Wire Harness Protector Hinge Layout for Complex Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing protectors with a U-shaped main body and pivotally connected cover face challenges in molding and increased costs due to overlapping components when the routing path is complicated, complicating attachment to electric wire bundles.
Innovation Solution
The protector design features a main body with side walls and covers pivotally connected by hinges with inclined pivot axes, allowing covers to be inclined relative to the main body's extending direction, enabling integral molding without separation and reducing overlap, thus simplifying attachment and lowering costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the pivot axis of the hinge is made parallel to the main body, then the cover can be naturally pivoted to open and close the housing portion, but a portion of the cover overlaps the main body in plan view when opened, making molding difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the symmetric parallel alignment between the hinge pivot axis and main body extending direction to an asymmetric inclined arrangement. The pivot axis is configured to be inclined at a specific angle (e.g., 45 degrees) relative to the extending direction of the main body, which prevents the cover from overlapping the main body in plan view when opened, thereby enabling integral molding.
2Ease of manufacture
If the cover is formed separately from the main body to avoid overlap, then molding becomes possible, but the cost of the protector increases and attachment operation becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the cover and main body into a single integrally molded component. By configuring the hinge with an inclined pivot axis, the design enables the cover to be pivotally connected to the main body while preventing overlap in the opened state, thus allowing both parts to be formed as one piece through integral molding, reducing part count and simplifying assembly.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the protector has a bent shape to accommodate complicated routing paths, then it can follow complex wire harness routes, but the cover overlaps the main body when the hinge pivot axis is parallel to the main body
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetric inclination to the hinge pivot axis relative to the main body extending direction. This asymmetric configuration allows the protector to accommodate bent shapes for complicated routing paths while preventing cover-main body overlap in plan view, enabling integral molding even for protectors with complex geometries.
Data Source
AI summary
A protector attached to an electric wire bundle to protect the electric wire bundle, the protector includes a main body in which side walls are erected on both side edges of a bottom wall and a housing portion for housing the electric wire bundle is formed, a cover pivotally connected to an edge of any one of the side walls constituting the main body and configured to be disposed in an open state in which the housing portion is opened or a closed state in which the housing portion is closed, and a hinge configured to pivotally connect the cover to the side walls. The cover is pivotally connected to the main body by the hinge about a pivot axis inclined with respect to an extending direction of the main body in a plan view.