JP2015104280A - Joint box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a joint box compact without increasing the thickness of a bus bar, by fitting the fitting piece at the base of a tab terminal manufactured previously to a fitted part provided in the bus bar and then welding thereto.SOLUTION: A bus bar 16 is provided with a circuit pattern by punching a conductive metal plate. A rectangular fitting hole 16a for attaching a tab terminal 14 is bored at a predetermined position of the bus bar 16. Meanwhile, the tab terminal 14 is punched from a metal material into substantially rectangular shape, and a fitting piece 14a provided at the base is fitted in the fitting hole 16a of the bus bar 16. When the fitting piece 14a of the tab terminal 14 is fitted in the fitting hole 16a and laser welding is performed, the tab terminal 14 can be secured while rising from the bus bar 16.

Description

  The present invention relates to a joint box that is used in, for example, an electric circuit of an automobile and branches and connects various wirings.

  Conventionally, various types of joint boxes are known. Inside the joint box, multiple bus bars with circuit patterns for branching and connecting multiple signal wires and power supply wires are arranged, and a number of tab terminals for connecting to external wires are provided on the external surface. It is necessary to provide it. Further, since the bus bar is formed by punching a metal plate, the bus bar cannot be crossed while insulating the circuit. Therefore, a plurality of bus bars sharing the circuit are stacked to form a circuit, and the layers are insulated from each other by an insulating plate.

  The tab terminal needs to extend from the bus bar and protrude perpendicularly outward from the joint box. It is conceivable that a part of the bus bar formed by punching is raised to form a tab terminal. However, when the tab terminal is attached in this manner, the circuit formed by the bus bar cannot be formed at the portion where the tab terminal is formed, and therefore the degree of integration of the circuit is extremely limited.

  In order to solve this problem, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose that a tab terminal 2 of another member bent in an L shape is placed on the bus bar 1 and fixed by welding as shown in FIG. ing.

JP-A-10-334955 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-297445

  However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, the bent portion 3 of the tab terminal 2 formed in an L-shaped cross section is overlapped on the bus bar 1 and welded to the bus bar 1. The thickness of increases. When a large number of bus bars 1 having such a configuration are stacked, the overall thickness increases, leading to an increase in the size of the joint box.

  The objective of this invention is providing the joint box which can provide many tab terminals, eliminating the above-mentioned subject and restrict | limiting the magnitude | size of the thickness direction.

  In order to achieve the above object, a joint box according to the present invention has a bus bar in which a circuit pattern is formed by punching a conductive metal plate on a resin plate made of a synthetic resin material, and tab terminals are arranged orthogonally from the bus bar. In a joint box including a circuit unit in which a plurality of protruding circuit boards are stacked, a rectangular insertion portion is formed on the bus bar, and a fitting portion of a base portion of the tab terminal is inserted into the insertion portion by welding. It is characterized by being fixed.

  According to the joint box according to the present invention, since the base portion of the tab terminal manufactured in advance is fitted and fixed to the rectangular insertion portion provided on the bus bar, the thickness of the bus bar is not increased, and the size and weight are reduced. Can be achieved.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the upper case, circuit unit, and lower case which comprise the joint box of an Example. It is a perspective view of the joint box of an assembly state. It is a perspective view of a circuit board. It is a perspective view of the tab terminal formed from the bus-bar and the metal raw material of the state punched out from the metal plate. It is a perspective view of the state which inserted the tab terminal in the insertion hole provided in the bus bar, and was fixed by welding. It is a perspective view of the tab terminal which should be fixed with the insertion groove | channel provided in the edge part of a bus-bar. It is sectional drawing which welded the tab terminal to the bus bar of the prior art example.

  The present invention will be described in detail based on the embodiment shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the joint box of the embodiment. By assembling an upper case 11 made of a synthetic resin material, a circuit unit 12 incorporating a bus bar, and a lower case 13 made of a synthetic resin material, FIG. A box-shaped joint box as shown is obtained. In FIG. 2, illustration of tab terminals appearing on the surface of the joint box is omitted.

  When the circuit unit 12 is accommodated between the upper case 11 and the lower case 13 and the side edges of the cases 11 and 13 are joined to each other, the upper case 11 and the lower case 13 are not shown in the state in which the circuit unit 12 is accommodated. It is locked by a locking mechanism.

  The upper case 11 is provided with a plurality of partitioned frame portions 11a, and the tab terminals 14 from the circuit unit 12 protrude upward from the hole portions 11b and are positioned in the frame portion 11a. And when the other party connector which accommodated the fuse element, the switch element, or the other connection terminal is mounted in the frame part 11a, the tab terminal 14 can be connected. In the lower case 13, a frame portion 13 a and a hole portion 13 b are formed, the tab terminal 14 protrudes downward, and a connector or the like can be similarly attached to the lower surface of the lower case 13.

  As shown in FIG. 3, for example, five circuit boards 15 are laminated on the circuit unit 12. Each circuit board 15 has a bus bar 16 punched out of a circuit pattern placed and fixed on a resin plate 15a made of synthetic resin having a thickness of about 1.5 mm and having an insulating property formed by injection molding. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of bus bars 16 are used. The bus bar 16 is formed by punching a conductive metal plate such as a brass plate having a thickness of 0.3 mm, for example, and has a different circuit pattern for each laminated circuit board 15.

  A tab terminal 14 having a thickness of 0.7 mm, for example, is attached to a predetermined portion of the bus bar 16 so as to be orthogonal to the upper side. The resin plate 15 a of the upper circuit board 15 is provided with a tab terminal insertion hole 15 b necessary for inserting the tab terminal 14 of the lower circuit board 15. Further, when the tab terminal 14 protrudes to the lower case 13 side, a tab terminal insertion hole 15b for inserting the tab terminal 14 of the upper circuit board 15 is provided in the resin plate 15a of the lower circuit board 15. Yes.

  In addition, since the tips of the tab terminals 14 must be aligned at a certain height on the surface of the joint box, the tab terminals 14 on the lower circuit board 15 are long, and are shortened on the upper circuit board 15. ing. The size and thickness of each tab terminal 14 can be changed depending on the type of the mating connector. For example, the tab terminal 14 used for connecting the power supply circuit preferably has a current capacity that can handle a large current.

  The circuit board 15 is not necessarily laminated with all the tab terminals 14 facing upward. For example, the upper three-layer circuit board 15 is laminated with the tab terminals 14 facing upward, and the lower two-layer circuit board. 15 may be laminated with the tab terminal 14 facing downward.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bus bar 16 before the tab terminal 14 is attached has a rectangular insertion hole 16 a for inserting an insertion piece 14 a provided at the base of the tab terminal 14 at a position to be attached. Note that the tab terminal 14 is not necessarily attached to the insertion hole 16a but may be an insertion portion by an insertion groove 16b provided in a side portion of the bus bar 16 as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, the tab terminal 14 has a substantially rectangular shape punched from a metal material, can be connected to the terminal of the mating connector, and the width of the fitting piece 14a provided on the base is narrower than the width of the tab terminal 14, The height is about the thickness of the bus bar 16. As the tab terminal 14, for example, a flat blade terminal 14 'serving as an insertion terminal, or a fuse terminal receiver 14 "having a tip branched into two is applicable.

  After inserting the insertion piece 14a into the insertion hole 16a, when laser welding is performed by irradiating the joining portion between the insertion piece 14a and the insertion hole 16a from the back surface or the upper surface of the bus bar 16, as shown in FIG. The tab terminal 14 can be fixed while standing up from the bus bar 16.

  In the actual welding process, the tab terminals 14 that are supplied in an aligned manner by the parts feeder are imaged by, for example, a robot hand with the insertion pieces 14a of the tab terminals 14 facing up in the tab terminal holding holes provided in the jig as an auxiliary tool. Insert while performing image processing with the camera. From the surface of the jig, only the insertion piece 14a of the tab terminal 14 to be inserted into the insertion hole 16a of the bus bar 16 is exposed. In this way, the bus bar 16 is placed and pressed on the fitting pieces 14a arranged on the jig, and the fitting pieces 14a are press-fitted into the fitting holes 16a. In addition, by forming the insertion piece 14a which fits the insertion hole 16a in the tab terminal 14, only the insertion piece 14a is inserted at the time of insertion, and deep insertion of the insertion does not occur. Next, the tab terminal 14 is fixed to the bus bar 16 by laser beam irradiation and welding.

  Such circuit patterns are different from each other, and the bus bars 16 to which the tab terminals 14 are fixed are respectively fixed on the resin plate 15a to manufacture the circuit board 15. When a plurality of circuit boards 15 are stacked, the tab terminal 14 of the lower circuit board 15 is inserted into a tab terminal insertion hole 15b provided in the upper resin plate 15a and penetrates through the resin plate 15a. Further, although not shown, for example, an anchor pin provided in a part of the resin plate 15a of the lowermost circuit board 15 is inserted into a pin hole provided in the upper resin plate 15a, and the upper end of the anchor pin is inserted. When heated and crushed, these circuit boards 15 become an integrated laminate and become a circuit unit 12.

  The circuit unit 12 is sandwiched between the upper case 11 and the lower case 13, the tab terminal 14 protrudes from the surface of the upper case 11 and the lower case 13, and the cases 11 and 13 are locked together to complete the joint box. As described above, various elements and connectors are fitted to the tab terminals 14 protruding from the surfaces of the upper case 11 and the lower case 13 to function as a joint box.

  In the embodiment, since the insertion piece 14a of the tab terminal 14 is inserted and welded into the insertion hole 16a of the bus bar 16, the thickness of the bus bar 16 does not increase even if the tab terminal 14 is attached. A box can be realized.

  In the embodiment, a terminal having a flat blade shape or the like has been described as the tab terminal 14, but only the uppermost circuit board 15 can be laminated without considering insertion into the tab terminal insertion hole 15b. It can also be a large receiving terminal. If the shape of the tab terminal insertion hole 15 b can be adapted, the receiving terminal or the like can be fixed to the bus bar 16 as the tab terminal 14 in the lower circuit board 15.

  In addition, an electronic circuit unit can be built in the joint box, and tab terminals can be projected from the joint box so that the boxes containing the electronic circuit units can be adjacent to each other and connected by the terminals.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Upper case 12 Circuit unit 13 Lower case 14 Tab terminal 14a Insertion piece 15 Circuit board 15a Resin plate 15b Tab terminal insertion hole 16 Bus bar 16a Insertion hole 16b Insertion groove

Claims (7)

  A bus bar in which a circuit pattern is formed by punching a conductive metal plate on a resin plate made of a synthetic resin material is placed, and a circuit unit in which a plurality of circuit boards with tab terminals protruding from the bus bar in an orthogonal direction is stacked. In the joint box, a rectangular fitting portion is formed in the bus bar, and a fitting piece of a base portion of the tab terminal is fitted into the fitting portion and fixed by welding.   The joint box according to claim 1, wherein the fitted portion is a fitting hole or a fitting groove.   The joint box according to claim 1, wherein a height of the fitting piece is about a thickness of the bus bar.   The joint box according to claim 1, wherein the welding is performed by laser light.   The joint tab according to claim 1, wherein the tab terminal is a flat blade terminal or a fuse terminal receiver.   The joint according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a tab terminal insertion hole for inserting a tab terminal of the lower circuit board is provided in the resin plate of the upper circuit board. box.   The joint box according to claim 1, wherein the circuit unit is housed between an upper case and a lower case.

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