JPH1118257A - Wire harness retainer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the wiring length of a wire harness, while inhibiting damages, etc., in order to inhibit overse effects on other electric wires. SOLUTION: This retainer 12 is provided with a fist tape winding flat fixing part 14, extended from one part of the outside surface of an annular part 13, and a second tape winding flat fixing part 15 extended from the other part of this ring-shaped part 13 to the opposite side of the first tape winding fixing part 14. Here, the annular part 13 is made more elector to further contract its shape than restoring to the original one. Both ends of the surplus length part 10 of a wire harness W/H are wound and fixed with a tape to the first and second tape winding fixing parts 14, 15, so as to be capable of following the changes in the wiring length of the wire harness W/H.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wire harness holder, and more particularly, to a wire harness which is clamped between an engine and a vehicle body in an engine room so as to be loosened.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, among wire harnesses arranged in an engine room of an automobile, as shown in FIG. 7, one extending from an alternator 3 arranged in front of an engine 2 in an engine room 1 temporarily After passing behind the engine 2, it is connected to the battery 5, the junction box 4 and the like, and is arranged so as to supply electric power.

When connecting the alternator 3 disposed in the front of the engine room to the battery 5 or the junction box 4 similarly disposed in the front of the engine room, the alternator 3 is not detoured to the rear of the engine room.
Wiring on the front side can shorten the wiring path. However, as described above, when the wiring of the wire harness W / H is a path that passes directly from the alternator on the front side to the vehicle body panel, when the engine of the automobile starts, suddenly starts, or suddenly stops, the engine 2 may be driven by inertia. Since the alternator 3 moves slightly (about 30 mm), the alternator 3 moves in conjunction with the engine, and the wire harness W /
There was a possibility that the wire harness might be disconnected due to a tensile force acting on H.

If the wire harness is slackened so as not to be disconnected even when the above-mentioned pulling force acts, the wire harness interferes with peripheral members in a narrow space in front of the engine and the vehicle body, causing damage to the wire harness. There was fear. Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 7, the wire harness has to be routed around the rear side.

[0005] However, as described above, since the wiring harness W / H is routed around the rear side, the dimension of the wiring harness W / H becomes longer, which leads to an increase in cost. In addition, since the section running in parallel with other electric wires is long, there is a problem that noise generated from the alternator 3 tends to have a bad influence.

In view of the above problems, the present applicant has previously provided a holder for a wire harness shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-85399. The retainer 6 closes the excess length of the wire harness W / H wired in the engine room with the cover 8 by passing the extra length of the wire harness W / H through the retaining member 7 having two grooves 7a and 7b. 9
It is fixed with.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The holder 6 having the above-mentioned structure is used.
When the wire harness W / H is pulled, the wire harness W / H can be extended, but cannot be automatically returned. Normally, elongation and contraction act alternately on the wire harness due to engine vibration, but when external force other than engine vibration acts and the force of elongation and contraction does not act on the wire harness alternately, the above-mentioned automatic The problem is not to return. In addition, there is a problem that the length cannot be reduced beyond the set length. Further, the holding member 7
Since the wire harness slides inside the wire harness, the outer peripheral surface of the wire harness is rubbed, and this is repeated, so that there is a problem that the binding tape of the wire harness is apt to be broken.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and after the wire harness is extended by a tensile force, the wire harness is automatically returned to its original state and the excess length is slackened. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wire harness holder that can be contracted further than its original shape.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to a first aspect, wherein a flat plate-shaped first tape winding fixing portion extending from a part of the outer surface of the annular portion is provided. A flat second tape winding fixing portion extending from the other portion facing the first tape winding fixing portion to the opposite side, and the annular portion returns to its original shape after extending to a flat shape, The first and second tape winding fixing portions have both ends of the extra length portion of the wire harness tape-fixed to the first and second tape winding fixing portions so as to follow the expansion and contraction of the wire harness. A wire harness holder is provided.

[0010] The annular portion has an annular shape or a rectangular frame shape.

When the above-mentioned wire harness holder is used, the annular portion has elasticity which automatically returns to the original shape after being extended flattened by a tensile force acting on the wire harness. After stretching, it automatically returns to its original state and shrinks. Therefore, while being able to follow the engine vibration, and even when another external force acts on the wire harness, the wire harness returns to its original state after the pulling force is applied by the engine, so that the wire harness follows the pulling force by the external force. And does not cause damage to the wire harness. Further, even when a large force acts on the wire harness in the compression direction, the annular portion of the holder is bent and deformed from the original shape, the wire harness can be contracted, and the followability of the wire harness can be further improved. .

[0012] The annular portion is connected to both sides where the first and second tape winding portions are extended by a connection frame portion in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the first and second tape winding fixing portions. Preferably (claim 3). By providing the connecting frame portion in this manner, the force for returning to the original state can be increased, and
The strength of the annular portion can be maintained, and the durability can be improved.

The wire harness is routed in an engine room, one end of which is clipped to the engine and the other end is clipped to the body side of the vehicle, and the extra length is provided therebetween. ). Specifically, one end of the wire harness is arranged in front of an engine room to connect an alternator attached to the engine, a battery, and a junction box, and is clipped to the alternator and a vehicle body in front of the engine room. Are provided with extra length portions.

Thus, in the engine room,
The wiring harness is wired along the front side path to reduce the dimensions of the wiring harness compared to the conventional model, and to maintain the above even if the engine is slightly moved so that the wire harness has a slack (excess length) so that disconnection does not occur. With the tool, the wire harness W /
The external force such as the pulling force acting on H is absorbed by the expansion and contraction of the extra length of the wire harness, and the wire harness expanded and contracted by the above external force is quickly absorbed by the elasticity of the holder while absorbing vibration. To the position.
Therefore, the wire harness can be held so as not to interfere with the peripheral member.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 shows the engine room 1 of a car
The engine 2, an alternator 3 attached to the engine 2, a junction box 4, a battery 5, and the like are disposed inside. Engine 2, alternator 3, junction box 4, battery 5
Are electrically connected by electric wires (not shown) arranged in the engine room 1. A plurality of electric wires are bundled, and the outer peripheral portion is covered with a bellows-shaped insulating tube or insulating tape to constitute a wire harness W / H.

A wire harness W / H connecting the alternator 3 and the battery 5 is routed along the front of the engine room, and is fastened to the alternator 3 and the vehicle body in front of the engine room with clips 11A and 11B. In the meantime, the extra length 10 that can follow the engine vibration is provided,
A holder 12 that can follow the expansion and contraction of the wire harness W / H is attached to the extra length portion 10.

The holder 12 of the first embodiment has the structure shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 and is integrally formed of an elastic body such as an elastomer or rubber.
A flat first tape winding fixing portion 14 extending from one end of an outer surface 13a on the long side of the annular portion 13, and a second flat tape extending from the other end of the outer surface 13b of the annular portion 13 facing the other end. The first tape winding fixing part 14 and the second tape winding fixing part 15 extend to the opposite sides.

Since the holding member 12 is formed of an elastic body, the annular portion 13 has elasticity to return to the original shape whose diameter is expanded after extending to a flat shape. Further, when a force acts in a direction to shrink the wire harness from the original state, the annular portion 13 is bent inward and deformed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first tape winding fixing portion 14 of the holder 12 has an extra length 10 of the wire harness W / H.
Is wound around with a tape 16 and fixed, and then, after one rotation, the other end 10b of the extra length portion 10 is wound around with a tape 17 and fixed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the clip 11A is attached by attaching the holder 12 to the wire harness W / H.
And the wire harness W / H locked by 11B,
An extra-length portion 10 having one turn 10a rotated one turn is provided.

Therefore, even if the wire harness W / H is arranged in a narrow space formed in the front part of the engine room 1, the wire harness W / H is held at a fixed position by the holder 12, so that the wire harness W / H comes into contact with peripheral members and is disconnected. There is no problem such as doing.

When the alternator 3 is interlocked when the engine 2 moves and a pulling force acts on the wire harness W / H, the first tape is attached to the holder 12 in the original position shown in FIG. An opposite pulling force acts on the winding fixing portion 14 and the second tape winding fixing portion 15. In response to this pulling force, as shown in FIG. 5B, the annular portion 13 is flattened, and the first and second tape winding fixing portions 14 and 1
5, the wire harness W / H is made to follow the pulling force. When the annular portion 13 is flattened, the extra length portion 10 is reduced in diameter at one winding portion 10a,
It is pulled by the first and second tape winding fixing portions 14 and 15.

On the other hand, when the engine 2 returns to the original position, the annular portion 13 of the holder 12 is resiliently moved to the original position shown in FIG.
It returns to the position shown in FIG.

Further, when a force is applied in the direction to shrink the wire harness W / H when the wire harness W / H is in the original position, FIG.
As shown in (C), the opposing long sides of the annular portion 13 are bent inward, and the first and second tape winding fixing portions 14 and 15 are deformed in a direction in which they approach each other. At this time, the one winding portion 10a of the extra length portion 10 of the wire harness follows while increasing in diameter.

As described above, the annular portion 13 of the holder 12
From the original position, it is flattened and stretched, and from this expanded state, it returns to its original state by elastic force. Further, it flexes from its original position to deform and shrinks, and from this contracted state, it returns to its original state by elastic force. Thus, the first and second tape winding fixing portions 14 and 15
Can be made to follow according to the force applied to the wire harness.

As a result, a large force is not applied to the wire harness at the position locked by the clips 11A and 11B, and no damage is caused to the wire harness. As a result,
The wire harness W / H can be routed in front of the engine room 1, and the dimension of the wire harness W / H is shorter by 200 to 300 mm than in the conventional case where the wire harness W / H is routed behind the engine room 1. It became possible to do.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the holder 12,
The annular portion 13 ′ has a rectangular frame shape,
The first tape winding fixing portion 14 'and the second tape winding fixing portion 15' protrude from a and 23b.

At the center of the rectangular frame-shaped annular portion 13 ', there is provided a connecting frame portion 13c' for connecting the long sides of both sides.

The annular portion 13 'of the holder 12 performs the same operation as the annular portion 12 of the first embodiment, and has a connecting frame portion 13c' in the annular portion 13 '. The force for returning to the original state is large, and the strength can be improved.

[0030]

As is apparent from the above description, since the extra length of the wire harness is held by the holder made of the elastic material, the extra length can be extended by the tensile force applied to the wire harness. At the same time, the excess length can be reduced by the compressive force applied to the wire harness, and since it can be returned to the original state in any of the above-mentioned expanded and contracted, the wire harness can smoothly follow the external force, In addition, it is possible to prevent a problem such as damage due to contact with another member.

Therefore, the wire harness can be disposed even in a narrow space in the front part of the engine room.
Unlike the related art, there is no need to lengthen and detour the wire harness, so that the wire harness can be manufactured at low cost, and the adverse effect of the generated noise on other electric wires can be suppressed.

When the wire harness expands and contracts and returns to its original shape, the wire harness is rubbed by sliding inside the holding member in the conventional example. However, in the present invention, one winding portion of the wire harness is enlarged or reduced in diameter. Therefore, the wire harness is not damaged when the wire harness is expanded or contracted.

Further, the holder of the present invention can be provided at a low cost with a simple shape in which a pair of tape winding fixing portions project from both sides of the annular portion, and there is no need to fix the holder to the body of the vehicle. Since it only needs to be attached to the wire harness, it can be easily implemented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an engine room provided with a wire harness holder of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the holder according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a method of attaching the holder to a wire harness.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a wiring state of the wire harness with the holder attached.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are diagrams showing the operation of the holder.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the holder.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of an engine room showing a wiring state of a wire harness according to a conventional example.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are views showing another conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Extra length part 11A, 11B Clip 12 Holder 13, 13 'Annular part 13c' Connection frame part 14 First tape winding fixing part 15 Second tape winding fixing part W / H Wire harness

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A flat first tape winding fixing portion extending from a part of an outer surface of an annular portion, and extending from another opposing portion of the annular portion to a side opposite to the first tape fixing portion. The annular portion returns to its original shape after extending to a flat shape, and has elasticity to bend and shrink more than the original shape. A wire harness retainer in which both ends of a surplus portion of the wire harness are fixed to the tape winding fixing portion by tape winding so that the wire harness can follow expansion and contraction of the wire harness. 2. The wire harness holder according to claim 1, wherein the annular portion has an annular shape or a rectangular frame shape. 3. The annular portion has two side portions, at which the first and second tape winding portions are extended, in a connection frame portion in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the first and second tape winding fixing portions. The wire harness holder according to claim 1 or 2, which is connected. 4. The wire harness is routed in an engine room, one end of which is clipped to the engine and the other end of which is clipped to the body side of the vehicle, and the extra length portion is provided therebetween. The wire harness holder according to any one of claims 1 to 3.