JP7686347B2 - Electrical Junction Box - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electrical junction box to be installed in an automobile.

As an example of an electrical connection box, Patent Document 1 discloses an electrical connection box in which a fuse puller storage section is integrally provided with a frame on which fuses and relays are assembled, and in which a fuse puller is always stored. The fuse puller is a resin molded product, and is a tool for pulling the fuse out of the frame.

JP 2010-124561 A

The above-mentioned conventional technology has the problem that the number of parts and assembly steps increase due to the inclusion of a fuse puller as a component part of the electrical connection box, resulting in higher costs.

The present invention aims to reduce the manufacturing costs of electrical connection boxes that always have fuse pullers.

The electrical connection box of the present invention comprises a frame, a fuse attached to the frame, and a fuse puller, which is a tool for extracting the fuse from the frame. The frame has a horizontal surface, a vertical surface hanging down from the edge of the horizontal surface, and a plate portion erected from the horizontal surface. The fuse puller is integrally molded with the frame and is connected to the vertical surface via a weak portion that allows the fuse puller to be easily separated. The fuse puller has a pair of clamping plates and a spring portion connecting the clamping plates, and when the fuse puller is not separated from the frame, the spring portion is located above the upper end of the plate portion, and a virtual extension portion that virtually extends the plate portion toward the fuse puller passes between the pair of clamping plates.

The present invention can reduce the manufacturing costs of electrical junction boxes that always have fuse pullers.

1 is a plan view of a conventional electrical junction box that is not the present invention but is the premise of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an electrical junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a plan view of the electrical junction box of FIG. 2 . 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for disconnecting the fuse puller of FIG. 3. 5 is a diagram showing the fuse puller of FIG. 4 in a state where it is tilted to a horizontal surface. 6 is a diagram showing a movement trajectory of the fuse puller in FIG. 5 when it is separated from the frame. 6 is a diagram showing the fuse puller of FIG. 5 separated from the fragile portion and placed on a horizontal surface. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the fuse puller separated from the frame of FIG. 4; 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which the fuse puller of FIG. 8 is housed in a frame. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the electrical junction box of FIG. 9 .

The "electrical connection box" according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 10.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a conventional electrical junction box on which the present invention is based. This electrical junction box 501 includes a frame 502, resin blocks 503a, 503b, 503c, and 503d attached to the frame 502, electronic components such as fuses and relays attached to the mounting portions 31 and 32 of the resin blocks 503a, 503b, 503c, and 503d, a fuse puller housed in the frame 502, and a cover attached to the top surface of the frame 502 to cover the electronic components.

The frame 502 is a resin molded product obtained by injection molding using a metal mold. The frame 502 has a rectangular cylindrical peripheral wall 21, a number of partition walls 22 that divide the inside of the peripheral wall 21 into a number of spaces, and a fixing portion 23 for fixing to the vehicle body that is provided on the outer surface of the peripheral wall 21. Resin blocks 503a, 503b, 503c, 503d, etc. are assembled in each of the spaces divided by the multiple partition walls 22. Also, the symbol S in FIG. 1 is a dead space where no parts can be assembled. In the electrical connection box 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, this dead space S is utilized for molding and storing a fuse puller.

The electrical connection box 1 shown in Figures 2 and 3 includes a frame 2 with the dead space S modified, multiple resin blocks attached to the frame 2, electronic components such as fuses and relays attached to the mounting portions 31 and 32 (see Figure 1) of the resin blocks, a fuse puller 4 which is a tool for pulling out the fuses, and a cover attached to the top surface of the frame 2 to cover the electronic components, fuse puller 4, etc.

The frame 2 has the same configuration as the frame 502 in FIG. 1, except for the dead space S portion. The fuse puller 4 is molded integrally with the frame 2. That is, it is molded by the same injection molding die when the frame 2 is injection molded. The fuse puller 4 can be used by separating it from the frame 2.

The fuse puller 4 is provided inside the partitions 22 that form the dead space S. In detail, a connecting wall 6 that connects the partitions 22 together is added inside the partitions 22 that form the dead space S, and the fuse puller 4 is connected to the vertical surface 62 of this connecting wall 6.

As shown in FIG. 8, the fuse puller 4 has a pair of clamping plates 41, a curved spring portion 42 connecting the base ends 41b of the clamping plates 41, and a protrusion 48 extending from one clamping plate 41 to the opposite side to the other clamping plate 41. The tip 41a of each clamping plate 41 is provided with an engaging protrusion 44 that engages with the fuse. This fuse puller 4 is used by clamping a fuse between the tip ends 41a of the pair of clamping plates 41 and pulling the fuse out of the resin block with each engaging protrusion 44 engaged with the fuse.

The connecting wall 6 has a horizontal surface 61 that faces the cover attached to the frame 2, and a vertical surface 62 that hangs down from the end of the horizontal surface 61. The vertical surface 62 faces one of the partition walls 22 that form the dead space S, forming a gap between the partition wall 22.

Additionally, the dead space S is provided with a plate portion 7 erected from the end of the horizontal surface 61 on the vertical surface 62 side, and an erect portion 8 erected from a portion of the horizontal surface 61 away from the vertical surface 62. The plate portion 7 is composed of a plate portion main body 71 and a claw portion 71 provided at the upper end of the plate portion main body 71. The erect portion 8 is formed with a groove 81 extending in the vertical direction. Furthermore, a fuse puller mounting surface 26 at the same height as the horizontal surface 61 is formed on the partition wall 22 facing the vertical surface 62.

The plate portion 7, the standing portion 8, and the fuse puller mounting surface 26 function as a holding means for the fuse puller 4 separated from the frame 2, as shown in Figures 9 and 10. That is, the plate portion 7 has the plate portion main body 71 positioned between a pair of clamping plates 41 placed on a horizontal surface 61, and the claw portion 72 positions one of the clamping plates 41 between the horizontal surface 61. In this state, the protrusion 48 of the fuse puller 4 is positioned within the groove 81 of the standing portion 8, and the tip portion 41a of the pair of clamping plates 41 is placed on the fuse puller mounting surface 26.

The fuse puller 4 is connected to the vertical surface 62 via a pair of weak parts 5 that allow the fuse puller 4 to be easily separated. Each weak part 5 is formed in a tapered protrusion shape, and each clamping plate 41 is connected to its tip. The fuse puller 4 is connected to the vertical surface 62 with the spring part 42 located above the upper end of the plate part 7 and with an imaginary extension of the plate part 7 towards the fuse puller 4 passing between the pair of clamping plates 41.

When the fuse puller 4 is separated from the frame 2, it is separated as shown in, for example, Figures 4 to 7. That is, as shown in Figure 4, the part of the fuse puller 4 above the horizontal surface 61 is pressed towards the horizontal surface 61, and as shown in Figure 5, the middle part of the pair of clamping plates 41 is abutted against the corner of the horizontal wall 6 (the part where the horizontal surface 61 and the vertical surface 62 intersect). Then, from this state, the base end 41b side of the pair of clamping plates 41 is moved closer to the horizontal surface 61 using the principle of leverage, as shown in Figure 6, to separate them.

In this way, the fuse puller 4 can be easily separated without using tools, and by positioning the plate portion 7 between a pair of clamping plates 41 as shown in FIG. 7, the fuse puller 4 can be prevented from falling below the frame 2 from between the vertical wall 62 and the bulkhead 22.

Such an electrical junction box 1 is shipped with the fuse puller 4 connected to the frame 2, and when a fuse replacement is required, the user separates the fuse puller 4 from the frame 2. After the fuse puller 4 has been used to replace the fuse, it is held by the plate portion 7, the standing portion 8, and the fuse puller mounting surface 26 and stored in the dead space S, as shown in Figures 9 and 10. In this way, the fuse puller 4 is always held within the frame 2 except when the fuse is being replaced.

The above-mentioned electrical connection box 1 has the fuse puller 4 molded integrally with the frame 2, eliminating the need to separately manufacture the fuse puller 4, manage the parts, and assemble it to the frame 2, thereby reducing manufacturing costs. Furthermore, in this example, the fuse puller 4 is provided in the dead space S of the conventional electrical connection box 501, so the above-mentioned structure is realized with minimal changes.

Note that the protruding portion 48, the erected portion 8, and the fuse puller mounting surface 26 of the fuse puller 4 are not essential components of the present invention, but their presence allows the separated fuse puller 4 to be stored in the dead space S without falling between the vertical wall 62 and the partition wall 22 and below the frame 2.

In the above-described embodiment, the fuse is attached to the frame via a resin block, but in the present invention, the fuse may be attached directly to the frame.

The above-mentioned embodiment merely shows a typical form of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In other words, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications within the scope of the gist of the present invention. As long as the configuration of the present invention is still included in such modifications, it is of course included in the scope of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Electrical junction box 2 Frame 4 Fuse puller 5 Weak part 7 Plate part 41 Clamping plate 42 Spring part 61 Horizontal surface 62 Vertical surface

Claims (3)

The fuse puller includes a frame, a fuse attached to the frame, and a fuse puller that is a tool for pulling out the fuse from the frame.
The frame has a horizontal surface, a vertical surface hanging down from an end of the horizontal surface, and a plate portion standing upright from the horizontal surface,
the fuse puller is integrally molded with the frame and is connected to the vertical surface via a weakened portion that allows the fuse puller to be easily separated;
The fuse puller has a pair of clamping plates and a spring portion connecting the clamping plates to each other,
an electrical connection box characterized in that, when the fuse puller is not separated from the frame, the spring portion is positioned above an upper end of the plate portion, and an imaginary extension portion of the plate portion toward the fuse puller passes between the pair of clamping plates. A claw portion is provided on an upper end of the plate portion,
2. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, characterized in that when the fuse puller separated from the frame is placed on the horizontal surface and the plate portion is passed between the pair of clamping plates, the fuse puller can be positioned between the claw portion and the horizontal surface. the fuse puller has a protrusion extending from one clamping plate to a side opposite to the other clamping plate,
The frame has an upright portion that stands upright from the horizontal surface, and a groove extending in a vertical direction is formed in the upright portion,
3. The electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein the fuse puller separated from the frame is placed on the horizontal surface and the plate portion is passed between the pair of clamping plates, and the protrusion portion can be positioned within the groove of the upright portion.

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