JP3498664B2 - Electrical junction box - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is related to an electrical connection box for use in vertically in the engine room of an automobile
However , more specifically, it relates to an electric connection box having a waterproof structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various electric junction boxes such as junction boxes, relay boxes, fusible link boxes, and electric control units used in electric circuits of automobiles have been proposed.

As shown in FIG. 8, the electric connection box 61 may be vertically mounted on a vehicle panel 64 as a mounting member for partitioning the interior of the engine room 62 from the compartment 63. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the electrical junction box 6
A case main body 71 is accommodated in 1. Case body 7
Electrical components such as fuses, fusible links, and relays are detachably fitted to the component mounting portion 73 provided on the first mounting surface 72. A rear cover 74 is covered on the rear surface side of the case body 71. A front cover 75 that covers the mounting surface 72 is detachably provided on the front side of the case body 71. The front cover 75 is adapted to slide along a direction parallel to the mounting surface 72 (that is, the vertical direction in FIG. 8).

[0004]

By the way, as shown in FIG. 11, a gap is formed between the lower end surface of the case body 71 and the bottom surface portion 74a of the rear cover 74 in order to prevent water from entering there. It was not set. Nevertheless, it was easy for water to enter the joint between the lower end surface of the case body 71 and the bottom surface portion 74a of the rear cover 74 due to the capillary phenomenon.

Further, due to the surface tension, water adheres to and accumulates on both the lower end surface of the case body 71 and the bottom surface portion 74a of the rear cover 74, so that there is a problem that it is difficult to drain the water.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an electric junction box capable of reliably discharging water that has entered the inside.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the invention of claim 1, a rear cover is put on a case main body whose mounting surface is provided with a component mounting portion for mounting an electric component. , An electrical junction box which covers the mounting surface with a front cover and is vertically mounted to a mounting member in an engine room through the rear cover, between a lower end surface of the case body and a bottom surface portion of the rear cover. while the Ru provided a first gap, said case
Provide a plurality of recesses on the lower end of the main unit, and
Are placed at regular intervals in the
Between the lower end of the case body and the edge of the rear cover
A second gap is provided, and water is added to the bottom of the rear cover.
The gist is to provide a recessed portion for the reservoir .

In the invention described in claim 2, in claim 1,
In the electric connection box described, on the side wall of the water pool recess
Along with the slope, the first drainage in the recess
A hole is provided, and the upper end surface of the bottom surface and the rear cover are
The gist of the present invention is to provide a second drainage hole at a portion orthogonal to the back surface .

Hereinafter, the “action” of the present invention will be described. According to the invention described in claim 1, the first gap is provided between the lower end surface of the case body and the bottom surface portion of the rear cover. Therefore, even if water enters between the lower end surface of the case body and the bottom surface portion of the rear cover, the water does not adhere to both the lower end surface of the case body and the bottom surface portion of the rear cover. Therefore, it becomes difficult for water to collect in this portion, and water can be reliably discharged from the electric junction box.

In addition, it is provided at the lower end of the case body.
By the plurality of recesses, the lower end of the case body and the rear
A second gap is provided between the edge of the bar. That
Therefore, the water that has entered the case body is protected from the bottom edge of the case body.
It becomes easy to pull out below the part. Moreover, the water that has entered the electric junction box is collected on the bottom surface and then flows into the water reservoir recess. Therefore, the water that has entered the electric junction box can be surely flowed. Further, since the bottom surface portion has irregularities, the bottom surface portion can be reinforced.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the water that has entered the electric junction box is collected on the bottom portion. Then, due to the inclination provided on the side wall of the water reservoir recess, water smoothly flows into the water reservoir recess. After that, water is discharged from the first drainage hole. Therefore, the water that has entered the electric junction box can be smoothly discharged. On the other hand, the bottom part
The water remaining on the upper end surface of the
It

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electric connection box for an automobile embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electric junction box 11 is housed in an engine room 12 of an automobile. The electric connection box 11 is a vehicle panel (vehicle body) as a mounting member provided between the engine room 12 and the vehicle room 13.
The mounting surface 14a of 14 is fixed vertically. As shown in FIG. 2, a synthetic resin electrical junction box 11
Is configured by covering a rear portion of the case body 21 with a rear cover 22 and detachably providing a front cover 23 on the front portion of the case body 21. The front cover 23 is slidable in the vertical direction.
The front cover 23 covers the opening 22a formed in the front surface of the rear cover 22.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front cover 23 is composed of an upper divided body 23a and a lower divided body 23b provided under the upper divided body 23a. Each divided body 23a, 23b
The vertical length of the front cover 23 is approximately half the vertical length of the front cover 23. In addition, each divided body 23a, 23
The vertical lengths of b are substantially equal. A connecting portion 31 is formed along the lower edge of the upper divided body 23a.

Overhanging portions 3 extending in the up-down direction are formed on the left and right outer surfaces of the upper divided body 23a and the lower divided body 23b.
2 is projected. Guide grooves 33 are provided on the left and right inner side surfaces of the front cover 23 inside the both protruding portions 32. The guide groove 33 extends in the vertical direction, that is, along the longitudinal direction of the front cover 23. Also,
A hook-shaped engaging portion 34 is provided so as to project on the inner side of the inner surface of the front cover 23 with respect to the guide groove 33. Both engaging portions 34 extend in the vertical direction and are parallel to the guide groove 33. A pair of locking claws 3 extending in the up-down direction is provided on the outer surface of the lower end of the lower divided body 23b.
5 is formed. Each locking claw 35 is designed to bend around its base end.

Also, on the left and right outer side surfaces of the rear cover 22,
A plurality of hook-shaped guide portions 41 are projected. Each of the guide portions 41 extends linearly in the vertical direction, and is arranged in a line in the vertical direction. Both end edges of the front cover 23 can be engaged with the guide portion 41. Further, both end edges of the rear cover 22 can be engaged with the engaging portion 34. Further, a plurality of ridge portions 42 are formed on the left and right outer side surfaces of the rear cover 22 in front of the guide portion 41. Each ridge 42
Respectively extend linearly in the vertical direction and are arranged in a line in the vertical direction. Each ridge 42
Are parallel to the guide portions 41.

An engagement hole 44 is formed in the front end portion of the bottom surface portion 43 of the rear cover 22. The tip ends of the locking claws 35 can be engaged with the engagement holes 44. By this engagement, the rear cover 22 and the front cover 23 are irremovably connected.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the case main body 2
A plurality of component mounting parts 52 are provided on the mounting surface 51 of No. 1. A fusible link, a fuse, a relay, and the like (not shown) as electric components are detachably attached to the component mounting portion 52. Each fusible link and each fuse are arranged in the upper half region of the mounting surface 51. The upper half region substantially corresponds to the front surface of the upper divided body 23a. The relays and the like are arranged in the lower half area of the mounting surface 51. This lower half region substantially corresponds to the lower divided body 23b. Therefore, in the upper half region of the mounting surface 51, the fusible link and the fuse, which are relatively frequently replaced, are arranged. Also, mounting surface 5
In the lower half area of 1, relays having a relatively low replacement frequency are arranged.

As shown in FIG. 4, recesses 55 are provided at four locations on the lower end of the case body 21. Each recess 5
The elements 5 are arranged at regular intervals. Recess 55
Extend along the front-rear direction of the lower end surface 21a. Due to these recesses 55, a gap as a second gap is formed between the lower end of the case body 21 and the edge 22b of the rear cover 22. Therefore, it becomes easy to drain water that has entered the case body 21 below the lower end of the case body 21 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the rear cover 2
The bottom surface portion 43 of No. 2 is provided with water pool concave portions 45 at three locations. The water pool concave portion 45 extends along the front-rear direction in the bottom surface portion 43 of the rear cover 22. The depth of the water pool concave portion 45 is approximately half the plate thickness of the bottom surface portion 43. The side wall 45a of the water pool recess 45 is inclined. An angle θ1 formed by the bottom surface 45b of the water pool recess 45 and the side wall 45a is about 45 °. Water pool recess 45
The width of is smaller toward the bottom surface 45b of the water pool recess 45. The width at the upper end edge of the water pool recess 45 in the center of the bottom surface portion 43 is about 1.5 times larger than the width at both ends of the bottom surface portion 43. A water drain hole 46 serving as a first water drain hole is formed in the water pool recess 45.
Is provided. Further, the upper end surface 43a and the portion where the rear and is orthogonal to the rear cover 22 of the bottom portion 43, the second water
A water drain hole 46 as a drain hole is provided so as to be directed rearward.

The lower end surface 21a of the case body 21 and the rear cover
A gap S1 as a first gap is provided between the bar 22 and the bottom surface portion 43. The size of this gap S1 is 5
It is preferable to set it to mm or more. At the same time, the size of the gap provided between the lower end surface of the lowermost electric component attached to the component mounting portion 52 and the upper end surface 43a of the bottom surface portion 43 is set to 15 mm or more. It is good to

Next, the process in which the water that has entered the electric junction box 11 is discharged to the outside will be described in detail. Water is front cover 2
3 and the rear cover 22, a gap between the upper divided body 23a and the lower divided body 23b, and the like are likely to enter.
If water should enter the electrical junction box 11, the water will be collected on the bottom surface 43 of the rear cover 22. By the way, a gap S1 is provided between the lower end surface 21a of the case body 21 and the bottom surface portion 43 of the rear cover 22. Therefore, the lower end surface 21a of the case body 21 and the rear cover 22
Even if water enters between the bottom surface portion 43 of the rear cover 22 and the bottom surface portion 43 of the rear cover 22, the water does not adhere to both the lower end surface 21a of the case body 21 and the bottom surface portion 43 of the rear cover 22 due to the surface tension.

Next, most of the water collected on the bottom surface portion 43 flows into the water reservoir recess 45. The side wall 45a of the water pool recess 45 is inclined. Therefore, the water smoothly flows into the recess 45. After that, the water is drained through the drain hole 4 provided on the bottom surface 45b of the water reservoir recess 45.
6 is discharged to the outside. In addition, the upper end surface 4 of the bottom surface portion 43
3a remaining water is Toru設water drain hole 46 or al issued discharge backward at the upper end surface 43a and the portion where the rear and is orthogonal to the rear cover 22 of the bottom portion 43.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Lower end surface 21a of case body 21 and rear cover 22
A gap S1 is provided between the bottom surface portion 43 and the bottom surface portion 43. Therefore, the lower end surface 21a of the case body 21 and the rear cover 2
Even if water enters between the bottom surface portion 43 of the second cover 2 and the bottom surface portion 43 of the rear cover 22, the water does not adhere to both the lower end surface 21a of the case body 21 and the bottom surface portion 43 of the rear cover 22. Therefore, water can be reliably discharged from the electric junction box 11.

(2) The bottom surface portion 43 is provided with a water reservoir recess 45. Therefore, the water that has entered the electric junction box 11 is collected by the bottom surface portion 43 and then flows into the water reservoir recess 45. Therefore, the water that has entered the electric junction box 11 can be surely flowed. Further, since the bottom surface portion 43 has irregularities, the bottom surface portion 43 can be reinforced.

(3) The side wall 45a of the water pool recess 45 is provided with an inclination. Therefore, the water that has entered the electric junction box 11 and collected on the bottom surface portion 43 smoothly flows into the water reservoir recess 45 due to the inclination provided on the side wall 45 a. After that, the water is discharged from the drain hole 46. Therefore, the water that has entered the electric junction box 11 can be smoothly discharged.

(4) The size of the gap S1 between the lower end surface 21a of the case body 21 and the upper end surface 43a of the bottom surface portion 43 is 5 mm.
It is set above. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the capillary phenomenon from occurring in the water passing through the gap S1. Therefore, water is absorbed by the lower end surface 21 a of the case body 21 and the upper end surface 4 of the bottom surface portion 43.
It is possible to prevent it from invading the space 3a and making it difficult to discharge the electric connection box 11 to the outside.

(5) The bottom surface 43 of the rear cover 22 is provided with a plurality of water reservoir recesses 45. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the capillary phenomenon from occurring in the water passing through the gap S1. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent water from entering between the lower end surface 21a of the case body 21 and the upper end surface 43a of the bottom surface portion 43 and being difficult to be discharged to the outside of the electrical junction box 11.

(6) The size of the gap between the lower end surface of the lowermost component mounting portion 52 of the electric components mounted on the component mounting portion 52 and the upper end surface 43a of the bottom surface portion 43 is 15 mm or more. It has become. Therefore, electrical junction box 1
Even if the water that has entered the inside 1 is repelled by the upper end surface 43 a of the bottom surface portion 43, it is difficult for the water to directly adhere to the electric components. Therefore, it is possible to prevent malfunction of the electric circuit.

The embodiment of the present invention may be modified as follows. -In the above-mentioned embodiment, the side wall 45a of the water pool recess 45 is formed.
Had an inclination with respect to the bottom surface 45b. However, as shown in FIG. 7A, the side wall 45 a of the water pool recess 45 is
May be perpendicular to the bottom surface 45b.

In the above embodiment, the cross section of the water pool recess 45 is substantially trapezoidal. However, as shown in FIG. 7B, the cross section of the water pool recess 45 may be arcuate. -In the said embodiment, the water pool recessed part 45 had the bottom face 45b. However, as shown in FIG. 7C, the bottom surface 45 b may not be provided in the water pool recess 45.
That is, the cross section of the water pool recess 45 may be substantially V-shaped.

In the above embodiment, the water pool recess 45 extends from the front edge to the rear edge of the bottom surface portion 43.
However, as shown in FIG.
Need not necessarily extend to the front edge of the bottom surface portion 43.

In the above embodiment, the water pool recess 45
And drainage holes 46 is provided on the upper end face 43a and a back <br/> and is perpendicular portion of the rear cover 22 of the bottom portion 43. However, the drain hole 46 may be provided only in the water reservoir recess 45. Further, the drain hole 46 may not be provided.

In the above-described embodiment, the bottom surface portion 43 is provided with both the water reservoir recess 45 and the drain hole 46. Instead, the drain hole 46 is omitted and the bottom surface portion 43
Alternatively, only the drain hole 46 may be provided.

In the above-described embodiment, the size of the gap between the lower end surface of the component mounting portion 52, which is the lowermost electric component mounted on the component mounting portion 52, and the upper end surface 43a of the bottom surface portion 43 is 15 mm or more. Met. However, if the depth of the water pool recess 45 is 15 mm or more, the lower end surface of the lowermost component mounting portion 52 and the upper end surface 43 of the bottom surface portion 43.
The gap with a may be 15 mm or less.

In the above embodiment, the drainage holes 46 are provided at a plurality of locations on the lower end surface 21a of the case body 21. However, the drain hole 46 may be provided at only one place.

Next, in addition to the technical ideas described in the claims, the technical ideas grasped by the above-described embodiment will be listed below together with their effects. (1) The electric junction box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the size of the gap between the upper end surface of the bottom surface portion and the lower end surface of the case body is 5 mm or more. Therefore, according to the technical idea (1), it is possible to prevent the capillary phenomenon from occurring in the water passing through the gap.

(2) In the electric connection box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the lower end portion of the case body has a plurality of irregularities. Therefore, according to the technical idea (2), water that has entered the case body can be easily drained to the outside.

(3) In the first to third aspects, among the electric components to be mounted on the component mounting portion, the lower end surface of the component mounting portion at the lowermost side of the mounting surface and the upper end surface of the bottom surface portion. An electric junction box characterized in that the size of the gap between and is 15 mm or more. Therefore, according to the technical idea (3), even if the water that has entered the electric junction box is splashed back at the bottom surface, it is difficult for the water to directly adhere to the electric components.

[0040]

As described above in detail, according to the invention described in claim 1, water can be surely discharged from the electric junction box.

In addition, the water that has entered the case body
It can be easily pulled out below the lower end of the case body.
Moreover, the water that has entered the electric connection box can be surely flowed. In addition, the bottom part can be reinforced. Claim
According to the invention described in 2 , the water that has entered the electric junction box can be smoothly discharged. Also, the upper end of the bottom
The water left on the surface can be drained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an electric junction box according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is likewise an exploded perspective view showing an electric junction box.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the inside of the electric junction box.

FIG. 4 is a rear view showing the inside of the electric junction box.

5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part taken along line 5-5 of FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part taken along line 6-6 of FIG.

FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C are front views of relevant parts showing the inside of an electrical junction box in another example. (D) is a principal part perspective view of the rear cover in another example.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of an electric junction box in the related art.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing an electric junction box.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing the inside of the electrical junction box.

11 is a cross-sectional view of the principal part taken along the line 11-11 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Electric junction box, 12 ... Engine room, 14 ... Vehicle panel as a mounting member, 21 ... Case body, 21a ...
Lower end surface, 22 ... Rear cover, 22b ... Edge portion, 23 ... Front cover, 43 ... Bottom surface portion, 43a ... Upper end surface, 45 ... Water reservoir recessed portion, 45a ... Side wall, 46 ... First drain hole and
Water drainage hole as second water drainage hole, 51 ... Mounting surface, 52
... component mounting portion , 55 ... recessed portion, S1 ... as first gap
Gap .

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H02G 3/14 B60R 16/02 H05K 5/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rear cover is placed on a case main body in which a component mounting portion for mounting an electric component is provided on a mounting surface, the mounting surface is covered with a front cover, and a mounting member in an engine room is mounted through the rear cover. in the electrical junction box to be mounted in a vertically placed condition, while Ru provided a first gap, a plurality of recesses in the lower end portion of the case body is provided between the bottom portion of the lower end surface of the case body rear cover , Each of them
Place the recesses at regular intervals from each other and
Therefore, the lower end of the case body and the edge of the rear cover
An electric junction box, characterized in that a second gap is provided between the rear cover and the bottom portion of the rear cover, and a recess for collecting water is provided at the bottom portion of the rear cover . 2. The electrical junction box according to claim 1, wherein the side wall of the water reservoir recess is provided with an inclination, and
A first drainage hole is provided in the reservoir recess, and
The second portion is formed in a portion where the upper end surface and the rear surface of the rear cover are orthogonal to each other
An electrical junction box characterized by having a water drainage hole .