Wire harness and method of manufacturing the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9403495-B2
Application number	US-201113822824-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 26, 2011
Priority date	Oct 1, 2010
Publication date	Aug 2, 2016
Grant date	Aug 2, 2016

Abstract

There are provided a wire harness and a manufacturing method thereof which can reduce number of components and which does not require an electric wire to be formed longer than necessary. A wire harness includes an electric wire and a tubular corrugated tube made of synthetic resin and arranged to receive the electric wire to protect the electric wire. The corrugated tube is bent at an appropriate section when wired on an automobile. The corrugated tube includes recessed grooves and protrusions arranged alternately along a longitudinal direction. The adjacent protrusions of the appropriate section on the inward side are attached to each other by welding. The appropriate section is bent in a non-restorable fashion in a direction in which the appropriate section is bent when wired in the automobile.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a wire harness, the wire harness having at least one electric wire and a tubular protection member made of synthetic resin and arranged to receive the at least one electric wire to protect the electric wire, wherein the protection member is arranged to be bent at an appropriate section when wired on an automobile, and wherein the protection member has an outer surface including circumferentially-extending recessed grooves and circumferentially-extending protrusions which are arranged alternately along a longitudinal direction of the protection member so as to form the outer surface of the protection member into a concertina shape,
the method comprising steps of:
receiving the electric wire in the protection member in a linear state;
attaching the adjacent protrusions of the appropriate section of the protection member in the linear state on an inward side with respect to a direction in which the appropriate section is bent when wired in the automobile to each other; and
pushing only the inward side of the appropriate section against an outer periphery of a heated circular-plate-shaped shaping jig, thereby bending the appropriate section of the protection member in said direction in a non-restorable fashion.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of attaching the adjacent protrusions includes welding the adjacent protrusions on the appropriate section, thereby bending the protection member in said direction in a non-restorable fashion.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of attaching together the protrusions includes adhering the adjacent protrusions on the appropriate section using an adhesive, thereby bending the protection member in said direction in a non-restorable fashion.

Assignees

• Gotou Hiroki
• Okazaki Toshio
• Yazaki Corp

Inventors

• Gotou Hiroki
• Okazaki Toshio

Classifications

• H01B13/01263

  Tying, wrapping, binding, lacing, strapping or sheathing harnesses · CPC title

• B60R16/0215 Primary

  Protecting, fastening and routing means therefor · CPC title

• Y10T29/49117

  Conductor or circuit manufacturing · CPC title

• H02G3/0468

  Corrugated · CPC title