JPH0417005B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an improvement in a wiring harness interconnection device that has a large number of branch conductive paths formed by arranging bus bars and is used to connect wires of a wiring harness to form a branch circuit configuration. It is related to.

Wiring harnesses used for internal wiring of automobiles require a large number of branch circuits in the middle. Therefore, branch conductive paths corresponding to the branch circuits of the wiring harness are consolidated on the wiring board by bus bar arrangement. 2. Description of the Related Art A wiring harness interconnection device (hereinafter simply referred to as an interconnection device) that connects wires of a wiring harness to centrally configure required branch circuits is known. In order to incorporate electronic circuits to perform the functions of each branch circuit, such as an intermittent wiper relay and a fuel cut relay, control elements necessary for each branch circuit, that is, functional parts such as relays, diodes, and capacitors, are installed. An interconnection device is used in which each branch circuit is aggregated and housed in a separate casing, and has relay units connected to the middle of the busbar conductive paths by means of tab-shaped terminals protruding from the casing in the form of legs. There is.

However, as automobiles have become more sophisticated in recent years, the number of electrical components attached to the vehicle body has increased significantly and become more sophisticated.In order to meet the demands for improved performance such as safety and comfort, the number of branch circuits in the wiring harness has increased. The number of branch circuits is increasing, and there is a growing tendency to incorporate an extremely wide variety of electronic components into each branch circuit.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned relay unit type interconnection device, as the number of relay units increases, each relay unit gradually becomes larger, so the connection device becomes larger and the space required for mounting it on the vehicle body increases, causing problems. Furthermore, as the structure becomes more complex, the productivity of the wiring harness gradually decreases. Furthermore, since conventional relay units have a structure in which they are inserted and fixed into the connection part of the bus bar conductive path using the leg-shaped tab-shaped terminals mentioned above, the tab-shaped terminals are required for physical stability during insertion. Terminals inevitably tend to become larger. Therefore, in the relay unit that is formed as an independent member and then inserted into the wiring board, the tab-shaped terminals protrude downward, making it difficult to transport, transport, and handle before insertion. In addition, there is a problem that the tab-shaped terminal is damaged and the electrical function is impaired.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and provide a small and compact interconnection device that corresponds to the increasingly high-end automobiles. The objective is to provide an interconnection device that is shielded and has improved electrical performance stability and ease of handling.

Embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to drawings. First, in FIG. 1 showing one embodiment, the interconnection device of the present invention has thin insulating plates 1' stacked in multiple layers, and each insulating plate 1' has a branch conductor corresponding to a branch circuit of the wiring harness. A known bus bar 3 having a group of circuits is arranged, a wiring board 1 covering the case body 2, a group of functional parts are arranged on the board, and a group of terminals for the circuits is formed on one side edge of the wiring board 1. Wiring board 1
The printed wiring board 5 is attached to a housing body 6 consisting of a cover body 6A and a bottom plate part 6B, which are enclosed by a frame at the top and sides, as shown by arrows A,
After that, the case body 2 is covered with the wiring board 1 as shown by arrows C and D, and the rectangular recess 4 provided in the case body 2 is printed. Housing body 6 housing wiring board 5
is attached, and the conductive path of the printed wiring board 5 and the busper 3
This is a configuration in which the ends of the two are connected.

Specifically, the end portions of the bus bar 3 into which the required functional component circuits are to be incorporated are formed and arranged in a concentrated manner on tab-shaped contact portions 7 erected on a straight line at central points of the wiring board 1 . Further, at the bottom of the recess 4 of the case body 2, when the case body 2 is covered with the wiring board 1, a slit-shaped through-hole 8 is provided which allows the tab-shaped contact portion 7 to penetrate and protrude upward. A receiving seat 9 for a relay terminal is formed in the upper part of the through-hole 8 and partitioned by a barrier wall 10, which is cut corresponding to the position of the portion 7. Then, the relay terminal 1 is placed on the strike plate 9.
2 is an L whose middle part is bent at 90 degrees as shown in FIG.
The lower contact part 13B is inserted into the tab-shaped contact part 7 protruding from the through-hole 8, and the upper contact part 13A is mounted on a seat 9 partitioned by a barrier wall 10. Then, a printed wiring board 5, which will be described later, is inserted by sliding from the front, and the tab-shaped contact portion 1 of the terminal 14 is attached to the front side edge 5' of the printed wiring board 5.
4' and the contact portion 13A are connected to each other.

Note that 15 in FIG. 1 is a tab-shaped contact portion at the end of the bus bar 3 that is connected to the electric wire 18 of the wiring harness, and is formed intensively at the corner of the case body 2 when the case body 2 is covered. It is built into the connection port 16, and is connected by receiving the connector 17 at the end of the electric wire 18. Reference numeral 19 in the figure is a fuse portion of each branch conductive path arranged near the side edge of the wiring board 1. The fuse portion 19 is installed inside the fuse receiving frame portion 20 of the case body 2, and the two-pronged fuse 12 is inserted from above. Insert.

On the other hand, on the printed wiring board 5, all necessary and sufficient functional parts 22 groups such as relays, diodes, capacitors, etc. in the branch circuit group of the wiring harness are densely arranged on the board.
As shown in the figure, the conductive paths 23 of each of the functional components 22 are printed and wired on the lower surface, and the ends of the conductive paths 23 are arranged in parallel at one side edge 5' of the printed wiring board 5 at appropriate intervals. In addition, its position is made to correspond accurately to the tab-shaped contact portion 7 of the wiring board 1 when the printed wiring board 5 is attached to the wiring board 1. Then, on the top surface of the printed wiring board 5, as shown in FIG.
Terminal 1 having a tab-like contact portion 14' for connection with 2
4 is attached, and the terminal 14 is soldered and electrically connected to the conductive path 23 on the back side by the leg piece 14'' formed on the plate-shaped base, and the tab-shaped contact portion 14'
protrudes from the front side edge 5'.

The above-described printed wiring board 5 includes a housing body that includes a cover body 6A that includes up to the tips of the terminals 14 and frames the top and sides of the printed wiring board 5, and a bottom plate part 6B that closes the bottom of the cover body 6A. 6 is provided, and the printed wiring board 5 is housed in the housing body 6, leaving a slit-shaped opening for connection with the relay terminals 12 only in front of the group of terminals 14. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a locking pawl 25 is formed on the inside lower part of the cover body 6A, and the cover body 6A is lightly pressed from above the printed wiring board 5 so as to be attached to the lower surface of the printed wiring board 5. The cover body 6A is attached to the printed wiring board 5 by engaging the locking claws 25, and the bottom plate portion 6B is inserted from below, and the small elastic locking pieces 26 provided on the periphery of the bottom plate portion 6A are attached to the cover body. The bottom plate part 6 is engaged with the locking groove 27 near the lower edge of the cover body 6A, and the bottom plate part 6 is close to and parallel to the printed wiring board 5 to close the lower opening of the cover body 6A. The printed wiring board 5 is housed in the housing body 6 with its upper surface covered with the functional parts 22 and the terminals 14 group arranged above and on the sides, and with its lower surface covered.

In addition, in the storage configuration described above, the printed wiring board 5
A stop pin 29 for fixing the base portion to the boss portion 28 of the cover body 6A is inserted into the mounting hole 24, thereby stabilizing the mounting posture of the printed wiring board 5. In addition, the cover body 6
A locking piece 30 is formed in front of A, and when the housing body 6 housing the printed wiring board 5 is attached to the recess 4 of the case body 2, it engages with the upper edge of the front end frame 4' of the recess 4. A lock pawl 31 at the lower end of the stopper piece 30 is adapted to engage and lock.

On the other hand, with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, the case body 2
In the recess 4, two sets of upper and lower holding pieces 32A32B and 33A33B are formed on the inner side of the left and right side walls in the form of ridges that are slightly longer in the front-rear direction and parallel to the wiring board 1. Engagement ridges 34A34B inserted between the holding pieces 32A32B33A33B are formed parallel to the housed printed wiring board 5 on the outer sides of the left and right sides of the body 6A, and the holding pieces 33A are loosely inserted between the engagement ridges 34A34B. A notch 35 for insertion is provided. Then, the printed wiring board 5 is housed in the housing body 6, and the holding piece 33A is inserted into the notch 35.
The holding piece 32A32 is loosely inserted into the rear end of the recess 4 from above as shown by the dotted line in FIG.
By inserting the engaging ridges 34A and 34B between B and 33A and 33B to engage them without play, the printed wiring board 5
The structure is such that the wires are mounted parallel to each other on the wiring board 1.
When the terminal 14 slides forward, the tab-shaped contact portion 14' of the terminal 14 is inserted into the relay terminal 1 as shown in FIG.
The functional component circuits of the printed wiring board 5 are respectively incorporated and connected to the branch conductive paths formed by the busper 3. In addition, when performing maintenance inspection, etc., the printed wiring board 5 should be removed by reversing the above procedure.
is detached from the recess 4 of the wiring board 1 and can be freely removed from the housing body 6.

In addition, in the above-mentioned storage structure of the housing body 6, a support mechanism for attaching and detaching resistance and a guide mechanism are provided on the front inner side of the cover body 6A that covers the terminals 14 in order to ensure smooth attachment and detachment of the terminals 14 and the relay terminals 12. There is.

That is, a gripping portion 41 is provided on the front inner side of the cover body 6A.
A guide piece 45 is provided vertically, and an engaging piece 43 provided vertically on the terminal 14 fits into a holding hole 42 formed at the lower end of the holding part 41, and the printed wiring board 5 stored therein is It is configured to be able to move a certain amount back and forth relative to the cover body 6A (for example, due to the play between the mounting hole 42 and the stop pin 29), and when the terminal 14 is attached to and detached from the relay terminal 12, the attachment and detachment of the terminal 14 is possible. Resistance is clamping part 4
The leg piece 1 of the weak terminal 14 is carried by the
4'' and the printed wiring board 5.

Similarly, a guide hole 45 is provided on the front inner side of the cover body 6A, and a guide hole 45 is provided in contact with the upper edge of the relay terminal 12 when the printed wiring board 5 is correctly attached to the wiring board 1. A curved edge 46 is formed, and if the relay terminal 12 inserted in advance is lifted up, the curved edge 46 will be formed when the printed wiring board 5 is attached.
6, its posture is guided and corrected and held correctly, allowing smooth connection and disconnection between the terminals.

Next, other embodiments of the present invention will be described. First, FIGS. 6 to 8 illustrate the means for connecting the bottom plate part 6B in the housing body 6. In FIG. The one fixed to the boss part 28 of the cover body 6A, and the left and right edges of the bottom plate part 6B in FIG. It is configured to be freely attached and close the lower part of the cover body 6A. In addition, 38 in Figure 7
is the skirt part. Also, Fig. 8 shows the cover body 6A.
and the bottom plate part 6B are connected via a hinge 39 so that they can be opened and closed freely, and the bottom plate part 6B is locked to the lower edge of the cover body 6A when closed. As described above, the bottom plate part 6B is selected from the above-mentioned examples or other known means, and is combined with the cover body 6A to form the housing body 6, which accommodates the printed wiring board 5. .

On the other hand, FIGS. 9 and 10 show another embodiment of the present invention, in which the same printed wiring board 5 as in the previous embodiment is housed in a housing body 6 consisting of a cover body 6A and a bottom plate portion 6B. FIG. 9 shows an engagement groove 40 formed in the front-rear direction inside the left and right side walls of the recess 4.
The housing body 6 is inserted from the rear of the recess 4 and slid forward as it is to be attached. FIG. 10 shows another embodiment in which the housing body 6 is moved up and down from directly above the recess 4 to be attached and detached. A U-shaped terminal 14 having a portion 14' is attached, and the tab-shaped contact portion 7 at the end of the bus bar 3 has tab-shaped contact portions 14',
A relay terminal 12 having a receptacle-shaped contact portion for receiving the terminal 7 is attached, and the terminal 14 and the tab-shaped contact portion 7 in the housing body 6 are inserted from directly above.
Elastic locking piece 47 and terminal 14 provided on cover body 6A
The attachment/detachment resistance is supported by the support mechanism with which the locking hole 48 engages, and the connection is made smoothly. In addition,
In each of the above embodiments, the casing body 6 may be provided with a ventilation window.

The interconnection device of the present invention having the above configuration includes:
A terminal group is formed on one side edge of a printed wiring board, and the printed wiring board is housed in a housing body and is attached to the wiring board via the housing body, so that the terminal group is electrically connected to the wiring board. It only provides the physical connection function and does not require physical strength for stable installation, making it possible to form an extremely large number of terminal groups on a single printed wiring board.

Therefore, all the functional parts necessary for the branch circuit group of the wiring harness are densely arranged on, for example, a single printed wiring board, and wasted space is offset. Compared to conventional methods, this method has the effect of making the structure extremely small and compact. In addition, it is possible to fully cope with the increase in the number of functional parts, the higher-grade and more complex branch circuits, etc. that will accompany the future advancement of automobiles, and to satisfy the narrow installation space requirements of the vehicle body.

Furthermore, since the overall configuration is necessarily simple, it becomes easy to introduce division of labor and mechanization in the production process, and the productivity can be improved.

Further, in the interconnection device of the present invention, the above-mentioned storage structure allows the housing body to constitute a holding mechanism for supporting attachment/detachment resistance of the terminal group and a guiding/correction mechanism for the terminal group, so that extremely smooth terminal attachment/detachment is possible. This has the effect of stabilizing electrical functions. Since the terminal group and functional parts group on the printed wiring board as well as the printed wiring part on the back side are covered and shielded by the housing body, they are molded as independent members in the storage form and can be attached to the wiring board 1. Transported before arrival,
When transported or handled as replacement parts, there is extremely little risk that the terminal group, which has poor mechanical strength, will come into contact with other parts and be damaged or deformed, or that the printed wiring section will be damaged. It has the practical advantage of stabilizing electrical performance and improving handling properties.

As described above, the present invention provides a useful interconnection device that responds to the recent trend toward higher-grade automobiles and meets the demands thereof.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1: A perspective view showing the whole of one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2: A perspective view showing the back side of the printed wiring board of the embodiment of Figure 1, Figures 3 and 4: Printing of the embodiment of Figure 1. A vertical cross-sectional view (Fig. 3) showing the storage state of the wiring board and the state in which the housing body is attached to the recess, a central sectional view (Fig. 4) of Fig. 3 (functional parts omitted in both cases), and Fig. 5 Figure: Longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the engaged state of the housing body and the recess; Figures 6, 7, and 8: Partial cross-sectional view (Figures 6 and 7) and perspective view showing the means for connecting the cover body and the bottom plate of the present invention. (Fig. 8), Fig. 9: A perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 10: A vertical sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention Main symbols: 1: Wiring board, 2: Case body, 3: bus bar, 4: recess, 5: printed wiring board, 6: housing body, 6A: cover body, 6B: bottom plate part, 7: tab-shaped contact part, 8: through hole, 9: catch seat, 10 : Barrier, 12: Relay terminal, 13A13B: Receptacle-shaped contact part, 14: Terminal, 22: Functional component, 2
3: Conductive path, 24: Pin hole, 25: Locking claw, 2
6: Elastic locking piece, 27: Locking groove, 29: Stop pin,
32A32B33A33B: Holding piece, 34A34
B: Engagement ridge, 35: Notch, 39: Hinge, 4
0: Engagement groove.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Consists of a printed wiring board and a wiring board on which a group of branch conductive paths are formed by arranging bus bars, and the printed wiring board has terminal groups of circuits of functional parts arranged on the board. The printed wiring board is housed in a housing body that is arranged in parallel on one side edge and includes a cover body that covers the functional parts group and the terminal group, and a bottom plate part that shields the conductive path on the back side, and the printed wiring board is housed in the housing body. A wiring harness interconnection device characterized by a structure that is detachably attached to the wiring board via the wiring harness, connects the bus bar end and the terminal, and incorporates and connects the circuit of the functional component to the branch conductive path. . 2. The wiring harness interconnection device according to claim 1, in which the printed wiring board moves in parallel with the wiring board to attach and detach.