JP2007124721A - Protector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a protector which is of simple structure, and can be manufactured at low cost, and is easy of threading of wiring material, and can surely protect a wiring material that is threaded, smoothly tracking the shift of a movable member. <P>SOLUTION: This protector is made of flexible resin or elastomer, and consists of a long material of U-shaped cross section, consisting of upper and lower frames and a coupling frame. The upper and lower frames are provided with V grooves that are counterposed up and down from the tip, leaving a space in the longitudinal direction. The upper and lower frames are provided with recesses for winding of a tape or a band for winding from the tip, at the necessary positions between these V grooves. In a state with the wiring material threaded in the inner space surrounded by the upper and lower frames and the coupling frame, the tape or the band can be wound around the periphery of the protector through the recess. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a protector. Specifically, the present invention is suitably used as a protector for a wiring member that is bridged between a vehicle body and a slide door, between a vehicle body and a movable seat, and is bent in accordance with the movement of the slide door or the movable seat. Is.

Conventionally, a sliding door type sliding door has been adopted as a side door of a vehicle such as a one-box car, and recently, two sliding doors that are moved in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are provided. There is also a sliding door that is moved away from each other when opened.
This sliding door is provided with a power window drive motor, a limit switch, and the like, and it is necessary to route a harness from the vehicle body side to the sliding door in order to supply power to these devices.

  In addition, the seat is provided with a seat slide mechanism that adjusts the position of the seat in the front-rear direction according to the physique and preference. In addition to this seat slide, many of the various adjusters provided on the seat, such as adjusting the seat back angle and the vertical position of the seat, are electrically operated.Therefore, a harness is connected from the vehicle body side to the movable seat to supply power to these devices. Need to be routed.

In this way, the flexible flat cable has excellent followability, including bending, as a wiring material that spans between the vehicle body and sliding door, between the vehicle body and the movable seat, and follows the movement of the door and seat. (Hereinafter referred to as FFC) is preferably used.
For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-245046 (Patent Document 1), an FFC is routed so as to be folded back in a U shape between a vehicle body and a slide door so as to be able to follow the opening and closing of the slide door. . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a belt-shaped steel plate 4 is superimposed on a flat cable (FFC) 1 in which a belt-shaped conductor 2 is covered with an insulating resin material 3, and these are held in a heat-shrinkable tube 5.
By adopting the above-described configuration, the belt-shaped steel plate 4 becomes a reinforcing member, the FFC 1 is slackened, interferes with surrounding members and is damaged, and prevents buckling at a position folded in a U shape. The FFC 1 can easily follow a movable member such as a slide door.

  However, with the above configuration, it is necessary to pass the FFC 1 and the strip-shaped steel plate 4 through the heat shrinkable tube 5 and further heat the heat shrinkable tube 5 to shrink. There is a problem that increases.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-176274 (Patent Document 2) discloses a plurality of cylindrical shapes shown in FIG. 6 as a protective member that can be externally mounted on a harness that spans between a vehicle body and a sliding door, a vehicle body, and a movable seat. A chain-like protector is provided in which the pins 6 of the unit units 8 are sequentially fitted into the holes 7.
However, in the chain-shaped protector shown in FIG. 6, it is necessary to sequentially connect the unit units 8 with the pins 6, which increases the number of parts and labor for assembling work.
Further, in either case of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, it is necessary to insert the wiring material into the heat shrinkable tube or the protector from the end, and the insertion work takes time, so the productivity is poor. There is also a problem.

JP 2000-245046 A JP 2002-176274 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a protector that is externally mounted on a wiring member that spans between a fixed member such as a vehicle body and a movable member such as a slide door, and has a simple structure and low cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide a protector that can be easily inserted into the wiring member, can smoothly follow the movement of the movable member, and can reliably protect the inserted wiring member.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is formed from a flexible resin or elastomer, and is made of a long material having a U-shaped cross section composed of an upper and lower frame and a connecting frame,
The upper and lower frames are provided with deep V-grooves extending from the tip to the connecting frame so as to face each other and spaced in the longitudinal direction, and the upper and lower frames at required positions between the V-grooves are provided from the tip. There is a recess for tape or band winding,
A tape or band for preventing the wiring material from being detached from the outer peripheral surface of the protector through the concave portion in a state where a wiring material made of a strip-shaped flexible flat cable or a group of electric wires is passed through the internal space surrounded by the upper and lower frames and the connecting frame. Is wound,
A protector characterized in that the wiring member is curvedly arranged with the connecting frame of the protector as the outer peripheral surface side, and both side surfaces of the V-groove located on the inner peripheral surface side are close to each other and can be bent at a required position. providing.

  According to the said structure, since a protector is formed from the elongate material of a cross-sectional U shape which consists of an upper and lower frame and a connection frame, it can arrange | position a wiring material easily to internal space from the opening side facing a connection frame. Can do. Therefore, it is not necessary to pass through the wiring material sequentially from one end in the length direction of the protector as in the conventional case, so that productivity can be improved. In addition, with the wiring material penetrated into the protector's internal space, the exterior of the protector to the wiring material can be completed simply by tape winding or band winding at a predetermined position, so parts compared to conventional chain protectors The number of points and assembly man-hours can be greatly reduced.

  Further, as described above, since the protector of the present invention is formed from a flexible resin or elastomer, the protector can be flexibly deformed according to the displacement of the wiring material, and the movable door such as a slide door or a movable sheet can be moved. Smoothly follow the movement of the member. Polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) is preferably used as the flexible resin, and the elastomer is easily molded by a resin molding machine in addition to a synthetic rubber such as ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM). It is also possible to use thermoplastic elastomers such as olefin and vinyl chloride that can be used.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the upper and lower frames of the protector are provided with the deep V-grooves that reach the connecting frame from the tip so as to face each other and are spaced apart in the length direction. The protector can be easily bent by simply bringing the surfaces close to each other. Furthermore, by providing a V-groove of a predetermined angle and restricting the range in which the protector can be bent until both sides of the V-groove come into contact with each other, the wiring material penetrating the internal space is bent so as not to be bent excessively. And damage to the wiring material can be prevented.

  The angle of the V-groove differs depending on how much the protector is bent. However, in the case of a protector that is externally mounted on a wiring member attached between the vehicle body and the sliding door or the movable seat, the angle of the V-groove is 50 to 50. It is preferable to be about 70 degrees. If the angle of the V-groove is smaller than 50 degrees, it is difficult to curve the protector in a desired direction, and it may not be possible to smoothly follow the movement of the movable member. On the other hand, if the angle of the V-groove exceeds 70 degrees, the protector can be bent greatly, and accordingly, the wiring member inserted inside may be bent and damaged.

  Further, as described above, a tape or band winding recess is provided on the upper and lower frames at a required position between the V grooves from the tip. Therefore, a state in which the wiring material can freely move inside the protector by winding a tape or band for preventing the separation of the wiring material around the outer peripheral surface of the protector through the recess while the wiring material is passed through the inner space of the protector. It is possible to prevent the wiring material from being detached from the opening to the outside. In addition, since the tape and the band are not displaced left and right by the both side surfaces of the recess, it is possible to reliably prevent the wiring material from being detached at a predetermined position.

  The recess is preferably rectangular, and the depth of the recess varies depending on the type and amount of wiring material inserted into the internal space, but is about 1/4 to 1/2 the width of the upper and lower frames. It is preferable. If the depth of the recess is shallower than 1/4 of the width of the upper and lower frames, the wound tape or band may be misaligned and the wiring material may not be reliably prevented from coming outside. If it becomes deeper than half of the width of the upper and lower frames, the internal wiring material may not move freely.

Moreover, it is preferable to make the inner surface side of the connection frame of a protector into a smooth surface so that a wiring material can move smoothly, without receiving a stress in the interior space of a protector.
Thus, according to the above configuration, it is possible to hold the wiring material in the internal space in a free state with as little stress as possible while preventing the wiring material penetrating through the internal space from being released to the outside. Therefore, the wiring material can smoothly follow the movement of the movable member without being damaged.

It is preferable that a long protective sheet made of a resin sheet or a metal sheet is inserted into the internal space together with the wiring member, and the protective sheet is positioned on the opening side between the upper and lower frames.
According to the said structure, since the protective sheet exists in the opening side between upper and lower frames, a wiring material does not contact a tape or a band, and damage to the wiring material by contact can be prevented. In particular, in the case of tape winding, by placing the protective sheet on the opening side and bonding the protective sheet to the adhesive surface of the tape, the tape adheres to the wiring material such as FFC and damages the wiring material. It is preferable because the free movement of the wiring member can be effectively prevented and the protective sheet does not come out of the protector.
Further, the protective sheet is preferably slightly curved in the cross section in the vertical direction, and the linearity in the length direction can be maintained by bending.

As the protective sheet, a resin sheet such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polypropylene (PP) or a metal sheet such as a steel core (SK-5) is preferably used, and its thickness is about 1 to 2 mm. Is preferred. If the thickness of the protective sheet is less than 1 mm, the wiring material may not be reliably protected. If the thickness exceeds 2 mm, flexible movement of the protector or the wiring material may be hindered.
Moreover, it is preferable that the length of the protective sheet is approximately the same as the length of the protector. Thereby, a wiring material can be protected over the full length of a protector. Moreover, it is preferable that the width | variety of a protective sheet shall be comparable as the distance between upper and lower frames.

It is preferable that the wiring material is a flexible flat cable (FFC), and a plurality of FFCs are overlapped and inserted into the internal space.
As described above, a thin FFC having excellent followability is perpendicular to the outer peripheral surface of the protector in the space formed by the upper and lower frames and the connecting frame of the protector and the tape or band wound around the outer peripheral surface of the protector through the recess. By inserting in a posture, a plurality of FFCs can be overlapped and inserted, and power can be supplied to a large number of circuits in a space-saving manner.

The protector is preferably made of an extrusion-molded product, and is preferably used by cutting the extrusion-molded product according to the length of the wiring material to be inserted.
As described above, since the protector has the same shape in the length direction, it can be easily manufactured at low cost by extrusion, and various slides can be obtained simply by cutting the extruded product according to the length of the wiring material to be inserted. A protective structure for the wiring material corresponding to the length can be produced.

The wiring member is preferably attached between the vehicle body and the door, and between the vehicle body and the movable seat.
In this way, the wiring member is inserted into the inner space surrounded by the upper and lower frames and the connecting frame, and the both ends in the longitudinal direction of the protector, in which the tape or the band is wound around the outer peripheral surface through the recess, are fixed members. When a protector is bent in a U-shape by being fixed to a certain vehicle body and a sliding door or a movable seat as a movable member, the wiring material inserted into the sliding member is a movable member without being damaged. And the movement of the movable sheet can be smoothly followed.

As described above, according to the protector of the present invention, the wiring material is arranged from the opening side facing the connection frame in the internal space surrounded by the upper and lower frames of the long material having a U-shaped cross section and the connection frame, and the predetermined position It is possible to obtain a wiring material protection structure that can smoothly follow the movement of the movable member while securely protecting the wiring material inserted through the tape or band around the outer peripheral surface of the protector through the recess of it can. In particular, since the protector does not have a structure in which the unit blocks are connected to each other unlike the conventional chain protector, it has a very simple structure and can reduce the number of parts and the number of assembly steps. be able to.
Moreover, the protection structure corresponding to various slide length can be formed only by cutting | disconnecting the said elongate material according to the length of the wiring material to penetrate, and it is excellent also in versatility.

  Furthermore, if the protector is an exterior protective material for the wiring material that spans between the vehicle body and the door, and between the vehicle body and the movable seat, it can smoothly follow the movement of the wiring material such as bending and bending, and the protector can be made of rubber or Since it is formed of an elastomer, it can be bent into a U shape corresponding to the wiring form of the wiring material. Furthermore, since it has a simple structure, it can be miniaturized and has various advantages such as being applicable to a narrow wiring space.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, an FFC (flexible flat cable) 1 in which a strip-shaped conductor is covered with an insulating resin material is attached between a vehicle body 18 and a slide door 19 of an automobile. 10 protects.

The protector 10 is a long material having a U-shaped cross section composed of upper and lower frames 11, 12 and a connecting frame 13, and is made of an extruded product of PP resin having flexibility.
The protector 10 is formed by cutting an extrusion-molded product in accordance with the length of the FFC 1 that has a length that can follow the opening / closing operation of the slide door 19.
Specifically, the upper frame 11 and the lower frame 12 of the protector 10 are provided with deep V-grooves 14 that face the connecting frame 13 from the tip, and a plurality of them are provided at predetermined intervals in the length direction. It has been. The angle of the V groove 14 is 60 degrees in the present embodiment.
Further, an intermediate portion between the adjacent V grooves 14 provided in the upper and lower frames 11 and 12 has a width that allows tape winding, and a depth that is about 1/3 of the width of the upper and lower frames 11 and 12. A rectangular concave portion 15 having the shape is provided.
Further, the inner peripheral surface of the connecting frame 13 of the protector 10 is a smooth surface so as not to give stress to the FFC 1 inserted inside.

  From the opening side of the protector 10 facing the connecting frame 13, a plurality of FFCs 1 (eight in the present embodiment) connect the connecting frame 13 to the inner space surrounded by the upper and lower frames 11, 12 and the connecting frame 13. And a protective sheet 16 made of PET is disposed on the opening side. The thickness of the protective sheet 16 is 1.5 mm, has a width that is approximately the same as the distance between the upper and lower frames 11 and 12, and has a length that is approximately the same as the FFC 1 to be inserted.

  With the FFC 1 and the protective sheet 16 penetrating, a tape 17 for preventing the wiring material from being detached is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the protector 10 through the recess 15, and the protective sheet 16 is held in a state of being bonded to the adhesive surface of the tape 17. . In this embodiment, tape is not wound around all the recesses, but the tape 17 is wound at a predetermined interval. However, the number of tape windings can be increased as necessary. In this way, the exterior of the protector 10 to the FFC 1 is completed, and the FFC 1 is not separated from the opening side to the outside, and the FFC 1 is in the space formed by the upper and lower frames 11, 12, the connecting frame 13 and the wound tape 17. It is held free.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the protector 10 packaged on the FFC 1 is arranged in a U-shape between a vehicle body 18 and a slide door 19 of an automobile in a plan view with a surplus length. Both ends in the length direction of the protector 10 are fixed to the vehicle body 18 and the slide door 19 via a fixture, and a connector (not shown) connected to the terminal of the FFC 1 is a connector of a wire harness terminal routed to the vehicle body 18. On the other hand, a connector (not shown) connected to the other terminal of the FFC 1 is connected to a connector of a door harness terminal routed in the slide door 19.

  4A shows the fully closed state of the slide door 19. As shown in FIG. 4B, when the slide door 19 is slid in the direction of the arrow and released from the fully closed state, the FFC 1 inserted into the protector 10 is inserted. It is possible to smoothly follow the movement of the slide door 19 without damaging the door.

  Since the protector 10 having the above-described configuration is formed of a long material having a U-shaped cross section including the upper and lower frames 11 and 12 and the connecting frame 13, the FFC 1 can be easily disposed in the internal space from the opening side. Further, since a plurality of deep V-grooves 14 are provided on the upper and lower frames 11 and 12 of the protector so as to face each other vertically, the protector 10 can be easily bent only by bringing both side surfaces of the upper and lower V-grooves 14 close to each other. . Further, since the upper and lower frames 11 and 12 are provided with a recess 15 for winding the tape, the FFC 1 is moved from the opening to the outside by winding the tape through the recess 15 with the FFC 1 penetrating into the inner space of the protector 10. It is possible to prevent separation. Further, since the FFC 1 is held in the protector 10 in a free state, the FFC 1 can smoothly follow the movement of the slide door 19 without being damaged.

Moreover, since the protective sheet 16 is arrange | positioned in the opening side in the protector 10 of the said structure, damage to FFC1 can be prevented, without contacting the tape 17 in which FFC1 was wound.
Furthermore, since a plurality of FFCs 1 are overlapped and inserted into the internal space, it is possible to supply power to a large number of circuits provided in the slide door 19 such as a power window, a door lock, and a door illumination in a small space. .

  As described above, the protector 10 having the above-described structure can be provided at a low cost because the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced. Even if it is a routing space, it can route easily and can follow the movement of the slide door 19 smoothly, protecting FFC1 reliably.

In the second embodiment, the FFC for attaching the FFC between the vehicle body and the movable seat is covered with a protector similar to that of the first embodiment. The second embodiment is different in use only, and the protector is similar in form to the first embodiment, and is not shown. The length of the protector is adjusted according to the slide length of the movable sheet.
According to the above configuration, even when the FFC is attached to the vehicle body and the movable seat, it is possible to smoothly follow the movement of the movable seat while reliably protecting the FFC inside the protector.

It is a schematic perspective view of the protector used for 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the protector of FIG. It is the sectional view on the AA line of the protector of FIG. A state where a flat cable is bridged between the vehicle body and the slide door is shown, (A) is a schematic plan view showing the fully closed state of the slide door, and (B) is a state where the slide door is slid in the opening direction. FIG. It is drawing which shows a prior art example. It is drawing which shows another prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

10 Flexible flat cable (FFC)
11 Upper frame 12 Lower frame 13 Connecting portion 14 V groove 15 Recess 16 Protective sheet 17 Tape 18 Car body 19 Slide door

Claims (5)

It is formed from a flexible resin or elastomer, and consists of a long material with a U-shaped cross section consisting of an upper and lower frame and a connecting frame,
The upper and lower frames are provided with deep V-grooves extending from the tip to the connecting frame so as to face each other and spaced in the longitudinal direction, and the upper and lower frames at required positions between the V-grooves are provided from the tip. There is a recess for tape or band winding,
A tape or band for preventing the wiring material from being detached from the outer peripheral surface of the protector through the concave portion in a state where a wiring material made of a strip-shaped flexible flat cable or a group of electric wires is passed through the internal space surrounded by the upper and lower frames and the connecting frame. Is wound,
The protector is characterized in that the wiring member is curvedly arranged with the connecting frame of the protector as the outer peripheral surface side, and the both side surfaces of the V-groove located on the inner peripheral surface side are close to each other and can be bent at a required position.   The protector according to claim 1, wherein a long protective sheet made of a resin sheet or a metal sheet is inserted into the internal space together with the wiring member, and the protective sheet is positioned at an opening between the upper and lower frames.   The protector according to claim 1, wherein the wiring member is formed of a flexible flat cable, and a plurality of flexible flat cables are stacked and inserted into the internal space.   The protector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protector is made of an extruded product and is used by cutting the extruded product according to the length of a wiring material to be inserted.   The protector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wiring member is attached between a vehicle body and a door, and between the vehicle body and a movable seat.

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