Insulated electric wire, wire harness, and insulated electric wire production method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12283403-B2
Application number	US-202118016955-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 2, 2021
Priority date	Aug 5, 2020
Publication date	Apr 22, 2025
Grant date	Apr 22, 2025

Abstract

An insulated electric wire includes: an exposed portion and a covered portion including the insulation covering, and further includes a water-stopping portion wherein a water-stopping agent is placed over the exposed portion, and part of the covered portion and is adjacent to the exposed portion. The water-stopping portion continuously has: an inter-elemental-wire filling area filled with the water-stopping agent in gaps between conductor elemental wires; an exposed-portion-outer-circumferential area wherein the water-stopping agent covers an outer circumference of the conductor; and a covered-portion-outer-circumferential area wherein the water-stopping agent covers an outer circumference of the insulation covering. In a subject region that is a part of the exposed-portion-outer-circumferential area and is other than a region closer to the covered-portion-outer-circumferential area with a larger outer diameter due to a thickness of the insulation covering, a difference between a maximum and minimum outer diameter is not greater than 12% of the minimum outer diameter.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An insulated electric wire comprising:
a conductor in which a plurality of elemental wires made of a metal material are twisted together;
an insulation covering that covers an outer circumference of the conductor;
an exposed portion in which the insulation covering is removed from the outer circumference of the conductor;
a covered portion in which the insulation covering covers the outer circumference of the conductor, the exposed portion and the covered portion being adjacent to each other in a longitudinal axis direction; and
a water-stopping portion in which a water-stopping agent is over the exposed portion and over a part of the covered portion that is adjacent to the exposed portion; wherein
the water-stopping portion continuously comprises:
an inter-elemental-wire filling area where the water-stopping agent fills gaps between the elemental wires in the exposed portion,
an exposed-portion-outer-circumferential area in which the water-stopping agent covers the outer circumference of the conductor in the exposed portion, and
a covered-portion-outer-circumferential area in which the water-stopping agent covers an outer circumference of the insulation covering in a region that is a part of the covered portion and is adjacent to the exposed portion;

a subject region is a region of the exposed-portion-outer-circumferential area other than a region closer to the covered-portion-outer-circumferential area which has an increased diameter due to a thickness of the insulation covering;
a difference between a maximum outer diameter and a minimum outer diameter in the subject region is not greater than 12% of the minimum outer diameter; and
a twist pitch of the elemental wires is smaller in the exposed portion than in an area of the covered portion.

2. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in the subject region, the difference between the maximum outer diameter and the minimum outer diameter is at least 1% of the minimum outer diameter.

3. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1 ,
wherein the insulated electric wire comprises the covered portion and the covered-portion-outer-circumferential area on each sides side of the exposed portion in the longitudinal axis direction, and
the maximum outer diameter is at either one of two central regions among four regions obtained by equally dividing the subject region into four in the longitudinal axis direction.

4. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1 ,
wherein the water-stopping portion does not have a portion with an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of a portion that is a part of the covered portion and does not have the water-stopping agent thereon.

5. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1 ,
wherein a thickness of a layer of the water-stopping agent is larger in the exposed-portion-outer-circumferential area than in the covered-portion-outer-circumferential area.

6. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1 ,
wherein the water-stopping portion does not have a difference in height on an outer circumferential surface, except in end portions in the longitudinal axis direction, equal to or greater than a thickness of a layer of the water-stopping agent in the covered-portion-outer-circumferential area.

7. The insulated electric wire according to claim 6 ,
wherein the water-stopping portion does not have a difference in height on the outer circumferential surface, except in the end portions in the longitudinal axis direction, equal to or greater than 20% of the thickness of the layer of the water-stopping agent in the covered-portion-outer-circumferential area.

8. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1 ,
wherein a thickness of a layer of the water-stopping agent in the covered-portion-outer-circumferential area is smaller than the thickness of the insulation covering.

9. The insulated electric wire according to claim 1 ,
wherein, at an end portion of the covered-portion-outer-circumferential area corresponding to an end portion of the entirety of the water-stopping portion in the longitudinal axis direction, the water-stopping portion has a taper structure in which a layer of the water-stopping agent decreases in thickness outward an outer side in the longitudinal axis direction.

10. A wire harness comprising the insulated electric wire according to claim 1 .

11. A production method for an insulated electric wire for producing the insulated electric wire according to claim 1 , the method comprising, in this order:
providing, to the insulated electric wire, the exposed portion: and
providing the covered portion;
widening distances between the elemental wires in the exposed portion while increasing a density of conductive material per unit length in the exposed portion;
immersing a region that is a part of the insulated electric wire and includes the exposed portion in a liquid of the water-stopping agent that is made of an insulating material, and filling gaps between the elemental wires with the water-stopping agent;
pulling up the insulated electric wire from the water-stopping agent in a liquid state; and
reducing the distances between the elemental wires in the exposed portion, and decreasing a twist pitch of the elemental wires.

12. The production method for an insulated electric wire for producing the insulated electric wire according to claim 11 , further comprising
rotating the insulated electric wire around its axis, and winding the water-stopping agent around an outer circumference of the insulated electric wire after the pulling up the insulated electric wire from the water-stopping agent but before or during the reducing the distances between the elemental wires in the exposed portion, and the decreasing the twist pitch of the elemental wires.

Assignees

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

Inventors

• Araki Kenichiro
• Furukawa Toyoki

Classifications

• H01B7/38

  with arrangements for facilitating removal of insulation · CPC title

• H01B7/285

  by completely or partially filling interstices in the cable · CPC title

• H01B7/2825

  using a water impermeable sheath · CPC title

• H01B7/0045

  Cable-harnesses · CPC title

• H01B7/28

  {Protection against damage caused} by moisture, corrosion, chemical attack or weather · CPC title