JP2014054006A - Electric connection box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric connection box which can reduce cost and weight of a connector without changing a function and an outer shape size of the electric connection box.SOLUTION: An electric connection box 10 has a body case 5, a connector 1A assembled to the body case 5, and a wiring module formed of a plurality of electric wires arranged in a wiring sheet. The connector 1A has a connector housing 2, and a first terminal 3 and a second terminal 4 arranged in two rows of upper and lower positions. A terminal support part 23 of the connector housing 2 is interposed between an intermediate part 33 of the first terminal 3 and an intermediate part 43 of the second terminal 4. The body case 5 has a contact surface 50 that abuts on the intermediate part 33 of the first terminal 3. When the wiring module is stacked on the body case 5, load F is applied on the first terminal 3 and the second terminal 4. The terminal support part 23 and the contact surface 50 receives the load F and prevent the plastic deformation of the first terminal 3 and the second terminal 4.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical junction box having a case and a connector assembled to the case.

  There are various types of electrical junction boxes for automobiles. For example, as in the electrical junction box 310 shown in FIG. 6, a case, a connector 301 assembled to the case, and a synthetic resin wiring sheet are used. There is a structure having a wiring module (not shown) formed by arranging a plurality of electric wires. The case includes a main body case 305 shown in FIG. 6 and a cover (not shown) (see Patent Document 1).

  The connector 301 has a connector housing 302 made of synthetic resin and a plurality of terminals 303 and 304.

  The connector housing 302 includes a concave housing portion 320 that accepts a mating connector that fits into the connector 301, and a first extending from the terminal holding wall 321 that is the bottom wall of the housing portion 320 to the opposite side of the housing portion 320. The terminal support part 322 and the second terminal support part 323 are provided. Further, an arrow K in FIG. 6 indicates a direction in which the mating connector is inserted into the housing portion 320.

  The plurality of terminals 303 and 304 are obtained by subjecting a metal plate to press working or the like, and are arranged in the accommodating portion 320 and are connected to the terminals of the mating connector and the first connection portions 331 and 341, respectively. The wiring modules are bent at a right angle at the ends of the intermediate portions 333 and 343 extending from the first connection portions 331 and 341 in the arrow K direction and penetrating the terminal holding wall 321 and at the ends of the intermediate portions 333 and 343, The second connection parts 332 and 342 connected to the electric wires are provided. The second connection portions 332 and 342 are formed in a tuning fork shape having a slot extending in the standing direction of the second connection portions 332 and 342.

  The plurality of terminals 303 and 304 are arranged in two upper and lower rows. In this specification, the terminals 303 arranged on the lower side are referred to as “first terminals”, and the terminals 304 arranged on the upper side. Is referred to as a “second terminal”. In the first terminal 303 and the second terminal 304, the second connection portions 332 and 342 are bent in the same direction, and the intermediate portion 343 of the second terminal 304 is more than the intermediate portion 333 of the first terminal 303. It is short. The first terminal support portion 322 is in contact with the lower surface of the intermediate portion 333 of the first terminal 303, and the second terminal support portion 323 is an upper surface of the intermediate portion 333 of the first terminal 303. And the lower surface of the intermediate portion 343 of the second terminal 304.

  The main body case 305 is made of synthetic resin, and has a rib 351 with which the side surface of the housing portion 320 of the connector housing 302 abuts, and a contact surface 350 with which the first terminal support portion 322 of the connector housing 302 abuts. doing.

  In the wiring module, a through hole through which the second connection portions 332 and 342 are passed through the wiring sheet is formed. The wiring module is overlaid on the main body case 305 so that the second connection portions 332 and 342 are passed through the through holes in a state where the connector 301 is in contact with the rib 351 and the contact surface 350. As a result, the electric wires arranged in the wiring sheet are inserted into the slots of the second connection portions 332 and 342. Further, the first terminal support portion 322 and the second terminal support portion 323 receive the load F applied to the first terminal 303 and the second terminal 304 when the wiring module is stacked on the main body case 305. The plastic deformation of the first terminal 303 and the second terminal 304 is prevented.

JP 2005-86864 A

  For the above-described conventional electrical junction box 310, there has been a demand for cost reduction of the connector 301 and weight reduction of the connector 301.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, in an electrical junction box having a case and a connector assembled to the case, it is possible to reduce the cost of the connector and reduce the weight of the connector without changing the function / outer size of the electrical junction box. An object is to provide an electrical junction box.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention described in claim 1 includes a case and a connector assembled to the case, wherein the connector includes a connector housing provided with a terminal holding wall, and a plurality of terminals. The plurality of terminals are provided at one end with a first connection portion connected to a terminal of a mating connector fitted to the connector, and connected to a component in the case at the other end. A second connection portion is provided, and an intermediate portion between the first connection portion and the second connection portion extends in a band shape in the fitting direction of the connector and the mating connector, and the terminal holding wall Penetrating, the second connecting portion bent at a right angle from the intermediate portion, and the case is opposite to the side where the second connecting portion is bent, and at least one of the plurality of terminals. Abutting against the intermediate portion of the two first terminals An electrical connection box, characterized in that it has a that abutting surface.

  The invention described in claim 2 is the invention described in claim 1, wherein the plurality of terminals include a second terminal that does not contact the contact surface of the case. The terminal and the second connection portion of the second terminal are bent in the same direction, an intermediate portion of the second terminal is formed shorter than an intermediate portion of the first terminal, and the connector The housing is provided with a terminal support portion interposed between the intermediate portion of the first terminal and the intermediate portion of the second terminal.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the second connecting portion is formed in a tuning fork shape having a slot extending in a standing direction of the second connecting portion. It is characterized by being.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the case contacts the intermediate portion of at least one first terminal of the plurality of terminals on the side opposite to the side where the second connection portion is bent. Since the contact surface is in contact, there is no need to provide a terminal support portion on the connector housing for receiving a load applied to the first terminal when a component is connected to the second connection portion of the first terminal. Therefore, the connector housing can be reduced in size and weight. Further, since the connector housing can be reduced in size, the manufacturing mold cost of the connector housing can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to provide an electrical junction box capable of reducing the cost of the connector and reducing the weight of the connector without changing the function / outer size of the electrical junction box.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, the plurality of terminals include a second terminal that does not contact the contact surface of the case, and the first terminal and the second terminal The second connection portion is bent in the same direction, an intermediate portion of the second terminal is formed shorter than an intermediate portion of the first terminal, and the first terminal is provided in the connector housing. Since the terminal support portion interposed between the intermediate portion of the second terminal and the intermediate portion of the second terminal is provided, when the component is connected to the second connection portion of the second terminal, The applied load can be received by the terminal support portion, and plastic deformation of the second terminal can be prevented.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, since the second connection portion is formed in a tuning fork shape having a slot extending in the standing direction of the second connection portion, the second connection portion is formed in the slot of the first terminal. There is no need to provide the connector housing with a terminal support portion that receives the load applied to the first terminal when a component is inserted, and the connector housing can be reduced in size and weight accordingly.

It is a perspective view of the electrical junction box concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the cover and the wiring module from the main body case of the electrical-connection box shown by FIG. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the electrical junction box shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the connector shown in FIG. 3. It is sectional drawing along the AA line in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the conventional electrical junction box.

  An “electric connection box” according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Further, the “electric connection box” is mounted on a car and supplies power and transmits signals to an electronic device mounted on the car. In the present invention, a junction block (also referred to as a junction box), a fuse block (also referred to as a fuse box), and a relay block (also referred to as a relay box) are collectively referred to as an electrical connection box.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the electrical connection box 10 includes a synthetic resin body case 5, a pair of connectors 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B, a fuse block 6, a plurality of bus bars 7, and a synthetic resin wiring. A wiring module 8 (schematically shown in FIG. 3) in which a plurality of electric wires are arranged on a sheet, and a synthetic resin cover that is assembled to the main body case 5 and constitutes a “case” together with the main body case 5 9. The pair of connectors 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B, the fuse block 6, the plurality of bus bars 7, and the wiring module 8 are assembled between the main body case 5 and the cover 9.

  The pair of connectors 1A and 1B are assembled to both ends of the main body case 5 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of connectors 1 </ b> A and 1 </ b> B includes a connector housing 2 made of synthetic resin and a plurality of terminals 3 and 4. Since the pair of connectors 1A and 1B have the same configuration, the configuration of the connector 1A will be described below as a representative.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the connector housing 2 includes a concave accommodating portion 20 that receives a mating connector that fits into the connector 1 </ b> A, and a terminal holding wall 21 that is a bottom wall of the accommodating portion 20, and is opposite to the accommodating portion 20. And a terminal support 23 extending in the direction. In addition, an arrow K in FIG. 5 indicates a direction in which a mating connector (wire harness connector or the like) is inserted into the housing portion 20. Moreover, the opening part of the accommodating part 20 is positioned outside a case.

  The plurality of terminals 3 and 4 are obtained by pressing a metal plate or the like. These terminals 3 and 4 are disposed in the accommodating portion 20 and are connected to the terminals of the mating connector, and extend from the first connection portions 31 and 41 in the direction of the arrow K in a band shape. And intermediate portions 33 and 43 penetrating the terminal holding wall 21 and second connection portions 32 and 42 bent at a right angle at the ends of the intermediate portions 33 and 43 and connected to the wires of the wiring module 8 are provided. It has been. Further, the second connection portions 32 and 42 are formed in a tuning fork shape having the slot 11 extending in the standing direction of the second connection portions 32 and 42.

  The plurality of terminals 3 and 4 are arranged in two upper and lower rows. In the present invention and the present specification, the terminals 3 arranged on the lower side (the body case 5 side) are referred to as “first terminals”. The terminals 4 arranged on the upper side (the cover 9 side) are referred to as “second terminals”. In the first terminal 3 and the second terminal 4, the second connection portions 32 and 42 are bent in the same direction, and the intermediate portion 43 of the second terminal 4 is more than the intermediate portion 33 of the first terminal 3. It is short. Moreover, in this embodiment, the 2nd connection parts 32 and 42 are bent to the cover 9 side.

  The terminal support 23 of the connector housing 2 is interposed between the intermediate portion 33 of the first terminal 3 and the intermediate portion 43 of the second terminal 4. That is, the terminal support portion 23 is in contact with the upper surface of the intermediate portion 33 of the first terminal 3 and is in contact with the lower surface of the intermediate portion 43 of the second terminal 4.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the main body case 5 includes a rib 51 that contacts the side surface of the housing portion 20 of the connector housing 2 and a contact surface 50 that contacts the intermediate portion 33 of the first terminal 3. . Further, the intermediate portion 43 of the second terminal 4 does not contact the contact surface 50. Moreover, the main body case 5 has the rib 51 and the contact surface 50 corresponding to each connector 1A, 1B, as shown in FIG.

  The wiring module 8 is formed with a through hole through which the second connection portions 32 and 42 are passed through the wiring sheet. The wiring module 8 is stacked on the main body case 5 so that the second connecting portions 32 and 42 are passed through the through-holes in a state where the connectors 1A and 1B are in contact with the rib 51 and the contact surface 50. As a result, the electric wires arranged in the wiring sheet are inserted into the slots 11 of the second connection portions 32 and 42.

  Further, when the wiring module 8 is overlaid on the main body case 5, a load F is applied to the first terminal 3 and the second terminal 4 as shown in FIG. 5. The terminal support portion 23 of the connector housing 2 and the contact surface 50 of the main body case 5 receive this load F and prevent plastic deformation of the first terminal 3 and the second terminal 4. That is, the terminal support portion 23 of the connector housing 2 receives the load F applied to the second terminal 4, and the contact surface 50 of the main body case 5 receives the load F applied to the first terminal 3.

  As described above, in the electrical junction box 10, since the main body case 5 has the contact surface 50 that contacts the intermediate portion 33 of the first terminal 3, the wiring module is placed in the slot 11 of the first terminal 3. It is not necessary to provide the connector housing 2 with a terminal support portion that receives the load F applied to the first terminal 3 when the 8 wires are inserted, and the connector housing 2 can be reduced in size and weight accordingly. Moreover, since the connector housing 2 can be reduced in size, the manufacturing die cost of the connector housing 2 can be reduced. Further, the main body case 5 is not changed from the conventional product except that the height of the contact surface 50 is changed. Therefore, the fuse block 6, the plurality of bus bars 7, the wiring module 8, and the cover 9 can be used as they are. The weight of the connectors 1A and 1B can be reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the connectors 1A and 1B have the first terminals 3 and the second terminals 4 arranged in two rows. However, the connectors 1A and 1B connect the second terminals 4 to each other. In the case of having only the first terminal 3 without the terminal housing 23, it is not necessary to provide the terminal support portion 23 in the connector housing 2. When the connectors 1A and 1B have the first terminals 3, the second terminals 4, and the third terminals (arranged in the uppermost stage) arranged in three rows, the second terminals 4 may be added to the connector housing 2 between the intermediate portion 43 and the intermediate portion of the third terminal.

  In addition, embodiment mentioned above only showed the typical form of this invention, and this invention is not limited to embodiment. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1A, 1B connector 2 connector housing 3 first terminal 4 second terminal 5 body case (case)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electrical connection box 21 Terminal holding wall 23 Terminal support part 31,41 1st connection part 32,42 2nd connection part 33,43 Intermediate part 50 Abutting surface

Claims (3)

A case and a connector assembled to the case;
The connector has a connector housing provided with a terminal holding wall, and a plurality of terminals,
The plurality of terminals are provided with a first connection portion connected to a terminal of a mating connector fitted to the connector at one end and a second connection portion connected to a component in the case at the other end. The intermediate portion between the first connection portion and the second connection portion extends in a band shape in the fitting direction of the connector and the mating connector and penetrates the terminal holding wall, The second connecting portion is bent at a right angle from the intermediate portion;
The case has a contact surface that abuts against the intermediate portion of at least one first terminal of the plurality of terminals on a side opposite to the side where the second connection portion is bent. Electrical junction box. The plurality of terminals include a second terminal that does not contact the contact surface of the case,
The second connection portions of the first terminal and the second terminal are bent in the same direction,
An intermediate portion of the second terminal is formed shorter than an intermediate portion of the first terminal;
The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein the connector housing is provided with a terminal support portion interposed between the intermediate portion of the first terminal and the intermediate portion of the second terminal. . The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein the second connection portion is formed in a tuning fork shape having a slot extending in a standing direction of the second connection portion.

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