Abstract:
A tubular sheathing channel assembly for housing bunched cables. The assembly includes a longitudinally slit sheathing wall of elastic plastic material and includes a pair of projections which are molded on along the slits ( 2 ) and which are formed with an L-shaped cross-section, and which are embraced by C-shaped clamp members. Clamp walls ( 13 ) of the clamp member ( 5 ) are guided on the projections ( 4 ) such that they may be moved in a longitudinal direction and are equipped with fastening portions ( 6 ) in order to anchor the sheathing wall ( 1 ) on a carrier plate ( 21 ). The projections ( 3 ) preferably are equipped with an interlockable groove and tongue ( 10 ) and ( 11 ) on the inside walls ( 9 ).

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/669,888, filed Jun. 20, 1996 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,231, which claims priority from German Application No. 195 22 405.1, filed Jun. 21, 1995 and German Application No. 196 07 559.9, filed Feb. 29, 1996, and are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a tubular sheathing channel of elastic plastic material for mounting a wire harness or bunched cables. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Sheathing channels are used in the production of motor vehicles to install bunched cables or a wiring harness. Sheathing channels protect the bunched cables to be installed against outside influences between the points of connection. Another important advantage is that the wiring harness may be supplied as a unit for installation and may be positioned and connected quickly in the motor vehicle. 
     The wiring harness or bunched cables are first fastened or bundled with traditional clips, tie wraps or other holding elements which are then anchored to the vehicle body sheet in holes or on pins or on other projections in a traditional manner. 
     Fastening with two different devices for holding or bundling and for attachment is relatively cumbersome resulting in a high installation expenditure. Additionally, a high degree of manual dexterity and concentration on the part of the installer on the assembly line is required. Additional bundling devices are frequently necessary to bind the cables, which are loosely encased by the sheath, into a tight bundle, which also costs time and therefore, money. 
     It is an object of the invention to design the above mentioned sheathing channel for bunched cables such that the bunched cables are encased, and may be fastened or anchored, quickly and easily in predetermined attachment locations. It is a further object of the invention that the cables may be adjusted to the uneven carrier surface or to the predetermined installation line, respectively. It is an additional object of the invention to provide that the installed bunched cables are held by the sheath with as little play as possible. 
     These objects are solved according to the invention in that the walls of the clamps are guided on the legs of a tubular sheath such that they may be moved longitudinally, and that the clamps are equipped with fastening agents in order to anchor the sheathing wall on a carrier plate. 
     Additional characteristics of the invention are described herein while the design of the clamps and the legs of the projections simplifies the installation of the encased bunched cables because clamps may be locked in predetermined positions along the projection. 
     Due to the meshing of the groove and tongue when the L-shaped projections are joined together, the legs are located so that the clamps can easily be pressed onto projections along the channel axis, or pushed on from the side. The design includes groove and tongue shapes which permit the two projections to be locked immediately after sheathing the bunched cables which makes plugging in the clamps during preinstallation even simpler. 
     Recesses in the sheath wall permit the encased bunched cables to be slightly bent to the side on the installation surface. In addition, the slits or openings also offer the advantage that individual cables may be attached or removed. 
     Accordion-like folds of the sheathing wall provide an extendable sheathing space so that the bunched cables, having varying bundle diameters, are always tightly encased, with as little play as possible. Again, the recesses in the sheathing wall in the area of the accordion-like folds advantageously permit separation of a portion of the sheathing tube which is continuously extruded and rolled onto a roll, at any desired location and, if necessary, to be used as individual straps. 
     In order to mount the sheathing channel as tightly as possible on the carrier plate, it is an additional advantage if the bottom of the sheathing wall is also designed to be flat and with the locking projections arranged on a side wall. The bottom may be provided with an adhesive layer such as a double sided adhesive strip, to attach the sheath on the carrier plate. In this way the lateral anchoring by the holding clamps may be completely eliminated. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The drawings show several embodiments of the sheathing channel according to the invention and will be explained in more detail below. Shown are: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tubular sheathing channel in closed position, 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a holding clamp with lock cams seen from above, 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the same holding clamp seen from below, 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheathing channel in an open position at the time of supply, 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a first alternative embodiment of the sheathing channel with lateral openings in the wall, 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of a sheathing channel with an accordion-like sheathing wall and lock profiles under a base wall, 
     FIG. 7 is a third preferred embodiment of a sheathing channel with laterally attached lock projections and laterally installed holding clamp, 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the third preferred embodiment of the same sheathing channel as in FIG. 7, however, the base wall is mounted with a dual acting adhesive layer, 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a fourth preferred embodiment having a sheathing channel with a sheathing wall which is corrugated, 
     FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a fifth preferred embodiment of a sheathing channel with elastic separating walls on the inside shown in open position at the time of supply, 
     FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the fifth preferred embodiment of the same sheathing channel shown in a closed position, 
     FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a sixth alternative preferred embodiment of a sheathing channel with a foamed sheathing wall shown in open position as supplied at the time of supply, and 
     FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the sixth preferred embodiment of the same sheathing channel shown in closed position with a fastening clamp. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The tubular sheathing channel shown in the drawings is made of elastic plastic material and serves to encase bunched cables or wire harnesses for attachment on carrier plates. 
     The sheathing channel  50  according to FIGS. 1 and 2 consists of a longitudinally slit sheathing wall  1  and of projections  3  having an L-shaped cross-section having a leg portion  4  which are molded along a slit  2 . A C-shaped clamp  5  is guided on the leg portions  4  such that the clamp  5  may be moved longitudinally. The clamp  5  is equipped with a mounting anchor  6  to anchor the sheathing channel on a carrier plate  21 . 
     The leg portions  4  which project at right angles from the projections  3  are provided with wave-shaped indentations  8  on outer edges  7  of the leg portions. The projections  3  have inside walls  9  which are facing each other The inside walls  9  are equipped with meshing groove  10  and tongue  11  which are preferably designed to be interlockable (FIG.  4 ). 
     The C-shaped clamp  5  consists, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, of a base plate  12  with two laterally molded clamp walls  13 , having upper rims. The clamp walls  13  are equipped with opposed locking edges  14 . The distance “a” between the clamp walls  13  corresponds to the total width “B” of the leg portions  4  and the inside height “h” of the locking edges  14  from the base plate  12  corresponds to the height “H” of the leg portions  4 . Additionally, the locking edges  14  are equipped with entrance surfaces  15  which are angled inwardly towards each other and towards the center portion of the clamp so that the clamp  5  may easily be pressed onto the closed projections  3  from the outside with elastic deformation of the clamp walls  13 . 
     The clamp walls  13  are equipped with approximately semi-circular lock cams  16  which project toward the inside of the clamp and which correspond to the depth of the indentations  8  and act together with these such that the clamp  5  may be moved along the leg portions  4  by elastic deformation of the clamp walls  13 , to a desired lock position. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, a first alternative preferred embodiment, the sheathing wall  1  may be equipped with recesses or openings  17  and  18  on both sides of the projection  3  at regular intervals and cut normal to the longitudinal or axial direction of the sheathing wall  1 , which makes bending easier when the encased bunched cables are installed. The openings  17  and  18  additionally make it possible to add individual cables to the bundle or remove cables from the bundle, after the channel is installed. 
     A second alternative preferred embodiment of the sheathing channel  52  is shown in FIG.  6 . The sheathing wall  31  consists of a flat upper wall  25  with side walls having accordion-like folds  19  and a longitudinally slit bottom wall  20 . As in the embodiments in FIGS. 1 and 5, the sheathing channel is equipped with two interlockable projections  3  which are projecting downward. Below the lock projections  3  is a clamp  5  which, subsequent to being pressed onto the joined lock projections  3 , may be moved in the direction of the arrow L along the leg portions  4  and may be locked in the indentations  8  via the cams  16  of the clamp. 
     The underside of the clamp  5  is equipped with a mounting anchor  6  which may be guided into a mounting hole  22   a  of a carrier plate  21  where it may be anchored. The mounting anchor  6 , which in this example is equipped with spring-like expansion legs which may be pressed together, may have any shape suitable to be mounted in a hole, on a rim or on a pin. 
     FIG. 7 shows a third preferred embodiment of an accordion-like sheathing channel  53  in which the bottom wall  43  is closed and designed to be planar and the lock projections  3   a  are laterally molded thereon to side wall  45 . A clamp  24  is pressed on from the side in the direction of the arrow “A 1 ” and is pushed into the hole  22   b  of the carrier plate  21  with the mounting anchor  6  in the direction of the arrow “Z”. Slit openings  47  and  48  are cut through the side walls  45 , the lock projections  3   a  and partially through the bottom wall  23  and the upper wall  25  so that the channel  53  is laterally flexible and adjustable when it is installed on the plate surface. 
     As shown in FIG. 8, the bottom wall  43  of the sheathing channel  53  is equipped with an adhesive layer  26  which is adhered directly to the carrier plate  21  so that a lateral clamp  5  or  24  such as in FIGS. 6 and 7 is not required. 
     In the fourth preferred alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 9 the sheathing wall  51  is corrugated in a longitudinal direction, similar to a corrugated tube, so that the sheathing channel  54  may be curved into any desired course when the bunched cables are installed, and therefore may be well adjusted to the prevailing circumstances and to the unevenness of the carrier plate. The corrugated sheathing wall  51  may be simply produced by extrusion. Indentations  8   a  are preferably provided in the leg portions  4   a  of the projections  3   a  at the same place axially as the circumferentially extending wave troughs  58  in the sheathing wall  51 . The inside walls of the projections  3   a  are preferably provided with an interlocking groove  10   a  and tongue  11   b.    
     FIGS. 10 and 11 show a fifth preferred alternative embodiment of a sheathing channel  60  with elastically deformable separation walls  27  which are molded on both sides of the slit  2   b  and which cut wave-like through the inside space of the channel. The separation walls  27  are supported in an area of the sheathing located opposite the slit  2   a.  The other end of the separation walls  27  may either abut on the inside of the wall  61  or the end may also be, as shown in the drawing, molded onto the inside of the wall  61 . FIG. 10 shows the sheathing channel  60  in extruded condition in which it is supplied. In FIG. 11 the sheathing channel  60  is closed. As in the earlier embodiments, the sheathing channel  60  includes projections  3   b  extending from the wall  61  on each side of the slit  26 . The projections  3   b  include leg portions  4   b.  The inside walls  9   b  of the projections  3   b  are preferably provided with an interlocking groove  10   b  and tongue  11   b.    
     In the sixth preferred alternative embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the sheathing wall  71  consists of a foamed, thermoplastic elastomer, such as santoprene, while the L-shaped projections  73  are made of a hard plastic material, such as polypropylene. 
     These projections  73  are molded in one piece from the outside onto the soft sheathing wall  71  on both sides of the slit  2   c  via an inwardly serrated flange  28  so that the inside the sheathing wall  71  restrains the bunched cables over the entire circumference.