Circuit body and process for producing the circuit body

Abstract: In a wire harness 20, an arrange shape of a plurality of electric wires 15 is held by bonding upper and lower films 19 and 16 to each other. A connector 18 is connected to a terminal portion of the electric wires 15. A connector fixing portion 21 is provided to both the upper and lower films 19 and 16 to be bonded to an outer peripheral portion of the connector 18 except for an end portion 18a thereof to fix the connector 18.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to a flat circuit body comprising a connector and a wire harness used for a door of an automobile, for example, and specifically to a circuit body in which a waterproof property of connector is improved, a shape of the wire harness is held, and a position of the connector is fixed, and to a process for producing the circuit body. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a circuit body used for a door of an automobile, for example, is produced such that a connector is previously connected to necessary terminal portions of a plurality of electric wires, the electric wires are made flat, and are held in a predetermined wiring shape to form a wire harness. However, since such a process for producing the circuit body requires a waterproofing of the connector, the connector is previously covered with a waterproofing cap made of rubber or the like, or a connecting portion of the connector is previously applied to a waterproofing agent such as grease. Such treatment steps are required, and therefore the circuit body can not be produced speedily. Moreover, such treatments can not completely waterproof the connector, and can not provide a reliable waterproof property. Further, since only the shape of the wire harness is held and the connector is not fixed in the conventional producing process, the connector totters and moves freely. As a result, when fitting the connector, it is necessary to position the connector, and fitting operation is difficult. Document GB-A-2 275 373 discloses a circuit body according to the preamble of claim 1. For manufacturing such a circuit body, two insulation films are cut together along the profile or contour of electric wires in the form of copper foil strips with a predetermined margin on both sides. Then connectors are connected to the ends of the copper foil strips. For manufacturing a second type of circuit body, which is of a sheet type, two insulation films are cut together in U-shape only at the end portions of the copper foil strips, so as to "tongue out" the end portions, and then connectors are connected to the ends of the copper foil strips. In summary, the connectors according to this document are not covered by any insulation film. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a circuit body in which a connector can be easily and reliably waterproofed in a case wherein the connector is arranged on a terminal portion of electric wires and a process for producing the circuit body. It is another object of the invention to provide a circuit body in which a shape of a wire harness can be held at the same as fixing a connector and a process for producing the circuit body. To achieve the above objects, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a circuit body having the features which are indicated in claim 1. Because the connector is fixed to a proper position by the connector fixing portion of the circuit body, the connector does not totter and can be easily fitted to the mating connector without positioning. The connector fixing portion is provided by bonding the upper and lower films to the outer peripheral portion of the connector, and is integral with the upper film, the upper and lower films providing the arrange shape to the wire harness. By the fact that the connector fixing portion is integral with the upper and lower films, the connector fixing portion provides a reliable waterproof property. Therefore, a waterproof treatment for the terminal portion is unnecessary. Also, because the upper and lower films are bonded to the outer peripheral portion of the connector except for the end portion of the connector, the films can not be a hindrance to fitting of the mating connector to the end portion. Furthermore, because the connector fixing portion is formed at the same time as providing the shape to the wire harness, the connector fixing portion can be formed easily without using a special member or carrying out a special treatment. The connector fixing portion may be formed on both the upper and lower films. However, by forming the connector fixing portion on one of the films as described above, the other film can be treated in a conventional manner. As a result, the connector fixing portion can be formed easily. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a process having the features which are indicated in claim 3. In this process, the upper and lower films are bonded to each other to provide the arranged shape to the electric wires, simultaneously as which the films are bonded to the outer peripheral portion of the connector to fix the connector. Consequently, a step of fixing the connector is unnecessary, and the connector can be fixed speedily and easily. As a preferred embodiment, the connector may be fixed provisionally by disposing the connector in the arranging recess portion at the time of arranging the electric wires in the vacuum forming die. Because the connector is provisionally fixed by being disposed in the arranging recess portion, the connector does not deviate when the upper and lower films are bonded to each other to fix the connector. Therefore, the connector can be fixed accurately. Further, as a preferred embodiment, the vacuum forming die may be provided with projecting ribs, and a space between the ribs may be used as the arranging recess portion. Because the space between the ribs is used as the arranging recess portion, it is unnecessary to recess the vacuum forming die to form the arranging recess portion, thereby forming the arranging recess portion easily. Also, the arranging recess portion can be changed easily only by exchanging the ribs or changing positions of the ribs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figs. 1A and 1B show a relationship between a vacuum forming die and a lower die film in a producing process according to the present invention, and Fig. 1A is a perspective view and Fig. 1B is a plan view. Figs. 2A and 2B show a step of arranging electric wires of an embodiment, and Fig. 2A is a perspective view and Fig. 2B is a plan view. Figs. 3A and 3B show a step of disposing an upper die film of the embodiment, and Fig. 3A is a perspective view and Fig. 3B is a plan view. Fig. 4A is a sectional view showing the lower die film and the upper die film before being bonded to each other, and Fig. 4B is a sectional view showing the lower and upper die films after being bonded to each other. Figs. 5A and 5B show a produced circuit body, and Fig. 5A is a perspective view and Fig. 5B is a plan view. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Figs. 1A to 5B show, in the order of steps, an embodiment of a process for producing a circuit body in terms of a circuit structure according to the present invention. In the drawings, a reference numeral 11 designates a vacuum forming die. As shown in Figs. 1A and 1B, an upper face of the vacuum forming die 11 is a flat forming face 12 which is provided with a plurality of projecting ribs 13. The plurality of ribs 13 are fixed and projected on an upper face of the forming face 12 by bonding or threads. An arranging recess portion 14 is formed between the opposed ribs 13. The arranging recess portion 14 formed by the plurality of ribs 13 is to provide a predetermined arranged shape in terms of a circuit pattern to electric wires 15 (see Figs. 2A and 2B). The shown arranging recess portion 14 comprises, a main wiring forming portion 14a in a shape of a straight line and a plurality of branch wiring forming portions 14b perpendicular to the main wiring forming portion 14a, as shown in Fig. 1B. The projecting ribs 13 are formed on the forming face 12 and a space between the ribs 13 is utilized as the arranging recess portion 14, so that it is unnecessary to recess the forming face 12 to form the arranging recess portion 14. Therefore, it is advantageous that the arranging recess portion 14 can be formed easily, and the arranging recess portion 14 can be changed easily by exchanging or moving projecting positions of the ribs 13. Also, upper and lower films 19 and 16 are sucked towards the forming face 12 with the films 19 and 16 supported on the projecting ribs 13, and it is possible to provide strength to the upper and lower films 19 and 16. A plurality of sucking holes 25 are formed on the forming face 12 of the vacuum forming die 11. The sucking holes 25 are formed to be scattered outside and inside (the arranging recess portion 14) the opposed ribs 13. The upper and lower films 19 and 16 are sucked toward the forming face 12 by a vacuum suction through the sucking holes 25. Next, the producing process of the embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 1A, the forming face 12 of the vacuum forming die 11 provided with the projecting ribs 13 is covered with the lower die film 16. The lower die film 16 is lightly sucked through the sucking holes 25, and is brought into close contact with the forming face 12. Then, as shown in Figs. 2A and 2B, the plurality of electric wires 15 are arranged on the vacuum forming die 11. This arrangement is carried out by disposing the plurality of electric wires 15 in the arranging recess portion 14. In the present embodiment, connectors 17 and 18 previously connected to terminal portions of the electric wires 15 are used. In this case, the connector 17 is previously connected to a terminal of a main wiring 15a of the electric wire 15. The connector 18 is previously connected to each of terminal portions of plural branch wirings 15b which branch off from the main wiring 15a. The electric wires 15 are arranged in the arranging recess portion 14 so that the connectors 18 arranged on the terminal portions of the branch wirings 15b are positioned in the arranging recess portion 14. More specifically, the connectors 18 arranged on the branch wirings 15b are disposed to be fitted between the ribs 13, the wirings 15b are arranged therebetween. Connectors 18 are fitted between the ribs 13 and are provisionally fixed to the ribs 13, so that unexpected displacement of the connectors 18 is limited. Consequently, the connectors 18 do not deviate from proper positions due to the suction and vibration, and are provisionally fixed in the positions with accuracy. As a result, it is possible to fix the connectors 18 to appropriate positions relative to a wire harness 20 produced succeedingly. The connector 17 arranged on the main wiring 15a is not fitted between the ribs 13 in the embodiment, but may be fitted between the ribs 13 to be fixed provisionally, similarly to the connectors 18 arranged on the branch wirings 15b. After the electric wires 15 are arranged in the arranging recess portion 14 and are provisionally fixed to the connectors 18 as described above, the upper die film 19 is put on the electric wires 15 and the forming face 12 and peripheral portion of the upper film 19 is brought into contact with the lower die film 16, as shown in Figs. 3A and 3B. Then, the upper die film 19 is sucked through the sucking holes 25 and is brought into close contact with and bonded to the electric wires 15 and the lower die film 16. Figs. 4A and 4B show steps of bonding the upper die film 19 to the lower die film 16. A hot-melt adhesive or other adhesives is applied on one or both of the opposed faces of the upper die film 19 and the lower die film 16. the vacuum forming die 11 is heated with the films 16 and 19 in close contact with each other, and therefore the upper and lower films 19 and 16 are bonded to each other. Thus, an arranged shape of the wires 15 is held by the films 19 and 16 to form the wire harness 20. Then, as described later, the connectors 18 are fixed together with the wire harness 20,and a flat circuit body 23 is formed (see Figs. 5A and 5B). In the embodiment, a width of the upper die film 19 is set so that the upper film 9 can cover outer peripheral portions of the connectors 18 arranged on the branch wirings 15b, as shown in Fig. 3B. Specifically, the width is set so that the upper film 19 can cover the outer peripheral portions of the connectors 18 except for the end portions 18a of the connectors 18. Therefore, the end portions 18a of the connectors 18 are not covered with the upper die film 19. Such an upper die film 19 is bonded to the connectors 18 by the above-described vacuum suction and heating of the vacuum forming die 11. As described above, the other portion of the upper die film 19 is bonded to the lower die film 16. By bonding the upper die film 19 to the connectors 18 in this manner, the upper and lower films 19 and 16 are bonded to each other with the connectors 18 interposed therebetween. A reference numeral 21 in Figs. 5A and 5B designates connector fixing portions of the film 19. The connector fixing portions 21 fix the connectors 18 in proper positions to prevent the connectors 18 from tottering. Therefore, the connectors 18 can be easily fitted to the mating connectors without positioning. The connector fixing portions 21 are integrally provided to the outer peripheral portion of the upper die film 19, so that the connector fixing portions 21 integral with the other portion of the upper die film 19 cover and reliably waterproof the terminal portions of the electric wires 15. Therefore, a waterproof treatment for the terminal portions is unnecessary, and the wire harness 20 can be produced easily and speedily. Further, since the connector fixing portions 21 are not provided to the end portions 18a of the connectors 18, the connector fixing portions 21 do not close connection openings 22 on the side of the end portions 18a. Therefore, the connector fixing portions 21 do not become hindrances to fitting of the mating connectors into the connection openings 22. After the arranged shape of the wires 15 is held and the connectors 18 are fixed by the above steps, the suction is stopped by the vacuum forming die 11, the wire harness 20 is released from the vacuum forming die 11, and the producing process is completed. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the connectors 18 do not totter because the connectors 18 are fixed to the proper positions by the connector fixing portions 21 provided to the upper and lower die films 19 and 16, and can be easily fitted to the mating connectors. Also, the connectors 18 are integral with the upper and lower films 19 and 16, and the connectors 18 can be reliably waterproofed. Consequently, the waterproof treatment for the terminal portions is unnecessary, and the wire harness 20 can be produced easily. By forming the connector fixing portions 21 on one of the films 19 and 16, it is possible to treat the other film in a conventional manner, and the connector fixing portions 21 can be formed easily. Furthermore, because the upper and lower films 19 and 16 are bonded to each other to provide the arrange shape to the electric wires 15, and simultaneously as which, the upper and lower films 19 and 16 are bonded to the outer peripheral portions of the connectors 18 to fix the connectors 18, a step for fixing the connectors 18 is unnecessary, and the connectors 18 can be fixed speedily and easily. Since the connectors 18 are provisionally fixed in the arranging recess portion 14, the connectors 18 are not displaced when they are fixed by bonding the upper and lower films 19 and 16 to each other, and the connectors 18 can be fixed accurately. Also, because the space between the projecting ribs is used as the arranging recess portion 14, the arranging recess portion 14 can be formed or changed easily.

Claims: A circuit body comprising: a wire harness (20) having a plurality of electric wires (15) formed into an arranged shape, the electric wires (15) having a terminal portion; a connector (18) arranged on the terminal portion of the electric wires, the connector (18) having an outer peripheral portion and an end portion (18a); and an upper (19) and a lower (16) film (19, 16) bonded to each other with the electric wires (15) intervening therebetween to hold the electric wires (15) in the arranged shape, characterised in that at least one of the upper and lower films (19, 16) has a connector fixing portion (21) bonded to the outer peripheral portion of the connector (18) except for the end portion (18a) thereof to fix the connector (18). A circuit body according to claim 1, wherein said connector fixing portion (21) is formed on both said upper and lower films (19, 16). A process for producing a circuit body comprising the steps of: arranging in an arranging recess portion (14) in a vacuum forming die (11) a plurality of electric wires (15) having a terminal portion arranged on a connector (18), with the electric wires (15) intervening between an upper film (19) and a lower film (16); interposing an outer peripheral portion of the connector (18) except for an end portion (18a) thereof between the upper film (19) and the lower film (16); vacuum sucking through the vacuum forming die (11) the upper film (19) and the lower film (16) to each other and to hold an arranged shape of the electric wires (15); and fixing the connector (18) between the upper film (19) and the lower film (16) by a connector fixing portion (21) bonded to the outer peripheral portion of the connector (18) except for the end portion (18a) thereof. A process for producing a circuit body according to claim 3, further comprising the step of disposing said connector (18) in the arranging recess portion (14) to provisionally fix the connector (18) when arranging the electric wires (15) in the vacuum forming die (11). A process for producing a circuit body according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said vacuum forming die (11) is provided with projecting ribs (13), the ribs (13) having a space therebetween used as the arranging recess portion (14).

Inventors: MORI TOSHIYUKI, MORI, TOSHIYUKI
Applicants: YAZAKI CORP, YAZAKI CORPORATION
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B60R16
IPC codes: B60R16, H02G3, H01B7, H01B13