Wire harness

Abstract

To provide a wire harness capable of reducing a width occupied by an aggregate of wires at a place of a flat part while securing a clearance between adjacent wires in a low flat part using a plurality of wires including an insulated wire having a flat part, and a low flat part.SOLUTION: Wire harnesses 5, 5A each includes a plurality of wires including a centroid-shifted wire 1B, where the centroid-shifted wire 1B has a flat part, and a low flat part along an axial direction, a section orthogonal to an axial direction of the flat part has a flat shape long in a width direction, and a section orthogonal to an axial direction of the low flat part has a shape having a lower flat degree than that of the flat part, a position of a centroid 31 of the section of the low flat part is shifted in a first direction along a width direction of the flat shape to a position of a centroid 21 of the section of the flat part, and the centroid-shifted wire 1B is adjacent to other wires in a second direction of an adverse direction to the first direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wire harness.

Background Art

[0002] In an insulated wire, a form in which a flat portion and a low-flat portion are provided along the axial direction has been proposed. The outer shape of the conductor in the cross section is flat in the flat portion and has a lower flatness than the flat portion, typically a substantially circular shape, in the low-flat portion. Insulated wires having this type of flat portion and low-flat portion are disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. In Patent Document 1, a low-flat portion is formed by deforming a raw material flat wire having an overall flat shape, whereas in Patent Document 2, a flat portion is formed by crushing a wire having a circular cross section or the like, and due to the difference in the manufacturing method, there are differences in the detailed structure of the insulated wire, such as the shape distribution of the conductor strands in the flat portion and the low-flat portion.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Insulated wires having flattened and low-flattened sections, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, can be used for suitable applications by utilizing the shapes and characteristics of each section. For example, the flattened section has high space-saving properties in the height direction of its flattened shape and high bending flexibility, making it suitable for routing the insulated wire along a predetermined path while bending it. On the other hand, the low-flattened section can be suitable for attaching other components to the insulated wire by utilizing its low-flattening cross-sectional shape, such as a circle. For example, a low-flattened section can be provided on the insulated wire at the terminal end when attaching a connector or at other points where other components are attached. This makes it possible to use general-purpose components that are commonly used with conventional insulated wires with low flattening, such as round wires with a roughly circular cross-section, without having to prepare special components designed to be attached to insulated wires with a flattened cross-sectional shape, such as terminals, connectors, and binding members. As for the tools used to attach these components, it is not necessary to use tools specifically designed for processing flattened insulated wires; conventional tools used for processing round wires and other insulated wires with a lower degree of flatness can be used.

[0005] However, when multiple insulated wires are connected to a common connector to form a wire harness, and when multiple insulated wires having flattened and low-flattened sections are arranged side by side in the width direction, the area occupied by the flattened sections may be wider than the area occupied by the aggregate of low-flattened sections due to the difference in width between the low-flattened and flattened sections. As shown in Figure 5A, in the insulated wire 9 disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the position of the center of gravity 21 of the flattened section 2 and the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low-flattened section 3 are aligned. When multiple of these insulated wires 9 are arranged side by side in the width direction, as shown in Figure 5B, adjacent insulated wires 9In this case, it may be necessary to arrange the insulated wires 9 with a gap p larger than the width w of the flattened section 2 between the centers of gravity 31 of the low-flattened section 3. In such cases, the flattened sections 2 of adjacent insulated wires 9 cannot be placed in contact with each other, and a gap g is created between adjacent flattened sections 2. As a result, the width A' occupied by the cluster of multiple insulated wires 9 at the flattened section 2 becomes larger compared to the case where adjacent insulated wires 9 are placed in contact with each other at the flattened section 2. The need to provide a relatively large gap p larger than the width w of the flattened section 2 between the centers of gravity 31 of adjacent low-flattened sections 3 may arise, for example, when using large waterproof plugs 6 fitted around the outer circumference of the insulated wires 9 or terminals connected to the ends of the insulated wires 9.

[0006] Thus, by providing a predetermined interval p between the low-flattened sections 3, the width A' occupied by the assembly of multiple insulated wires 9 at the flattened section 2 increases, resulting in the wire harness occupying a large space in the width direction, making it difficult to reduce the space required for the wire harness in the width direction. Furthermore, when shielding materials such as metal braids or protective outer covering materials such as corrugated tubes or twisted tubes are provided on the outer circumference of the wire harness, it becomes necessary to use larger diameter materials for these components, which can lead to increased material costs.

[0007] In view of the above, the objective is to provide a wire harness that uses multiple wires, including insulated wires having flattened and low-flattened sections, which can reduce the width occupied by the wire bundle in the flattened section while ensuring spacing between adjacent wires in the low-flattened section. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The wire harness of this disclosure comprises a plurality of wires, including a center of gravity off-center wire, the center of gravity off-center wire having a conductor formed by twisting together a plurality of strands and an insulating coating covering the outer circumference of the conductor, each of the strands constituting the conductor and the insulating coating being continuous with each other to have a flattened portion and a low-flattened portion along the axial direction, the cross section perpendicular to the axial direction having a flattened shape that is elongated in the width direction in the flattened portion and a shape that is less flattened than the flattened portion in the low-flattened portion, the position of the center of gravity of the cross section in the low-flattened portion being shifted in a first direction along the width direction of the flattened shape relative to the position of the center of gravity of the cross section in the flattened portion, and the center of gravity off-center wire is adjacent to other wires in a second direction opposite to the first direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The wire harness of this disclosure uses multiple wires, including insulated wires having flattened and low-flattened sections, to ensure spacing between adjacent wires in the low-flattened sections while minimizing the width occupied by the wire bundle in the flattened sections. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] Figures 1A to 1C are schematic diagrams showing an example of a centroid-shifted wire constituting a wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1A is a perspective view. Figure 1B is a cross-sectional view showing the flattened portion corresponding to cross-section AA in Figure 1A, and Figure 1C is a cross-sectional view showing the low-flattened portion corresponding to cross-section BB in Figure 1A. The individual wires constituting the conductor are omitted in each figure. [Figure 2] Figure 2A is a plan view showing the off-center power line in Figure 1. Figures 2B to 2D are plan views showing other forms of off-center power lines. [Figure 3] Figures 3A and 3B are schematic plan views showing the connection between the wires and connectors in a wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. They show examples of cases where the wire harness consists of two wires and three wires, respectively. [Figure 4]Figures 4A and 4B are schematic plan views showing the connection between the wires and connectors in a wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Both show examples where the wire harness consists of four wires, but the types of wires used are different. [Figure 5] Figure 5A is a plan view showing an insulated wire with no shift in its center of gravity. Figure 5B shows a wire harness using only the insulated wires with no shift in their center of gravity as shown in Figure 5A.

[0011] [Description of Embodiments in this Disclosure] First, embodiments of this disclosure will be listed and described. The wire harness of this disclosure has the following configuration:

[0012] [1] The wire harness of the present disclosure comprises a plurality of wires including a center of gravity off-center wire, the center of gravity off-center wire having a conductor formed by twisting together a plurality of strands and an insulating coating covering the outer circumference of the conductor, each of the strands constituting the conductor and the insulating coating being continuous with each other to have a flattened portion and a low flattened portion along the axial direction, the cross section perpendicular to the axial direction having a flattened shape that is elongated in the width direction in the flattened portion and a shape that is less flattened than the flattened portion in the low flattened portion, the position of the center of gravity of the cross section in the low flattened portion being shifted in a first direction along the width direction of the flattened shape with respect to the position of the center of gravity of the cross section in the flattened portion, the center of gravity off-center wire is adjacent to other wires in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

[0013] The above wire harness includes a wire with an off-center center of gravity, where the center of gravity of the low-flat section of the off-center wire is shifted in a first direction along the width direction of the flat shape of the flat section relative to the center of gravity of the flat section. When arranging this off-center wire along the width direction of the flat shape with other wires to form a wire harness, if the second direction, opposite to the first direction, faces the adjacent wire, the off-center center of gravity can be used to position the low-flat section away from the other adjacent wires. As a result, the distance between the centers of gravity of the off-center wire and the adjacent wire is greater in the low-flat section than in the flat section. In the flat section, corresponding to the smaller distance between the centers of gravity, the width of the area occupied by the off-center wire and the adjacent wire as a whole becomes smaller. In this way, by utilizing the shift in the center of gravity between the low-flattened and flattened sections of a center-of-gravity shifted power line, it is possible to maintain a large distance between adjacent power lines in the low-flattened section while keeping the width occupied by the power line cluster in the flattened section small. Here, the other power lines may be center-of-gravity shifted power lines or other types of power lines, but in particular, when multiple center-of-gravity shifted power lines are arranged side by side, the distance between the centers of gravity of the low-flattened sections of those multiple center-of-gravity shifted power lines can be made larger than the width of the flattened section.

[0014] In a wire with an off-center center of gravity, by keeping the width occupied by the wire bundles in the flattened section small while increasing the spacing between the low-flattened section and other adjacent wires, it is possible to avoid the wire harness becoming excessively wide in the flattened section, while still ensuring sufficient wire spacing in the low-flattened section, even if it requires the use of larger components such as waterproof plugs and terminals attached to the low-flattened section. Furthermore, by keeping the width occupied by the wire bundles in the flattened section small, it is possible to suppress the need for larger components such as shielding materials and sheathing materials placed on the outer perimeter of the flattened section.

[0015] [2] In the embodiment of [1] above, the center of gravity shifted wire may be in contact with the other adjacent wire in the second direction at the flattened portion. In this case, the distance between the flattened portion of the center of gravity shifted wire and the other adjacent wire is minimized, and the width occupied by the bundle of wires at the flattened portion can be kept particularly small.

[0016] [3] In the embodiment of [1] or [2] above, the off-center wire may have the low-flat portion at its end, and the low-flat portion may be connected to a connector common to the other wires. Then, by utilizing the off-center of gravity of the off-center wire, it is possible to keep the width occupied by the wire bundle small at locations other than the end of the wire harness, while ensuring a sufficiently large gap between wires at the end. By ensuring a large gap between wires at the end, it becomes possible to use larger components such as waterproof rubber or terminals attached to the end of each wire, or to attach a common connector with a large pole spacing to the end of the wire group. When connecting components such as waterproof plugs, terminals, or connectors to the low-flat portion of the end, it is possible to use those components and attachment tools that are conventionally used for general round wires, by taking advantage of the low-flat portion having a low-flat cross-sectional shape.

[0017] [4] In any one embodiment of [1] to [3] above, the wire harness may include at least two of the off-center-of-gravity wires, and the two off-center-of-gravity wires may be arranged in the width direction of the flattened shape with their respective outer edges in the second direction facing each other, or with other wires in between. Then, due to the shift in the center of gravity, the low-flattened portions of the two off-center-of-gravity wires are positioned apart from each other, so a large gap is secured between the low-flattened portions, and a high effect is obtained in keeping the width occupied by the bundle of wires at the flattened portions small. The effect is particularly high when the wires constituting the wire harness consist only of two off-center-of-gravity wires, but the effect can also be enjoyed when other types of wires, such as wires that form flattened portions and low-flattened portions without shifting the center of gravity, are interposed between the two off-center-of-gravity wires.

[0018] [5] In any one of the aspects [1] to [4] above, the center-of-gravity-shifted electric wire has a transition portion between the flat portion and the low-flat portion, and the outer edge on the outer side in the width direction of the transition portion preferably has an angle with respect to the axial direction at least in the second direction. In this case, by utilizing the angle formed by the outer edge of the transition portion with respect to the axial direction, it is possible to easily form a shift in the position of the center of gravity between the flat portion and the low-flat portion. Further, by selecting the angles formed by the outer edge with respect to the axial direction in the second direction and the first direction, it is possible to variously set the positional relationship between the low-flat portion and the flat portion in the center-of-gravity-shifted electric wire, including the forms [6] to [8] below.

[0019] [6] In the aspect [5] above, the outer edge of the transition portion preferably inclines with respect to the axial direction at least in the second direction. In this case, in the center-of-gravity-shifted electric wire, by utilizing the inclination to gradually shift the position of the center of gravity between the flat portion and the low-flat portion, it is possible to form a shift in the position of the center of gravity between the flat portion and the low-flat portion while suppressing the load applied to the conductor and the insulating coating to a small level.

[0020] [7] In the aspect [6] above, the outer edge of the transition portion has an inclination with respect to the axial direction in both the first direction and the second direction, and the inclination is preferably smaller in the first direction than in the second direction. Then, in the center-of-gravity-shifted electric wire, by utilizing the difference in inclination at the outer edges on both sides of the transition portion, it is possible to easily form a shift in the position of the center of gravity between the flat portion and the low-flat portion.

[0021] [8] Or, in the embodiment of [6] above, the outer edge of the transition portion may extend along the axial direction in the first direction and have an angle with respect to the axial direction in the second direction. In this case, a large difference in the center of gravity between the center of gravity of the flattened portion and the center of gravity of the low-flattened portion can be formed in the center of gravity-shifted wire. This makes it easier to widen the gap between the center of gravity-shifted wire and adjacent wires in the low-flattened portion. If the outer edge in the second direction is sloped, a difference in the center of gravity can be formed between the flattened portion and the low-flattened portion while keeping the load applied to the conductor and insulation coating small. On the other hand, if the outer edge in the second direction is not substantially sloped and the angle that the outer edge in the second direction makes with respect to the axial direction is a right angle or close to a right angle, a large difference in the center of gravity can be formed between the flattened portion and the low-flattened portion while keeping the length of the transition portion small. As a result, the flattened section extends to the immediate vicinity of the low-flattened section, and by ensuring a longer flattened section, the characteristics of the flattened section, such as space saving and bending flexibility, can be effectively utilized in power lines with an off-center center of gravity.

[0022] [9] In any one of the embodiments described in [1] to [8] above, in the off-center electric wire, it is preferable that the entire area of ​​the low-flattened portion in the width direction is within the width range of the flattened portion. In this case, a shift in the position of the center of gravity can be formed between the flattened portion and the low-flattened portion while keeping the load applied to the conductor and insulation coating constituting the off-center electric wire particularly small. Furthermore, the area occupied in the width direction by the off-center electric wire as a whole, including the low-flattened portion and the flattened portion, can be contained within a narrow area within the width range of the flattened portion.

[0023]

[10] Alternatively, in any one of the embodiments described in [1] to [8] above, in the off-center electric wire, at least a portion of the widthwise region of the low-flat portion may be offset in the first direction relative to the flat portion, beyond the width of the flat portion. In this case, a large shift in the center of gravity can be formed between the flat portion and the low-flat portion in the off-center electric wire. By utilizing this large shift in the center of gravity, in various arrangements, the width of the collection of multiple electric wires can be kept small at the flat portion while ensuring a large spacing between electric wires at the low-flat portion.

[0024] [Details of the embodiments of this disclosure] Below, a wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and misaligned wires included in such a wire harness, will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this specification, with regard to the shape and arrangement of each part of the wire harness and wires, concepts indicating the shape and arrangement of members, such as straight lines, parallel lines, and perpendicular lines, include errors from geometric concepts, such as deviations of approximately ±15% in length and approximately ±15° in angle, within the range permissible for this type of wire harness and wire. In this specification, unless otherwise specified, the cross-section of a wire refers to a cross-section cut perpendicular to the axial direction (longitudinal direction).

[0025] The wire harness according to the embodiment of this disclosure comprises a plurality of electric wires. These plurality of electric wires include a gravity-off wire having a predetermined configuration. Below, the configuration of the gravity-off wire included in the wire harness will be described first, followed by the configuration of the wire harness.

[0026] <Structure of power lines with shifted center of gravity> Figure 1A shows an example of a gravity-off wire 1 constituting a wire harness according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, in a perspective view. Figures 1B and 1C show cross-sectional views taken along lines AA and BB in Figure 1A, respectively. Furthermore, Figure 2A shows a plan view of the gravity-off wire 1.

[0027] The off-center electric wire 1 in this embodiment is configured as an insulated electric wire having a conductor 11 and an insulating coating 13. The conductor 11 is configured as a stranded wire made by twisting together multiple strands (not shown in the figure). The insulating coating 13 covers the outer circumference of the conductor 11 all the way around. The off-center electric wire 1 has a flattened portion 2 and a low-flattened portion 3 along the axial direction (x direction). The flattened portion 2 and the low-flattened portion 3 are integrally continuous along the axial direction of the off-center electric wire 1. In other words, each strand constituting the conductor 11 is integrally continuous between the flattened portion 2 and the low-flattened portion 3. Also, the insulating coating 13 covering the conductor 11 is integrally continuous between the flattened portion 2 and the low-flattened portion 3.

[0028] In the flattened section 2, the cross-section is flattened. Here, a flattened cross-section means that the width w, which is the length of the longest straight line that crosses the cross-section parallel to the sides or diameters constituting the cross-section and encompasses the entire cross-section, is greater than the height h, which is the length of a straight line perpendicular to that line and encompasses the entire cross-section. The cross-section of the flattened section 2 can be any specific shape as long as it is flattened, but in this embodiment, the cross-section of the flattened section 2 has a shape that can be approximated as a rectangle. Examples of flattened shapes other than rectangles include ellipse, oblong, and oval (a shape in which circular arcs are joined to both ends of a rectangle). From the viewpoint of improving space saving and improving continuity with the low flattened section 3, the aspect ratio w / h in the flattened section 2 should be, for example, between 2 and 6. In the flattened section 2, not only the overall outer shape of the cross-section but also the outer shape of the conductor 11 is flattened. Hereafter, including the low-flattened section 3, the directions corresponding to the width and height of the flattened shape of the flattened section 2 will be referred to as the width direction (y direction) and the height direction (z direction), respectively, throughout the entire area of ​​the gravity-off wire 1. The plan view in Figure 2A is a plan view of the gravity-off wire 1 as seen from the height direction (+z direction), and displays the state of the gravity-off wire 1 in a plane (xy plane) that includes the axial direction and the width direction.

[0029] The low-flattened section 3 has a cross-sectional shape that is less flattened than the flattened section 2. Here, "less flattened" means that the aspect ratio of the cross-section (w' / h', where w' is the width and h' is the height of the cross-section of the low-flattened section 3) is small, and the degree to which the cross-sectional shape is flattened is low. The specific shape of the low-flattened section 3 is not particularly limited, and examples include shapes that can be approximated as figures with no or low anisotropy, such as squares, circles, and hexagons, as well as shapes that can be approximated as rectangles, ellipses, or oblongs with a smaller aspect ratio than the flattened section 2. The lower the degree of flattening of the low-flattened section 3, the better, and a form having a cross-section that approximates a circle or square with an aspect ratio w' / h' of 1 is particularly preferred. Furthermore, a form that can approximate a circle in cross-section is most preferred. However, if the aspect ratio w' / h' of the low-flattened section 3 is set to, for example, 2 or less, the effects of forming the low-flattened section 3, which will be described later, can be fully obtained. Furthermore, the aspect ratio w' / h' in the low-flattened section 3 should be approximately 20% or more and 70% or less of the aspect ratio w / h in the flattened section 2. In the low-flattened section 3, not only the overall cross-sectional shape but also the outer shape of the conductor 11 has a lower degree of flatness than the flattened section 2. In the low-flattened section 3, it is preferable that the width dimension w' is not smaller than the height dimension h' (it is preferable to set w' / h'≧1). In other words, it is preferable that the low-flattened section 3 does not have a vertically elongated cross-sectional shape. However, this does not prevent the low-flattened section 3 from having a vertically elongated cross-sectional shape, in which case it is preferable to set the width-to-height ratio h' / w' in the low-flattened section 3 to be smaller than the aspect ratio w / h in the flattened section 2. Furthermore, the width-to-height ratio h' / w' of the low-flattened section 3 should be the same as the aspect ratio in the case of the horizontally elongated shape mentioned above. w' / h' Similarly, it is sufficient to keep it at 2 or less. Also, the aspect ratio h' / w' in the low-flattened section 3 should be approximately 20% or more and 70% or less of the aspect ratio w / h in the flattened section 2.

[0030] In the centroid-shifted electric wire 1 according to this embodiment, the position of the centroid 31 in the cross-section of the low-flattened section 3 is offset from the position of the centroid 21 in the cross-section of the flattened section 2. Specifically, with one direction along the width direction (the -y direction in the illustrated example) as the eccentric direction (first direction) D1, the position of the centroid 31 of the low-flattened section 3 is offset in the eccentric direction D1 relative to the position of the centroid 21 of the flattened section 2. Here, the positions of the centroids 21 and 31 of the flattened section 2 and the low-flattened section 3 refer to the positions of the centroids in the cross-sectional outline as a geometric figure, without considering the mass of the constituent materials. In the plan view of Figure 2A, the centroids 21 and 31 are shown as straight lines connecting the centroids in the cross-sections at each position along the axial direction.

[0031] A transition section 4 is provided between the flattened section 2 and the low-flattened section 3. In the transition section 4, the position of the center of gravity of the cross-section changes between the center of gravity position 21 in the flattened section 2 and the center of gravity position 31 in the low-flattened section 3. Therefore, in the xy plane shown in Figure 2A, the outer edge of the transition section 4 on the widthwise side has an angle with respect to the axial direction of the center of gravity misaligned wire 1. In the center of gravity misaligned wire 1 according to this embodiment, a misalignment exists between the outer edge of the low-flattened section 3 and the outer edge of the flattened section 2 in both the eccentric direction D1 and the anti-eccentric direction (second direction) D2, which is the direction opposite to the eccentric direction D1. On both sides of the eccentric direction D1 and anti-eccentric direction D2, the outer edge of the transition section 4 has an inclination with respect to the axial direction. The inclination of the outer edge of the transition section 4 is such that on both sides in the widthwise side, the low-flattened section 3 side (tip side) is inward in the widthwise direction, but the degree of inclination differs from one another. Specifically, the inclination of the outer edge of the transition section 4 is smaller in the eccentric direction D1 than in the anti-eccentric direction D2, and the outer edge in the eccentric direction D1 extends closer to the axial direction than the outer edge in the anti-eccentric direction D2. In other words, when considering the angle between the outer edge of the transition section 4 and the outer edge of the low-flat section 3 along the axial direction, there is a difference between the angle θ1 in the eccentric direction D1 and the angle θ2 in the anti-eccentric direction D2, with the angle θ1 in the eccentric direction D1 being larger. In the illustrated configuration, angles θ1 and θ2 are obtuse angles, with 90° < θ2 < θ1 < 180°. In this way, by providing the transition section 4 as a region with length along the axial direction, and configuring the position of the center of gravity to change gradually within the transition section 4, it is possible to create a shift between the center of gravity 21 of the flat section 2 and the center of gravity 31 of the low-flat section 3 without applying excessive load to the conductor 11 and insulating coating 13 that constitute the center of gravity shifted wire 1.

[0032] The amount of displacement L of the center of gravity 31 of the low-flattened section 3 relative to the center of gravity 21 of the flattened section 2, that is, the distance between the two centers of gravity 21 and 31 along the width direction, is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the amount of displacement L is smaller than the width w of the flattened section 2. Furthermore, the amount of displacement L of the center of gravity 31 is kept to a length such that the entire width of the low-flattened section 3 is within the range of the width w of the flattened section 2, and the outer edge of the low-flattened section 3 is located inward in the width direction from the outer edge of the flattened section 2 on both the eccentric direction D1 and the anti-eccentric direction D2. There is no particular lower limit for the amount of displacement L of the center of gravity 31, but from the viewpoint of fully obtaining the effect of providing a displacement of the center of gravity between the flattened section 2 and the low-flattened section 3, as will be explained later, it is preferable to set the amount of displacement L of the center of gravity 31 to 1% or more, and even 3% or more, relative to the width w of the flattened section 2. On the other hand, the amount of displacement L of the center of gravity 31 should be 100% or less of the width w of the flattened portion 2, but from the viewpoint of minimizing the load on the conductor 11 and the insulating coating 13, it is preferable to keep it to 25% or less.

[0033] The center-of-gravity offset wire 1 is equipped with a flattened section 2 having a flattened cross-sectional shape, thereby achieving high space-saving capabilities. Furthermore, the flattened section 2 has high flexibility in the height direction. Taking advantage of these high space-saving capabilities and flexibility, the flattened section 2 can be suitably used for routing in predetermined paths, including routing in narrow spaces and routing in close proximity to other components. On the other hand, the low-flattened section 3 has a cross-sectional shape with a low degree of flatness, similar to that of conventional round wires. Therefore, it is easy to use conventional round wire terminals, connectors, and other external components attached to the center-of-gravity offset wire 1 without having to prepare specially shaped components to match the flattened shape. Tools for attaching these components can also be the same as those used for round wires. Furthermore, as will be explained in detail in the later section on wire harnesses, in the center of gravity shifted wire 1 according to this embodiment, the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low-flattened portion 3 is shifted relative to the position of the center of gravity 21 of the flattened portion 2, so when the center of gravity shifted wire 1 is lined up in the width direction together with other wires, the low-flattened portion 3 In this case, while ensuring a gap between adjacent power lines, the flattened part 2In this area, the width occupied by the bundle of wires can be kept small. In the center-of-gravity off-center wire 1, the flattened portion 2 and the low-flattened portion 3 each have the above characteristics and coexist, so the center-of-gravity off-center wire 1 can be suitably applied to applications where the space for routing is limited, such as inside an automobile, and where it is necessary to bundle multiple wires together.

[0034] The position and number of low-flat sections 3 in the axial direction of the off-center-of-gravity wire 1 are not particularly limited, and the low-flat sections 3 should be provided where necessary for attaching other components such as connectors. A preferred configuration is to provide low-flat sections 3 on at least one or both sides of the flat section 2 along the axial direction of the off-center-of-gravity wire 1. For example, low-flat sections 3 can be provided at one or both ends of the off-center-of-gravity wire 1, and the area between these low-flat sections 3 can be designated as the flat section 2. In this case, as will be explained in detail in the section on wire harnesses, the low-flat sections 3 can be suitably used for connecting to the connector when connecting a common connector to the ends of multiple wires. On the other hand, the flat section 2 can be suitably used for routing the off-center-of-gravity wire 1 in intermediate areas, etc. Alternatively, a low-flattened section 3 may be provided in the middle of the axial direction of the gravity-off wire 1. Such a configuration can be suitably used, for example, when bundling multiple wires arranged along the width direction together at the middle section using a bundling member such as tape or a tube.

[0035] When low-flat sections 3 are provided on both sides in the axial direction of a certain flat section 2, the direction in which the center of gravity 31 of the intermediate flat section 2 shifts, i.e., the eccentricity direction D1, may be the same direction or opposite direction between the two low-flat sections 3. Also, when flat sections 2 are provided on both sides in the axial direction of a certain low-flat section 3, the direction in which the center of gravity 31 of the intermediate low-flat section 3 shifts with respect to each of the flat sections 2 on both sides may be the same direction or opposite direction with respect to the flat sections 2 on both sides. Furthermore, when multiple flat sections 2 and / or low-flat sections 3 are provided on the center-of-gravity shifted electric wire 1, the specific configuration, such as the specific shape of the cross-section, the aspect ratio, and the direction in which the flat shape extends, may be the same or different between the multiple flat sections 2 and the multiple low-flat sections 3.

[0036] In the off-center electric wire 1 according to this embodiment, the material, diameter, and cross-sectional area of ​​the strands constituting the conductor 11 are not particularly limited. Examples of materials for the conductor 11 include copper, copper alloys, aluminum, and aluminum alloys. Regarding the cross-sectional area of ​​the conductor, it is preferable to make it somewhat large from the viewpoint of enhancing the space-saving effect and improved bending flexibility by providing the flattened portion 2, and the effect of providing the low-flattened portion 3 with an off-center center of gravity 31. For example, if the cross-sectional area of ​​the conductor is 10 mm², 2 The above, and furthermore, 30mm 2 The above is preferable. Examples of outer diameters for the strands constituting the conductor 11 include a range of 0.3 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less.

[0037] <Manufacturing method for power lines with shifted center of gravity> A center-of-gravity off-center electric wire 1 having a flattened portion 2 and a low-flattened portion 3 integrally can be manufactured from a raw flattened electric wire in which the conductor 11 is deformed into a flattened shape, similar to the method described in Patent Document 1. The raw flattened electric wire can be manufactured by compressing a conductor 11 with a circular cross-section, which is made by twisting together multiple strands of wire, into a flattened shape, and covering the outer circumference of the conductor 11 with an insulating coating 13. Then, in a portion of the raw flattened electric wire along the axial direction, specifically in the region to be made into the low-flattened portion 3, a force is applied from the outside of the raw flattened electric wire, from the outside inward along the width direction, to deform the conductor 11. By applying this force, the width dimension of the conductor 11 is reduced, the flatness of the conductor 11 decreases, and the low-flattened portion 3 can be formed. In this case, by using a mold or the like, setting the force applied from the outside in the anti-eccentric direction D2 to be greater than the force applied from the outside in the eccentric direction D1, the center of gravity 31 of the formed low-flat portion 3 can be shifted in the eccentric direction D1 relative to the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2.

[0038] Alternatively, the off-center electric wire 1 can also be manufactured using a raw round electric wire, similar to that described in Patent Document 2, in which an insulating coating 13 is formed on the outer circumference of a conductor 11 with a circular cross-section, which is made by twisting together multiple strands of wire. In this case, a force is applied to a portion of the raw round electric wire, specifically the region to be made into a flattened portion 2, from the outside in the direction of the height of the flattened shape to the inside, thereby deforming the conductor 11. By applying this force, the height dimension of the conductor 11 decreases, the degree of flattening of the conductor 11 increases, and a flattened portion 2 can be formed. At this time, if a mold or the like is used to apply force in the direction of the height of the flattened shape as well as in the direction of the width, so that the flattened portion 2 is formed biased in the direction of the anti-eccentric direction D2, then in the resulting off-center electric wire 1, a state can be formed in which the center of gravity 31 of the low flattened portion 3 is shifted in the eccentric direction D1 relative to the center of gravity 21 of the flattened portion 2.

[0039] Thus, the center-of-gravity off-center wire 1 according to this embodiment may be formed from either raw flat wire or raw round wire, but it is preferable to form it from raw flat wire. This is because, when forming a low-flat portion 3 at a predetermined location on the raw flat wire, it is easier to form a shift in the center of gravity 31 with a desired direction and amount of shift L relative to the low-flat portion 3 by adjusting the applied force, etc. Also, this allows for minimizing the load applied to the conductor 11 and insulating coating 13 due to the change in cross-sectional shape. In particular, when manufacturing a center-of-gravity off-center wire 1 in which the area occupied by the low-flat portion 3 is shorter than the area occupied by the flat portion 2, such as when the low-flat portion 3 is provided only in a part of the terminal portion of the center-of-gravity off-center wire 1, the method of using raw flat wire can be suitably adopted.

[0040] <Other forms of power lines with shifted center of gravity> The off-center wire constituting the wire harness according to the embodiments of this disclosure has a flattened portion 2 and a low-flattened portion 3, and the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low-flattened portion 3 is shifted in an eccentric direction D1 along the width direction of the flattened shape relative to the position of the center of gravity 21 of the flattened portion 2, but is not limited to the form of the off-center wire 1 described in detail above. Below, off-center wires according to major examples of other embodiments will be briefly described. The configuration common to the off-center wire 1 described above will be omitted from the explanation.

[0041] In the above-described configuration of the off-center power wire 1, the outer edge of the transition section 4 is inclined with respect to the axial direction in both the eccentric direction D1 and the anti-eccentric direction D2. However, the configuration of the transition section 4 is not limited to the above-described configuration, as long as the outer edge of the transition section 4 on the widthwise side has an angle with respect to the axial direction of the off-center power wire, at least in the anti-eccentric direction D2. For example, as shown in Figures 2B and 2C of the off-center power wires 1A and 1B, the outer edge of the transition section 4 may have an angle θ2 with respect to the axial direction in the anti-eccentric direction D2, while having virtually no angle in the eccentric direction D1 and extending linearly along the axial direction. In this case, the outer edge of the off-center power wire 1A and 1B on the eccentric direction D1 side is a low-flattened section. 3In this configuration, the low-flattened portion 3 extends axially at the same widthwise position as the outer edge of the flattened portion 2. Therefore, the amount of displacement L of the center of gravity 31 of the low-flattened portion 3 relative to the center of gravity 21 of the flattened portion 2 can be increased compared to the case where the outer edge of the low-flattened portion 3 on the eccentric direction D1 side is positioned inward in the widthwise direction than the outer edge of the flattened portion 2, as in the case of the center of gravity shifted wire 1 in Figure 2A. This allows for a greater effect from the displacement of the center of gravity 31, which will be described later.

[0042] In this configuration, the outer edge of the transition section 4 in the eccentric direction D1 extends along the axial direction, and depending on the state of the outer edge in the anti-eccentric direction D2, both the center-of-gravity shifted wire 1A in Figure 2B and the center-of-gravity shifted wire 1B in Figure 2C are possible. In the center-of-gravity shifted wire 1A in Figure 2B, the outer edge on the anti-eccentric direction D2 side of the transition section 4 extends at an inclination with respect to the axial direction. That is, in the anti-eccentric direction D2, the angle θ2 that the outer edge of the transition section 4 makes with the outer edge of the low-flat section 3 along the axial direction is obtuse. In this case, similar to the center-of-gravity shifted wire 1 in Figure 2A, the position of the center of gravity changes gradually in the transition section 4, so that a large amount of displacement L of the center of gravity 31 of the low-flat section 3 relative to the center of gravity 21 of the flat section 2 can be secured without applying an excessive load to the conductor 11 and insulating coating 13 that constitute the center-of-gravity shifted wire 1A.

[0043] On the other hand, in the off-center power wire 1B shown in Figure 2C, the outer edge of the transition section 4 in the anti-eccentric direction D2 is oriented at an angle perpendicular to or close to the axial direction. In other words, in the anti-eccentric direction D2, the angle θ2 between the outer edge of the transition section 4 and the outer edge of the low-flat section 3 along the axial direction is 90° or close to it (approximately 90° ± 10°). In this case, the length of the region occupied by the transition section 4 along the axial direction of the off-center power wire 1B becomes zero or very short, allowing the low-flat section 3 and the flat section 2 to be placed closer together. As a result, the flat section 2 can be made longer in an off-center power wire 1B of a predetermined length, and the characteristics of the flat section 2, such as space saving in the height direction and flexibility, can be effectively utilized in the routing of the off-center power wire 1B.

[0044] In the centroid-shifted wires 1, 1A, and 1B shown in Figures 2A, 2B, and 2C described above, the entire widthwise region of the low-flattened section 3 was within the width w of the flattened section 2. In other words, the outer edges on both sides of the low-flattened section 3 in the widthwise direction were not positioned outside the outer edges of the flattened section 2, and the entire widthwise region of the transition section 4 was also within the width w of the flattened section 2. By configuring it in this way, it is possible to create a shift in the position of the centroids 21 and 31 between the flattened section 2 and the low-flattened section 3 while keeping the load applied to the conductor 11 and the insulating coating 13 small. In addition, the widthwise dimension occupied by the centroid-shifted wire as a whole can be kept small. On the other hand, as in the centroid-shifted wire 1C shown in Figure 2D, at least a portion of the widthwise region of the low-flattened section 3 may be shifted in the eccentric direction D1 relative to the flattened section 2, exceeding the width w of the flattened section 2. In the illustrated configuration, a portion of the low-flattened section 3 on the eccentric direction D1 side in the width direction exceeds the width w of the flattened section 2 and is shifted toward the eccentric direction D1. On both the eccentric direction D1 and the anti-eccentric direction D2, the outer edge of the low-flattened section 3 in the width direction is shifted toward the eccentric direction D1 side compared to the outer edge of the flattened section 2. On both sides in the width direction, the outer edge of the transition section 4 is inclined toward the eccentric direction D1 on the low-flattened section 3 side (tip side), and a portion of the transition section 4 in the width direction also exceeds the width w of the flattened section 2 and is shifted toward the eccentric direction D1. In this case as well, similar to the centroid-shifted wire 1 in Figure 2A, the inclination of the outer edge of the transition section 4 is smaller in the eccentric direction D1 than in the anti-eccentric direction D2.

[0045] In this center-of-gravity shifted wire 1C, the amount of shift L between the center of gravity 31 of the low-flat section 3 and the center of gravity 21 of the flat section 2 becomes large. Therefore, it can be used to construct various types of wire harnesses, such as the configuration shown in Figure 4B, which will be shown later, and the effect of the shift in the center of gravity 31 can be utilized. In the configuration shown in Figure 2D, the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low-flat section 3 is within the width w of the flat section 2. However, the amount of shift L may be further increased so that the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low-flat section 3 is shifted in the eccentric direction D1 beyond the width w of the flat section 2. Furthermore, the outer edges on both sides of the low-flat section 3 in the eccentric direction D1 and the anti-eccentric direction D2 may be configured to be shifted in the eccentric direction D1 beyond the outer edge of the flat section 2 on the eccentric direction D1 side.

[0046] <Wire harness configuration> Next, a wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of wires, including off-center wires (e.g., off-center wires 1, 1A, 1B, 1C) which have a flattened portion 2 and a low-flattened portion 3 whose center of gravity 31 is offset from the flattened portion 2 as described above. In the wire harness, the off-center wires are arranged adjacent to other wires in the anti-eccentric direction D2.

[0047] Here, "other wires" may refer to off-center wires having a flattened portion 2 and a low-flattened portion 3 whose center of gravity 31 is offset relative to the flattened portion 2, or other types of wires. However, it is preferable that the wire harness includes at least two off-center wires. In this case, the multiple off-center wires included in the wire harness may be of the same form, or they may be a mixture of multiple forms, such as off-center wires 1, 1A to 1C. Furthermore, the type of other wires coexisting with the off-center wires is not particularly limited, and any wire such as flat wires or round wires can be used. However, an insulated wire (no-shift wire) 9, as shown in Figure 5A, which has a flattened portion 2 and a low-flattened portion 3, but with no shift between the center of gravity 31 of the low-flattened portion 3 and the center of gravity 21 of the flattened portion 2, can be suitably adopted.

[0048] Figure 3A shows a simplified plan view of the connection between a plurality of wires and a connector 51 in a wire harness 5 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. This wire harness 5 includes two off-center wires 1B having low-flattened portions 3 at their ends. The two off-center wires 1B are arranged side by side in the width direction with their outer edges facing each other in the anti-eccentric direction D2. The two off-center wires 1B are connected to a common connector 51 at the low-flattened portions 3, although this is optional, thus forming a wire harness 5 equipped with a multi-pole connector. In an actual wire harness 5, terminals are connected to the ends of each off-center wire 1B, and the ends of the off-center wires 1B to which the terminals are connected are housed in the connector housing. However, in the figure, the terminals are omitted, and the position in the connector housing where the off-center wires 1B are housed is indicated as the pole position 52. Furthermore, for each misaligned electric wire 1B, a waterproof plug (rubber plug) 6 is optionally fitted onto the outer circumference of the low-flattened section 3 near the connection point to the connector 51.

[0049] Here, as shown in Figure 5B, consider the case where a wire harness 95 is constructed using only non-shifting wires 9, where there is no displacement between the center of gravity 31 of the low-flat section 3 and the center of gravity 21 of the flat section 2. In this case, in an assembly of two non-shifting wires 9 arranged in the width direction, the distance between the centers of gravity 31 of the low-flat section 3 and the two non-shifting wires 9 is equal to the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flat section 2. Due to the need to attach large waterproof plugs 6 and terminals to the low-flat section 3, the pole spacing p between adjacent pole positions 52, that is, adjacent No displacement of power lines 9If the distance between the centers of gravity 31 of the low-flattened sections 3 must be greater than the width w of the flattened sections 2, then the flattened sections 2 will also be arranged with a distance greater than their own width w between their centers of gravity 21. In other words, the flattened sections 2 of adjacent non-shifted wires 9 cannot be arranged with their outer edges in contact with each other in the anti-eccentric direction D2, and a gap g will be created between these flattened sections 2. Consequently, in the assembly of two non-shifted wires 9, the width A' occupied by the flattened sections 2 will increase depending on the pole spacing p that should be provided in the low-flattened sections 3. If the width of the area occupied by the wire group at the flattened sections 2 increases, it becomes difficult to save space in the wire harness 95 in the width direction. In addition, it becomes necessary to use larger diameter materials for shielding materials such as metal braids, and protective outer materials such as corrugated tubes and twisted tubes that are placed on the outer circumference of the wire group, which increases the cost of these materials.

[0050] In contrast, in the wire harness 5 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure shown in FIG. 3A, by using the center-of-gravity-shifted wire 1B in which the position of the center of gravity 31 of the low-flat portion 3 is shifted with respect to the position of the center of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2, in adjacent center-of-gravity-shifted wires 1B, while ensuring a large distance between the low-flat portions 3, the distance between the flat portions 2 can be suppressed to be small. In the wire harness 5 according to the present embodiment, since a plurality of center-of-gravity-shifted wires 1B are arranged such that adjacent low-flat portions 3 face each other in their respective anti-eccentric directions D2, in adjacent center-of-gravity-shifted wires 1B, the distance between the centers of gravity 31 of the low-flat portions 3 (the pole interval p) is larger than the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flat portions 2. That is, even if the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flat portions 2 is made small, a larger distance is ensured between the centers of gravity 31 of the low-flat portions 3 than between the centers of gravity 21 of the flat portions 2. Therefore, when compared with the form using the non-shifted wire 9 as in the wire harness 95 of FIG. 5B, even if the widths w and w' of the flat portion 2 and the low-flat portion 3 are the same as those of the non-shifted wire 9, while ensuring a predetermined same distance p as the pole interval in the connector 51, the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flat portions 2 can be suppressed to be small, and the width A occupied by the aggregate of the two center-of-gravity-shifted wires 1B at the flat portion 2 can be suppressed to be small (A < A'). The distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flat portion 2 becomes the smallest and is equal to the width w of the flat portion 2 when adjacent center-of-gravity-shifted wires 1B are brought into contact with each other at the outer edges on the anti-eccentric direction D2 side of the flat portion 2, that is, when substantially no gap g is provided.

[0051] In this way, by using the off-center wire 1B, compared to using the non-off-center wire 9, it is possible to secure a larger distance between the low-flat sections 3 of multiple wires, while keeping the spacing between wires smaller at the flat sections 2, thereby reducing the width A occupied by the wire assembly. Even when connecting multiple off-center wires 1B to a common connector 51 where the pole spacing p is larger than the width w of the flat section 2, due to the need to attach large components such as waterproof plugs 6 and terminals, the width A occupied by the assembly of multiple off-center wires 1B at the flat section 2 can be kept small by making the spacing of the centers of gravity 21 of the flat section 2 smaller than the pole spacing p. As a result, the space-saving aspect of the wire harness 5 in the width direction is enhanced, and there is no need to use excessively large diameter components such as various shielding materials and outer covering materials placed on the outer circumference of the assembly of off-center wires 1B, thus reducing the cost of those components. In the illustrated configuration, the wire harness 5 is constructed using a gravity-off wire 1B in which the outer edge of the transition section 4 extends along the axial direction in the eccentric direction D1 and is perpendicular to the axial direction in the anti-eccentric direction D2, in order to ensure the necessary pole spacing p in the low-flat section 3 while keeping the width A occupied by the assembly of flat sections 2 as small as possible. However, other forms of gravity-off wires, including the gravity-off wires 1, 1A, and 1C described above, may also be used.

[0052] In the configuration described above, the wire harness 5 contains only two off-center wires as the electric wires, and these two off-center wires are arranged with their outer edges in the anti-eccentric direction D2 directly facing each other. However, even in a wire harness containing any number of wires (three or more), the off-center wires can be used to ensure sufficient spacing between wires in the low-flattened section 3 while keeping the width occupied by the wires in the flattened section 2 small. When there are three or more wires, it is preferable to place another wire between the outer edges in the anti-eccentric direction D2 of the two off-center wires. In this case, the other wire placed in between may be an off-center wire, a non-off-center wire 9, or another type of wire.

[0053] Figure 3B shows an example of a wire harness 5A containing three wires. In this harness, of the three wires arranged in the width direction, off-center wires 1B are placed at each end, and a single non-off-center wire 9 is placed between these off-center wires 1B. The outer edges of the two off-center wires 1B are oriented inward in the direction of alignment. In this configuration, the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of adjacent flattened sections 2 is kept smaller compared to the case where three non-off-center wires 9 are arranged at the same center-of-gravity distance as the distance between the centers of gravity 31 of the low-flattened section 3 (pole spacing p) between the off-center wires 1B on both sides and the non-off-center wire 9 in the center. Accordingly, the width A1 occupied by the assembly of the three wires at the flattened section 2 can be kept small. If an insulated wire 1C (hereinafter referred to as a large-offset wire 1C) is used as a centroid-offset wire placed at both ends in the width direction, in which at least a portion of the area in the width direction of the low-flat section 3 is offset in the eccentric direction D1 beyond the width w of the flat section 2, it is possible to further reduce the width A1 occupied by the assembly of the three wires at the location of the flat section 2 while maintaining the same pole spacing p in the low-flat section 3.

[0054] The number of non-shifted wires 9 placed between the shifted-center-of-gravity wires 1B at both ends may be further increased. In that case as well, at least between the shifted-center-of-gravity wires 1B at both ends and the adjacent non-shifted wires 9, a sufficient distance (pole spacing p) between the centers of gravity 31 of the low-flattened section 3 can be secured, while keeping the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flattened section 2 small. In proportion to the reduction in the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flattened section 2, the width occupied by the entire wire assembly at the flattened section 2 can be reduced. As an example, Figure 4A shows a wire harness 5B containing four wires. Here, of the four wires arranged in the width direction, shifted-center-of-gravity wires 1B are placed at both ends, and two non-shifted wires 9 are placed between these shifted-center-of-gravity wires 1B. As for the distance (pole spacing) between the centers of gravity 31 of the low-flattened section 3, a spacing p larger than the width w of the flattened section 2 is secured at all three locations. In this case, compared to the case where four non-shifted wires 9 are arranged side by side with the same pole spacing p, the distance between the centroids 21 of the flattened section 2 remains unchanged between the two central non-shifted wires 9, but the distance between the centroids 21 of the flattened section 2 can be reduced between each of the centroid-shifted wires 1B at both ends and the adjacent non-shifted wire 9. As a result, the overall width A2 of the four-wire assembly at the flattened section 2 can be kept small.

[0055] When arranging four or more wires in a row, using large-offset wires 1C provides an even greater effect in keeping the width occupied by the wire bundle in the flattened section 2 small while ensuring the necessary pole spacing in the low-flattened section 3. In this case, it is sufficient to place large-offset wires 1C at at least both ends in the width direction of the wire bundle. In the wire harness 5C shown in Figure 4B, large-offset wires 1C are placed as the two outermost wires in the width direction of the four wires, and centroid-offset wires 1B are placed as the two wires in between, with the entire width of the low-flattened section 3 contained within the width w of the flattened section 2. Both centroid-offset wires 1B and 1C are positioned with their outer edges on the anti-eccentricity direction D2 side facing inward in the direction of the wire bundle's arrangement. The distance between the centroids 31 of the low-flattened section 3 is greater than the width w of the flattened section 2 at all three locations (pole spacing p). In this case, compared to the case where four non-shifted wires 9 are arranged side by side with the same pole spacing p, the distance between the centers of gravity 21 of the flattened section 2 can be kept smaller both between the large-shifted wire 1C positioned on the outside in the width direction and the centroid-shifted wire 1B positioned inside it, and between the two inner centroid-shifted wires 1B. Furthermore, the width A3 occupied by the flattened section 2 as a whole of the four wires can be kept even smaller than the width A2 when non-shifted wires 9 are used as wires positioned on the inside in the width direction, as shown in Figure 4A, with centroid-shifted wires 1B positioned on both sides of these non-shifted wires 9. If the number of wires is greater than four, in addition to the centroid-shifted wire 1B positioned in the center, multiple types of large-shifted wires 1C with different amounts of displacement L of the centroid 31 of the low-flattened section 3 can be prepared, and the large-shifted wires 1C with larger displacement L can be positioned further out in the direction of alignment.

[0056] In the wire harnesses 5, 5A to 5C of the above-described forms, wires with a shifted center of gravity and wires without a shifted center of gravity are used, and a low-flat section 3 is connected to the end of the wire, with a connector 51 connected to the end of the wire, so that multiple wires are bundled together at the low-flat section 3 by the connector 51. However, the wire harness of this disclosure is not limited to such forms, and has a group of wires consisting of multiple wires including a wire with a shifted center of gravity, and in that group of wires, if the wire with a shifted center of gravity is adjacent to other wires in the anti-eccentric direction D2, the center of gravity 31 of the low-flat section 3 is shifted in the eccentric direction D1, so that a large gap is secured between adjacent wires at the low-flat section 3, while the gap between adjacent wires at the flat section 2 is kept small, and thereby the width occupied by the group of wires at the flat section 2 is also kept small. As a means of bundling a group of wires, including wires with a misaligned center of gravity, in addition to connecting to a common connector 51, another method is to bundle the group of wires together using a bundling member such as tape or a tube at the point corresponding to the low-flattened portion 3 of the wire with a misaligned center of gravity. In this case, the low-flattened portion 3 may be provided at the end of the wire with a misaligned center of gravity or at an intermediate point.

[0057] Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited in any way to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0058] In the above, a wire harness was given as an example of an embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the center-of-gravity offset wire described in detail above can be suitably used as an insulated wire that can constitute such a wire harness. In other words, when an insulated wire having a flattened section with a flattened cross-section is arranged together with other wires in the width direction of the flattened section to constitute a wire harness, the object is to provide an insulated wire having the following configuration that can keep the width occupied by the bundle of wires small at the flattened section while ensuring the distance between adjacent wires at the low-flattened section.

[0059] [1'] A conductor in which multiple strands are twisted together, An insulated wire having an insulating coating that covers the outer circumference of the conductor, Each of the strands constituting the conductor and the insulating coating are connected to each other, and have a flattened portion and a low-flattened portion along the axial direction. The cross-section of the insulated wire perpendicular to the axial direction has a flattened shape in the flattened portion that is elongated in the width direction, and a shape with a lower degree of flatness in the low flattened portion. An insulated electric wire in which the position of the center of gravity of the cross-section in the low-flattened portion is shifted in a first direction along the width direction of the flattened shape relative to the position of the center of gravity of the cross-section in the flattened portion.

[0060] [2'] The insulated wire according to [1'], having the low-flattened portion at the terminal end.

[0061] [3'] The insulated wire has a transition portion between the flattened portion and the low flattened portion, The insulated wire according to [1'] or [2'], wherein the outer edge of the transition portion on the widthwise side is at least at an angle with respect to the axial direction in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

[0062] [4'] The insulated wire according to [3'], wherein the outer edge of the transition portion is inclined with respect to the axial direction at least in the second direction.

[0063] [5'] The outer edge of the transition portion is inclined with respect to the axial direction in both the first direction and the second direction, The insulated wire according to [4'], wherein the inclination in the first direction is smaller than that in the second direction.

[0064] [6'] The outer edge of the transition portion is In the first direction, extending along the axial direction, The insulated wire according to [3'], having an angle with respect to the axial direction in the second direction.

[0065] [7'] The insulated wire according to any one of [1'] to [6'], wherein the entire width of the low-flattened portion is within the width range of the flattened portion.

[0066] [8'] The insulated wire according to any one of [1'] to [5'], wherein at least a portion of the widthwise region of the low-flattened portion is offset in the first direction with respect to the flattened portion beyond the width of the flattened portion. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1,1A,1B,1C Center of gravity shifted power lines 11 Conductors 13 Insulating coating 2 Flat part 21 Center of gravity of the flattened part 3 Low flat part 31 Center of gravity of the low-profile section 4 Transition section 5, 5A, 5B, 5C Wire Harness 51 Connectors 52 pole position 6 Waterproof plug 9. No displacement of the power lines 95 Wire Harness g void h Height of the flattened part h' Height of the low-flattened section p pole spacing w width of the flattened part w' Width of the low-flattened section x Center of gravity shift in the axial direction of the power line y width direction z-direction (height) A, A', A1~A3: The width occupied by the bundle of electric wires at the flattened section. D1 Eccentric direction (first direction) D2 Anti-eccentric direction (second direction) L: Displacement of the center of gravity of the low-flattened section relative to the center of gravity of the flattened section. θ1 Angle of the outer edge of the transition region in the eccentric direction θ2 Angle of the outer edge of the transition region in the antieccentric direction

Claims

1. Equipped with multiple power lines, including power lines with shifted center of gravity, The aforementioned center of gravity shifted electric wire is, A conductor made by twisting together multiple strands of wire, The conductor has an insulating coating that covers the outer circumference, Each of the strands constituting the conductor and the insulating coating are connected to each other, and have a flattened portion and a low-flattened portion along the axial direction. The cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction has a flattened shape that is elongated in the width direction in the flattened portion, and a shape that is less flattened than the flattened portion in the low flattened portion. The insulated wire is configured such that the position of the center of gravity of the cross-section in the low-flat portion is shifted in a first direction along the width direction of the flat shape relative to the position of the center of gravity of the cross-section in the flat portion. The aforementioned center-of-gravity shifted wire is adjacent to other wires in a second direction, which is opposite to the first direction, in a wire harness.

2. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the off-center wire is in contact with the other adjacent wire in the second direction at the flattened portion.

3. The wire harness according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the off-center electric wire has the low-flat portion at its terminal end, and is connected at the low-flat portion to a connector common to the other electric wires.

4. The wire harness includes at least two of the center-of-gravity misaligned wires, The wire harness according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the two offset-center-of-gravity wires are arranged in the width direction of the flattened shape, with their respective outer edges in the second direction facing each other, or with another wire in between.

5. The aforementioned center of gravity shifted electric wire has a transition section between the flattened portion and the low flattened portion, The wire harness according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer edge of the transition portion on the widthwise side has an angle with respect to the axial direction in at least the second direction.

6. The wire harness according to claim 5, wherein the outer edge of the transition portion is inclined with respect to the axial direction at least in the second direction.

7. The outer edge of the transition portion is inclined with respect to the axial direction in both the first and second directions. The wire harness according to claim 6, wherein the inclination is smaller in the first direction than in the second direction.

8. The outer edge of the transition portion is In the first direction, extending along the axial direction, The wire harness according to claim 6, wherein the second direction has an angle with respect to the axial direction.

9. In the aforementioned center of gravity shifted electric wire, The wire harness according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the entire width of the low-flat portion is contained within the width range of the flat portion.

10. In the aforementioned center of gravity shifted electric wire, The wire harness according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least a portion of the widthwise region of the low-flattened portion is offset in the first direction from the flattened portion beyond the width range of the flattened portion.

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