Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Door or window with specified vehicle feature
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-20
2003-03-25
Patel, Kiran (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Door or window with specified vehicle feature
C296S152000, C296S146700, C296S146100, C296S146500, C174S15300A, C174S068300, C174S1520GM, C049S502000, C439S034000, C439S248000, C439S157000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06536835
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiring system of a door harness. In particular, the wiring system of the invention includes a door module panel initially equipped with a door harness and electrical door components connected to the latter, the door module panel being thereafter mounted into a door frame.
2. Description of Background Information
It usually requires a set of very cumbersome operations for an operator to wire a door harness in a door, connect electrical devices thereto and mount these devices into the door frame. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the door harness
2
and the electrical devices
3
connected thereto may be initially mounted into a door module panel
5
. The door frame
6
may be composed of panels so as to form a substantially rectangular or square parallelepiped shape. The panel of the door frame
6
that faces the passenger compartment is then provided with an opening
6
a,
the periphery of which may substantially extend to the four surrounding panels of the parallelepiped shape. The opening
6
a
is then joined to the door module panel
5
, so as to close the door frame
6
.
The door frame
6
is bound to another body frame of a vehicle through a hinge portion (not shown in figures). The door frame
6
also includes a first side panel
6
b,
through which the door harness
2
that was initially mounted into the door module panel
5
is led towards the other body frame, and connected to a wire harness wired therein.
The door module panel
5
has a substantially rectangular or square shape, with a first surface turned towards the passenger compartment and a second surface turned towards the inside of the door frame. A lower portion of the door module panel
5
is provided with a panel hole
5
a
which is located beneath a vertically movable door window glass. A first end portion of the door harness
2
is first wired to the first surface of the door module panel
5
and fixed thereto. A second end portion
2
h
of the door harness
2
is led out towards the second surface of the door module panel
5
through the panel hole
5
a,
and is equipped with a grommet
7
. The first side panel
6
b
of the door frame
6
is provided with a side panel hole
6
c.
The grommet
7
with the harness end is then passed through the side panel hole
6
c
and fitted thereinto.
FIG. 2
illustrates the above operation in more detail. Specifically, the door module panel
5
is placed in front of the opening
6
a
of the door frame
6
; the second end. portion
2
h
of the door harness
2
is turned into the opening
6
a
and passed through the side panel hole
6
c,
and the grommet
7
is fitted into the side panel hole
6
c.
Subsequently, the opening
6
a
is closed with the door module panel
5
, and the periphery of the panel is fixed to the door frame
6
in any suitable manner, such as by bolts.
Thus, when the door module panel
5
is initially equipped with the door harness
2
and electrical devices
3
—as opposed to being equipped at a later stage—and mounted onto the door frame
6
, subsequent operations for harness wiring can be greatly simplified.
However, in the above construction, the door harness
2
initially wired on the door module panel
5
must be inserted into the side panel hole
6
c
of the door frame
6
, and the grommet
7
must be fitted into the hole
6
c.
The above operation constitutes the most cumbersome part in the door harness wiring work, and further improvements are desired.
For instance, in the above operation, the door module panel
5
is placed in front of the opening
6
a
of the door frame
6
. An operator then extends his hand through a space between the panel
5
and the frame
6
, passes the door harness
2
through the side panel hole
6
c
and fits the grommet
7
into the hole
6
c.
To facilitate the operation, the space must be made sufficiently large. Further, the second end portion
2
h
of the door harness
2
, which is led out through the panel hole
5
a
towards the second surface of the door module panel
5
, must include an excess portion
2
g.
After the second harness end portion
2
h
is passed through the side panel hole
6
c
and the grommet
7
is fitted into that hole
6
c,
the door module panel
5
is fixed to the door frame
6
. Before fixing, the excess portion
2
g
of the door harness
2
must be held near the second surface of the door module panel
5
. However, this is not an easy task. Therefore, although the door module panel
5
in the prior art provides an improved door harness wiring system, the most difficult part of the task still remains.
Further, in order to facilitate the operation of inserting the door harness
2
into the door frame
6
, there has been proposed a structure in which a recess is provided in the side panel of the door frame
6
. The recess extends continuously from a position where the grommet is fitted towards the passenger compartment. In this structure, the door harness is placed in the recess, and the recess is closed by the grommet.
However, the above structure requires a complex grommet structure and an increased number of components. As a result, the assembly of the door frame becomes complex and incurs additional costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to improve the wiring system of a door harness using a door module panel and to facilitate the operations of inserting the door harness into the door frame.
To this end, there is provided a door harness wiring system for a vehicle including a door frame and a door module panel. The door frame includes a side panel facing a body panel of the vehicle. The side panel includes a side face with a groove formed therein. The door module panel is configured to be attached to and detached from the door frame. The door module panel includes a first surface facing a passenger compartment, a second surface facing the door frame and a panel hole located below a level to which a window glass can move down. The door module panel is configured to receive a door harness while detached from the door frame.
The door module panel includes a side rim and a protruding member extending from a portion of the side rim toward the door frame along the same plane as the side panel side face.
The protruding member includes a harness hole configured to receive a part of the door harness inserted therethrough, with a grommet being initially or subsequently mounted around the part of the door harness and fitted into the harness hole.
The groove formed in the side face is configured to receive the protruding member therein in such a manner that when the door module panel is attached to the door frame, the protruding member fits into the groove along the same plane as the side panel side face.
Further, in the door harness wiring system of the present invention the door harness may have first and second portions. The first portion is wired on the first surface of the door module panel and connected to electrical door components, while the second portion passes through the panel hole toward the second surface of the door module panel. The second portion is further fitted with the grommet and is passed through the harness hole.
Further,in the door harness wiring system of the present invention the gap formed between the protruding member and the groove may be filled with sealing material, and a weather strip may be mounted in a longitudinal direction on the side face of the side panel of the door frame, in such a manner that the weather strip crosses over a surface of the protruding member of the door module panel and the harness hole is located outside the weather strip relative to the passenger compartment.
As mentioned above, the door module panel is provided with a protruding member projecting along the side panel of the door frame, while the protruding member includes a harness hole, through which the door harness is initially passed and fixed into the hole with a grommet. Therefore, as soon as the door module panel is fitted into and fixed to a groov
Fukumoto Seiji
Murakami Akio
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
Patel Kiran
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
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