JP7211843B2 - Fixing structure of busbar and electrical connection box - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a busbar fixing structure for fixing a busbar to a housing having a terminal receiving chamber, and an electric connection box using the fixing structure.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it has been proposed to incorporate a bus bar in an electric junction box (for example, a relay box) installed in an automobile or the like for the purpose of power distribution inside the electric junction box. For example, in one of the conventional electric connection boxes, a plate-shaped bus bar is inserted and fixed to the housing of the electric connection box (the main body portion where fuses, relays, etc. are attached) (for example, , see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2005-050577 A JP-A-2000-166057

In the above-described conventional electric junction box, the busbar is fixed to the housing by engaging the projection provided on the housing of the electric junction box with the hole provided in the busbar. However, as electrical junction boxes become smaller and thinner, various members are densely arranged inside the electrical junction box, making it difficult to secure space for such protrusions. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a busbar fixing structure capable of reliably fixing a busbar to a housing while saving space, and an electric connection box using the fixing structure. , is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, a bus bar fixing structure and an electric connection box according to the present invention are characterized by the following [1] to [4].
[1]
A bus bar fixing structure comprising a housing having a terminal housing chamber for housing a terminal, and a bus bar fixed to the housing,
The terminal housing chamber is
Locking that protrudes into the terminal accommodating chamber when the terminal is not accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber and is pushed out of the terminal accommodating chamber when the terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber having an arm,
The busbar is
fixed to the housing by engaging with the locking arm pushed out of the terminal receiving chamber;
The fixed structure of the busbar.
[2]
In the fixing structure described in [1] above,
The housing is
having a wiring path for the bus bar so as to be adjacent to a wall portion defining the terminal receiving chamber;
The locking arm is
disposed on the wall;
The fixed structure of the busbar.
[3]
In the fixing structure according to [1] or [2] above,
The busbar is
Having a recess or a through hole at a position corresponding to the locking arm,
The locking arm is
engaged with the bus bar by being inserted into the recess or the through hole;
The fixed structure of the busbar.
[4]
A housing having a terminal housing chamber for housing a terminal, and a bus bar fixed to the housing,
The bus bar is fixed to the housing using the fixing structure according to any one of [1] to [3] above,
Must be an electric connection box.

According to the busbar fixing structure of the above [1], when a terminal is inserted and accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber, the locking arm is pushed out of the terminal accommodating chamber by the terminal. The bus bar is fixed to the housing by engaging the locking arm and the bus bar. Therefore, there is no need for a dedicated space for arranging a member for fixing the bus bar, such as the space for arranging the protrusions in the above-described conventional electric connection box. Therefore, the fixing structure of this configuration can reliably fix the bus bar to the housing while saving space.

According to the busbar fixing structure of the above [2], the wall portion defining the terminal accommodating chamber is arranged between the terminal accommodating chamber and the wiring route of the busbar. Furthermore, a locking arm is arranged on the wall. Therefore, the structure of the locking arm can be made simple and rational so that the locking arm is pushed out toward the busbar when the terminal is housed in the terminal housing chamber.

According to the busbar fixing structure having the above configuration [3], the locking arm is engaged with the busbar by inserting the locking arm into the recess or the through hole provided in the busbar. Therefore, the concave portion or the through hole of the busbar, which has been conventionally used for the busbar fixing structure, can be used as it is for the busbar fixing structure according to the present invention. As a result, it becomes unnecessary to change the design of the bus bar, etc., and it becomes easy to apply the fixing structure of this configuration to various electric connection boxes and the like.

Furthermore, according to this fixing structure, when the bus bar is not arranged in the proper position of the housing, the locking arm cannot interfere with the bus bar and enter the concave portion or the through hole, and the locking arm does not move into the terminal receiving chamber. unable to move sufficiently outside of the room. As a result, the terminals cannot be accommodated in the terminal accommodating chambers. Therefore, it is possible to detect whether or not the bus bar is arranged in the proper position of the housing, depending on whether or not the terminal is properly accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber.

According to the electric junction box having the configuration [4], when the terminal is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber and accommodated therein, the locking arm is pushed out of the terminal accommodating chamber by the terminal. The bus bar is fixed to the housing by engaging the locking arm and the bus bar. Therefore, there is no need for a dedicated space for arranging a member for fixing the bus bar, such as the space for arranging the protrusions in the above-described conventional electric connection box. Therefore, the electrical connection box of this configuration can easily be made smaller and thinner.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the fixing structure of the busbar which can fix a busbar to a housing|casing reliably, and an electrical-connection box using the fixing structure can be provided, although it is space-saving.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the detailed description below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top view showing an enlarged part of an electrical connection box using a busbar fixing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2(a) is a cross-sectional view along the axis of the terminal accommodating chamber showing an enlarged periphery of a locking arm provided in the terminal accommodating chamber, and FIG. It is a figure corresponding to Fig.2 (a) which shows a mode that a locking arm engages with a bus-bar by insertion of.

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, an electric connection box 1 using a busbar fixing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The electrical connection box 1 is typically a fuse box or a relay box that is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and controls power distribution to a plurality of electrical devices mounted on the vehicle.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, "front-rear direction", "width direction", "vertical direction", "upper", and "lower" are defined. The "front-rear direction", the "width direction" and the "vertical direction" are orthogonal to each other. The vertical direction coincides with the direction in which the terminal 30 is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber 11 .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the electrical junction box 1 includes a resin housing 10 and metal busbars 20 fixed to the housing 10 . The housing 10 is provided with a plurality of terminal receiving chambers 11 that are open to the upper surface of the housing 10 and extend downward. In this example, four terminal accommodating chambers 11 having a rectangular cross section are arranged (in a matrix) so as to be aligned in the front-rear direction and the width direction.

A busbar fixing portion 12 for fixing the busbar 20 is formed on the upper surface of the housing 10 . The busbar fixing portion 12 is a groove that opens upward and extends along the wiring route of the busbar 20 . In this example, the busbar fixing portion 12 extends alternately in the front-rear direction and in the width direction in a crank shape. Contained.

A portion 12a (see FIG. 1) extending in the width direction of the busbar fixing portion 12 is a "one-side wall portion" (see FIG. 1) defining one terminal accommodating chamber 11a (see FIG. 1) of the four terminal accommodating chambers 11. wall extending in the width direction). Therefore, a portion 20a extending in the width direction of the bus bar 20 (hereinafter also simply referred to as "bus bar 20a"; see FIG. 1) is also arranged so as to be adjacent to "one side wall portion" of the terminal accommodating chamber 11a. .

As shown in FIG. 2, a cantilever-like locking arm 13 extending downward is provided in the terminal receiving chamber 11a so as to constitute a part of the "one side wall". there is When the terminal 30 is not accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 11a (that is, when the locking arm 13 is not elastically deformed), as shown in FIG. 13a protrudes into the terminal receiving chamber 11a.

At a portion corresponding to the locking arm 13 in the portion 12a extending in the width direction of the busbar fixing portion 12, the side wall on the side of the locking arm 13 is opened. , are exposed on the locking arm 13 side. A through hole 21 penetrating in the plate thickness direction (front-rear direction) is formed at a position corresponding to the distal end portion 13a of the locking arm 13 in the bus bar 20a.

When the terminal 30 is inserted into the terminal receiving chamber 11a, the terminal 30 presses the distal end portion 13a of the locking arm 13 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 11a is elastically deformed toward the outside of the vehicle (toward the exposed bus bar 20a). Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the terminal 30 is inserted to the normal position of the terminal receiving chamber 11a, the pressing portion 31 of the terminal 30 presses the tip portion 13a of the locking arm 13, thereby The portion 13a is pushed out to a position (engagement position) where it is inserted into the through hole 21 of the bus bar 20a, and the state in which the tip portion 13a is inserted into the through hole 21 is maintained. As a result, the entire busbar 20 is fixed to the housing 10 by engaging the locking arm 13 with the busbar 20a.

On the other hand, if the busbar 20 is not placed at the proper position of the busbar fixing portion 12, the relative positions of the tip portion 13a of the locking arm 13 and the through hole 21 of the busbar 20a are displaced, causing the tip portion 13a to become the through hole. 21, and the distal end portion 13a cannot move to the "engaged position". As a result, since the locking arm 13 cannot move sufficiently toward the outside of the terminal receiving chamber 11a, the terminal 30 interferes with the distal end portion 13a of the locking arm 13 remaining in the terminal receiving chamber 11a, causing the terminal to move. 30 cannot be inserted to the normal position of the terminal receiving chamber 11a. Therefore, it is possible to detect whether or not the busbar 20 is arranged at the correct position of the busbar fixing portion 12 by determining whether or not the terminal 30 can be inserted to the correct position of the terminal accommodating chamber 11a. Become.

As described above, according to the electrical connection box 1 using the busbar fixing structure according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the terminal 30 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 11a and accommodated, the terminal 30 pushes the terminal out of the terminal accommodating chamber 11a. The busbar 20 is fixed to the housing 10 by inserting the distal end portion 13a of the locking arm 13 into the through hole 21 of the busbar 20a. Therefore, a dedicated space for a fixing structure for fixing the bus bar 20 to the housing 10 is not required. Therefore, it is possible to provide a busbar fixing structure that can easily fix the busbar 20 to the housing 10, and the electric connection box 1 using the fixing structure.

Furthermore, according to the electrical connection box 1, the terminal accommodating chamber 11a and the wiring path of the bus bar 20a can be arranged across the "one side wall portion" defining the terminal accommodating chamber 11a. As a result, a rational structure is realized, and the electric connection box 1 that achieves space saving can be realized.

Furthermore, according to the electric connection box 1, the locking arm 13 is engaged with the busbar 20a by inserting the tip portion 13a of the locking arm 13 into the through hole 21 provided in the busbar 20a. Therefore, the through hole of the bus bar that has been conventionally used as the bus bar fixing structure can be used as it is as the bus bar fixing structure according to the present invention.

<Other aspects>
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 can be modified, improved, etc. as appropriate. In addition, the material, shape, size, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the distal end portion 13a of the locking arm 13 pushed out of the terminal accommodating chamber 11a by the terminal 30 is inserted into the through-hole 21 provided in the busbar 20a, thereby allowing the busbar 20 to move into the housing. It is fixed to body 10 . On the other hand, the busbar 20 may be fixed to the housing 10 by inserting the tip portion 13a into a recess (a non-penetrating hole that opens toward the tip portion 13a) provided in the busbar 20a.

Here, the characteristics of the busbar fixing structure according to the present invention and the features of the electrical connection box using the fixing structure will be briefly summarized in [1] to [4] below.
[1]
A bus bar fixing structure comprising: a housing (10) having a terminal housing chamber (11) for housing a terminal (30); and a bus bar (20) fixed to the housing (10),
The terminal housing chamber (11) is
When the terminal (30) is not accommodated in the terminal accommodation chamber (11), it protrudes into the terminal accommodation chamber (11), and the terminal (30) is accommodated in the terminal accommodation chamber (11). sometimes having a locking arm (13) pushed out toward the outside of the terminal accommodating chamber (11),
The bus bar (20) is
fixed to the housing (10) by engaging with the locking arm (13) pushed out of the terminal receiving chamber (11);
Fixed structure of the busbar.
[2]
In the fixing structure described in [1] above,
The housing (10) is
having a wiring path for the bus bar (20) so as to be adjacent to the wall portion defining the terminal accommodating chamber (11);
The locking arm (13) is
disposed on the wall;
Fixed structure of the busbar.
[3]
In the fixing structure according to [1] or [2] above,
The bus bar (20) is
Having a recess or a through hole (21) at a position corresponding to the locking arm (13),
The locking arm (13) is
engaged with the bus bar (20) by being inserted into the recess or the through hole (21);
Fixed structure of the busbar.
[4]
A housing (10) having a terminal receiving chamber (11) for housing a terminal (30), and a bus bar (20) fixed to the housing (10),
The bus bar (20) is fixed to the housing (10) using the fixing structure according to any one of [1] to [3] above,
Electrical Junction Box (1).

Reference Signs List 1 electrical junction box 10 housing 11 terminal housing chamber 13 locking arm 20 bus bar 21 through hole 30 terminal

Claims (4)

A bus bar fixing structure comprising a housing having a terminal housing chamber for housing a terminal, and a bus bar fixed to the housing,
The terminal housing chamber is
When the terminal is not housed in the terminal housing chamber, the terminal protrudes into the terminal housing chamber, and when the terminal is housed in the terminal housing chamber, the terminal is pushed out of the terminal housing chamber. having a stop arm,
The busbar is
fixed to the housing by engaging with the locking arm pushed out of the terminal receiving chamber;
Fixed structure of the busbar. A fixing structure according to claim 1, wherein
The housing is
Having a wiring path for the bus bar so as to be adjacent to a wall portion defining the terminal receiving chamber,
Fixed structure of the busbar. In the fixing structure according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The busbar is
Having a recess or a through hole at a position corresponding to the locking arm,
The locking arm is
engaged with the bus bar by being inserted into the recess or the through hole;
Fixed structure of the busbar. A housing having a terminal housing chamber for housing a terminal, and a bus bar fixed to the housing,
The bus bar is fixed to the housing using the fixing structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
electrical connection box.

Images