Wire harness

Abstract

To provide a wire harness that facilitates appropriate routing with respect to a routing space.SOLUTION: A wire harness WH includes a plurality of conductive routing members W, and a molded component 1 that covers the outer circumference of the routing members W and is provided integrally with the routing members W. The molded component 1 has a large-diameter portion 11 that is larger in a radial direction in a part of a circumferential direction Y than the other parts. This structure enables appropriate routing with respect to a routing space 20 having a size corresponding to the large-diameter portion 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] An exterior material is essential for a wire harness to protect the electric wires from external structures such as steel plates of a vehicle. Conventional wire harnesses use various types of exterior materials to protect the electric wires. For example, the wire harness described in Patent Document 1 includes a bundle of electric wires and a molded body integrally provided on a mounting portion that is a part of the axial direction of the bundle of electric wires, and the molded body is made of a thermoplastic resin. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-160568 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When this type of wire harness is installed in a moving body such as a vehicle, it is required to be routed so as not to sway. For this reason, it is desirable that the wire harness be formed with a structure that allows it to be routed appropriately in the space in which it is routed.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a wire harness that can be easily and appropriately routed in a routing space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] That is, the wire harness of the present invention comprises a conductive wiring material and a molded member that covers the outer periphery of the wiring material and is formed integrally with the wiring material, and the molded member is configured to have a large diameter portion that is large in the radial direction in a part of the radial direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The wire harness according to the present invention can be properly routed in the wiring space.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wire harness according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the wire harness taken along line II-II of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the wiring of the wire harness according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the wiring of the wire harness according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the manufacturing of the wire harness according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a modification of the wire harness according to an embodiment.

Modes 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 components 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.

[0010] [Embodiment] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wire harness WH according to the present embodiment is routed in a vehicle and electrically connects between devices, components, etc. mounted on the vehicle. The wire harness WH includes a wiring material W and a molded member 1. The wire harness WH may further include various components such as an outer member such as a corrugated tube, a resin tape, a protector, an electrical connection box, and a fixture.

[0011] The wiring material W is a conductive linear member, and is composed of, for example, a metal rod, an electric wire, etc. A metal rod is a rod-shaped member that is conductive. An electric wire is a conductor member (core wire) made up of multiple conductive metal wires. The wiring material W may be covered with an insulating coating. For example, multiple wiring materials W are provided, each facing the same direction. Multiple wiring materials W may be provided in a bundled state, for example. For example, the wiring material W is used by attaching connecting parts such as terminals and connectors to its end.

[0012] The molded member 1 is a member that covers the wiring material W and is formed integrally with the wiring material W, and functions as an exterior member that covers the outer periphery of the wiring material W. The molded member 1 covers the wiring material W along the extension direction X in which the multiple wiring materials W extend, and is formed around the multiple wiring materials W. The molded member 1 allows the wiring material W to extend from both ends, enabling connection to equipment, etc.

[0013] The molded member 1 is formed from an insulating molding material, such as resin, rubber, or elastomer, specifically, thermoplastic elastomer, ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM), etc. The molded member 1 is integrally formed around the multiple wiring materials W by molding this molding material so as to cover the multiple wiring materials W. The molded member 1 covers, for example, a partial section of the multiple wiring materials W all at once. Note that while the covering portion constituting the wiring material W is an insulating covering member provided over the entire length of the wiring material W, the molded member 1 is a protective member partially provided on the wiring material W at a necessary location outside of such a covering member for protecting the wiring material W, regulating the route, etc.

[0014] The molded member 1 has a large diameter portion 11 in a part in the circumferential direction Y that is larger in the radial direction than other portions. The large diameter portion 11 is a portion of the molded member 1 that is formed to be larger in the radial direction in the circumferential direction Y. In the molded member 1, the portion other than the large diameter portion 11 is, for example, a small diameter portion 12. The small diameter portion 12 is a portion that is smaller in the radial direction than the large diameter portion 11.

[0015] The large-diameter portion 11 is provided, for example, with a semi-circular cross-section in a direction intersecting the extending direction X of the cable material W. Here, the semi-circular shape includes a substantially semi-circular shape. The large-diameter portion 11 forms half of the circumferential direction of the mold forming member 1. Further, the small-diameter portion 12 is provided with a semi-circular cross-section in a direction intersecting the extending direction X of the cable material W. The small-diameter portion 12 forms half of the circumferential direction of the mold forming member 1.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 3, the diameter D1 of the large-diameter portion 11 is set according to the cable space 20. For example, when the cable space 20 has a groove-like structure, the diameter D1 is sized to fit the width of the groove. That is, the diameter D1 is the same size as the width of the groove or a smaller size than the width of the groove, and is set to a length that can restrict the movement of the mold forming member 1 and the wire harness WH within the groove, and is set to a length that suppresses the radial movement of the mold forming member 1 and the wire harness WH within the groove.

[0017] The diameter D2 of the small-diameter portion 12 is set according to the diameter of the cable material W or the diameters of a plurality of cable materials W. If, for example, the diameter D2 of the small-diameter portion 12 is the same size as the diameter D1 of the large-diameter portion 11, the movement of the mold forming member 1 and the wire harness WH can be restricted when the cable space 20 is cabled, but the mold forming member 1 becomes larger in size and the manufacturing cost increases. On the other hand, the wire harness WH according to the present embodiment can achieve cost reduction while restricting the movement of the mold forming member 1 and the wire harness WH by setting the diameter D2 of the small-diameter portion 12 according to the diameter of the cable material W.

[0018] The large diameter portion 11 in the molded member 1 prevents the wire harness WH from coming off from the wiring space 20. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , ribs 22 that narrow the entrance 21 are formed in the wiring space 20, making it difficult for the large diameter portion 11 to come off from the wiring space 20 by the ribs 22, thereby preventing the wire harness WH from coming off from the wiring space 20. The ribs 22 are provided, for example, as protrusions that protrude from both edges of the entrance 21 toward the center of the entrance 21. The large diameter portion 11 abuts against the ribs 22, making it difficult for the wire harness WH to come off from the wiring space 20.

[0019] Next, a method for manufacturing the wire harness WH will be described.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 5, the wire harness WH is manufactured by, for example, forming a molded member 1 on the outer periphery of a wiring material W. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a molding die 3 as seen from a direction intersecting the extending direction X of the wire harness WH to be manufactured.

[0021] The manufacturing of a wire harness WH begins with placing a wiring material W in a molding die 3. The wiring material W is placed as an insert in a molding space 33 of the molding die 3. Here, if multiple wiring materials W are provided in the wire harness WH, multiple wiring materials W are placed in the molding space 33. The molding die 3 is provided with a first mold portion 3A and a second mold portion 3B that can move toward and away from each other. The first mold portion 3A is a mold portion that molds the large diameter portion 11 of the molded member 1, and forms a first space 33A that molds the large diameter portion 11. The second mold portion 3B is a mold portion that molds the small diameter portion 12 of the molded member 1, and forms a second space 33B that molds the small diameter portion 12. The wiring material W is placed in the center position of the molding space 33.

[0022] Then, the molten molding material 41 is injected into the molding space 33 where the wiring material W is disposed. The molding material 41 is injected into the molding space 33 so as to cover the wiring material W and fills the molding space 33. Then, when the molding material 41 in the molding space 33 has hardened, the mold 3 is opened, and the wire harness WH is taken out from the mold 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the wire harness WH is taken out from the mold 3 in a state where the molding member 1 is formed so as to cover the periphery of the wiring material W. Deburring, attachment of exterior parts and component parts, etc. are performed on this wire harness WH as necessary, and the manufacture of the wire harness WH is completed.

[0023] By the way, when the wire harness WH is installed in a vehicle or the like, even for the same vehicle model, the functions of the vehicle differ depending on the grade of the vehicle and the like, and different wire harnesses WH may be routed in the same wiring space 20. For example, as the wire harness WH, those having different numbers of wiring materials W may be routed. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the wire harness WH1 according to the present embodiment has a larger number of wiring materials W and a larger diameter portion 12 formed as compared with the wire harness WH in FIG. 3. That is, the diameter D3 of the diameter portion 12 of the wire harness WH1 is larger than the diameter D2 of the diameter portion 12 of the wire harness WH. However, the size of the large diameter portion 11 of the wire harness WH1 is formed to be the same as the large diameter portion 11 of the wire harness WH. For this reason, when the wire harness WH1 is routed in the same wiring space 20 as the wire harness WH, the wire harness WH1 is routed to be compatible with the wiring space 20. That is, even if the size of the diameter portion 12 changes, the wire harness WH1 is routed so as not to move with respect to the wiring space 20 because the large diameter portion 11 suppresses the movement of the molding member 1.

[0024] This wire harness WH1 can be manufactured by changing the second mold part 3B in the molding die 3 of FIG. 5. That is, the wire harness WH1 can be manufactured in the same manner as the wire harness WH by using a molding die 3 having a second mold part 3B that forms a second space 33B corresponding to the small-diameter part 12 of FIG. 6. For this reason, the first mold part 3A having the first space 33A corresponding to the large-diameter part 11 can be shared for the manufacture of the wire harness WH.

[0025] As described above, since the wire harness WH according to the present embodiment has the large-diameter part 11 in the mold molding member 1, it can be appropriately routed in the routing space 20 having a size corresponding to the large-diameter part 11.

[0026] Also, since the wire harness WH according to the present embodiment has a large-diameter part 11 with a semicircular cross section, it can be appropriately routed in the routing space 20 having a size corresponding to the large-diameter part 11.

[0027] Although the wire harness WH according to the present embodiment has been described as above, the wire harness according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope described in the claims. The wire harness WH according to the present embodiment may be configured by appropriately combining the components of the embodiments described above.

[0028] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the wire harness WH in which the cross section of the large-diameter part 11 in the direction intersecting the extending direction X of the wiring material W is provided in a semicircular shape has been described. However, the cross-sectional shape of the large-diameter part 11 may be other than a semicircle. For example, the cross-sectional shape of the large-diameter part 11 may be an arc shape or a fan shape with a central angle other than 180 degrees as long as the wire harness WH is suitable for routing in the routing space 20.

[0029] Also, although the wire harness WH according to the above-described embodiment has been described in the case of being mounted on a vehicle, the wire harness according to the present invention may be applied to a wire harness that is not mounted on a vehicle.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0030] 1: Molded parts 11: Large diameter section X: Extending direction Y: Circumferential direction W: Routing material WH: Wire harness

Claims

1. A wire harness comprising a conductive cable member, and a molded member that covers the outer periphery of the cable member and is provided integrally with the cable member, wherein the molded member has a large-diameter portion that is larger in the radial direction than other portions in a part of the circumferential direction. The wire harness.

2. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the large-diameter portion is provided with a semi-circular cross-section in a direction intersecting the extending direction of the cable member. The wire harness according to claim 1.

Images