Wire harness, method for transporting wire harness with device, and method for connecting devices with wire harness

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10522266-B2
Application number	US-201113809662-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 7, 2011
Priority date	Jul 12, 2010
Publication date	Dec 31, 2019
Grant date	Dec 31, 2019

Abstract

When bus bars are covered with covering parts and high-voltage conducting paths are formed and further the ends of the high-voltage conducting paths are provided with a motor side connector and an inverter side connector, formation of a wire harness is completed. Since the wire harness has a shape holding part, the whole bus bar is not a rigid body. The wire harness has plasticity. Since the shape holding part holds the shape at a point in time of stopping a bend process, the wire harness can be formed in a desired bend shape.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A wire harness comprising:
a plurality of conductors including a plurality of twisted high voltage electric wires, the plurality of conductors having flexibility so as to be bendable and maintain its own shape in any bent state,
wherein:
a current flows through the plurality of conductors;
the plurality of high voltage electric wires being directly connected to each other along a longitudinal path between a first end of the plurality of conductors and a second end of the plurality of conductors; and
a first connector is integrally formed at a position of the first end of the plurality of conductors, and a second connector is integrally formed at a position of the second end of the plurality of conductors.

2. The wire harness according to claim 1 , wherein a material of the plurality of conductors is aluminum or aluminum alloy.

3. A method for transporting a wire harness with a device, the wire harness comprising a plurality of conductors including a plurality of twisted high voltage electric wires, the plurality of conductors having flexibility so as to be bendable and maintain its own shape in any bent state, and a current flows through the plurality of conductors when the wire harness is in use, the plurality of high voltage electric wires being directly connected to each other along a longitudinal path between a first end of the plurality of conductors and a second end of the plurality of conductors, and a first connector is integrally formed at a position of the first end of the plurality of conductors, and a second connector is integrally formed at a position of the second end of the plurality of conductors, the method comprising:
a step of arranging the wire harness along the device by bending the plurality of conductors of the wire harness to a desired position in a case of transporting the wire harness and the device to which one end of the wire harness is connected, wherein the wire harness remains in the desired shape during the transport thereof.

4. A method for connecting devices with a wire harness, comprising:
a first step of providing the wire harness, the wire harness comprising a plurality of conductors including a plurality of twisted high voltage electric wires, the plurality of conductors having flexibility so as to be bendable and maintain its own shape in any bent state, and connecting one end of the wire harness to a first device, and a current flows through the plurality of conductors when the wire harness is in use, the plurality of high voltage electric wires being directly connected to each other along a longitudinal path between a first end of the plurality of conductors and a second end of the plurality of conductors, and a first connector is integrally formed at a position of the first end of the plurality of conductors, and a second connector is integrally formed at a position of the second end of the plurality of conductors;
a second step of bending the wire harness in a position of the plurality of high voltage electric wires and moving the other end of the wire harness to a desired retracted position; and
a third step of installing a second device in a position corresponding to the first device, then bending the wire harness in the position of the plurality of high voltage electric wires to move the other end of the wire harness toward the second device, and connecting the other end to the second device.

5. The wire harness according to claim 1 , wherein
each of the conductors of the plurality of conductors comprise a first end and a second end, thereby forming the respective first and second ends of the plurality of conductors;
the first ends of the conductors of the plurality of conductors are arranged in substantially the same plane; and
one or more of the second ends of the conductors of the plurality of conductors are disposed in a second plane other than a first plane in which the remainder of the plurality of second ends are disposed.

6. The wire harness according to claim 1 , wherein along a longitudinal path between the first end of the plurality of conductors and the second end of the plurality of conductors, the plurality of high voltage electric wires have substantially the same shape.

7. The wire harness according to claim 4 , wherein along a longitudinal path between the first end of the plurality of conductors and the second end of the plurality of conductors, the plurality of high voltage electric wires have substantially the same shape.

8. The wire harness according to claim 1 , the wire harness further comprising a curved part curved in a semicircular arc shape.

9. The wire harness according to claim 8 , wherein the curved part is disposed between the first end of the plurality of conductors and the second end of the plurality of conductors and directly contacts the plurality of conductors.

Assignees

• Kuboshima Hidehiko
• Adachi Hideomi
• Yazaki Corp

Inventors

• Kuboshima Hidehiko
• Adachi Hideomi

Classifications

• H01B7/00 Primary

  Insulated conductors or cables characterised by their form · CPC title

• H02G3/0437

  Channels · CPC title

• Y10T29/49117

  Conductor or circuit manufacturing · CPC title

• B60R16/0215 Primary

  Protecting, fastening and routing means therefor · CPC title