Source: {"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"}

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printed circuit board having fuse housings; and an electric junction box for vehicles that houses a printed circuit board having fuse housings. More particularly, output terminals, which project into the fuse housings provided in a plurality of tiers in the electric junction box, include terminals projecting from the printed circuit board housed in the electric junction box; and input terminals include terminals extending from bus bars.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2006-187052 discloses a conventional electric junction box of such a type, wherein terminals connected to a printed circuit board housed therein project inside a fuse housing. For such an electric junction box, the terminals are fixed to a fuse holder in advance, and the fuse holder to which the terminals are fixed is mounted on the printed circuit board. When mounted on the printed circuit board, the fuse holder is positioned thereon, thereby allowing the terminals fixed to the fuse holder to accurately fit onto and pass through terminal holes in the printed circuit board. The terminals passed through the respective terminal holes are then fixed with soldering, press-fitting, or the like.
Further, when the printed circuit board is positioned horizontally in the electric junction box, and the terminals projecting into the fuse housing project into the fuse housing provided on a side surface of the electric junction box, the terminals are passed through and fixed to the fuse holder, and then are bent orthogonally, so that the other end is connected to the printed circuit board.
When fuse housings are provided in a plurality of tiers, and a fuse is included having an allowable current capacity of 15 A or less, however, it is difficult to form an input terminal of the fuse as a terminal projecting from the printed circuit board, since the current capacity of the terminal connected to the printed circuit board is small. Conversely, when a fuse having greater than 15 A is used, an input terminal, similar to an output terminal, can be formed of a terminal connected to the printed circuit board and project into the fuse housings. As described above, when fuses having different capacities are provided in the fuse housings having a plurality of vertically-stacked tiers, it is difficult to press-fit or insert-form a bus bar terminal, which has a large and complicated shape, into a fuse holder (fuse case) in advance, and then to bend the bus bar to into an L shape.