JP4297363B2 - Extra length absorber - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a surplus length absorber that is applied to a sliding door of an automobile and absorbs slack of a wire harness that electrically connects a movable side such as a sliding door and a fixed side such as a vehicle body.

  Conventionally, for example, an extra length absorber shown in FIG. 5 is known as this type of extra length absorber (Patent Document 1). As shown in FIG. 5, the extra length absorbing device includes a case 52 that is led out from the mouth 51 while accommodating the wire harness 50, and is slidably provided in the case so that the wire harness can be bent along a curved shape. An electric wire guide 54 including a guide rotating body 53 and an urging member 55 for urging the electric wire guide member 54 in the wire harness retracting direction are provided, and the vehicle body 56 and the opening / closing body 57 are electrically connected.

  In addition, an extra length absorber as shown in FIG. 6 is also known (Patent Document 2). In this extra length absorbing device, a wire harness 50 is routed between an opening / closing body 57 and a vehicle body 56 that are rotatably supported by a hinge. This surplus length absorbing device is provided with a case 52 having a front insertion hole 61 and a rear insertion hole 62 in the traveling direction of the vehicle body 56 in the vehicle body 56, and the wire harness 50 is bent and inserted into the case 52. A biasing member 55 for biasing the wire harness 50 in the case 52 to one side is provided to electrically connect the vehicle body 56 and the opening / closing body 57.

JP 2003-306089 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-20189

  However, in the prior art described in Patent Document 1, since the portion where the wire harness 50 is curved (curved portion 50a) is urged by the wire guide 54, the load applied to the wire harness is large. When the wire harness is pulled out by the operation of the opening and closing body 57 such as when opening and closing, the load concentrates on the bending portion 50a. Further, in the prior art described in Patent Document 2 as well, the member shown in FIG. 6 does not cover the curved portions 50a and 50b with any members, but the shape of the curved portions 50a and 50b can be maintained as it is. Therefore, as a result, as shown in FIG. 7, a movable bar 60a, a fixed bar 60b, and the like are installed to hold the shapes of the curved portions 50a and 50b. Therefore, the prior art described in Patent Document 2 also has a problem that when the wire harness is pulled out by the operation of the opening / closing body 57, the load is concentrated on the bending portion 50a. In addition, the above prior art has a complicated structure such as the guide member 54 as a rotating body in Patent Document 1 and a movable bar 60a, a fixed bar 60b, etc. in Patent Document 1, and the number of parts is large. There is also a problem that it is not suitable in terms of cost and cannot be used in a portion where the extra length absorption amount is relatively small.

  In view of the above, the present invention provides a surplus length absorbing device that can reduce the load on the curved portion of the wire harness, can be used even in locations where the surplus length absorption amount is relatively small, and has a small number of parts and is easy to assemble. With the goal.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an extra length absorber according to claim 1 is:
And Case 2 where the electric wire 40 is accommodated a portion of the wire harness 4 comprising covered with the corrugated tube 41 slides within the casing 2, and Ri Do from the slider 3 for holding the wire harness 4,
The slider 3 is the holding the straight portions of the corrugated tube 41, the wire harness 4 is extended to the outside of the case 3 at one end of the wire harness 4 is fixed to the casing 3 within the casing 3, the other end that is brought out without being fixed to the casing 3 a surplus length absorbing device 1,
The case 2 is formed with a storage part 23, an electric wire extension part 24, an electric wire extension part 25, and concave parts 26, 27,
A part of the wire harness 4 and the slider 3 are accommodated inside the accommodating part 23,
The slider 3 includes a core rod 32, a spring 35 through which the core rod 32 is inserted, and a wire harness holding portion 31.
An inner flange 32a, an outer flange 32b, and a groove 32c are formed at the end of the core bar 32, and the recesses 26 and 27 and the groove 32c are fitted to fix the slider 3.
The wire harness holding portion 31 includes a holding portion main body 34 and a holding portion cover 33,
The wire harness holding portion 31 is fixed to the corrugated tube 41 by combining the holding portion main body 34 and the holding portion cover 33,
Furthermore, the holding part main body 34 is provided with a spring locking part 34e,
The spring locking portion 34e accommodates a part of the core rod 32 and the spring 35 and fixes the holding portion main body 34 and the spring 35,
The core 35 is inserted into the spring 35, one end abuts against the inner flange 32a of the core 32 or the inner wall of the case 2, and the other end engages with the spring locking portion 34e. It is characterized by being stopped.

The surplus length absorber according to claim 2 is:
The electric wire 40 is composed of a flat cable in which a flat conductor is coated with an insulating coating,
The electric wire extension 24 includes a harness holding wall 24a, a harness holding groove 24b, a harness groove 24c, and a harness wall 24d.
The wire harness 4 enters the harness groove 24c,
The harness holding groove 24b holds and fixes the wire harness 4 in the extending direction of the wire harness 4, and the harness holding groove 24b is formed in a U-turn shape. And

According to the surplus length absorption device thus configured, since the load is not applied to the portion where the wire harness is curved unlike the prior art, the load on the curved portion of the wire harness can be reduced, and the surplus Since the long absorption device can be made into a simple structure, it can be used in a portion where the extra length absorption amount is relatively small, and the number of parts is small, and the assembly becomes easy.

  According to the surplus length absorption device according to the present invention, the surplus length absorption that reduces the load on the curved portion of the wire harness, can be used even in locations where the surplus length absorption amount is relatively small, and has a small number of parts and is easy to assemble. An apparatus can be provided.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a surplus length absorber according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 4 show a surplus length absorber 1 according to an embodiment, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the surplus length absorber 1, and FIG. 2 shows a state where the slider 3 and the wire harness 4 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the assembled structure of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the surplus length absorbing device 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the surplus length absorbing device 1 includes a case 2 including an upper case 21 and a lower case 22, and a slider 3 accommodated in the case, and includes a corrugated tube 41 and the same. It is comprised from the wire harness 4 which consists of the covered electric wire 40. FIG.

  The case 2 is made of a hard synthetic resin or metal, and includes a storage portion 23, a wire extension portion 24, and a wire lead portion 25 as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the housing portion 23, the wire extension portion 24, and the wire lead portion 25 are integrally formed of synthetic resin.

  The storage portion 23 is provided in both the upper case 21 and the lower case 22, and is formed in a box shape having a substantially rectangular shape and an open top when viewed in one case, and includes a part of the wire harness 4 and a slider inside. 3 is accommodated and the upper and lower cases 21 and 22 are assembled to form a box. In addition, concave portions 26 and 27 for fixing the slider 3 are formed on a pair of facing surfaces, and are fitted into a groove 32 c formed on the core rod 32 of the slider 3. In the present embodiment, the recesses 26 and 27 are formed as semicircular through holes, but this is adapted to the cross-sectional shape of the core rod 32, so long as the core rod 32 and the case 2 can be fixed. Good. For example, if the cross-sectional shape of the groove 32c is a quadrangle, the recesses 26 and 27 may also be a quadrangle, and the recesses 26 and 27 are provided in both the cases 21 and 22, but only one of them may be provided.

  In addition, a harness groove 24c into which the wire harness 4 enters the wire extending portion 24 is formed by the harness wall 24d, and when the wire harness 4 extends further in the extending direction, the wire harness 4 is clamped and fixed. A groove 24b is formed by the harness clamping wall 24a. The harness groove 24c is for preventing the wire harness on the side close to the wire extension portion 24 from obstructing the movement of the slider 3 to be described later, so it is not necessary to clamp the wire harness 4 or the like. You can do that. The harness clamping groove 24b clamps and fixes the wire harness 4 and directs it in the direction in which the wire harness 4 is to be routed. In the present embodiment, the harness holding groove 24b is formed in a U-turn shape so as to be parallel to the direction in which the wire harness is pulled out. be able to.

  In addition, when the harness holding groove 24b is formed in a U-turn shape as in the present embodiment, the frictional force between the wire harness 4 and the harness holding wall 24a increases, so that the harness holding groove 24b is obtained in order to obtain a sufficient holding force. This is preferable because it is not necessary to increase the dimensional accuracy. Moreover, you may provide the unevenness | corrugation which the corrugated tube convex 42a and the corrugated tube concave 42b of the wire harness 4 fit.

  In addition, a taper portion 25a is formed in the wire lead-out portion 25, and even if the wire harness 4 is pulled out or absorbed, it contacts the side wall of the wire lead-out portion 25 and is accommodated in the corrugated tube 41. An unreasonable load is not applied to the existing wire, and the corrugated tube protrusion 42a of the corrugated tube 41 is not caught. In addition, it is preferable that the surface of the tapered portion 25a with which the corrugated tube 41 contacts is formed in an arc shape because the load on the corrugated tube 41 and the electric wire 40 is further reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the slider 3 includes a core rod 32, a spring 35 through which the core rod 32 is inserted, and a wire harness holding portion 31. The core rod 32 and the wire harness holding portion 31 are also hard like the case 2. In the present embodiment, the synthetic resin or metal is used and is molded with the synthetic resin.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the core rod 32 is a cylindrical rod body, and a groove 32c composed of an inner flange portion 32a and an outer flange portion 32b and an inner flange portion 32a and an outer flange portion 32b is formed at the end thereof. ing. The inner flange 32a, the outer flange 32b, and the groove 32c may be provided at both ends of the core rod 32, but may be provided only at one end. The groove 32c receives the recesses 26 and 27 provided in the case 2 and fixes the core rod 32 to the case 2 so that the core rod 32 does not move by the inner flange portion 32a and the outer flange portion 32b. The means for fixing the core rod 32 to the case 2 is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that the core rod 32 does not move by the action of the wire harness holding portion 31 and the spring 35 described later. Protrusions or the like that can be fixed in place may be provided. In addition, although the core rod 32 is formed in the column shape, you may change variously not only in this.

  The wire harness holding portion 31 includes a holding portion main body 34 and a holding portion cover 33, and the wire harness 4 is sandwiched between the holding portion main body 34 and the holding portion cover 33 so as to be fixed to an arbitrary portion of the wire harness 4. be able to. The holding portion main body 34 and the holding portion cover 33 are formed with holding concave portions 33b and 34b into which the corrugated tube convex strips 42a of the corrugated tube 41 enter, and holding convex portions 33a and 33b into the corrugated tube concave strips 42b. Yes. The holding recesses 33b and 34b and the holding projections 33a and 34a are formed in both the holding part main body 34 and the holding part cover 33, and the wire harness holding part 31 is corrugated by combining the holding part main body 34 and the holding part cover 33. It can be fixed to the tube 41. The holding unit main body 34 and the holding unit cover 33 are fixed by engaging the locking protrusions 34c provided on the upper and lower sides of the holding unit main body 34 over the locking bars 33d provided on the upper and lower sides of the holding unit cover 33, and engaging the locking holes 33c. However, the present invention is not limited to this as long as the holding unit main body 34 and the holding unit cover 33 do not move after being fixed. The holding recesses 33b and 34b and the holding projections 33a and 34a are provided in both the holding unit main body 34 and the holding unit cover 33 in the present embodiment, but may be provided only in one of them. Further, the holding part main body 34 and the holding part cover 33 may be separate parts as in the present embodiment, but may be connected as a single part by a hinge or the like.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the holding portion main body 34 is provided with a holding concave portion 34b and a spring engaging portion 34e on the opposite side of the holding convex portion 34a, and wraps part of the core rod 32 and the spring 35. The holder main body 34 and the spring 35 are fixed. A locking piece (not shown) or the like is provided inside the spring locking portion 34 e and locks the spring 35. In addition, although the spring latching | locking part 34e is formed in the cylinder shape in this Embodiment, not only this but what kind of shape may be sufficient as long as the holding | maintenance part main body 34 and the spring 35 can be fixed.

  The spring 35 has the core rod 32 inserted inside, one end abutting against the inner flange 32a of the core rod 32 or the inner wall of the case 2, and the other end engaged with the spring locking portion 34e of the wire harness holding portion 31. Stopped. The spring 35 is compressed when the wire harness 4 is pulled out from the wire lead-out portion 25, and when the force to pull out the wire harness 4 is lost, that is, when the wire harness 4 is absorbed, the spring 35 returns to its original shape. .

  The wire harness 4 is composed of an electric wire 40 and a corrugated tube 41 covering the electric wire 40. The electric wire may be an insulation-coated electric wire having a circular cross section, but a flat rectangular conductor is covered with a plastic film or an insulation coating by extrusion coating or the like. Use of the applied flat cable is preferable because the wire harness 4 can be pulled out and absorbed smoothly. In the present embodiment, the corrugated tube 41 covers up to the location of the wire harness holding portion 31 of the electric wire 40, and the location beyond the wire harness holding portion 31 is not covered with the corrugated tube 41. This is because the direct load on the curved portion of the wire harness is eliminated and the corrugated tube 41 need not be protected. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the extent to which the electric wire 40 is covered with the corrugated tube 41 may be variously changed. . For example, when the extra length absorbing device 1 is attached after the wire harness 4 is routed to the vehicle body such as an automobile, it is not necessary to bother removing a part of the corrugated tube 41 and the electric wire is extended from the electric wire drawing portion 25. The electric wire 40 may be covered with the corrugated tube 41 beyond the portion 24. However, the material cost of the corrugated tube can be reduced by using a structure that is not covered with the corrugated tube 41 at the location beyond the wire harness holding portion 31 as in the present embodiment, and the thickness of the corrugated tube 41 ( In the present embodiment, the case 2 can be reduced in size by the thickness of two corrugated tubes, which is preferable.

  Further, the corrugated tube 41 has corrugated tube protrusions 42a and corrugated tube recesses 42b alternately formed in the circumferential direction, and is excellent in bendability, and the holding recesses 33b and 34b of the wire harness holding part 31 and the holding protrusions. The wire harness holding portion 31 can be gripped and fixed to the corrugated tube 41 by the corrugated tube convex strip 42a and the corrugated tube concave strip 42b entering or meshing with the portions 33a and 34a. The corrugated tube 41 has a substantially elliptical cross section, and is provided with ribs 43 and 43 and a notch 44 between the ribs 43 on one end side of the steep arc portion. It is preferable that the cutout portion 44 is provided in the steep arc portion because workability for accommodating the flat cable in the corrugated tube 41 is improved. That is, the flat cable can be easily accommodated in the corrugated tube 41 by covering the flat cable with the corrugated tube 41. Further, when the rib 43 is provided in the steep arc portion, it is possible to prevent the corrugated tube ridge 42a from rubbing against each other when the wire harness is pulled out and performs an operation such as absorption, thereby generating a sound. preferable.

  Next, an assembling method of the surplus length absorbing device 1 composed of the above will be described. First, the electric wire 40 (flat cable) is inserted into the corrugated tube 41 from the cutout portion 44, and the corrugated tube 41 is put on the electric wire 40 to assemble the wire harness 4. Further, the spring 35 is locked to the holding portion main body 34 of the slider 3, and the core rod 32 is inserted into the spring 35. Next, it attaches to the predetermined | prescribed location (the edge part of the corrugated tube 41 in this Embodiment) of the said wire harness 4 so that it may hold | grip with the holding | maintenance part main body 34 and the holding | maintenance part cover 33. This state is shown in FIG. At this time, the corrugated tube protrusion 42a and the corrugated tube recess 42b of the corrugated tube 41 are engaged with the holding portion main body 34, the holding recesses 33b and 34b of the holding portion cover 33, and the holding protrusions 33a and 34a. Then, the assembly of FIG. 2 is accommodated in the lower case 22. At this time, the wire harness 4 is bent to form the bending portion 40a and the U-turn portion 40b, and the U-turn portion 40b is inserted into the harness holding groove 24b. Then, the upper case 21 is put on the lower case 22, and the upper case 21 and the lower case 22 are fixed by a fixing member (not shown), thereby completing the surplus length absorbing device 1 shown in FIG.

  The surplus length absorbing device 1 configured as described above has a simple structure with fewer parts than the conventional surplus length absorbing device, and can be used in locations where the surplus length absorbing amount is relatively small because manufacturing costs can be reduced. can do.

  Next, the operation of the surplus length absorber 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the surplus length absorber 1.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, when the wire harness 4 is not pulled out by an external force, the spring 35 of the slider 3 is in an open state where no force is applied, and the wire harness 4 is curved. Since the part which is not, ie, the straight part of the corrugated tube, is held so as to be gripped by the wire harness holding part 31 of the slider 3, no load is applied to the wire harness 4 and the curved part 40a of the wire harness 4. . When an external force (symbol P1) such as pulling the wire harness 4 on the wire lead-out portion 25 side is applied from this state, the spring 35 of the slider 3 is compressed in the same direction (symbol P2) as the wire harness 4 is pulled out. The wire harness 4 can be pulled out of the case 2 by the length compressed by the spring 35 while the holding portion 31 moves to the position 3B. Also at this time, since the direct load is not applied to the bending portion 40a of the wire harness 4, the bending portion 40a of the wire harness 4 is not damaged and the operation is smooth. When the external force is lost, the spring 35 is also released, and the wire harness holding portion 31 returns to the original position (3A). With this, the wire harness 4 that has been drawn out of the case 2 is pulled back to absorb the extra length. it can.

  The surplus length absorbing device 1 configured as described above clearly reduces the load on the bending portion of the wire harness as compared with the conventional surplus length absorbing device, and places a load on the bending portion 40a and the like. The electric wires 40 are not damaged due to the concentration of the electric charges.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the surplus length absorber 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which assembled the slider 3 and wire harness 4 of FIG. It is a perspective view of the surplus length absorber 1 which assembled the thing of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the surplus length absorber 1, (a) is the state which has not pulled out the wire harness 4, (b) is the state which pulled out the wire harness 4. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the conventional surplus length absorber. It is a perspective view which shows the other conventional surplus length absorber. It is a perspective view which shows the other conventional surplus length absorber.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Surplus length absorber 2 Case 21 Upper case 22 Lower case 23 Storage part 24 Electric wire extension part 24a Harness clamping wall 24b Harness clamping groove 24c Harness groove 24d Harness wall 25 Electric wire extraction part 25a Taper part 26, 27 Concave part 3 Slider 31 Wire Harness holding portion 32 Core rod 32a Inner flange portion 32b Outer flange portion 32c Groove 33 Holding portion cover 33a Holding protrusion portion 33b Holding recess portion 33c Locking hole 33d Locking bar 34 Holding portion body 34a Holding protrusion portion 34b Holding recess portion 34c Locking protrusion 34e Spring locking part 35 Spring 4 Wire harness 40 Electric wire 40a Curved part 40b U-turn part 41 Corrugated tube 42a Corrugated tube protruding line 42b Corrugated tube recessed line 43 Rib 44 Notch part P1 Direction of external force P2 Direction of spring 35 compression

Claims (2)

And Case 2 where the electric wire 40 is accommodated a portion of the wire harness 4 comprising covered with the corrugated tube 41 slides within the casing 2, and Ri Do from the slider 3 for holding the wire harness 4,
The slider 3 is the holding the straight portions of the corrugated tube 41, the wire harness 4 is extended to the outside of the case 3 at one end of the wire harness 4 is fixed to the casing 3 within the casing 3, the other end that is brought out without being fixed to the casing 3 a surplus length absorbing device 1,
The case 2 is formed with a storage part 23, an electric wire extension part 24, an electric wire extension part 25, and concave parts 26, 27,
A part of the wire harness 4 and the slider 3 are accommodated inside the accommodating part 23,
The slider 3 includes a core rod 32, a spring 35 through which the core rod 32 is inserted, and a wire harness holding portion 31.
An inner flange 32a, an outer flange 32b, and a groove 32c are formed at the end of the core bar 32, and the recesses 26 and 27 and the groove 32c are fitted to fix the slider 3.
The wire harness holding portion 31 includes a holding portion main body 34 and a holding portion cover 33,
The wire harness holding portion 31 is fixed to the corrugated tube 41 by combining the holding portion main body 34 and the holding portion cover 33,
Furthermore, the holding part main body 34 is provided with a spring locking part 34e,
The spring locking portion 34e accommodates a part of the core rod 32 and the spring 35 and fixes the holding portion main body 34 and the spring 35,
The core 35 is inserted into the spring 35, one end abuts against the inner flange 32a of the core 32 or the inner wall of the case 2, and the other end engages with the spring locking portion 34e. A surplus length absorption device characterized by being stopped. The electric wire 40 is composed of a flat cable in which a flat conductor is coated with an insulating coating,
The electric wire extension 24 includes a harness holding wall 24a, a harness holding groove 24b, a harness groove 24c, and a harness wall 24d.
The wire harness 4 enters the harness groove 24c,
Further, in the extending direction of the wire harness 4, the harness holding groove 24b clamps and fixes the wire harness 4, and the harness holding groove 24b is formed in a U-turn shape.
It has excess length absorbing device according to claim 1, wherein the.

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