EP0305058A2 - Cable harness - Google Patents

Cable harness Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0305058A2
EP0305058A2 EP88307068A EP88307068A EP0305058A2 EP 0305058 A2 EP0305058 A2 EP 0305058A2 EP 88307068 A EP88307068 A EP 88307068A EP 88307068 A EP88307068 A EP 88307068A EP 0305058 A2 EP0305058 A2 EP 0305058A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
support member
sleeve
conductors
cable harness
harness
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP88307068A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0305058A3 (en
Inventor
Nigel Adrian Deller
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
ZF International UK Ltd
Original Assignee
Lucas Industries Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Lucas Industries Ltd filed Critical Lucas Industries Ltd
Publication of EP0305058A2 publication Critical patent/EP0305058A2/en
Publication of EP0305058A3 publication Critical patent/EP0305058A3/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B7/00—Insulated conductors or cables characterised by their form
    • H01B7/40—Insulated conductors or cables characterised by their form with arrangements for facilitating mounting or securing
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B7/00—Insulated conductors or cables characterised by their form
    • H01B7/0045—Cable-harnesses

Definitions

  • This invention relates to cable harnesses and more particularly but not exclusively, to cable harnesses for use in close proximity to moving machinery.
  • each unit injector incorporates a solenoid operable valve to which electrical power must be supplied.
  • each unit injector may incorporate a transducer. It is necessary to effect electrical connections to the unit injectors and this can be achieved by using cables which are run in conduits secured within the housing. This system is impractical particularly where the conduits have to be shaped to avoid moving parts.
  • An alternative is to provide rigid support members within the housing and to secure the cables to the support members at regular intervals. This is a time-consuming method both in terms of fixing the support members to the engine structure and securing the cables to the support members.
  • the object of the present invention is to provide a cable harness in a simple and convenient form.
  • a cable harness comprises a plurality of conductors, an elongated semi-rigid support member and a sleeve enclosing the conductors and the support member, the sleeve acting to secure the conductors to the support member.
  • the cables are indicated at 10 being of the insulated type and are located adjacent one side of a semi-rigid support member 11 of rectangular section.
  • the cables and support member are held in assembled relationship by means of a sheath 12.
  • the sheath can be woven or it may be constructed as a wrapped tape formed from plastics or it may be formed from a heat shrinkable plastics.
  • the figure illustrates the various components of the harness in spaced relationship but in the completed harness the sheath would hold the cables and support member in close proximity.
  • Figure 2 shows an example in which the cables 10 are located about a support member 13 of circular section, the cables in practice being tightly held by the sheath about the support member.
  • the sheath maybe formed as described above.
  • the support members 11, 13 of the examples described may be formed from metal such for example as steel or aluminium in which case the support member itself can be used to carry electric current or provide for screening of the cables.
  • the support member may be formed from a plastics which can be shaped to the desired form by the suitable application of heat or it may be formed from a so-called "memory" polymer which recovers to a predetermined shape on the application of heat.
  • the cable harness is manufactured in a flat condition and is then shaped prior to assembly to the engine or during actual assembly to the engine.
  • the support member is formed from a heat conducting material it can be used as a heat sink for electrical components which are accommodated in the harness such for example as resistors and diodes etc.
  • the harness can be secured to the engine structure at a number of discrete points as a preformed item thereby greatly reducing the cost of engine assembly.
  • the cables are electrical cables.
  • the same technique can be used for optical cables and it is of course possible to incorporate both forms of cable in the same harness.
  • FIG 3 shows part of a cable harness for use with a six cylinder engine and which is constructed as shown in Figure 1.
  • the support member is shown as having a free end 14 and an intermediate portion 15 which forms a bridge between the two parts of the cable harness.
  • the support member is formed from aluminium strip.
  • the harness also includes a grommet 16 which is intended to be located and secured within an opening in the valve housing of the engine and passing through the grommet are twelve insulated electrical cables. Exterior of the housing the cables 17 are enclosed in a sleeve 18 formed from a heat shrinkable plastics and there may be interposed between the sleeve and the cables, a braided screen.
  • a pair of conductors are connected to each pump/injector of the engine and the pairs of conductors extend at spaced intervals from along the length of the support member.
  • the conductors of each pair or branch terminate in terminals and are enclosed by a sleeve 19 formed from heat shrinkable plastics.
  • Further sleeves 20 also formed from heat shrinkable plastics material enclose the support member 14 and the conductors laid thereon.
  • the sleeves 19 extend partly within the sleeves 20 and the sleeves 20 also overlap prior to the heat shrinking operation, to ensure that the conductors are held firmly to the support member.
  • the support member is approximately 1.5mm thick and 11.0mm wide and has a length appropriate to the size of the engine.

Abstract

A cable harness comprising a plurality of conductors 10 which are laid alongside a semi-rigid support member 11 and are retained relative thereto by a sleeve 12 which surrounds the conductors and the support member.

Description

  • This invention relates to cable harnesses and more particularly but not exclusively, to cable harnesses for use in close proximity to moving machinery.
  • It is known to supply fuel to compression ignition engines by means of so-called unit injectors in which the pump and injector are combined in a single unit. The pump of the unit injector is actuated by means of an engine driven cam and the injectors are housed within the conventional rocker or cam shaft housing of the engine. The quantity of fuel supplied and the timing of fuel delivery is controlled electrically and for this purpose each unit injector incorporates a solenoid operable valve to which electrical power must be supplied. In addition, each unit injector may incorporate a transducer. It is necessary to effect electrical connections to the unit injectors and this can be achieved by using cables which are run in conduits secured within the housing. This system is impractical particularly where the conduits have to be shaped to avoid moving parts. An alternative is to provide rigid support members within the housing and to secure the cables to the support members at regular intervals. This is a time-consuming method both in terms of fixing the support members to the engine structure and securing the cables to the support members.
  • The object of the present invention is to provide a cable harness in a simple and convenient form.
  • According to the invention a cable harness comprises a plurality of conductors, an elongated semi-rigid support member and a sleeve enclosing the conductors and the support member, the sleeve acting to secure the conductors to the support member.
  • Examples of cable harness in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing the figures of which are sectional side elevations of different examples.
  • In Figure 1 of the drawings the cables are indicated at 10 being of the insulated type and are located adjacent one side of a semi-rigid support member 11 of rectangular section. The cables and support member are held in assembled relationship by means of a sheath 12. The sheath can be woven or it may be constructed as a wrapped tape formed from plastics or it may be formed from a heat shrinkable plastics. The figure illustrates the various components of the harness in spaced relationship but in the completed harness the sheath would hold the cables and support member in close proximity.
  • Figure 2 shows an example in which the cables 10 are located about a support member 13 of circular section, the cables in practice being tightly held by the sheath about the support member. The sheath maybe formed as described above.
  • The support members 11, 13 of the examples described may be formed from metal such for example as steel or aluminium in which case the support member itself can be used to carry electric current or provide for screening of the cables. Alternatively the support member may be formed from a plastics which can be shaped to the desired form by the suitable application of heat or it may be formed from a so-called "memory" polymer which recovers to a predetermined shape on the application of heat.
  • The cable harness is manufactured in a flat condition and is then shaped prior to assembly to the engine or during actual assembly to the engine.
  • In the case where the support member is formed from a heat conducting material it can be used as a heat sink for electrical components which are accommodated in the harness such for example as resistors and diodes etc.
  • The harness can be secured to the engine structure at a number of discrete points as a preformed item thereby greatly reducing the cost of engine assembly.
  • In the specification it has been indicated that the cables are electrical cables. However, the same technique can be used for optical cables and it is of course possible to incorporate both forms of cable in the same harness.
  • Figure 3 shows part of a cable harness for use with a six cylinder engine and which is constructed as shown in Figure 1. The support member is shown as having a free end 14 and an intermediate portion 15 which forms a bridge between the two parts of the cable harness. The support member is formed from aluminium strip. The harness also includes a grommet 16 which is intended to be located and secured within an opening in the valve housing of the engine and passing through the grommet are twelve insulated electrical cables. Exterior of the housing the cables 17 are enclosed in a sleeve 18 formed from a heat shrinkable plastics and there may be interposed between the sleeve and the cables, a braided screen.
  • In the particular example a pair of conductors are connected to each pump/injector of the engine and the pairs of conductors extend at spaced intervals from along the length of the support member. The conductors of each pair or branch terminate in terminals and are enclosed by a sleeve 19 formed from heat shrinkable plastics. Further sleeves 20 also formed from heat shrinkable plastics material enclose the support member 14 and the conductors laid thereon. The sleeves 19 extend partly within the sleeves 20 and the sleeves 20 also overlap prior to the heat shrinking operation, to ensure that the conductors are held firmly to the support member.
  • In the particular example the support member is approximately 1.5mm thick and 11.0mm wide and has a length appropriate to the size of the engine.

Claims (4)

1. A cable harness comprising a plurality of conductors 10, and a sleeve (12,20) surrounding the conductors characterised by an elongated semi-rigid support member (11,13,14) which is located against the conductors and is surrounded by the sleeve.
2. A cable harness according to Claim 1 characterised in that the sleeve (12,20) is formed from a heat shrinkable plastics.
3. A cable harness according to Claim 2 characterised in that the sleeve along the length of the harness is formed as a plurality of sleeves (20) with the adjacent ends of adjacent sleeves being located one within the other, the harness having branches comprising one or more conductors extending laterally from the support member, each branch being enclosed in a further sleeve (19) which extends from within one of said first mentioned sleeves (20) at the position of overlap with the adjacent sleeve (20).
4. A cable harness according to Claim 1 characterised in that said support member (11, 13, 14) is preformed to the required shape.
EP88307068A 1987-08-22 1988-08-01 Cable harness Withdrawn EP0305058A3 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8719869 1987-08-22
GB878719869A GB8719869D0 (en) 1987-08-22 1987-08-22 Cable harness

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0305058A2 true EP0305058A2 (en) 1989-03-01
EP0305058A3 EP0305058A3 (en) 1989-06-14

Family

ID=10622665

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP88307068A Withdrawn EP0305058A3 (en) 1987-08-22 1988-08-01 Cable harness

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0305058A3 (en)
JP (1) JPH0215510A (en)
GB (1) GB8719869D0 (en)

Cited By (12)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1992003832A1 (en) * 1990-08-24 1992-03-05 Aeg Kabel Aktiengesellschaft Cable tree
FR2744868A1 (en) * 1996-02-09 1997-08-14 A R I Applic Realisation Inf COMPUTER BREWING SYSTEM
EP1041584A2 (en) * 1999-04-01 2000-10-04 Robert Bosch Gmbh Foil conductor
US6239374B1 (en) * 1997-06-03 2001-05-29 Volkswagen Ag Method for producing a flexible cable harness
WO2003087913A1 (en) * 2002-04-12 2003-10-23 3M Innovative Properties Company Foldable interconnector for conductors
EP2312590A1 (en) * 2008-08-07 2011-04-20 Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. Wire harness
EP2662866A3 (en) * 2005-02-03 2014-06-18 Auto-Kabel Management GmbH Multilayered electrical flat conductor
WO2018189700A1 (en) * 2017-04-11 2018-10-18 Tesla, Inc. Structural cable
CN110088984A (en) * 2016-12-22 2019-08-02 住友电装株式会社 Harness
US10861622B2 (en) 2018-01-05 2020-12-08 Tesla, Inc. High-speed cable assembly
US11260809B2 (en) 2018-01-18 2022-03-01 Tesla, Inc. Wiring system architecture
US11479189B2 (en) 2018-02-12 2022-10-25 Tesla, Inc. High-speed-wiring-system architecture

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2005158450A (en) * 2003-11-25 2005-06-16 Sumitomo Wiring Syst Ltd Electric wire for automobile
JP2009170139A (en) * 2008-01-11 2009-07-30 Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc:The Electric wire and communication line

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2220393A (en) * 1938-02-04 1940-11-05 Ericsson Telefon Ab L M Self-carrying cable
FR2128541A1 (en) * 1971-03-03 1972-10-20 British Ins Callen Ca
FR2513801A1 (en) * 1981-09-28 1983-04-01 Sogefid Sarl Flat ribbon cables forming cylinder conductor group - uses spiral winding of flat ribbon cable optionally with former, to give overall shape similar to conventional circular section conductor

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2220393A (en) * 1938-02-04 1940-11-05 Ericsson Telefon Ab L M Self-carrying cable
FR2128541A1 (en) * 1971-03-03 1972-10-20 British Ins Callen Ca
FR2513801A1 (en) * 1981-09-28 1983-04-01 Sogefid Sarl Flat ribbon cables forming cylinder conductor group - uses spiral winding of flat ribbon cable optionally with former, to give overall shape similar to conventional circular section conductor

Cited By (24)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1992003832A1 (en) * 1990-08-24 1992-03-05 Aeg Kabel Aktiengesellschaft Cable tree
FR2744868A1 (en) * 1996-02-09 1997-08-14 A R I Applic Realisation Inf COMPUTER BREWING SYSTEM
WO1997029431A1 (en) * 1996-02-09 1997-08-14 A.R.I. Application Realisation Informatique (S.A.R.L) Computer network cross-connection system
US6239374B1 (en) * 1997-06-03 2001-05-29 Volkswagen Ag Method for producing a flexible cable harness
EP1041584A2 (en) * 1999-04-01 2000-10-04 Robert Bosch Gmbh Foil conductor
EP1041584A3 (en) * 1999-04-01 2001-01-31 Robert Bosch Gmbh Foil conductor
US6417455B1 (en) 1999-04-01 2002-07-09 Robert Bosch Gmbh Conductive foil
WO2003087913A1 (en) * 2002-04-12 2003-10-23 3M Innovative Properties Company Foldable interconnector for conductors
US6688776B2 (en) 2002-04-12 2004-02-10 3M Innovative Properties Company Interconnect device
CN100380151C (en) * 2002-04-12 2008-04-09 3M创新有限公司 Foldable interconnector for conductors
EP2662866A3 (en) * 2005-02-03 2014-06-18 Auto-Kabel Management GmbH Multilayered electrical flat conductor
EP2312590A4 (en) * 2008-08-07 2011-08-03 Sumitomo Wiring Systems Wire harness
CN102119428A (en) * 2008-08-07 2011-07-06 住友电装株式会社 Wire harness
US8653372B2 (en) 2008-08-07 2014-02-18 Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. Wire harness
EP2312590A1 (en) * 2008-08-07 2011-04-20 Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. Wire harness
CN110088984A (en) * 2016-12-22 2019-08-02 住友电装株式会社 Harness
WO2018189700A1 (en) * 2017-04-11 2018-10-18 Tesla, Inc. Structural cable
CN110494934A (en) * 2017-04-11 2019-11-22 特斯拉公司 Structural cable
US10586632B2 (en) 2017-04-11 2020-03-10 Tesla, Inc. Structural cable
CN110494934B (en) * 2017-04-11 2022-01-14 特斯拉公司 Structural cable
US10861622B2 (en) 2018-01-05 2020-12-08 Tesla, Inc. High-speed cable assembly
US11260809B2 (en) 2018-01-18 2022-03-01 Tesla, Inc. Wiring system architecture
US11479189B2 (en) 2018-02-12 2022-10-25 Tesla, Inc. High-speed-wiring-system architecture
US11932184B2 (en) 2018-02-12 2024-03-19 Tesla, Inc. High-speed-wiring-system architecture

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB8719869D0 (en) 1987-09-30
EP0305058A3 (en) 1989-06-14
JPH0215510A (en) 1990-01-19

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