Harness protector

Abstract

To prevent the occurrence of cracks on a front side of a harness protector due to impact upon front collision of a vehicle so as to prevent a wire harness from being damaged.SOLUTION: Lattice-like reinforcement ribs 521 are formed on a base body 51 and a cover body 52, respectively, that constitute each of a rear face and a front face of a harness protector 5. A side face 55 of a body part 5a and both branch parts 5b, 5c is formed with no reinforcement rib so that its strength is lower than the front face of the cover body 52 and the rear face of the base body 51.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a harness protector that covers and protects a wire harness disposed on the front side of a vehicle in-vehicle component mounted on a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] A plurality of wire harnesses used for connecting electrical components are routed in vehicles such as automobiles. As shown in FIG. 10, wire harnesses are also routed inside the engine compartment 101 of the vehicle 100, and the wire harnesses are assembled and fixed at several fixed positions.

[0003] At this time, for example, by using a harness protector as described in Patent Document 1, the wire harness is fixed by attaching the harness protector to a fixed position inside the engine compartment 101 in a state where the wire harness is covered.

[0004] At this time, inside the engine compartment 101, in addition to the engine body, intake manifold, and battery, in the case of a hybrid vehicle, a motor and a PCU (Power Control Unit) that controls the motor are also disposed. In particular, the PCU houses and protects a substrate on which a large number of electronic components are mounted in a casting case, and a harness protector may be disposed and fixed in front of such a PCU case.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, when the harness protector is disposed and fixed in front of the case of the PCU in this manner, in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle, the impact during the frontal collision is applied to the front surface of the harness protector. Therefore, cracks may occur on the front side of the harness protector, and the sharp portions caused by the cracks in the harness protector may damage the wire harness inside the harness protector. Further, if cracks also occur on the rear surface of the harness protector, the wire harness may be exposed and hit the rear PCU or other in-vehicle components, and the wire harness may be damaged.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to prevent cracks from occurring on the front and rear surfaces of the harness protector due to the impact during a frontal collision of the vehicle, and to prevent the wire harness from being damaged.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the harness protector of the present invention is a harness protector that covers and protects a wire harness disposed on the front side of the vehicle of in-vehicle components mounted on the vehicle. It has a space surrounded by the front surface on the front side of the vehicle, the rear surface on the rear side of the vehicle opposite to the front surface, and the side surface continuous with the front surface and the rear surface. The wire harness penetrates through the side surface and is routed into the space, and a lattice-shaped reinforcing rib is formed on the front surface and the rear surface of the main body portion. The side surface of the main body portion is characterized in that there is no reinforcing rib and the strength is formed to be more fragile than the front surface and the rear surface.

[0009] According to such a configuration, lattice-shaped reinforcing ribs are formed on the front and rear surfaces of the main body of the harness protector, and the side surface of the main body is formed to be more fragile than the front and rear surfaces without reinforcing ribs. When the vehicle collides head-on, the side surface that is more fragile and has lower strength than the front and rear surfaces of the main body of the harness protector cracks, and the front and rear surfaces of the main body do not crack. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the wire harness from being damaged by the sharp portions caused by the cracks on the front and rear surfaces of the conventional harness protector, and it is possible to prevent damage to the wire harness. In addition, since cracks on the rear surface of the main body of the harness protector can also be prevented, it is also possible to prevent the wire harness from directly hitting and damaging the rear in-vehicle components due to the cracks on the rear surface of the main body.

[0010] Further, the main body portion has a plurality of branch portions for branching the routing path of the wire harness, and the rear surface of the main body portion between adjacent branch portions forms a bridging portion that bridges the adjacent branch portions. It may be provided with a notch through which the bridging portion is exposed in front of the bridging portion of the main body portion.

[0011] According to such a configuration, the bridging portion of the main body portion is interposed between the wire harness and the in-vehicle components, so that it is possible to prevent the wire harness from directly contacting the in-vehicle components. In addition, the wire harness led out from the main body portion to the outside through the notch in front of the bridging portion of the main body portion can be easily bent at the notch, and the wiring operation of the wire harness led out from the notch can be easily performed. Therefore, the workability of wiring can be improved.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, lattice-shaped reinforcing ribs are formed on the front and rear surfaces of the main body of the harness protector, and the side surface of the main body is formed to be more fragile than the front and rear surfaces. Therefore, when the vehicle collides head-on, cracks on the front and rear surfaces of the main body can be prevented, and it is possible to surely prevent the wire harness from being damaged.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

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Figure 5

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Figure 10

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] An embodiment of the harness protector according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. In this embodiment, front-back and left-right mean front-back and left-right as seen in the state of sitting on the seat.

[0015] FIG. 1 shows the inside of the engine compartment 1 of a hybrid vehicle. In FIG. 1, 2 is a flexible air hose connecting an air filter and an intake manifold, 3 is disposed in the vicinity of the flexible air hose 2 and is a PCU (Power Contorol Unit) that controls the vehicle drive motor. In order to protect a substrate on which a large number of electronic components are mounted, the substrate is housed in a casting case that is substantially rectangular in plan view.

[0016] Here, the case of the PCU 3 is composed of an upper case body and a lower case body that are divided into two parts vertically and are combined. An accommodation space for accommodating a substrate is formed inside both case bodies. And, flanges 3a are formed on the peripheries of both case bodies, and both case bodies are joined in a sealed state by bolting the coupling parts 3b formed by bulging at several positions of the flanges 3a of both case bodies.

[0017] Also, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 denotes a harness protector disposed in front of the PCU 3 and assembled and fixed thereto. The harness protector 5 covers a power wire harness H1 and a ground wire harness H2 that are connected to a DC-DC converter (not shown) that converts the voltage of the battery and supplies a high-current power supply to the PCU 3, thereby protecting the wire harnesses H1 and H2. Note that reference numeral 6 denotes a front cross member which is a vehicle structure.

[0018] The harness protector 5 is made of resin. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the harness protector 5 includes a substantially rectangular main body 5a when viewed from the front, and right and lower branch portions 5b and 5c integrally extending rightward and downward on the right side and the lower side of the main body 5a, respectively. And, the harness protector 5 is formed so as to be dividable into two parts in the front-rear direction, and is composed of a rear base body 51 that constitutes the rear surface on the vehicle rear side of the harness protector 5 and a cover body 52 that constitutes the front surface on the vehicle front side of the harness protector 5 and is superposed on the base body 51. The base body 51 and the cover body 52 are engaged in a superposed state by engaging portions 53 having a well-known configuration formed at a plurality of positions thereof. These engaging portions 53 are composed of an engaging groove and an engaging claw that engages with the engaging groove.

[0019] As particularly shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 7, which are views seen from the back side, lattice-shaped reinforcing ribs 511 are formed on the rear surface on the vehicle rear side of the base body 51. These reinforcing ribs 511 are formed over the entire rear surface of the base body 51. By these lattice-shaped reinforcing ribs 511, the rigidity of the entire rear surface side of the harness protector 5, that is, the entire rear surface side of the main body 5a and both branch portions 5b and 5c, is increased as compared with the case where there are no such reinforcing ribs.

[0020] Also, as shown in FIG. 6 which is a view seen from the front side, at the upper end of the portion corresponding to the main body portion 5a of the base body 51, the right end of the portion corresponding to the right branch portion 5b, and the lower end of the portion corresponding to the lower branch portion 5c, there are formed wire harness inlet / outlet openings 512 surrounded by U-shaped walls. After the wire harnesses H1 and H2 are arranged so as to pass through these openings 512, the cover body 52 is put on, whereby the wire harnesses H1 and H2 are protected in a state where the harness protector 5 covers the wire harnesses H1 and H2.

[0021] By the way, in the portion corresponding to the main body portion 5a between the portions corresponding to the right branch portion 5b and the lower branch portion 5c which are adjacent branch portions of the base body 51, a bridging portion 513 is formed which extends so as to bridge both branch portions 5b and 5c.

[0022] As particularly shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 8 which are views seen from the front side, lattice-shaped reinforcing ribs 521 are formed on the front surface which is the vehicle front side of the cover body 52. Similar to the reinforcing ribs 511 of the base body 51, these reinforcing ribs 521 are formed over the entire front surface of the cover body 52. By these lattice-shaped reinforcing ribs 521, the rigidity of the entire front surface side of the harness protector 5, that is, the entire front surface side of the main body portion 5a and both branch portions 5b and 5c, is increased as compared with the case where there are no such reinforcing ribs.

[0023] Also, in front of the bridging portion 513 of the base body 51 in a superposed state in the portion corresponding to the main body portion 5a of the cover body 52, a notch 522 formed by arcuately cutting out is formed. When the cover body 52 is superposed on the base body 51, in a front view, the rear bridging portion 513 is exposed from the notch 522.

[0024] When the cover body 52 is polymerized with the base body 51, reinforcing ribs 511 and 521 are not formed on the side surfaces of the base body 51 and the cover body 52, that is, on the side surfaces 55 (see FIGS. 3 and 5) of the main body portion 5a and both branched portions 5b and 5c that are continuous with the rear surface and the front surface of the harness protector 5. Therefore, compared with the front and rear surfaces of the harness protector 5 where the reinforcing ribs 511 and 521 are formed, that is, the rear surface of the base body 51 and the front surface of the cover body 52, the side surface 55 is formed more weakly.

[0025] In addition, in FIGS. 6 and 7, 53a is an engaging groove of the engaging portion 53 formed at a plurality of locations on the base body 51, and in FIGS. 8 and 9, 53b is an engaging claw of the engaging portion 53 formed at a position corresponding to each engaging groove 53a of the cover body 52.

[0026] When assembling the wire harnesses H1 and H2 and the harness protector 5 into the engine compartment 1, the wire harnesses H1 and H2 are arranged on the base body 51 of the harness protector 5, the cover body 52 is polymerized and engaged with the base body 51, and the wire harnesses H1 and H2 are covered by the harness protector 5. The rear side of the harness protector 5 is assembled and fixed at a predetermined position set in front of the PCU 3 to stabilize the wire harnesses H1 and H2 so that they do not hang in the air, and the connectors attached to the tip ends of the wire harnesses H1 and H2 are connected to the PCU 3 and other electrical component side connectors for wiring.

[0027] At this time, when wiring the wire harnesses H1 and H2 to predetermined electrical components, it is necessary to change the routing direction by bending the wire harnesses H1 and H2, etc. Therefore, a notch 522 is formed and arranged at a position where the wire harness that needs to have the largest movable range for adjusting the routing direction can be led out from the notch 522 of the harness protector 5 to the outside. By doing so, the bending amount of the wire harness led out from the notch 522 of the harness protector 5 can be freely adjusted without excessive load being applied to a part of the wire harness, and the wiring work of the wire harness can be easily performed.

[0028] Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, lattice-shaped reinforcing ribs 511 and 521 are respectively formed on the base body 51 and the cover body 52, and the side surfaces 55 of the main body portion 5a and both branched portions 5b and 5c are formed without reinforcing ribs and are weaker in strength than the (cover body 52) and the rear surface (base body 51). Therefore, when the vehicle collides head-on, the side surfaces 55, which are more fragile and weaker in strength than the front surface (cover body 52) and the rear surface (base body 51) of the main body portion 5a and both branched portions 5b and 5c of the harness protector 5, crack. As a result, the (cover body 52) and the rear surface (base body 51) of the main body portion 5a and both branched portions 5b and 5c do not crack, and it is possible to prevent the wire harnesses H1 and H2 from being damaged by the sharp portions caused by the cracks on the front and rear surface sides of the conventional harness protector, and it is possible to prevent damage to the wire harnesses H1 and H2.

[0029] Furthermore, by forming the reinforcing rib 511 also on the base body 51 of the harness protector 5 to increase the rigidity, it is possible to prevent cracking on the rear surface side of the harness protector 5 during a head-on collision of the vehicle, and it is also possible to prevent the wire harnesses H1 and H2 from directly hitting and being damaged by the rear PCU 3 due to the cracking on the rear surface side of the harness protector 5.

[0030] In addition, since the bridging portion 513 extending between both branched portions 5b and 5c of the base body 51 is formed, when the harness protector 5 is assembled in the engine compartment 1 and the wire harnesses H1 and H2 are connected, the bridging portion 513 of the base body 51 is located in front of the cast case of the PCU 3, and it is possible to prevent the wire harnesses H1 and H2 from directly contacting the case of the PCU 3. Therefore, damage to the wire harnesses H1 and H2 due to the contact can be prevented.

[0031] In addition, since the notch 522 is formed in the cover body 52 of the harness protector 5 so that the rear bridging portion 513 is exposed, the bending amount of the wire harness led out to the outside from the notch 522 of the harness protector 5 can be freely adjusted without applying an excessive load to a part of the wire harness. Also, the wiring work of the wire harness led out from the notch 522 can be easily performed, and the workability of the wiring can be improved. At this time, since the bridging portion 513 is located in front of the case of the PCU 3, it is possible to prevent the wire harness from being damaged by accidentally contacting the case of the PCU 3 or the like during the wiring work.

[0032] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made other than those described above without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0033] For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the harness protector 5 is disposed in front of the cast case of the PCU 3 is shown. However, even when the harness protector 5 is disposed in front of in-vehicle components other than the PCU 3 that may damage the wire harness, the present invention can be similarly implemented.

[0034] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the number of branch portions branched from the main body portion 5a of the harness protector 5 is described as two. However, the present invention can also be applied to a configuration having three or more branch portions. In that case, reinforcing ribs may be formed on the front and rear surfaces of not only the main body portion but also all the branch portions, and two or more bridging portions and notches formed between adjacent branch portions may be formed.

[0035] Further, the harness protector 5 may have a configuration having only the main body portion 5a and no branch portions 5b and 5c.

[0036] And the present invention can be applied to a harness protector that covers and protects a wire harness disposed on the vehicle front side of an in-vehicle component mounted on a vehicle.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0037] 3 … PCU (In-vehicle parts) 5 … Harness protector 5a … Main body 5b … Right branch 5c … Lower branch 51 … Base body (rear side) 52 … Cover body (front side) 55 … Side surface 511, 521 … Reinforcing rib 513 … Bridging part 522 … Notch H1, H2 … Wire harness

Claims

1. A harness protector for covering and protecting a wire harness disposed on the front side of a vehicle of in - vehicle parts mounted on a vehicle, having a space surrounded by a front surface on the front side of the vehicle, a rear surface on the rear side of the vehicle opposite to the front surface, and side surfaces continuous with the front surface and the rear surface, and the wire harness penetrates the side surface and is routed into the space, comprising a main body portion, lattice - shaped reinforcing ribs are formed on the front surface and the rear surface of the main body portion, the harness protector is characterized in that there are no reinforcing ribs on the side surface of the main body portion and the strength is formed to be more fragile than the front surface and the rear surface.

2. The harness protector according to Claim 1, wherein the main body portion has a plurality of branch portions for branching the routing path of the wire harness, the rear surface of the main body portion between adjacent branch portions forms a bridging portion that bridges the adjacent branch portions, and there is a notch in front of the bridging portion of the main body portion where the bridging portion is exposed characterized by the above.

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