Wire harness

Abstract

To provide a wire harness that enables appropriate protection of routing members.SOLUTION: A wire harness WH, WH1 includes conductive routing members W, and a molded component 1, 1A that extends along a direction X in which the routing members W extend, is provided integrally with the routing members W, and holds the routing members W. The molded component 1, 1A includes an opening 2 that is open in a part of a circumferential direction R intersecting the extending direction, and that exposes a part of the routing members W. The molded component 1, 1A includes a bundling portion 3 that is formed in an annular shape over the entire circumference R of the routing members W in a part of the extending direction X and bundles the routing members W.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] For a wire harness, an exterior material is essential to protect the electric wire from flying objects (such as stones) from outside the vehicle. In conventional wire harnesses, various types of exterior materials are used to protect the electric wire. For example, the wire harness described in Patent Document 1 includes an electric wire bundle and a molded body integrally provided at an attachment portion that is a part of the axial direction of the electric wire bundle, and the molded body is composed of a thermoplastic resin.

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 conventional wire harnesses, the molded body as the exterior material is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the entire outer periphery of the wiring material such as an electric wire is covered with the molded body to protect the wiring material. With such a configuration, the exterior material is provided even in unnecessary portions of the wiring material, and the wiring material is overly protected. Therefore, there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of accurately protecting necessary portions.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a wire harness that can appropriately protect a wiring material.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the wire harness according to the present invention includes a wiring material having conductivity, and a molded member that extends along the extending direction of the wiring material and is provided integrally with the wiring material to hold the wiring material. The molded member includes an opening that opens in a part of the circumferential direction intersecting the extending direction so that a part of the wiring material is exposed.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] Since the wire harness according to the present invention includes an opening in which a part of the molded member opens in a part of the circumferential direction so that a part of the wiring material is exposed, by adjusting the position of this opening, it is possible to accurately protect the necessary parts for the wiring material. Therefore, the wiring material can be properly protected.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments 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. In addition, the constituent elements in the following embodiments include those that can be replaced by those skilled in the art easily or those that are substantially the same.

[0010] [Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a side view of a wire harness WH according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of the wire harness WH shown in FIG. 1. The wire harness WH according to this embodiment is routed, for example, at the bottom of a vehicle or the like. The wire harness WH is, for example, a collective component formed by bundling a plurality of wiring materials W used for power supply and signal communication for connection between various devices mounted on the vehicle, and electrically connecting the plurality of wiring materials W to each device with a connector or the like. The wire harness WH includes a plurality of wiring materials W having conductivity, and a molded member 1 integrally provided around the plurality of wiring materials W so as to bundle the plurality of wiring materials W. In addition to this, the wire harness WH may further include various components such as a corrugated tube, a resin tape, an exterior member such as a protector, an electrical connection box, and a fixture.

[0011] The wiring material W is composed of, for example, a metal bar, an electric wire, an electric wire bundle, or the like. The metal bar is a rod-shaped member having conductivity. The electric wire is a conductor part (core wire) composed of a plurality of conductive metal strands. The electric wire bundle is a bundle of the electric wires. Note that each individual wiring material W may be covered with a covering part having insulating properties.

[0012] The mold-molded member 1 is provided as an exterior member for a plurality of wiring materials W. The mold-molded member 1 is provided along a predetermined direction (hereinafter referred to as the extending direction X) in which the plurality of wiring materials W extend, and holds the periphery of the plurality of wiring materials W so as to bundle the plurality of wiring materials W. The mold-molded member 1 is formed of an insulating elastic resin material (for example, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), etc.) having low rigidity and high flexibility, such as rubber or thermoplastic elastomer. The mold-molded member 1 is integrally provided around the plurality of wiring materials W so that the elastic resin material holds the plurality of wiring materials W bundled by mold molding such as injection molding. Therefore, the wire harness WH can have flexibility together with the mold-molded member 1. The mold-molded member 1 partially covers a section of a part of the plurality of wiring materials W, and the section of the plurality of wiring materials W is held. Note that the covering portion constituting the wiring material W is typically an insulating covering member provided over the entire length of the wiring material W, whereas the mold-molded member 1 is a protective member partially provided at necessary locations on the wiring material W, such as protecting the wiring material W and regulating the path, outside such a covering member.

[0013] In the present embodiment, the mold-molded member 1 is formed in a substantially semi-cylindrical shape (for example, gutter shape) in which the axial direction is along the extending direction X of the wiring material W. The plurality of wiring materials W are arranged around the axis of the semi-cylindrical shape, which is the shape of the mold-molded member 1, inside the mold-molded member 1.

[0014] Thus, the mold forming member 1 is formed in a substantially semi-cylindrical shape and holds a plurality of wire harnesses W. For this reason, the mold forming member 1 protects a part of the plurality of wire harnesses W in the circumferential direction R (Fig. 2), and the remaining part is exposed. That is, the mold forming member 1 is provided with an opening 2 that opens so that a part of the plurality of wire harnesses W is exposed in a part of the circumferential direction R intersecting the extending direction X. Further, the mold forming member 1 is provided with a bundling portion 3 that is formed in an annular shape over the entire circumferential direction R of the plurality of wire harnesses W in a part of the extending direction X and bundles the plurality of wire harnesses W. In the present embodiment, the bundling portion 3 is integrally formed at three locations, i.e., both end portions and the central portion in the extending direction X of the mold forming member 1. Such a wire harness WH can be miniaturized and space-saving because the plurality of wire harnesses W1 are bundled by the bundling portion 3 of the mold forming member 1.

[0015] The position and size of the opening 2 can be appropriately set according to the installation position of the wire harness WH and the like. In the wire harness WH illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the mold forming member 1 has a configuration in which the opening 2 is provided so as to cover the lower half region of the plurality of wire harnesses W and expose the upper half region of the plurality of wire harnesses W.

[0016] In this way, when the wire harness WH is disposed, for example, at the bottom of a vehicle with the mold forming member 1 covering the lower half region of the plurality of wire harnesses W and opening so as to expose the upper half region of the plurality of wire harnesses W, the plurality of wire harnesses W are protected by the mold forming member 1 in the lower region facing the road surface. Therefore, even if there are flying stones during vehicle travel, for example, the plurality of wire harnesses W can be sufficiently protected. On the other hand, since the upper side of the plurality of wire harnesses W faces the bottom of the vehicle, the wire harness W can be protected by this bottom.

[0017] Therefore, by providing the opening 2 in the upper half of the plurality of wire harnesses W (the portion that does not require protection for the wire harnesses W) through mold forming, the lower half of the plurality of wire harnesses W (the necessary portion of the wire harnesses W) can be accurately protected, and the amount of elastic resin material used in the region corresponding to the opening 2 can be reduced. Furthermore, by providing the opening 2 in the portion that does not require protection for the wire harnesses W, the rigidity of the mold forming member 1 can be lowered (flexibility can be increased) accordingly, so that the mold forming member 1 can be freely deformed to freely route the wire harness WH. In this case, it is preferable that the total length of the opening 2 in the extending direction X excluding the binding portion 3 is 50% or more and less than 100% of the length of the mold forming member 1 in the extending direction X.

[0018] In the examples of FIGS. 1 and 2, the configuration in which the mold forming member 1 covers the lower half region of the plurality of wire harnesses W and is provided with the opening 2 that opens to expose the upper half region of the plurality of wire harnesses W has been described. However, the position and size of the opening 2 are not limited to this. For example, along the extending direction of the mold forming member 1, a portion (covering portion) where the mold forming member 1 covers the plurality of wire harnesses W and the opening 2 that exposes the plurality of wire harnesses W may be provided alternately (more specifically, in a staggered grid pattern).

[0019] Next, a modified example will be described. FIG. 3 is a side view of a wire harness WH1 according to the modified example. In this description, the same components as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. The wire harness WH1 includes a plurality of wire harnesses W having conductivity and a mold forming member 1A that is integrally provided around a part of the plurality of wire harnesses W to hold the plurality of wire harnesses W.

[0020] This molded member 1A is different in configuration from the above-described molded member 1 in that it does not include the bundling portion 3. That is, this molded member 1A is formed into a substantially semi-cylindrical shape by molding and holds a plurality of wire harnesses W. In this configuration, among the plurality of wire harnesses W, the wire harnesses W that are not in contact with the molded member 1A may detach from the molded member 1A. Therefore, in this modification, the wire harness WH1 is configured to include, outside both ends in the extending direction X of the molded member 1A, a bundling band (fastening tool) 4 that bundles the plurality of wire harnesses W.

[0021] In this configuration, the bundling band 4 bundles the plurality of wire harnesses W separately from the molded member 1A, so that the size (length) of the opening 2 can be made larger, the lower half of the plurality of wire harnesses W (the necessary portion of the wire harnesses W) can be accurately protected, and the amount of the elastic resin material used in the region corresponding to the opening 2 can be further reduced.

[0022] As described above, the wire harnesses WH, WH1 of the present embodiment include the conductive wire harnesses W and the molded members 1, 1A that extend along the extending direction X of the wire harnesses W and are provided integrally with the wire harnesses W to hold the wire harnesses W. The molded members 1, 1A include the openings 2 that open so that a part of the wire harnesses W is exposed at a part of the circumferential direction R intersecting the extending direction. According to this configuration, by adjusting the position of the opening 2 and performing molding, the necessary portions of the wire harnesses W can be accurately protected, so that the wire harnesses W can be appropriately protected. As a result, the wire harnesses WH, WH1 can reduce the amount of the elastic resin material used to form the molded members 1, 1A by deleting the molded members 1, 1A of the portions that do not require protection for the wire harnesses W, for example. Furthermore, since the molded members 1, 1A include the openings 2 that open so that a part of the wire harnesses W is exposed at a part of the circumferential direction R intersecting the extending direction, the rigidity of the molded members 1, 1A can be lowered by the amount corresponding to the formation of the openings 2, so that the molded members 1, 1A can be freely deformed and the wire harnesses WH, WH1 can be freely routed.

[0023] Also, the wire harnesses WH, WH1 are formed by injection molding (molding) rather than extrusion molding of the molding members 1, 1A. Thus, for example, in the manufacturing process, variously shaped molding members 1, 1A can be directly provided on the wiring material W on the jig plate using a mold. As a result, for the wire harnesses WH, WH1, for example, there is no need to manually assemble protective members such as protectors, and they can also be automatically manufactured by various manufacturing apparatuses. Therefore, these wire harnesses WH, WH1 have good manufacturing efficiency and can contribute to the automation of the manufacturing process by performing injection molding (molding) on the jig plate.

[0024] In the wire harness WH of the present embodiment, since the molding member 1 is formed in an annular shape over the entire circumferential direction R of the wiring material W in a part of the extending direction X and includes a bundling portion 3 that bundles the wiring material W, the wire harness WH can be made smaller and more space-saving by bundling a plurality of wiring materials W1.

[0025] Furthermore, in the wire harness WH of the present embodiment, since the bundling portion 3 is formed at both end portions of the molding member 1 in the extending direction X, a plurality of wiring materials W1 can be effectively bundled, and the wire harness WH can be made smaller and more space-saving.

[0026] Note that the wire harnesses WH, WH1 according to the present embodiment may be configured by appropriately combining the components of the above-described embodiments and modified examples.

[0027] In the above-described modified example, the bundling band 4 is given as an example of a bundling tool for bundling a plurality of wiring materials W. However, as long as it can bundle a plurality of wiring materials W, a wire or a cord may be used.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0028] 1, 1A Molding members 2 Opening 3 Bundling portion 4 Binding Band (Fastener) W Cable WH, WH1 Wire Harness R Circumferential Direction X Extending Direction

Claims

**Claim 1** A wire harness having a conductive cable member, and a molded member that extends along the extending direction of the cable member and is provided integrally with the cable member to hold the cable member. The molded member includes an opening that opens in a part of the circumferential direction intersecting the extending direction so that a part of the cable member is exposed. **Claim 2** The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the molded member includes a bundling portion that is formed in an annular shape over the entire circumferential direction of the cable member in a part of the extending direction to bundle the cable member. **Claim 3** The wire harness according to claim 2, wherein the bundling portion is formed at both ends in the extending direction.

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