JP2008174035A - Power supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent increase in the size of a protector and to smoothly and securely absorb harness excess length corresponding to a large slide amount. <P>SOLUTION: This power supply device 1 is provided with the protector 2 having a long opening 12 for swingably leading out a wire harness 15; two harness guide members 5, 6 provided to freely advance/retract to/from the swinging direction of the wire harness 15; and elastic members 7, 8 for energizing the respective harness guide members 5, 6 to directions opposing to each other. The wire harness 15 is bent to the reverse direction along the respective harness guide members 5, 6 and arranged passing through a space between the respective harness guide members 5, 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply apparatus in which a wire harness is bent and routed along a harness guide member in a protector, for example, to constantly supply power to a slide door of an automobile.

  5 to 6 show an embodiment of a conventional power feeding device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  This power supply device 50 is disposed on a sliding door 41 of an automobile, and includes a protector 42 made of a synthetic resin that houses the wire harness 43 in a bendable manner, and a metal leaf spring that urges the wire harness 43 upward in the protector. 44.

  The protector 42 is composed of a protector base (substitute with reference numeral 42) and a protector cover (not shown). The protector base and the protector cover each have a vertical substrate portion 51 and an outer peripheral peripheral wall 52 that face each other. Is locked to the protector base by locking means, and the protector base is fixed to the panel of the slide door 41 with bolts 56 and locking clips. An annular harness winding portion 54 that regulates the bending radius of the wire harness 43 and the leaf spring 44 is integrally provided on the inner surface of the substrate portion 51.

  The lower end portion of the leaf spring 44 is fixed together with the wire harness 43 to the harness fixing portion 55 on the lower front end side of the protector 42, and the synthetic resin cap side of the leaf spring 44 stably supports the wire harness 43.

  The wire harness 43 is configured by covering a plurality of insulation-coated wires 43a with a corrugated tube 43b made of synthetic resin, and the lower front end of the corrugated tube 43b is fixed to the fixing portion 55 of the protector 42 by tape winding or the like. The corrugated tube 43b has circumferential concave grooves and ridges alternately in the tube longitudinal direction and exhibits good flexibility.

  One electric wire portion 43a of the wire harness 43 is led out from the front portion of the protector 42 and connected to an auxiliary machine on the slide door side. The other corrugated tube portion 43b of the wire harness 43 swings from the elongated lower opening 45 of the protector 42 to the harness fixture (harness fixing portion) 53 on the step 48 side of the vehicle body 47 through the crossing space 46 (FIG. 6). It is routed freely and connected to a wire harness (not shown) on the vehicle body side via a harness fixture 53. The protector 42 is covered and hidden by a synthetic resin door trim (not shown), and the wire harness 43 is led out to the vehicle body side from the opening at the lower end of the door trim.

  FIG. 5 shows a fully closed state of the slide door 41, and FIG. In the fully closed state of the slide door 41, the wire harness 43 is pulled rearward with the harness fixture 53 as a fulcrum. The wire harness 43 is bent along the outer peripheral surface of the harness winding portion 54 while the slide door 41 is fully opened, and the minimum bending radius of the wire harness 43 and the leaf spring 44 is restricted. Bending deformation (plastic deformation) more than necessary is prevented.

  The wire harness 43 tries to loosen downward in the half-opened state of the slide door 41, but is urged upward by the leaf spring 44 to absorb the slack (extra length) and prevent pinching due to drooping. Immediately after opening, the sliding door 41 moves away from the vehicle body 47 along a guide rail (not shown).

  In addition, it is also possible to arrange | position the said electric power feeder 50 horizontally on the vehicle body 47 instead of the slide door 41 (refer patent document 1).

  7 to 8 show other forms of a conventional power feeding device (see Patent Document 2).

  As shown in FIG. 7, the power supply device 60 includes a rectangular protector (case) 62 made of synthetic resin, a harness guide member 63 slidably disposed in the protector in the longitudinal direction of the protector (front and rear), and the harness guide member 63. And a compression coil spring 64 that urges the front to the front.

  The harness guide member 63 has an arc surface 63 a on the front end side, and the wire harness 65 is bent and routed along the arc surface 63 a, and a coil spring 64 is provided between the rear end surface of the harness guide member 63 and the rear wall of the protector 62. Is set up.

  The protector 62 is composed of a lower protector base (represented by reference numeral 62) and an upper protector cover (not shown). The protector 62 has a long opening 66 for leading out a harness on one side of the long side. A narrow opening 67 for leading out the harness is provided on the wall, and the wire harness 65 is fixed to the protector 62 in the vicinity of the opening 67.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the power feeding device 60 is mounted horizontally on the vehicle body 47 side, and one part of the wire harness 65 is routed from the elongated opening 66 of the protector 62 (FIG. 7) to the slide door 41 side. Is routed from the narrow opening 67 to the vehicle body side. As the slide door 41 is opened and closed, the wire harness 65 swings along the elongated opening 66, and the harness guide member 63 advances by the biasing force of the coil spring 64 to absorb the harness surplus length.

In addition, it is also possible to arrange | position the said electric power feeder 60 horizontally to the slide door 41 instead of the vehicle body 47 (refer patent document 2).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-354085 (FIGS. 4, 7, and 13) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-264929 (FIGS. 4, 7, and 8)

  However, in the conventional power feeding device 50 of FIG. 5, since the wire harness 43 is urged upward in the protector 42 using the leaf spring 44, the sliding amount of the sliding door 41 is set large. As it was done, the protector 42 tended to enlarge in the height direction for absorbing the extra harness length. In addition, in order to restrict the minimum bending radius of the leaf spring 44 by the harness winding portion 54 in the protector, the harness winding portion 44 tends to be relatively large particularly in a light vehicle or a small vehicle, and the protector 42 tends to be enlarged. there were.

  Further, in the conventional power feeding device 60 of FIG. 7, since the harness guide member 63 is biased in one direction by the coil spring 64, the harness surplus is increased as the sliding amount of the slide door 41 increases. There is a concern that the protector 62 is enlarged in the longitudinal direction for long absorption, and the biasing stroke of the coil spring 64 is limited, so that it is difficult to absorb the extra length smoothly. Further, when the sliding door 41 of FIG. 8 is fully closed and half open (when the surplus length is absorbed), the harness guide member 63 is moved forward together with the wire harness 65 by the biasing force of the coil spring 64 in the protector. There was a concern that the wire harness 65 was easily hooked.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a power feeding device that can prevent the enlargement of a protector in view of the above points, and can absorb a harness surplus length smoothly and reliably without being caught in response to a large slide amount. And

  In order to achieve the above object, a power feeding device according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided with a protector having a long opening for swinging out a wire harness and swinging forward and backward in the swinging direction of the wire harness. Two harness guide members and elastic members for urging each harness guide member in the opposite direction, the wire harness being bent in the opposite direction along each harness guide member, and between the harness guide members Characterized by being routed through.

  With the above configuration, the two harness guide members are urged away from each other in the harness swinging direction by the respective elastic members in a free state and separated. The wire harness is routed in a protector from one harness guide member in a substantially S-shape along the other harness member, and the harness guide members are separated in the swinging direction by the urging force of each elastic member. Thus, the wire harness is drawn into the protector and the extra length is absorbed.

  For example, when the power feeding device is arranged vertically on the slide structure, the wire harness is routed from the power feeding device to the fixed structure, and the wire harness is moved from the protector at the forward / backward end position (fully opened and fully closed position) of the slide structure. While being pulled out, one of the harness guide members moves against the urging force of the elastic member, and one of the other harness guide members moves in the same direction by the urging force of the elastic member. The wire harness tries to hang down between the slide structure and the fixed structure at the intermediate movement position (half-open position) of the slide structure, but one harness guide member moves by the urging force of the elastic member, and the wire harness The other harness guide member maintains the retracted state of the wire harness by the urging force of the elastic member.

  A power supply apparatus according to a second aspect is the power supply apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the harness guide members are movable in parallel.

  With the above configuration, each harness guide member draws the wire harness into the protector while absorbing the extra length while moving in the opposite direction and in parallel by the urging force of each elastic member. When the wire harness is pulled out, one of the harness guide members moves against the urging force of the elastic member, while the other harness guide member moves in parallel in the same direction by the urging force of the elastic member.

  A power supply device according to a third aspect is the power supply device according to the first or second aspect, wherein each of the harness guide members is a rotatable roller.

  With the above configuration, the sliding friction between the wire harness and each harness guide member is reduced, and the wire harness is drawn out and retracted (excess length absorption) smoothly and reliably with a small force.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the wire harness can be largely pulled into the protector by the two harness guide members biased in the opposite directions, the harness surplus length absorption amount is increased, and a large slide such as a slide door is provided. Can accommodate the quantity. Moreover, since the amount of harness drawing into the protector is large and the extra length absorption efficiency is high, the protector can be reduced in size accordingly. In addition, since the wire harness can be smoothly led out from the protector with the second harness guide member as a fulcrum while correctly regulating the direction of the swing in the swinging direction, the wire harness can be pulled out and pulled in smoothly and reliably without being caught. Long-time absorption), and the reliability of constant power supply is improved.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the two harness guide members move in parallel in the same direction or in the opposite direction, so that the urging force of the elastic member is accurately and efficiently transmitted, and the extra length absorption performance of the wire harness is improved. As the height increases, the protector is made compact in the harness swing orthogonal direction (height direction).

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the wire harness can be pulled out and retracted (excess length absorption) smoothly and reliably with low friction and with a small force, and the elastic member can be downsized and improved in durability and the wire harness. Durability can be improved by preventing wear of the metal.

  1 to 4 show an embodiment of a power feeding device according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this power supply device 1 is mounted vertically (vertically) on a sliding door (sliding structure not shown) of an automobile, and is provided with a protector (case) 2 made of synthetic resin, and slides in the vehicle longitudinal direction in the protector. A pair of upper and lower harness guide rollers (harness guide members) 5 and 6 provided freely, and elastic members 7 and 8 for urging the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 in opposite directions in the protector. It is.

  The protector 2 includes a low-profile protector base 3 and a protector cover 4, and the protector base 3 and the protector cover 4 are fixed to each other by locking means (not shown). The upper wall 9 of the protector 2 is formed horizontally, the upper wall 9 continues to a vertical front wall 10 and a rear wall 11 having two steps of upper and lower steps, and the rear wall 11 is an upper wall. 9, a long horizontal wall 11 b following the vertical wall 11 a, and a short vertical wall 11 c following the horizontal wall 11 b, and each of the front and rear wall portions 10, 11 is a lower lateral harness It continues to the lead-out opening 12.

  Each of the wall portions 9 to 11, that is, the peripheral wall continues perpendicular to the vertical substrate portion 13. The upper half of the protector 2 is formed short in the front-rear direction and the lower half is formed long in the front-rear direction due to the level difference of the rear wall 11. The lower end 12b of the rear wall portion 11 is positioned above the lower end 12a (FIG. 2) of the front wall portion 10, and the rear end 12b of the elongated opening 12 is cut out longer than the front end 12a. .

  A narrow opening 14 for leading out the harness is provided in the upper part of the rear wall 11, the upper portion 15 a of the wire harness 15 is led out from the opening 14 along the upper wall 9, and band fastening is performed in the vicinity of the opening 14. It is fixed to the protector 2 by a fixing means (fixing part) such as a tape winding or the like, and is connected to an auxiliary machine or the like (not shown) on the slide door side.

  Further, the lower portion 15b of the wire harness 15 is led out from the lower opening 12 to the vehicle body (fixed structure not shown) side so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction, and a harness fixing portion (not shown) in the vicinity of the step portion of the vehicle body. 2), a wire harness (not shown) on the vehicle body side (power supply side) is connected via a harness fixing portion. A harness guide surface (not shown) having a curved longitudinal section is preferably formed at the lower end of the protector cover 4 along the lower opening 12. In addition, the shape of the protector 2 is not necessarily restricted to the form of FIG. In this embodiment, the direction of “front / rear / up / down” is matched with the front / rear / up / down direction of the vehicle.

  The upper harness guide roller 5 is slidably disposed in the horizontal direction between the front wall 10 and the rear upper vertical wall 11a in the upper half of the protector 2, and the lower harness guide roller 6 is The lower half of the protector 2 is slidably disposed in the horizontal direction between the front wall 10 and the rear lower vertical wall 11c.

  Each of the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 is preferably formed of a synthetic resin material. The harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are separated in the depth direction of the protector 2, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the swinging direction of the wire harness 15, and can move forward and backward in the swinging direction of the wire harness 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 3, the upper harness guide roller 5 is biased forward (right side in the figure) by a compression coil spring 7 that is an elastic member. The compression coil spring 7 is elastically provided between the harness guide roller 5 and the rear upper half vertical wall 11a.

  The lower harness guide roller 6 is urged rearward (left side in the figure) by a compression coil spring 8 which is an elastic member. The compression coil spring 8 is elastically provided between the harness guide roller 6 and the front wall portion 10. The coil springs 7 and 8 may have the same spring force.

  As an example of the sliding mechanism of each harness guide roller 5, 6, a pair of parallel slit holes (not shown) in the horizontal direction are provided in the vertical substrate portion 13 of the protector base 3, and the harness guide rollers 5, 6 A boss (not shown) and a flange (not shown) projecting from the outer periphery of the tip of the boss are provided on one side of the center, and the boss is slidably engaged with the slit hole. A structure in which the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are prevented from coming off by slidably contacting the outer surface.

  As another example of the sliding mechanism, a horizontal pair of upper and lower parallel slit holes (not shown) are provided in each vertical substrate portion 13 of the protector base 3 and the protector cover 4 so that the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 There is a structure in which shaft portions are provided on both sides of the central portion, and the shaft portions are slidably engaged with the slit holes. The slide mechanism can be appropriately set as necessary.

  When the tips of the compression coil springs 7 and 8 are brought into elastic contact with, for example, the outer peripheral surfaces of the harness guide rollers 5 and 6, the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are structured not to rotate. In this embodiment, each harness guide roller 5, 6 is formed in a circular shape as a harness winding portion, and has an outer peripheral surface with a width that supports the corrugated tube 16 on the outer periphery of the wire harness 15. You may form the outer peripheral surface of each harness guide roller 5 and 6 in cross-sectional arc shape like a pulley.

  In order to make each of the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 rotatable about the boss or the shaft portion, for example, each receiving member (not shown) is connected to the outside of the boss or the shaft portion, and the boss is connected to each receiving member. Further, there is a structure in which the shaft portion is rotatable, and the tip ends of the coil springs 7 and 8 are elastically contacted with each receiving member.

  A tension coil spring (not shown) is used as an elastic member instead of the compression coil springs 7 and 8, and a tension coil spring is elastically provided between the upper harness guide roller 5 and the front wall portion 10 of the protector 2. It is also possible to provide a tension coil spring between the lower harness guide roller 6 and the rear wall 11 of the protector 2 so that the tip of each tension coil spring is fixed to each receiving member. Further, as the elastic member, a corrugated leaf spring (not shown) may be used instead of the coil spring, or rubber or the like (not shown) may be used instead of the spring. The corrugated leaf spring is disposed so that the corrugated portion faces the substrate portion 13 to prevent sagging.

  Since the structure for rotating the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 is complicated, the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are not necessarily rotated in the embodiment shown in FIGS. Even if the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 do not rotate, the wire harness 15 slides and bends with respect to the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 without any problem in actual use.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the wire harness 15 introduced from the upper opening 14 of the protector 2 is folded back in a U-shape at 180 ° along the outer peripheral surface 5a of the upper half of the upper harness guide roller 5, and the lower harness guide It is led out to the outside (vehicle body side) from the lower opening 12 along the outer peripheral surface 6b of the latter half of the roller 6. The wire harness 15 is bent in the opposite direction along the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 and routed between the harness guide rollers 5 and 6.

  The wire harness 15 of the present embodiment is composed of a plurality of insulation-coated electric wires 17 and a bendable corrugated tube 16 made of synthetic resin and covering the outside thereof. Instead of the corrugated tube 16, a mesh tube may be used, or a plurality of electric wires 17 may be bound by rough winding of tape or band fastening without using these protective tubes.

  FIG. 1 shows the fully closed state of the slide door as in FIG. 2 to 4, the protector cover 4 is not shown and the inside of the protector 2 is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the sliding door is fully closed (when the sliding door is slid forwardly together with the protector 2 and closed), the wire harness 15 has a harness fixing portion (not shown) on the vehicle body side. The rear end of the lower opening 12 of the protector 2 (rear side swing end position) 12b is drawn backward from the fulcrum.

  At this time, the upper harness guide roller 5 is pressed rearward as indicated by an arrow at the upper bent portion 15c of the wire harness 15, and moves rearward against the bias of the upper coil spring 7 (FIG. 3). The upper coil spring 7 is compressed most. Further, the lower harness guide roller 6 moves rearward as indicated by the arrow by the urging force of the lower coil spring 8, and the lower coil spring 8 is substantially extended most.

  An intermediate horizontal straight portion 15d following the upper bent portion 15c of the wire harness 15 is linearly positioned without slack along the horizontal wall 11b on the rear side of the protector 2, and a lower bent portion 15e following the straight portion 15d. Is biased backward by the lower coil spring 8. Needless to say, the upper portion 15a of the wire harness 15 is fixed to the protector 2 on the opening 14 side.

  As the sliding door is slid backward together with the protector 2 from the fully closed state of FIG. 2, the lower portion 15 b of the wire harness 15 uses the lower harness guide roller 6 as a fulcrum and the latter half of the lower opening 12. When the sliding door of FIG. 3 is half-opened while swinging forward along the section, the wire harness 15 loosens at the swing intermediate position 12c and tries to hang down in the transition space between the vehicle body. When the harness guide roller 5 moves forward as indicated by the arrow by the urging force of the upper coil spring 7, the lower harness portion 15b is drawn into the protector and the extra length is absorbed.

  As the wire harness 15 swings, the lower harness guide roller 6 moves forward as shown by the arrow against the bias of the lower coil spring 8. First, the upper harness guide roller 5 moves forward with a spring bias, and then the lower harness guide roller 6 moves forward against the spring bias.

  By sliding the slide door together with the protector 2 further backward from the half-open state of FIG. 3, the wire harness 15 swings forward along the front half of the lower opening 12, while the slide door of FIG. Is fully pulled out from the front end portion (front swing end position) 12a of the opening 12 toward the vehicle body side as indicated by an arrow.

  At this time, the lower harness guide roller 6 is pushed forward by the lower bent portion 15e of the wire harness 15 against the urging of the lower coil spring 8, and moves forward as indicated by an arrow. The upper harness guide roller 5 is maintained in the state of the door half-opened in FIG. 3 and is urged forward by the upper coil spring 7. The upper and lower guide rollers 5 and 6 are positioned on substantially the same vertical line, and the wire harness 15 is bent in a substantially S shape from the top to the bottom. The lower bent portion 15e of the wire harness 15 is pressed and urged rearward by the lower coil spring 8, so that the wire harness 15 is wound around the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 without slack in the protector.

  When the door of FIG. 4 is fully opened, the length of the wire harness 15 from the protector 2 to the harness fixing portion (not shown) of the vehicle body is set to the shortest. Alternatively, the length of the wire harness 15 from the protector 2 to the harness fixing portion (not shown) of the vehicle body is set to the shortest when the door is fully closed in FIG. When the sliding door is closed from the fully opened position in FIG. 4, the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are moved rearward while the wire harness 15 is swung rearward as shown in FIGS.

  In the above embodiment, the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are formed in a circular shape. However, the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are not formed in a circular shape, for example, they are formed in a semicircular shape. It is also possible to form it. In these cases, it is preferable to call the guide block or the like instead of the guide roller.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the two harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are moved in parallel. However, the two harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are moved in a slightly inclined manner instead of in parallel, for example, in a letter C shape. It is also possible to do.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the protector 2 was arrange | positioned at the sliding door of the vehicle left side, and the protector cover 4 was demonstrated in the example located near the vehicle interior, for example, the protector 2 is reversed and arranged in FIG. When the protector base 3 is arranged closer to the vehicle compartment, the sliding door shown in FIG. 2 is fully opened, and the sliding door shown in FIG. 4 is fully opened.

  In the above embodiment, the protector 2 is vertically disposed on the slide door. However, for example, the protector 2 is vertically disposed on the vehicle body, or horizontally disposed on the slide door or the vehicle body ( It is also possible to arrange them horizontally. In the case of being placed horizontally, the wire harness 15 is drawn into the protector not in the upward direction but in the left or right direction of the vehicle when the door is half open in FIG. It is also possible to arrange the protector 2 at an angle rather than vertical or horizontal.

  Moreover, although the example applied to the sliding door of a motor vehicle was demonstrated in the said embodiment, it is applicable also to the sliding door of vehicles other than a motor vehicle, a sliding door of manufacturing apparatuses, inspection apparatuses, etc. other than a vehicle. The configuration of the above embodiment is effective not only as a power feeding device but also as a wiring structure of a wire harness.

  According to the above embodiment, the two harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are spring-biased in directions opposite to each other, so that the wire harness 15 is routed in a long U-shape in the protector when the sliding door of FIG. The harness can be drawn into the state and the harness extra length can be efficiently absorbed in a small space in the protector.

  Further, the leaf spring of the conventional example of FIG. 5 is not used, and the wire harness 15 is not biased upward in the protector, so that the protector 2 is lowered in height and the minimum bending radius of the leaf spring is set in the protector. Since there is no need to regulate at the harness winding portion, the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 as the harness winding portion can be reduced in diameter (the minimum bending radius of the leaf spring is a wire for preventing plastic deformation, lowering of the spring force, etc. Therefore, the protector 2 can be downsized. In addition, the cost of the power feeding device 1 is reduced because a conventional expensive leaf spring or a resin cap attached to the tip of the leaf spring is not required.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the harness guide rollers 5 and 6 are arranged so as to be rotatable in the protector with a central boss or shaft (not shown) as a fulcrum, the sliding resistance with the wire harness 15 is reduced. As a result, the bending operation, the drawing operation, and the drawing operation (extra length absorption) of the wire harness 15 are performed more smoothly.

It is the front view which notched one part which shows one Embodiment of the electric power feeder which concerns on this invention. It is a front view which shows the internal structure of the electric power feeder at the time of a fully closed slide door. It is a front view which shows the internal structure of the electric power feeder at the time of half open of a slide door. It is a front view which shows the internal structure of the electric power feeder at the time of a fully open of a slide door. It is a perspective view at the time of a sliding door fully closed which shows one form of the conventional electric power feeder. It is a perspective view which similarly shows the state near a sliding door full open. It is a perspective view which shows the other form of the conventional electric power feeder. It is a perspective view which similarly shows the state at the time of the sliding door full open of an electric power feeder.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric power feeder 2 Protector 5,6 Harness guide roller (member)
7, 8 Coil spring (elastic member)
12 opening 15 wire harness

Claims (3)

  A protector having an elongated opening for swinging out the wire harness, two harness guide members provided so as to be movable back and forth in the swing direction of the wire harness, and biasing each harness guide member in the opposite direction An electric power supply device comprising: an elastic member; wherein the wire harness is bent in the opposite direction along each harness guide member and routed between the harness guide members.   The power feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the harness guide members are movable in parallel.   The power supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each harness guide member is a rotatable roller.

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