Patent Description:
The present disclosure generally relates to a harness assembly, such as for connecting sensors with another component, including harness assemblies that may be used in connection with engines, such as in connection with vehicles.

This background description is set forth below for the purpose of providing context only. Therefore, any aspect of this background description, to the extent that it does not otherwise qualify as prior art, is neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the instant disclosure.

Cables and lead wires can act as unintended antennas to both receive and to radiate an electromagnetic interference (EMI) signal. As such, shields are often incorporated in cable designs as additional conductors added to the cables or wires to help isolate the electromagnetic fields of conductors within the shield from those outside of the shield. Such cable designs may be used, for example, in harness assemblies for connecting sensors, such as a quantitative debris monitoring (QDM) sensor of a vehicle engine's oil debris monitoring system (ODMS), to another component, such as a signal conditioner unit (SCU) in the vehicle. Considerations that go into the cable designs include, but are not limited to, pull strength, strain relief, EMI protection, repairability, environmental sealing, environmental compatibility, ease of manufacturing, and weight.

<CIT> discloses a harness assembly including a cable having a cable shielding around at least a portion of a plurality of wires, a connector with an integrated backshell arranged at an angle with respect to the cable, a first protective layer disposed around at least a portion of the backshell and the cable to provide EMI shielding, and a second protective layer around at least a portion of the first protective layer, one end of the second protective layer clamped onto a shoulder portion of the backshell by spring clamps or stainless steel bands, thus forming a two layer structure.

<CIT> discloses a harness assembly and a method for assembling a harness assembly. In one embodiment, the harness assembly comprises cable wires connected to an electrical connector and surrounded by a MCF braided shield and an overbraid. The MCF braided shield is connected to the electrical connector via an integrated backshell using a band clamp. The integrated backshell is arranged at a <NUM>° angle with respect to the cable. A heatshrink boot is shrunk around the electrical connector and the overbraid and the overbraid is terminated short of the electrical connector, but within the coverage of heatshrink boot to help secure the overbraid.

<CIT> discloses a harness assembly having a deformable tubular shell between a cable and a fitting. One end of the tubular shell is placed over a rubber cover on the cable and secured thereto and the other end of the tubular shell receives a threaded portion of the fitting body and is secured thereto.

There is a desire for solutions/options that minimize or eliminate one or more challenges or shortcomings of cable designs, particularly in to harness assemblies, with respect to one or more of these considerations. The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate examples of the present field and should not be taken as a disavowal of scope.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a harness assembly includes a cable having a cable shielding around at least a portion of a plurality of wires, a connector with an integrated backshell arranged at an angle with respect to the cable, an external braid disposed around at least a portion of the backshell and the cable, and an overbraid around at least a portion of the external braid, the overbraid having two layers. The overbraid is a single material folded over at least a portion of itself to form the two layers and an end of the overbraid is secured to the cable.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for assembling a harness assembly includes arranging a cable and a connector with an integrated backshell at an angle with respect to one another, providing an external braid around at least a portion of the backshell and an end of the cable adjacent to the connector, and providing an overbraid around at least a portion of the external braid, the overbraid having two layers. A single material of the overbraid is folded over at least a portion of itself to form the two layers and an end of the overbraid is secured to the cable.

The foregoing and other aspects, features, details, utilities, and/or advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent from reading the following description, and from reviewing the accompanying drawings.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the present disclosure will be described in conjunction with embodiments and/or examples, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the present disclosure to these embodiments and/or examples. On the contrary, the present disclosure is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.

In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, a harness assembly <NUM> includes a cable <NUM> and a connector <NUM> arranged adjacent a first end of the cable <NUM>. The connector <NUM> is arranged at an angle with respect to the cable <NUM>, which may be varied based upon a particular required cable configuration. Without limitation, in embodiments, the angle may be approximately <NUM> degrees. In other embodiments, the angle may be approximately <NUM> degrees. The cable <NUM> includes a cable shielding <NUM> through which wires <NUM> extend, and the cable shielding may terminate at or within the connector <NUM>. An opposing end of the cable <NUM> may be configured for attachment and/or connection to a sensor, such as, for example and without limitation, a quantitative debris monitoring (QDM) sensor of a vehicle engine's oil debris monitoring system (ODMS). The connector <NUM> may generally be configured for attachment and/or connection to another component, such as a signal conditioning unit (SCU) of the vehicle. A polytetrafluoroethylene tubing <NUM> may be provided at or around a first end of the cable <NUM>.

With embodiments, the connector <NUM> may be, for example, an EN2997 connector, and includes an integrated backshell <NUM>, such as generally illustrated in <FIG>. The harness assembly <NUM> includes an external braid <NUM> disposed around at least a portion of the backshell <NUM> and around the first end of the cable <NUM>, which may include the polytetrafluoroethylene tubing <NUM>.

The harness assembly <NUM> further includes an overbraid <NUM> disposed around at least a portion of the external braid <NUM>. The overbraid <NUM> includes a first layer <NUM> and a second layer <NUM>. The overbraid <NUM> is made from a single material that is folded over at least a portion of itself to form the layers <NUM>, <NUM>. In such a configuration, the folded end <NUM> may be in a region of the backshell <NUM> and a free end <NUM> of the overbraid <NUM> may be in a region of the first end of the cable <NUM>. However, it should be appreciated that the folded end <NUM> and the free end <NUM> may be switched. The double layer configuration of the overbraid <NUM> may reduce the size of potential gaps in the braid, thereby enhancing the shielding effectiveness against electromagnetic interference. Such a configuration further may, inter alia, reduce weight and/or cost.

With embodiments, the external braid <NUM> and/or the overbraid <NUM> may be comprised of copper and/or may be nickel-plated.

In embodiments, the external braid <NUM> and the first layer <NUM> of the overbraid <NUM> may be connected or secured to the backshell <NUM>, for example, via a band <NUM>. The second layer <NUM> of the overbraid <NUM> may be disposed around the band <NUM>. Where the overbraid <NUM> is comprised of a single material folded over itself, the single material may be folded over the band <NUM>. The free end <NUM> of the overbraid <NUM> is secured to the cable <NUM>, for example, via a cable tie <NUM>.

With embodiments, the harness assembly <NUM> may include shrink tubing <NUM> around at least a portion of the overbraid <NUM> in a region of the backshell <NUM> and/or shrink tubing <NUM> around at least a portion of the overbraid <NUM> in a region of the first end of the cable <NUM> and/or around at least portion of the cable <NUM>. The harness assembly <NUM> may further include a heat shrink boot <NUM> from the connector <NUM> to the cable <NUM>. The heat shrink boot <NUM> generally may have an angled configuration at a same or similar angle at which the cable <NUM> and the connector <NUM> are arranged with respect to each other, e.g., <NUM> degrees or <NUM> degrees. The shrink tubing <NUM>, <NUM> and/or the heat shrink boot <NUM> may be made of a fluoroelastomer material, and further may be bonded via a compatible epoxy. The shrink tubing <NUM>, <NUM> and/or the heat shrink boot <NUM> generally may provide for environmental protection and/or sealing. A service loop in the wires <NUM> may be accessible by cutting back the shrink boot <NUM>.

With embodiments generally illustrated in <FIG>, a method for assembling a harness assembly <NUM> includes arranging a cable <NUM> and a connector <NUM> at an angle with respect to one another. The method includes providing an external braid <NUM> around at least a portion of a backshell <NUM> integrated with the connector <NUM> and around a first end of the cable <NUM> adjacent to the connector <NUM>.

In embodiments, the method may include feeding the wires <NUM> through a wall of the external braid <NUM> prior to termination. This may allow the external braid <NUM> to be installed as a flat braid on one side of the backshell <NUM> (e.g., the side facing the cable <NUM>). Commonly, to achieve a full or significant effect of the strain relief capabilities, the external braid <NUM> generally should not stretch significantly in a direction that is not axial to the braid <NUM> to avoid overstretching. When stretched, the flat braid may hold more strength than a stretched braid around the circular backshell <NUM>, thereby better ensuring that strain relief may be achieved and/or avoiding over-stretching of the braid.

The method includes providing an overbraid <NUM> around at least a portion of the external braid <NUM>, where the overbraid <NUM> has two layers <NUM> and <NUM>. The two layers <NUM> and <NUM> are formed by providing a single material of the overbraid <NUM> having extra length, such as generally shown in <FIG>, and folding the single material over at least a portion of itself, such as generally shown in <FIG>.

In embodiments, the method may also include securing the single material of the overbraid <NUM> to the external braid <NUM> in a region of the connector <NUM>, for example, via a band <NUM>, where the single material may be folded over the band <NUM>. The method further includes securing a free end <NUM> of the overbraid <NUM> opposite a folded end <NUM> to the external braid <NUM> in a region of the first end of the cable <NUM>.

With embodiments, the method may further include providing a shrink tubing <NUM> around at least a portion of the overbraid <NUM> in a region of the backshell <NUM> and/or shrink tubing <NUM> around at least a portion of the overbraid <NUM> in a region of the first end of the cable <NUM> and/or around at least portion of the cable <NUM> and/or providing a heat shrink boot <NUM> from the connector <NUM> to the cable <NUM>. The shrink tubing <NUM>, <NUM> and/or the heat shrink boot <NUM> may be bonded via a compatible epoxy.

Various embodiments are described herein for various apparatuses, systems, and/or methods. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the overall structure, function, manufacture, and use of the embodiments as described in the specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known operations, components, and elements have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described in the specification. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the embodiments described and illustrated herein are non-limiting examples, and thus it can be appreciated that the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein may be representative and do not necessarily limit the scope of the embodiments.

Reference throughout the specification to "various embodiments," "with embodiments," "in embodiments," or "an embodiment," or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in various embodiments," "with embodiments," "in embodiments," or "an embodiment," or the like, in places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Thus, the particular features, structures, or characteristics illustrated or described in connection with one embodiment/example may be combined, in whole or in part, with the features, structures, functions, and/or characteristics of one or more other embodiments/examples without limitation given that such combination is not illogical or non-functional.

It should be understood that references to a single element are not necessarily so limited and may include one or more of such element. Any directional references (e.g., plus, minus, upper, lower, upward, downward, left, right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the present disclosure, and do not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of embodiments.

Joinder references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and the like) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between a connection of elements and relative movement between elements. As such, joinder references do not necessarily imply that two elements are directly connected/coupled and in fixed relation to each other. The use of "e.g." in the specification is to be construed broadly and is used to provide non-limiting examples of embodiments of the disclosure, and the disclosure is not limited to such examples. Uses of "and" and "or" are to be construed broadly (e.g., to be treated as "and/or"). For example and without limitation, uses of "and" do not necessarily require all elements or features listed, and uses of "or" are intended to be inclusive unless such a construction would be illogical.

While processes, systems, and methods may be described herein in connection with one or more steps in a particular sequence, it should be understood that such methods may be practiced with the steps in a different order, with certain steps performed simultaneously, with additional steps, and/or with certain described steps omitted.

Claim 1:
A harness assembly (<NUM>), comprising:
a cable (<NUM>) having a cable shielding (<NUM>) around at least a portion of a plurality of wires (<NUM>);
a connector (<NUM>) with an integrated backshell (<NUM>) arranged at an angle with respect to the cable (<NUM>);
an external braid (<NUM>) disposed around at least a portion of the backshell (<NUM>) and the cable (<NUM>); and
an overbraid (<NUM>) around at least a portion of the external braid (<NUM>);
characterized by
the overbraid (<NUM>) having two layers (<NUM>, <NUM>);
wherein the overbraid (<NUM>) is a single material folded over at least a portion of itself to form the two layers (<NUM>, <NUM>); and
wherein an end of the overbraid (<NUM>) is secured to the cable (<NUM>).