Wire harness, wire harness manufacturing method, and wire harness routing structure

Abstract

An electric wire harness includes a first wire harness and a second wire harness having a plurality of branch wires. The first wire harness and the second wire harness are combined and bound, and each terminal of the first wire harness and the second wire harness extends radially. External parts of the first wire harness and the second wire harness are removed within the combined range of the first wire harness and the second wire harness. The first wire harness extends across the vicinity of the base end of one branch wire of the second wire harness, and is bound by an adhesive tape together with the vicinity of the base end of another branch wire in a juxtaposed state near the branch portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric wire harness mounted on a vehicle, a method of manufacturing the electric wire harness, and a wiring structure of the electric wire harness. Background Art

[0002] For example, in a branch portion of a wire harness used in an automobile, fixation and shape protection of the branch portion are performed by winding an adhesive tape around a wire bundle according to a predetermined procedure (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

[0003] In the branching method, in many cases, a single wire harness is generally simply branched into a plurality of wires, but depending on the needs of the customer to whom the wire harness is delivered, a branch portion may be formed by combining a plurality of wire bundles. For example, a wire harness in which the terminals of the wire bundle extend radially may be configured by combining a first wire harness formed of a single linear wire bundle and a second wire harness having a branch portion in which two branch wires are branched from a trunk line, and the two wire harnesses are bound by wrapping a tape around the branch portion.

[0004] In this case, since there is a portion where one wire bundle extends across the other wire bundle, that is, a portion where one wire bundle overlaps the other wire bundle, a level difference is generated in the height direction. That is, the wire bundles are stacked. At this time, depending on how the wire bundles are handled in the extending direction, the height of the overlapping portion of the binding portion between the first wire bundle and the second wire bundle (the height of the branch portion) may become too large.

[0005] In a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, a battery pack using a large number of battery cells is installed as a driving power source for traveling. In the wire harness used in the wiring system of this type of battery pack, there is a wire harness for measuring the voltage of a large number of battery cells of the battery module constituting the battery pack. In this wire harness, since one terminal of each of the large number of wires is connected to a voltage measuring device, and the other terminal thereof is connected to a bus bar module that connects the terminals of the battery cells, the wire harness is generally wired in a narrow space. For example, the wire harness is generally wired in a narrow space (bottom surface space of the battery pack) between the bottom surface of the battery pack housing and a support member, etc., on which the battery module is fixedly mounted.

[0006] Reference List

[0007] Patent Literature

[0008] Patent document 1: JP-2000-4530-A.

[0009] However, when the electric wire harness formed by combining a plurality of wire harnesses as described above is routed in a narrow space on the bottom surface of the battery pack, it has been found that the height of the overlapping portion of the wire harness becomes an obstacle and the electric wire harness cannot be routed. Summary of the invention

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electric wire harness, a method for manufacturing the electric wire harness, and a wiring structure of the electric wire harness, which can minimize the height of the overlapping part of two wire harnesses to be combined and can be wired in a narrow space without any difficulty.

[0011] According to one embodiment, an electric wire harness includes a first wire harness and a second wire harness, the second wire harness having a trunk line and a plurality of branch lines branching from the trunk line. The first wire harness and the second wire harness are combined and bound at a position of a branch portion from the trunk line to the branch line, each terminal of the first wire harness and the second wire harness extends from the position of the branch portion, an outer part of the first wire harness and the second wire harness is removed within the combined range of the first wire harness and the second wire harness, and the first wire harness extends across the vicinity of the base end of one of the plurality of branch lines of the second wire harness at a position close to the branch portion, and is bound together with the vicinity of the base end of another branch line in a juxtaposed state by a binding material near the branch portion.

[0012] According to another embodiment, a method for manufacturing an electric wire harness is provided, wherein the electric wire harness has a first wire harness and a second wire harness, the second wire harness having a trunk line and a plurality of branch lines branching from the trunk line. The method includes combining and binding the first wire harness and the second wire harness at the position of the branch part from the trunk line to the branch line; extending each terminal of the first wire harness and the second wire harness from the position of the branch part; removing the external components of the first wire harness and the second wire harness within the combined range of the first wire harness and the second wire harness; routing the second wire harness on a fixture plate, and routing the first wire harness on the second wire harness; while extending the first wire harness across the vicinity of the base end of one of the plurality of branch lines of the second wire harness, pushing the first wire harness into the branch part of the second wire harness, and juxtaposing the first wire harness with the vicinity of the base end of another branch line; subsequently, near the branch part, binding the first wire harness with the vicinity of the base end of another branch line by a binding material.

[0013] According to yet another embodiment, there is provided a wiring structure of an electric wire harness in a narrow space formed by electrical components mounted on a vehicle. The electric wire harness includes a first wire harness and a second wire harness, the second wire harness having a trunk line and a plurality of branch lines branching from the trunk line. The electric wire harness has a shape in which each terminal of the first wire harness and the second wire harness extends from the position of the branch line by combining and binding the first wire harness and the second wire harness at the position of a branching portion from the trunk line to the branch line. The first wire harness and the second wire harness are in a state in which components inside and outside the combination range of the first wire harness and the second wire harness are removed. The first wire harness extends across the vicinity of the base end of one of the plurality of branch lines of the second wire harness at a position near the branch line, and is bound together with the vicinity of the base end of another branch line in a juxtaposed state near the branch line by a binding material, and the electric wire harness is wired in a narrow space. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 : is a view showing a first step in the case of manufacturing the electric wire harness according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2A and Figure 2B is a view showing a tape winding process in the case of manufacturing the electric wire harness of this embodiment, wherein Figure 2A is a process diagram for the first half, and Figure 2B This is a process description diagram for the second half.

[0016] Figure 3 is a plan view showing the outline of a completed state of the electric wire harness according to the embodiment.

[0017] Figure 4 is Figure 3 Magnified view viewed in the direction of arrow A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] Figure 1 is a view showing a first step in the case of manufacturing the electric wire harness according to the embodiment, Figure 2A and Figure 2B is a view showing the tape winding process, wherein Figure 2A This is a process diagram for the first half, and Figure 2B This is the process diagram for the second half. Figure 3 is a plan view showing the outline of a completed state of the electric wire harness according to the embodiment, and Figure 4 is Figure 3 Magnified view viewed in the direction of arrow A.

[0020] Figure 3 The wire harness W of the illustrated embodiment is used as, for example, a wiring system of a battery pack as a driving power source for traveling, the battery pack being mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. The wire harness W is connected between a battery module and a voltage measuring device (for example, included in an ECU) in order to monitor the state of each of a plurality of battery cells of the battery module constituting the battery pack, and the wire harness W is wired in the bottom surface space of the battery pack. The bottom surface space of the battery pack is a narrow space between the bottom surface of the housing of the battery pack and a supporting member on which the battery module is fixedly mounted, and the wire harness W of the present embodiment, which is designed to be relatively low in height, is wired in the narrow space.

[0021] In order to manufacture the wire harness W, Figure 1 As shown, two wiring harnesses, i.e., a linear first wiring harness W1 and a branch type second wiring harness W2, are prepared, and the branch type second wiring harness W2 has a trunk line Wc and two branch lines Wd, We branched from the trunk line Wc. By first routing the second wiring harness W2 on a fixture plate (not shown) and routing the first wiring harness W1 on the second wiring harness W2, the first wiring harness W1 and the second wiring harness W2 are combined with each other at the position of the branch portion Wx from the trunk line Wc of the second wiring harness W2 to the branch lines Wd, We.

[0022] Since external components such as a corrugated tube, a twisted tube or a butyl base are pre-installed on the outer periphery of the first wiring harness W1 and the second wiring harness W2 before combination, the external components within the combination range (for example, a predetermined range of 10 mm) including the branch part Wx are removed, and the removed part of the external components is lightly wrapped with tape from the external component side.

[0023] When combined, the second wire harness W2 is aligned in the torsion direction so that the two branch lines Wd and We are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the fixture plate, with one branch line Wd facing downward and the other branch line We facing upward. In addition, the lower branch line Wd extends along the extension direction of the trunk line Wc, and the upper branch line We is bent to bend 90° to the right relative to the trunk line Wc. In this way, a level difference can be formed in the branch portion Wx of the two branch lines Wd and We.

[0024] Therefore, the first wire harness W1 is pushed into the level difference formed in the branch part Wx of the second wire harness in the form of being slightly bent to the left in the direction of the arrow N, and is juxtaposed at the same height level as the vicinity of the base end of the branch line We on the upper side, while the first wire harness W1 extends across the vicinity of the base end of the branch line Wd on the lower side. In this way, the two wire harnesses W1, W2 are combined in a form in which the two terminals Way, Wby of the first wire harness W1 and the terminals Wcy, Wdy and Wey of the second wire harness W2 radially extend from the position of the branch part Wx.

[0025] Here, when the electric wires of the first wiring harness W1 extending from the position of the branch portion Wx toward one terminal Way are distinguished as Wa, and the electric wires of the first wiring harness W1 extending from the position of the branch portion Wx toward the other terminal Wby are distinguished as Wb, as Figure 2A and Figure 2B As shown, five wires Wa, Wb, Wc (trunk), Wd (branch line), and We (branch line) radially extending from the position of the branch portion Wx are arranged in the order of Wa, Wd, Wb, We, and Wc in the clockwise direction. In addition, spaces S1 to S5 can be formed between adjacent wires, that is, between the wires Wa, Wd, between the wires Wd, Wb, between the wires Wb, We, between the wires We, Wc, and between the wires Wc, Wa. By continuously winding the tape (binding material) in a predetermined order using the spaces S1 to S5, the first wire harness W1 and the second wire harness W2 are bound near the branch portion Wx.

[0026] exist Figure 2A and Figure 2B In the figure, the tape is not shown, and only the winding order is indicated by arrows T1 to T5. The tape winding order indicated by these arrows is an example, and any changes can be made as long as the five wires Wa, Wb, Wc, Wd, We are firmly fastened without greatly changing their relative positions.

[0027] After the five wires Wa, Wb, Wc, Wd and We are bound in this manner, as Figure 3 As shown, two wires juxtaposed to each other, namely the wire Wb on the first harness W1 side and the wire (branch wire) We on the second harness W2 side, are both bound with another tape Tp. In this way, the two wires can be fixed to each other, thereby maintaining a parallel state, and the level difference between the two wires can be prevented from gradually appearing over time due to the restoring force of the wires.

[0028] The wire harness W manufactured as described above is wired in the bottom surface space of a battery pack installed on a vehicle, for example. At this time, the second wire harness W2 is wired to be located on the lower side. In addition, the terminals Wdy, Wey of the branch lines Wd, We of the second wire harness W2 and the terminal Wby of the first wire harness W1 on the side where the terminal Wby of the first wire harness and the branch line We of the second wire harness W2 are bound with a tape Tp are connected to a bus bar module that connects a plurality of battery cells constituting a battery module of the battery pack. In addition, the terminal Way on the opposite side of the first wire harness W1 and the terminal Wcy of the trunk line Wc of the second wire harness W2 are connected to a voltage measuring device.

[0029] According to the electric wire harness W manufactured as described above, the first wire harness W1 extends across the vicinity of the base end of the branch wire Wd on the lower side of the second wire harness W2 having the branch portion Wx, and the first wire harness W1 is bound together with the vicinity of the base end of the branch wire We on the upper side in a juxtaposed state by the adhesive tape Tp near the branch portion Wx. Figure 4 As shown in the portion surrounded by the dotted line in FIG, the overlapping height H of the wiring harness can be prevented from reaching the total thickness (minimum value) of one branch line Wd of the first wiring harness W1 and the second wiring harness W2. As a result, the wiring harness can be routed without any difficulty in the narrow space (bottom surface space) on the bottom surface of the battery pack. In addition, since the first wiring harness W1 is bound by the tape Tp near the base end of the branch line We on the upper side of the second wiring harness W2, the height difference between the overlapping portions of the first wiring harness W1 and the second wiring harness W2 does not drift over time and can maintain a stable form.

[0030] According to the manufacturing method described above, since the second harness W2 is first routed on the jig plate and then the first harness W1 is routed on the second harness W2, even when the first harness W1 is harder and less likely to be bent than the branch wire We of the second harness W2, the first harness W1 can be pushed toward the branch portion Wx of the first routed second harness W2 without being forcibly bent and lifted. Therefore, since unreasonable operations can be reduced, it is possible to obtain an effect that makes it difficult for the operator to easily produce precision changes and difficult to provide unnecessary level differences.

[0031] When the battery module of the battery pack and the voltage measuring device are connected by the wire harness W, a system for monitoring the state of each battery cell constituting the battery module via the wire harness can be easily constructed.

[0032] In the above embodiment, the case where the first wiring harness W1 is a linear wiring harness has been described, but the first wiring harness W1 is not necessarily a linear wiring harness and may have a branch portion. In addition, the second wiring harness W2 having a branch portion Wx is not limited to a binary branch having two branch lines Wd, We, and may be a branch having three or more branches.

[0033] In the above embodiment, the case where the wire harness W is wired in the bottom space of the battery pack has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the wire harness W can be applied to the case where the wire harness W is wired in a narrow space formed by electrical components mounted on a vehicle.

[0034] Here, features of the electric wire harness, the method of manufacturing the electric wire harness, and the routing structure of the electric wire harness according to the above-described embodiments of the present invention are briefly summarized and listed in the following [1] to [4], respectively.

[0035] [1] An electric wire harness (W), comprising

[0036] a first wiring harness (W1); and

[0037] The second wiring harness (W2) has a trunk line (Wc) and a plurality of branch lines (Wd, We) branched from the trunk line (Wc),

[0038] wherein the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness are combined and bound at the position of the branch portion (Wx) from the trunk line (Wc) to the branch line (Wd, We),

[0039] wherein each terminal (Way, Wby, Wcy, Wdy, Wey) of the first wiring harness (W1) and the second wiring harness (W2) extends from the position of the branch portion (Wx),

[0040] wherein the first wire harness (W1) and the second wire harness (W2) are in a state in which external components are removed within a combined range of the first wire harness (W1) and the second wire harness (W2), and

[0041] In which, the first wiring harness (W1) extends across the vicinity of the base end of one branch line (Wd) among multiple branch lines (Wd, We) of the second wiring harness (W2) at a position near the branch portion (Wx), and is bound together with the base end of another branch line (We) near the branch portion (Wx) by a binding material (Tp) in a juxtaposed state.

[0042] [2] A method for manufacturing an electric wire harness (W), the electric wire harness comprising a first wire harness (W1) and a second wire harness (W2) having a trunk line (Wc) and a plurality of branch lines (Wd, We) branching from the trunk line (Wc), the method comprising:

[0043] combining and binding the first wire harness and the second wire harness at the position of the branch portion (Wx) from the trunk line (Wc) to the branch line (Wd, We),

[0044] Each terminal (Way, Wby, Wcy, Wdy, Wey) of the first wiring harness (W1) and the second wiring harness (W2) is extended from the position of the branch portion (Wx),

[0045] removing outer parts of the first wire harness (W1) and the second wire harness (W2) within the combined range of the first wire harness (W1) and the second wire harness (W2);

[0046] routing a second wiring harness (W2) on the fixture plate, and routing the first wiring harness (W1) on the second wiring harness (W2);

[0047] While extending the first wire harness (W1) across the vicinity of the base end of one branch wire (Wd) among a plurality of branch wires (Wd, We) of the second wire harness (W2), the first wire harness (W1) is pushed into the branch portion (Wx) of the second wire harness (W2) and the first wire harness (W1) is juxtaposed with the vicinity of the base end of the other branch wire (We);

[0048] In this state, in the vicinity of the branch portion (Wx), the first wire harness (W1) and the vicinity of the base end of the other branch wire (We) are bound together by the binding material (Tp).

[0049] [3] A wiring structure of an electric wire harness (W), the wiring structure comprising a first wire harness (W1) and a second wire harness (W2) having a trunk line (Wc) and a plurality of branch lines (Wd, We) branching from the trunk line (Wc), in a narrow space formed by electric components mounted on a vehicle,

[0050] The electric wire harness (W) has a shape in which, by combining and binding the first wire harness (W1) and the second wire harness (W2) at the position of the branch part (Wx) from the trunk line (Wc) to the branch line (Wd, We), the respective terminals (Way, Wby, Wcy, Wdy, Wey) of the first wire harness (W1) and the second wire harness (W2) extend from the position of the branch part (Wx),

[0051] wherein the first wire harness (W1) and the second wire harness (W2) are in a state in which an external component is removed within a combined range of the first wire harness (W1) and the second wire harness (W2),

[0052] wherein the first wire harness (W1) extends across the vicinity of the base end of one branch wire (Wd) among a plurality of branch wires (Wd, We) of the second wire harness (W2) at a position near the branch portion (Wx), and is bound together with the vicinity of the base end of another branch wire (We) in a juxtaposed state by a binding material (Tp) near the branch portion (Wx), and

[0053] Among them, the wire harness (W) is wired in the narrow space.

[0054] [4] The wiring structure of the electric wire harness (W) according to [3],

[0055] Among them, the electrical component is a battery pack,

[0056] wherein a wire harness (W) is connected between the battery module and the voltage measuring device so as to monitor the state of each of the plurality of battery cells of the battery module constituting the battery pack, and

[0057] Among them, the terminals (Wdy, Wey) of the branch line (Wd, We) of the second wiring harness (W2) and the terminal (Wby) of the first wiring harness (W1) on the side where the terminal (Wby) of the first wiring harness and the branch line (We) of the second wiring harness (W2) are bound are connected to a bus bar module, which connects multiple battery cells of the battery module that constitutes the battery pack.

[0058] According to the electric wire harness having the construction of [1] described above, the first wire harness extends across the vicinity of the base end of one branch line of the second wire harness having a branch portion, and is bound together with the vicinity of the base end of the other branch line in a juxtaposed state by a binding material near the branch portion. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the overlapping height of the wire harness from reaching the total thickness (minimum value) of one branch line of the first wire harness and the second wire harness, and as a result, the electric wire harness can be routed without any difficulty in a narrow space (bottom surface space) on the bottom surface of the battery pack. In addition, since the first wire harness is bundled with the binding material near the base end of the other branch line of the second wire harness, the level difference of the overlapping portion of the first wire harness and the second wire harness does not drift over time, and a stable form can be maintained.

[0059] According to a method for manufacturing an electric wire harness having the structure of [2] described above, a first wire harness is juxtaposed near a branch portion with a base end of another branch line while extending across a branch line of a second wire harness having a branch portion, and in this state, the first wire harness is bound together with a base end of another branch line of the second wire harness near the branch portion by a binding material. Therefore, an electric wire harness can be manufactured in which the overlapping height of the wire harness is prevented from reaching the total thickness (minimum value) of one branch line of the first wire harness and the second wire harness. In addition, since the first wire harness is bundled near the base end of another branch line of the second wire harness, the level difference of the overlapping portion of the first wire harness and the second wire harness does not drift over time, and an electric wire harness having a stable form can be obtained. As a result, the manufactured electric wire harness can be wired in a narrow space (bottom surface space) on the bottom surface of the battery pack without any difficulty. Furthermore, at the time of manufacturing, since the second harness is first routed on the jig plate and then the first harness is routed on the second harness, even when the first harness is harder and less likely to be bent than the branch wire of the second harness, the first harness can be pushed toward the branch portion (near the proximal end of the branch wire) of the second harness that is first routed without being forcibly bent and lifted. Therefore, since unreasonable operations can be reduced, an effect of making it difficult for the operator to easily produce precision changes and difficult to provide unnecessary level differences can be obtained.

[0060] According to the wiring structure of the electric wire harness having the construction of the above [3], since the first wire harness extends across the vicinity of the base end of a branch line of the second wire harness having a branch portion, and is bound together with the vicinity of the base end of another branch line in a juxtaposed state near the branch portion, the overlapping height of the wire harness is prevented from reaching the total thickness (minimum value) of one branch line of the first wire harness and the second wire harness. Therefore, the electric wire harness can be wired without any difficulty in a narrow space, such as a narrow space on the bottom surface of a battery pack. In addition, since the first wire harness is bundled near the base end of another branch line of the second wire harness, the level difference of the overlapping portion of the first wire harness and the second wire harness will not drift over time due to the influence of vehicle vibration, etc., and a stable form can be maintained.

[0061] According to the wiring structure of the electric wire harness having the configuration of the above [4], the terminal of the branch line of the second wire harness and the terminal of the first wire harness on the side where the terminal of the first wire harness and the branch line of the second wire harness are bundled are connected to a bus bar module that connects a plurality of battery cells of a battery module constituting a battery pack. Therefore, a system for monitoring the state of each battery cell via the electric wire harness can be easily constructed.

[0062] According to the present invention, since the height of the overlapping portion of two wiring harnesses to be combined can be minimized, wiring can be performed without any difficulty in a narrow space (bottom surface space) of the bottom surface of the battery pack.

Claims

1. An electric wire harness, comprising: First Harness; and a second wiring harness having a trunk line and a plurality of branch lines branching from the trunk line, wherein the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness are combined and bound at a position of a branch portion from the trunk line to the branch line, wherein each terminal of the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness extends from the position of the branch portion, wherein, within the combined range of the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness, outer parts of the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness are removed, and The first wire harness extends across the vicinity of a base end of one of the plurality of branch wires of the second wire harness at a position close to the branch portion, and is bound together with the vicinity of a base end of another branch wire near the branch portion by a binding material in a juxtaposed state.

2. A method for manufacturing an electric wire harness, the electric wire harness having a first wire harness and a second wire harness, the second wire harness having a trunk line and a plurality of branch lines branching from the trunk line, the method comprising: combining and binding the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness at a position of a branch portion from the trunk line to the branch line; causing each terminal of the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness to extend from a position of the branch portion; removing outer components of the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness within the combined range of the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness; routing the second wiring harness on a fixture plate, and routing the first wiring harness on the second wiring harness; while extending the first wire harness across the vicinity of the base end of one of the plurality of branch wires of the second wire harness, pushing the first wire harness into the branch portion of the second wire harness and juxtaposing the first wire harness with the vicinity of the base end of another branch wire; Subsequently, in the vicinity of the branch portion, the first wire harness and the vicinity of the base end of the other branch wire are bound together by a binding material.

3. A wiring structure of an electric wire harness, the wiring structure being in a narrow space formed by electric components mounted on a vehicle, the electric wire harness comprising a first wire harness and a second wire harness, the second wire harness having a trunk line and a plurality of branch lines branching from the trunk line, in, The electric wire harness has a shape in which each terminal of the first wire harness and the second wire harness extends from the position of the branch portion by combining and binding the first wire harness and the second wire harness at the position of the branch portion from the trunk line to the branch line, wherein the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness are in a state where components inside and outside the combination range of the first wiring harness and the second wiring harness are removed, wherein the first wire harness extends across the vicinity of the base end of one of the plurality of branch wires of the second wire harness at a position near the branch portion, and is bound together with the vicinity of the base end of another branch wire near the branch portion in a juxtaposed state by a binding material, and Wherein, the wire harness is routed in the narrow space.

4. The wiring harness structure of the electric wires according to claim 3, in, The electrical component is a battery pack, wherein the wiring harness is connected between a battery module and a voltage measuring device so as to monitor the state of each of a plurality of battery cells of the battery module constituting the battery pack, and Wherein, each terminal of the branch line of the second wiring harness and the terminal of the first wiring harness on the side where the terminal of the first wiring harness and the branch line of the second wiring harness are bound are connected to a bus bar module, and the bus bar module connects the multiple battery cells of the battery module constituting the battery pack.

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