Wire harness

• US 9,505,358 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2012
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Ichikawa, Hidehiro, Takamatsu, Masahiro, Hashizawa, Shigemi
• Primary Examiner(s): LOPEZ CRUZ, DIMARY S
• Application Number:
  US14/233,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20140174784A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,593 Days
• Field of Search: 174/102.D, 174/102.R, 174/70.R, 174/68.3, 174/68.1, 138/118, 138/121, 138/122, 138/133
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0207 Wire harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0215 Protecting, fastening and routing means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 11/24 wound from strips or bands F16L11/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/0045 Cable-harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/04 Flexible cables, conductors, or cords, e.g. trailing cables
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/04 Protective tubing or conduits, e.g. cable ladders or cable troughs
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/0406 Details thereof installation or suspension of conduit channels and other supports H02G3/263
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/0468 Corrugated

Abstract

A wire harness for which an exterior member can be maintained in a desired shape is provided. A flexible, tubular corrugated tube (16) which covers electric wires (18) and a route keeping tape (17) which is more difficult to extend or buckle in the widthwise direction than the corrugated tube (16) are included, and the route keeping tape (17) is wound helically around a bent part (20), which is formed by bending the corrugated tube (16), along the longitudinal direction.

Claims

1. A wire harness comprising:

an exterior member, having flexibility and a corrugated tubular shape comprising ridges and valleys arranged in a longitudinal direction, and covering at least one conductive path; and

a route keeping tape having rigidity in a widthwise direction such that the route keeping tape is more difficult to extend and buckle in the widthwise direction than the exterior member,

wherein the route keeping tape is wound helically around a bent part, which is formed by bending the exterior member, along the longitudinal direction, and

wherein the widthwise direction of the route keeping tape is substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction such that an interval between adjacent ridges which sandwich the valleys is covered by the route keeping tape to maintain the bended shape of the bent part.

2. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein

the exterior member is formed with the ridges and the valleys which extend in a peripheral direction, alternately along the longitudinal direction, and

top surfaces of the ridges are formed to a peripheral surface which extends in parallel to a central axis of the exterior member in a cross section in parallel to the central axis, and a width of the top surfaces of the ridges in the central axis direction is longer than a width of bottom surfaces which define the valleys in the central axis direction.

3. The wire harness according to claim 2, wherein

a width of the route keeping tape in the central axis direction is longer than the width of the bottom surfaces which define the valleys in the central axis direction, so that the route keeping tape is wound around the bent part to cover the valleys.

4. The wire harness according to claim 3, wherein

the width of the route keeping tape in the central axis direction is less than an interval distance including one ridge of the ridges and one valley of the valleys in the central axis direction;

and

the route keeping tape is wound helically around the bent part such that the route keeping tape is not overlapped.

5. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein

the exterior member is formed with the ridges and the valleys which extend in a peripheral direction, alternately along the longitudinal direction,

top surfaces of the ridges are formed into a plane shape, a rising angle of the ridges is sharp, and a width of the top surfaces of the ridges in a central axis direction of the exterior member is longer than a width of bottom surfaces of the valleys in the central axis direction.