Electricity: conductors and insulators – Boxes and housings – With electrical device
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-25
2003-08-26
Reichard, Dean A. (Department: 2831)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Boxes and housings
With electrical device
C174S060000, C174S059000, C361S437000, C361S310000, C361S437000, C333S012000, C439S079000, C363S021030, C363S016000, C363S020000, C363S098000, C363S132000, C323S235000, C323S319000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06610926
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a junction box, in which the junction box is capable of intensively connecting and distributing multiple wire harnesses when the wire harnesses are cabled in a vehicle or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a junction box to be mounted on a vehicle, a junction box body is constituted as follows. Single-layer or multilayer wiring boards each configured with a desired circuit by cabling bus bars and electric wires are stacked on a wiring plate. The wiring plate on which the wiring boards are stacked is covered with an upper cover and an under cover, thus constituting the junction box body generally. One type of junction boxes mounts a control substrate as an electronic controller unit on the wiring plate. The junction box body thus installed with the wiring plate and the control substrate is housed into a casing disposed in an engine room or the like upon installation in the vehicle. At this time, external electronic components such as relays, fuses and connectors are fitted on a front face of the junction box body.
The casing for housing the junction box body is divided into an upper case and a lower case. The junction box body is housed into the lower case in the state that the upper case is open. Then, a housing hole of the lower case is covered with the upper case. However, in a proposed junction box, the junction box has constituted in a manner that the major part of the junction box body is covered with the lower case in the state that the junction box body is housed in the lower case. The housing hole of the lower case is covered with the upper case, thereby preventing entrance of dust and the like into the casing.
The junction box is in the state that a fuse fitting portion provided on the junction box body is covered with the lower case. Therefore, upon changing the fuses, the upper case needs to be detached from the lower case and the housing hole needs to be opened. Then, the junction box body is extracted out of the housing hole, whereby the fuse fitting portion needs to be exposed.
However, in order to extract the junction box body out of the lower case, it is necessary to release a lock provided therebetween. Thus, an operation to release the lock is complicated. Further, the external connectors are fitted to the junction box body. Wire harnesses to be connected to the connectors are cabled intensively toward a direction of electrical components which are installed on a vehicle. However, the direction in which the wire harnesses are cabled varies according to the specification of a vehicle, such as right-hand drive or left-hand drive. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare various types of cases and deal with the specifications of vehicles by changing positions of extracting holes where wire harnesses are extracted in accordance with the specifications. Accordingly, manufacturing costs such as extra mould costs are accumulated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a junction box that do not require extraction of a junction box out of a lower case, and facilitate changing fuses. It is another object of the present invention to provide a junction box that can cable wire harnesses for external connectors toward an arbitrary direction by use of one type of a case.
The first aspect of the present invention provides a junction box comprising: (a) a junction box body on which a fuse outlet is formed for fitting fuses, the junction box body comprising: an upper cover provided with an embedding stage for various external electronic components; an under cover to be fitted into the upper cover; a wiring plate disposed between the under cover and the upper cover; a wiring board disposed between the wiring plate and the upper cover, the wiring board being fixed to the wiring plate and stacked in multiple stages, and the wiring board having an insulating plate; and a control substrate including a substrate, the control substrate being fixed on the wiring plate, and (b) a casing for housing the junction box body, the casing comprising: a lower case for housing the junction box body; and an upper case for detachably covering a housing hole of the lower case, wherein a cutaway portion for exposing the fuse outlet is formed on the lower case, and a closing portion for covering the cutaway portion is provided on the upper case.
The second aspect of the present invention provides a junction box according to the first aspect of this invention, wherein a connector outlet for fitting an external connector is formed on the junction box body, and a free cabling hole for allowing an arbitrarily extracting direction of a wire harness connected to the connector is provided on the casing.
The third aspect of the present invention provides a junction box according to the first aspect of this invention, wherein the control board body comprises a terminal block, the terminal block is constituted of a first divided block and a second divided block, and adjacent ends of both the first divided block and the second divided block constitute a superimposed portion.
The fourth aspect of the present invention provides a junction box according to the third aspect of this invention, wherein the control board body further comprises a substrate connector, the substrate connector is provided independently of both the substrate and the terminal block.
The fifth aspect of the present invention provides a junction box according to the third aspect of this invention, wherein the terminal block is attached in substantially orthogonal to a plane direction of the insulating plate.
The sixth aspect of the present invention provides a junction box according to the fifth aspect of this invention, wherein the terminal block is fastened and fixed to the wiring plate with a screw when the substrate is mounted on the wiring plate.
The seventh aspect of the present invention provides a junction box according to the third aspect of this invention, wherein the substrate is disposed on the wiring plate in an erected state, and the terminal block is provided in substantially orthogonal to a plane direction of the substrate.
The eighth aspect of the present invention provides a junction box according to the first aspect of this invention, wherein the wiring plate has a rectangular shape and is formed of a hard resin, and a plurality of cabling paths having electric wires cabled thereon are formed on a back surface of the wiring plate.
The ninth aspect of the present invention provides a junction box according to the first aspect of this invention, wherein the upper cover comprises an expanded portion, and wherein a heat-shielding partition wall for shielding between a power unit and a control unit is provided in the expanded portion.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4950168 (1990-08-01), Watanabe et al.
patent: 5655927 (1997-08-01), Maue et al.
patent: 5764487 (1998-06-01), Natsume
patent: 5822189 (1998-10-01), Isshiki
patent: 6213788 (2001-04-01), Murakami
U.S. patent application No. 10/132,261 by Akihiko Chiriku et al., filed on Apr. 26, 2002.
Chiriku Akihiko
Ito Norio
Sasaki Hiroyuki
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Harris Anton
Reichard Dean A.
Yazaki -Corporation
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