JP3736342B2 - Method for forming junction box and connector module - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a junction box connected to an automobile wire harness and a method for forming a connector module accommodated in the junction box. In particular, the connector accommodating portion provided in the junction box is arranged on a side surface.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Recently, with the rapid increase in electrical components mounted on automobiles, the number of circuits housed in junction boxes has increased rapidly, and branch circuits are formed at a high density. It has become very expensive.
[0003]
In order to reduce the thickness of the junction box as well as to easily cope with circuit changes and to reduce the number of assembly steps, the applicant of the present application previously proposed a junction box 1 as shown in FIG. Proposed in the issue.
[0004]
The junction box 1 is divided into a connector connection circuit portion (base circuit portion), a fuse connection circuit portion, and a relay connection circuit portion, and is separately provided as a connector module 2, a fuse module 3, and a relay module 4, and these modules 2, 3 and 4 are incorporated in a case composed of an upper case 5 and a lower case 6.
Each of the modules 2, 3, and 4 has a configuration in which bus bars 2b, 3b, and 4b are caulked and fixed on the substrates 2a, 3a, and 4a, and the bus bars 2b, 3b, and 4b are connected to the periphery of the substrates 2a, 3a, and 4a. It is set as the structure which protruded and was mutually connected by welding.
[0005]
If the junction box is divided into the connector module, fuse module, and relay module as described above, the connector connection circuit, fuse connection circuit, and relay connection circuit are divided, so the bus bar tabs do not overlap. As a result, the junction box can be made thinner. In addition, since circuit handling of each bus bar is simplified, even if the bus bar is divided, the bus bar area as a whole can be reduced, and an increase in the area of the junction box can be suppressed.
Furthermore, if there is a specification change in each connector circuit, fuse circuit, and relay circuit, it is only necessary to change these corresponding modules, the specification change can be easily handled, and the circuit change can be easily handled. .
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The above-mentioned modular junction box is also formed by punching the bus bar to form the required circuit, so that the front end of the bus bar is folded 90 degrees in the direction perpendicular to the circuit surface in order to connect to the connector of the wire harness. Are arranged in a plane on the lower surface of the lower case or the upper surface of the upper case. Therefore, it is necessary to wrap the wire harness connected to the connector fitted into the connector housing portion to the plane side of the junction box, and there is a problem of increasing the wiring space. In particular, the number of electrical components in automobiles has increased rapidly, so space restrictions have become stricter.As the wiring space increases as described above, the required dimensions around the junction box also increase, and other parts can Interference may occur, and it may be difficult to secure a space for mounting the junction box.
[0007]
The problem described above is that if the connector housing provided in the junction box is arranged on the side of the case, it is not necessary to wrap the wire harness to the plane side of the junction box, so that the required space is reduced and the problem can be solved. it can. However, if the connector housing portion is provided on the side surface of the case and the connector is disposed on the side surface, the internal wiring of the bus bar becomes difficult and the wiring efficiency deteriorates.
[0008]
Furthermore, depending on the circuit shape, the bus bars cannot be formed in the same layer, and there is a problem that the number of stacked bus bar layers increases.
For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the connector circuit C1 and C2 formed by the bus bar connected to the connectors 7A and 7B on the connector module 2 is connected to the fuse module 3 arranged on the side, the connector circuit C1 The horizontal direction part C1b and the vertical direction part C2a of the connector circuit C2 must cross each other, and the connector circuits C1 and C2 of the connector module 2 cannot be wired unless they are separated from each other, and the number of layers increases. It becomes.
[0009]
This invention is made | formed in view of the said problem, and when providing a connector accommodating part in the side surface of a case, it makes it the subject to make the internal wiring of a bus-bar simple and to prevent a circuit layer from increasing.
Note that this task is not limited to modular junction boxes, and even in general junction boxes in which insulating substrates and bus bars are stacked, the side arrangement of the connector housing is achieved without complicating the bus bar routing configuration. The challenge is to do.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention divides a circuit accommodated in a junction box into a connector connection circuit part, a fuse connection circuit part, and a relay connection circuit part, and separates the conductors of these connection circuit parts from each other. Fixed on the board, provided separately as a connector module, fuse module, and relay module, connecting the circuit parts of these modules,
In the connector module , a single core wire (bare wire) is wired in parallel on one surface of the insulating substrate, and a strip-shaped bus bar is disposed on the other surface in a direction orthogonal to the single core wire, and passes through the opening of the insulating substrate at a required cross position. the circuit body in which a required circuit shape by welding stacked, the single-core wire on the insulating plate is continuously laid by bending the folded shape between the layers, bus bars in layers adjacent up and down, the single-core wires Facing each other, with an insulating plate interposed between the single core wires , and
The bus bar arranged on the insulating substrate provides a junction box that protrudes from the tip of the insulating substrate to form a tab and protrudes into a connector housing portion formed on a side surface of the box.
[0011]
When the conductor of the connector module is composed of a strip-shaped bus bar and a single core wire, the bus bar has a strip-shaped punching compared to the conventional method in which a conductive metal plate is punched according to the circuit shape. Therefore, there is almost no loss of the conductive metal plate, and the yield can be greatly improved. In addition, since a bus bar and a single core wire are welded through an opening of an insulating substrate at a required cross position to form a required circuit shape, a large number of circuits are formed with a single circuit body for a laminated circuit having only a bus bar. Therefore, the number of stacked layers can be reduced and the thickness can be reduced. Furthermore, even if a circuit change occurs, it can be dealt with by changing the connecting crossing position, and it is not necessary to change the conductive material itself. Therefore, the circuit change can be easily handled without increasing the cost.
[0012]
Further, in the state where the insulating substrates are laminated, an insulating plate may be interposed so that the upper and lower single core wires do not contact each other, or they may be laminated with a gap serving as an air insulating layer. Further, a single core wire may be embedded in a groove formed in the insulating substrate. Thereby, mutual interference can be prevented. In addition, you may insulate similarly to the case of the said single core wires also in the position where bus-bars oppose.
[0013]
The bus bars facing each other between the adjacent layers may be welded and connected to each other by providing bent portions on one or both bus bars and joining them.
Conventionally, different bus bars are connected to each other by providing tabs on the bus bars and connecting these tabs via relay terminals. However, in the present invention, the bus bars can be directly welded to each other. Terminals are not required, and the number of parts can be reduced, reducing the manufacturing effort and contributing to cost reduction.
[0014]
The bus bar disposed on the insulating substrate protrudes from the tip of the insulating substrate to form a tab and protrudes into a connector housing portion formed on the side surface of the box.
In the present invention, since the strip-shaped bus bars are arranged in parallel in the direction orthogonal to the single core wires (bare wires) wired in parallel, the pitch of each bus bar can be set to be the same as the pitch of the connector terminals. The tabs provided on both sides in the length direction can be jut out as they are in the connector housings provided on the opposite side surfaces of the case. In addition, even when the strip-shaped bus bars are arranged in parallel, these bus bars are connected to the single core wire at a required position via the insulating substrate, so that a required circuit can be easily formed.
[0015]
In addition, even if the connector housing portion is provided on the side surface of the case in this manner, the tab of the bus bar can be smoothly projected into the connector housing portion on the side surface without worrying about interference and deformation of adjacent tabs. Moreover, even if the connector is arranged on the side, the bus bar can be easily arranged as described above, and the relay terminals for connecting the bus bars to each other are not required, and the circuit configuration of the connector module is simplified. Thus, the circuit layer can be reduced.
[0016]
Moreover, the circuit housed in the junction box, connector connection circuit, a fuse connection circuit part, by dividing the relay connection circuit part, the connector module, the fuse module, separately provided as a relay module, connect the circuits of the modules has a structure in which the connector modules stacked insulating substrate with parallel lines of the single core wire.
Such modular Then, the connector module, the fuse module, the relay module upper case, lower case, in a state where the assembled inside the side case, is provided a tab formed on both ends of the bus bars of the connector module to the side case It can be made to protrude in a connector accommodating part, and each module can also be joined easily.
[0017]
The present invention also provides a method for forming a connector module accommodated in the junction box.
That is, in the formation method, strip-shaped bus bars are arranged in parallel on one surface of the insulating substrate and fixed,
Three or more insulating substrates to which the bus bars are attached are arranged side by side with a space in one row with the bus bar arrangement surface in the same direction ,
In this state, on the other side of the insulating substrate, the single core wire is continuously wired in the direction orthogonal to the bus bar,
After wiring, the required circuit is formed by welding the bus bar and the single core wire through the opening formed in the insulating substrate,
Then, the insulated single-core wire was wiring is bent folded state interlayer between the substrate and stacked insulating substrate vertically, bus bars between the upper and lower adjacent insulating substrate, a single-core wires are opposed, single core wire An insulating plate is interposed between the opposing arrangements .
[0018]
Specifically, strip-shaped bus bars are fixed in parallel on one surface of the insulating substrate, and a plurality of the insulating substrates are juxtaposed in a direction orthogonal to the bus bar wiring direction. At that time, they are arranged in a line so that all the vertical directions of the bus bar arrangement surface of the insulating substrate are in the same direction. Thereafter, the single core wire is continuously wired in parallel to the back surface of the bus bar fixing surface of these insulating substrates. Then, since the single core wire fixing surfaces of the respective insulating substrates are directed in the same direction, the single core wires can be easily laid out with respect to a plurality of insulating substrates by one operation, and the work efficiency is improved. be able to. Furthermore, a laminated circuit can be easily formed by simply folding back each insulating substrate.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an exploded perspective view of components constituting a junction box 10 connected to an automobile wire harness, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show sectional views in an assembled state.
[0020]
In FIG. 1, 11 is a connector module, 12 is a fuse module, 13 is a relay module, 14 is a lower case, 15 is an upper case, 16 is an intermediate case, 17 and 18 are side cases, and 19 is an electronic control unit.
[0021]
Each of the above components is assembled on the lower case 14 by placing the connector module 11, the intermediate case 16, and the electronic control unit 19 in this order, covering the upper case 15 and the side cases 17, 18. The relay module 13 is disposed above one side of the connector module 11, and the relay 40 mounted on the relay module 13 is exposed to an opening 15a provided on one side of the upper case 15. In addition, the fuse module 12 is assembled to one end of the connector module 11 and exposed to the side opening between the lower case 14 and the upper case 15.
[0022]
The side cases 17 and 18 assembled on both side surfaces in the width direction of the lower case 14 and the upper case 15 are provided with a plurality of connector accommodating portions 70 and 80, respectively, in a row.
[0023]
The connector module 11 has a configuration in which three layers of circuit bodies 100 are laminated. As shown in FIG. 4A, each of the circuit bodies 100 has a Y-direction groove 20b formed in parallel on one surface of the insulating substrate 20, A strip-shaped bus bar 22 is embedded in the groove 20b, and a rib (not shown) protruding from the bottom surface of the groove 20b is inserted into a hole formed in the bus bar 22 and then fixed by crimping. In this state, the bus bar 22 is set not to be exposed on the upper surface 20 d of the insulating substrate 20.
A single core wire (bare wire) 21 is parallelly wired in the X direction on the lower surface of the insulating substrate 20 so as to be orthogonal to the bus bar 22.
As shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, an opening 20a is provided in the insulating substrate 20 in advance at the required intersection between the bus bar 22 and the single core wire 21, and the bus bar is bent through the opening 20a by bending the single core wire 21. 22 and connected by resistance welding.
[0024]
The three circuit bodies 100 (100A to 100C) are stacked one above the other as shown in FIG. 5A. The circuit bodies 100C and 100B adjacent to each other in the upper and lower sides face the bus bar 22, and the circuit bodies 100B and 100A are The single core wire 21 is made to oppose through the insulating plate 25. Necessary bus bars are connected to each other at a portion where the bus bars 22 face each other. That is, a downward bent portion 22a is formed on the bus bar 22 of the circuit body 100C and is brought into contact with the bus bar 22 of the circuit body 100B, and the circuit body 100A is laminated as shown in FIG. Resistance welding before doing. In addition, the opening 20c, 20d which opposes in the insulated substrate 20 is formed in this welding position, and the insertion part of the electrode for welding is ensured.
[0025]
Next, a method for forming a laminated circuit using the circuit bodies 100A to 100C will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, a bus bar 22 formed by punching out one conductive plate into a groove 20b on the upper surface 20e of the three insulating substrates 20 and fixing it to a strip shape is fixed and wired in parallel.
Next, the three insulating substrates 20 are arranged in parallel in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the bus bars 22 are arranged, and are arranged in a line in a state where the top and bottom directions of the bus bar arrangement surface of the insulating substrate 20 are in the same direction.
Next, the single core wire 21 is continuously wired in parallel to the back surface of the bus bar fixing surface of the insulating substrate 20. At this time, since the single core wire fixing surfaces of the respective insulating substrates 20 face the same direction, the single core wires can be wired very efficiently.
Since the gap S is provided between the insulating substrates 20 arranged in a row at the time of the wiring, only the single core wires 21 are wired in parallel in the gap portion.
Subsequently, the bus bar 22 and the single core wire 21 are resistance-welded through the opening 20a of the insulating substrate 20, and the required circuit is formed by connecting the bus bar 22 and the single core wire 21 in the three circuit bodies 100A to 100C, respectively. .
[0026]
Thereafter, as indicated by a black arrow in FIG. 6 (A), the circuit body 100C is bent above the circuit body 100B so that the single core wire 21 in the gap portion S between the insulating substrates 20 is bent and the bus bars face each other. Wrap. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5B, the bent portion 22a of the upper bus bar 22 is welded to the lower bus bar 22 through the electrodes 200b and 200c of the resistance welder through the openings 20c and 20d of the insulating substrate 20. As a result, even when the circuit extends over a plurality of layers, it is possible to reduce the number of components without requiring a relay terminal that has been conventionally used. The bent portion 22a to be connected may be provided on the lower bus bar 22 or may be provided on both the upper and lower bus bars 22 for welding.
[0027]
Thereafter, as shown by the white arrow in FIG. 6A, the remaining one circuit body 100A is folded down below the circuit body 100B so that the single core wires 21 are opposed to each other. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6C, the stacked connector modules 11 are completed. At this time, the insulating plate 25 is interposed so as not to interfere with the opposing single core wires.
The non-conducting portion of the single core wire that has been continuously wired is cut off after the lamination or before the lamination.
[0028]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5A and 5B, each bus bar 22 has both ends in the length direction protruding from both ends in the width direction of the insulating substrate 20, and the protruding portions are refracted into an L shape. The horizontal tabs 22b and 22c are provided and arranged in parallel at the same height. The respective pitches of the tabs 22b and 22c arranged in parallel are set to the same pitch as the terminal holes 70a and 80a of the connector housing portions 70 and 80 provided in the side cases 17 and 18. Therefore, the tab protrudes directly from the connector housing portion formed on the side surface of the box without complicated bending.
[0029]
In the junction box 10 composed of the above components, as shown in FIG. 1, the connector module 11, the intermediate case 16, and the electronic control unit 19 are sequentially arranged on the lower case 14, and the conductor of the electronic control unit 19 is connected to the relay terminal 56. Via the single core wire 21 of the connector module 11. Further, the fuse module 12 is assembled to one side of the connector module 11, and the press contact terminal 33 b at one end of the bus bar 33 of the fuse module 12 is pressed to the single core wire 21 of the connector module 11 as shown in FIG. The pressure contact terminal 33a at the other end of the bus bar 33 is connected to the terminal 35a of the fuse 35 by pressure connection. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the relay module 13 is assembled on the upper left side of the connector module 11, and the press contact terminal 41 b of the bus bar 41 of the relay module 13 is connected to the connector module 11 as shown in FIG. The single core wire 21 is press-contacted, and the terminal 40a of the relay 40 is connected to the bus bar 41 by soldering.
[0030]
In the junction box 10 having the above-described configuration, both end tabs 22b and 22c of the strip-shaped bus bar 22 arranged side by side on the circuit body 100 of the connector module 11 protrude into the terminal holes of the connector housing portions 70 and 80 of the side cases 17 and 18, respectively. And a connector (not shown) connected to the end of a wire harness (not shown). Thus, since all the connector connections with the wire harness are performed on the side surface of the case, there is no need to route the wire harness to the plane side of the lower case 14 and the upper case 15, and the space for wiring harness wiring is provided below the lower case. And it does not need to be provided above the upper case. Therefore, the required space can be reduced.
[0031]
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the conductor of the connector module 11 is composed not only of the bus bar 22, but also of the bus bar 22 and the single core wire 21 arranged in a cross, and the single core wire 21 and the bus bar 22 are resistance-welded at a required crossing position. Since the circuit is formed, it is possible to connect to the connectors 7A ′ and 7B ′ and the fuse module 12 without increasing the number of layers of the bus bar 22 as compared with the prior art.
[0032]
Further, since it is not necessary to punch the metal plate with the bus bar corresponding to the circuit shape as in the prior art, the yield of the metal plate to be the bus bar material can be greatly improved. In addition, the circuit can be changed simply by changing the welding position between the bus bar 22 and the single core wire 21.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
According to the junction box of the present invention, as a conductor of the connector module, a strip-shaped bus bar and a single core wire are cross-wired across an insulating substrate, and welded at the crossing position to form a circuit. The number of circuits that can be configured with is dramatically increased, and the junction box can be made thinner.
Further, the tabs at both ends of the bus bar can be inserted as they are into the terminal holes of the connector housing portion formed in the side case, so that labor and time required for production can be greatly reduced. When the parallel bus bar pitch is matched to the terminal hole pitch, and the dimension between the bus bar tabs of the circuit bodies stacked in the connector module is the same as the dimension between the terminal hole stages of the connector housing By simply setting the number of terminals in the connector housing section to the same number of terminals in the connector module stacking circuit, it is possible to easily form a connector connection section using a strip-shaped bus bar without refracting the bus bar in a complicated manner. can do. Therefore, the arrangement of the bus bars can be made simple without complicating, and the connector can be arranged on the side surface of the case.
[0034]
In addition, by using a strip-shaped bus bar, the cost can be greatly reduced compared to the case where the bus bar is formed corresponding to the circuit shape, and the circuit can be simply changed by changing the connection position with the single core wire. It is possible to easily cope with changes. In addition, the connector module has a layer in which the bus bars are opposed to each other, and a bent portion is provided in one of the opposed bus bars and welded to the other bus bar surface at the tip of the bent portion, so that a circuit can be formed without using a relay terminal. It is possible to straddle multiple layers, thereby reducing the number of parts.
Further, in manufacturing the circuit body of the connector module, a plurality of insulating substrates to which the bus bars are fixed are prepared, the insulating substrates are arranged in parallel in a direction orthogonal to the wiring direction of the bus bars, and the bus bar arrangement surface of the insulating substrate is arranged. By arranging the single core wires in a single row in the state where the vertical direction is the same direction, it is possible to easily arrange the single core wires on the plurality of insulating substrates at once, and the workability can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the junction box in an assembled state.
3 is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to FIG.
4A and 4B show a circuit body of the connector module, in which FIG. 4A is a schematic perspective view, FIG. 4B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part, and FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view perpendicular to FIG.
5A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a laminated structure of the circuit body, and FIG. 5B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which a part of the circuit body is laminated.
6A is a schematic side view showing a method for forming a connector module, FIG. 6B is a schematic plan view showing a wiring method for a single core wire, and FIG. 6C is a schematic side view showing a connector module after circuit body lamination. FIG.
7A is a perspective view showing a connection method between the bus bar of the fuse module and the single core wire of the connector module, and FIG. 7B is a perspective view showing a connection method of the bus bar of the relay module and the single core wire of the connector module. is there.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a circuit configuration of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional junction box.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a conventional circuit configuration.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Junction box 11 Connector module 12 Fuse module 13 Relay module 14 Lower case 15 Upper case 16 Intermediate case 17, 18 Side case 19 Electronic control unit 20 Insulation board 21 Single core wire 22 Bus bar 22b, 22c Tab 35 Fuse 40 Relay 100 (100A-100C ) Circuit body 70, 80 Connector housing

Claims (3)

The circuit housed in the junction box is divided into a connector connection circuit part, a fuse connection circuit part, and a relay connection circuit part, and the conductors of each of these connection circuit parts are fixed on separate insulating substrates, and the connector module and fuse Modules and relay modules are provided separately, and the circuit parts of these modules are connected.
In the connector module, a single core wire (bare wire) is wired in parallel on one surface of the insulating substrate, and a strip-shaped bus bar is disposed on the other surface in a direction orthogonal to the single core wire, and passes through the opening of the insulating substrate at a required cross position. Laminate and arrange circuit bodies that have the required circuit shape by welding. The single core wire on the insulation plate is folded in a folded manner between the layers and continuously wired, and the bus bars and single core wires face each other between adjacent layers. And interposing an insulating plate between the single core wires, and
The bus bar disposed on the insulating substrate is a junction box that protrudes from a tip of the insulating substrate to form a tab and protrudes into a connector housing portion formed on a side surface of the box.   2. The junction box according to claim 1, wherein the bus bars facing each other between the adjacent layers are welded and connected to each other by providing bent portions on one or both bus bars. A method for forming the connector module of the junction box according to claim 1,
A rectangular bus bar is placed in parallel on one side of the insulating substrate and fixed,
Three or more insulating substrates to which the bus bars are attached are arranged side by side with a space in one row with the bus bar arrangement surface in the same direction ,
In this state, on the other side of the insulating substrate, the single core wire is continuously wired in the direction orthogonal to the bus bar,
After wiring, the required circuit is formed by welding the bus bar and the single core wire through the opening formed in the insulating substrate,
Then, the insulated single-core wire was wiring is bent folded state interlayer between the substrate and stacked insulating substrate vertically, bus bars between the upper and lower adjacent insulating substrate, a single-core wires are opposed, single core wire A method for forming a connector module that is accommodated in a junction box in which an insulating plate is interposed between the opposing arrangements .

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