Wire harness for sliding doors

Abstract

To provide a wiring harness for a sliding door, which aims to suppress cost increases while smoothing an opening / closing operation of the sliding door.SOLUTION: In a wiring harness 1 routed between a car body and a sliding door, a protector 2 is attached to bent areas 11 and 12 of the wire harness 1, which is bent in a shape of a crank in a middle of a longitudinal direction. The protector 2 is provided with a groove 21 formed in a shape corresponding to a bent shape of the wiring harness 1 and set to have a width larger than a radial dimension of the wire harness 1. On a bottom surface of the groove 21, holes 24 to 26 are provided into which pins 3 are removably inserted to restrain the wire harness 1 in a loose state so as not to contact inner corners 27 and 28 of bent portions 22 and 23 of the groove 21. One side of the bent areas 11 and 12 of the wire harness 1 is fixed to the protector 2 by using a fastening member 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wire harness for sliding doors of automobiles and the like. Background Art

[0002] In an automobile provided with a sliding door, when a wire harness for supplying power to various electrical components (e.g., power windows, automatic locks, etc.) mounted on the sliding door is bent and installed along an installation path bent at 90 degrees, the wire harness may come into contact with the inner corner at the bent portion of the installation path, which tends to shorten the length of the section of the wire harness that passes through the bent portion of the installation path.

[0003] In such a routing state of the wire harness, as the sliding door is opened and closed, the wire harness is pushed and pulled while being twisted at the bent portion of the installation path. This results in poor movement of the wire harness, and there is concern that the bending durability of the wire harness will decrease.

[0004] In response to this, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which the wire harness is routed between the vehicle body and the sliding door by means of a first link piece and a second link piece of a link member.

[0005] One end side of the first link piece and one end side of the second link piece are swingably connected, and the other end side of the first link piece is provided with a first stopper and a second stopper for limiting the swing amount of the first link piece and the second link piece within a certain range.

[0006] When the sliding door is opened or closed, the first link piece and the second link piece swing within a proper range restricted by the first stopper and the second stopper, so that the wire harness is moved so as not to interfere with the sliding door. Prior Art Documents Patent Documents

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-260770 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, there are concerns about increased costs due to the large number of parts used to guide the wire harness.

[0009] In view of these circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a wire harness for sliding doors that improves the smooth opening and closing operation of the sliding doors while suppressing cost increases. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention relates to a wire harness routed between the body of an automobile and a sliding door, wherein the wire harness has a shape in which it is bent in a crank shape midway along its longitudinal direction. The aforementioned crank shape A protector is attached to the bending region, and the wire harness is attached to the protector. The aforementioned crank shape A groove is provided which is formed in a shape corresponding to the bent shape and whose width is set to be larger than the radial dimension of the wire harness, and the bottom surface of the groove In the groove, the two Internal angle of the bending point each for, The aforementioned wire harness The wire harness is characterized by having a hole into which a pin is removably inserted to restrain it in a state of longitudinal slack to prevent contact, and by one side of the bent region of the wire harness being fixed to the protector using a fastening member.

[0011] According to this configuration, when the protector is attached to the wire harness and the pin is inserted into the hole in the protector, the wire harness is constrained to have slack in the longitudinal direction so as not to contact the inner corner of the bent portion of the groove.

[0012] Since only the protector and the pin are used to restrain the orientation of the wire harness, the number of parts is reduced compared to conventional examples, thus suppressing cost increases.

[0013] Furthermore, when the pin is removed from the hole while the wire harness is restrained, the wire harness remains loose in the longitudinal direction within the groove. As a result, although the wire harness is twisted and pushed and pulled when the sliding door is opened and closed, the wire harness does not become taut within the groove, and the wire harness is less likely to come into contact with the inner corner of the bent portion of the groove.

[0014] This results in smoother movement of the wire harness and improved bending durability of the wire harness. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wire harness for sliding doors that improves the smooth opening and closing operation of the sliding door while suppressing cost increases. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] This figure shows one embodiment of a wire harness for a sliding door according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the protector with the pin removed from the hole. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] The best embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] Figures 1 and 2 show one embodiment of the present invention. In the figures, 1 represents a wire harness.

[0019] Although not shown in the figure, the wire harness 1 is routed between a vehicle body and a sliding door of an automobile.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, for example, this wire harness 1 is in a posture where the middle portion in the longitudinal direction is bent in a crank shape, so two (first and second) bent regions 11 and 12 are provided. Both the bending angles of the first and second bent regions 11 and 12 are set to 90 degrees.

[0021] A protector 2 is attached to the first and second bent regions 11 and 12 of the wire harness 1. One side of the second bent region 12 of the wire harness 1 is fixed to the protector 2 by using a fastening member (for example, a binding band, etc.) 4.

[0022] The protector 2 is provided with a groove 21 into which the wire harness 1 is fitted with a gap. To achieve this state, at least the width dimension of the groove 21 is set to be larger than the radial dimension of the wire harness 1.

[0023] Since the groove 21 is bent in a crank shape, two (first and second) bent portions 22 and 23 are provided. Both the bending angles of the first and second bent portions 22 and 23 are set to 90 degrees.

[0024] The bottom surface of the groove 21 is provided with first, second and third holes 24, 25 and 26 into which pins 3 for restraining the wire harness 1 into a bent shape are detachably inserted one by one.

[0025] When each of the pins 3 is inserted into the first to third holes 24 to 26, the wire harness 1 is restrained in a state with slack in the longitudinal direction such that the wire harness 1 does not contact the respective inner corner portions 27 and 28 at the first and second bent portions 22 and 23 of the groove 21.

[0026] An example of the placement of the first to third holes 24 to 26 will be described. First, the first hole 24 is provided near the inner corner 27 of the first bend portion 22 of the groove 21, the second hole 25 is provided near the inner corner 28 of the second bend portion 23 of the groove 21, and a third hole 26 is provided on the way from the inner corner 27 of the first bend portion 22 to the outer corner (notation omitted) of the second bend portion 23.

[0027] Next, referring to Figure 2, the procedure and appearance of attaching the protector 2 to the wire harness 1 will be explained.

[0028] First, the protector 2 is placed on a jig base (not shown), and one side of the second bending region 12 of the wire harness 1, which has been bent into a crank shape beforehand, is fixed to the protector 2 using a fastening member 4. Then, the wire harness 1 is fitted into the groove 21 of the protector 2.

[0029] Subsequently, as shown in Figure 1, one pin 3 is inserted into the first and second holes 24 and 25, while ensuring that the first and second bending regions 11 and 12 of the wire harness 1 do not come into contact with the inner corners 27 and 28 of the first and second bending portions 22 and 23 of the groove 21, and one pin 3 is inserted into the first and second holes 24 and 25, respectively, while aligning it with the inner curved surfaces of the first and second bending regions 11 and 12 of the wire harness 1. At the same time, one pin 3 is inserted into the third hole 26, aligning it along the straight section of the wire harness 1 extending from the inner curved surface of the first bending region 11 to the outer curved surface of the second bending region 12. At this time, each pin 3 is also inserted into the jig base, and the protector 2 is fixed to the jig base.

[0030] As a result, the wire harness 1 is constrained to have slack in the longitudinal direction so that it does not come into contact with the inner corners 27 and 28 at the first and second bending portions 22 and 23 of the groove 21.

[0031] Next, the three pins 3 are removed from the first to third holes 24 to 26, and the protector 2 is detached from the jig base.

[0032] Incidentally, generally speaking, due to the properties of its internal core wire (such as gold or copper, a soft metal), once a wire harness 1 is bent, it maintains that bent position (plastic deformation). Therefore, even with the pins 3 removed, the wire harness 1 remains in the position constrained by the three pins 3.

[0033] Therefore, when the wire harness 1 with the protector 2 attached is installed in the opening for the sliding door on the vehicle body (not shown in the figure), and the sliding door is opened and closed, the wire harness 1 is twisted and pushed and pulled, but at that time, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 1, the wire harness 1 does not have to be braced in the groove 21, and the wire harness 1 is less likely to interfere with the inner corners 27 and 28 of the first and second bending portions 22 and 23 of the groove 21, and even if interference does occur, it will only be a weak contact.

[0034] However, if the wire harness 1 is not left slack in the longitudinal direction by pin 3, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 1, the wire harness 1 will be taut within the groove 21 and interfere with the inner corners 27 and 28 of the first and second bending portions 22 and 23 of the protector 2. As a result, when opening and closing the sliding door, the wire harness 1 will come into strong contact with the inner corners 27 and 28 of the first and second bending portions 22 and 23 of the groove 21, which will impair the movement of the wire harness 1 and reduce its bending durability.

[0035] As described above, in the embodiment to which the present invention is applied, the wire harness 1 is fitted in a state with longitudinal slack so as not to contact the inner corners 27 and 28 of the first and second bending portions 22 and 23 of the groove 21 of the protector 2. As a result, the opening and closing operation of the sliding door becomes smoother, and the bending durability of the wire harness 1 is improved.

[0036] Furthermore, since only the protector 2 and pin 3 are used to restrain the orientation of the wire harness 1, the number of parts is reduced compared to conventional examples, thus suppressing cost increases.

[0037] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims and equivalents thereof. In the above embodiments, for example, the number of pins 3 used can be two or four or more, and the number of bends in the wire harness 1 can be one or three or more. [Industrial applicability]

[0038] The present invention can be suitably used in wire harnesses for sliding doors. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0039] 1 Wire harness, 11 First bending region, 12 Second bending region, 2 Protector, 21 Groove, 22 First bending portion, 23 Second bending portion, 24 First hole, 25 Second hole, 26 Third hole, 27 Inner corner of the first bending portion, 28 Inner corner of the second bending portion, 3 Pin, 4 Fastening member.

Claims

[Claim 1] A wire harness routed between the vehicle body and the sliding door of an automobile, A protector is attached to the crank-shaped bend region of a wire harness that has a crank-shaped bend in the middle of its longitudinal direction. The protector is provided with a groove that is shaped to correspond to the crank-shaped bend of the wire harness and has a width greater than the radial dimension of the wire harness. At the bottom surface of the groove, holes are provided in each of the inner corners of the two bent portions of the groove, into which pins are removably inserted to restrain the wire harness in a state of longitudinal slack so as to prevent contact. A wire harness for a sliding door, characterized in that one side of the bent region of the wire harness is fixed to the protector using a fastening member.

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