JP2003249127A - Wiring harness for electronics - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an environment-friendly wiring harness improved in detachability and separability to enhance its recycling efficiency and to reduce generation of toxic gases. <P>SOLUTION: Wires, codes and cables, etc., 4, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50 and 52 used for wiring harnesses 2, 8, 11 and 12 which connect each electronic parts of electronic devices through wires are coated with materials except for PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and distinguished from wires coated with PVC by prints, marks or colors on the coating. Since workers can easily take them apart and separate, toxic substances such as gaseous toxic chlorides and dioxin which are generated when electronics are burned or landfilled can be reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wire harness for electronic equipment, and more particularly to an environment-friendly wire harness for electronic equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art OA equipment such as copiers, facsimiles, printers or scanners, home appliances, and precision equipment such as audio equipment are electronic equipment having various electric parts. The electrical connection wiring for supplying power to various electric parts in electronic equipment and transmitting signals between electric parts,
It is composed of a wire harness in which one or more electric wires or cables which are lead wires are bundled. The wire harness is cut to a required length and connected to various electric parts, printed circuit boards and connecting parts for relay. Therefore,
Since the wire harness is laid around various parts of the electronic device, the bus bar of the wire harness and the multiple branch wire harnesses branched from the bus bar are not tied together, such as a binding band (bundled wire binding). Is bound by. In addition, a fixing member for fixing the wiring is separately provided in order to fix the wire harness to the device.

Electronic equipment always requires wiring materials and wiring components for connecting the respective electrical components. The wiring material or wiring component is, specifically, a connection component such as an electric wire or a cable or a connector, and a wire harness including an electric wire or a cable. Then, as a matter of fact, the assembling work and the assembling work of the wiring material and the wiring part product are manually performed in the steps of production, manufacturing, assembling and assembling.

Now, from the viewpoint of environmental protection, attention has recently been paid to the production of environmentally friendly products having a low environmental load, and regarding harmful substances contained in products and recycling, regulations and laws are gradually being adopted both in Japan and overseas. It is rising. Therefore, hazardous substances contained in products and recycling are
Among the products, it has become an unavoidable issue, especially for electronic devices.

Among them, the wires and cables of wire harnesses used in electronic equipment are vinyl chloride (PVC).
Many of the products with a coating are used (over 90% of the product). This is because electric wires and cables coated with vinyl chloride (PVC) are very inexpensive.

[0006] However, vinyl chloride (PVC) is still used if it is reused or reused, but in reality, it is treated by landfill or incineration. And
In that case, it is very unfavorable for the environment, such as releasing bromine- or chlorine-based toxic gases, dioxins, and the like. In addition, a large-scale facility is required to carry out a treatment for reducing the generation of toxic gas, resulting in a huge facility cost.

On the other hand, the wire harness must be removed from the product in order to reuse or reuse the electric wires and cables of the product for recycling. It takes a lot of time to remove the wire harness because of the difference in the work method due to the difference in the device configuration for each product and the manual work performed by a person. For example, it is often the case that the wire harness cannot be removed unless other parts or units that do not have to be removed to remove the wire harness are also removed. Therefore, as a time required for the dismounting work, it is a fact that the working time is about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dismantling time required for the entire product, and the working efficiency is poor.

When the worker changes, the worker must learn the work method from the beginning or perform another work procedure.
Therefore, a certain work cannot be performed, and the work efficiency further decreases.

As described above, the labor cost is significantly increased due to the long working time and the low working efficiency.
Therefore, the entire product recycling system cannot be efficiently developed.

There is also a problem of sorting work as described below. That is, conventionally, iron and non-ferrous metals are separated and collected in the process of shreddering a scrapped vehicle, and the rest is landfilled as shredder dust in a predetermined landfill. Most of the wire harnesses used in abandoned vehicles have been mixed with the shredder dust and have been landfilled. However, in recent years, it has become difficult to secure new landfills due to environmental issues, and it is urgent to reduce the amount of shredder dust. Further, the copper used for the conductor portion such as the electric wire is reusable, and the landfilling of the copper causes waste of resources. Therefore, improving the workability of separating the resin portion and the wire portion in the wire harness has also been a problem in recent years.

Therefore, as a technique for increasing the efficiency of the work of removing the wire harness, there are conventional techniques, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-57266 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 02-181116.
No. 3, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-64951, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-
No. 236052, No. 63-122349, No. 123,860, or No. 4-123.
As in Japanese Patent No. 10964, there is known a device or structure in which a wiring harness is placed in a wiring duct for wiring.

[0012] Further, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2596429 describes that the work of removing the wire harness is improved by improving the locking member.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-243261, it is possible to separate and collect each material by facilitating separation between both insulating films and conductor portions of a flexible printed board used for a wire harness. Those that improve the workability of separation are described.

[0014]

However, according to the above-described device or structure in which the wiring harness is placed in the wiring duct for wiring, the number of parts is increased, so that the cost is increased, the weight is increased, and the electronic device is There is a problem in that the size is increased and the productivity is reduced due to an increase in the number of assembling steps, and the reliability of the device is reduced due to an increase in electric wires, wire harnesses and connectors.

Further, the above-mentioned device or structure, the above-mentioned utility model registration No. 2596429, or JP-A-11-2.
Some devices and methods described in Japanese Patent No. 43261 are insufficient to reduce the environmental load, as described below, and do not provide a fundamental solution to the problem of environmental protection.

That is, as described above, the wires and cables of the wire harness used in electronic equipment are often covered with vinyl chloride (PVC). Then, vinyl chloride (PVC) releases bromine-based or chlorine-based toxic gases, dioxins, and the like, which are unfavorable to the environment, by being treated by landfill or incineration. Further, in order to carry out the treatment for reducing the generation of toxic gas, a large-scale facility is required, and a huge facility cost is required. However, a wire harness is placed in a wiring duct for wiring, and the wiring is disclosed in JP-A-11-
This problem cannot be sufficiently overcome even by using the devices and methods described in Japanese Patent No. 243261 and Utility Model Registration No. 2596429.

Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention can improve the recycling process by improving the dismounting workability and the sorting workability and reduce the generation of toxic gas. It is an object of the present invention to provide an environment-friendly wire harness for electronic devices.

[0018]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention of claim 1, a wire harness of an electronic device electrically connects each electric component of the electronic device through an electric wire. In the wire harness for use in the wire harness, an electric wire made of a covering material other than PVC (vinyl chloride) is used as a covering material for electric wires, cords, cables and the like, and an electric wire made of a covering material of PVC (vinyl chloride). Is characterized by being identified by printing or marking on the coated surface.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wire harness for an electronic device, wherein the wire harness is used for electrically connecting each electric component of the electronic device through an electric wire. An electric wire made of a covering material other than PVC (vinyl chloride) is used as a covering material for cords and cables, and the covering color is different from that of the electric wire made of a covering material of PVC (vinyl chloride). Is.

According to the third aspect of the invention, in the wire harness for electronic equipment, the coating material other than PVC (vinyl chloride) is Teflon resin (polytetrafluoroethylene resin), olefin (polyethylene, polyolefin) resin. It is characterized by being one or more kinds of coating materials selected from resins, polyester resins, or rubber (natural rubber, ethylene, styrene, silicon) materials.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, in the wire harness for electronic equipment, the flame-retardant material used for the covering material other than PVC (vinyl chloride) contains chlorine and bromine halogens and halogen compounds. It is characterized in that it is a hydroxide compound such as magnesium hydroxide or aluminum hydroxide, which is a dehalogenating flame-retardant material not containing it.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of a wire harness according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a copying machine and a wire harness for explaining an embodiment of the wire harness according to the present invention. This perspective view is a view of the state in which the wire harness 2 is fixed to the copying machine 1 as seen from the rear of the copying machine 1, and shows a state in which the rear cover of the copying machine 1 which is an electronic device is removed. Inside the copier 1,
Electric components such as printed circuit boards, power supply units, motors,
Actuators such as fan motors and photo sensors are fixed.

In order to electrically connect the above-mentioned electric parts inside the copying machine 1, a wire harness 2 is laid inside the machine. When removing the wire harness 2 from the copying machine 1, the wire harness 2 is removed in the direction of the thick arrow (→).

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wire harness and a printed circuit board for explaining an embodiment of the wire harness according to the present invention. This perspective view shows a state in which the wire harness 2 is attached to the printed circuit board 3 inside the copying machine 1. In the wire harness 2, electric wires, cords or cables (hereinafter referred to as electric wires, etc.) 4 for electrically connecting respective electric parts, and connectors 5 for electric connection are used as pressure contact terminals or crimp terminals. It is connected and fixed by the connection terminal. Further, the electric wires 4 and the like are bound by a binding component 6 or the like so as not to be separated in the copying machine 1.
Reference numeral 7 denotes connectors for connecting the printed circuit board 3.

Using FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 described later,
The removal of the wire harness 2 during the disassembly work of the copying machine 1 will be specifically described.

When the wire harness 2 is removed from the copying machine 1, the connector 5 for connecting the wire harness 2 fixedly connected to the connector 7 for connecting the printed circuit board 3 is used.
2 in the direction of the thick arrow (→) in FIG.
Use a cutting tool such as scissors to cut the root of. In this way, the wire harness 2 can be removed from the device.

FIG. 3 shows the copying machine 1 and the printed circuit board 3 in a state where the wire harness 2 is removed from the copying machine 1 and then removed as indicated by a thick arrow (→). A power supply unit 9 is further attached to the inside of the removed printed circuit board 3. Further, in order to supply power from the power supply unit 9 to each electric component, another wire harness 8 for electrically connecting each electric component is connected and fixed to the power supply unit 9.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a wire harness for explaining an embodiment of the wire harness according to the present invention. This perspective view shows the wire harness fixed to the device. Wire harness 2
The binding member 19 of the bus bar 10 of the wire harness 2 is
And a plurality of branch wire harnesses 11 and 12 after branching from the busbar. Further, the wiring fixing member 20 fixes the wire harness 2 to the device.
Reference numeral 21 is a screw for fixing the wire harness 2 to the device by the wiring fixing member 20 for fixing the wire harness 2 to the device. In addition, the busbar 10 of the wire harness and the plurality of branch wire harnesses 11 and 12 after branching from the busbar have electrical connection parts 15, 16, and 1.
7 and 18 are connected. Furthermore, the electrical connection component 16
Electrical wires 13 and 14 for connecting to other wire harnesses or other electric parts are connected to and 18, respectively.

FIG. 5 shows an example of an electric wire or the like used in an embodiment of the wire harness according to the present invention. The electric wire 4 is composed of a conductor (core wire portion) 40 and a core material (covering portion) 41. Conductor (core part) 40
For this, a stranded wire of a tin-plated annealed copper wire is used, and the surface thereof may be further coated with tin.

Using FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 described later,
An embodiment of the wire harness according to the present invention will be specifically described.

First, in the core material (covering portion) 41 of an electric wire or the like which constitutes the wire harness according to the present invention, the coating material is a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene resin (Teflon resin), olefin (polyethylene,
Polyolefin) type resin, polyester type resin, rubber (natural rubber, synthetic rubber containing ethylene, styrene, silicone, etc.) type material or a mixture thereof is used.
Thus, polyvinyl chloride resin or Poly vinyl c
By using a coating material other than hloride (hereinafter referred to as PVC), it is possible to suppress the generation of harmful substances such as chlorine-based harmful gas and dioxins, and to make landfill or incinerate.

The flame-retardant material used as the coating material for the core material (covering portion) 41 of an electric wire or the like which constitutes the wire harness according to the present invention includes halogens such as chlorine and bromine and flame retardants of halogen compounds. A hydroxide compound such as magnesium hydroxide or aluminum hydroxide, which is a dehalogenating flame-retardant material containing no material, is used. By doing so, generation of harmful substances such as chlorine-based harmful gas and dioxins can be further suppressed, and landfilling and incineration can be facilitated.

Further, the above-mentioned fluororesin (polytetrafluoroethylene resin, etc.), olefin (polyethylene, polyolefin) -based resin, polyester used for the core material (covering portion) 41 of the electric wire or the like constituting the wire harness according to the present invention. Resins, rubbers (synthetic rubbers containing natural rubber, ethylene, styrene, silicone, etc.)-Based materials or their mixtures include harmful heavy metals such as lead, hexavalent chromium, cadmium, mercury, and phosphorus-based and phosphorus compounds. To avoid By doing this,
The generation of harmful substances is further suppressed, and landfilling and incineration processing becomes easier.

Next, as the first embodiment of the wire harness according to the present invention, the coating color of the electric wire 4 used in the wire harness using a coating material other than PVC as described above is set to, for example, white or gray. , The color of the coating of an electric wire or the like used for a wire harness using PVC (not environmentally friendly) is, for example, black, purple, red, green, blue, or yellow other than white or gray. The opposite colors may be used. That is, the coating color of the electric wires 4 used for the wire harness other than PVC is black, purple, red, green, blue or yellow, and the coating color of the electric wires used for the PVC wire harness is white or gray. To do. As described above, the wire harness using the covering material other than PVC and the wire harness using PVC are different in color, so that they can be easily distinguished from each other.

It should be noted that a part of the coating may have a partially different color instead of the entire coating having a different color. Further, the gloss of the surface of the coating may be changed instead of changing the color of the coating. Furthermore, the surface properties of the coated surface may be changed.

FIG. 6 shows a plurality of perspective views of electric wires and the like used in the second embodiment of the wire harness according to the present invention. 6A to 6F respectively show
It is the figure which expanded an example of the electric wire etc. which consist of coating materials other than PVC (environment-friendly) used for the wire harness by this invention.

Electric wires 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 5
2 core material (covering portion) 43, 45, 47, 49, 5
On the surface of 1, 53, "HF", "LH", "NH",
"De-PVC", "Halogen-free", "Non-halogen"
Print or mark with the notation such as. Contrary to the above, by printing or marking with the notation content such as "PVC, vinyl chloride" on the surface of the core material (covering part) of the electric wire etc. used for the wire harness using PVC (not environmentally friendly) Good.

The notation content by printing or marking may be different from the above. Further, the printing color or the marking color may be different in addition to the description content by printing or marking.

Each of the embodiments of the wire harness according to the present invention described above may be inside or outside the electronic device.

The present invention can also be implemented in other electronic equipment such as an interface (computer). Other examples of equipment that can be used in the present invention include office automation equipment such as PCs, facsimiles, printers, scanners, or multi-function peripherals thereof, precision equipment such as home appliances and audio equipment, or automobiles. That is, the present invention has many electric components and is applicable to all devices that require electrical connection of those electric components. This is because an electric wire or the like having a covering portion made of PVC as a covering material is usually used for such a device.

Further, the present invention is widely applicable not only to the wire harness but also to the power cord 31 itself and the cable itself for connecting to other devices. This is because the main feature of the present invention is to provide an alternative to the one in which the PVC coating is used and to reduce the PVC coating.

[0043]

According to the invention described in claim 1, PVC
Electric wires, etc. made of coating materials other than (vinyl chloride) and PV
An electric wire or the like made of a C (vinyl chloride) coating material can be easily distinguished by printing or marking the coated surface. Therefore, when dismantling equipment, etc.
It is possible to easily identify whether or not it is environmentally friendly, and it becomes easier to work. Therefore, the work time required for disassembling devices and the like, removing wire harnesses, and separating electric wires and the like is shortened. That is, workability of disassembling, removing, and sorting is improved, and work efficiency is improved. Therefore, the cost of dismantling costs can be reduced. Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 1, the efficiency of the entire recycling process can be further improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, similarly to the first aspect of the invention, an electric wire or the like made of a PVC (vinyl chloride) coating material and an electric wire or the like made of a PVC (vinyl chloride) coating material are provided. It can be easily distinguished by the difference in coating color. Therefore, when dismantling equipment, etc.
It is possible to easily identify whether or not it is environmentally friendly, and it becomes easier to work. Therefore, the work time for disassembling electronic devices, removing wire harnesses, and separating electric wires is shortened. That is, workability of disassembling, removing, and sorting is improved, and work efficiency is improved. Therefore, the cost of dismantling the device can be reduced.

When the color of the electric wire or the like is changed according to the place of use or the purpose as in the conventional case, the amount of the electric wire or the like used is dispersed depending on the color of the electric wire or the like used, and the cost of the electric wire or the like cannot be reduced. According to the second aspect of the invention, however, the colors applied to the electric wires and the like are unified, so that the colors of the electric wires and the like can be concentrated and used. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost of electric wires and the like, and to provide a low-cost electronic device product.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic device product which is environmentally friendly and has a low environmental load, and it is possible to further improve the efficiency of the entire recycling process.

According to the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4, since the electric wires and the like used in the wire harness of the electronic device are made of a covering material other than PVC, chlorine when incinerating or landfilling PVC is used. Generation of harmful substances such as toxic gases and dioxins is suppressed, enabling landfilling and incineration. This effect becomes more remarkable according to the invention described in claim 3 or 4.

For coating materials other than PVC, PVC may be used.
Compared with the coating material of 1), it has the following characteristic advantages. That is, since the toner adheres to the PVC and the plasticizer migrates, it cannot be wiped. Therefore, the characteristic deterioration is fast, whereas the coating materials other than PVC (especially the halogen-free material according to claim 4) do not Even if it adheres, it is easy to wipe, so there is no significant deterioration in characteristics. Therefore, according to the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4, since it is easy to reuse the electric wire or the like used in the wire harness, the recycling of the electric wire or the like is promoted.

Since the above-mentioned superiority in characteristics is remarkable in the halogen-free material, according to the invention of claim 4, the above-mentioned effect that the recycling of the electric wire or the like is promoted becomes remarkable.

Furthermore, for coating materials other than PVC, P
Compared with the VC coating material, it has the following convenience for a recycling machine. That is, an electric wire or the like made of a covering material other than PVC (in particular, a halogen-free electric wire or the like according to claim 4)
Can be cleaned with air without wiping the toner one by one. Therefore, when a device using a wire harness using a coating material other than PVC is used as a recycling machine, the cleaning performance is good and the recycling work time is better than when PVC is the coating material. It can be shortened. Therefore, according to the invention as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 4, recycling of the device using the wire harness is promoted.

Further, since the convenience to the recycling machine is remarkable in the halogen-free electric wire and the like, according to the invention of claim 4, the above-mentioned effect that the recycling of the equipment using the wire harness is promoted is achieved. It will be noticeable.

Furthermore, PVC cannot be landfilled, but PV
Other than C (especially the halogen-free electric wire according to claim 9 and the like) is buried, so that the wire harness does not have to be removed from the product. Therefore, according to the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4, it becomes possible to easily separate the electric wire and the like to be removed from the electric wire and the like to be removed.

Furthermore, since the wire harness according to any one of claims 1 to 4 can be implemented at a low cost, the wire harness is relatively inexpensive.

By the synergistic effect of all the effects described above, the efficiency of the entire recycling process is further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a copying machine and a wire harness.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing how the wire harness is attached to a printed circuit board.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the printed circuit board is removed from the device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a wire harness fixed to a device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of electric wires, cords or cables used in an embodiment of the wire harness according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plurality of perspective views of electric wires, cords or cables used in another embodiment of the wire harness according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Copiers 2, 8, 11, 12 Wire harness 3 Printed circuit boards 4, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52 Wires, cords, cables 5 Connectors for electrical connection 6 Bundling parts 7 For connecting printed circuit boards Connectors 9 power supply unit 10 busbars 13 and 14 of wire harnesses electric wires 15, 16, 17 and 18 for connecting to other wire harnesses or other electric parts 19 wire harness binding member 20 fixing for wiring Member 21 Wiring fixing member screw 40 Conductor (core wire portion) 41, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53 Core material (covering portion)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A wire harness for electrically connecting each electric component of an electronic device via an electric wire, wherein a coating material for the electric wire, cord, cables, etc. used for the wire harness is other than PVC (vinyl chloride). A wire harness for electronic equipment, which is characterized in that an electric wire made of a covering material of (1) is used, and an electric wire made of a covering material of PVC (vinyl chloride) is identified by printing or marking on the covering surface. 2. A wire harness for electrically connecting each electric component of an electronic device via an electric wire, wherein a covering material for the electric wire, cord, cables, etc. used for the wire harness is other than PVC (vinyl chloride). A wire harness for an electronic device, characterized in that an electric wire made of the covering material of No. 1 is used and a covering color is different from that of the electric wire made of the covering material of PVC (vinyl chloride). 3. A coating material other than PVC (vinyl chloride) is Teflon (registered trademark) resin (polytetrafluoroethylene resin), olefin (polyethylene, polyolefin) resin, polyester resin, or rubber (natural). The wire harness according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wire harness is one or more kinds of coating materials selected from rubber, ethylene, styrene, and silicon-based materials. 4. The flame-retardant material used as the coating material other than PVC (vinyl chloride) is a dehalogenated flame-retardant material containing no chlorine-based or bromine-based halogen and halogen compounds, such as magnesium hydroxide or water. 4. A hydroxide compound such as aluminum oxide, and the like.
The wire harness according to any one of 1.