JP5721421B2 - Wire harness - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wire harness that is wired to an instrument panel, a door panel, or the like of a vehicle.

  Various electrical components are attached to an instrument panel or a door panel of a vehicle such as an automobile, and a wire harness is connected to these electrical components for power supply or the like.

  In this wire harness, a plurality of branch lines are branched, and connectors that are connected to various electrical components, meters, control devices, and the like are provided on these branch lines (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, as a connector used in wire harnesses, etc., by molding the molten resin in a secondary molding to a connector part that is a primary molded product in which a terminal connected to a cable is integrated by insert molding, a short at the time of molding It is known to suppress shots and deformation (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2005-153822 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-19937

  When wiring the wire harness described in Patent Document 1 to a vehicle, the wire harness must be fixed to a reinforcing member of the vehicle body, and a plurality of connectors must be connected to the electrical equipment. Needed.

  In the center of the instrument panel of the vehicle, there is a center cluster in which many electrical devices such as audio devices and air-conditioning operation units are arranged. Many electrical devices and wire harnesses are connected by many connectors. Connected. Therefore, in this center cluster, the operator connects the connectors to be connected to each other with both hands and connects them one by one, and the connection work is extremely complicated, and it has been desired to simplify the work.

  Here, it is conceivable to use a technique described in Patent Document 2 to mold a plurality of connectors of the wire harness with a resin, thereby facilitating connection of the plurality of connectors together. However, even in this case, apart from the work of attaching the wire harness to the reinforcing member, the connection work must be performed by holding the connectors to be connected to each other with both hands.

  In addition, in order to perform the connection work with the electrical equipment, the branch line provided with each connector must secure an extra length in consideration of workability. Therefore, the required cable length becomes longer and the wire becomes longer. There is a problem that the cost of the harness increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an economical wire harness that can be attached and wired to a member to be wired very easily.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a wire harness according to the present invention is characterized by any one of (1) to (5) below.
(1) A wire harness having a trunk line in which a plurality of cables are bundled, a branch line branched from the trunk line, and a standby connector connected to the branch line, and is attached to a long-shaped wiring member. And
The trunk line is covered and integrated by a mold body made of resin,
A connecting portion comprising a pair of support block portions integrally formed with the mold body and a support panel that is partially embedded in the support block portion and fixed between the support block portions to support the standby connector. It is provided in.
(2) In the wire harness having the configuration of (1), the support block portion receives a load when the mating connector is connected to the standby connector.
(3) In the wire harness configured as described in (1) above, the support block portion has a load receiving surface that comes into contact with the member to be wired, and a load when the mating connector is connected to the standby connector receives the support. It is received by the member to be wired through the block portion.
(4) In the wire harness having any one of the configurations (1) to (3), the standby connector can be displaced in a direction orthogonal to the connection direction of the counterpart connector with respect to the support panel. about.
(5) In the wire harness having any one of the constitutions (1) to (4), the mold body is a foam mold body obtained by foaming foam beads.

In the wire harness having the above configuration (1), the support panel for supporting the standby connector is embedded and fixed in the support block portion of the connection portion provided integrally with the molded body that covers and integrates the trunk line. By fixing the mold body to a member to be wired such as a vehicle, the standby connectors can be collectively attached to the member to be wired. This eliminates the need for attaching the standby connector in the field, and makes it possible to attach and wire the wiring member very easily.
In addition, since it is possible to connect each other's connector simply by pushing the mating connector into the standby connector attached to the member to be wired, compared to what the operator holds and connects the standby connector and the counterpart connector respectively. Further, complicated connection work can be eliminated, and even if the insertion force required at the time of connection increases due to the multi-polarization, the connection can be easily made. In addition, even if the insertion force required at the time of connection becomes large, it can be easily connected. Therefore, a multi-connecting structure in which one connector is connected to one standby connector by multi-connecting multiple connectors together. However, these can be easily connected. In addition, it is not necessary to secure an extra length for the connection work with the counterpart connector, so that the cost can be reduced and it is economical.
In the wire harness having the configuration (2), the load received from the counterpart connector when the counterpart connector is connected to the standby connector of the connection portion is received by the support block portion. Thereby, the structure of a support block part can be simplified.
In the wire harness having the above configuration (3), when the mating connector is connected to the standby connector of the connecting portion, the load received from the mating connector is received by the wiring member via the support block portion. As a result, the support block portion can be prevented from being damaged by the connection load, and the mating connector can be easily connected to the standby connector of the connection portion without the operator holding the wire harness by hand and receiving the connection load. be able to.
In the wire harness having the above configuration (4), the standby connector can be displaced in the direction orthogonal to the connection direction of the counterpart connector with respect to the support panel, so that there is a slight amount between the counterpart connector and the standby connector. Even if there is a misalignment, the standby connector is displaced according to the counterpart connector, so that the counterpart connector and the standby connector can be reliably connected.
In the wire harness having the configuration (5), since the mold body is a foamed mold body obtained by foaming foamed beads, a significant weight reduction can be achieved.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can attach and wire to a to-be-wired member very easily, and can provide an economical wire harness.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the modes for carrying out the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a lean hose in an instrument panel to which a wire harness according to an embodiment is attached, FIG. 1 (a) is a top view of the lean hose, and FIG. 1 (b) is a diagram of the lean hose. It is sectional drawing. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating a self-fit connection part of the wire harness according to the embodiment, in which FIG. 2A is a perspective view seen from the front side when the center cluster connector is not connected, and FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the front side at the time of connection of a center cluster connector. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing a self-fit connection part of the wire harness according to the embodiment, in which FIG. 3A is a perspective view seen from the rear side when the center cluster connector is not connected, and FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the back side at the time of connection of a center cluster connector. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating a self-fit connection portion before the wire harness according to the embodiment is attached to the lean hose, in which FIG. 4A is a perspective view seen from the front side, and FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the side. Drawing 5 is a figure showing a self-fit connection part before attachment to a lean hose of a wire harness concerning an embodiment, and Drawing 5 (a) is a front view and Drawing 5 (b) is a rear view. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the standby connector and its periphery. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a part of a mold for explaining a mold for molding the foam mold body. 8A and 8B are views showing a part of a lower mold for molding the foam mold body, in which FIG. 8A is a perspective view and FIG. 8B is a plan view. FIGS. 9A and 9B are views showing a state in which the standby connector mounted on the cable and the support panel is set in the lower mold. FIG. 9A is a perspective view and FIG. 9B is a plan view. It is a perspective view of a part of the lower mold after molding of the foam mold body.

  Hereinafter, examples of embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a lean hose in an instrument panel to which a wire harness according to an embodiment is attached, FIG. 1 (a) is a top view of the lean hose, and FIG. 1 (b) is a cross section of the lean hose. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a self-fit connecting portion of the wire harness according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2A is a perspective view seen from the front side when the center cluster connector is not connected, FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view seen from the front side when the center cluster connector is connected, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a self-fit connection part of the wire harness according to the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 3 (b) is a perspective view seen from the rear side when the center cluster connector is connected, and FIG. 4 is a view before attaching the wire harness according to the embodiment to the lean hose. FIG. 4A is a perspective view seen from the front side, FIG. 4B is a perspective view seen from the rear side, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the wire harness according to the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the self-fit connection part before the attachment to a lean hose, Comprising: Fig.5 (a) is a front view, FIG.5 (b) is a rear view, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a standby connector and its periphery.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the wire harness 11 has an electric wire connected to an instrument or the like around an automobile instrument panel, and the length of a lean hose R that is a vehicle body reinforcing member. It is routed along the direction. The lean hose R includes a lean hose body 13 made of a conductive steel pipe extending in the vehicle width direction, and a plurality of brackets (not shown) fixed to the lean hose body 13. The wire harness 11 is integrated with a foamed mold body 16 made of foamed resin. The wire harness 11 has a plurality of branch lines 18 drawn from the foamed molded body 16, and various connectors 19 are provided on the branch lines 18. These connectors 19 are connected to instruments around the instrument panel. The foamed mold body 16 includes a main body 21 extending along the lean hose R, and a self-fit connecting portion (connecting portion) 22 provided at the center of the main body 21.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 (a), 2 (b), 3 (a), and 3 (b), a main line 24 is embedded in the main body 21 of the foam molded body 16. The trunk line 24 is composed of a plurality of cables 15 bundled together, and the branch line 18 is composed of one or a plurality of cables 15 branched from the trunk line 24.

  A center cluster connector (mating connector) 20 is connected to the self-fit connecting portion 22. This center cluster connector 20 has a fitting recess 20a whose front end is opened, and wirings connected to many electrical equipment such as audio equipment and air conditioning operation section provided in the center of the instrument panel of the vehicle are gathered. It is connected.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 (a), 4 (b), 5 (a), and 5 (b), the self-fit connecting portion 22 has a pair of support block portions 23 that are spaced apart from each other. These support block portions 23 are formed integrally with the main body portion 21. These support block parts 23 are projected to the arrangement side of the lean hose (wired member) R with respect to the main body part 21, so that these support block parts 23 are on the main body part 21 side. A load receiving surface 23a with which the lean hose R abuts is formed on the rear end side.

  A support panel 25 is provided between the support block portions 23. As shown in FIG. 6, the support panel 25 is molded from a resin such as plastic, for example, and has a panel portion 26 and side plate portions 27 formed at both ends of the panel portion 26. . These side plate portions 27 are embedded in the support block portion 23, whereby the support panel 25 is provided integrally with the support block portion 23. Further, the side plate portion 27 is formed with a protrusion 27 a along the connection direction of the center cluster connector 20, and in the guide groove 20 b formed on the side surface of the center cluster connector 20 when connected to the self-fit connection portion 22. The protrusion 27a of the side plate portion 27 is inserted, whereby the center cluster connector 20 is positioned and guided to the self-fit connection portion 22.

  A rectangular window portion 26 a is formed at the center of the panel portion 26, and the panel portion 26 is disposed on the main body portion 21 side. A standby connector 19a is inserted into the window portion 26a of the panel portion 26 from the main body portion 21 side. The standby connector 19a is connected to a branch line 18 for the center cluster drawn from the trunk line 24. The standby connector 19a has locking pieces 29a extending rearward and bent sideways on both side portions of the housing 29. When the standby connector 19a is inserted into the window portion 26a of the panel portion 26, The stop piece 29a is locked to the edge of the window portion 26a, and movement in the insertion direction into the window portion 26a is restricted. Further, the housing 29 of the standby connector 19a is formed with tapered surfaces 29b on both side portions at the tip thereof, whereby the housing 29 is tapered.

  A locking member 30 is attached to the standby connector 19a on the rear side in the insertion direction with respect to the window portion 26a. This locking member 30 has locking plate portions 30a arranged on the front and back of the housing 29, and claw portions 30b are formed on these locking plate portions 30a. When the standby connector 19a is inserted into the window portion 26a until the locking piece 29a locks the edge of the window portion 26a, the claw portions 30b of the locking plate portions 30a of the locking member 30 are connected to the panel portion 26. The edge part of the window part 26a is latched. As a result, the standby connector 19a is held in the support panel 25 with a certain amount of backlash while being inserted into the window portion 26a of the panel portion 26, and thus the center cluster connector 20 which is the surface direction of the panel portion 26. It is possible to displace in a direction orthogonal to the connection direction.

  The foamed mold body 16 is made of foamed polystyrene in which a plurality of foamed beads are foamed and integrated in a mold in which the wire harness 11 is set. The foamed molded body 16 is integrated into a state where a plurality of cables 15 are bundled to form a wire harness 11.

  The wire harness 11 is attached to the lean hose R with the main body portion 21 disposed on the lower side thereof. Then, the support block part 23 which comprises the self-fit connection part 22 will be in the state which the load receiving surface 23a of the rear end side contact | abutted to the lean hose R (refer Fig.1 (a)-FIG.3 (b)).

  In this state, when the operator pushes the center cluster connector 20 into the self-fit connection portion 22, the center cluster connector 20 is inserted into the guide groove 20b by the protrusion 27a of the side plate portion 27 of the support panel 25. It is guided toward the standby connector 19a. The standby connector 19a of the self-fit connecting portion 22 is fitted and connected to the fitting recess 20a of the center cluster connector 20 while being guided and positioned by the tapered surface 29b. At this time, the standby connector 19 a is held so as to be displaceable in a direction orthogonal to the connection direction of the center cluster connector 20, which is the surface direction of the panel portion 26 of the support panel 25, and therefore the fitting recess 20 a of the center cluster connector 20. It fits securely while being displaced with respect to. As described above, when the center cluster connector 20 is connected to the self-fit connection portion 22, the load received from the center cluster connector 20 is via the support block portion 23 in which the load receiving surface 23a is in contact with the lean hose R. Can be received by lean hose R. As a result, the operator can easily connect the center cluster connector 20 to the self-fit connection portion 22 without holding the wire harness 11 by hand and receiving the connection load.

  Next, the case where the foaming mold body 16 having the self foot connecting portion 22 holding the standby connector 19a is molded will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a part of a mold for explaining a mold for molding the foam mold body, and FIG. 8 is a view showing a part of a lower mold for molding the foam mold body. FIG. FIG. 8B is a plan view, FIG. 9 is a view showing a state in which the standby connector mounted on the cable and the support panel is set in the lower mold, FIG. 9A is a perspective view, FIG. b) is a plan view, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a part of the lower mold after the foamed mold body is molded.

  First, as shown in FIG. 7, a lower mold 31 and an upper mold 51 for molding the foamed mold body 16 are prepared.

  As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the lower mold 31 has a cable routing groove 32, and the cable routing groove 32 includes a trunk 24 portion of the wire harness 11. Cable 15 is routed. In the cable routing groove 32, a plurality of cable support portions 33 for arranging the cable 15 to be routed at a position floating from the bottom surface of the cable routing groove 32 are spaced in the longitudinal direction of the cable routing groove 32. It is provided with a gap. The cable support portion 33 includes a support plate portion 34 erected from the bottom surface of the cable routing groove portion 32 and a support bar portion 35 extending upward from both sides of the support plate portion 34. The cable 15 is routed between the support bar portions 35. As a result, the cable 15 is disposed at a substantially central position in the width direction of the cable routing groove 32 by the support bar portion 35, and is spaced from the bottom surface of the cable routing groove 32 by the support plate portion 34. Arranged in the open position.

  The lower mold 31 has a pair of support block molding recesses 41, and the support block portion 23 is molded by these support block molding recesses 41. A connector housing recess 42 is formed between the support block molding recesses 41. A panel housing groove 43 is formed between the connector housing recess 42 and the support block molding recess 41, and a branch wire housing groove between the connector housing recess 42 and the cable routing groove 32. 44 is formed.

  When the lower mold 31 and the upper mold 51 are prepared, the cable 15 of the wire harness 11 is routed in the lower mold 31 as shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b). Specifically, the cable 15 constituting the trunk line 24 of the wire harness 11 is routed in the cable routing groove 32 and supported by the cable support 33. Further, the side plate portion 27 of the support panel 25 holding the standby connector 19a is accommodated in the support block molding concave portion 41, the panel portion 26 is accommodated in the panel accommodating groove portion 43, and the standby connector 19a is accommodated in the connector accommodating concave portion 42. Further, the branch line 18 branched from the main line 24 and connected to the standby connector 19a is accommodated in the branch line accommodating groove 44.

  In this state, the upper mold 51 is covered from above the lower mold 31. The upper mold 51 has a recess 52 at a molding location of the foam mold body 16. Therefore, when the upper mold 51 is put on the lower mold 31, the cable routing mold groove 32, the support block molding recess 41 and the recess 52 are formed between the lower mold 31 and the upper mold 51. A molding space is formed.

  Next, the lower mold 31 and the upper mold 51 are set in a molding apparatus (not shown) and clamped, and in this state, in the molding space formed by the lower mold 31 and the upper mold 34. The foam beads are filled with air. Here, the foamed beads to be filled are made to be about the size of rice grains by primary foaming of particulate polypropylene beads. The foam beads may be filled in the molding space before setting the lower mold 31 and the upper mold 51 in the molding apparatus.

  In this state, the foam beads in the molding space are heated to about 140 ° C. to be foamed. As a result, the foamed beads that have been heated and foamed are fused to each other. Therefore, the support block portion 23 is provided, and a support panel 25 that holds the standby connector 19a is integrated with the support block portion 23. 22 is molded integrally. After cooling, the lower mold 31 and the upper mold 51 are taken out from the molding apparatus, the upper mold 51 is removed from the lower mold 31 and the foamed mold body 16 is extracted from the lower mold 31 as shown in FIG.

  As a result, the wire harness 11 is obtained in which the periphery of the plurality of cables 15 bundled together is covered and integrated with the foamed mold body 16, and the wire harness 11 has a support panel for holding the standby connector 19a. A self-fit connecting portion 22 in which 25 is fixed to the support block portion 23 is integrally provided.

  As described above, according to the wire harness according to the present embodiment, the standby connector is provided on the support block portion 23 of the self-fit connection portion 22 provided integrally with the foamed mold body 16 that covers and integrates the trunk line 24. Since the support panel 25 that supports 19a is embedded and fixed, the standby connector 19a can also be attached to the lean hose R in a lump by fixing the foamed molded body 16 to the lean hose R of a vehicle or the like. This eliminates the need for attaching the standby connector 19a in the field, and makes it possible to attach and wire the lean hose R very easily.

  Further, since the connectors can be connected to each other simply by pushing the center cluster connector 20 into the standby connector 19a attached to the lean hose R, the operator holds and connects the standby connector 19a and the center cluster connector 20 respectively. Complicated connection work can be made unnecessary compared with what is made to do. Further, even if the insertion force required at the time of connection is increased, it can be easily connected. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, a large number of connectors are combined to be multipolarized, so that one standby connector 19a has one. These can be easily connected as a collective connection structure to which the center cluster connector 20 is connected.

  In addition, it is not necessary to secure a surplus length for the connection work with the center cluster connector 20, so that the cost can be reduced and it is economical.

  Further, when the center cluster connector 20 is connected to the standby connector 19 a of the self-fit connection portion 22, the load received from the center cluster connector 20 is received by the lean hose R via the support block portion 23. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the support block portion 23 from being damaged by the connection load, and the center cluster connector 20 can be connected to the self-fit connection portion 22 without the operator holding the wire harness 11 by hand and receiving the connection load. It can be easily connected to the standby connector 19a.

  In addition, since the standby connector 19a is displaceable with respect to the support panel 25 in a direction perpendicular to the connection direction of the center cluster connector 20 which is the surface direction of the panel portion 26, the center cluster connector 20 and the standby connector 19a. Even if there is a slight misalignment between the center cluster connector 20 and the standby connector 19a, the standby connector 19a is displaced in accordance with the center cluster connector 20, so that the center cluster connector 20 and the standby connector 19a can be reliably connected.

  In the above embodiment, the rear end surface of the support block portion 23 in which the support panel 25 is embedded is the load receiving surface 23 a that is in contact with the lean hose R. However, a portion extending to the rear end of the support block portion 23 is formed on the panel portion 26 of the support panel 25, and the extended hose portion 26 receives the load at the time of connection with the lean hose R. You may make it not touch.

  Further, since the foamed mold body 16 is obtained by foaming foamed beads, the weight can be significantly reduced as compared with a general resin mold.

  In addition, since the foamed molded body 16 made of foamed resin has a smaller adhering force to the cable 15 than a general resin mold, the coefficient of thermal expansion between the cable 15 and the foamed molded body 16 during cooling curing after molding. The tension applied due to the difference can be suppressed as much as possible. Thereby, the malfunction to the cable 15 and the foaming mold body 16 by the tension | tensile_strength at the time of cooling curing being provided can be eliminated.

  Moreover, since tension during cooling curing is suppressed, the foamed mold body 16 can be integrated along the longitudinal direction of the cable 15.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to consider the tension during cooling curing, it is possible to eliminate the need for complicated confirmation work of the compatibility between the cable 15 and the foamed resin, thereby facilitating the production.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably including a manufacturing method. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

11 Wire harness 15 Cable 16 Foam molded body (mold body)
18 Branch line 19a Standby connector 20 Center cluster connector (mating connector)
22 Self-fit connection (connection)
23 Support block 23a Load receiving surface 24 Trunk line 25 Support panel R Lean hose (wired member)

Claims (5)

A wire harness that has a trunk line in which a plurality of cables are bundled, a branch line branched from the trunk line, and a standby connector connected to the branch line, and is attached to a longitudinally-shaped wiring member,
The trunk line is covered and integrated by a mold body made of resin,
A connecting portion comprising a pair of support block portions integrally formed with the mold body and a support panel that is partially embedded in the support block portion and fixed between the support block portions to support the standby connector. The wire harness characterized by being provided in.   The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the support block portion receives a load when the counterpart connector is connected to the standby connector.   The support block portion has a load receiving surface that comes into contact with the wired member, and a load when the mating connector is connected to the standby connector is received by the wired member via the support block portion. The wire harness according to claim 1, characterized in that:   The wire harness according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the standby connector is displaceable with respect to the support panel in a direction orthogonal to a connection direction of a counterpart connector.   The wire harness according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the mold body is a foam mold body obtained by foaming foam beads.

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