JP2013145708A - Connector cover, wire harness, and method for manufacturing connector cover - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily manufacture a connector cover which is easily mounted on a connector.SOLUTION: A connector cover 30 is mounted on an optional connector 28 attached to a wire harness. The connector cover 30 comprises: a cover body part 32 which is formed in a cylindrical shape covering the outer periphery of the optional connector 28 by hot-pressing a nonwoven member; and an overhang part which is formed in a long shape and is attached to the cover body part 32 with its one end extending from the cover body part 32.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for covering a connector used in an in-vehicle wire harness.

  Conventionally, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose techniques for covering an optional connector of an in-vehicle wire harness.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for winding a buffer sheet around the outer periphery of a connector.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a protective portion in which a nonwoven fabric is heated and pressurized to integrally form a main body portion that accommodates an optional connector and an overhanging portion for mounting and fixing the main body portion to the wire harness. . The protection portion is attached to the electric wire with the overhang portion extending from the connector in a state where the connector is accommodated in the main body portion.

JP 2001-240136 A JP 2011-233453 A

  However, in patent document 1, the operation | work which winds the buffer sheet | seat around each connector is troublesome.

  In patent document 2, since the main-body part and the overhang | projection part are formed from the nonwoven fabric of 1 sheet, it is necessary to manufacture a protection part from the nonwoven fabric of a comparatively complicated shape, The manufacturing operation is difficult.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily manufacture a connector cover that can be easily attached to a connector.

  In order to solve the above problem, a connector cover according to a first aspect is a connector cover attached to a connector attached to a wire harness, and a non-woven member is hot-pressed so that the outer periphery of the connector is A cover main body portion formed in a covering cylinder shape, and an overhang portion formed in an elongated shape and attached to the cover main body portion with one end portion extending from the cover main body portion.

  A 2nd aspect is a connector cover which concerns on a 1st aspect, Comprising: The said overhang | projection part is attached to the inner surface of the said cover main-body part.

  A 3rd aspect is a connector cover which concerns on a 1st or 2nd aspect, Comprising: The said overhang | projection part is formed of the non-woven member, and is attached to the said cover main-body part by welding.

  A 4th aspect is a connector cover which concerns on any one 1st-3rd aspect, Comprising: The said cover main-body part is formed by hot-pressing in the state which wound the strip | belt-shaped said non-woven member in multiple times. Has been.

  A 5th aspect is a connector cover which concerns on a 4th aspect, Comprising: The said overhang | projection part is formed of the nonwoven member, and the said cover main body is the position of the inner peripheral side edge part of the said strip-shaped nonwoven member. It is welded to the part.

  A wire harness according to a sixth aspect includes a wire harness main body portion in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled, a connector attached to a part of end portions of the plurality of electric wires, and a first attached to the connector. To a connector cover according to any one of the fifth aspect.

  The manufacturing method of the connector cover which concerns on a 7th aspect is a manufacturing method of the connector cover with which the connector attached to the wire harness is mounted | worn, Comprising: The cylinder which covers the outer periphery of the said connector by hot-pressing a nonwoven member A step of forming a cover body portion having a shape; a step of preparing an elongated protrusion portion; and one end portion of the extension portion extending from the cover body portion, and Attaching to the cover main body.

  According to the connector cover according to the first aspect, the cover main body portion is formed in a cylindrical shape covering the outer periphery of the connector by hot pressing the non-woven member, so the connector is inserted into the cover main body portion. be able to. Further, in this state, by attaching the overhanging portion to the electric wire extending from the connector, the connector cover can be easily attached to the connector so as not to drop off from the connector. And since the cover main-body part is formed with the non-woven member as a separate member from the overhang | projection part, the shape of the non-woven member can be simplified and a connector cover can be manufactured easily.

  According to the 2nd aspect, in the state which accommodated the connector in the cover main-body part, an overhang | projection part is strongly pressed to a connector and it becomes difficult to drop a connector.

  According to the 3rd aspect, an overhang | projection part can be easily attached to a cover main-body part.

  According to the 4th aspect, the cylindrical cover main-body part excellent in the noise suppression performance can be manufactured easily.

  According to the fifth aspect, when the overhanging portion is attached to the cover main body portion, the inner peripheral side end portion of the belt-like non-woven member is also welded to the outer layer side portion, and the inner peripheral side end portion is peeled off. It becomes difficult.

  According to the 6th aspect, the connector cover manufactured simply can be easily attached to a connector, and it can mount | wear to a wire harness etc. using an overhang | projection part.

  According to the manufacturing method of the connector cover according to the seventh aspect, the cover main body is formed in a cylindrical shape that covers the outer periphery of the connector by hot pressing the non-woven member. Easy to insert into. In addition, since the overhang is attached to the cover body, the connector cover can be easily attached to the connector using the overhang so that the cover is not easily detached from the connector. And since a cover main-body part and an overhang | projection part are formed with a separate nonwoven member, the shape of each nonwoven member can be simplified and a connector cover can be manufactured easily.

It is the schematic of the wire harness WH which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the state which covered the connector cover on the connector for options. It is a front view which shows the state which covered the connector cover on the connector for options. It is a side view which shows the state which attached the connector cover to the connector for options. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of a connector cover. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of a connector cover. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of a connector cover. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of a connector cover. It is explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of a connector cover.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the connector cover which concerns on embodiment, a wire harness, and a connector cover is demonstrated.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the wire harness WH. The wire harness WH includes a wire harness body portion WH1 configured by bundling a plurality of electric wires. The binding of the plurality of electric wires is maintained by a wound adhesive tape or a binding band. The connector 12 is attached to the end of the electric wire constituting the wire harness main body WH1, and the connector 12 is an electronic control unit, various sensors, and various drive devices in a state where the wire harness WH is assembled to the vehicle. Connected to other wire harnesses. Thereby, the wire harness WH performs power supply or signal transmission / reception.

  The wire harness main body WH1 includes a trunk line 24 and a branch line 26 that branches in the middle of the trunk line 24 in the longitudinal direction. The branch line 26 is constituted by a part of the electric wires constituting the wire harness main body WH1, and an optional connector 28 is attached to the end thereof. The option connector 28 is used for connection with an electrical device that is optionally mounted on the vehicle. For this reason, in a vehicle on which this electrical apparatus is not mounted, the option connector 28 is disposed in the vicinity of the main line 24 without being connected to other connectors.

  When the option connector 28 is not used, the connector cover 30 is attached to the option connector 28. That is, when the option connector 28 is not used, the option connector 28 may come into contact with other peripheral components and generate abnormal noise. Therefore, by covering the option connector 28 with the connector cover 30, even if the option connector 28 interferes with peripheral components, it is difficult to generate abnormal noise.

  2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the connector cover 30 is put on the option connector 28, FIG. 3 is a front view of the same state, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the connector cover 30 is attached to the option connector 28. It is a side view.

  The connector cover 30 includes a cover main body portion 32 and an overhang portion 40.

  The cover body portion 32 is a portion formed by hot pressing a non-woven member, and is formed in a cylindrical shape that covers the outer periphery of the option connector 28.

  Here, the option connector 28 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, and its outer periphery is surrounded by four side surfaces. Note that, on the outer peripheral side surface of the option connector 28, a locking portion or the like for the mating connector is formed, but is omitted in FIGS. An electric wire constituting the branch line 26 extends from one end portion of the option connector 28. Moreover, although the other end part of the connector 28 for options is formed in the male connector shape or female connector shape which can connect the connector used as the other party, these shapes are also abbreviate | omitted in FIGS.

  The cover main body 32 is formed in a rectangular tube shape corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the option connector 28. When the optional connector 28 is inserted into the cover main body 32, the four inner surfaces of the cover main body 32 are arranged to face each other in contact with the four inner surfaces of the outer periphery of the option connector 28. In this state, the optional connector 28 is accommodated so as to fit into the cover main body 32. The inner peripheral shape of the cover main body 32 is preferably the same as the outer peripheral shape of the option connector 28. However, the cover main body 32 itself can be deformed relatively easily by the non-woven member. It is not necessary that the outer peripheral shape of the option connector 28 is exactly the same as the outer peripheral shape of the option connector 28 as long as the connector 28 can be accommodated tightly. Further, as will be described later, the inner peripheral shape of the cover main body 32 is slightly larger than the outer peripheral shape of the option connector 28 in consideration of the fact that the overhanging portion 40 is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the cover main body 32. May be.

  In order to prevent the option connector 28 from coming into direct contact with external peripheral components in a state where the cover main body 32 covers the option connector 28, the axial length of the cover main body 32 is optional. Although it is preferable that it is the same as the length dimension which connects the both ends of the connector 28 for use, or larger than this, this is not essential.

  As the non-woven member constituting the cover main body 32, one that can be hardened through a heating process can be used. As such a non-woven member, a material including a basic fiber and an adhesive resin (also called a binder) intertwined with the basic fiber can be used. The adhesive resin is a resin having a melting point (for example, 110 ° C. to 115 ° C.) lower than the melting point of the basic fiber. When the nonwoven member is heated to a processing temperature lower than the melting point of the basic fiber and higher than the melting point of the adhesive resin, the adhesive resin melts and penetrates between the basic fibers. Thereafter, when the nonwoven member has a temperature lower than the melting point of the adhesive resin, the adhesive resin is solidified in a state where the basic fibers are bonded to each other. Thereby, the nonwoven member becomes harder than the state before heating, and is maintained in the molded shape at the time of heating. In addition, the hardness after a hot press process can be adjusted with heating temperature, heating time, the applied pressure at the time of heating, etc. Further, in a portion where the nonwoven members are in contact with each other, the molten adhesive resin is also infiltrated into the contact portion and solidifies. Thereby, the contact part of nonwoven members is joined.

  However, the basic fiber may be any fiber that can maintain the fiber state at the melting point of the adhesive resin, and various fibers can be used in addition to the resin fiber. As the adhesive resin, thermoplastic resin fibers having a melting point lower than that of the basic fiber can be used. The adhesive resin may be granular or fibrous. Alternatively, an adhesive resin layer may be formed on the outer periphery of the core fiber to form a binder fiber, which may be entangled with the basic fiber. As the core fiber in this case, the same material as the basic fiber can be used.

  Examples of the combination of the basic fiber and the adhesive resin include an example in which the basic fiber is a resin fiber of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and the adhesive resin is a copolymer resin of PET and PEI (polyethylene isophthalate). In this case, the melting point of the basic fiber is approximately 250 ° C., and the melting point of the adhesive resin is 110 ° C. to 150 ° C. For this reason, when the nonwoven member is heated to a temperature of 110 ° C. to 250 ° C., the adhesive resin is melted and soaked between the basic fibers that keep the fiber shape without melting. And when a nonwoven member becomes temperature lower than melting | fusing point of adhesive resin, adhesive resin solidifies in the state which couple | bonded basic fibers, The maintenance of the said shaping | molding shape and joining of nonwoven members are performed.

  Moreover, hot press means performing the heat processing with respect to a non-woven member, and the process which presses a non-woven member to a type | mold, and forms in a predetermined shape. The heat treatment and the forming process into a predetermined shape may be performed simultaneously, or may be performed separately continuously. An example of hot pressing suitable for manufacturing the cover main body 32 according to this embodiment will be described in detail later. In addition, it is preferable to form the cover main-body part 32 by hot-pressing in the state which wound the strip | belt-shaped nonwoven member in multiple times. Specific examples and reasons thereof will be described later.

  The overhang | projection part 40 is formed in the elongate shape. Here, the overhanging portion 40 is formed by a non-woven member into an elongated strip shape, more specifically, smaller than the width of one inner surface of the cover main body portion 32 and longer than the axial length of the cover main body portion 32. It is formed in a long strip shape. The overhanging portion 40 itself may or may not be hot pressed. Moreover, when the overhang | projection part 40 is not welded with respect to the cover main-body part 32, you may form with members other than the non-woven member 60. FIG.

  The overhanging portion 40 is attached to the cover main body portion 32 in such a manner that one end portion extends from the cover main body portion 32. Here, one end portion of the overhang portion 40 is attached to one inner side surface (the inner side surface on the upper side in FIGS. 2 to 4) of the cover main body portion 32. Here, the one end part of the overhang | projection part 40 is attached in the aspect extended over the whole axial direction of the cover main-body part 32 with respect to the said one inner surface.

  But the one end part of the overhang | projection part 40 may be attached in the aspect which exists only in a part of axial direction of the cover main-body part 32 with respect to the said one inner surface. Further, one end portion of the overhang portion 40 may be attached to the outer surface of the cover main body portion 32.

  Attachment of the overhanging portion 40 to the cover main body portion 32 may be performed by ultrasonic welding, may be performed by heat welding, or may be performed by an adhesive, a double-sided tape, or the like. In terms of not using any other bonding material, it is preferable that attachment of the overhanging portion 40 to the cover main body portion 32 is performed by welding such as ultrasonic welding or heat welding.

  The length of the overhanging portion 40 extending from the cover main body portion 32 is such that the overhanging portion 40 extends from the option connector 28 to a branch line 26 that is slightly larger than the width of a general adhesive tape 42. The size should be suitable for fixing work.

  In addition, when the cover main body part 32 is formed by hot pressing in a state in which a strip-shaped nonwoven member is wound a plurality of times, the overhanging portion 40 covers the inner peripheral side position of the strip-shaped nonwoven member. It is preferable that the main body 32 is welded. Specific examples and reasons will be described later.

  The connector cover 30 is attached to the option connector 28 as follows. That is, in the state where the end of the overhanging portion 40 extending from the cover main body portion 32 is oriented in the same direction as the branch line 26 extending from the optional connector 28, the optional connector is provided in the cover main body 32. 28 is inserted. At this time, since one end portion of the overhang portion 40 is attached to the inner surface of the cover main body portion 32, the space in the cover main body portion 32 is compressed by the thickness of the overhang portion 40. In combination with the elastic deformation of the connector cover 30 by inserting the option connector 28 into the connector cover 30, the overhanging portion 40 in the cover main body portion 32 presses against the outer periphery of the option connector 28 relatively strongly. It is done. As a result, the option connector 28 is unlikely to drop out of the cover main body 32.

  In the above state, the other end of the overhang 40 extending from the cover main body 32 is disposed along the branch line 26 extending from the option connector 28, and the other end of the overhang 40 And the branch line 26 are fixed. This fixing may be performed by winding the adhesive tape 42 around the other end of the overhang 40 and the branch line 26.

  According to the connector cover 30 and the wire harness WH configured as described above, the cover main body portion 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape that covers the outer periphery of the option connector 28 by hot pressing the non-woven member. The optional connector 28 can be easily inserted into the cover main body 32. Further, in this state, by fixing the overhanging portion 40 to the branch line 26, the connector cover 30 can be made difficult to drop off from the option connector 28. Therefore, the connector cover 30 can be easily attached to the option connector 28.

  And since the cover main-body part 32 and the overhang | projection part 40 are formed with the separate non-woven member, the shape of each non-woven member can be simplified. Thereby, the connector cover 30 can be manufactured easily.

  Since the option connector 28 is covered by the cover main body 32, the option connector 28 is difficult to directly contact with its peripheral members. Further, the cover main body 32 formed by hot pressing the non-woven member is softer than the option connector 28 which is a resin molded product. For this reason, even if the connector cover 30 comes into contact with the peripheral member, it is difficult for abnormal noises to be generated.

  The hardness of the connector cover 30 can be easily adjusted by adjusting the heating temperature, the heating time, the pressurizing force when heating the nonwoven member, and the like. For this reason, within the range which can maintain the shape of the said cover main-body part 32, it can adjust easily also to the softness of the grade which can suppress the noise by contact with another member.

  In addition, when the shape of the connector 28 for options differs, it can respond easily only by changing the simple metal mold | die shape for hot pressing.

  Further, since one end portion of the overhang portion 40 is fixed to the inner surface of the cover main body portion 32, one end portion of the overhang portion 40 is strongly pressed against the option connector 28, and the option connector 28 is connected to the connector cover 30. It becomes difficult to drop off.

  Further, by attaching the overhanging portion 40 to the cover main body portion 32 by welding, the attaching operation of the overhanging portion 40 can be easily performed without using other fixing materials.

  A manufacturing example of the connector cover 30 will be described.

  First, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a belt-like non-woven member 60 is wound around a middle die 68. The middle die 68 is a member formed of metal or the like, and is a prismatic die corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the option connector 28. The non-woven member 60 is set to have the same width dimension as the axial length of the cover main body 32 and is set to a length dimension that can be wound around the middle die 68 at least once.

  At this time, since the relatively thick nonwoven member 60 is difficult to be tightly wound around the middle mold 68, it is preferable to wind the relatively thin nonwoven member 60 around the middle mold 68. When a relatively thin non-woven member 60 is used, the non-woven member 60 is wound a plurality of times in order to obtain a thickness that exhibits sufficient noise suppression performance in the manufactured connector cover 30. Is preferably formed. For example, the cover main body portion 32 may be formed by winding the belt-shaped non-woven member 60 having a thickness of 2 to 4 mm twice and hot-pressing it twice. In this way, by forming the cover main body portion 32 by winding the belt-shaped non-woven member 60 a plurality of times and performing hot pressing, the cylindrical cover main body portion 32 having excellent noise suppression performance can be easily manufactured. it can.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the non-woven member 60 wound around the middle die 68 is hot-pressed.

  A configuration example of a hot press mold used at this time will be described. The hot pressing mold 70 includes a lower mold 72 and an upper mold 80. The lower mold 72 is a member formed of a metal or the like having excellent thermal conductivity, and a lower mold surface 73 is formed on one main surface (upper surface) thereof. The lower mold surface 73 is generally formed in a groove shape opening upward. The depth dimension of the lower mold surface 73 is set to be the same as the height dimension of the connector cover 30 to be processed, and the width dimension of the lower mold surface 73 is set to be the same as the width dimension of the connector cover 30 to be processed. ing. The length dimension of the lower mold surface 73 is set to be equal to or larger than the dimension in the direction of both ends of the connector cover 30 to be processed.

  The upper die 80 is a member formed of a metal or the like having excellent thermal conductivity. Here, a plate shape that can be disposed on the upper surface of the lower die 72 so as to close the upper opening of the lower die surface 73. It is formed in the member. The lower surface of the upper mold 80 is formed on the upper mold surface 83.

  The upper mold surface 83 is disposed so as to close the upper opening of the lower mold surface 73, thereby forming a mold surface capable of forming the outer peripheral surface of the cover main body portion 32. The lower mold 72 and the upper mold 80 are provided with a heating mechanism 78 such as a heater.

  Then, the non-woven member 60 wound around the middle mold 68 as described above is disposed in the lower mold surface 73 together with the middle mold 68.

  Thereafter, the upper mold surface 83 of the upper mold 80 is disposed so as to close the upper opening of the lower mold surface 73. In this state, the non-woven member is hot pressed in the hot pressing mold 70. That is, the nonwoven member 60 is heated from the lower mold surface 73 side and the upper mold surface 83 side in a state where the nonwoven member 60 is pressurized between the middle mold 68 and the lower mold surface 73 and the upper mold surface 83. .

  Thereafter, when the non-woven member 60 is cooled, the surface of the non-woven member 60 is cured in a shape corresponding to the shapes of the lower mold surface 73 and the upper mold surface 83, and the shape is maintained.

  Note that when the non-woven member 60 is hot-pressed, a heating mechanism may be provided in the middle die 68 and heated from the middle die 68 side. Further, the middle mold 68 may be heated and the lower mold 72 and the upper mold 80 may not be heated. In this case, the inner periphery of the connector cover 30 can be cured and the outer periphery can be made relatively soft.

  Alternatively, the non-woven member 60 may be heated and pressed in a flat plate shape and wound around the middle die 68 before being cooled and hardened to form a rectangular tube shape.

  Thereafter, the non-woven member 60 wound around the intermediate die 68 and hot-pressed is taken out from the lower die surface 73 together with the intermediate die 68, and the intermediate die 68 is removed from the non-woven member 60, whereby the cover main body portion 32 is obtained.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, an elongated projecting portion 40 is prepared by a non-woven member 60.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9, the non-woven member 60 is attached to the cover main body 32. At this time, the overhanging portion 40 is preferably welded to the inner peripheral side of the cover main body 32 at the position of the end portion on the inner peripheral side of the cover main body 32 in the wound nonwoven member 60. For example, in a state where one end portion of the overhang portion 40 is overlapped with the inner peripheral side of the position of the cover main body portion 32, the cover main body portion 32 and the base end portion of the overhang portion 40 are made of an ultrasonic vibration applying member. In the sandwiched state, ultrasonic vibration may be applied to weld the overhanging portion 40 to the cover main body portion 32. Accordingly, the overhanging portion 40 can be attached to the cover main body portion 32, and the inner end portion of the non-woven member 60 can be welded to the outer layer portion. The part is difficult to peel off, and the shape of the cover main body 32 is more reliably maintained. The welding at this time may be thermal welding.

  As described above, the present invention has been described in detail. However, the above description is illustrative in all aspects, and the present invention is not limited thereto. It is understood that countless variations that are not illustrated can be envisaged without departing from the scope of the present invention.

26 Branch line 28 Connector for option 30 Connector cover 32 Cover body part 40 Overhang part 60 Non-woven member 68 Medium type 70 Mold for hot press 80 Upper mold 83 Upper mold surface WH Wire harness WH1 Wire harness body part

Claims (7)

A connector cover attached to a connector attached to a wire harness,
When the nonwoven member is hot pressed, a cover body portion formed in a cylindrical shape covering the outer periphery of the connector,
In the state that is formed in a long shape and one end portion extends from the cover main body portion, an overhang portion attached to the cover main body portion,
Connector cover with. The connector cover according to claim 1,
The overhanging portion is a connector cover attached to the inner surface of the cover main body portion. The connector cover according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The said overhang | projection part is a connector cover formed with the nonwoven member, and is attached to the said cover main-body part by welding. The connector cover according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The said cover main-body part is a connector cover currently formed by hot-pressing in the state which wound the strip | belt-shaped said non-woven member in multiple times. The connector cover according to claim 4,
The said overhang | projection part is a connector cover formed of the nonwoven member, and is welded to the said cover main-body part in the position of the inner peripheral side edge part of the said strip-shaped nonwoven member. A wire harness main body in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled;
A connector attached to an end of a part of the plurality of electric wires;
The connector cover according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is attached to the connector;
Wire harness comprising A method of manufacturing a connector cover to be attached to a connector attached to a wire harness,
Forming a cylindrical cover body covering the outer periphery of the connector by hot pressing the nonwoven member;
A step of preparing an elongated projecting portion;
Attaching one of the overhangs to the cover body so that one end of the overhang extends from the cover body;
A method for manufacturing a connector cover comprising:

Images