JP2017038417A - Wire harness - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wire harness in which a trunk part and a branch line part are divided and the division part can be protected.SOLUTION: The wire harness includes a trunk harness 10, a branch line harness 20, a trunk connector 30 provided at a midway part of the trunk harness 10, a branch line connector 40 provided at an end part of the branch line harness 20 to be connectable to the trunk connector 30, and a direction conversion member 50. The direction conversion member 50 has a harness support part 54, and the harness support part 54 supports the branch line harness 20 in a state where the branch line harness 20 is bent with the harness support part as a fulcrum and the direction thereof is converted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a wire harness having a plurality of parts divided from each other and the divided parts being coupled to each other via a connector.

  In recent years, with the increase in size and complexity of wire harnesses, a technique for dividing the wire harness and interconnecting the divided portions with a connector has been studied. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of dividing a wire harness mounted on an automobile into a plurality of sub-harnesses and connecting the divided sub-harnesses via connectors.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-204521

  The inventors of the present invention paid attention to a branch portion which is a connection portion between the main line portion and the branch line portion as a division portion suitable for rationalization of the assembly of the wire harness. Dividing the main line part and the branch line part in this branching part means, for example, that the branch line part connected to the device of the terminal is changed to the type or grade of the apparatus while using the common main line part. By appropriately changing it accordingly, it is possible to rationally construct a plurality of types of wire harnesses corresponding to various vehicle types and specifications at a low cost.

  However, hanging the main line connector for connecting the branch line part from the main line part to the main line part increases the possibility that the main line connector comes into contact with other members during transportation of the main line part. It is not preferable. In order to avoid this, when the main line connector is fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the main line part, the direction in which the main line connector and the branch line connector provided on the branch line part side are connected (connector connection direction) is fixed. It becomes difficult to freely set the direction in which the branch line portion branches from the main line portion. For example, when the connecting direction is a direction along the longitudinal direction of the main line part, and when the branch line part is branched from the main line part in a direction substantially orthogonal to the main line part, the branch line part near the branch line connector is changed. Unreasonable bending force will act on the electric wire which comprises. Further, a large load is likely to act on this portion due to a tensile load or the like acting on the branch line portion, and the unreasonable force may be increased by the load.

  For these reasons, it is actually difficult to provide a connector at a branch portion that is a boundary portion between the main line portion and the branch line portion.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a wire harness in which a main line portion and a branch line portion are divided from each other, and the divided portion can be effectively protected.

  The wire harness provided by the present invention is a main line harness in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled, and a branch line harness in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled, and is branched from the main line harness by being connected to an intermediate portion of the main line harness. The main line connector connected to the plurality of electric wires constituting the main line harness and disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the main line harness, and the branch line harness provided at the end of the branch line harness. The main line harness connected to the plurality of electric wires and coupled to the main line connector to electrically connect the main line harness and the branch line harness to each other, and fixed to the main line harness, the main line connector and the branch line connector And a direction changing member that changes the direction of the branch harness in a state where the two are coupled. The direction changing member includes a harness support portion that protrudes outward on the outer peripheral surface of the trunk harness, and the harness support portion is in a state where a middle portion of the branch line harness is bent with the harness support portion as a fulcrum. The longitudinal direction of the branch harness is changed by supporting the branch harness.

  According to this wire harness, in addition to the connection between the main line connector and the branch line connector, the length of the branch line harness can be increased by bending the branch line harness with the harness supporting portion of the direction changing member fixed to the main line harness as a fulcrum. It is possible to adjust the direction to match the preferred branch direction. Accordingly, in order to suppress contact between the main line connector and other members, the main line harness and the branch line connector coupled thereto are positioned on the outer peripheral surface of the main line harness, but the main line harness is connected to the main line harness. It is possible to change the extending direction (branch direction) with a high degree of freedom. For example, even when the connecting direction of the main line connector and the branch line connector arranged on the main line harness is a direction along the longitudinal direction of the main line harness, by bending the branch line harness using the harness support portion as a fulcrum It is possible to change the direction in which the branch harness is branched from the main line harness into a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the main line harness (for example, a substantially orthogonal direction).

  In addition, bending the middle part of the branch line harness and changing the longitudinal direction of the branch line harness in this way directly causes a tensile load or the like acting on the branch line harness to directly act on the joint between the main line connector and the branch line connector. Accordingly, the relative displacement between the connectors due to the load can be suppressed, and the wear of the contact portion and the detachment of the connectors due to the relative displacement can be effectively suppressed.

  It is preferable that the direction changing member has a fixed portion fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the trunk harness, and the harness support portion protrudes outward from the fixed portion. According to this direction changing member, the position of the harness support part on the main line harness can be fixed by fixing the fixed part on the outer peripheral surface of the main line harness.

  In this case, it is preferable that the direction changing member further includes a connector connecting portion that is connected to the branch connector to fix a relative position between the branch connector and the fixed portion. The connector connecting portion is connected to the branch line connector, thereby fixing a relative position between the fixed portion fixed to the main line harness and the branch line connector, and thereby coupled to the branch line connector. The main line connector can be fixed to the main line connector via the branch line connector, the connector connecting portion, and the fixed portion. In addition, the connector connecting portion connects the branch connector in advance to the fixed portion via the connector connecting portion, and then connects the branch connector and the main line connector and fixes the fixed portion to the main harness. Can be fixed, which makes it easy to assemble.

  It is preferable that the direction changing member further includes an outer restraint portion that restrains the branch harness that is bent with the harness support portion as a fulcrum at a radially outer position of the trunk harness than the branch harness. The outer restraint portion can prevent the branch harness from being detached from the harness support portion in a direction away from the trunk harness.

  Further, the direction changing member has a bending restraining portion protruding outward from the outer peripheral surface of the trunk harness at a position away from the harness supporting portion, and the bending restraining portion includes the bending restraining portion and the harness supporting portion. It is more preferable to restrict the fluctuation of the bending angle of the branch line harness by restraining the branch line harness between the two. The restraint by the bending restraint portion can stabilize the direction in which the branch line harness branches from the main line harness by stabilizing the bending angle of the branch line harness.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wire harness in which a main line portion and a branch line portion are divided from each other, and the divided portion can be effectively protected from a large load. it can.

It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the wire harness which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the principal part of the wire harness shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows the cross section along the III-III line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the cross section along the IV-IV line of FIG. It is a perspective view of the direction change member which comprises the wire harness shown by FIG. It is a front view of the said direction change member. It is a side view of the direction change member. It is a top view of the direction change member.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1-4 shows the principal part of the wire harness which concerns on embodiment of this invention. This wire harness includes a main line harness 10, a branch line harness 20, a main line connector 30, a branch line connector 40, and a direction changing member 50.

  The trunk harness 10 includes a plurality of electric wires 12 that are bundled together. The branch harness 20 includes a plurality of electric wires 22 bundled with each other, and can be connected to the main line harness 10 so as to branch from an intermediate portion of the main line harness 10.

  The main line connector 30 is provided in the middle part of the main line harness. Specifically, the main line connector 30 is provided at the end of the electric wire 12 to be branched and connected to the branch line harness 20 among the electric wires 12 included in the main line harness 10. The main line connector 30 has a plurality of connector terminals that are respectively attached to the ends of the electric wires 12 to be branched and a connector housing that holds these connector terminals. Of these, only the connector housing is illustrated in FIG. 1 to 4 are shown.

  The branch line connector 40 is provided at one end of the branch line harness 20 at a base end part to be connected to the main line harness 10, and is included in the main line harness 10 by being coupled to the main line connector 30. The branch connection target electric wires 12 and the electric wires 22 included in the branch harness 20 are electrically connected to each other. This branch line connector 40 has a plurality of connector terminals that are respectively attached to the ends of the plurality of electric wires 22, and a connector housing that holds these connector terminals. Of these, only the connector housing is shown in FIGS. 4. On the other hand, various devices to be connected to the end of the wire harness are connected to the distal end which is the other end of the branch harness 20.

  The main line connector 30 according to this embodiment is connected to the electric wire 12 of the main line harness 10 so that the connecting direction of the main line connector 30 and the branch line connector 40 is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the main line harness 10. Has been. Specifically, the main line connector 30 is viewed from above in the posture shown in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. 2, the main line connector 30 is accommodated inside both edges of the main line harness 10. It is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the main harness 10.

  The direction changing member 50 has a direction in which the branch harness 20 branches from the main harness 10 in a direction intersecting the connecting direction from the connecting direction of the connectors 30 and 40 (that is, the longitudinal direction of the main harness 30), In this embodiment, it has a function of converting into a substantially orthogonal direction. Further, the direction changing member 50 according to this embodiment is coupled to the branch line connector 40, and the direction changing member 50 itself is fixed to the main line harness 10 so that the branch line connector 40 is further coupled thereto. The main line connector 30 is fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the main line harness 10.

  In order to obtain the function, the direction changing member 50 according to this embodiment includes a base 51, a fixing band 52, a harness support 54, an outer restraint 55, as shown in FIGS. The bending restraint part 56 and the connector connection part 57 are integrally provided.

  The base 51 and the fixing band 52 constitute a fixed portion fixed to the main harness 10. The fixed band 52 is flexible enough to be wound on the outer peripheral surface of the trunk harness 10, and one end of the fixed band 52 is integrally connected to the base 51. The base 51 has a function of holding a portion close to the other end (free end) of the fixed hand 52 in a state of being wound on the outer peripheral surface of the main line harness 10. Specifically, the outer peripheral surface of the fixed band 52 has a plurality of locked portions 53 arranged in the longitudinal direction of the fixed band 52, and the base portion 51 is an arbitrary cover of the plurality of locked portions 53. It has a function of locking the locking portion 53. Accordingly, in a state where the fixed band 52 is wound around the main wire harness 10, the fixed portion 52 is locked to the base portion 51 at a position corresponding to the diameter of the main wire harness 10, thereby fixing the fixed band 52. And the said base 51 can be fixed to the said mains harness 10. FIG.

  The harness support portion 54 rises from the base portion 51 so that the base portion 51 protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral surface in a state where the base portion 51 is fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the trunk wire harness 10. The harness support part 54 supports the branch line harness 20 in a state where a midway portion of the branch line harness 20 connected to the branch line connector 40 is bent with the harness support part 54 as a fulcrum, thereby extending the longitudinal direction of the branch line harness 20. Change it. Specifically, the harness support portion 54 according to this embodiment has a wall shape extending in the width direction parallel to the radial direction of the trunk harness 10 (that is, the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the trunk harness 10), The longitudinal direction of the branch line harness 10 is bent by applying a portion of the branch line harness 20 close to the branch line connector 40 to the inner end 54a on the side close to the central axis of the trunk line harness 10 at both ends in the width direction. The direction of branching from the main harness 10 can be changed from the connecting direction of the connectors 30 and 40, that is, from the longitudinal direction of the main harness 10 to a direction substantially orthogonal thereto.

  The outer restraint part 55 restrains the branch harness 20 that is bent with the harness support part 54 as a fulcrum at a position outside the branch harness 20 in the radial direction of the trunk wire harness 10, that is, an upper position in FIG. Thus, the branch harness 20 is prevented from being detached from the harness support portion 54 in a direction away from the trunk harness 10 (upward in FIG. 1). Specifically, the outer restraint portion 55 according to this embodiment has a rod shape that further protrudes from the upper end of the inner end 54 a of the harness support portion 54 along the width direction of the harness support portion 54, and the outer restraint portion 55. The branch line harness 20 is restrained between the portion 55 and the outer peripheral surface of the trunk line harness 10.

  The bending restraint portion 56 and the harness support portion 54 are arranged so as to protrude outward from the outer peripheral surface of the trunk wire harness 10 at a position away from the harness support portion 54. The branch line harness is restrained between them, and thereby, the fluctuation of the bending angle with the harness support part 54 of the branch line harness 20 as a fulcrum is regulated. Specifically, the bending restraint portion 56 according to this embodiment is located on the opposite side of the branch line connector 40 across the harness support portion 54 and in the longitudinal direction of the harness support portion 54 and the main line connector 10. By projecting outward from the base portion 51 at a line-up position and sandwiching the branch harness 20 between the bending restraint portion 56 and the harness support portion 54 in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the trunk wire harness 10, The bending angle of the harness 20 is stabilized. That is, the direction in which the branch harness 20 branches from the trunk harness 10 is stabilized.

  The connector connecting portion 57 is connected to the branch line connector 40 to fix the relative positions of the branch line connector 40 and the base 51 and the fixing band 52 that are the fixed portions.

  The connector connecting portion 57 according to this embodiment is in a state of being upright together with the harness support portion 54, and is a branch line from the outer end that is the end far from the central axis of the main line harness 10 among both ends in the width direction of the harness support portion 54. A wall shape extending along the longitudinal direction of the main harness 10 toward the connector 40 is formed. A notch 58 that opens in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the trunk harness (downward in FIG. 1) is formed at the end of the connector connecting portion 57, while the branch connector 40 protrudes laterally from the side surface. A connecting projection 48 is provided. By fitting the connection projection 48 into the notch 58, the connector connection portion 57 is connected to the branch line connector 40, whereby the relative position between the branch line connector 40 and the harness support portion 54 and the base portion 51. In particular, the relative position in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the main harness 10 and the connecting direction of the connectors 30 and 40 is fixed.

  This wire harness can be manufactured, for example, through the following steps.

  (1) The main line connector 30 is connected to the terminal of an appropriate electric wire 12 among the electric wires 12 included in the main line harness 10 and arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the main line harness 10, and the branch line harness 20 What the said branch line connector 40 was connected to the terminal of the electric wire 22 contained is prepared.

  (2) A portion of the branch harness 20 that is close to the branch connector 40 is applied to the inner end 54a of the harness support portion 54 of the direction changing member 50 and bent at the inner end 54a as a fulcrum. The branch harness 20 is routed with respect to the direction changing member so as to be restrained by the bending restraint portion 56. That is, the direction changing member 50 restrains the branch line harness 20 so that the direction changing member 50 fixes the shape of the branch line harness 20, in particular, the relative angle of the branch line harness 20 with respect to the branch line connector 40. A state is formed.

  (3) The branch line connector 40 is coupled to the main line connector 30 disposed on the main line harness 10 along the longitudinal direction of the main line harness 10. Coupled to the trunk connector 30. As a result, the positions of the connectors 30 and 40 on the main line harness 10 are generally determined.

  (4) The position of the direction changing member 50 on the main line harness 10 is determined according to the position of the branch line connector 40, and the direction changing member 50 is fixed to the main line harness 10 at this position. Specifically, the fixed band 52 of the direction changing member 50 is wound around the trunk harness 10, and an appropriate locked portion 53 among the multiple locked portions 53 of the fixed band 52 is attached to the base portion 51. By being locked, the base 51 is fixed on the main harness 10. With this fixing, the position of the branch line connector 40 on the main line harness 10 and the position of the main line connector 30 to be collet-coupled are also fixed.

  The steps (2) to (4) may be performed before and after.

  According to the wire harness described above, since the main line harness 10 and the branch line harness 20 are divided, for example, the main line harness 10 is shared with the branch line harness 20 while using a common one. By appropriately changing it accordingly, the wire harness can be diversified at low cost. In addition, assembly is easier as compared with a wire harness integrated as a whole.

  Moreover, the main line connector 30 and the branch line connector 40 for connecting the main line harness 10 and the branch line harness 20 are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the main line harness 10 so that the connectors 30 and 40 come into contact with other members. While restraining, the branch line harness 20 connected to the branch line connector 40 is applied to the harness support part 54 of the direction changing member 50 and the harness support part 54 is bent to a fulcrum, so that the connection direction of the connectors 30 and 40 is affected. In other words, the longitudinal direction of the branch line harness 20, that is, the direction in which the branch line harness 20 branches from the main line harness 10 can be converted into a preferable direction. Also, this change in direction makes it possible to prevent the tension acting on the branch harness 20 from being transmitted to the branch connector 40. This suppresses the wear of the contact portion due to the relative displacement between the connectors 30 and 40 due to the tension, and also prevents the connectors 30 and 40 from being detached.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. The present invention includes, for example, the following forms.
(A) The specific means for fixing the direction changing member to the main harness is not limited. For example, the direction changing member may have a plate-like piece that can be placed on the outer peripheral surface of the main harness, and the plate-like piece may be fixed to the outer peripheral surface by winding an adhesive tape or the like. In this case, the harness support part should just have the shape which protrudes in the radial direction outward of the said trunk wire harness from the said plate-shaped piece. Alternatively, the direction changing member according to the present invention may be formed integrally with the branch line connector. In this case, the said direction change member can be fixed to the said trunk wire harness by the said branch line connector being fixed to the trunk wire harness by winding of the said adhesive tape.
(B) The shape of the harness support portion can be set as appropriate. The harness support portion may be, for example, a cylinder having a diameter corresponding to the curvature that enables the branch line harness to bend with an appropriate curvature using the harness support portion as a fulcrum.
(C) The connector connecting portion 57 can be omitted as appropriate. In this case, it is preferable that at least one of the main line connector 30 and the branch line connector 40 is fixed to the main line harness 10 by winding an adhesive tape or the like. In other words, the connector connecting portion 57 produces an effect of making it unnecessary to fix the connectors 30 and 40 with the adhesive tape or the like. Further, the presence of the connector connecting portion 57 is determined by connecting the branch line connector 40 and the connector connecting portion 57 and setting the branch line harness 20 to the direction changing member 50 in advance. And the direction change member 50 can be fixed to the main wire harness 10, thereby making it possible to facilitate the assembly work.
Alternatively, the connector connecting portion may be formed integrally with the connector housing of the branch line connector or the connector housing of the main line connector. For example, the connector housing and the direction changing member including the harness support part may be formed as a single member.
(D) The outer restraint portion 55 and the bending restraint portion 56 can be omitted. For example, when the branch line harness 20 is fixed by other fixing means, the posture of the branch line harness 20 can be stabilized only by the support by the harness support part 54. Or when the harness support part 54 is a wall shape extended in parallel with the branch direction of the branch line harness 20 as mentioned above, the said branch line harness is also fixed to this harness support part 54 with an adhesive tape etc. It is possible to stabilize 20 postures.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Main line harness 12 Electric wire contained in main line harness 20 Branch line harness 22 Electric wire contained in branch line harness 30 Main line connector 40 Branch line connector 48 Connection protrusion 50 Direction change member 51 Base (fixed part)
52 Fixing band (fixed part)
54 Harness support portion 55 Outer restraint portion 56 Bend restraint portion 57 Connector connection portion

Claims (6)

A wire harness,
A main harness in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled;
A branch harness in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled and can be branched from the main line harness by being connected to the middle part of the main line harness,
A main line connector connected to the plurality of electric wires constituting the main line harness and disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the main line harness;
A branch line connector provided at an end of the branch line harness, connected to the plurality of electric wires constituting the branch line harness, and electrically connected to the main line harness and the branch line harness by being coupled with the main line connector When,
A direction changing member that is fixed to the main line harness and changes the direction of the branch line harness in a state where the main line connector and the branch line connector are coupled,
The direction changing member includes a harness support portion that protrudes outward on the outer peripheral surface of the trunk harness, and the harness support portion is in a state where a middle portion of the branch line harness is bent with the harness support portion as a fulcrum. A wire harness that changes the longitudinal direction of the branch harness by supporting the branch harness.   The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein a connecting direction of the main line connector and the branch line connector arranged on the main line harness is a direction along a longitudinal direction of the main line harness, and the harness support portion is used as a fulcrum. A wire harness in which a direction in which the branch line harness branches off from the main line harness is converted into a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the main line harness (for example, a substantially orthogonal direction) by bending the branch line harness.   3. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the direction changing member has a fixed portion that is fixed on an outer peripheral surface of the trunk wire harness, and the harness support portion faces outward from the fixed portion. A protruding wire harness.   The wire harness according to claim 3, wherein the direction changing member further includes a connector connecting portion that is connected to the branch connector to fix a relative position between the branch connector and the fixed portion. Harness.   The wire harness according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the direction changing member is configured such that the branch harness that is bent with the harness support portion as a fulcrum is located on the outer side in the radial direction of the trunk harness than the branch harness. The wire harness further including the outer side restraint part which controls the fluctuation | variation of the bending angle of the said branch line harness by restraining in a position.   It is a wire harness in any one of Claims 1-5, Comprising: The said direction change member has a bending restraint part which protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the said trunk wire harness in the position away from the said harness support part. The bending restraint part restricts fluctuation of the bending angle of the branch line harness by restraining the branch line harness between the bend restraint part and the harness support part.

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