Electrical connection box

There is provided an electrical connection box configured to be smaller in size on which electrical components and an electronic control device are mounted such that production costs are reduced. A plurality of electrical component housing areas is provided on a surface of one side on an electric connection box. An electrical component is adapted to be mounted on the electrical component housing areas. A male type connector for mounting an electronic control device is provided on a surface of the electrical connection box. The electronic control device is connected with the electric connection box by connecting the male type connector with a female type connector provided in the electronic control device. The electronic control device is mounted off to an outer side of the electric connection box, and a supporting plate which supports an area of the electronic control device is cantilevered from, or shifted off to the outer side of, the electronic control device. Additionally, fastening elements are provided on at least one of the electrical connection box and the electronic control device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to an electrical connection box to be mounted 
with electrical components and an electronic control device on the surface 
of one side thereof. 
2. Description of Background Information 
Conventionally, an electrical connection box installed in an automobile 
engine compartment, such as the structure shown in FIG. 6, has been known. 
This electrical connection box 51 houses an electric circuit which is not 
illustrated herein. In addition, on the surface of one side on the 
electrical connection box 51, a plurality (9 pieces) of electrical 
component housing areas 52 is provided. By mounting here electrical 
components such as fuses, relays, etc., that are not illustrated here, the 
electrical components can be electrically connected with the 
above-mentioned electric circuit. 
Furthermore, on one side of the above-mentioned election connection box 51 
an electronic control device 53 is mounted, and is electrically connected 
with the above-mentioned electric circuit through a connection area 55. 
The electronic control device 53 performs a certain control by receiving 
power from the electric circuit based on the output sent from this 
electric circuit other than the power source. 
In the structure thus provided with the electronic control device 53 on the 
surface of one side on such an electrical connection box 51, a plurality 
of electrical component housing areas 52 (electrical components) is 
provided with a necessary number of areas (in this case, 9 pieces) at a 
position where a space 54 occupied by the electronic control device 53 is 
excluded, as shown in FIG. 6. Therefore, a connection area 55 where the 
electronic control device 53 is electrically connected with the 
above-mentioned electric circuit only occupies a portion of the occupied 
area 54. However, the surface of one side on the electric connection box 
51 had to be widened due to the occupied area 54. Therefore, the electric 
connection box 51 had to be made larger in scale, making it necessary to 
increase the production costs. 
The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and the 
object of the present invention is to reduce the size of an electric 
connection box on which electrical components and electric control device 
are mounted, thereby reducing production costs. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In order to achieve the above object, in a first aspect of the present 
invention, the above-mentioned electronic control device is shiftedly 
mounted off to an outer side of the electrical connection box in an 
electrical connection box to be mounted with electrical components and an 
electronic control device on the surface of one side. 
In another aspect of the invention, a supporting plate is provided on one 
side of the electrical connection box which supports an area shifted off 
to an outer side of the electronic control device on the surface of one 
side on the electric connection box. 
According to a further aspect of the invention, the electrical connection 
box is provided with at least one fastening member for fastening the 
electronic control device to the above-mentioned supporting plate in 
compliance with the above-mentioned electronic control device. 
In another aspect of the present invention, the electronic control device 
is mounted by at least one fastening member to an upper surface of the 
electrical connection box in a cantilever fashion, without an 
above-mentioned supporting plate therebelow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Description follows of a first embodiment of the present invention which is 
embodied in an electrical connection box to be provided, for example, in 
an automobile engine compartment. 
The electrical connection box 11 houses therein an electric circuit, which 
is not illustrated herein. On the upper surface of the electrical 
connection box 11, a plurality (9 pieces in the present embodiment) of 
electrical component housing areas 12 are provided. By mounting on the 
electrical component housing areas 12, a fuse relay, and other suitable 
electrical components which are not illustrated, the electrical components 
are electrically connected with the above-mentioned electrical circuit. 
On the electrical connection box 11 in the first embodiment, a supporting 
plate 16 which protrudes from an outer side of the electrical connection 
box 11 is unitarily formed therewith. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the 
supporting plate 16 extends past the side wall of the electrical 
connection box 11 in a cantilever fashion, and the supporting plate 16 has 
a thickness that is substantially less than the thickness of the 
electrical connection box 11 (i.e., less than half the thickness as shown 
in FIGS. 1 and 2. A total of four sets of interfit elements 31, as one 
form of fastening members, are formed on the surface of supporting plate 
16 on the electrical connection box 11. 
As seen in FIGS. 1-3, interfit elements 31 project upwardly from the upper 
surface of the electrical connection box 11 and from the upper surface of 
supporting plate 16 a sufficient distance to retain the electronic control 
device 13. The interfit elements 31 may be formed unitarily with the 
respective electrical connection box 11 and supporting surface 16, or they 
may be separately formed and attached thereto in any conventional manner. 
Although interfit elements 31 are depicted in FIG. 2 to extend to the same 
level as the upper surface of the electronic control device 13, the 
interfit elements may extend above or below the upper surface of the 
electronic control device 13. Also, although four such interfit elements 
are depicted in FIGS. 1-3, any desired number of interfit elements 31 may 
be provided. 
Furthermore, the inner surfaces of the interfit elements 31 are configured 
to have a complementary shape with the corners of the electronic control 
device 13 and to fit snugly therewith as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, and while 
the inner surfaces of interfit elements 31 and corners of the electronic 
control device 13 are shown to have complementary curved surfaces, the 
complementary surfaces may take any shape, for example right-angle shaped. 
Additionally, the inner surfaces of the interfit elements 31 may include 
downwardly and inwardly (toward the center of the supporting plate 16) 
tapered surfaces such that a wedging of the electronic control device 
takes place during installation thereof. Alternatively, the downward 
tapering surfaces for providing the wedging action may be provided on the 
electronic control device 13 or on both the interfit elements 31 and on 
the electronic control device 13. Moreover, the fit between the interfit 
elements 31 and the electronic control device 13 can vary. For example, 
the fit may be tight at the bottom and loose at the top, or vice versa. 
Furthermore, on one side of the electrical connection box 11, a male 
connector 14 having a plurality of terminals is provided which is 
configured to cooperate with a corresponding female connector 15 on the 
electronic control device. Also, in the embodiment of the electronic 
control device 13 depicted in FIG. 1, a female connector 15 to be 
connected in accordance with the male connector 14 is provided. The 
cooperating connectors 14, 15 have been depicted in FIG. 1 as having a 
generally oval shape, but they may have any desired shape. Moreover, 
although only one set of cooperating connectors 14, 15 is depicted in FIG. 
1, any desired number of sets of cooperating connectors may be provided. 
Of course, the female connector 15 can alternatively be provided on 
electrical connection box 11, with the male connector 14 provided on the 
electronic control device. 
In addition, on the surface of two opposite sides of the supporting plate 
16, a securing hook 32 which protrudes towards the outer side is provided 
(only one of which can be seen in FIG. 1). On the electronic control 
device 13 to be mounted on the surface of one side on the electrical 
connection box 11, a pair of securing elements 33, which cooperate with 
the securing hooks 32, are provided. In the present case, the securing 
hooks 32 and the securing elements 33 are formed as one of the fastening 
members. However, any suitable fastening member for retaining the 
electronic control device 13 on the supporting surface 16 may be utilized. 
With the structure thus described, in mounting the electronic control 
device 13 on the electrical connection box 11, the electronic control 
device 13 is fastened onto the surface of one side on the electrical 
connection box 11, with four corners of the electronic control device 13 
interfitting with the interfit elements 31, and with both the securing 
hooks 32 and the securing elements 33 engaged. 
In addition, with the male connector 14 and the female connector 15 
connected, the side mounted electronic control device 13 obtains an 
electric power source from the above-mentioned electric circuit, thus 
carrying out a certain control based on a signal outputted from the 
electric circuit different from the power supply. 
With the first embodiment, the electronic control device 13 is mounted off 
to the outer side of the electrical connection box 11, and an area shifted 
off to the outer side of the electronic control device 13 is supported by 
the supporting plate 16. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the area 19 
occupied by the electronic control device 13 on the upper surface of the 
electrical connection box 11 is reduced, as compared with the prior art 
device depicted in FIG. 6. 
From the above, the following results are obtained based on the first 
embodiment of the present invention: 
(1) By decreasing the area 19 occupied by the electronic control device 13 
on the upper surface of the electrical connection box 11, the upper 
surface of the electrical connection box 11 can be made narrower, thereby 
permitting the electric connection box to be made smaller in size and thus 
reducing the cost. 
(2) The area of the electronic control device 13 shifted off to the outer 
side can be supported by an extremely simple structure. In addition, in 
mounting the electronic control device 13 on the electrical connection box 
11, the electronic control device 13 can be fastened onto the surface of 
one of the electrical connection box 11 by interfitting four corners of 
the electronic control device 13 onto the interfit elements 31 and by 
connecting the securing hooks 32 and the securing elements 33 formed on 
the electronic control device 13. Because the electronic control device 13 
can be supported in such a stabilized condition, any damage to the 
connectors 14 and 15 resulting from shaking or vibration of the electronic 
control device 13 can be avoided. 
The present embodiment is not limited to the above areas alone, but various 
modifications are also contemplated. For example, although the supporting 
plate 16 of the first embodiment is provided on the electrical connection 
box 11 in a unitary manner, the supporting plate 16 may be provided as a 
separate unit connected to the electrical connection box 11. 
With the present embodiment, although a pair of securing hooks 32 and 
securing elements 33 for securing the interfit elements 31 interfitting 
with the four corners of the electronic control device 13 and the 
electrical connection box 11 was provided, at least one of the pairs of 
securing hooks 32 and securing elements 33, and/or at least one of the 
interfit elements 31, may be omitted. 
Description follows below of a second embodiment of the present invention 
of an electrical connection box provided, for example, in engine 
compartments of automobiles, with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. In this 
case, for the elements which are common to the above-mentioned first 
embodiment, the common elements have been given the same reference 
characters, but further description has been omitted. 
With the present embodiment, in the same manner as the case of the 
above-mentioned first embodiment, an electronic control device 23 is 
mounted off to an outer side of an electric connection box 21. However, in 
place of the above-mentioned supporting plate 16, interfit elements 31, 
and peripheral structure, a pair of bolts 24 for securing an electronic 
control device 23 onto the surface of one side on the electrical 
connection box 21 is provided, which is different from the above-mentioned 
first embodiment. On the surface of one side on the electrical connection 
box 21, bolt receiving holes 22 are provided for receiving the bolts 24. 
The holes 22 may be threaded, or formed in any suitable manner to securely 
receive the threads of the bolts 24. In addition, on the control device 
23, bolt through-holes 25 for inserting the bolts 24 are provided. The 
bolts 24 are tightened onto the holes 22 through the bolt through-holes 
25. In this way, the electronic control device 23 is firmly fastened on 
the surface of one side on the above-mentioned electrical connection box 
21. Although two bolts 24 have been depicted in this embodiment, any 
suitable number may be used. 
As mentioned above in detail, according to the second embodiment, the 
results mentioned below can be obtained in addition to the same results as 
in cases (1) and (2) in the above-mentioned first embodiment. That is, 
with use of bolts 24 which have an extremely simple structure, the 
electronic control device 23 can be firmly fastened to the electric 
connection box 21. 
In this case, the present embodiment is not limited to the scope of the 
description mentioned above, but may be modified as follows. With the 
present embodiment, the electronic control device 23 is fastened onto the 
electric connection box 21 by the bolts 24. However, the invention may be 
carried out, for instance, by using other fastening members such as pins 
or the like. Furthermore, although two bolts 24 have been illustrated in 
this embodiment, any suitable number of bolts 24, or other fastening 
elements, may be used, and the bolts and pins can be used in any suitable 
combination. 
As elements which can be modified common to the respective embodiments as 
above-mentioned, some are described hereafter. With each of the 
embodiments mentioned above, a structure provided with nine electrical 
component housing areas 12 was shown. However, this is only one example, 
and the electrical connection box may be provided with any desired number 
of electrical component housing areas in accordance with the electric 
circuit employed. 
With the embodiments mentioned above, a structure provided with only one 
electronic control device 13 or 23 has been shown. However, a plurality of 
such devices may be provided. And, at least one set of electronic control 
devices may be provided off to the side of an electric connection box. 
An electronic control device 13 or 23 can be shifted off to the outer side 
of electric connecting box 11 or 21, and it is not always necessary to 
support the electronic control device 13 or 23 with the above-mentioned 
supporting plate 16 or to fasten it with the above-mentioned bolts 24. 
The technical concept other than the claims that can be obtained from the 
above-mentioned embodiments follows below together with the results 
obtainable therefrom: 
With the electric connection box according to one aspect of the present 
invention, the electronic control box is provided to the electrical 
connection box by use of bolts. According to this structure, by use of a 
bolt structure which is extremely simple, the electronic control device 
can be fastened to the electrical connection box. 
According to another aspect of the present invention as set forth herein, 
an electrical connection box can be made smaller in size, thereby making 
it possible to reduce production costs. 
Furthermore, with the invention as set forth in the second embodiment of 
the present invention, a supporting plate is provided, which structure is 
extremely simple and can support an area shifted off to the outer side of 
the electronic control device. Because the electronic control device is 
supported in a stable condition, any damage can be avoided to, for 
example, the electric connection area between the electrical connection 
box and the electronic control device resulting from shaking or vibration 
of the electronic control device. 
With the present invention, the electronic control device can be firmly 
fastened to the electrical connection box by fastening members. Therefore, 
any damage to the connection between the electrical connection box and the 
electronic control device resulting from shaking or vibration of the 
electronic control device can be avoided. 
Although the invention has been described herein with reference to 
particular means, materials and embodiments, the invention is not intended 
to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather, the invention 
extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such 
as are within the scope of the appended claims. 
The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in priority 
Japanese Application No. HEI 10-168837 filed on Jun. 16, 1998, which is 
herein expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety.