JP2013222652A - Wire harness - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce work hours for forming a structure that prevents the corrosion of a connection part between an electric wire and a terminal fitting in a coupling part when a wire harness has the coupling part of the electric wires with connectors.SOLUTION: A wire harness 1 includes: a pair of connectors 6a, 6b respectively holding end parts of multiple electric wires 7 with terminals and coupled to each other; an exterior member 2; and a sealant 3. The exterior member 2 is a cylindrical member covering peripheries of the pair of connectors 6a, 6b coupled to each other. The sealant 3 is a non-conductive material filling the exterior member 2 and sealing entire parts of the pair of connectors 6a, 6b coupled to each other.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wire harness that includes a pair of connectors that hold end portions of a plurality of terminal-attached electric wires and are connected to each other.

  Generally, in a wire harness, a terminal fitting such as a crimp terminal is attached to an end of an insulated wire. Hereinafter, an electric wire having a terminal fitting such as a crimp terminal at the end is referred to as a terminal-attached electric wire.

  Moreover, in the wire harness, a plurality of electric wires with terminals wired in the same section are provided with connectors that are housings that hold the ends of the electric wires with terminals. When the connector is connected to the mating connector, the metal fittings of the plurality of electric wires with terminals held by the connector and the metal fittings of the plural electric wires with terminals held by the mating connector are in contact with each other. And are electrically connected. Hereinafter, the plurality of terminal-attached electric wire groups provided with connectors at the ends are referred to as connector-attached electric wires.

  Moreover, a wire harness may be provided with a pair of connector which hold | maintains the edge part of the some electric wire with a terminal, respectively, and was mutually connected. In this case, the two electric wires with connectors are connected to each other at the respective connectors. Hereinafter, such a pair of connectors is referred to as an inter-wire connector pair.

  For example, when different types of electric wires are wired according to the type to which the wiring harness is connected in only a part of the section of the wire harness mounted on the vehicle, the inter-wire connector pair is part of the section. Are provided at both ends. Thereby, many parts in a wire harness can be made common regardless of the type of connection object of a wire harness.

  On the other hand, when the core wire of the insulated wire is an aluminum wire in the terminal-attached electric wire, the aluminum wire that comes into contact with the terminal fitting mainly composed of copper adheres to a liquid serving as an electrolyte such as rainwater or condensed water. Easily corroded by contact corrosion with dissimilar metals. In order to prevent contact corrosion of dissimilar metals in the electric wire with terminal, it is effective to prevent liquid from entering the part where the dissimilar metal contacts, that is, the part where the core wire of the insulated wire contacts the terminal fitting. .

  In order to avoid dissimilar metal contact corrosion, the electric wires with terminals shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 include an anticorrosive agent that covers a connection portion between the insulated electric wire and the crimp terminal. This anticorrosive agent is provided in order to prevent liquid from entering the portion where the core wire of the insulated wire contacts the core wire crimping portion of the crimp terminal.

  In the electric wire with terminal of Patent Document 1, the anticorrosive agent is a resin applied to the connection portion between the insulated wire and the crimp terminal. Moreover, in the electric wire with a terminal of patent document 2, an anticorrosive agent is mold resin.

JP 2010-108798 A JP 2001-162657 A

  As shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the connection portion between the electric wire and the terminal fitting is individually covered with resin for each electric wire with terminal, the man-hour for forming the anticorrosion resin as the number of electric wires with terminal increases. Increase.

  For example, in a wire harness, when a certain wiring section is relayed by an electric wire with a connector having connectors at both ends, two pairs of inter-wire connector pairs are added. In this case, the step of forming a resin that individually covers the connection portion between the electric wire and the terminal metal fitting is required in four times the number of the electric wires with terminals in the electric wire with connectors for relay.

  However, the wire harness inter-wire connector pair is adopted to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing process of the wire harness. Therefore, when the number of man-hours for anticorrosion increases with the increase in the inter-wire connector pair, the inter-wire connector pair The meaning of adopting will fade.

  An object of the present invention is to reduce the number of steps for forming a structure for preventing corrosion of a connection portion between an electric wire and a terminal fitting in a connection portion when the wire harness has a connection portion between electric wires with connectors. .

  The wire harness which concerns on a 1st aspect is a wire harness provided with a pair of connector which hold | maintained the edge part of the some electric wire with a terminal, respectively, and was mutually connected, Comprising: The exterior member and sealing agent which are shown below Prepare. The exterior member is a cylindrical member that covers the periphery of a pair of connected connectors. The sealant is a non-conductive substance that fills the inside of the exterior member and seals the entire pair of connected connectors.

  The electric wire with a terminal concerning the 2nd mode is one mode of the electric wire with a terminal concerning the 1st mode. In the wire harness according to the second aspect, the conductor of each electric wire constituting each terminal-attached electric wire is made of a metal material different from the main component material of the terminal fitting connected to the conductor.

  The wire harness according to the third aspect is one aspect of the wire harness according to the first aspect. The wire harness which concerns on a 3rd aspect WHEREIN: The conductor of each electric wire which comprises each electric wire with a terminal consists of a metal material which has aluminum as a main component, and a terminal metal fitting consists of a metal material which has copper as a main component.

  The wire harness according to the fourth aspect is an aspect of the wire harness according to any one of the first to third aspects. In the wire harness according to the fourth aspect, the exterior member is a transparent member, and the sealant is formed in a color different from the color of the transparent exterior member.

  The wire harness which concerns on the 1st-4th aspect WHEREIN: The whole pair of connector which comprises the connection part of the electric wire with a connector is sealed with the sealing agent with which the inner side of the cylindrical exterior member was filled. Here, the sealant prevents liquid from entering the connecting portions between the plurality of electric wires and the plurality of terminal fittings included in the pair of connected connectors. Thereby, the corrosion of the connection part of the electric wire and terminal metal fitting in the connection part of the electric wires with a connector is prevented.

  Moreover, according to the wire harness which concerns on the 1st-4th aspect, the man-hour for forming the sealing agent which prevents the corrosion of the connection part of an electric wire and a terminal metal fitting can be reduced. For example, in a wire harness, when a certain wiring section is relayed by an electric wire with a connector provided with connectors at both ends, two pairs of connectors are increased. In this case, the step of forming the sealant need only be executed at two places where the two pairs of connectors are arranged, regardless of the number of the electric wires with terminals.

  Moreover, the sealing agent is filled in the inside of the cylindrical exterior member which covers the circumference | surroundings of a pair of connector. Therefore, the sealing agent is formed in a state where it is spread over the entire periphery of the pair of connectors without any gap, and the pair of connectors are reliably sealed with the sealing agent.

  Moreover, in the wire harness which concerns on a 2nd and 3rd aspect, the core wire and terminal metal fitting of an electric wire are comprised with the kind of metal material from which it differs. This configuration is originally a configuration in which dissimilar metal contact corrosion is likely to occur. Therefore, the anticorrosion effect by the sealing agent becomes more remarkable.

  Moreover, according to the wire harness which concerns on a 4th aspect, it becomes easy to confirm the propriety | filling state of the sealing agent from the outer side of an exterior member.

It is a top view of the part of the connector pair between electric wires in wire harness 1 concerning the embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a plan sectional view of a portion of an inter-wire connector pair in the wire harness 1. FIG. The figure which shows the connector pre-connection process in the manufacturing process of the wire harness 1. FIG. The figure which shows the connector connection process in the manufacturing process of the wire harness 1. FIG. The figure which shows the exterior member coating | coated process in the manufacturing process of the wire harness 1. FIG. The figure which shows the sealing agent filling process in the manufacturing process of the wire harness 1. FIG.

  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.

<Configuration of wire harness>
First, the configuration of the wire harness 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The wire harness 1 includes at least two sets of electric wires with connectors 10 connected to each other, a tubular exterior member 2, a sealant 3 filled inside the exterior member 2, and a binding material 5. ing.

<Electric wire with connector>
Each electric wire with connector 10 includes a plurality of electric wires with terminals 7 and a connector 6 that holds an end of each electric wire with terminals 7. Moreover, each electric wire 7 with a terminal is comprised by the insulated wire 9 and the terminal metal fitting 8 connected to the edge part.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each connector-attached electric wire 10 includes four terminal-attached electric wires 7 arranged in parallel. However, it is also conceivable that each connector-attached electric wire 10 includes two or three terminal-attached electric wires 7 arranged in parallel, or includes five or more electric wires 7 with terminals arranged in parallel.

  The insulated wire 9 constituting the terminal-attached wire 7 includes a core wire 91 that is a long conductor, and an insulating coating 92 that is an insulator that covers the periphery of the core wire 91. The end portion of the insulated wire 9 to which the terminal fitting 8 is attached is in a state in which the insulation coating 92 has been peeled from the periphery of the core wire 91 of a certain length in advance, that is, the core wire 91 of a certain length is removed from the insulation coating 92. It is processed into an extended state.

  In the wire harness 1, the case where the core wire 91 of the insulated wire 9 is made of a metal material that is different from the metal material that forms the terminal fitting 8 can be considered. For example, it is conceivable that the core wire 91 is an aluminum wire, that is, a wire (aluminum or aluminum alloy) containing aluminum as a main component. In this case, it is conceivable that the terminal fitting 8 is a member made of a metal material mainly composed of copper, as will be described later.

  On the other hand, the insulation coating 92 is made of, for example, a non-conductive flexible synthetic resin material such as vinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), or cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE).

<Terminal fitting>
The terminal fitting 8 is a fitting having a wire connecting portion 81 connected to the end portion of the insulated wire 9 and a contact portion 82 connected to the mating terminal fitting. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wire connecting portion 81 of the terminal fitting 8 is a crimping portion that is crimped to the portion of the insulating coating 92 at the end portion of the insulated wire 9 and the portion of the core wire 91 extending therefrom. .

  The terminal fitting 8 is a conductor, for example, a member made of a metal material mainly composed of copper as described above. More specifically, the terminal metal fitting 8 is made of a copper alloy member such as copper or brass, or tin (Sn) plating on these members or silver (Ag), copper (Cu), bismuth (Bi) on the tin. It is conceivable that the member is plated with the added tin alloy.

<Connector>
The connector 6 provided at the end of each of the two sets of electric wires with connector 10 is a non-conductive housing that holds the ends of the plurality of electric wires with terminals 7 in a fixed positional relationship. As shown in FIG. 2, each connector 6 has a plurality of cavities 61 in which the terminal fittings 8 at the ends of the plurality of terminal-attached electric wires 7 are individually inserted. The terminal fittings 8 of the plurality of terminal-attached electric wires 7 are held in a fixed positional relationship while being electrically insulated by being inserted into the cavities 61.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connectors 6 at the ends of the two sets of electric wires with connectors 10 are connected. In the following description, for convenience, one of the pair of connectors 6 connected to each other is referred to as a first connector 6a and the other is referred to as a second connector 6b. Moreover, the electric wire 10 with a connector provided with the 1st connector 6a is called the electric wire 10a with a 1st connector, and the electric wire 10 with a connector provided with the 2nd connector 6b is called the electric wire 10b with a 2nd connector.

  The terminal fitting 8 held by the first connector 6a is called a first terminal fitting 8a, and the terminal fitting 8 held by the second connector 6b is called a second terminal fitting 8b. The 1st terminal metal fitting 8a has the electric wire connection part 81 and the 1st contact part 82a. The second terminal fitting 8b has a wire connecting portion 81 and a second contact portion 82b.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first connector 6 a forms a hole into which a part of the distal end side of the second connector 6 b is fitted. The first connector 6a and the second connector 6b are connected to each other by fitting a part of the distal end side of the second connector 6b into the hole of the first connector 6a.

  Moreover, the 1st contact part 82a of the some 1st terminal metal fitting 8a is arrange | positioned along with the inner side of the hole of the 1st connector 6a. On the other hand, the second contact portions 82b of the plurality of second terminal fittings 8b are arranged side by side inside the portion of the second connector 6b that is inserted into the hole of the first connector 6a.

  When the first connector 6a and the second connector 6b are connected, each of the plurality of first contact portions 82a and each of the plurality of second contact portions 82b come into contact in a one-to-one correspondence and are electrically connected. The In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second contact portion 82 b forms a hole into which the first contact portion 82 a is inserted. When the first connector 6a and the second connector 6b are connected, the first contact portions 82a are fitted into the holes of the second contact portions 82b, and the first contact portions 82a and the second contact portions 82b are connected to each other. Electrically connected.

  The pair of connectors 6a and 6b connected to each other is an example of the above-described inter-wire connector pair.

<Exterior member>
The exterior member 2 is a cylindrical member that covers the periphery of the pair of connected connectors 6a and 6b. The exterior member 2 itself is a flexible cylindrical member. For example, the exterior member 2 is a resin member having flexibility, such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), or polyethylene (PE). Consists of materials such as.

  Further, it is conceivable that a transparent member is adopted as the exterior member 2. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the exterior member 2 is a transparent resin member. The term “transparent” is a term including translucent transparency that allows the state of the sealing agent 3 filled inside to be visually recognized.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, both end portions of the tubular exterior member 2 are bound together by a binding material 5 together with a plurality of insulated wires 9 constituting each connector-attached wire 10. Accordingly, both end portions of the exterior member 2 are held in a state of being narrower and narrower than other portions along the outer periphery of the bundle of insulated wires 9. For example, it is conceivable that an adhesive tape or a binding belt is employed as the binding material 5.

<Sealant>
The sealing agent 3 is a non-conductive substance that fills the inside of the exterior member 2 and seals the entire pair of connected connectors 6a and 6b. The sealant 3 is in close contact with the insulating coating 92 of the insulated wire 9 extending from the pair of connected connectors 6a and 6b. As will be described later, the sealant 3 is a member obtained by curing a substance in a fluid state filled inside the exterior member 2. For example, it is conceivable that the sealant 3 is a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin.

  The sealant 3 is preferably made of a material having high adhesion to the insulating coating 92. For example, it is conceivable that a polyamide-based or epoxy-based synthetic resin adhesive is employed as the sealant 3.

  Further, it is conceivable that a transparent substance having a color different from the color of the transparent exterior member 2 is employed as the sealant 3. However, the color of the sealant 3 is desirably darker than the color of the transparent exterior member 2.

<Process for forming sealing structure>
Next, the process of forming the sealing structure with the exterior member 2 and the sealing agent 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3-6 is a figure which shows the one part process in the manufacturing process of the wire harness 1, respectively. Specifically, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a connector connection pre-process, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a connector connection process, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an exterior member covering process, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a sealing agent filling process. .

  In addition, the formation procedure of the sealing structure shown below is an example to the last, and it can also be considered that the sealing structure is formed by another procedure.

<Pre-connector connection process>
Before the two sets of electric wires with connectors 10 are connected by the respective connectors 6, one electric wire with connectors 10 is passed through the hollow portion of the tubular exterior member 2. Thereby, the exterior member 2 is hold | maintained in the state caught on the part of the insulated wire 9 in the electric wire 10 with one connector.

  3 shows that the first connector-attached electric wire 10a is passed through the hollow portion of the exterior member 2, the second connector-attached electric wire 10b may be passed through the hollow portion of the exterior member 2.

<Connector connection process>
After the connector connection pre-process, the connector connection process is performed. In the connector connecting step, the connectors 6 of the two sets of connector-attached electric wires 10 are connected.

<Exterior member covering process>
After the connector connecting step, an exterior member covering step is performed. In the exterior member covering step, the exterior member 2 is positioned at a position surrounding the pair of connected connectors 6a and 6b. Further, one end of the exterior member 2 positioned at a position surrounding the pair of connectors 6 a and 6 b is bound together with the plurality of insulated wires 9 by the binding material 5.

  When the exterior member covering step is performed, as shown in FIG. 3, one end portion of the exterior member 2 is thinner than the other portion along the outer periphery of the bundle of the insulated wires 9. Retained. On the other hand, the other end of the exterior member 2 is held in a state in which an opening is formed with a gap between the plurality of insulated wires 9.

<Sealing agent filling process>
In this embodiment, a sealing agent filling process is performed after the exterior member covering process. In the sealing agent filling step, the fluidized sealing agent 3 is filled into the hollow portion of the exterior member 2 from the opening at the end of the exterior member 2. The sealant 3 in a fluid state is supplied from the dispenser 30.

  When the sealant 3 in the fluidized state is filled up to fill the entire gap between the exterior member 2 and the pair of connectors 6a and 6b and the plurality of insulated wires 9, the remaining one of the exterior member 2 is filled. The ends are bound together with the plurality of insulated wires 9 by the binding material 5. At that time, the end of the exterior member 2 is bound to the binding material so that a part of the fluidized sealant 3 protrudes from both ends of the exterior member 2 so that pressure is applied to the sealant 3 in the exterior member 2. Tightened by 5.

  Further, a step of curing the sealing agent 3 is performed in a state where the sealing agent 3 in a fluid state is filled in the entire inside of the exterior member 2. For example, if the sealing agent 3 is a thermoplastic resin, the step of curing the sealing agent 3 is a step of cooling the sealing agent 3 that is heated and in a fluid state. Moreover, if the sealing agent 3 is a thermosetting resin, the process of hardening the sealing agent 3 is a process of heating the sealing agent 3 in a fluid state. Moreover, if the sealing agent 3 is an ultraviolet curable resin, the step of curing the sealing agent 3 is a step of irradiating the sealing agent 3 in a fluid state with ultraviolet light.

  The sealing structure by the exterior member 2 and the sealing agent 3 is formed by passing through each process shown above, for example. Further, it is conceivable that a resin agent having a relatively high viscosity is employed as the sealant 3 in a particle size state. In this case, after the connector connecting step, a step of applying the fluidized sealant 3 to the pair of connected connectors 6a and 6b is performed, and then the exterior member covering step before the sealant 3 is cured. May be performed.

<Effect>
In the wire harness 1, the entire pair of connectors 6 a and 6 b constituting the connecting portion between the connector-attached electric wires 10 is sealed with a sealant 3 filled inside the cylindrical exterior member 2. Here, the sealing agent 3 prevents liquid from entering the connecting portions between the plurality of insulated wires 9 included in the pair of connected connectors 6 a and 6 b and the plurality of terminal fittings 8. Thereby, the corrosion of the connection part of the insulated wire 9 and the terminal metal fitting 8 in the connection part of the electric wires 10 with a connector is prevented.

  Moreover, if the wire harness 1 is employ | adopted, the man-hour for forming the sealing agent 3 which prevents the corrosion of the connection part of the insulated wire 9 and the terminal metal fitting 8 can be reduced. For example, in the wire harness 1, when one wiring section is relayed by the connector-attached electric wire 10 provided with connectors at both ends, the two pairs of connectors 6 a and 6 b increase. In this case, the process of forming the sealing agent 3 should just be performed only in two places where two pairs of connectors 6a and 6b are arrange | positioned irrespective of the number of the electric wires 7 with a terminal.

  Moreover, the sealing agent 3 is filled in the inside of the cylindrical exterior member 2 which covers the circumference | surroundings of a pair of connector 6a, 6b. Therefore, the sealing agent 3 is formed in a state where the entire periphery of the pair of connectors 6 a and 6 b is spread without any gap, and the pair of connectors 6 a and 6 b are reliably sealed by the sealing agent 3.

  In addition, if a material having a color different from the color of the transparent exterior member 2 is employed as the sealant 3, it is easy to confirm whether the sealant 3 is in a filled state. That is, from the outside of the exterior member 2, whether or not the sealing agent 3 is sufficiently densely filled in the exterior member 2, that is, no void is formed in the exterior member 2 where the sealing agent 3 does not reach. It becomes easy to confirm whether or not.

  Furthermore, if the sealing agent 3 is formed in a transparent color different from the color of the transparent exterior member 2, is the sealing agent 3 formed with an appropriate thickness with respect to the connectors 6 a and 6 b and the insulated wire 9? It becomes easy to confirm whether or not. However, in this case, the color of the sealant 3 is desirably darker than the color of the transparent exterior member 2.

<Others>
In the wire harness 1, it is also conceivable that the exterior member 2 is a heat shrinkable tube. In that case, the binding material 5 is omitted, and after one end of the heat-shrinkable tube is squeezed thinner than the other part along the outer periphery of the bundle of insulated wires 9 by heating, the sealing agent filling step is performed. It is conceivable to be done. Furthermore, before the sealing agent 3 hardens | cures, it is possible that the remaining part of a heat-shrinkable tube is heated in order from the other edge part, and is thinned. Thereby, the sealing agent 3 will be in the state which fills up the whole clearance gap between the exterior member 2, a pair of connector 6a, 6b, and the some insulated wire 9. FIG.

  The heat shrinkable tube is a cylindrical member made of, for example, polyolefin resin or nylon resin. The heat-shrinkable tube is obtained by rapidly cooling a resin member formed into a very thin cylinder by resin injection molding after being stretched into a thick cylinder while being heated. The heat-shrinkable tube thus obtained has a shape memory characteristic that, when heated, shrinks to a thin cylindrical shape before being stretched.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wire harness 2 Exterior member 3 Sealant 5 Binding material 6 Connector 6a 1st connector 6b 2nd connector 7 Electric wire with a terminal 8 Terminal metal fitting 8a 1st terminal metal fitting 8b 2nd terminal metal fitting 9 Insulated electric wire 10 Electric wire with a connector 10a 1st Electric wire with connector 10b Electric wire with second connector 30 Dispenser 61 Cavity 81 Electric wire connection portion 82 Contact portion 82a First contact portion 82b Second contact portion 91 Core wire 92 Insulation coating

Claims (4)

A wire harness comprising a pair of connectors each holding and connecting ends of a plurality of terminal-attached electric wires,
A cylindrical exterior member covering the periphery of the pair of connected connectors;
A non-conductive sealant that seals the entire pair of connectors that are filled and connected to the inside of the exterior member. The wire harness according to claim 1,
The wire harness which the conductor of each electric wire which comprises each said electric wire with a terminal consists of a metal material different from the main component material of the terminal metal fitting connected to this conductor. The wire harness according to claim 1,
The conductor of each electric wire constituting each of the electric wires with terminals is made of a metal material mainly composed of aluminum,
The terminal fitting is a wire harness made of a metal material mainly composed of copper. The wire harness according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The exterior member is a transparent member,
The wire harness, wherein the sealant is formed in a color different from that of the transparent exterior member.

Images