JP5556729B2 - Wire bundle with terminals - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wire bundle with terminals.

  A large current flows through a wire harness that connects electrical equipment mounted on an electric vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle. For this reason, the covered electric wire which comprises a wire harness uses the thing with a comparatively large cross-sectional area of the core wire which is a conductor.

  However, the covered electric wire is less likely to bend as the cross-sectional area of the core wire increases. For this reason, a wire harness may receive restrictions about the arrangement position in vehicles. In order to solve this, it has been proposed to use a bundle of electric wires having a sufficiently large cross-sectional area by bundling a plurality of covered electric wires having a small core cross-sectional area.

  An electric wire bundle with terminals is obtained by attaching terminals such as crimp terminals to both ends of such an electric wire bundle. In the electric wire bundle with terminals, the terminals are electrically connected to the core wires by contacting the core wires of each of the plurality of electric wires constituting the electric wire bundle.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which a pressure contact connector is attached to a cut-off wire end or a wire portion folded in a U-turn shape.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-29420

  However, as shown in Patent Document 1, in the work of bundling a plurality of separate wires and attaching an electrical component such as a terminal to the end of the wire bundle, the following problems are likely to occur.

  That is, the first problem is that an excess or deficiency in the number of wires bundled easily occurs due to a miscount of the number of wires. If the number of wires in the wire bundle is less than the normal number, excessive heat may be generated due to the passage of current. In addition, when the number of wires in the wire bundle is larger than the normal number, the wiring space, weight, and cost increase.

  Moreover, the 2nd problem is that the connection defect of the core wire and terminal of each electric wire in an electric wire bundle tends to arise. That is, even if the plurality of electric wires configured separately are bundled, a gap is likely to be generated between the bare core wires at their ends. Therefore, when a terminal is attached to the portion of the bare core wire at the end of the wire bundle, a situation where a part of the bare core wire is not sufficiently electrically connected to the terminal tends to occur.

  In particular, when the terminal attached to the end of the wire bundle is a crimp terminal, compared to the case where the terminal is welded, the poor connection between the crimp part and the core wire with respect to the core wire results in poor electrical connection between the terminal and the core wire. Prone to occur.

  Note that the following two situations are included in the situation where the terminals are not sufficiently electrically connected. One of them is a situation in which the bare core wire is not in direct contact with any of the terminal and other bare core wires that are in contact with the terminal. Second, since the bare core wire is only indirectly connected to the terminal via another bare core wire, the electrical connection between the bare core wire and the terminal is caused by an oxide film on the metal surface. There is a large resistance.

  The present invention is an invention made in view of the above problems, and provides an electric wire bundle with a terminal capable of preventing an excess or shortage of the number of electric wires included in an electric wire bundle and an electrical connection failure between a core wire and a terminal of the electric wire. For the purpose.

1st invention is an electric wire bundle with a terminal, consists of one covered electric wire, is folded back more than double along one line connecting two points, and is located at one of the two points In each of the two points , the wire bundle in which the core wire exposed portion, which is the portion where the core wire is exposed from the insulation coating, is formed at both ends of the covered electric wire and at one or more folded portions located at either of the two points. And a terminal attached to the core wire exposed portion of the wire bundle.

  A second invention is a wire bundle with terminals according to the first invention, wherein the terminal is a crimp terminal.

  A third invention is a wire bundle with terminals according to the second invention, wherein the core wire is made of aluminum.

  According to the first invention, the wire bundle is constituted by one covered wire. Therefore, unlike the case where a plurality of separate electric wires are bundled, in the work of producing the electric wire bundle, the excess or deficiency of the number of electric wires included in the electric wire bundle does not occur. Further, in the core wire exposed portions formed at both ends of the wire bundle, the folded portion has a structure in which the first bare core wire forming the forward path and the second bare core wire forming the return path are connected. Therefore, if at least one of the first bare core wire and the second bare core wire is in contact with the terminal for each folded portion, the terminal is electrically connected to both the first bare core wire and the second bare core wire. Is sufficiently secured. As a result, poor connection between the core wire of the electric wire and the terminal hardly occurs.

  According to 2nd invention, it is a terminal which is easy to produce the electrical connection defect of a terminal and a core wire by the contact failure of the crimping | compression-bonding part with respect to a core wire, and a core wire. Therefore, the application of the present invention is particularly effective when the terminal attached to the wire bundle is a crimp terminal.

  According to the third invention, the core wire is made of aluminum. Since the surface of aluminum is easily covered with an oxide film, poor electrical connection between the terminal and the core wire is likely to occur. Therefore, the application of the present invention is particularly effective when the core wire is made of aluminum.

It is a side view of the electric wire bundle 1 with a terminal which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the crimp terminal in the electric wire bundle 1 with a terminal before a crimp terminal is crimped. It is a figure which shows the manufacturing apparatus 90 which manufactures the electric wire bundle 19 with which the electric wire bundle 1 with a terminal is provided. It is a perspective view of the wire bundle 19.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and is not an example of limiting the technical scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a side view of a terminal-attached wire bundle 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal-attached wire bundle 1 includes an electric wire 10 and a crimp terminal 20. In FIG. 1, the wire bundle 19 is simply shown for easy understanding of the configuration.

  The crimp terminal 20 includes an attachment portion 21 and a core wire connection portion 22. The attachment part 21 is a part attached to the electrical equipment to which the wire bundle 1 with terminals is connected. For example, a bolt screw or the like is passed through a bolt hole 23 provided in the attachment portion 21 and is tightened to the electrical equipment, thereby connecting the terminal-attached wire bundle 1 and the electrical equipment.

  The core wire connecting portion 22 is a portion connected to the core wire 11 at the end of the electric wire 10. The core wire connecting portion 22 is crimped in a state where the core wire 11 is fitted into the core wire connecting portion 22. Thereby, the crimp terminal 20 is fixed to the electric wire 10 and is electrically connected. The connection between the crimp terminal 20 and the electric wire 10 in this embodiment will be described in detail later.

  In the present embodiment, the crimp terminal 20 is employed as a terminal. However, the terminal is not necessarily limited to the crimp terminal 20 and is not limited to the form in which the terminal and the electric wire 10 are connected by crimping the terminal. For example, even if the gap between the electric wire 10 fitted in the terminal connection portion and the terminal is filled with solder liquefied by heat and the solder is solidified, the electric wire 10 and the terminal are connected. I do not care. The terminal and the electric wire 10 may be connected by welding.

  The electric wire 10 includes a core wire 11 in which a plurality of strands that are linear conductors are bundled, and an insulating coating 12 made of an insulator that covers the periphery of the core wire 11. Note that an insulating coating made of enamel may be applied to the core wire 11 instead of the insulating coating 12. Moreover, although the core wire 11 is generally comprised with copper or a copper alloy, it may be comprised with aluminum. When the core wire 11 is made of aluminum, it is possible to reduce the weight of the terminal-attached wire bundle 1.

  In the present embodiment, the electric wire bundle 19 is configured by folding one electric wire 10 more than double. In other words, the electric wire bundle 19 has a continuous structure composed of one electric wire 10.

  In order to realize such a structure of the wire bundle 19, the stripping process for removing a part of the insulating coating 12 and exposing the core wire 11 is performed on both ends and other portions of the single wire 10. . These peeling processes are performed by a peeling portion 92 described in detail later. Moreover, the part of the electric wire 10 from which the core wire 11 is exposed by performing the peeling process is hereinafter referred to as a core wire exposed portion 16. The core wire exposed portion 16 is formed at one or more portions of the both ends 17 of the electric wire 10 and an intermediate portion of the electric wire 10 sandwiched between the both ends 17 of the electric wire 10.

  Each of the one or more core wire exposed portions 16 formed in an intermediate portion other than the both end portions 17 of the electric wire 10 is folded and bent to form one or more folded portions 14 in the electric wire 10. The core wire exposed portions 16 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “core wire exposed portions 16a”) at both ends 17 of the electric wire 10 are core wire exposed portions 16 (hereinafter referred to as “core wire exposed portions”) corresponding to the turn-up portion 14. Peeling is performed so as to be approximately half the length of the portion 16b ”. This is because when the core wire exposed portion 16b is folded back in the subsequent process, the length of the folded core wire exposed portion 16b and the length of the core wire exposed portion 16a at both end portions 17 are made equal.

  The electric wire bundle 19 has one or more folded portions 14 and has a structure in which the folded portions 14 are located at both ends. In addition, the core wire exposed part 16a is located in any one of the folding | returning parts 14 which comprise the both ends of the wire bundle 19, without folding | folding.

  FIG. 2 shows a state before the folded portion 14 is fitted into the core wire connecting portion 22 and the core wire connecting portion 22 is crimped in one crimp terminal 20. When one core wire connecting portion 22 is crimped, the folded portion 14 comes into contact with the crimp terminal 20 at the core wire connecting portion 22. Further, in the other crimp terminal 20, the folded portion 14 and both end portions 17 of the electric wire 10 are fitted in the core wire connecting portion 22. By crimping the other core wire connecting portion 22, the folded portion 14 and both end portions 17 of the electric wire 10 come into contact with the crimp terminal 20 at the core wire connecting portion 22. Thus, the crimp terminal 20 is connected to the core wire exposed portions 16a and 16b at the folded portion 14 and the both end portions 17, whereby the terminal-attached electric wire bundle 1 as shown in FIG. 1 is configured.

  As described above, the folded portion 14 has a structure that is folded in a U shape or a V shape, for example. Specifically, the first core wire exposed portion 16 that forms the forward path in the return path and the second core wire exposed section 16 that forms the return path are connected at the end. Since the folded portion 14 has such a structure, when at least one of the first core wire exposed portion 16 and the second core wire exposed portion 16 is connected to the crimp terminal 20, the crimp terminal 20, The electrical connection between the first core wire exposed portion 16 and the second core wire exposed portion 16 is ensured.

  An example of the manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing flow of the electric wire bundle 19 constituting the electric wire bundle 1 with terminals will be described. FIG. 3 shows an example of a manufacturing apparatus 90 for the wire bundle 19. The manufacturing apparatus 90 includes a supply bobbin 91, a peeled portion 92, and a take-up bobbin 93 as main components.

  The supply bobbin 91 is a part that feeds the electric wire 10 toward the peeled part 92 and the take-up bobbin 93. The supply bobbin 91 has a cylindrical structure. In the initial state, the electric wire 10 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the supply bobbin 91.

  The peeling unit 92 is a device that performs a peeling process on the electric wire 10 delivered from the supply bobbin 91. The peeled portion 92 removes the insulating coating 12 on both ends 17 of the electric wire 10 and the insulating coating 12 on the intermediate portion of the electric wire 10 between the both ends 17.

  The winding bobbin 93 is a portion that winds up the electric wire 10 that has been peeled off by the peeling portion 92. The take-up bobbin 93 has a cylindrical structure like the supply bobbin 91 and is connected to a power source such as a motor (not shown). Accordingly, the electric wire 10 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the winding bobbin 93 by the rotation of the winding bobbin 93 accompanying the driving of the power source.

  Next, the flow of manufacturing the wire bundle 19 by the manufacturing apparatus 90 will be described. The electric wire 10 is in a state of being wound around the outer peripheral surface of the supply bobbin 91 in the initial state. One end 17 of the electric wire 10 is taken out from such a supply bobbin 91. The end portion 17 of the extracted electric wire 10 is subjected to a peeling process by the peeling portion 92, whereby the core wire exposed portion 16 a is formed at the end portion 17 of the electric wire 10. The electric wire 10 on which the end portion 17 has been peeled is attached to the peeled portion 92 and fixed and held on the outer peripheral surface of the take-up bobbin 93.

  When the end portion 17 of the electric wire 10 is fixed and held on the winding bobbin 93, driving of a power source such as a motor is started. As a result, the take-up bobbin 93 rotates, and the supply bobbin 91 follows the take-up bobbin 93. For this reason, the electric wire 10 is sequentially fed from the supply bobbin 91 to the take-up bobbin 93, and the take-up bobbin 93 winds the electric wire 10 around the outer peripheral surface of the take-up bobbin 93.

  The peeled portion 92 performs the peeling process of the electric wire 10 at a plurality of positions of the electric wire 10 with a certain interval on the electric wire 10 sent from the supply bobbin 91 to the take-up bobbin 93. Thereby, the core wire exposed portions 16b are formed at a plurality of positions of the electric wire 10.

  Various methods can be employed for peeling the intermediate portion of the electric wire 10 by the peeled portion 92. An example is given below. The blade provided in the peeled portion 92 cuts the insulating coating 12 of the electric wire 10 sent out from the supply bobbin 91 along the circumferential direction, whereby the first cut portion is provided in the electric wire 10. Then, with the first cut portion as one end portion, a second cut portion is provided in the insulating coating 12 of the electric wire 10 along the extending direction of the electric wire 10 from the one end portion. Furthermore, on the other end side of the second cut portion, a third cut portion is provided on the insulating coating 12 of the electric wire 10 along the circumferential direction of the electric wire 10. By providing such a plurality of cut portions in the insulating coating 12 of the electric wire 10, it becomes possible to partially remove the insulating coating 12 in the intermediate portion of the electric wire 10. The peeling process of the intermediate part of the electric wire 10 is performed in this way as an example.

  In this way, the electric wire 10 on which the core wire exposed portion 16 is formed is sequentially wound around the winding bobbin 93. The formed core wire exposed portions 16 are formed at intervals equivalent to half the circumference of the winding bobbin 93 cross section. Therefore, the electric wire 10 wound around the winding bobbin 93 overlaps the even-numbered core wire exposed portion 16 from one end portion 17 of the electric wire 10 and the odd-numbered core wire exposed portion from one end portion 17 of the electric wire 10. 16 is arranged to overlap.

  Subsequently, the peeled portion 92 forms the core wire exposed portion 16 a corresponding to the end portion 17 on the electric wire 10 wound by the winding bobbin 93 for a predetermined number of turns. And the boundary part of the core wire exposed part 16a and the insulation coating 12 in the electric wire 10 is cut, and the electric wire 10 is removed from the take-up bobbin 93 while maintaining the state wound for a predetermined number of turns.

  The core wire exposed portion 16 is folded back at each of the even-numbered core wire exposed portion 16 and the odd-numbered core wire exposed portion 16 from one end 17 of the electric wire 10. In addition, the core wire exposed part 16a in the edge part 17 of the electric wire 10 is arrange | positioned along the folding | turning part 14, without folding | folding. In this way, the wire bundle 19 shown in FIG.

  In such an electric wire bundle 19, the core wire exposed portion 16 a at both ends 17 of the electric wire 10 and the core wire exposed portion 16 b at one or more folded portions 14 are connected to the crimp terminal 20. Thereby, the electric wire bundle 1 with a terminal is comprised.

  As described above, in the electric wire bundle with terminals 1 according to the present embodiment, the electric wire bundle 19 is constituted by one electric wire 10. For this reason, unlike the case where a plurality of separated electric wires are bundled, in the work of producing the electric wire bundle 19, the number of electric wires 10 included in the electric wire bundle 19 is not excessive or insufficient.

  Further, in the core wire exposed portions 16 formed at both ends of the wire bundle 19, the folded portion 14 has a structure in which the first core wire exposed portion 16 that forms the forward path and the second core wire exposed portion 16 that forms the return path are connected. have. For this reason, if at least one of the 1st core wire exposed part 16 and the 2nd core wire exposed part 16 contacts the crimp terminal 20 for every folding | turning part 14, the crimp terminal 20, the 1st core wire exposed part 16, and 2nd The electrical connection with the core wire exposed portion 16 is sufficiently ensured. As a result, poor electrical connection between the core wire 11 of the electric wire 10 and the crimp terminal 20 is unlikely to occur.

  Moreover, the crimp terminal 20 is employ | adopted as the terminal of the electric wire bundle 1 with a terminal which concerns on this embodiment. The crimp terminal 20 is a terminal that is liable to cause an electrical connection failure between the crimp terminal 20 and the core wire 11 due to a contact failure between the core wire connection portion 22 and the core wire 11 with respect to the core wire 11. For this reason, when the crimp terminal 20 is attached as a terminal of the wire bundle 1 with a terminal, it is especially effective to apply this invention.

  Moreover, aluminum can be employ | adopted for the core wire 11 of the electric wire 10 which comprises the electric wire bundle 1 with a terminal which concerns on this embodiment. Since the surface of aluminum is easily covered with an oxide film, the electrical resistance of aluminum increases due to the oxide film. For this reason, even if the core wire exposed portion 16 is indirectly connected to the crimp terminal 20 via the other core wire exposed portion 16, an electrical connection failure between the core wire exposed portion 16 and the crimp terminal 20 tends to occur. For this reason, when aluminum is employ | adopted as the core wire 11 of the electric wire bundle 1 with a terminal, it is especially effective to apply this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric wire bundle with a terminal 10 Electric wire 11 Core wire 14 Folding part 16 Core wire exposed part 17 End part 19 Electric wire bundle 20 Crimp terminal

Claims (3)

It consists of one covered electric wire and is folded back more than double along one line connecting two points, and is located at either end of the covered electric wire located at either of the two points and at either of the two points in one or more folded portions which, a wire bundle that the exposed core part is formed core is partially exposed from the insulating coating, and wherein attached to the exposed core portion terminal of the wire bundle in each of the two points ,
A wire bundle with terminals comprising: A wire bundle with terminals according to claim 1,
The terminal is a crimped terminal, a wire bundle with terminals. A wire bundle with terminals according to claim 2,
The said core wire is a wire bundle with a terminal comprised with the aluminum.

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