insertion holes 73 pass through the top wall 71 and receive screws 9. The side walls 72 are placed on the outside of the side walls 62 of the lower case 6. The upper openings of the openings 64, 64 provided in the lower case 6 are closed by the upper case 7.

[0015] A foam sealing material (elastic member) 10 is wrapped around a portion of the electric wire 2 to seal the gap between the openings 64, 64. The foam sealing material 10 is made of rubber foam and has elasticity. The portion of the electric wire 2 around which the foam sealing material 10 is wrapped is inserted into the opening 64. As shown in FIG. 3 , the portion of the foam sealing material 10 inserted into the opening 64 is compressed by the lower case 6 and the upper case 7 and deformed into the same shape as the opening 64. The portion of the foam sealing material 10 that is located inside the case 3 and the portion that is located outside the case 3 are not compressed, so the cross-sectional area of the opening 64 is also large.

[0016] The base 5 is made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the base 5 has a bottom wall 51 (second bottom wall), a side wall 52 (second side wall) standing upward from the periphery of the bottom wall 51, and a partition wall 53 standing upright from the bottom wall 51. The bottom wall 51 of the base 5 has substantially the same shape as the bottom wall 61 of the lower case 6 when viewed from above, but is slightly smaller than the bottom wall 61 of the lower case 6.

[0017] 3, a certain clearance CL is provided between the side surface of the bottom wall 51 of the base 5 and the side wall 62 of the lower case 6. By reducing the clearance CL, it is possible to prevent the base 5 from tilting when attached with the screws 8. The foam sealing material 10 described above is provided to be longer than the length of the opening 64 in the front-to-rear direction, and protrudes rearward beyond the clearance CL, with its lower side covered by the bottom wall 51.

[0018] 4 and 5, the bus bar 4 is disposed on the bottom wall portion 51 of the base 5. The bus bar 4 is connected to a terminal 11 (see FIG. 2) attached to an end of the electric wire 2 inserted into the case 3 through the opening 64.

[0019] The side wall portion 52 of the base 5 is provided with an opening 521 at a position facing the opening 64 provided in the lower case 6 in the front-rear direction.

[0020] 5, the bottom wall 51 of the base 5 is provided with a through-hole 511 into which a metal collar 12 is inserted. The through-hole 511 passes through the bottom wall 51 in the vertical direction, and the cylindrical collar 12 is inserted. The metal collar 12 is provided with a screw insertion hole 121 in the center, through which a screw 8 is passed. The screw insertion hole 121 and the screw hole of the boss 63 provided in the lower case 6 are in vertical communication. The base 5 and the lower case 6 can be fixed together by passing the screw 8 through the screw insertion hole 121 of the collar 12 and screwing it into the boss 63 of the lower case 6.

[0021] 4 and 5, a boss 512 protrudes upward from the bottom wall 51 of the base 5, and a nut 13 for threading onto the screw 9 is fixed inside the boss 512. The base 5 and the upper case 7 can be fixed together by passing the screw 9 through a screw insertion hole 73 provided in the upper case 7 and threading it into the nut 13.

[0022] In addition, a relief recess 513 is provided in the bottom wall 51 of the base 5. As shown in Fig. 3, the relief recess 513 is located adjacent to the opening 64 in the front-rear direction, and recesses the portion covering the lower side (bottom wall 61 side) of the foam sealing material 10 downward. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the relief recess 513 is provided so as to extend from a position rearward of the opening 521 in the bottom wall 51 to the front end of the bottom wall 51.

[0023] It is desirable to minimize the gap between the bottom wall portion 51 of the base 5 and the electric wires 2 that are not covered by the foam sealant 10, thereby preventing the electric wires 2 from shifting out of position. For this reason, if the bottom wall portion 51 is flat and does not have the relief recess 513, the bottom wall portion 51 presses the foam sealant 10 upward, causing the foam sealant 10 to shift out of position (deform) upward. This misalignment creates a gap between the foam sealant 10 and the opening 64, which could allow water to enter through the gap. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the relief recess 513 is provided, which prevents the bottom wall portion 51 from pressing the foam sealant 10 upward. This prevents the foam sealant 10 from shifting out of position, improving waterproofing.

[0024] Next, the partition wall 53 will be described. The partition wall 53 divides the top of the bottom wall portion 51 into two areas. In one of the two areas on the bottom wall portion 51 divided by the partition wall 53, an electric wire 2 inserted from one of the two openings 64, 64 is routed, and a bus bar 4 connected to the electric wire 2 is mounted. In the other of the two areas on the bottom wall portion 51 divided by the partition wall 53, an electric wire 2 inserted from the other of the two openings 64, 64 is routed, and a bus bar 4 connected to the electric wire 2 is mounted.

[0025] 5 and 6, a first wall 54 and a pair of second walls 55, 55 are erected in the relief recess 513 of the base 5. The first wall 54 is sandwiched between a pair (two) of electric wires 2, 2 inserted into the adjacent openings 64, 64, and comes into contact with the outer periphery of the foam sealant 10 attached to the electric wires 2. The first wall 54 is provided continuous with the partition wall 53. The pair of second walls 55, 55 are erected from both ends of the relief recess 513 in the left and right direction. The pair of second walls 55, 55 sandwich the two electric wires 2 inserted into the two openings 64, 64 between them and come into contact with the foam sealant 10 attached to the two electric wires 2.

[0026] In this embodiment, the right-side second wall portion 55 is formed by the side wall portion 52. That is, the right-side second wall portion 55 stands upright from the peripheral edge of the bottom wall portion 51. The left-side second wall portion 55 is provided such that its front end is continuous with the side wall portion 52.

[0027] According to the embodiment described above, the base 5 has an escape recess 513 recessed downward in at least the portion covering the lower side (bottom wall portion 61 side) of the foam sealing material 10. By providing the escape recess 513 in this manner, it is possible to suppress displacement of the foam sealing material 10 caused by the base 5 pressing the foam sealing material 10 from below, thereby improving waterproofing.

[0028] According to the above-described embodiment, by having the first wall portion 54, the foam sealing material 10 can be positioned in the left-right direction, and misalignment of the foam sealing material 10 can be suppressed, thereby further improving waterproofness.

[0029] According to the above-described embodiment, the first wall portion 54 and the pair of second wall portions 55, 55 can sandwich both left and right sides of the foam sealing material 10 attached to each of the two electric wires 2, thereby enabling the foam sealing material 10 to be positioned in the left and right directions with even greater precision.

[0030] According to the embodiment described above, the right-side second wall portion 55 is formed from the side wall portion 52. This eliminates the need to provide the second wall portion 55 separately from the side wall portion 52, thereby enabling space saving.

[0031] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. The material, shape, size, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary and not limited as long as they can achieve the present invention.

[0032] According to the above-described embodiment, the number of openings 64 is two, but this is not limitative. The number of openings 64 may be one, or three or more.

[0033] According to the embodiment described above, the first wall portion 54 and the pair of second wall portions 55, 55 are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this. Providing the first wall portion 54 and the pair of second wall portions 55, 55 is not essential and may be omitted.

[0034] Here, the features of the above-described embodiments of the electrical junction box according to the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [4]. [1] a case (3) having a first bottom wall (61) and a first side wall (62) extending from the first bottom wall (61) and having an opening (64) for inserting an electric wire (2); a base (5) that is housed in the case (3) and on which a conductor (4) that is connected to the electric wire (2) is mounted; In the electrical connection box (1), an elastic member (10) is attached to the electric wire (2) to fill a gap between the opening (64) and the electric wire (2), The base (5) has a recess (513) formed by recessing at least a portion of the elastic member (10) covering the first bottom wall portion (61) side toward the first bottom wall portion (61). Electrical junction box (1).

[0035] According to the configuration [1] above, by providing the escape recess (513), it is possible to suppress the displacement of the elastic member (10) caused by the base (5) pressing the elastic member (10) from the first bottom wall portion (61) side, thereby improving waterproofness.

[0036] [2] In the electrical connection box (1) described in [1], The first side wall portion (62) has a plurality of the openings (64) formed in a row, The base (5) has a first wall portion (54) that stands upright from the relief recess (513), is sandwiched between a pair of the electric wires (2) inserted into the adjacent openings (64), and comes into contact with the outer periphery of the elastic member (10) attached to the pair of the electric wires (2). Electrical junction box (1).

[0037] According to the configuration [2] above, by having the first wall portion (54), it is possible to position the elastic member (10) in the alignment direction (left-right direction) of the openings (64), thereby suppressing misalignment of the elastic member (10) and further improving waterproofness.

[0038] [3] In the electrical connection box (1) described in [2], The base (5) has a pair of second wall portions (55, 55) that stand upright from the relief recess (513), sandwich the plurality of electric wires (2) inserted into the plurality of openings (64) between them, and come into contact with the outer periphery of the elastic member (10) attached to the electric wires (2) inserted into the openings (64) at both ends in the arrangement direction (left-right direction) of the plurality of openings (64). Electrical junction box (1).

[0039] According to the configuration [3] above, the first wall portion (54) and the pair of second wall portions (55, 55) can sandwich both sides of the elastic members (10) attached to each of the plurality of electric wires (2) in the arrangement direction (left-right direction), thereby enabling the positioning of the elastic members (10) in the arrangement direction (left-right direction) with even greater precision.

[0040] [4] In the electrical connection box (1) described in [3], The base (5) has a second bottom wall portion (51) and a second side wall portion (52) extending upright from an edge of the second bottom wall portion (51), At least one of the pair of second wall portions (55, 55) is formed from the second side wall portion (52). Electrical junction box (1).

[0041] According to the configuration [4] above, there is no need to provide the second wall (55) in addition to the second side wall (52), thereby saving space. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1 Electrical junction box 2 electric wire 3 Cases 4 Busbar (conductor) 5. Bass 10 Foam sealing material (elastic material) 51 bottom wall portion (second bottom wall portion) 52 side wall portion (second side wall portion) 54 1st wall 55 2nd wall section 61 bottom wall portion (first bottom wall portion) 62 side wall portion (first side wall portion) 64 Opening 513 Relief recess

Claims

1. a case having a first bottom wall portion and a first side wall portion extending from the first bottom wall portion and having an opening for inserting an electric wire; a base that is housed in the case and on which a conductor that is connected to the electric wire is mounted, In the electrical connection box, an elastic member is attached to the electric wire to fill a gap between the opening and the electric wire, the base has a recess formed by recessing at least a portion of the elastic member covering the first bottom wall portion side toward the first bottom wall portion, Electrical junction box.

2. The electrical junction box according to claim 1, The first sidewall portion has a plurality of the openings formed therein, the base has a first wall portion that stands upright from the relief recess, is sandwiched between the pair of electric wires inserted into the adjacent openings, and is in contact with an outer periphery of the elastic member attached to the pair of electric wires. Electrical junction box.

3. 3. The electrical junction box according to claim 2, the base has a pair of second wall portions that stand upright from the relief recess, sandwich the plurality of electric wires inserted into the plurality of openings between them, and come into contact with outer peripheries of the elastic members that are attached to the electric wires inserted into the openings at both ends in the arrangement direction among the plurality of openings; Electrical junction box.

4. 4. The electrical junction box according to claim 3, the base has a second bottom wall portion and a second side wall portion standing upright from an edge portion of the second bottom wall portion, At least one of the pair of second wall portions is constituted by the second side wall portion. Electrical junction box.

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