JP7428615B2 - resin structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a resin structure.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, resin structures have been proposed that are constructed by assembling a plurality of resin bodies together, such as electrical connection boxes (for example, relay boxes) mounted on vehicles. For example, one conventional electrical connection box includes a main body case in which electronic components and the like are mounted, and a cover assembled to the lower part of the main body case. In this electrical connection box, the cover is fixed to the main body case by engaging the locking part of the main body case with the locking part of the cover (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-101543

By the way, as described above, electronic components (for example, relays) and the like are mounted on the main body case. When electronic components and the like are mounted on the main body case, the load of the mounted electronic components is applied to the main body case, so there is a risk that the main body case may be misaligned with respect to the cover. In other words, the main body case and the cover are displaced relative to each other, and the properly assembled state cannot be maintained.

To address the above-mentioned problem, there is a method of suppressing the positional shift, for example, by increasing the number of locking parts of the main body case and the cover. However, this method requires positioning at each of the plurality of locking portions, which makes the work of assembling the main body case and the cover complicated, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of workability. In light of the above-mentioned situation, it is desirable that the electrical junction box be able to suppress relative displacement between the main body case and the cover without complicating workability.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned situation, and an object thereof is to provide a resin structure that suppresses relative displacement between a plurality of resin bodies that constitute the resin structure.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the resin structure according to the present invention is characterized by the following [1] to [2].
[1]
A resin structure comprising a first resin body on which an electronic component is mounted from one side in a predetermined direction, and a second resin body assembled with the first resin body,
The first resin body is
an engaged portion that is engaged with the second resin body;
a bottom wall located on the other side of the first resin body in the predetermined direction and supported by the second resin body;
The second resin body is
an engaging part that engages with the engaged part;
a support portion provided on the inner wall of the second resin body;
The support part is
an elastic piece that can be elastically deformed; and a support protrusion that is provided on the elastic piece and supports the bottom wall;
The resin structure is
At an assembly completion stage in which the first resin body and the second resin body are assembled, the support protrusion comes into contact with the bottom wall, so that the support part supports the bottom wall.
Must be a resin structure.
[2]
In the resin structure according to [1] above,
In the middle of assembling the first resin body and the second resin body, the elastic piece is pressed by the first resin body and is deformed, and when the assembly is completed, the elastic piece recovers from the deformation. The support part is configured to support the bottom wall by the support protrusion coming into contact with the bottom wall,
In the intermediate stage, the support protrusion is visible from the one side, and in the assembly completion stage, the support protrusion is not visible from the one side.
Must be a resin structure.

According to the resin structure having the configuration [1] above, in the assembly completion stage where the first resin body and the second resin body are assembled, one side of the first resin body in the predetermined direction on which the electronic component is mounted A bottom wall provided on the other side opposite to the bottom wall is supported by the support portion. Specifically, the support part supports the bottom wall (i.e., the first resin body) by the support projections coming into contact with the bottom wall. In this way, since the bottom wall is provided on the other side, even if electronic components are accommodated in the first resin body from one side in a predetermined direction at the completion stage of assembly, the bottom wall located on the other side is supported by the support protrusion. For example, when an electronic component is housed in the first resin body, the resin structure is subjected to the load of the electronic component or the load of a worker when housing the electronic component, but the support portion (support protrusion) can be suppressed by In other words, the displacement between the first resin body and the second resin body that may be caused by the above-mentioned load is suppressed not only by the engagement portion (that is, the engagement portion and the engaged portion) but also by the support portion. Therefore, the resin structure of this configuration can suppress relative displacement between the first resin body and the second resin body.

According to the resin structure having the configuration [2] above, when the assembly is completed, the elastic piece is restored from deflection, so that the support protrusion comes into contact with the bottom wall, and the support part supports the bottom wall. ing. This makes it possible to suppress relative displacement between the first resin body and the second resin body, which may occur due to the load applied when electronic components are mounted, as described above. Furthermore, while the support protrusion is visible from one side during the intermediate stage of assembly, the support protrusion becomes invisible when the assembly is completed. That is, by visually recognizing the support protrusion, it is possible to confirm the assembled state of the first resin body and the second resin body (that is, the intermediate stage of assembly or the completed stage of assembly). Furthermore, the support part absorbs manufacturing variations (dimensional tolerances that may inevitably occur during manufacturing) of the first resin body and the second resin body with the elastic piece, thereby supporting the first resin body more reliably. realizable.

Therefore, in the resin structure of this configuration, relative displacement between the first resin body and the second resin body can be suppressed, and the assembled state of the resin structure can be easily confirmed.

Another effect is that the elastic piece is pressed by the first resin body during assembly and is deformed, and the elastic piece recovers from the deflection when the assembly is completed. The work of assembling the body and the second resin body can be easily performed. In other words, the resin structure having this configuration also has excellent workability.

Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a resin structure that suppresses relative displacement between a plurality of resin bodies that constitute the resin structure.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, details of the present invention will become clearer by reading the detailed description described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a resin structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the resin structure shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view with a portion of the frame shown in FIG. 2 cut away. 4(a) is a sectional view taken along line AA of the resin structure shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4(b) is an enlarged view of section C shown in FIG. 4(a). FIG. 5 is a BB cross-sectional view of the resin structure shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an intermediate stage of assembly in FIG. 5.

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a resin structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. The resin structure 1 is typically a relay box (that is, an electrical connection box) that is mounted on a vehicle and houses electronic components such as relays.

As shown in FIG. 1, the resin structure 1 includes a block 10 in which electronic components such as a relay (and other components, not shown) are housed, and a frame assembled to surround the outer periphery of the block 10. 20. Each of the block 10 and the frame 20 is a resin structure 1. The block 10 corresponds to the "first resin body" of the present invention, and the frame 20 corresponds to the "second resin body" of the present invention. Furthermore, the inside of the peripheral wall 21 corresponds to the "inner wall" of the present invention.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, "vertical direction", "circumferential direction", "internal/internal direction", "upper", "lower", "inner", and "outer" will be defined as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6. The "vertical direction", "circumferential direction", and "internal/internal direction" are orthogonal to each other. In the resin structure 1, the "vertical direction" corresponds to the direction in which the block 10 and the frame 20 are assembled. The "circumferential direction" corresponds to the circumferential direction of the later-described peripheral wall 11 of the block 10 and the later-described peripheral wall 21 of the frame 20, and the "internal-internal direction" corresponds to the thickness direction of the peripheral wall 11 and the peripheral wall 21.

In the resin structure 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, there are engagement points (i.e., the engaging portion 22 and the engaged portion 12) at multiple locations (in this example, two locations) in the circumferential direction. is provided. At the engagement location, the block 10 and the frame 20 are engaged in order to prevent them from being separated in the vertical direction when they are assembled. Further, the frame 20 is provided with support portions 23 at a plurality of locations (in this example, two locations) in the circumferential direction to prevent the block 10 from being displaced downward. Hereinafter, each member constituting the resin structure 1 will be explained in order.

First, block 10 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 2, the block 10 has a substantially rectangular cylindrical peripheral wall 11 extending in the vertical direction. The circumferential wall 11 includes a longitudinal side circumferential wall 11a extending in the longitudinal direction in the circumferential direction, and a short side circumferential wall 11b extending in the short side in the circumferential direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a plurality of accommodating parts 14 are formed inside the peripheral wall 11, and electronic components (for example, relays, etc.) can be mounted in each of the accommodating parts 14. become. The accommodating portion 14 has a bottom wall 13 below. The bottom wall 13 is supported by a support portion of a frame 20, which will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the block 10 is provided with an engaged portion 12 outside the short-side peripheral wall 11b. The engaged portion 12 includes a locked projection 12a and a pair of guided rail portions 12b that are provided to sandwich the locked projection 12a in the circumferential direction and extend in the vertical direction. The locked projection 12a is in a locked relationship with the locking projection 22a of the frame 20, and the guided rail portion 12b supports the guide rail portion 22b of the frame 20 so that it can slide in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 4(b), the guided rail portion 12b has an abutting surface 17 at its upper end. The contact surface 17 contacts a restriction portion 27 provided on the guide rail portion 22b.

Next, frame 20 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 20 has a substantially rectangular cylindrical peripheral wall 21 that extends in the vertical direction. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the peripheral wall 21 is formed so that the block 10 can be assembled inside (that is, so that it can surround the block 10), and has a longitudinal side extending in the longitudinal direction in the circumferential direction. It consists of a peripheral wall 21a and a short side peripheral wall 21b extending on the short side in the circumferential direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the frame 20 is provided with an engaging portion 22 on the outside of the short side peripheral wall 21b. The engaging portion 22 includes a locking projection 22a and a pair of guide rail portions 22b that are provided to sandwich the locking projection 22a in the circumferential direction and extend in the vertical direction. The locking projection 22a is in a locking relationship with the locked projection 12a, and the guide rail portion 22b is supported by the guided rail portion 12b so as to be slidable in the vertical direction.

The guide rail portion 22b is provided with a restriction portion 27 on the upper side. This regulating portion 27 comes into contact with the contact surface 17 at the stage of completion of assembly. When the block 10 is assembled to the frame 20, the contact surface 17 comes into contact with the regulating portion 27, so that excessive upward sliding of the block 10 with respect to the frame 20 is suppressed.

In other words, in the resin structure 1, the block 10 and the frame 20 are aligned in the vertical direction when the contact surface 17 contacts the regulating portion 27. That is, in the resin structure 1, the bottom wall 13 is supported by the support protrusion 26 with the contact surface 17 and the regulating portion 27 in contact with each other.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the frame 20 is provided with a support portion 23 inside the longitudinal side peripheral wall 21a. The support portion 23 is formed into an arm shape and includes a pair of elastic pieces 25 that can be elastically deformed, and a support protrusion 26 that connects the pair of elastic pieces 25 and projects shortly inward.

The pair of elastic pieces 25 includes a base portion 25a that is spaced apart in the circumferential direction and projects short inward from the longitudinal side peripheral wall 21a, and a hanging portion 25b that extends downward from the free end of the base portion 25a. That is, the elastic piece 25 is formed into a substantially L-shape. Moreover, a deflection permissible space S is defined between the longitudinal side peripheral wall 21a and the hanging portion 25b. This allowable deflection space S is the deflection width of the elastic piece 25 that will be deflected during the assembly of the frame 20 and block 10, which will be described later.

The hanging portion 25b is designed to have a length such that the support protrusion can support the bottom wall 13 when the contact surface 17 and the restriction portion 27 are in contact with each other. The support protrusion 26 is formed to connect the lower ends of the pair of hanging parts 25b.

By being configured as described above, the support portion 23 is formed into a substantially U-shape with one side open (see FIG. 3). The support portion 23 is formed to open in the same direction as the direction in which the electronic components are housed in the block 10 (ie, upward in FIGS. 1 to 3).

In this embodiment, since the electronic components are housed in the block 10 from above, the support portion 23 is formed so as to be open from above. As a result, when the support part 23 is viewed from above during the assembly of the block 10 and the frame 20, the support protrusion 26 can be seen (that is, there is nothing blocking the opening).

Next, a structure for assembling the block 10 and the frame 20 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 2, the block 10 is inserted into the frame 20 in the direction of arrow Y1. Specifically, the block 10 is inserted from below the frame 20 into the inside of the frame 20 (that is, the space surrounded by the peripheral wall 11), and is inserted into the inside of the frame 20 upward.

Then, when the block 10 is inserted a predetermined distance upward inside the frame 20, the engaging portion 22 and the engaged portion 12 engage with each other. Thereby, the block 10 and frame 20 are assembled.

More specifically, when the block 10 is initially inserted into the frame 20, the guide rail portion 22b is fitted into the guided rail portion 12b. As a result, the guide rail portion 22b is guided in vertical movement by the guided rail portion 12b (that is, it is supported so as to be slidable in the upward direction).

When the block 10 is continued to be inserted upward with the guide rail portion 22b being vertically slidably supported by the guided rail portion 12b, the locked protrusion 12a comes into contact with the locking protrusion 22a from below. do. Then, when the block 10 is inserted further upward, the locked projection 12a is pushed by the locking projection 22a and bends toward the block 10 side.

When the block 10 is inserted further upward with the locked projection 12a being bent in this manner, the locked projection 12a slips over the locking projection 22a. When the block 10 is further inserted, the locked projection 12a climbs over the locking projection 22a, and thereby the locked projection 12a recovers from the deflection and is located above the locking projection 22a.

In this way, when the locked projection 12a is located above the locking projection 22a (see FIG. 4), the engagement between the engaging portion 22 and the engaged portion 12 is completed. That is, in this state, the engaging portion 22 and the engaged portion 12 are in an engaged relationship. As a result, the block 10 and frame 20 are assembled.

Note that the block 10 may be provided with a guide portion (not shown) in order to further improve workability. The guide portion can be provided outside the peripheral wall 11 and at a location different from the engaged portion 12 and the support portion 23. When configured in this way, the frame 20 is provided with a guide groove (not shown) corresponding to the guide portion at a location inside the peripheral wall 21 and corresponding to the guide portion. This guide groove may be configured like the guided rail portion 12b described above.

Next, a support structure between the block 10 and the frame 20 will be explained. FIG. 5 shows an assembly completion stage in which the block 10 and the frame 20 are assembled. FIG. 6 shows a stage in which the block 10 and the frame 20 are being assembled.

As shown in FIG. 5, at the completion stage of assembly, the hanging portion 25b of the elastic piece 25 is approximately parallel to the longitudinal side peripheral wall 11a of the block 10. Further, in this state, the support protrusion 26 is in contact with the bottom wall 13, and the support portion 23 supports the bottom wall 13 (that is, the block 10). In other words, this suppresses downward displacement of the block 10.

The support structure in the middle of assembly will be explained. When the block 10 is inserted into the frame 20 by a predetermined distance, the support protrusion 26 comes into contact with the longitudinal side peripheral wall 11a of the block 10. When the block 10 is further inserted, as shown in FIG. 6, the support protrusion 26 is pushed by the longitudinal wall 11a and deflects in the direction of arrow Y2 (ie, toward the longitudinal wall 21a).

Specifically, the elastic piece 25 is pushed by the longitudinal side peripheral wall 11a so that the base 25a and the drooping part 25b are continuous with each other (i.e., the left end of the base 25a in FIG. 6) as an axis. The hanging portion 25b bends so as to escape into the bending allowable space S. Note that at this time, the support protrusion 26 is visible from above.

In this way, when the block 10 is further inserted with the elastic piece 25 being bent, the bottom wall 13 of the block 10 gets over the support protrusion 26, and the bottom wall 13 is positioned above the support protrusion 26. It turns out. Note that at this time, the support protrusion 26 cannot be visually recognized from above.

That is, the bottom wall 13 contacts the support protrusion 26 from above the support protrusion 26 . As a result, the support protrusion 26 comes into contact with the bottom wall 13, and the support portion 23 supports the bottom wall 13. Therefore, downward displacement of the block 10 with respect to the frame 20 is suppressed.

<Action/Effect>
According to the resin structure 1 according to the present embodiment, in the assembly completion stage when the block 10 and the frame 20 are assembled, the other side of the block 10 in the predetermined direction opposite to the one side on which the electronic components are mounted is The provided bottom wall 13 is supported by the support portion 23 . Specifically, the support portion 23 supports the bottom wall 13 (i.e., the block 10) by the support protrusion 26 coming into contact with the bottom wall 13. As described above, since the bottom wall 13 is provided on the other side, even if electronic components are accommodated in the block 10 from one side in a predetermined direction in the assembly completion stage, the bottom wall 13 located on the other side is supported by the support protrusion 26. For example, when housing electronic components in the block 10, the resin structure 1 is subjected to the load of the electronic components or the load of a worker when housing the electronic components. ) can be suppressed. In other words, the displacement between the block 10 and the frame 20 that may occur due to the above-mentioned load is suppressed not only by the engaging portion (that is, the engaging portion 22 and the engaged portion 12) but also by the supporting portion 23. Therefore, the resin structure 1 according to the present embodiment can suppress relative displacement between the block 10 and the frame 20.

Furthermore, when the assembly is completed, the elastic piece 25 is restored from its deflection, so that the support protrusion 26 comes into contact with the bottom wall 13 and the support part 23 supports the bottom wall 13. This makes it possible to suppress relative displacement between the block 10 and the frame 20 that may occur due to the load applied when electronic components are mounted, as described above. Furthermore, while the support protrusion 26 is visible from one side during the assembly stage, the support protrusion 26 becomes invisible when the assembly is completed. That is, by visually recognizing the support protrusion 26, the assembled state of the block 10 and the frame 20 (that is, the intermediate stage of assembly or the completed stage of assembly) can be confirmed. Further, the support portion 23 can absorb manufacturing variations (dimensional tolerances that inevitably occur during manufacturing) of the block 10 and the frame 20 with the elastic pieces 25, thereby realizing more reliable support of the block 10.

Therefore, in the resin structure 1 according to the present embodiment, relative displacement between the block 10 and the frame 20 can be suppressed, and the assembled state of the resin structure 1 can be easily confirmed.

Another effect is that the elastic piece 25 is pushed by the block 10 during assembly and is deformed, and the elastic piece 25 recovers from the deflection when the assembly is completed, so that the block 10 and Assembling work with the frame 20 can be easily performed. In other words, the resin structure 1 according to this embodiment also has excellent workability.

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

In the above embodiment, the engaging portion 22 is composed of the locking protrusion 22a and the guide rail portion 22b, but it may be only the locking protrusion 22a. Similarly, the engaged portion 12 does not need to be composed of the engaged protrusion 12a and the guided rail portion 12b, as long as the engaged portion 22 and the engaged portion 12 are in an engaged relationship.

In the embodiment described above, the supporting portion 23 is provided on the longitudinal side peripheral wall 21a, and the engaging portion 22 is provided on the short side peripheral wall 21b, but the reverse may be used. That is, the longitudinal side peripheral wall 21a may be provided with the engaging portion 22, and the short side peripheral wall 21b may be provided with the support portion 23. At this time, the engaged portion 12 is provided on the longitudinal side peripheral wall 11a.

Here, the features of the embodiments of the resin structure according to the present invention described above will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [2].
[1]
A resin structure including a first resin body (block 10) on which electronic components are mounted from one side in a predetermined direction, and a second resin body (frame 20) that is assembled with the first resin body. 1),
The first resin body (block 10) is
an engaged portion (12) that is engaged with the second resin body;
a bottom wall (13) located on the other side of the first resin body in the predetermined direction and supported by the second resin body;
The second resin body (frame 20) is
an engaging portion (22) that engages with the engaged portion;
a support portion (23) provided on the inner wall of the second resin body;
The support part (23) is
It has an elastic piece (25) that can be elastically deformed, and a support protrusion (26) that is provided on the elastic piece and supports the bottom wall,
The resin structure (1) is
At the assembly completion stage (FIG. 5) in which the first resin body (block 10) and the second resin body (frame 20) are assembled, the support protrusion (26) comes into contact with the bottom wall (13). The support part (23) supports the bottom wall (13) by being in contact with the support part (23);
Resin structure (1).
[2]
In the resin structure (1) described in [1] above,
During the process of assembling the first resin body (block 10) and the second resin body (frame 20) (FIG. 6), the elastic piece (25) is pressed by the first resin body (block 10). The elastic piece (25) is deformed by bending, and in the assembly completion stage (FIG. 5), the elastic piece (25) recovers from the bending and the support protrusion (26) comes into contact with the bottom wall (13), so that the support part (23) ) supports the bottom wall (13),
In the intermediate stage (FIG. 6), the support protrusion (26) is visible from the one side, and in the assembly completion stage (FIG. 5), the support protrusion (26) is not visible from the one side. composed of,
Resin structure (1).

1 Resin structure 10 Block 12 Engaged part 12a Engaged protrusion 12b Guide rail part 13 Bottom wall 20 Frame 22 Engagement part 22a Engagement protrusion 22b Guide rail part 23 Support part 25 Elastic piece 25a Base 25b Hanging part 26 Support protrusion

Claims (2)

A resin structure comprising a first resin body on which an electronic component is mounted from one side in a predetermined direction, and a second resin body assembled with the first resin body,
The first resin body is
an engaged portion that is engaged with the second resin body;
a bottom wall located on the other side of the first resin body in the predetermined direction and supported by the second resin body;
The second resin body is
an engaging part that engages with the engaged part;
a support portion provided on the inner wall of the second resin body;
The support part is
an elastic piece that can be elastically deformed; and a support protrusion that is provided on the elastic piece and supports the bottom wall;
The resin structure is
At an assembly completion stage in which the first resin body and the second resin body are assembled, the support protrusion comes into contact with the bottom wall, so that the support part supports the bottom wall.
Resin structure. The resin structure according to claim 1,
In the middle of assembling the first resin body and the second resin body, the elastic piece is pressed by the first resin body and is deformed, and when the assembly is completed, the elastic piece recovers from the deformation. The support part is configured to support the bottom wall by the support protrusion coming into contact with the bottom wall,
In the intermediate stage, the support protrusion is visible from the one side, and in the assembly completion stage, the support protrusion is not visible from the one side.
Resin structure.

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