JP2001061223A - Electric wire storing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric wire storing device that gives less stress to electric wires, simple in structure at low-cost. SOLUTION: In this electric wire storing device 10, a part of a door harness WH that is arranged between a car body and a front door is stored inside a casing 11 fixed freely extendably to the front door, and at the same time, is retained at given intervals by a plurality of clamping members 15 arranged slidably on a rail inside the casing 11. Each clamping member 15 is movable freely along the rail 14 and has an electric wire retaining part 16, with respect to the retaining direction of which the rail 14 is freely rotatable. With this structure, this electric wire-storing device 10 is capable of increasing or decreasing the stored length of the door harness WH according to the change in the position of the car body relative to the front door.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric wire accommodating apparatus, and more particularly to an electric wire accommodating apparatus for accommodating an electric wire routed between a vehicle body and a movable member in accordance with a change in a relative position between the vehicle body and the movable member. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, depending on a wiring position of a wire harness routed between a vehicle body and a door (movable member), for example, as in a wiring harness routing structure in a door hinge portion of an automobile, a door may be provided. There is a possibility that troubles such as damage and cutting of a wire harness (electric wire) due to excessive pulling or loosening due to opening and closing of the wire may occur. Therefore, for example, it is necessary to provide an electric wire housing device having a configuration in which the wire harness can be extended and contracted according to the opening and closing operation of the door, such as a wire harness wiring structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-16670.

In the wire harness wiring structure, as shown in FIG. 8, the door harness WH extends from the front end face DPa of the door panel DP to the vehicle body side, and the front door FD
And the door hinge between the vehicle body BD. The front side portion of the door harness WH, which is routed to the door hinge portion, passes through the case 2 of the wire housing device 1 fixed to the front door FD, and then is drawn out to the vehicle body BD side. It is routed in the instrument panel IP through an opening formed in the side surface on the door side.

As can be seen from the vertical sectional view of FIG. 9, the case 2 of the electric wire housing device 1 is formed of a pair of square side plates having a size to accommodate the extra length of the door harness WH. 2a, 2a, and the side plate portions 2a, 2a
Are connected to each other at a predetermined location on the peripheral edge thereof by a connecting portion 6 so as to be opposed to each other in parallel with a predetermined gap therebetween.

[0005] Between the side plates 2a of the case 2,
Utilizing the gap between them, the four elastic bodies 3 are installed in parallel at an interval up and down. Each of these elastic bodies 3 has a harness receiver 5 connected to one end of a coil spring 7, and the other end of the coil spring 7 is fixed to a connecting portion 6 of the case 2. The harness receivers 5 are respectively guided by harness receiving guide means 4 extending in the horizontal direction in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction.
The elastic member expands and retracts in a plane perpendicular to the direction in which the case side plates 2a and 2a face each other by receiving the elastic expansion and contraction force.

[0006] Between the side plates 2a of the case 2,
The door harnesses WH are respectively received on the arc-shaped receiving surfaces of the respective harness receivers 5 and bent in a U-shape, and the door harness WH is formed as a whole.
One side of the case 2 extending outward from between the side plates 2a of the case 2 is fixed to a fixing piece 9 protruding from the case 2 with tape 8. , The other side being free as a drawer. That is, the wire housing device 1 is configured such that the extra length of the door harness WH passing through the case 2 is pulled out or pulled back by the forward / backward movement of the harness receiver 5.

[0007] Therefore, the front door F
When D is opened, a draw-out force is applied to the door harness WH on the drawer side, and the meandering portion in the case 2 tends to be straightened by the draw-out force, and each harness receiver 5
Is retracted while compressing the coil spring 7, so that the door harness WH in the case 2 is drawn out. next,
When the front door FD is closed from the door open state, the door harness WH is subjected to a retraction force due to the elastic restoring force of the compressed coil spring 7, and the retraction force causes the closing operation of the front door FD. It is pulled back into the case 2 at the same speed as the speed. As described above, since the door harness WH contracts smoothly, it can follow the door closing operation and prevent the harness from being caught between the door and the vehicle body.

[0008]

However, in the above-described conventional electric wire housing apparatus 1, a plurality of coil springs 7 must be arranged in the case 2, and the number of components is increased and the mechanism is complicated. Since the attaching work is difficult, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost is increased. In addition, these coil springs 7 may be permanently deformed during long-term use, and may not be able to provide a sufficient retraction force due to elastic restoring force.

Further, the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 7 always acts on the door harness WH in the case 2, and a large stress is applied particularly when the door is opened. When the door harness WH is pulled out or pulled back, the door harness WH received by each harness receiver 5 is locally slid and squeezed. Therefore, it is necessary to take a lot of time to finely adjust the biasing force of the coil spring 7, and if it is not set properly, excessive stress is applied to the door harness WH, and the electrical characteristics are reduced. Alternatively, there is a possibility that the durability is adversely affected. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide an inexpensive electric wire housing device with a simple mechanism that has less stress on electric wires.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric vehicle in which a part of an electric wire routed between a vehicle body and a movable member is telescopically accommodated in a case fixed to the vehicle body or the movable member. And a plurality of clamp members slidably disposed on a rail in the case, the clamp members being held at predetermined intervals, each clamp member being movable along the rail, and The present invention is achieved by a wire housing device that has a wire holding portion that is rotatable in the holding direction with respect to, and that increases or decreases the housing length of the wire according to a change in the relative position between the vehicle body and the movable member.

According to the above configuration, when the movable member moves in the direction approaching the vehicle body and the electric wire drawn from the case is pushed into the case, each of the movable members slides along the rail in the case. As the clamp members approach each other, the wires held by these clamp members are bent and meandered between the clamp members, and the wires are smoothly accommodated in the case.

Then, when the movable member moves in a direction away from the vehicle body and the electric wire housed in the case is pulled out of the case, the clamp members slidable along the rail separate from each other. At the same time, the electric wires held by these clamp members extend, and the electric wires are smoothly drawn out of the case. At this time, the wire holding portion of the clamp member holding the wire is rotatable in the holding direction with respect to the rail, and an excessive force is applied to the held portion of the wire that is bent or extended between the clamp members. Will not join. That is, the wire housing device can smoothly increase or decrease the length of the wire housed in the case according to a change in the relative position between the vehicle body and the movable member.

Preferably, a flexible member capable of elastically biasing the intermediate portions of the wires in a substantially U-shape is provided at an intermediate portion of the wires held by the clamp members. In this case, when the movable member moves in the direction away from the vehicle body, the wire that has been bent and meandered in the case is pulled out and extended, the flexible member has a substantially U-shaped shape. The elastic restoring force that tries to return to is accumulated,
This elastic restoring force acts on the electric wire as a biasing force, and a pulling-back force acts inside the case. Therefore, even when the electric wire is easily bent, if the relative position between the vehicle body and the movable member changes, the retracted force of the electric wire can smoothly increase or decrease the length of the electric wire accommodated in the case in a tensioned state without loosening. .

Preferably, a flexible member capable of holding the wires in a substantially linear shape is attached to a portion for holding the wires drawn out of the case. in this case,
When the movable member moves in a direction approaching the vehicle body and the electric wire that has been drawn out of the case is pushed into the case, the electric wire provided with the flexible member is attached even if the electric wire is easily bent. Can make each of the clamp members slidable along the rail in the case approach without buckling, and can meander the wire between the clamp members in a bent state. When the electric wire is pushed into the case by a predetermined amount or more, the flexible member bends, so that the electric wire between the clamp members can be prevented from being excessively bent. Therefore, even when the electric wire is easily bent, if the movable member moves in a direction approaching the vehicle body, the electric wire can be meandered by bending the electric wire between the clamp members without buckling, and into the case. Can be smoothly increased and decreased.

[0015]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a wire housing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a wire housing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG.
3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of the clamp member shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a cutaway perspective view of a main part of the wire harness shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a modified example of the wire harness,
FIG. 7 is an overall perspective view showing a modification of the clamp member.

In the wire housing device 10 of the present embodiment, similarly to the conventional wire housing device 1 shown in FIG. 8, a door harness WH as an electric wire is routed at a door hinge between the vehicle body BD and the front door FD. The case in which it is performed will be described. The electric wire housing device 10 includes a flat rectangular case 11 that accommodates a part of the door harness WH arranged between the vehicle body BD (not shown) and a front door FD that is a movable member. By increasing or decreasing the storage length of the door harness WH according to the relative position change accompanying the opening and closing operation of the front door FD, troubles such as damage and cutting of the door harness WH due to excessive pulling or loosening due to opening and closing of the door can be avoided. It is to prevent. The case 1
The upper opening of 1 is closed by a lid 12 provided with a locking lock.

Part of the door harness WH arranged between the vehicle body BD and the front door FD expands and contracts in a case 11 fixed to the front door FD as shown in FIGS. The case 11
Are held at a predetermined interval by a plurality of clamp members 15 slidably disposed on a rail 14 extending to the bottom along the longitudinal direction of the base.

As shown in FIG. 4, each of the clamp members 15 includes a rail engaging portion 17 movable along the rail 14 and a wire holding portion 16 for holding the door harness WH. ing. The electric wire holding portion 16 in the clamp member 15 of the present embodiment is configured as a known band clip, and can easily and reliably hold the door harness WH. The rail engaging portion 17 includes:
The rail 14 is provided with a pair of circular flanges which are fitted to the groove edges of the rails 14 and are in sliding contact with each other. The flanges are movably engaged along the longitudinal direction of the rails 14 and are rotatable about a central axis. In addition, the holding direction of the wire holding portion 16 with respect to the rail 14 can be freely rotated.

As shown in FIG. 5, the door harness WH accommodated in the case 11 so as to be extendable and contractible is formed by a plurality of electric wires W and a long plate-shaped flexible member 20 formed of a resin tube T.
The flexible member 20 that elastically urges an intermediate portion of the door harness WH held by each of the clamp members 15 into a substantially U-shape by being inserted into the clamp member 15 is provided.

The flexible member 20 is made of, for example, a resin molded product having a U-shaped bent portion 20a that matches the curvature of the maximum bending state of the door harness WH housed in the case 11 in advance. The bent portion 20a can be elastically deformed substantially linearly, and can be inserted in a state of being linearly extended when inserted into the resin tube T. The flexible member 20 may be attached to at least the middle portion of the door harness WH held by each clamp member 15 so as to elastically urge the middle portion of the door harness WH into a substantially U-shape.
A flexible member formed into a corrugated shape over the entire length of the door harness WH accommodated in the case 11 may be additionally provided.

The door harness WH held at predetermined intervals by a plurality of clamp members 15 slidably disposed on the rails 14 in the case 11, as shown in FIG. 15 are bent in a U-shape, respectively, and are accommodated in the case 11 so as to extend and retract so as to meander in an S-shape as a whole. ) Is fixed to the case 11 by a fixing member 19.

When the front door FD (not shown) is opened from the closed state, the front door FD moves in a direction away from the vehicle body BD, and the door harness WH housed in the case 11 is When the door harness WH is pulled out of the housing 11, the clamp members 15 slidable along the rail 14 are separated from each other, and the door harness WH is bent and bent in the case 11 while being held by the clamp members 15. Stretched, door harness W
H is smoothly drawn out of the case 11 (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 1).

On the other hand, when the front door FD is closed from the door open state, the front door FD moves in a direction approaching the vehicle body BD, and the door harness WH pulled out of the case 11 enters the case 11. When pushed in, the clamp members 15 slidable along the rails 14 in the case 11 approach each other, and the door harness WH held by these clamp members 15 is bent between the clamp members 15. Meandering, door harness W
H is smoothly accommodated in the case 11 (the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1).

At this time, the electric wire holding portion 16 of the clamp member 15 for holding the door harness WH is rotatable in the holding direction with respect to the rail 14, and the door harness is bent or extended between the clamp members 15. No excessive force is applied to the held portion of the WH. That is, the wire housing device 10 includes a door harness W into the case 11.
The storage length of H can be smoothly increased or decreased according to a change in the relative position between the vehicle body BD and the front door FD.

Further, in the wire housing device 10, the intermediate portions of the door harnesses WH held by the clamp members 15 are provided with flexible portions capable of elastically urging the intermediate portions of the door harnesses WH into a substantially U-shape. As the front door FD moves in the direction away from the vehicle body BD because the sex member 20 is attached, the door harness WH that has been bent and meandered in the case 11 is pulled out and extended. Then, an elastic restoring force for returning to the substantially U-shape is accumulated in the flexible member 20, and the elastic restoring force acts as an urging force on the door harness WH, and a pulling force into the case 11 acts. I do.

Therefore, even when the electric wire W is easily bent, if the relative position between the vehicle body BD and the front door FD changes, the door harness WH is not tensioned into the case 11 due to the pulling-back force. The storage length can be increased or decreased more smoothly. When the electric wire W has an appropriate rigidity, it is not always necessary to add the flexible member 20 to the door harness WH. That is, the door harness W held by the clamp members 15 slidable along the rails 14.
The storage length can be smoothly increased or decreased without applying a pulling-back force to H inside the case 11.

Therefore, according to the wire housing device 10 described above,
It is not necessary to arrange a plurality of coil springs 7 and harness receivers 5 as in the conventional electric wire housing device 1 shown in FIG. In addition, an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed. Further, the flexible member 20 is attached to the door harness WH, and like the coil spring 7 and the harness receiver 5 in the wire housing device 1, the door harness WH is provided.
Since no large stress is locally applied to the door harness WH even when H is pulled out or pulled back, there is no need to finely adjust the urging force of the flexible member 20, and the electricity of the door harness WH is not required. There is no adverse effect on characteristics or durability. Further, the door harness WH of the wire housing device 10 is relatively freely meandering inside the hollow case 11 and is efficiently housed therein.
0 can also be reduced in size.

It is needless to say that the wire housing device of the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, but can take various forms based on the spirit of the present invention. For example, a door harness W drawn out of the case 11
H accommodating portion (right end clamp member 15 in FIG. 1)
6, a long round rod-shaped flexible member 21 is inserted into the resin tube T together with a plurality of electric wires W, as shown in the door harness WH shown in FIG. Accordingly, a flexible member 21 capable of holding the housing portion of the electric wire W in a substantially linear shape is provided.

When the front door FD (not shown) is closed from the door open state, the front door FD moves in a direction approaching the vehicle body BD, and the door harness WH pulled out of the case 11 is When the electric wire W is easily bent when pushed in, the door harness WH to which the flexible member 21 is attached can be slid along the rails 14 in the case 11 without buckling. The members 15 can be moved closer to each other, and the door harness WH between the clamp members 15 can be bent and meandered, so that the length of accommodation in the case 11 can be more smoothly increased and decreased.

When the door harness WH is pushed into the case 11 by a predetermined amount or more, the flexible member 21
Is bent, so that the door harness WH between the clamp members 15 can be prevented from being excessively bent. Therefore, even when the electric wire W is easily bent, if the front door FD moves in a direction approaching the vehicle body BD, the door harness WH does not buckle and the clamp members 1
The five door harnesses WH can be bent and meandered, and the length of the door harness WH housed in the case 11 can be more smoothly increased or decreased.

Further, instead of the clamp member 15 in the above embodiment, a clamp member 25 or the like can be used as shown in FIG. The clamp member 25 includes a rail engaging portion 27 that is movable along the rail 14.
And an electric wire holding portion 26 for holding the door harness WH. The electric wire holding portion 26 of the clamp member 25 of the present modification is formed in a bifurcated shape, and the door harness WH is sandwiched by the bifurcated electric wire holding portion 26 so that the door accommodated in the case 11 is formed. The harness WH can be easily and reliably held.

The rail engaging portion 27 is similar to the race engaging portion 17 of the clamp member 15 and has the same structure as the rail 1.
4 is provided with a pair of circular flanges which are fitted to the groove edges of the groove 4 and smoothly slide in contact with each other, are movably engaged along the longitudinal direction of the rail 14, and are rotatable about a central axis, The holding direction of the wire holding portion 26 with respect to the rail 14 is rotatable. Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the door harness WH, which is an electric wire, is routed at the door hinge portion between the vehicle body BD and the front door FD has been described, but the electric wire housing device of the present invention is not limited to this.
It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a case where a part of an electric wire is routed between a vehicle body and another movable member (trunk hood, slide seat, or the like).

[0033]

According to the above-described wire housing device of the present invention, when the movable member moves in the direction approaching the vehicle body and the wire drawn from the case is pushed into the case, the rail in the case is moved. The clamp members slidable along each other approach each other, the electric wires held by these clamp members are bent and meandered between the clamp members, and the electric wires are smoothly accommodated in the case.

Then, when the movable member moves in a direction away from the vehicle body and the electric wire housed in the case is drawn out of the case, the clamp members slidable along the rail separate from each other. At the same time, the electric wires held by these clamp members extend, and the electric wires are smoothly drawn out of the case. At this time, the wire holding portion of the clamp member holding the wire is rotatable in the holding direction with respect to the rail, and an excessive force is applied to the held portion of the wire that is bent or extended between the clamp members. Will not join.

That is, the above-described electric wire housing device can smoothly increase or decrease the housing length of the electric wire in the case according to the change in the relative position between the vehicle body and the movable member. Therefore, it is possible to provide an inexpensive electric wire housing device with a simple mechanism that has less stress on electric wires.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a wire housing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of the clamp member shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cutaway perspective view of a main part of the wire harness shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a modified example of the wire harness.

FIG. 7 is an overall perspective view showing a modification of the clamp member.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing an application state of a conventional wire housing device.

9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the electric wire housing device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electric wire accommodation apparatus 11 Case 12 Lid 14 Rail 15 Clamp member 16 Electric wire holding part 17 Rail engaging part WH Door harness

Claims (3)

[Claims] A part of an electric wire routed between a vehicle body and a movable member is telescopically accommodated in a case fixed to the vehicle body or the movable member, and slides on a rail in the case. A plurality of clamp members movably arranged are held at predetermined intervals, and each of the clamp members is movable along the rail, and the holding direction with respect to the rail is a rotatable wire holding portion. An electric wire housing device that has the length of the electric wire that is increased or decreased according to a change in the relative position between the vehicle body and the movable member. 2. A flexible member capable of elastically urging the intermediate portions of the electric wires in a substantially U-shape is provided at an intermediate portion of the electric wires held by the clamp members. The wire housing device according to claim 1. 3. A housing for accommodating electric wires drawn out of the case is provided with a flexible member capable of holding the accommodating portions of the electric wires in a substantially linear shape.
The wire housing device according to claim 1.