Patent Publication Number: US-2022224093-A1

Title: Bolt support for a junction box assembly

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to a bolt support for a junction box assembly. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A junction box assembly includes an upper housing, a lower housing, a connector assembly and a bolt. The upper housing includes a bolt support. The bolt support is a cylindrical member having a top surface and a through hole. The lower housing includes a bottom through hole. The connector assembly further including a threaded bore. A bolt having a threaded end is disposed in both the through hole of the upper housing and the bottom through hole of the lower housing. The bolt is threadedly engaged with the threaded bore of the connector assembly so as to secure the upper housing, lower housing and connector assembly together. 
     In the manufacturing process, the bolt is threaded to the connector assembly using an electric drill. The electric drill may rotate up to one-thousand (1,000) times a minute, which may generate sufficient heat to deform the bolt support. For example, the heat may expand the material and generate hot spots which lead to warping of the through hole, and the bolt support in general. The deformation may result in a loose connection between the upper housing and the lower housing. 
     Accordingly, it remains desirable to have bolt support which is configured to mitigate the effects heat generated by an electric drill. 
     SUMMARY 
     An upper housing for use in a junction box assembly is provided. The upper housing includes a bolt support. The bolt support is disposed the upper housing. The bolt support is a generally cylindrical member having a through hole and a top surface. The top surface of the cylindrical member includes a plurality of holes. 
     In one aspect of the upper housing, the cylindrical member includes an upper portion extending from a top surface of the upper housing and a bottom portion extending from a bottom surface of the upper housing. 
     In one aspect of the upper housing, each of the plurality of holes is closed at a bottom end. 
     In one aspect of the upper housing, the bolt support includes a bead bounding a peripheral edge of the top surface. 
     In one aspect of the upper housing, a plurality of ribs is disposed on the top surface of the housing and extending from an outer surface of the upper portion. 
     In one aspect of the upper housing, each of the plurality of holes are equally spaced apart from each other. 
     In one aspect of the upper housing, each of the plurality of holes is radial with respect to the through hole. 
     A junction box assembly is also provided. The junction box assembly includes an upper housing, a lower housing, a connector assembly and a bolt. The upper housing includes a bolt support. The bolt support is a generally cylindrical member having a top surface and a through hole. The lower housing includes a connector assembly housing. The connector assembly housing is configured to receive a plurality of male terminal blades. The lower housing further includes a bottom through hole. The connector assembly includes a plurality of terminal slots for receiving the male terminal blades. The connector assembly further includes a threaded bore. The bolt includes a threaded end. The bolt is disposed in the through hole of the upper housing, the bottom through hole of the lower housing and threadedly engaged with the threaded bore of the connector assembly so as to secure the upper housing, lower housing and connector assembly together. The top surface of the cylindrical member includes a plurality of holes. 
     In one aspect of the junction box assembly, the cylindrical member includes an upper portion extending from a top surface of the upper housing and a bottom portion extending from a bottom surface of the upper housing. 
     In one aspect of the junction box assembly, each of the plurality of holes is closed at a bottom end. 
     In one aspect of the junction box assembly, the bolt support includes a bead bounding a peripheral edge of the top surface. 
     In one aspect of the junction box assembly, a plurality of ribs is disposed on the top surface of the housing and extending from an outer surface of the upper portion. 
     In one aspect of the junction box assembly, each of the plurality of holes are equally spaced apart from each other. 
     In one aspect of the junction box assembly, each of the plurality of holes is radial with respect to the through hole. 
     Accordingly, an upper housing and a junction box having an upper housing is provided with a bolt support having a plurality of holes, each of the plurality of holes being closed at a bottom end. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top down view of an upper housing according to the principles of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a view of  FIG. 1  showing a bolt disposed within the through holes. 
         FIG. 3  is an isolated view of one of the bolt supports shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the bolt support shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 1  taken along line  5 - 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A junction box assembly includes an upper housing, a lower housing, a connector assembly and a bolt. The upper housing includes a bolt support. The bolt support is a cylindrical member having a top surface and a through hole. The lower housing includes a bottom through hole. The connector assembly further includes a threaded bore. A bolt having a threaded end is disposed in the through hole of the upper housing and the bottom through hole of the lower housing. The bolt is threadedly engaged with the threaded bore of the connector assembly so as to secure the upper housing, lower housing and connector assembly together. 
     The top surface of the cylindrical member includes a plurality of holes. The holes provide a tolerance for an expansion due to heat generated by an electric screw driver, thus preventing the outer dimension of the bolt support from deforming so as to maintain a tight connection between the upper housing, a lower housing, a connector assembly and a bolt. 
     With reference now to  FIGS. 1-4  an aspect of an upper housing  10  is provided. The upper housing  10  is part of a junction box assembly  100 . The upper housing  10  is formed of a material suitable for injection molding, illustratively including polypropylene, Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyoxymethylene, polycarbonate and the like. 
     The upper housing  10  is shown as being generally rectangular; however, it should be appreciated that the dimension of the upper housing  10  may deviate from what is shown without limiting the scope of the appended claims. In this example, the dimension of the upper housing  10  is designed to fit within a packaging space of an automotive vehicle, and accommodate a selected number of electric components. The upper housing  10  may include conventional attachment features such as resilient tabs and hooks configured to secure the upper housing  10  to other parts of the junction box assembly  100 . In one aspect, the upper housing  10  is further configured to protect and cover electrical components housed within the junction box assembly  100 , as will be described in further detail. The upper housing  10  includes a top surface  10   a , pair of sidewalls  10   b , a front wall  10   c  and a back wall  10   d  which bound the top surface  10   a.    
     The upper housing  10  includes a bolt support  12  and a plurality of upper terminal slots  14  for receiving electric components (not shown) such as fuses, relays and the like. The bolt support  12  and the terminal slots  14  are formed on the top surface  10   a  of the upper housing  10 . For illustrative purposes, the upper housing  10  is shown as having a pair of bolt supports  12 . 
       FIG. 1  is a top down view of the upper housing  10  showing bolts  200  disposed within each bolt support  12 . For illustrative purposes, the upper housing  10  is shown as having a pair of bolt supports  12 . Each of the bolt supports  12  is configured to receive a bolt  200  for securing a respective pair of connector assemblies  30 , as will be described in further detail below. Accordingly, the number of bolt supports  12  shown is not limiting to the scope of the appended claims. 
     The bolt support  12  is disposed on the upper housing  10 . The bolt support  12  is also formed of a material suitable for injection molding, illustratively including polypropylene, Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyoxymethylene, polycarbonate and the like. It should be appreciated that the bolt support  12  may be formed as an integral part of the upper housing  10 . 
     With reference now to  FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 , a detailed description of the bolt support  12  is provided. The bolt support  12  is a generally cylindrical member having an upper through hole  16  and a top surface  12   a . The top surface  12   a  of the bolt support  12  is a generally planar surface and the upper through hole  16  is generally centered on the top surface  12   a . The top surface  12   a  of the cylindrical member includes a plurality of holes  18 .  FIG. 2  is a top down view of the upper housing  10  with the bolts  200  removed.  FIG. 2  illustrates the upper through hole  16  of the bolt support  12  extending along an axis into the lower housing  28 . 
     In one aspect of the upper housing  10 , the bolt support  12  includes an upper portion  20  and a bottom portion  22 . The upper portion  20  extends from a top surface  10   a  of the upper housing  10 . The bottom portion  22  extends from a bottom surface  10   b  of the upper housing  10 . In one aspect, the bottom portion  22  is longer than the upper portion  20 . The upper through hole  16  extends through the upper portion  20  and the bottom portion  22 . The upper through hole  16  has a uniform diameter and defines an open top and an open bottom of the bolt support  12 , so as to receive a bolt  200 . 
     In one aspect of the upper housing  10 , each of the plurality of holes  18  is closed at a bottom end  18   a . For illustrative purposes, the bolt support  12  is shown as having eight (8) holes  18 . In one aspect of the upper housing  10 , each of the plurality of holes  18  is radial with respect to the upper through hole  16 . Each of the plurality of holes  18  are shown as being equally spaced apart from each other. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2-4 , the bolt support  12  may further include a bead  24 . The bead  24  may be integrally formed to the bolt support  12 . The bead  24  bounds a peripheral edge of the top surface  12   a  of the bolt support  12  so as to place the top surface  12   a  in a recessed relationship with respect to the bead  24 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , the bolt  200  may include a head portion having a hexagonal dimension and a flange bounding the head portion. The bead  24  may have a height that is generally the same as a height of the flange of the head portion of the bolt  200 . 
     The upper housing  10  may further include a plurality of ribs  26 . The ribs  26  are configured to retain the upper portion  20  of the bolt support  12  in a rigid and upright manner. The ribs  26  are is disposed on the top surface  10   a  of the upper housing  10  and extend from an outer surface of the upper portion  20  of the bolt support  12 . The ribs  26  may be integrally formed to the upper housing  10 . 
     With reference again to  FIGS. 1-4  and now to  FIG. 5 , a junction box assembly  100  is also provided. The junction box assembly  100  is formed of a material suitable for injection molding, illustratively including polypropylene, Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyoxymethylene, polycarbonate and the like. The junction box assembly  100  includes an upper housing  10 , a lower housing  28 , a connector assembly  30 , a bottom cover  32  and a bolt  200 . 
     The upper housing  10  is mounted onto the lower housing  28 . The lower housing  28  is mounted to bottom cover  32 . The upper housing  10  includes upper terminal slots  14  for receiving terminals of various electronic components such as fuses and relays. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the electronic components are fitted onto the top surface  10   a  of the upper housing  10 . 
     The upper housing  10  includes a bolt support  12 . The bolt support  12  is a generally cylindrical member having a top surface  12   a  and an upper through hole  16 . The bolt  200  includes a threaded end  202 . The bolt  200  is disposed in the upper through hole  16  of the upper housing  10 , a bottom through hole  42  of the lower housing  28  and threadedly engaged with a threaded bore  34  of the connector assembly  30  so as to secure the upper housing  10 , lower housing  28  and connector assembly  30  together. 
     The top surface  12   a  of the cylindrical member of the bolt support  12  includes a plurality of holes  18 , each of the plurality of holes  18  being closed at a bottom end  18   a . The plurality of holes  18  are radial with respect to the upper through hole  16 . Each of the plurality of holes  18  may be equally spaced apart from each other. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the holes  18  may have a length extending from the top surface  10   a  of the upper housing  10  to the top surface  12   a  of the cylindrical member of the bolt support  12 . In one aspect, the holes  18  are generally uniform in diameter and are dimensioned to be the same as each other. However, it should be appreciated that the holes  18  may be shaped differently from each other or may have an irregular diameter. 
     In one aspect of the junction box assembly  100 , the cylindrical member of the bolt support  12  includes an upper portion  20  extending from the top surface  10   a  of the upper housing  10  and a bottom portion  22  extending from a bottom surface  10   b  of the upper housing  10 . The bolt support  12  may further include a bead  24  bounding a peripheral edge of the top surface  12   a . The bolt support  12  may further include a plurality of ribs  26  disposed on the top surface  12   a  of the upper housing  10  and extending from an outer surface of the upper portion  20  of the bolt support  12 . 
     The lower housing  28  includes a connector assembly housing  36 . The connector assembly housing  36  is configured to house a plurality of male terminal blades. The connector assembly housing  36  includes a top wall  38 . The top wall  38  includes a collar portion  40  having a bottom through hole  42  for receiving the bolt  200 . The collar portion  40  is an annular member having a top edge  40   a . In assembly, a bottom edge  22   a  of the bottom portion  22  of the bolt support  12  is seated onto the top edge  40   a  of the annular member of the collar portion  40 . For illustrative purposes, the collar portion  40  is shown as being generally centered with respect to the top wall  38  of the connector assembly housing  36 . 
     The connector assembly  30  is fitted to the connector assembly housing  36 . The connector assembly  30  may be a generally cuboidal member having a plurality of terminal slots, each of which may hold a female terminal for receiving a male terminal blades. The connector assembly  30  further includes a threaded bore  34 . The threaded bore  34  may be centered within the cuboidal body. The threaded bore  34 , the bottom through hole  42  and the upper through hole  16  of the upper housing  10  are axially aligned with each other when the junction box assembly  100  is assembled. 
     The junction box assembly  100  is assembled together by mounting the upper housing  10  onto the lower housing  28 , fitting the connector assembly  30  to the connector assembly housing  36  of the lower housing  28  and mounting the lower housing  28  onto the bottom cover  32 . A dress cover  44  may be held within the bottom cover  32  and fitted to the connector assembly  30 . The bolt  200  is then inserted into the upper through hole  16  of the upper housing  10 , the bottom through hole  42  and the threaded bore  34  of the connector assembly  30 . 
     An electric drill may be used to screw the threaded end  202  of the bolt  200  into the threaded bore  34 , so as to secure the upper housing  10 , lower housing  28  and connector assembly  30  together. The heat generated by the electric drill may be sufficient to expand the bolt support  12 , wherein the holes  18  allow for the expansion so as to prevent the bolt support  12  from being damaged by a heat deformation. Accordingly, a tight connection is maintained between the upper housing  10 , the lower housing  28 , and the connector assembly  30 . 
     While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, although various aspects of the claimed subject matter have been described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of the claimed subject matter.