EP2203344A1

EP2203344A1 - A conduit bracket for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: EP2203344A1
Application number: EP07835056A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Göran LEVIN
Original assignee: Volvo Lastvagnar AB
Current assignee: Volvo Truck Corp
Priority date: 2007-09-26
Filing date: 2007-09-26
Publication date: 2010-07-07
Also published as: WO2009041862A1; EP2203344A4; CN101855126A; BRPI0722106A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a conduit bracket (16) for a vehicle (1), for receiving at least one conduit (12; 13) extending between a first component (11a, 11b) of a vehicle and a second component (15) of the vehicle, where the first component and the second component are displaceable relative to each other. The conduit bracket (16) comprises a first bracket section (19a) for receiving a first portion of said at least one conduit (12; 13) and a second bracket section (19b) for receiving a second portion of said at least one conduit (12; 13). The first bracket section (19a) and the second bracket section (19b) are pivotally coupled to each other so as to allow bending of said at least one conduit (12; 13) during mutual displacement of the first component and the second component.

Description

A conduit bracket for a vehicle

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a conduit bracket for a vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of heavy motor vehicles, such as load-carrying commercial vehicles in the form of trucks or semi-tractors, it is necessary to provide bundles of conduits and corresponding connections which conduits can be arranged between, for example, electrical equipment in a driver's cabin and other parts of the vehicle, such as for example the drive unit and the chassis. The conduits can be for example electrical cables which are used to connect the driver's control units to associated sensors, lamps, actuators arranged in the driver's cabin or on the drive unit or chassis of the vehicle, or electrical cables for supplying electrical devices with electric current from a battery arranged in the vehicle.

Also, a vehicle of the above-mentioned kind is normally provided with other types of conduits and connections such as water tubes, hydraulic hoses and similar, i.e. conduits for liquids which are also necessary in order to provide certain functions in the vehicle. One such function is air conditioning of the driver's cabin which requires liquid conduits. A further type of conduits is conduits for pneumatic components which are used for example for feeding compressed air to components such as wheel brakes.

Consequently, in load-carrying vehicles there is a need for providing bundles of conduits of various types, normally chosen from a group consisting of conduits for liquids, gases such as air, and for electrical components, or similar. These conduits are to be routed in certain ways in each individual vehicle according to specifications related to the type of equipment which is arranged in the vehicle. However, due to variations which occur in the specifications of each given vehicle, for example regarding the choice of engine and transmission, vehicle dimensions, the number of wheel axles, the design of the driver's cabin etc., a very large number of combinations of equipment will be the result. This implies that it can be many alternatives for routing the bundles between the different associated components in the vehicle. This is a problem, since the routing of the bundles is a time- consuming and costly wiring and mounting procedure for these types of conduits and connections between the cabin, the drive unit and the vehicle chassis. Consequently, the manufacturing process of the vehicle in question will be unnecessarily expensive.

Furthermore, it is common to design a truck with a driver's cabin which is pivotably arranged, i.e. which may be tipped forward in a pivotable manner for gaining access to components such as the engine and gearbox which otherwise are covered by the cabin. With particular regard to those conduits and connections of the above-mentioned types (electrical, pneumatic, liquid and similar) which extend between the drive unit and the driver's cabin, it can be mentioned that certain problems may also arise due to the fact that the cabin is designed so as to be tipped. If, for example, the conduits are too short, they may be stretched and even damaged as a result of the tipping movement of the cabin. This can be solved by arranging the conduits in the form of a bundle with an additional length which is sufficient so that the cabin may be tipped or tilted without stretching the bundle. However, such an increased length of the conduits leads to an unnecessarily high cost and also requires quite a substantial space in the vehicle in question. Considering the fact that the space available for bundles of conduits to and from the driver's cabin is extremely limited, this constitutes a disadvantage.

The content of the above-mentioned conduits are often referred to as media, and any damage to these media may have fatal consequences. For this reason, it is vital that the conduits are mounted in such a way that they are allowed to flex and bend in a predetermined manner, but without being stretched too much.

Furthermore, the development of trucks demands even more control and surveillance systems for the driver. This means that more cables and wiring are needed, which increases the size of the bundles of the media conduits extending between the cabin and the chassis. However, the space available around the cab mounting means and around the used media conduit brackets is restricted, as mentioned above. For this reason, there is a general demand for less space-consuming solutions for the media conduits and the conduit brackets. This would imply a lower cost for assembling the truck.

With reference to the above, there is consequently an increased demand for cost-effective solutions for routing bundles of conduits between different units in a vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a conduit bracket of a type described in the introduction, which conduit bracket is able to receive a bundle of electrical, liquid and/or pneumatic conduits such as cables, hoses, tubes, electrical wires etc., which conduits extend between different mutual displaceable units of a vehicle.

The object is achieved by means of a conduit bracket according to claim 1.

By the provision of the conduit bracket according to the invention, conduits which extend between a first and a second component which are displaceable relative to each other can be secured and the length of the conduits can be optimized, which in turn enables a less space-consuming and a cost-saving solution. Furthermore, the mounting of the conduits can be facilitated. In particular, the invention is primarily, but not exclusively, related to the basic principle of providing a solution for connecting various components in a driver's cabin with other components or parts in a vehicle, for example components or parts of a drive unit of a vehicle. The components are connected to each other by means of several conduits arranged in a bundle. The conduit bundle is allowed to bend about a pivot axis which is defined by the conduit bracket. By means of the conduit bracket, the conduit bundle is allowed to bend and flex, which means that the conduit bracket can be mounted in a manner so that preferably the pivot axis for the first and second bracket sections can be positioned so as to substantially coincide with the pivot axis for tilting the driver's cabin. This implies that the conduit bundle is positioned in a predetermined manner - while still being allowed to bend - while the driver's cabin is tilted for gaining access to the drive unit of the vehicle.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the conduit bracket comprises an attachment means for attachment of the conduit bracket to the vehicle, wherein the attachment means comprises a lever, one end of which is to be pivotally arranged in the vehicle and another end of which is pivotally coupled to the first bracket section or the second bracket section. Hereby the . bundle of conduits is able to move relative the attachment point in the vehicle so as to compensate for movements of the driver's cabin for instance. Such movements of the driver's cabin relative to the attachment point appear due to the fact that the driver's cabin is usually suspended in a resilient manner relative to the frame of the vehicle.

The invention relates also to a vehicle according to claim 12.

The conduit bracket according to the invention is preferably arranged on a radiator which is normally arranged in front of the engine, i.e. in the front portion of the drive unit of the vehicle. By such an arrangement of the conduit bracket the driver's cabin can be tilted without effecting the conduits negatively, and at the same time the length of the conduit/conduits received in the conduit bracket can be minimized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to preferred exemplary embodiments and to the drawings attached, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of a truck having a conduit bracket according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a truck according to the invention which truck has a tiltable driver's cabin and is provided with a conduit bracket receiving a bundle of conduits extending between the driver's cabin and the drive unit of the truck; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the conduit bracket illustrated in Fig. 2 shown without the above-mentioned bundle of conduits being mounted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

With reference to Fig. 1 , there is shown in a simplified side view a truck 1 having a chassis 2 and a driver's cabin 3. The invention is suitably used in heavy commercial, i.e. load-carrying vehicles, but is not limited to this use only.

The driver's cabin 3 is pivotably mounted with respect to the chassis 2 by means of a mounting means 4 arranged in a front section of the truck 1. In a conventional manner, the driver's cabin 3 is arranged to be tilted or tipped forwards, i.e. displaced in a pivotable manner, in order to gain access to a drive unit 5 mounted in the chassis 2 under the cabin 3. In a manner which is conventional, the drive unit 5 comprises certain components such as an internal combustion engine 6, a transmission unit 7, a radiator 8 and other associated components which are not described in greater detail here. It should also be noted that the mounting means 4 is arranged to define a pivot axis 4a about which the cabin 3 is rotated during tipping.

The cabin 3 is mounted to the chassis 2 in such a way that the cabin 3 may be tilted and tipped forward Iy when for example access to the drive unit 5 is required. Such a tipping operation is previously known as such and for this reason it is not further described herein. Also, during driving with the truck 1 , the cabin 3 is suspended in a resilient manner to ensure a high degree of comfort for the driver of the truck 1. To this end, the cabin 3 is mounted at its front end at the pivotable mounting means 4, which for this reason comprises a suspension cylinder 9 or a similar component. The cabin 3 is furthermore mounted at its rear end by means of further mounting means 10 which is suitably also arranged for dampening the movements of the driver's cabin 3 during driving.

Accordingly, components mounted in or on the cabin, which components follow the movement of the cabin during a tipping operation, are displaceable relative to the chassis and the drive unit, and relative to components arranged on the chassis or drive unit.

A number of electrical components such as lamps, sensors, gauges and actuators are mounted in the cabin 3 in a conventional manner. Particularly, display units and control equipments for controlling various functions of the vehicle are usually arranged in a dashboard 40 of the cabin. These components/functions operated from equipments arranged in the dashboard are for example retarder brake, differential, bogie, gear lever, service- and parking brake, air condition equipment, etc. The large number of functions of today's trucks requires a lot of conduits and connections. This implies that there are a lot of conduits, preferably in the form of electrical cables, which extend between connection positions of the dashboard 40 and different components on the chassis and the drive unit. Since the dashboard is moved during tipping of the cabin these electrical cables are arranged between components which are displaceable relative to each other.

One electrical component and one pneumatic component are schematically indicated by means of reference numerals 11a and 11b in Fig. 1. These components are connected to a electrical component 12 and a pneumatic conduit 13, respectively, also shown schematically in Fig. 1.

Other types of conduits and connections can also be arranged in the cabin 3, in particular in the form of flexible fluid hoses arranged for conveying water or another liquid to and from an air conditioning unit or a similar component. Although not illustrated, also other connections of pneumatic and/or hydraulic type may occur.

According to the embodiment shown, the conduits 12, 13 are arranged together in the form of a bundle 14 which extends between the drive unit 5 and the dashboard 40 in the cabin 3. Although the cables usually are connected to the dashboard it should be stressed that conduits from the chassis or the drive unit can also be routed directly to components of the cabin which are not connected to the dashboard. The bundle 14 is positioned and laid out in the cabin 3 in a manner so as to allow tipping of the cabin 3. This means that the bundle 14 must be arranged so that the conduits or corresponding connection means are not damaged when the cabin 3 is tipped forwardly about the pivot axis of the mounting means 4. The bundle 14 may consist of a number of conduits such as tubes, hoses, water pipes, cables, electric wires, pneumatic and hydraulic tubes arranged together. The bundle 14 usually comprises two or more conduits which are chosen from a group consisting of liquid conduits, electrical conduits, and pneumatic conduits. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1 , the bundle 14 of conduits is connected to the drive unit 5. The conduits defining the bundle 14 can be connected to various parts of the drive unit 5. Fig. 1 shows in a principal manner that conduits forming part of the bundle 14 are connected to corresponding terminals 15 in the drive unit 5 and in the dashboard 40.

The present invention relates to a conduit bracket 16 which is only schematically illustrated in Fig. 1. The conduit bracket will hereinafter be described in greater detail with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a vehicle 1 corresponding to that shown in Fig. 1 which in particular shows one embodiment of the conduit bracket 16 according to the invention. Fig. 2 comprises an enlarged section (lower part of Fig. 2) showing the conduit bracket 16 in which the bundle 14 of conduits 12, 13 (cf. Fig. 1) can be secured. The conduit bracket constitutes a mounting link which is arranged so that it holds the bundle 14 while allowing tipping of the cabin 3 without damaging the conduits and the corresponding connections or causing unnecessary strain on thereon. The conduit bracket 16 is preferably also designed and arranged so as to allow the length of the conduits in the bundle 14 to be as short as possible.

As shown in detail in the enlarged, lower section of Fig. 2, the conduit bracket according to the invention comprises a first bracket section 19a for receiving a first portion of said at least one conduit 12; 13 and a second bracket section 19b for receiving a second portion of said at least one conduit 12; 13. The first bracket section 19a and the second bracket section 19b are pivotally coupled to each other so as to allow bending of said at least one conduit 12; 13 during mutual displacement of the first component and the second component. Said at least one conduit 12; 13 extends between a first component 11a; 11b of the driver's cabin and a second component 5 of the vehicle different from the driver's cabin 3. Although in the illustrated embodiment the first component is a component 11a; 11 b arranged in the dashboard or the dashboard 40 itself, and the second component is the drive unit 5 or any component thereof, the conduit bracket can certainly be used to receive one or more conduits extending between any two components of the vehicle. For example the second component could be a component arranged on or constituting part of the chassis of the vehicle instead of the drive unit.

The conduit bracket preferably comprises a means 30 for attachment to the vehicle. Such an attachment means 30 can be designed so that the first and second bracket sections are pivotally connected to the vehicle. In Fig. 2 one first end of a lever 17 is pivotally attached to the vehicle and the other second end thereof is pivotally attached to the first bracket section 19a. The lever 17 is pivotally attached to one of the side sections of the radiator 8 or cooler in order to make the first and second bracket sections pivotable about a geometrical pivot axis 23 relative to the vehicle. By attachment of the lever 17 to a side section of the radiator several advantages can be obtained. Firstly, the radiator 8 is an existing component being an integrated part of the drive unit 5 and positioned in the front section of the vehicle close to the mounting means 4 (cf. Fig. 1 ). The radiator 8 is normally designed with strong and solid side sections which are suitable for attaching the lever 17 of the conduit bracket 16. Furthermore, the radiator 8 is normally arranged so that it is in a fixed position at all times even when the cabin 3 is tipped, i.e. the radiator 8 is not tilted or displaced together with the cabin 3.

Although advantages can be obtained by attachment of the lever to the radiator, in another embodiment of the invention the lever can be attached, directly or via a further bracket, to a front portion of the frame of the vehicle.

The conduit bracket 16 can function as a link or transition component between the component/components in the driver's cabin 3 and different parts of the vehicle for routing said at least one conduit, or bundle 14 of conduits, between two mutual displaceable components. In particular, the conduit bracket 16 can form a transition between the drive unit 5 and the driver's cabin 3, or between the chassis and the driver's cabin 3, for all types of conduits and connections, such as liquid conduits, electrical conduits, pneumatic conduits or similar.

Furthermore, the bundle 14 can be mounted in a space-saving manner along the side of the radiator 8. In this regard, it should be noted that in most vehicles of this kind, there is a very limited space available in the front part of the vehicle where the radiator 8 is situated. This also contributes to the advantageous concept of the invention, i.e. to use an existing component such as the radiator 8 for mounting the conduit bracket 16.

The second end of the lever 17 and the first bracket section 19a are pivotally connected to each other for pivoting about a further geometrical pivot axis 20. This implies that the orientation of the conduit bracket and the bundle 14 received therein can be substantially the same even though the driver's cabin 3 moves to a certain degree in a substantially vertical direction, which is normally the case during driving with the vehicle.

Furthermore, the bundle 14 of conduits is secured to the conduit bracket 16 by means of for example cable ties 31 other suitable means 31 for securing said at least one conduit to the respective bracket section 19a; 19b. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3 the first and second bracket sections have apertures 32 to receive tie wraps so as to secure the conduits to the conduit bracket. Thus, the bundle 14 is preferably attached to both the first bracket section 19a and the second bracket section 19b. This implies that the bracket sections 19a, 19b will be pivoted about their geometrical pivot axis 22 in a manner which follows the movements of the bundle 14 during the tilting of the cabin 3. In addition, there is suitably also a further attachment means 21 by which the bundle 14 is attached to the vehicle as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The lower, enlarged portion of Fig. 2 shows the second bracket section 19b in two positions; a first upright position during normal operation of the vehicle and a second position (illustrated by dashed lines) where the second bracket section 19b has been forwardly displaced to a position which can be reached during tilting of the driver's cabin 3. Furthermore, the lever 17 is illustrated in two positions; a first lower position and a second upper position (illustrated by dashed lines) between which positions the lever can be pivoted and, thus, the first and second bracket section can be displaced due to movements of the cab relative to the chassis during driving.

The mutual displacement of the bracket sections 19a, 19b depends on the position of the conduit bracket 16 in relation to the pivot axis 4a defined by the mounting means 4 (cf. Fig. 1). The conduit bracket 16 is preferably arranged so that the geometrical pivot axis 22, about which pivot axis 22 the first and second bracket sections can be pivoted relative each other, is arranged to substantially coincide with the geometrical pivot axis 4a for tilting the cabin. The invention is however not limited to such a positioning only, but many modifications and variations may occur within the scope of the invention.

The conduit bracket 16 is also shown in further detail in Fig. 3, which is a perspective view which generally corresponds to Fig. 2 but which excludes the actual bundle of conduits, for reasons of clarity. The lever 17 is shown in Fig. 3 in a manner which illustrates the movements of the lever due to the driver's cabin 3 moving along a vertical direction during driving of the vehicle as previously described herein. Fig. 3 also indicates that the second bracket section 19b will be inclined in relation to the first bracket section 19a during tilting of the driver's cabin as previously described herein. Normally, the maximum pivot angle α between the second bracket section 19b and the first bracket section 19a is in the magnitude of 70° during such a tilting operation.

As also indicated in Fig. 3, the conduit bracket 16 is to be arranged as close as possible to the side of the radiator 8. This is due to the very limited space which is available in this part of the vehicle. The requirement of a space- saving arrangement can be fulfilled due by the use the lever 17 which is pivotably attached to the side section of the cooler 8 and to the first bracket section 19a. The entire conduit bracket 16 with the bundle 14 of conduits is positioned very close to the side of the radiator 8. In fact, the conduit bracket 16 with the bundle 14 can be arranged to extend approximately only 50 mm outside the side of the radiator 8 in a normal application.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims. For example, the invention can be used in different types of vehicles, not just load-carrying vehicles having a driver's cabins which can be tilted. The conduit bracket can be used in other parts of the vehicle, not just arranged in connection with a radiator as shown in the embodiment above.

It should be noted that even though the drawings discloses only one conduit bracket arranged on one side of the radiator, the invention is not limited to such a solution. For example two conduit brackets can be used for receiving two bundles of conduits, which conduit brackets can be arranged on for example different side sections of the cooler.

Claims

1. A conduit bracket (16) for a vehicle (1), for receiving at least one conduit (12; 13) extending between a first component (11a; 11b) of a vehicle and a second component (15) of the vehicle, the first component and the second component being displaceable relative to each other, c ha racte ri zed i n that the conduit bracket (16) comprises a first bracket section (19a) for receiving a first portion of said at least one conduit (12; 13) and a second bracket section (19b) for receiving a second portion of said at least one conduit (12; 13), the first bracket section (19a) and the second bracket section (19b) being pivotally coupled to each other so as to allow bending of said at least one conduit (12; 13) during mutual displacement of the first component and the second component.

2. A conduit bracket according to claim 1 , c h a r a c te r i ze d i n that the conduit bracket (16) is adapted for receiving said at least one conduit (12; 13) extending between said first component (11a; 11b) of a driver's cabin (3) of the vehicle (1) and said second component (15) of the vehicle (1) which second component is arranged in a part of the vehicle different from the driver's cabin.

3. A conduit bracket according to claim 2, characterized in that the conduit bracket is adapted to receive said at least one conduit extending between said first component of the driver's cabin and said second component being a chassis component of the vehicle.

4. A conduit bracket according to claim 2, characterized in that the conduit bracket is adapted to receive said at least one conduit extending between said first component of the driver's cabin and said second component being a drive unit component of the vehicle.

5. A conduit bracket according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the conduit bracket (16) comprises a means (30) for attachment of the conduit bracket to the vehicle.

6. A conduit bracket according to claim 5, c h a ra cterized i n that said attachment means (30) is adapted to attach the conduit bracket (16) to the vehicle so that the first and second bracket sections are pivotable relative to the vehicle.

7. A conduit bracket according to claim 6, characterized in that said attachment means (30) comprises a lever

(17), one end of which is to be pivotally arranged on the vehicle and another end of which is pivotally coupled to the first bracket section (19a) or the second bracket section.

8. A conduit bracket according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the conduit bracket is adapted to receive two or more conduits.

9. A conduit bracket according to any preceding claim, c haracterized in that the conduit bracket is adapted for receiving said at least one conduit chosen from a group consisting of liquid conduits, electrical conduits (12), and pneumatic conduits (13).

10. A conduit bracket according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the first bracket section has a means (31 ) for securing said at least one conduit to the first bracket section.

11. A conduit bracket according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the second bracket section has a means (31 ) for securing said at least one conduit to the second bracket section.

12. A vehicle comprising a first component (11a; 11b) and a second component (15), the first component and the second component being displaceable relative to each other, the vehicle further comprising a conduit bracket (16) for receiving at least one conduit (12; 13) extending between the first component (11 a; 11 b) and the second component (15), c h a racte rize d i n that the conduit bracket (16) comprises a first bracket section (19a) for receiving a first portion of said at least one conduit (12; 13) and a second bracket section (19b) for receiving a second portion of said at least one conduit (12; 13), the first bracket section (19a) and the second bracket section (19b) being pivotally coupled to each other so as to allow bending of said at least one conduit (12; 13) during mutual displacement of the first component and the second component.

13. A vehicle according to claim 12, characterized in that the geometrical pivot axis of the first bracket section (19a) and the second bracket section (19b) is arranged to substantially coincide with a further geometrical pivot axis (4a) about which the first component (11a; 11b) and the second component (15) can be pivoted relative to each other.

14. A vehicle according to claim 13, characterized in that the vehicle comprises a driver's cabin (3) and a chassis, and that the geometrical pivot axis of the first bracket section (19a) and the second bracket section (19b) is arranged to substantially coincide with said further geometrical pivot axis (4a) about which the driver's cabin (3) can be pivoted relative to the chassis.

15. A vehicle according to any of claims 12-14, characterized in that the vehicle comprises a drive unit (5) and the conduit bracket is arranged on the drive unit.

16. A vehicle according to claim 12-15, characterized in that the vehicle comprises a radiator (8) and the conduit bracket is arranged on the radiator.

17. A vehicle according to claim 16, ch a ra cterized i n that the conduit bracket is arranged on a side section of the radiator.

18. A vehicle according to any of claims 12-14, ch a racte rized i n that the conduit bracket is arranged on a front portion of the frame of the vehicle.

19. A vehicle according to any of claims 12-18, characterized in that two or more said conduits (14) are received by the conduit bracket (16).

20. A vehicle according to any of claims 12-19, c h a racte ri zed i n that said at least one conduit received by the conduit bracket is chosen from a group consisting of liquid conduits, electrical conduits (12), and pneumatic conduits (13).

21. A vehicle according to any of claims 12-20, c h a racte rized i n that said first component is a dashboard or a component of a dashboard of the vehicle.

22. A vehicle according to any of claims 12-21 , c haracterized in that said second component is a drive unit or a component of a drive unit of the vehicle.

23. A vehicle according to any of claims 12-21 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that said second component is a chassis component of the vehicle.