Wiring structure of wire harness

Abstract

To provide a wiring structure of a wire harness capable of improving assemblability to a vehicle.SOLUTION: A wiring structure 1 of a wire harness includes: a flat type wiring material 10 having flexibility and extending along a vehicle width direction Y; and a pair of elastic members 20 extending along the flat type wiring material 10 and holding the flat type wiring material 10. The flat type wiring material 10 is fixed to a dash panel 120 partitioning an engine room 130 and the inside of a cabin of a vehicle 100 in a state of being sandwiched by the pair of elastic members 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wiring structure of a wire harness.

Background Art

[0002] As a technology related to the wiring structure of a conventional wire harness, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a wiring structure of a wire harness including a flexible flat wiring material, a protector that protects the flat wiring material, and a fixing member that fixes the protector to a mounting portion of a vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in the wiring structure of the wire harness described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above, for example, there is room for further improvement in terms of improving the assemblability to a vehicle.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a wiring structure of a wire harness capable of improving the assemblability to a vehicle.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above object, a wiring structure of a wire harness according to the present invention includes a flexible flat wiring material and a pair of elastic members that extend along the flat wiring material and hold the flat wiring material. The flat wiring material is fixed to a dash panel that partitions an engine room of a vehicle and a passenger compartment while being sandwiched between the pair of elastic members.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] In the wiring structure of the wire harness according to the present invention, a flat wiring material is sandwiched between a pair of elastic members, and these are fixed to the dashboard of the vehicle in an integrated state, whereby the flat wiring material constituting the wire harness can be assembled to the vehicle. As a result, the wiring structure of the wire harness has the effect of improving the assemblability to the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited by the following embodiments. In addition, the constituent elements in the following embodiments include those that can be replaced by those skilled in the art and are easy to replace, or those that are substantially the same. In this specification, ordinal numbers are used only for distinguishing parts, members, parts, positions, directions, etc., and do not indicate order or priority.

[0010] [Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle 100 to which a wiring structure 1 of a wire harness according to an embodiment is applied. The wiring structure 1 of the wire harness of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is applied to the vehicle 100 and is used for connecting between each device mounted on the vehicle 100 and for power supply and signal communication. The wiring structure 1 of the wire harness of the present embodiment is provided, for example, on a dash panel 120 of the vehicle 100. The dash panel 120 is a partition wall that separates the engine room 130 of the vehicle 100 from the interior of the vehicle (cabin) and constitutes a structural member (skeletal member) of the vehicle 100.

[0011] Here, in the present embodiment, the dash panel 120 includes, for example, a dash panel main body 125 made of metal and a vehicle body panel 110 made of resin. And, in the present embodiment, the dash panel main body 125 is integrally formed with a peripheral panel 115 or the like of the engine room 130. Thereby, the rigidity and strength of the dash panel 120 can be increased, and thus the vehicle body panel 110 can be constituted by a resin molded product. That is, in the present embodiment, the vehicle body panel 110 is constituted by a separate part from the dash panel main body 125. The vehicle body panel 110 is installed, for example, in a recess 121 formed in the dash panel main body 125 and constitutes a part of the dash panel 120 together with the dash panel main body 125.

[0012] In the following description, among the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction that intersect each other, the first direction is referred to as the "vehicle longitudinal direction X", the second direction is referred to as the "vehicle width direction Y", and the third direction is referred to as the "vehicle height direction Z". Here, the vehicle longitudinal direction X, the vehicle width direction Y, and the vehicle height direction Z are substantially orthogonal to each other. The vehicle longitudinal direction X typically corresponds to the entire length direction of the vehicle 100, the stacking direction of the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness, and the like. The vehicle width direction Y typically corresponds to the entire width direction of the vehicle 100, the longitudinal direction (extending direction) of the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness, and the like. The vehicle height direction Z typically corresponds to the vehicle height direction of the vehicle 100, the short-side direction of the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness, and the like. In addition, each direction used in the following description will be described as the direction in the state where the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness is assembled to the vehicle 100 unless otherwise specified.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a vehicle 100 to which the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness is applied. As shown in FIG. 2, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness of the present embodiment is installed, for example, inside an instrument panel 140 of the vehicle 100. The instrument panel 140 is an interior panel disposed in the front of the vehicle interior along the vehicle width direction Y so as to face the driver's seat and the passenger seat of the vehicle 100. Inside the instrument panel 140, an air-conditioning unit 150, a reinforcement 160 serving as a reinforcing member extending along the vehicle width direction Y, and the like are provided. Flanges are joined to both ends of the reinforcement 160, and one of the pair of flanges is fixed to the left side of the body of the vehicle 100, and the other is fixed to the right side of the body of the vehicle 100.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness of the present embodiment includes, for example, a flat wiring material 10, a pair of elastic members 20, and a groove portion 111 formed in the resin-made body panel 110 of the dash panel 120 described above. The flat wiring material 10 and the pair of elastic members 20 are disposed, for example, in a space S between the air-conditioning unit 150 in the instrument panel 140 and the body panel 110.

[0015] The groove portion 111 is a recess formed in the vehicle body panel 110 described above and extends along the vehicle width direction Y. The groove portion 111 is recessed from the inner surface of the vehicle body panel 110 toward the front side in the vehicle longitudinal direction X and is open toward the rear side in the vehicle longitudinal direction X. The groove portion 111 has, for example, a shape along the outer diameter shape of the flat cable member 10 and functions as an alignment portion when the flat cable member 10 is attached. The groove portion 111 extends integrally along the vehicle width direction Y so as to span between, for example, the first ECU 40A (see FIG. 1) of the control device 40 provided at one end portion in the vehicle width direction Y and the second ECU 40E of the control device 40 provided at the other end portion in the vehicle width direction Y.

[0016] Connectors 11 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) are provided at both end portions in the vehicle width direction Y of the flat cable member 10. The flat cable member 10 is connected to the first ECU 40A of the control device 40 via one connector 11 and is connected to the second ECU 40E of the control device 40 via the other connector 11. Here, the first ECU 40A and the second ECU 40E are typically zone ECUs that comprehensively control devices in the peripheral region (zone) of the dash panel 120, but are not limited thereto. A plurality of devices 40B to 40D such as other ECUs of the control device 40 are provided between the first ECU 40A and the second ECU 40E. One of the devices 40C is, for example, the air conditioning unit 150 described above. In FIG. 1, for the sake of convenience, a pair of elastic members 20, the instrument panel 140, etc. are not shown.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wiring harness routing structure 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the wiring harness routing structure 1 in a state where the flat harness material 10 and the pair of elastic members 20 are removed from the dash panel 120. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pair of elastic members 20 hold the flat harness material 10, for example, with the flat harness material 10 sandwiched therebetween. The pair of elastic members 20 extend along the flat harness material 10 and are formed in a rectangular sheet-like (thin plate-like) shape that is horizontally long in the vehicle width direction Y. The length of the pair of elastic members 20 along the vehicle width direction Y is substantially the same as, for example, the length of the groove portion 111 and the flat harness material 10 along the vehicle width direction Y. The pair of elastic members 20 are laminated along the vehicle longitudinal direction X.

[0018] The pair of elastic members 20 includes, for example, a first sound-absorbing material 20A on the vehicle body panel 110 side and a second sound-absorbing material 20B on the air conditioning unit 150 side (inside the vehicle compartment). The first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B have a sound-absorbing function of suppressing the sound in the engine room 130 outside the vehicle body panel 110 from entering the vehicle compartment. The first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B are bonded together integrally by an adhesive such as hot melt, for example, and thereby the flat harness material 10 disposed between the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B is held by the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B.

[0019] The first sound-absorbing material 20A is formed in a substantially flat sheet-like shape, for example, in the same manner as the second sound-absorbing material 20B. Therefore, a recess 21 that is recessed by the thickness of the flat harness material 10 is formed in the first sound-absorbing material 20A in a state where the flat harness material 10 is sandwiched between the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B. Note that the first sound-absorbing material 20A is not limited to this example, and for example, a recess 21 for accommodating the flat harness material 10 may be formed in advance in a state where the flat harness material 10 is not sandwiched between the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B.

[0020] The first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B are formed, for example, by forming a paper foam material obtained by foaming paper into a sheet shape. The paper foam material is obtained by mixing paper pellets with corn starch, polypropylene (PP), etc. and foaming them with water vapor. The first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B, which are this paper foam material, have a labyrinth structure with semi-independent air bubbles and are excellent in absorbing sound energy by membrane vibration. Also, the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B, which are paper foam materials, have low air permeability and are excellent in heat insulation properties.

[0021] Note that the second sound-absorbing material 20B may be formed into a sheet shape from a material different from the first sound-absorbing material 20A, for example, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) excellent in weather resistance and strength, polypropylene (PP), etc. The first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B are formed so as to be thicker than the dimension in the thickness direction (vehicle front-rear direction X) of the flat cable material 10 when they are bonded to each other. Thus, since the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness of the present embodiment includes the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B excellent in sound absorption, the noise in the engine room 130 is suppressed from entering the vehicle interior. Also, the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B are excellent in heat insulation properties.

[0022] That is, since the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness of the present embodiment includes the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B formed by forming a paper foam material excellent in sound absorption and heat insulation properties into a sheet shape, it is possible to suppress the intrusion of noise and heat in the engine room 130 of the vehicle 100 with a minimum necessary amount without laminating a plurality of sound-absorbing materials and heat-insulating materials. That is, while suppressing an increase in weight and an increase in manufacturing cost, the flat cable material 10 constituting the wire harness can be assembled along a predetermined wiring path, and moreover, appropriate sound insulation performance and heat insulation performance can be ensured.

[0023] Further, the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B are fixed to the vehicle body panel 110 via the bonding portion 30 with the flat cable material 10 sandwiched therebetween. The bonding portion 30 is, for example, an adhesive, a double-sided tape, or the like, and is attached to the back surface 20a on the vehicle body panel 110 side of the first sound-absorbing material 20A. Note that the surface 20b on the side opposite to the back surface 20a of the first sound-absorbing material 20A is bonded to the back surface 20a of the second sound-absorbing material 20B via an adhesive. The widths of the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B along the vehicle height direction Z are set to be larger than the widths of the groove portion 111 and the flat cable material 10 along the vehicle height direction Z. That is, the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B are configured to include a portion that overlaps with the peripheral edge portion of the groove portion 111 in the vehicle body panel 110 in the vehicle front-rear direction X.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness, showing a state in which a part of the second sound-absorbing material 20B among the pair of elastic members 20 is cut out. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the flat cable material 10 is a cable material constituting the wire harness, and is constituted by, for example, FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits), FFC (Flexible Flat Cable), or the like. The flat cable material 10 is a thin and flexible flat cable material. The flat cable material 10 is formed in an overall rectangular plate shape that is horizontally long in the vehicle width direction Y. The flat cable material 10 includes, for example, a base film, a wiring pattern, and a coverlay.

[0025] The base film is a base material that is excellent in flexibility and defines the overall shape of the flat cable material 10. The base film is formed of, for example, a polyimide resin having excellent heat resistance. The wiring pattern is laminated, for example, on the surface (mounting surface) of the base film to form a plurality of conductor circuit portions (pattern layers). The wiring pattern is formed of a conductive material such as copper foil and is printed as a printed circuit body on the surface of the base film. The coverlay is laminated on the entire surface of the base film via an adhesive (not shown) and functions as a protective layer for protecting the conductor circuit portions of the wiring pattern and the like.

[0026] In addition, the plurality of conductor circuit portions formed by the wiring pattern can function as any one of a signal circuit, a signal GND circuit, a power ground circuit, etc. For example, the signal circuit is a circuit that transmits communication signals between the in-vehicle devices such as the control device 40 and various in-vehicle electronic devices in the vehicle 100. The signal GND circuit is a circuit that conducts between the in-vehicle devices along with the signal circuit and aligns the potential that serves as the reference for the circuit operation between the in-vehicle devices. The power ground circuit is a circuit that grounds the power supply system of the in-vehicle device.

[0027] The flat cable material 10 has connectors 11 at both ends in the vehicle width direction Y. The pair of connectors 11 are exposed through through-holes 22 provided in the second sound absorbing material 20B. The through-hole 22 is an opening that penetrates the second sound absorbing material 20B along the vehicle front-rear direction X, and is configured as a long hole larger than the outer shape of the connector 11. The pair of connectors 11 are attached in a state of penetrating the through-hole 22 with respect to the second sound absorbing material 20B, and protrude toward the rear side (control device 40 side) in the vehicle front-rear direction X. The pair of connectors 11 can be respectively connected to the control device side connectors of the control device 40 described above.

[0028] The connector 11 is configured to be able to be fitted with the control device side connector in response to fastening by a fastening member to the vehicle body panel 110 of the control device 40. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the bolt of the fastening member protrudes from the vehicle body panel 110 toward the rear side (control device 40 side) in the vehicle front-rear direction X, and is fastened to a nut in a state of being inserted into a through-hole formed in the control device 40. Thereby, the bolt of the fastening member functions as an assist bolt when fitting the connector 11 and the control device side connector, and thus the fitting operation of the connector 11 and the control device side connector can be performed more easily or more smoothly. The bolts of the fastening member are provided in a pair on both sides in the vehicle height direction Z so as to sandwich the connector 11 and the control device side connector therebetween.

[0029] Note that a wiring module 12 composed of, for example, a bundle of high-speed communication lines or a bundle of power lines is laminated on the flat cable member 10. The wiring module 12 has connectors 13 at both ends in the vehicle width direction Y. The pair of connectors 13 are exposed through the through holes 22 provided in the second sound absorbing material 20B together with the pair of connectors 11 of the flat cable member 10. The pair of connectors 13 are attached in a state of penetrating the through holes 22 with respect to the second sound absorbing material 20B and protrude toward the rear side (control device 40 side) in the vehicle longitudinal direction X. The pair of connectors 13 can be connected to the control device side connectors of the control device 40 described above together with the pair of connectors 11 of the flat cable member 10.

[0030] As described above, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness according to the present embodiment includes the flat cable member 10. Therefore, the wire harness composed of the flat cable member 10 is lighter than a wire harness in which various general electric wires are bundled. Here, when the above-described wiring structure 1 of the wire harness is installed in the vehicle 100, it is assumed that the length of the wire harness is about 1000 mm. If such a long wire harness is entirely composed of electric wires, the overall weight of the wire harness may increase. In this regard, according to the present embodiment, since the wire harness includes the flat cable member 10, it is possible to cope with the enlargement of the wire harness while suppressing an increase in the overall weight of the wire harness.

[0031] In general, a wire harness in which various electric wires are bundled is manufactured manually by an operator. On the other hand, since the flat cable member 10 can be manufactured by automation, the manufacturing man-hours of the wire harness can be reduced by configuring the wire harness with the flat cable member 10. Also, in general, a large wire harness in which various electric wires are bundled is difficult to transport due to its weight. In contrast, according to the present embodiment, there are advantages such as shortening the manufacturing days of, for example, the wire harness itself or the vehicle 100 using the wire harness, or making it less likely that the manufacturing location is limited, by using the flat cable member 10.

[0032] As described above, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness according to the present embodiment includes a flat wiring material 10 having flexibility, and a pair of elastic members 20 that extend along the flat wiring material 10 and hold the flat wiring material 10. The flat wiring material 10 is fixed to a dash panel 120 that partitions an engine room 130 of the vehicle 100 and the interior of the vehicle while being sandwiched between the pair of elastic members 20. With this configuration, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness can assemble the flat wiring material 10 that constitutes the wire harness to the vehicle 100, for example, by sandwiching the flat wiring material 10 between the pair of elastic members 20 and fixing them to the dash panel 120 of the vehicle 100 in an integrated state. As a result, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness can improve the assemblability to the vehicle 100.

[0033] Further, in the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness according to the present embodiment, the pair of elastic members 20 are constituted by a first sound-absorbing material 20A and a second sound-absorbing material 20B that suppress the sound in the engine room 130 from entering the interior of the vehicle. With this configuration, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness can obtain a desired sound absorption effect by the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B, for example, and can suppress wear caused by interference between the first sound-absorbing material 20A and the second sound-absorbing material 20B and the flat wiring material 10.

[0034] Further, in the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness according to the present embodiment, the flat wiring material 10 is disposed in a space S between an air conditioning unit 150 in an instrument panel 140 of the vehicle 100 and the dash panel 120. With this configuration, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness can, for example, sandwich the flat wiring material 10 that constitutes the wire harness between the pair of elastic members 20 to enhance the protection and make it thinner, and dispose it in the limited space S between the air conditioning unit 150 and the dash panel 120.

[0035] In addition, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness according to the present embodiment is formed in the dash panel 120 and further includes a groove portion 111 having a shape along the outer shape of the flat wiring material 10. With this configuration, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness can, for example, align the flat wiring material 10 with respect to the dash panel 120 by the groove portion 111, and thus the attachment work of the flat wiring material 10 and the pair of elastic members 20 to the dash panel 120 can be performed more easily, more smoothly, or more accurately. Further, for example, by arranging at least a part of the first sound-absorbing material 20A on the dash panel 120 side of the pair of elastic members 20 in a state of being embedded in the groove portion 111, the entire wire harness including the flat wiring material 10 and the pair of elastic members 20 may be made thinner.

[0036] In the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness according to the present embodiment, the dash panel 120 includes a metal dash panel body 125 provided with a recess 121 and a resin body panel 110 installed in the recess 121 and constituting a part of the dash panel 120 together with the dash panel body 125, and the groove portion 111 is formed in the body panel 110. With this configuration, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness can, for example, form the groove portion 111 relatively easily by the resin body panel 110.

[0037] In the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness according to the present embodiment, the pair of elastic members 20 are fixed to the dash panel 120 via the bonding portion 30 with the flat wiring material 10 sandwiched therebetween. With this configuration, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness can, for example, eliminate (reduce) fixing members such as bolts for fixing the pair of elastic members 20 to the dash panel 120 by the bonding portion 30, and thus the entire wire harness including the flat wiring material 10, the pair of elastic members 20, and the bonding portion 30 may be made thinner.

[0038] In the present embodiment, the case where the groove portion 111 is formed in the resin body panel 110 of the dash panel 120 has been exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the groove portion 111 may be provided in the metal dash panel main body 125 of the dash panel 120. Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the pair of elastic members 20 is constituted by the first sound absorbing material 20A and the second sound absorbing material 20B having a sound insulation function has been exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the elastic member 20 may be constituted by an elastic member 20 not having a sound insulation function.

[0039] Further, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness of the present embodiment may be such that, for example, the body panel 110 itself having the groove portion 111 constitutes a part of the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness. That is, the wiring structure 1 of the wire harness may include, in addition to the flat wiring material 10 and the pair of elastic members 20, the resin body panel 110 (the body panel 110 installed in the recess 121 formed in the metal dash panel main body 125) itself.

[0040] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been exemplified above, the above embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, combinations, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Further, the specifications (structure, type, direction, form, size, length, width, thickness, height, number, arrangement, position, material, etc.) of each configuration, shape, etc. can be appropriately changed and implemented.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0041] 1 Wiring structure of wire harness 10 Flat wiring material 20 Elastic member 20A First sound absorbing material (sound absorbing material) 20B Second sound absorbing material (sound absorbing material) 30 Adhesive portion 100 Vehicle 110 Body panel 111 Groove portion 120 Dash panel 121 Concave part 125 Dash panel body 130 Engine room 140 Instrument panel 150 Air conditioning unit S Space

Claims

1. A flexible flat cable member, A pair of elastic members extending along the flat cable member and holding the flat cable member, The flat cable member is fixed to a dash panel that partitions an engine room of a vehicle and a passenger compartment while being sandwiched between the pair of elastic members. A wiring structure of a wire harness.

2. The pair of elastic members is constituted by a sound-absorbing material that suppresses the sound in the engine room from entering the passenger compartment. The wiring structure of the wire harness according to Claim 1.

3. The flat cable member is disposed in a space between an air conditioning unit in an instrument panel of the vehicle and the dash panel. The wiring structure of the wire harness according to Claim 1 or 2.

4. Comprising a groove portion formed in the dash panel and having a shape along the outer shape of the flat cable member. The wiring structure of the wire harness according to Claim 1 or 2.

5. The dash panel includes a dash panel body made of metal provided with a recess, and a resin body panel installed in the recess and constituting a part of the dash panel together with the dash panel body. The groove portion is formed in the body panel. The wiring structure of the wire harness according to Claim 4.

6. The pair of elastic members is fixed to the dash panel via an adhesive portion while sandwiching the flat cable member therebetween. The wiring structure of the wire harness according to Claim 1 or 2.

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