GB2466867A

GB2466867A - A theft prevention structure for control apparatus of a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2466867A
Application number: GB0922399A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Genki Maeda
Original assignee: Suzuki Motor Corp
Current assignee: Suzuki Motor Corp
Priority date: 2009-01-08
Filing date: 2009-12-22
Publication date: 2010-07-14
Anticipated expiration: 2029-12-22
Also published as: CN101774368A; CN101774368B; JP5267862B2; GB0922399D0; GB2466867B; JP2010158980A

Abstract

A theft prevention structure for control apparatus 12 mounted in a vehicle is provided in which the control apparatus has connectors 21, 22 connected to electrical wiring harnesses and a cover (52, figure 1) which covers a part of at least either electrical wiring harnesses or the control apparatus. The connectors are lever type connectors; the cover 67, 68 forms a connector cover which surrounds connecting portions (16, figure 4) of a connector connecting portion of the control apparatus and connector portions (23, 27) of the lever type connectors; and lean-to portions or flanges 70, 79 projecting into movable ranges of lever portions 25, 29 of the lever type connectors and adapted to block movement of the lever portions are provided for the connector cover. Removal, or at least quick removal, of the cover is difficult and, as operation of the lever type connectors it protects is essential in order to remove the control apparatus, theft of the latter is prevented or made difficult. The control apparatus may be for the control of the engine, transmission, brakes etc. and may be located in the engine compartment of the vehicle.

Description

CONTROL APPARATUS THEFT PREVENTION STRUCTURE

The invention relates to a structure for preventing theft of control apparatus in a vehicle and, more particularly, to a control apparatus theft prevention structure which is mounted in an engine compartment or the like of a vehicle, wherein attention is paid to theft prevention.

Background Art

Various control apparatuses are mounted in a vehicle in order to control the engine, transmission, braking apparatus, suspension system, and the like. The control apparatuses are attached to vehicle body component members making up an engine compartment or other compartment, and the like.

By way of an attaching structure for control apparatus in the related art, there exists a structure of electrical parts having connectors which are connected to the electrical parts forming control apparatus by inserting them into a signal input/output portion, with a cover which covers the signal input/output portion and the connectors, wherein by using such a structure in which the cover is moved in a direction which intersects the direction of insertion of the connectors at right angles and is connected up to the electrical part, a situation is created in which the working space for connecting up the connectors and the cover both lie on the same line running in the same direction and the possibility of separating the spaces away from each other is eliminated. Such a structure is exemplified by JP-A-2000-91019.

Problem to be solved by the Invention In the automobile field, use of theft preventing apparatus for preventing the vehicle itself being stolen is progressing. However, in recent years a new phenomenon where it is not the vehicle itself which is stolen, but only parts thereof is starting to appear. Particularly, since main control apparatuses including the engine controller and the like of the vehicle are expensive parts, we are faced with the non-negligible possibility of these control apparatuses being stolen for the purpose of converting them into cash on the used parts market. There is a need for a structure adapted to also prevent such theft.

As a countermeasure for preventing theft, we can mention the use of a structure making it difficult to remove the mounted control apparatuses, and requiring some considerable time for removal. For this purpose, countermeasures exist whereby the number of supporting fixing portions is simply large, or it is difficult to locally destroy them using external physical force, or the structure is complicated and it is difficult to understand how to go about dismantling, and so on.

However, since such theft prevention structures result in deterioration in assembly performance, there is a need to ensure that the countermeasures do take account of operating efficiency at the time of manufacture. Since such theft prevention structures do not produce any advantages as regards running performance of the vehicle, a countermeasure should be taken the effect of which is to miniaturize the structure (small in size, small number of parts, and light-weight).

In the case of control apparatus which is arranged in the engine compartment or the like, account should be taken of a situation where the vehicle runs through heavily flooded terrain or similar, where the engine compartment gets seriously submerged, meaning it is desirable to arrange the control apparatus at a high position in the engine compartment. However, this arrangement is contrary to the need to ensure pedestrian protection meaning that it is necessary to avoid mounting apparatus too close to the bonnet hood covering a space over the engine compartment. A virtual surface including an upper surface of a strut tower portion representing a vehicle body is used as a reference. Each apparatus is mounted under the virtual surface.

Summary of the invention

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a construction arranged whereby it takes time to remove the control apparatus, the control apparatus is protected so that it is difficult to destroy, assembly performance is not deteriorated, and compatibility between such a structure and a light-weight and compact structure is accomplished.

According to the invention, there is provided a theft prevention structure for a control apparatus which is mounted in an outside of a passenger compartment of a vehicle and has connectors which are provided so as to be connected to electric wirings and a cover which covers a part of at least either said electric wirings or said control apparatus, wherein: the connectors for connecting said control apparatus to said electric wirings are lever type connectors; the cover is provided as a connector cover which surrounds connecting portions of connector connecting portions of the control apparatus and connector portions of the lever type connectors; and lean-to portions which project into movable ranges of lever portions of the lever type connectors and are adapted to block movement of the lever portions are provided for the connector cover.

In the control apparatus theft prevention structure of the invention, the operation of the lever portion of the lever type connector which is necessary to enable the electrical wiring to be removed can be disabled if removal of the connector cover is avoided. According to the control apparatus theft prevention structure of the invention, even if the connector cover is formed with a relatively simple shape, it becomes difficult to remove the connector cover in a short time, so that a theft preventing effect is obtained.

Tn the control apparatus theft prevention structure of the invention, by forming a connector cover with such a shape that the operation of a lever portion of a lever type connector is disabled unless the connector cover is removed, a theft preventing effect is obtained.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described solely by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of the control apparatus theft prevention structure in the engine compartment of a vehicle.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view with the control apparatus theft prevention structure seen from the front of the vehicle.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view with the strut tower portion seen from the front of the vehicle.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing an assembly state of the control apparatus and attaching members.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view when the control apparatus attached to the strut tower is seen from the front of the vehicle.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view when the control apparatus to which the connector cover has been fixedly secured is seen from the vehicle front side.

In Figs. 5 and 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle, 2 an engine compartment, 3 a fender apron panel, 4 a wheel housing portion, and 5 a strut tower portion. In the engine compartment 2 of the vehicle 1, the wheel housing portion 4 which projects towards the center of the vehicle is formed at the bottom of fender apron panel 3 at the outside (left side) of the vehicle with strut tower portion 5 projecting upwardly from an upper portion of the wheel housing portion 4. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a headlamp 6 is arranged over the vehicle front side of wheel housing portion 4, in a corner portion of engine compartment 2.

As shown in Fig. 3, the strut tower portion 5 is formed in an almost semicircular cylindrical shape by a front-side wall surface 7 at the vehicle front side, an inside wall surface 8 at the side directed towards the center of the vehicle, a rear-side wall surface 9 at the side directed towards the rear of the vehicle, and an upper wall surface 10 in an upper portion of the vehicle. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a lower portion of the front-side wall surface 7 is coupled with an upper wall surface 11 of the wheel housing portion 4. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, in the vehicle 1, a control apparatus 12 is mounted in the engine compartment 2 outside of the passenger compartment. The control apparatus 12 is arranged in the engine compartment 2 mainly along the front-side wall surface 7 of the strut tower portion 5 of fender apron panel 3. In the control apparatus 12, as shown in Fig. 4, attaching flanges 14 and 15 are provided in an upper portion and a lower portion respectively of a box 13 formed in a thin and almost rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a connector connecting portion 16 is provided in a side portion generally directed towards the center of the vehicle. Mounting holes 17 and 18 are formed in the attaching flanges 14 and 15, respectively. The connector connecting portion 16 has an opening which is vertically elongated in the direction of the center of the vehicle, with terminals arranged in the connector connecting portion. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, when the control apparatus 12 is mounted in the vehicle 1, the box 13 having a flat and almost square box shape is arranged so as to be thin in the front/rear direction of the vehicle and be relatively long in the width direction and vertical direction of the vehicle. The control apparatus 12 is mounted slightly obliquely in such a manner that the portion which is closer to the center in the vehicle width direction is offset towards the rear of the vehicle.

As shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, two electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 are connected to the control apparatus 12. The electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 rise from the lower side of the engine compartment 2 and are connected to the connector connecting portion 16 at a side portion generally directed towards the center of the vehicle of control apparatus 12 by connectors. The connectors which connect the electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 to the control apparatus 12 are lever type connectors 21 and 22. Electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 as used herein refer to wiring formed by thick cables which are sufficiently protected by corrugated tubes or the like.

The box 13 of control apparatus 12 has an almost flat and rectangular parallelepiped shape. A plurality of terminals for connecting the two lever type connectors 21 and 22 are arranged in the connector connecting portion 16 provided in the side portion generally directed towards the center of the vehicle between the sides of flat box 13. Each connection region has an opening area adapted to each connector. A plurality of terminals are densely arranged in the vertically-long connector connecting portion 16 provided at one side of box 13. That is, the two lever type connectors 21 and 22 are connected so as to be aligned on a line running in the longitudinal direction of the vertically-long connector connecting portion 16 provided at a side of box 13.

As shown in Fig. 4, the lever type connector 21 has: a connector portion 23 which is connected to one terminal zone of connector connecting portion 16; a guide portion 24 for guiding, in the direction of extension thereof, the one electrical wiring harness 19 connected to the connector portion 23; and a lever portion 25 for connecting up or removing the connector portion 23 to/from the connector connecting portion 16. A movable portion 26 for manual operation is provided at a front edge of lever portion 25. The lever type connector 22 has: a connector portion 27 which is connected to another terminal zone of connector connecting portion 16; a guide portion 28 for guiding, in the direction of extension thereof, the other electrical wiring harness 20 connected to connector portion 27; and a lever portion 29 for connecting up or removing connector portion 27 to/from connector connecting portion 16. A movable portion 30 for manual operation is provided at a front edge of lever portion 29.

The lever type connectors 21 and 22 are connected up to or removed from the connector connecting portion 16 by operation of the lever portions 25 and 29 and can be firmly coupled and fixed. Lever portions 25 and 29 are handles which have a generally U-shape and are manually operated. In a connected up or closed state, lever portions 25 and 29 have such a shape that electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 and the guide portions 24 and 28 are covered and protected. At their non-inserted positions where the connector portions 23 and 27 are not locked such as when connecting the connector portions 23 and 27, the movable portions 26 and 30 at the front edges of the lever portions 25 and 29 are almost fully enclosed in the opening area of the connector connecting portion 16 of the control apparatus 12 serving as a connection partner. However, in the connected up or closed state where the lever portions 25 and 29 can be locked, they are set to positions (projecting positions) where the movable portions 26 and 30 are removed from the said opening area.

The wiring harnesses 19 and 20 are connected to the control apparatus 12 by the lever type connectors 21 and 22 before the control apparatus 12 is attached to an attaching member 51, which will be described below.

When the lever type connectors 21 and 22 are connected to the control apparatus 12, as shown in Fig. 4, the direction of extension of the wiring harnesses 19 and 20 extending from the lever type connectors 21 and 22 is along the longitudinal direction of a vertically extending joint or partition surface 31 of connector connecting portion 16. The rotational loci of the lever portions 25 and 29 of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 run in the direction of extension and the longitudinal direction of the wiring harnesses 19 and 20. The lever type connectors 21 and 22 are arranged at upper and lower positions in the longitudinal direction of connector connecting portion 16 so as to adjoin one another. The lever type connectors 21 and 22 are arranged in such a manner that the electrical wiring 20 extending from the one lever type connector 22 overlaps the connecting up/removing direction of the other lever type connector 21. Therefore, when the lever type connectors 21 and 22 are connected up, there is a specific order for doing this.

When the control apparatus 12 is mounted in the vehicle, it is necessary to connect the connector portion 23 in order, starting from the lever type connector 21 located at the bottom of the control apparatus 12.

That is, when the lever type connectors 21 and 22 are connected to the connector connecting portion 16, the lever portion 25 of the lever type connector 21 at the lower side is set to the connected up or closed state. The electrical wiring 20 guided from lever type connector 22 now occupies a movable range required to reverse the operation of lever portion 25 and occupies a place above that where lever portion 25 extends. Therefore, release or reverse operation of lever portion 25 of lower lever type connector 21 is obstructed following connection up of upper lever type connector 22. Unless the connection of the upper lever type connector 22 is cancelled, reverse operation of the lower lever type connector 21 is disabled.

Thus, the amount by which electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 extending from the lever type connectors 21 and 22 project can be reduced and electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 from a plurality of lever type connectors 21 and 22 can be easily bound. Although the lever type connector 22 which obstructs reverse operation of the lever type connector 21 is assumed to be the upper lever type connector for convenience of explanation in the present embodiment, this could also be an outside lever type connector or a lever type connector which is assembled last.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the control apparatus 12 is mounted in such a manner that its circumference is surrounded by: the fender apron panel 3 constituting a vehicle body panel and the front-side wall surface 7 of strut tower portion 5; and a relay box 32 and a battery 33 serving as electrical parts.

As shown in Fig. 3, the relay box 32 is formed in a long square box shape and is attached to the inside wall surface 8 of the strut tower portion 5 so that its longitudinal direction extends in the vehicle front/rear direction. In the strut tower portion 5, a stud bolt 34 is fixed to an attaching portion of the inside wall surface 8 in the direction of the center of the vehicle. A bracket 35 for attaching the relay box is attached to the stud bolt 34 by a securing nut 36, thereby supporting a casing 37 of relay box 32. As shown in Fig. 1, an electrical wiring 38 is connected to the vehicle rear side of the casing 37 of relay box 32.

A supporting stay portion 39 in the general direction of the center of the vehicle (see particularly figure 3) is provided at the casing 37 of relay box 32. The stay portion 39 supports a battery tray 42, which will be described below, on which the battery 33 is mounted. As shown in Fig. 1, the relay box 32 attached mainly to the inside wall surface 8 of the strut tower portion 5 is arranged in such a manner that the front portion in the longitudinal direction projects forwardly from the front-side wall surface 7 of the strut tower portion 5.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, battery 33 is attached to an apron side member provided under the wheel housing portion 4 of the fender apron panel 3. A battery attaching bracket 41 extending from the fender apron panel 3 toward the engine and transmission and center of the vehicle is provided in front of the strut tower portion 5 and on an upper surface of the apron side member 40 so as to be integrated with the panels 3 and 40. The battery tray 42 is mounted onto an upper surface of the battery attaching bracket 41. The battery 33 is fixed by a fixing member 43 for supporting the battery. Terminals 44 and 45 are provided for the battery 33 and electrical wiring runs 46 and 47 are connected to them. A small integral fuse 48 is provided for the terminal 44. A current sensor 49 is provided for the other terminal 45.

An engine mount is provided for an upper surface of the apron side member in front of the battery attaching bracket 41 SO as to be aligned parallel to battery attaching bracket 41. The engine mount supports the battery tray 42 and the battery 33 from the downward direction in cooperation with battery attaching bracket 41 having almost the same height. A rear edge portion of a headlamp 6 is located just in front of the battery 33.

As shown in Figs. I and 2, since the control apparatus 12 is mounted slightly obliquely with respect to the vehicle width direction, it is not parallel to a facing surface of battery 33 and does not face a facing surface of relay box 32, and control apparatus 12 faces them in this state.

The control apparatus 12 is attached to the strut tower portion 5 of the fender apron panel 3 serving as a vehicle body by a plurality of attaching members (brackets) 50 and 51 made of a sheet metal shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and by a connector cover 52 as the sheet metal cover shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In the strut tower portion 5, in order to attach the control apparatus 12 by the attaching members and 51 and the connector cover 52, as shown in Fig. 5, a stud bolt 53 is fixed to the upper wall surface 10 so as to face upward, a stud bolt 54 is fixed at a lower position serving as a lower portion of the front-side wall surface 7 toward the vehicle front side, and as shown in Fig. 3, a stud bolt 34 which supports the lower portion of the relay box 32 at a lower position serving as a lower portion of the inside wall surface 8 is provided. Therefore, the control apparatus 12 is attached to the strut tower portion 5 at the three attaching positions (stud bolts 53, 54, 34).

Regarding the first attaching member 50 of attaching members 50 and 51, as shown in Fig. 3, a box-side attaching portion 56 is provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of an elongated plate-shaped main body 55 and a cover-side attaching portion 57 is provided at the other end side in the longitudinal direction of main body 55. Amounting hole 58 which is engaged with the stud bolt 34 of the inside wall surface 8 of the strut tower portion 5 and is fastened together with the relay box attaching bracket 35 by the securing nut 36 is formed in the box-side attaching portion 56. The cover-side attaching portion 57 includes mounting hole 59 for fastening together with a cover half portion 68, which will be described below, of connector cover 52 and the second attaching member 51.

Regarding the second attaching member 51 of attaching members 50 and 51, as shown in Fig. 4, stud bolts 61 and 62 respectively are provided for an upper portion and a lower portion of a trapezoidal plate-shaped main body 60. An attaching flange 63 which perpendicularly crosses the main body 60 is provided for an upper edge of the main body 60. An attaching flange 64 which is parallel with the main body 60 is provided for a lower edge of the main body 60. An attaching groove 65 which is engaged with the stud bolt 53 provided for the upper wall surface of the strut tower portion 5 is provided for the attaching flange 63 at the upper edge. A mounting hole 66 which is engaged with stud bolt 54 provided for the lower portion of the front-side wall surface 7 of the strut tower portion 5 is provided for the attaching flange 64 at the lower edge.

As shown in Fig. 6, the connector cover 52 surrounds the connector connecting portion 16 of the control apparatus 12 and the connector portions 23 and 27 of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 and is divided into two cover half portions 67 and 68.

In the one cover half portion 67 of the divided connector cover 52, as shown iii Fig. 4, an elongated plate-shaped lean-to portion 70 which is bent at the center is provided so as to project from a main body 69 toward an inclined one side edge from an upper edge of the main body 69 having an almost parallelogram plate shape whose one side lower portion has been cut away. The lean-to portion 70 projects into the movable ranges of the lever portions 25 and 29 of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 and is able to obstruct movement of lever portions 25 and 29. In the one cover half portion 67, fixing flanges 71 and 72 which are parallel with the main body 69 are provided in a horizontal portion and an inclined portion of the lean-to portion in an upper portion of the main body 69, respectively. A fixing flange 73 which projects from a lower portion of the main body 69 and is parallel with the main body 69 is also provided. Fixing holes 74 to 76 are formed in the fixing flanges 71 to 73, respectively. The other side edge of the one cover half portion 67 comes into contact with one side edge of the second attaching member 51 and a contact portion 77 is welded, thereby integratedly providing the cover half portion 67.

Tn the other cover half portion 68, as shown in Fig. 6, an elongated plate-shaped lean-to portion 79 which is bent at the center is provided so as to project from a main body 78 toward an inclined one side edge from an upper edge of the main body 78 having an almost trapezoidal plate shape whose one side lower portion has been cut away. The lean-to portion 79 projects into the movable ranges of the lever portions 25 and 29 of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 and is able to obstruct the motion of lever portions 25 and 29. The lean-to portion 79 of the other cover half portion 68 is formed into such a shape that it forms a pair together with lean-to portion 70 of the one cover half portion 67. In the other cover half portion 68, fixing flanges 80 and 81 which are parallel with the main body 78 are provided in a horizontal portion and an inclined portion of the lean-to portion 79 in an upper portion of the main body 78, respectively. A fixing flange 82 which projects from a lower portion of the main body 78 and is parallel with the main body 78 is also provided. Fixing holes 83 to 85 are formed in the fixing flanges 80 to 82, respectively.

When the control apparatus 12 is mounted on the strut tower portion 5 of the engine compartment 2, as shown in Fig. 3, the mounting hole 58 of the box-side attaching portion 56 of the first attaching member 50 is engaged with the stud bolt 34 of the inside wall surface 8 of the strut tower portion 5 and is fastened together with the relay box attaching bracket 35 by the securing nut 36. In the second attaching member 51, as shown in Fig. 4, mounting holes 17 and 18 formed in the attaching flanges 14 and 15 of the control apparatus 12 are engaged with stud bolts 61 and 62 and securing nuts 86 and 87 are clamped, thereby attaching the control apparatus 12 to the attaching member 5 1. The electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 are connected to the control apparatus 12 by the lever type connectors 21 and 22 before it is attached to the attaching member 51.

In the second attaching member 51 to which the control apparatus 12 has been attached, as shown in Fig. 5, in a state where the fixing hole 76 of the fixing flange 73 provided in the lower portion of the integrated one cover half portion 67 is made to coincide with the mounting hole 59 of the cover-side attaching portion 57 of the first attaching member 50, the attaching groove 65 of the attaching flange 63 at the upper edge is engaged with the stud bolt 53 at the upper wall surface 10 of the strut tower portion 5 and a securing nut 88 is tightened. Subsequently, the mounting hole 66 of the attaching flange 64 at the lower edge is engaged with stud bolt 54 in the lower portion of the front-side wall surface 7 of the strut tower portion and a securing nut 89 is tightened. Thus, the second attaching member 51 is attached to the strut tower portion 5.

In the second attaching member 51 attached to the strut tower portion 5, as shown in Fig. 6, the other cover half portion 68 is made coincident with the integrated one cover half portion 67 so as to surround the lever type connectors 21 -10 -and 22. The fixing holes 83 and 84 of the fixing flanges 80 and 81 provided in the upper portion of the other cover half portion 68 are made coincident with the fixing holes 74 and 75 of the fixing flanges 71 and 72 provided in the upper portion of the one cover half portion 67. The fixing hole 85 of the fixing flange 82 provided in the lower portion of the other cover half portion 68 is made coincident with the fixing hole 76 of the fixing flange 73 provided in the lower portion of the one cover half portion 67.

In each of the cover half portions 67 and 68 in which the fixing holes 74 to 76 and the fixing holes 83 to 85 have been made coincident with each other, a securing bolt 90 of a neck-cut bolt is pierced into the fixing holes 74 and 83, screwed into a securing nut 91 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and clamped. A securing bolt 92 of a neck-cut bolt is pierced into the fixing holes 75 and 84, screwed into a securing nut 93 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and tightened. A securing bolt 94 of a neck-cut bolt is pierced into the fixing holes 76 and 85 and into the mounting hole 59 of the cover-side attaching portion 57 of the first attaching member 50, screwed into a securing nut 95 (refer to Fig. 3), and tightened. After completion of the tightening of the securing bolts 90, 92, and 94 serving as neck-cut bolts, bolt head portions 96 to 98 are removed.

Thus, in the divided connector cover 52, as shown in Figs. I and 2, the cover half portions 67 and 68 are joined and fixedly secured with each other so that it is difficult to separate them. In the fixedly secured connector cover 52, the lean-to portions 70 and 79 project into the movable ranges of the lever portions 25 and 29 and are positioned there and enter a state where release reverse operations of the lever portions 25 and 29 is obstructed. The securing bolts 90, 92, and 94 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are illustrated in a state where tightening has been completed before the bolt head portions 96 to 98 are removed. In Fig. 1, an air-conditioner pipe arrangement 99 is shown.

The control apparatus theft prevention structure 12 is fixed and supported to the strut tower portion 5 of the fender apron panel 3 making up part of the vehicle body at the three attaching portions by a plurality of attaching members 50 and 51 made of a sheet metal and by the connector cover 52 as a cover made of a sheet metal. One of the attaching portions is the stud bolt 53 fixed to the upper wall surface 10 of the strut tower portion 5 so as to face upwards as shown in Fig. 5.

The other of the attaching portions is the stud bolt 54 fixed at a lower position serving as a lower portion of the front-side wall surface 7 of the strut tower portion 5 offender apron panel 3 towards the front of the vehicle. Further, as shown in Fig. 3, the other one of the attaching portions is the stud bolt 34 which supports the lower portion of the relay box 32 corresponding to the inside wall surface 8 at the center in -11 -the vehicle width direction of the strut tower portion 5 of the fender apron panel 3.

That is, the two attaching portions (stud bolts 54 and 34) out of the three attaching portions are located low down where it is difficult to observe them from an upward direction owing to the presence of the control apparatus 12 and the relay box 32.

The cover half portion 67 of the connector cover 52 made of sheet metal (one of the divided cover half portions 67 and 68) has previously been welded to and rendered integral with the second attaching member 51 of the sheet metal attaching members 50 and 51. The first attaching member 50 and the second attaching member 51 are integratedly coupled and fixed through the cover half portion 67.

Although the supporting and fixing to strut tower portion S are performed by the three portions of the attaching members 50 and 51, the coupling and fixing of the control apparatus 12 and the second attaching member 51 are performed by clamping to the stud bolts 61 and 62 at two positions provided for the attaching member 51.

Now, after the control apparatus has been mounted to the strut tower portion 5, even if the clamping at the stud bolts 61 and 62 at two positions is loosened, the control apparatus 12 cannot be easily removed due to the presence of the connector cover 52 which surrounds the control apparatus 12 and the lever type connectors 21 and 22. Regarding the one cover half portion 67 integrated with the second attaching member 51, even in a state where just this portion is present and the other cover half portion 68 is not fixedly secured to form the other half of a wafer-like structure, rotation in the release direction of the lever portions 25 and 29 out of the connected up or closed state of lever type connectors 21 and 22 is able to be prevented by lean-to portion 70 projecting from the main body 69.

In the lever type connectors 21 and 22, the lever portions 25 and 29 are covered by the connector cover 52. The connector cover 52 is divided into the two cover half portions 67 and 68. The two divided cover half portions 67 and 68 are fixed and secured to form the halves of a wafer-like structure and function as one cover. The secured integral connector cover 52 is arranged to surround side circumferences of the connector portions 23 and 27 of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 and the connector connecting portion 16 of the control apparatus 12 as a whole. The secured integral connector cover 52 also covers the lever portion 29 in the connected up or closed state of the top lever type connector 22 of lever type connectors 21 and 22 so as to disable rotation in the release direction.

That is, each of the cover half portions 67 and 68 of the connector cover 52 has a simple structure in which each of the roof-shaped lean-to portions 70 and 79 is integratedly provided for one side edge which is inclined from each of the upper edges of the flat main bodies 69 and 78. II is assumed that the fixedly bonding portions where the cover half portions 67 and 68 are coupled and fixed to form a -12 -filled wafer-like structure are set to the following three portions: that is, two portions of the lean-to portions 70 and 79 in the upper portions of main bodies 69 and 78; and one portion in the lower portion of each of the main bodies 69 and 78. With respect to the three fixedly bonding portions, by assembling them by using the securing bolts 90, 92, and 94 serving as neck-cut bolts, and since the bolt head portions 96 to 98 have been removed after the connector cover 52 was assembled, the connector cover 52 cannot be released unless otherwise destroyed.

Therefore, in the control apparatus 12, even if the clamping of the securing nuts 86 and 87 is loosened from the stud bolts 61 and 62 of the second attaching member 51, the one cover half portion 67 integrated with the second attaching member 51 and the other cover half portion 68 coupled with the cover half portion 67 to form a filled wafer-like structure so that they cannot be released surround the circumferences of the connector portions 23 and 27 of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 and strictly hold them. Therefore, the control apparatus 12 cannot be removed from the second attaching member 51.

Further, in the first attaching member 50, the cover-side attaching portion 57 is fixedly clamped together with one of the fixedly bonding portions (fixing flange 73 or 82) of the cover half portions 67 and 68 which are fixedly secured to form a filled wafer-like structure. Therefore, in order to remove the control apparatus 12, it is necessary to remove it by loosening or breaking the clamping of either the supporting fixing portion (box-side attaching portion 56) to the strut tower portion 5 which has been clamped with relay box 32 of the first attaching member 50 or the fixedly secured portion (fixing flange 73 or 82) of the cover half portions 67 and 68 which are fixedly secured to form a filled wafer-like structure.

The connector cover 52 itself is formed while assuring high rigidity and uses the attaching members 50 and 51 which ensure there is a space between itself and the vehicle body. Therefore, even if force generated by a shock or the like is applied, a breakage of the control apparatus 12 can be prevented to a certain extent.

Since the connector cover 52 does not cover the surface of the control apparatus 12 but covers the connector portions 23 and 27 well, it does not impair heat radiation performance of the control apparatus 12 but strictly covers the circumferences of the connector portions 23 and 27 against moisture, dust, and the like and protects them.

Since the circumferences of the connector portions 23 and 27 are surrounded by the other electrical parts (relay box 32, battery 33) each having a large surface area, the possibility of them being splashed with water or the like from the side is reduced and they can adequately endure water which is splashed from above.

The relay box 32 is arranged so as to extend in the vehicle front/rear direction mainly from the inside wall surface 8of strut tower portion 5 of fender -13 -apron panel 3 in the direction of a dash panel along a vehicle body panel. A front portion of relay box 32 projects forwardly from the front-side wall surface 7 of the strut tower portion 5. The projected portion extends into the movable ranges of lever portions 25 and 29 of the lever type connectors 21 and 22. Further, not only are the lever portions 25 and 29 covered by the sheet metal connector cover 52 covering the lever type connectors 21 and 22 but they are also guarded by relay box 32.

The battery 33 is mounted in a space in front of control apparatus 12 and relay box 32. Since the longitudinal direction of the battery 33 runs widthwise of the vehicle when battery 33 is mounted, access to the front of the connecting portions of control apparatus 12 and the lever type connectors 21 and 22 located between the control apparatus 12 and relay box 32 is blocked off by battery 33. That is, although the remaining three directions of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 connected to control apparatus 12 can be accessed from above via the battery 33, relay box 32, and strut tower portion 5 offender apron panel 3, since the clamping of most of the supporting fixing portions is performed in a horizontal direction from the vehicle front side rearwardly and some of the fixing portions are located downward of the control apparatus 12 itself, it is extremely difficult to perform the removing operation directly.

Electrical wiring runs 46 and 47 are connected respectively to terminal 44 and terminal 45 of battery 33. The battery 33 is fixed to apron side member 40 of the vehicle 1 by the batteiy attaching bracket 41 as a fixing member, the battery tray 42, and the fixing member 43 for supporting the battery in the mounted state.

Further, the small fuse 48, the current sensor 49, and the like are provided for battery terminals 44 and 45, respectively. In practice, since it is necessary to get to and remove the electrical wiring 46 and 47 of both terminals 44 and 45 and battery fixing members 41 to 43 and so on prior to removing the control apparatus 12, removal thereof is further hindered.

As mentioned above, according to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, the connectors for connecting the control apparatus 12 to the wiring harnesses 19 and 20 are lever type connectors 21 and 22, the cover which covers control apparatus 12 or electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 is provided as a connector cover 52 which surrounds the connecting regions of the connector connecting portion 16 of control apparatus 12 and the connector portions 23 and 27 of the lever type connectors 21 and 22, and the lean-to portions 70 and 79 which project into the movable ranges of lever portions 25 and 29 of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 and can block the movement of the lever portions 25 and 29 are provided for connector cover 52.

-14 -Thus, according to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, operation of the lever portions 25 and 29 of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 which is necessary to enable electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 to be removed can be disabled if removal of the connector cover 52 is prevented. According to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, even if the connector cover 52 is formed with a relatively simple shape, it becomes difficult to remove the connector cover 52 in a short time and the theft preventing effect is obtained.

According to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, the control apparatus 12 and a plurality of electrical wiring harnesses 19 and 20 are connected by arranging a plurality of lever type connectors 21 and 22 so as to adjoin one another, and the plurality of lever type connectors 21 and 22 are arranged so that the connector portion 27 of one lever type connector 22 of the plurality of lever type connectors 21 and 22 or the electrical wiring 20 is overlapped by the movable range of the lever portion 25 of the other lever type connector 21. Therefore, according to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, since the connector portion 27 of one lever type connector 22 located at the upper position or the electrical wiring 20 restricts the movement of the lever portion 25 of the other lever type connector 21 located at the lower position so as to be adjacent to connector 22, movement of lever portion 25 can be restricted without the provision of any special obstructing member.

Thus, according to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, the connector cover 52 can take the form of the least member necessary.

According to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, the attaching members 50 and 51 for mounting control apparatus 12 to the vehicle 1 are provided, the cover half portion 67 as a part of connector cover 52 is provided so as to be integrated with attaching member 51, the attaching flanges 63 and 64 as attaching portions of attaching member 51 to the vehicle body are scattered or well separated and provided at upper and lower positions of control apparatus 12, and the point of attachment of the box-side attaching portion 56 of attaching member 50 serving as at least one attaching portion is in common with the stud bolt 34 serving as an attaching member for the relay box attaching bracket 35 of relay box 32 serving as another electrical part mounted adjacently to the control apparatus 12 is provided under the relay box 32.

Therefore, according to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, the control apparatus 12 and the attaching member 51 are previously assembled and attached to the vehicle 1 by the attaching member 51 with which a part of connector cover 52 has been integrated. Thus, according to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, a certain restriction can be achieved before even providing the lean-to portions 70 and 79 of connector cover 52. According to the control -15 -apparatus theft prevention structure 12, by using a point of attachment in common with the relay box 32 serving as another adjacent electrical part, while reducing the number of attaching portions, the point of attachment is located at a position where it is hidden by the outline of relay box 32 and perfonTning an illegal removing operation is made difficult.

According to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12: the connector cover is divided into two portions; the cover half portions 67 and 68 of the divided connector cover 52 are fixedly secured to each other so that it is difficult to perform separation; the connector cover 52 obtained after being fixedly secured is formed with such a shape as to cover the circumference of joint surfaces of the connector portions 23 and 27 located at inner edges of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 and movable portions 26 and 30 of the lever portions 25 and 29 located at outer edges to such an extent as to disable operation thereof; and the fixing flange 73 or 82 serving as at least one of the fixedly-secured portions of the cover half portions 67 and 68 of the divided connector cover 52 is fastened together with the cover-side attaching portion 57 serving as an attaching portion of attaching member 50 and is fixedly secured.

Thus, according to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, since the connecting portions of the lever type connectors 21 and 22 to the control apparatus 12 can be fixed so as to perfectly disable operation thereof by the connector cover 52 which has been fixedly secured so that it is difficult to separate it, it is difficult to remove the control apparatus in a short time and theft preventing performance can be enhanced. Further, according to the control apparatus theft prevention structure 12, when the cover half portions 67 and 68 of the divided connector cover 52 are fixedly secured to each other, since they are fastened together with the attaching member 50, it is necessary to remove either the fixedly secured portions which were fastened together or the attaching member 50 and removal can be further made difficult.

Although the relay box 32 and the control apparatus 12 are associated in the foregoing embodiment, other apparatuses, for example, a fuse box or a junction box may be used. Examples of control apparatus 12 are: engine control apparatus (engine controller); a transmission control apparatus (controller of an automatic transmission or a non-stage transmission); a braking control apparatus (anti-lock braking system controller); a running control apparatus (side skid preventing apparatus, stability controller); a vehicle body control apparatus (body controller); or the like.

The strut tower portion 5 of fender apron panel 3 has such a small inclination that it becomes an under-cut as it approaches the lower apron side -16 -member 40. Since the upper portion of the strut tower portion 5 has an overhang, of the three fixedly supporting portions of attaching members 50 and 51 of control apparatus 12, it is further made difficult to observe the two lower ones directly.

Even if only one of the two portions is made difficult to destroy, a hindrance is created against breakage using a chisel or the like.

Further, since the connector cover 52 is incorporated by welding one of the cover half portions 67 and 68 to the attaching member 5 1, in a place (country, district) where there is no need to provide the cover, the cover can be omitted and the welding operation can be also omitted.

According to the control apparatus theft prevention structure of the invention, by making it troublesome to remove the control apparatus, the theft preventing effect is obtained and assembly performance is not deteriorated. The invention can be applied to a vehicle in which a gasoline engine, a diesel engine, a hybrid engine, or the like has been mounted.

-17 -List of main Reference Numerals 1. Vehicle 2. Engine compartment 3. Fender apron panel 5. Strut tower portion 12. Control apparatus 16. Connector connecting portion 19, 20. Electrical wiring 21, 22. Lever type connector 23. Connector portion 25. Lever portion 26. Movable portion 27. Connector portion 29. Lever portion 30. Movable portion 32. Relay box 33. Battery 50, 51. Attaching member (bracket) 52. Connector cover 56. Box-side attaching portion 57. Cover-side attaching portion 63. Attaching flange 64. Attaching flange 67, 68. Cover half portion 70. Lean-to portion 71 to 73. Fixing flange 79. Lean-to portion 80 to 82. Fixing flange

Claims

-18 -CLAIMS1. A theft prevention structure for a control apparatus (12) which is mounted in an outside of a passenger compartment of a vehicle and has connectors (21, 22) which are provided so as to be connected to electric wirings and a cover (52) which covers a part of at least either said electric wirings or said control apparatus (12), wherein: said connectors for connecting said control apparatus to said electric wirings are lever type connectors (21, 22); said cover (52) is provided as a connector cover which surrounds connecting portions of connector connecting portions (16) of said control apparatus and connector portions (23, 27) of said lever type connectors (21, 22); and lean-to portions (70, 79) which project into movable ranges of lever portions (25, 29) of said lever type connectors and are adapted to block movement of said lever portions (25, 29) are provided for said connector cover (52).
2. The theft prevention structure for control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: said control apparatus (12) and a plurality of said electric wirings are connected by arranging a plurality of said lever type connectors (21, 22) so as to adjoin one another; and said plurality of lever type connectors (21, 22) are arranged so that the connector portion (23, 27) of one of said plurality of lever type connectors or the electric wiring is overlapped by the movable range of the lever portion of another one of said lever type connectors.
3. The theft prevention structure for control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: attaching members (50, 51) for mounting said control apparatus (12) to the vehicle are provided; a part of said connector cover (52) is provided so as to be integrated with a said attaching member (51); and attaching portions (63, 64) of said attaching member (51) to a vehicle body are scattered and provided at upper and lower positions of said control apparatus (12) and at least one member attaching portion (34) is used in common with an attaching portion for another electric part (32) which is mounted adjacent to said control apparatus (12) provided below said another electric part.

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4. The theft prevention structure for control apparatus according to any one of claims ito 3, wherein: said connector cover (52) is divided into two portions; the cover half portions (67, 68) of said divided connector cover are fixedly bonded to each other so that it is difficult to separate them; said connector cover obtained after being fixedly bonded is formed with such a shape as to cover circumferences ofjoint surfaces of connector portions (23, 27) located at inner edges of said lever type connectors (21, 22) and movable portions of a lever portion located at an outer edge to such an extent as to disable the operation thereof; and at least one of the fixedly-bonded portions of the cover half portions (67, 68) of said divided connector cover is fastened together with the attaching portion of an attaching member (51) and is fixedly bonded (77).
5. A theft prevention structure for control apparatus substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.