Temporary fastening method for wire harness assemblies

Abstract

This invention provides a method for temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly to improve the efficiency of wire harness routing work when attaching the wire harness assembly to the back door of a vehicle. [Solution] In the method of temporarily fixing the wire harness assembly 20, before routing the electric wires 25 exposed from the assembly member 21 to the back door 10, a plurality of notches 27 penetrating the assembly member 21 in the thickness direction are formed. A hook 30 is passed through each notch 27 such that a locking piece 30a faces one surface of the assembly member 21, and a portion other than the locking piece 30a remains inside the notch 27. The locking piece 30a of each hook 30 is then hooked onto the edge of each opening 13 pre-formed in the inner panel 11c, thereby holding the assembly member 21 to the inner panel 11c.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for temporarily fixing a wire harness assembly.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in the manufacturing process of vehicles such as automobiles, there is a process of attaching a backdoor module having a wire harness to the inner panel of the backdoor. In this process, generally, an operator may have to lift the backdoor module upward with respect to the backdoor that is in an upwardly open state. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to a method of carrying a vehicle backdoor module from the outdoor side into the room through an opening surrounded by a window frame portion of a closed backdoor and attaching it to the inner panel on the indoor side of the backdoor in order to reduce the physical burden on the operator.

[0003] On the other hand, as a structure assumed to be attached to the inner panel of the backdoor, a wire harness assembly having a panel-shaped assembly member excellent in sound insulation is mentioned separately from the backdoor module shown in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 2 discloses a technique related to a wire harness assembly provided with a sound insulation member having a porous body and a sheet-like body integrally provided on one surface side of the porous body, and a wire harness is disposed between the porous body and the sheet-like body.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Let's consider a case where the mounting method for a vehicle back door module disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used to attach the wire harness assembly disclosed in Patent Document 2 to the inner panel of the back door. In this case, during the wire harness assembly mounting process, for example, it is not necessarily the case that the rear glass is not attached to the window frame of the back door, nor is it necessarily the case that all the wires of the wire harness can be routed through the opening in the window frame. Therefore, it is practically difficult to attach the wire harness assembly to the back door based on such assumptions.

[0006] On the other hand, consider a scenario where a worker lifts the wire harness assembly disclosed in Patent Document 2 upwards to install it on a back door that is open upwards. In this case, if the worker attempts to route the multiple wires of the wire harness to the back door, the assembly member will be suspended in mid-air in an unstable position. Such a suspended assembly member can hinder the worker's wiring work and therefore requires improvement.

[0007] This invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art. The object of this invention is to provide a method for temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly to improve the work efficiency related to the routing of wire harnesses when attaching a wire harness assembly to the back door of a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An aspect of the present invention is a method for temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly to an inner panel constituting the back door of a vehicle, the assembly comprising a wire harness and a soundproof assembly member having two flexible laminated members laminated while sandwiching a portion of the wires of the wire harness, wherein, before routing the wires exposed from the assembly member to the back door, a plurality of notches penetrating the assembly member in the thickness direction are formed, a hook is passed through each notch such that a locking piece faces one surface of the assembly member and a portion other than the locking piece remains inside the notch, and the assembly member is held to the inner panel by hooking the locking piece of each hook to the edge of each opening formed in the inner panel. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method for temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly to the back door of a vehicle, thereby improving the efficiency of the work involved in routing the wire harness. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows the temporary fastening state of the wire harness assembly according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows the back door in temporary fastening in this embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view of a wire harness assembly. [Figure 4] This figure shows the temporary fastening process for the wire harness assembly according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This diagram shows the state of the hooks held in the wire harness assembly. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The temporary fastening methods for wire harness assemblies according to each embodiment will be described in detail below using the drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for illustrative purposes and may differ from the actual ratios.

[0012] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the temporary fastening state of the wire harness assembly 20 according to the temporary fastening method of the wire harness assembly 20 according to this embodiment.

[0013] The wire harness assembly 20, described in detail below, is attached to the inner panel 11c that constitutes the back door 10 of a vehicle 1 such as an automobile. In this embodiment, the state of the wire harness assembly 20 when the vehicle 1 is in its finished state, that is, when the manufacturing process of the vehicle 1 is completed, is defined as the final fastening state of the wire harness assembly 20.

[0014] On the other hand, during the manufacturing process of vehicle 1, in the process of attaching the wire harness assembly 20 to the inner panel 11c, there is a step of routing each of the electric wires 25, which are part of the wire harness assembly 20, onto the inner panel 11c. In this embodiment, the state in which the assembly member 21, which is part of the wire harness assembly 20, is held to the inner panel 11c during the routing of the electric wires 25 is defined as the temporary fixing state of the wire harness assembly 20. When the wire harness assembly 20 is in the permanent fixing state, the temporary fixing state may be released and permanent fixing may be performed using a different mounting structure than the one used during temporary fixing, or the mounting structure used during temporary fixing may be maintained as is.

[0015] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the wiring work of the electric wires 25, including the temporary fastening of the wire harness assembly 20, is performed by the worker with the back door 10 open upwards, as shown in Figure 1. The specific structure of the vehicle 1 equipped with the back door 10, and the structure for maintaining the open state of the back door 10, are not particularly limited; in other words, the structures shown in Figure 1 are merely examples.

[0016] Figure 2 is a plan view of the back door 10, which is in the open position as shown in Figure 1, with the wire harness assembly 20 temporarily attached, as seen from below. Note that in Figure 2, the structural details of other parts of the vehicle 1 are omitted.

[0017] The back door 10 comprises a back door body 11 and a rear glass 12. The back door body 11 is a structure composed of an inner panel 11c and an outer panel (not shown), each manufactured by applying various processes to a metal sheet material. The back door body 11 includes, for example, an upper structural part 11a and a lower structural part 11b.

[0018] The upper structural part 11a is a structural part located above the lower structural part 11b in the back door main body 11 when the back door 10 is in the closed state. The upper structural part 11a has a window frame part 11e as an opening for assembling the rear glass 12. Also, in the present embodiment, since the back door 10 has a structure that opens upward, a plurality of hinge parts 16 for supporting the back door 10 to be openable and closable with respect to the vehicle 1 are attached to the connection part of the upper structural part 11a to the ceiling part of the vehicle 1.

[0019] The lower structural part 11b is a structural part located at the lowest position near the ground surface in the back door main body 11 when the back door 10 is in the closed state. The assembly member 21 included in the wire harness assembly 20 is attached to a preset attachment area 11d (see FIG. 4) on the part of the inner panel 11c that exists in the lower structural part 11b. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, when the back door 10 is in the open state, the lower structural part 11b is inclined so that the side continuous with the upper structural part 11a in the opening and closing direction is higher than the back door tip part 11f on the opposite side in the opening and closing direction from the ground surface. Furthermore, the inner panel 11c has a plurality of openings 13 (see FIG. 4) within the attachment area 11d. The opening 13 is a through part that leads from the outside of the inner panel 11c to the door inner space formed between the inner panel 11c and the outer panel. For example, when various electric wires are routed in the door inner space, the opening 13 may be used when an operator connects the electric wires to each other or inserts a tool from the outside. The plurality of openings 13 may be arranged along the width direction orthogonal to the opening and closing direction of the back door 10 and on the side closer to the back door tip part 11f within the attachment area 11d. In the present embodiment, there are, as an example, two openings 13 on which the hook 30 is hung.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the wire harness assembly 20. The wire harness assembly 20 is attached to the back door 10 as described above and is applied to the wire harness 24 routed in the back door 10. The wire harness assembly 20 includes the wire harness 24 and the assembly member 21.

[0021] The wire harness 24 is arranged in a predetermined shape inside the assembling member 21 that is integrally assembled. The wire harness 24 includes a plurality of electric wires 25 and a plurality of connectors 26.

[0022] The electric wire 25 is, for example, a coated electric wire in which the outer periphery of a core wire made of a conductive material is coated with an insulating coating. Note that the electric wire 25 may be a flat cable in which a plurality of core wires are arranged in parallel and the outer periphery is coated with an insulating coating. The plurality of electric wires 25 are arranged such that one end side is gathered at one location with respect to the assembling member 21 and the other end side branches respectively.

[0023] In the present embodiment, as an example, the wire harness 24 has four electric wires 25, namely, a first electric wire 25a, a second electric wire 25b, a third electric wire 25c, and a fourth electric wire 25d. Among these, the first electric wire 25a, the second electric wire 25b, and the third electric wire 25c are so-called branch wires, which are electric wires that branch respectively. On the other hand, the fourth electric wire 25d is a so-called main wire that gathers the first electric wire 25a, the second electric wire 25b, and the third electric wire 25c.

[0024] The connector 26 includes, for example, a housing made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin and a terminal (not shown) made of a conductive material. The housing fits with a mating housing of a mating connector (not shown) that is electrically connected to an electrical component mounted on the back door 10. The terminal is electrically connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire 25 and is housed in the housing. The terminal is electrically connected to a mating terminal housed in the mating housing when the housing and the mating housing are fitted together.

[0025] Since the connector 26 is connected to the terminals of multiple electric wires 25, in this embodiment there are four connectors corresponding to four electric wires 25. The connector 26 connected to the terminal of the first electric wire 25a is the first connector 26a. The connector 26 connected to the terminal of the second electric wire 25b is the second connector 26b. The connector 26 connected to the terminal of the third electric wire 25c is the third connector 26c. The connector 26 connected to the terminal of the fourth electric wire 25d is the fourth connector 26d. The fourth connector 26d is connected to a mating connector routed from the vehicle body that supports the back door 10 in the vehicle 1.

[0026] The assembly member 21 comprises a base material 22 and a cover material 23, which are flexible and stacked together as laminated members.

[0027] The base material 22 is a sheet-like member formed from a sound-insulating material such as urethane foam, polypropylene fiber, polyethylene terephthalate fiber, or polyester fiber nonwoven fabric. The base material 22 is a long plate with its longitudinal direction aligned with the width direction of the back door 10. The thickness of the base material 22 is set to, for example, about 10 to 15 mm. On the inner surface of the base material 22 facing the cover material 23, portions of the multiple wires 25 of the wire harness 24 are arranged in a predetermined shape. The terminal ends of each wire 25 connected to the connector 26 are positioned outside the base material 22.

[0028] The cover material 23 is a sheet-like member formed from a sound-insulating material such as a film made of polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene, or closed-cell or continuous foam made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, or elastomer. The planar shape of the cover material 23 is the same as the planar shape of the base material 22. The thickness of the cover material 23 is set to, for example, about 2 mm, which is thinner than the thickness of the base material 22. Adhesive is applied to the surface of the cover material 23 that faces the base material 22, and the cover material 23 is attached to the inner surface of the base material 22 so as to sandwich a portion of the multiple electric wires 25 between the cover material 23 and the base material 22.

[0029] In the assembly member 21, multiple electric wires 25 arranged in a predetermined shape are held between the base material 22 and the cover material 23 which are attached to each other. Therefore, the assembly member 21 can protect the electric wires 25 of the wire harness 24 and maintain the arrangement shape of the electric wires 25.

[0030] Furthermore, the assembly member 21 has sound-insulating properties because at least one of the base material 22 or the cover material 23 is made of a material as exemplified above. Such an assembly member 21, having sound-insulating properties, may also be referred to as a sound-absorbing material.

[0031] Next, we will explain the method for temporarily fastening the wire harness assembly 20.

[0032] Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating the temporary fastening process corresponding to the temporary fastening method for the wire harness assembly 20. Hereinafter, this temporary fastening process will be performed when the back door 10 is open upwards in the vehicle 1.

[0033] First, before the assembly member 21 of the wire harness assembly 20 is held in the mounting area 11d set on the inner panel 11c, two openings 13 are formed in the inner panel 11c. The process of forming the openings 13 may be a process in which the openings are formed in the inner panel 11c in advance during the manufacturing stage of the back door body 11, or it may be a process in which the openings are formed after the back door body 11 has been manufactured and in conjunction with the temporary fixing process.

[0034] Next, the wire harness assembly 20 illustrated in Figure 3 is prepared. Then, before the worker routes the multiple electric wires 25 exposed from the assembly member 21 of the wire harness assembly 20 to the back door 10, multiple notches 27 penetrating in the thickness direction are formed in the assembly member 21. The multiple notches 27 are formed to match the positions of the two openings 13 formed in the inner panel 11c, assuming that the assembly member 21 is placed in the mounting area 11d. In other words, in this embodiment, notches 27 are formed in two places on the assembly member 21. Furthermore, since the base material 22 and cover material 23 constituting the assembly member 21 are both made of flexible material, each notch 27 may be formed by the worker using a cutter or the like, for example, so that the shape is cross-shaped.

[0035] Furthermore, if the opening 13 is formed in conjunction with the temporary fixing process, the process of forming the notch 27 in the assembly member 21 may be performed before or after the process of forming the opening 13.

[0036] Next, a pre-prepared hook 30 is passed through each notch 27 formed in the assembly member 21. The hook 30 is a metal fitting formed, for example, by various processing on a metal plate. The hook 30 includes a locking piece 30a and other parts continuous with the locking piece 30a, and has a shape such that, when passed through the notch 27, the locking piece 30a faces one surface of the assembly member 21, and a part separate from the locking piece 30a remains inside the notch 27. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the hook 30 has a locking piece 30a, a pressing piece 30b parallel to the locking piece 30a, and a connecting piece 30c that connects the locking piece 30a and the pressing piece 30b.

[0037] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the state of a hook 30 held in the wire harness assembly 20 by passing through one of the notches 27. In Figure 5, the hook 30 is shown as viewed from a direction that allows viewing of the surface of the assembly member 21 that is attached to the inner panel 11c, i.e., the outer surface 22a of the base material 22. When the hook 30 passes through each notch 27, the locking piece 30a faces the outer surface 22a of the base material 22, which is one surface of the assembly member 21, without contact. Also, when the hook 30 passes through each notch 27, the retaining piece 30b faces the outer surface 23a of the cover material 23, which is the other surface of the assembly member 21. In other words, when the hook 30 is held in place by the notch 27, it is the connecting piece 30c of the hook 30 that is actually maintained in a state where it passes through the notch 27, leaving a portion of it remaining in the notch 27. In this case, even if an external force is applied to the hook 30 in a direction away from the outer surface 22a of the base material 22, the retaining piece 30b will contact the outer surface 23a of the cover material 23. On the other hand, even if an external force is applied to the hook 30 in a direction away from the outer surface 23a of the cover material 23, the locking piece 30a will contact the outer surface 22a of the base material 22. Therefore, the hook 30 is less likely to fall out of the notch 27.

[0038] Then, the worker attaches the locking piece 30a of each hook 30, which is in the state shown in Figure 5, to the edge of each opening 13 formed in the inner panel 11c, thereby holding the assembly member 21 to the inner panel 11c.

[0039] In this embodiment, when routing the electric wire 25, the mounting area 11d of the assembly member 21, which is pre-set on the inner panel 11c, is inclined such that the side closer to the hinge portion 16 in the opening and closing direction is higher from the ground than the side closer to the back door tip portion 11f. Therefore, the locking piece 30a is hooked onto the edge of the opening 13 in the direction from the hinge portion 16 toward the back door tip portion 11f, thereby preventing the assembly member 21 held on the inner panel 11c from sliding down toward the back door tip portion 11f.

[0040] As a result of this temporary fastening process, the assembly member 21 is temporarily fixed to the inner panel 11c, and thereafter, the worker can route each electric wire 25 to the designated position on the back door 10 without being hindered by the assembly member 21.

[0041] Next, we will explain the effects of the temporary fastening method for the wire harness assembly 20.

[0042] The temporary fastening method involves temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly 20 to an inner panel 11c that constitutes the back door 10 of a vehicle 1. The wire harness assembly 20 comprises a wire harness 24 and a soundproof assembly member 21 having two flexible laminated members that are laminated while sandwiching a portion of the electric wires 25 of the wire harness 24. In this temporary fastening method, before routing the electric wires 25 exposed from the assembly member 21 to the back door 10, a plurality of notches 27 penetrating the assembly member 21 in the thickness direction are formed. In this temporary fastening method, a hook 30 is passed through each notch 27 such that a locking piece 30a faces one surface of the assembly member 21, and a portion other than the locking piece 30a remains inside the notch 27. The assembly member 21 is then held to the inner panel 11c by hooking the locking piece 30a of each hook 30 onto the edge of each opening 13 formed in the inner panel 11c.

[0043] Here, the two laminated members correspond to a base material 22 and a cover material 23, respectively, which are made of a flexible material, as shown in the above example. Also, when the hook 30 penetrates the notch 27, one surface of the assembly member 21 that the locking piece 30a faces corresponds to the outer surface 22a of the base material 22, as shown in the above example.

[0044] Let's consider a scenario where a worker lifts the wire harness assembly 20 upwards to install it onto the back door 10, which is open upwards. In this case, the worker can temporarily fasten the assembly member 21 to the inner panel 11c by hooking the hooks 30, which are passed through each of the multiple notches 27 formed in the assembly member 21, onto the edges of each opening 13 in the inner panel 11c. Therefore, the worker can efficiently route the wires 25 of the wire harness 24 without being obstructed by the assembly member 21.

[0045] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a method for temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly 20 that improves the work efficiency related to the routing of the wire harness 24 when attaching the wire harness assembly 20 to the back door 10 of the vehicle 1.

[0046] Furthermore, in the temporary fastening method for the wire harness assembly 20, the shape of the notch 27 may be cross-shaped.

[0047] The two laminated members constituting the assembly member 21 are both made of a flexible material. Therefore, with this temporary fastening method, the worker can easily make a cross-shaped cut 27 in the assembly member 21 using a cutter or the like, which is suitable for the hook 30 to pass through and for holding the hook 30 to the assembly member 21.

[0048] Furthermore, in the temporary fastening method for the wire harness assembly 20, the hook 30 may have a locking piece 30a, a pressing piece 30b parallel to the locking piece 30a, and a connecting piece 30c that connects the locking piece 30a and the pressing piece 30b. The hook 30 may penetrate each notch 27 such that the locking piece 30a faces one surface of the assembly member 21 and the pressing piece 30b faces the other surface of the assembly member 21.

[0049] Here, when the hook 30 penetrates the notch 27, in the above example, one surface of the assembly member 21 facing the locking piece 30a corresponds to the outer surface 22a of the base material 22, and the other surface of the assembly member 21 facing the retaining piece 30b corresponds to the outer surface 23a of the cover material 23.

[0050] According to this temporary fastening method, the hook 30 has a shape that makes it difficult for it to fall out of the notch 27, as explained in the above example, so that the assembly member 21 can be held more securely to the inner panel 11c.

[0051] Furthermore, in the temporary fastening method for the wire harness assembly 20, the back door 10 is supported by the hinge portion 16 so as to be able to open and close vertically, and the back door tip portion 11f may be on the opposite side in the opening and closing direction from the side to which the hinge portion 16 is attached. The mounting area 11d of the assembly member 21, which is set in advance on the inner panel 11c, may be inclined such that when the electric wires 25 are routed with the back door 10 open upward, the side closer to the hinge portion 16 in the opening and closing direction is higher from the ground than the side closer to the back door tip portion 11f. The locking piece 30a may be hooked onto the edge of the opening 13 in the direction from the hinge portion 16 toward the back door tip portion 11f.

[0052] According to this temporary fastening method, when a worker is routing the electric wire 25, it is possible to prevent the assembly member 21 held by the inner panel 11c from sliding down towards the front end 11f of the back door, as explained in the above example.

[0053] Although embodiments have been described above, the embodiments are not limited to these, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1 vehicle 10 Back door 11c Inner Panel 11d Mounting area 11f Rear door front 13 Opening 16. Hinge section 20 Wire harness assembly 21 Assembly components 22 Base material 22a Exterior 23 Cover material 23a Exterior 24 Wire Harness 25 Electric wire 27 cuts 30 hooks 30a Locking piece 30b Presser foot 30c connecting piece

Claims

1. A method for temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly to an inner panel constituting the back door of a vehicle, the assembly comprising a wire harness and a sound-insulating assembly member having two flexible laminated members that are laminated while sandwiching a portion of the wires of the wire harness, Before routing the exposed wires from the assembly member to the back door, Multiple cuts are formed in the assembly member that penetrate in the thickness direction. For each of the aforementioned cuts, the locking piece faces one surface of the assembly member, and the hook is inserted through such a portion separate from the locking piece remains inside the cut. A method for temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly, wherein the locking piece for each hook is attached to the edge of each opening formed in the inner panel, thereby holding the assembly member to the inner panel.

2. The method for temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the cut is cross-shaped.

3. The hook comprises a locking piece, a pressing piece parallel to the locking piece, and a connecting piece that connects the locking piece and the pressing piece. The method for temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hook penetrates each notch such that the locking piece faces one surface of the assembly member and the pressing piece faces the other surface of the assembly member.

4. The aforementioned back door is supported by a hinge so as to be able to open and close vertically, and has a front end on the side opposite to the side to which the hinge is attached in the opening and closing direction. The mounting area for the assembly member, which is pre-set on the inner panel, is inclined such that when the power wires are routed with the back door open upward, the side closer to the hinge in the opening and closing direction is higher from the ground than the side closer to the front end of the back door. The method for temporarily fastening a wire harness assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the locking piece is hooked onto the edge of the opening in a direction from the hinge portion toward the tip of the back door.

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