Wire harness routing structure

Abstract

To provide a wire harness wiring structure capable of improving the assemblability to a vehicle.SOLUTION: A wiring structure 1 of wire harness includes a flat type wiring material 10 which has flexibility and extends along a vehicle width direction Y, a sheet-like cover member 20 containing a back surface 21a to which the flat-type wiring material 10 is fixed and a surface 21b of the opposite side to the back surface 21a. Therein, the cover member 20 is fixed to an automotive body panel 110 so as to hold the flat type wiring material 10 between the automotive body panel 110 of a vehicle 100 and the cover member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wiring structure of a wire harness.

Background Art

[0002] As a technology related to a conventional wiring structure of a wire harness, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a wiring structure of a wire harness including a flexible flat wiring material, a protector that protects the flat wiring material, and a fixing member that fixes the protector to an attachment portion of a vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in the wiring structure of the wire harness described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above, for example, there is room for further improvement in terms of improving the assemblability to a vehicle.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a wiring structure of a wire harness capable of improving the assemblability to a vehicle.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above object, a wiring structure of a wire harness according to the present invention includes a flexible flat wiring material and a cover member to which the flat wiring material is fixed. The cover member is fixed to a dash panel so as to sandwich the flat wiring material between the dash panel that partitions an engine room of a vehicle and a passenger compartment, and the cover member is provided with a groove portion formed in the dash panel for accommodating the flat wiring material. The dash panel comprises a metal dash panel body with a recess and a resin body panel installed in the recess and constituting a part of the dash panel together with the dash panel body, and the groove is formed in the body panel. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] In the wire harness routing structure according to the present invention, the flat routing members that constitute the wire harness can be assembled to the vehicle by fixing a cover member to which flat routing members are fixed to the vehicle body panel, such that the flat routing members are sandwiched between the cover member and the vehicle body panel. As a result, the wire harness routing structure has the effect of improving the ease of assembly to the vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is an illustrative perspective view of a vehicle to which the wire harness routing structure according to the embodiment is applied. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is an illustrative cross-sectional view of the wiring structure of a wire harness according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is an illustrative cross-sectional view of a wire harness routing structure according to an embodiment, showing the flat routing material and cover member removed from the vehicle body panel. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is an illustrative perspective view of a flat wire harness wiring structure according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is an illustrative perspective view showing the connection structure between the connector and the control device in the wire harness routing structure according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is an exemplary cross-sectional view showing the connection structure between the connector and the control device of the wire harness routing structure according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is an illustrative plan view of a flat wire harness wiring structure according to an embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. Furthermore, the components in the embodiments described below include those that are easily substituted or substantially identical to those that are easily substituted by those skilled in the art. In this specification, ordinal numbers are used solely to distinguish parts, components, locations, directions, etc., and do not indicate order or priority.

[0010] [Embodiment] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle 100 to which the wire harness routing structure 1 according to this embodiment is applied. The wire harness routing structure 1 of this embodiment shown in Figure 1 is applied to a vehicle 100 and is used to connect various devices mounted on the vehicle 100 for power supply and signal communication. The wire harness routing structure 1 of this embodiment is provided, for example, on a vehicle body panel 110 which constitutes at least a part of the dash panel 120. The dash panel 120 is a partition wall separating the engine room 130 and the passenger compartment (cabin) of the vehicle 100 and constitutes a structural member (skeleton member) of the vehicle 100.

[0011] In this embodiment, the dash panel 120 is integrally molded with, for example, the surrounding panels 115 of the engine compartment 130. This increases the rigidity and strength of the dash panel 120, and consequently allows the body panel 110 to be made of resin molded material. In other words, in this embodiment, the body panel 110 is made of a separate part from the metal dash panel 120. The body panel 110 is installed, for example, in a recess 121 formed in the dash panel 120 and is positioned inside the instrument panel of the vehicle 100.

[0012] In the following explanation, of the three intersecting directions, the first direction will be referred to as the "vehicle longitudinal direction X," the second direction as the "vehicle width direction Y," and the third direction as the "vehicle height direction Z." Here, the vehicle longitudinal direction X, the vehicle width direction Y, and the vehicle height direction Z are approximately orthogonal to each other. The vehicle longitudinal direction X typically corresponds to the overall length direction of the vehicle 100, the stacking direction of the wire harness routing structure 1, etc. The vehicle width direction Y typically corresponds to the overall width direction of the vehicle 100, the longitudinal direction (extension direction) of the wire harness routing structure 1, etc. The vehicle height direction Z typically corresponds to the vehicle height direction of the vehicle 100, the short direction of the wire harness routing structure 1, etc. In the following explanation, unless otherwise specified, each direction used refers to the direction when the wire harness routing structure 1 is assembled to the vehicle 100.

[0013] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the wire harness routing structure 1, and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wire harness routing structure 1 in a state in which the flat routing material 10 and cover member 20 have been removed from the vehicle body panel 110. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the wire harness routing structure 1 of this embodiment comprises, for example, a groove 111 formed in the vehicle body panel 110, a flat routing material 10, and a cover member 20.

[0014] The groove 111 is a recess formed in the vehicle body panel 110 as described above, and extends along the vehicle width direction Y. The groove 111 is recessed from the inner surface of the vehicle body panel 110 toward the front in the vehicle longitudinal direction X, and opens toward the rear in the vehicle longitudinal direction X. The groove 111 has a shape that conforms to the outer diameter shape of the flat cable guide 10, and the flat cable guide 10 is housed and routed along the vehicle width direction Y so as to lie along the groove 111. In this embodiment, when the flat cable guide 10 is housed in the groove 111, a small gap is provided between the groove 111 and the flat cable guide 10.

[0015] The groove portion 111 extends integrally along the vehicle width direction Y so as to span between the first ECU 40A (see FIG. 1) of the control device 40 provided at one end in the vehicle width direction Y and the second ECU 40E of the control device 40 provided at the other end in the vehicle width direction Y. In the present embodiment, the flat cable member 10 is provided with connectors 30 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) at both end portions 10a in the vehicle width direction Y. The flat cable member 10 is connected to the first ECU 40A of the control device 40 via one connector 30 and is connected to the second ECU 40E of the control device 40 via the other connector 30.

[0016] Here, the first ECU 40A and the second ECU 40E are typically zone ECUs that comprehensively control devices in the peripheral area (zone) of the vehicle body panel 110, but are not limited thereto. In addition, other ECUs 40B to 40D, etc. of the control device 40 may be provided between the first ECU 40A and the second ECU 40E. In FIG. 1, for the sake of convenience, the cover member 20 is not shown.

[0017] The cover member 20 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) fixes the flat cable member 10 and covers the periphery of the flat cable member 10. The cover member 20 includes, for example, a cover body 21 and through holes 22 (see FIG. 6) provided at both end portions in the vehicle width direction Y of the cover body 21, which will be described later. The cover body 21 is formed in a rectangular sheet shape (thin plate shape) that is horizontally long in the vehicle width direction Y. The length of the cover body 21 along the vehicle width direction Y is, for example, substantially the same as the length of the groove portion 111 and the flat cable member 10 along the vehicle width direction Y.

[0018] The cover body 21 has a back surface 21a facing the groove portion 111 of the vehicle body panel 110 and a front surface 21b facing the side opposite to the back surface 21a in the vehicle longitudinal direction X. On the back surface 21a, for example, the flat cable member 10 is fixed via an adhesive layer such as an adhesive or a double-sided tape. The width of the back surface 21a (cover body 21) along the vehicle height direction Z is set to be larger than the width of the groove portion 111 and the flat cable member 10 along the vehicle height direction Z. That is, the back surface 21a is configured to include a portion that overlaps with the peripheral edge portion of the groove portion 111 in the vehicle body panel 110 in the vehicle longitudinal direction X.

[0019] Also, the cover body 21 is constituted by, for example, a silencer 20A. The silencer 20A is a sound-absorbing material formed of, for example, a felt body (non-woven fabric) or the like, and has a sound insulation function of suppressing the sound in the engine room 130 outside the vehicle body panel 110 from entering the vehicle interior. The cover member 20 as the silencer 20A is fixed to the vehicle body panel 110 so as to sandwich the flat cable member 10 between the cover member 20 and the vehicle body panel 110.

[0020] At this time, in the present embodiment, the flat cable member 10 is housed in the groove portion 111 formed in the vehicle body panel 110 in a state of being fixed to the cover member 20. The cover member 20 is fixed to the inner surface of the vehicle body panel 110 via, for example, an adhesive layer such as an adhesive or a double-sided tape, or a fastening member. Thus, in the present embodiment, the flat cable member 10 is not directly fixed to the vehicle body panel 110, but is fixed to the vehicle body panel 110 via the cover member 20.

[0021] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the flat wiring material 10 of the wiring harness structure 1. As shown in Figure 4, the flat wiring material 10 is a wiring material that constitutes the wire harness and is made of, for example, FPC (Flexible Printed Circuits) or FFC (Flexible Flat Cable). The flat wiring material 10 is a thin, flexible, flat wiring material. The flat wiring material 10 is formed as a whole in a rectangular shape that is elongated horizontally in the vehicle width direction Y. The flat wiring material 10 is made up of, for example, a base film 11 (see Figure 5), a wiring pattern 12, and a coverlay 13.

[0022] The base film 11 is a substrate that is highly flexible and defines the overall shape of the flat wiring material 10. The base film 11 is formed of, for example, a polyimide resin with excellent heat resistance. The wiring pattern 12 is laminated on, for example, the surface (mounting surface) of the base film 11 to form a plurality of conductor circuit parts (pattern layers). The wiring pattern 12 is formed of a conductive material such as copper foil and printed on the surface of the base film 11 as a printed circuit body. The coverlay 13 is laminated over the entire surface of the base film 11 via an adhesive (not shown) and functions as a protective layer that protects the conductor circuit parts of the wiring pattern 12.

[0023] Furthermore, the multiple conductor circuit sections formed by the wiring pattern 12 can function as, for example, a signal circuit, a signal ground circuit, or a power ground circuit. The signal circuit is, for example, a circuit that transmits communication signals between the control device 40 and various on-board equipment such as electronic devices within the vehicle 100. The signal ground circuit is a circuit that conducts between on-board equipment in conjunction with the signal circuit and adjusts the potential that serves as the reference for circuit operation between the on-board equipment. The power ground circuit is a circuit that grounds the power supply system of the on-board equipment.

[0024] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the connection structure between the connector 30 of the wire harness routing structure 1 and the control device 40, and Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the connection structure between the connector 30 of the wire harness routing structure 1 and the control device 40. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, in this embodiment, the flat routing material 10 has connectors 30 at both ends 10a in the vehicle width direction Y. The cover member 20 is provided with through holes 22 (see Figure 6) at both ends in the vehicle width direction Y that expose the connectors 30.

[0025] The through-hole 22 is an opening that penetrates the cover member 20 along the vehicle's longitudinal direction X, and has a shape that conforms to the outer shape of the connector 30. The connector 30 is attached to the cover member 20 with the through-hole 22 passing through it, and protrudes toward the rear side (control device 40 side) in the vehicle's longitudinal direction X. The connector 30 can be connected, for example, to the control device side connector 40a of the control device 40.

[0026] In this embodiment, the connector 30 and the control device side connector 40a are fitted together in response to the fastening member 50 fastening the control device 40 to the vehicle body panel 110. Specifically, in this embodiment, the fastening member 50 is composed of a bolt 51 and a nut 52, and the control device 40 is provided with a flange 41 having a through hole through which the bolt 51 is inserted along the vehicle longitudinal direction X. The bolt 51 is installed such that, for example, the head 51a is locked to the outer surface of the vehicle body panel 110 (the surface opposite to the groove 111), and the shaft 51b penetrates the vehicle body panel 110 and the cover member 20.

[0027] The bolt 51 protrudes from the vehicle body panel 110 toward the rear side (control device 40 side) in the vehicle longitudinal direction X, and is fastened with a nut 52 while inserted through a through hole formed in the flange 41 of the control device 40. As a result, the bolt 51 functions as an assist bolt when mating the connector 30 and the control device side connector 40a, thereby making the mating operation between the connector 30 and the control device side connector 40a easier and smoother. The fastening member 50 and flange 41 are provided in pairs on both sides in the vehicle height direction Z, for example, sandwiching the connector 30 and the control device side connector 40a between them.

[0028] Figure 7 is a plan view of the flat cable guide 10 of the wire harness cable routing structure 1. As shown in Figure 7, in this embodiment, the flat cable guide 10 has a shape that is point-symmetrical with respect to each other, for example, when a pair is placed facing each other. That is, the flat cable guide 10 of this embodiment (hereinafter sometimes referred to as flat cable guide 10A) is manufactured at the same time as another flat cable guide 10B during the manufacturing stage, and these pair of flat cable guides 10A and 10B are each mounted on separate vehicles 100.

[0029] A pair of flat cable guides 10A and 10B each have, for example, a first protrusion 10b and a second protrusion 10c at their ends in the vehicle height direction Z. The amount of protrusion of the first protrusion 10b along the vehicle height direction Z is approximately the same as the amount of protrusion of the second protrusion 10c along the vehicle height direction Z. Also, the width of the first protrusion 10b along the vehicle width direction Y is greater than the width of the second protrusion 10c along the vehicle width direction Y. The first protrusion 10b and the second protrusion 10c function, for example, as connection points to equipment such as the ECUs 40B to 40D mentioned above.

[0030] Furthermore, when the pair of flat wire harness members 10A and 10B are rotated 180° around a point of symmetry C, the first protrusion 10b and second protrusion 10c of flat wire harness member 10A and the first protrusion 10b and second protrusion 10c of flat wire harness member 10B overlap. This configuration allows the wire harness wiring structure 1 to improve, for example, the yield during the manufacturing of the flat wire harness members 10, and consequently reduce the effort and cost required to manufacture the wire harness wiring structure 1.

[0031] As described above, the wire harness routing structure 1 of this embodiment is composed of flat routing material 10. Therefore, a wire harness composed of flat routing material 10 is lighter than a wire harness in which various types of general-purpose wires are bundled together. Now, when the above wire harness routing structure 1 is installed inside a vehicle 100, the length of the wire harness may be about 1000 mm, and if a wire harness of such length is composed entirely of wires, there is a risk that the overall weight of the wire harness will increase. In this respect, according to this embodiment, since the wire harness is composed of flat routing material 10, it is possible to accommodate larger wire harnesses while suppressing an increase in the overall weight of the wire harness.

[0032] Furthermore, wire harnesses, which are bundles of various types of electric wires, are generally manufactured manually by workers. In contrast, since the flat wire harness material 10 can be manufactured by automation, the manufacturing time for wire harnesses can be reduced by constructing them with the flat wire harness material 10. Also, generally, large wire harnesses, which are bundles of various types of electric wires, are difficult to transport due to their weight. In contrast, according to this embodiment, the flat wire harness material 10 offers advantages such as shortening the manufacturing time for the wire harness itself or the vehicle 100 that uses the wire harness, or making it less likely that the manufacturing location will be limited.

[0033] As described above, the wire harness routing structure 1 of this embodiment comprises a flexible flat routing member 10 and a cover member 20 to which the flat routing member 10 is fixed. The cover member 20 is fixed to the vehicle body panel 110 of the vehicle 100 such that the flat routing member 10 is sandwiched between the cover member 20 and the vehicle body panel 110. With this configuration, the wire harness routing structure 1 can be assembled to the vehicle 100 by, for example, fixing the cover member 20 to which the flat routing member 10 is fixed to the vehicle body panel 110 such that the flat routing member 10 is sandwiched between the cover member 20 and the vehicle body panel 110. As a result, the ease of assembly of the wire harness routing structure 1 to the vehicle 100 can be improved.

[0034] Furthermore, in the wire harness routing structure 1 of this embodiment, the cover member 20 is composed of a silencer 20A that suppresses noise from the engine room 130 outside the vehicle body panel 110 from entering the passenger compartment. With this configuration, the wire harness routing structure 1 can, for example, achieve the desired sound-dampening effect with the silencer 20A, suppress wear caused by interference between the silencer 20A and the flat routing material 10, and consequently eliminate the need for an outer covering material for the flat routing material 10.

[0035] Furthermore, in the wire harness routing structure 1 of this embodiment, connectors 30 are provided at both ends 10a (ends) of the flat routing material 10, and the cover member 20 is provided with through holes 22 that expose the connectors 30. With this configuration, the wire harness routing structure 1 can, for example, more reliably protect the central part (main body) of the flat routing material 10 by covering it with the cover member 20, and the connectors 30 provided at both ends 10a can be exposed through the through holes 22 to connect to equipment such as a control device 40.

[0036] Furthermore, in the wire harness routing structure 1 of this embodiment, the connector 30 is connectable to the control device side connector 40a of the control device 40, and the connector 30 and the control device side connector 40a are fitted together when the control device 40 is fastened to the vehicle body panel 110 by the fastening member 50. With this configuration, in the wire harness routing structure 1, for example, the fastening member 50 functions as an assist bolt when fitting the connector 30 and the control device side connector 40a, and consequently the fitting work between the connector 30 and the control device side connector 40a can be performed more easily or more smoothly.

[0037] Furthermore, in the wire harness routing structure 1 of this embodiment, the flat routing members 10 have a shape that is point-symmetrical with respect to each other when a pair is placed facing each other. With this configuration, the wire harness routing structure 1 can improve, for example, the yield during the manufacturing of the flat routing members 10, and consequently reduce the effort and cost required to manufacture the wire harness routing structure 1.

[0038] Furthermore, the wire harness routing structure 1 of this embodiment includes a groove 111 formed in the vehicle body panel 110 for accommodating the flat routing member 10. With this configuration, the wire harness routing structure 1 can be further improved in terms of ease of assembly of the flat routing member 10 to the vehicle 100 by, for example, closing the groove 111 with a cover member 20 when the flat routing member 10 is accommodated in the groove 111. In addition, for example, the groove 111 can be formed relatively easily using a resin vehicle body panel 110, and wear caused by interference between the vehicle body panel 110 and the flat routing member 10 can be suppressed, which in turn has the advantage of eliminating the need for an exterior material for the flat routing member 10.

[0039] In this embodiment, an example is given in which a groove 111 for accommodating the flat cable guide 10 is formed in the vehicle body panel 110. However, the embodiment is not limited to this example, and for example, the vehicle body panel 110 may not be provided with a groove 111 for accommodating the flat cable guide 10. Also, in this embodiment, an example is given in which the cover member 20 is composed of a silencer 20A having a sound-dampening function. However, the embodiment is not limited to this example, and for example, the cover member 20 may be composed of a cover member 20 that does not have a sound-dampening function.

[0040] Furthermore, the wire harness routing structure 1 may also be configured such that, for example, the vehicle body panel 110 having a groove 111 itself constitutes part of the wire harness routing structure 1. In other words, the wire harness routing structure 1 may be configured to include the vehicle body panel 110 (a vehicle body panel 110 installed in a recess 121 formed in the dash panel 120 of the vehicle 100) in addition to the flat routing material 10 and the cover member 20.

[0041] Although embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated above, these embodiments 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, each configuration, shape, and other specifications (structure, type, direction, form, size, length, width, thickness, height, number, arrangement, position, material, etc.) can be modified as appropriate. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0042] 1. Wire harness routing structure 10 Flat wiring material 10a Both ends (ends) 20 Cover component 22 Through hole 20A Silencer 30 connectors 40 Control device 40a Control device side connector 50 Fastening members 100 vehicles 110 Body Panel 111 Groove 130 Engine Room

Claims

1. A flexible, flat cable material, The system comprises a cover member to which the flat cable guide is fixed, The cover member is fixed to the dash panel that separates the engine compartment and the passenger compartment of the vehicle, by sandwiching the flat cable guide between the dash panel and the dash panel, and The dash panel is provided with a groove for accommodating the flat cable guide, The aforementioned dashboard panel comprises a metal dashboard panel body having a recess, and a resin body panel installed in the recess and constituting a part of the dashboard panel together with the dashboard panel body. The groove portion is formed in the vehicle body panel. Wire harness routing structure.

2. The cover member is composed of a silencer that suppresses noise from the engine compartment outside the dash panel from entering the passenger compartment. Wire harness routing structure according to claim 1.

3. A connector is provided at the end of the aforementioned flat cable member. The cover member is provided with a through hole that exposes the connector. Wire harness routing structure according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The aforementioned connector can be connected to the control device side connector of the control device. The connector and the connector on the control device side are fitted together in accordance with the fastening of the control device to the dash panel by the fastening member. Wire harness routing structure according to claim 3.

5. The aforementioned flat cable members have a shape that is point-symmetrical to each other when a pair is placed facing each other. Wire harness routing structure according to claim 1 or 2.

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