JP2014075242A - Vehicle wire harness - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle wire harness which can realize cost reduction and weight saving without impairing functions.SOLUTION: A vehicle wire harness 11 comprises a linear conductor 13, and a corrugated tube 15 which is composed of polyamide resin in which the conductor 13 is inserted internally and has a ring-shaped concave section 17 and a ring-shaped convex section 19 in the circumferential direction formed alternately in the direction along the axis line. The ring-shaped concave section 17 of the corrugated tube 15 protrudes to the inside as a convex ring-shaped section 21 in the inner diameter side of the tube, and, at the protruding edge of the convex ring-shaped section 21, an external corner connection 29 of the protruding edge surface 25 and a pair of side wall sections 27, 27 facing each other across the protruding edge surface 25 is processed to form a chamfer section 33 by removing the edge section.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular wiring harness, and more particularly to a vehicular wiring harness suitable for use with a battery (-side) and a body, or a thick wire (such as a ground wire) that connects an engine and a body.

  Conventionally, one protective material (such as a corrugated tube) may be set for one thick wire in a vehicle wire harness. For example, the ground wire connecting the battery (-side) and the body or the engine and the body has a thick conductor diameter and a thick conductor covering the conductor with an insulating coating with high insulation performance in order to reduce transmission loss. A diameter wire (thick wire) is used. And since it is used in an engine room, the provision of the function which protects a ground wire from the stepping stone from a road surface, etc. is needed. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 3, since the insulation coating 503 of the thick wire 501 is not sufficient, a corrugated tube 505 or the like is further added according to installation conditions.

JP 2009-277438 A

  However, the vehicle wire harness 507 in which the thick wire 501 is inserted through the corrugated tube 505 described above is in a state where the insulating function is overlapped between the insulating coating 503 and the corrugated tube 505. Therefore, in the double structure of the insulating coating 503 and the corrugated tube 505, the protection performance becomes excessive, the cost increases, and the weight also increases. On the other hand, it is difficult to directly attach only the corrugated tube 505 to the conductor 509 (core wire) of the thick wire 501. The first reason is that the material (polypropylene) of the corrugated tube 505 and the conductor 509 are not compatible with each other and the quality is deteriorated. The second reason is that the edge portion 506 is present on the inner surface of the bellows-like corrugated tube 505, which may damage the conductor 509.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses an electric wire that covers an insulating coating removal portion of a bent portion of an inter-device connection electric wire with an insulating material. In this example, a bellows tube (such as a grommet) that is more flexible than the insulation coating of the wire body is employed as the insulating material. In this electric wire, before bending the portion that becomes the bending portion of the inter-device connection electric wire, it is easy to bend by peeling off the insulating coating, and the insulating coating removal portion is covered with an insulating material, thereby insulating the electric wire in the bent portion. In addition, the impact resistance and the like are prevented from being lowered. The insulating material employing the bellows tube is set to have a longitudinal length with a predetermined margin at both ends so as to cover at least the entire insulating coating removing portion of the inter-device connection electric wire. Then, both end portions of the insulating material are closely fixed to the insulating coating by a heat shrinkable tube. For this reason, insulation coating is still used for most parts, and furthermore, a heat-shrinkable tube is also required, so cost reduction and weight reduction cannot be realized.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said condition, The objective is to provide the wire harness for vehicles which can implement | achieve cost reduction and weight reduction, without impairing a function.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configuration.
(1) A vehicle wire harness comprising: a linear conductor; and a flexible cylindrical body made of a polyamide-based resin through which the conductor is inserted inward.

According to the vehicle wire harness having the configuration (1), the linear conductor is inserted into the inside of the flexible cylindrical body made of polyamide-based resin having insulation properties. Only the bare conductor which is not provided with an insulating coating is inserted into the flexible cylinder. That is, the protection function from the external force and the insulation function are integrated in the flexible cylindrical body. That is, in the vehicular wire harness having the configuration (1), the material cost is reduced and the weight is reduced as the insulation coating is abolished.
In addition, as a manufacturing method of the said wire harness for vehicles in case a conductor is inserted in the state where there is almost no gap between the inner periphery of a flexible cylinder, as for the manufacturing method of a flexible cylinder, a conductor is simultaneously used. It is desirable to use a method of feeding out from the direction along the axis to be in the insertion state. In addition, as a method for manufacturing the vehicle wire harness when the conductor is inserted with a gap between the conductor and the inner periphery of the flexible cylinder, the flexible cylinder is formed after the flexible cylinder is molded. A method of inserting a conductor from one end of the body is desirable.

(2) The vehicle wire harness having the configuration of (1), wherein the flexible tubular body is a corrugated tube in which annular concave portions and annular convex portions in a circumferential direction are alternately formed in a direction along an axis. Yes,
The annular concave portion of the corrugated tube protrudes inward as a convex annular portion on the tube inner diameter side,
An R chamfered portion in which an edge portion is removed is formed on a protruding tip side of the convex ring portion at a protruding corner connecting portion between a protruding tip surface and a pair of side walls sandwiching the protruding tip surface. Wire harness for vehicles.

According to the vehicle wire harness having the above configuration (2), the flexible tubular body including the corrugated tube having the annular concave portion and the annular convex portion can improve the flexibility and improve the routing workability. . In the vehicular wire harness in which the conductor is inserted through the corrugated tube, the annular convex portion is in contact with the other member such as the vehicle body panel, so that the contact area can be reduced and the routing property can be improved. When the conductor inserted through the corrugated tube is in contact with the other member, the conductor is separated from the other member by a distance corresponding to the height of the convex portion of the annular convex portion. For this reason, compared with the covered electric wire with which the conventional conductor was covered with the insulation coating, the insulation distance from another member can be ensured largely. In addition to this, even if perforation occurs due to rubbing with other members, the annular protrusion protruding outward is first worn, so the conductor does not immediately contact the other members, reducing the insulation. It can be difficult.
Further, an R chamfered portion is formed on the protruding tip side of the projecting ring portion protruding toward the inner diameter side of the tube by removing the edge portion at the protruding corner connecting portion between the protruding tip surface and the pair of side walls sandwiching the protruding tip surface. Therefore, since the conductor inserted through the corrugated tube does not slidably contact the edge portion of the convex ring portion, the occurrence of damage is suppressed, and the durability is not lowered.

  According to the vehicle wire harness according to the present invention, the cost can be reduced and the weight can be reduced without impairing the function.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through a mode for carrying out the invention described below (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

It is a side view of the wire harness for vehicles concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of the wire harness for vehicles shown in FIG. It is a partially broken side view of the conventional wire harness for vehicles.

Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle wire harness 11 according to the present embodiment is a so-called large-diameter wire (thick wire) using a large-current wire, and includes a battery (− side), a body, and an engine. And a corrugate which is a flexible cylindrical body made of a polyamide-based resin in which the conductor 13 is inserted inwardly, and a linear conductor 13 for electrical connection (ground connection) between the body and the body Tube 15. The conductor 13 is made of copper (including tin-plated copper wire), aluminum or aluminum alloy. The strand may be a single wire such as the conductor 13 or a stranded wire formed by twisting a plurality of wires. Further, the flexible cylindrical body is not limited to the corrugated tube, and may be a cylindrical resin tube.

  The corrugated tube 15 has a function of insulating the conductor 13 from the outside and protecting the conductor 13 from an external impact. That is, in the vehicle wire harness 11, the conventional insulation coating is abolished, and the conductor 13 is directly inserted into the corrugated tube 15 which is a flexible cylindrical body.

  As the conductor 13, aluminum or an aluminum alloy can be suitably used as described above. Aluminum has the characteristics that it has the second highest electrical conductivity after copper, is excellent in wire drawing workability, and is lightweight (specific gravity of 1/3 or less of copper). As an example of an aluminum electric wire, an aluminum electric wire constituted by twisting only an aluminum wire or an aluminum alloy wire, an aluminum electric wire constituted by twisting a copper-coated aluminum wire, or the like can be used.

An aluminum electric wire (including an aluminum alloy electric wire) has an aluminum conductor (including an aluminum alloy conductor) as the conductor 13, and the density of aluminum is 2.70 g against the density of copper of 8.96 g / cm ³ . / Cm ^3, and the density is about 1/3 that of the copper electric wire, and the overall weight of the vehicle wire harness can be significantly reduced. On the other hand, the conductivity of aluminum is lower than that of copper, and in order to have the same electrical characteristics (allowable load current) as that of a copper electric wire, it is necessary to make the diameter approximately 1.6 times that of the copper electric wire.
Therefore, in the vehicle wire harness 11 of this embodiment, by eliminating the insulation coating, the diameter can be reduced correspondingly, and the disadvantage of increasing the diameter by using the aluminum electric wire can be reduced.

  In the corrugated tube 15, circumferential annular recesses 17 and annular projections 19 are alternately formed in a direction along the axis. Note that the corrugated tube 15 has an annular concave portion 17 and an annular convex portion 19 viewed from the outside, which are a convex annular portion 21 and a concave annular portion 23 shown in FIG.

  As a material for the corrugated tube 15, a resin composition in which an inorganic flame retardant is blended with a polyamide resin can be used. The polyamide has an acid amide bond in the main chain, and includes at least one selected from aliphatic polyamide, alicyclic polyamide and / or aromatic polyamide, or a copolymer including at least two types. Things can be used. As the polyamide, a polyamide derived from lactam, aminocarboxylic acid, or a combination of diamine and dicarboxylic acid can be used. In particular, the polyamide has an acid amide bond in the main chain, a polymer obtained from at least one component selected from aliphatic polyamide and alicyclic polyamide, or a polymer obtained from at least two components, etc. Aliphatic or alicyclic polyamides are preferred. Among polyamide-based resins, aliphatic polyamide is preferable from the viewpoint of moldability.

  Polyamides are heat-resistant agents, ultraviolet absorbers, light stabilizers, antioxidants, antistatic agents, lubricants, slip agents, crystal nucleating agents, tackifiers, seal improvers, anti-blocking agents as long as their properties are not impaired. A clouding agent, a release agent, a plasticizer, a pigment, a dye, a fragrance, a flame retardant, a reinforcing material, and the like can be added.

  The polyamide may contain a thermoplastic resin such as an elastomer, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, polyester, ABS resin, polyethylene, polypropylene, or a polyolefin such as a modified product thereof such as maleic acid as long as the characteristics are not impaired. it can.

  Further, the annular concave portion 17 of the corrugated tube 15 is formed as a convex ring portion 21 on the inner diameter side of the tube and protrudes inward. On the projecting tip side of the convex ring portion 21, an R chamfered portion 33 is formed by removing an edge portion at a protruding corner connection portion 29 between the projecting tip surface 25 and a pair of side wall portions 27, 27 sandwiching the projecting tip surface 25. Has been.

Next, the effect | action of the wire harness 11 for vehicles which has the said structure is demonstrated.
In the vehicle wire harness 11, a linear conductor 13 is inserted into an inner side of a corrugated tube 15 made of an insulating polyamide-based resin. In the corrugated tube 15, only the bare conductor 13 that is not coated with insulation is inserted. That is, the corrugated tube 15 has a protection function against external force and an insulating function.

  That is, in the vehicle wire harness 11 of the present embodiment, the material cost is reduced and the weight is reduced by the amount of the insulation coating being abolished. In addition, as a manufacturing method of the vehicle wire harness 11 in which the conductor 13 is inserted with the gap 35 between the inner periphery of the corrugated tube 15, the conductor 13 is formed from one end side of the corrugated tube 15 after the corrugated tube 15 is formed. The method of inserting 13 is desirable.

  Further, in the vehicle wire harness 11 of the present embodiment, the flexible tubular body composed of the corrugated tube 15 having the annular recess 17 and the annular projection 19 can improve the flexibility and improve the routing workability. it can. The elimination of the insulating coating makes the flexibility even better. In the vehicle wire harness 11 in which the conductor 13 is inserted through the corrugated tube 15, the annular protrusion 19 is in contact with another member such as a vehicle body panel, so that the contact area can be reduced and the routing property can be improved.

  When the conductor 13 inserted through the corrugated tube 15 is in contact with another member, the conductor 13 is separated from the other member by a distance corresponding to the height of the convex portion of the annular convex portion 19. For this reason, compared with the covered electric wire with which the conventional conductor was covered with the insulation coating, the insulation distance from another member can be ensured largely. In addition to this, even if the corrugated tube 15 is perforated due to rubbing with other members or the like, the annular protrusion 19 protruding outward is first worn, so that the conductor 13 immediately contacts with the other members. There is no, and it can make it difficult to reduce insulation.

  Further, on the projecting tip side of the convex ring portion 21 projecting toward the tube inner diameter side of the corrugated tube 15, a protruding corner connecting portion 29 between the projecting tip surface 25 and a pair of side wall portions 27, 27 sandwiching the projecting tip surface 25. Since the R chamfered portion 33 from which the edge portion is removed is formed, the conductor 13 inserted through the corrugated tube 15 is not slidably contacted with the edge portion of the convex ring portion 21, thereby suppressing the occurrence of damage. And does not reduce durability.

  In the vehicle wire harness 11 of the above embodiment, the conductor 13 is inserted in a state having a gap 35 with the inner periphery of the corrugated tube 15, but the present invention is not limited to this. The conductor 13 may be inserted with almost no gap between the conductor 13 and the inner periphery of the corrugated tube 15. As a manufacturing method of the vehicle wire harness in this case, it is desirable to send out the conductor 13 from the direction along the axis at the same time when the corrugated tube 15 is formed.

  The use of the vehicular wire harness 11 is not limited to the ground connection between the battery (− side) and the body or the engine and the body shown in the above embodiment, but various on-vehicle electrics connected by electric wires. It can be applied to mutual connection of devices (including secondary batteries, batteries, etc.). And by employ | adopting at many places in a vehicle, the weight reduction of a vehicle-mounted electrical wiring can be accelerated | stimulated.

  Therefore, according to the vehicle wire harness 11 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize cost reduction and weight reduction without impairing the function.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Wire harness 13 for vehicles ... Conductor 15 ... Corrugated tube (flexible cylinder)
17 ... annular concave portion 19 ... annular convex portion 21 ... convex ring portion 25 ... protruding tip surface 27 ... side wall portion 29 ... exit corner connecting portion 33 ... R chamfered portion

Claims (2)

A linear conductor;
A flexible cylinder made of a polyamide-based resin through which the conductor is inserted inward;
A vehicle wire harness comprising: The flexible cylinder is
A corrugated tube in which circumferential annular recesses and annular projections are alternately formed in the direction along the axis,
The annular concave portion of the corrugated tube protrudes inward as a convex annular portion on the tube inner diameter side,
An R chamfered portion in which an edge portion is removed is formed on a protruding tip side of the convex ring portion at a protruding corner connecting portion between a protruding tip surface and a pair of side walls sandwiching the protruding tip surface. The wire harness for vehicles according to claim 1.

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