Protective tubes and wire harnesses

Abstract

To provide a protective tubing capable of accommodating an electric wire with a reduced man-hour, and a wiring harness equipped with such a protective tubing.SOLUTION: A corrugated tube 12 as a protective tubing includes a cylindrical protective tubing main body 121 in which the edges in the circumferential direction D11 do not overlap, and a wrap portion 122 that includes a first edge portion 122a extending from one end edge 121a in the circumferential direction D11 in the protective tubing main body 121 and a second edge portion 122b extending from the other end edge 121b in the circumferential direction D11 in the protective tubing main body 121 so as to overlap the outer surface of the first edge portion 122a, and opens a gap as a storage path for the electric wire 11 inside the protective tubing main body 121 by bending the first edge portion 122a away from the second edge portion 122b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a protective tube that houses and protects electric wires, and to a wire harness provided with such a protective tube. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, wire harnesses that are mounted on automobiles and the like to electrically connect various devices are known in which electric wires are protected by some kind of protective material (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such protective materials include tape- or sheet-shaped protective materials that wrap electric wires, and tubular protective materials that house electric wires. In particular, protective tubes such as corrugated tubes formed into a tube shape are widely used as protective materials that provide excellent protection for electric wires. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-227050 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the process of housing the electric wires inside the protective tube is complicated and requires a lot of man-hours, which may impose a burden on the manufacturing process.

[0005] Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a protective tube capable of accommodating electric wires while reducing the number of steps, and a wire harness including such a protective tube. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the protective tube includes a protective tube main body having a shape obtained by rolling a sheet-like material into a cylindrical shape such that circumferential edges do not overlap each other, and accommodating and protecting an electric wire inside; and a wrap portion having a first edge portion extending from one circumferential edge of the protective tube main body and a second edge portion extending from the other circumferential edge of the protective tube main body so as to overlap with an outer surface of the first edge portion, wherein at least one of the first edge portion and the second edge portion bends away from the other edge about the edge on the protective tube main body side at the overlapping portion with the other edge, thereby opening a gap as an accommodating path for the electric wire toward the inside of the protective tube main body; a folded portion, an edge of the second edge portion opposite to the other edge portion being folded back in a direction away from an outer surface of the first edge portion, and the electric wire is pressed against the folded back portion to guide the electric wire into a gap between the first edge portion and the second edge portion of the wrap portion, thereby facilitating the formation of the gap; The present invention is characterized by comprising:

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, a wire harness is characterized by including electric wires and the above-mentioned protective tube that houses and protects the electric wires inside. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the above-mentioned protective tube and wire harness, it is possible to house the electric wires while reducing the number of steps. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a protection tube and a wire harness according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic view of the lap portion shown in FIG. 1 for explaining the lap portion. [Diagram 3] 13 is a schematic diagram showing a protection tube and a wire harness according to a second embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the protective tube and the wire harness will be described. First, a first embodiment will be described.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a protection tube and a wire harness according to a first embodiment.

[0012] 1 is mounted on an automobile or the like to electrically connect various devices, and includes electric wires 11 and a corrugated tube 12. A plurality of electric wires 11 are bundled together and housed in the corrugated tube 12. The corrugated tube 12 is a flexible protective tube formed in a bellows shape, and includes a protective tube main body 121 and a wrap portion 122.

[0013] The protective tube body 121 is a portion having a shape in which bellows-like irregularities are formed by rolling a sheet-like material into a cylindrical shape. At this time, the protective tube body 121 is a portion rolled so that the end edges 121a, 121b in the circumferential direction D11 do not overlap each other, and has a C-shaped cross section. The wrap portion 122 is a portion that is partially deformed when the electric wire 11 is accommodated, and an accommodation path for the electric wire 11 toward the inside of the protective tube body 121 is formed, and has a first edge portion 122a and a second edge portion 122b.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic view of the lap portion shown in FIG. 1 for explaining the lap portion.

[0015] 2 shows the wrap portion 122 in a state in which the electric wire 11 is being housed inside the protective tube body 121, in a cross section intersecting with the central axis of the protective tube body 121. The first edge portion 122a of the wrap portion 122 is a portion extending from one end edge 121a of the protective tube body 121 in the circumferential direction D11. The second edge portion 122b is a portion extending from the other end edge 121b of the protective tube body 121 in the circumferential direction D11 so as to overlap with the outer surface of the first edge portion 122a. In this embodiment, the first edge portion 122a, which is one of the first edge portion 122a and the second edge portion 122b, is easily bent inward as shown by the arrow D12. When the electric wire 11 is stored inside the protective tube main body 121, the first edge portion 122a bends away from the second edge portion 122b, thereby opening a gap S11 as a storage path for the electric wire 11 inside the protective tube main body 121.

[0016] In this embodiment, a hinge portion 123 is formed at the boundary between one end edge 121a of the protective tube body 121 and the first edge portion 122a so that the first edge portion 122a can bend and move toward the inside of the protective tube body 121. The hinge portion 123 is a V-notch cut from the inside of the protective tube body 121 at the boundary, that is, a cut having a V-shaped cross section. When accommodating an electric wire, the first edge portion 122a of the wrap portion 122 is bent so as to rotate in the direction of arrow D12 with the hinge portion 123 as the rotation center, and a gap S11 is formed as an accommodating path for the electric wire. After the electric wire 11 passes through the gap S11, the first edge portion 122a is restored by the restoring force remaining in the hinge portion 123, and the gap S11 is closed.

[0017] According to the corrugated tube 12 and the wire harness 1 of the first embodiment described above, the gap S11 serving as a path for accommodating the electric wire 11 can be opened in the wrap portion 122 by a single step of bending the first edge portion 122a of the wrap portion 122. Then, by continuing to push the electric wire 11 in this state, the electric wire 11 can be accommodated inside the protective tube main body 121. In other words, according to this embodiment, the electric wire can be accommodated in approximately one step, and the electric wire 11 can be accommodated in the corrugated tube 12 with reduced man-hours.

[0018] In this embodiment, the hinge portion 123 is provided at the boundary between one end edge 121a of the protective tube main body 121 and the first edge portion 122a. With this configuration, the first edge portion 122a located on the inside of the wrap portion 122 can be reliably bent inward by providing the hinge portion 123 at the boundary portion. Then, the electric wire 11 can be more easily accommodated by a procedure with good workability, such as pressing the electric wire 11 against the first edge portion 122a while sliding it from the boundary portion to the first edge portion 122a.

[0019] In this embodiment, the hinge portion 123 has a V-notch. With this configuration, the hinge portion 123 is constructed with a simple shape such as a V-notch, that is, a notch, and therefore the processing cost related to the hinge portion 123 can be reduced.

[0020] This concludes the explanation of the first embodiment, and next, a second embodiment will be explained.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a protection tube and a wire harness according to the second embodiment.

[0022] In Fig. 3, a corrugated tube 22 and a wire harness 2 according to the second embodiment are shown in a flow diagram illustrating how electric wires are accommodated, using a schematic cross-sectional view similar to that of Fig. 2. In Fig. 3, components equivalent to those of the first embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are given the same reference numerals as in Figs. 1 and 2, and hereinafter, redundant explanations of those equivalent components will be omitted.

[0023] In this embodiment, in the corrugated tube 22 that constitutes the wire harness 2 together with the electric wire 11, a folded portion 223 is provided on the opposite side of the second edge portion 122b from the protective tube body 121, i.e., the opposite side from the other end edge 121b. The folded portion 223 is a portion formed in a shape in which a tip edge of the second edge portion 122b that is the opposite side from the other end edge 121b is folded back in a direction away from the outer surface of the first edge portion 122a. When the electric wire 11 is accommodated, the electric wire 11 is pressed against the folded portion 223, thereby guiding the electric wire 11 between the first edge portion 122a and the second edge portion 122b of the wrap portion 122, and the formation of a gap S11 as an accommodation path is promoted.

[0024] As with the first embodiment described above, the corrugated tube 12 and wire harness 1 of the second embodiment also make it possible to accommodate the electric wires in approximately one process, and it goes without saying that the number of steps can be reduced while the electric wires 11 are accommodated in the corrugated tube 12.

[0025] In this embodiment, a folded portion 223 is provided at the tip edge of the second edge portion 122b of the wrap portion 122. According to this configuration, the folded portion 223 allows the electric wire 11 to be smoothly guided between the first edge portion 122a and the second edge portion 122b of the wrap portion 122, thereby further improving the workability of accommodating the electric wire.

[0026] It should be noted that the first and second embodiments described above merely show representative forms of the protective tube and the wire harness, and the protective tube and the wire harness are not limited to these and can be implemented in various modified forms.

[0027] For example, in the above-described first and second embodiments, the wire harnesses 1 and 2 mounted on an automobile or the like to electrically connect various devices are given as an example of the wire harness. However, the wire harness is not limited to this, and the specific installation location, etc., of the wire harness is not important.

[0028] In the above-described first and second embodiments, the flexible corrugated tubes 12 and 22 formed in a bellows shape are exemplified as an example of the protective tube, but the protective tube is not limited to this. The protective tube may be, for example, a cylindrical protective tube without bellows, and the specific shape, etc., can be appropriately set depending on the application and the installation location.

[0029] In the above-described first and second embodiments, the wrap portion 122 in which the first edge portion 122a of the inner portion bends to guide the electric wire 11 when the electric wire 11 is inserted is exemplified as an example of the wrap portion. However, the wrap portion is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that at least one of the first edge portion and the second edge portion bends so as to move away from the other. In other words, the wrap portion may be configured so that the second edge portion of the outer portion bends, or so that both the first edge portion and the second edge portion bend.

[0030] In the above-described first and second embodiments, the corrugated tubes 12 and 22 are provided with a hinge portion 123 at the boundary between one end edge 121a of the protective tube body 121 and the first edge portion 122a, which is the inner portion of the wrap portion 122, as an example of the protective tube. However, the protective tube is not limited to this, and the protective tube may be bent depending on the flexibility of the edge portion constituting the wrap portion without providing a hinge portion or the like. The hinge portion may be provided at the boundary between one end edge of the protective tube body and the second edge portion, which is the outer portion of the wrap portion. However, as described above, by providing the hinge portion 123 at the boundary between one end edge 121a of the protective tube body 121 and the first edge portion 122a of the wrap portion 122, the electric wire can be housed more easily by a procedure with good workability.

[0031] In the first and second embodiments described above, the hinge portion 123 formed as a V-notch is exemplified as an example of the hinge portion. However, the hinge portion is not limited to this, and any specific form is acceptable as long as it connects one end edge of the protective tube main body and the edge portion of the wrap portion so that the edge portion can be bent. That is, the hinge portion may be, for example, a round groove other than a V-notch, or a bridge-like portion connecting one end edge of the protective tube main body and the edge portion of the wrap portion that are separated from each other. However, as described above, by adopting the hinge portion 123 formed as a V-notch that is easy to process, the processing costs related to the hinge portion can be reduced.

[0032] In the above-described second embodiment, the corrugated tube 22 having the folded portion 223 provided at the tip edge of the second edge portion 122b of the wrap portion 122 is exemplified as an example of the protective tube. However, the protective tube is not limited to this, and may be one that does not have the above-mentioned folded portion, for example, as exemplified in the first embodiment. However, as described above, by providing a folded portion, the workability of accommodating the electric wires can be further improved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1,2 Wire harness 11 Electric wire 12,22 Corrugated tube (protective tube) 121 Protective tube body 121a One edge 121b Other edge 122 Wrap section 122a First edge portion 122b 2nd edge part 123 Hinge part 223 Turn-around section D11 Circumferential direction

Claims

1. a protective tube body having a shape obtained by rolling a sheet-like material into a cylindrical shape such that circumferential edges do not overlap each other, and accommodating and protecting an electric wire inside; a wrap portion having a first edge portion extending from one circumferential end edge of the protective tube body and a second edge portion extending from the other circumferential end edge of the protective tube body so as to overlap an outer surface of the first edge portion, wherein at least one of the first edge portion and the second edge portion bends away from the other edge portion about an edge on the protective tube body side at an overlapping portion with the other edge portion, thereby opening a gap as a storage path for the electric wire toward the inside of the protective tube body; a folded portion, an edge of the second edge portion opposite to the other edge being folded back in a direction away from an outer surface of the first edge portion, and the folded portion guides the electric wire between the first edge portion and the second edge portion of the wrap portion by pressing the electric wire against the folded portion, thereby facilitating the formation of the gap; A protective tube comprising:

2. the second edge portion overlaps an outer surface of the first edge portion over the entire outer surface, The protective tube according to claim 1, further comprising a hinge portion formed at the boundary portion between the one end edge of the protective tube body and the first edge portion, the boundary portion being the edge of the overlapping portion, so as to enable the first edge portion to flexibly move toward the inside of the protective tube body.

3. 3. The protective tube according to claim 2, wherein the hinge portion is a V-notch cut into the boundary portion from the inside of the protective tube body.

4. Electric wires and The protective tube according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which houses and protects the electric wire inside; A wire harness comprising:

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