Abstract:
A power supply apparatus for sliding door includes a flat cable for electrically connecting devices on a side of vehicle body to the devices on a side of a sliding door mounted on the vehicle body so as to be able to be slid, a vehicle body side fixing portion for fixing the flat cable on the vehicle body; and a door side fixing portion for fixing the flat cable on the sliding door, wherein the flat cable is extracted from the vehicle body side fixing portion and the door side fixing portion in the substantially same direction which is substantially parallel to the sliding directions of the sliding door, and the width direction of the flat cable is maintained to be substantially vertical.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a US national stage filing of patent cooperation treaty (PCT) Appln. No. PCT/JP2008/062710 (WO 2009/016953), filed Jul. 14, 2008, which claims priority to Japanese patent application No. 2007-196603, filed on Jul. 27, 2007, the entire content of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    This invention relates to a power supply apparatus for sliding door for supplying power and for transmitting signals from a vehicle body side of an automobile to devices within the sliding door in full time. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0003]    Such devices as power window motors, switches, speakers and the like are incorporated into the sliding door which is used in a one box car, a wagon car or the like. In order to supply power and to transmit commands or the like from the vehicle body side to these devices, it must be designed that a wire harness is arranged to run from the vehicle body side to the sliding door side. The wire harness which is exposed outside between the vehicle body and the sliding door to be moved while the sliding door is opening and closing in the prescribed directions (It is simply described as sliding directions below. In general, these are mostly the front direction and rear direction of the vehicle body) is required to be able to flexibly follow the movement of the sliding door without contacting the vehicle body or the sliding door. 
         [0004]    The sliding door is mounted, for example, through three arms which are provided in the upper end, the lower end, and the rear center of the sliding door so as to be able to respectively move along rails provided on the vehicle side. In the case that the wire harness which is arranged to run between the vehicle body and the sliding door sags downward while the sliding door is opening and closing, the wire harness is likely to be wore down or to be broken by hitting the vehicle body or the sliding door, or by contacting the arm provided in the lower end. 
         [0005]    Therefore, a round wire having high flexibility which is used as a wire harness and is received in the cable guide, for example, described in the patent document 1, is conventionally used. Mechanically, the cable guide is prevented from sagging in the vertical direction by gravity and is able to flexibly bend in the horizontal direction. 
         [0006]    Furthermore, as a wire harness which is able to be prevented from sagging without the cable guide, for example, the flat cable described in the patent document 2 is known. Since the thickness of the flat cable is small enough in comparison to the width of the flat cable, when the flat cable is arranged to run so that the width direction corresponds to the vertical direction, the flat cable is hard to be bent in the vertical direction, but is able to be flexibly bent in the horizontal direction. 
         [0007]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , in Patent Document 2, the width direction of the flat cable  900  is arranged to be the substantially vertical direction and, in the fixing portion  911  for fixing the flat cable  900  on the vehicle body  910 , the flat cable  900  is arranged to run in the direction substantially vertical to the sliding directions and fixed, and, in the fixing portion  921  for fixing the flat cable  900  on the sliding door  920 , the flat cable  900  is arranged to run in the direction substantially parallel to the sliding directions and fixed. The running direction of the flat cable  900  in the fixing portion  911  is arranged to be substantially vertical to the sliding directions, and hereby the flat cable  900  is enabled to flexibly move in the sliding directions inside the fixing portion  911 . 
         [0008]    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication 2004-34759 
         [0009]    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication 2007-83854 
       DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     Problems to be Solved by the Invention 
       [0010]    However, in the power supply apparatus for sliding door described in the patent document 2, since the flat cable is extracted from the vehicle body in the direction substantially vertical to the sliding directions, the flat cable is largely bent in vicinity of the center portion of the length direction while the sliding door is opening and closing and the width direction of the flat cable tends to be shifted from the vertical direction in this configuration. Especially, since the flat cable is bent (in S-shape) in such a manner that the curvature is reversed, the flat cable is hard to be supported so that the width direction is maintained to be substantially vertical by the fixing portions  911  and  921 . 
         [0011]    There is a problem that, when the width direction of the flat cable is shifted from the vertical direction, the flat cable is hard to be supported because of its weight and sags downward in vicinity of the center portion of the length direction by gravity. 
         [0012]    Furthermore, there is a problem that, in the bent portion of the flat cable, the sharper the curvature of the flat cable is, the more the flat cable tends to sag in the bent portion. 
         [0013]    Therefore, the present invention is proposed to solve the problems described above, whose purpose is to provide the power supply apparatus for sliding door in capable of preventing the flat cable from sagging. 
       Means to Solve the Problems 
       [0014]    The first embodiment of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the present invention includes a flat cable for electrically connecting the vehicle body to the sliding door mounted on the vehicle body so as to be slidable, a vehicle body side fixing portion for fixing the flat cable on the vehicle body, and a door side fixing portion for fixing the flat cable on the sliding door, and is characterized in that the flat cable is extracted from the vehicle body side fixing portion and the door side fixing portion in the same direction which is substantially parallel to the sliding directions of the sliding door and the width direction of the flat cable corresponds to the substantially vertical direction. 
         [0015]    The other embodiment of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the present invention is characterized in that the first cable bend restricting portion and the second cable bend restricting portion for turning the flat cable are respectively provided on the respective extracting sides of the vehicle body side fixing portion and the door side fixing portion, and, when the flat cable is bent, the amount of curvature of the flat cable is restricted by the first cable bend restricting portion and the second cable bend restricting portion. 
         [0016]    The other embodiment of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the present invention is characterized in that the flat cable is bent by the first cable bend restricting portion and the second cable bend restricting portion with curvature radius larger than the tolerance. 
         [0017]    The other embodiment of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the present invention is characterized in that the flat cable is extracted from the vehicle body side fixing portion and the door side fixing portion in the closing direction of the sliding door. 
         [0018]    The other embodiment of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the present invention is characterized in that the flat cable is extracted from the vehicle body side fixing portion and the door side fixing portion in the opening direction of the sliding door. 
         [0019]    The other embodiment of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the present invention is characterized in that, when the sliding door is fully closed, the flat cable is turned by the second cable bend restricting portion and is arranged to substantially linearly run to the vehicle body side fixing portion and, when the sliding door is fully opened, the flat cable is turned by the first cable bend restricting portion and arranged to substantially linearly run to the door side fixing portion. 
         [0020]    The other embodiment of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the present invention is characterized in that, when the sliding door is fully closed, the flat cable is turned by the first cable bend restricting portion and is arranged to substantially linearly run to the door side fixing portion and, when the sliding door is fully opened, the flat cable is turned by the second cable bend restricting portion and arranged to substantially linearly run to the vehicle body side fixing portion. 
         [0021]    The other embodiment of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the present invention is characterized in that the flat cable is received in the corrugated tube, at least, between the vehicle body side fixing portion and the door side fixing portion. 
       EFFECT OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    As described above, in use of the present invention, the power supply apparatus for sliding door in capable of preventing the flat cable from sagging can be provided. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  is a plan view schematically illustrating the configuration of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the first embodiment (when the sliding door is fully closed). 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  is a plan view schematically illustrating the configuration of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the first embodiment (when the sliding door is fully opened). 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating the movement of the flat cable while the sliding door is opening and closing. 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view illustrating one example of the corrugated tube. 
           [0027]      FIG. 5  is a plan view schematically illustrating the mechanism of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the first embodiment, which is used in the sliding door of the right side face of the vehicle body. 
           [0028]      FIG. 6  is a plan view schematically illustrating the configuration of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the second embodiment. 
           [0029]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view illustrating the conventional power supply apparatus for sliding door. 
       
    
    
     EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
       [0030]      100 ,  200 ,  300  the power supply apparatus for sliding door 
         [0031]      110  the flat cable 
         [0032]      120  the vehicle body 
         [0033]      121 ,  321  the vehicle body side fixing portion 
         [0034]      122 ,  322  the first cable bend restricting portion 
         [0035]      130 ,  230  the sliding door 
         [0036]      131 ,  331  the door side fixing portion 
         [0037]      132 ,  332  the second cable bend restricting portion 
         [0038]      140  the corrugated tube 
         [0039]      141  the rib 
         [0040]      900  the flat cable 
         [0041]      910  the vehicle body 
         [0042]      911 ,  921  connecting portion 
         [0043]      920  the sliding door 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0044]    The configuration of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is explained in detail with reference to the drawings. And, in order to simplify the illustration and the explanation, each component having the same function is denoted by the same reference numeral. 
         [0045]      FIGS. 1 and 2  are plan views schematically illustrating the configuration of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The status that the sliding door  130  is fully closed to the vehicle body  120  (full-closed status) and the status that the sliding door  130  is fully opened (full-opened status) are respectively shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  in which the sliding door  130  and the part of vehicle body  120  in vicinity of the sliding door  130  are illustrated. In the drawings, the left side of the vehicle body  120  is illustrated from an overhead point of view. Namely, the left sides of the drawings correspond to the front direction of the vehicle body  120  and the right sides of the drawings correspond to the rear direction of the vehicle body  120 , and the sliding door  130  provided in the left side face of the vehicle body  130  is illustrated as an example. The sliding door  130  is mounted on the vehicle body  120 , for example, through the arms or the like which are not depicted in the drawings so as to be slidable, and is slid in the front direction and rear direction of the vehicle body  120 . 
         [0046]    The power supply apparatus for sliding door  100  according to the present embodiment which is provided in the lower side of vehicle body of the sliding door opening portion, includes a flat cable  110 , a vehicle body side fixing portion  121  and the first cable bend restricting portion  122  provided in the vehicle body  120 , and a sliding door side fixing portion  131  and the second cable bend restricting portion  132  provided in the sliding door  130 . The flat cable  110  is fixed by the vehicle body side fixing portion  121  and the sliding door side fixing portion  131  so that the width direction is maintained to be substantially vertical. The vehicle body side fixing portion  121  is provided in the rear side of vehicle body of the opening portion of the sliding door. And the door side fixing portion  131  is provided in vicinity of the lower center of the opening portion of the sliding door. 
         [0047]    The flat cable  110  is extracted from the vehicle body side fixing portion  121  and the door side fixing portion  131  in the front direction of the vehicle body  120 , namely, in the same direction. As shown in  FIG. 1 , when the sliding door  130  is fully closed, the flat cable  110  is turned by the second cable bend restriction portion  132  and is arranged to substantially linearly run from the second cable bend restricting portion  132  to the vehicle body side fixing portion  121 . 
         [0048]    And, as shown in  FIG. 2 , when the sliding door  130  is fully opened, the flat cable  110  is turned by the first cable bend restricting portion  122  and is arranged to substantially linearly run from the first cable bend restricting portion  122  to the door side fixing portion  131 . 
         [0049]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , in the power supply apparatus for sliding door  100  according to the present embodiment, when the sliding door  130  is fully opened and closed, the bent portion of the flat cable  110  is formed by any of the first cable bend restricting portion  122  or the second cable bend restricting portion  132 , and, while the sliding door  100  is opening and closing, the flat cable can be bent in U-shape in which the curvature is not reversed. Hereby a single-peaked bend is preferably formed in the mechanism all the time. However, even when the first cable bend restricting portion  122  and the second cable bend restricting portion  132  are not provided, the flat cable  110  can be bent in the substantially same way by the reaction force against bending. 
         [0050]    Since the power supply apparatus for sliding door  100  has the configuration described above, the width direction of the flat cable  110  can be maintained to be substantially vertical between the vehicle body fixing portion  121  and the door side fixing portion  131 . And, since the width direction of the flat cable  110  is maintained to be substantially vertical, the flat cable  110  can be prevented from sagging. 
         [0051]    It is preferable that the flat cable  110  is fixed on the respective extracting sides of the vehicle body side fixing portion  121  and the door side fixing portion  131  in any direction of the sliding directions of the sliding door  130 , in the same direction. In the present embodiment, the flat cable  110  is fixed in the closing direction of the sliding door  130 . Since the flat cable  110  is fixed in the same direction of the sliding directions by the vehicle body side fixing portion  121  and the door side fixing portion  131 , even while the sliding door  130  is opening and closing, the flat cable can be bent in a single-peaked shape, and hereby the width direction can be maintained to be substantially vertical. 
         [0052]    And, in the full-opened status and the full-closed status of the sliding door  130 , one part of the flat cable  110  in the vehicle body side fixing portion  121  or the door side fixing portion  131  is bent and the other part is maintained to be linear. The flat cable tends to sag in the bent portion. However, the other part is maintained to be linear and is hard to be bent, and thereby the bent part is supported and is prevented from sagging. 
         [0053]    The status that the flat cable  110  is moved to follow the sliding door  130  while the sliding door  130  is opening and closing is schematically illustrated in  FIG. 3 . In the process that the sliding door  130  is slid from the full-opened status to the full-closed status, the bent portion of the flat cable  110  which is formed in periphery of the second cable bend restricting portion  132  in the full-closed status is gradually formed in periphery of the first cable restricting portion  122 , and, accompanied by it, the flat cable  110  in vicinity of the second cable bend restricting portion  132  is transformed into linear shape. And, in the process described above, the bend is moderately formed more than in the full-opened status and the full-closed status. Namely, the curvature radius of the bent portion is made larger. 
         [0054]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , in the power supply apparatus for sliding door  110  according to the present embodiment, a single-peaked bent portion is formed in the flat cable  110  by the first cable bend restricting portion  122  and the second cable bend restricting portion  132  in the full-opened status and the full-closed status of the sliding door  130 , and, as the sliding door  130  is moved, the flat cable can be arranged to follow the movement of the sliding door  130  so that the bent portion is moved with the single-peaked shape maintained. 
         [0055]    Since the flat cable  110  is fixed so that the width direction is substantially vertical by the vehicle side fixing portion  121  and the door side fixing portion  131 , the whole length of the flat cable  110  with single-peaked shape can be maintained to be substantially vertical. Hereby the flat cable  110  is prevented from sagging downward while the sliding door  130  is opening and closing. Furthermore, in the process described above, since the bend of the flat cable  110  is moderately formed, the flat cable  110  can be prevented from sagging downward. 
         [0056]    In the case that the flat cable  110  is bent, the minimum of the curvature radius is provided so that the curvature radius is more than the prescribed amount. In the present embodiment, since the bent portion which has smallest amount of the curvature radius is formed by the first cable bend restricting portion  122  and the second cable bend restricting portion  132 , by preferably providing the respective curvature radiuses of the bending surfaces of the first cable bend restricting portion  122  and the second cable bend restricting portion  132 , the flat cable  110  can be prevented from being bent with the curvature radius less than the minimum. As the preferable curvature radiuses of the respective bending surfaces of the first cable bend restricting portion  122  and the second cable bend restricting portion  132 , for example, an allowable minimum of the curvature radius of the flat cable  110  can be provided. 
         [0057]    The flat cable  110  between the vehicle body side fixing portion  121  and the door side fixing portion  131  is arranged to run outside the vehicle body when the sliding door  130  is opened, and, therefore, it can be received, for example, within a protecting tube so as to be prevented from being damaged from the outside. Especially, for example, in the case that the corrugated tube  140  shown in  FIG. 4  is used as a protecting tube, since the surface is formed in corrugated shape, it can be flexibly bent in the horizontal direction, but can be hard to be bent in the vertical direction with ribs  141 . 
         [0058]    However, in the same way as the flat cable  110 , when the protecting tube is tightly bent, the bent portion can sag. Especially, the corrugated tube whose surface is formed in corrugated shape tends to sag. 
         [0059]    Accordingly, by applying the configuration of the present invention, even when the corrugated tube  140  is used, the flat cable  110  is prevented from sagging downward. 
         [0060]    Although, in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the example that the power supply apparatus for sliding door  100  according to the first embodiment is provided in the sliding door  130  which is mounted on the left side face of the vehicle body  120 , even when the power supply apparatus for sliding door  130  is provided in the sliding door  130  which is mounted on the right side face of the vehicle body  120 , the same mechanism can be applied. The plan view of the mechanism of the power supply apparatus for sliding door provided in the sliding door  230  which is mounted on the right side face of the vehicle body  120  is schematically illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The power supply apparatus for sliding door  200  shown in the same figure has the mechanism in which the power supply apparatus for sliding door  100  illustrated in  FIG. 1  is turned upside down. Since this kind of mechanism is applied, even when the sliding door  230  is slid between the full-opened status and the full-closed status, the flat cable is prevented from sagging. 
         [0061]    The schematic configuration of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the second embodiment of the present invention is explained with reference to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is plan view schematically illustrating the power supply apparatus for sliding door  300  according to the present embodiment. The power supply apparatus for sliding door  300  has the configuration in which the flat cable  110  is extracted from the vehicle body side fixing portion  321  and the door side fixing portion  331  in the direction opposite to the direction in the power supply apparatus for sliding door  100  according to the first embodiment. Namely, the flat cable  110  is extracted from the vehicle body side fixing portion  321  and the door side fixing portion  331  in the rear direction of the vehicle body  120 . And the vehicle body side fixing portion  321  is provided in vicinity of the lower center of the opening portion of the sliding door, and the door side fixing portion  331  is provided in the lower front of the opening portion of the sliding door. 
         [0062]    In the  FIG. 6 , the status of the power supply apparatus for sliding door  300  when the sliding door  130  is fully closed is illustrated, and, when the sliding door  130  is fully closed, the flat cable  110  is bent by the first cable bend restricting portion  322 . And, when the sliding door  130  is slid to the full-opened status, the bent portion is moved from the first bend restricting portion  322  to the second bend restricting portion  332 . Since the flat cable  110  is fixed by the vehicle body side fixing portion  321  and the door side fixing portion  331  so that the width direction is substantially vertical, the width direction is maintained to be substantially vertical through the whole length between the vehicle body side fixing portion  321  and the door side fixing portion  331  while the sliding door  130  is opening and closing. And, in the full-opened status and the full-closed status of the sliding door, one part is bent and the other is linear. Furthermore, while the sliding door is opening and closing, the bend of the flat cable is moderately formed. Hereby the flat cable  110  can be prevented from sagging. 
         [0063]    The description of the present embodiment shows one example of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is possible for the power supply apparatus for sliding door  100  to be provided in the upper portion of the sliding door or within the rails in which the arms are transferred. The details of the configuration, behavior and the like of the power supply apparatus for sliding door according to the present embodiment can be varied within the scope of the purpose of the present invention.