JP2021093859A - Wiring harness protector and wiring harness - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a protector with excellent workability for assembling wires that make up a wiring harness, and a wiring harness that uses the protector.SOLUTION: A protector 2 includes a main body 10 that defines a guide path that guides wires 3 that make up a wiring harness 1, and a wire holding unit 20 that holds the wire 3 on the guide path. The main body 10 includes, in this order, a first mounting surface 11, a second mounting surface 12, and a third mounting surface 13 on which the wires 3 are placed along the guide path and which guide the wires 3 in different directions. The first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 are in a positional relationship where the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 intersect each other so as to bend the guide path, and the length of the second mounting surface 12 in the direction along the guide path is shorter than both the length of the first mounting surface 11 and the length of the third mounting surface 13 in the above direction, and the wire holding portion 20 is provided at a position corresponding to the second mounting surface 12 of the main body 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a protector that defines a path for guiding an electric wire constituting a wire harness, and a wire harness that uses the protector.

Conventionally, a protector for a wire harness that defines a path (cavity / space) for guiding an electric wire constituting the wire harness has been proposed. This type of protector is generally assembled to the body of an automobile or the like while holding an electric wire along the path. As a result, the wire harness is arranged along a predetermined route.

For example, one of the conventional protectors has a groove structure having a U-shaped cross section having a bottom wall and both side walls. In this conventional protector, the electric wire housed in the groove is held in the groove by a claw-shaped protrusion extending from both side walls toward the inside of the groove (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-052028

By the way, when actually assembling the electric wire to the protector, generally, the electric wire is manually placed on the protector (that is, the electric wire is arranged on the path defined by the protector), and the clamp and the tie are used. The electric wire is fixed to the protector by using a fixing tool such as a band and an adhesive tape. Here, if the path defined by the protector has a three-dimensional (three-dimensional) shape, the electric wire is also curved along such a shape. However, depending on the thickness and hardness of the electric wire and the number of bundled electric wires, it becomes difficult to fix the electric wire to the protector by using the above-mentioned fixture while maintaining the curved state of the electric wire. , Can cause a loss of workability. Further, in some cases, it is necessary to assemble a dedicated member for keeping the electric wire in a curved state to the protector, and assembling and removing such a member may cause further impaired workability.

One of an object of the present invention is to provide a protector having excellent workability in the work of assembling an electric wire constituting a wire harness, and a wire harness using the protector.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the protector and the wire harness for the wire harness according to the present invention are characterized by the following [1] to [4].
[1]
A protector for a wire harness, comprising a main body portion that defines a path for guiding an electric wire constituting the wire harness, and an electric wire holding portion that holds the electric wire on the path.
The main body
It has a first mounting surface, a second mounting surface, and a third mounting surface in which the electric wires are placed along the path and the electric wires are sequentially guided in different directions.
The first mounting surface and the second mounting surface are
They are in a positional relationship where they intersect each other so as to bend the path.
The length of the second mounting surface in the direction along the path is
It is shorter than both the length of the first mounting surface in the direction and the length of the third mounting surface in the direction.
The electric wire holding portion is
Provided at a location corresponding to the second mounting surface of the main body.
Must be a protector for wire harnesses.
[2]
The protector according to the above [1].
The electric wire holding portion is
It is arranged at a position adjacent to the first mounting surface among the locations corresponding to the second mounting surface.
Must be a protector for wire harnesses.
[3]
In the protector according to the above [1] or the above [2]
The first mounting surface and the third mounting surface are in a twisted positional relationship.
Must be a protector for wire harnesses.
[4]
A wire harness including the protector according to any one of the above [1] to [3] and one or a plurality of electric wires to be assembled to the protector along the path.

According to the protector for the wire harness having the configuration of [1] above, the electric wire is assembled to the protector so as to follow each mounting surface in the order of the first mounting surface, the second mounting surface, and the third mounting surface. Be done. At this time, since the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface are in a positional relationship where they intersect with each other, the guide path for guiding the electric wire is bent between the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface. become. Further, the wires bent in this way are guided toward the third mounting surface via the second mounting surface, which is the shortest among the mounting surfaces. The third mounting surface guides the electric wire in a direction different from that of the second mounting surface. Therefore, the electric wire passing through the second mounting surface is significantly bent or twisted as compared with the case of passing through the other mounting surface. Therefore, in order to maintain the electric wire in a properly bent state between the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface, a larger external force is required as compared with other places. Therefore, if the electric wire is held by the electric wire holding portion provided at the location corresponding to the second mounting surface of the main body of the protector, the work load is reduced as compared with the case where the operator manually or relies on a dedicated member. it can. Therefore, the protector having this configuration is excellent in workability in the work of assembling the electric wire constituting the wire harness to the protector.

According to the protector for the wire harness having the configuration of [2] above, the electric wire holding portion is arranged at a position adjacent to the first mounting surface among the portions of the main body portion corresponding to the second mounting surface. As a result, the electric wire holding portion holds the electric wire in the vicinity of the boundary between the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface, which is considered to cause a particularly large bending or twisting. Therefore, it is possible to more appropriately prevent the bent electric wire from coming off the guide path.

According to the protector for the wire harness having the configuration of [3] above, the first mounting surface and the third mounting surface are in a twisted positional relationship. Therefore, the electric wire bent between the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface is further bent between the second mounting surface and the third mounting surface. In other words, the protector defines a guide path that curves three-dimensionally (three-dimensionally) in a complicated manner. Even when such a guide path is defined, the workability of the work of assembling the electric wire constituting the wire harness to the protector can be improved by using the electric wire holding portion.

According to the wire harness having the configuration of [4] above, when the electric wire is assembled to the protector along the respective mounting surfaces in the order of the first mounting surface, the second mounting surface, and the third mounting surface. Since the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface intersect each other, the guide path for guiding the electric wire is bent between the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface. Further, the wire bent in this way is guided in the third mounting surface in a direction different from that of the second mounting surface through the shortest second mounting surface among the mounting surfaces. Therefore, the electric wire passing through the second mounting surface is significantly bent or twisted as compared with the case of passing through the other mounting surface. Therefore, in order to maintain the electric wire in a properly bent state between the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface, a larger external force is required as compared with other places. Therefore, if the electric wire is held by the electric wire holding portion provided at the location corresponding to the second mounting surface of the main body of the protector, the work load is reduced as compared with the case where the operator manually or relies on a dedicated member. it can. Therefore, the wire harness having this configuration is excellent in workability in the work of assembling the electric wire to the protector.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a protector having excellent workability in the work of assembling an electric wire constituting a wire harness, and a wire harness using the protector.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the embodiments described below (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") with reference to the accompanying drawings. ..

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a protector for a wire harness according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 (a) is an enlarged perspective view showing the periphery of the electric wire holding portion shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 (b) shows the electric wire holding portion at a different angle (extension of the second mounting surface). It is a view from the direction).

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the protector 2 for the wire harness according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the protector 2 is a member for defining a path for guiding one or a plurality of electric wires 3. By assembling the electric wire 3 to the protector 2 along the path defined by the protector 2, the wire harness 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be obtained.

In this example, the protector 2 is a resin molded product, and the entire protector 2 is integrally formed. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, “x-axis direction”, “y-axis direction”, and “z-axis direction” are defined as shown in FIG. The "x-axis direction", "y-axis direction" and "z-axis direction" are orthogonal to each other. Hereinafter, first, the configuration of the protector 2 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the protector 2 includes a main body 10 that defines a path for guiding the electric wire 3. In this example, the main body portion 10 has a first mounting surface 11 extending in the x-axis direction and a second mounting surface 11 extending in the y-axis direction from one end of the first mounting surface 11 via the first connecting mounting surface 14. The mounting surface 12 and the third mounting surface 13 extending in the z-axis direction from the end of the second mounting surface 12 opposite to the first connecting mounting surface 14 via the second connecting mounting surface 15. It has.

In the main body 10, one continuous "1st mounting surface 11, 1st connecting mounting surface 14, 2nd mounting surface 12, 2nd connecting mounting surface 15, and 3rd mounting surface 13" in this order. A "route for guiding the electric wire 3" (hereinafter, referred to as a "guidance route") is defined, and the electric wire 3 is placed and guided along this guide path. The length in the extending direction (length in the y-axis direction) along the guide path of the second mounting surface 12 is the length in the extending direction (length in the x-axis direction) along the guide path of the first mounting surface 11. It is shorter than both the length in the extending direction (the length in the z-axis direction) along the guide path of the third mounting surface 13.

The first mounting surface 11 (normal) faces the y-axis direction, and the second mounting surface 12 and the third mounting surface 13 (normal) face the x-axis direction. The second mounting surface 12 and the third mounting surface 13 are located on a common plane. Therefore, the first connecting mounting surface 14 is a three-dimensionally (three-dimensionally) bent surface so as to smoothly connect the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 facing in different directions. The second connecting mounting surface 15 has a extending direction within the one plane so as to smoothly connect the second mounting surface 12 and the third mounting surface 13 located on a common plane. It is a bent surface.

The first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 are in a positional relationship of intersecting with each other, and the first mounting surface 11 and the third mounting surface 13 are in a twisted positional relationship (not intersecting with each other). In this way, in the main body 10, a guide path that is three-dimensionally (three-dimensionally) complicatedly curved is defined.

The other end of the first mounting surface 11 (the end opposite to the first connecting mounting surface 14) has a width dimension (dimension in the z-axis direction) orthogonal to the guide path of the first mounting surface 11. A narrow portion 11a narrower than the other portions is provided, and the width dimension (in the y-axis direction) orthogonal to the guide path is also provided at the end of the third mounting surface 13 opposite to the second connecting mounting surface 15. A narrow portion 13a having a dimension) narrower than that of the other portion of the third mounting surface 13 is provided. Each of the narrow portions 11a and 13a will be used as a place where a fixture (clamp, tie band, adhesive tape, etc.) for fixing the electric wire 3 is attached on the guide path.

In the main body 10, a pair of side walls are provided at a plurality of locations along the guide path in order to prevent the electric wire 3 from being disengaged from the guide path in the width direction. Specifically, a pair of side walls 16 form a first mounting surface from a position adjacent to the narrow portion 11a on the first mounting surface 11 to an intermediate position in the extending direction of the first mounting surface 11. It is erected so as to face each other from both ends in the width direction of 11. A pair of side walls 17 are mounted on the first mounting surface 11 from a position near the first connecting mounting surface 14 to the end of the first mounting surface 14 on the second mounting surface 12 side. The mounting surface 11 and the first connecting mounting surface 14 are erected so as to face each other from both ends in the width direction. A pair of side walls 18 are mounted on the second mounting surface 12 from a position adjacent to the first connecting mounting surface 14 to a position on the second mounting surface 12 near the second connecting mounting surface 15. It is erected so as to face each other from both ends in the width direction of the placement surface 12.

Further, in the main body portion 10, a plurality of attachment portions 19 used for attaching (fixing) the protector 2 to an attached body such as an automobile body are provided along a guide path corresponding to the first mounting surface 11. (In this example, three places) are provided respectively.

The protector 2 is further provided with a wire holding portion 20 for holding the wire 3 on the guide path on the pair of side walls 18. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the electric wire holding portion 20 is a pair of claw-shaped protrusions 21 extending inward in the width direction of the second mounting surface 12 from the extending ends of the pair of side walls 18. It is composed of. The reason why the electric wire holding portion 20 is provided at this position on the guide path (the position adjacent to the first mounting surface 11 on the second mounting surface 12) will be described later. In addition, "adjacent" means, for example, that the constituent portion of the electric wire holding portion 20 (in this example, the upper surface portion of the pair of side walls 18) located at the position closest to the first mounting surface 11 along the guide path of the electric wire. , Indicates that the position is closer to the first mounting surface 11 than the central position of the second mounting surface 12 along the guide path of the electric wire.

In this example, in order to facilitate the guidance of the electric wire 3 into the space between the pair of side walls 18 (on the second mounting surface 12), the pair of protrusions 21 are second in the direction toward the second mounting surface 12. It extends at an angle with respect to the mounting surface 12. Further, in order to prevent the electric wire 3 located in the space between the pair of side walls 18 from coming out of the space, the distance A between the tips of the pair of protrusions 21 (see FIG. 2B) is an electric wire. It is smaller than the outer diameter of 3. Therefore, when the electric wire 3 is inserted into the space between the pair of side walls 18 (on the second mounting surface 12), the pair of protrusions 21 are spread outward in the width direction of the second mounting surface 12. The pair of side walls 18 will be temporarily elastically deformed. The configuration of the protector 2 has been described above.

Next, the work of assembling the electric wire 3 to the protector 2 along the guide path will be described. In order to assemble the electric wire 3 to the protector 2, the electric wire 3 is attached to the first mounting surface 11, the first connecting mounting surface 14, the second mounting surface 12, and the second connecting mounting surface 15 along the guide path. , And the third mounting surface 13, and the third mounting surface 13 is placed on each mounting surface in this order.

Specifically, first, the electric wire 3 is placed on the first mounting surface 11 so as to be located in the space between the pair of side walls 16 and in the space between the pair of side walls 17. Next, the electric wire 3 is bent between the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 (above the first connecting mounting surface 14), and then the pair of protrusions 21 form the second mounting surface. While temporarily elastically deforming the pair of side walls 18 so as to spread outward in the width direction of 12, the electric wire 3 is allowed to enter the space between the pair of side walls 18 and placed on the second mounting surface 12. To do.

Next, the electric wire 3 is further bent between the second mounting surface 12 and the third mounting surface 13 (on the second connecting mounting surface 15), and mounted on the third mounting surface 13. .. As a result, the electric wire 3 is arranged along the guide path over the entire area of the guide path.

In this way, the electric wire 3 bent between the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 is the shortest second mounting surface 12 among the first to third mounting surfaces 11 to 13. The third mounting surface 13 is guided in a direction different from that of the second mounting surface 12. Here, a restoring force that causes the electric wire 3 to return to a straight line acts on the electric wire 3. Therefore, in order to maintain the electric wire 3 in a properly bent state at the portion between the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12, a particularly large external force is applied as compared with other locations on the guide path. It takes.

In consideration of this point, in the protector 2, the electric wire holding portion is located at a position on the guide path where the pair of side walls 18 are provided (that is, a position adjacent to the first mounting surface 11 on the second mounting surface 12). 20 (a pair of protrusions 21) is provided. Therefore, even if the electric wire 3 tries to escape from the space between the pair of side walls 18 due to its own restoring force, the pair of protrusions 21 exerts an external force on the electric wire 3 to hold the electric wire 3 in the space. .. As a result, the electric wire 3 does not come out of the space. Therefore, the work load can be reduced as compared with the case where such an external force is applied to the electric wire 3 by the manual work of the operator or by a dedicated member.

Then, as described above, after the electric wire 3 is arranged along the guide path over the entire area of the guide path, a fixture (clamp,) for fixing the electric wire 3 to each of the narrow portions 11a and 13a. Tie band and adhesive tape, etc.) are attached. As a result, the work of assembling the electric wire 3 to the protector 2 is completed, and the wire harness 1 in which the electric wire 3 is assembled to the protector 2 along the guide path is obtained (see FIG. 1).

<Action / effect>
According to the protector 2 for the wire harness according to the present embodiment, the electric wire 3 is provided along the respective mounting surfaces in the order of the first mounting surface 11, the second mounting surface 12, and the third mounting surface 13. When assembled to the protector 2, the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 are in a positional relationship where they intersect with each other, so that the guide path for guiding the electric wire 3 is the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 11. It will bend with the surface 12. Further, the wire 3 bent in this way is guided in the third mounting surface 13 in a direction different from that of the second mounting surface 12 through the shortest second mounting surface 12 among the mounting surfaces. To. Therefore, in order to maintain the electric wire 3 in a properly bent state between the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12, a larger external force is required as compared with other places. Here, if the electric wire 3 is held by the electric wire holding portion 20 (a pair of protruding portions 21) provided at a position corresponding to the second mounting surface 12 of the main body portion 10 of the protector 2, the operator can manually perform the work. The work load can be reduced as compared with the case where such an external force is applied to the electric wire 3 with a dedicated member. Therefore, the protector 2 according to the present embodiment is excellent in workability of the work of assembling the electric wire 3 constituting the wire harness 1 to the protector 2.

Further, according to the protector 2 for the wire harness according to the present embodiment, the electric wire holding portion 20 is located at a position adjacent to the first mounting surface 11 among the locations of the main body portion 10 corresponding to the second mounting surface 12. Is placed. As a result, it is possible to more appropriately prevent the electric wire 3 bent between the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 from coming off the guide path.

Further, according to the protector 2 for the wire harness according to the present embodiment, the first mounting surface 11 and the third mounting surface 13 are in a twisted positional relationship. Therefore, the electric wire 3 bent between the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 is further bent between the second mounting surface 12 and the third mounting surface 13. In other words, the protector 2 defines a guide path that curves three-dimensionally (three-dimensionally) in a complicated manner. Even when such a guide path is defined, the electric wire 3 constituting the wire harness 1 can be protected by the protector 2 by using the electric wire holding portion 20 provided at the position corresponding to the second mounting surface 12. Excellent workability for assembling to.

<Other forms>
The present invention is not limited to each of the above embodiments, and various modifications can be adopted within the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified, improved, and the like. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, arrangement location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

In the above embodiment, the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 are in a positional relationship where they intersect each other, and the first mounting surface 11 and the third mounting surface 13 are in a twisted positional relationship (they do not intersect each other). )It is in. On the other hand, the first mounting surface 11 and the second mounting surface 12 are in a positional relationship where they intersect with each other, and the first mounting surface 11 and the third mounting surface 13 are in a parallel relationship with each other (they do not intersect each other). May be.

Here, the features of the protector 2 for the wire harness and the embodiment of the wire harness 1 according to the present invention described above are briefly summarized and listed below, respectively, in [1] to [4].
[1]
It includes a main body portion (10) that defines a path for guiding the electric wire (3) constituting the wire harness (1), and an electric wire holding portion (20) that holds the electric wire (3) on the path. It is a protector (2) for a wire harness and
The main body (10) is
The first mounting surface (11), the second mounting surface (12), and the second mounting surface (12), on which the electric wire (3) is placed along the path and the electric wires (3) are sequentially guided in different directions. 3 mounting surfaces (13) are provided in this order.
The first mounting surface (11) and the second mounting surface (12) are
They are in a positional relationship where they intersect each other so as to bend the path.
The length of the second mounting surface (12) in the direction along the path is
It is shorter than both the length of the first mounting surface (11) in the direction and the length of the third mounting surface (13) in the direction.
The electric wire holding portion (20) is
The main body (10) is provided at a position corresponding to the second mounting surface (12).
Protector for wire harness (2).
[2]
The protector (2) according to the above [1].
The electric wire holding portion (20) is
It is arranged at a position adjacent to the first mounting surface (11) among the locations corresponding to the second mounting surface (12).
Protector for wire harness (2).
[3]
In the protector (2) according to the above [1] or the above [2],
The first mounting surface (11) and the third mounting surface (13) are in a twisted positional relationship.
Protector for wire harness (2).
[4]
A wire harness including the protector (2) according to any one of the above [1] to [3] and one or a plurality of electric wires (3) assembled to the protector (2) along the path. (1).

1 Wire harness 2 Protector 3 Electric wire 10 Main body 11 1st mounting surface 12 2nd mounting surface 13 3rd mounting surface 20 Wire holding part 21 Pair of protrusions (wire holding part)

Claims (4)

A protector for a wire harness, comprising a main body portion that defines a path for guiding an electric wire constituting the wire harness, and an electric wire holding portion that holds the electric wire on the path.
The main body
It has a first mounting surface, a second mounting surface, and a third mounting surface in which the electric wires are placed along the path and the electric wires are sequentially guided in different directions.
The first mounting surface and the second mounting surface are
They are in a positional relationship where they intersect each other so as to bend the path.
The length of the second mounting surface in the direction along the path is
It is shorter than both the length of the first mounting surface in the direction and the length of the third mounting surface in the direction.
The electric wire holding portion is
Provided at a location corresponding to the second mounting surface of the main body.
Protector for wire harness. The protector according to claim 1.
The electric wire holding portion is
It is arranged at a position adjacent to the first mounting surface among the locations corresponding to the second mounting surface.
Protector for wire harness. In the protector according to claim 1 or 2.
The first mounting surface and the third mounting surface are in a twisted positional relationship.
Protector for wire harness. A wire harness comprising the protector according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and one or more electric wires assembled to the protector along the path.

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