JP2007104828A - Flat cable routing structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To route a flat cable continuously to a position different in a vertical direction without loading a conductor. <P>SOLUTION: The flat cable 10 is routed horizontally in a vertical posture at a downward position, curved while the vertical posture is being maintained at predetermined positions, and is inclined upward for direction change. Next, the flat cable 10 is curved in a reverse direction to the above at an upper end in the inclining direction for direction change to the horizontal direction at an upward position before routing. Vertical S-shaped routing is intervened between a downward position and an upward position, and routing is performed continuously to a position different in vertical height. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a flat cable routing structure, and in particular, allows a flat cable to be continuously routed at positions having different vertical heights without bending.

  For example, in recent automobiles, with the increase in functionality and performance, the number of electrical components has increased, and it is necessary to route a large number of wire harnesses. On the other hand, in order to secure a more comfortable vehicle interior space, there is a strong demand for space saving of the wiring harness wiring space. Therefore, thin and flexible flat cables are being used more and more because it is required to suppress the bulkiness of the wire harness and arrange many harnesses in a small space.

  For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-936 (Patent Document 1), as shown in FIG. 10, a flat cable 1 is used for a power supply harness from a vehicle body (not shown) to a slide door (not shown). Yes. The flat cable 1 is maintained in a vertical posture, one end 1a is attached to the door side fixing member 5, the other end 1b is attached to a vehicle body side fixing member (not shown), and a region 1c between the both ends 1a and 1b. Is provided with an extra length so that it can expand and contract with the opening and closing of the sliding door, and is bent in a U shape in plan view. Thus, by arranging the flat cable 1 in a vertical posture in a U shape in plan view, it is possible to suppress the bulkiness of the installation space and the storage space of the flat cable 1 in the height direction.

As described above, the flat cable arranged in the horizontal direction in the vertical posture is arranged in the upper position at the attachment side end 1b with the vehicle body side fixing member, and is arranged in the horizontal direction at the upper position. It is necessary to search and connect to a controller or the like.
In such a case, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 10, it is bent at the vehicle body side end 1b of the flat cable 1 to change the direction of the flat cable 1 to the vertical direction and to the vertical direction. Is fixed with tape T.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, when it is necessary to route the flat cable 1 horizontally in both the upper position and the lower position, the flat cable 1 faces upward at 45 degrees at the lower end 1b. Then, it is bent 45 degrees again at the end 1d at the upper position so as to face the horizontal direction 1e.
It is necessary to fix the bent portions at the upper and lower portions with a protector or a soft tape T to prevent the bent portions from being opened or displaced.

  However, such a two-dimensional bending has a problem in that a load is applied to the conductor of the flat cable, which is likely to cause disconnection. In addition, the bending requires work with a dedicated jig, and also requires work such as tape winding for maintaining and fixing the bent portion, which complicates the process and makes it difficult to maintain assembly accuracy. Furthermore, the mounting posture at both ends of the flat cable is also limited, and there is a problem in that the degree of freedom in wiring is low.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-936

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the flat cable arranged in the horizontal direction in the vertical posture is converted to a position where the vertical height is different by changing the direction without bending the conductor with a burden. The goal is to provide a flat cable routing structure that can be routed continuously, has good routing operability, and high flexibility in routing.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a flexible flat cable routing structure in the form of a long band,
The flat cable has a wide belt surface in a vertical posture and is routed in a horizontal direction at a lower position, and is tilted upward while being curved while maintaining a vertical posture at a required position, and the direction is changed. Curve in the opposite direction to the above at the upper end and change the routing direction to the horizontal direction at the upper position,
A vertical S-shaped wiring is interposed between the lower position and the upper position, and the flat cable is continuously bent at a position where the vertical height is different without being bent. Provides a flat cable routing structure.

  In the routing structure, since the flat cable routed horizontally in the horizontal direction is gently S-curved to change the direction so that the vertical cable is directed to the upper position, the conventional bending is performed. Compared to the routing structure, the burden on the conductor of the flat cable can be reduced. Therefore, conductor damage such as disconnection can be prevented, and quality stability can be improved.

Further, the bending work using a dedicated jig necessary for the conventional folding and wiring and the fixing work using an adhesive material or the like are not required, and the wiring work can be simplified and workability is improved.
Furthermore, by providing the wiring portion that is gently curved in the S-shape, variations in the length of the flat cable can be absorbed, and the accuracy of the flat cable can be relaxed.

The vertical S-shaped routing portion allows the flat cable to be inserted into a protector having a vertical S-shaped guide groove, and
The protector includes a lower position horizontal guide groove and an upper position horizontal guide groove communicating with both ends of the vertical S-shaped guide groove, and a flat cable fixing holding portion is provided in the upper and lower position horizontal guide grooves, The flat cable may be fixed at both ends of the vertical S-shaped wiring portion.
By using the protector, the assembling property of the vertical S-shaped wiring portion of the flat cable can be improved, and the assembling accuracy can be improved.

In addition, the present invention is a cable structure of a flexible flat cable having a long strip shape,
The flat cable has a wide belt surface in a vertical posture and is routed in a horizontal direction at a lower position, and spirally wound while maintaining a vertical posture at a required position to change the wiring direction upward, Arrange the wiring direction to the horizontal direction at an upper position with an arbitrary height by spiral winding,
A flat cable characterized in that a vertical spiral winding is interposed between the lower position and the upper position, and the flat cable is continuously routed at different vertical heights without bending the flat cable. Provides a routing structure.

  In this way, even when the flat cable is wound in a vertical spiral, the position in the height direction is changed while gently bending the flat cable, as in the case of the S-shaped cable. Compared to the cable structure, the burden on the conductor of the flat cable can be greatly reduced. Therefore, conductor damage such as disconnection can be prevented, and quality stability can be improved. Moreover, the point which can simplify wiring workability | operativity and the point which is easy to absorb the dispersion | variation in the length direction of a flat cable are the same as the case of the said S-shaped wiring.

The spiral winding arrangement part is inserted into the protector having a vertical outer cylinder and a center guide cylinder, and is spirally wound along the outer peripheral surface of the center guide cylinder,
The protector includes a lower position horizontal guide groove and an upper position horizontal guide groove communicating with a cable passage between the outer cylinder and the center guide cylinder, and a flat cable fixing holding portion is provided in the upper and lower position horizontal guide grooves. The flat cable may be fixed at both ends of the spiral winding.

The center guide tube of this protector may be erected vertically upward, but is preferably erected so as to be inclined toward the upper position horizontal guide groove. As a result, when the flat cable is wound around the outer periphery of the central guide tube, the winding angle is naturally slanted. Can be rolled up.
Specifically, in FIG.
D: Diameter of center guide tube A
θ: Inclination angle of center guide tube A,
S: Distance in the direction of the cylindrical axis from the beginning to the end of winding of the FFC
H: When the height change is caused by the winding of the flat cable F wound around the center guide tube A, the following correlation is preferable.
tan θ = D / (S / 2) = sin θ / cos θ
sin θ = H / S
H = 2D cos θ

  The protector fixed holding portion may be structured such that a flat cable is sandwiched between a pair of rubber plates removably attached in the horizontal guide groove, or is projected from the bottom of the horizontal guide groove and is arranged in a zigzag manner. It is good also as a structure which pinches | interposes and fixes a flat cable between several protrusion rods in planar view wave shape.

The flat cables arranged horizontally in the upper position and the lower position can be in the same direction or in different directions.
That is, in the case of the conventional folding arrangement, since the bending is two-dimensional, it is difficult to change the orientation of the posture, such as from a vertical posture to a horizontal posture, but the S-shaped wiring or the spiral winding is difficult. If the flat cable is routed through the brazing, the orientation of the flat cable in the upper position converted from the vertical position to the horizontal position can be changed to the lower position by adjusting the angle of bending and twisting. The degree of freedom can be increased.

  The flat cable is preferably used for wiring between the vehicle body and the sliding door, and is wired to the upper position by the S-shaped wiring or the spiral wiring on the vehicle body mounting side on one end side of the flat cable.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the position in the height direction is changed via the S-shaped wiring or the longitudinal spiral winding with a gentle curve without bending the flat cable, the conductor of the flat cable Can be reduced, and damage such as disconnection can be prevented.
In addition, the work of bending the flat cable and the work of fixing the bent portion are not required, and the wiring work can be simplified. Furthermore, since the extra length can be easily absorbed, high accuracy is not required for adjusting the flat cable, and workability is improved.

  Furthermore, in addition to changing the position of the flat cable in the height direction, it is possible to change the mounting posture at both ends, or change the position in the horizontal direction, thereby improving the degree of freedom in routing.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In any of the embodiments described below, the present invention is applied to a routing structure of the flat cable 10 routed between the vehicle body B and the slide door D of the automobile.

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention.
The flat cable 10 is a long strip-like flexible cable in which a plurality of conductors wired in parallel are laminated on both front and back surfaces with an insulating resin.
The flat cable 10 has a wide belt surface in a vertical posture and is routed in the horizontal direction, with one end attached to the vehicle body B side and the other end attached to the slide door D side. In the meantime, a surplus length portion 11 that slides in the horizontal front-rear direction along with the opening and closing of the slide door D is provided, and the surplus length portion 11 is folded back in a U shape in plan view with the flat cable 10 in a vertical posture.

One end side of the flat cable 10 attached to the vehicle body B is inserted into a protector 20 fixed to the vehicle body B.
As shown in FIG. 2, the protector 20 includes a protector main body 21 that allows the flat cable 10 to pass through the groove portion, and a separate cover 22 that covers the opening of the protector main body 21. The protector main body 21 is formed by connecting both side portions with different heights with a gentle S-shaped curve, a vertical S-shaped guide groove 23, an upper position horizontal guide groove 24 communicating with both ends of the vertical S-shaped guide groove 23, and a lower position. The horizontal guide groove 25 is provided continuously and integrally.
The inside of the vertical S-shaped guide groove 23 is formed wider than the vertical position horizontal guide grooves 24 and 25.

  Fixing and holding members 26 and 26 for fixing the flat cable 10 are detachably attached inside the upper position horizontal guide groove 24 and the lower position horizontal guide groove 25, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B), the fixed holding member 26 includes a pair of rubber pressing plates 26a and 26a. The flat cable 10 is sandwiched between the mutually opposing vertical surfaces 26b and 26b. The fitting protrusions 26c, 26c projecting outward from the side surfaces of the rubber pressing plates 26a, 26a are fitted into the fitting recesses 24a, 24a (25a, 25a) provided on the inner surfaces of both side walls of the horizontal guide groove 24 (25). The flat cable 10 is fixed in the protector body 21 in a vertical posture.

When the flat cable 10 is inserted into the protector 20 having the above-described configuration, first, the vehicle body mounting side of the flat cable 10 routed between the slide door D and the vehicle body B is placed horizontally below the protector body 21. Inserted into the guide groove 25 together with the reinforcing plate 12 described later, and then only the flat cable 10 is bent gently, inserted into the vertical S-shaped guide groove 23 while twisting, and then inserted into the upper horizontal guide groove 24 in the horizontal direction. is doing.
Finally, the both ends of the flat cable 10 routed in the vertical S-shaped guide groove 23 are fixed to the vertical guide horizontal guide grooves 24 and 25 using the fixed holding members 26 and 26, and the protector body 21 A cover 22 is placed on the upper surface.

A long belt-shaped metal reinforcing plate 12 is affixed to the extra length portion 11 of the flat cable 10 that is curved and routed in a U shape between the vehicle body B and the slide door D in order to improve the straight line retention. ing. The reinforcing plate 12 is inserted together with the flat cable 10 up to the lower horizontal guide groove 25, but is not inserted into the vertical S-shaped guide groove 23.
More specifically, the lower horizontal guide groove 25 projects the connecting side end with the vertical S-shaped guide groove 23 in the horizontal direction, and sandwiches the reinforcing plate 12 from both sides on the inner surfaces of both side walls of the projection 25b. The fixed protrusion 25c is provided, and the tip of the reinforcing plate 12 inserted through the lower horizontal guide groove 25 is fixed. Further, the reinforcing plate 12 is overlapped and held together with the flat cable 10 on the fixed holding member 26.

As described above, the flat cable 10 laid in the horizontal direction in the vertical posture at the lower position stretched between the slide door D and the vehicle body B is bent in the protector 20 while maintaining the vertical posture. After tilting upward, the direction can be changed in the opposite direction while further curving, and it can be routed horizontally in the vertical position even at the upper position.
Therefore, since the flat cable 10 can be continuously routed at different vertical heights while gently bending in a vertical S shape without being bent by 45 degrees, the burden on the conductor of the flat cable 10 can be reduced. It is possible to prevent problems such as disconnection.

  In addition, since the vertical height of the wiring position can be converted only by inserting the flat cable 10 into the protector 20, the wiring work is simplified and the assembling property is improved. Furthermore, since the inside of the vertical S-shaped guide groove 23 is formed wide, the extra length of the flat cable 10 can be absorbed in the vertical S-shaped guide groove 23, and the accuracy required for the scale and the like is eased. Can do.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the protector 20 not only allows the flat cable 10 to be continuously routed at positions having different vertical heights, but also causes the upper horizontal guide groove 24 to be parallel to the lower horizontal guide groove 25. The extra cable 11 extends between the vehicle body B and the slide door D in the direction in which the flat cable 10 is drawn out from the upper horizontal guide groove 24 by projecting in an inclined direction with an angle instead of It can be different from the routing direction.

4 (A) and 4 (B) show a modification, and the structure for fixing the flat cable 10 to the protector 20 is different from that of the first embodiment. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.
Inside the upper and lower horizontal guide grooves 24 and 25, four holding rods 27 project from the bottom surfaces 24d and 25d, respectively, to form a fixed holding portion (the upper horizontal guide groove 24 is shown). Example).
The four holding rods 27 are composed of rods 27a and 27c disposed on the left side and rods 27b and 27d disposed on the right side. These left rods 27a and 27c and the right rods 27b and 27d are alternately zigzag-shaped. Is arranged. However, when these four holding rods 27 are viewed from the front-rear direction in the cable routing direction, the left rods 27a, 27c and the right rods 27b, 27d are arranged so that at least a part of them overlap each other. There is no gap in the left-right width direction.

  By inserting the flat cable 10 so as to sew between the four pressing rods 27, the flat cable 10 is routed in a planar wave shape at the location of the pressing rod 27, and the flat cable 10 and each pressing rod Friction between the flat cable 10 and the flat cable 10 can be prevented from falling off or being displaced.

  5A and 5B show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the flat cable 10 is changed to a horizontal posture at the upper position. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  The fixed holding member 28 attached to the upper horizontal guide groove 24 is composed of two pairs of upper and lower rubber pressing plates 28a, 28a. The flat cable 10 is sandwiched between the horizontally opposed surfaces 28b, 28b of the rubber pressing plates 28a, 28a. ing. Thereafter, the fitting projections 28c, 28c that protrude from both side surfaces of the respective push plates 28a, 28a and are continuous with each other are fitted into the fitting depressions 24a, 24a of the upper horizontal guide groove 24 and attached to the flat plate. The cable 10 is fixed in the horizontal position in the upper position horizontal guide groove 24.

In the present embodiment, the flat cable 10 fixed in the vertical position in the lower position horizontal guide groove 25 is twisted in the middle to change the position, and the upper position horizontal guide groove 24 is fixed in a horizontal position by the fixed holding member 28. ing. In this way, the degree of freedom in routing can be further increased by converting the mounting posture of the flat cable 10 by utilizing bending and twisting.
Also, the flat cable 10 can be mounted in a posture by inclining the opposing surfaces 26b, 26b, 28b, 28b of the pressing plates 26a, 26a, 28a, 28a of the fixed holding members 26, 28 with respect to a vertical surface or a horizontal surface. It can be changed to various orientations as well as vertical and horizontal postures.

  6 to 8 show a third embodiment of the present invention. Instead of the vertical S-shaped routing portion in the first embodiment, the flat cable 10 is moved to a position where the vertical height is different by interposing a vertical spiral winding. Are arranged continuously.

Specifically, the flat cable 10 on one end side attached to the vehicle body B is inserted into the protector 30.
As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the protector 30 has a cylindrical protector main body 31 that accommodates a flat cable and has openings at both ends and an upper surface, and a separate cover 32 that covers the upper surface of the protector main body 31. Consists of.

As shown in FIG. 7, the protector main body 31 is formed by continuously and integrally forming a vertical spiral guide tube 33, an upper position horizontal guide groove 34, and a lower position horizontal guide groove 35. As shown in FIG. 8, the vertical spiral guide cylinder 33 includes an outer cylinder 37 erected vertically upward from the bottom wall 36 and a central guide erected so as to be inclined toward the upper horizontal guide groove 34. A space serving as a cable passage 39 is provided between the tube 38 and the tube 38.
The upper position horizontal guide groove 34 and the lower position horizontal guide groove 35 communicate with the cable passage 39 of the vertical spiral guide tube 33.

  Fixing and holding members 40 and 40 for fixing the flat cable 10 are detachably mounted in the upper position horizontal guide groove 34 and the lower position horizontal guide groove 35, respectively. Like the fixing and holding member 26 in the first embodiment, the fixing and holding member 40 includes a pair of rubber pressing plates 40a and 40a, and the flat cable 10 is sandwiched between mutually perpendicular facing surfaces (not shown). The fitting protrusions 40c, 40c projecting outward from the side surfaces of the rubber pressing plates 40a, 40a are fitted into the fitting depressions 34a, 34a, 35a, 35a provided on the inner surfaces of both side walls of the horizontal guide grooves 34, 35. The flat cable 10 is fixed in the protector body 31 in a vertical posture.

When the flat cable 10 is inserted into the protector 30 having the above-described configuration, first, the flat cable 10 is routed between the slide door D and the vehicle body B, and the vehicle body mounting portion (not shown) below the floor. The protector body 31 is inserted into the lower horizontal guide groove 35 together with the reinforcing plate 12. Thereafter, only the flat cable 10 is wound up along the outer peripheral surface of the central guide tube 38 of the vertical spiral guide tube 33 while maintaining a vertical posture, and is wound up to the upper position, and is horizontally moved to the upper position horizontal guide groove 34. Insert in the direction.
Finally, using the fixed holding members 40, 40, both ends of the flat cable 10 routed in the vertical spiral guide tube 33 are fixed to the vertical guide horizontal guide grooves 34, 35 on the upper surface of the protector body 31. Cover 32 is covered.

  In the lower horizontal guide groove 35, a pair of fixings sandwiching the reinforcing plate 12 from both sides at the end portion on the connection side with the vertical spiral guide tube 33 and on the outer side opposite to the spiral winding side. The protruding portion 35b is provided so as to protrude from the bottom surface, and the distal end portion of the reinforcing plate 12 inserted into the lower position horizontal guide groove 35 is fixed by the fixed protruding portion 35b.

Thus, in the lower position from the slide door D to the floor of the vehicle body B, the flat cable 10 wired in the horizontal direction in the vertical posture is wound up upward while being spirally wound in the protector 30. As it is, it is routed horizontally in the vertical position even at the upper position. Accordingly, as in the above-described embodiments, it is possible to continuously route the cables by changing the position in the height direction without using a bent cable. Therefore, the load on the conductor of the flat cable 10 can be reduced, and the wire breaks. Etc. can be prevented.
Further, the wiring work is simplified, the assembling property is good, and the high degree of freedom in the wiring is the same as in the above embodiment.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a vehicle provided with a flat cable routing structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part disassembled perspective view of 1st Embodiment. (A) (B) is a figure which shows the operation | work procedure which fixes a flat cable to a protector with the fixing holding member shown in FIG. The principal part of the modification of 1st Embodiment of this invention is shown, (A) is a perspective view which shows the structure of a fixed holding | maintenance part, (B) is a perspective view which shows the state which penetrated the flat cable to the fixed holding | maintenance part. It is. The principal part of 2nd Embodiment of this invention is shown, (A) is a perspective view which shows the structure of a fixed holding member, (B) is a perspective view which shows the state which fixed the flat cable to the protector. The principal part of 3rd Embodiment of this invention is shown, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is explanatory drawing which shows the wiring structure in a protector main body. It is a top view which shows the wiring structure in the protector main body shown to FIG. 6 (B). It is explanatory drawing which shows the inside of the vertical spiral guide cylinder of FIG. 6 (B). It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the guide cylinder of this invention, and winding of a flat cable. It is a figure of a prior art example. It is a figure of another prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

10 Flat cable 20 Protector (S-shaped)
23 Vertical S-shaped guide groove 24 Upper position horizontal guide groove 25 Lower position horizontal guide groove 26, 28 Fixed holding member 30 Protector (vertical spiral)
33 Vertical spiral guide tube 34 Upper position horizontal guide groove 35 Lower position horizontal guide groove 37 Outer tube 38 Center guide tube B Car body D Slide door

Claims (5)

It is a long strip-like flexible flat cable routing structure,
The flat cable has a wide belt surface in a vertical posture and is routed in a horizontal direction at a lower position, and is tilted upward while being curved while maintaining a vertical posture at a required position, and the direction is changed. Curve in the opposite direction to the above at the upper end and change the routing direction to the horizontal direction at the upper position,
A vertical S-shaped wiring is interposed between the lower position and the upper position, and the flat cable is continuously bent at a position where the vertical height is different without being bent. Flat cable routing structure. The vertical S-shaped routing portion allows the flat cable to be inserted into a protector having a vertical S-shaped guide groove, and
The protector includes a lower position horizontal guide groove and an upper position horizontal guide groove communicating with both ends of the vertical S-shaped guide groove, and a flat cable fixing holding portion is provided in the upper and lower position horizontal guide grooves, The flat cable routing structure according to claim 1, wherein the flat cable is fixed at both ends of the vertical S-shaped routing portion. It is a long strip-like flexible flat cable routing structure,
The flat cable has a wide belt surface in a vertical posture and is routed in a horizontal direction at a lower position, and spirally wound while maintaining a vertical posture at a required position to change the wiring direction upward, Arrange the wiring direction to the horizontal direction at an upper position with an arbitrary height by spiral winding,
A flat cable characterized in that a vertical spiral winding is interposed between the lower position and the upper position, and the flat cable is continuously routed at different vertical heights without bending the flat cable. Routing structure. The spiral winding arrangement part is inserted into the protector having a vertical outer cylinder and a center guide cylinder, and is spirally wound along the outer peripheral surface of the center guide cylinder,
The protector includes a lower position horizontal guide groove and an upper position horizontal guide groove communicating with a cable passage between the outer cylinder and the center guide cylinder, and a flat cable fixing holding portion is provided in the upper and lower position horizontal guide grooves. The flat cable routing structure according to claim 3, wherein the flat cable is fixed at both ends of the spiral winding.   The flat cable is routed between a vehicle body and a sliding door, and on the vehicle body mounting side at one end of the flat cable, the flat cable is routed to the upper position by the S-shaped cable or the spiral cable. The flat cable routing structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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