The present application claims priority to and incorporates by reference the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-046150 filed in Japan on Mar. 23, 2023.
The present invention relates to a housing box.
Hitherto, for example, a housing box including a lid body openable and closable with respect to a casing as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-072116 A is known as the housing box. In the housing box, a packing is disposed at a position where the lid body abuts on the casing to block water ingress between the housing and the lid body.
Incidentally, a required water ingress blocking performance of this type of housing box may vary depending on an installation place, an environment, or the like. In this case, it is conceivable to change a design of a structure of the housing box according to the required water ingress blocking performance, but the manufacturing cost increases. Therefore, it is desired to develop a housing box whose water ingress blocking performance is adjustable as necessary.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a housing box whose water ingress blocking performance is adjustable.
In order to achieve the above mentioned object, a housing box according to one aspect of the present invention includes a main body portion that is configured to house an object to be housed in the main body portion and has an opening portion formed to communicate between an inside and an outside of the main body portion; and a cover portion that is attached to the main body portion in such a way as to cover the opening portion, wherein the main body portion has a main body portion side inner wall and a main body portion side outer wall formed in an attachment direction of the cover portion at an end portion to which the cover portion is attached, and has a drain portion that is formed to drain water entering between the main body portion side inner wall and the main body portion side outer wall to an outside, and the cover portion has a cover portion side inner wall, a middle wall, and a cover portion side outer wall formed in the attachment direction at an end portion attached to the main body portion, and has a housing space configured to house a packing member and formed at a base end portion between the middle wall and the cover portion side inner wall, and a labyrinth structure, in which the main body portion side inner wall is inserted between the cover portion side inner wall and the middle wall and the main body portion side outer wall is inserted between the middle wall and the cover portion side outer wall in a state where the cover portion is attached to the main body portion, is formed to block water ingress between the main body portion and the cover portion by the labyrinth structure.
The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of this invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by the embodiment. In addition, constituent elements in the following embodiment include those that can be easily replaced by those skilled in the art or those that are substantially the same.
The present embodiment relates to a housing box. In the following description, the first direction is referred to as a “depth direction X”, the second direction is referred to as a “width direction Y”, and the third direction is referred to as an “attachment direction Z”, the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction intersecting one another. Here, the depth direction X, the width direction Y, and the attachment direction Z are orthogonal to each other. The attachment direction Z is a direction in which a cover portion is attached to a main body portion, and corresponds to a height direction of the main body portion and the cover portion. The depth direction X and the width direction Y correspond to directions intersecting with the attachment direction Z. In addition, each direction used in the following description represents a direction in a state where the parts are assembled unless otherwise specified. The term “orthogonal” as used herein includes being substantially orthogonal.
As illustrated in
The main body portion 2 has an opening portion 23 formed to communicate between the inside and the outside of the main body portion 2 on the upper surface, and an opening portion 24 formed to communicate between the interior and exterior on the lower surface. For example, the opening portion 23 is an opening that opens the entire upper surface of the main body portion 2, and the opening portion 24 is an opening that opens the entire lower surface of the main body portion 2. The opening portion 23 of the main body portion 2 is closed by attachment of the upper cover 3. The opening portion 24 of the main body portion 2 is closed by attachment of the lower cover 4.
The upper cover 3 is a cover portion that covers the opening portion 23 of the main body portion 2, and is attachable to and detachable from the main body portion 2. The upper cover 3 has a top surface portion 31 and a hanging portion 32. The top surface portion 31 is an upper surface portion of the upper cover 3, and has a shape conforming to the shape of the main body portion 2, for example, a rectangular shape or a substantially rectangular shape. The hanging portion 32 is a wall portion extending downward in the attachment direction Z from an outer edge of the top surface portion 31, and is formed over the entire outer edge of the top surface portion 31.
The lower cover 4 is a cover portion that covers the opening portion 24 of the main body portion 2, and is attachable to and detachable from the main body portion 2. The lower cover 4 has a bottom surface portion 41 and a side wall portion 42. The bottom surface portion 41 is a lower surface portion of the lower cover 4, and has a shape conforming to the shape of the main body portion 2, for example, a rectangular shape or a substantially rectangular shape. The side wall portion 42 is a plate-like portion extending upward in the attachment direction Z from an outer edge of the bottom surface portion 41, and is formed over the entire outer edge of the bottom surface portion 41. Although the lower cover 4 is attached on a lower side of the main body portion 2 in
The packing member 5 is a water ingress blocking member that blocks water ingress between the main body portion 2 and the upper cover 3. The packing member 5 is formed of a material having a lower rigidity than the upper cover 3, and is formed of, for example, an elastic resin such as an elastomer or an elastic member such as rubber. The packing member 5 is provided along a lower portion of the hanging portion 32 of the upper cover 3, and is formed in a rectangular ring shape that conforms to a shape of the lower portion of the hanging portion 32. The packing member 5 may be provided by, for example, two-color molding with the upper cover 3, or may be provided separately from the upper cover 3 and fitted to the upper cover 3. The packing member 5 does not have to be installed according to a water ingress blocking performance required for the housing box 1 or a specification of the housing box 1.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The inner wall 34 is a wall portion extending downward at the lower portion of the hanging portion 32, and functions as a cover portion side inner wall. The middle wall 35 is a wall portion branching outward from the inner wall 34 via a protruding portion 37. The protruding portion 37 is provided in such a way as to protrude outward from a base end portion of the inner wall 34, and the middle wall 35 extends downward from a protruding distal end of the protruding portion 37. The outer wall 36 is a wall portion branching outward from the middle wall 35 via a protruding portion 38, and functions as a cover portion side outer wall. The protruding portion 38 is provided in such a way as to protrude outward from the middle wall 35, and the outer wall 36 extends downward from a protruding distal end of the protruding portion 38. A lower end of the outer wall 36 comes into contact with a protrusion 29 formed on the side wall 22, and is supported by the protrusion 29. The protrusion 29 is a portion protruding from the side wall 22, and extends continuously in the depth direction X and the width direction Y, for example.
As illustrated in
The main body portion 2 and the upper cover 3 form a labyrinth structure 6 in a state where the upper cover 3 is attached to the main body portion 2. That is, the inner wall 25 of the main body portion 2 is inserted between the inner wall 34 and the middle wall 35 of the upper cover 3, and the outer wall 26 is inserted between the middle wall 35 and the outer wall 36. As a result, the labyrinth structure 6 in which an entry path of water W is folded back in an upward direction and a downward direction is formed. For example, in a case where the water W enters from between the outer wall 36 and the outer wall 26, the water W cannot enter the internal space 21 at an upper portion of the housing box 1 unless the water W passes through a path directed upward between the outer wall 36 and the outer wall 26, a path directed downward between the outer wall 26 and the middle wall 35, a path directed upward between the middle wall 35 and the inner wall 25, and a path directed downward between the inner wall 25 and the inner wall 34. Therefore, the water W is prevented from entering the internal space 21 through between the upper cover 3 and the main body portion 2.
In the main body portion 2, a drain portion 27 for draining water W entering between the outer wall 26 and the inner wall 25 to the outside is formed. The drain portion 27 is a drain passage formed between the outer wall 26 and the inner wall 25, and is formed from an upper portion to a lower portion of the side wall 22. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Next, adjustment of the water ingress blocking performance of the housing box 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.
The water ingress blocking performance of the housing box 1 can be adjusted depending on whether or not the packing member 5 is installed. In a case where the packing member 5 is not installed in the housing space 33 as illustrated in
As illustrated in
As described above, the housing box 1 according to the present embodiment can be used with different water ingress blocking performances while using the same structures as the main body portion 2 and the upper cover 3. Therefore, even in a case where different water ingress blocking performances are required for the housing box 1 due to different installation environments, specifications, or the like, it is possible to provide the housing box 1 having a water ingress blocking performance matching a requirement by installing or not installing the packing member 5 without changing designs of the main body portion 2 and the upper cover 3.
As described above, in the housing box 1 according to the present embodiment, the housing space 33 of the packing member 5, the labyrinth structure 6, and the drain portion 27 are formed in the main body portion 2 and the upper cover 3, so that the water ingress blocking performance can be adjusted according to the required water ingress blocking performance.
In addition, in the housing box 1 according to the present embodiment, the water ingress blocking performance between the main body portion 2 and the upper cover 3 can be adjusted by setting whether or not to install the packing member 5 in the housing space 33. Therefore, the housing box 1 can have the water ingress blocking performance according to the required water ingress blocking performance, specifications, or the like.
In addition, in the housing box 1 according to the present embodiment, the water ingress blocking performance between the main body portion 2 and the upper cover 3 can be enhanced by installing the packing member 5 in the housing space 33.
In addition, in the housing box 1 according to the present embodiment, as the packing member 5 is not installed in the housing space 33, the housing space 33 forms a cavity. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost while securing a predetermined water ingress blocking performance by the labyrinth structure 6 and the drain portion 27.
In addition, in a case where the housing box 1 according to the present embodiment is used as an electrical connection box that is mounted on a vehicle and houses an electronic component, it is possible to adjust the water ingress blocking performance to an appropriate water ingress blocking performance according to the required water ingress blocking performance.
Although the housing box 1 according to the embodiment has been described above, the housing box according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope described in the claims. In addition, the housing box 1 according to the present embodiment may be configured by appropriately combining the constituent elements of the above-described embodiment and the modifications.
For example, although the housing box 1 in which two wall portions of the inner wall 25 and the outer wall 26 of the main body portion 2 are inserted into three wall portions of the inner wall 34, the middle wall 35, and the outer wall 36 of the upper cover 3 to form the labyrinth structure 6 has been described in the above-described embodiment, the labyrinth structure may be formed by inserting three or more wall portions of the main body portion 2 into four or more wall portions of the upper cover 3. Similarly to the housing box 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the water ingress blocking performance of such a housing box can also be adjusted according to the required water ingress blocking performance.
In addition, although an electrical connection box that is mounted on a vehicle and houses an electronic component is applied as the housing box 1 has been described in the above-described embodiment, but the housing box according to the present invention may be applied to a housing box that is not mounted on a vehicle. In addition, the housing box according to the present invention may be applied to a housing box that houses an object to be housed other than an electronic component.
In the housing box of the present embodiment, the water ingress blocking performance can be adjusted.
Although the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying all modifications and alternative constructions that may occur to one skilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2023-046150 | Mar 2023 | JP | national |