JP2016019343A - Exterior member for wire harness, and wire harness - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exterior member for a wire harness which can be made lightweight while securing a strength, and the wire harness.SOLUTION: A wire harness 9 includes: an exterior member 24; a high voltage conducting path 25 inserted through the exterior member 24; and a plurality of fixing members 20 for fixing the wire harness 9 at a predetermined position. The exterior member 24 is formed in a tubular shape for inserting and protecting the high voltage conducting path 25 therein. The exterior member 24 is a resin molding, and thin parts 38-40 are formed inside. The thin parts 38-40 are disposed and formed correspondingly to a portion of a narrow gap between the neighboring fixing members 20. The thin parts 38-40 are formed as portions for attaining reduction in weight.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an exterior member for a wire harness and a wire harness including the exterior member in its configuration.

  For example, a wire harness is used to electrically connect high voltage devices mounted on a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle. Looking at trends in recent years, wire harnesses having a configuration and structure that take into account the wiring space are adopted.

  The wire harness disclosed in the following Patent Document 1 includes a conductive path and a synthetic resin exterior member for protecting the conductive path. The exterior member has a bellows tube-shaped flexible tube portion and a straight tube-shaped straight tube portion in order to route the wire harness in a three-dimensional complex space. The exterior member is resin-molded so that the flexible tube portion and the straight tube portion are continuous. If such an exterior member is employed, the wiring harness can be arranged even in a three-dimensional complicated space.

JP 2013-211963 A

  In the conventional wire harness, since the resin exterior member is employed, an effect that the weight can be reduced as compared with the wire harness of the exterior member made of the metal pipe is achieved. However, in recent years, there has been a demand for further weight reduction, and for this purpose, the inventor of the present application thinks that weight reduction must be achieved while ensuring strength as an exterior member.

  This invention is made | formed in view of an above-described situation, and makes it a subject to provide the exterior member for wire harnesses which can aim at weight reduction, ensuring a strength, and a wire harness.

  The wire harness exterior member of the present invention according to claim 1 made to solve the above problems is for a wire harness formed into a tubular shape by resin molding in order to insert and protect a conductive path. In the exterior member, the exterior member is provided with a plurality of fixing portions or fixing members for fixing the wire harness at a predetermined position on the outside, and the interval or arrangement of the adjacent fixing portions or the fixing members. A thin-walled portion is formed on the inner side according to the above.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the exterior member for a wire harness according to the first aspect, the exterior member has a flexible tube portion and a straight tube portion, and at least inside the straight tube portion. The thin portion is formed.

  According to the exterior member for a wire harness of the present invention having the above-described features, the exterior member has a thin portion, and this thin portion is adapted to, for example, an adjacent fixing portion or a portion where the interval between the fixing members is narrow. It is formed. The thickness of the exterior member is reduced by the formation of the thin part, but if the fixed part or the fixed member is fixed to the object to be fixed, the decrease in strength is compensated, and as a result, the necessary strength as the exterior member is secured. Can do. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the weight of the exterior member at the portion where the interval is narrowed. In addition, according to the exterior member of the present invention, since the thin portion is formed on the inner side, the appearance does not change for weight reduction, and as a result, it may hinder the routing work and the routing space. Absent. In addition, according to the exterior member of the present invention, the resin material can be reduced as the weight is reduced. That is, cost reduction can be achieved.

  Moreover, the wire harness of this invention of Claim 3 made | formed in order to solve the said subject, The exterior member for wire harnesses of Claim 1 or 2, and the electrically conductive path penetrated by this exterior member, A plurality of fixing portions or fixing members provided outside the exterior member are provided.

  According to the wire harness of the present invention having the above-described features, the weight is reduced by the thin portion of the exterior member.

  According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to provide an exterior member capable of reducing the weight while securing the strength. Further, according to the present invention described in claim 3, there is an effect that it is possible to provide a wire harness capable of reducing the weight while securing the strength.

It is a figure which concerns on the wire harness of this invention, (a) is a schematic diagram which shows the wiring state of a high voltage wire harness, (b) is a schematic diagram which shows the wiring state of another wire harness from (a) It is. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure and fixed state of the wire harness of Fig.1 (a). It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the exterior member of FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing of the exterior member of FIG.

  The wire harness includes an exterior member, a conductive path inserted through the exterior member, and a fixing portion or a fixing member for fixing the wire harness at a predetermined position. The exterior member is formed in a tubular shape in order to insert and protect the conductive path. The exterior member is a resin molded product, and a thin portion is formed inside. The thin portion is disposed and formed in accordance with a portion where the interval between adjacent fixing portions or fixing members is narrow. A thin part is formed as a part aiming at weight reduction.

  Embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram related to a wire harness according to the present invention, in which (a) is a schematic diagram illustrating a wiring state of a high-voltage wire harness, and (b) illustrates a wiring state of a wire harness different from (a). It is a schematic diagram shown. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration and fixing state of the wire harness of FIG. 1A, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the exterior member of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the exterior member of FIG. FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the present invention is adopted for a wire harness routed in a hybrid vehicle (which may be an electric vehicle or the like).

  In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 1 indicates a hybrid vehicle. The hybrid vehicle 1 is a vehicle that mixes and drives two powers of an engine 2 and a motor unit 3, and the motor unit 3 is supplied with electric power from a battery 5 (battery pack) via an inverter unit 4. . The engine 2, the motor unit 3, and the inverter unit 4 are mounted in the engine room 6 where the front wheels and the like are located in the present embodiment. In addition, the battery 5 is mounted on the rear part 7 of the vehicle having rear wheels or the like (may be mounted in a vehicle room existing behind the engine room 6).

  The motor unit 3 and the inverter unit 4 are connected by a high-voltage (high voltage) wire harness 8. The battery 5 and the inverter unit 4 are also connected by a high-voltage wire harness 9. In the wire harness 9, the intermediate portion 10 is routed under the vehicle floor 11. Further, they are routed substantially parallel along the vehicle floor 11. The vehicle underfloor 11 is a known body and a so-called panel member, and a through hole is formed at a predetermined position. The wire harness 9 is inserted into the through hole in a watertight manner.

  The wire harness 9 and the battery 5 are connected via a junction block 12 provided in the battery 5. External connection means such as a shield connector 14 disposed on the harness terminal 13 on the rear end side of the wire harness 9 is electrically connected to the junction block 12. Further, the wire harness 9 and the inverter unit 4 are electrically connected via an external connection means such as a shield connector 14 disposed on the harness terminal 13 on the front end side.

  The motor unit 3 includes a motor and a generator. The inverter unit 4 includes an inverter and a converter. The motor unit 3 is formed as a motor assembly including a shield case. The inverter unit 4 is also formed as an inverter assembly including a shield case. The battery 5 is of Ni-MH type or Li-ion type, and is formed as a module. It is also possible to use a power storage device such as a capacitor. The battery 5 is not particularly limited as long as it can be used for the hybrid vehicle 1 and the electric vehicle.

  In FIG. 1B, reference numeral 15 indicates a wire harness. The wire harness 15 is a low voltage (for low voltage), and electrically connects the low voltage battery 16 at the rear part 7 of the hybrid vehicle 1 and the auxiliary device 18 (equipment) mounted on the front part 17 of the vehicle. Provided to connect. The wire harness 15 is routed through the vehicle underfloor 11 in the same manner as the wire harness 9 of FIG. 1A (an example. The wire harness 15 may be routed through the passenger compartment side).

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, high-voltage wire harnesses 8 and 9 and a low-voltage wire harness 15 are arranged in the hybrid vehicle 1. Although the present invention can be applied to any wire harness, the wire harness 9 will be described below as a representative example.

  In FIG. 1A and FIG. 2, the long wire harness 9 routed through the vehicle underfloor 11 is disposed at the harness body 19 and at both ends of the harness body 19, that is, at the harness terminal 13. A shield connector 14 (external connection means) is provided. In addition, the wire harness 9 includes a plurality of fixing members 20 (for example, clamps) for fixing at a predetermined position of the vehicle, and water-stop members 21 and 22 (for example, grommets and boots) for restricting the ingress of moisture. It is prepared for.

  In FIG. 2, the wire harness 9 is fixed by the plurality of fixing members 20 as described above. Here, when the fixing member 20 is indicated by reference numerals 20a to 20d, the wire harness 9 is fixed to the fixing target 23 of the vehicle by the fixing members 20a to 20d in FIG. 2 (an example is not limited to the fixed number in FIG. 2). Suppose). The configuration and structure of the fixing member 20 will be described later.

  The fixing member 20a is provided on the short straight pipe portion 31 of the exterior member 24 described later. Further, the fixing members 20 b to 20 d are respectively provided at predetermined positions on the long straight pipe portion 32 of the exterior member 24. The fixing member 20a and the fixing member 20b are disposed (attached) in a state where a flexible tube portion 28 (described later) of the exterior member 24 exists between them. The fixing member 20a and the fixing member 20b are arranged at a relatively narrow interval though the flexible tube portion 28 is interposed. On the contrary, the fixing member 20b and the fixing member 20c are arranged at intervals so as to be largely separated. In addition, the fixing member 20c and the fixing member 20d are disposed at the narrowest interval. As described above, the fixing members 20a to 20d are arranged with different intervals.

  A characteristic portion according to the present invention is formed in an exterior member 24 described later. This characteristic part is formed according to the interval and arrangement of the fixing members 20a to 20d.

  The harness body 19 includes an exterior member 24 according to the present invention and a high-voltage conductive path 25 (conductive path) that is accommodated and protected by the exterior member 24. The exterior member 24 may have a structure and structure that together accommodate and protect the low-voltage wire harness 15 (the low-voltage wire harness 15 includes the harness body 26 and the harness body 26. And a connector 27 provided at both ends (see FIG. 1B).

  2 and 3, the exterior member 24 is formed into a single straight tube shape by resin molding using an air blow type or vacuum type device (before use, it is straight). Such an exterior member 24 is formed with flexible flexible tube portions 28 to 30 and straight tube portions (short straight tube portions 31 and long straight tube portions 32) as portions to be straightly arranged. Is done. In this embodiment, from the left side in the drawing (from the front end side of the wire harness 9), the flexible tube portion 28, the short straight tube portion 31, the flexible tube portion 29, the long straight tube portion 32, and the flexible tube portion 30 are obtained. Thus, the flexible tube portions and the straight tube portions are alternately arranged.

  The flexible tube portions 28 to 30 are arranged and formed in accordance with the bending position and the bending length of the fixing object 23 (wire harness wiring destination). The lengths of the flexible tube portions 28 to 30 are not constant, and are formed with necessary lengths according to the fixing object 23. Such flexible tube portions 28 to 30 are bent at a desired angle when the wire harness 9 is packed, transported, or routed to the vehicle. The flexible tube portions 28 to 30 can be bent to have a bent shape and can be naturally returned to the original state (the state at the time of resin molding) as shown in FIG. The

  The flexible tube portions 28 to 30 are formed in a bellows tube shape in this embodiment (the shape is not particularly limited as long as it has flexibility). Specifically, the bellows concave portion 33 and the bellows convex portion 34 in the circumferential direction are provided, and the bellows concave portion 33 and the bellows convex portion 34 are formed alternately and continuously in the tube axis direction.

  2 to 4, the short straight tube portion 31 and the long straight tube portion 32 are formed as non-flexible portions such as the flexible tube portions 28 to 30. Further, the short straight pipe portion 31 and the long straight pipe portion 32 are also formed as a portion that does not bend during packing, transportation, or route routing (the portion that does not bend positively has flexibility). Meaning no part). The short straight tube portion 31 and the long straight tube portion 32 are formed in a straight tube shape.

  A plurality of fixing member attachment portions 35 are formed on the outer surfaces of the short straight tube portion 31 and the long straight tube portion 32 as portions for attaching the fixing members 20a to 20d. One fixing member attachment portion 35 is formed on the short straight tube portion 31 and three on the long straight tube portion 32 (the number is an example). The fixing member attaching part 35 is configured to include a pair of movement restricting parts 36 and an attaching / detaching part 37 (if it is an attaching part, it is not limited to the illustrated structure). The pair of movement restricting portions 36 is formed in an annular flange shape. The pair of movement restricting portions 36 are arranged and formed on both sides of the attaching / detaching portion 37. The arrangement of the fixing member attaching portion 35 has the same contents as the above-described interval between the fixing members 20a to 20d, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  On the inner surfaces of the short straight tube portion 31 and the long straight tube portion 32, thin portions 38 to 40 which are characteristic portions of the present invention are formed. The thin wall portions 38 to 40 are formed by reducing the thickness of the short straight tube portion 31 and the long straight tube portion 32 from the inside. Such thin portions 38 to 40 are formed according to the interval and arrangement of the fixing members 20a to 20d. The thin portions 38 to 40 are effective as portions that can be reduced in weight because they are formed with a reduced thickness. The thin portions 38 to 40 are formed by appropriately controlling a resin molding apparatus related to the exterior member 24, specifically by controlling a resin molding speed and a resin material supply amount.

  The formation range of the thin portions 38 to 40 is set according to the interval and arrangement of the fixing members 20a to 20d. This formation range is set to a range in which the required strength of the exterior member 24 can be secured in a state where the fixing members 20a to 20d are fixed to the fixing object 23.

  The thin portion 38 is formed on the entire inner surface of the short straight tube portion 31 to which the fixing member 20a is attached. In this embodiment, since the fixing member 20a is disposed adjacent to the fixing member 20b at a relatively narrow interval, the necessary strength is obtained even if the thin wall portion 38 is formed on the entire inner surface of the short straight pipe portion 31. Can be secured by fixing the fixing members 20a and 20b.

  In addition, since the short straight pipe part 31 is a short part located between the flexible pipe parts 28 and 29, if the thin part 38 is formed in this whole inner surface, it will be thick with the flexible pipe parts 28 and 29. It is possible to eliminate the change, and as a result, it is possible to stabilize the molding state and simplify the control of the apparatus related to the molding.

  The thin portion 39 is formed in accordance with the position where the fixing member 20b is attached. The thin-walled portion 39 is formed to have a thin thickness in a state where the thin-walled portion 39 is tapered in a sectional view, and finally has the same thickness as the flexible tube portion 29. The thin portion 39 is formed in a short range.

  The thin portion 40 is formed in accordance with the position where the fixing members 20c and 20d are attached. The thin-walled portion 40 is formed so as to be thin in a state where the thin-walled portion 40 is tapered in a sectional view, and finally to have the same thickness as the flexible tube portion 30. The thin portion 40 is formed in a range longer than the thin portion 39.

  The long straight pipe portion 32 is formed with thin portions 39 and 40 at the end portion. In the present embodiment, the middle portion excluding the end portion is not formed thin. This is because the long straight pipe portion 32 is a portion routed under the vehicle floor 11 in the present embodiment, and therefore it is necessary to sufficiently ensure the strength as the exterior member 24. In addition, since the interval between the fixing member 20b and the fixing member 20c is increased, if the external force is applied only by these fixings, the intermediate load is increased.

  In this embodiment, the fixing member 20 is not attached to the flexible tube portions 28 to 30, but if the strength as the exterior member 24 can be ensured, it may be partially thinned to reduce the weight. Shall.

  In FIG. 2, the high-voltage conductive path 25 is a conductive path that is accommodated and protected by the exterior member 24 as described above, and includes one or a plurality of high-voltage wires and a shield member that covers the high-voltage wires. (It is an example. For example, a sheath may be included).

  The high-voltage electric wire includes a conductor and an insulator that covers the conductor. The high voltage electric wire is formed to have a length necessary for electrical connection. Since the wire harness 9 electrically connects the inverter unit 4 and the battery 5 (junction block 12, see FIG. 1), the high-voltage electric wire is formed in a long shape.

  The conductor is made of copper or copper alloy, or aluminum or aluminum alloy. Concerning the conductor, a conductor structure in which strands are twisted together or a rod-shaped conductor structure having a rectangular or round cross section (for example, a conductor structure having a flat single core or a round single core. It may be any of those that are rod-shaped). In the conductor as described above, an insulator made of an insulating resin material is extruded on the outer surface.

  In addition, although a well-known thing is employ | adopted as a high voltage electric wire in a present Example, it shall not be this limitation. That is, a known bus bar provided with an insulator to form a high voltage circuit may be employed.

  The insulator is extruded on the outer peripheral surface of the conductor using a thermoplastic resin material. The insulator is formed as a cover having a circular cross section. The insulator is formed with a predetermined thickness. As the thermoplastic resin, various known types can be used, and are appropriately selected from polymer materials such as polyvinyl chloride resin, polyethylene resin, and polypropylene resin.

  The shield member is an electromagnetic shielding member (shielding member for electromagnetic waves) that collectively covers the high-voltage electric wire, and a known braid formed by knitting a large number of strands into a cylindrical shape is employed. The shield member is formed to have substantially the same length as the entire length of the high-voltage electric wire. The end of the shield member is connected to a shield case or the like (not shown) of the inverter unit 4 (see FIG. 1) via the shield connector 14 (see FIG. 1). As the shield member, for example, a conductive metal foil or a member including this metal foil may be adopted as long as it is possible to take countermeasures against electromagnetic waves. Moreover, you may assemble | attach in the state which forms and winds in a sheet form.

  The fixing member 20 (20a to 20d) is a known clamp in the present embodiment, and includes a tube body mounting portion 41 and a vehicle body fixing portion 42. The tube attachment part 41 is a part attached to the attachment / detachment part 37 of the fixing member attachment part 35, and is formed to have a split structure. The vehicle body fixing portion 42 is formed in a cantilever-shaped portion that is integrated with the tube attachment portion 41. The fixing member 20 is fixed by bolts and nuts 43 inserted through the vehicle body fixing portion 42. Note that the same functional portion as that of the fixing member 20 may be integrally formed on the outer surface of the exterior member 24 and replaced.

  In the above configuration and structure, the wire harness 9 is manufactured by the following procedure. That is, the wire harness 9 is manufactured by inserting the high-voltage conductive path 25 into the exterior member 24 and then providing the shield connector 14 at the end of the high-voltage conductive path 21. The wire harness 9 is manufactured by attaching the fixing member 20 (20a to 20d) to the fixing member attaching portion 35 of the exterior member 24. In addition, the water stop members 21 and 22 which are a grommet and a boot shall be assembled | attached previously.

  After being manufactured as described above, predetermined packaging is performed, and the wire harness 9 is transported to the vehicle assembly site. At the vehicle assembly site, the wire harness 9 is attached and fixed to the vehicle from the portion corresponding to the vehicle underfloor 11. When a series of operations related to mounting and fixing is completed, the wire harness 9 is routed in a desired route.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, the exterior member 24 in which the thin portions 38 to 40 are formed according to the interval and arrangement of the fixing members 20 a to 20 d is used, so that the strength is ensured. In addition, an effect is achieved that the weight can be reduced.

  It goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hybrid vehicle, 2 ... Engine, 3 ... Motor unit, 4 ... Inverter unit, 5 ... Battery, 6 ... Engine room, 7 ... Car rear part, 8, 9 ... Wire harness, 10 ... Middle part, 11 ... Under vehicle floor, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Junction block, 13 ... Harness terminal, 14 ... Shield connector, 15 ... Wire harness, 16 ... Low voltage battery, 17 ... Front part of motor vehicle, 18 ... Auxiliary device, 19 ... Harness main body, 20 (20b-20d) ... Fixing member , 21, 22 ... Water stop member, 23 ... Fixed object, 24 ... Exterior member, 25 ... High-voltage conductive path (conductive path), 26 ... Harness body, 27 ... Connector, 28-30 ... Flexible tube part, 31 ... Short Straight pipe part (straight pipe part), 32 ... Long straight pipe part (straight pipe part), 33 ... Bellows 34: Bellows convex part, 35 ... Fixing member attaching part, 36 ... Movement restricting part, 37 ... Detachable part, 38-40 ... Thin part, 41 ... Tube attaching part, 42 ... Car body fixing part, 43 ... Bolt / nut

Claims (3)

In an exterior member for a wire harness formed into a tubular shape by resin molding in order to insert and protect a conductive path,
The exterior member is provided with a plurality of fixing portions or fixing members for fixing the wire harness in a predetermined position on the outside, and on the inside depending on the interval or arrangement of the adjacent fixing portions or the fixing members. An exterior member for a wire harness, wherein a thin portion is formed. In the exterior member for wire harnesses according to claim 1,
The said exterior member has a flexible pipe part and a straight pipe part, and the said thin part is formed at least inside the said straight pipe part. The exterior member for wire harnesses characterized by the above-mentioned. A wire comprising: an exterior member for a wire harness according to claim 1, a conductive path inserted through the exterior member, and a plurality of fixing portions or fixing members provided outside the exterior member. Harness.

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