Wire harness

Abstract

To provide a wire harness capable of improving workability in assembly work.SOLUTION: A wire harness WH includes a sub-module 10 and a branch box 20. A third connector 23 of the branch box 20 includes: a relay terminal 25 having a pair of terminal portions 25a, one of which is connected to a first connection terminal 27 on a substrate 24 side and the other of which is connected to a second connection terminal 33 on a control device 30 side, and an elastically deformable connecting portion 25b connecting the pair of terminal portions 25a; and a connector housing 26 that supports the relay terminal 25. A gap G1 is provided on a second outer wall 21b of a housing 21. The relay terminal 25 is configured to be able to follow movement of the connector housing 26 with elastic deformation of the connecting portion 25b in response to relative movement of the connector housing 26 along a first fitting direction Y and a height direction Z (a direction intersecting a second fitting direction X) with respect to the housing 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] As an example of a conventional technology relating to wire harnesses, Patent Document 1 discloses a wire harness including a sub-module having a flexible flat wiring material that is routed along a mounting panel of a vehicle and a first connector provided on the flat wiring material, and a branch box having a second connector that is connected to the first connector along a first mating direction and a third connector that is connected to a vehicle control device along a second mating direction that intersects with the first mating direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-055105 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the wire harness described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, for example, a vehicle control device may be fastened to a mounting panel by a bolt, and in this case, there is room for further improvement in terms of improving the workability of the assembly work.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wire harness that can improve the workability of assembly work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, a wire harness according to the present invention includes a sub-module having a flat wiring material that is flexible and is routed along a mounting panel of a vehicle, and a first connector provided on the flat wiring material; a housing; a second connector provided on a first outer wall of the housing and connected to the first connector along a first fitting direction; a third connector provided on a second outer wall of the housing and connected to a control device of the vehicle along a second fitting direction that intersects with the first fitting direction; and a branch box having a board accommodated in the housing, wherein one end of the third connector is connected to a first connection terminal on the board side. The relay terminal has a pair of terminal portions, one of which is connected to a second connection terminal on the control device side and the other of which is connected to a second connection terminal on the control device side, and an elastically deformable connecting portion connecting the pair of terminal portions, and a connector housing that supports the relay terminal, wherein a gap is provided in the second outer wall of the housing to allow relative movement of the connector housing in a direction intersecting the second mating direction, and the relay terminal is configured to be able to follow the movement of the connector housing by elastically deforming the connecting portion as the connector housing moves relative to the housing in a direction intersecting the second mating direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] In the wire harness according to the present invention, the intermediate terminals are configured to be able to follow the movement of the connector housing by elastically deforming the connecting portions in accordance with the relative movement of the connector housing relative to the housing in a direction intersecting the second fitting direction. With this configuration, for example, when a vehicle control device is fastened to a mounting panel with bolts, the intermediate terminals can follow the movement of the connector housing, thereby absorbing misalignment between the control device and the fastening holes in the mounting panel in a direction intersecting the second fitting direction. As a result, the wire harness has the advantage of being able to improve the workability of assembly work. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view of a vehicle to which a wire harness according to an embodiment is applied. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exemplary perspective view of a vehicle to which the wire harness according to the embodiment is applied, showing a state in which the control device is removed. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an exemplary perspective view of a branch box of the wire harness according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an exemplary perspective view of a sub-module and a branch box of the wire harness according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an exemplary cross-sectional view of a sub-module and a branch box of a wire harness according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an exemplary side view of a relay terminal of the wire harness according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially identical. Note that in this specification, ordinal numbers are used only to distinguish between parts, members, portions, 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 wire harness WH according to an embodiment is applied, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle 100 with a control device 30 removed. The wire harness WH according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is applied to the vehicle 100 and connects devices mounted on the vehicle 100 to be used for power supply and signal communication. The wire harness WH according to the embodiment is provided, for example, in a dash panel 120 of the vehicle 100 and is also installed inside an instrument panel (not shown) of the vehicle 100. The dash panel 120 is a partition wall that separates an engine compartment 130 of the vehicle 100 from a vehicle interior (cabin), and constitutes a structural member (framework member) of the vehicle 100.

[0011] In this embodiment, dash panel 120 includes, for example, dash panel main body 125 made of metal and mounting panel 110 made of resin. In this embodiment, dash panel main body 125 is integrally molded with peripheral panels 115 of engine compartment 130, etc. This increases the rigidity and strength of dash panel 120, and ultimately allows mounting panel 110 to be made of a resin molded product. That is, in this embodiment, mounting panel 110 is a separate part from dash panel main body 125. Mounting panel 110 is installed in, for example, a recess 121 formed in dash panel main body 125, and forms part of dash panel 120 together with dash panel main body 125.

[0012] In the following description, of the first, second, and third directions that intersect with one another, the first direction will be referred to as the "first mating direction Y," the second direction will be referred to as the "second mating direction X," and the third direction will be referred to as the "height direction Z." Here, the first mating direction Y, the second mating direction X, and the height direction Z are approximately perpendicular to one another. The second mating direction X typically corresponds to the connection direction (mating direction) between the third connector 23 (see FIG. 2) of the branch box 20 (described later) and the control device 30, the thickness direction of the flat wiring material 11 and the mounting panel 110, the bolt fastening direction between the control device 30 and the mounting panel 110, etc., and is aligned with the vehicle longitudinal direction. The first mating direction Y typically corresponds to the connection direction (mating direction) between the first connector 12 of the submodule 10 and the second connector 22 of the branch box 20, the longitudinal direction (extension direction) of the flat wiring material 11 and the mounting panel 110, etc., and is aligned with the vehicle transverse direction. The height direction Z typically corresponds to the short-side direction of the flat wiring material 11 and the mounting panel 110, and is aligned with the vehicle height direction. Note that, unless otherwise specified, each direction used in the following description will be described as the direction when the wire harness WH is assembled to the vehicle 100.

[0013] 1 and 2, the wire harness WH of this embodiment includes, for example, a plurality of sub-modules 10 and a plurality of branch boxes 20. Each sub-module 10 includes a flat wiring material 11 extending along a first fitting direction Y and a plurality of first connectors 12 provided at an end of the flat wiring material 11. Here, each sub-module 10 is connected to one branch box 20 via the first connector 12 provided at one end in the first fitting direction Y, and is connected to the other branch box 20 via another first connector 12 provided at the other end in the first fitting direction Y.

[0014] The flat wiring material 11 is a wiring material that constitutes the wire harness WH, and is composed of, for example, FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits) or FFC (Flexible Flat Cable). The flat wiring material 11 is formed as a rectangular plate that is elongated horizontally along the first fitting direction Y. Note that the flat wiring material 11 is not limited to this example, and may be composed of, for example, multiple ribbon wires arranged side by side along the height direction Z. The flat wiring material 11 is a thin, flexible, flat wiring material.

[0015] The flat wiring material 11 is composed of, for example, a base film, a wiring pattern, and a coverlay. The base film is a substrate that has excellent flexibility and determines the overall shape of the flat wiring material 11. The base film is formed, for example, from a polyimide resin that has excellent heat resistance. The wiring pattern is laminated on the surface (mounting surface) of the base film and constitutes multiple conductor circuit portions (pattern layers). The wiring pattern is formed, for example, from a conductive material such as copper foil, and is printed on the surface of the base film as a printed circuit body. The coverlay is laminated over the entire surface of the base film via an adhesive (not shown), and functions as a protective layer that protects the conductor circuit portions of the wiring pattern, etc.

[0016] The multiple first connectors 12 are electrically connected to the wiring pattern of the flat wiring material 11. The multiple conductor circuit portions formed by the wiring pattern can function as any of circuits such as a signal circuit, a signal GND circuit, or a power earth circuit. The signal circuit is, for example, a circuit that transmits communication signals between the control device 30 and on-board devices such as various electronic devices in the vehicle 100. The signal GND circuit is a circuit that is associated with the signal circuit, provides electrical continuity between on-board devices, and matches the potential that serves as the reference for circuit operation between the on-board devices. The power earth circuit is a circuit that grounds the power supply system of the on-board devices.

[0017] The branching box 20 is a part that is connected to the first connector 12 of the submodule 10 and the fourth connector 32 (see FIG. 5) of the control device 30. Each branching box 20 includes a housing 21, a second connector 22 and a third connector 23 provided at the end of the housing 21, and a board 24 housed in the housing 21. Here, each branching box 20 is connected to the first connector 12 of the submodule 10 via the second connector 22 provided at the end in the first fitting direction Y, and is connected to the fourth connector 32 of the control device 30 via the third connector 23 provided at the end in the second fitting direction X.

[0018] In this embodiment, of the three branch boxes 20 (see FIG. 2) arranged along the first fitting direction Y, one ECU 30A is connected to the first ECU 30A of the control device 30 via the branch box 20 provided at one end in the first fitting direction Y, one ECU 30B is connected to the second ECU 30B of the control device 30 via the branch box 20 provided in the center of the first fitting direction Y, and one ECU 30C is connected to the third ECU 30C of the control device 30 via the branch box 20 provided at the other end in the first fitting direction Y. Note that the first ECU 30A, the second ECU 30B, and the third ECU 30C here are typically zone ECUs that comprehensively control devices in a peripheral area (zone) of the dash panel 120, but are not limited thereto.

[0019] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the branch box 20 of the wire harness WH, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the sub-module 10 of the wire harness WH and the branch box 20. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the housing 21 of the branch box 20 is formed, for example, in the shape of a flat, approximately rectangular parallelepiped box along the second fitting direction X. The housing 21 has a plurality of walls, such as a first outer wall 21a, a second outer wall 21b, a third outer wall 21c, and a mounting wall 29. The housing 21 is fastened and fixed to the mounting panel 110 via fastening members, such as bolts, that penetrate the mounting wall 29 along the second fitting direction X.

[0020] The second outer wall 21b and the third outer wall 21c both extend in a direction perpendicular to the second fitting direction X and are provided parallel to each other with a gap in between in the second fitting direction X. The second outer wall 21b is disposed so as to face the control device 30 described above, and the third outer wall 21c is disposed so as to face the mounting panel 110. A third connector 23 is provided on the second outer wall 21b, which is fitted with a fourth connector 32 (see FIG. 5) of the control device 30 along the second fitting direction X. The second outer wall 21b is also referred to as an upper wall, a rear wall, etc., and the third outer wall 21c is also referred to as a bottom wall, a front wall, etc.

[0021] Each of the first outer walls 21a extends in a direction perpendicular to the second outer wall 21b and the third outer wall 21c and spans between the second outer wall 21b and the third outer wall 21c. The first outer wall 21a includes, for example, a pair of first side walls located at both ends in the first fitting direction Y and a pair of second side walls located at both ends in the height direction Z. At least one of the pair of first side walls is provided with a second connector 22 that is mated with the first connector 12 of the submodule 10 along the first fitting direction Y. Specifically, in this embodiment, of the three branching boxes 20 lined up along the first fitting direction Y, the two branching boxes 20 located at both ends in the first fitting direction Y are provided with the second connector 22 on one side of the pair of first side walls, and the branching box 20 located in the center in the first fitting direction Y is provided with the second connector 22 on both sides of the pair of first side walls.

[0022] The pair of second side walls of the first outer wall 21a are each provided with the above-mentioned mounting walls 29. The mounting walls 29 protrude from the pair of second side walls in the height direction Z toward sides that are spaced apart from each other. The pair of mounting walls 29 are each provided with a mounting hole 29a through which a fastening member such as a bolt is inserted along the second fitting direction X. The first outer wall 21a is also referred to as a side wall, an end wall, or the like. The first outer wall 21a, the second outer wall 21b, and the third outer wall 21c define an internal space of the housing 21. The internal space is a space that houses the board 24 (see FIG. 5) of the branching box 20.

[0023] In this embodiment, the third connector 23 of the branch box 20 faces the vehicle interior (toward the control device 30), opposite the mounting panel 110 in the second fitting direction X. The third connector 23 of the branch box 20 provided at one end in the first fitting direction Y is connectable to the fourth connector 32 of the first ECU 30A (see FIG. 2 ), the third connector 23 of the branch box 20 provided at the center in the first fitting direction Y is connectable to the fourth connector 32 of the second ECU 30B, and the third connector 23 of the branch box 20 provided at the other end in the first fitting direction Y is connectable to the fourth connector 32 of the third ECU 30C. Thus, in this embodiment, the third connector 23 of each branch box 20 is arranged in a standby state with respect to the control device 30, such as the first ECU 30A, the second ECU 30B, or the third ECU 30C.

[0024] Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sub-module 10 and the branch box 20 of the wire harness WH, and Fig. 6 is a side view of the relay terminal 25 of the wire harness WH. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the third connector 23 includes, for example, the relay terminal 25 extending along the second fitting direction X and a connector housing 26 that supports the relay terminal 25.

[0025] The relay terminal 25 serves to relay and connect, for example, a first connection terminal 27 of an internal connector mounted on the substrate 24 and a second connection terminal 33 of a fourth connector 32 provided on the control device 30 side. The relay terminal 25 includes, for example, a pair of terminal portions 25a located at both ends in the second fitting direction X, a linking portion 25b located in the center in the second fitting direction X, and a welding portion 25c (see FIG. 6 ) that integrates the pair of terminal portions 25a and the linking portion 25b. One of the pair of terminal portions 25a is electrically connected to the first connection terminal 27, and the other is electrically connected to the second connection terminal 33. The pair of terminal portions 25a is formed, for example, by female terminal fittings made of a conductive metal material.

[0026] The connecting portion 25b extends along the second mating direction X and connects the pair of terminal portions 25a. In this embodiment, the connecting portion 25b is formed as a separate part from the pair of terminal portions 25a and is integrated with the pair of terminal portions 25a by welding via the above-mentioned welded portion 25c. The connecting portion 25b is formed, for example, in the shape of a helical spring having a central axis extending along the second mating direction X. The connecting portion 25b is elastically deformable in directions intersecting the second mating direction X, i.e., along the first mating direction Y and the height direction Z, and allows displacement of one of the pair of terminal portions 25a relative to the other along the first mating direction Y and the height direction Z. In other words, the relay terminal 25 is configured to follow the movement of the connector housing 26 by elastically deforming the connecting portion 25b in response to relative movement of the connector housing 26 in the first mating direction Y and the height direction Z with respect to the housing 21 (described later). The connecting portion 25b may be provided with an insulating cover or the like that prevents the adjacent coil spring portions in the second fitting direction X from contacting each other.

[0027] The connector housing 26 supports the other of the pair of terminal portions 25a, which is located on the control device 30 side, inside the connector housing 26. The connector housing 26 is provided on the second outer wall 21b of the casing 21 and protrudes from the second outer wall 21b along the second fitting direction X. In this embodiment, the second outer wall 21b is provided with a gap G1 that allows relative movement of the connector housing 26 in a direction intersecting the second fitting direction X of the connector housing 26, i.e., along the first fitting direction Y and the height direction Z. The gap G1 is formed, for example, by a rectangular opening that is along the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing 26 (see FIG. 4) and is slightly larger than the outer peripheral surface.

[0028] The connector housing 26 is provided at its base end with a flange portion (see FIG. 5) that protrudes in the first mating direction Y and the height direction Z. The flange portion is supported by a middle wall 21d of the housing 21 inside the second outer wall 21b. In this embodiment, the middle wall 21d is provided with a gap G2 that allows relative movement of the connector housing 26 in a direction intersecting the second mating direction X of the connector housing 26, i.e., along the first mating direction Y and the height direction Z. The gap G2 is formed, for example, by a rectangular housing space that is along the tip surface of the flange portion and is slightly larger than the tip surface. In this embodiment, the size of the gap G2 is set to be approximately the same as or slightly smaller than the size of the gap G1. The gap G1 is also referred to as a first gap, etc., and the gap G2 is also referred to as a second gap, etc.

[0029] Further, a first locking portion 21e for preventing the relay terminal 25 from coming off is provided inside the connector housing 26. The first locking portion 21e has a locking surface that faces the other of the pair of terminal portions 25a that is closer to the control device 30 along the second fitting direction X, and the abutment of the locking surface with the other terminal portion 25a prevents the relay terminal 25 from moving (coming off) toward one end (toward the board 24) in the second fitting direction X relative to the connector housing 26. Meanwhile, a second locking portion 27b for preventing the relay terminal 25 from coming off is provided on the connector housing 27a of the internal connector on the board 24 side. The second locking portion 27b has a locking surface that faces the one of the pair of terminal portions 25a that is closer to the board 24 along the second fitting direction X, and the abutment of the locking surface with the one terminal portion 25a prevents the relay terminal 25 from moving (coming off) toward the other end (toward the control device 30) in the second fitting direction X relative to the connector housing 27a. The first connection terminal 27 of the internal connector is formed, for example, by a male terminal fitting made of a conductive metal material.

[0030] The second connector 22 includes, for example, L-shaped connector terminals 28 extending along the first mating direction Y and the second mating direction X, and a connector housing supporting the connector terminals 28. The connector terminals 28 are, for example, male terminal fittings made of a conductive metal material, and one end is electrically connected to the connector terminals 11a of the first connector 12 and the other end is electrically connected to the board 24. The other end of the connector terminal 28 is electrically connected to the first connection terminal 27 via, for example, a wiring pattern provided on the board 24. The connector housing is provided on the first outer wall 21a of the housing 21 and protrudes from the first outer wall 21a in the first mating direction Y.

[0031] The control device 30 includes, for example, a housing 31, a fourth connector 32 provided on an outer wall 31a of the housing 31, and a board 34 accommodated in the housing 31. The fourth connector 32 includes, for example, second connection terminals 33 extending along the second mating direction X and a connector housing supporting the second connection terminals 33. The second connection terminals 33 are, for example, male terminal fittings made of a conductive metal material and are attached so as to penetrate the board 34 and the connector housing along the second mating direction X. A tapered surface 32a is provided at an open end of the connector housing. The tapered surface 32a is inclined toward both sides in the first mating direction Y and both sides in the height direction Z as it approaches one end side (the third connector 23 side) in the second mating direction X. In this embodiment, the tapered surface 32a having such a shape improves the insertability of the third connector 23 into the fourth connector 32.

[0032] Here, in this embodiment, the third connector 23 is fitted with the fourth connector 32 on the control device 30 side in response to fastening of the control device 30 to the above-described mounting panel 110 with bolts. Specifically, in this embodiment, the mounting panel 110 is provided with a pair of fastening holes 111 (see FIG. 3) on both sides in the height direction Z with the third connector 23 (branch box 20) sandwiched therebetween. The pair of fastening holes 111 includes a first fastening hole 111a positioned offset to one side in the height direction Z with respect to the third connector 23, and a second fastening hole 111b positioned offset to the other side in the height direction Z with respect to the third connector 23. In addition, a pair of mounting pieces (see FIG. 2) to which bolts are attached along the second fitting direction X are provided at both ends of the control device 30 in the height direction Z.

[0033] The bolts are inserted through the mounting holes of the pair of mounting pieces and fastened to the fastening holes 111 of the mounting panel 110. This allows the bolts to function as assist bolts when the third connector 23 of the branching box 20 and the fourth connector 32 of the control device 30 are fitted together, thereby making it easier or smoother to fit the third connector 23 and the fourth connector 32 together. In this embodiment, a gap G1 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) is provided in the second outer wall 21b of the branching box 20 to allow relative movement of the third connector 23 in a direction intersecting the second fitting direction X, i.e., along the first fitting direction Y and the height direction Z.

[0034] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the third connector 23 and the fourth connector 32 are mated together, the relay terminal 25 and the connector housing 26 of the third connector 23 move relative to the second outer wall 21b along the gap G1, thereby absorbing positional misalignment between the mounting piece portion of the control device 30 and the fastening hole 111 of the mounting panel 110 in the first mating direction Y and the height direction Z.

[0035] The wire harness WH of this embodiment is configured to include a flat wiring material 11. Therefore, the wire harness WH configured with the flat wiring material 11 is lighter than a wire harness in which various general electric wires are bundled. Here, when the above-mentioned wire harness WH is installed in the vehicle 100, it is assumed that the length of the wire harness WH will be approximately 1000 mm. If a wire harness WH of such a length were configured entirely of electric wires, there is a risk that the overall weight of the wire harness WH would increase. In this regard, according to this embodiment, since the wire harness WH is configured to include the flat wiring material 11, an increase in the overall weight of the wire harness WH can be suppressed. Furthermore, generally, wire harnesses in which various electric wires are bundled are manufactured manually by workers. In contrast, the flat wiring material 11 can be manufactured automatically. Therefore, by configuring the wire harness WH with the flat wiring material 11, the number of manufacturing steps for the wire harness WH can be reduced.

[0036] As described above, in the wire harness WH of this embodiment, the relay terminals 25 are configured to be able to follow the movement of the connector housing 26 by elastically deforming the connecting portions 25b in accordance with the relative movement of the connector housing 26 relative to the casing 21 in the first fitting direction Y and the height direction Z (direction intersecting the second fitting direction X). With this configuration, for example, when the control device 30 of the vehicle 100 is fastened and fixed to the mounting panel 110 with bolts, the relay terminals 25 follow the movement of the connector housing 26, thereby absorbing positional misalignment between the control device 30 and the fastening holes 111 of the mounting panel 110 in the first fitting direction Y and the height direction Z. As a result, the wire harness WH can improve the workability of the assembly work.

[0037] In the wire harness WH of this embodiment, the connecting portion 25b is formed in a helical spring shape as a separate part from the pair of terminal portions 25a, and the relay terminal 25 includes a welded portion 25c that integrates the pair of terminal portions 25a and the connecting portion 25b. With this configuration, the wire harness WH can integrate the pair of terminal portions 25a and the helical spring-shaped connecting portion 25b by, for example, the welded portion 25c, and thus can form the relay terminal 25 that can follow the movement of the connector housing 26 relatively easily.

[0038] In the present embodiment, the relay terminal 25 is illustrated as including a pair of terminal portions 25a and a connecting portion 25b as separate parts and integrated by a welded portion 25c. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this example. For example, the relay terminal 25 may include a pair of terminal portions 25a and a connecting portion 25b as the same part. In addition, in the present embodiment, the wire harness WH is illustrated as including two sub-modules 10 and three branching boxes 20. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this example. For example, the wire harness WH may be included in one sub-module 10 and two branching boxes 20, or may be included in three or more sub-modules 10 and four or more branching boxes 20. In addition, in the present embodiment, the wire harness WH is attached to the resin mounting panel 110. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this example. For example, the wire harness WH may be attached to a metal dash panel main body 125 or a mounting panel other than the dash panel 120 (such as a door panel, a roof panel, or a floor panel).

[0039] While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, they 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, substitutions, combinations, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the specifications of each configuration, shape, and the like (structure, type, direction, format, size, length, width, thickness, height, number, arrangement, position, material, etc.) can be modified as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 10 Submodules 11 Flat wiring material 12 First connector 20 Branch Box 21. Cabinet 22 Second connector 23 Third Connector 24 PCB 25 Relay terminal 25a Terminal section 25b Joint 26 Connector housing 27 First connection terminal 30 Control device 33 Second connection terminal 100 vehicles 110 Mounting panel WH Wire Harness X 2nd mating direction Y First mating direction (direction intersecting with second mating direction) Z: Height direction (direction intersecting with the second mating direction)

Claims

1. a sub-module including a flat wiring material that is flexible and that is wired along a mounting panel of a vehicle, and a first connector that is provided on the flat wiring material; a branch box including a housing, a second connector provided on a first outer wall of the housing and connected to the first connector along a first fitting direction, a third connector provided on a second outer wall of the housing and connected to a control device of the vehicle along a second fitting direction intersecting the first fitting direction, and a board accommodated in the housing; the third connector is configured to include a relay terminal having a pair of terminal portions, one of which is connected to a first connection terminal on the board side and the other of which is connected to a second connection terminal on the control device side, and an elastically deformable link portion connecting the pair of terminal portions, and a connector housing that supports the relay terminal; a gap that allows relative movement of the connector housing along a direction intersecting the second fitting direction is provided in the second outer wall of the housing; the relay terminal is configured to be able to follow the movement of the connector housing by elastically deforming the connecting portion in accordance with the relative movement of the connector housing with respect to the casing in a direction intersecting the second fitting direction. Wire harness.

2. the connecting portion is formed in a helical spring shape as a separate part from the pair of terminal portions, The relay terminal includes a welding portion that integrates the pair of terminal portions and the connecting portion. The wire harness according to claim 1 .

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