Body side unit and wire harness wiring structure

A body side unit is configured to attach a wire harness wired between a vehicle body and a slide door to the vehicle body. In the body side unit, a rotary inner is attached to the wire harness. A protector supports the rotary inner rotatably and movably in an up-down direction, and is fixed to the vehicle body. A coil spring is provided between the rotary inner and the protector, and biases the rotary inner such that the rotary inner faces downward in the up-down direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-035979 filed on Mar. 3, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a body side unit and a wiring structure of a wire harness.

BACKGROUND ART

A power supply device disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2 includes a body side unit configured to attach a wire harness to a vehicle body, and a door side unit configured to attach the wire harness to a slide door. The door side unit is disposed between an inner panel and a door trim of the slide door, and the wire harness is attached to the body side unit through a lower end of the door trim.

A distance between the body side unit and the door side unit is longest when the slide door is in a fully closed state or a fully open state, and the wire harness is stretched. In addition, the distance between the body side unit and the door side unit is shortest when the slide door is in a half-open state, and a central portion of the wire harness drips downward in an up-down direction.

In the half-open state, when the distance between the body side unit and the door side unit described above is short, a bending R of the central portion of the wire harness becomes small, and a force with which the wire harness pushes up the body side unit upward becomes strong. Therefore, there is a problem that the body side unit and the wire harness strongly interfere with each other and abnormal sound is generated. Therefore, there arises a problem that, when an attachment position of the door side unit is raised in order to increase the bending R, the wire harness and the lower end of the door trim interfere with each other in the fully closed state and the fully open state.

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a body side unit and a wiring structure of a wire harness capable of preventing interference of a wire harness.

A body side unit according to the present invention is a body side unit configured to attach a wire harness wired between a vehicle body and a slide door to the vehicle body.

The body side unit includes:

a body side attachment portion to be attached to the wire harness;

a body side fixing portion supporting the body side attachment portion rotatably and movably in an up-down direction and fixed to the vehicle body; and

a biasing member provided between the body side attachment portion and the body side fixing portion and configured to bias the body side attachment portion such that the body side attachment portion faces downward in the up-down direction.

A wiring structure of a wire harness according to the present invention includes:

a wire harness;

a body side unit configured to attach the wire harness to a vehicle body; and a door side unit configured to attach the wire harness to a slide door, in which

the body side unit includes:a body side attachment portion to be attached to the wire harness;a body side fixing portion rotatably supporting the body side attachment portion and fixed to the vehicle body; anda biasing member provided between the body side attachment portion and the body side fixing portion and configured to bias the body side attachment portion such that the body side attachment portion faces downward in an up-down direction.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Details of the present invention are further clarified by reading a mode for carrying out the invention (hereinafter, referred to as “embodiment”) described below with reference to attached drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A specific embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A wiring structure of a wire harness1according to the present embodiment is for wiring a wire harness2between a vehicle body and a slide door10(FIG. 2) slidably attached to the vehicle body. As shown inFIG. 1, the wiring structure1includes the wire harness2, a body side unit3, and a door side unit4.FIG. 1shows a state of the wire harness2in which the slide door10is in each of a fully closed state, a half-open state, and a fully open state.

The wire harness2is provided from the vehicle body to the slide door10, and includes a plurality of electric wires5and a corrugated tube6covering an outer periphery of the electric wires5.

The electric wire5is electrically connected to a battery mounted on the vehicle body, and is also electrically connected to an electrical component (a speaker, a power window, or the like) provided on the slide door, and supplies electric power from the battery to the electrical component. The electric wire5is formed to be longer than the corrugated tube6, and both ends of the electric wire5are drawn out from the corrugated tube6and exposed.

The corrugated tube6is formed in a tubular shape, and the electric wire5is disposed inside the tube. As long as the corrugated tube6has a tubular shape, the corrugated tube6particularly in a cross-sectional view may be formed in a circular shape, may be formed in an elliptical shape, an oval shape, or the like, or may be formed in a polygonal shape. In addition, the corrugated tube6may or may not include a notch extending in a longitudinal direction for inserting the electric wire5. The corrugated tube6of the present embodiment is made of a synthetic resin, is provided in a bellows shape in which concave grooves and ridges are alternately provided, and has flexibility.

The body side unit3attaches one end portion of the wire harness2to the vehicle body so as to be rotatable in a circumferential direction of the wire harness2. The door side unit4attaches the other end portion of the wire harness2to the slide door10so as to be rotatable about an axis along a width direction. More specifically, as shown inFIG. 2, the slide door10includes an outer panel (not shown) and an inner panel11made of metal, and a door trim12made of resin. The inner panel11is disposed on an indoor side of the outer panel. The door trim12is disposed on a vehicle cabin side of the inner panel11.

The door side unit4above is disposed between the inner panel11and the door trim12. The body side unit3is disposed, for example, on a floor portion below the door side unit4in an up-down direction. The wire harness2drawn out from the door side unit4is attached to the body side unit3through a lower end of the door trim12.

Next, the body side unit3above will be described in detail. As shown inFIG. 3, the body side unit3includes a rotary inner (body side attachment portion)7attached to the wire harness2, a body side protector8(body side fixing portion) rotatably supporting the rotary inner7and fixed to the vehicle body, and a coil spring C (biasing member).

The rotary inner7has a spherical outer shape. As shown inFIG. 4, the rotary inner7includes a lower housing71and an upper housing72which are attached to the wire harness2so as to sandwich both sides of the wire harness2in the up-down direction (radial direction). The lower housing71and the upper housing72have a common structure except for a part of a structure. Here, first, a structure of the lower housing71will be described in detail.

The lower housing71is formed in a hollow hemispherical shape as a whole. The lower housing71is provided with notches at one end and the other end in the width direction cut out by two parallel planes. The lower housing71having such a shape includes a plurality of ribs711, a locking protrusion712, and a locking recess713.

The plurality of ribs711are provided along edge portions of the notches provided at the one end and the other end. The plurality of ribs711are also provided side by side in the width direction between one end and the other end of the lower housing71. The rib711is provided with a semicircular notch714at an upper end, and a radius of the semicircle is the same as or slightly smaller than a radius of the corrugated tube6. When the rotary inner7is attached to the wire harness2, the rib711comes into contact with an outer surface of the corrugated tube6. At this time, because the rib711has a radius substantially the same as or slightly smaller than the radius of the corrugated tube6, the rib711presses the corrugated tube6when the lower housing71and the upper housing72are assembled to each other. As a result, the wire harness2is fixed (supported) to the rotary inner7.

The locking protrusion712includes a locking protrusion piece712aprotruding from an upper end surface of the lower housing71, and two guide protrusion pieces712bprovided in the width direction of the locking protrusion piece712aso as to sandwich the locking protrusion piece712aand protruding from the upper end surface of the lower housing71. The locking recess713includes a locking hole713abored from the upper end surface of the lower housing71, and guide holes713bprovided in the width direction of the locking hole713aand bored from the upper end surface of the lower housing71. The locking protrusion712and the locking recess713are located at positions separated from each other, and the locking protrusion712is located on one side in an advancing direction (direction orthogonal to the width direction) and the locking recess713is located on the other side.

The upper housing72also has similar shape as the locking protrusion piece712aand the guide protrusion pieces712bof the locking protrusion712, and the locking hole713aand the guide holes713bof the locking recess713(a locking hole and guide holes corresponding to a locking protrusion piece722aand guide protrusion pieces722bof a locking protrusion722are not shown). When the lower housing71and the upper housing72are assembled to each other, the locking protrusion pieces712a,722aguided by the guide protrusion pieces712b,722band the guide holes713bare guided into the locking hole713a, the locking protrusion pieces712a,722aand the locking hole713aare engaged with each other, and the guide protrusion pieces712b,722band the guide holes713bfit into each other.

In addition, a protrusion711ais provided at the upper end of the rib711, and the protrusion711aenters the outer surface of the corrugated tube6, so that a stronger pressing force can be applied to the corrugated tube6. As a result, the corrugated tube6is more firmly fixed to the rotary inner7.

Next, a structure of the upper housing72will be described in detail. The upper housing72is formed in a hollow hemispherical shape as a whole. The upper housing72is provided with notches at one end and the other end cut out by two parallel planes. The upper housing72having such a shape includes a plurality of ribs721, a locking protrusion722, and a locking recess (not shown).

The ribs721, the locking protrusion722, and the locking recess (not shown) of the upper housing72are similar as those in which “upper” is replaced with “lower” in a description of the locking protrusion712and the locking recess713of the lower housing71above, so that a detailed description is omitted here.

As shown inFIG. 3, the protector8includes a base portion81that is fixed to the vehicle body, and a lid portion82that is assembled to the base portion81. The base portion81includes a guide portion811and fixing pieces812for fixing the base portion81to the vehicle body protruding from one side of the guide portion811in the advancing direction.

The guide portion811includes a bottom surface portion811awhich is long in the width direction, a pair of upright wall portions811berected from end portions on both sides of the bottom surface portion811ain the advancing direction, and an upright wall portion811cerected from an end portion on a side of the bottom surface portion811aaway from the slide door, and is opened toward an upper side and a slide door side. The wire harness2is inserted into the guide portion811from an opening on the slide door side. One of a pair of upright wall portions811cis provided with a notch811d. The electric wire5inserted into the corrugated tube6is drawn out of the guide portion811from the notch811d. In addition, the upright wall portions811band811care provided with locking recesses811eto be locked to the lid portion82.

In addition, a pair of ribs811f,811fare erected from the bottom surface portion811aabove. The pair of ribs811f,811fare provided side by side in the width direction, and an interval between the ribs811f,811fis smaller than a diameter of the spherical rotary inner7. In addition, semicircular notches811gare provided on upper faces of the pair of ribs811f,811f. A radius of the notch811gis smaller than the diameter of the rotary inner7. By mounting the rotary inner7on the pair of ribs811f,811f, the rotary inner7is rotatably supported in the circumferential direction of the wire harness2.

The fixing piece812protrudes from one of the pair of upright wall portions811bin the advancing direction, and a fixing hole812ainto which a fixing member such as a bolt is inserted is formed in the fixing piece812. In the present embodiment, two fixing pieces812are provided side by side in the width direction.

The lid portion82includes a lid portion body821that covers an upper opening of the base portion81, and a fixing piece822that protrudes from the lid portion body821. The lid portion body821has an upper face portion821bwhich is long in the width direction and an upright wall portion822cerected from a peripheral edge of the upper face portion821btoward the guide portion811, and is opened downward. The upright wall portion822cabove is provided with locking protrusions821athat are inserted into and locked to the locking recesses811eof the base portion81. The fixing piece822protrudes toward the base portion81, and a fixing hole822ainto which a fixing member such as a bolt is inserted is formed in the fixing piece822. The fixing pieces812and822are overlapped with each other when the base portion81and the lid portion82are assembled, and are fixed to the vehicle body by inserting a bolt.

As shown inFIG. 5, a pair of ribs823,823for rotatably supporting the rotary inner7in the radial direction are also erected from the upper face portion821bon the lid portion body821. The pair of ribs823,823are provided side by side in the width direction, and have the same interval as the pair of ribs811f,811f, and face the pair of ribs811f,811fin the up-down direction. In addition, a substantially rectangular notch824is provided on lower faces of the pair of ribs823,823. The notch824is long in the up-down direction, and a length of a short side thereof is substantially the same as a diameter of the notch811g. The rotary inner7is positioned between the rib811fand the rib823.

The coil spring C is provided between the upper face portion821bof the lid portion82above and the upper housing72of the rotary inner7, and biases the rotary inner7downward in the up-down direction. The coil spring C is disposed such that an axial direction thereof is along the up-down direction. An upper end of the coil spring C is screwed into a groove portion822dprovided in the upper face portion821b, and the coil spring C is fixed to the lid portion82. A lower end of the coil spring C is in sliding contact with (in contact with) a spherical surface of the rotary inner7. According to the above configuration, the rotary inner7is supported so as to be movable in the up-down direction.

As shown inFIGS. 6 and 7, the door side unit4includes a rotary inner9attached to the other end portion of the wire harness2, and a protector100rotatably supporting the rotary inner9about an axis and fixed to the slide door.

As shown inFIG. 6, the rotary inner9includes a first housing91and a second housing92which are attached to the corrugated tube6so as to sandwich both sides of the corrugate tube6in the width direction. The first housing91and the second housing92have a common structure except for a part thereof. Here, first, a structure of the first housing91will be described in detail. The first housing91includes a bottom surface portion911, a pair of upright wall portions912, a plurality of ribs913, a locking protrusion914, a locking recess915, and a protrusion column (not shown).

The bottom surface portion911is long in the up-down direction. The pair of upright wall portions912are erected from end portions on both sides of the bottom surface portion911in the advancing direction. The pair of upright wall portions912are provided halfway from a lower end to an upper end of the bottom surface portion911. That is, the pair of upright wall portions912are not provided at the upper end of the bottom surface portion911. The plurality of ribs913extend along the advancing direction and are arranged side by side in the up-down direction. The rib913has a semicircular upper end, and a radius of the semicircle is the same as or slightly smaller than a radius of a ridge C of a bellows portion61in the corrugated tube6. When the rotary inner9is attached to the corrugated tube6, the rib913comes into contact with the outer surface of the corrugated tube6. At this time, because the rib913has a radius substantially the same as or slightly smaller than the radius of the corrugated tube6, the rib913presses the corrugated tube6when the first housing91and the second housing92are assembled to each other. As a result, the corrugated tube6is fixed (supported) to the rotary inner9.

The locking protrusion914protrudes from one of the pair of upright wall portions912toward the second housing92. The locking recess915is provided on the other of the pair of upright wall portions912. The second housing92also has similar shape as the locking protrusion914and the locking recess915(corresponding to a locking protrusion924; a locking recess is not shown). When the first housing91and the second housing92are assembled, the locking protrusions914,924and the locking recess915are engaged with each other.

In addition, a protrusion913ais provided at the upper end of the rib913above, and the protrusion913aenters a concave groove R of the bellows portion61, so that a stronger pressing force can be applied to the corrugated tube6. As a result, the corrugated tube6is more firmly fixed to the rotary inner9.

The protrusion column (not shown) protrudes in a columnar shape from the bottom surface portion911to a side opposite to the upright wall portion912.

Next, a structure of the second housing92will be described in detail. The second housing92includes a bottom surface portion921, an upright wall portion922, a plurality of ribs (not shown), a locking protrusion924, a locking recess (not shown), and a protrusion column926. The bottom surface portion921, the upright wall portion922, the plurality of ribs (not shown), the locking protrusion924, the locking recess (not shown), and the protrusion column926of the second housing92are similar as the bottom surface portion911, the upright wall portion912, the plurality of ribs913, the locking protrusion914, the locking recess915, and the protrusion column (not shown) of the first housing91described above, so that a detailed description is omitted here.

The rotary inner9above is supported by the protector100so as to be rotatable about an axis, with the protrusion column (not shown) of the first housing91and the protrusion column926of the second housing92serving as a rotation axis.

The protector100includes a third housing101provided on the slide door side, and a fourth housing102overlapped on the third housing101. The third housing101includes a bottom surface portion1011which is long in the advancing direction and a peripheral wall portion1012erected from a peripheral edge of the bottom surface portion1011, and is opened toward a side away from the slide door in the width direction. The bottom surface portion1011is overlapped with the slide door. The bottom surface portion1011is provided with a pair of fixing holes1011aand a shaft support hole1011b. The pair of fixing holes1011aare provided to penetrate both sides of the bottom surface portion1011in the advancing direction, and a fixing member such as a boss is passed through the pair of fixing holes1011a. The shaft support hole1011bis provided by recessing substantially a center of the bottom surface portion1011in the advancing direction, and a protrusion column (not shown) of the first housing91is inserted into the shaft support hole1011b. In addition, notches1012aare provided in portions of the peripheral wall portion1012facing each other in the up-down direction. Both ends of the rotary inner9in the up-down direction protrude from the notches1012a.

The fourth housing102includes a bottom surface portion1021which is long in the advancing direction and hollow columnar portions1022erected from both sides of the bottom surface portion1021in the advancing direction toward the third housing101. A shaft support hole1021ais provided in the bottom surface portion1021. The shaft support hole1021ais provided by recessing substantially a center of the bottom surface portion1021in the advancing direction, and the protrusion column926of the second housing92is inserted into the shaft support hole1021a. A bottom surface of the columnar portion1022is overlapped with the fixing hole1011aof the third housing101, and is provided with a fixing hole1022athrough which a fixing member such as a boss is passed.

Next, in the above wiring structure of a wire harness1, operations of the body side unit3when the slide door10is in the fully open state to the fully closed state will be described with reference toFIGS. 1, 2, 8, and the like.

As shown inFIG. 1, when the slide door10is in the fully open state or in the fully closed state, a distance between the body side unit3and the door side unit4is long, and the wire harness2is stretched. At this time, since the wire harness2does not push up the rotary inner7, the rotary inner7is located below the protector8by a biasing force of the coil spring C (FIG. 8A). Accordingly, as shown inFIG. 2, the wire harness2can be prevented from interfering with the lower end of the door trim12.

On the other hand, as shown inFIG. 1, when the slide door10is in the half-open state, the distance between the body side unit3and the door side unit4is shortened, and the wire harness2is loosened. At this time, as shown inFIG. 2, a central portion of the wire harness2loosens downward in the up-down direction. Since the wire harness2pushes up the rotary inner7due to the loosen, the rotary inner7is located above the protector8against the biasing force of the coil spring C (FIG. 8B). As a result, a bending R (FIG. 2) of the central portion of the wire harness2increases, a force with which the wire harness2pushes up the rotary inner7becomes small, interference between the wire harness2and the body side unit3can be prevented, and abnormal sound can be prevented.

According to the above embodiment, the coil spring (biasing member) C can be easily fixed to the protector8by providing the groove portion822din which the coil spring C is screwed in the protector8.

According to the above embodiment, the outer shape of the rotary inner7is a sphere, and a tip end of the coil spring C is in contact with a surface of the sphere. Accordingly, the coil spring C can bias the rotary inner7without interfering with a rotation of the rotary inner7.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and modifications, improvements, and the like can be made as appropriate. In addition, a material, shape, size, number, arrangement position, and the like of each component in the above embodiment are optional and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

According to the above embodiment, the coil spring C is used as the biasing member, but the present invention is not limited thereto. A plate spring may be used as the biasing member.

According to the above embodiment, the coil spring C is screwed into the groove portion822dprovided in the protector8to fix the coil spring C to the protector8, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The coil spring C and the protector8may be integrally molded by insert molding to fix the coil spring C to the protector8.

In the present embodiment, according to the body side unit and the wiring structure of a wire harness, when the wire harness is in a loosened state, the central portion of the wire harness is bent downward in the up-down direction. Accordingly, the wire harness pushes the body side attachment portion upward in the up-down direction against the biasing member, the bending R of the central portion of the wire harness increases, and the interference between the wire harness and the body side unit can be prevented. When the wire harness is in a stretched state, the biasing member pushes the body side attachment portion downward in the up-down direction, so that interference between the wire harness and the door trim can be prevented.

In the present embodiment, the coil spring (biasing member) can be easily fixed to the body side fixing portion by providing the groove portion in which the coil spring is screwed in the body side fixing portion.

According to the present embodiment, the coil spring is in contact with the sphere of the body side attachment portion. Accordingly, the coil spring can bias the body side attachment portion without interfering with a rotation of the body side attachment portion.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent interference of the wire harness.