Wire Harness Water Shut-Off Cable Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wire harness configurations struggle to prevent water ingress from the exterior to the interior area while maintaining a compact end portion structure, especially when space is limited around the connection destination in the exterior area.
Innovation Solution
A wire harness design featuring a water shut-off cable with inter-wire water shut-off properties and a non-water shut-off cable connected to the connection target component in the exterior area, where the non-water shut-off cable is simplified in structure and omits water shut-off features, allowing the water shut-off cable to prevent water entry into the interior area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an inter-wire seal structure is provided at an end portion of a cable to prevent water ingress, then water protection is improved, but the end portion structure becomes larger and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The wire harness is segmented into two functional parts: a water shut-off cable with inter-wire sealing structure and a non-water shut-off cable without such structure. The water shut-off cable includes a sheath with inter-wire seal members that prevent water ingress through gaps between wires, while the non-water shut-off cable has a simpler structure without these sealing components. This segmentation allows water protection only where needed (at the boundary between interior and exterior areas) while maintaining compactness in other areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The water shut-off property is applied locally only to the cable portion that crosses the boundary between the interior area and exterior area. The water shut-off cable is disposed across this boundary and connected to the non-water shut-off cable in the exterior area. This localized application of water protection features prevents unnecessary complexity in areas where water protection is not required.
2Reliability
If an inter-wire seal structure is provided at an end portion of a cable, then water protection is improved, but the space required at the connection destination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wire harness is divided into a water shut-off cable portion that provides water protection and a non-water shut-off cable portion that is compact and connection-oriented. The water shut-off cable includes the inter-wire seal structure, while the non-water shut-off cable connects to the connection target component with minimal space requirements. This segmentation allows the connection destination to accommodate only the compact non-water shut-off cable end.
Solution Approach 2:
The inter-wire seal structure is extracted from the cable end portion that connects to the connection target component and placed only in the water shut-off cable portion that crosses the boundary between interior and exterior areas. This extraction removes the bulky sealing structures from the connection endpoint, reducing the space required at the connection destination while maintaining water protection where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A wire harness is disposed across an interior area and an exterior area, and is connected to a connection target component in the exterior area. The wire harness includes: a water shut-off cable being disposed across a boundary between the interior area and the exterior area, and having inter-wire water shut-off property; and a non-water shut-off cable being connected to the water shut-off cable in the exterior area, and being connectable to the connection target component.