Aluminum alloy wire

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10304581-B2
Application number	US-201514828453-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 17, 2015
Priority date	Aug 11, 2008
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

An aluminum alloy, an aluminum alloy wire, an aluminum alloy stranded wire, a covered electric wire, and a wire harness that are of high toughness and high electrical conductivity, and a method of manufacturing an aluminum alloy wire are provided. The aluminum alloy wire contains not less than 0.005% and not more than 2.2% by mass of Fe, and a remainder including Al and an impurity. It may further contain not less than 0.005% and not more than 1.0% by mass in total of at least one additive element selected from Mg, Si, Cu, Zn, Ni, Mn, Ag, Cr, and Zr. The Al alloy wire has an electrical conductivity of not less than 58% IACS and an elongation of not less than 10%. The Al alloy wire is manufactured through the successive steps of casting, rolling, wiredrawing, and softening treatment. The softening treatment can be performed to provide an excellent toughness such as elongation and impact resistance and thereby reduce fracture of the electric wire in the vicinity of a terminal portion when the wire harness is installed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A covered electric wire for a wire harness, comprising:
a conductor formed of aluminum alloy stranded wire formed by stranding together a plurality of aluminum alloy wires, and
an insulating cover layer formed on an outer periphery of said conductor,
said aluminum alloy wires consisting of not less than 1.05% and not more than 2.20% by mass of Fe, not less than 0.05% and not more than 0.5% by mass of Mg, not less than 0.005% and not more than 0.15% by mass in total of at least one additive element selected from the group consisting of Zn, Ni, Mn, Ag, Cr, and Zr, and a remainder of Al and an impurity,
wherein the percentage by mass of Mg is greater than the percentage by mass of each one of the at least one additive element.

2. The covered electric wire for a wire harness according to claim 1 , wherein a content of said Mg is not less than 0.2% by mass.

3. The covered electric wire for a wire harness according to claim 1 , wherein a content of said Mg is not less than 0.1% and not more than 0.4% by mass.

4. The covered electric wire for a wire harness according to claim 1 , wherein said group consists of Ni, Mn, Ag, and Zr.

5. The covered electric wire according to claim 1 , wherein each of said aluminum alloy wires includes precipitates having a circle-equivalent diameter of 100 nm or less in a cross section of said aluminum alloy wire.

6. The covered electric wire according to claim 1 , wherein each of said aluminum alloy wires has a diameter of not less than 0.2 mm and not more than 1.5 mm.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Electric Industries
• Autonetworks Technologies Ltd
• Sumitomo Wiring Systems
• Sumitomo Electric Toyama Co

Inventors

• Kusakari Misato
• Nakai Yoshihiro
• Nishikawa Taichirou
• Takaki Yoshiyuki
• Ootsuka Yasuyuki

Classifications

• C22C21/00

  Alloys based on aluminium · CPC title

• H01B7/02

  Disposition of insulation · CPC title

• C22F1/02

  in inert or controlled atmosphere or vacuum (adjusting the composition of the atmosphere C21D1/76) · CPC title

• B21C1/00

  Manufacture of metal sheets, wire, rods, tubes or like semi-manufactured products by drawing · CPC title

• C22F1/04

  of aluminium or alloys based thereon · CPC title