JP2002025352A - Flat cable, and wiring method of flat cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flat cable which can be bent simply and surely at a prescribed position and does not turn from side to side when it is bent, and to provide a wiring method of the flat cable. SOLUTION: For the flat cable 2 with a plurality of conductor wires parallel with each other and covered by insulation material, slits 21-23 for separation are installed on the insulation material lying between the conductor wires, conforming with a wiring pattern from one end of the flat cable 2 along longitudinal direction, and slits 11-17 for bending, stretching in the longitudinal direction, located at suitable part in the middle of the longitudinal direction of respective cables 3-7, are installed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flat cable used for wiring a vehicle or the like and a wiring method using the flat cable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Flat cables have been widely used as wiring harnesses for wiring of vehicles and the like. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a wire harness 90 shown in FIG. 9 has branch slits 91a, 91 having a predetermined length extending from one end of a wide flat cable 91 along its longitudinal direction.
b, 91c are inserted, and branched into flat cables 92 to 96 according to the wiring pattern, and the flat cables 93 to 96 are cut into predetermined lengths, as shown in FIG.
Further, it is turned back and branched or bent to form a desired harness shape as shown in FIG.

More specifically, the flat cable 93
For example, as shown in FIG. 12, two parallel conductor wires 93a (for example, a rectangular conductor such as an aluminum wire or a copper wire) are covered with an insulating material 93b. The part and the connector terminal 31 are pressed with a jig in between, and the connection piece 31a of the connector terminal 31 is connected to the flat cable 93 as shown in FIG.
The connector terminal 31 is crimped and fixed to the conductor wire 93a of the flat cable 93. The flat cables 94 to 96 are the same as the flat cable 93 described above.

In this way, the flat cables 93 to 9
6, each connector terminal 3 crimped to the conductor wire 93a at the end
1 is inserted into the connector housings 51 to 55, respectively. The connector terminals 31 are connected to the connector housings 51 to 55 by a well-known locking mechanism.
The locking lance is engaged with the terminal locking portion and locked so as not to come off. Then, the wire harness 9 shown in FIG.
No. 0 connector housings 51 to 55 are respectively connected to mating connectors 61 to 65 such as electric components.

[0005]

As described above, when a wide flat cable is branched into a plurality of flat cables to form a desired harness shape, each flat cable is appropriately branched and cut in accordance with a wiring pattern. , Need to be bent.

[0006] The connector housing fixed to the end of each flat cable has a fixed connection relationship with the mating connector of the electrical component. ) Is decided naturally.

However, when the flat cable is folded back and bent as described above, the front and the back are reversed. Therefore, when the total length of the flat cable is increased and the number of times of bending is increased, when the connector terminal is fixed to the flat cable by crimping or the like. In addition, there is a possibility that an operator may mistakenly fix the connector terminal in the fixing direction (the back side fixing or the front side fixing) and fix the connector terminal in a direction opposite to the design.

If the fixing direction of the connector terminal is wrong, the connector terminal cannot be inserted into the connector housing due to the locking mechanism.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art, and provides a flat cable which can be easily and reliably bent at a predetermined position and which does not turn over when bent, and a wiring method using the flat cable. The purpose is to:

[0010]

A flat cable according to the present invention is a flat cable in which a plurality of parallel conductor wires are covered with an insulating material. It has a configuration in which a bending slit extending in the direction is inserted.

Further, according to the flat cable wiring method of the present invention, in a flat cable in which a plurality of parallel conductor wires are covered with an insulating material, the flat cable is bent along a longitudinal direction at an appropriate part of the insulating material between the conductor wires. The flat cable is bent and wired without changing the front and back of the flat cable at the location where the bending slit is formed.

According to this configuration, since the front and back are not inverted when the flat cable is bent, even when the total length of the flat cable is long and the number of times of bending is increased, the operator can fix the connector terminal in the fixing direction (back side). Fixed or fixed on the front side) will not be mistaken.

When the flat cable is bent and bent, a difference in path length occurs between the outside and the inside of the bent portion. However, the bending slit is formed in the insulating material between the conductor wires corresponding to the bent portion. Since the cables are inserted along the direction, the flat cables divided by the bending slits are flexibly changed in shape to absorb the difference in path length. Therefore, the flat cable can be easily and reliably bent at a predetermined position without turning the front and back, and it is easy to manufacture a wire harness having a desired shape.

A branch slit extending from one end of the cable along the longitudinal direction is provided in the insulating material between the conductor wires, and the bending slit is formed in at least a part of a portion branched by the branch slit. Is included.

According to this configuration, the flat cable can be branched by the branch slit and bent by the bending slit, and can be applied to a case where the wiring harness forms a complicated wiring pattern.

If the slit for bending is provided with holes for preventing tearing at both ends, it is possible to prevent the tear from being generated at the end of the slit by the hole for preventing tearing.

In the above-mentioned bending slit, if the length of a specific slit among the parallel slits is different so that the bending direction can be identified, the wiring pattern of the wiring harness can be complicated. In this case, since the bending direction of the flat cable can be identified by a specific slit, a wire harness having a desired shape can be easily and reliably manufactured.

In particular, the length of the bending slit is
If the configuration is such that the length is gradually increased from one end in the width direction toward the other, when the flat cable is bent and bent, the difference in path length between the outside and the inside of the bent portion is reduced to the inside. By loosening the flat cable, the flat cable can be reliably absorbed, and the flat cable can be easily and reliably bent at a predetermined position. Further, the bending direction of the flat cable can be easily identified by the difference in the slit length.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a flat cable 1 according to the present invention.

In the flat cable 1, a plurality of parallel conductor wires (for example, rectangular conductors such as aluminum wire and copper wire) are covered with an insulating material such as a resin. In accordance with the wiring pattern, branch slits 21 to 23 are inserted from one end of the wide flat cable 2 along the longitudinal direction thereof, and extend in a longitudinal direction at an appropriate position in the middle of the cables 3 to 7 in the longitudinal direction. Folding slits 11 to 17 are provided.

More specifically, the bending slit 11 includes two slits 11a and 11b, and the bending slit 12 includes six slits 12a to 12f.
Also, the bending slit 13 is composed of two slits 13.
a, 13b, the bending slit 15 includes two slits 15a, 15b, and the bending slits 14, 16, 17 each include one slit.

In the flat cable 1, the flat cables 3 to 7 are branched by the branch slits 21 to 23, the flat cables 4 to 7 are cut into a predetermined length, and further bent by the bending slits 11 to 17. The wiring harness 10 has a desired shape as shown in FIG. 2 and is led to a connection portion of each electrical component.

Each of the flat cables 4 to 7 has the same configuration as the flat cable 93 described above with reference to FIG. 11, and two parallel conductor wires are covered with an insulating material. The connector terminals 31 are crimped to the conductor wires at the ends of the cables 4 to 7, respectively. Similarly, the flat cable 2 has eight parallel conductor wires covered with an insulating material, and the connector terminals 31 are crimped to the respective conductor wires at the ends.

Thus, the flat cables 2, 4 to
Each connector terminal 31 crimped to the end of 7 is inserted into the connector housings 55, 51 to 54, respectively. The connector terminals 31 are connected to the respective connector housings 51 to 5.
The locking lance is engaged with the terminal locking portion by a well-known locking mechanism provided at 5 and locked so as not to come off. Then, the respective connector housings 51 to 55 of the wire harness 10 shown in FIG. 2 are connected to and connected to mating connectors 61 to 65 such as electric components.

According to the flat cable 1, since the flat cable 2 is not turned upside down when the flat cable 2 is bent at various places, even if the total length of the flat cable 2 is long and the number of times of bending is increased, the worker can connect the flat cable 2 with the connector. It is not necessary to make a mistake in the fixing direction of the terminal 31 (fixed on the back side or fixed on the front side).

When the cable is bent and bent, there is a difference in the path length between the outside and the inside of the bent portion.
Since the bending slits 11 to 17 are inserted in the insulating material between the conductor wires along the longitudinal direction corresponding to the bending portions, each flat cable divided by the bending slits 11 to 17 flexibly changes shape. The difference in path length is absorbed. Therefore, the flat cable 1
Can be easily and reliably bent at a predetermined position without turning the front and back, and the wire harness 10 having a desired shape can be easily manufactured.

Further, in the insulating material between the conductor wires, branch slits 21 to 23 extending from one end of the cable along the longitudinal direction are provided, and the flat cable 2 is branched by the branch slits 21 to 23. In addition, since the wire harness 10 can be bent by the bending slits 11 to 17, the present invention can be applied even when the wire harness 10 forms a complicated wiring pattern.

Next, a method for manufacturing the flat cable 1 and the wire harness 10 will be described.

First, a wide flat cable 2 in which a plurality of parallel conductor wires are covered with an insulating material is prepared.

The flat cable 2 is connected to a measuring and cutting machine,
When processing with an electric wire processing machine equipped with a slit processing machine, etc.
A slitting machine 70 (see FIG. 3) adjusts the insulating material between the conductor wires of the flat cable 2 according to the wiring pattern along one longitudinal direction from one end of the cable 2 as shown in FIG. By inserting bending slits 11 to 17 extending in the longitudinal direction at appropriate places in the longitudinal direction of each of the cables 3 to 7 and cutting the flat cables 4 to 7 into predetermined lengths, as shown in FIG. Is completed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the slitting machine 70 includes front delivery rolls 73, 74 and rear delivery rolls 75, 76, and the flat cable 2 is disposed between the pair of rotating upper and lower rolls. It is pinched and sent out in the X direction. With respect to the flat cable 2 sent out in the X direction, a tool rest 72 provided with a tool 71 moves up and down in the Z direction, and a tool shown by an imaginary line according to the position and length of a slit to be processed. The movement of the tool rest 72 is controlled in synchronization with the feeding operation of the flat cable 2 between a processing position where the flat cable 2 is applied to the insulating material between the conductor wires of the flat cable 2 and a retracted position where the blade 71 is retracted from the flat cable 2 as indicated by a solid line. It is supposed to be. Guides 77 and 78 are provided before and after the blade 71 that moves up and down to guide the feed by contacting the flat cable 2. Guide the flat cable 2 so that the cable 2 does not escape
7, 78, so that slit processing can be performed accurately and reliably.

With respect to the flat cable 1 shown in FIG.
7, the flat cables 4 to 7 are cut into predetermined lengths, and further bent by the bending slits 11 to 17 in accordance with the wiring pattern (bending step).

More specifically, the flat cable 2
The flat cable 3 is branched into flat cables 3 and 4 at a position A by a branch slit 23 and a flat cable 5 at a position B by a branch slit 23 and a flat cable 6 at a position D by a branch slit 22 shown in FIG. , 7. Furthermore, flat cable 4
Is bent at the position G by the bending slit 11,
The flat cable 5 is bent at two positions B and C by bending slits 13 and 14. Further, the flat cable 6 is positioned at the position D by the bending slit 15.
The flat cable 7 is bent at two positions E and F by the bending slits 16 and 17.

Next, the flat cable 4
7 and the connector terminal 31 are pressed, and the connector terminals 3 are connected to the conductor wires of the flat cables 4 to 7.
1 is crimped and fixed (terminal fixing step). Then, the respective connector terminals 31 fixed to the flat cables 4 to 7 are inserted into the connector housings 51 to 55, respectively.
Thereby, the wire harness 10 shown in FIG. 2 is completed.

In the above manufacturing method, the order of the bending step and the terminal fixing step may be reversed.
In addition, each flat cable may be bent when the wire harness 10 is actually wired to a vehicle body or the like without providing a bending step at the time of manufacturing.

Next, as a first modification, a flat cable 1 'shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

The flat cable 1 'is different from the flat cable 1 described above in that the slits 11 to 1 for bending are provided.
7 are provided with tear prevention holes 30 made of round holes at both ends.

Specifically, in this flat cable 1 ′, two slits 1 in the bending slit 11 are formed.
Rupture prevention holes 30 are provided at both ends of 1a and 11b and at both ends of six slits 12a to 12f in the bending slit 12, respectively. Further, both ends of two slits 13a and 13b in the bending slit 13 and two slits 1 in the bending slit 15 are formed.
5a, 15b, and bending slits 14, 1
At both ends of each one of the slits 6 and 17, holes 30 for preventing tearing are provided.

The tear preventing hole 30 can prevent the tear from being generated at the end of the slit.

Next, as a second modification, a flat cable 1 ″ shown in FIG. 5 will be described.

In the flat cable 1 ", the length of a specific slit among the parallel slits in the bending slit is different from that of the flat cable 1 described above, whereby the bending direction can be identified. I have.

Specifically, in this flat cable 1 ″, six slits 1 in the bending slit 12 are used.
Only the slit 12a 'is longer than the slits 12b to 12f among 2a' and 12b to 12f. Also, two slits 11 in the bending slit 11 are used.
a ′, 11b is slit 11a ′ is slit 11b
It is longer. Similarly, the bending slit 13
Of the two slits 13a 'and 13b, the slit 13a' is longer than the slit 13b, and the two slits 15a 'and
15b, the slit 15a 'is longer than the slit 15b.

In this case, the bending slit 11,
In 12, 13, and 15, each flat cable 4,
Slit 11 which becomes outside when 3, 5, and 6 are curved
Since a ', 12a', 13a ', and 15a' are longer than other parallel slits, it is possible to identify the bending direction.

Therefore, in the flat cable 1 ″,
Flat cable 3 by branch slits 21 to 23
7 and the flat cables 3 to 6 are bent at points G, A, B, and D by slits 11a ', 12a', 13a ', and 15a' in the slits 11, 12, 13, and 15 for bending. The direction is identified and each of the flat cables 3 to 6 is bent. Further, the flat cable 5 is bent at the point C by the bending slit 14, and the flat cable 7 is bent at the points E and F by the bending slits 16 and 17, respectively. Then, the connector terminals 31 are crimped and fixed to the conductor wires of the flat cables 4 to 7, and the respective connector terminals 31 are inserted into the connector housings 51 to 55, respectively, whereby the wire harness 10 ″ shown in FIG. 6 is completed. .

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and that if the length of a specific slit among the parallel slits is different so that the bending direction can be identified, May be used. For example, the slit that becomes outside when the flat cable is bent may be shortened, or the slit that becomes inside when the flat cable is bent may be made long.

Next, as a third modification, a flat cable 9 shown in FIG. 7 will be described.

In this flat cable 9, six parallel conductor wires are covered with an insulating material. As shown in FIG. Five bending slits 18 extending in the direction are inserted, and the middle part is divided into six flat cables 9a to 9f. The length of each of the slits 18a to 18e in the bending slit 18 is set to gradually increase from one end in the width direction to the other.

As shown in FIG. 7B, when the flat cable 9 is bent and bent, the difference in path length between the outside and the inside of the bent portion makes the inside flat cable more slack. By doing so, it is possible to reliably absorb. Specifically, the bending slit 1
Since the six flat cables 9a to 9f divided in the middle by 8 are shortened in this order, the inner flat cables 9a, 9b, etc., have a margin compared to the outer flat cables 9e, 9f, etc. Can be greatly relaxed. Thereby, the flat cable 9 can be easily and reliably bent at a predetermined position. Further, since the bending direction of the flat cable 9 can be easily identified based on the difference in the slit length, a wire harness having a desired shape can be easily and reliably manufactured.

As described above, the flat cable according to the present invention and the wiring method using the flat cable are not limited to the specific configuration of each of the above-described embodiments, and the configuration or steps may be modified, added, or deleted as needed. Needless to say, the configuration may be adopted.

For example, in the above description, the configuration example in which the bending slit is inserted between all the conductor wires along the longitudinal direction in the insulating material between the plurality of parallel conductor wires has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the bending slits may be inserted at appropriate intervals between the conductor wires in consideration of the bending angle. For example, when the bending angle of the flat cable is gentle, one bending slit may be provided in the insulating material between a plurality of parallel conductor wires at intervals of, for example, two.

Further, in the above, an example in which the conductor wire of the flat cable is a rectangular conductor has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. The flat cable 42 may have a configuration in which the wire 42a is made of a round conductor and these are covered with an insulating material 42b. The conductor wire may be a single core or a stranded wire. In addition, when the conductor wire is a single core, since the rigidity of the conductor wire is high, when the flat cable is bent,
Since the shape is maintained, it is preferable for wiring and fixing according to the shape of the fixing member such as the vehicle body.

In the above description, an example is shown in which the connector terminal is crimped and fixed to the conductor wire of the flat cable. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the connector terminal is fixed by pressure welding or welding. It may be.

[0054]

As described above, according to the flat cable of the present invention, when the flat cable is bent at various positions, the flat cable does not turn over, so that the total length of the flat cable is long and the number of times of bending is increased. Also, the operator does not mistake the fixing direction of the connector terminal (fixed on the back side or fixed on the front side).

When the flat cable is bent and bent, there is a difference in the path length between the outside and the inside of the bent portion. However, the bending slit is formed in the insulating material between the conductor wires corresponding to the bent portion. Since the cables are inserted along the direction, the flat cables divided by the bending slits are flexibly changed in shape to absorb the difference in path length. Therefore, the flat cable can be easily and reliably bent at a predetermined position without turning over, and a wire harness having a desired shape can be easily manufactured.

The insulating material between the conductor wires is provided with a branch slit extending from one end of the cable along the longitudinal direction, and at least a part of a portion branched by the branch slit is bent. With the configuration in which the slit is inserted, the flat cable can be branched by the branch slit and bent by the bending slit, so that it can be applied even when the wiring harness forms a complicated wiring pattern. .

Further, if the bending slit is provided with holes for preventing tearing at both ends, it is possible to prevent the slit from being generated at the end of the slit by the hole for preventing tearing.

Further, in the bending slit,
If the specific slit length of the parallel slits is different and the bending direction can be identified by this, even if the wiring harness forms a complicated wiring pattern, the bending direction of the flat cable Can be identified by a specific slit, so that a wire harness having a desired shape can be easily and reliably manufactured.

In particular, the length of the bending slit is
If the configuration is such that the length is gradually increased from one end in the width direction toward the other, when the flat cable is bent and bent, the difference in path length between the outside and the inside of the bent portion is reduced to the inside. By loosening the flat cable more greatly, the flat cable can be reliably absorbed, and the flat cable can be easily and surely bent at a predetermined position. Further, since the bending direction of the flat cable can be easily identified based on the difference in the slit length, a wire harness having a desired shape can be easily and reliably manufactured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a flat cable according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a wire harness using the flat cable of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a schematic configuration of a slit processing machine for processing a bending slit in the flat cable of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a first modification of the flat cable of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a modification 2 of the flat cable of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a wire harness using a flat cable according to a second modification of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective views showing Modification Example 3 of the flat cable of the present invention, wherein FIG. 7A shows a state before bending, and FIG.
Indicates a bent state.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a flat cable in which a conductor wire is a round conductor.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a wire harness using a conventional flat cable.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a conventional flat cable.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a process of folding and branching a conventional flat cable.

12A and 12B are perspective views illustrating a configuration example of a flat cable with a terminal, wherein FIG. 12A illustrates a state before the terminal is fixed to the flat cable, and FIG. 12B illustrates a state where the terminal is fixed to the flat cable.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,1 ', 1 ", 9 Flat cable 10,10" Wire harness 11-18 Bending slit 21-23 Branch slit 30 Rupture prevention hole

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroshi Murakami 1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi F-term in Harness Research Institute, Inc. (reference) 5G311 CA05 CB01 CC01 CD03 CF05 5G363 AA16 BA05 DC02

Claims (6)

[Claims] In a flat cable in which a plurality of parallel conductor wires are covered with an insulating material, a bending slit extending in the longitudinal direction is provided at an appropriate position in an intermediate portion of the insulating material between the conductor wires in the longitudinal direction of the cable. A flat cable, characterized in that: 2. An insulating material between the conductor wires is provided with a branch slit extending from one end of the cable along a longitudinal direction of the cable, and at least a part of a portion branched by the branch slit is bent. 2. The flat cable according to claim 1, wherein a slit is provided. 3. The flat cable according to claim 1, wherein holes for preventing tearing are provided at both ends of the bending slit. 4. The bending slit according to claim 1, wherein a length of a specific slit among the parallel slits is different, whereby the bending direction can be identified. The described flat cable. 5. The flat cable according to claim 4, wherein the length of the bending slit is set so as to gradually increase from one end in the width direction to the other. 6. In a flat cable in which a plurality of parallel conductor wires are covered with an insulating material, a bending slit is formed along a longitudinal direction at an appropriate position on an intermediate portion of the insulating material between the conductive wires, and the bending slit is formed. A wiring method using a flat cable, wherein the flat cable is bent and wired without changing the front and back of the flat cable at a formation location.