Insulated wire and wire harness

Abstract

Provided are an insulated wire and a wire harness including the insulated wire, in which when an insulated wire having a flat portion having a flat cross-section is assembled in parallel together with another wire in the width direction of the flat shape, it is not necessary to apply a sharp bend to the insulated wire, and it is not necessary to secure an excessive length. As a result, the spacing between adjacent wires can be narrowed and the wires can be gathered. An insulated wire (1) has a conductor (11) formed by twisting a plurality of wire rods, and an insulating coating (13) covering the outer periphery of the conductor (11), and has a flat portion (2) and a low flat portion (3) along the axial direction (x) by mutually connecting the wire rods and the insulating coating (13) constituting the conductor (11). The position of the center of gravity (31) of the cross-section of the low flat section (3) is shifted in a first direction (D1) along the width direction (y) of the flat shape of the flat section (2) with respect to the position of the center of gravity (21) of the cross-section of the flat section (2).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an insulated electric wire and a wire harness. BACKGROUND

[0002] In an insulated electric wire, a configuration in which a flat portion and a low flat portion are provided along an axial direction has been proposed. The outer shape of a conductor in a cross section is in a flat shape in the flat portion, and is in a shape in which the flatness is lower than that of the flat portion in the low flat portion, which is typically a substantially circular shape. Such an insulated electric wire having a flat portion and a low flat portion has been disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2. In Patent Literature 1, the low flat portion is formed by deforming a raw material flat wire in which the entire body is composed of a flat shape, while in Patent Literature 2, the flat portion is formed by crushing an electric wire in a cross-sectional circular shape or the like, and there are differences in the detailed structure of the insulated electric wire such as the shape distribution of the conductor wire at the flat portion and the low flat portion, due to the difference in the manufacturing method. PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS PATENT LITERATURE

[0003] Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-156581 Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-77499 SUMMARY PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0004] The insulated electric wire having a flat portion and a low flat portion disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2 can utilize the shape and characteristics of each of the flat portion and the low flat portion, and use each portion for a suitable use. For example, the flat portion has high space saving in the height direction of the flat shape, and has high bending flexibility, and thus can be appropriately used for bending and routing the insulated electric wire along a predetermined path. On the other hand, the low flat portion can be appropriately used for bundling a plurality of insulated electric wires, by utilizing the cross-sectional shape having a low flatness such as a circular shape. For example, when a plurality of insulated electric wires are connected to a common connector and bundled together, the low flat portion can be provided at a portion where the plurality of insulated electric wires need to be bundled, such as a connector connection portion, a bundling portion, or the like. By bundling the plurality of insulated electric wires side by side in the low flat portion, the width of the bundled portion, the width of the connector used, and the width of the bundling portion can be suppressed to be small, as compared to a case where the plurality of insulated electric wires are bundled side by side in the width direction in the flat portion.

[0005] However, when a plurality of insulated electric wires having a flat portion and a low flat portion are arranged side by side in the width direction, even if the insulated electric wires are bundled at the portion of the low flat portion, the interval of the insulated electric wires is also affected by the width of the flat portion, and thus there is a limit to reducing the arrangement interval of the low flat portions. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when a plurality of insulated electric wires 1 are arranged side by side in the width direction, the interval of the insulated electric wires 1 is affected by the width of the flat portion 2, and thus there is a limit to reducing the arrangement interval of the low flat portions 3. Figure 5As shown in FIG. 1A , in the insulated wire 9 disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the center of gravity position 21 of the flat portion 2 and the center of gravity position 31 of the low flat portion 3 are aligned on a straight line. When a plurality of insulated wires 9 are arranged in parallel in the width direction, if the low flat portion 3 is not bent but is assembled by connection with a connector 51, etc., the low flat portion 3 is formed. Figure 5 As shown in B, between adjacent insulated wires 9, the pitch p at the low flat portion 3 is equal to the pitch at the flat portion 2, and cannot be made smaller than the width w of the flat portion 2. In this case, the width of the portion where the low flat portion 3 is gathered, such as the width of the connector 51, will become a larger dimension determined by the width of the flat portion 2. On the other hand, Figure 5 As shown in C, if the low flat parts 3 are to be assembled at a pitch narrower than this, that is, at a pitch p narrower than the width w of the flat part 2, the low flat parts 3 need to be bent in the width direction ( Figure 5 (Indicated by arrows in C). In this case, due to this bending, the conductors that make up the insulated wires 9 in the low flat portion 3 may suffer bending fatigue. In addition, the bending reaction force of the insulated wires 9 after bending will place excessive pressure on the connector 51 and other components that hold the assembled low flat portion 3 together, sometimes causing damage to these components. For example, when the connector 51 is equipped with a waterproof component, if the waterproof component is damaged, the waterproof performance of the connector 51 will be reduced. On the other hand, in order to reduce the impact of the bending of these low flat portions 3, it is also possible to consider forming the bend more gently. However, in this case, since the low flat portion 3 is bent along a longer path, it is necessary to ensure that the low flat portion 3 is long, which will increase the total amount of insulated wires 9 required for wiring.

[0006] In view of the above situation, an object is to provide an insulated wire and a wiring harness including such an insulated wire, which can narrow the gap between adjacent wires and gather them together without applying sharp bends to the insulated wires or ensuring excessive length when the insulated wires having a flat portion with a flat cross-section are gathered together with other wires in parallel along the width direction of the flat shape. Means for solving problems

[0007] The insulated wire disclosed herein is an insulated wire comprising a conductor formed by twisting a plurality of wires and an insulating coating covering the outer circumference of the conductor. The wires and insulating coating constituting the conductor are continuous with one another and have a flat portion and a low-flat portion along the axial direction. A cross-section of the insulated wire perpendicular to the axial direction has a flat shape that is longer in the width direction at the flat portion and has a shape that is less flat than the flat portion at the low-flat portion. The position of the center of gravity of the cross-section at the low-flat portion is offset in a first direction along the width direction of the flat shape relative to the position of the center of gravity of the cross-section at the flat portion.

[0008] The wire harness of the present disclosure has a plurality of electric wires including the insulated electric wire, the low flat portion of the insulated electric wire being adjacent to other electric wires in the first direction. Inventive Effects

[0009] The insulated electric wire of the present disclosure is an insulated electric wire that, when the insulated electric wire having a flat portion with a cross section in a flat shape is collected in parallel with other electric wires along the width direction of the flat shape, can narrow the interval from the adjacent electric wires and collect them without applying a sharp bend to the insulated electric wire or securing an excessively long length. The wire harness of the present disclosure is a wire harness including such an insulated electric wire. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 In the present disclosure, Figure 1 A to 1C are schematic diagrams showing the insulated electric wire according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1 A is a perspective view. Figure 1 B is a view showing a flat portion corresponding to Figure 1 A-A section in A, a cross-sectional view of the flat portion, Figure 1 C is a view showing a low flat portion corresponding to Figure 1 B-B section in A, a cross-sectional view of the low flat portion. In each of the drawings, the wire constituting the conductor is omitted. Figure 2 In the present disclosure, Figure 2 A is a plan view showing the insulated electric wire of Figure 1 . Figure 2 B to 2D are plan views showing the insulated electric wire according to the modification. Figure 3 In the present disclosure, Figure 3 A, 3B are plan views schematically showing the joint of the electric wire and the connector with respect to the wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Examples in which the electric wire constituting the wire harness is two and three, respectively, are shown. Figure 4 In the present disclosure, Figure 4 A, 4B are plan views schematically showing the joint of the electric wire and the connector with respect to the wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Both show examples in which the electric wire constituting the wire harness is four, but the types of the electric wires used are different. Figure 5 In the present disclosure, Figure 5 A is a plan view showing the center-of-gravity-unshifted insulated electric wire. Figure 5 B, 5C show a wire harness using only Figure 5 the center-of-gravity-unshifted insulated electric wire of A, Figure 5 B shows a case in which the inter-electrode distance is set wide, Figure 5 C shows a case in which the inter-electrode distance is set narrow.

[0011] [Explanation of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] First, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The insulated electric wire and wire harness of the present disclosure have the following configuration.

[0012] [1] An insulated electric wire of the present disclosure is an insulated electric wire having a conductor composed of a plurality of wire members twisted together and an insulating covering covering the outer periphery of the conductor, and each of the wire members constituting the conductor and the insulating covering are continuous with each other and have a flat portion and a low flat portion in the axial direction, a cross section of the insulated electric wire orthogonal to the axial direction has a flat shape longer in the width direction at the flat portion, and has a shape with a lower degree of flatness than the flat portion at the low flat portion, and the position of the center of gravity of the cross section at the low flat portion is offset in a first direction along the width direction of the flat shape with respect to the position of the center of gravity of the cross section at the flat portion.

[0013] In the above-described insulated electric wire, the center of gravity of the low flat portion is offset in the first direction along the width direction of the flat shape of the flat portion with respect to the center of gravity of the flat portion. When the insulated electric wire is arranged side by side with other electric wires in the width direction of the flat shape, if it is arranged so that the first direction faces the side of the electric wire arranged adjacent thereto, the low flat portion can be brought close to the adjacent electric wire by using the offset of the center of gravity described above. Here, as the other electric wire, it can be an insulated electric wire related to the embodiment of the present disclosure in which the center of gravity of the low flat portion is offset with respect to the center of gravity of the flat portion, or it can be another kind of electric wire, but especially when a plurality of insulated electric wires related to the embodiment of the present disclosure are arranged side by side, the distance between the centers of gravity of the low flat portions can be made smaller than the distance between the centers of gravity of the flat portions, and it can also be made smaller than the width of the flat portion. In this way, by using the offset of the center of gravity of the low flat portion in the insulated electric wire related to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the interval from the adjacent electric wire is narrowed, and a plurality of electric wires are arranged side by side and collected, and thus even if the low flat portion is not subjected to sharp bending, the length of the low flat portion is not excessively ensured to avoid such bending, and a plurality of electric wires can be collected at a narrower interval, connected to a connector, and bundled based on a bundling member. As a result, the width of the portion of the plurality of electric wires collected by the connector or the bundling member can be suppressed to be smaller.

[0014] [2] In the manner described in [1] above, the insulation electric wire can have the low flat portion at the end portion. When such insulation electric wires are arranged side by side in the width direction of the flat shape of the flat portion, particularly when a plurality of such insulation electric wires are arranged side by side, the width occupied by the collection of electric wires at the end portion can be suppressed to be small. For example, if a connector is mounted at the end portion, even if the low flat portion is not subjected to sharp bending, the length of the low flat portion is not excessively ensured, and a connector with a small width size can be mounted. Further, when a terminal or a connector is connected to the low flat portion at the end portion, since the low flat portion has a cross-sectional shape with a low degree of flatness, a terminal or a connector for a round electric wire and a mounting tool of the related art can be used.

[0015] [3] In the manner described in [1] or [2] above, the insulation electric wire can have a transition portion between the flat portion and the low flat portion, and an outer edge of the transition portion on the outer side in the width direction can have an angle with respect to the axial direction at least in the second direction, which is the direction opposite to the first direction. In this case, the angle formed by the outer edge of the transition portion with respect to the axial direction can be used to easily form the shift of the position of the center of gravity between the flat portion and the low flat portion. In addition, by selecting the angles formed by the outer edge with respect to the axial direction in the second direction and the first direction, the positional relationship between the low flat portion and the flat portion can be variously set as represented by the manners described in [4] to [6] below.

[0016] [4] In the manner described in [3] above, the outer edge of the transition portion can be inclined with respect to the axial direction at least in the second direction. In this case, the position of the center of gravity is gradually shifted between the flat portion and the low flat portion by the inclination, and thus the load applied to the conductor and the insulation covering can be suppressed to be small, and the shift of the position of the center of gravity is formed between the flat portion and the low flat portion.

[0017] [5] In the manner described in [4] above, the outer edge of the transition portion can be inclined with respect to the axial direction in both the first direction and the second direction, and the inclination in the first direction can be smaller than the inclination in the second direction. In this case, the difference in the inclination at the outer edges on both sides of the transition portion can be used to easily form the shift of the position of the center of gravity between the flat portion and the low flat portion.

[0018] In the above-described aspect [3], the outer edge of the transition portion can extend in the first direction along the axial direction and have an angle with respect to the axial direction in the second direction. In this case, the shift between the center of gravity of the flat portion and the center of gravity of the low flat portion can be made large. Thus, in the low flat portion, the distance from an adjacent electric wire can be easily narrowed. At this time, if the outer edge in the second direction is inclined, the load applied to the conductor and the insulating covering can be suppressed to be small, and the shift between the center of gravity of the flat portion and the center of gravity of the low flat portion can be made large. On the other hand, if the outer edge in the second direction is not substantially inclined, but the angle of the outer edge in the second direction with respect to the axial direction is a right angle or an angle close thereto, the length of the transition portion can be suppressed to be small, and the shift between the center of gravity of the flat portion and the center of gravity of the low flat portion can be made large. Thus, the flat portion extends to the vicinity of the low flat portion, and by securing the flat portion to be long, the flat portion can be effectively utilized in the insulating electric wire in terms of space saving, bending flexibility, and the like.

[0019] In the above-described aspect [3], the outer edge of the transition portion can extend in the first direction along the axial direction and have an angle with respect to the axial direction in the second direction. In this case, the shift between the center of gravity of the flat portion and the center of gravity of the low flat portion can be made large. Thus, in the low flat portion, the distance from an adjacent electric wire can be easily narrowed. At this time, if the outer edge in the second direction is inclined, the load applied to the conductor and the insulating covering can be suppressed to be small, and the shift between the center of gravity of the flat portion and the center of gravity of the low flat portion can be made large. On the other hand, if the outer edge in the second direction is not substantially inclined, but the angle of the outer edge in the second direction with respect to the axial direction is a right angle or an angle close thereto, the length of the transition portion can be suppressed to be small, and the shift between the center of gravity of the flat portion and the center of gravity of the low flat portion can be made large. Thus, the flat portion extends to the vicinity of the low flat portion, and by securing the flat portion to be long, the flat portion can be effectively utilized in the insulating electric wire in terms of space saving, bending flexibility, and the like.

[0020] In the above-described aspect [3], the outer edge of the transition portion can extend in the first direction along the axial direction and have an angle with respect to the axial direction in the second direction. In this case, the shift between the center of gravity of the flat portion and the center of gravity of the low flat portion can be made large. Thus, in the low flat portion, the distance from an adjacent electric wire can be easily narrowed. At this time, if the outer edge in the second direction is inclined, the load applied to the conductor and the insulating covering can be suppressed to be small, and the shift between the center of gravity of the flat portion and the center of gravity of the low flat portion can be made large. On the other hand, if the outer edge in the second direction is not substantially inclined, but the angle of the outer edge in the second direction with respect to the axial direction is a right angle or an angle close thereto, the length of the transition portion can be suppressed to be small, and the shift between the center of gravity of the flat portion and the center of gravity of the low flat portion can be made large. Thus, the flat portion extends to the vicinity of the low flat portion, and by securing the flat portion to be long, the flat portion can be effectively utilized in the insulating electric wire in terms of space saving, bending flexibility, and the like.

[0021] The wire harness of the present disclosure has a plurality of electric wires including the insulating electric wire described in any one of aspects [1] to [8], and the low flat portion of the insulating electric wire is adjacent to another electric wire in the first direction. Here, the other electric wire can be the insulating electric wire described in any one of aspects [1] to [8], or can be another kind of electric wire.

[0022] The wire harness described above includes the insulated electric wire according to the embodiment of the present disclosure in which the centers of gravity of the flat portion and the low flat portion are offset, and the low flat portion is positioned close to the electric wire adjacent in the first direction. Therefore, the distance between the centers of gravity of the low flat portion and the adjacent electric wire is smaller than the distance between the centers of gravity at the flat portion. In this way, in the electric wire group in which the low flat portion is positioned close to the adjacent electric wire to reduce the distance between the electric wires, if the low flat portion and the equivalent portion thereof are connected to the common connector or bundled together to be collected, even if the low flat portion is not subjected to sharp bending, the length of the low flat portion is not excessively ensured to avoid the sharp bending, and the wire harness in which the width of the collected portion is suppressed to be small can be formed.

[0023]

[10] In the method described in [9] above, it can be that the insulated electric wire has the low flat portion at the end portion, and at the low flat portion, the insulated electric wire and the other electric wire are connected to the common connector. In this way, the distance between the adjacent electric wires at the end portion can be suppressed to be small, and therefore, even if the connector with a small pitch between electrodes is used, the low flat portion is not subjected to sharp bending, and the length of the low flat portion is not ensured to be excessively long, and the connector can be installed at the end of the electric wire group.

[0024]

[11] In the method described in [9] or

[10] above, it can be that the wire harness includes at least two insulated electric wires, and the two insulated electric wires are arranged side by side along the width direction of the flat shape in such a manner that the outer edges of the respective first directions face each other directly or with other electric wires interposed therebetween. In this way, the low flat portions of the two insulated electric wires are arranged close to each other, and therefore, the width of the area occupied by the electric wire group at the portion equivalent to the low flat portion is suppressed to be small, and thus a high effect is obtained. This effect is particularly significant when the electric wires constituting the wire harness are only two insulated electric wires according to the embodiment of the present disclosure in which the centers of gravity are offset between the flat portion and the low flat portion, but even in the case where other electric wires such as an electric wire in which the flat portion and the low flat portion are formed without the center of gravity being offset are interposed between the two insulated electric wires, the effect can be enjoyed.

[0025] In the manner described in

[11] above, it can be that the wire harness includes two of the adjacent insulated electric wires, and the distance between the centers of gravity of the low flat portions is smaller than the width of the flat portion. In this case, the effect of suppressing the width of the portion where the low flat portions are collected to be small is particularly significant by providing the offset of the centers of gravity between the low flat portions and the flat portion. For example, when the low flat portion is formed at the end portion of the insulated electric wire and the end portion is connected to the connector, it is possible to make the pitch between the poles of the connector smaller than the width of the flat portion. In this case, if the offset of the centers of gravity between the low flat portions and the flat portion is not provided, in order to connect the low flat portions to the connector, it is necessary to provide that the low flat portions are sharply bent, the low flat portions are formed to be long and gently bent, but by providing the offset of the centers of gravity, the connection of the low flat portions to the connector can be performed without these measures.

[0026] [Details of the embodiments of the present disclosure] Hereinafter, the insulated electric wire and the wire harness related to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail using the drawings. In this specification, regarding the shape and the arrangement of each portion of the insulated electric wire, the concept of indicating the shape and the arrangement of the members such as straight, parallel, and perpendicular is assumed to include a deviation of about ±15% in length and about ±15° in angle or the like within a range allowed for such an insulated electric wire and a wire harness, and an error from the geometric concept. In this specification, the cross section of the insulated electric wire is assumed to indicate a cross section obtained by cutting perpendicularly to the axial direction (lengthwise direction) unless otherwise specified.

[0027] <Configuration of the insulated electric wire> Figure 1 An insulated electric wire 1 related to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in a perspective view in A. Furthermore, Figure 1 B and 1C each show a plan view of the insulated electric wire 1. Figure 1 A-A line and B-B line in A. In addition, Figure 2 A shows a plan view of the insulated electric wire 1.

[0028] The insulated electric wire 1 related to the present embodiment has a conductor 11 and an insulating cover 13. The conductor 11 is configured as a stranded wire obtained by twisting a plurality of wire members (not shown). The insulating cover 13 covers the outer periphery of the conductor 11 entirely. The insulated electric wire 1 has a flat portion 2 and a low flat portion 3 along the axial direction (x direction). The flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3 are continuous integrally along the axial direction of the insulated electric wire 1. That is, between the flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3, the respective wire members configuring the conductor 11 are continuous integrally with each other. In addition, between the flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3, the insulating cover 13 covering the conductor 11 is also continuous integrally with each other.

[0029] At the flat portion 2, the cross section of the insulated wire 1 is in a flat shape. Here, the cross section being in a flat shape means that the length of the longest straight line among straight lines that pass through the cross section in parallel to the sides or the diameter that constitute the cross section and that range over the entire cross section, that is, the width w, is greater than the length of a straight line that is orthogonal to the straight line and that ranges over the entire cross section, that is, the height h. The cross section of the flat portion 2 can be constituted by any specific shape as long as it is in a flat shape, but in the present embodiment, the cross section of the flat portion 2 has a shape that can be approximated to a rectangular shape. As a flat shape other than a rectangular shape, for example, an elliptical shape, an oblong shape, a Japanese gold coin shape (a shape in which circular arcs are joined at both ends of a rectangular shape), and the like can be cited. From the viewpoint of improving space saving, improving continuity with the low flat portion 3, and the like, the aspect ratio w / h at the flat portion 2 can be set to, for example, 2 or more and 6 or less. At the flat portion 2, not only the outer shape of the entire cross section but also the outer shape of the conductor 11 is in a flat shape. Hereinafter, in the entire region of the insulated wire 1 including the low flat portion 3, the directions corresponding to the width and the height of the flat shape of the flat portion 2 are referred to as the width direction (y direction) and the height direction (z direction), respectively. Figure 2 A plan view of the insulated wire 1 is a plan view of the insulated wire 1 observed from the height direction (+z direction) and indicates the state of the insulated wire 1 with a plane (xy plane) that contains the axis direction and the width direction.

[0030] The low flat portion 3 has a cross section with a lower degree of flatness than the flat portion 2. Here, a lower degree of flatness means that the aspect ratio (assuming the width of the cross section of the low flat portion 3 is w' and the height is h', the aspect ratio is w' / h') is smaller, and indicates that the degree of flatness of the cross-sectional shape is lower. The specific shape of the low flat portion 3 is not particularly limited, and in addition to shapes that are approximately square, circular, hexagonal, or other shapes that have no anisotropy or a low degree of anisotropy, shapes that are approximately rectangular, elliptical, oblong, or other shapes with an aspect ratio smaller than that of the flat portion 2 can be exemplified. The lower the degree of flatness of the low flat portion 3, the better, and a shape with a cross section that is approximately circular or square with an aspect ratio w' / h' of 1 is particularly preferable. Furthermore, a shape with a cross section that is approximately circular is most preferable. However, if the aspect ratio w' / h' at the low flat portion 3 is set to be, for example, 2 or less, the effects of forming the low flat portion 3 described later can be sufficiently obtained. Furthermore, the aspect ratio w' / h' at the low flat portion 3 can be set to be approximately 20% or more and 70% or less relative to the aspect ratio w / h at the flat portion 2. In the low flat portion 3, not only the overall shape of the cross section but also the shape of the conductor 11 has a lower degree of flatness than the flat portion 2. In addition, in the low flat portion 3, the width direction dimension w' is preferably not less than the height direction dimension h' (w' / h' can be set to be 1 or more). That is, the low flat portion 3 is preferably not a long cross-sectional shape. However, there is no particular limitation to the low flat portion 3 being a long cross-sectional shape, and in this case, the aspect ratio h' / w' at the low flat portion 3 is preferably smaller than the aspect ratio w / h at the flat portion 2. Furthermore, the aspect ratio h' / w' at the low flat portion 3 can be set to be 2 or less, similarly to the aspect ratio w' / h' at the low flat portion 3 when the shape is long. Furthermore, the aspect ratio h' / w' at the low flat portion 3 can be set to be approximately 20% or more and 70% or less relative to the aspect ratio w / h at the flat portion 2.

[0031] In the insulated electric wire 1 according to the present embodiment, the position of the center of gravity 31 of the cross section at the low flat portion 3 is offset from the position of the center of gravity 21 of the cross section at the flat portion 2. Specifically, taking one direction along the width direction (the -y direction in the illustrated example) as the eccentric direction (first direction) D1, the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 is offset from the position of the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2 in the eccentric direction D1. Here, the positions of the centers of gravity 21, 31 of the flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3 refer to the positions of the centers of gravity in the cross-sectional shape as a figure, without considering the mass of the constituent material. Figure 2 In the plan view of A, the centers of gravity 21, 31 are each represented by a straight line connecting the centers of gravity in the cross sections at the respective positions along the axis direction.

[0032] A transition portion 4 is provided between the flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3. In the transition portion 4, the position of the center of gravity of the cross section changes between the center of gravity position 21 at the flat portion 2 and the center of gravity position 31 at the low flat portion 3. Therefore, in the transition portion 4, the degree of flatness of the cross section changes between the flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3.Figure 2 The outer edge of the transition portion 4 on the outer side in the width direction has an angle with respect to the axial direction of the insulated electric wire 1 in the xy plane indicated by A. In the insulated electric wire 1 according to the present embodiment, there is a shift between the outer edge of the low flat portion 3 and the outer edge of the flat portion 2 in both the eccentric direction D1 and the reverse eccentric direction (second direction) D2 which is the direction opposite to the eccentric direction D1, and the outer edge of the transition portion 4 has an inclination with respect to the axial direction on both sides of the eccentric direction D1 and the reverse eccentric direction D2. The inclination of the outer edge of the transition portion 4 is in the direction in which the low flat portion 3 side (front end side) on both sides in the width direction is directed toward the inner side in the width direction, but the degree of the inclination is not the same on both sides. Specifically, the inclination of the outer edge of the transition portion 4 is smaller in the eccentric direction D1 than in the reverse eccentric direction D2, and the outer edge in the eccentric direction D1 extends in the direction closer to the axial direction than the outer edge in the reverse eccentric direction D2. In other words, when the angle formed between the outer edge of the transition portion 4 and the outer edge of the low flat portion 3 along the axial direction is assumed, there is a difference between the angle θ1 at the eccentric direction D1 and the angle θ2 at the reverse eccentric direction D2, and the angle θ1 at the eccentric direction D1 is larger. In the illustrated configuration, the angles θ1, θ2 are obtuse angles, and 90° < θ2 < θ1 < 180° is satisfied. In this way, if a configuration in which the transition portion 4 is provided as a region having a length along the axial direction and the position of the center of gravity is slowly changed in the transition portion 4 is adopted, excessive load is not applied to the conductor 11 and the insulating coating 13 constituting the insulated electric wire 1, and it is possible to provide a shift between the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2 and the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3.

[0033] The shift amount L of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 with respect to the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2, that is, the distance between the two centers of gravity 21, 31 along the width direction is not particularly limited, but in the present embodiment, the shift amount L is smaller than the width w of the flat portion 2. Also, the shift amount L of the center of gravity 31 is suppressed to a length in which the entire region in the width direction of the low flat portion 3 is within the width w of the flat portion 2, and the outer edge of the low flat portion 3 is located at the inner side in the width direction than the outer edge of the flat portion 2 on both sides of the eccentric direction D1 and the reverse eccentric direction D2. The lower limit of the shift amount L of the center of gravity 31 is not particularly specified, but from the viewpoint of sufficiently obtaining the effect of providing a shift in the center of gravity between the flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3 described later, it is preferable to set the shift amount L of the center of gravity 31 to 1% or more, and further 3% or more with respect to the width w of the flat portion 2. On the other hand, the shift amount L of the center of gravity 31 can be 100% or less with respect to the width w of the flat portion 2, but from the viewpoint of suppressing the load on the conductor 11 and the insulating coating 13 to be small, it is preferable to control it to be 25% or less.

[0034] The insulated electric wire 1 according to the present embodiment has the flat portion 2 with a flat cross-sectional shape, and thus has high space saving in the height direction. In addition, the flat portion 2 has high flexibility in the height direction. With these high space saving and flexibility, the flat portion 2 can be appropriately used for wiring to a narrow space, wiring in a state close to other members, and wiring to a predetermined path. On the other hand, the low flat portion 3 has a cross-sectional shape with low flatness, and becomes a cross-sectional shape similar to a conventional round electric wire. Thus, as an external member such as a terminal, a connector, or the like mounted to the insulated electric wire 1, a member for a conventional round electric wire can be used without preparing a special-shaped member adapted to the flat shape. A tool for mounting such a member can also be a tool for a round electric wire. In addition, in a case where a plurality of electric wires are collected in parallel when connecting the plurality of electric wires to a common connector or the like, if the electric wires are flat electric wires without the low flat portion 3, the collection of the plurality of flat electric wires after being laid in parallel in the width direction occupies a large width. However, by forming the insulated electric wire 1 with the low flat portion 3 and collecting the plurality of electric wires at the low flat portion 3, the width of the collection of the electric wires can be reduced by the fact that the low flat portion 3 has a smaller width than the flat portion 2. As described in the wire harness section below, since the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 is offset from the position of the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2, when the insulated electric wire 1 is collected with other electric wires at the low flat portion 3 to a narrow-width region, it is possible to avoid the necessity of applying a sharp bend to the low flat portion 3 and the necessity of making the low flat portion 3 too long. The flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3 each have the above-described characteristics and coexist, and thus the insulated electric wire 1 according to the present embodiment is suitable for use in an application where the space in which the electric wire can be laid, such as in a car interior, is limited and a plurality of electric wires need to be collected.

[0035] The location and number of low flat portions 3 along the axial direction of the insulated wire 1 are not particularly limited; they can be provided at locations where multiple wires need to be brought together for connection to a connector, bundling, or the like. Suitable configurations include providing low flat portions 3 on at least one or both sides of the flat portion 2 along the axial direction of the insulated wire 1. For example, a low flat portion 3 can be provided at one or both ends of the insulated wire 1, with the remaining area serving as the flat portion 2. In other words, when low flat portions 3 are provided at both ends of the insulated wire 1, the area sandwiched between these low flat portions 3 serves as the flat portion 2. In this case, as described in detail in the wiring harness section, when a common connector is connected to the ends of multiple wires, the low flat portion 3 can be appropriately used for connection to the connector. On the other hand, the flat portion 2 can be appropriately used for processing in areas such as midway during wiring of the insulated wire 1. As another embodiment, a low flat portion 3 may be provided midway along the axial direction of the insulated wire 1. This embodiment can be suitably used when bundling a plurality of wires arranged in parallel in the width direction at the midway portion using a bundling member such as tape or a sleeve.

[0036] When a flat portion 2 is provided with low flat portions 3 on both sides of the axial direction, the direction in which the center of gravity 31 of each of the two low flat portions 3 is offset relative to the central flat portion 2, i.e., the eccentricity direction D1, can be the same or opposite between the two low flat portions 3. Furthermore, when a flat portion 2 is provided on both sides of a low flat portion 3 in the axial direction, the direction in which the center of gravity 31 of the central low flat portion 3 is offset relative to each of the two flat portions 2 can be the same or opposite between the two flat portions 2. However, in either case, from the perspective of minimizing the overall width of the insulated wire 1 and minimizing the width of the collection area when the insulated wire 1 is assembled with other wires at the low flat portion 3, it is preferable that the direction in which the center of gravity 31 is offset is the same. Furthermore, when a plurality of flat portions 2 and / or low flat portions 3 are provided on the insulated wire 1, the specific cross-sectional shape, aspect ratio, and direction of flattening can be the same or different between the plurality of flat portions 2 and the plurality of low flat portions 3.

[0037] In the insulated electric wire 1 according to the present embodiment, the material, the wire diameter, and the conductor cross-sectional area of the wire that constitutes the conductor 11 are not particularly limited. As the material of the conductor 11, copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, or the like can be exemplified. In terms of the conductor cross-sectional area, it is preferable to make the conductor cross-sectional area large to some extent from the viewpoint of improving the effects of the space saving and the bending flexibility due to the provision of the flat portion 2 and the effects due to the provision of the low flat portion 3 in which the center of gravity 31 is offset. For example, the conductor cross-sectional area is preferably 10 mm2or more, and further preferably 30 mm2or more. As the outer diameter of the wire that constitutes the conductor 11, a range of 0.3 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less can be exemplified.

[0038] <Method for manufacturing an insulated electric wire> The insulated electric wire 1 according to the present embodiment, which integrally has the flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3, can be manufactured from a raw material flat wire in which the conductor 11 is deformed into a flat shape, like the one described in Patent Document 1. The raw material flat wire can be manufactured by compressing a conductor 11 in which a plurality of wires are stranded into a cross-sectional circular shape into a flat shape, and covering the outer periphery of the flat conductor 11 with an insulating cover 13. Further, in a region in the raw material flat wire along the axial direction, which specifically should be a region of the low flat portion 3, a force is applied from the outside in the width direction to the inside, from the outside in a direction that is the opposite eccentric direction D2, to deform the conductor 11. By this application of force, the dimension in the width direction of the conductor 11 is reduced, and the flatness of the conductor 11 is reduced, and thus the low flat portion 3 can be formed. At this time, by setting the force applied from the outside in the direction that is the opposite eccentric direction D2 to be greater than the force applied from the outside in the direction that is the eccentric direction D1, using a mold or the like, the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 formed can be offset in the eccentric direction D1 with respect to the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2.

[0039] Alternatively, the insulated electric wire 1 can also be manufactured from a raw material round wire in which an insulating cover 13 is formed on the outer periphery of a conductor 11 in which a plurality of wires are stranded into a cross-sectional circular shape, like the one described in Patent Document 2. In this case, in a region in the raw material round wire along the axial direction, which specifically should be a region of the flat portion 2, a force is applied from the outside in the direction that is the height direction of the flat shape to the inside, to deform the conductor 11. By this application of force, the dimension in the height direction of the conductor 11 is reduced, and the flatness of the conductor 11 is increased, and thus the flat portion 2 can be formed. At this time, if the flat portion 2 is formed so as to be offset in the eccentric direction D1 by applying a force in the direction that is the height direction of the flat shape and also applying a force in the direction that is the width direction, using a mold or the like, in the obtained insulated electric wire 1, it is possible to form a state in which the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 is offset in the eccentric direction D1 with respect to the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2.

[0040] Thus, the insulated electric wire 1 according to the present embodiment can be formed from a raw flat electric wire or a raw round electric wire, but is preferably formed from a raw flat electric wire. The reason for this is that, when a low flat portion 3 is formed in a predetermined portion of the raw flat electric wire, by adjusting the force applied and the like, it is easy to form the shift of the center of gravity 31 of the formed low flat portion 3 in such a manner as to have a desired direction and a desired shift amount L. Further, the reason for this is that it is possible to suppress the load applied to the conductor 11 and the insulating covering 13 due to the change in cross-sectional shape to be small. In particular, when the low flat portion 3 is provided only in a part of the end portion of the insulated electric wire 1, or the like, or when the insulated electric wire 1 in which the area occupied by the low flat portion 3 is shorter than the area occupied by the flat portion 2 is manufactured, it is possible to appropriately adopt a method in which a raw flat electric wire is used.

[0041] <Insulated electric wire according to modified examples> The insulated electric wire according to the present disclosure is not limited to the configuration of the insulated electric wire 1 described in detail above, as long as it has a flat portion 2 and a low flat portion 3, and the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 is shifted in the eccentric direction D1 along the width direction of the flat shape with respect to the position of the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2. Hereinafter, main modified examples will be briefly described, and the structures common to the above-described insulated electric wire 1 will be omitted.

[0042] In the insulated electric wire 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the outer edge of the transition portion 4 has an inclination with respect to the axial direction in both the eccentric direction D1 and the counter-eccentric direction D2, but if the outer edge on the width direction outer side of the transition portion 4 has an angle with respect to the axial direction of the insulated electric wire at least in the counter-eccentric direction D2, the configuration of the transition portion 4 is not limited to the above-described configuration. For example, it can be configured such that, as shown in Figure 2 B and Figure 2 C, the outer edge of the transition portion 4 has an angle θ2 with respect to the axial direction in the counter-eccentric direction D2, and extends linearly along the axial direction in the eccentric direction D1 in a manner having substantially no angle. In this case, the outer edge on the eccentric direction D1 side of the insulated electric wire 1A, 1B becomes a state in which it extends along the axial direction at the same width direction position as the outer edge of the flat portion 2 at the low flat portion 4, and thus, compared to a case in which the outer edge on the eccentric direction D1 side of the low flat portion 3 is disposed on the width direction inner side of the outer edge of the flat portion 2 as in the insulated electric wire 1 of Figure 2 A, it is possible to increase the shift amount L of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 with respect to the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2. In this way, it is possible to obtain a greater effect due to the shift of the center of gravity 31 described later.

[0043] As the configuration in which the outer edge of the transition portion 4 in the eccentric direction D1 extends along the axial direction in this way, depending on the state of the outer edge in the counter-eccentric direction D2, it is possible to form Figure 2 the insulated electric wire 1A of B and the insulated electric wire 1C of C.Figure 2 C has two forms of insulated wire 1B. Figure 2 In the insulated wire 1A of B, the outer edge of the transition portion 4 on the opposite eccentricity direction D2 side extends obliquely with respect to the axial direction. In other words, in the opposite eccentricity direction D2, the angle θ2 formed between the outer edge of the transition portion 4 and the outer edge of the low flat portion 3 along the axial direction is an obtuse angle. In this case, Figure 2 Similarly, in the insulated wire 1 of A, the position of the center of gravity gradually changes at the transition portion 4. Therefore, without applying excessive load to the conductor 11 and the insulating coating 13 constituting the insulated wire 1A, the offset L of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 relative to the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2 can be ensured to be large.

[0044] On the other hand, Figure 2 In the insulated wire 1B of C, the outer edge of the transition portion 4 in the direction opposite to the eccentricity D2 forms a right angle or a nearly right angle with the axial direction. Specifically, in the direction opposite to the eccentricity D2, the angle θ2 formed between the outer edge of the transition portion 4 and the outer edge of the low flat portion 3 along the axial direction is 90° or approximately thereto (approximately 90°±10°). In this case, the length of the transition portion 4 along the axial direction of the insulated wire 1B is zero or a short length close to zero, allowing the low flat portion 3 and the flat portion 2 to be arranged close together. This allows the flat portion 2 to be made longer within the insulated wire 1B of a predetermined length, effectively utilizing the characteristics of the flat portion 2, such as space saving in the height direction and flexibility, for the wiring of the insulated wire 1B.

[0045] In the above-mentioned Figure 2 In the insulated wires 1, 1A, 1B of A, 2B, 2C, the entire area of ​​the low flat portion 3 in the width direction is within the range of the width w of the flat portion 2. That is, the outer edges on both sides of the low flat portion 3 in the width direction are not arranged outside the outer edges of the flat portion 2, and the entire area of ​​the transition portion 4 in the width direction is also within the range of the width w of the flat portion 2. By configuring in this way, the load applied to the conductor 11 and the insulating coating 13 can be suppressed to a small level, and the positions of the centers of gravity 21 and 31 can be offset between the flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3. In addition, the width dimension of the entire insulated wire can be suppressed to a small level. On the other hand, if Figure 2As with the insulated electric wire 1C shown in FIG. D, at least a part of the low flat portion 3 in the width direction can be offset in the eccentric direction D1 beyond the width w of the flat portion 2. In the illustrated configuration, a part of the low flat portion 3 on the eccentric direction D1 side in the width direction is offset in the eccentric direction D1 beyond the width w of the flat portion 2, and the outer edge of the low flat portion 3 on both the eccentric direction D1 side and the counter eccentric direction D2 side is offset toward the eccentric direction D1 side than the outer edge of the flat portion 2. The outer edge of the transition portion 4 on both sides in the width direction on the low flat portion 3 side (the front end side) is inclined toward the eccentric direction D1, and a part of the transition portion 4 in the width direction is also offset in the eccentric direction D1 beyond the width w of the flat portion 2. In this case, as with the insulated electric wire 1A shown in FIG. B, the inclination of the outer edge of the transition portion 4 is small on the eccentric direction D1 side compared with the counter eccentric direction D2. Figure 4 As with the insulated electric wire 1A shown in FIG. B, the insulated electric wire 1C shown in FIG. D also has a small inclination of the outer edge of the transition portion 4 on the eccentric direction D1 side compared with the counter eccentric direction D2.

[0046] In the insulated electric wire 1C, the offset amount L of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 with respect to the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2 is large, and thus the insulated electric wire 1C can be used to configure, for example, the wire harnesses shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 described later and the effects brought about by the offset of the center of gravity 31. Figure 2 As with the insulated electric wire 1A shown in FIG. B, the insulated electric wire 1C shown in FIG. D also has a small inclination of the outer edge of the transition portion 4 on the eccentric direction D1 side compared with the counter eccentric direction D2. Figure 5 In the configuration shown in FIG. D, the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 is within the width w of the flat portion 2, but the insulated electric wire 1C can also be configured so as to further increase the offset amount L and offset the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 in the eccentric direction D1 beyond the width w of the flat portion 2. Also, the insulated electric wire 1C can be configured so that the outer edges on both the eccentric direction D1 side and the counter eccentric direction D2 side of the low flat portion 3 are arranged so as to be offset in the eccentric direction D1 beyond the outer edge of the flat portion 2 on the eccentric direction D1 side.

[0047] <Wire Harness> Next, a wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of electric wires including the insulated electric wire 1 (or the insulated electric wire 1A, 1B, or 1C) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure described above. In the wire harness, the insulated electric wire according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is arranged adjacent to other electric wires in the eccentric direction D1 of the low flat portion 3.

[0048] Here, the other electric wires may be the insulated electric wires having the flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3 with the center of gravity 31 offset relative to the flat portion 2 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, or other kinds of electric wires. However, the wiring harness preferably includes at least two kinds of insulated electric wires according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. In this case, the plurality of insulated electric wires according to the embodiment of the present disclosure included in the wiring harness may be of the same form as each other, or may be a mixture of a plurality of forms such as the insulated electric wires 1, 1A to 1C. In addition, the types of other kinds of electric wires that coexist with the insulated electric wires according to the embodiment of the present disclosure are not particularly limited, and any electric wires such as flat electric wires and round electric wires can be used, but it is possible to appropriately adopt the following types of electric wires: Figure 3 The insulated wire (non-offset wire) 9 shown in A has a flat portion 2 and a low flat portion 3 , but has no offset between the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 and the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2 .

[0049] Figure 5 In A, regarding a wiring harness 5 involved in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a simplified plan view shows the connection portion between an insulated wire 1B and a connector 51. The wiring harness 5 includes two insulated wires 1B involved in the disclosed embodiment, each having a low flat portion 3 at the end portion. The two insulated wires 1B are arranged side by side in the width direction with their outer edges in the eccentric direction D1 facing each other. Furthermore, the two insulated wires 1B are connected to a common connector 51 at the low flat portion 3, forming a wiring harness 5 with a multi-pole connector. In the actual wiring harness 5, the front end of each insulated wire 1B is connected to a terminal, and the front end portion of the insulated wire 1B connected to the terminal is housed in a connector housing, but the terminal is omitted in the figure, and the position where the insulated wire 1B is housed in the connector housing is indicated as the pole position 52.

[0050] Here, consider the following situation: Figure 5 As shown in Figure B, a wiring harness 95 is constructed using only offset-free wires 9, whose centers of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 and the centers of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2 are aligned. In this case, when two offset-free wires 9 are arranged side by side in the width direction, the distance between the centers of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 and the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2 are equal. When the flat portions 2 of the two offset-free wires 9 are placed in contact with each other, the distance between the centers of gravity 31 of the low flat portions 3 is equal to the width w of the flat portion 2, but cannot be reduced to less than the width w of the flat portion 2. Therefore, if the two offset-free wires 9 are connected to a common connector 51 without bending the low flat portion 3, the pole pitch p, or the distance between the pole positions 52 of adjacent offset-free wires 9, is equal to the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2 and cannot be reduced to less than the width w of the flat portion 2. Consequently, in a collection of two offset-free wires 9, the widthwise dimension of the connector 51 increases due to the width of the area occupied by the flat portion 2.

[0051] If Figure 3 If the inter-pole pitch p is narrower than the width w of the flat portion 2, as in the wiring harness 96 shown in Figure C, then a sharp bend (indicated by the arrow in the figure) must be applied to the low flat portion 3 to connect the non-skewed wires 9 to their respective pole positions 52. This bend places a significant load on the low flat portion 3. In particular, the conductors 11 that comprise the low flat portion 3 are susceptible to bending fatigue. Furthermore, the reaction force from the bending of the low flat portion 3 may place excessive loads on components of the connector 51, potentially damaging them. In particular, if the connector 51 includes waterproofing components, damage to these components will prevent adequate waterproofing. Alternatively, to avoid such sharp bending of the low flat portion 3, a longer, more gradual bend could be considered. However, this would increase the total amount of wires required for wiring, increasing the weight of the wiring harness 96.

[0052] In contrast, in Figure 5 In the wiring harness 5 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure shown in A, by using the insulated wire 1B according to the embodiment of the present disclosure in which the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 is offset relative to the position of the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the center of gravity offset wire), it is possible to avoid applying a sharp bend to the low flat portion 3 and forming the low flat portion 3 too long, and it is possible to suppress the width occupied by the assembly of the low flat portions 3 to be small, and accordingly suppress the width dimension of the connector 51 to be small. In the wiring harness 5 of this embodiment, a plurality of center of gravity offset wires 1B are arranged in parallel so that adjacent low flat portions 3 face each other in their respective eccentric directions D1. Therefore, in adjacent center of gravity offset wires 1B, the distance between the centers of gravity 31 of the low flat portions 3 is smaller than the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2. If the adjacent center of gravity offset wires 1B are arranged in parallel sufficiently close to each other, such as in contact with each other, the distance between the low flat portions 3 can also be made smaller than the width w of the flat portion 2. Therefore, when compared with Figure 5 Compared to the configuration using the non-offset wire 9 as in the wiring harness 95 of FIG. B, even if the widths w and w' of the flat portion 2 and the low flat portion 3 are the same as those of the non-offset wire 9, the distance between adjacent low flat portions 3 can be reduced. Accordingly, the pole pitch p in the connector 51 is also reduced. Moreover, even if the pole pitch p is reduced, the distance between adjacent low flat portions 3 can be reduced. Figure 5 Unlike the case of wire harness 96 of C, the offset wire 1B can be connected to each pole position 52 of connector 51 without applying a sharp bend to low flat portion 3 or ensuring a sufficient length of low flat portion 3. As long as the pole pitch p is at least equal to the width w' of low flat portion 3, low flat portion 3 can be connected to connector 51 without bending and maintaining a straight shape. Reducing the pole pitch p also allows the overall width dimension of connector 51 to be designed to be smaller.

[0053] Thus, by using the center-of-gravity offset wire 1B, the width of the assembly of the plurality of wires assembled at the low flat portion 3 can be reduced compared to the case of using the non-offset wire 9, and accordingly, the width dimension of the connector 51 can be reduced. In the connector 51, the pole pitch p can also be made smaller than the width w of the flat portion 2. If a group of wires consisting only of the non-offset wire 9 is connected to the connector 51 in which the pole pitch p is smaller than the width w of the flat portion 2, then, as described above for Figure 3 As described above with respect to the wiring harness 96 of FIG. C, it is necessary to apply a sharp bend to the low-flat portion 3 or to ensure a large length of the low-flat portion 3. However, by using the offset-center wire 1B, these measures are unnecessary, and connection to the connector 51 can be achieved. Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, the wiring harness 5 is constructed using the offset-center wire 1B, in which the outer edge of the transition portion 4 extends along the axial direction in the eccentric direction D1 and is perpendicular to the axial direction in the anti-eccentric direction D2, from the perspective of minimizing the interpole pitch p. However, the insulated wires 1 and 1A described above, as well as other types of offset-center wires, may also be used. However, when two insulated wires 1C (hereinafter referred to as "large offset wires") are arranged adjacent to each other, in which at least a portion of the widthwise area of ​​the low flat portion 3 exceeds the width w of the flat portion 2 and is offset in the eccentric direction D1, this may actually increase the width of the area occupied by the flat portion 2 after the arrangement. To avoid this problem, when the number of wires constituting the wiring harness is two, it is preferable to use insulated wires 1, 1A, and 1B in which the entire widthwise area of ​​the low flat portion 3 is within the width w of the flat portion 2.

[0054] In the embodiment described above, the wiring harness 5 includes only two offset wires as wires, and these two offset wires are arranged so that the outer edges of the low flat portion 3 in the eccentric direction D1 face each other. However, in wiring harnesses including any number of wires, the offset wires can be used to reduce the width of the connector 51 without requiring a sharp bend in the low flat portion 3 or ensuring an excessive length. When including three or more wires, the outer edges of the two offset wires in the eccentric direction D1 can also face each other, sandwiching another wire. In this case, the sandwiched wire can be an offset wire, a non-offset wire, or other type of wire.

[0055] Figure 4B shows an example of the wire harness 5A including three electric wires. Here, among the three electric wires arranged side by side in the width direction, two end portions are provided with the gravity center offset electric wires IB, and one non-offset electric wire 9 is arranged between the gravity center offset electric wires IB. The two gravity center offset electric wires IB have the outer edges of the respective eccentric directions Dl directed toward the inner side of the arrangement direction. In this arrangement, the distance between the gravity centers 31 of the low flat portions 3 of the respective gravity center offset electric wires IB and the gravity centers 31 of the low flat portions 3 of the non-offset electric wires 9 can be reduced compared with the distance between the gravity centers 31 when the three non-offset electric wires 9 are arranged side by side. Accordingly, the pitch p between the connectors 51 and the size in the width direction of the entire connector 51 can be reduced. If large offset electric wires IC are used as the gravity center offset electric wires arranged at the both ends in the width direction, the pitch p can be further reduced.

[0056] The number of the non-offset electric wires 9 arranged between the gravity center offset electric wires IB at the both ends can be further increased. In this case, the distance between the gravity centers 31 of the low flat portions 3 can be reduced at least between the gravity center offset electric wires IB at the both ends and the non-offset electric wires 9 adjacent thereto compared with the distance between the gravity centers 31 when the non-offset electric wires 9 are arranged side by side. As an example, Figure 4 A shows a wire harness 5B including four electric wires. Here, among the four electric wires arranged side by side in the width direction, two end portions are provided with the gravity center offset electric wires IB, and two non-offset electric wires 9 are arranged between the gravity center offset electric wires IB. In this case, the pitch pl between the gravity center offset electric wires IB at the both ends and the non-offset electric wires 9 adjacent thereto can be reduced compared with the case where the four non-offset electric wires 9 are arranged side by side, but the pitch p2 between the two non-offset electric wires 9 in the center is not changed. Accordingly, the size in the width direction of the entire connector 51 can be reduced.

[0057] When four or more electric wires are arranged side by side, if large offset electric wires IC are used, higher effects can be obtained in reducing the pitches pl, p2 and the size in the width direction of the entire connector 51. In this case, it is sufficient to arrange the large offset electric wires IC at least at the both ends in the width direction. In ​In the wire harness 5C shown in B, of the four electric wires, the large offset electric wire 1C is arranged as the two on the width direction sides, and the low center of gravity offset electric wire 1B, of which the entire region in the width direction of the low flat portion 3 is within the range of the width w of the flat portion 2, is arranged as the two in the middle. Either of the low center of gravity offset electric wires 1B, 1C has the outer edge on the eccentric direction D1 side arranged toward the inside in the parallel direction. In this case, compared to the case where the four non-offset electric wires 9 are arranged in parallel, it is possible to reduce both of the pole pitches p1, p2. If the offset amount L of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 in the two low center of gravity offset electric wires 1B, 1C is appropriately set, it is also possible to set the pole pitches p1, p2 to be equal pitches. When the number of electric wires is more than four, as long as it is configured so that, in addition to the low center of gravity offset electric wire 1B arranged in the center, a plurality of large offset electric wires 1C having different offset amounts L of the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 are prepared, and the larger the offset amount L of the large offset electric wire 1C, the more it is arranged on the outside in the parallel direction.

[0058] In the wire harness 5, 5A to 5C of each of the above-described modes, the following state is obtained: as the low center of gravity offset electric wire and the non-offset electric wire, an electric wire having a low flat portion 3 at the end portion is used, and a connector 51 is connected to the end portion, and the plurality of electric wires are collected at the low flat portion 3 by the connector 51. However, the wire harness of the present disclosure is not limited to this mode, and as long as it has a wire group composed of a plurality of electric wires including a low center of gravity offset electric wire, and in the wire group, the low center of gravity offset electric wire is adjacent to other electric wires in the eccentric direction D1 of the low flat portion 3, it is possible to use the fact that the center of gravity 31 of the low flat portion 3 in the low center of gravity offset electric wire is offset in the eccentric direction D1 to make the low flat portion 3 close to the adjacent electric wire. Furthermore, without applying a sharp bend to the low flat portion 3, without securing the low flat portion 3 to be excessively long in order to avoid such a sharp bend, it is possible to narrow the interval between the low flat portion 3 and the adjacent electric wire and collect the wire group. As a means of collecting the wire group including the low center of gravity offset electric wire, in addition to being connected to a common connector 51, for example, a mode in which the wire group is bundled together using a tape, a sleeve, or the like at a position corresponding to the low flat portion 3 of the low center of gravity offset electric wire can be cited. In this case, the low flat portion 3 can be provided at the end portion of the low center of gravity offset electric wire, or at an intermediate portion.

[0059] The embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. Explanation of Symbols

[0060] 1, 1A, 1B, 1C: Insulated electric wire (low center of gravity offset electric wire)

[0061] 11: Conductor

[0062] 13: Insulating covering

[0063] 2: flat portion

[0064] 21: center of gravity of flat portion

[0065] 3: low flat portion

[0066] 31: center of gravity of low flat portion

[0067] 4: transition portion

[0068] 5, 5A, 5B, 5C: wire harness

[0069] 51: connector

[0070] 52: pole position

[0071] 9: offset-free electric wire

[0072] 95, 96: wire harness

[0073] h: height of flat portion

[0074] h': height of low flat portion

[0075] p, p1, p2: pole pitch

[0076] w: width of flat portion

[0077] w': width of low flat portion

[0078] x: axial direction of insulated electric wire

[0079] y: width direction

[0080] z: height direction

[0081] D1: eccentric direction (first direction)

[0082] D2: counter-eccentric direction (second direction)

[0083] L: offset amount of center of gravity of low flat portion with respect to center of gravity of flat portion

[0084] θ1: angle of outer edge of transition portion in eccentric direction

[0085] θ2: angle of outer edge of transition portion in counter-eccentric direction

Claims

1. An insulated electric wire having: a conductor composed of a plurality of wires twisted together; and an insulating covering covering an outer circumference of the conductor, each of the wires constituting the conductor and the insulating covering being continuous with each other to have a flat portion and a low flat portion in an axial direction, a cross section of the insulated electric wire orthogonal to the axial direction has a flat shape in which a width direction is longer in the flat portion, and a shape in which a flatness is lower than that of the flat portion in the low flat portion, a position of a center of gravity of the cross section at the low flat portion is shifted in a first direction along the width direction of the flat shape with respect to a position of the center of gravity of the cross section at the flat portion.

2. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1, wherein the low flat portion is provided at a terminal portion.

3. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1, wherein the insulated electric wire has a transition portion between the flat portion and the low flat portion, an outer edge of the transition portion on an outer side in the width direction has an angle with respect to the axial direction at least in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

4. The insulated electric wire according to claim 3, wherein the outer edge of the transition portion is inclined with respect to the axial direction at least in the second direction.

5. The insulated electric wire according to claim 4, wherein the outer edge of the transition portion has an inclination with respect to the axial direction in both the first direction and the second direction, the inclination in the first direction is smaller than that in the second direction.

6. The insulated electric wire according to claim 3, wherein the outer edge of the transition portion extends along the axial direction in the first direction, and has an angle with respect to the axial direction in the second direction.

7. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1, wherein an entire region in the width direction of the low flat portion is within a width range of the flat portion.

8. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of a region in the width direction of the low flat portion is shifted in the first direction with respect to the flat portion beyond the width range of the flat portion.

9. A wire harness having a plurality of electric wires including the insulated electric wire according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the low flat portion of the insulated electric wire is adjacent to another electric wire in the first direction.

10. The wire harness according to claim 9, wherein the insulated electric wire has the low flat portion at a terminal portion, and the insulated electric wire and the other electric wire are connected to a common connector at the low flat portion.

11. The wire harness according to claim 9, wherein the wire harness includes at least two of the insulated electric wires, the two insulated electric wires are arranged side by side in the width direction of the flat shape in such a manner that outer edges in the respective first directions face each other directly or with another electric wire interposed therebetween.

12. The wire harness according to claim 11, wherein the wire harness includes two adjacent insulated electric wires, a distance between the centers of gravity of the low flat portions in the two insulated electric wires is smaller than a width of the flat portion. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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