Wire harness

• US 9,840,211 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2015
• Issued: 12/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Ogue, Takeshi, Adachi, Hideomi, Inao, Shinichi, Oga, Tatsuya, Yoshida, Hiroyuki, Suguro, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Dhirubhai R
• Application Number:
  US14/845,585
• Publication Number:
  US 20150375696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0215 Protecting, fastening and routing means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/0462 Tubings, i.e. having a closed section
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/0468 Corrugated
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/0487 with a non-circular cross-section H02G3/0468, H02G3/0475 take precedence

Abstract

A wire harness includes an electrical pathway and a pipe like exterior member that covers the electrical pathway. The exterior member includes a low rigidity portion which is flexible and a high rigidity portion which is unflexible and has a rigidity higher than the low rigidity portion, and the low rigidity portion and the high rigidity portion are successively arranged in an extending direction of the electrical pathway.

Claims

1. A wire harness comprising:

an electrical pathway;

a pipe like exterior member that covers the electrical pathway,

wherein the exterior member includes a low rigidity portion which is flexible and a high rigidity portion which is unflexible and has a rigidity higher than the low rigidity portion,

the low rigidity portion and the high rigidity portion are successively arranged in an extending direction of the electrical pathway,

the exterior member includes an inner surface that extends along the high rigidity portion,

the inner surface that extends along the high rigidity portion is interrupted by a plurality of recesses spaced along the inner surface, and

the electrical pathway spans each of the recesses without contacting a bottom of each of the recesses when the electrical pathway is inserted into the exterior member.

2. The wire harness according to claim 1,

wherein the high rigidity portion includes a straight part, and the recesses are located along a portion of the inner face of that extends along the straight part.

3. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein curved surfaces or tapers are formed at edges of the recesses.

4. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the electrical pathway is formed to have a length to pass though a vehicle floor and extend across the vehicle floor, and

the exterior member is also formed to have a length to pass though the vehicle floor and extend across the vehicle floor.

5. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the electrical pathway and the exterior member are formed to have a length to pass through a vehicle floor and extend across the vehicle floor, and

the high rigidity portion is formed to fit a shape of an attached portion of the vehicle floor to which the exterior member is attached.

6. The wire harness according to claim 5, wherein the high rigidity portion includes a first wall which is configured to face the floor and a second wall which is configured to face the ground, and

the first wall and the second wall are parallel to each other.

7. The wire harness according to claim 6, wherein the high rigidity portion includes two support walls which support the first wall and the second wall and are symmetrically arranged.

8. The wire harness according to claim 7, wherein the two support walls are formed into a curved shape in which each of center portions of the two support walls are away from each other.

9. The wire harness according to claim 7, wherein each of the two walls includes a deform part with which outer faces of the two walls are deformable toward outside and inner faces of the two walls are deformable in accordance with the deformation of the outer faces toward outside.

10. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein a first set of the plurality of recesses extend in the circumferential direction of the exterior member, and a second set of the plurality of recesses extend in an axial direction of the exterior member such that each one of the second set of the plurality of recesses intersects each one of the first set of the plurality of recesses.

11. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the exterior member includes an outer surface that extends along the high rigidity portion,

the outer surface is interrupted by a plurality of ridges spaced along the outer surface, and

each of the plurality of ridges is paired with a corresponding one of the plurality of recesses.