Patent Publication Number: US-2023155305-A1

Title: Wire harness

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to a wire harness. 
     Conventionally, there are wire harnesses provided in vehicles and the like that have a core wire obtained by further twisting together twisted wires which are each obtained by twisting wire strands (e.g., see JP 2018-37371A). With such a wire harness, the wire strands tend not to unravel and have excellent flexibility and high tensile strength, compared to cases such as where the wire strands are simply provided in parallel, for example. 
     SUMMARY 
     However, with the core wire of the wire harness described above, due to all the wires being twisted in the same direction, there is a risk that, when the core wire is ultrasonically welded to a metal terminal, a force twisting in one direction will act on the metal terminal, for example. 
     An exemplary aspect of the disclosure provides a wire harness capable of suppressing a twisting force that acts on a metal terminal. 
     The wire harness of the present disclosure is a wire harness including a core wire having a parent braided wire obtained by braiding together assembled wires including twisted wires, and a metal terminal welded to the parent braided wire of the core wire, the twisted wires forming the parent braided wire including a first twisted wire twisted in a first rotation direction and a second twisted wire twisted in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction. 
     According to a wire harness of the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress a twisting force that acts on a metal terminal. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a plan view of a wire harness in one embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a cross-sectional view taken along  2 - 2  of  FIG.  1    in one embodiment. 
         FIG.  3    is a cross-sectional view of a parent braided wire in a first separate example. 
         FIG.  4    is a plan view of a wire harness in a second separate example. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Description of Embodiments of Disclosure 
     Initially, modes of the present disclosure will be enumerated and described. 
     A wire harness of the present disclosure is: 
     [1] A wire harness including a core wire having a parent braided wire obtained by braided together assembled wires including twisted wires, and a metal terminal welded to the parent braided wire of the core wire, the twisted wires constituting the parent braided wire including a first twisted wire twisted in a first rotation direction and a second twisted wire twisted in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction. 
     According to this configuration, the core wire has a parent braided wire obtained by braiding together assembled wires including twisted wires, and thus the wire strands tend not to unravel and have excellent flexibility and high tensile strength, compared to cases such as where the wire strands are simply provided in parallel, for example. Also, the twisted wires constituting the parent braided wire include a first twisted wire twisted in a first rotation direction and a second twisted wire twisted in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction, and thus a force that twists in one direction acting on the metal terminal welded to the parent braided wire is suppressed. 
     [2] Preferably, the first twisted wire and the second twisted wire are the same in number. 
     According to this configuration, the number of first twisted wires and the number of second twisted wires are the same, and thus the twisting force acting on the metal terminal welded to the parent braided wire can be equalized in both directions. 
     [3] Preferably, wire strands constituting the first twisted wire and wire strands constituting the second twisted wire are the same in number. 
     According to this configuration, the number of wire strands constituting the first twisted wires and the number of wire strands constituting the second twisted wires are the same, and thus the twisting force acting on the metal terminal welded to the parent braided wire can be equalized in both directions. 
     [4] Preferably, the parent braided wire is obtained by braiding together the assembled wires to be flat. 
     According to this configuration, the parent braided wire is obtained by braiding together the assembled wires to be flat, and thus the wire harness can be lowered in height. 
     [5] Preferably, the assembled wires are each formed to be flat. 
     According to this configuration, the assembled wires are formed to be flat, and thus the wire harness can be further lowered in height. 
     Detailed Description of Embodiments of Disclosure 
     Specific examples of a wire harness of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these illustrative examples and is defined by the claims, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein. 
     As shown in  FIG.  1   , a wire harness  11  includes a core wire  12 , an insulating exterior material  13  covering the core wire  12 , and a metal terminal  14 . 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1  and  2   , the core wire  12  is formed from a parent braided wire  17  obtained by braiding together twisted wires  16  serving as assembled wires which are each obtained by twisting wire strands  15 . Specifically, the parent braided wire  17  constituting the core wire  12  of the present embodiment is obtained by braiding together four twisted wires  16  in such a manner as to be in a flat state, or in other words, in such a manner that the vertical height is smaller than the width. Note that the vertical direction is a direction corresponding to a direction orthogonal to the surface of the page of  FIG.  1   , and the width is the length in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the core wire  12  as seen vertically. 
     Also, as shown in  FIG.  2   , the twisted wires  16  are each obtained by twisting four wire strands  15  in a rotation direction around an axis Z in the extending direction thereof. Note that, in  FIG.  1   , the boundaries between the wire strands  15  in a single twisted wire  16  are not illustrated, and the core wire  12  is illustrated in such a manner that the boundaries between the twisted wires  16  are easily ascertained visually. 
     Also, as shown in  FIG.  2   , the plurality of twisted wires  16  constituting the parent braided wire  17  include first twisted wires  16   a  twisted in a first rotation direction X 1  around the axis Z and second twisted wires  16   b  twisted in a second rotation direction X 2  opposite to the first rotation direction X 1 . The number of first twisted wires  16   a  and the number of second twisted wires  16   b  are the same at two each. In other words, half of the even number of twisted wires  16  are the first twisted wires  16   a , and the remaining half are the second twisted wires  16   b . Also, as aforementioned, the number of wire strands  15  constituting the first twisted wires  16   a  and the number of wire strands  15  constituting the second twisted wires  16   b  are the same at four each. 
     The insulating exterior material  13  is, for example, obtained by assembling a pair of upper and lower resin molded articles, and covers the core wire  12  while also being provided to sandwich the core wire  12  and holding the braided state of the twisted wires  16  in the core wire  12 . 
     The metal terminal  14  is welded to the parent braided wire  17  of the core wire  12 . Specifically, an end portion  18  of the parent braided wire  17  is ultrasonically welded to the metal terminal  14  disposed downward thereof while being pressed downward from above. Note that, given that the end portion  18  of the parent braided wire  17  is ultrasonically welded so as to be flattened vertically, the boundaries between the wire strands  15  in the end portion  18  of the parent braided wire  17  and the boundaries between the twisted wires  16  are not illustrated in  FIG.  1   . 
     Next, operation of the wire harness  11  configured as described above will be described. 
     The core wire  12  of the wire harness  11  has the parent braided wire  17  obtained by braiding together the twisted wires  16 , and thus the wire strands  15  tend not to unravel and have excellent flexibility and high tensile strength, compared to cases such as where the wire strands  15  are simply provided in parallel, for example. 
     Next, effects of the above embodiment will be described hereinafter. 
     (1) The plurality of twisted wires  16  constituting the parent braided wire  17  include the first twisted wires  16   a  twisted in the first rotation direction X 1  and the second twisted wires  16   b  twisted in the second rotation direction X 2  opposite to the first rotation direction X 1 , and thus a force that twists in one direction acting on the metal terminal  14  welded to the parent braided wire  17  is suppressed. 
     (2) The numbers of first twisted wires  16   a  and second twisted wires  16   b  constituting the parent braided wire  17  are the same, and thus the twisting force acting on the metal terminal  14  welded to the parent braided wire  17  can be equalized in both directions. 
     (3) The number of wire strands  15  constituting the first twisted wires  16   a  and the number of wire strands  15  constituting the second twisted wires  16   b  are the same, and thus the twisting force acting on the metal terminal  14  welded to the parent braided wire  17  can be equalized in both directions. 
     (4) The parent braided wire  17  is obtained by braiding together the twisted wires  16  to be flat, and thus the wire harness  11  can be lowered in height. 
     The present embodiment can be modified and implemented as follows. The present embodiment and the following modification examples can be implemented in combination with each other as long as there are no technological incompatibilities.
         In the above embodiment, the parent braided wire  17  is obtained by braiding together the twisted wires  16  serving as the assembled wires, but may be implemented as another parent braided wire obtained by braiding together other assembled wires including twisted wires.       

     For example, as in a first separate example schematically shown in  FIG.  3   , a parent braided wire  23  may be obtained by braiding together four assembled wires  22  which are each obtained by providing four twisted wires  21  in parallel, so as to be in a flat state with a similar braiding method to the above embodiment. In this case, for example, the four wire strands  21  in each assembled wire  22  may include first twisted wires  21   a  twisted in the first rotation direction X 1  and second twisted wires  21   b  twisted in the second rotation direction X 2  opposite to the first rotation direction X 1 . Such a configuration similarly allows a force that twists in one direction acting on the metal terminal welded to the parent braided wire  23  to be suppressed. Also, the assembled wires  22  are formed to be flat, and thus the wire harness can be further lowered in height. 
     Also, for example, a parent braided wire may be obtained by braiding together a plurality of braided wires serving as the assembled wires which are each obtained by braiding a plurality of twisted wires. 
     Also, for example, a parent braided wire may be obtained by braiding together a plurality of twisted wires serving as the assembled wires which are each obtained by further twisting a plurality of twisted wires. 
     Also, for example, a parent braided wire may be obtained by braiding together a plurality of twisted wires serving as the assembled wires which are each obtained by twisting a plurality of braided wires.
         In the above embodiment, the parent braided wire  17  is obtained by braiding together the twisted wires  16  in such a manner as to be in a flat state, or in other words, in such a manner that the vertical height is smaller than the width, but is not limited thereto, and may be obtained by braiding twisted wires into a shape other than a flat shape.       

     For example, as in a second separate example shown in  FIG.  4   , a parent braided wire  31  may be obtained by braiding the twisted wires  16 , or specifically, the first twisted wires  16   a  and the second twisted wires  16   b , in such a manner as to be in an approximately circular state in cross section, or in other words, in such a manner that the vertical height and the width are substantially the same.
         In the above embodiment, the numbers of first twisted wires  16   a  and second twisted wires  16   b  constituting the parent braided wire  17  are the same, but are not limited thereto, and the numbers thereof may differ. For example, an odd number of twisted wires  16  may be provided, the number of first twisted wires  16   a  may be one more or one less than the number of second twisted wires  16   b.      In the above embodiment, the number of wire strands  15  constituting the first twisted wires  16   a  and the number of wire strands  15  constituting the second twisted wires  16   b  are the same, but are not limited thereto, and, for example, the numbers of some thereof may differ.   In the above embodiment, the parent braided wire  17  is obtained by braiding together four twisted wires  16  serving as the assembled wires, but is not limited thereto, and may, for example, be obtained by braiding together assembled wires of another number such as six or eight.   In the above embodiment, the twisted wires  16  are each obtained by twisting four wire strands  15 , but are not limited thereto, and may, for example, be obtained by twisting wire strands  15  of another number such as eight or a dozen or more.   In the above embodiment, the wire harness  11  is provided with the insulating exterior material  13  that is obtained by assembling a pair of upper and lower resin molded articles and covers the core wire  12  while also being provided to sandwich the core wire  12  and holding the braided state of the twisted wires  16  in the core wire  12 , but is not limited thereto, and may instead be provided with an insulating member having another configuration that covers the core wire  12 .       

     The present disclosure encompasses the following implementation examples. Reference numerals of the constituent elements of the embodiment are given not for limitation purposes but to facilitate understanding. 
     [Note 1] A wire harness ( 11 ) including: 
     a parent braided wire ( 17 ;  23 ;  31 ); and 
     two metal terminals fixed one to either end of the parent braided wire ( 17 ;  23 ;  31 ), 
     wherein the parent braided wire ( 17 ;  23 ;  31 ) has a plurality of twisted wires braided together, and 
     the plurality of twisted wires include one or more first twisted wires ( 16   a ;  21   a ) and one or more second twisted wires ( 16   b ;  21   b ), 
     the first twisted wires ( 16   a ;  21   a ) each include a plurality of wire strands ( 15 ) twisted in a first rotation direction (X 1 ), and 
     the second twisted wires ( 16   b ;  21   b ) each include a plurality of wire strands ( 15 ) twisted in a second rotation direction (X 2 ) which is an opposite direction to the first rotation direction (X 1 ). 
     [Note 2] In one or more implementation examples of the present disclosure, the parent braided wire ( 17 ;  23 ;  31 ) may be braided in such a manner that at least one of the first twisted wires ( 16   a ;  21   a ) and at least one of the second twisted wires ( 16   b ;  21   b ) contact each other. 
     [Note 3] In one or more implementation examples of the present disclosure, the parent braided wire ( 17 ;  23 ;  31 ) may have the first twisted wires ( 16   a ;  21   a ) and the second twisted wires ( 16   b ;  21   b ) alternately arranged side by side in a width direction thereof or a thickness direction thereof. 
     [Note 4] In one or more implementation examples of the present disclosure, in the parent braided wire ( 17 ;  23 ;  31 ), the number of twisted wires ( 16 ;  21 ) arranged side by side in the width direction thereof may be greater than the number of twisted wires ( 16 ;  21 ) arranged side by side in the thickness direction thereof. 
     [Note 5] In one or more implementation examples of the present disclosure, the parent braided wire ( 23 ) may include a plurality of assembled wires ( 22 ) braided together, and the assembled wires ( 22 ) may each include a plurality of the twisted wires ( 21 ) arranged side by side in a width direction of the wire harness ( 11 ). 
     [Note 6] In one or more implementation examples of the present disclosure, the assembled wires ( 22 ) may each include one or more of the first twisted wires ( 21   a ) and one or more of the second twisted wires ( 21   b ) arranged side by side in the width direction. 
     [Note 7] In one or more implementation examples of the present disclosure, the parent braided wire ( 23 ) may include three or more of the assembled wires ( 22 ) arranged side by side in the width direction of the wire harness ( 11 ). 
     [Note 8] In one or more implementation examples of the present disclosure, the parent braided wire ( 23 ) may include a plurality of the assembled wires ( 22 ) arranged side by side in a thickness direction of the wire harness ( 11 ). 
     [Note 9] In one or more implementation examples of the present disclosure, the wire harness ( 11 ) may include an insulating exterior material ( 13 ) covering the parent braided wire ( 17 ;  23 ;  31 ).