Source: http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/8202115.html
Timestamp: 2018-11-16 20:56:28
Document Index: 515306526

Matched Legal Cases: ['application No. 2009', 'art 13', 'art 13', 'art 19', 'art 13', 'art 13', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 27', 'art 25', 'art 25', 'art 28', 'art 27', 'arts 8', 'art 19', 'art 36', 'art 38', 'art 38', 'art 38', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'arts 39', 'art 39', 'arts 39', 'arts 39', 'arts 39', 'arts 39', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'arts 38', 'art 39', 'art41', 'arts 37', 'arts 37', 'art 39', 'arts 37', 'arts 37', 'art 37', 'arts 37', 'arts 39', 'art 40', 'arts37', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'art 39', 'art 40', 'art 40', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'art 39', 'art 37', 'art 40', 'art 37', 'art 40', 'art 37', 'art 37', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'art 37', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'arts 38', 'art 37', 'art 39', 'art 37', 'art 37', 'arts 38', 'art 39', 'art 40', 'art 40', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'art 38', 'arts 81', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 81', 'art 81', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art41', 'arts 38', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'art 41', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'arts 38', 'art 38', 'arts 38', 'art 38', 'art 38', 'art 38', 'art 40', 'art 82', 'arts 38']

Wire harness and method of manufacturing the same - Patent # 8202115 - PatentGenius
8202115 Wire harness and method of manufacturing the same
Application: 12/923,640
Inventors: Suzuki; Sachio (Hitachi, JP)
Kataoka; Yuta (Hitachi, JP)
Hayashi; Shinya (Hitachi, JP)
Field Of Search: 439/587; 439/604; 439/460; 439/936
Foreign Patent Documents: 11-066807; 2000-048901
Abstract: A wire harness includes a plurality of cables arranged in parallel, and a connector including a housing to which end portions of the plurality of cables are connected. An air-tight block includes two closing parts, an insertion part, a press receiving part, and an air escape opening part that opens from a cable insertion hole between the closing parts toward an outside of the air-tight block. Air-tightness between the air-tight block and the cables is maintained by a first step that a melting member is vibrated and pressed to the press receiving part to have a melt resin, which is poured into a gap between the closing parts, and a periphery of the cables is covered with the melt resin, a second step that the air escape opening part is closed, and a third step that the cables are pressed by the melt resin poured into the gap.
1. A wire harness, comprising: a plurality of cables arranged in parallel; and a connector comprising a housing to which end portions of the plurality of cables areconnected, wherein the housing comprises an air-tight block at a side thereof that the plurality of cables are connected, the air-tight block comprising a plurality of cable insertion holes formed in parallel through which the plurality of cables areinserted into the housing, wherein the cable insertion holes are formed to have a gap with a predetermined distance between the cables and the air-tight block, two adjacent ones of the cable insertion holes being formed to overlap with each other and tocommunicate with each other, wherein the air-tight block further comprises two closing parts for closing a space between the air-tight block and the cables at two places along a longitudinal direction of the cables, and for defining a part of the cableinsertion hole, an insertion part into which a melting member formed of a resin is inserted without pressing the cables, and which communicates with the cable insertion hole between the closing parts, a press receiving part formed in an inner wallsurface of the insertion part or the cable insertion hole, for allowing a forward end of the melting member inserted to be pressed, and an air escape opening part that opens from the cable insertion hole between the closing parts toward an outside of theair-tight block, and wherein air-tightness between the air-tight block and the cables is maintained by: a first step that the melting member is inserted into the insertion part, and the melting member is vibrated and pressed to the press receiving partso that a forward end portion of the melting member in contact with the press receiving part is melted into a melt resin, the melt resin is poured into the gap between the closing parts, and a periphery of the cables is covered with the melt resin; asecond step that the air escape opening part is closed; and a third step that the melting member is pressed so as to be melted, so that the cables are pressed by the melt resin poured into the gap between the closing parts.
2. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the insertion part is formed in the air-tight block between the closing parts and on an end portion side of the cables.
3. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the insertion part comprises a first insertion part formed to allow the melting member to be inserted into a part that the adjacent cable insertion holes communicate with each other.
4. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the insertion part comprises a second insertion part into which the melting member is inserted, and which communicates with two at both ends of the plurality of cable insertion holes arranged inparallel.
5. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the air-tight block is formed of a resin, and the melting member has a melting temperature lower than the air-tight block.
6. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the air-tight block is formed of a resin, the melting member and the air-tight block are formed of a material equal to each other or materials of which melting temperatures are close to eachother, and a metal member or a high melting point member formed of a resin of which a melting temperature is higher than the melting member is installed in the press receiving parts against which the melting member is pressed.
7. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the closing part comprises a sandwiching part for sandwiching the cables so as to keep the gap formed on the periphery of the cables to have a predetermined distance.
8. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the air-tight block is formed of a pair of division air-tight blocks that is formed of a resin, and is divided into two pieces so as to vertically sandwich the plurality of cables arranged inparallel, and on the condition that the plurality of cables are sandwiched between the pair of division air-tight blocks, the pair of division air-tight blocks is welded by ultrasonic welding so as to be integrated.
9. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of insertion parts and the plurality of press receiving parts are formed and the melting member is inserted into the plurality of insertion parts, respectively, and the pluralityof melting members inserted into the plurality of insertion parts are pressed simultaneously.
10. A method of manufacturing a wire harness comprising a plurality of cables arranged in parallel, and a connector comprising a housing to which end portions of the plurality of cables are connected, wherein the housing comprises an air-tightblock at a side thereof that the plurality of cables are connected, the air-tight block comprising a plurality of cable insertion holes formed in parallel through which the plurality of cables are inserted into the housing, wherein the cable insertionholes are formed to have a gap with a predetermined distance between the cables and the air-tight block, two adjacent ones of the cable insertion holes being formed to overlap with each other and to communicate with each other, and wherein the air-tightblock further comprises two closing parts for closing a space between the air-tight block and the cables at two places along a longitudinal direction of the cables, and for defining a part of the cable insertion hole, an insertion part into which amelting member formed of a resin is inserted without pressing the cables, and which communicates with the cable insertion hole between the closing parts, a press receiving part formed in an inner wall surface of the insertion part or the cable insertionhole, for allowing a forward end of the melting member inserted to be pressed, and an air escape opening part that opens from the cable insertion hole between the closing parts toward an outside of the air-tight block, the method comprising: a first stepthat the melting member is inserted into the insertion part, and the melting member is vibrated and pressed to the press receiving part so that a forward end portion of the melting member in contact with the press receiving part is melted into a meltresin, the melt resin is poured into the gap between the closing parts, and a periphery of the cables is covered with the melt resin; a second step that the air escape opening part is closed; and a third step that the melting member is pressed so as tobe melted, so that the cables are pressed by the melt resin poured into the gap between the closing parts, in order to maintain air-tightness between the air-tight block and the cables.
Description: Thepresent application is based on Japanese patent application No. 2009-293346 filed on Dec. 24, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
A conventional wire harness 111 shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B uses a wire seal 114 as the air-tightness maintaining structure.
Then, as shown in FIG. 18A, a wire harness 121 is proposed, that is configured to maintain the air-tightness between the outer housing 123 and the cable 122 by that the cable 122 is sandwiched between the outer housing 123 formed of a resin anda welding member 124 formed of a resin, the welding member 124 is welded to the outer housing 123 due to ultrasonic welding by using a horn 125 (for example, refer to JP-A-2000-48901).
As show in FIG. 18 B, the wire harness 121 has a structure obtained by a method that grooves 123a are formed in the outer housing 123 and grooves 124a are formed in the welding member 124 respectively, cables 122 are disposed in the grooves 123aof the outer housing 123 and simultaneously the welding member 124 is stacked from above so as to locate the grooves 124a within positions of the cables 122, and in this condition, the horn 125 is brought into contact with an upper surface of the weldingmember 124 and is pressed from above down below while the welding member 124 is vibrated, and the welding member 124 is welded to the outer housing 123 due to the ultrasonic welding.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a wire harness that is capable of sufficiently maintaining air-tightness between a housing of a connector and a cable without melting a sheath of the cable as much as possible and a methodof manufacturing the wire harness. (1) According to one embodiment of the invention, a wire harness comprises:
wherein the air-tight block further comprises two closing parts for closing a space between the air-tight block and the cables at two places along a longitudinal direction of the cables, and for defining a part of the cable insertion hole, aninsertion part into which a melting member formed of a resin is inserted without pressing the cables, and which communicates with the cable insertion hole between the closing parts, a press receiving part formed in an inner wall surface of the insertionpart or the cable insertion hole, for allowing a forward end of the melting member inserted to be pressed, and an air escape opening part that opens from the cable insertion hole between the closing parts toward an outside of the air-tight block, and
a first step that the melting member is inserted into the insertion part, and the melting member is vibrated and pressed to the press receiving part so that a forward end portion of the melting member in contact with the press receiving part ismelted into a melt resin, the melt resin is poured into the gap between the closing parts, and a periphery of the cables is covered with the melt resin;
a second step that the air escape opening part is closed; and
a third step that the melting member is pressed so as to be melted, so that the cables are pressed by the melt resin poured into the gap between the closing parts.
(i) The insertion part is formed in the air-tight block between the closing parts and on an end portion side of the cables.
(ii) The insertion part comprises a first insertion part formed to allow the melting member to be inserted into a part that the adjacent cable insertion holes communicate with each other.
(iii) The insertion part comprises a second insertion part into which the melting member is inserted, and which communicates with two at both ends of the plurality of cable insertion holes arranged in parallel.
(iv) The air-tight block is formed of a resin, and the melting member has a melting temperature lower than the air-tight block.
(v) The air-tight block is formed of a resin, the melting member and the air-tight block are formed of a material equal to each other or materials of which melting temperatures are close to each other, and a metal member or a high melting pointmember formed of a resin of which a melting temperature is higher than the melting member is installed in the press receiving parts against which the melting member is pressed.
(vi) The closing part comprises a sandwiching part for sandwiching the cables so as to keep the gap formed on the periphery of the cables to have a predetermined distance.
(vii) The air-tight block is formed of a pair of division air-tight blocks that is formed of a resin, and is divided into two pieces so as to vertically sandwich the plurality of cables arranged in parallel, and on the condition that theplurality of cables are sandwiched between the pair of division air-tight blocks, the pair of division air-tight blocks is welded by ultrasonic welding so as to be integrated.
(viii) The plurality of insertion parts and the plurality of press receiving parts are formed and the melting member is inserted into the plurality of insertion parts, respectively, and the plurality of melting members inserted into theplurality of insertion parts are pressed simultaneously. (2) According to another embodiment of the invention, a method of manufacturing a wire harness comprising a plurality of cables arranged in parallel, and a connector comprising a housing to whichend portions of the plurality of cables are connected,
wherein the air-tight block further comprises two closing parts for closing a space between the air-tight block and the cables at two places along a longitudinal direction of the cables, and for defining a part of the cable insertion hole, aninsertion part into which a melting member formed of a resin is inserted without pressing the cables, and which communicates with the cable insertion hole between the closing parts, a press receiving part formed in an inner wall surface of the insertionpart or the cable insertion hole, for allowing a forward end of the melting member inserted to be pressed, and an air escape opening part that opens from the cable insertion hole between the closing parts toward an outside of the air-tight block,
a third step that the melting member is pressed so as to be melted, so that the cables are pressed by the melt resin poured into the gap between the closing parts, in order to maintain air-tightness between the air-tight block and the cables.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a wire harness is constructed such that the air-tightness between an air-tight block and cables is maintained by: the first step that a melting member is inserted into a cable insertion hole betweentwo sandwiching parts via the first insertion part, and the melting member is vibrated and pressed to a first press receiving part so that a forward end portion of the melting member in contact with the press receiving part is melted into a melt resin,the melt resin is poured into a gap between the sandwiching parts, and the periphery of the cables is covered with the melt resin, the second step that an air escape opening part is closed, and the third step that the melting member is further pressed soas to be melted, so that the cables are pressed by the melt resin poured into the gap. In addition, the air escape opening part is formed in the cable insertion hole and between of the sandwiching parts, and the melt resin is poured into the gap betweenthe sandwiching parts while the air is allowed to escape through the air escape opening part. Thereby, a problem can be prevented that when the melt resin is poured into the gap, the air stored in the gap between the sandwiching parts causes a part ofthe cables being not covered with the melt resin.
FIG. 6 is a side view schematically showing a first bonding terminal in the wire harness shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 8A is a side view schematically showing a second bonding terminal in the wire harness shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 8B is a bottom view schematically showing a second bonding terminal in the wire harness shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart schematically showing a procedure for manufacturing the wire harness shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 10A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view schematically showing a state that a melting member is inserted into a first insertion part, in an explanation of a manufacturing method of the wire harness shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 10B-10B in FIG. 10A;
FIG. 11A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view schematically showing a state that a melting resin is filled in the gap between both of the sandwiching parts, in an explanation of a manufacturing method of the wire harness shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 12A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view schematically showing a state that an air escape opening part is closed by a closing part, in an explanation of a manufacturing method of the wire harness shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 12B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 12B-12B in FIG. 12A;
FIG. 13A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view schematically showing a state that an inner pressure of the melt resin is heightened so as to allow a sheath of cables to be pressed, in an explanation of a manufacturing method of the wire harnessshown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 13B-13B in FIG. 13A;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view schematically showing a wire harness according to another embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line E-E in FIG. 14;
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line F-F in FIG. 14;
FIG. 17A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional wire harness;
FIG. 17B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 17B-17B in FIG. 17A;
FIG. 18A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view schematically showing a conventional wire harness; and
FIG. 18B is an exploded transverse cross-sectional view schematically showing an air-tightness maintaining structure in the conventional wire harness.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a wire harness according to one embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B inFIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D in FIG. 1. Further, the detail will be explained later, but FIG. 1 shows a state after a melting member 37 ismelted and FIGS. 2 to 5 show a state before the melting member 37 is melted.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a wire harness 1 includes a plurality of cables 2a to 2c arranged in parallel and a connector 3 to which end portions of the cables 2a to 2c are connected.
The cables 2a to 2c include a central conductor 4 formed of copper or aluminum, and a sheath 5 formed on a periphery of the central conductor 4. The cables 2a to 2c can be also configured to include an insulator, a shield conductor and thesheath 5 that are formed on the periphery of the central conductor 4 in this order. Electricity of different voltage and/or current is transmitted to each of the cables 2a to 2c. For example, in the embodiment, three cables 2a to 2c are used on theassumption of a power-supply line of three-phase alternating current for connection between a motor and an inverter, and alternating currents that have a different phase by 120 degrees with each other are transmitted to each of the three cables 2a to 2c.
It is preferable that the first outer housing 7a is formed of metal such as aluminum having a high electric conductivity, a high heat conductivity and a light weight in view of shield performance, radiation properties and reduction in weight ofthe connector 3, but it can be formed of a resin or the like. In the embodiment, the first outer housing 7a is formed of aluminum.
As shown in FIG. 6, the insulation members 12a to 12c are fixed to a surface of each of the first connecting terminals 6a to 6c opposite to a surface to be bonded to the second bonding terminals 9a to 9c. In addition, the second insulationmember 12d is fixed to an inner surface of the first outer housing 7a so as to face a surface opposite to a surface to be bonded to the first bonding terminal 6c of the second bonding terminal 9c that locates at the outermost position when the firstbonding terminals 6a to 6c and the second bonding terminal 9a to 9c are stacked. Each of the insulation members 12a to 12d are fixed in such a position that they project to a side of the forward ends of the first bonding terminals 6a to 6c, and theinsulation members 8a to 8d are chamfered at the corners located at the side into (from) which the second bonding terminals 9a to 9c are inserted (removed) in order to enhance insertion property of the second bonding terminals 9a to 9c. Further, in FIG.6, the first insulation members 12a to 12c are shown by simplifying the structure thereof and the first insulation members 12a to 12c are shown in the same fashion.
The connection member 13 is inserted into the first outer housing 7a from a side of the surfaces of the first bonding terminals 6a to 6c (FIG. 4 shows as a side of the upper surfaces) to which the first insulation members 12a to 12c are fixed,and presses them from the head part 13a toward the forward end of the shaft part 13b of the connection member 13 (FIG. 4 shows as from the upper portion toward the lower portion) by that the screw part 19 located at the forward end of the shaft part 13bis screwed to a threaded screw hole 20 formed on an inner peripheral surface of the first outer housing 7a, and collectively fixes and electrically connects the first bonding terminals 6a to 6c and the second bonding terminals 96a to 9c at each of thecontacts.
In an upper part of the first outer housing 7a (FIG. 4 shows as an upper side), a connection member insertion hole 23 into which the connection member 13 is inserted is formed. The connection member insertion hole 23 is formed so as to have atubular shape and the lower end portion (FIG. 4 shows as a lower side) of the tubular shape is folded interiorly. A peripheral edge part of a lower surface of the head part 13a of the connection member 13 comes into contact with the folded part, so thatstroke of the connection member 13 can be controlled.
As shown in FIG. 7, the second bonding terminals 9a to 9c arranged in both end portions at the time of the alignment include a swaging part 25 for swaging the conductive body 4 exposed from the forward end parts of the cables 2a, 2c, and aU-shaped contact 26 integrally formed with the swaging part 25. A tapered part 27 is formed in the forward end part of the U-shaped contact 26 for the purpose of enhancing insertion properties.
As shown in FIG. 8, the second bonding terminal 9b arranged in a central portion at the time of the alignment includes a swaging part 25 for swaging the conductive body 4 exposed from the forward end part of the cable 2b, and a U-shaped contact26 integrally formed with the swaging part 25 similarly to the second bonding terminals 9a to 9c, but the second bonding terminal 9b is configured to be folded at a body part 28 so that the U-shaped contact 26 is located on the central axis of the cable2b. A tapered part 27 is formed in the forward end part of the U-shaped contact 26 for the purpose of enhancing insertion properties.
When both of the connector parts 8, 11 are inserted into each other, each of the second bonding terminals 9a to 9c is inserted between each of the first bonding terminals 6a to 6c that form a pair with the second bonding terminals 9a to 9c andthe insulation members 12a to 12d. And, due to the insertion, each of one surfaces of the first bonding terminals 6a to 6c and each of one surfaces of the second bonding terminals 9a to 9c face so as to form a pair with each other, and simultaneouslythe first bonding terminals 6a to 6c, the second bonding terminals 9a to 9c and the insulation members 12a to 12d are alternately arranged so as to form a stacked state. In this state, when the connection member 13 is operated through the connectionmember operation hole 33 and the screw part 19 of the connection member 13 is screwed to the threaded screw hole 20 of the first outer housing 7a so as to be fastened, the connection member 13 is pushed into a bottom part of the threaded screw hole 20while rotated, and simultaneously the first insulation member 12a, the first insulation member 12b, the first insulation member 12c and the second insulation member 12d are pressed in this order by the elastic member 16, so that each of the contacts ispressed so as to be sandwiched between any two of the insulation members 12a to 12d and each of the contacts is brought into contact with each other in an insulated state. At this time, each of the first bonding terminals 6a to 6c and each of the secondbonding terminals 9a to 9c are somewhat bent due to pressing force of the insulation members 12a to 12d, so as to be brought into contact with each other in a wide range.
The wire harness 1 includes an air-tight block 35 formed in a side which is a part of the second housing 10, more particular, a part of the second inner housing 10b and at which the plurality of cables 2a to 2c are connected, the air-tight block35 having a plurality of cable insertion holes 34 formed in parallel, for allowing the plurality of cables 2a to 2c to be inserted into the second housing 10.
The cable insertion holes 34 formed in the air-tight block 35 in parallel is formed to have a diameter larger than the cables 2a to 2c, and is formed to have a gap 36 with a predetermined distance between the cables 2a to 2c and the air-tightblock 35. The gap 36 is a space into which a melt resin obtained when a melting member 37 described below is melted is poured, and the gap part 36 is formed to have a width being wide to such an extent that the melt resin can be positively poured. Inaddition, the cable insertion holes 34 are formed to be communicated with each other so that the cable insertion holes 34 adjacent to each other are stacked on each other. Namely, in the embodiment, the gaps 36 formed around the cables 2a to 2c adjacentto each other are communicated with each other.
In the embodiment, as the closing part 38, a sandwiching part 38a is formed, for sandwiching the cables 2a to 2c so as to keep a distance between the cables 2a to 2c and the air-tight block 35 to be constant and to keep the gap 36 formed aroundthe cables 2a to 2c to have a predetermined distance. The sandwiching part 38a is formed by that a part of the cable insertion hole 34 is reduced in diameter to almost the same diameter as the diameter of the cables 2a to 2c (a diameter slightly largerthan the diameter of the cables 2a to 2c). In the embodiment, two sandwiching parts 38a are formed in a rear end portion of the air-tight block 35 in a longitudinal direction of the cables 2a to 2c and the melt resin is poured into the gap 36 betweenboth of the sandwiching parts 38a. The gap 36 has a length between both of the sandwiching parts 38a (a length along a longitudinal direction of the cables 2a to 2c) of for example, 5 mm.
In addition, at least in the sandwiching parts 38a, the air-tight block 35 is formed to be divided into two pieces so as to be vertically (refer to FIGS. 1 and 3) sandwich the cables 2a to 2c arranged in parallel. This is a countermeasureagainst that it becomes difficult to insert the cables 2a to 2c into the air-tight block 35 (the cable insertion hole 34) due to the formation of the sandwiching parts 38a. In the embodiment, in order to divide the two sandwiching parts 38a, a part ofthe rear end portion of the air-tight block 35 (FIG. 3 shows as an upper right side) is divided, so as to be separately formed. Of the divided air-tight blocks 35, a part fixed to a side of the second outer housing 10a is referred to as a first divisionair-tight block 35a and a part that is divided from the first division air-tight block 35a so as to be separately formed is referred to as a second division air-tight block 35b. Prior to a process of melting the melting member 37, a pair of the divisionair-tight blocks 35a, 35b is melted due to the ultrasonic welding so as to be integrated with each other in a state that the cables 2a to 2c are sandwiched between a pair of the division air-tight blocks 35a, 35b.
In the embodiment, since three cables 2a to 2c are arranged in parallel, a total of two first insertion parts 39 are formed, of which one is formed between the cable 2a and the cable 2b and another is formed between the cable 2b and the cable2c, but is not limited to this, the number of the first insertion part 39 can be one or not less than three. In addition, in the embodiment, the two first insertion parts 39 are formed in the same position in a longitudinal direction of the cables 2a to2c, but is not limited to this, the first insertion parts 39 can be formed in different positions in the longitudinal direction of the cables 2a to 2c, and for example, a plurality of the first insertion parts 39 can be formed between the cable 2a andthe cable 2b in the longitudinal direction. The first insertion parts 39 is formed in the air-tight block 35 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a and in a side of an end portion of the cables 2a to 2c (a side of the second bonding terminals 9a to9c).
In addition, in the air-tight block 35, an air escape opening part 41 that opens from the cable insertion hole 34 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a toward the outside of the air-tight block 35. The air escape opening part 41 is used forallowing an air existing in the gap 36 before the melt resin is poured when the melt resin is poured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a to escape to the outside of the gap 36.
It is preferable that the air escape opening part 41 is formed at a location where the melt resin is filled finally when the melt resin is poured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a. In the embodiment, the first insertionpart 39 into which the melting member 37 is inserted is formed at a location between the cables 2a to 2c adjacent to each other and in a side of an end portion of the cables 2a to 2c (FIGS. 3, 4 show as a left side), so that the air escape opening part41 is formed at a location where the melt resin is filled finally, namely at a location in an insertion side of the cables 2a to 2c (FIGS. 3, 4 show as a right side) and in side surfaces of the air-tight block 35 (FIG. 4 shows as top and bottom surfaces,and FIG. 5 shows as right and left surfaces), along the parallel arrangement direction of the cables 2a to 2c.
The shaft parts 37b of the melting member 37 are formed to have a diameter equal to or less than a distance between the cables 2a to 2c adjacent to each other. In the embodiment, the shaft parts 37b are formed to have a diameter equal to thedistance between the cables 2a to 2c adjacent to each other. Due to this, when the melting member 37 is inserted into the first insertion part 39, the shaft parts 37b are brought into contact with the cables 2a to 2c (sheath 5), but the insertiondirection of the melting member 37 is perpendicular to the parallel arrangement direction, so that the sheath 5 is prevented from being pressed and the sheath 5 is also prevented from being melted due to the heat generation between the shaft parts 37band the sheath 5. The shaft part 37b of the melting member 37 has a diameter of, for example, 1 to 2 mm.
The shaft parts 37b of the melting member 37 is set to have such a length that an amount of the melt resin to be melted becomes such an extent that the gap 36 is perfectly filled with the melt resin or the amount becomes somewhat larger than theextent. In addition, in the embodiment, two first insertion parts 39 and two first press receiving part 40 are formed, and two melting member 37 are used, and the two melting member 37 are formed to have almost the same length. The reason why thiscomposition is adopted that generally, in order to supply the melt resin to the gap 36 uniformly, it is preferable that the two melting members 37 are melted at almost the same speed, and in the embodiment, due to this, by adopting the above-mentionedcomposition that the two melting member 37 are formed to have almost the same length, the above-mentioned preferable composition "the two melting members 37 are melted at almost the same speed" can be realized by a simple mechanism that the two meltingmembers 37 are pressed simultaneously. Further, in order that the two melting members 37 are pressed simultaneously, for example, they can be pressed by one horn in common.
In the embodiment, the melting members 37 are formed to have a pin shape, but the shape of the melting member 37 is not limited to this, for example, the melting member 37 can be formed to have a plate-like shape. In addition, the shaft parts37b of the melting member 37 can be formed to have a taper shape that tapers toward the forward end thereof gradually for the purpose that the forward end portion is easily melted.
When the wire harness 1 is manufactured, first, end portions of the cables 2a to 2c in which the second bonding terminals 9a to 9c are installed are inserted into the cable insertion holes 34 of the first division air-tight block 35a, and therespective cables 2a to 2c are held in the second outer housing 10a in alignment with each other and apart from each other at predetermined intervals by the second inner housing 10b.
After that, the second division air-tight block 35b is welded to the first division air-tight block 35a due to ultrasonic welding, and a pair of the division air-tight blocks 35a, 35b is integrated and simultaneously the cables 2a to 2c aresandwiched between the sandwiching parts 38a.
After the pair of the division air-tight blocks 35a, 35b is integrated with each other due to the ultrasonic welding, a resin filling process that the melt resin is poured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a is carried out.
As shown in FIG. 9, the resin filling process includes a first step that the melting member 37 is inserted into the cable insertion hole 34 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a via the first insertion part 39, and the melting member 37 isvibrated and simultaneously pressed to the first press receiving part 40 so that a forward end portion of the melting member 37 that comes into contact with the press receiving part 40 is melted, the melt resin that is the melting member 37 melted ispoured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a, and peripheries of the cables 2a to 2c are covered with the melt resin, the second step that the air escape opening part 41 is closed, and a third step that the melting member 37 isfurther pressed so as to be melted, so that the cables 2a to 2c are pressed by the melting resin poured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a.
Hereinafter, each step of the resin filling process will be explained in detail.
In the first step of the resin filling process, first, the air escape opening part 41 is opened (Step S1), and the melting member 37 is inserted into the first insertion part 39 (Step S2). Cross-sections of main part of the wire harness 1 atthe above-mentioned time are shown in FIGS. 10A, 10B. As shown in FIGS. 10A, 10B, a horn 42 is brought into contact with the head part 37a of the melting member 37.
After that, vibration and pressurization of the melting member 37 are started by the horn 42 (Step S3). When the melting member 37 is vibrated and simultaneously is pressed to the first press receiving part 40, heat is generated between aforward end of the shaft part 37b of the melting member 37 and the first press receiving part 40, so that the forward end of the shaft part 37b of the melting member 37 is melted. A melt resin obtained by that the forward end of the shaft part 37b ofthe melting member 37 is melted is poured into the gap 36 (the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a) formed around the cables 2a to 2c. Further, at this time, two melting members 37 are pressed by the horn 42 simultaneously.
After the vibration and pressurization of the melting member 37 are started by the horn 42, waiting for an elapse of a first setting time set preliminarily is carried out (Step S4). Namely, in the Step S4, the waiting is carried out until atime counted from the start of the vibration and pressurization of the melting member 37 reaches the first setting time set preliminarily. This first setting time is a time for waiting for that the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a isperfectly filled with the melt resin. Cross-sections of main part of the wire harness 1 when the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a is perfectly filled with the melt resin are shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B.
As shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B, when the vibration and pressurization of the melting member 37 are continued, the forward end of the shaft part 37b of the melting member 37 is melted sequentially and is poured into the gap 36, so that the gap 36between both of the sandwiching parts 38a is perfectly filled with the melt resin 43. When the first setting time elapses and the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a is perfectly filled with the melt resin 43, the first step is completedand moves into the second step.
In the second step, the air escape opening part 41 is closed (Step S5). Cross-sections of main part of the wire harness 1 at the above-mentioned time are shown in FIGS. 12A, 12B.
As shown in FIGS. 12A, 12B, in the embodiment, since the air escape opening part 41 is formed in side surfaces of the air-tight block 35 (FIG. 12B shows as right and left surfaces), closing members 44 are pushed from both sides of the air-tightblock 35, so that the air escape opening part 41 is closed.
When the air escape opening part 41 is closed by the closing members 44, the second step is completed and moves into the third step.
In the third step, after the air escape opening part 41 is closed in the second step, the vibration and pressurization of the melting member 37 by the horn 42 are further continued, and waiting for an elapse of a second setting time setpreliminarily is carried out (Step S6). Namely, in the Step S6, the waiting is carried out until a time counted from the closing of the air escape opening part 41 reaches the second setting time set preliminarily. This second setting time is a time forwaiting for that an inner pressure of the melt resin 43 poured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a is heightened and the cables 2a to 2c are pressed by the melt resin 43. Cross-sections of main part of the wire harness 1 when thecables 2a to 2c are pressed by the melt resin 43 are shown in FIGS. 13A, 13B.
As shown in FIGS. 13A, 13B, when the air escape opening part 41 is closed, the melt resin 43 is trapped in the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a. In this state, when the vibration and pressurization of the melting member 37 bythe horn 42 are further continued, the inner pressure of the melt resin 43 is heightened and the sheath 5 of the cables 2a to 2c is pressed by the melt resin 43 so as to be reduced in diameter. Further, at the time, the head part 37a of the meltingmember 37 comes into contact with a peripheral edge of the first insertion part 39 and the head part 37a is also welded to the air-tight block 35.
After that, the vibration and pressurization of the melting member 37 by the horn 42 are stopped (Step S7). And then, the melt resin 43 with which the cables 2a to 2c are covered is solidified, the melting member 37 and the air-tight block 35are integrated. The head part 37a of the melting member 37 protruding from the air-tight block 35 can be scraped or can be left as it stands.
As explained above, in the wire harness 1 according to the embodiment, the air-tightness between the air-tight block 35 and the cables 2a to 2c is maintained via such three steps as, the first step that the melting member 37 is inserted into thecable insertion hole 34 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a via the first insertion part 39, and the melting member 37 is vibrated and simultaneously pressed to the first press receiving part 40 so that a forward end portion of the melting member37 that comes into contact with the press receiving part 40 is melted, the melt resin that is the melting member 37 melted is poured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a, and peripheries of the cables 2a to 2c are covered with themelt resin, the second step that the air escape opening part 41 is closed, and the third step that the melting member 37 is further pressed so as to be melted, so that the cables 2a to 2c are pressed by the melting resin poured into the gap 36 betweenboth of the sandwiching parts 38a.
The melt resin 43 obtained by that the melting member 37 is melted is poured into the gap 36 between the cables 2a to 2c and the air-tight block 35, peripheries of the cables 2a to 2c can be covered with the melt resin 43 with no space andsimultaneously the air-tight block 35 that is installed to be air-tight to the second housing 10 and the melting member 37 can be integrated with no space, and an air-tightness between the second housing 10 and the cables 2a to 2c can be sufficientlymaintained. In addition, the embodiment is configured to have a composition that the cables 2a to 2c are pressed by the melt resin 43 poured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a, so that the air-tightness can be further enhanced.
In addition, in the wire harness 1, the air escape opening part 41 is formed in the cable insertion hole 34 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a, and the melt resin 43 is poured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38awhile an air is allowed to escape from the air escape opening part 41, so that generation of a problem can be prevented, that, for example, when the melt resin 43 is poured into the gap 36, an air is stored in the gap 36 between both of the sandwichingparts 38a, and a part of the cables 2a to 2c is not covered with the melt resin 43.
In addition, in the wire harness 1, since the cable insertion holes 34 are formed to be communicated with each other so that the cable insertion holes 34 adjacent to each other are stacked on each other (refer to FIGS. 5 and 15), a distancebetween cables 2a to 2c can be smaller, a pitch of the cables 2a to 2c can be further shortened and it can contribute to size reduction of the wire harness 1.
In addition, in the wire harness 1, the sandwiching parts 38a for sandwiching the cables 2a to 2c between the sandwiching parts 38a are formed as the closing part 38 in the air-tight block 35, so that the gap 36 formed on the peripheries of thecables 2a to 2c can be kept to have a predetermined distance, and the melt resin 43 can be surely supplied to the peripheries of the cables 2a to 2c. Namely, generation of a problem that, for example, a part of the cables 2a to 2c is not covered withthe melt resin 43 can be prevented.
Furthermore, in the wire harness 1, two melting members 37 are pressed simultaneously and the two melting members 37 are melt at almost the same speed, so that the melt resin 43 can be uniformly supplied to the gap 36.
Next, another embodiment according to the invention will be explained.
The wire harness 80 shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 has basically the same composition as the wire harness 1 explained in FIGS. 1 to 5, but is different from the wire harness 1 in an inserting position of the melting member 37.
In addition, in the wire harness 80, as the second insertion parts 81 are formed in both ends of the cables 2a to 2c, a position at which the air escape opening part 41 is formed is changed. The air escape opening part 41 is formed at aposition where the melt resin 43 is filled finally, namely above or below the cable 2b arranged in the center, perpendicularly to a longitudinal direction of the cables 2a to 2c. In the wire harness 80, the air escape opening part 41 is formed above thecable 2b arranged in the center, namely in only a side where the second insertion part 81 is formed. The reason why this composition is adopted that the second insertion part 81 and the air escape opening part 41 are formed in the same side as theair-tight block 35 (FIG. 16 shows as an upper side), so that pressurization by the horn 42 and closing of the air escape opening part 41 by the closing member 44 can be carried out from the same direction, and the closing of the air escape opening part41 by the closing member 44 can be carried out easily.
When the wire harness 80 is manufactured, similarly to a case of the wire harness 1, a composition can be adopted, that after the melt resin 43 is poured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a, the air escape opening part 41is closed, the melting member 37 is further pressed so as to be melted, and an inner pressure of the melt resin 43 is heightened so as to press the sheath 5 of the cables 2a to 2c.
In accordance with the wire harness 80, similarly to the wire harness 1, the melt resin 43 obtained by that the melting member 37 is melted can be poured into the gap 36 between the cables 2a to 2c and the cables 2a to 2c are pressed by the meltresin 43, so that the air-tight block 35 and the air-tightness between the air-tight block 35 and the cables 2a to 2c can be maintained without allowing the sheath 5 of the cables 2a to 2c to be melted.
Also, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when the vibration and pressurization to the melting member 37 are started and then the first setting time elapses, the first step moves into the second step and the air escape opening part 41 is closed,but not limited to this, for example, a composition can be also adopted, that the melt resin 43 that overflows the air escape opening part 41 is detected visually, and when the melt resin 43 overflows the air escape opening part 41, the air escapeopening part 41 is closed. Further, in this case, in order to easily carry out visual confirmation that the melt resin 43 overflows the air escape opening part 41, it is preferred to use the melting member 37 having a color deferent from a color of theair-tight block 35.
In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when the air escape opening part 41 is closed and then the second setting time elapses, the above-mentioned embodiment, when the vibration and pressurization to the melting member 37 are stopped,but not limited to this, for example, a composition can be also adopted, that a pressure sensor is installed in the horn 42 for detecting a pressure that presses the melting member 37, and when an output value of the pressure sensor becomes higher than apredetermined threshold value, the vibration and pressurization to the melting member 37 are stopped.
In addition, the above-mentioned embodiment is configured to have a composition that when the second division air-tight block 35b is welded to the first division air-tight block 35a due to the ultrasonic welding, the pressing by the horn isstopped at the time when the air-tight block 35 is adhered to the sheath 5 of the cables 2a to 2c at the sandwiching parts 38a to such an extent that the melt resin 43 is prevented from being leaked, but not limited to this, a composition can be alsoadopted, that in order to perfectly prevent the sheath 5 from being melted, a protection member that is formed of a metal or a resin having a melting temperature higher than the air-tight block 35 is formed in a periphery of the sheath 5 located at aposition to be held by the sandwiching parts 38a, so that the air-tight block 35 and the sheath 5 are prevented from being directly brought into contact with each other.
Also, in the above-mentioned embodiment, two sandwiching parts 38a are formed as the blocking part 38, and the melt resin 43 is poured into the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a, but not limited to this, for example, a compositioncan be also adopted, that the blocking part 38 is formed to include one sandwiching part 38a and a cable insertion hole closing member for closing a rear end portion of the cable insertion hole 34. In this case, in a state that the rear end portion ofthe cable insertion hole 34 is closed by the cable insertion hole closing member, the melt resin 43 can be poured into the gap 36 between the sandwiching part 38a and the cable insertion hole closing member. The cable insertion hole closing member canbe removed or can be left as it stands after the melt resin 43 is solidified.
In addition, the above-mentioned embodiment is configured to have a composition that the melting member 37 has a melting temperature lower than the air-tight block 35, but not limited to this, a composition can be also adopted, that the meltingmember 37 and the air-tight block 35 are formed of the same material with each other or formed of materials of which melting temperatures are close to each other, and a metal member or a poorly-fusible resin member formed of a resin having a meltingtemperature higher than the melting member 37 is installed in the press receiving parts (the first press receiving part 40 and/or second press receiving part 82) to which the melting member 37 is pressed, so that the air-tight block 35 is prevented frombeing melted. In particular, the melting member 37 and the air-tight block 35 are formed of the same material with each other, so that when the melt resin 43 is solidified, the melting member 37 and the air-tight block 35 can be further firmlyintegrated with each other, and the air-tightness can be further enhanced.
In the above-mentioned embodiment, a case that the gap 36 between both of the sandwiching parts 38a is perfectly filled with the melt resin 43 has been explained, but the invention is not limited to this, a case that the gap 36 is not perfectlyfilled with the melt resin 43 and there is somewhat space can be also included in the scope of the technical idea of the invention.
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