JP2019004639A - Electric connection box - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an electric connection box that can hold a cover in an irregular shape retained and can be easily removed.SOLUTION: An electric connection box 100 comprises: an upper cover body 13 having a maintenance part 19; a locked part formed on each of a pair of opposite side walls of the upper cover body 13; a cover 17 for maintenance covering the maintenance part 19; a pair of flexible lock arms 45 configured such that locking parts locked to the respective locked parts are unlocked from the locked parts by moving operation parts 49 formed on the cover 17 for maintenance in mutual approaching directions to each other and bending them; an insert piece 55 protruding along an orthogonal line 59 orthogonal to a straight line 57 parallel with the mutual approaching directions of the operation parts 49; and an insert piece entry part 63 which is formed at the upper cover body 13 and into which the insert piece 55 of the cover 17 for maintenance covering the maintenance part 19 enters.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical junction box.

For example, an in-vehicle electrical junction box is known in which electrical components such as fuses and relays are detachably mounted on the surface (see Patent Document 1). Some cases of this type of electrical junction box are provided with a maintenance area for fuse replacement in which a plurality of fuse mounting portions are formed in a concentrated manner. Such a case includes a separate maintenance cover that covers the maintenance area.
For example, the maintenance cover has a flexible lock arm (flexible lock arm). The case also has a lock claw at a position corresponding to the lock arm of the maintenance cover. The maintenance cover is detachably attached to the maintenance area by including a lock mechanism that bends the lock arm and engages the lock claw.

JP 2009-1112078 A

  By the way, in the conventional electrical junction box, when the maintenance cover is set, the cover shape may be irregular due to space saving or the like. Examples of the deformed cover include an L shape in plan view and a T shape in plan view. However, when these deformed covers are fixed with two flexible lock arms, rattling or floating may occur. On the other hand, when the deformed cover is fixed by three flexible lock arms, it is difficult to remove it with one hand, particularly in a narrow work space.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical junction box that can hold a deformed cover without rattling and can be easily removed.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configuration.
(1) a case having a maintenance part, a locked part formed on each of a pair of opposing side walls of the case, a cover formed separately from the case and covering the maintenance part, and the cover A pair of flexible locks formed by moving the free ends in the approaching direction to bend each other, thereby locking the locking portions locked to the locked portions from the locked portions. The arm, the insertion piece formed in the cover and projecting in a direction along an orthogonal line perpendicular to the straight line parallel to the approaching direction, and the insertion piece of the cover formed in the case and covering the maintenance portion enter. An electrical connection box comprising an insertion piece entry portion.

According to the electrical junction box having the configuration (1), first, the insertion piece of the cover is inserted into the insertion piece entry portion of the case. Then, in the cover in which the insertion piece is inserted into the insertion piece entry portion, the engaging portions provided on each of the pair of flexible lock arms are engaged with the engaged portions of the case. The cover is supported by the case at three points of the one insertion piece and the pair of locking portions. Further, the free ends of the pair of flexible lock arms are bent in the approaching direction to each other, whereby the locking of the locking portion with respect to the locked portion is released.
In other words, the locking part is released from the locked part and released from the locked part when the free ends of the pair of flexible lock arms move toward each other. On the other hand, the insertion piece protrudes in a direction along an orthogonal line orthogonal to a straight line parallel to the approaching direction of the free ends of the pair of flexible lock arms. Therefore, even if the cover moves in a direction in which the flexible lock arm is elastically deformed and unlocked, the insertion piece does not move in the removal direction from the insertion piece entry portion. The electrical junction box having the above configuration is supported at three points by the pair of flexible lock arms and the insertion piece, and the locking direction of the flexible lock arm and the insertion direction of the insertion piece are specified. The electrical connection box can be easily attached and detached (detached with one hand) while ensuring the holding of the irregularly shaped cover by the three-point support and specifying the locking direction and the insertion direction.

(2) In the electrical junction box according to (1), the cover is formed in an L-shape in a plan view in which a small square part protrudes from one side part of a cover body part formed in a quadrangle, A pair of flexible lock arms are arranged at both ends of the other side opposite to the one side where the small square part protrudes, and the insertion piece further protrudes from the small square part. Features an electrical junction box.

  According to the electrical junction box having the configuration of (2) above, the pair of flexible lock arms arranged at both ends of the other side opposite to the one side where the small square part protrudes are both parallel to the other side. It will be arranged on a straight line passing through. And an insertion piece protrudes further from a small square part in the direction in alignment with the orthogonal line orthogonal to the straight line parallel to this other side part. Accordingly, the L-shaped cover in plan view is supported at three points, ie, the protruding corner portion and the tip portions on both sides sandwiching the protruding corner portion, so that rattling is suppressed. Further, the cover can hold the cover and release the insertion piece from the insertion piece entry portion while releasing the engagement of the engagement portion by holding the pair of flexible lock arms with fingers.

  According to the electrical junction box of the present invention, the irregularly shaped cover can be held without rattling and can be easily removed.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through a mode for carrying out the invention described below (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

It is a principal part perspective view of the electrical junction box which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view which removed the cover from the case shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the cover shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of a pair of flexible lock arm part of the cover shown in FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of the insertion piece which protrudes from the small square part shown in FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing before the latching release of the cover latched by the case. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing after the latch release of the cover latched by the case. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing after extraction of an insertion piece.

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an essential part of an electrical junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The electrical junction box 100 according to the present embodiment is mounted on, for example, a vehicle and incorporates bus bars, relays, fuses, and the like, and collectively stores circuits connected to these. The electrical junction box 100 includes, for example, a main body (not shown) made of an insulating resin, an under cover (not shown) covering the main body, and an upper cover 11. Among these, the electrical junction box 100 of the present embodiment is particularly characterized by the upper cover 11.

  The upper cover 11 includes an upper cover main body 13 that is a case, a relay unit portion 15, and a maintenance cover 17 that is a cover. The upper cover main body 13 is attached to the main body (not shown). The upper cover body 13 is formed in a quadrangle that is close to a square in plan view.

An electric wire (not shown) for connecting the circuit of the main body and the vehicle body side circuit is connected to the lower surface of the main body. The under cover has an electric wire outlet for extracting the electric wire to the outside of the electric junction box 100. After the electric wire is led out, the electric wire outlet is closed by a closing structure in order to prevent dust and water from entering the electric junction box.
The electrical junction box 100 assembled in this way is attached to an engine room or the like of the vehicle. For this reason, a mounting bracket or the like for fixing the electrical connection box 100 to the vehicle body is projected from the outer wall surface of the main body of the electrical connection box 100, for example.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view in which the maintenance cover 17 is removed from the upper cover main body 13 shown in FIG.
The upper cover main body 13 has a maintenance part 19 and a non-maintenance part 21 on the upper surface. In the present embodiment, the area of the upper surface is substantially bisected by the maintenance unit 19 and the non-maintenance unit 21, but is not limited to this. That is, the maintenance part 19 may be provided on a part of the upper surface, and the non-maintenance part 21 may be provided on the remaining most part.

  The non-maintenance part 21 is attached with a relay socket 25 for attaching (or only passing through) a plurality of (for example, four) relays 23 (see FIG. 7). This non-maintenance part 21 is comprised as the relay unit part 15 in which the some relay socket 25 was formed.

  The maintenance unit 19 occupies most of the upper surface of the upper cover body 13 except for the non-maintenance unit 21 to which the relay unit unit 15 is attached (below the relay unit unit 15). The maintenance unit 19 is provided with a fuse socket (not shown) for attaching the fuse 31. Electrical components such as the relay socket 25 and the fuse socket are electrically connected via a bus bar provided on the upper cover body 13.

  The maintenance portion 19 of the upper cover body 13 is formed with a locked portion on each of the pair of opposing side walls 20 and 22. In the present embodiment, the locked portion can be a wedge-shaped protrusion 33 protruding from the inner wall surface of the side wall 20. In addition, the locked portion may be configured in a window frame shape in which a rectangular hole 35 is formed in the side wall 22. In this case, the locked portion is the upper frame portion 37 having a window frame shape. In the present embodiment, one of the locked portions formed on the pair of side walls 20 and 22 is a wedge-shaped protrusion 33 and the other is an upper rail portion 37.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the maintenance cover 17 shown in FIG.
The maintenance unit 19 is covered by attaching a maintenance cover 17 formed separately from the upper cover body 13. In the present embodiment, the maintenance cover 17 is formed in an L shape in a plan view in which a small square portion 43 protrudes from one side 41 of the cover main body 39 formed in a square shape. The shape of the maintenance cover 17 is not limited to this.

4 is a cross-sectional view of a pair of flexible lock arm portions of the maintenance cover 17 shown in FIG.
The maintenance cover 17 has a pair of flexible lock arms 45. The flexible lock arm 45 has a U-shaped plate portion 47 that is connected to the maintenance cover 17 at the base end and protrudes toward the upper cover body 13 (lower side in FIG. 4). The U-shaped plate portion 47 is arranged so as to be exposed on the upper surface of the maintenance cover 17 with the tip thereof being a free end. In the flexible lock arm 45, the free end of the U-shaped plate portion 47 becomes the operation portion 49.

  The pair of flexible lock arms 45 are preferably separated by a separation distance that can be held by one finger. The maintenance cover 17 can be attached and detached with one hand of the operator by securing this separation distance.

  The flexible lock arm 45 is exposed to the outside of the upper cover body 13 by a notch 51 formed in the upper cover body 13. The flexible lock arm 45 has a wedge-shaped locking portion 53 protruding from the outer surface side of each U-shaped plate portion 47. The locking portion 53 is locked to the above-described locked portions (wedge-shaped protrusion 33, upper crosspiece portion 37) formed in the upper cover main body 13.

  The pair of flexible lock arms 45 are bent by moving the operation portion 49 in the approaching direction so that the locking portions 53 locked to the respective locked portions are locked from the locked portions. Canceled.

  As shown in FIG. 3, an insertion piece 55 is projected from the maintenance cover 17. The insertion piece 55 protrudes in a direction along an orthogonal line 59 orthogonal to a straight line (straight line passing through the pair of flexible lock arms 45) 57 parallel to the approaching direction of the operation unit 49.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the insertion piece 55 protruding from the small square portion 43 shown in FIG.
In the present embodiment, a pair of flexible lock arms 45 are disposed at both ends of the other side portion 61 opposite to the one side portion 41 from which the small square portion 43 protrudes. As described above, the insertion piece 55 protrudes in a direction along the orthogonal line 59 orthogonal to the straight line 57. Accordingly, the insertion piece 55 is provided so as to further protrude from the small square portion 43. The insertion piece 55 can be formed in a rectangular plate shape, for example.

  The upper cover body 13 is provided with an insertion piece entry portion 63 (see FIG. 2) into which the insertion piece 55 is inserted. In the present embodiment, the insertion piece entry portion 63 is formed in the relay unit portion 15 that is fixed to the upper cover body 13 that is a case.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
In the electrical junction box 100 according to this embodiment, first, the insertion piece 55 of the maintenance cover 17 is inserted into the insertion piece entry portion 63 of the upper cover main body 13. The maintenance cover 17 in which the insertion piece 55 is inserted into the insertion piece entry portion 63 has a locking portion 53 provided on each of the pair of flexible lock arms 45, and a locked portion (wedge shape) of the upper cover body 13. The projection 33 is locked to the upper crosspiece 37).

  In the pair of flexible lock arms 45, when the maintenance cover 17 is pressed toward the upper cover main body 13, the respective locking portions 53 come into contact with the wedge-shaped protrusions 33 and the upper rail portion 37. When the maintenance cover 17 is further moved in the closing direction, the pair of flexible lock arms 45 are elastically deformed in a direction in which the U-shaped plate portion 47 approaches. At the same time that the maintenance cover 17 is closed, the flexible lock arm 45 moves over the wedge-shaped projection 33 and the upper rail portion 37 at the same time, and elastically recovers. The upper crosspiece 37 is locked to the lower surface side. By this locking, the maintenance cover 17 is locked to the upper cover body 13 at three points by the insertion piece 55 and the pair of flexible lock arms 45.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view of the maintenance cover 17 locked to the upper cover body 13 before the lock is released.
Further, in the pair of flexible lock arms 45, when the operation portions 49 are bent in the approaching direction, the locking of the locking portion 53 with respect to the locked portion is released.
That is, since the operation direction for releasing the lock faces each other, the operation portions 49 of the pair of flexible lock arms 45 move toward each other so that the lock can be released with one hand.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the operation after the lock of the maintenance cover 17 locked to the upper cover body 13 is released.
The maintenance cover 17 that is locked to the upper cover body 13 has a flexible lock while the pair of flexible lock arms 45 is held between one pair of fingers after the pair of flexible lock arms 45 is released. The arm 45 side is lifted. At this time, the insertion piece 55 is still inserted into the insertion piece entry portion 63.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view after the insertion piece 55 is removed.
In the maintenance cover 17, the insertion piece 55 is removed from the insertion piece entry portion 63 after the flexible lock arm 45 side is raised to a predetermined height (a height that does not interfere with other members). The maintenance cover 17 is completely removed from the upper cover body 13 by removing the insertion piece 55 from the insertion piece entry portion 63.

  The maintenance cover 17 is attached in reverse to the above-described removal procedure. That is, first, the insertion piece 55 is inserted into the insertion piece entry portion 63. Thereafter, when the maintenance cover 17 is pressed toward the upper cover body 13 on the flexible lock arm 45 side (the other side portion 61), the pair of flexible lock arms 45 is elastically deformed and engaged. Locked to the stop.

  In the electrical junction box 100 according to the present embodiment, the insertion piece 55 projects in a direction along an orthogonal line 59 orthogonal to a straight line 57 parallel to the approaching direction of the operation portions 49 of the pair of flexible lock arms 45. Therefore, even if the maintenance cover 17 moves in the direction in which the flexible lock arm 45 is elastically deformed and unlocked (the direction along the other side portion 61), the insertion piece 55 is removed from the insertion piece entry portion 63. Never move on.

  In addition, even if the maintenance cover 17 moves in the direction along the other side portion 61, the pair of flexible lock arms 45 are in elastic contact with the locked portion, so that the locked portion Does not come off easily (cannot be unlocked).

  Thus, the electrical junction box 100 according to the present embodiment is supported at three points by the pair of flexible lock arms 45 and the insertion piece 55, and the locking direction of the flexible lock arm 45 and the insertion direction of the insertion piece 55. Are identified. The electrical connection box 100 can be easily attached / detached (attached / detached with one hand) while ensuring the holding of the irregular-shaped maintenance cover 17 by this three-point support and specifying the locking direction and the insertion direction.

  Further, in the electrical junction box 100 of the present embodiment, the maintenance cover 17 is formed in an L shape in a plan view in which the small square portion 43 protrudes from one side 41 of the square cover main body 39. The pair of flexible lock arms 45 are arranged at both ends of the other side portion 61 opposite to the one side portion 41 from which the small square portion 43 protrudes, and the pair of flexible lock arms 45 are both parallel to the other side portion 61. It will be arranged on a straight line 57 passing through. The insertion piece 55 further protrudes from the small square portion 43 in a direction along an orthogonal line 59 orthogonal to a straight line 57 parallel to the other side portion 61.

  Therefore, the maintenance cover 17 having an L shape in plan view is supported at three points by the protruding corner portion 65 (see FIG. 3), the distal end portions 67 on both sides of the protruding corner portion 65, and the distal end portion 69. Therefore, rattling is suppressed. Further, the maintenance cover 17 holds the maintenance cover 17 as it is while releasing the locking portion 53 by holding the pair of flexible lock arms 45 with fingers, thereby inserting the insertion piece 55 into the insertion piece. It can be removed from the entry part 63. As a result, according to the electrical connection box 100 of the present embodiment, the maintenance cover 17 can be easily attached and detached with one hand even in a narrow work space during maintenance (checking and replacing fuses).

  Therefore, according to the electrical junction box 100 according to the present embodiment, the irregular maintenance cover 17 can be held without rattling and can be easily removed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the configurations of the embodiments may be combined with each other, or may be modified or applied by those skilled in the art based on the description of the specification and well-known techniques. The invention is intended and is within the scope of seeking protection.

  For example, in the above configuration example, the case where the cover according to the present invention has an L shape in plan view has been described as an example. However, the cover has a semicircular shape or a T shape in addition to a polygonal shape such as a square in plan view. Even if it is etc., there exists an effect similar to the said embodiment.

Here, the features of the above-described embodiment of the electrical junction box according to the present invention will be summarized and listed in the following [1] to [2], respectively.
[1] A case (upper cover body 13) having a maintenance section (19);
Locked portions (wedge-shaped protrusion 33 and upper crosspiece 37) formed on each of the pair of side walls (20, 22) opposed to the case (upper cover body 13);
A cover (maintenance cover 17) that is formed separately from the case (upper cover body 13) and covers the maintenance part (19);
The free ends (operation portions 49) formed on the cover (maintenance cover 17) are moved toward each other to bend and thereby bend to the respective locked portions (wedge-shaped protrusion 33 and upper crosspiece portion 37). A pair of flexible locking arms (45) in which the locked locking portion (53) is unlocked from the locked portion (wedge-shaped protrusion 33 and upper crosspiece 37);
An insertion piece (55) projecting in a direction along an orthogonal line (59) orthogonal to a straight line (57) formed in the cover (maintenance cover 17) and parallel to the approach direction;
An insertion piece entry portion (63) into which the insertion piece (55) of the cover (maintenance cover 17) formed on the case (upper cover body 13) and covering the maintenance portion (19) enters;
An electrical junction box (100) comprising:
[2] The electrical junction box according to [1] above,
The cover (maintenance cover 17) is formed in an L shape in plan view with a small square part (43) protruding from one side part (41) of a cover body part (39) formed in a quadrangle,
The pair of flexible lock arms (45) are arranged at both ends of the other side portion (61) opposite to the one side portion (41) from which the small square portion (43) protrudes,
The electrical connection box (100), wherein the insertion piece (55) is further provided so as to protrude from the small square portion (43).

13 ... Upper cover body (case)
17 ... Maintenance cover (cover)
19 ... maintenance parts 20 and 22 ... side wall 33 ... wedge-shaped projection (locked part)
37 ... Upper crosspiece (locked part)
45 ... flexible lock arm 49 ... operation part (free end)
53 ... Locking part 55 ... Insertion piece 57 ... Straight line 59 ... Orthogonal line 63 ... Insertion piece entry part 100 ... Electrical junction box

Claims (2)

A case having a maintenance section;
A locked portion formed on each of a pair of opposing side walls of the case;
A cover that is formed separately from the case and covers the maintenance unit;
A pair of locking portions that are formed on the cover and that are locked to the locked portions are released from the locked portions by moving the free ends toward each other and bending them. A flexible locking arm;
An insertion piece formed in the cover and protruding in a direction along an orthogonal line orthogonal to a straight line parallel to the approach direction;
An insertion piece entry part into which the insertion piece of the cover that is formed in the case and covers the maintenance part enters;
An electrical junction box comprising: The electrical junction box according to claim 1,
The cover is formed in an L shape in a plan view in which a small square part protrudes from one side part of a cover body part formed in a quadrangle,
The pair of flexible lock arms are disposed at both ends of the other side opposite to the one side where the small square part protrudes,
The electrical connection box, wherein the insertion piece is provided so as to further protrude from the small square portion.

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