Pre-bent Wire Harness Protection Member
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wire harnesses require additional bending and more components due to mismatched bending directions during installation in automobiles, leading to longer wire lengths and increased component counts.
Innovation Solution
A wire harness with a tubular protection member made of synthetic resin featuring circumferentially-extending recessed grooves and protrusions forming a concertina shape, allowing the protection member to be bent in a non-restorable fashion by attaching adjacent protrusions using welding or adhesive, matching the desired installation direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the wire harness is bent on a predetermined plane during assembly, then the assembly process is simple, but the bending direction does not match the actual installation direction requiring additional bending and more components
Solution Approach 1:
The protection member is pre-bent during manufacturing to match the actual installation direction in the automobile. This preliminary action eliminates the need for additional bending during assembly and reduces the number of wiring clips and protectors required, directly resolving the contradiction between assembly simplicity and component complexity
2Ease of manufacture
If the wire harness is bent on a predetermined plane during assembly, then the assembly process is simple, but the electric wire becomes longer than necessary
Solution Approach 1:
The protection member is pre-bent to the correct installation angle during manufacturing, allowing the electric wire to be cut to the minimum required length. This eliminates unnecessary wire length while maintaining assembly simplicity, as the pre-bent structure provides the correct geometry from the start
3Reliability
If many wiring clips and protectors are used to fix the wire harness, then the wire harness can be securely installed, but the number of components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protection member integrates multiple functions into a single component: it protects the electric wire, provides structural support, and enables positioning along the wiring path through its pre-bent shape. This merging reduces the number of separate components (wiring clips and protectors) while maintaining installation reliability through the integrated design
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces the need for additional bending and components, ensuring the wire harness is installed with the correct length and minimizing component count, while maintaining reliable protection and connectivity.
Implementation Method 1
the adjacent protrusions of the appropriate section of the protection member in the linear state on an inward side with respect to a direction in which the appropriate section is bent when wired in the automobile are attached to each other, by which the appropriate section of the protection member is bent in said direction in a non-restorable fashion
Implementation Method 2
the adjacent protrusions of the appropriate section of the protection member in the linear state on an inward side with respect to a direction in which the appropriate section is bent when wired in the automobile are attached to each other
Data Source
AI summary
There are provided a wire harness and a manufacturing method thereof which can reduce number of components and which does not require an electric wire to be formed longer than necessary. A wire harness includes an electric wire and a tubular corrugated tube made of synthetic resin and arranged to receive the electric wire to protect the electric wire. The corrugated tube is bent at an appropriate section when wired on an automobile. The corrugated tube includes recessed grooves and protrusions arranged alternately along a longitudinal direction. The adjacent protrusions of the appropriate section on the inward side are attached to each other by welding. The appropriate section is bent in a non-restorable fashion in a direction in which the appropriate section is bent when wired in the automobile.