Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – Within distinct housing spaced from panel circuit arrangement
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-17
2002-10-01
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
Within distinct housing spaced from panel circuit arrangement
C439S046000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06457981
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiring unit and an electric junction box installed in a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a motor vehicle is equipped with various electronic equipment, namely, lamps such as a head lamp and a tail lamp, and motors such as a starter motor and a motor for an air conditioner.
A junction block is arranged at appropriate points of a motor vehicle in order to supply electric power to the electronic equipment. The junction block is formed by stacking up wiring substrates each having a printed substrate or a busbar and by arranging various and a large number of electric circuit units such as electric relays and fuses.
Here, the junction block may be called fuse block, relay box or electric junction box. In the present specification, a fuse block, a relay box, or a junction block is called an electric junction box hereinafter.
The electric junction box has a casing, a wiring unit
54
(
FIG. 7
) accommodated in the casing, a waterproof casing, and so on. The casing has a front casing and a back casing. The back casing has a flat bottom wall and a peripheral wall extending from the periphery of the bottom wall. Wires connected with the above electronic equipment are led into the back casing.
The front casing is formed tabularly and arranged opposite the above back casing, while having a gap against the bottom wall of the back casing. Mounting portions for mounting relays, fuses, connectors, and so on are provided on the front casing. The waterproof casing is attachable to and detachable from the rim portion of the peripheral wall of the back casing and, when attached, covers the front casing with the aid of the back casing.
The wiring unit
54
of
FIG. 7
is arranged between the front casing and the back casing and is accommodated in the back casing. The wiring unit
54
electrically connects the wires led into the back casing to the relay, fuse, connector, and so on arranged on the front casing according to a given pattern.
The above wiring unit
54
has stacked substrates
61
, terminals
62
and connection pins
63
. The substrate
61
is made of insulative material and is formed in a generally rectangular plate.
The substrate
61
has a plurality of grooves
64
, recesses
65
and through holes
66
. The grooves
64
extend in parallel in a longitudinal direction of the substrate
61
. The recesses
65
open in one groove
64
and are lined up in a longitudinal direction of the groove
64
.
The through holes
66
are bored through respective bottoms of the recesses
65
. The substrates
61
have the same arrangement of the through holes
66
.
The terminal
62
is made of conductive metal plate and has a pin fitting portion
67
and a wire pressure welding portion
68
as shown in FIG.
8
. The pin fitting portion
67
can receive the above connection pin
63
.
The wire pressure welding portion
68
defined a direction of the wire
69
(FIG.
7
). The wire pressure welding portion
68
has a pair of pressure welding portions
70
to pressure-welded the wire
69
and a pair of wire holding portions
71
.
The pressure welding portion
70
has pressure welding pieces
72
which cut the sheathing portion of the wire
69
and get in contact with the core wire. The wire holding portion
71
has a pair of nipping pieces
73
to nip the above wire
69
. The nipping pieces
73
put the wire
69
therebetween.
The pin fitting portion
67
is arranged relatively to the wire pressure welding portion
68
in order not to hinder the wire
69
from being arranged as shown in FIG.
8
.
The terminal
62
electrically connects the connection pin
63
inserted into the pin fitting portion
67
to the wire
69
pressure-welded to the wire pressure welding portion
68
. And, the terminal
62
is attached to the above substrate
61
in a state that the above pin fitting portion
67
is accommodated in the recess
65
and the wire pressure welding portion
68
is accommodated in the groove
64
.
The connection pin
63
is made of conductive material in a strip-like shape. The connection pin
63
is electrically connected to the above wire
69
when inserted into the pin fitting portion
67
of the terminal
62
through the above through hole
66
.
The wires
69
connected to various electronic equipment are arranged in the grooves
64
of the wiring unit
54
, while arbitrarily selecting the recesses
65
and the through holes
66
according to a given pattern, and are electrically connected to the relay, fuse, connector, and so on which are mounted on the mounting portions of the above front casing.
With respect to the above prior art wiring unit
54
, however, since the grooves
64
and the recesses
65
are formed on the substrate
61
, the shape of the substrate
61
becomes relatively complicated, thereby making the molding pattern complicated and therefore increasing the cost. And, since the terminal
62
is formed by bend a metal plate at a lot of points, the work needs much man-hour, thereby increasing the cost. Further, since the recesses
65
are formed beside the groove
64
, the width of the substrate
61
become large, thereby large-sizing the wiring unit
54
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provided a wiring unit and an electric junction box enabling downsizing and cost reduction.
In order to achieve the above object, as a first aspect of the present invention, a wiring unit comprises: insulative substrates, each having through holes, to be stacked up each other; strip conductors, each having contact holes meeting the respective through holes, to be arranged in parallel on each of the insulative substrate; and a conductor pin consisting of a pin portion of conductive material to be inserted into both the through hole and the contact hole with a gap therewith and a conductor contact portion radially projecting from the pin portion so as to be put into contact with the strip conductor.
As a second aspect of the present invention, based on the first aspect, the conductor contact portion has a peripheral portion, being elestically deformable in a radial direction of the pin portion, to be put into contact with the strip conductor.
As a third aspect of the present invention, based on the first or second aspect, at least one of the strip conductors has a male tab to protrude from an end portion of one of the insulative substrates so as to be connected with a terminal electrically connected with external equipment.
As a fourth aspect of the present invention, an electric junction box comprises: insulative substrates, each having through holes, to be stacked up each other; strip conductors, each having contact holes meeting the respective through holes, to be arranged in parallel on each of the insulative substrate; a conductor pin consisting of a pin portion of conductive material to be inserted into both the through hole and the contact hole with a gap therewith and a conductor contact portion radially projecting from the pin portion so as to be put into contact with the strip conductor; and a male tab, provided on at least one of the strip conductors, to protrude from an end portion of one of the insulative substrates; and a connector unit consisting of a wire, a terminal connected with the wire, and a housing accommodating the terminal, the terminal being connected to the male tab.
According to the above-described structures of the present invention, the following advantages are provided.
(1) Because an electric connection, in accordance with a predetermined pattern, between the strip conductors can be attained by arbitrarily selecting the through hole, to which the conductor pin is inserted, of the insulative substrate and the contact hole of the strip conductor, manufacture man-hour can be reduced. And, because the molding pattern of the substrate is relatively simple, its cost can be reduced. And, because the contact hole is provided on the strip conductor itself, the deviation of the contact hole from the strip condu
Murakami Takao
Suzuki Hiroyuki
Yamanashi Makoto
Armstrong Westerman & Hattori, LLP
Nguyen Khiem
Yazaki -Corporation
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