JP2014203520A - Terminal-provided wire, wire harness and wire routing structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal-provided wire and a wire harness with both ends to be connected and fixed to apparatuses which can suppress wear of connection terminals due to vibration of a wire without clamp fixation for suppressing vibration, and to provide a wire routing method using the wire or wire harness.SOLUTION: A terminal-provided wire has a connection terminal in an end part of a wire which consists of a conductor with the outer periphery coated with an insulator and a rigidity modulation part in which the rigidity per unit length in the longitudinal direction is different from those of other parts, in the longitudinal-direction middle part of the wire. The rigidity modulation part is formed advantageously by modifying the rigidity per unit length of the insulator in the longitudinal direction of the wire so as to be different from those of other parts.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric wire with a terminal and a wire harness provided with a terminal at an end portion of an insulated electric wire, and an electric wire routing method using them.

  When electrical wiring is performed between devices such as in-vehicle devices, a terminal-attached electric wire in which connection terminals are attached to both ends of an electric wire whose outer periphery is covered with an insulator is used. The connection terminal is usually housed in a connector housing, and the connector housing the connection terminal is a connector. By fitting the connectors together, the connection terminals accommodated in the connector housing are fitted and connected. The connector of the wire end is fitted with the connector on the device side. At this time, the electric wire is electrically connected to the device by fitting the connecting terminal on the electric wire side with the connecting terminal on the device side. Thus, the end of the electric wire is fixed to the in-vehicle device via the connection terminal.

  In this way, when both ends of the electric wire are connected and fixed to the device or the like by terminal connection, as schematically shown in FIG. 2A, the electric wire 91 is caused by vibration during traveling of the vehicle on which the devices 93a and 93b are mounted. When a vibration V is applied to the, resonance may occur as indicated by a broken line in the figure with the connection portion of the connection terminals 92a and 92b as a fixed end. Then, a tensile load (moment) is applied to the connection terminals 92a and 92b, and the connection terminals 92a and 92b are displaced, so that the connection terminals on the electric wire 91 side with respect to the connection terminals on the fitting terminals 93a and 93b side. 92a and 92b slide. Then, either or both of the connection terminals on the electric wire 91 side and the devices 93a and 93b side may be worn.

  In order to suppress the wear of the connection terminal due to the vibration of the electric wire, as shown in FIG. 2B, clamps 95a and 95b are provided on the outer periphery of the middle portion of the electric wire 91, and the wiring of the electric wire 91 such as the vehicle body 94 is arranged. An electric wire is fixed to an object existing in the path via clamps 95a and 95b. Then, the vibration of the electric wire 91 is suppressed, so that the wear of the connection terminals 92a and 92b is suppressed. The fixing of an electric wire using a clamp is disclosed in Patent Document 1 and the like.

JP2012-130230A

  If you fix the wire harness that bundles the wires or wires using clamps to the vehicle body etc., you can reduce the wear of the connection terminals due to the vibration of the wires, but depending on the necessity of fixing the wires, The degree of freedom may be limited. In addition, since it is necessary to attach the clamp, the cost and man-hour required for the arrangement increase.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that, in an electric wire with a terminal and a wire harness whose both ends are connected and fixed to a device or the like, the connection terminal is worn by vibration of the electric wire without performing clamp fixing for suppressing electric wire vibration. It is providing the electric wire arrangement method using the electric wire with a terminal and wire harness which can suppress a wire, and using such an electric wire and a wire harness.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a terminal-attached electric wire according to the present invention has a connection terminal at an end portion of an electric wire whose outer periphery is covered with an insulator, and the electric wire has a length in the middle in the longitudinal direction. The gist is that the rigidity per unit length along the direction is different from other parts.

  Here, the rigidity modulation section may be formed by making the thickness of the insulator different from other portions of the electric wire.

  At this time, the rigidity modulation section may be formed by removing at least a part of the thickness of the insulator.

  Or the said rigidity modulation | alteration part is good to be formed by attaching another insulator layer to the outer periphery of the said insulator.

  Or the said rigidity modulation | alteration part is good to be formed by making the thickness of the said insulator different from the other site | part of the said electric wire, and extruding.

  And the said rigidity modulation | alteration part is good to be formed in the site | part near the said connection terminal rather than the longitudinal direction center part of the said electric wire.

  The summary of the wire harness according to the present invention is that a plurality of electric wires including the electric wire with terminal are bundled.

  An electric wire arrangement structure according to the present invention is an electric wire arrangement structure characterized in that the electric wire with terminal or the wire harness is arranged by connecting both ends to an electric wire fixing end.

  In the electric wire with a terminal concerning the above-mentioned present invention, it has a rigidity modulation part in the longitudinal direction middle part of an insulator. Therefore, when the connection terminal is connected to a connection terminal of a device or the like to be a fixed end, even if vibration is applied, the electric wire is prevented from resonating with a large amplitude without having a node over the entire length, and is rigid. It vibrates with a node in the modulation section. As a result, the amplitude during vibration is reduced and the moment applied to the terminal connection portion is reduced. Wear of the connection terminal due to sliding with the connection terminal can be suppressed.

  Here, when the rigidity modulation part is formed by making the thickness of the insulator different from other parts of the electric wire, in particular, the rigidity modulation part removes at least a part of the thickness of the insulator, When it is formed by attaching another insulator layer to the outer periphery of the insulator, a conventional general covered electric wire having the same material and the same thickness in the longitudinal direction is used. The rigidity per unit length of the insulator can be changed. Therefore, the rigidity modulation part can be formed easily and at low cost.

  Alternatively, when the rigidity modulation portion is formed by extrusion molding with different thicknesses of the insulator from other portions of the electric wire, processing for forming the rigidity modulation portion is performed after the electric wire is manufactured. There is no need, and wire arrangement can be performed easily.

  And when the rigidity modulation part is formed in the part closer to the connection terminal than the longitudinal center part of the electric wire, the displacement of the connection terminal can be effectively reduced, and the wear due to the sliding of the connection terminal Can be highly suppressed.

  Since the wire harness according to the present invention includes a terminal-attached electric wire having a rigidity modulation portion, the moment applied to the terminal-attached electric wire is reduced when being arranged and subjected to vibration, and the terminal wears. It is suppressed.

  Since the wire routing structure according to the present invention is formed using a terminal-attached electric wire having a rigidity modulation portion, the moment applied to the connection terminal is small even when vibration is applied to the electric wire or the wire harness. It is suppressed and wear of the connection terminal can be suppressed.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the electric wire with a terminal which formed the rigidity modulation part, (a) is a case where the thickness of an insulator is made small in a rigidity modulation part, (b) is a case where the thickness of an insulator is enlarged. is there. It is a schematic diagram which shows the conventional electric wire with a terminal, (a) is a case where an electric wire is not clamp-fixed, (b) has shown the case where an electric wire is clamp-fixed.

  Hereinafter, the electric wire with a terminal concerning one embodiment of the present invention is explained, referring to drawings. Fig.1 (a) has shown the routing structure using the electric wire 1 with a terminal concerning 1st embodiment of this invention.

  The terminal-attached electric wire 1 is attached to an end of an elongated electric wire 10 in which the outer periphery of a metal conductor (not shown) is covered with two kinds of insulators, an insulating coating layer 14 and an insulating tape 13. Connection terminals 30a and 30b are provided. Then, a rigidity modulation portion 11 in which the outer periphery of the conductor is covered with the insulating tape 13 is formed in the middle portion of the electric wire 10 in the longitudinal direction. Parts other than the rigidity modulation part 11 of the electric wire 10 are made into the non-process part 12, and the outer periphery of a conductor is coat | covered with the insulation coating layer 14. FIG. The rigidity modulating unit 11 is different from the non-processed part 12 in rigidity per unit length along the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 10 (hereinafter, simply referred to as rigidity per unit length). The “rigidity per unit length” is the rigidity measured for the electric wire cut into the unit length.

  The metal conductor which comprises the electric wire 10 is comprised with the metal wire shape | molded by the electrically conductive metal material normally used as electric wire conductors, such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, and aluminum alloy. The metal conductor may be a single wire composed of one metal wire, or may be a stranded wire composed of two or more metal wires twisted together. One metal wire has a circular cross-sectional shape in the radial direction, and a metal conductor made of a single wire has a circular cross-sectional shape in the radial direction. A metal conductor made of a stranded wire has two or more metal wires twisted together so that the cross-sectional shape in the radial direction is substantially circular. The metal conductor made of stranded wire may be further subjected to circular compression molding.

  The insulating coating layer 14 that forms the untreated portion 12 of the electric wire 10 is formed of an insulating organic polymer composition that is usually used as an insulating coating for an insulating coated electric wire. An insulating organic polymer composition consists of what mix | blended various additives with the insulating organic polymer as needed. Examples of the insulating organic polymer include an insulating resin and an insulating rubber. Examples of the insulating resin include polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer (EEA), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), and vinyl chloride resin (PVC). Examples of the insulating rubber include silicone rubber, fluorine rubber, acrylic rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, chloroprene rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, and isoprene rubber. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Additives blended into insulating organic polymers as needed are additives blended into wire coating materials, flame retardants, crosslinking agents, fillers, antioxidants, antioxidants, copper damage inhibitors And pigments.

  The insulating tape 13 forming the rigidity modulation portion 11 of the electric wire 10 is formed from the same insulating organic polymer composition as listed as the insulating coating layer 14. The insulating tape 13 and the insulating coating layer 14 may be made of the same material or different materials, but the rigidity per unit length in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 10 is determined by the insulating tape 13 and the insulating coating layer 14. Need to be different. That is, when the insulating tape 13 and the insulating coating layer 14 are made of the same material, their thicknesses need to be different. Alternatively, they may be of the same wall thickness or of different materials having different elastic coefficients and giving different rigidity when the same shape is obtained.

  Thus, the structure which forms the rigidity modulation | alteration part 11 using the insulating tape 13 is easily formed using the conventional general covered electric wire provided with the insulation coating layer 14 which consists of the same material and has the same thickness over the full length. can do. That is, the insulating coating layer 14 of a conventional general covered electric wire may be removed only in a partial section in the longitudinal direction, and the insulating tape 13 may be wound around the exposed outer periphery of the conductor. If a tape material sufficiently thinner than the insulating coating layer 14 is used as the insulating tape 13 and a layer of the insulating tape 13 thinner than the insulating coating layer 14 is formed, the rigidity of the material constituting the insulating tape 13 is increased. Is not extremely high, the rigidity per unit length of the rigidity modulation section 11 is lower than the rigidity per unit length of the non-processed section 12. In order to fix the insulating tape 13 to the metal conductor with good adhesion, an adhesive material may be disposed between the insulating tape 13 and the metal conductor.

  As for the electric wire 10, the insulating coating layer 14 is peeled off at the terminal to expose the metal conductor. Connection terminals 30a and 30b are connected to the exposed metal conductor. The connection terminal connected to the electric wire terminal is usually accommodated in a connector housing (not shown). A connector in which a connection terminal is accommodated in a connector housing at a wire terminal is a connector. By fitting the connectors together, the connection terminals accommodated in the connector housing are fitted and connected.

  In this arrangement structure, the connector of the terminal of the electric wire 10 is fitted with the connectors (not shown) of the in-vehicle devices 40a and 40b. At this time, the connection terminals 30a and 30b connected to the terminal of the electric wire 10 are fitted and connected to connection terminals (not shown) on the in-vehicle devices 40a and 40b side. Thereby, the electric wire 10 is electrically connected to the vehicle-mounted devices 40a and 40b. Thus, the terminal of the electric wire 10 is fixed to the in-vehicle devices 40a and 40b via the connection terminals 30a and 30b, and the connection portion becomes the electric wire fixing end.

  If the rigidity modulation part is not formed in the middle part of the wire and the entire wire has a uniform rigidity, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), when the wire vibrates due to the vibration of the vehicle, etc. Resonance occurs, and the electric wire vibrates in a standing wave with the terminal connecting portions at both ends as nodes. At this time, the electric wire bends and vibrates in a substantially sinusoidal shape, and has a large amplitude at the central portion in the longitudinal direction. However, the natural frequency and amplitude when the object resonates greatly depend on the rigidity of the object, and when the rigidity modulation unit 11 having a different rigidity per unit length is formed on the electric wire 10 from other parts. The electric wire 10 can no longer vibrate a sine wave with a large amplitude with only both ends as nodes. Instead, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 1A, in addition to both ends, the rigidity modulation section 11 has a node and vibrates. As the distance between the nodes increases, vibration with a large amplitude becomes possible. Therefore, by having a node in the middle part of the electric wire 10, even if vibration occurs, compared to the case where there is no node in the middle part, The amplitude of the entire electric wire is suppressed. Thereby, the displacement of the connection terminals 30a and 30b (particularly the connection terminal 30a) is suppressed, and the moment applied to the terminal connection portion is also suppressed. Therefore, wear due to sliding of the connection terminals 30a and 30b (particularly the connection terminal 30a) is reduced.

  In this way, even if the intermediate portion of the electric wire is not fixed by an external object such as a vehicle body with a member such as a clamp, the wear of the connection terminals 30a and 30b due to the vibration of the electric wire 10 can be suppressed. When fixing an electric wire to a vehicle body or the like using a clamp, a process of fixing the clamp attached to the outer periphery of the electric wire to the vehicle body or the like is required during the routing process. On the other hand, in the electric wire 1 with a terminal, it is necessary to process the electric wire to form the rigidity modulation portion 11 before performing the arrangement, but the process of performing the arrangement between the in-vehicle devices 40a and 40b. In the middle, there is no need to perform processing for reducing the vibration of the electric wire 10. Therefore, compared with the case where an electric wire is fixed to a vehicle body etc., the number of work processes and cost from the manufacture of an electric wire to arrangement can be reduced. In addition, the electric wire 1 with this terminal does not prevent the electric wire 10 from being clamped, and the electric wire 10 may be clamped to an in-vehicle device or the like for the purpose of defining the routing route of the electric wire. If an electric wire is used, it is not necessary to perform extra clamp fixing for the purpose of suppressing vibration of the electric wire 10.

  In the example described above, the insulation modulation layer 11 is formed by removing the insulating coating layer 14 of the electric wire 10, but the rigidity modulation unit can be formed by another method. An electric wire arrangement structure using the terminal-attached electric wire 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The description of the configuration common to the first embodiment is omitted.

  In the second embodiment, the stiffness modulator 21 has an insulator thicker than the non-processed part 22 of the electric wire 20 around the metal conductor. In this case, the rigidity per unit length of the rigidity modulation section 21 is higher than the rigidity per unit length of the non-processing section 22. Such a terminal-attached electric wire 2 can be easily formed using a conventional general covered electric wire provided with an insulating coating layer 24 made of the same material and having the same thickness over the entire length. That is, the additional insulator 23, which is a separate member, may be wound around the outer periphery of the insulating coating layer 24 where the rigidity modulation portion 21 of a conventional general covered wire is to be formed. An adhesive substance may be appropriately disposed between the additional insulator 23 and the insulating coating layer 24 in order to improve the adhesion between them.

  The additional insulator 23 is made of an insulating organic polymer composition as listed above as a preferable material for the insulating coating layer 14. The additional insulator 23 may be made of the same material as the insulating coating layer 24 or may be made of a different material. In any case, the rigidity per unit length of the rigidity modulation portion 21 is increased as compared with that before the additional insulator 23 is added.

  As described above, even when the rigidity modulation unit 21 having a higher rigidity per unit length than the non-processed part 22 is formed, the electric wire is similar to the case of forming the rigidity modulation unit 11 having a lower rigidity per unit length. The whole 20 cannot vibrate with a large amplitude only at both ends, and a node is formed at the position of the stiffness modulator 21. Thereby, the displacement of the connection terminals 30a and 30b is reduced, and the applied moment is also reduced. And the abrasion by sliding of connection terminal 30a, 30b is suppressed.

  In this way, by making the rigidity per unit length of some parts of the wire different from the rigidity per unit length of other parts, the moment applied to the terminal connection part that is the fixed end during vibration is reduced. Thus, wear due to sliding of the connection terminals is suppressed. An electric wire having a rigidity modulation part with a different rigidity per unit length of the electric wire in only a part of the part can be obtained, for example, by changing the rigidity per unit length of the insulator disposed on the outer periphery of the metal conductor in a part of the part. It can be manufactured more easily than when changing the rigidity per unit length of the conductor. In particular, according to the first and second embodiments described above, the rigidity modulation sections 11 and 21 can be easily performed using a conventional general covered electric wire having an insulating coating layer made of the same material and having the same thickness. Can be formed. Even with methods other than these embodiments, an electric wire in which the rigidity per unit length of the insulator is different from that of other parts can be manufactured.

  As a modification of the first embodiment, instead of completely removing the insulating coating layer 14 in the thickness direction from the conventional general covered electric wire in the thickness direction, only a part of the thickness of the insulating coating layer 14 is removed. And the rigidity modulation | alteration part which left the insulating coating layer 14 thinner than the beginning can be formed. In this case, it is not necessary to wind the insulating tape 13 from above.

  Also, as in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, instead of forming the rigidity modulation portion by processing using a conventional general covered wire, an insulating coating layer is formed on the outer periphery of the wire conductor by extrusion molding In this stage, a method of integrally forming the rigidity modulation portion and the insulating coating layer of other portions may be considered. For example, the extrusion coating may be continuously performed so that the insulating coating layer covering the rigidity modulation portion has a larger or smaller wall thickness than the insulating coating layer covering other portions. Alternatively, the material of the insulating coating layer that covers the rigidity modulation portion may be different from the material of the insulating coating layer that covers other portions, and may be extruded. As described above, when the rigidity modulation part is formed integrally with other parts using extrusion molding, the extrusion molding process becomes complicated. On the other hand, the wire after extrusion molding is used to form the rigidity modulation part. Since no processing is necessary, the manufacturing process is simplified in this respect.

  Regardless of how the rigidity modulation part is formed, the greater the difference in rigidity per unit length between the rigidity modulation part and other parts, the smaller the moment applied to the terminal connection part, and the sliding of the connection terminal And the effect of suppressing wear increases. In the case where the rigidity modulation portion is formed by changing the thickness of the insulator from other portions, the thickness difference is preferably as large as possible. Further, when the rigidity modulation portion is formed by differentiating the material of the insulator from other parts, it is better that the difference in rigidity given by these materials is larger.

Furthermore, the greater the rigidity per unit length of the wire, the greater the moment applied to the terminal connection at the end during vibration. The effect of reducing the moment by forming is great. As the cross-sectional area of the electric wire increases, the rigidity increases, and when the cross-sectional area of the conductor is 15 mm ² or more, the rigidity modulation part can be used particularly effectively for moment reduction. As an electric wire widely used for wiring of in-vehicle devices, a conductor cross-sectional area is preferably 15 to 50 mm ² .

  The position, length, and number of the rigidity modulation portion to be formed on the electric wire may be appropriately set by performing a test or the like so as to obtain a desired moment reduction effect. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, if the rigidity modulation part is formed at a position closer to the connection terminal than the center in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire, the rigidity modulation part and its connection terminal (FIG. In a) and (b), the amplitude between the connection terminals 30a) can be made particularly small, so that the moment applied to the connection terminal can be particularly reduced.

  The terminal-attached electric wire having the rigidity modulation section as described above may be used alone or as an electric wire constituting a wire harness in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled. Even when used as a wire harness, when receiving vibration in a state of being arranged between devices, a moment is applied to the terminal connection part due to vibration of the wire harness, and the connection terminal may be worn due to sliding. It is suppressed. In addition, when using an electric wire that further covers the outer periphery of a bundle of multiple wires, if the rigidity per unit length of the outermost insulating coating is changed in some parts, the entire wire bundle The effect of reducing the moment applied to the connection terminal can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described by way of examples.

Insulated covered electric wire (conductor cross-sectional area: 20 mm ² , conductor material: copper, insulating covering material: polyethylene) is cut out to a length of 150 mm, and extends from one end to a length of 20 mm centering on a quarter length. The insulation coating was removed all around the wire. The both ends of this electric wire were fixed using a gripping tool so that the electric wire would not sag. And the electric wire edge part near the site | part which removed the insulation coating was vibrated up and down, and the moment applied to this edge part was measured at room temperature using the load meter. The moment was measured while changing the vibration frequency, and the maximum value of the moment was recorded. The same measurement was performed on the electric wires from which the insulation coating was not removed, and the maximum moment values were compared.

  Table 1 shows the maximum value of the moment when the insulation coating is not removed and when the insulation coating is not removed. The value of the moment is shown as a relative value with 1 when the insulation coating is not removed.

  According to Table 1, the moment applied to the end portion of the electric wire is reduced to 73% by removing the insulating coating at a part. This is considered to be due to the effect of reducing the amplitude at the time of vibration by forming a region having a lower rigidity per unit length in the middle part of the electric wire than in other parts by removing the insulating coating.

  Even if a very thin insulating tape is wound around the part where the insulation coating is removed, compared to the insulation coating made of the organic polymer composition of the insulation coated wire, the rigidity per unit length of this part is different from the other part. Can be maintained in a smaller state. Also in this case, it is estimated that the moment applied to the end portion of the electric wire is lower than that in the case where the insulation coating is not removed.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described in detail, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment and Example at all, and various modification | change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. For example, in the above embodiment, connection terminals are provided at both ends of the electric wires, and they are routed as fixed ends, but when connecting one end of the electric wires to equipment without using the connection terminals, etc. Even when the connection terminal is provided only at one end, if the rigidity modulation portion is formed in the middle of the electric wire, the effect of suppressing wear due to sliding is exhibited at the connection terminal.

1, 2 Electric wires with terminals 10, 20 Electric wires 11, 21 Rigidity modulation parts 12, 22 Untreated parts 13 Insulating tape (insulator)
23 Additional insulators 14, 24 Insulation coating layer (insulator)
30a, 30b Connection terminals 40a, 40b On-vehicle equipment V Vibration

Claims (8)

The outer periphery of the conductor has a connection terminal at the end of the electric wire covered with an insulator,
The said electric wire has a rigidity modulation | alteration part in which the rigidity per unit length along a longitudinal direction differs from another site | part in the middle part of a longitudinal direction.   The electric wire with a terminal according to claim 1, wherein the rigidity modulation portion is formed by making the thickness of the insulator different from other portions of the electric wire.   The electric wire with a terminal according to claim 2, wherein the rigidity modulation portion is formed by removing at least a part of the thickness of the insulator.   The electric wire with a terminal according to claim 2, wherein the rigidity modulation portion is formed by attaching another insulator layer to the outer periphery of the insulator.   The electric wire with a terminal according to claim 2, wherein the rigidity modulation portion is formed by extruding while different thicknesses of the insulator are different from other portions of the electric wire.   The electric wire with a terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rigidity modulation portion is formed in a portion closer to the connection terminal than a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire.   The wire harness characterized by bundling the some electric wire containing the electric wire with a terminal of any one of Claim 1 to 6.   An electric wire routing structure characterized in that the electric wire according to any one of claims 1 to 6 or the wire harness according to claim 7 is routed by connecting both ends to an electric wire fixed end.

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