Modular Wire Harness Layout Using Flexible PCBs for Easier Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wire harnesses face challenges in ease of assembly to vehicles due to complex configurations and weight, making them difficult to manufacture and install efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A wire harness design incorporating a trunk module with flexible printed circuit boards and trunk connectors, along with branch modules connected via branch connectors, featuring conductor circuit portions and joint portions to simplify assembly and reduce weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional wire harnesses bundle electrical wires together, then electrical connectivity is achieved, but assembly complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wire harness is divided into modular components: trunk modules containing flexible printed circuit boards with integrated circuitry, and branch modules with connectors. This segmentation allows independent assembly and reduces overall configuration complexity while maintaining electrical connectivity functions.
Solution Approach 2:
Traditional bundled electrical wires are replaced with flexible printed circuit boards that integrate conductive traces, connectors, and circuitry into a single flexible substrate. This substitution reduces assembly complexity by eliminating the need to manually bundle and connect separate wires.
2Ease of manufacture
If flexible printed circuit boards are used to reduce weight and simplify assembly, then ease of assembly improves, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The design utilizes the inherent flexibility parameter of flexible printed circuit boards to accommodate various mounting positions and configurations. This flexibility compensates for minor positioning variations and reduces the stringency of manufacturing precision requirements while maintaining proper electrical connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible printed circuit boards are designed as separate trunk modules that can be assembled independently. This modular approach allows for standardized manufacturing with controlled precision requirements, while the flexible nature of the boards provides tolerance for installation variations.
Data Source
AI summary
A wire harness includes a trunk module including a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards, a plurality of trunk connectors, and a first wiring member module connecting the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards to each other, and a plurality of branch modules each including a plurality of branch wiring members and a branch connector provided at ends of the plurality of branch wiring members and connected to one of the trunk connectors. Each of the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards is provided with a wiring pattern including a plurality of conductor circuit portions electrically connected to the plurality of branch wiring members, respectively, via the trunk connectors and the branch connectors to constitute transmission paths, and joint portions each connecting at least two of the plurality of conductor circuit portions to each other.