Abstract:
A vehicle is provided having a flexible linear member such as an electrical harness and a tensioned guide such as a wire rope to which the electrical harness is attached. This provides a well supported, direct, and secure routing that eliminates the need for extensive bracketry. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. 37 CFR 1.72(b).

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]    It is necessary in the manufacture of a vehicle having electrical systems to provide secure routing for the bundles of wires, known collectively as an electrical harness, that comprise those electrical systems. The electrical harness must be supported at least at certain maximum intervals along its length in order to minimize tension in the harness and prevent it from contacting certain other vehicle components. In the case of trucks and busses, which have ladder-type vehicle frames, the electrical harness is commonly supported by small stand-off brackets to which it is attached by means of P-clips. Each stand-off bracket must be individually fastened to the vehicle frame, commonly by at least two fasteners, requiring mating holes to be provided in the frame. The P-clips must be installed around the electrical harness, and then fastened to the stand-off brackets. 
         [0002]    Alternatives to the stand-off bracket and P-clip arrangements exist, such as molded plastic clips that are directly attachable to the vehicle frame and are provided with one or more zip-tie type devices, or provisions to attach such zip-tie type devices. In the case of both the P-clip and standoff arrangement and the molded plastic clip arrangement, the electrical harness must be routed in relatively close proximity to the structures that make up the vehicle frame. Often, this results in convoluted routing of the electrical harness, sometimes requiring that the electrical harness be passed through openings in the crossmembers of the vehicle frame, which necessitates a tedious and inefficient process of assembling the vehicle. 
         [0003]    Similar problems exist in the routing of pneumatic brake lines, hydraulic brake lines, hydraulic hoses, heater hoses, brake cables, actuator cables, electrical cables, and other such flexible linear members. Just like the electrical harness, these other types of flexible linear members must be securely supported at least at certain maximum intervals, in order to limit tension in the flexible linear members, and to prevent them from coming into contact with certain other vehicle components. Again, this often results in convoluted routing of the flexible linear members. 
         [0004]    A more desirable routing would involve passing these flexible linear members directly along the top of the vehicle frame, in between the sidemembers of the frame and above the frame crossmembers. As the construction method of trucks and busses commonly involves building the frame and running gear, and then attaching the body assembly or assemblies to the frame, the area directly above the frame and below the body is relatively well-protected from abrasion and debris. Alternately, it may be desirable to route certain flexible linear members directly along the outside of the vehicle frame, or even beneath it. 
         [0005]    A problem heretofore inherent in routing the flexible linear members directly along the top of the vehicle frame was the lack of support for the flexible linear members in the space between crossmembers. The only solution that has been available has been to route the flexible linear member to a location nearer one of the frame rails for support, requiring additional and expensive flexible linear member length, or to provide substantial bracketry to support the flexible linear member in between the crossmembers. Even when routing certain flexible linear members along the outside of the vehicle frame or beneath it, numerous support brackets may be required in order to limit tension in the flexible linear members. 
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]    It is advantageous in the design and construction of vehicles having an electrical harness to provide routing for the electrical harness that is as direct as possible, secure from abrasive contact with other vehicle components and sharp edges, and free from the encumbrance of having to pass through holes in crossmembers or other vehicle components. It is further advantageous that any bracketry that may need to be provided in order to support the electrical harness be as simple, lightweight, and inexpensive as possible. In the same way, it is advantageous to route other types of flexible linear members as directly as possible, using a minimum of bracketry and assembly operations. 
         [0007]    One embodiment of the present invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing a tensioned guide and support in the form of a wire rope or cable, to which the electrical harness or other flexible linear member is attached. An embodiment of the present invention, for example, may have the tensioned wire rope guide attached to the vehicle frame at points proximate to the ends of the frame. One of the attached ends of the tensioned wire rope guide may be simply attached to an eye-bolt, while the other end of the tensioned wire rope guide may be provided with a spring-loaded tensioning device, in order to accommodate stretch and temperature expansion in the tensioned wire rope guide. The tensioned wire rope guide may be threaded along the top of the vehicle frame through eye-bolts at each crossmember, and may even be guided around obstacles by the eye-bolts. The electrical harness or other flexible linear member may be attached to the tensioned wire rope guide by means of wire ties or their equivalent. 
         [0008]    An alternate embodiment of the present invention may use another form of tensioned guide, such as a polymer cord or braid. In another embodiment, the tensioned guide may be attached to the vehicle frame at points proximate to the ends of the frame, and may be threaded along the side or bottom of the vehicle frame through eye-bolts attached to the frame or to each crossmember. Again, the tensioned guide may be threaded around obstacles by means of the eye-bolts. In yet another embodiment, the tensioned guide may not be attached to the vehicle frame at all, but may instead be attached to one or more other vehicle components, such as the vehicle body or engine. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0009]    FIG.  1 —Vehicle having a frame and a flexible linear member having convoluted routing. 
           [0010]    FIG.  2 —An embodiment of the present invention: a vehicle having a frame and a flexible linear member with a tensioned guide. 
           [0011]    FIG.  3 —An embodiment of the present invention: a frame, crossmembers, and tensioned guide. 
           [0012]    FIG.  4 —A spring loaded tensioning device. 
           [0013]    FIG.  5 —Multiple embodiments of the present invention on a vehicle. 
           [0014]    FIG.  6 —An embodiment of the present invention: a vehicle having a frame and subcomponents, with flexible linear member attached to a tensioned guide. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]      FIG. 1  shows a vehicle  101  having a frame  102  and a flexible linear member  103  having convoluted routing as is common in the prior art. The flexible linear member  103  shown in  FIG. 1  is shown as an electrical harness, but it may as well be a pneumatic brake line, hydraulic brake line, hydraulic hose, heater hose, brake cable, actuator cable, or electrical cable. As is common, the frame  102  of the vehicle  101  has side rails  104  and multiple crossmembers  105 , which multiple crossmembers  105  present an obstacle to the direct routing of the flexible linear member  103  along the inside of the side rails  104 . In this case, the flexible linear member  103  is routed through openings  106  in the crossmembers  105 , and is attached to both the side rails  104  and the crossmembers  105  by means of P-clips  107 . Due to the convoluted nature of the routing of the flexible linear member  103 , it is longer, more costly, and more tedious to attach to the vehicle  101 . 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  shows a vehicle  101  having a frame  102  comprised of side rails  104  and multiple crossmembers  105 , similar to the vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 1 . An embodiment of the present invention, a tensioned guide  108 , is attached to the crossmembers  105  such that one end of the tensioned guide  108  is attached to a crossmember  105  proximate to the forward end of the frame  102  by means of a front anchorage  109 , and the other end of the tensioned guide  108  is attached to a crossmember  105  proximate to the rearward end of the frame  102  by means of a rear anchorage  112 . Sufficient tension is placed upon the tensioned guide  108  that the tensioned guide  108  is relatively rigid along its length and able to provide support over the distance between the crossmembers  105 . The tensioned guide  108  is held in place at the top of several crossmembers  105  by means of eyebolts  110 . The flexible linear member  103  is attached to the tensioned guide  108  by wire-tie devices  111  such as zip-ties or their equivalent. The flexible linear member  103  may further be attached to the side rails  104  of the frame  102  by means of P-clips  107  in areas of the frame  102  extending beyond the first or last crossmembers  105 . As mentioned previously, the flexible linear member  103  shown in  FIG. 2  is shown as an electrical harness, but it may as well be a pneumatic brake line, hydraulic brake line, hydraulic hose, heater hose, brake cable, actuator cable, or electrical cable. 
         [0017]      FIG. 3  shows the frame  102  of a vehicle  101 , again comprised of side rails  104  and multiple crossmembers  105 , similar to the frames  102  of vehicles  101  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In the case of the frame  102  of the vehicle  101  shown in  FIG. 3 , the frame  102  is shown truncated and considerably compressed in length, such that crossmembers  105  that would be separated by a distance are shown close together. Also, the frame  102  is shown sectioned along the long axis, such that the multiple crossmembers  105  are shown cut approximately in half. A tensioned guide  108  extends from a front anchorage  109  to a rear anchorage  112 , and passes through eyebolts  110  attached to the multiple crossmembers  105 . For the sake of clarity, the flexible linear member  103 , be it an electrical harness, pneumatic brake line, hydraulic brake line, hydraulic hose, heater hose, brake cable, actuator cable, or electrical cable, is not shown in  FIG. 3 . It may be appreciated that the flexible linear member  103  (not shown) attaches to the tensioned guide  108  shown in  FIG. 3  in a manner similar to that shown in  FIG. 2 . The front anchorage  109  in  FIG. 3  is shown as a typical eye-bolt, although an equivalent anchorage of another form may be used. The rear anchorage  112  is provided with a spring-loaded tensioning device  113 . The tensioning device  113  shown in  FIG. 3  is shown as an eye-bolt with a coil spring  114 . Another embodiment of the invention may use both non-spring-loaded anchorages with a spring-loaded tensioning device incorporated into the tensioned guide  108  itself. Another embodiment of the invention may use standard eye-bolts as both front and rear anchorages, and rely upon the threaded shank of the eye-bolts for passive tensioning. 
         [0018]      FIG. 4  shows a cross-section of a crossmember  105  and the rear anchorage  112  as a spring-loaded tensioning device  113 . The spring-loaded tensioning device  113  embodiment of the rear anchorage  112  is comprised of an anchorage sliding member  115  and a coil spring  114 . The tensioned guide  108  is attached to the anchorage sliding member  115  in conventional manner, and the coil spring  114  exerts force against the backside of the crossmember  105 , such that the spring-loaded tensioning device  113  pulls on the tensioned guide  108  while accommodating stretch and expansion and contraction in the tensioned guide  108 . Note that the rear anchorage  112  is shown as a spring-loaded tensioning device  113 , whereas it is within the scope of the invention that the front anchorage  109  (not shown) may be instead provided as a spring-loaded tensioning device  113 , or both the front anchorage  109  (not shown) and the rear anchorage  112  may be provided as spring-loaded tensioning devices  113 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 5  shows multiple embodiments of the present invention on a vehicle  101 . As in previous figures, the vehicle  101  in  FIG. 5  has a frame  102  comprised of side rails  104  and multiple crossmembers  105 . Three tensioned guides  108  are shown in alternate locations upon the frame  102 . For the sake of clarity, the flexible linear member  103 , be it an electrical harness, pneumatic brake line, hydraulic brake line, hydraulic hose, heater hose, brake cable, actuator cable, or electrical cable, is not shown in  FIG. 5 . It may again be appreciated that the flexible linear member  103  (not shown) attaches to the tensioned guide  108  shown in  FIG. 3  in a manner similar to that shown in  FIG. 2 . One tensioned guide  108  passes along the top side of the frame  102 , with the front anchorage  109 , rear anchorage  112  (not visible), and eyebolts  110  attached to successive crossmembers  105 . Another tensioned guide  108  passes along the bottom side of the frame  102 , again with the front anchorage  109 , rear anchorage  112  (not visible), and eyebolts  110  attached to successive crossmembers  105 . Yet another tensioned guide  108  passes along the side of the frame  102 , with the eyebolts  110  attached to the sides of the side rails  104 , and the front anchorage  109  and rear anchorage  112  (not visible) attached to small anchorage brackets  116 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 6  shows an embodiment of the present invention on a vehicle  101  having a frame  102  comprised of side rails  104  and multiple crossmembers  105 , similar to the vehicles  101  shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  5 . In addition to the frame  102 , the vehicle  101  is provided with at least one vehicle subcomponent  117 , shown in  FIG. 6  as an engine and transmission assembly. A tensioned guide  108  extends from a front anchorage  109 , which front anchorage  109  is attached to the at least one vehicle subcomponent  117  by means of a small anchorage bracket  116 , to a rear anchorage  112 , and passes through eyebolts  110  attached to multiple crossmembers  105 . A flexible linear member  103  is attached to the tensioned guide  108  by wire-tie devices  111  such as zip-ties or their equivalent. The flexible linear member  103  shown in  FIG. 6  is shown as an electrical harness, but it may as well be a pneumatic brake line, hydraulic brake line, hydraulic hose, heater hose, brake cable, actuator cable, or electrical cable. The flexible linear member  103  may further be attached to the side rails  104  of the frame  102 , or to the at least one vehicle subcomponent  117 , by means of P-clips  107  in areas extending beyond the front anchorage  109  and rear anchorage  112 . Either the front anchorage  109  or the rear anchorage  112 , or both, may be provided with a spring loaded tensioning device  113 . It is also within the scope of the invention that the front anchorage  109  be attached to the frame  102 , with the rear anchorage  112  attached to a vehicle subcomponent  117 , or that both the front anchorage  109  and the rear anchorage  112  be attached to vehicle subcomponents  117 . Further, it is within the scope of the invention that one or more of the eyebolts  110  be attached to one or more vehicle subcomponents  117 . 
         [0021]    While specific embodiments have been described in detail in the foregoing detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, those with ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various permutations of the invention are possible without departing from the teachings disclosed herein. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention, which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof. Other advantages to a vehicle having a flexible linear member attached to a tensioned guide may also be inherent in the invention, without having been described above.