Power supply device

Abstract

To secure a catch margin between lock parts.SOLUTION: A deformation lock mechanism 50 is provided between a base member 20 and a cover member 30, which absorbs positional deviation in a longitudinal direction between the respective members, and holds the respective members on one end in the longitudinal direction as in an assembly completion state. The deformation lock mechanism has: a fixed pawl part 51a provided in a first lock part 51; and a deformation locking part 52a provided in a second lock part 52, and locking the fixed pawl part in the assembly completion state. The second lock part has a flexible part 52b in a cantilever shape provided with the deformation locking part on a free end and flexibly deformable in the longitudinal direction. The flexible part is inclined toward the fixed pawl part at the maximum inclination angle, locks the fixed pawl part to the deformation locking part when a fixed end is most separated from the fixed pawl part in the longitudinal direction, makes the inclination angle smaller than the maximum inclination angle accompanying flexible deformation, and locks the fixed pawl part to the deformation locking part when the fixed end most approaches the fixed pawl part in the longitudinal direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a power supply device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, vehicles such as automobiles are equipped with seats (so-called slide seats) that can slide relative to the vehicle body. And in this vehicle, electrical components such as seat heaters may be provided on the slide seat. In this case, the vehicle is equipped with a power supply device for supplying power from a power source such as a secondary battery to the electrical components. This power supply device includes a wire harness that electrically connects one end to the electrical component and the other end to the power source to electrically connect between the electrical component and the power source, and a case that is fixed to the vehicle body side and houses the wire harness. The case includes a base member having a wire accommodation chamber and a cover member that closes the insertion port of the wire accommodation chamber, and the assembled state of these is maintained by a locking mechanism provided with claw portions or the like. This type of power supply device is disclosed in, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 below.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Incidentally, in this power supply device, in conjunction with the sliding operation of the slide sheet, the wire bundle is inserted into and removed from the case by an amount of movement corresponding to the amount of slide of the slide sheet. And in this power supply device, the case is lengthened and the case is extended in the longitudinal direction according to the amount of movement of the wire bundle. For example, for this case, the longer the amount of slide of the slide sheet (that is, the amount of movement of the wire bundle), the longer the longitudinal direction is extended. In such a case, for example, the design tolerance between the base member and the cover member is likely to be larger in the longitudinal direction than in the short direction. Therefore, the assembly variation between the base member and the cover member may be larger in the longitudinal direction than in the short direction. Also, in this case, when raw materials with different heat shrinkage rates are used for the base member and the cover member, the material with a higher heat shrinkage rate shrinks more easily than the material with a lower heat shrinkage rate, and the difference may appear more prominently in the longitudinal direction than in the short direction. Therefore, in the locking mechanism provided at the longitudinal end, due to the longitudinal displacement between the base member and the cover member, displacement may occur between the locking portion of the base member and the locking portion of the cover member, and the engagement margin between the locking portions may not be ensured.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a power supply device capable of ensuring an engagement margin between locking portions.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention includes a wire harness that supplies power to electrical components of a seat that can reciprocate in a sliding direction with respect to a vehicle body, a long base member that is fixed to the vehicle body side and allows the wire harness accommodated in a wire accommodation chamber from an insertion port to be taken in and out according to the sliding amount of the seat, and a long cover member that is assembled to the base member and closes the insertion port of the wire accommodation chamber. A deformation locking mechanism is provided between the base member and the cover member to absorb longitudinal displacement therebetween and hold one end in the longitudinal direction with the assembly completed. The deformation locking mechanism has a fixed claw portion provided on either the first locking portion of the base member or the second locking portion of the cover member, and a displacement locking portion provided on the other of them to lock the fixed claw portion in the assembly-completed state. The other of the first locking portion and the second locking portion has a cantilever shape with the displacement locking portion provided at the free end and has a flexible portion that can be bent and deformed in the longitudinal direction to absorb the longitudinal displacement between the base member and the cover member. When the fixed end of the flexible portion is farthest from the fixed claw portion in the longitudinal direction, the flexible portion is tilted toward the fixed claw portion at the maximum inclination angle with respect to the vertical direction of the vehicle to lock the fixed claw portion to the displacement locking portion at the free end. When the fixed end of the flexible portion is closest to the fixed claw portion in the longitudinal direction, the inclination angle with respect to the vertical direction of the vehicle is made smaller than the maximum inclination angle along with the bending deformation to lock the fixed claw portion to the displacement locking portion at the free end.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] The power supply device according to the present invention is provided with a deformation locking mechanism at one end in the longitudinal direction between the base member and the cover member, which absorbs the longitudinal displacement between them and holds them in the assembled state. Therefore, for example, even if assembly variations occur between the base member and the cover member due to tolerance variations, or a difference in the longitudinal thermal shrinkage amount occurs between the base member and the cover member having different thermal shrinkage rates, resulting in a large longitudinal displacement between the base member and the cover member, the engagement allowance between the fixing claw portion and the displacement locking portion is ensured between the first lock portion and the second lock portion, and the base member and the cover member can be kept in the assembled state.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the power supply device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by this embodiment.

[0010] [Embodiment] One embodiment of the power supply device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

[0011] Reference numeral 1 in FIGS. 1 to 5 indicates the power supply device of the present embodiment.

[0012] Vehicles such as automobiles are equipped with a seat (so-called slide seat) that can reciprocate in the slide direction with respect to the vehicle body (not shown). In such a vehicle, a pair of rail members extending in the slide direction are fixed to the upper surface (so-called on the floor) of the floor panel of the vehicle body. And, a slide member that can reciprocate in the slide direction with respect to the rail member is fixed to the slide seat. For example, in a vehicle, a pair of rail members extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction are arranged at intervals from each other in the vehicle width direction, and the slide seat is reciprocated in the vehicle longitudinal direction by reciprocating the slide members corresponding to the respective rail members along the rail members. Note that the slide operation of the slide seat may be manual by an operator or may utilize the power of an electric motor.

[0013] Here, electrical components may be provided in the seat of the vehicle. The electrical components are, for example, devices provided in the seat such as a seat heater, a seat ventilator, a speaker, etc., and require power supply from a power source such as a secondary battery. When the electrical components are provided in the slide seat, they reciprocate in the slide direction together with the slide seat. The power supply device 1 supplies the power of the power source to the electrical components in order to drive the electrical components provided in the slide seat.

[0014] The power supply device 1 includes a wire harness 10 that supplies power to the electrical components (FIG. 1). This wire harness 10 is a bundle of a plurality of wires. The plurality of wires shown here are bundled together as a wire harness 10 with, for example, a resin tape wound around them. For example, one end of the wire harness 10 is connector-connected to the mating connector on the electrical component side, and the connector at the other end is connector-connected to the mating connector on the power source side. Thereby, this wire harness 10 can supply the power of the power source to the electrical components.

[0015] Further, the power supply device 1 includes a long base member 20 that allows the wire bundle 10 housed in the wire housing chamber 20b to be inserted and removed according to the sliding amount of the slide sheet from the insertion port 20a, and a long cover member 30 that is assembled to the base member 20 and closes the insertion port 20a of the wire housing chamber 20b (FIGS. 1 to 5). The base member 20 and the cover member 30 are formed of an insulating material such as synthetic resin.

[0016] The base member 20 is fixed to the vehicle body side. For example, the base member 20 is fixed to the upper surface (on the floor) of the floor panel of the vehicle body or to the rail member. Further, the base member 20 is fixed to the vehicle body side with its longitudinal direction aligned with the sliding direction of the slide sheet.

[0017] The base member 20 has a bottom wall 21 that extends in its longitudinal direction and is disposed opposite to the insertion port 20a with a space therebetween, and side walls 22 that are vertically provided from the outer peripheral edge of the bottom wall 21 (FIGS. 1 to 5). In the base member 20, the opening inside the end portion of the side wall 22 in the vertically provided direction is used as the insertion port 20a. And in this base member 20, the space surrounded by the bottom wall 21 and the side walls 22 is used as the wire housing chamber 20b. Therefore, in this base member 20, the insertion port 20a and the wire housing chamber 20b extend along its longitudinal direction.

[0018] The cover member 30 is assembled to the base member 20 and closes its long insertion port 20a. The cover member 30 has a main wall 31 that closes the insertion port 20a, and side walls 32 that are vertically provided from the outer peripheral edge of the main wall 31 and cover the side walls 22 of the base member 20 from the outside in the state where the assembly with the base member 20 is completed (FIGS. 1 to 5).

[0019] In this power supply device 1, the wire bundle 10 is housed in the wire housing chamber 20b in the assembled base member 20 and cover member 30, and one end side and the other end side of the wire bundle 10, for example, are drawn out outside the assembled base member 20 and cover member 30. One end side of the wire bundle 10 is connected to the electrical component side at the drawn end. The other end side of the wire bundle 10 is connected to the power supply side at the drawn end.

[0020] A locking mechanism (hereinafter referred to as the "main locking mechanism") 40 for holding the base member 20 and the cover member 30 in a state where their assembly is completed is provided therebetween (FIGS. 1 and 5). This main locking mechanism 40 includes a locking portion (hereinafter referred to as the "first main locking portion") 41 provided on the base member 20, and a locking portion (hereinafter referred to as the "second main locking portion") 42 provided on the cover member 30 and engaged with the first main locking portion 41 so as not to separate the base member 20 and the cover member 30 in the assembled state (FIG. 5).

[0021] Either the first main locking portion 41 or the second main locking portion 42 has a claw portion (hereinafter referred to as the "main claw portion"). And the first main locking portion 41 and the second main locking portion 42 have a locking portion (hereinafter referred to as the "main locking portion") for locking the main claw portion fitted when the base member 20 and the cover member 30 are in the assembled state on the other of them. Here, a main claw portion 41a is provided on the first main locking portion 41, and a main locking portion 42a is provided on the second main locking portion 42 (FIG. 5).

[0022] The first main locking portion 41 shown here projects the main claw portion 41a from the outer wall surface of the side wall 22 of the base member 20 (FIG. 5). Further, the second main locking portion 42 shown here is formed on the side wall 32 of the cover member 30 and has a through hole 42b into which the main claw portion 41a is fitted when the base member 20 and the cover member 30 are in the assembled state (FIG. 5). In this second main locking portion 42, an end portion side in the vertical direction of the side wall 32 of the cover member 30 within the peripheral edge of the through hole 42b is used as the main locking portion 42a (FIG. 5).

[0023] In this main locking mechanism 40, at least the peripheral edge of the through hole 42b in the side wall 32 of the cover member 30 is made flexible so that the main locking portion 42a overrides the main claw portion 41a when the base member 20 and the cover member 30 are assembled.

[0024] This main locking mechanism 40 is provided at a plurality of locations along the longitudinal direction at each of the end portions in the short-side direction of the assembled base member 20 and cover member 30 (FIG. 5).

[0025] Incidentally, the base member 20 shown here is disposed on the upper surface (on the floor) of the floor panel of the vehicle body with the insertion port 20a of the wire accommodation chamber 20b facing upward. And the cover member 30 shown here is assembled to the base member 20 so as to cover the insertion port 20a from above the vehicle. Therefore, the cover member 30 has a higher possibility of being touched by the occupant compared to the base member 20, and there is a risk of being stepped on by the occupant. Therefore, in this power feeding device 1, in order to increase the rigidity of the cover member 30 more than that of the base member 20, the base member 20 and the cover member 30 are molded with different synthetic resin materials respectively.

[0026] For example, the base member 20 shown here is molded with a first material (for example, polypropylene: PP). And the cover member 30 shown here is molded with a second material (for example, polyamide 6 with 50% glass fiber: PA6-GF50). However, this second material has a lower thermal shrinkage rate than the first material. Therefore, in this power feeding device 1, when the temperature rises regardless of the usage environment, the base member 20 shrinks more than the cover member 30 in the longitudinal direction, and there is a possibility that a large displacement in the longitudinal direction occurs between the base member 20 and the cover member 30. In this power feeding device 1, when the main locking mechanism 40 is provided at each of the end portions in the longitudinal direction, due to the displacement in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30, there is a risk that the engagement allowance between the main claw portion 41a and the main locking portion 42a becomes small in one of the main locking mechanisms 40.

[0027] Further, in this power supply device 1, even if the base member 20 and the cover member 30 are formed of the same second material, for example, the assembly variation between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 due to the tolerance variation of each is larger in the longitudinal direction than in the short-side direction, and there is a possibility that a large displacement in the longitudinal direction may occur between the base member 20 and the cover member 30. Therefore, also from this point of view, in this power supply device 1, by providing the main lock mechanisms 40 at both end portions in the longitudinal direction, there is a risk that the engagement allowance between the main claw portion 41a and the main locking portion 42a will be reduced by one of the main lock mechanisms 40.

[0028] Therefore, a lock mechanism (hereinafter referred to as "deformation lock mechanism") 50 is provided between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 to absorb the displacement in the longitudinal direction between them and hold them at one end in the longitudinal direction while the assembly between them is in a completed state (FIGS. 1 to 5). And between this base member 20 and the cover member 30, the main lock mechanism 40 is provided at the other end in the longitudinal direction.

[0029] The deformation lock mechanism 50 includes a first lock portion 51 provided on the base member 20 and a second lock portion 52 provided on the cover member 30 and engaged with the first lock portion 51 so as not to separate the base member 20 and the cover member 30 in the assembled state (FIGS. 2 to 5).

[0030] Either the first locking portion 51 or the second locking portion 52 has a claw portion (hereinafter referred to as "fixed claw portion"). And, either the first locking portion 51 or the second locking portion 52 has a locking portion (hereinafter referred to as "displacement locking portion") that locks the fixed claw portion when the base member 20 and the cover member 30 are in the assembled state. The other of the first locking portion 51 and the second locking portion 52 absorbs the displacement in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 when the base member 20 and the cover member 30 are in the assembled state and locks the fixed claw portion to the displacement locking portion. Therefore, the other of the first locking portion 51 and the second locking portion 52 has a cantilever shape with its displacement locking portion provided at the free end and has a flexible portion that can be bent and deformed in its longitudinal direction to absorb the displacement in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30. Here, the fixed claw portion 51a is provided on the first locking portion 51, and the displacement locking portion 52a and the flexible portion 52b are provided on the second locking portion 52 (FIGS. 2 to 4).

[0031] The first locking portion 51 shown here projects the fixed claw portion 51a from the outer wall surface of the side wall 22 of the base member 20 (FIGS. 2 to 5). Also, the second locking portion 52 shown here projects from the end portion in the vertical direction of the side wall 32 of the cover member 30 (FIGS. 2 to 4). In this second locking portion 52, the end side in the vertical direction of the side wall 32 of the cover member 30 is the fixed end of the flexible portion 52b, and the displacement locking portion 52a is provided at the free end of the flexible portion 52b protruding from the free end of the side wall 32. Here, the displacement locking portion 52a and the flexible portion 52b are each formed in a single-piece shape.

[0032] When the fixed end of the flexible portion 52b is farthest from the fixed claw portion 51a in the longitudinal direction of the base member 20 or the cover member 30, the flexible portion 52b is tilted toward the fixed claw portion 51a at the maximum inclination angle θmax with respect to the vehicle vertical direction to lock the fixed claw portion 51a to the displacement locking portion 52a at the free end (FIG. 3). In other words, at this time, the flexible portion 52b projects from the free end of the side wall 32 of the cover member 30 toward the fixed claw portion 51a and the outer wall surface of the side wall 22 of the base member 20 and is tilted with respect to the vehicle vertical direction.

[0033] Here, when the fixed end of the flexible portion 52b is farthest from the fixing claw portion 51a in the longitudinal direction, it is when the displacement in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 is the largest. For example, when the assembly variation between them due to the tolerance variation of the base member 20 and the cover member 30 is the largest, or when the difference in the longitudinal thermal shrinkage amount between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 with different thermal shrinkage rates is the largest, and so on. This deformation locking mechanism 50 can ensure the engagement margin between the fixing claw portion 51a and the displacement locking portion 52a even when the displacement in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 is the largest.

[0034] The second locking portion 52 shown here makes the inclination angle θi of the initial position of the flexible portion 52b with respect to the vehicle vertical direction larger than the previous maximum inclination angle θmax when there is no load. Thereby, in this deformation locking mechanism 50, when the displacement in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 is the largest, the flexible portion 52b can be bent and deformed in the longitudinal direction from the inclination angle θi of its initial position to the maximum inclination angle θmax under the force received from the fixing claw portion 51a or the side wall 22 of the base member 20. Therefore, this deformation locking mechanism 50 can appropriately obtain the engagement margin of the displacement locking portion 52a with respect to the fixing claw portion 51a when the displacement in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 is the largest.

[0035] Furthermore, when the fixed end of the flexible portion 52b is closest to the fixing claw portion 51a in the longitudinal direction of the base member 20 or the cover member 30, as it undergoes bending deformation, the inclination angle θ with respect to the vertical direction of the vehicle is made smaller than the previous maximum inclination angle θmax, and the fixing claw portion 51a is locked to the displacement locking portion 52a at the free end (Fig. 4). That is, at this time, the flexible portion 52b can be bent and deformed in the longitudinal direction to the minimum inclination angle θmin under the force from the fixing claw portion 51a and the side wall 22 of the base member 20, so that the displacement locking portion 52a can be moved according to the position of the fixing claw portion 51a. Note that the minimum inclination angle θmin is an expression for convenience of explanation and is represented as the minimum value of the inclination angle θ of the flexible portion 52b when the base member 20 and the cover member 30 are assembled. Therefore, the flexible portion 52b can be bent and deformed to an inclination angle θ smaller than the minimum inclination angle θmin.

[0036] Here, when the fixed end of the flexible portion 52b is closest to the fixing claw portion 51a in the longitudinal direction, it means when the displacement in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 is the smallest. For example, when the assembly variation between them due to the tolerance variation of the base member 20 and the cover member 30 is the smallest, or when the difference in the longitudinal thermal shrinkage amount between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 with different thermal shrinkage rates is the smallest. This deformation locking mechanism 50 can ensure the engagement margin between the fixing claw portion 51a and the displacement locking portion 52a even when the displacement in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 is the smallest.

[0037] In this way, the flexible portion 52b can be bent and deformed within the range from the initial inclination angle θi to the minimum inclination angle θmin. Therefore, the flexible portion 52b can ensure the engagement margin between the fixing claw portion 51a and the displacement locking portion 52a corresponding to the displacement in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 within the range of the inclination angle θ (Figs. 2 to 4).

[0038] As described above, the power supply device 1 of the present embodiment is provided with a deformation locking mechanism 50 at one end in the longitudinal direction between the base member 20 and the cover member 30, which absorbs the longitudinal displacement between them and holds them in the assembled state. Therefore, for example, even if assembly variations occur between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 due to tolerance variations, or a difference in the longitudinal thermal shrinkage amount occurs between the base member 20 and the cover member 30 with different thermal shrinkage rates, resulting in a large longitudinal displacement between the base member 20 and the cover member 30, the engagement allowance between the fixed claw portion 51a and the displacement locking portion 52a can be ensured between the first locking portion 51 and the second locking portion 52, and the base member 20 and the cover member 30 can be kept in the assembled state.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0039] 1 Power supply device 10 Wire bundle 20 Base member 20a Insertion port 20b Wire accommodation chamber 30 Cover member 40 Main locking mechanism 41 First main locking portion 41a Main claw portion 42 Second main locking portion 42a Main locking portion 50 Deformation locking mechanism 51 First locking portion 51a Fixed claw portion 52 Second locking portion 52a Displacement locking portion 52b Flexible portion

Claims

1. An electric wire bundle that supplies power to the electrical components of a seat that can reciprocate in the sliding direction with respect to the vehicle body, A long base member that is fixed to the vehicle body side and allows the electric wire bundle accommodated in the electric wire accommodation chamber from the insertion port to be taken in and out according to the sliding amount of the seat, A long cover member that is assembled to the base member and closes the insertion port of the electric wire accommodation chamber, Comprising, Between the base member and the cover member, a deformation locking mechanism is provided to absorb the longitudinal displacement between them and hold them at one end in the longitudinal direction with the assembly completed state, The deformation locking mechanism has a fixed claw portion provided on either one of the first locking portion of the base member and the second locking portion of the cover member, and a displacement locking portion provided on the other of them to lock the fixed claw portion in the assembly completed state, The other of the first locking portion and the second locking portion has a cantilever beam shape with the displacement locking portion at the free end, and has a flexible portion that can be bent and deformed in the longitudinal direction to absorb the longitudinal displacement between the base member and the cover member, The flexible portion is tilted toward the fixed claw portion at the maximum inclination angle with respect to the vertical direction of the vehicle when the fixed end is farthest from the fixed claw portion in the longitudinal direction, so that the fixed claw portion is locked to the displacement locking portion at the free end, and when the fixed end is closest to the fixed claw portion in the longitudinal direction, the inclination angle with respect to the vertical direction of the vehicle is made smaller than the maximum inclination angle as it bends and deforms, and the fixed claw portion is locked to the displacement locking portion at the free end. A power supply device characterized by this.

2. Between the base member and the cover member, a main locking mechanism is provided to hold them in the assembly completed state, The main locking mechanism has a main claw portion provided on either one of the first main locking portion of the base member and the second main locking portion of the cover member, and a main locking portion provided on the other of them to lock the main claw portion fitted in the assembly completed state. The power supply device according to claim 1, characterized by this.

3. The base member is formed of a first material, The cover member is formed of a second material having a lower heat shrinkage rate than the first material. The power supply device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by this.

4. The power feeding device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the base member is disposed on the floor of the vehicle body with the insertion port of the wire accommodation chamber facing upward of the vehicle.

Images