JP2002078160A - Electric junction box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a electric junction box miniaturized by having a wetting prevention structure in a connector connection part inside the box. SOLUTION: Connector connection parts 26A-26D and 28B connecting connectors 27A-27D and 29B of a wire harness H are provided on the undersurface of a main body 12. A wire harness leading-out port 30 through which the wire harness H can be led outward is provided on the bottom of a lower cover 14. A shield plate 32 is intervened between the wire harness leading-out port 30 and the connector connection part 28B above the leading-out port 30. The connector connection parts 26A-26D are disposed in the block 24 detachably provided to the main body 12. The shield plate 32 is integrally formed in the block 24 via an arm part 33, whereby the shield plate 32 is detachably mounted to the main body 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric connection box, and more particularly to an electric connection box having a main body having circuit wiring and a lower cover for protecting a lower surface of the main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an electric connection box using a circuit-shaped metal plate called a bus bar is known as one of electric wiring systems in a vehicle. Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-284950 discloses an example of this electric junction box. The electric connection box of the publication is installed in an engine room of an automobile, and includes a main body to which electric components are mounted, an upper cover that covers an upper side of the main body, and a lower cover that covers a lower side of the main body as main elements. It is configured. A connector connecting portion to which a connector on the wire harness side is connected is provided below the main body covered by the lower cover. In this electric connection box, a wire harness outlet for taking out the wire harness connected to the connector connection portion is provided on the bottom side of the lower cover. In this way, by providing the wire harness outlet on the bottom side of the lower cover, it becomes difficult for water to enter the electric connection box from the outside.

FIG. 6 shows an example of an electric connection box in which the wire harness outlet is provided on the bottom side of the lower cover as described above. FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the electric junction box 80 as viewed from below. Lower cover 8 of electrical junction box 80
A wire harness outlet 82 is provided on the bottom surface of 1. On a lower surface of the main body 83 covered by the lower cover 81, a plurality of connector connection portions 84 to which a connector of a wire harness (not shown) is connected are provided. The connector connection portion 84 is disposed so as not to be above the wire harness outlet 82 so as not to be visible from the outside via the wire harness outlet 82. By doing this,
Even when water jumps in from below through the wire harness outlet 82, the connector connecting portion 84 is hardly covered with water.

[0004]

However, the main body 8
In the case where the connector connecting portion 84 is arranged on the lower surface of the connector 3 so as not to be above the wire harness outlet 82,
The portion above the lower surface of the wire harness outlet 82 becomes a dead space. In other words, when it is necessary to provide the same number of connector connection portions 84 as compared with the case where the connector connection portions 84 are arranged utilizing this portion, a problem occurs in that the main body 83 becomes large.

An object of the present invention is to provide an electric connection box which is reduced in size by providing a structure for suppressing water from being supplied to an internal connector connecting portion.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric connection comprising a main body having a circuit wiring body and a lower cover for protecting a lower surface of the main body. In the box, a plurality of connector connecting portions for connecting a connector of the wire harness are provided on a lower surface side of the main body, and a wire harness outlet through which the wire harness can be taken out is provided on a bottom surface side of the lower cover,
The gist is that a shielding member is interposed between the wire harness outlet and the connector connecting portion above the wire harness outlet.

According to the present invention, even when water jumps into the electrical junction box from below via the wire harness outlet, the wire harness outlet and the connector above the wire harness outlet are provided. Splashes are blocked by the shielding member between the connector and the connector, and the connector connection is less likely to be wet.

[0008] Further, since the shielding member is provided above the wire harness outlet, the connector connection can be prevented in order to avoid adhesion of water (water) that has entered from below through the wire harness outlet. It is not necessary to provide an electric component such as a part avoiding a portion above the wire harness outlet on the main body side. That is, there is no need to make a portion above the wire harness outlet on the main body side a dead space.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the shielding member is formed to have the same size as or a little larger than the wire harness outlet. Make a summary.

[0010] According to the present invention, it is difficult for water that has entered from below through the wire harness outlet to adhere to the connector connection portion, and the body and the main body are compared with a case where the shielding member is excessively formed. The space between the lower cover and the lower cover can be used effectively.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, at least one of the connector connecting portions other than the connector connecting portion above the wire harness outlet is connected to the main body. The gist is that the shielding member is provided on the connector connection portion side that is provided detachably with respect to the main body.

According to this invention, the connector of the wire harness can be mounted on or removed from the connector connection portion above the wire harness outlet with the shielding member removed from the main body side. Will be possible. Therefore, attachment and detachment of the connector is facilitated. Further, the shielding member can be detachably attached to the main body side by using a mechanism for attaching a connector connection portion detachably provided to the main body to the main body. Therefore, it is not necessary to particularly provide a mechanism for detachably attaching the shielding member to the main body side.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an electric junction box installed in an engine room of an automobile will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of an electric junction box of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main body and a lower cover constituting the electric junction box.
In FIG. 1, illustration of electrical components such as a relay, a fuse, a connector, and a wire harness mounted on the main body side is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electric connection box 11 includes a main body 12, an upper cover 13 having a substantially bottomed box shape for protecting the upper surface side of the main body 12, and a substantially effective cover for protecting the lower surface side of the main body 12. The lower cover 14 having a bottom box shape is a main component. The opening side of the upper cover 13 and the opening side of the lower cover 14 are fitted to each other. In this fitted state, the main body 12 is housed in the space formed by the covers 13 and 14. , They are protected inside.

The main body 12 is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-2849.
As in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 50-250, the upper case, the lower case, and a circuit wiring body including a bus bar, an insulating substrate, and the like are configured. In the present embodiment, the illustration and description of the main body 12 are simplified. On the upper surface side of the main body 12, for example, a terminal connection portion 20 to which a relay or the like (not shown) is attached is attached.
A, 20B and 20C protrude. Also, the main body 12
On the upper surface side, there are provided terminal connection portions 21A to 21D and 22A to 22D to which, for example, fuses (not shown) are attached. A block mounting hole 23 is formed in the main body 12 at a location corresponding to the terminal connection portion 20B so as to penetrate between the upper and lower surfaces of the main body 12. This block mounting hole 23
, A block 24 separate from the main body 12 is mounted. The block 24 has a substantially box shape, and a fuse or the like (not shown) is provided on the upper surface thereof.
Are provided. The block 24 is mounted in the block mounting hole 23 from the lower surface side of the main body 12. Block 24
Is detachably mounted on the main body 12 side by a lock mechanism (not shown) provided on the block 24 and the main body 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the block 24 is mounted on the main body 12, the upper surface of the block 24 protrudes above the main body 12, and the lower surface protrudes below the main body 12. On the lower surface side of the block 24, the terminal connection portion 2 on the upper surface side
5A to 25D, the connector connecting portion 26A
To 26D are provided. These connector connection portions 26
A to 26D have connectors 27A to 27D provided at the ends of a wire harness H (shown only in FIG. 2), respectively.
(Shown only in FIG. 2).

On the lower surface side of the main body 12, a connector connecting portion 28B is protruded at a position corresponding to the terminal connecting portion 20B. The connector 29B provided at the tip of the wire harness H is connected to the connector connection portion 28B.

Although not shown, similarly, terminal connection portions 20A, 20C, 21A to 21A are provided on the lower surface side of the main body 12.
Connector connecting portions are protrudingly provided at locations corresponding to D and 22A to 22D, and connectors on the wire harness H side are connected to these connector connecting portions.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower cover 1
4, a wire harness outlet 30 for taking out the wire harness H to the outside is provided below the connector connecting portion 28B. A cylindrical portion 31 is formed around the wire harness outlet 30 so as to protrude outward. The wire harness H connected to each of the connector connecting portions is bundled together and taken out from the wire harness outlet 30 to the outside.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a shielding plate 32 as a shielding member is integrally formed on the block 24 via an arm 33. As shown in FIG. 2, the shielding plate 32
It is provided so as to be offset downward from the lower surface of the block 24, and is arranged so as to shield between the connector connection portion 28B and the wire harness outlet 30. Shield plate 3
Reference numeral 2 denotes a state in which the distal end 32A of the shielding plate 32 is engaged with an engaging portion (not shown) formed on the lower cover 14 side. As shown in FIG.
Is formed slightly larger than the wire harness outlet 30.

In this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Between the wire harness outlet 30 and the connector connecting portion 28B above the wire harness outlet 30,
The shielding plate 32 was interposed. According to this, even when water enters from below through the wire harness outlet 30, the splash is blocked by the shield plate 32, and the connector connection portion 2
8B becomes hard to be wet.

Further, since the shielding plate 32 is provided above the wire harness outlet 30, the connector connection can be made to avoid the adhesion of water (water) that has entered from below through the wire harness outlet 30. It is not necessary to provide an electrical component such as a part avoiding a portion above the wire harness outlet 30 on the main body 12 side. That is, it is not necessary to make a portion above the wire harness outlet 30 on the main body 12 a dead space. Therefore, as compared with the electric junction box having the main body provided with the dead space, the main body (1
The space of 2) can be effectively used, and the electric junction box (11) can be reduced in size.

(2) The shielding plate 32 is formed slightly larger than the wire harness outlet 30. According to this, the water that jumps in from below through the wire harness outlet 30 becomes less likely to adhere to the connector connection portion 28B, and compared to the case where the shielding plate 32 is excessively formed.
The space between the main body 12 and the lower cover 14 can be used effectively.

(3) The shielding plate 32 is provided detachably with respect to the main body 12. According to this, the shielding plate 32 is
With the connector 29B detached from the second side, the connector 29B can be attached to or detached from the connector connection portion 28B. Therefore, attachment / detachment of the connector 29B is facilitated.

(4) The shielding plate 32 is formed integrally with the block 24 which is detachable from the main body 12. That is, the shielding plate 32 is detachably attached to the main body 12 using a lock mechanism for detachably attaching the block 24 to the main body 12. According to this, it is not necessary to particularly provide a lock mechanism for detachably attaching the shielding plate 32 to the main body 12 side.

Further, the shielding plate 32 is not interposed through the block 24.
Is provided directly on the main body 12 side, the arm supporting the shielding plate 32 (the one connecting the shielding plate 32 and the main body 12 side) is provided when the shielding plate 32 is provided on the block 24 side. It is larger (longer) than the arm 33. That is, the strength of the arm is insufficient. Therefore, the shielding plate 32
Is formed integrally with the block 24 via the arm 33, whereby the strength of the arm (33) can be easily increased as compared with the case where the shielding plate 32 is provided directly to the main body 12. .

(5) The shielding plate 32 is supported by the lower cover 14 by engaging the distal end 32A with the engaging portion on the lower cover 14 side. According to this, the shielding plate 32
Are supported on both sides of the arm 33 and the tip 32A.
Therefore, the shielding plate 32 is stably supported as compared with the one-side support state in which only the arm 33 is supported.

The embodiment is not limited to the above, and may be, for example, in the following mode. (Circle) the shielding plate (32) does not need to be provided in the block 24 side. For example, it may be provided on the main body 12 side. For example, you may comprise as shown in FIG. FIG.
In the configuration of (1), the main body 12 is provided with the connector connection portion 40 protruding therefrom. In the main body 12, two engagement holes 41 are formed in the vicinity of the connector connection portion 40 so as to sandwich the connector connection portion 40 therebetween. On the other hand, arm plates 43 are provided at both ends of the shielding plate 42 as a shielding member. At the tip of the arm plate 43, an engagement protrusion 44 that can be engaged with the engagement hole 41 is formed. The shielding plate 42 is attached to the main body 12 via the arm plate 43 by inserting and engaging the engagement projections 44 into the engagement holes 41 respectively. When the shield plate 42 is detached from the main body 12 side, the engagement between the engagement protrusion 44 and the engagement hole 41 is released by pressing the both arm plates 43 from outside so as to approach each other. Is available. According to this, the block 2 detachably provided to the main body 12.
The shield plate 42 can be detachably attached to the main body 12 side without using the cover 4.

The shield plate (32) may not be provided detachably with respect to the main body 12. For example, FIG.
It may be configured as shown in (a) and (b). FIG.
In the configuration of (a), the connector 12 is connected to the main body 12.
Are protruding. The main body 12 has a connector connection section 50.
, An arm plate 51 as a support member is provided upright. A shielding plate 53 as a shielding member is provided at the distal end side of the arm plate 51 so as to be rotatable via a hinge portion 52.
An engagement hole 54 as a held portion is formed at a tip side of the shielding plate 53 so as to penetrate the shielding plate 53. On the body 12, a holding member 55 is provided upright on the side opposite to the arm plate 51 with the connector connection portion 50 interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 5B, two locking claws 56 that can be engaged with the engagement holes 54 are provided on the distal end side of the holding member 55. Locking claw 5
6 and the plate receiving portion 57 provided below the locking claw 56, the shielding plate 53 shields the space between the connector connecting portion 50 and the wire harness outlet 30 of the lower cover 14. It is kept in a state. When the shield plate 53 is detached from the holding member 55, for example, when the connector on the wire harness H side is attached to the connector connection portion 50, the locking pawls 56 are pressed from the outside so that they come close to each other. The engagement between the claw 56 and the engagement hole 54 can be released. According to this, the space between the connector connection part 50 and the wire harness outlet 30 can be made a shielded state or a non-shielded state without making the main body 12 and the shield plate 53 separate bodies. Therefore, an increase in the number of parts can be suppressed.

The shielding member may be fixed so as to always shield between the connector connecting portion 28B and the wire harness outlet 30. The shield plate 32 may be formed smaller than the wire harness outlet 30.

Next, technical ideas other than the inventions described in the claims that can be understood from the embodiment will be described below together with their effects. (1) The electric connection box according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shielding member is provided detachably with respect to the main body.
According to this, it is possible to attach or detach the connector of the wire harness to or from the connector connection portion above the wire harness outlet with the shielding member removed from the main body side. Therefore,
The attachment and detachment of the connector is facilitated.

(2) On the shielding member side, an engaging protrusion or an engaging recess engageable with the main body side is formed, and on the main body side, the engaging protrusion or the engaging concave portion is engaged. An engaging portion is formed, and the shielding member is provided detachably with respect to the main body side based on engagement between the engaging convex portion or the engaging concave portion and the engaging portion. The electrical junction box according to the concept (1). According to this, it is possible to attach the connector to the connector connection portion or remove the connector from the connector attachment portion in a state where the shielding member is detached from the main body side.

(3) A support member and a holding member are erected on the main body in the vicinity of the connector connection portion above the wire harness outlet, and the tip of the support member is turned around the support member as a fulcrum. The shielding member is movably provided,
The shielding member is formed with a held portion engageable with the holding member, and the engagement between the held portion and the holding member allows the shielding member to connect the wire harness outlet and the connector connection portion. 3. The shielding state is maintained.
Electrical connection box as described in. According to this, without separating the main body and the shielding member, between the connector connection portion and the wire harness outlet can be in a shielding state,
It can be in a non-shielded state.

[0034]

As described above in detail, according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the electric connection box is provided with a structure for preventing the internal connector connection portion from being exposed to water, thereby achieving miniaturization. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an outline of an electric junction box according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a main part of the electric junction box.

FIG. 3 is a view as viewed from A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of another example of an electric connection box.

5A is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of another example of an electric junction box, and FIG. 5B is an enlarged sectional view showing a main part of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view showing a main part of an electric junction box according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 electrical connection box, 12 body, 14 lower cover, 2
6A, 26B, 26C, 26D, 28B, 40, 50 ...
Connector connector (28B above 30), 27
A, 27B, 27C, 27D, 29B ... connectors (28
B is connected to 29B), 30: wire harness outlet, 32, 42, 53 ... shielding plate as shielding member, 4
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Engagement hole as an engagement part, 44 ... Engagement convex part, 51 ... Arm plate as a support member, 54 ... Engagement hole as a to-be-held part,
55: holding member, H: wire harness.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4E360 AB14 AB20 AB34 AB51 BA04 BA08 BC06 CA02 CA04 CA08 EA03 EA18 EA27 EC05 ED03 ED12 ED13 ED14 ED23 ED27 EE02 FA08 GA06 GA29 GB93 GB94 GC08 5E087 LL03 LL17 MM08 BA04G0504 BB01 BC01 BC02 BC03

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electric connection box comprising a main body having a circuit wiring body and a lower cover for protecting a lower surface side of the main body, wherein a plurality of connector connecting portions for connecting a connector of a wire harness are provided on the lower surface side of the main body. In addition, a wire harness outlet through which the wire harness can be taken out is provided on the bottom side of the lower cover, and a shielding member is provided between the wire harness outlet and the connector connecting portion above the wire harness outlet. Electrical junction box interposed. 2. The electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein the shielding member is formed to have the same size as or a little larger than the wire harness outlet. 3. At least one of the connector connection portions other than the connector connection portion above the wire harness outlet is provided detachably with respect to the main body, and the shielding member is detachable with respect to the main body. The electric connection box according to claim 1, wherein the electric connection box is provided on a side of the connector connection portion provided so as to be capable of being provided.