JP2017220399A - Expansion wire - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an expansion wire easy to achieve elasticity and space saving property.SOLUTION: There is provided an expansion wire 1 having a conductor 10 having a plurality of wires 11 knitted and consisting of a braided wire having a hollow cylindrical shape extensible along an axis, and an extension member 20 inserted in the hollow part of the conductor 10 and having extensibility higher than the conductor 10 along the conductor 10. The extension member 20 may consist of a rod-like member consisting of a material containing an organic polymer. Wires 11 constituting the conductor 10 consists of single wires with a conductor material exposed, the extension wire 1 has an insulation coating on an outer periphery of the conductor 10 or the wires 11 constituting the conductor 10 have an insulation coating on the outer periphery of the conductive material respectively.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an expandable electric wire, and more particularly to an expandable electric wire that can be used for electrical connection of a movable member.

  In applications such as forming an electrical connection between relatively movable members, a stretchable wire (stretchable wire) is used. As an example of an extendable electric wire, a curled cord that is made to expand and contract by processing an insulated wire in a spiral shape is known. This type of curl cord is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

  The curl cord is required to have sufficiently high stretchability and springiness. In Patent Document 1, as a means for suppressing a decrease in spring property due to heating during energization in a curled cord, a spiral plastically deformed steel wire is integrated with a sheath of a cord body (insulated electric wire) processed into a spiral shape. A method is disclosed.

JP 2012-243399 A

  An expandable electric wire such as a curl cord is also used as a wiring material in an automobile. However, a space that can be used for wiring in an automobile is limited, and a space-saving property is also required for an extendable electric wire. However, when a curled cord is used as the stretchable electric wire, it is necessary to make the insulation coating of the insulated wire constituting the curled cord sufficiently thick in order to ensure sufficient stretchability. Then, the diameter of the insulated wire and the entire curled cord becomes large, and it is difficult to improve the space saving. When increasing the stretchability of the curled cord, as in Patent Document 1, even when another material having high stretchability is added to the insulated wire, the entire diameter of the curled cord tends to be large and the space saving property is poor. Thus, when using a curl cord as an expandable electric wire, it is difficult to achieve both stretchability and space saving.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a telescopic electric wire that easily achieves both stretchability and space saving.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the expandable electric wire according to the present invention is inserted into a conductor made of a braided wire having a hollow cylindrical shape in which a plurality of electric wires are knitted and expandable along an axis, and the hollow portion of the conductor, And a stretchable member having a stretchability higher than that of the conductor along the conductor axis.

  Here, the elastic member may be a rod-shaped member made of a material containing an organic polymer.

  Moreover, the electric wire which comprises the said conductor consists of a strand with which the electroconductive material was exposed, and it is good for the said expansion-contraction electric wire to have insulation coating on the outer periphery of the said conductor. Alternatively, each of the electric wires constituting the conductor may have an insulating coating on the outer periphery of the conductive material.

  The stretchable electric wire according to the invention has a conductor made of a braided wire and a stretchable member having a stretchability higher than that of the conductor, and therefore has a high stretchability along the axis as a whole. And since the expansion-contraction member is penetrated by the hollow part of the braided wire, the outer diameter as the whole telescopic electric wire is prescribed | regulated by the outer diameter of the conductor which consists of a braided wire. That is, by increasing the stretchability using the stretchable member, the space occupied by the entire stretchable wire does not increase, but the stretchable wire is excellent in space saving.

  Here, when the elastic member is made of a rod-shaped member made of a material containing an organic polymer, the elastic member has high elasticity and flexibility, and is used by being inserted into a hollow portion of a conductor made of a braided wire. It becomes an elastic member suitable for.

  Moreover, when the electric wire which comprises a conductor consists of the strand which an electroconductive material exposed, and an expansion-and-contraction electric wire has insulation coating on the outer periphery of a conductor, it is not necessary to insulate the electric wire which comprises a conductor separately. For this reason, the diameter of the entire telescopic electric wire can be reduced to insulate the telescopic electric wire from the outside.

  Alternatively, even when the electric wires constituting the conductor each have an insulation coating on the outer periphery of the conductive material, it is possible to keep the diameter of the entire telescopic wire small by forming the insulation coating thinly. .

It is a perspective view which shows the expansion-contraction electric wire concerning one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is the state which is not expanded-contracted, (b) has shown the expanded state. It is a figure which shows the manufacturing method of the said expansion-contraction electric wire, and processes it in order of (a)-(c).

  Hereinafter, an expandable electric wire according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  In FIG. 1, the external appearance of the expansion-contraction electric wire 1 concerning one Embodiment of this invention is shown. The stretchable electric wire 1 has a conductor 10 and a stretchable member 20.

  The conductor 10 is configured as a hollow cylindrical braided wire formed by weaving a large number of thin strands (electric wires) 11 in a mesh shape. The braided wire can be expanded and contracted along the hollow cylindrical axis due to its braided structure. Moreover, it can be flexibly deformed by the braided structure. In this embodiment, the strand 11 which comprises the conductor 10 is what the electroconductive material was exposed, and does not have insulation coating in each outer periphery. Although the specific electroconductive material which comprises the strand 11 is not specified in particular, Metal materials, such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, can be mentioned as a suitable thing. As described above, the hollow tubular braided wire in which the metal strands are knitted is known as a braided shield that is provided on the outer periphery of the insulated wire and shields noise intrusion and radiation. As the conductor 10 to be configured, a conductor manufactured in the same manner as such a braided shield and having a similar structure can be used.

  The stretchable member 20 is a rod-shaped member having an outer diameter equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the hollow portion of the conductor 10 and is made of a stretchable material. The elastic member 20 is inserted into the hollow portion of the conductor 10 with its longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the axial direction of the hollow cylindrical shape of the conductor 10. The stretchable material constituting the stretchable member 20 has higher stretchability than the conductor 10 made of a braided wire along the longitudinal axis. That is, the elastic member 20 has a stronger behavior than the conductor 10 as a spring that elastically deforms with a restoring force in both directions of expansion and contraction.

  Specific examples of the stretchable material constituting the stretchable member 20 include an organic polymer material having stretchability. In particular, rubber and elastomer have very high stretchability and flexibility, and can be suitably used as a material constituting the stretchable electric wire 1 together with the conductor 10. It can be easily formed as a rod-shaped elastic member 20 having a desired diameter and length and inserted through the hollow portion of the conductor 10. Specifically, natural rubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, silicone rubber, thermoplastic elastomer and the like can be used particularly preferably.

  The organic polymer constituting the elastic member 20 may be cross-linked or not cross-linked. A plurality of types of organic polymers may be used in combination. The elastic member 20 may be made of only an organic polymer, or various additives other than the organic polymer may be added as long as the elasticity is not impaired. Furthermore, the elastic member 20 may be made of an insulating material or a conductive material. The organic polymer is generally an insulating material. However, the organic polymer may have conductivity by the structure of the organic polymer itself or by an additive. In addition, it can also be used as a conductive member for energization.

  The telescopic wire 1 can be manufactured as shown in FIG. First, a large number of the wires 11 as shown in FIG. 2A are used, and as shown in FIG. Separately, the elastic member containing the organic polymer is formed into a rod shape, and the elastic member 20 is manufactured. Then, as shown in FIG. 2C, the elastic member 20 is inserted into the hollow portion of the conductor 10. Finally, both ends of the conductor 10 are fixed to the elastic member 20 as appropriate. This fixing can be performed, for example, by caulking with a metal fitting, adhesion with a tape, connection to a common member, or the like.

  Such a stretchable electric wire 1 exhibits high stretchability as a whole of the stretchable wire 1 by combining the conductor 10 made of a braided wire and the stretchable member 20 made of a stretchable material. That is, as shown in FIG. 1A, when both ends of the conductor 10 and the elastic member 20 are pulled away from the state where both the conductor 10 and the elastic member 20 are in the natural length, FIG. As shown, the conductor 10 and the elastic member 20 are both extended in the axial direction. In this state, when the force pulling both ends of the conductor 10 and the elastic member 20 is released, the conductor 10 and the elastic member 20 return to the natural length again as shown in FIG. Thus, the elastic wire 1 can repeat elastic expansion and contraction reversibly.

  As described above, the conductor 10 made of a braided wire has stretchability due to the braided structure of the strands 11, but the stretchability is so high that the conductor 10 can be used alone as a stretchable wire. is not. However, by using such a conductor 10 in combination with a stretchable member 20 having a higher stretchability than the conductor 10, the stretchable wire 1 as a whole is sufficiently stretchable to be used, for example, for electrical wiring between movable members. Sex can be achieved. In particular, the conductor 10 made of a braided wire has a characteristic that it is relatively easy to stretch due to the braided structure of the strands 11, but it is difficult to reversibly return from the stretched state to the state before stretching. On the other hand, the elastic member 20 containing an organic polymer such as rubber has high elasticity in both the extension direction and the compression direction as compared to the conductor 10 made of a braided wire, The reversibility of the expansion and contraction and compression is very high. By assisting the expansion and contraction of the conductor 10 with the elastic member 20 having such characteristics, the electric wire excellent in reversible elasticity can be obtained as the entire elastic wire 1.

  Both the conductor 10 made of a braided wire and the elastic member 20 including an organic polymer have high flexibility in addition to elasticity, and can be flexibly deformed. Therefore, the expandable electric wire 1 is excellent in flexibility as a whole, and can be suitably used for electric wiring between various movable members.

  The outer diameter of the entire telescopic wire 1 is defined by the outer diameter of the conductor 10. As long as the expansion / contraction member 10 fits in the hollow portion of the conductor 10, the shape and dimensions of the expansion / contraction member 20 do not affect the outer diameter of the expansion / contraction electric wire 1. Therefore, by reducing the outer diameter of the cylindrical shape of the conductor 10, the outer diameter of the entire telescopic wire 1 can be reduced and space can be saved. Thereby, also when the space which can route electric wires, such as the space in a motor vehicle, is restricted, it becomes easy to utilize the telescopic electric wire 1 for electrical wiring.

  As a method for reducing the cylindrical outer shape of the conductor 10 while maintaining the conductivity desired for the electric wire in the telescopic electric wire 1, it is conceivable to increase the density of the strands 11. However, when the density of the strands 11 is increased, the stretchability of the conductor 10 is lowered. Moreover, when the outer diameter of the cylindrical shape of the conductor 10 is reduced, the inner diameter of the hollow portion is also reduced, and the diameter of the expandable member 20 that can be inserted into the hollow portion is limited. Then, what is necessary is just to set the outer diameter of the conductor 10 so that the space-saving property and elasticity which are desired as the whole expansion-contraction electric wire 1 can be achieved. When the stretchable electric wire 1 is used for wiring in an automobile, a mode in which the outer diameter of the conductor 10 is in the range of 0.5 to 20 mm can be exemplified.

  In the present stretchable electric wire 1, in order to further improve the overall stretchability, the stretchability of the stretchable member 20 may be increased by selecting the shape and material of the stretchable member 20 within a range that can be accommodated in the hollow portion of the conductor 10. . Also in this case, the overall dimensions of the expandable electric wire 1 are defined by the conductor 10, and improving the stretchability of the expandable electric wire 1 does not lead to an increase in the size of the expandable electric wire 1. This is because, in a curled cord in which an insulated wire is formed in a spiral shape, a thick insulation coating is formed, or as shown in Patent Document 1, a spiral plastically deformed steel wire is integrated on the outside of the insulated wire. This is different from making the entire curled cord larger.

  In the stretchable electric wire 1 according to the present embodiment, a rod-shaped member made of a stretchable material containing an organic polymer is used as the stretchable member 20. However, the stretchable member 20 is not limited to such a member, and any member may be used as long as it has a stretchability higher than that of the conductor 10 along the axis of the conductor 10. For example, a coil spring formed by spirally winding a metal wire can be used. However, in the case of using a rod-shaped member mainly composed of an organic polymer as described above, the flexibility and lightness are superior.

  In the extendable electric wire 1 described above, the conductive material constituting the strand 11 is exposed on the outer surface of the entire extendable electric wire 1 and the extendable electric wire 1 is not insulated from the outside. However, the stretchable electric wire 1 can be provided with an insulating coating to insulate it from the outside. For example, as described above, the conductor 10 may be configured using the strand 11 from which the conductive material is exposed, and a cylindrical insulating coating (sheath) that covers the outer periphery of the conductor 10 may be provided. . Such an insulating coating is formed on the outer periphery of the conductor 10 by, for example, a method of extruding an insulating material on the outer periphery of the conductor 10 or by inserting the conductor 10 into an insulating coating formed in a hollow cylindrical shape separately from the conductor 10. Can be provided. In order to hold the insulation coating without breaking or the like in the entire stretchable range of the stretchable electric wire 1 composed of the conductor 10 and the stretchable member 20, the insulation coating has a sufficient extra length or has stretchability. Is desirable. For example, an insulating coating is formed by forming an organic polymer material into a bellows shape, and the insulating coating has a stretch property typified by rubber or an elastomer, like the stretchable member 20 inserted through the hollow portion of the conductor 10. It can be considered that the organic polymer material is formed.

  As described above, by providing the insulating coating that collectively covers the outer periphery of the conductor 10, it is possible to reduce the increase in size of the expandable electric wire 1 by imparting insulation to the expandable electric wire 1. The conductor 10 is composed of a plurality of strands 11, but there is no need to insulate between the strands 11 corresponding to the internal structure of the conductor 10, and only the outer peripheral portion of the entire conductor 10 is insulated. By applying, the space required when providing an insulating member between internal structures can be excluded. On the other hand, for example, in the case of a curled cord formed by spirally forming an insulated wire having an insulation coating on the outer periphery of the conductor, insulation is also provided between the spiral turns corresponding to the internal structure that originally does not require insulation. A coating will be arranged, which may be a factor in increasing the size of the telescopic wire.

  However, also in the expandable electric wire 1 according to the present embodiment, the conductor 10 may be formed by individually providing an insulation coating on the outer periphery of each strand 11 and weaving the insulated strand 11. In this case, the insulating coating formed on the outer periphery of the strand 11 is preferably as thin as possible. For example, an enamel-covered wire can be used as the strand 11. In the stretchable electric wire 1 according to the present embodiment, the conductor 10 is stretched by the braided structure of the strands 11, and the stretchable member 20 assists the stretchability. It is not necessary for itself to have stretchability, and when an insulation coating is provided on each individual wire 11, the insulation coating is made of a stretchable material or thickened to ensure stretchability. It is not necessary.

  In the case where the insulating wire 1 is provided with insulation to the outside by any of the above-described forms, the form in which the outer diameter of the entire extending wire 1 including the insulating coating material is 20 mm or less is exemplified as a preferable one. Can do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Telescopic electric wire 10 Conductor 11 Wire 20 Elastic member

Claims (4)

A conductor made of a braided wire having a hollow cylindrical shape in which a plurality of electric wires are knitted and stretchable along an axis;
And a telescopic member inserted through the hollow portion of the conductor and having a stretchability higher than that of the conductor along an axis of the conductor.   The stretchable electric wire according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable member is a rod-shaped member made of a material containing an organic polymer. The electric wire constituting the conductor is composed of a bare wire with an exposed conductive material,
The expandable electric wire according to claim 1, wherein the expandable electric wire has an insulating coating on an outer periphery of the conductor.   Each of the electric wires constituting the conductor has an insulating coating on the outer periphery of the conductive material.

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