Harness housing structure and harness housing body

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a harness housing structure and a harness housing body capable of housing a plurality of bundled wire harnesses in a housing space.　A harness fixing protector 1 includes: a protector body 11 forming a housing space S for housing at least a part of a plurality of harnesses 910; and a fixing band 20 for winding the plurality of harnesses 910 and fixing in the housing space S. The protector body 11 is provided with a harness arrangement part 30 in which the harnesses 910 are arranged. The harness arrangement part 30 is provided with a recess 31 in which a left side WL is recessed so as to be a lower side HD than a right side WR, a first insertion part 32 is provided for inserting a fixing band 20 wound around harnesses 910 arranged in the harness arrangement part 30 and fixed to the harness arrangement part 30, and a convex part 40 protruding toward an upper side HU, which is a side of an opening in the recess 31, is provided in a side wall part 112 on the other side in a width direction W.

Description

Harness storage structure and harness storage body

[0001] The present invention relates to a harness housing structure and a harness housing body that house at least a portion of a length of a plurality of bundled wire harnesses, for example.

[0002] A wire harness electrically connecting electrical components to each other is partially housed in a harness housing such as a protector to restrict the route of the wire harness and protect it from interference with externally disposed components. The wire harness housed in the harness housing in this manner is sometimes fixed to the harness housing with a cable tie (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] In more detail, the harness housing disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a protector having a housing body surrounded by a bottom surface and a pair of side walls extending from the bottom surface, and the bottom surface is provided with an insertion portion through which a cable tie can be inserted. The side walls have insertion holes for temporarily fixing the tip of the cable tie inserted into the insertion portion.

[0004] This allows the tip of the cable tie inserted into the insertion portion to be temporarily fixed to the insertion hole, and then the wire harness housed in the accommodating body to be fixed with the cable tie, making it possible to easily fix the wire harness to the accommodating body.

[0005] However, in the protector disclosed in Patent Document 1, when storing multiple bundled wire harnesses, one wire harness may be stacked vertically on top of the other wire harness, and may be exposed through the opening formed by the pair of side wall portions.

[0006] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-187042

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a harness housing structure and a harness housing body that can house a plurality of bundled wire harnesses in a housing space.

[0008] The present invention is a harness storage structure that stores at least a portion of the longitudinal direction of a plurality of wire harnesses that are arranged in parallel and bundled, and is characterized in that it has a storage body that forms a storage space for storing the wire harnesses with a bottom portion and a pair of side wall portions that stand up from the bottom portion and form an opening on the opposite side of the bottom portion, and a fixing band that winds the plurality of wire harnesses and fixes them in the storage space, wherein in an orthogonal cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the direction along the bottom portion is the width direction, the storage body is provided with a harness placement portion in which the wire harnesses are placed, the harness placement portion is provided with a recess that is recessed on the other side in the width direction so that it is closer to the bottom portion than one side in the width direction, an insertion portion is provided for inserting the fixing band that is wound around the wire harnesses arranged in the harness placement portion and fixes them to the harness placement portion, and the side wall portion on the other side in the width direction is provided with a convex portion that protrudes toward the side of the opening in the recess.

[0009] The present invention also provides a harness accommodating body that accommodates at least a portion of the longitudinal direction of a plurality of wire harnesses arranged in parallel and bundled together, the harness accommodating body having a bottom surface portion and a pair of side wall portions that stand upright from the bottom surface portion and form an opening on the opposite side of the bottom surface portion, wherein in an orthogonal cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the direction along the bottom surface portion is the width direction, the accommodating body is provided with a harness arranging portion in which the wire harness is arranged, the harness arranging portion is provided with a recess that is recessed on the other side in the width direction so that it is closer to the bottom surface portion than the one side in the width direction, an insertion portion is provided for inserting the fixing band that is wound around the wire harness arranged in the harness arranging portion and fixed to the harness arranging portion, and the side wall portion on the other side in the width direction is provided with a convex portion that protrudes toward the side of the opening in the recess.

[0010] The wire harness includes electric wires such as conductive wires and twisted electric wires that electrically connect electrical components to each other, and communication wires such as optical fiber cables that communicate between the electrical components. Note that the plurality of wire harnesses may be bundled together with a braided wire made by braiding aluminum wires, or may be bundled with a band-like body such as a cable tie, a string, a hook-and-loop fastener, or a fixing tape.

[0011] The harness housing is not limited as long as it can house a plurality of wire harnesses, and includes, for example, a protector for protecting the wire harness, an outlet for leading the wire harness to the outside in an electric junction box, etc. The fixing band is for wrapping and fixing the wire harness arranged in the harness arrangement section, and may be, for example, a cable tie, a string, a hook-and-loop fastener, etc.

[0012] The insertion portion is arranged to connect the outside to the storage space and is configured to allow the fixing band to be inserted into the storage space, and includes, for example, a through hole that penetrates the recess or the harness placement portion, a through hole that penetrates the side wall portion, and a through hole that penetrates the bottom portion.

[0013] According to this invention, a plurality of bundled wire harnesses can be accommodated in the accommodation space. Specifically, the harness placement section provided in the accommodation body has a bottom surface and a pair of side walls extending upright from the bottom surface. The harness placement section is provided with a recess recessed on one side in the width direction so that the other side is closer to the bottom surface than the other side in the width direction. The accommodation body is also provided with an insertion section through which a fixing band is inserted to be wound around the wire harness placed in the harness placement section and fixed to the harness placement section. A convex portion protrudes from the side wall on the other side in the width direction on the opening side of the recess. Therefore, the convex portion can prevent another wire harness from being placed on the side of the opening of the wire harness placed in the recess.

[0014] Furthermore, when a fixing band is wound around the outer periphery of a bundle of wire harnesses, at least one of which is arranged in the recess, to fix the bundle, the fixing band having passed through the insertion portion is wound around and fixed to the plurality of wire harnesses so that the other wire harnesses are arranged in the harness arrangement portion. This prevents the other wire harnesses from moving to the other side in the width direction. Therefore, in the process of fixing the wire harnesses with a band, the bundle of wire harnesses, at least one of which is arranged in the recess, can be fixed along the harness arrangement portion without being stacked vertically.

[0015] Therefore, the wire harness can be prevented from being exposed through the opening formed by the pair of side wall portions, and the wire harness can be accommodated in the accommodation space. Therefore, the wire harness accommodated in the accommodation body can be prevented from interfering with an external member arranged on the opening side of the accommodation body.

[0016] Furthermore, since the wire harness can be arranged in the space surrounded by the side wall portion, the convex portion, and the concave portion, it is possible to prevent the bundle of wire harnesses, at least one of which is arranged in the concave portion, from moving in the width direction. Therefore, it is possible to stably wrap the fixing band around the outer periphery of the bundle of wire harnesses, thereby improving the workability of the wire harness fixing work.

[0017] In an aspect of the present invention, the convex portion may be a rib provided along the side wall portion. According to this invention, since the convex portion has rigidity, it is possible to more reliably prevent other wire harnesses from moving toward the opening of the wire harness placed in the recess.

[0018] In another aspect of the present invention, the harness placement portion may be provided in a portion of the housing body in the longitudinal direction. This allows a plurality of bundled wire harnesses to be housed in the housing body with a simple structure, and makes the housing body lighter than when the harness placement portion is provided over the entire longitudinal range.

[0019] In another aspect of the present invention, the fixing band may have a band body configured in a belt shape and a band locking portion that locks the band body in a wound state, and the band locking portion may be arranged on one side in the width direction.

[0020] According to this invention, the band body that is guided from the insertion portion into the accommodation space and wound around the wire harness arranged in the recess and the other wire harness can be locked by the band locking portion arranged on one side in the width direction. That is, the fixing band can be wound so that an external force acts on the other wire harness toward one side in the width direction. This causes the other wire harness to move toward one side in the width direction of the wire harness arranged in the recess. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the other wire harness from being stacked vertically with respect to the wire harness arranged in the recess and to prevent the other wire harness from being pressed against the convex portion.

[0021] In addition, since the band locking portion is positioned on the opposite side of the convex portion in the width direction, the locking operation between the band body wrapped around multiple wire harnesses and the band locking portion so as to be fixed to the harness placement portion can be easily performed, thereby improving the workability of the locking operation.

[0022] In another aspect of the present invention, the harness placement portion may have an insertion space through which the band body is inserted in the width direction, and the recess may be provided with an insertion portion that connects the insertion space with the storage space.

[0023] According to this invention, the bundle of wire harnesses can be wound so that the band body is fixed to the harness arrangement section by the band body inserted widthwise through the insertion space without being exposed to the outside of the housing body, thereby preventing the band body from interfering with other components arranged outside.

[0024] In another aspect of the present invention, the convex portion may be provided on the side of the opening of the insertion portion. According to this invention, the bundle of wire harnesses can be wound with the fixing band at a position where the wire harness arranged in the recess and other wire harnesses are not stacked vertically, so that the plurality of wire harnesses can be reliably accommodated in the accommodating body without being exposed from the opening.

[0025] In another aspect of the present invention, the wire harness disposed in the recess may be a first harness, the first harness and the other wire harness may be a second harness, and the side wall portion on one side in the width direction may be provided with a position restricting portion that restricts a position of the second harness. With this invention, when the fixing band is wound around the first harness and the second harness, unintentional movement of the second harness in the width direction can be prevented.

[0026] In another aspect of the present invention, the wire harness placed in the recess may be a first harness, the first harness and another wire harness may be a second harness, and the first harness and the second harness may be inserted into a braided portion formed into a tubular shape by braiding metal wires. According to this invention, the first harness and the second harness, which are inserted into a braided portion formed into a tubular shape by braiding conductive metal wires, can be housed together in the housing main body.

[0027] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a harness housing structure and a harness housing body that can house a plurality of bundled wire harnesses in a housing space.

[0028] 1 is a schematic perspective view of a harness fixing protector that accommodates a part of a shielded electric wire; 2 is a schematic perspective view of a protector main body; 3 is an explanatory diagram of the protector main body; 4 is a cross-sectional view of the protector main body; 5 is an explanatory diagram of a fixing band and a harness fixing protector; 6 is an explanatory diagram of a process of accommodating a wire harness;

[0029] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 7. Figure 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a harness fixation protector 1 that accommodates a portion of a shielded electric wire 900, and Figure 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a protector main body 11. Figures 3 and 4 show explanatory views of the protector main body 11, and Figure 5 shows an explanatory view of a fixing band 20 and the protector main body 11 with the fixing band 20 attached. Figures 6 and 7 show explanatory views of the process of accommodating and fixing the shielded electric wire 900 in the harness fixation protector 1.

[0030] 3 to 7 will be described in detail. Fig. 3(a) shows a schematic plan view of the protector body 11, Fig. 3(b) shows a schematic front view of the protector body 11, and Fig. 4 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 3(a). Fig. 5(a) shows a schematic perspective view of the fixing band 20, and Fig. 5(b) shows a cross-sectional view of the fixing band 20 attached to the protector body 11.

[0031] Fig. 6(a) shows a cross-sectional view of the protector body 11 in a state in which the shielded electric wire 900 is inserted, and Fig. 6(b) shows a cross-sectional view of the protector body 11 in a state in which the shielded electric wire 900 is wound around the band portion 21 with the first harness 911 placed in the recess 31. Fig. 7(a) shows a cross-sectional view of the protector body 11 in a state in which the band portion 21 wound around the shielded electric wire 900 is fastened, and Fig. 7(b) shows a cross-sectional view of the harness fixing protector 1.

[0032] 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views corresponding to the cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 3(a). In Fig. 6 and 7, the corrugated CT is omitted in order to clarify the configurations of the shielded electric wire 900, the harness placement portion 30, and the convex portion 40.

[0033] 1 is defined as a height direction H, and a direction perpendicular to the height direction H and in which the shielded wire 900 extends is defined as a longitudinal direction L. A direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L and the height direction H is defined as a width direction W. In addition, in FIG. 1, the left side along the longitudinal direction L is defined as a leading end side LA, and the right side along the longitudinal direction L is defined as a trailing end side LB. Similarly, the lower side along the height direction H is defined as a lower side HD, the upper side is defined as an upper side HU, the left side along the width direction W is defined as a left side WL, and the right side along the width direction W is defined as a right side WR. The above-mentioned directions are the same as the corresponding directions in FIGS. 2 to 7 .

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1 , the harness fixing protector 1 is an exterior member that houses and protects a portion of the shielded electric wire 900 in the longitudinal direction L, and is composed of a protector 10 and a fixing band 20 that fixes and holds the shielded electric wire 900 inside the protector 10.

[0035] 1, the shielded electric wire 900 is composed of two harnesses 910 arranged in parallel and a braided wire 920 that passes through and bundles the two harnesses 910. Note that a part of the shielded electric wire 900, in which the harness 910 is passed through the braided wire 920, is passed through a corrugated CT.

[0036] The harness 910 is a high-voltage wire harness formed by bundling together a plurality of electric wires, each of which has a conductor formed by bundling together a plurality of conductive core wires and an insulating coating covering the outer surface of the conductor. Note that, although the harness 910 is for high voltage use in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this and may be used for other purposes.

[0037] The braided wire 920 is a flexible, substantially cylindrical braided member formed by braiding tin-plated copper metal wires, and is configured so that two harnesses 910 can be inserted therein. In this embodiment, the braided wire 920 is made of commonly used tin-plated copper wire, but it may also be made of other metal wires such as aluminum wire.

[0038] The corrugated tube CT is a corrugated tube made of resin into which the shielded electric wire 900, which has two harnesses 910 inserted through a braided wire 920, can be inserted. More specifically, the corrugated tube CT is a cylindrical body having a bellows structure in which large diameter portions whose outer circumferential surface protrudes radially outward over the entire circumference and small diameter portions whose outer circumferential surface is recessed radially inward over the entire circumference are alternately arranged continuously along the longitudinal direction L. Therefore, the corrugated tube CT can be curved to follow the routing direction of the shielded electric wire 900 inserted inside.

[0039] In addition, the outer surface of the corrugated wire CT has a slit cut in a straight line along the longitudinal direction L from the end of the front end side LA to the end of the rear end side LB, and the shielded wire 900 can be inserted inside through the slit.

[0040] 1, the protector 10 is composed of a protector main body 11 formed with a concave cross section and a cover body 12 assembled to an upper side HU of the protector main body 11. The protector main body 11 is formed with a concave cross section with an opening provided in the upper side HU, and has an internal storage space S for storing a portion in the longitudinal direction L of a shielded electric wire 900 formed by bundling two harnesses 910 with a braided wire 920. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the protector main body 11 is composed of a bottom surface portion 111 constituting the bottom surface of the protector 10, and a pair of side wall portions 112 erected from both ends of the bottom surface portion 111 in the width direction W.

[0041] 3A, the bottom surface portion 111 has a generally rectangular shape that is long in the longitudinal direction L in a plan view seen from the upper side HU. The length of the bottom surface portion 111 in the width direction W is generally the same as the outer diameter of the large diameter portion of the corrugated tube CT.

[0042] The side walls 112 are side walls that stand on the upper side HU from both ends of the bottom surface 111 in the width direction W to a height substantially equal to the outer diameter of the large diameter portion of the corrugated wire CT. The side walls 112 configured in this manner form an opening on the upper side HU of the protector body 11. The bottom surface 111 and the pair of side walls 112 configured in this manner form an accommodating space S that can accommodate a portion of the shielded electric wire 900 along the longitudinal direction L, as shown in FIG. 2 .

[0043] 2 and 3, the protector body 11 is provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction L with an assembly rib 113 for assembling the corrugated card CT and a locking frame 114 for locking and fixing the cover body 12.

[0044] The assembly ribs 113 are generally arc-shaped ribs that protrude from the bottom surface 111 and the side wall 112 toward the storage space S and are configured to be able to fit into the small diameter portions of the corrugated tube CT. As shown in FIG. 3( a), the assembly ribs 113 are arranged in groups of three from the end portion in the longitudinal direction L toward the inside in the longitudinal direction L, at intervals equal to the intervals between adjacent small diameter portions of the corrugated tube CT.

[0045] As shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b), the locking frame 114 is a frame body that protrudes outward in the width direction W from the upper end portion of the side wall portion 112, and can be locked by inserting the locking piece 121 of the cover body 12 described later in the height direction H.

[0046] The protector body 11 configured in this manner has a harness placement section 30 in the center in the longitudinal direction L, where the shielded wire 900 is placed and fixed with a band. In addition, the side wall sections 112 on the left side WL and the right side WR are each provided with a convex section 40 and a position restriction section 50 that protrude toward the accommodation space S.

[0047] 3 to 5, the harness placement section 30 is a platform having a rectangular shape in a plan view, which is formed by pushing out the central portion of the bottom surface portion 111 in the longitudinal direction L toward the upper side HU. In other words, the harness placement section 30 connects the paired side wall portions 112 at the central portions in the longitudinal direction L on the sides HD slightly below the center in the height direction H in the width direction W. Note that a space is formed along the width direction W on the lower side HD of the harness placement section 30, which is formed by protruding the central portion of the bottom surface portion 111 toward the upper side HU.

[0048] The harness placement section 30 will now be described in detail. As shown in Figures 3(a), 3(b), and 4, the harness placement section 30 has a generally rectangular shape in plan view, with short sides of a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction L and long sides along the width direction W equal to the distance between the paired side wall portions 112. A recess 31 recessed in an arc shape is provided on the lower side HD, slightly to the left of the center of the harness placement section 30 in the width direction W, on a side WL. A first insertion portion 32 and a second insertion portion 33 are provided on the left side WL and right side WR of the harness placement section 30, respectively, and penetrate the harness placement section 30 in the height direction H.

[0049] 3B and 4, the recess 31 is a groove formed by recessing the upper surface of the harness placement portion 30 in an arc shape from the leading end side LA to the trailing end side LB of the harness placement portion 30. That is, the recess 31 is located on the lower side HD compared to the right side WR of the flat harness placement portion 30. The recess 31 has a convex arc shape toward the lower side HD and has a curvature radius substantially the same as the outer diameter of the harness 910.

[0050] The first insertion portion 32 is a through-hole that penetrates the center portion of the recess 31 in the longitudinal direction L in the height direction H. On the other hand, the second insertion portion 33 is a through-hole that penetrates the right side WR of the harness placement portion 30 in the height direction H. The first insertion portion 32 and the second insertion portion 33 are provided symmetrically with respect to the center of the harness placement portion 30 in the width direction W.

[0051] As shown in Fig. 4 , the first insertion portion 32 and the second insertion portion 33, which penetrate the harness placement portion 30 in the height direction H, are in communication with each other via a space on the lower side HD of the harness placement portion 30. Here, the space that connects the first insertion portion 32 and the second insertion portion 33 is referred to as an insertion space 34. In other words, the insertion space 34 is in communication with the storage space S via the first insertion portion 32 and the second insertion portion 33.

[0052] 4, the convex portion 40 is a rib that protrudes from the side wall portion 112 toward the upper side HU of the recess 31 in the central portion of the protector body 11 in the longitudinal direction L. More specifically, the convex portion 40 is a rib that protrudes from the side wall portion 112 on the left side WL toward the right side WR and is provided along the side wall portion 112, and is provided from the side HU slightly above the center in the height direction H to the upper end.

[0053] The end face of the right-side WR of the convex portion 40 is inclined toward the left side WL as it approaches the lower side HD. The end face of the lower side HD of the convex portion 40 is inclined toward the left side WL as it approaches the lower side HD at an angle that is steeper than the inclination angle of the end face of the right-side WR of the convex portion 40. The end face of the right-side WR of the convex portion 40 configured in this manner is located slightly to the left side WL of the end of the right-side WR of the recess 31.

[0054] Furthermore, the plate thickness (thickness in the longitudinal direction L) of the convex portion 40 is sufficiently shorter than the length in the longitudinal direction L of the first insertion portion 32 and the second insertion portion 33. In the present embodiment, the plate thickness (thickness in the longitudinal direction L) of the convex portion 40 is approximately one-third of the length in the longitudinal direction L of the first insertion portion 32 and the second insertion portion 33.

[0055] The convex portion 40 and the recess 31 configured in this manner are spaced apart along the height direction H by a distance that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the harness 910 when viewed from the longitudinal direction L. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4 , the length (referred to as a first length D1) between a first imaginary plane X that is parallel to the end face of the lower side HD of the convex portion 40 and passes through the end of the right side WR of the recess 31 and the end face of the lower side HD of the convex portion 40 is 1.5 times the outer diameter of the harness 910. By making the distance between the convex portion 40 and the recess 31 slightly larger than the outer diameter of the harness 910 in this manner, the harness 910 can be easily placed in the recess 31.

[0056] 3A and 4 , the position restriction portion 50 is a rib that protrudes from the center of the side wall portion 112 on the right side WR in the height direction H toward the left side WL. More specifically, the position restriction portion 50 is a rib that is provided on the outer side of the second insertion portion 33 in the longitudinal direction L, straddling the harness placement portion 30 and the side wall portion 112. That is, the position restriction portions 50 are provided in pairs at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction L.

[0057] The lower portion of the position restricting portion 50 extends a predetermined distance from the harness placement portion 30 in the height direction H so as to straddle the harness placement portion 30 and the side wall portion 112. The upper portion of the position restricting portion 50 slopes toward the right side WR as it extends toward the upper side HU. The lower end of the position restricting portion 50 has a convex quarter-circular arc shape toward the lower side HD and the right side WR.

[0058] The distance between the position restricting portion 50 and the convex portion 40 configured in this manner is at least twice the outer diameter of the harness 910 so that the shielded electric wire 900 can be inserted. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4 , the length (referred to as a second length D2) between a second imaginary plane Y that is parallel to the end face of the right side WR of the convex portion 40 and passes through the end of the right side WR in the upper part of the position restricting portion 50 and the end face of the right side WR of the convex portion 40 is twice the outer diameter of the harness 910. By making the distance between the position restricting portion 50 and the convex portion 40 at least twice the outer diameter of the harness 910 in this manner, the shielded electric wire 900 can be easily inserted into the accommodation space S.

[0059] The cover body 12 is configured in an inverted concave shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, and is a cover that can cover the opening of the protector body 11. An engaging piece 121 that can be engaged with the engaging frame 114 is provided at the end of the cover body 12 in the longitudinal direction L.

[0060] As shown in Fig. 5(a) , the fixing band 20 includes a strip-shaped band portion 21 that is wound around the shielded electric wire 900, and a band fixing portion 22 that fixes the annularly wound band portion 21. The band portion 21 is a flexible, long band body whose base end is connected to the band fixing portion 22. The width of the band portion 21 is sufficiently longer than the plate thickness of the convex portion 40 and slightly shorter than the lateral width (length along the longitudinal direction L) of the first insertion portion 32 and the second insertion portion 33. In addition, a plurality of locking pieces (not shown) are provided on the outer surface of the band portion 21 along the extension direction of the band portion 21.

[0061] The band fixing part 22 is formed as a roughly rectangular parallelepiped to which the band part 21 is connected, and has an insertion hole 221 in its center that penetrates from one side to the other. The insertion hole 221 is a through-hole configured to allow the band part 21 to be inserted therethrough, and is provided therein with a locking part (not shown) that locks onto a locking piece provided on the outer surface of the band part 21. Therefore, by inserting the tip of the band part 21 wound in a circular shape from one side of the insertion hole 221 and pulling the band part 21 out from the other side of the insertion hole 221, the circularly formed band part 21 can be fixed in a tightened state.

[0062] 5(b), the fixing band 20 configured in this manner is attached to the protector main body 11 by inserting the band portion 21 from the accommodation space S into the second insertion portion 33 and leading the tip portion of the band portion 21, which has passed through the insertion space 34, out to the upper side HU from the first insertion portion 32. When the fixing band 20 is attached to the protector main body 11 in this manner, the band fixing portion 22 is located on the right side WR of the harness placement portion 30.

[0063] In addition, since the plate thickness of the convex portion 40 is shorter than the width of the band portion 21 extended from the first insertion portion 32 to the upper side HU, the band portion 21 can be easily extended to the leading end side LA or the rear end side LB of the convex portion 40. In this embodiment, the band portion 21 is extended to the rear end side LB of the convex portion 40 (see FIG. 5B).

[0064] Next, a method for accommodating the shielded electric wire 900 in the harness fixation protector 1 will be briefly described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. The shielded electric wire 900, which bundles two harnesses 910 by inserting it through a braided wire 920, is inserted into the protector body 11 to which the fixing band 20 is attached, between the convex portion 40 and the position restriction portion 50, and one of the harnesses 910 (referred to as the first harness 911) is placed in the recess 31 (see Figure 6(a)). Here, the distance between the convex portion 40 and the recess 31 is 1.5 times the outer diameter of the harness 910, so that the first harness 911 of the bundled two harnesses 910 can be easily placed in the recess 31.

[0065] With the first harness 911 disposed in the recess 31 in this manner, the distance between the first harness 911 and the convex portion 40 is smaller than the outer diameter of the harness 910. This prevents the other harness 910 (referred to as the second harness 912) that is different from the first harness 911 in the bundle of two harnesses 910 from being stacked vertically on the upper side HU of the first harness 911.

[0066] Next, the band portion 21 led out from the left side WL of the first harness 911 is wound around the upper side HU of the first harness 911 and the second harness 912 and inserted into the insertion hole 221. At this time, the position restricting portion 50 restricts movement of the second harness 912 in the width direction W. This allows the shielded electric wire 900 to be wound and fixed together with the right side WR of the harness arrangement portion 30 (see FIG. 6( b)). Note that, because the plate thickness of the convex portion 40 is thinner than the width of the band portion 21, the band portion 21 can be led out to the rear end side LB of the convex portion 40 so as to avoid the convex portion 40. This allows the band portion 21 to be wound around the outer periphery of the shielded electric wire 900 arranged in the harness arrangement portion 30.

[0067] In this way, the band portion 21 wound from the left side WL toward the right side WR is inserted into the insertion hole 221, and a tensile force F1 toward the right side WR is applied. As a result, the annular band portion 21 is tightened and reduced in diameter, and an external force F2 toward the right side WR and the lower side HD is applied to the second harness 912 arranged on the right side WR of the first harness 911. Therefore, the tightened band portion 21 pushes the second harness 912 into the right side WR of the harness arrangement section 30, and the second harness 912 is arranged on the right side WR of the harness arrangement section 30 (see FIGS. 6(b) and 7(a)).

[0068] In addition, by tightening the wound band portion 21, an external force F3 toward the upper side HU and the right side WR acts on the first harness 911, causing the first harness 911 to move slightly from the recess 31 toward the upper side HU and the right side WR (see Figures 6(b) and 7(a)).

[0069] In this way, by tightening the shielded wire 900 together with the right side WR of the harness placement section 30 with the band section 21, the first harness 911 and the second harness 912 bundled with the braided wire 920 can be positioned and fixed between the first insertion section 32 and the second insertion section 33.

[0070] As a result, the first harness 911 and the second harness 912 constituting the shielded electric wire 900 accommodated in the accommodation space S are arranged substantially parallel to each other in the width direction W. Therefore, the braided wire 920 is not exposed from the opening in the protector main body 11, and the shielded electric wire 900 is fixed to the harness arrangement portion 30. Therefore, the shielded electric wire 900 bundling the first harness 911 and the second harness 912 can be accommodated in the accommodation space S, and the opening of the protector main body 11 can be appropriately closed by the cover body 12 (see FIG. 7( b)). Therefore, the shielded electric wire 900 can be reliably protected.

[0071] In this way, the harness fixation protector 1 accommodates at least a portion of the plurality of harnesses 910 arranged in parallel and bundled together in the longitudinal direction L. The harness fixation protector 1 includes a protector main body 11 that defines an accommodation space S for accommodating the harnesses 910 with a bottom surface portion 111 and a pair of side wall portions 112 that stand upright from the bottom surface portion 111 and form an opening on the opposite side of the bottom surface portion 111, and a fixing band 20 that winds the plurality of harnesses 910 and fixes them in the accommodation space S. The protector main body 11 is provided with a harness arrangement portion 30 in which the harnesses 910 are arranged. The harness arrangement portion 30 is provided with a recess 31 that is recessed on one side (left side WL) in the width direction W, which is a direction along the bottom surface portion 111, so that the recess 31 is located lower than one side (right side WR) in the width direction W. Further, a first insertion portion 32 is provided through which a fixing band 20 is inserted, the fixing band 20 being wound around the harness 910 arranged in the harness arrangement portion 30 and fixed to the harness arrangement portion 30. Further, a convex portion 40 that protrudes toward the upper side HU, which is the opening side of the recess 31, is provided on the side wall portion 112 on the other side in the width direction W.

[0072] The protector 10 also accommodates at least a portion of the harnesses 910 in the longitudinal direction L, the harnesses 910 being arranged in parallel and bundled together. The protector 10 has a protector main body 11 that defines an accommodation space S for accommodating the harnesses 910, with a bottom surface 111 and a pair of side walls 112 that stand upright from the bottom surface 111 and form openings on the opposite side of the bottom surface 111. The protector main body 11 is provided with a harness arrangement section 30 in which the harnesses 910 are arranged. The harness arrangement section 30 is provided with a recess 31 recessed on a left side WL so that the recess 31 is located lower than one side (right side WR) in a width direction W that is along the bottom surface 111 in an orthogonal cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L. The harness arrangement section 30 is also provided with a first insertion section 32 through which a fixing band 20 is inserted. The fixing band 20 is wound around the harness 910 arranged in the harness arrangement section 30 and fixed to the harness arrangement section 30. The side wall portion 112 on the left side WL is provided with a convex portion 40 that protrudes toward the right side WR.

[0073] The harness fixing protector 1 and the protector 10 configured as described above can accommodate a plurality of harnesses 910 in the accommodation space S. More specifically, the harness placement section 30 provided in the protector main body 11 has a bottom surface 111 and a pair of side walls 112 extending upright from the bottom surface 111. The harness placement section 30 is provided with a recess 31 recessed on the left side WL so that the left side WL is lower than the right side WR. The protector main body 11 is also provided with a first insertion section 32 through which a fixing band 20 is inserted to be wound around the plurality of harnesses 910 arranged in the harness placement section 30 and fix them to the harness placement section 30. A convex portion 40 protrudes from the side wall 112 on the left side WL on an upper side HU of the recess 31. Therefore, the convex portion 40 can prevent another harness 910 (second harness 912) from being arranged on the upper side HU of the harness 910 (first harness 911) arranged in the recess 31. In other words, the second harness 912 can be prevented from being stacked vertically on the first harness 911 .

[0074] Furthermore, when the first harness 911 is fixed by winding the fixing band 20 around the outer periphery of the shielded electric wire 900 arranged in the recess 31, the fixing band 20 inserted through the first insertion portion 32 is wound around and fixed to the shielded electric wire 900 so that the second harness 912 is arranged in the harness arrangement portion 30. This makes it possible to prevent the braided wire 920 from moving to the left side WL. Therefore, in the process of banding the harness 910, the shielded electric wire 900 with the first harness 911 arranged in the recess 31 is fixed without being stacked vertically.

[0075] Therefore, the harness 910 can be accommodated in the accommodation space S without being exposed through the opening formed by the pair of side wall portions 112. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the shielded wire 900 accommodated in the protector main body 11 from interfering with an external member disposed on the upper side HU of the protector main body 11.

[0076] Furthermore, since the first harness 911 can be arranged in the space surrounded by the side wall portion 112, the convex portion 40, and the recessed portion 31, the first harness 911 can prevent the bundle of harnesses 910 arranged in the recessed portion 31 from moving in the width direction W. Therefore, the fixing band 20 can be stably wrapped around the outer periphery of the bundle of harnesses 910, improving the workability of the work of fixing the harnesses 910.

[0077] The convex portion 40 is a rib provided along the side wall portion 112. The convex portion 40 configured in this manner has rigidity, and therefore can more reliably prevent the second harness 912 from moving to the upper side HU of the first harness 911 arranged in the recess 31.

[0078] Furthermore, the harness placement section 30 is provided in a portion of the protector body 11 in the longitudinal direction L. This allows a plurality of harnesses 910 to be housed in the protector body 11 with a simple structure, and also makes the protector body 11 lighter in weight than when the harness placement section 30 is provided over the entire range in the longitudinal direction L.

[0079] The fixing band 20 has a band portion 21 configured in a belt shape and a band fixing portion 22 that locks the band portion 21 in a wound state, and the band fixing portion 22 is disposed on the right side WR. This allows the band portion 21, which is guided from the first insertion portion 32 into the accommodation space S and wound around the first harness 911 and the second harness 912 disposed in the recess 31, to be locked by the band fixing portion 22 disposed on the right side WR. That is, the fixing band 20 can be wound so that an external force F2 acts on the second harness 912 toward the right side WR. This causes the second harness 912 to move toward the right side WR of the first harness 911 disposed in the recess 31. This prevents the second harness 912 from being stacked vertically on the first harness 911 disposed in the recess 31 and prevents the second harness 912 from being pressed against the convex portion 40.

[0080] Furthermore, since the band fixing portion 22 is positioned on the opposite side of the convex portion 40 in the width direction W, the band portion 21 wound around the shielded electric wire 900 can be easily fastened to the harness arrangement portion 30, thereby improving the workability of the fastening operation.

[0081] The harness placement portion 30 has an insertion space 34 through which the band portion 21 is inserted in the width direction W, and the recess 31 is provided with a first insertion portion 32 that communicates the insertion space 34 with the storage space S. The first insertion portion 32 guides the band portion 21 from the right side WR to the storage space S in this manner, so that the right side WR of the harness placement portion 30 and the bundle of harnesses 910 can be wound around the band portion 21 inserted into the insertion space 34 without the band portion 21 being exposed to the outside of the protector main body 11. This prevents the band portion 21 from interfering with other external components.

[0082] Furthermore, since the convex portion 40 is provided on the upper side HU of the first insertion portion 32, the bundle of multiple harnesses 910 can be wound around the fixing band 20 at a position where the first harness 911 and the second harness 912 arranged in the recess 31 are not stacked vertically. Therefore, the multiple harnesses 910 can be reliably accommodated in the protector body 11 without being exposed from the opening.

[0083] In addition, the side wall portion 112 on the right side WR is provided with a position regulating portion 50 that regulates the position of the second harness 912, thereby preventing the second harness 912 from unintentionally moving in the width direction W when the fixing band 20 is wrapped around the first harness 911 and the second harness 912.

[0084] Furthermore, the first harness 911 and the second harness 912 are inserted into a braided wire 920 formed by braiding metal wires into a tubular shape. This allows the first harness 911 and the second harness 912, which are inserted into the braided wire 920 formed by braiding conductive metal wires into a tubular shape, to be housed together in the protector body 11.

[0085] In terms of the correspondence between the configuration of this invention and the above-described embodiments, the wire harness of this invention corresponds to the harness 910 of the embodiment, and similarly hereinafter, the longitudinal direction corresponds to the longitudinal direction L, the harness accommodating structure corresponds to the harness fixation protector 1, the bottom surface portion corresponds to the bottom surface portion 111, the side wall portion corresponds to the side wall portion 112, the accommodating space corresponds to the accommodating space S, the accommodating body corresponds to the protector body 11, the fixing band corresponds to the fixing band 20, the width direction corresponds to the width direction W, the harness placement portion corresponds to the harness placement portion 30, the recessed portion corresponds to the recessed portion 31, the insertion portion corresponds to the first insertion portion 32, the convex portion corresponds to the convex portion 40, the band body corresponds to the band portion 21, the band locking portion corresponds to the band fixing portion 22, and the insertion space corresponds to the insertion space 34, The first harness corresponds to the first harness 911, the second harness corresponds to the second harness 912, the position control portion corresponds to the position control portion 50, the braided portion corresponds to the braided wire 920, and the harness accommodating body corresponds to the protector 10, but this invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-mentioned embodiments, and many embodiments can be obtained.

[0086] For example, in the present embodiment, the multiple harnesses 910 are bundled together by being inserted through the braided wire 920, but they may also be bundled using, for example, a band-shaped body such as a cable tie, a string, a hook-and-loop fastener, or a fixing tape. Also, in the present embodiment, the harness housing that can protect the shielded electric wire 900 is the protector 10 that houses the shielded electric wire 900, but there are no limitations as long as it has the harness placement portion 30 and the convex portion 40 and can house multiple harnesses 910. For example, the harness placement portion 30 and the convex portion 40 may be provided at an outlet that leads out the harness 910, such as an electrical connection box. The fixing band 20 may be any that wraps around and fixes the multiple harnesses 910 that are placed in the harness placement portion 30, and may be, for example, a string, a hook-and-loop fastener, or the like.

[0087] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the first insertion portion 32 penetrates the harness placement portion 30 in the height direction H, but this configuration is not limited to this. For example, the first insertion portion 32 may penetrate the side wall portion 112 on the left side WL, or may penetrate the bottom surface portion 111.

[0088] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Harness fixing protector 10...Protector 11...Protector body 20...Fixing band 21...Band portion 22...Band fixing portion 30...Harness placement portion 31...Recess 32...First insertion portion 33...Second insertion portion 34...Insertion space 40...Convex portion 50...Position restriction portion 111...Bottom surface portion 112...Side wall portion 910...Harness 911...First harness 912...Second harness 920...Braided wire L...Longitudinal direction S...Storage space W...Width direction

Claims

1. A harness storage structure for storing at least a portion of the longitudinal direction of a plurality of wire harnesses arranged in parallel and bundled, the harness storage structure comprising: a storage body that forms a storage space for storing the wire harnesses with a bottom surface portion and a pair of side wall portions that stand up from the bottom surface portion and form an opening on the opposite side of the bottom surface portion; and fixing bands that wind the plurality of wire harnesses and fix them in the storage space, wherein in an orthogonal cross section that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the direction along the bottom surface portion is the width direction, the storage body is provided with a harness placement portion in which the wire harnesses are placed, and the harness placement portion is provided with a recess that is recessed on the other side in the width direction so that it is closer to the bottom surface portion than one side in the width direction, and an insertion portion is provided through which the fixing band that is wound around the wire harnesses arranged in the harness placement portion and fixed to the harness placement portion is inserted, and the side wall portion on the other side in the width direction is provided with a convex portion that protrudes toward the side of the opening in the recess.

2. The harness housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion is a rib provided along the side wall portion.

3. The harness storage structure according to claim 1, wherein the harness placement section is provided in a portion of the storage body in the longitudinal direction.

4. The harness storage structure according to claim 1, wherein the fixing band has a band body configured in a strip shape and a band locking portion that locks the band body in a wound state, and the band locking portion is located on one side in the width direction.

5. A harness storage structure as set forth in claim 4, wherein the harness placement section has an insertion space through which the band body is inserted in the width direction, and the recess is provided with an insertion section that connects the insertion space with the storage space.

6. A harness housing structure as set forth in claim 5, wherein the convex portion is provided on the side of the opening of the insertion portion.

7. A harness housing structure as set forth in claim 1, wherein the wire harness placed in the recess is a first harness, the first harness and another wire harness are second harnesses, and a position regulating portion for regulating the position of the second harness is provided on one side wall in the width direction.

8. The harness housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the wire harness placed in the recess is a first harness, the first harness and another wire harness are a second harness, and the first harness and the second harness are inserted into a braided section formed into a tubular shape by braiding metal wires.

9. A harness housing for housing at least a portion of the longitudinal direction of a plurality of wire harnesses arranged in parallel and bundled, the harness housing having a housing main body that forms a housing space for the wire harnesses with a bottom surface portion and a pair of side wall portions that stand up from the bottom surface portion and form an opening on the opposite side of the bottom surface portion, in an orthogonal cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the direction along the bottom surface portion is the width direction, the housing main body is provided with a harness arrangement portion in which the wire harness is arranged, the harness arrangement portion is provided with a recess that is recessed on the other side in the width direction so that it is closer to the bottom surface portion than the one side in the width direction, an insertion portion is provided for inserting a fixing band that is wound around the wire harness arranged in the harness arrangement portion and fixed to the harness arrangement portion, and the side wall portion on the other side in the width direction is provided with a convex portion that protrudes toward the side of the opening in the recess.

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