U.S. patent application number 09/764437 was filed with the patent office on 2001-07-26 for electrical connection box.
This patent application is currently assigned to SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD.. Invention is credited to Saito, Yukitaka.
Application Number | 20010009506 09/764437 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18539568 |
Filed Date | 2001-07-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010009506 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Saito, Yukitaka |
July 26, 2001 |
Electrical connection box
Abstract
An electrical connection box has a first casing part in which is
mounted a bus bar laminate, and a second casing part in which a
wiring substrate is accommodated. To achieve accurate alignment of
projecting tabs of the bus bar laminate with connectors of the
wiring substrate during connection of the casing parts, the first
casing part has projections and the wiring substrate has recesses
which mutually engage before the tabs enter the connectors. Direct
alignment is achieved, increasing reliability of the product.
Inventors: |
Saito, Yukitaka; (Yokkaichi,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OLIFF & BERRIDGE, PLC
277 S. WASHINGTON STREET, SUITE 500
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS,
LTD.
|
Family ID: |
18539568 |
Appl. No.: |
09/764437 |
Filed: |
January 19, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
361/752 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 16/0238 20130101;
H01R 13/518 20130101; H01R 13/629 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
361/752 |
International
Class: |
H05K 005/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 20, 2000 |
JP |
2000-011743 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electrical connection box comprising: a first casing part; a
second casing part connectable with the first casing part; a bus
bar laminate having at least one bus bar and at least one
insulation layer laminated together, mounted in said first casing
part and having projecting terminals; and a wiring substrate
mounted in said second casing part and carrying connectors adapted
to engage and make connection to said projecting terminals of said
bus bar laminate when said first and second casing parts are
connected, wherein at least one portion of said first casing part
and at least one portion of said wiring substrate constitute
respectively mutually engageable guides which, during connection of
said first and second casing parts, directly establish mutual
alignment of said first casing part and said wiring substrate
before said connectors engage said projecting terminals.
2. An electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein said
mutually engageable guides comprise at least one guide projection
on one of said first casing part and said wiring substrate and at
least one guide recess in the other of said first casing part and
said wiring substrate.
3. An electrical connection box according to claim 2, wherein said
first casing part has a substrate-receiving recess, bounded by a
surrounding wall, which receives said wiring substrate when said
first and second casing parts are connected together, said guide
projection being a protrusion on said surrounding wall projecting
inwardly to said substrate-receiving recess, and said guide recess
being a notch in a peripheral region of said wiring substrate.
4. An electrical connection box according to claim 3, wherein said
guide projection is unitary with said surrounding wall.
5. An electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein said
first casing part has a portion overlying said bus bar laminate,
directly engaging said projecting terminals and determining a
position of said projecting terminals relative to said first casing
part.
6. An electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein said
projecting terminals of said bus bar laminate and said guide of
said first casing part are upstanding towards said second casing
part in the direction of mutual approach of said first and second
casing parts during connection thereof, said guide of said first
casing part standing up higher than said projecting terminals so as
to engage said wiring substrate before said connectors engage said
projecting terminals during the connection of the casing parts.
7. An electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein each
of said first casing part and said wiring substrate has a pair of
said portions constituting mutually engageable guides, located
respectively at opposite sides of the electrical connection
box.
8. An electrical connection box according to claim 1, wherein said
wiring substrate is a planar board carrying wiring and a plurality
of electrical components.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of Invention
[0002] The invention relates to an electric connection box suitable
to be mounted in, for example, a vehicle such as an automobile.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] One form of an electric connection box provides a case
composed of a casing part for a bus bar laminate and casing part
for a wiring substrate. The bus bar laminate is formed by
alternatingly laminating bus bars and insulation layers. A
substrate connector making electrical connection with the bus bars
is mounted on the wiring substrate. In assembly, the bus bars are
received in the substrate casing part when the two casing parts are
united, and the bus bars are connected with the substrate
connector. It is required that the two casing parts are accurately
positioned before combination so that the connection position of
the bus bars coincides with the substrate connector. Accordingly,
an electric connection box in which the two casing parts are joined
when accurately positioned has been proposed. The electric
connection box aligns the casing parts by bringing the wiring
substrate casing part in contact with guide pieces formed on the
upper face of the laminate casing part. However, in this box, bus
bars are aligned with the substrate connector indirectly by
positioning of the wiring substrate through its casing part.
Therefore, there have been problems that deviation of the
connection position of the bus bars with the connector occurs, and
good connection cannot be achieved because of dimension tolerance
of the respective casing parts, assembly error of the wiring
substrate in its casing part, and the like.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,189 illustrates an electrical connection
box, for automotive use, which also seeks to achieve good
connection of a bus bar laminate and connectors of a wiring board.
A lower casing contains a bus bar laminate having upwardly
projecting tab terminals. Into this casing a circuit board is
fitted, which carries on its edges connector housings which receive
the tab terminals. In one embodiment, the connector housings are
positioned by guide ribs of the lower casing, which also serve to
ensure correct location of the connector housings on the circuit
board. After fitting of the circuit board in this manner, an upper
casing is fitted on the lower casing, pressing on the circuit
board.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] An object of the invention is to provide an electric
connection box capable of satisfactorily connecting a bus bar
laminate with a connector.
[0007] According to the invention, there-is provided an electrical
connection box including a first casing part and a second casing
part connectable with the first casing part. A bus bar laminate,
having at least one bus bar and at least one insulation layer
laminated together, is mounted in the first casing part and has
projecting terminals. A wiring substrate is mounted in the second
casing part and has connectors carried thereon, adapted to engage
and make connection to the projecting terminals of the bus bar
laminate when the casing parts are connected. The first casing part
and the wiring substrate have portions constituting mutually
engageable guides which, during connection of the casing parts,
directly establish mutual alignment of the first casing part and
the wiring substrate before the connectors engage the projecting
terminals.
[0008] In the invention, when the first casing part with the bus
bar laminate is combined with the second casing part with the
wiring substrate, the wiring substrate is directly positioned
against the laminate casing part by the positioning procedure
performed by the guides. The positioning is carried out before the
tab terminals of the bus bars are inserted in the connectors of the
wiring substrate. Accordingly, it is assured that the connection
position of the bus bars coincides with the connectors without
being influenced by dimensional tolerance or the like of the first
casing part. Therefore, good connection between the bus bars and
the connectors can be achieved.
[0009] Preferably, the mutually engageable guides include at least
one guide projection on one of the first casing part and the wiring
substrate, and at least one guide recess in the other of the first
casing part and the wiring substrate. The first casing part
preferably has a substrate-receiving recess bounded by a
surrounding wall which receives the wiring substrate when the
casing parts are connected together, the guide projection is a
protrusion on the surrounding wall projecting inwardly to said
substrate-receiving recess, and the guide recess is a notch in a
peripheral region of the wiring substrate.
[0010] To support and locate the terminals of the bus bar laminate,
preferably the first casing part has a portion overlying the bus
bar laminate and directly engaging the projecting terminals so as
to determine the position of the projecting terminals relative to
said first casing part.
[0011] Preferably, each of the first casing part and the wiring
substrate has a pair of the portions constituting mutually
engageable guides, located respectively at opposite sides of the
electrical connection box.
[0012] Typically the wiring substrate is a planar board carrying
wiring and a plurality of electrical components.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of
a non-limitative example, with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electrical
connection box embodying the invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the electrical
connection box of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIGS. 3-7 are respective partial sectional views of the box
of FIG. 1 in successive stages during the joining of the two casing
parts; and
[0017] FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view of the box when the
joining of the casing parts is completed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] An electric connection box 11 for an automobile embodying
the invention is shown in FIGS. 1-8.
[0019] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the box 11, typically arranged in
the interior space of an automobile, has a first casing part for
housing a bus bar laminate, here called a laminate case 12, made by
molding of a suitable synthetic resin, and a second casing part for
housing a wiring substrate, here called a substrate case 13, also
made by molding of suitable synthetic resin and detachably mounted
on the upper face of the laminate case 12. The laminate case 12 is
composed of a lower case part 16 and an upper case part 17 which
are detachably joined. An upper opening of the lower case part 16
is occupied by the upper case part 17.
[0020] In the laminate case 12, a bus bar laminate 20 obtained by
alternatingly laminating bus bars 18 made of a metal and insulation
plates 19 made of a synthetic resin is accommodated. Bus terminals
18a formed on the bus bars 18 penetrate the upper case part 17 and
protrude outward from the inside of the laminate case 12.
Structures 21 for receiving exterior connectors protrude at the
lower face of the lower case part 16. The laminate 20 is supported
on the inside end faces of the respective structures 21.
[0021] As the figures show, the upper case part 17 has upstanding
sleeve-like projections 17a which directly engage and support the
tab terminals 18a.
[0022] From the bottom face of the lower case 16, internally
screw-threaded tubular fixing parts 22 penetrate upwardly through
the laminate 20. The upper end part of each fixing part 22 is
inserted in a corresponding sleeve part 23 formed on the upper face
of the upper case part 17. Steps 22a on the exterior of the fixing
parts 22 support the laminate 20, in addition to the structures
21.
[0023] As shown best in FIGS. 3-7, guide walls 24 stand up on the
upper face of the upper case part 17, and assist in positioning the
substrate case 13, when the laminate case 12 and substrate case 13
are joined. Hooking claws 24a are formed on the upper inside faces
of the guide walls 24. A recess 29 to receive a wiring substrate is
defined on the upper face of the upper case part 17 by the
approximately rectangular plan wall inside the guide walls 24.
[0024] Two guide projections 26a and 26b may be integrally formed
(molded) with the wall 25 at opposite sides of the case 12 and
project slightly higher than the upper end of the wall 25. The
projecting guide parts 26a and 26b oppose each other and are hollow
inside to reduce the occurrence of mold sink on their surfaces in
molding.
[0025] In the substrate case 13, connector structures 28 (see FIG.
2) for a wire harness having terminals 27 inside are integrally
formed on the upper part of the case. The wiring substrate 30 is a
planar board having electrical wiring on its surface and carrying
electrical components. The wiring substrate 30 installed and fixed
by screws 33 on the substrate case 13, and nearly completely closes
the lower opening 13a (see FIG. 3). Through apertures 35 (see FIG.
2) in the substrate 30, screws 34 are inserted into the fixing
parts 22 of the laminate case 12 fixing the laminate case 12 and
the substrate 13 together. Hooking projections 13b are formed at
places corresponding to the hooking claws 24a, on the outside face
of the substrate case 13.
[0026] To make connection with the bus bars, connectors 31 are
carried on the wiring substrate 30. For example, one of the
connectors 31 is shown in FIGS. 2-8. Connecting terminals 36
connected to the wiring substrate 30 are provided in the connector
31. The tab terminals 18a make connection with the connecting
terminals 36 through holes 30a in the wiring substrate 30, when the
cases 12 and 13 are joined.
[0027] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, two notches 37a and 37b acting as
guide recesses are formed on opposite ends of the wiring substrate
30, to cooperate with the guide projections 26a and 26b. When the
cases 12 and 13 are joined, there is only slight clearance between
the guide projections 26a and 26b and the notches 37a and 37b,
respectively.
[0028] Further, the engagement of the guide projections 26a and 26b
and the notches 37a and 37b is designed to take place before the
engagement of the tab terminals 18a with the connecting terminals
36, when the cases 12 and 13 are combined. More specifically, the
engagement of the guides 37a and 37b and 26a and 26b occurs before
the tab terminal 18a is inserted in the insertion hole 30a and the
connector 31. For this purpose, the guide projections 26a and 26b
stand higher than the tab terminals 18a, in the direction of mutual
approach of the cases 12 and 13 during connection.
[0029] The assembly of the electrical connection box 11 is as
follows:
[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, the recess 2a of the upper case part 17
is confronted with the lower opening 13a of the substrate case 13.
As shown in FIG. 4, the laminate case 12 is approached to the
substrate case 13. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, a rim part of the
substrate case 13 is brought in contact with the inside face of the
guide walls 24, and the positions of the respective notches 37a and
37b formed on the wiring substrate 30 are matched with the
respective positions of the guide projections 26a and 26b provided
at the edge of the recess 29. As shown in FIG. 6, subsequently, the
respective notches 37a and 37b engage with the respective guide
projections 26a and 26b. The wiring substrate 30 is thus directly
aligned to the laminate case 12. The correct position of the tab
terminals 18a of the bus bars 18 with respect to the connecting
terminals 36 of the connector 31 is achieved. As the figures show,
the substrate 30 and the case 12 are aligned before the tab
terminals 18a enter the apertures 30a.
[0031] Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the wiring substrate 30 is
received in the recess 29 while the notches 37a and 37b slide along
the two guide projections 26a and 26b. Further, as shown in FIG. 8,
the tab terminals 18a of the bus bars 18 are inserted in the
connectors 31 through the insertion holes 30a. At the same time,
the hooking claws 24a provided on the guide walls 24 are hooked on
the hooking projections 13b of the case 13, to lock the cases 12
and 13 together. Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the screws 34 are
passed through holes 35, and engaged with the threaded parts
27.
[0032] The following advantages can be obtained with this
embodiment.
[0033] (1) The wiring substrate 30 is aligned relative to the
laminate case 12 before the tab terminals 18a formed on the bus
bars 18 are inserted in the connectors 31, by directly positioning
the wiring substrate 30 against the laminate case 12. Accordingly,
the correct connection position of the bus terminals 18a with
respect to the connecting terminal 36 can be achieved without being
influenced by dimension tolerance of the laminate case or the
substrate case, installation aberration of the wiring substrate 30
or the like. Therefore, a good connection between the bus bars 18
and the connector 31 can be achieved, and the reliability of the
electric connection box 11 can be improved.
[0034] (2) The guide projections 26a and 26b are formed on the wall
25 provided on the laminate case 12. The notches 37a and 37b are
formed on the wiring substrate 30. With these parts having a
concave and convex relationship, the positioning of the wiring
substrate 30 with respect to the case 12 can be easily carried
out.
[0035] (3) The notches 37a and 37b are formed on the rim of the
wiring substrate 30, so that restrictions on electric circuits can
be made less in comparison with a case of forming aligning parts at
a central part of the wiring substrate 30, and the degree of
freedom of design can be enhanced.
[0036] (4) The guide projections 26a and 26b are integrally formed
on the inside face of the wall 25 bounding the recess 29, so that
the strength of the wall 25 can be improved. As the guide
projections 26a and 26b are hollow, surface sink marks can be
avoided. Therefore, the molding accuracy of the guide projections
26a and 26b is enhanced.
[0037] (5) As the guide projections 26a and 26b and the notches 37a
and 37b are both provided in plural numbers, and are opposed to
each other at opposite sides of the cases 12 and 13, the
positioning accuracy of the wiring substrate 30 against the case 12
can be more enhanced.
[0038] Modified embodiments are described below:
[0039] The respective numbers of the guide projections 26a and 26b
and the notches 37a and 37b were described as two, but may be
changed to one, three or more.
[0040] In the above embodiment, the guide projections 26a and 26b
were provided on the case 12, and the notches 37a and 37b on the
wiring substrate 30. This relation may be inverted. Namely, the
notches may be on the case 12, and the guide projections may be on
the wiring substrate 30.
[0041] In the above embodiment, the positioning of the wiring
substrate 30 with respect to the case 12 was carried out by concave
and convex parts. Alternatively, this positioning may be achieved
by holes in the wiring substrate 30, and protrusions on the bottom
face of the recess 29 engaging these holes.
[0042] While the invention has been described in conjunction with
the exemplary embodiments described above, many equivalent
modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in
the art when given this disclosure. Accordingly, the exemplary
embodiments of the invention set forth above are considered to be
illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described
embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope
of the invention.
* * * * *