Stacked Flexible Wiring Member for High-Current Vehicle Harnesses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wiring solutions for vehicles face challenges in flexibility and workability due to increased rigidity when trying to handle large currents, leading to poor resistance to vibration and increased component costs with multiple types of electric wires and cross-sectional areas.
Innovation Solution
A flexible wiring member with stacked conductor holding layers, where power supply lines with wide widths are disposed in adjacent layers and communication lines with smaller widths are integrated within the same layers, covered by insulating resin, allowing for parallel connection of power supply lines to enhance flexibility and reduce resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If the cross-sectional area of the power supply line is increased to handle large currents, then the current carrying capacity is improved, but the rigidity of the wiring member increases and flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a planar arrangement to a three-dimensional stacked configuration with multiple conductor holding layers. Power supply line conductors are disposed in both the first and second conductor holding layers, utilizing the thickness direction to increase effective cross-sectional area for current carrying while maintaining flexibility through the layered structure that can bend as a unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite structure combining multiple conductor types (power supply line conductors and communication line conductors) within a unified flexible wiring member. The stacked conductor holding layers with insulating resin create a composite material system that integrates high-current power transmission capability with signal transmission while maintaining overall flexibility.
2Reliability
If multiple types of electric wires with different cross-sectional areas are used for power supply and communication lines, then the electrical performance is improved, but the number of parts increases and component costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges power supply line conductors and communication line conductors into a single integrated flexible wiring member. Both conductor types are disposed within the same stacked conductor holding layers structure, eliminating the need for separate wire harnesses and reducing the total number of parts while maintaining distinct electrical performance characteristics for each conductor type.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible wiring member serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides both high-current power supply transmission and low-current communication signal transmission within a single component. The stacked conductor holding layers design allows different conductor configurations to coexist, making the wiring member universally applicable for both power and communication needs.
3Ease of manufacture
If power supply lines and communication lines are assembled as independent components, then the manufacturing flexibility is improved, but the wiring process complexity increases and workability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-assembling both power supply line conductors and communication line conductors into a single integrated flexible wiring member during manufacturing. This pre-integration eliminates the need for separate assembly operations at the installation site, reducing wiring process complexity and improving workability while maintaining manufacturing flexibility through standardized production of the unified structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible wiring member capable of electrically connecting desired points separated in a length direction. The flexible wiring member includes conductor holding layers that are formed in a state of being stacked in a thickness direction and being electrically insulated from one another; power supply line conductors that have a wide width and are respectively disposed in both of a first conductor holding layer and a second conductor holding layer adjacent to each other in the thickness direction; and communication line conductors that have a width smaller than that of the power supply line conductors and are disposed in one of the first conductor holding layer and the second conductor holding layer, in which the conductor holding layers are formed by an insulating resin, and directly cover the power supply line conductors and the communication line conductors.