Variable shift device for a wiring harness

Abstract

Variable shift device for a wiring harness The invention relates to a variable shift device (1) for changing the trajectory of a wiring harness (24) in a specific environment, said device (1) comprising: - an elongated body (2) one end of which is composed of a clip (6) consisting of two parallel arms (7, 8) intended to be placed on both sides of an external wall (14) of said environment, and - an elongated sliding part (3) having one end provided with means (20, 21, 25) for attaching the wiring harness (24), the sliding part (3) being inserted into the body (2) such that said attachment means (20, 21, 25) are outside said body (2) and said sliding part (3) being adapted to be moved along the body (2) and inside it to vary the distance between the clip (6) and the attachment means (20, 21, 25), and - locking means (17,23) allowing the sliding part (3) to be fixed inside the body (2) in a given position. Figure for the abstract: Figure 1,

Description

Title of the invention: Variable shift device for a wiring harness

[0001] The present invention relates to a variable shift device for a wiring harness.

[0002] In a vehicle, it may appear that some wiring harnesses naturally extend in a direction that is not satisfactory. Indeed, this is the case for example when said wiring harnesses extend between two solid parts and present a high risk of damage. It then becomes advantageous to divert these wiring harnesses or to make them follow a path that would prevent them from suffering any damage.

[0003] Currently, there are wiring harness variable shift devices for performing these types of functions, such as the one disclosed in publication JP2007185053. As can be seen, these variable shift devices have a rather complex operating mechanism, a relatively large volume, and a weight that has not been completely optimized.

[0004] A variable shift device according to the invention enables a wiring device to have an appropriate trajectory, while overcoming the disadvantages encountered in the prior art.

[0005] The subject matter of the invention is a variable shift device for modifying the trajectory of a wiring harness in a specific environment.

[0006] According to the invention, the variable shift device comprises: - an elongated body, one end of which is composed of a clip consisting of two parallel arms intended to be placed on each side of an element of said environment, and - an elongated sliding part having one end provided with means for attaching the wiring harness, the sliding part being inserted into the body so that said attachment means are outside said body and said sliding part being able to be moved along the body and inside it to vary the distance between the clip and the attachment means, and - locking means for fixing the sliding part inside the body in a given position.

[0007] The principle of a variable shift device according to the invention is to have a simple clip to easily and quickly fix said variable shift device to an external wall located in the environment of the wiring harness. Indeed, this clip is composed of two parallel arms intended to be placed on each side of this external wall, without the need for specific tools and complicated manipulations. For To obtain a stabilized position of the variable shift device on the external wall, the clip must be inserted on said external wall with a certain force, to be able to slightly separate the two arms of the clip. Advantageously, the variable shift device is made mainly of plastic. The variable shift device has a length between the end of the clip and the fastening means that can be manually adjusted, depending on the desired distance between the external wall and the wiring harness. The fastening means allowing the wiring harness to be fixed to the variable shift device can be composed for example of a clamping device, a fastening strip or anything else. The fastening means should be quick to use, without any tools or complicated manipulations.The locking means, which preferably result from an interaction between certain parts of the sliding part and certain parts of the elongated body, have the function of locking the sliding part inside the elongated body when a suitable position of said sliding part inside the elongated body has been found. Advantageously, the wiring harness is a wiring harness of an automobile, and the outer wall is constituted by any walls which are in the vicinity of the interior wiring harness of the automobile.

[0008] According to a possible feature of the invention, the elongated body and the elongated sliding part are arranged relative to each other so that their longitudinal axes are parallel. In this way, the variable shifting device according to the invention is compact since it extends only in one direction and is thus relatively thin. It can be easily placed in narrow spaces which are difficult to access.

[0009] According to a possible characteristic of the invention, the two parallel arms constituting the clip extend parallel to a longitudinal axis of the elongated body and tend to increase the length of said elongated body. For this configuration, the variable shift device is thin since it extends mainly in only one direction.

[0010] According to a possible feature of the invention, the two arms of the clip have elastic deformation properties such that they can be momentarily deformed to adapt to the thickness of the outer wall. In other words, the two parallel arms of the clip can be temporarily deformed from their relaxed positions by elastic deformation, to be placed on both sides of the outer wall. After said two parallel arms have been correctly placed around the outer wall, they tend to return to their initial relaxed positions by embracing said outer wall. In this way, the two arms of the clip ensure a solid anchoring of the variable shift device on said outer wall.

[0011] According to a possible feature of the invention, each arm of the clip terminates with an internal folded edge such that said clip can be used as a clamping device to tightly anchor the variable shift device to the external wall. The two internal folded edges terminating the clip act as two jaws to retain the variable shift device against the external wall of the environment.

[0012] According to a possible feature of the invention, the two arms of the clip are reinforced with a metal sheet to allow the device to have good mechanical strength. It is important that the two arms of the clip do not flex too much or break over time, since the variable shift device would no longer be effective and would have to be changed.

[0013] According to a possible characteristic of the invention, the locking means comprises a series of notches aligned on the elongated sliding part and an elastically deformable finger fixed to the elongated body and cooperating by default with a notch to fix the elongated sliding part in a given position along said elongated body, said finger being capable of being momentarily deformed so as to no longer cooperate with a notch to release the elongated sliding part so that said elongated sliding part can move along the elongated body. For such a configuration, the finger is by default against a notch of the sliding part and prevents said sliding part from moving along the elongated body. This finger can be moved at any time by means of manual pressure on it, causing its elastic deformation. After this finger has been moved, the sliding part is free to move along the elongated body.If manual pressure on the finger is interrupted, said finger tends to return to its released position corresponding to contact with the notch opposite it. The notches may consist of grooves or ribs. Preferably, the elongated body has an opening which allows the interaction between the finger and the notches to be seen.

[0014] According to a possible characteristic of the invention, the notches are aligned along a central longitudinal axis of the sliding part and consist of parallelepipedal ribs emerging from said elongated sliding part, the elastically deformable finger having one end configured to abut by default against a rib.

[0015] According to a possible feature of the invention, the attachment means of the sliding part comprise an enlarged head having a support surface and at least two different holes in communication within said enlarged head, said attachment means comprising a fixing strip passing through the at least two holes and surrounding the wiring harness which is in contact with the support surface. In this way, the attachment means advantageously comprises a fixing strip passing around the wiring harness and through a portion of the enlarged head. This fixing strip is used to hold the wiring harness against the sliding part, after said wiring harness has been placed against the supporting surface of the enlarged head.

[0016] According to a possible feature of the invention, the attachment means are configured to allow the wiring harness to extend perpendicular to the variable shift device when attached to said variable shift device by virtue of being in contact with the support surface of the enlarged head.

[0017] Another object of the invention is a vehicle comprising a wall and at least one wiring harness passing in the vicinity of said wall.

[0018] According to the invention, the vehicle comprises at least one variable shift device whose clip tightly grips the wall, the wiring harness being attached to the sliding part of the variable shift device, the length of the variable shift device being adjusted to place the wiring harness in a suitable position, the variable shift device acting as a spacer between the wall and the wiring harness.

[0019] A variable shift device according to the invention has the advantage of being simple in design, and of being effective while being lightweight. In addition, it has the advantage of not being bulky, since it extends mainly in only one direction, and is thus in the form of a thin part. As a result, such a variable shift device can be installed in narrow spaces that are difficult to access, such as those which may be found in an automobile.

[0020] We present below a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of a variable shift device according to the invention with reference to the following drawings:

[0021] [Fig.l] is a perspective view of a variable shift device according to the invention,

[0022] [Fig.2] is a perspective view of a sliding part of a variable shift device according to the invention,

[0023] [Fig.3] is a front view of the sliding part of [Fig.2],

[0024] [Fig.4] is a perspective view of a fixing strip of an offset device variable according to the invention,

[0025] [Fig.5] is a perspective view of an elongated body of a variable shift device according to the invention,

[0026] [Fig.6] is a front view of the elongated body of [Fig.2],

[0027] [Fig.7] is a perspective view of an automobile area illustrating a device for variable offset according to the invention,

[0028] [Fig.8] [Fig.8] is a perspective and schematic view of an interaction between a wiring harness and a variable shift device according to the invention.

[0029] The detailed description is made assuming that a variable shift device according to the invention is particularly suitable for maintaining a wiring harness of an automobile in a given position, said variable shift device being anchored on a wall of said automobile located in the vicinity of said wiring harness.

[0030] With reference to [Fig.l], a variable shift device 1 according to the invention comprises: - an elongated body 2, - an elongated sliding part 3 capable of moving along the body 2, - locking means 4 making it possible to fix the sliding part 3 inside the elongated body 2 in a given position.

[0031] With reference to figures 1, 5, 6, the elongated body 2 is composed of an elongated parallelepiped box 5 and a clip 6 consisting of two parallel arms 7, 8. These arms 7, 8 are substantially flat and have a small thickness. Each arm 7, 8 comprises a first end which is in contact with the elongated box 5 and a second end which is free. These two arms 7, 8 are arranged in the variable shift device 1 according to the invention, such that their longitudinal axes are parallel to a longitudinal axis of the elongated box 5, said arms 7, 8 having a tendency to increase the length of said elongated box 5. The second free end of these arms 7, 8 represents the parts of said arms 7, 8 which are furthest from the elongated box 5. Each of these second ends is represented by an edge 9, 10 which is folded towards the inside of the clip 6.In this way, the two folded edges 9, 10 of the two arms 7, 8 of the clip 6 are opposite each other. The two arms 7, 8 of the clip 6 are reinforced by a metal sheet to ensure good mechanical resistance of the variable shift device 1 against an external wall 14 on which the variable shift device is intended to be fixed. These two arms 7, 8 have elastic deformation properties and can thus be momentarily deformed to adapt to the thickness of the wall 14 on which they are intended to be fixed. This clip 6 acts as a clamping device to firmly hold the variable shift device 1 according to the invention against said wall 14.

[0032] With reference to [Fig.l], the elongated box 5 is hollow and is schematically delimited by four side walls, by a rear wall and a front wall, these six walls delimiting an internal free space of the elongated box 5. The rear wall separates the clip 6 and the elongated box 5, the front wall being parallel to the rear wall and being open. The rear wall and the front wall are aligned along a longitudinal axis of the elongated box 5. Among the four side walls, two walls are parallel and have a small surface area, and two other walls are parallel and have a larger surface area. One of the side walls having a large surface area has an opening 15 allowing access to the internal free space of said elongated box 5. This opening 15 is preferably rectangular in shape and extends along the elongated box 5. This opening 15 is crossed by a thin wall 16 separating said opening 15 into two parts, one being of large size and the other being of reduced size. This thin wall 16 is placed on the periphery of the elongated box 5, such that it delimits the internal free space of the elongated box 5 without separating said internal free space into two distinct parts. In this way, the internal free space is continuous inside the elongated box 5. An elongated finger 17 is fixed to a central area of the thin wall 16 so as to emerge into the internal free space of the elongated box 5. This elongated finger 17 is arranged in the elongated box 5 such that its longitudinal axis is parallel to a longitudinal axis of said elongated box 5.This finger 17 is elastically deformable such that manual pressure exerted on one of its ends, considered along a longitudinal axis of said finger 17, can lead to a slight rotation of the latter on the thin wall 16.

[0033] With reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, the sliding part 3 is an elongated part which is flat and has a small thickness. This sliding part 3 is essentially delimited by two main surfaces 19 which are parallel to each other. One of the two ends of the sliding part 3, considered along a longitudinal axis of said sliding part 3, has an enlarged parallelepiped head 20 delimited by a support surface 21 which is advantageously square in shape. This support surface 21 is flat and extends parallel to the two main surfaces 19 of the sliding part 19. The enlarged head 20 is hollow and delimits an internal free space. The support surface 21 has a central opening 22 which is in communication with the internal free space of the enlarged head 20. The enlarged head 20 has at least two holes which are in communication with each other.One of the two main surfaces 19 of the sliding part 3 comprises a series of ribs 23 which are aligned along a longitudinal axis of said main surface 19. Each rib 23 is elongated and has a parallelepiped shape, the ribs 23 being arranged on the main surface 19 so that their longitudinal axes are parallel to each other and are perpendicular to the axis along which said ribs 23 are aligned. The ribs 23 and the enlarged head 20 emerge from the same main surface 19 of the sliding part 3.

[0034] With reference to [Fig. 1], the sliding part 3 is inserted into the elongated body 2 by the front wall and is oriented in the internal free space of said elongated body 2 in such a way that: - the main surface 19 supporting the ribs 23 is opposite the elongated finger 17, so that said finger 17 can interact with said ribs 23, - the enlarged head 20 of the sliding part 3 is placed outside the internal free space of the elongated body 2, because it is too large to be able to penetrate inside said internal free space.

[0035] By default, one end of the elongated finger 17 abuts against a rib 23 of the sliding part 3, which prevents said sliding part 3 from being moved inside the elongated body 2 and along it. Manual pressure exerted on the appropriate end of the elongated finger 17 generates a slight rotation of said finger 17 which is no longer in contact with any rib 23. The sliding part 3 can then be moved along the elongated body 2. When the position of the sliding part 3 relative to the elongated body 2 is deemed satisfactory, the manual pressure on the elongated finger 17 is interrupted, said finger 17 tending to return to a natural position by further interaction with a rib 23 to fix the sliding part 3 inside the elongated body 2 in the appropriate position.

[0036] With reference to Figures 4, 6 and 7, the wiring harness 24 is in contact with the support surface 21 of the enlarged head 20 of the sliding part 3 and is anchored on said enlarged head 20 by means of a fixing strip 25. Indeed, the fixing strip 25 passes through the holes of the enlarged head 20 surrounding the wiring harness 24, so that said wiring harness 24 extends perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the sliding part 3.

[0037] A method for carrying out the deflection of a wiring harness 24 using a variable shifting device 1 according to the invention comprises the following steps not necessarily carried out in the sense in which they are presented below: - a step of fixing the variable shifting device 1 to the desired wall 14 located in the vicinity of the wiring harness 24, said step being carried out by placing the two arms 7, 8 of the clip 6 on both sides of said wall 14.Depending on the thickness of the wall 14, said two arms 7, 8 can be more or less deformed, - a step of attaching the wiring harness 24 to the enlarged head 20 of the sliding part 3 by means of the fixing strip 25, after placing said wiring harness 24 in the desired position against the support surface 21 of said enlarged head 20, - a step of adjusting the length of the variable shifting device 1 by exerting manual pressure on the elongated finger 17 of the elongated box 5, to release the sliding part 3. The position of the sliding part 3 in the elongated box 5 can then be manually adjusted to obtain the appropriate deflection of the wiring harness 24.Once said appropriate position has been found, the pressure on the elongated finger 17 is interrupted to allow said finger 17 to abut against the corresponding rib 23 and thus lock the position of the sliding part 3 inside the elongated box 5.

Claims

Claims

1. A variable shift device (1) for changing the trajectory of a wiring harness (24) in a specific environment, characterized in that it comprises: - an elongated body (2) one end of which is composed of a clip (6) consisting of two parallel arms (7, 8) intended to be placed on both sides of an external wall (14) of said environment, and - an elongated sliding part (3) having one end provided with means (20, 21, 25) for attaching the wiring harness (24), the sliding part (3) being inserted into the body (2) such that said attachment means (20, 21, 25) are outside said body (2) and said sliding part (3) being adapted to be moved along and inside the body (2) to vary the distance between the clip (6) and the attachment means (20, 21, 25), and - locking means (17, 23) for fixing the sliding part (3) inside the body (2) in a given position.

2. Variable shift device according to claim 1, characterized in that the elongated body (2) and the elongated sliding part (3) are arranged relative to each other so that their longitudinal axes are parallel.

3. Variable shift device according to any of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the two parallel arms (7, 8) constituting the clip (6) extend parallel to a longitudinal axis of the elongated body (2) and tend to increase the length of said elongated body (2).

4. A variable shifting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the two arms (7, 8) of the clip (6) have elastic deformation properties such that they can be momentarily deformed to adapt to the thickness of the external wall (14).

5. Variable shift device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each arm (7, 8) of the clip (6) ends with a folded edge (9, 10) such that said clip (6) can be used as a clamping device to tightly anchor the variable shift device (1) to the outer wall (14).

6. Variable shift device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the two arms (7, 9) of the clip (6) are reinforced with a metal sheet to allow the device (1) to have good mechanical resistance.

7. A variable shift device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the locking means comprises a series of notches (23) aligned on the elongate sliding part (3) and an elastically deformable finger (17) fixed to the elongate body (2) and cooperates by default with a notch (23) to fix the elongate sliding part (3) in a given position along said elongate body (2), and in that said finger (17) is capable of being momentarily deformed so as to no longer cooperate with a notch (23) to release the elongate sliding part (3) so that said elongate part can move along the elongate body (2).

8. Variable shift device according to claim 7, characterized in that the notches (23) are aligned along a central longitudinal axis of the sliding part (3) and consist of parallelepipedal ribs (23) emerging from said elongated sliding part (3), and in that the elastically deformable finger (17) has one end configured to abut by default against a rib (23).

9. A variable shift device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the attachment means of the sliding part (3) correspond to an enlarged head (20) having a support surface (21) and at least two different holes in communication inside said enlarged head (20), and in that said attachment means comprise a fixing strip (25) passing through the at least two holes and surrounding the wiring harness (24) which is in contact with the support surface (21).

10. A variable shift device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the attachment means (20, 21, 25) are configured to allow the wiring harness (24) to extend perpendicular to the variable shift device (1) when attached to said variable shift device (1) by being in contact with the support surface (21) of the enlarged head (20).

11. A vehicle comprising a wall (14) and at least one wiring harness (24) passing adjacent to said wall (14), characterized in that it comprises at least one variable shift device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, the clip (6) of which tightly grips the wall (14) and in that the wiring harness (24) is attached to the sliding part (3) of the variable shift device (1), the length of the variable shift device (1) being adjusted to place the wiring harness (24) in a suitable position to prevent it from being damaged, the variable shift device (1) acting as a spacer between the wall (14) and the wiring harness (24).

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