Electrical connectors – With vehicle structure
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-17
2002-08-06
Bradley, P. Austin (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With vehicle structure
C439S341000, C361S643000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06428326
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an assembly comprising a vehicle body and an electrical connection box, particularly a body of the box, installed on the vehicle body. The invention is applicable, for example, to an automobile body. The invention also relates to a method of temporarily connecting the electrical connection box body to the vehicle body.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that the body of an electrical connection box is, through a shaft, rotatably mounted on a bracket fixed on a vehicle body such that the body of the box is rotatable on the shaft. In a vehicle manufacturing line, an operator performs an operation by rotating the body of the electrical connection box to an open position thereof and holding it at the open position. When the operator finishes one operation, he returns the body of the box to its closed position. In a subsequent operation, the operator again opens and closes the body of the box. When the operator terminates a final operation, he fastens the body of the box to the vehicle body. Accordingly, until the final operation is completed, the operator keeps the body of the box temporarily fixed to the vehicle body.
The conventional method of temporarily fixing the body of the box to the vehicle body is by screws and nuts, while the body of the box is mounted on the shaft inserted through the bracket. The body of the box is rotatable on the shaft. Thus, it is necessary to employ a large number of component parts and many operational steps, which causes the manufacturing cost of the box to be high.
To solve the problem, it is conceivable to give the front end of the bracket a hook shape and to fit the shaft, provided on the body of the box, into the hook-shaped portion to temporarily fix the body to the bracket. This construction may facilitate the connection between the body of the box and the bracket, thus avoiding the above-described disadvantage. However, when fixing the body of the box to the vehicle body temporarily, the shaft provided on the body of the box may not be placed in correct position with respect to the bracket. Thus, if the shaft is incorrectly located with respect to the hook-shaped portion when mounting the body of the box in a small space such as in an engine room, it is difficult to perform the operation of fixing the body of the box to the vehicle body precisely.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 1-114318 shows an electrical connection box pivotally mounted on a support at one end by a hollow shaft on the support which is embraced by a sleeve of the box. A bolt is employed to hold the assembly together.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to enable assembly of a vehicle body and an electrical connection box whose body can be easily temporarily fixed to the vehicle body in a predetermined position.
According to the present invention, there is provided an assembly including a vehicle body and an electrical connection box body installed on the vehicle body. For a temporary pivotable mounting of the box body on the vehicle body, one of the box body and the vehicle body has a shaft and the other has a bracket adapted to receive the shaft at a predetermined location so as to allow pivoting of the box body about the shaft axis. The assembly further has locating surfaces for positioning the box body relative to the vehicle body during the mounting prior to receipt of the shaft at the predetermined location on the bracket. The locating surfaces act to pre-position the box body so that correct assembly of the shaft and the bracket is easily achieved.
In the electrical connection box of the present invention, the locating surfaces are preferably surfaces of a guide groove into which the bracket can be fitted during the mounting of the shaft onto the bracket, and the width of the guide groove is substantially equal or slightly more than that of the bracket.
In the present invention, when mounting the shaft onto the bracket, the locating surfaces place the body of the electrical connection box in the correct position. In this state, the shaft is fitted into the bracket. Accordingly, it is possible to temporarily fix the body of the box to the vehicle body in the correct position of the body of the box with respect to the bracket.
For example, before the shaft is fitted into its final position on the bracket, the bracket is fitted into the guide groove. The width of the guide groove is set almost equal to the width of the bracket. Thus, when fitting the shaft onto the bracket, it is possible to hold the body of the electrical connection box in position without being loose.
In a preferred embodiment, the box body has a plurality of the shafts on a common axis, and has a plurality of projections arranged in a row and defining between them guide grooves whose opposed surfaces constitute the locating surfaces. The shafts respectively span across the guide grooves between the opposite surfaces thereof. The vehicle body has a plurality of the brackets which are respectively received in the guide grooves and have hook-shaped portions receiving the shafts. The projections may have end faces which constitute stop surfaces which abut the vehicle body to limit the degree of rotation of the box body about the axis of the shafts relative to the vehicle body.
The invention further provides a method of temporarily connecting an electrical connection box body to a vehicle body such that the temporarily connected box body is rotatable relative to the vehicle body. The method includes a step of inserting a shaft, provided on one of the box body and the vehicle body, into a pivoting location on a bracket, provided on the other thereof. During the inserting step, before the shaft reaches the pivoting location on the bracket, the bracket is first inserted between locating surfaces provided adjacent the shaft acting to constrain movement of the bracket relative to the shaft in a direction parallel to the rotational axis of the shaft. This locates the bracket at a desired position for the receipt of the shaft at the pivoting location.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5497036 (1996-03-01), Zemlicka
patent: 5501607 (1996-03-01), Yoshioka et al.
patent: 5557067 (1996-09-01), Messelhi
patent: 5944209 (1999-08-01), Daoud
patent: 0 849 832 (1998-06-01), None
patent: 0 849 832 (2000-09-01), None
patent: 1-114318 (1989-05-01), None
patent: 3-106819 (1991-11-01), None
patent: 11008013 (1999-01-01), None
Bradley P. Austin
Gilman Alexander
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
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