JP2017117619A - Wire harness - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wire harness capable of easily confirming presence or absence or attaching position of a joint part without decomposing the wire harness after assembling.SOLUTION: A wire harness has a plurality of coated wire 11 to 14, a joint part 20 electrically connecting conductors of two or more coated wires 11 and 12 of the plurality of coated wires 11 to 14 each other, a protective tape 22 wound to the two or more coated wires 11 and 12 in a range including at least the joint part 20 and the joint part 20, an RF tag 24 attached to the protective tape 22 and a corrugated tube 26 coating the plurality of coated wires 11 to 14 in the range including at least the joint part 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a wire harness in which a plurality of covered electric wires including a joint portion are covered with an exterior material.

  Conventionally, a wire harness routed in a vehicle may include a joint portion for branching a covered wire for communication or power. In the joint portion, the conductive wires of the plurality of covered electric wires are electrically connected to each other by a joint terminal or the like. Usually, a protective tape is wound around the joint portion to protect the joint portion. Furthermore, in order to protect the covered electric wire included in the wire harness, the covering electric wire including the joint portion may be covered with an exterior material such as a corrugated tube (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a wire harness 110 in which a first corrugated tube 121 is covered with a plurality of covered electric wires 112 and a second corrugated tube 131 is covered with an interval on the outside thereof. A splice joint 113 for the covered electric wire 112 is disposed in a sealed space 140 formed between the first corrugated tube 121 and the second corrugated tube 131. A first waterproof tape 122 and a second waterproof tape 132 are wound around the outer periphery of the first corrugated tube 121 and the second corrugated tube 131, respectively.

  On the other hand, if a wire harness including a joint portion is routed in a route including a bent part, a vibration part, a wet part, etc. of the vehicle, the joint terminal may come off or other parts may be damaged. Therefore, there is a case where it is requested that the joint portion is not located at a place corresponding to a bent part, a vibration part, a wet part, etc. of the vehicle in the wire harness.

JP 2014-120292 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the second corrugated tube 131 is covered from above the splice joint 113, and the second waterproof tape 132 is wound around the outer periphery thereof. For this reason, in order to check the presence / absence and mounting position of the splice joint 113 after assembling, the wire harness must be disassembled, and the checking work requires labor and cost.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a wire harness that can easily confirm the presence / absence of a joint portion and an attachment position without disassembly even after the assembly of the wire harness. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, a wire harness according to the present invention includes a plurality of covered electric wires, a joint portion that electrically connects two or more covered electric wires of the plurality of covered electric wires, and at least the joint portion. A protective material wound around the two or more covered electric wires and the joint portion in the range including the RF tag attached to the protective material in the vicinity of the joint portion, and the plurality of the plurality of the electric wires in a range including at least the joint portion And an exterior material covered with the covered electric wire.

  With this configuration, the RF tag is attached in the vicinity of the joint portion. By using an RF tag detector capable of detecting the RF tag, the presence or absence of the joint portion and the attachment position without disassembly even after the assembly of the wire harness. Can be easily confirmed. Thereby, for example, it can be easily confirmed that the joint portion does not exist in the attachment prohibited portion such as the bent portion, the vibration portion, and the wet portion of the vehicle. Moreover, it can be easily confirmed that the joint portion exists at a predetermined position of the assembled wire harness.

  Moreover, in the range including the 2nd joint part which electrically connects the conducting wires of two or more covered electric wires different from the two or more covered electric wires among the plurality of covered electric wires, and at least the second joint part A second protective member wound around another two or more covered electric wires and the second joint portion, and a second RF tag attached to the second protective member in the vicinity of the second joint portion, The distance between the RF tag and the second RF tag may be greater than twice the maximum detectable distance, which is the maximum detectable distance of the RF tag detector.

  With this configuration, even when a plurality of RF tags that cannot identify individual RF tags are used, another adjacent RF tag is not erroneously detected. This makes it possible to detect an RF tag with high reliability.

  Further, the RF tag may be configured to transmit identification information for identifying itself when detected by an RF tag detector.

  With this configuration, another adjacent RF tag is not erroneously detected. This makes it possible to detect an RF tag with high reliability.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the wire harness which can confirm easily the presence or absence of a joint part and an attachment position can be provided, without dismantling after the assembly of a wire harness.

It is a partially broken side view which shows the wire harness which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a block diagram of the RF tag which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a partially broken side view which shows the wire harness which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the positional relationship of RF tag and RF tag detector. It is explanatory drawing which shows the aspect which detects the RF tag currently used for the wire harness. It is a lineblock diagram of a wire harness given in patent documents 1.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a wire harness according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, the wire harness 10 according to the first embodiment includes a plurality of covered electric wires 11 to 14 having a joint portion 20, a protective tape 22 (protective material) wound around the joint portion 20, and protection. An RF tag 24 attached to the tape 22 and a corrugated tube 26 (exterior material) provided on the covered electric wires 11 to 14 are provided.

  Each of the covered electric wires 11 to 14 has conductive wires 11a to 14a that are bundles of copper wires having a small diameter, and insulating coating materials 11b to 14b made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that covers the conductive wires 11a to 14a. doing. In addition, each of the conducting wires 11a to 14a may be a single copper wire or the like having a large diameter. Conductive wires 11a to 14a may be aluminum wires.

  The joint part 20 electrically connects the conducting wires 11a and 12a of two or more covered electric wires 11 and 12 among the plurality of covered electric wires 11 to 14.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the insulation coating material 11b is stripped off at the intermediate portion of one of the covered electric wires 11, and the conductive wire 11a is exposed. Moreover, the insulation coating material 12b is stripped off at the end of the other covered electric wire 12, and the conducting wire 12a is exposed. Then, both the conductive wires 11a and 12a are electrically connected as shown in FIG. 2 by placing both exposed conductive wires 11a and 12a on a U-shaped metal joint terminal 21 and caulking both ends. .

  In the joint part 20 shown in FIG. 1, the conductor 11 a exposed at the middle part of one covered electric wire 11 and the conductor 12 a exposed at the end of the other covered electric wire 12 are electrically connected to form a splice part. It is composed. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and the conductive wires 11a and 12a may be connected to each other between the intermediate portions of the covered electric wires 11 and 12.

  Moreover, although the joint part 20 shown in FIG. 1 is formed with the two covered electric wires 11 and 12, it is not limited to this, Three or more may be sufficient. In the joint portion 20, the exposed conductors 11a and 12a are connected by being crimped by a joint terminal 21 such as an intermediate crimp terminal (splice terminal), but are connected by resistance welding, ultrasonic welding, laser welding, or the like. Also good. The joint terminal 21 before crimping is U-shaped, but may be other shapes suitable for crimping, such as a cylindrical shape or a rectangular tube shape.

  The protective tape 22 is a tape having adhesiveness with a width of about 25 mm, for example. The protective tape 22 is wound around the insulating covering materials 11b and 12b of the two or more covered electric wires 11 and 12 and the joint portion 20 without a gap in a range including at least the joint portion 20. The protective tape 22 protects the joint terminals 21 and the like and prevents the other covered wires 13 and 14 from being inadvertently damaged.

  The RF tag 24 is attached to the protective tape 22 in the vicinity of the joint portion 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the RF tag 24 includes a flexible thin-walled resin substrate 24a, a coil antenna 24b formed on the substrate 24a by etching or the like, and an IC chip 24c. ing. The RF tag 24 is, for example, a rectangular shape with a size of about several centimeters, but the shape and size are not limited to this, and a disk shape, a cylindrical shape, or the like is required under conditions such as operating frequency. Can be any shape and size. In order to facilitate mounting on the protective tape 22, an RF tag 24 having an adhesive layer on one surface of the substrate 24a may be used.

  The IC chip 24c incorporates a capacitor that constitutes a resonance circuit together with the coil antenna 24b, and includes a memory for storing data such as identification information, a control circuit, a rectifier circuit, and a clock as necessary. The resonance frequency of the RF tag 24 according to the present embodiment is a long wave band of less than 135 kHz, but is not limited thereto, and a medium wave of 400 to 530 kHz band or a short wave of 13.56 MHz band may be used.

  The RF tag 24 is attached (pasted) on the outer surface of the protective tape 22 wound around the joint terminal 21 or the like. However, the attachment location of the RF tag 24 is not limited to this, and may be attached to the inside of the protective tape 22 or may be attached so as to be sandwiched between tapes in tape winding.

  The RF tag 24 is preferably attached so as to face the loop-shaped detector-side antenna 52 of the RF tag detector 50 used at the time of inspection in parallel to increase detection sensitivity. In addition, one RF tag 24 is provided in each joint unit 20, but two or more RF tags 24 may be provided. For example, an additional RF tag may be attached to the upper side or the lower side of the protective tape 22 separately from the RF tag 24 shown in FIG. In this way, the antenna surfaces of the coil antenna 24b of the RF tag 24 and the coil antenna of the additional RF tag are substantially orthogonal, so that the detection sensitivity can be improved.

  The corrugated tube 26 covers the plurality of covered electric wires 11 to 14 in a predetermined range including at least the joint portion 20 and protects the covered electric wires 11 to 14. The corrugated tube 26 is a resin molded product, has a cylindrical main body, has a bellows shape in which annular convex portions and annular concave portions are alternately formed along the longitudinal direction thereof, and has an appropriate flexibility. Have. In addition, a slit is formed in the cylindrical main body along the longitudinal direction. The covered electric wires 11 to 14 can be inserted from the slits. Instead of the corrugated tube 26, for example, a protective tube made of PVC can be used.

Next, a detection system and a detection method for the RF tag 24 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the detection system 80 according to this embodiment includes an RF tag 24 and an RF tag detector 50 that detects the RF tag 24.

  The RF tag detector 50 includes a detector-side antenna 52, a control unit 54, and a display unit 56. The detector-side antenna 52 is a loop-shaped antenna that is used for both transmission and reception. The control unit 54 performs transmission control of an electromagnetic wave (magnetic field) from the detector-side antenna 52, detection of a reception signal received by the detector-side antenna 52, determination of the presence / absence of the RF tag 24, and the like. The display unit 56 notifies the operator of the determination result by the control unit 54 using an LED, a buzzer, or the like. The RF tag detector 50 may include a communication unit for communicating with an external device, a storage unit for storing data to be used, reception data, and the like as necessary.

  The RF tag 24 is a passive tag, and is fed with an electromagnetic wave (magnetic field) radiated from the RF tag detector 50. The RF tag 24 may be an active tag that spontaneously transmits a power supply instead of a passive tag.

  The RF tag detector 50 communicates with the RF tag 24 by an electromagnetic induction method to detect its presence. The electromagnetic induction method is a method of transmitting a signal using an induction magnetic field generated between loop antennas on the transmission side and the reception side. The electromagnetic induction system detects the RF tag 24 at a short distance (for example, about 100 mm or less), unlike the radio wave system with a long communication distance. Even when there are a plurality of RF tags 24, the electromagnetic induction system is separated by a predetermined distance or more. The influence of other RF tags can be eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect the position of the specific RF tag 24. When the resonance frequency (operating frequency) is a long wave band in the electromagnetic induction method, the maximum detectable distance that is the maximum distance by which the RF tag detector 50 can detect the RF tag 24 is, for example, about 100 mm.

A specific detection method is as follows.
First, a magnetic field having a sweep frequency selected by the control unit 54 of the RF tag detector 50 is radiated from the detector-side antenna 52. When all the RF tags to be detected resonate at a predetermined resonance frequency, it is not necessary to sweep, and the frequency of the radiated magnetic field may be fixed to the predetermined resonance frequency.

  Next, the coil antenna 24 b of the RF tag 24 receives the magnetic field radiated from the detector-side antenna 52. The RF tag 24 resonates and generates power when the frequency of the received magnetic field is equal to the resonance frequency of the RF tag 24. The RF tag 24 drives the IC chip 24c with the generated electric power, and returns from the coil antenna 24b. At that time, data including identification information stored in the memory of the RF tag 24 may be transmitted.

  Next, the RF tag detector 50 receives the magnetic field returned from the RF tag 24, and the control unit 54 determines whether or not the RF tag 24 is present based on the received information. For example, when a magnetic field signal of a predetermined level or higher is received at a predetermined resonance frequency, it is determined that the RF tag 24 is present. On the other hand, for example, when a magnetic field signal of a predetermined level or higher is not received at a predetermined resonance frequency, the RF tag detector 50 determines that the RF tag 24 does not exist. In addition, when the RF tag 24 is configured to transmit identification information, the RF tag detector 50 determines the presence or absence of the RF tag 24 in consideration of the received identification information, thereby improving the accuracy of the determination. it can.

  The detection of the RF tag 24 is performed at the time of inspection after the wire harness 10 is assembled, at the time of inspection after attachment to the vehicle, or the like.

  FIG. 6 shows how the wire harness 10 is assembled. The wire harness 10 is configured in such a manner that the corrugated tube 26 is externally mounted on a plurality of covered electric wires 75 each having a connector 74 attached to one end thereof in a state where the wire harness 10 is supported by a support 72 arranged in a predetermined manner simulating an actual routing route. I'm assembling. In order to detect the RF tag 24 after assembly, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the RF tag detector 50 is installed on the assembly jig base 70. Thereby, it can be confirmed whether the RF tag 24 exists in a predetermined location after assembly. The inspection result is displayed on the display 60. The inspector may be notified of the presence or absence of the RF tag 24 by a warning sound or the like.

  Further, in the inspection after being attached to the vehicle, it may be inspected whether or not the RF tag 24 is present at a predetermined location by using a portable RF tag detector.

Next, functions and effects will be described.
Since the RF tag 24 is attached in the vicinity of the joint portion 20 in the wire harness 10 according to the first embodiment, the wire harness can be obtained by using the RF tag detector 50 that can detect the RF tag 24 in a non-contact manner. Even after the assembly of 10, the presence or absence of the joint portion 20 and the mounting position can be easily confirmed without disassembly. Thereby, for example, it can be easily confirmed that the joint portion 20 does not exist in an attachment-prohibited part such as a bent part, a vibration part, or a wet part of the vehicle. Moreover, it can be easily confirmed that the joint portion 20 that should be at a predetermined position of the assembled wire harness 10 exists.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a wire harness 30 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
The wire harness 30 according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above except that it further includes a second joint portion 40, a second protective tape 42, and a second RF tag 44. It has the same configuration as the wire harness 10. Therefore, detailed description of the same configuration is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the wire harness 30 according to the second embodiment includes a second joint part 40 and a second protective tape 42 as a second protective material in addition to the components according to the first embodiment. And a second RF tag 44.

  Specifically, in the second joint portion 40, the second joint terminal 41 includes two or more covered wires 13, 14 other than the two or more covered wires 11, 12 among the plurality of covered wires 11 to 14. The conducting wires 13a and 14a are electrically connected. The second protective tape 42 is wound around the other two or more covered electric wires 13 and 14 and the second joint portion 40 in a range including at least the second joint portion 40. The second RF tag 44 is attached to the second protective tape 42. The configuration of the second RF tag 44 is the same as the configuration of the RF tag 24.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the distance L between the RF tag 24 and the second RF tag 44 (see FIG. 4) is 2 of the maximum detectable distance L0, which is the maximum distance that the RF tag detector 50 can detect the RF tag 24. The structure is larger than double. The maximum detectable distance L0 is determined depending on various conditions such as the maximum output performance of the RF tag detector 50 and the resonance frequency of the RF tag 24. When detecting the RF tag 24, it is necessary to bring the RF tag detector 50 close to the RF tag 24 to a distance smaller than the maximum detectable distance L0. As indicated by an arrow M in FIG. 5, when the RF tag detector 50 is brought close to the wire harness 30, if the distance from the RF tag 24 is L1 and the distance from the second RF tag 44 is L2, L1 and L2 are Only when both are smaller than L0, both are detected simultaneously. Therefore, when the distance L between the RF tag 24 and the second RF tag 44 is larger than twice the maximum detectable distance L0, the RF tag detector 50 can detect both the RF tag 24 and the second RF tag 44 simultaneously. Disappear. Thereby, the presence / absence and position detection accuracy of the RF tag is improved.

  For example, when the maximum detectable distance L0 is 100 mm, the distance L between the RF tag 24 and the second RF tag 44 is set larger than 200 mm. In this way, no matter where the RF tag detector 50 is installed, both the RF tag 24 and the second RF tag 44 are not detected simultaneously. The positional accuracy for detecting the RF tag 24 is about 200 mm when the RF tag detector 50 is closest to the wire harness 30, and the positional accuracy increases as the distance increases, but the detection sensitivity decreases.

  As described above, even if the wire harness 30 according to the second embodiment uses a plurality of RF tags 24 and 44 that cannot identify individual RF tags, another adjacent RF tag 44 is erroneously detected. Will not be detected. This makes it possible to detect an RF tag with high reliability.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a wire harness according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The wire harness according to the third embodiment has the same configuration as the wire harness 10 of the first embodiment described above except that the RF tag 24 transmits identification information.

  The RF tag 24 according to the present embodiment is configured to transmit identification information for identifying itself when detected by the RF tag detector 50. The identification information is, for example, identification data stored in the memory of the IC chip 24c of the RF tag 24. The RF tag 24 may be identified by changing the resonance frequency.

  With this configuration, for example, even if the distance L (see FIG. 4) between the RF tag 24 and another RF tag 44 adjacent to the RF tag 24 is not more than twice the maximum detectable distance, There is no false detection. This makes it possible to detect an RF tag with high reliability.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and the technical scope of the claims includes various design changes within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention.

  The wire harness according to the present invention has an effect that the presence / absence of the joint portion and the mounting position can be easily confirmed without disassembling even after the assembly of the wire harness, and a plurality of covered electric wires including the joint portion have an exterior material. It is useful for all wire harnesses covered with.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Wire harness 11-14 Covered electric wire 11a-14a Conductor 20 Joint part 22 Protection tape (protective material)
24 RF tag 26 Corrugated tube (exterior material)
30 Wire harness 40 2nd joint part 42 2nd protective tape (2nd protective material)
44 2nd RF tag 50 RF tag detector

Claims (3)

A plurality of coated wires;
A joint portion for electrically connecting two or more conductor wires of the plurality of sheathed wires;
A protective material wound around the two or more covered electric wires and the joint in a range including at least the joint;
An RF tag attached to the protective material in the vicinity of the joint part;
An exterior material covering the plurality of covered electric wires in a range including at least the joint portion;
A wire harness comprising: A second joint part for electrically connecting the conductors of two or more covered electric wires different from the two or more covered electric wires among the plurality of covered electric wires;
A second protective material wound around the other two or more covered electric wires and the second joint part in a range including at least the second joint part;
A second RF tag attached to the second protective material in the vicinity of the second joint part,
2. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the RF tag and the second RF tag is greater than twice a maximum detectable distance that is a maximum detectable distance of the RF tag detector.   The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the RF tag transmits identification information for identifying itself when detected by an RF tag detector.

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