Electrical connectors – With circuit component or comprising connector which fully... – Connector includes or covers additional component
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-28
2002-09-03
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With circuit component or comprising connector which fully...
Connector includes or covers additional component
C439S680000, C439S831000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06443771
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuse box, a fuse, and a fuse block to be installed in a vehicle which is a moving body.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the vehicle as the moving body, there are various transmission lines for transmitting electric power, signals and so on, such as busbars contained in a connection box, such as a junction block, a relay box, a fuse block, terminals of electrical connector, etc.
Heretofore, a voltage of the electric power for use in the transmission lines has been mainly 12V in the case of a general passenger automobile, and has been 12V×2=24V in the case of a large vehicle, such as a bus, a truck, etc. However, in view of recent requests for an increase in driving efficiency of loads and for driving at most appropriate efficiency per the load, it is now being considered to employ a power system capable of supplying electric power having higher voltage than before, such as 36V, for example.
In the above described transmission lines, there have been used fuse blocks in which a number of detachable fuses are disposed for protecting electric circuits of various types of electric equipment from breakdown. Since the fuse block may sometimes include relays and busbars, the fuse block is also called a relay box or a junction block, or generally called a connection box. In this specification, the fuse block, relay box, junction box and connection box will be hereinafter called the fuse block, in general.
In the vehicle in which employment of the power system capable of supplying electric power having higher voltage than before, as described above, is intended, it is considered to employ a fuse block provided with a first fuse (hereinafter referred to as high voltage fuse) and a fuse box having a first mounting part to which the high voltage fuse can be detachably mounted. The fuse block is supplied with the electric power having a first voltage, such as 36V, higher than 32V which has been conventionally employed. The high voltage fuse is adapted to be fused when the electric power above an amperage corresponding to the first voltage has been supplied and interrupts the supply of the power to the various loads.
Meanwhile, in the vehicle installed with the conventional power system, which supplies electric power of 12V and 24V, a fuse block provided with a second fuse (hereinafter referred to as a rated voltage fuse) and a fuse box having a second mounting part to which the rated voltage fuse can be detachably mounted is employed. The above described rated voltage fuse is supplied with electric power having a second voltage, such as 12V and 24V, which is lower than the aforesaid first voltage. The rated voltage fuse is adapted to be fused when the electric power above an amperage corresponding to the second voltage has been supplied and interrupts the supply of the power to the various loads.
The fuse block, fuse box and fuse, which have been heretofore employed, are constructed in such a manner that the rated voltage fuse can be also mounted to the first mounting part.
For this reason, when assembling the fuse block to be installed in the vehicle in which employment of the power system capable of supplying the power having higher voltage than before is intended, there has been such a fear that the rated voltage fuse may be mounted to the first mounting part by mistake.
If the rated voltage fuse has been mounted to the first mounting part, such an inconvenience may occur that the rated voltage fuse may be fused and the loads may not be supplied with the power, even though the voltage of the power which is supplied to the loads connected to the first mounting part is normal. In some cases, a fusible body of the rated voltage fuse may be blown off due to the high amperage, and terminals of the rated voltage fuse may be short circuited to each other.
When the terminals of the rated voltage fuse have been short circuited to each other, it is feared that the rated voltage fuse and the fuse block may be melted down and broken. In the worst case, the loads connected to the first mounting part may be damaged.
As described above, in the conventional structure of the fuse block, fuse box and fuse, in a case where the rated voltage fuse for conventional use has been mounted to the mounting part to be supplied with the power having the first voltage over 32V, it has been feared that the loads may not be supplied with the power even though the voltage of the power supplied to the loads is normal, or that the fuse block and the fuse itself may be melted and broken.
In view of the above, an object of the invention is to provide a fuse box, a fuse, and a fuse block which can prevent a fuse adapted to be fused at an amperage corresponding to a voltage which has been conventionally used from being mounted to the mounting part which is supplied with electric power having higher voltage than before.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve the above described problems and attain the object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fuse box comprising a box body formed in a box-like shape, and at least one first mounting part adapted to contain a pair of first receiving terminals which are arranged in parallel to each other, one of the first receiving terminals being supplied with electric power having a first voltage higher than 32V, wherein the first mounting part includes blocking means for preventing a rated voltage fuse which is so adapted as to fuse at an amperage corresponding to a second voltage which is lower than the first voltage from being mounted thereto.
In the fuse box according to the first aspect, the blocking means block the rated voltage fuse from being mounted to the first mounting part which contains the first receiving terminals and is supplied with the electric power having the first voltage higher than 32V. Accordingly, the rated voltage fuse can be prevented from being mounted to the first mounting part.
In the fuse box according to a second aspect of the present invention, the first mounting part is formed by denting a surface of the box body, including an opening which opens in the surface of the box body and a plurality of surrounding walls continued from peripheral edges of the opening, and the blocking means include projections which are projected from the surrounding walls into the first mounting part.
In the fuse box according to the second aspect, because the blocking means are the projections projected from the surrounding walls which constitute the first mounting part, the projections are abutted against the rated voltage fuse when the rated voltage fuse is mounted to the first mounting part. Thus, the rated voltage fuse can be more reliably prevented from being mounted to the first mounting part.
In the fuse box according to a third aspect of the invention, the surrounding walls of the first mounting part include a pair of first surrounding walls which are opposed to each other in a direction in which the first receiving terminals are juxtaposed, and a pair of second surrounding walls which are continued from the first surrounding walls and opposed to each other in a direction intersecting the direction in which the first receiving terminals are juxtaposed, and the projections are formed by projecting from both the first surrounding walls and the second surrounding walls which are adjacent to each other across the first surrounding walls and second surrounding walls.
In the fuse box according to the third aspect, because the projections are projected across the first surrounding walls and the second surrounding walls which constitute the first mounting part, the projections are reliably abutted against the rated voltage fuse when the rated voltage fuse is mounted to the first mounting part. Thus, the rated voltage fuse can be more reliably prevented from being mounted to the first mounting part.
There is further provided, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a fuse comprising a pair of connecting terminals arranged
Kondo Hiroki
Nakamura Goro
Sato Takahiro
Armstrong, Westermann and Hattori, LLP
Yazaki -Corporation
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