JP2012196035A - Wiring harness - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize electric wire protection, simplification of assembly, and weight reduction in a wiring harness having a structure formed by integrating multiple element wiring harnesses.SOLUTION: A wiring harness 1 comprises: multiple element wiring harnesses 20 which respectively include first protection members 10; and a second protection member 30 bundling and protecting the multiple element wiring harnesses 20. Each first protection member 10 is composed of a tubular member which is cured by heating and molding a nonwoven fabric and covers a part of peripheries of electric wires 9 forming each element wiring harness 20. The second protection member 30 is composed of a tubular member which is cured by heating and molding a nonwoven fabric and is formed by bundling the multiple first protection members 10 in the multiple element wiring harnesses 20 together.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wire harness in which a plurality of element wire harnesses are bundled.

  Wire harnesses mounted on vehicles typified by automobiles make it easy to correctly wire wires that are prone to irregular bending traces along a predetermined wiring path, and the wires vibrate. It is required not to be damaged due to contact with surrounding members due to, for example. Therefore, the in-vehicle wire harness is provided with a protective member that covers the periphery of the electric wire along its longitudinal direction. In this case, the protective member serves to hold the electric wire in a shape that facilitates wiring along a predetermined wiring path in a support body such as an automobile body, and prevents the electric wire from being damaged due to contact with surrounding members. And play a role.

  Moreover, as shown in Patent Document 1, a wire harness may be assembled as a final wire harness by combining a plurality of wire harnesses prepared in advance. Hereinafter, each of the plurality of wire harnesses combined is referred to as an element wire harness.

  Conventionally, in a process of combining a plurality of element wire harnesses, a jig for combining work is used. The uniting work jig is a tool for instructing a plurality of element wire harnesses while positioning their positions in a correct positional relationship. In Patent Document 1, an instrument panel module assembly table including a connector temporary fixing jig, an exterior part temporary fixing shaft, and the like is an example of a uniting jig.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 2 shows a structure for protecting a flat circuit body with a small thickness by sandwiching the flat circuit body between two coverings made of a nonwoven thermoplastic material and press-molding it. Has been.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-204521 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-197038

  However, in order to unite a plurality of element wire harnesses, it is possible to prepare a uniting work jig for each type of wire harness, and to unite while positioning the plurality of element wire harnesses using the jig. The man-hours and cost required for them are large.

  That is, the conventional wire harness has the problem that the man-hours and cost required to unite a plurality of element wire harnesses are large.

  Furthermore, wire harnesses mounted on vehicles such as automobiles are required to be further lighter than before. Patent Document 2 does not describe any wire harness in which a plurality of element wire harnesses are bundled and the electric wire is protected by a protection member.

  The present invention relates to a wire harness having a structure in which a plurality of element wire harnesses are combined, and an object thereof is to realize protection of electric wires, simplification of assembly, and weight reduction.

The wire harness which concerns on 1st invention is equipped with each component shown below.
(1) The first component includes a plurality of element wire harnesses including an electric wire and a first protective member that is formed of a cylindrical member that is cured by thermoforming the nonwoven fabric and covers a part of the electric wire. It is.
(2) The 2nd component consists of a cylindrical member hardened by heat-molding a nonwoven fabric, and is formed by bundling a plurality of first protection members in a plurality of element wire harnesses together. It is a protective member.

  The wire harness according to the second invention has the following configuration in addition to the configuration of the wire harness according to the first invention. That is, the first protective member is formed of a cylindrical member that is cured by heat-molding a non-woven fabric wound around a part of the electric wire. Furthermore, a 2nd protection member consists of a cylindrical member hardened | cured when the nonwoven fabric wound around the several 1st protection member was thermoformed.

  The wire harness according to the third invention has the following configuration in addition to the configuration of the wire harness according to the second invention. That is, the second protective member is formed in a cylindrical shape that is formed by being connected to at least one of the plurality of first protective members and the nonwoven fabric wound around the plurality of first protective members is cured by thermoforming. It consists of the member.

  The wire harness according to the fourth invention has the following configuration in addition to the configuration of the wire harness according to any one of the first invention to the third invention. That is, the first protection member is formed in a flat cylindrical shape. Furthermore, the second protection member is formed by bundling together the first protection members stacked in the direction of the short axis in the flat cross section of the first protection member.

  In the wire harness according to the present invention, the first protective member and the second protective member are cylindrical members obtained by thermoforming a nonwoven fabric. Therefore, the outer surface that is thermoformed by the mold is formed with a hard outer shape. The shape is maintained according to the formwork. Therefore, in the wire harness according to the present invention, the electric wire is protected by the double structure of the inner first protective member and the outer second protective member, and is prevented from being damaged by contact with surrounding members.

  In addition, the element wire harness provided with the first protective member can be easily and inexpensively manufactured by a very simple molding process in which a non-woven fabric in a state of covering a predetermined portion of the electric wire is heated in a mold. . Furthermore, the plurality of element wire harnesses are formed by a very simple molding process of heating the nonwoven fabric in a state of covering the periphery of the first protective members in a mold while aligning the positions of the first protective members. It can be manufactured easily and inexpensively. That is, the wire harness according to the present invention can be easily assembled.

  Moreover, since the 1st protection member and the 2nd protection member are the members by which the nonwoven fabric was heat-molded, they are very light and are excellent in buffering property. Therefore, the wire harness according to the present invention is lightweight, and is unlikely to generate abnormal noise due to contact between the protective member, the electric wire, and surrounding members.

  Moreover, in the wire harness which concerns on 2nd invention, in the case of manufacture of a 1st protection member and a 2nd protection member, in the state by which the nonwoven fabric was wound with respect to the attachment object, ie, the state integrated with the attachment object It is manufactured by being set in a mold for molding. Therefore, by employing the wire harness according to the second invention, the work of forming the protective member is facilitated as compared with the case where the nonwoven fabric and the attachment target of the protective member are individually set in the mold.

  Moreover, if the wire harness which concerns on 3rd invention is employ | adopted, since the nonwoven fabric used as the origin of the 2nd protection member is connected with one of the attachment objects, the operation | work of shaping | molding a protection member will become still easier.

  Further, in the wire harness according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the plurality of first protective members are stacked in the direction of the short axis in their flat cross section, and thus are easily stacked in a stable state. Therefore, if the wire harness according to the fourth invention is employed, the operation of bundling the portions of the first protection member in the plurality of element wire harnesses, setting the nonwoven fabric in the portions, and heat-molding the nonwoven fabric becomes easy.

It is a perspective view of the principal part of the wire harness 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the wire harness 1. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a wire harness 1. FIG. It is a front view in the 1st state of 40 A of 1st shaping | molding apparatuses used for shaping | molding of the 1st protection member with which the element wire harness 20 is provided, and a shaping | molding target object. It is a front view in the 2nd state of 40 A of 1st shaping | molding apparatuses and a shaping | molding target object. It is a front view in the 3rd state of 40A of 1st shaping | molding apparatuses and a shaping | molding target object. It is a front view in the 1st state of the 2nd shaping | molding apparatus 40B used for shaping | molding of the 1st protection member with which the element wire harness 20 is provided, and a shaping | molding target object. It is a front view in the 2nd state of the 2nd shaping | molding apparatus 40B and a shaping | molding target object. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a plurality of element wire harnesses 20 before being bundled as the wire harness 1. It is a front view in the 1st state of the 3rd shaping | molding apparatus 50 used for shaping | molding of the 2nd protection member with which the wire harness 1 is provided, and a shaping | molding target object. It is a front view in the 2nd state of the 3rd shaping | molding apparatus 50 and a shaping | molding target object.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and is not an example of limiting the technical scope of the present invention. A wire harness 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown below is a wire harness in which a plurality of element wire harnesses 20 are combined. The wire harness 1 is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile.

  First, the configuration of the wire harness 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the wire harness 1 includes a plurality of element wire harnesses 20 each including a protection member 10 and a protection member 30 that protects the plurality of element wire harnesses 20 while being bundled. Hereinafter, the protection member provided in each of the element wire harnesses 20 is referred to as a first protection member 10, and the protection member that bundles the plurality of element wire harnesses 20 is referred to as a second protection member 30.

  Each of the element wire harnesses 20 is a wire harness in which one or a plurality of electric wires 9 are bundled, and a connector, a member for electric wire branching, a first protection member 10 and the like are attached in advance. The electric wire 9 included in each element wire harness 20 is a covered electric wire.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each element wire harness 20 includes three electric wires 9. However, the element wire harness 20 is partially covered with the first protective member 10. It is also conceivable to provide two electric wires 9, or two or four or more electric wires 9 bundled by the first protective member 10. It is also conceivable that each element wire harness 20 includes a different number of wires 9.

  The first protective member 10 is a member that covers the periphery of a part of one or a plurality of electric wires 9 constituting the element wire harness 20. The first protective member 10 is a cylindrical member that is cured by thermoforming a nonwoven fabric.

  On the other hand, the second protection member 30 is a member formed by bundling a plurality of first protection members 10 in a plurality of element wire harnesses 20 at once. The second protective member 30 is also a cylindrical member that is cured by heat-molding the nonwoven fabric, similarly to the first protective member 10.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the wire harness 1 includes two element wire harnesses 20, but the wire harness 1 is bundled by the second protection member 30 and three or more element wire harnesses 20. It is also conceivable to have

  For example, the 1st protection member 10 is provided in the predetermined position in the some element wire harness 20 by the same length. In this case, the plurality of element wire harnesses 20 are bundled in an appropriate positional relationship only by bundling the plurality of first protection members 10 so that both ends thereof are aligned.

  It is also conceivable that the first protective member 10, which is partially marked with a mark for alignment, is provided at a predetermined position in the plurality of element wire harnesses 20. In this case, the plurality of element wire harnesses 20 are bundled in an appropriate positional relationship only by bundling the plurality of first protection members 10 so that their marks are aligned.

  Moreover, as FIG.1 and FIG.2 shows, each 1st protection member 10 is formed in the flat cylinder shape. The plurality of first protective members 10 are stacked in the direction of the short axis in their flat cross section. That is, each of the plurality of first protection members 10 is stacked with one or both of two relatively wide surfaces out of the four surfaces facing each other adjacent first protection member 10. .

  The second protection member 30 is formed by bundling a plurality of first protection members 10 stacked in the direction of the short axis in the flat cross section of each first protection member 10.

  In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the 1st protection member 10 and the 2nd protection member 30 makes rectangular shape, hexagon shape, other polygonal shape, or those basic shapes, and a part of the basic shape (for example, corner part of a polygonal shape) ) Is a rounded shape. The cross-sectional shapes of the first protection member 10 and the second protection member 30 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are generally shapes in which rectangular corners are rounded.

  Moreover, in the example shown by FIGS. 1-3, since the 1st protection member 10 and the 2nd protection member 30 are formed in the whole linear form, each electric wire 9 is 1st protection member 10 and 2nd. The part to which the protection member 30 is attached is held in a straight line. Therefore, the first protective member 10 and the second protective member 30 are provided in a portion attached along the linear wiring path in the wire harness 1 so that the part is correctly laid along the linear wiring path. It becomes easy.

  In addition, the shape in the direction in alignment with the electric wire 9 of the 1st protection member 10 and the 2nd protection member 30 may be formed in curve form other than linear form according to the wiring path | route of the electric wire 9.

<Description of non-woven fabric>
Hereinafter, the nonwoven fabric used as the material of the 1st protection member 10 and the 2nd protection member 30 is demonstrated. As the non-woven fabric that is the basis of the first protective member 10 and the second protective member 30, for example, a non-woven fabric including intertwined basic fibers and an adhesive resin called a binder is employed. The adhesive resin is a resin having a melting point (for example, about 110 [° C.] to 150 [° C.]) lower than the melting point of the basic fiber. Such a nonwoven fabric is heated to a temperature lower than the melting point of the basic fiber and higher than the melting point of the adhesive resin, so that the adhesive resin melts and melts into the gaps of the basic fibers. Thereafter, when the temperature of the nonwoven fabric is lowered to a temperature lower than the melting point of the adhesive resin, the adhesive resin is cured in a state in which the basic fibers existing around are bonded. Thereby, the shape of a nonwoven fabric becomes harder than the state before a heating, and is maintained with the shape shape | molded by the mold at the time of a heating.

  The adhesive resin is, for example, a granular resin or a fibrous resin. It is also conceivable that the adhesive resin is formed so as to cover the periphery of the core fiber. As described above, the fiber having a structure in which the core fiber is coated with the adhesive resin is referred to as a binder fiber. As the material of the core fiber, for example, the same material as the basic fiber is adopted.

  In addition, the basic fiber only needs to maintain the fiber state at the melting point of the adhesive resin, and various fibers can be employed in addition to the resin fiber. In addition, as the adhesive resin, for example, a thermoplastic resin fiber having a melting point lower than that of the basic fiber is employed. As a combination of the basic fiber constituting the nonwoven fabric and the adhesive resin, for example, a resin fiber mainly composed of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is adopted as a basic fiber, and a copolymer resin of PET and PEI (polyethylene isophthalate) is bonded. It may be adopted as a resin. In such a nonwoven fabric, the melting point of the basic fiber is about 250 [° C.], and the melting point of the adhesive resin is about 110 [° C.] to 150 [° C.]. When such a non-woven fabric is cooled after being heated to a temperature of about 110 [° C.] to 250 [° C.] within the mold, the adhesive resin melts and binds the surrounding basic fibers. It is molded into a shape along the inner surface, and the surface in contact with the mold is cured.

  The member in which the nonwoven fabric is cured by thermoforming has a certain degree of flexibility. However, by forming the member in a cylindrical shape, the hardness that maintains the shape in the longitudinal direction is reinforced. The first protective member 10 and the second protective member 30 are members in which such a non-woven fabric is heated in a mold and formed into a cylindrical shape. Hereinafter, forming the nonwoven fabric into the inner shape of the mold by heating the nonwoven fabric while sandwiching and pressing the nonwoven fabric to be processed is referred to as hot press molding.

  In the hot press molding process, the nonwoven fabric is heated by the heater to a temperature lower than the melting point of the basic fiber contained in the nonwoven fabric and higher than the melting point of the adhesive resin contained in the nonwoven fabric. The heating temperature and time are appropriately set according to the hardness and flexibility required of the molded protective member.

  In general, in a hot press molding process, the higher the heating temperature, the longer the heating time, and the higher the applied pressure, the harder the nonwoven fabric is molded into a member with higher shape retention performance. On the other hand, in the hot press molding process, the lower the heating temperature, the shorter the heating time, and the lower the applied pressure, the softer the nonwoven fabric is molded into a member having excellent flexibility and cushioning properties. .

<Detailed description of protective member>
Hereinafter, the structures of the first protective member 10 and the second protective member 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the nonwoven fabric from which the first protective member 10 is based is referred to as the first nonwoven fabric 100, and the nonwoven fabric from which the second protective member 30 is based is referred to as the second nonwoven fabric 300.

  First, the manufacturing method and structure of the first protective member 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. The 1st protection member 10 in this embodiment is a cylindrical member hardened | cured when the 1st nonwoven fabric 100 wound around some electric wires 9 is hot press-molded.

  The first protective member 10 includes a nonwoven fabric surrounding process in which a part of the electric wires 9 constituting each element wire harness 20 is covered with the first nonwoven fabric 100, and a hot press molding process in which the first nonwoven fabric 100 that covers the electric wires 9 is thermoformed. It is manufactured after.

  The nonwoven fabric surrounding step in the manufacturing process of the first protective member 10 is a step of covering the periphery of a part of the electric wire 9 to be protected with the first nonwoven fabric 100. For example, the nonwoven fabric surrounding step is a step of winding the first nonwoven fabric 100 around a part of the electric wires 9 constituting the element wire harness 20. By this process, the sheet-like first nonwoven fabric 100 covers the periphery of a part of the electric wires 9 constituting the element wire harness 20 as shown in FIG. The first nonwoven fabric 100 is preliminarily molded (cut) into a shape having a width corresponding to the length of the portion of the electric wire 9 to be protected and a length that can be wound around the electric wire 9 a predetermined number of times. )

  The hot press molding process for the first nonwoven fabric 100 is performed using a first molding apparatus 40A exemplified in FIGS. 4 to 6. 4 to 6 are front views of the first molding apparatus 40A and the molding object in different states. The molding object here is the first nonwoven fabric 100 wound around a part of the electric wire 9.

  FIG. 4 shows a first molding apparatus 40A before hot press molding is performed and a molding object before being set in the first molding apparatus 40A. As shown in FIG. 4, the first molding apparatus 40 </ b> A includes a lower mold member 41 and an upper mold member 42. Each of the lower mold member 41 and the upper mold member 42 is provided with a heater 45.

  The lower mold member 41 is a member made of a material such as a metal having excellent thermal conductivity, and a groove-shaped lower mold frame portion 411 into which a molding object is fitted is formed on one surface (upper surface) thereof. . In the example shown in FIG. 4, the lower mold part 411 forms three surfaces excluding one side surface among the four surfaces of the first protective member 10.

  The upper mold member 42 is a member made of a material such as metal having excellent conductivity, and a groove-shaped upper mold frame portion 421 is formed on one surface (lower surface) thereof. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the upper mold part 421 molds one of the four sides of the first protective member 10.

  The lower mold member 41 and the upper mold member 42 are supported so as to be able to approach and separate by a support mechanism (not shown) in a state where the lower mold frame portion 411 and the upper mold frame portion 421 are opposed to each other. In the state where the lower mold member 41 and the upper mold member 42 are closest to each other, the mold shape formed by combining the lower mold frame portion 411 and the upper mold frame portion 421 is the outer shape of the first protection member 10.

  The heater 45 provided in each of the lower mold member 41 and the upper mold member 42 basically uses the first nonwoven fabric 100 that is the base of the first protective member 10 via the lower mold frame portion 411 and the upper mold frame portion 421. It is a heating device that heats to a temperature lower than the melting point of the fiber and higher than the melting point of the adhesive resin. As shown in FIG. 4, the heater 45 can be embedded in each of the lower mold member 41 and the upper mold member 42. It is also conceivable that the heater 45 is attached to the outer surface of each of the lower mold member 41 and the upper mold member 42 in a manner capable of transferring heat.

  FIG. 5 shows the first molding apparatus 40A before the hot press molding is performed and the molding object inserted into the lower mold frame portion 411 of the lower mold member 41. As described above, the object to be molded here is the first nonwoven fabric 100 wound around the electric wire 9.

  In the hot press molding step performed after the nonwoven fabric surrounding step, the first nonwoven fabric 100 covering the periphery of the electric wire 9 is formed by the lower mold frame portion 411 of the lower mold member 41 and the upper mold frame portion 421 of the upper mold member 42. It is the process of shape | molding the 1st nonwoven fabric 100 in the cylindrical member which covers the circumference | surroundings of the electric wire 9 by heating within the formwork.

  FIG. 6 shows a state where the first nonwoven fabric 100 covering the periphery of the electric wire 9 is heated while being compressed in the mold formed by the lower mold part 411 and the upper mold part 421 in the hot press molding process. To express. By this hot press molding process, the first nonwoven fabric 100 is heated while being compressed from the outside in the mold in a state of covering the periphery of the electric wire 9, and is formed into a cylindrical first protective member 10 that covers the periphery of the electric wire 9. Is done. At this time, the outer end portion of the first nonwoven fabric 100 wound around the electric wire 9 and the portion in contact with the first nonwoven fabric 100 are bonded by the adhesive resin melted by heating. Thereby, the cylindrical first protective member 10 is formed.

  In the hot press molding process, the cylindrical member obtained by thermoforming is cooled by being taken out of the mold. The cooling may be either forced air cooling or natural cooling that is left for a predetermined time in a room temperature room. As forced cooling, air cooling that blows normal temperature air to the cylindrical member by a fan, or air cooling that blows cool air output from a cooler such as a spot cooler to the cylindrical member, etc. can be considered. .

  Since the nonwoven fabric has high heat insulating properties, the temperature of the inner part in contact with the electric wire 9 is lower than the temperature of the outer part in contact with the heated mold in the hot press molding process. Therefore, the inner surface of the first protective member 10 is maintained in a soft state that is the original property of the first nonwoven fabric 100, that is, in a softer state than the outer surface.

  In the present embodiment, when molding at least one first protective member 10, the hot press molding process for the first nonwoven fabric 100 uses the second molding apparatus 40 </ b> B exemplified in FIGS. 7 and 8. Done. 7 and 8 are front views of the second molding device 40B and the molding object in different states. The molding object here is the first nonwoven fabric 100 wound around a part of the electric wire 9.

  FIG. 7 shows the second molding apparatus 40B before the hot press molding is performed and the molding object set in the second molding apparatus 40B. As shown in FIG. 7, the second molding apparatus 40B also includes a lower mold member 43 and an upper mold member 44 each provided with a heater 45, like the first molding apparatus 40A.

  The lower mold member 43 and the upper mold member 44 of the second molding apparatus 40B are the lower mold frame part 431 and the upper mold frame corresponding to the lower mold frame part 411 and the upper mold frame part 421 in the first molding apparatus 40A. Part 441.

  The second molding apparatus 40B has a gap forming portion that forms a gap 46 communicating with the inside and outside of the mold frame in each of the lower mold member 43 and the upper mold member 44, as compared with the first molding apparatus 40A. The only difference is that 432 and 442 are formed.

  When the second molding apparatus 40B is used in the hot press molding process, in the nonwoven fabric surrounding process, the first nonwoven fabric 100 is wound around a part of the electric wire 9 in a state where an excess portion is generated. In this case, the 1st nonwoven fabric 100 is cut | judged with the length which a surplus part produces, when it winds around the electric wire 9 by predetermined times. The surplus portion of the first nonwoven fabric 100 is the second nonwoven fabric 300 that is the source of the second protective member 30. Therefore, the length of the surplus portion of the first nonwoven fabric 100 is the length of the nonwoven fabric necessary for the production of the second protective member 30.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which the first nonwoven fabric 100 covering the periphery of the electric wire 9 is heated while being compressed in the mold formed by the lower mold part 431 and the upper mold part 441 in the hot press molding process. To express. The tubular first protective member 10 is formed by this hot press molding process.

  7 and 8, the gap 46 formed by the gap forming portions 432 and 442 of each of the lower mold member 43 and the upper mold member 44 is such that the surplus portion of the first nonwoven fabric 100 is a mold frame. A passage that is drawn from the inside to the outside is formed. The surplus portion of the first nonwoven fabric 100 drawn out from the gap 46 is maintained in the state of the original nonwoven fabric connected to the cured cylindrical first protective member 10. Thereby, the 2nd nonwoven fabric 300 connected and formed with the 1st protection member 10 is obtained.

  FIG. 9 is a plan view of a plurality of element wire harnesses 20 before being bundled as the wire harness 1. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the second nonwoven fabric 300 is formed so as to be connected to one first protective member 10 of the two element wire harnesses 20.

  The second protective member 30 in the present embodiment is a cylindrical shape that is cured by being thermoformed after the second nonwoven fabric 300 formed to be connected to the first protective member 10 is wound around the plurality of first protective members 10. It is a member.

  The second protective member 30 includes a nonwoven fabric surrounding step in which the periphery of the plurality of first protective members 10 in the plurality of element wire harnesses 20 is collectively covered with the second nonwoven fabric 300 and a second nonwoven fabric that covers the plurality of first protective members 10. It is manufactured through a hot press molding process in which 300 is heat molded.

  The nonwoven fabric surrounding process in the manufacturing process of the 2nd protection member 30 is a process of covering the circumference | surroundings of the some 1st protection member 10 used as protection object with the 2nd nonwoven fabric 300. FIG. In this embodiment, a nonwoven fabric surrounding process is a process of winding the 2nd nonwoven fabric 300 around the some 1st protection member 10, as FIG. 9 shows. By this process, the sheet-like second nonwoven fabric 300 collectively bundles and covers the plurality of first protective members 10 included in the plurality of element wire harnesses 20 constituting the wire harness 1.

  In addition, the 1st nonwoven fabric 100 in which one part becomes the 2nd nonwoven fabric 300 is with respect to the some 1st protection member 10 with respect to the length which can be wound only the predetermined number of times with respect to the electric wire 9. It is preliminarily cut by a length including a length that can be wound a predetermined number of times.

  The hot press molding process for the second nonwoven fabric 300 is performed using the third molding apparatus 50 illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. 10 and 11 are front views of the third molding device 50 and the molding object in different states. The molding object here is a second nonwoven fabric 300 in which a plurality of first protective members 10 are bundled and wound.

  FIG. 10 shows the third molding apparatus 50 before hot press molding and the second nonwoven fabric 300 being wound around the plurality of first protective members 10. As shown in FIG. 10, the third molding apparatus 50 includes a lower mold member 51 and an upper mold member 52. Each of the lower mold member 51 and the upper mold member 52 is provided with a heater 55.

  The lower mold member 51 is a member made of a material such as a metal having excellent thermal conductivity, and a groove-shaped lower mold frame portion 511 into which a molding object is fitted is formed on one surface (upper surface) thereof. . In the example shown in FIG. 10, the lower mold part 511 forms three surfaces excluding one side surface among the four surfaces of the second protective member 30.

  Further, the upper mold member 52 is a member made of a material such as metal having excellent conductivity, and a groove-shaped upper mold frame portion 521 is formed on one surface (lower surface) thereof. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the upper mold part 521 molds one of the four sides of the second protective member 30.

  The lower mold member 51 and the upper mold member 52 are supported by a support shaft 53 so as to be rotatable with respect to each other. Further, a handle portion 54 is formed on the upper mold member 52. For example, the lower mold member 51 is fixed, and the upper mold member 52 is in an opened state in which the upper mold frame part 521 is separated from the lower mold frame part 511 by an operation on the handle part 54 formed in a part thereof. The frame portion 521 rotates between the closed state in which the frame portion 521 approaches the lower mold portion 511 and approaches. In the closed state, the mold shape formed by combining the lower mold part 511 and the upper mold part 521 is the outer shape of the second protective member 30.

  The heater 55 provided in each of the lower mold member 51 and the upper mold member 52 uses the second nonwoven fabric 300 that is the base of the second protective member 30 through the lower mold frame portion 511 and the upper mold frame portion 521 as a basic. It is a heating device that heats to a temperature lower than the melting point of the fiber and higher than the melting point of the adhesive resin. As shown in FIG. 10, the heater 55 can be embedded in each of the lower mold member 51 and the upper mold member 52. It is also conceivable that the heater 55 is attached to the outer surfaces of the lower mold member 51 and the upper mold member 52 in such a manner that heat can be transferred.

  In the hot press molding step performed after the nonwoven fabric surrounding step, the second nonwoven fabric 300 covering the periphery of the plurality of first protective members 10 is formed by using the lower mold part 511 of the lower mold member 51 and the upper mold frame of the upper mold member 52. This is a step of forming the second nonwoven fabric 300 into a cylindrical member that bundles the plurality of first protective members 10 together by heating in a mold formed by the portion 521.

  FIG. 11 shows that in the hot press molding process, the second nonwoven fabric 300 covering the periphery of the plurality of first protective members 10 is heated while being compressed in the mold formed by the lower mold part 511 and the upper mold part 521. It shows how it is done. By this hot press molding process, the second nonwoven fabric 300 is formed into a cylindrical second protective member 30 that bundles the plurality of first protective members 10 together. At this time, the outer end portion of the second nonwoven fabric 300 wound around the plurality of first protective members 10 and the portion in contact with the second nonwoven fabric 300 are bonded by the adhesive resin melted by heating. Thereby, the cylindrical second protection member 30 is formed.

<Effect>
In the wire harness 1, since the first protective member 10 and the second protective member 30 are cylindrical members obtained by thermoforming the nonwoven fabrics 100 and 300, the outer surface that is thermoformed by the mold is formed hard, The outer shape is maintained in a shape corresponding to the formwork. Therefore, the electric wire 9 is protected by the double structure of the inner first protective member 10 and the outer second protective member 30, and is prevented from being damaged due to contact with surrounding members.

  Moreover, the element wire harness 20 provided with the first protective member 10 is simplified by a very simple molding process of heating the first nonwoven fabric 100 in a state of covering a predetermined portion of the electric wire 9 in a mold. And can be manufactured inexpensively. Furthermore, the plurality of element wire harnesses 20 heat the second nonwoven fabric 300 in a state of covering the periphery of the first protective members 10 in a mold while aligning the positions of the first protective members 10. It can be manufactured easily and inexpensively with a very simple molding process. That is, the wire harness 1 can be easily assembled.

  Moreover, since the 1st protection member 10 and the 2nd protection member 30 are the members by which the nonwoven fabrics 100 and 300 were heat-molded, they are very light and are excellent in buffering property. Therefore, the wire harness 1 is lightweight, and hardly generates noise due to contact between the protection members 10 and 30 and the electric wires 9 and surrounding members.

  In addition, when the first protective member 10 and the second protective member 20 are manufactured, the nonwoven fabrics 100 and 300 are wound around the attachment target, that is, in a state of being integrated with the attachment target. Manufactured by being set in a mold. Therefore, the employment of the wire harness 1 facilitates the work of forming the protective member as compared with the case where the nonwoven fabrics 100, 300 and the protective member attachment target are individually set in the mold.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the 2nd nonwoven fabric 300 used as the origin of the 2nd protection member 30 is connected with the 1st protection member 10 which is one of the attachment objects. Therefore, in the step of winding the second nonwoven fabric 300, it is not necessary to press one end of the second nonwoven fabric 300 against the first protective member 10, and the operation of molding the second protective member 30 is further facilitated.

  Moreover, when the several 1st protection member 10 formed in the flat cylinder shape is stacked | stacked in the direction of the short axis in those flat cross sections, it is stacked | stacked in the stable state easily. Therefore, the operation | work which bundles the part of the 1st protection member 10 in the some element wire harness 20, winds the 2nd nonwoven fabric 300 around the part, and heat-molds the 2nd nonwoven fabric 300 becomes easy.

<Others>
In the wire harness 1, the second nonwoven fabric 300 that is the source of the second protective member 30 may be a nonwoven fabric separated from the first protective member 10. In that case, all the 1st protection members 10 should just be fabricated by hot press molding using the 1st molding device 40A. Moreover, the 2nd nonwoven fabric 300 connected with each of the 2 or more 1st protection members 10 is wound around all the 1st protection members 10 which comprise the wire harness 1, and is heat-molded, and thereby 2nd protection. It is also conceivable that the member 30 is molded.

  Moreover, in the wire harness 1, the 1st protection member 10 and the 2nd protection member 30 are the case where it is obtained by thermoforming of the nonwoven fabric wound with respect to the attachment object, and the thermoforming of the nonwoven fabric which pinches | interposes an attachment object from both sides The case obtained by

  For example, it is conceivable that the first protective member 10 is a cylindrical member in which two first nonwoven fabrics 100 sandwiching a part of the electric wire 9 or the first folded nonwoven fabric 100 folded in half is cured by thermoforming. Similarly, it is considered that the second protective member 30 is a cylindrical member in which the two second nonwoven fabrics 300 sandwiching the plurality of first protective members 10 or the folded second nonwoven fabric 300 is cured by thermoforming. It is done.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wire harness 9 Electric wire 10 1st protection member 20 Element wire harness 30 2nd protection member 40A 1st shaping | molding apparatus 40B 2nd shaping | molding apparatus 41,43,51 Lower mold member 42,44,52 Upper mold member 45,55 Heater 46 Gap 50 Third molding device 100 First nonwoven fabric 300 Second nonwoven fabric 411, 431, 511 Lower mold part 421, 441, 521 Upper mold part 432, 442 Gap forming part

Claims (4)

A plurality of element wire harnesses including a first protective member that is formed of a cylindrical member that is cured by thermoforming the electric wire and the nonwoven fabric, and that covers the periphery of a part of the electric wire,
A second protective member made of a cylindrical member cured by thermoforming the nonwoven fabric and formed by bundling the plurality of first protective members in the plurality of element wire harnesses together. A characteristic wire harness. The first protective member is a cylindrical member that is cured by thermoforming a nonwoven fabric wound around a part of the electric wire,
2. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the second protection member is formed of a cylindrical member that is cured by thermoforming a nonwoven fabric wound around the plurality of first protection members.   The second protective member is formed by being connected to at least one of the plurality of first protective members, and a non-woven fabric wound around the plurality of first protective members is cured by thermoforming. The wire harness according to claim 2 which consists of a shape-like member. The first protective member is formed in a flat cylindrical shape,
The second protection member is formed by bundling the first protection members stacked in the direction of the minor axis in the flat cross section of the first protection member. Wire harness according to crab.

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