Electrical junction box

Abstract

To provide an electric connection box capable of easily mounting an electronic component to a housing while suppressing tilt or the like of an electronic component.SOLUTION: An electric connection box 1 includes an electronic component 20 and a housing 10 to which the electronic component 20 is attached. The electronic component 20 includes a plurality of terminals 22 to 25 extending from the electronic component 20. The housing 10 includes a plurality of insertion holes 15, 16 into which the plurality of terminals 22 to 25 are inserted when the electronic component 20 is attached to the housing 10. At least one of the plurality of insertion holes 15, 16 includes an extension portion 15b extending from a peripheral portion on the exit side of the insertion hole 15 in the insertion direction of the terminal 22 into the insertion hole 15 in the insertion direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical junction box including an electronic component and a housing for mounting the electronic component. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, electrical connection boxes used in automobiles and the like are configured to mount electronic components such as relays and fuses in a housing of a predetermined shape made of resin or the like, and to electrically connect the input and output terminals of these electronic components to terminals, bus bars, etc. connected to an external load (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-158479 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-222106 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the conventional electrical junction box described above, multiple terminals of an electronic component are inserted into insertion holes provided in a housing, and the electronic component is held in the housing. To facilitate insertion of the terminals of the electronic component into the insertion holes, the opening edges of the insertion holes are generally chamfered, and the terminals are guided into the insertion holes along the chamfered surface (e.g., a so-called C-surface). However, chamfering the opening edges of the insertion holes reduces the thickness of the housing by the chamfered amount, thereby shortening the length of the insertion holes. In other words, chamfering the opening edges of the insertion holes reduces the contact area between the inner surface of the insertion holes and the terminals. If this contact area is excessively small, for example, depending on the mounting orientation of the electrical junction box in an automobile or the like, significant tilt or misalignment of the electronic component may occur due to external vibrations acting on the electrical junction box. Thus, it is generally difficult to achieve both ease of mounting the electronic component in the housing (i.e., ease of insertion into the insertion holes) and prevention of misalignment or tilt of the electronic component.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical junction box that can easily mount electronic components to a housing while preventing tilting of the electronic components. [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.

[0007] An electrical connection box comprising an electronic component and a housing for mounting the electronic component, The electronic component is Extending from the electronic component and connect it to the other terminal. having a plurality of terminals, The housing includes: The plurality of terminals are inserted into the housing with the electronic component attached to the housing. and communicates with the terminal receiving chamber in which the mating terminal is to be received. a plurality of insertion holes, At least one of the plurality of insertion holes is an extension portion extending from a peripheral portion of the insertion hole on an exit side in the insertion direction of the terminal into the insertion hole, It must be an electrical junction box. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the electrical junction box of the present invention, at least one of the insertion holes provided in the housing of the electrical junction box has an extension extending from the peripheral edge of the insertion hole on the outlet side in the insertion direction of the terminals of the electronic component into the insertion hole. The provision of the extension on the peripheral edge of the insertion hole widens the inner surface of the insertion hole along the extension in the insertion direction, increasing the contact area between the terminals of the electronic component and the inner surface of the insertion hole. This reduces misalignment and tilt of the electronic component compared to a case where the insertion hole does not have an extension, without compromising the terminal guiding effect provided by the chamfered opening edge of the insertion hole. Therefore, the electrical junction box of this configuration can both easily attach electronic components to the housing and prevent tilt of the electronic component.

[0009] 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]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the electrical junction box shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one of the electronic components shown in FIG. 2 in a standalone state. [Figure 4] 4 is a view showing the periphery of the cavity in which the electronic component shown in FIG. 3 is housed, taken along the line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] <Embodiment> An electric junction box 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The electric junction box 1 is typically a relay box mounted on a vehicle and accommodating electronic components such as relays and fuses, and includes a housing 10 and a plurality of electronic components 20 accommodated in the housing 10, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

[0012] For ease of explanation, the following definitions are used for "front," "rear," "left," "right," "upper," and "lower" as shown in FIG. 1 and other figures. The front-to-rear direction, left-to-right direction, and up-to-down direction are perpendicular to one another. The up-to-down direction (downward) corresponds to the insertion direction (insertion orientation) of terminals 22 (described below) of electronic components 20 (20A) into insertion holes 15 (described below), and the "upper" and "lower" sides correspond to the "upper" and "lower" sides of the vehicle when the electrical junction box 1 is mounted on the vehicle. Note that these directions are defined merely for ease of explanation and do not necessarily correspond to the front-to-rear direction, left-to-right direction, and up-to-down direction of the vehicle when the electrical junction box 1 is mounted on the vehicle. Each component constituting the electrical junction box 1 will be described below.

[0013] 1 and 2, the housing 10 is a resin case having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions. The housing 10 may be formed from a single resin molded body or a combination of multiple resin molded bodies.

[0014] A plurality of cavities 11 for accommodating a plurality of electronic components 20 are formed on the top surface of the housing 10. Each cavity 11 is a recessed portion that is recessed downward and opens upward. An electric wire insertion portion 12 is provided at the lower right end of the front surface of the housing 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Electric wires 30 electrically connected to the electronic components 20 accommodated in the housing 10 extend forward from the electric wire insertion portion 12 toward the outside from inside the housing 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

[0015] Each of the plurality of electronic components 20 housed in the housing 10 is a relay, a fusible link, a fuse, or the like. Hereinafter, attention will be focused on one electronic component 20A (in this example, a relay; see FIGS. 1 and 2) of the plurality of electronic components 20 housed in the housing 10. The electronic component 20A is housed from top to bottom in one cavity 11A (see FIGS. 1 and 2) of the plurality of cavities 11 provided in the housing 10.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic component 20A is composed of a main body 21 and a plurality (four) of tab-shaped (rectangular, flat) terminals 22-25 extending downward from the main body 21. The main body 21 is the portion accommodated in the cavity 11A. The main body 21 has an outer shape corresponding to the shape of the hollow portion of the cavity 11A, and in this example, has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions. A pair of front and rear locking portions (locking protrusions) 21a are provided on the front and rear surfaces of the main body 21, corresponding to a pair of front and rear locked portions (not shown) provided on the cavity 11A side. The engagement between the locking portions 21a and the locked portions prevents the main body 21 (electronic component 20A) accommodated in the cavity 11A from slipping out upward.

[0017] The thickness direction of each of terminals 22 and 23 is oriented in the front-to-rear direction, with terminal 22 extending downward from the rear end of the lower surface of main body 21, and terminal 23 extending downward from the center of the lower surface of main body 21 in the front-to-rear direction so as to face terminal 22 with a gap in the front-to-rear direction. The thickness direction of each of terminals 24 and 25 is oriented in the left-to-right direction, and terminal 24 extends downward from the front end of the lower surface of main body 21 so as to face each other with a gap in the left-to-right direction.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 4, a terminal accommodating chamber 13 is formed in the lower part of the cavity 11A in the housing 10, opening downward and extending in the vertical direction to accommodate the terminal 22. A partition wall (i.e., the bottom wall of the cavity 11A) between the upper end of the terminal accommodating chamber 13 and the bottom surface 17 of the cavity 11A is formed with an insertion hole 15 (i.e., a through hole extending in the vertical direction) for inserting the terminal 22. A tapered chamfered portion 15a is formed on the upper opening edge of the insertion hole 15 (i.e., the opening edge on the entrance side in the insertion direction (downward) of the terminal 22) (see also Fig. 5). Similarly, a terminal accommodating chamber 14 is formed in the lower part of the cavity 11A in the housing 10 to accommodate the terminal 23. A partition wall (i.e., the bottom wall of the cavity 11A) between the upper end of the terminal accommodating chamber 14 and the bottom surface 17 of the cavity 11A is formed with an insertion hole 16 (i.e., a through hole extending in the vertical direction) for inserting the terminal 23. A tapered chamfered portion 16a is formed on the upper opening edge of the insertion hole 16 (i.e., the opening edge on the entrance side in the insertion direction (downward) of the terminal 23). As with the terminals 22 and 23, the terminal 24 also has a corresponding terminal accommodating chamber and a corresponding insertion hole with a chamfered portion formed on the upper opening edge formed in the lower part of the cavity 11A in the housing 10. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the same is true for the terminal 25.

[0019] When main body 21 of electronic component 20A is accommodated in cavity 11A from above, as shown in Fig. 4, the tip portions (lower ends) of terminals 22 and 23 pass downward through insertion holes 15 and 16, respectively, and are positioned within terminal accommodating chambers 13 and 14. At this time, chamfered portions 15a and 16a function to guide terminals 22 and 23 into insertion holes 15 and 16, respectively. Similarly to terminals 22 and 23, the tip portions of terminals 24 and 25 also pass downward through the corresponding insertion holes and are positioned within the corresponding terminal accommodating chambers.

[0020] A female terminal can be inserted from below into each of the terminal accommodating chambers corresponding to the multiple (four) terminals 22 to 25. In the example shown in Fig. 4, a female terminal 40 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 13 corresponding to the terminal 22, and the tip of the terminal 22 located in the terminal accommodating chamber 13 and a leaf spring portion 41 of the female terminal 40 are in pressing contact with each other. The female terminal 40 is electrically connected directly or indirectly to the electric wire 30 (see Figs. 1 and 2). As a result, the electronic component 20A accommodated in the cavity 11A is electrically connected to the electric wire 30 via the terminal 22 and the female terminal 40.

[0021] 4 and 5, the insertion hole 15 has an extension 15b (see FIG. 5) extending downward (i.e., in the insertion direction of the terminal 22) from a part of the circumferential direction (i.e., specifically, the rear part of the circumferential edge) of the lower periphery (i.e., the periphery on the outlet side in the insertion direction (downward) of the terminal 22). The chamfer angle θ1 (see FIG. 5) of the chamfered portion 15a of the insertion hole 15 having the extension 15b is smaller than the chamfer angle θ2 (see FIG. 4) of the chamfered portion 16a of the insertion hole 16 not having an extension such as the extension 15b. Note that the "chamfer angle" refers to the angle that the chamfered portion 15a (so-called C-face in a C-chamfer) formed at the periphery of the insertion hole 15 inclined with respect to the bottom surface 17 of the cavity 11A (in other words, in the front-to-rear direction) makes with respect to the bottom surface 17.

[0022] The extending portion 15b is formed at a position where it does not interfere with the female terminal 40 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 13. Furthermore, like the insertion hole 16, the insertion holes corresponding to the terminals 24, 25 other than the insertion holes 15, 16 do not have extending portions like the extending portion 15b, and the chamfer angle of the chamfer of the insertion hole is larger than the chamfer angle θ1 of the chamfered portion 15a of the insertion hole 15.

[0023] With regard to insertion hole 15, extension portion 15b is provided on the lower peripheral edge portion, and accordingly, the inner surface of insertion hole 15 widens along extension portion 15b, and the contact area between terminal 22 of electronic component 20A and the inner surface of insertion hole 15 increases. As a result, when vibration or the like is applied to electrical junction box 1, tilt or displacement of electronic component 20A can be reduced compared to when extension portion 15b is not provided in insertion hole 15. In addition, because chamfer angle θ1 of insertion hole 15 (see FIG. 5) is smaller than chamfer angle θ2 of insertion hole 16 (see FIG. 4), the contact area between terminal 22 of electronic component 20A and the inner surface of insertion hole 15 further increases.

[0024] <Actions and Effects> As described above, according to the electrical junction box 1 of this embodiment, one of the insertion holes 15 provided in the housing 10 of the electrical junction box 1 has an extension portion 15b extending from the periphery of the insertion hole 15 on the outlet side in the insertion direction of the terminals 22 of the electronic component 20A into the insertion hole 15. The provision of the extension portion 15b on the periphery of the insertion hole 15 causes the inner surface of the insertion hole 15 to expand along the extension portion 15b, increasing the contact area between the terminals 22 of the electronic component 20A and the inner surface of the insertion hole 15. This reduces tilting of the electronic component 20A when vibrations or the like affect the electrical junction box 1 compared to when the extension portion 15b is not provided in the insertion hole 15. Therefore, the electrical junction box 1 of this embodiment can both facilitate attachment of the electronic component 20A to the housing 10 and prevent tilting of the electronic component 20A.

[0025] Furthermore, the chamfer angle θ1 of the opening edge on the entrance side of insertion hole 15 having extension portion 15b is smaller than the chamfer angle θ2 of the opening edge on the entrance side of insertion hole 16 having no extension portion. This further increases the contact area between terminal 22 of electronic component 20A and the inner surface of insertion hole 15. This further reduces the tilt, etc., of electronic component 20A.

[0026] <Other forms> 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. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary and not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

[0027] In the above embodiment, the chamfer angle θ1 (see FIG. 5) of the chamfered portion 15a of the insertion hole 15 having the extending portion 15b is smaller than the chamfer angle θ2 (see FIG. 4) of the chamfered portion 16a of the insertion hole 16 not having an extending portion such as the extending portion 15b. In contrast, the chamfer angle θ1 of the chamfered portion 15a of the insertion hole 15 having the extending portion 15b may be the same as or larger than the chamfer angle θ2 of the chamfered portion 16a of the insertion hole 16 not having an extending portion such as the extending portion 15b. Furthermore, an extending portion similar to the extending portion 15b may be provided in another insertion hole (for example, the insertion hole 16) in addition to the insertion hole 15.

[0028] Here, the features of the embodiment of the electrical junction box 1 according to the present invention described above will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [2].

[0029] [1] An electrical connection box (1) comprising an electronic component (20) and a housing (10) for mounting the electronic component (20), The electronic component (20) is The electronic component (20) has a plurality of terminals (22-25) extending therefrom, The housing (10) is the housing (10) has a plurality of insertion holes (15, 16) into which the plurality of terminals (22 to 25) are inserted when the electronic component (20) is attached to the housing (10); At least one (15) of the plurality of insertion holes (15, 16) is an extension portion (15b) extending from a peripheral portion on the outlet side of the insertion hole (15) in the insertion direction of the terminal (22) into the insertion hole (15); Electrical junction box (1).

[0030] According to the electrical junction box having the configuration [1] above, at least one of the multiple insertion holes provided in the housing of the electrical junction box has an extension extending from the peripheral edge of the insertion hole on the outlet side in the insertion direction of the terminals of the electronic component into the insertion hole. The provision of the extension on the peripheral edge of the insertion hole widens the inner surface of the insertion hole along the extension in the insertion direction, increasing the contact area between the terminals of the electronic component and the inner surface of the insertion hole. This reduces misalignment and tilt of the electronic component compared to a case where the extension is not provided in the insertion hole, without compromising the terminal guiding effect provided by the chamfered opening edge of the insertion hole. Therefore, the electrical junction box of this configuration can both easily attach electronic components to the housing and prevent tilt of the electronic component.

[0031] [2] In the electrical connection box (1) described in [1] above, At least one other one (16) of the plurality of insertion holes (15, 16) does not have the extension portion (15b), Each of the plurality of insertion holes (15, 16) is The opening edge of the insertion hole on the inlet side in the insertion direction is chamfered (15a, 16a), The chamfer angle (θ1) of the opening edge of the insertion hole (15) having the extension portion (15b) is smaller than the chamfer angle (θ2) of the opening edge of the insertion hole (16) not having the extension portion. Electrical junction box (1).

[0032] In the electrical connection box having the configuration [2] above, the chamfer angle of the opening edge on the entrance side of the insertion hole having the extension portion is smaller than the chamfer angle of the opening edge on the entrance side of the insertion hole without the extension portion. This further increases the contact area between the terminal of the electronic component and the inner surface of the insertion hole. Note that the "chamfer angle" refers to the angle that the inclined surface (i.e., the surface resulting from the chamfer, for example, the C-surface in a so-called C-chamfer) forms with the housing surface at the peripheral edge of the insertion hole, which is inclined with respect to the housing surface in which the insertion hole is provided. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1 Electrical junction box 10. Housing 15,16 Insertion holes 15a, 16a Chamfered part (chamfer) 15b Extension 20 Electronic Components Terminals 22 to 25

Claims

1. An electrical connection box comprising an electronic component and a housing for mounting the electronic component, The electronic component is a plurality of terminals extending from the electronic component to be connected to mating terminals; The housing includes: a plurality of insertion holes communicating with terminal accommodating chambers into which the plurality of terminals are inserted and into which the mating terminals are accommodated when the electronic component is attached to the housing; At least one of the plurality of insertion holes is an extension portion extending from a peripheral portion of the insertion hole on an exit side in the insertion direction of the terminal into the insertion hole, At least one other of the plurality of insertion holes does not have the extension portion, Each of the plurality of insertion holes is An opening edge on the entrance side of the insertion hole in the insertion direction is chamfered, a chamfer angle of the opening edge of the insertion hole having the extending portion is smaller than a chamfer angle of the opening edge of the insertion hole not having the extending portion; Electrical junction box.

2. An electrical connection box comprising an electronic component and a housing for mounting the electronic component, The electronic component is a plurality of terminals extending from the electronic component; The housing includes: the housing has a plurality of insertion holes into which the plurality of terminals are inserted when the electronic component is attached to the housing, At least one of the plurality of insertion holes is an extension portion extending from a peripheral portion of the insertion hole on an exit side in the insertion direction of the terminal into the insertion hole, At least one other of the plurality of insertion holes does not have the extension portion, Each of the plurality of insertion holes is An opening edge on the entrance side of the insertion hole in the insertion direction is chamfered, a chamfer angle of the opening edge of the insertion hole having the extending portion is smaller than a chamfer angle of the opening edge of the insertion hole not having the extending portion; Electrical junction box.

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