Electrical fuse box for motor vehicles

Details Electrical fuse box for motor vehicles Electrical fuse box for motor vehicles

1999-01-25

2002-05-28

Feild, Lynn D. (Department: 2835)

Electricity: electrothermally or thermally actuated switches

Electrothermally actuated switches

Fusible element actuated

C337S256000, C337S188000, C337S278000, C361S642000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06396380

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The subject invention is directed toward the art of electrical fuse boxes and, more particularly, to an electrical fuse box that attaches directly to the battery of a motor vehicle to ensure that shorts occurring in high current conducting wires are fused near the battery rather than at remote locations such as, for example, under the hood or in vehicle kick panels.
The invention is especially useful in the motor vehicle art and will be described with reference thereto; however, the invention is capable of broader application and could be used in other type vehicles and in many environments such as industrial processes.
It is well known in the motor vehicle art to place fuse boxes in the anterior area of the vehicle such as, for example, under the hood within the engine compartment or behind kick guards in the foot area of the interior of the motor vehicle. The fuse boxes serve to accept electrical fuses for individual electrical load consumers within the vehicle such as individual lights or small equipment items and also to accept electrical fuses for large cable strands carrying large amounts of current branching off from the fuse box for servicing entire load sections within the vehicle. Typical fuse boxes are connected to the positive pole of the motor vehicle battery via one or more cables leading to the fuse box whereat power is supplied to a plurality of fuses contained within the box. The ends of the fuses opposite the end connected to the positive terminal of the battery generally are connected to outgoing cables or cable strands to supply power to electrical consumers such as, for example, motor vehicle lighting systems, sensors and switches, and power accessories.
With regard to fuse protecting the smaller general electrical consumers within the motor vehicle, each of the electrical consumers is simply connected to the outgoing end of a respective fuse. In that way, if a short occurs in the power consumer end, the fuse simply melts at a designated melting zone thereby opening the electric circuit and disconnecting the power consumer from the battery downstream of the fuse box. However, when the fuse box is employed to serve and electrically protect entire cable strands that are typically used to serve a large number of electrical connectors, a plurality of smaller sized fuses are generally employed downstream of the large cable from the fuse box so that each of the individual power consumer circuits branching off from the main cable strand can be fuse protected.
For the protection of large cable strands carrying high amounts of current, large fuses are used. They are commonly referred to in the industry as “strip fuses”. The so-called strip fuses generally have no housing of their own and are typically employed to fuse protect cable strands that are expected to conduct high amounts or levels of electrical current. In contrast to the readily manually installable flat fuses which are commonly used to electrically fuse protect individual power circuits in the motor vehicle, the replacement of the strip fuses are usually performed only by skilled personnel since the destruction of strip fuses serving entire cable strands is usually an indication of a serious fault in the electrical wiring of the motor vehicle. Serious faults of this type usually result in excess current intensities and consequently melt a fusible area formed in the respective strip fuse.
On the other hand, the replacement of ordinary insertable flat fuses used to fuse protect individual electric consumer circuits in the motor vehicle is typically within the capabilities of untrained personnel such as, for example, motor vehicle operators or owners. Manufacturers of motor vehicles entrust operators to perform insertable flat fuse replacement because their failure is usually caused only by minor electrical faults such as, for example, a short-circuit occurring in the filament of an electrical bulb when it fails.
One major disadvantage of typical fuse boxes used in the past is made evident during a motor vehicle accidents, in particular, during collisions. In that regard, during certain motor vehicle crashes that result in a mechanical destruction of the electrical cable strands extending between the fuse box and the vehicle battery, short circuits can be produced between the end of the destroyed electrical cable strand and the motor vehicle frame or other vehicle component connected to ground. The severed end of the electrical cable strand of course continues to be connected to one pole of the motor vehicle battery on one end and directly to the body or frame of the motor vehicle on the other or destroyed end. Of course, the motor vehicle body or frame is typically connected to the oppositely polarized terminal of the motor vehicle battery creating a dead short having high current carrying capacity. In such event, sparks are typically generated sometimes causing motor vehicle fires and explosions.
There is a need, therefore, to provide a fuse box for use with motor vehicles which will safely prevent short circuits and the hazards caused thereby even during motor vehicle crashes. It is further desired that such a fuse box can be produced in a simple and cost effective manner and can be easily installed in a wide range of motor vehicles and other electromechanical devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the subject invention, an electrical fuse box for use in motor vehicles is provided having a housing adapted at a first location to receive an associated electrical strip fuse for protecting a high current conducting wire strand. The strip fuse has a melting zone formed therein designed to melt and open a circuit conducting current that reaches a level beyond a predetermined threshold. The electrical fuse box includes at least one screening zone formed by the housing. The screening zone defines an area located relative to the first location of the strip fuse for collecting liquid melted material generated when the strip fuse melts. In that way, melted material is contained within the screening zone to prevent damage to the other circuits disposed in the fuse box. The melted fuse material is thereby prevented from migrating into other areas of the housing.
Preferably, the fuse box is connected directly to one terminal of the motor vehicle battery to ensure that there are no “live” wires, i.e. wires connected to a source of power, extending between the battery and the fuse box. In the event of a crash of the vehicle or destruction to the fuse box, all of the current conducting wires routed through the vehicle are protected by fuses that are connected on one end directly to the battery.
In accordance with the invention, the fuse box is arranged for direct connection to the battery of the motor vehicle. In that way, reasonable assurance is provided that, in the event of a vehicle crash, there will be no destruction of cable strands not protected by a fuse. In that way, the formation of sparks caused by the short circuiting of unprotected cable strands is unlikely or impossible.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the fuses used to electrically protect cable strands carrying large amounts of current are preferably strip fuses which are inexpensive and generally readily available.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the fuse box is adapted to connect one end of several strip fuses directly to an electrical pole of the motor vehicle battery through a common busbar.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, first ends of the multiple strip fuses contained within the fuse box are connected to the common busbar using screws and nuts to provide minimal connection transition resistance between the fuses and the battery. Bushings are also arranged between the fuses and the terminal elements within the fuse box. This arrangement results in the benefit of a very simple mechanical construction and thus realizes a cost effective fuse box that is readily and inexpensively produced.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, ea

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