GB2326030A

GB2326030A - Cable harness arrangement for a motor vehicle door or sunroof

Info

Publication number: GB2326030A
Application number: GB9808947A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Juergen Elb
Original assignee: Siemens AG
Current assignee: Siemens AG
Priority date: 1997-04-25
Filing date: 1998-04-27
Publication date: 1998-12-09
Anticipated expiration: 2018-04-27
Also published as: DE19718920C2; DE19718920C5; GB9808947D0; FR2762719A1; FR2762719B1; GB2326030B; DE19718920A1

Abstract

A cable harness arrangement for a spatially delimited partial region of a motor vehicle, such as a door or a sunroof, has each electrical/electronic component (2 to 8) provided with a securely connected flat cable having a specified structure, and that the free ends of these cables have plug-in contacts and are brought together in a common star point (8) and contacted, and that starting from this star point, a flat cable leads to the plug-in connector (9) which functions as an interface to the other on-board system. The star point may also be the control panel.

Description

2326030 CABLE HARNESS FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE

The invention lies in the field of electrical switching circuits for motor vehicles and is to be used in the design of cable harnesses which, in a delimited partial region of a motor vehicle, connect a plurality of electrical and/or electronic components to a plug-in connector, which forms an interface to the other region of the motor vehicle.

In the case of the production of cable harnesses or wiring harnesses for motor vehicles, the procedure has hitherto mainly been that electrical conductors provided with a plastics insulation and having the same or a different conductor cross-section are laid according to a specified structure with the aid of assembly boards, and are then bundled to form a trunk and to form branches, and are provided with plugs at their ends. Comparatively small cable harnesses can also be produced using ribbon cables. Such ribbon cables comprise, for example, flat conductors, which are arranged in parallel with each other, and two insulating ribbons, which are glued together and arranged on either side of the conductors; in this connection, one insulating ribbon is coated with an adhesive.

For the cost-favourable production of cable harnesses for the doors of motor vehicles which have different electrical equipment in the door region, it is already known to split up the cable harness, which is constructed as a flat cable, into individual flat cables and to bring together the individual flat cables according to the electrical equipment of the door in each case to form the cable harness, in which case a first flat cable, in terms of its shape and the number of strip conductors, takes into account the standard electrical equipment of the door, and the further flat cables each take into account one or two further equipment features. These flat cables end on the one hand in plug-in connectors for the connection of the flat cables to the individual electrical/electronic components, and on the other hand in a common plug- in connector, which forms an interface to the other portion of the on- board system of the motor vehicle. In this plug-in connector, the individual flat cables can be arranged one on top of the other or next to each other. This type of development of the cable harness, as shown in GB 2 275 373 A, permits a certain diversity of variants, a simple production and assembly and also a reduction in material and weight: as a result of the specified fixed structure of the flat cables, wiring errors can also be avoided.

The invention seeks to reduce the costs of production and installation of a cable harness.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cable harness for a spatially delimited region of a motor vehicle in which electrical and/or electronic components are arranged on a support and are connected by way of flexible cables, which are provided with flat strip conductors and have a specified structure, to a plug-in connector, which forms an interface to the other region of the motor vehicle onboard system, wherein each electrical/electronic component is provided with a flat cable which is allocated only to this component and is securely connected to the said component, with the different flat cables being provided, at their free ends, with plug-in contacts, in that the flat cables of a plurality of components are connected in a common star point, and in that the plug-in connector is also provided with a securely connected flat cable, which is connected at the common star point with the other flat cables.

A cable harness of this type is above all distinguished as a result of the fact that plug-in connectors are no longer provided in order to connect the cables to the electrical/electronic components, but instead the respective cable is led into the component and is there connected to the internal connecting points. As a result of this, a further reduction in the assembly expenditure for the cable harness results, because the individual flat cables are arranged on the supporting body at the same time as the respective components. As a result of the fact that each component is provided with its own connecting cable, a large diversity of variants in the design of the cable harness is ensured, with the definite allocation of the flat cables to the common star point being ensured by the permanently specified structure of the flat cables and by the cablespecific arrangement of the plug-in regions. As a result of the fact that the individual flat cables are not led up to the plug-in connector but instead only up to a common star point, a further saving on material also results.

The advantage of a common star point becomes noticeable particularly if the star point is at the same time constructed as a control panel, which is provided, for example, with switches and corresponding electronics for the control of the doors, the outside mirrors and the central locking mechanism. In this case, the star point is advantageously constructed as a plug housing, and the strip conductors of the flat cables are contacted to the socket-contacts of the plug housing. In this connection, it is recommended that the pluggable ends of the flat cables be arranged next to each other in a form-locking manner in the connector shell, in such a way that in each case the adjacent edge regions of two cables overlap, with the strip conductors of two adjacent cables lying in the same plane. In this case, the form-locking arrangement can is be ensured by pins, which engage in appropriate holes at the end of the respective ribbon cable.

For the further development of the new cable harness, there is also the possibility of additionally at least one electrical/electronic component being directly connected to the plug-in connector if the wiring arrangement of this component does not have to be taken via the common star point, as is the case with loudspeakers in particular. Furthermore, if the distance between the common star point and the individual components is relatively great, the respective cable or a plurality of cables can be jointly fixed on the supporting body at this section, for example with the aid of holders fastened to the supporting body, which holders receive one or more cables and can also be provided with an anti-rattle guard. These holders can also be used to fix other cables, such as coaxial cables or optical fibres, which can be part of the cable harness which is fixed on the supporting body but are to be provided with special plug-in connectors at their ends.

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how it may be brought into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows the structure of a cable harness for a motor vehicle door; Figure 2 shows the individual elements of the cable harness before assembly; Figure 3 shows the principal arrangement of the flat cables in the region of the star point; and Figures 4 and 5 show front and side views of the form-locking arrangement of the flexible cables in the region of the star point.

Figure 1 shows the driver door 1 of a motor vehicle, into which door there is placed a cable is harness 11. The latter is used for the electrical connection of the electrical/electronic components 2 to 8 which are arranged in the door region and are electrically connected to the on-board system of the motor vehicle by way of a plug 9, which serves as an interface for the on-board system at the transition from the motor vehicle door to the body region. These components are a drive 2 for the window raiser, the door lock 3 as part of a central locking mechanism, the activation indicator 4, the mirror adjusting switch 5 with integrated mirror control, a mirror motor integrated in the mirror 6, the loud speaker/mid-ranger 7, the loud- speaker/tweeter 71, and the control panel 8 with integrated electronics for the other doors of the motor vehicle.

The installation of the cable harness 11 is completed in accordance with Figure 2 in a manner such that the individual components 2 to 7 and 71 and also the plug 9 are supplied with a respective securely connected flexible flat cable and are placed into the door. In this case - as can also be seen from Figures 3 to 5 - the following flat cables are connected to the individual cables in the form of a flexible printedcircuit board:

Connected to the drive motor 2 is a two-core cable 12, to the locking device of the lock 3 a five-core cable 13, to the activation indicator 4 a two-core cable 14, to the mirror adjusting switch 5 a five-core cable 15, to the mirror motor a six-core cable 16, to the loudspeaker/mid- ranger 7 a two-core cable 17, to the loudspeaker/tweeter 71 a two-core cable 18, and to the plug 9 for the interface door/body a four-core cable 19. The control panel 8 serves as a common star point for the cables of the majority of the individual components and does not have its own connecting cable.

In accordance with Figures 4 and 5, the control panel 8 is provided with a connector shell 20, in which the ends of the individual cables, which ends are provided with plug-in contacts, are arranged. In this case, depending on the development of the individual flexible cables, comparatively small plug-in contacts 21 are provided for cores which are used only for the signal transmission, and comparatively large plug-in contacts 22 are provided for cores which are used for the power transmission. In accordance with Figures 3 and 5, the ends of the cables are thereby arranged next to each other in a manner such that they overlap slightly, and are fixed in the connector shell with the aid of guide pins 24 and also an appropriate external shaping. In this case, the guide pins 24 engage in holes 23 of the cables 12 to 16 and 19. For the purpose of the contacting, the ends of the individual cables are bared on one side, as can be seen from Figure 5. In this case, contact regions result alternately on one side or the other of the plane in which all of the contacts of the cables 12 to 16 and 19 lie.

In accordance with Figure 1, the loudspeaker/mid- ranger 7 and the loudspeaker/tweeter 71 are not led via the control panel 8 but are instead connected to the plug 9 by a parallel connection. In this case, it is taken into account that these loudspeakers are not operated by way of the control panel 8 but instead by a controller located at the audio centre.

If the flat cables 12 to 19 in the region between the control panel 8, which serves as a common star point, and the individual components have to bridge comparatively great distances, it is recommended that the flat cables on the intermediate piece be fastened to the vehicle door, or the supporting body which is built into the door, once or a plurality of times. This can take place with the aid of Velcro (M) fasteners, as described in GB 2 275 373 A, or even with the aid of holders, which are mounted on the door or supporting body and into which the cables are inserted. Instead of such holders, a simple tape lapping also comes into consideration.

is

Claims

1. Cable harness for a spatially delimited region of a motor vehicle in which electrical and/or electronic components are arranged on a support and are connected by way of flexible cables, which are provided with flat strip conductors and have a specified structure, to a plug-in connector, which forms an interface to the other region of the motor vehicle onboard system, wherein each electrical/electronic component is provided with a flat cable which is allocated only to this component and is securely connected to the said component, with the different flat cables being provided, at their free ends, with plug-in contacts, in that the flat cables of a plurality of components are connected in a common star point, and in that the plug-in connector is also provided with a securely connected flat cable, which is connected at the common star point with the other flat cables.

2. Cable harness according to claim 1, wherein the star point is at the same time constructed as a control panel.

3. Cable harness according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the star point is constructed as a plug housing, by way of the socket-contacts of which the strip conductors of the flexible cables are contacted.

4. Cable harness according to claim 3, wherein the pluggable ends of the flexible cables are arranged next to each other in a form-locking manner in the connector shell, in such a way that in each case the adjacent edge regions of two cables overlap, with the strip conductors of two adjacent cables lying in the same plane.

S. Cable harness according to one of the claims I to 4, wherein additionally at least one electrical/electronic component is directly connected -g- to the plug-in connector by way of a flat, flexible cable.

6. Cable harness according to one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein the flat cables are fastened to the supporting body at intervals in the region between the common star point and the components.

7. Cable harness substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.