Slide Rail Cable Harness Assembly With Drag Chain Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wire harness connection methods for sliding seats, especially in MPV/SUVs, result in uncontrolled wire harness exposure and damage due to long seat strokes, and are inconvenient and time-consuming to arrange.
Innovation Solution
A quick fitting and protection mechanism for wire harnesses in slide rails, featuring a drag chain and guide support system that allows the wire harness to be threaded through and connected to the upper slide rail, enabling controlled direction and simple installation, with rotatable components and elastic fixing parts for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the wire harness is directly connected to the seat, then the installation is simple, but the wire harness is exposed and easily damaged, especially for long stroke applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a drag chain as an intermediary component between the wire harness and the sliding seat. The drag chain protects the wire harness from damage while allowing it to move with the seat during sliding operations, resolving the contradiction between simple installation and wire harness protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire harness is nested within the drag chain structure, which is itself integrated into the slide rail assembly. This nesting arrangement protects the wire harness while maintaining a compact overall structure that is relatively simple to install.
2Reliability
If the wire harness is connected within the slide rail to ensure protection, then the wire harness is protected from damage, but the fitting process becomes inconvenient and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the wire harness connection system into separate modular components: the drag chain, the support structure, and the connection elements. This segmentation allows each component to be prepared independently and assembled more efficiently, reducing the overall fitting time while maintaining protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The drag chain and support structures are pre-assembled and positioned within the slide rail before final installation. This preliminary action prepares the protective structure in advance, so that when the wire harness is installed, it is already in place and ready to provide protection, thereby reducing the actual fitting time.
3Reliability
If the wire harness is routed through a complex protection mechanism, then the wire harness is protected and direction is controllable, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drag chain serves multiple functions simultaneously: it protects the wire harness from damage, guides its movement during seat sliding, and maintains proper routing. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The drag chain utilizes a flexible chain structure that can bend and move with the seat while maintaining protection. This flexible approach is simpler than rigid protective enclosures and allows the system to adapt to movement without complex joints or mechanisms.
4Length of moving object
If the wire harness is allowed to move freely with long seat stroke, then the seat has extended travel capability, but the wire harness path becomes uncontrolled and exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The drag chain acts as an intermediary that couples the wire harness movement to the seat movement. As the seat slides through its extended stroke, the drag chain moves with it, maintaining controlled routing of the wire harness throughout the entire range of motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The drag chain is designed to dynamically follow the movement of the seat during sliding. Its flexible structure allows it to adapt its shape and position according to the seat's position, maintaining wire harness control throughout the extended stroke without rigid constraints.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention discloses a quick fitting and protection mechanism for a wire harness in a slide rail, the mechanism including: a drag chain for the wire harness to be threaded through; a drag chain towing support connected to an upper slide rail and slidable in a slideway of a lower slide rail with the upper slide rail, where the drag chain towing support has a drag chain port, a wire harness outlet, and a first channel affording communication between the drag chain port and the wire harness outlet, where one end of the drag chain is connected to the drag chain port; a wire harness guide support having a wire harness entry, a wire harness exit, and a second channel affording communication between the wire harness entry and the wire harness exit, where the wire harness entry is in rotatable communication with the wire harness exit, and a rail fixing portion is disposed at the wire harness exit, where the rail fixing portion is detachably connected to the upper slide rail. According to the present invention, the wire harness and the rails can be quickly fitted. The wire harness is disposed in the rails and moves with the upper slide rail, thereby satisfying the need for a wire harness for a long-stroke slide rail. In addition, the wire harness passes through the drag chain towing support and the wire harness guide support, thus achieving a controllable direction of the wire harness.