EP0331182B1 - Process for manufacturing a compact-stranded wire conductor for wire harnesses - Google Patents
Process for manufacturing a compact-stranded wire conductor for wire harnesses Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0331182B1 EP0331182B1 EP19890103752 EP89103752A EP0331182B1 EP 0331182 B1 EP0331182 B1 EP 0331182B1 EP 19890103752 EP19890103752 EP 19890103752 EP 89103752 A EP89103752 A EP 89103752A EP 0331182 B1 EP0331182 B1 EP 0331182B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- wire
- wires
- conductor
- compact
- central element
- 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.)
- Expired
Links
Images
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
- H01B7/0009—Details relating to the conductive cores
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
- H01B5/00—Non-insulated conductors or conductive bodies characterised by their form
- H01B5/08—Several wires or the like stranded in the form of a rope
- H01B5/10—Several wires or the like stranded in the form of a rope stranded around a space, insulating material, or dissimilar conducting material
- H01B5/102—Several wires or the like stranded in the form of a rope stranded around a space, insulating material, or dissimilar conducting material stranded around a high tensile strength core
- H01B5/104—Several wires or the like stranded in the form of a rope stranded around a space, insulating material, or dissimilar conducting material stranded around a high tensile strength core composed of metallic wires, e.g. steel wires
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a compact-stranded wire conductor and a process for forming the same, and in particular to a compact-stranded wire conductor to be used in wire harnesses for motor vehicles.
- Wire harnesses are typically used in the various electrical systems of motor vehicles, and with the growing advancement in the technology of such electrical systems, the number and complexity of associated wirings has had to increase accordingly. This increase in complexity is especially evident for the growing number of electrical systems that operate on low electrical currents, such as indicator lights and the like. For this reason, the current trend has been to try to reduce the overall weight of the wire harness by reducing the diameter of the individual wire conductors comprising the wire harness.
- a compact-stranded wire conductor 1 comprises a central element wire 2 and peripheral element wires 3 provided around the central element wire 2, with spaces 4 and 4 ' existing between the element wires 3 and the central element wire 2 and between the element wires 3 themselves, respectively.
- Fig. 1 further illustrates that the element wires 2 and 3, having originally been circular in cross section, become deformed when they are circularly compressed, such as by die drawing, to form the the compact-stranded wire conductor 1.
- the spaces 4 and 4' are reduced in size relative to what they were before the element wires 2 and 3 were cir- culary compressed, thus leading to reduction in the overall size of the wire conductor 1.
- both the central element wire 2 and the peripheral element wires 3 undergo deformation and thereby take on somewhat random shapes, which in turn causes the spaces 4 and 4' to become a little scattered and also take on somewhat random patterns.
- the compact-stranded wire conductor so produced does not possess sufficient overall strength if its diameter is made relatively small, and it is even possible that the electrical conductivity of one or more of the element wires could be adversely affected due to such deformations.
- the slightly random nature of the deformations tends to give rise to a loss in the overall circularity of the wire conductor, which necessitates the provision of a thicker layer of insulating material in order to properly cover the wire conductor.
- the compact-stranded wire conductor comprises a central element wire having a high hardness and peripheral element wires each having a relatively low hardness with respect to the hardness of the central element wire.
- a compact-stranded wire conductor 1 comprises a central element wire 2 and peripheral element wires 3 concentrically placed around the central element wire 2.
- either single or stranded wires can be employed for both the central element wire 2 and the peripheral element wires 3, but any and all choices made must be such that the central element wire 2 has a higher hardness than that of the peripheral element wires 3.
- the use a wire having both high hardness and high strength for the central element wire 2 is preferred, such as a wire made from stainless steel, copper alloy or the like.
- a wire made from stainless steel, copper alloy or the like it should be noted that the choice should be made even at the sacrifice of a small loss in the limiting current, because for low currect electrical systems such a minor loss will have no adverse effect.
- peripheral element wires 3 soft or hard copper wires or copper alloy wires may be used so long as they have hardnesses smaller than that of the wire chosen for the central element wire 2. However, it is recommended that wires having slightly high hardnesses, such as stainless steel wires, be used for the peripheral element wires 3 when a high-hardness copper alloy wire is being employed for the central element wire 2.
- limiting currents of examples A and B and standards C and D are shown for various diameters, with the dashed line P indicating a minimum limiting current of 3 amperes required for wire conductors which are to be used in wire harnesses for motor vehicles.
- the maximum temperature and the ambient temperature of the conductor during use were 80°C and 60 ° C, respectively.
- L represents a minimum breaking load of 10kgf that must be achieved in order for the wire conductor to be considered to have adequate strength characteristics.
Description
- The present invention relates to a compact-stranded wire conductor and a process for forming the same, and in particular to a compact-stranded wire conductor to be used in wire harnesses for motor vehicles.
- Wire harnesses are typically used in the various electrical systems of motor vehicles, and with the growing advancement in the technology of such electrical systems, the number and complexity of associated wirings has had to increase accordingly. This increase in complexity is especially evident for the growing number of electrical systems that operate on low electrical currents, such as indicator lights and the like. For this reason, the current trend has been to try to reduce the overall weight of the wire harness by reducing the diameter of the individual wire conductors comprising the wire harness.
- In response to the current trends mentioned above, a thinner wire harness was proposed by making use of compacted-stranded wire conductors, that is, wire conductors made by circularly compressing a bundle of individual wires (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. JP-A 60-91573). The reasoning behind this suggestion was that since the diameters of the compact-stranded wire conductors can be made relatively small, thein use would therefore lead to an overall reduction in the size of the wire harness.
- Now, in order to gain a better understanding of the prior art compact-stranded conductor, a cross sectional view of one example of such a conductor is illustrated in Fig. 1. As shown in this figure, a compact-stranded
wire conductor 1 comprises acentral element wire 2 and peripheral element wires 3 provided around thecentral element wire 2, withspaces central element wire 2 and between the element wires 3 themselves, respectively. - In the example described above, Fig. 1 further illustrates that the
element wires 2 and 3, having originally been circular in cross section, become deformed when they are circularly compressed, such as by die drawing, to form the the compact-strandedwire conductor 1. As a result of this deformation, thespaces 4 and 4' are reduced in size relative to what they were before theelement wires 2 and 3 were cir- culary compressed, thus leading to reduction in the overall size of thewire conductor 1. - Unfortunately, however, the prior art compact-stranded wire conductors have many inherent disadvantages because they employ wires made from the same material (such as hard or soft copper) and having the same physical properties for both the
central element wire 2 and the peripheral element wires 3. These disadvantages can best be explained by referring once again to Fig. 1. - Namely, as shown in Fig. 1, both the
central element wire 2 and the peripheral element wires 3 undergo deformation and thereby take on somewhat random shapes, which in turn causes thespaces 4 and 4' to become a little scattered and also take on somewhat random patterns. As a result, the compact-stranded wire conductor so produced does not possess sufficient overall strength if its diameter is made relatively small, and it is even possible that the electrical conductivity of one or more of the element wires could be adversely affected due to such deformations. Moreover, the slightly random nature of the deformations tends to give rise to a loss in the overall circularity of the wire conductor, which necessitates the provision of a thicker layer of insulating material in order to properly cover the wire conductor. - In view of the disadvantages of the prior art compact-stranded wire conductors, it is an object of the present invention to provide a compact-stranded wire conductor having sufficient strength and electrical characteristics even when the wire conductor is formed to have a relatively small diameter.
- It is another object of the present invention to provide a compact-stranded wire conductor having high circularity.
- It is still another object of the present invention to provide a compact-stranded wire conductor requiring only a thin layer of an insulation covering.
- It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a compact-stranded wire conductor in which only the peripheral element wires undergo substantial deformation when the compact-stranded wire conductor is manufactured.
- In order to achieve the objects stated above, the compact-stranded wire conductor according to the present invention comprises a central element wire having a high hardness and peripheral element wires each having a relatively low hardness with respect to the hardness of the central element wire.
- The foregoing, and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
-
- Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art compact-stranded wire conductor.
- Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a compact-stranded wire conductor according to the present invention.
- Fig. 3 is a graph showing the associated limiting currents for the various diameters of the same wire conductors shown in Fig. 4.
- Fig. 4 is a graph showing the associated breaking loads for various diameters of two compact-stranded wire conductors according to the present invention in comparison with defind standards.
- With reference to Fig. 2, one embodiment of the present invention will be described.
- Namely, as shown in Fig. 2, a compact-stranded
wire conductor 1 comprises acentral element wire 2 and peripheral element wires 3 concentrically placed around thecentral element wire 2. In this construction, either single or stranded wires can be employed for both thecentral element wire 2 and the peripheral element wires 3, but any and all choices made must be such that thecentral element wire 2 has a higher hardness than that of the peripheral element wires 3. - In the embodiment described above, the use a wire having both high hardness and high strength for the
central element wire 2 is preferred, such as a wire made from stainless steel, copper alloy or the like. In this connection, it should be noted that the choice should be made even at the sacrifice of a small loss in the limiting current, because for low currect electrical systems such a minor loss will have no adverse effect. - For the peripheral element wires 3, soft or hard copper wires or copper alloy wires may be used so long as they have hardnesses smaller than that of the wire chosen for the
central element wire 2. However, it is recommended that wires having slightly high hardnesses, such as stainless steel wires, be used for the peripheral element wires 3 when a high-hardness copper alloy wire is being employed for thecentral element wire 2. - As a direct consequence of the choices for wires based on hardness mentioned above, it can be seen from Fig. 2 that only the peripheral wires 3 undergo substantial deformation when the
wire conductor 1 is circularly compressed during its manufacture. Moreover, since these deformations are roughly uniform for each of the peripheral wires 3, there occurs a reduction in the dispersion and size ofspaces 4 and 4' existing between the element wires 3 and thecentral element wire 2 and between the element wires 3 themselves, respectively. The end result is that thewire conductor 1 will have both high strength and high circularity. - Now, for the purpose of demonstrating the features and advantages of the present invention described above, several examples of the present invention were made and tested against prior art standards both in terms of strength and limiting current for various diameters thereof. The particular construction of these examples and standards, i.e., examples A and B and standards C and D, is listed in Table 1, with the resulting test data thereof being displayed in Figs. 3 and 4.
- With reference first to Fig. 3, the limiting currents of examples A and B and standards C and D are shown for various diameters, with the dashed line P indicating a minimum limiting current of 3 amperes required for wire conductors which are to be used in wire harnesses for motor vehicles. For the data shown, tests were carried out under conditions in which the maximum temperature and the ambient temperature of the conductor during use were 80°C and 60°C, respectively.
- From Fig. 3, it can be seen that even though the limiting currents of examples A and B are slightly smaller than those of standards C and D, these currents are still above the minimum limiting current line P. Thus, these examples show that the wire conductors made according to the present invention can achieve sufficient electrical current flow, even when the diameter of the wire conductor is reduced to about 0.5mm.
- Next, with reference to Fig. 4, there is shown the associated breaking loads for various diameters of the examples A and B and standards C and D. In this graph, L represents a minimum breaking load of 10kgf that must be achieved in order for the wire conductor to be considered to have adequate strength characteristics.
- As can be seen from Fig. 4, in order for standard C to have sufficient strength so as to meet the minimum breaking load requirement of 10kgf, it must have a diameter of at least 0.7mm. However, a direct comparison reveals that example A can achieve the same strength requirement with a diameter of only 0.5mm. This means that it is possible to achieve a reduction in diameter of about 29%, and consequently a reduction in cross-sectional area of about 50%. Thus, it is quite clear that present invention allows high strength to realized for very small diameters of a wire conductor.
- Finally, it is to be understood that even though the present invention has been described in its preferred embodiments, many modifications and improvements may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims (8)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP4982088A JPH01225006A (en) | 1988-03-04 | 1988-03-04 | Compressed conductor for wire harness |
JP49820/88 | 1988-03-04 |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0331182A1 EP0331182A1 (en) | 1989-09-06 |
EP0331182B1 true EP0331182B1 (en) | 1990-09-26 |
EP0331182B2 EP0331182B2 (en) | 1994-04-20 |
Family
ID=12841744
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19890103752 Expired - Lifetime EP0331182B2 (en) | 1988-03-04 | 1989-03-03 | Process for manufacturing a compact-stranded wire conductor for wire harnesses |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0331182B2 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH01225006A (en) |
DE (1) | DE68900011D1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (24)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPH01150314U (en) * | 1988-04-07 | 1989-10-18 | ||
US5149917A (en) * | 1990-05-10 | 1992-09-22 | Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. | Wire conductor for harness |
JP2709178B2 (en) * | 1990-05-10 | 1998-02-04 | 住友電気工業株式会社 | Wire conductor for harness |
JP2683446B2 (en) * | 1990-09-28 | 1997-11-26 | 住友電気工業株式会社 | Wire conductor for harness |
FR2687500B1 (en) * | 1992-02-13 | 1994-04-01 | Alcatel Cuivre | ELECTRIC CABLE WITH MULTI-STRAND COPPER CORE. |
BR9705767A (en) * | 1997-02-18 | 1999-02-23 | Servicios Condumex Sa | Primary compressed conductor cable |
BR9705768A (en) * | 1997-03-20 | 1999-02-23 | Servicios Condumex Sa | Ultra-long-walled primary cable for automotive service |
US6204452B1 (en) * | 1998-05-15 | 2001-03-20 | Servicious Condumex S.A. De C.V. | Flexible automotive electrical conductor of high mechanical strength, and process for the manufacture thereof |
US6642456B2 (en) * | 1998-05-15 | 2003-11-04 | Servicios Condumex | Flexible automotive electrical conductor of high mechanical strength using a central wire of copper clad steel and the process for manufacture thereof |
EP1191545A1 (en) * | 2000-09-20 | 2002-03-27 | Nexans | Stranded conductor |
DE10101641A1 (en) * | 2001-01-16 | 2002-07-18 | Nexans France S A | Electrical line |
JP2004288625A (en) | 2003-03-06 | 2004-10-14 | Auto Network Gijutsu Kenkyusho:Kk | Electric wire for automobile |
JP4557887B2 (en) * | 2003-09-02 | 2010-10-06 | 住友電工スチールワイヤー株式会社 | Covered wire and automotive wire harness |
JP2005158450A (en) * | 2003-11-25 | 2005-06-16 | Sumitomo Wiring Syst Ltd | Electric wire for automobile |
US7491891B2 (en) | 2004-05-19 | 2009-02-17 | Sumitomo (Sei) Steel Wire Corp. | Composite wire for wire-harness and process for producing the same |
JP2006032329A (en) * | 2004-06-17 | 2006-02-02 | Mitsubishi Materials Corp | Power cable for fuel cell |
US7060907B2 (en) * | 2004-07-15 | 2006-06-13 | Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. | Electric wire for automobile |
JP2006032084A (en) * | 2004-07-15 | 2006-02-02 | Sumitomo Wiring Syst Ltd | Electric wire for automobile |
JP2006185683A (en) * | 2004-12-27 | 2006-07-13 | Auto Network Gijutsu Kenkyusho:Kk | Electric wire for automobile |
JP2007042475A (en) * | 2005-08-04 | 2007-02-15 | Sumitomo Wiring Syst Ltd | Electric wire for automobile |
JP5272392B2 (en) * | 2007-12-03 | 2013-08-28 | 住友電装株式会社 | Wire harness and method for forming the wire harness |
JP5497321B2 (en) * | 2009-03-31 | 2014-05-21 | 三菱電線工業株式会社 | Compressed stranded conductor, method for producing the same, and insulated wire |
JP5954243B2 (en) | 2013-04-19 | 2016-07-20 | トヨタ自動車株式会社 | Method for manufacturing aggregate conductor |
CN111210950B (en) * | 2018-11-01 | 2021-11-09 | 昆山键讯电子有限公司 | Calculation method for production arrangement structure of multi-strand stranded conductor |
Family Cites Families (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE1117677B (en) * | 1960-03-02 | 1961-11-23 | Gerhard Apelt Dipl Ing | Earthing and short-circuit ropes for carrying out protective measures in electrical high-voltage systems |
GB1413665A (en) * | 1971-12-09 | 1975-11-12 | Reynolds Metals Co | Steel-supported aluminium overhead onductors |
FR2430069A1 (en) * | 1978-06-26 | 1980-01-25 | Erico France Sarl | Flexible high power coaxial cable - has trapezoidal conductors fitted around polygonal cross=section core |
JPS58140906A (en) * | 1982-02-17 | 1983-08-20 | 古河電気工業株式会社 | Twisted steel core aluminum wire and method of producing same |
JPS6091573A (en) * | 1983-10-26 | 1985-05-22 | 矢崎総業株式会社 | Wire harness for automobile |
US4599853A (en) * | 1984-06-18 | 1986-07-15 | Ceeco Machinery Manufacturing Limited | Method and apparatus for manufacturing compact conductors with bunchers |
-
1988
- 1988-03-04 JP JP4982088A patent/JPH01225006A/en active Pending
-
1989
- 1989-03-03 EP EP19890103752 patent/EP0331182B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1989-03-03 DE DE8989103752T patent/DE68900011D1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0331182A1 (en) | 1989-09-06 |
EP0331182B2 (en) | 1994-04-20 |
DE68900011D1 (en) | 1990-10-31 |
JPH01225006A (en) | 1989-09-07 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
EP0331182B1 (en) | Process for manufacturing a compact-stranded wire conductor for wire harnesses | |
US6451449B2 (en) | Terminal material and terminal | |
EP0457186B1 (en) | Wire conductor for harness | |
EP0477982B1 (en) | Wire conductor for harness | |
US4734545A (en) | Insulated conductor for a wire harness | |
US4810593A (en) | High-strength conductors and process for manufacturing same | |
CN101313372A (en) | Electric wire for automobile | |
US6781061B2 (en) | Flat shield cable | |
US6169252B1 (en) | Hollow twisted and drawn cables and method for making the same | |
EP3576104B1 (en) | Insulation cable | |
US20080128151A1 (en) | Electrical control cable | |
JP4597516B2 (en) | Flexible electrical wiring | |
US20060011376A1 (en) | Multi-axial electrically conductive cable with multi-layered core and method of manufacture and use | |
US20060035533A1 (en) | Wiring harness for vehicle | |
JP2709178B2 (en) | Wire conductor for harness | |
US5091610A (en) | High impedance electrical cable | |
KR950005853B1 (en) | Conductive wire for auto-mobil | |
US20010032732A1 (en) | Coaxial cable improved in transmission characteristic | |
WO2018163376A1 (en) | Wire conductor, insulation wire, wire harness, and method for producing wire conductor | |
CA2051505C (en) | High impedance electrical cable and method of forming same | |
JP4735127B2 (en) | Automotive wire | |
JPS6145512A (en) | Flexible coaxial cable and method of producing same | |
EP0877391B1 (en) | Primary cable of compressed conductor | |
JP4182850B2 (en) | Automotive wire | |
US20030141099A1 (en) | Flat shield cable |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PUAI | Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase |
Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012 |
|
17P | Request for examination filed |
Effective date: 19890303 |
|
AK | Designated contracting states |
Kind code of ref document: A1 Designated state(s): DE FR GB |
|
17Q | First examination report despatched |
Effective date: 19900103 |
|
GRAA | (expected) grant |
Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009210 |
|
AK | Designated contracting states |
Kind code of ref document: B1 Designated state(s): DE FR GB |
|
REF | Corresponds to: |
Ref document number: 68900011 Country of ref document: DE Date of ref document: 19901031 |
|
ET | Fr: translation filed | ||
PLBI | Opposition filed |
Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009260 |
|
26 | Opposition filed |
Opponent name: KABELWERKE REINSHAGEN GMBH Effective date: 19910625 |
|
PUAH | Patent maintained in amended form |
Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009272 |
|
STAA | Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent |
Free format text: STATUS: PATENT MAINTAINED AS AMENDED |
|
27A | Patent maintained in amended form |
Effective date: 19940420 |
|
AK | Designated contracting states |
Kind code of ref document: B2 Designated state(s): DE FR GB |
|
ET3 | Fr: translation filed ** decision concerning opposition | ||
REG | Reference to a national code |
Ref country code: GB Ref legal event code: IF02 |
|
PGFP | Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo] |
Ref country code: GB Payment date: 20080227 Year of fee payment: 20 |
|
PGFP | Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo] |
Ref country code: FR Payment date: 20080311 Year of fee payment: 20 Ref country code: DE Payment date: 20080228 Year of fee payment: 20 |
|
REG | Reference to a national code |
Ref country code: GB Ref legal event code: PE20 Expiry date: 20090302 |
|
PG25 | Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo] |
Ref country code: GB Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF EXPIRATION OF PROTECTION Effective date: 20090302 |