JP3654497B2 - Flexible flat cable and wiring method thereof - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a flexible flat cable to be routed in a vehicle and a routing method thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, a wire harness is used for electrical wiring in a vehicle such as an automobile. This wire harness has an advantage that it can be freely bent in all directions when, for example, it is installed in an instrument panel of an automobile.
[0003]
On the other hand, in recent years, flexible flat cables having a thickness smaller than that of wire harnesses have been used in response to demands for inconspicuous cables or space saving of wiring. 1 (a) and 1 (b) show a conventional flexible flat cable in a cross-sectional view and a plan view, respectively. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a flexible flat cable, which is formed by bonding a plurality of flat conductor lines 2 arranged side by side with two insulating tapes 3a and 3b from the upper and lower sides. The thickness of the flexible flat cable 1 is very thin, usually about 0.1 to 0.3 mm.
[0004]
When the flexible flat cable 1 having the above-described configuration is routed, for example, in an instrument panel of a car, there are a number of places where the direction of the wiring must be changed in the middle, but the direction of the wiring is changed. As shown in FIG. 2, the flexible flat cable 1 is bent at the place where the wiring direction is changed.
[0005]
However, the conventional flexible flat cable is difficult to make a crease in a straight line when it is folded, and the crease part swells as soon as it is folded, or the folding position and the folding angle are arranged in a wiring form. There are problems such as it being difficult to determine accurately along the line, and it has been pointed out that workability is poor.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention provides a flexible flat cable capable of solving the conventional problems, improving the workability of the wiring work, and accurately determining the bending position and the bending angle, and a wiring method thereof. That is the issue.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, a plurality of flat conductor lines arranged side by side are bonded with two insulating tapes from the upper and lower sides, and only the flexible flat cable part including the flat conductor line to be branched is connected to the flexible flat cable part. A flexible flat cable having a through hole in a portion other than the portion having the flat conductor line along a straight line forming a required angle with respect to the longitudinal direction is used, and the flexible flat cable portion to be branched is connected to the flexible flat cable. A flexible flat cable routing method is provided, in which a cut is made along the longitudinal direction and cut and then bent along the through hole for routing. Further, according to the present invention, a flat conductor to be branched when a flexible flat cable formed by bonding a plurality of flat conductor lines arranged side by side with two insulating tapes from both upper and lower sides is to be routed. A flexible flat cable portion including a line is cut off along the longitudinal direction of the flexible flat cable, and is separated from the longitudinal direction of the flexible flat cable portion to be branched at the branch position of the flexible flat cable portion. A through hole is provided in a portion other than the flat conductor line along a straight line forming a required angle, and then the flexible flat cable portion to be branched is bent along the through hole to perform wiring. A flexible flat cable routing method is provided.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below.
FIGS. 3A and 3B show a flexible flat cable according to the present invention, in which FIG. 3A is a plan view and FIG. 3B is a view showing a state where the flexible flat cable is bent for routing.
In the figure, 11 is a flexible flat cable, and a plurality of flat rectangular conductor lines 12 arranged side by side are bonded together with two insulating tapes 13 (13a, 13b) from both the upper and lower sides as in the case of FIG. The flat conductor line 12 is made of a conductor such as copper or aluminum, and usually has a thickness of about 30 to 100 μm and a width of about 0.3 to 1 mm. Further, an insulating material such as PET is used for the insulating tape 13, and the thickness thereof is usually about 35 to 300 [mu] m, and the width thereof varies depending on the number of conductor conductors with a pitch between lines. The thickness of the entire flexible flat cable is usually as thin as about 0.1 to 0.3 mm. The above is the same as the conventional flexible flat cable.
[0009]
In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1A, a through hole 15 is formed in a portion 14 other than a portion where the flat conductor line 12 is provided along a straight line L inclined at a certain angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the flexible flat cable 11. Is provided. The inclination angle of the straight line L can be set to an arbitrary angle according to the arrangement direction and the arrangement form. The size of the through hole 15 is set to an appropriate value depending on the width and thickness of the flexible flat cable 11, the width of the portion 14, and the like, but is usually about 0.1 to 0.2 mm in diameter, and is a flat conductor line. The size is set so as not to impair the insulation between the two. The shape of the through-hole 15 is preferably a circle or an ellipse so that the formation of the through-hole 15 can prevent the film from tearing. The number of through holes formed between the flat conductor lines 12 or in the portions 14 existing on both ends of the flexible flat cable 11 may be one or two or more.
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 3B, the flexible flat cable 11 according to the present invention can change its routing direction by being bent along the row of through holes 15. Here, the arrangement position and the arrangement direction can be determined with extremely high accuracy by the formation position of the through holes 15 and the inclination angle of the row (inclination angle of the straight line L). Also, the row of the through holes 15 makes it very easy to perform the bending work, and the workability is remarkably improved.
[0011]
4A and 4B are sectional views showing an example of a jig for forming the through hole 15 and an example of forming the through hole in the flexible flat cable 11 according to the present invention, respectively. In the figure, 21 is a die of the jig, and 22 is a punch. 4, the same elements as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In this jig, the rows of punches 22 can be arranged so as to be inclined at a desired angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the flexible flat cable 11. Further, in this jig, the formation position of the through hole 15 can be determined. By using the jig shown in FIG. 4A and pressing the punch 22 against the portion 14 of the flexible flat cable 11, a through hole 15 as shown in FIG. 4B is formed.
[0012]
According to the present invention, when a flexible flat cable is routed, a cable in which rows of through holes 15 are formed in advance may be used, or through holes 15 using a simple jig as shown in FIG. After forming the row, routing may be performed. In any method, routing can be performed with good workability and accuracy.
[0013]
Further, according to the present invention, the flexible flat cable 11 can be routed and a part of the cable can be branched at the same time. In this case, in the flexible flat cable 11, at the branch position, there are a portion that is routed without branching as it is, and a portion that is branched and redirected, and the latter portion includes A row of through holes 15 similar to the above is formed in advance, or formed in the field. Thereby, the branching of the cable can be performed with good workability and accuracy. In addition, in the above, as long as insulation is ensured, the through-hole 15 may be formed not only in the latter part but also in a part routed without branching.
[0014]
Furthermore, according to the present invention, two or more flexible flat cables 11 can be used in an overlapping manner to branch for each flexible flat cable or to branch a part of the cable portion. Also in this case, a row of the through holes 15 similar to the above is formed in advance or formed on site. This makes it possible to route and branch a larger number of wires with good workability and accuracy.
[0015]
FIG. 5 shows an example in which the flexible flat cable 11 according to the present invention is routed inside the instrument panel of an automobile.
[0016]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, since the configuration described above is adopted, the flexible flat cable can be easily bent and routed at a desired angle at a desired position, so that the workability of the routing is improved and the routing is performed. It is possible to improve the accuracy.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional flexible flat cable, and FIG. 1B is a plan view.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state where the flexible flat cable of FIG. 1 is bent.
3A is a plan view showing a flexible flat cable according to the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a view showing a state in which the flexible flat cable is bent for routing.
4A is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a jig for forming a through hole in a flexible flat cable according to the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view showing an example of forming a through hole.
FIG. 5 is a view showing an example in which a flexible flat cable according to the present invention is routed inside an instrument panel of an automobile.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Flexible flat cable 12 Flat conductor line 13 (13a, 13b) Insulation tape 14 The part without a flat conductor line 15 Through-hole 21 Die 22 Punch

Claims (2)

  A plurality of flat conductor lines arranged side by side are bonded together with two insulating tapes from both the upper and lower sides, and only the flexible flat cable part including the flat conductor line to be branched is required in the longitudinal direction of the flexible flat cable part. A flexible flat cable provided with a through hole in a portion other than a portion where the flat rectangular conductor line is provided along a straight line forming an angle, and the flexible flat cable portion to be branched is connected to the flexible flat cable along the longitudinal direction. A flexible flat cable routing method, comprising: cutting and cutting and then bending along the through hole to perform routing.   When a flexible flat cable made by bonding a plurality of flat conductor lines arranged side by side with two insulating tapes from the top and bottom sides is to be routed, The flexible flat cable is cut along a longitudinal direction and separated, and at a branch position of the flexible flat cable portion, along a straight line forming a required angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the flexible flat cable portion to be branched. A flexible flat cable routing method comprising: providing a through hole in a portion other than the flat conductor line, and then bending the flexible flat cable portion to be branched along the through hole.

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