Housing for in-vehicle electronic control unit

• US 8,144,476 B2
• Filed: 01/19/2010
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Hirose, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui, Hung S
• Application Number:
  US12/657,419
• Publication Number:
  US 20100182757A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 361/752, 361/796, 361/800, 361/807, 361/810, 361728-730, 361/797, 3122231-2233
• US Class Current: 361/752
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 5/006 characterized by features for holding the PCB within the housing

Abstract

A box-shaped housing of an in-vehicle electronic control unit that controls an occupant crash protection system is installed to an installation surface of a vehicle and includes an opening end that defines an opening in an imaginary plane, a ceiling wall, and a peripheral wall. The housing receives a planar control circuit board of the control unit through the opening end toward the ceiling wall and securely holds the circuit board at the peripheral wall such that a plane of the circuit board is parallel to the imaginary plane. The peripheral wall includes an opening side wall section located adjacent to the opening end, and a ceiling side wall section having a thickness larger than a thickness of the opening side wall section.

Claims

1. A box-shaped housing of an in-vehicle electronic control unit including a planar control circuit board that controls an occupant crash protection system, which protects an occupant of a vehicle in a case of collision of the vehicle, the box-shaped housing being installed to the vehicle and comprising:

an opening end that defines an opening and is placed adjacent to the vehicle;

a ceiling wall that is opposed to the opening end; and

a peripheral wall that extends from the opening end to the ceiling wall, wherein;

the box-shaped housing receives the planar control circuit board through the opening end toward the ceiling wall and securely holds the planar control circuit board at the peripheral wall such that a plane of the planar control circuit board is generally parallel to the opening;

the peripheral wall includes;

an opening side wall section that is located adjacent to the opening end; and

a ceiling side wall section that has a wall thickness larger than a wall thickness of the opening side wall section and is located on a ceiling wall side of the opening side wall section;

the peripheral wall further includes an attachment portion to which the control circuit board is attached; and

the attachment portion projects toward the opening end from the ceiling side wall section by a predetermined length with the attachment portion being spaced from the opening side wall section of the peripheral wall and being substantially parallel to the opening side wall section.

2. The housing according to claim 1, wherein:

the control circuit board is attached to the peripheral wall along a first line thereon; and

the peripheral wall is divided into the opening side wall section and the ceiling side wall section by the first line.

3. The housing according to claim 1, wherein the ceiling side wall section has an inner surface that projects inward of the housing, and a planar outer surface.

4. The housing according to claim 1, further comprising a corner part where the peripheral wall is bent along a second line, wherein:

the peripheral wall further includes a crossover portion where the second line crosses a first line, which is a boundary line between the opening side wall section and the ceiling side wall section; and

the crossover portion is formed into a curved shape.

5. The housing according to claim 1, further comprising a vehicle attachment portion that is formed on an edge of the opening end and attached to the vehicle, wherein a portion of the peripheral wall around the vehicle attachment portion has a smaller thickness than the thickness of the opening side wall section.