Supports – Pipe or cable – Brackets
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-27
2003-07-22
King, Anita (Department: 3632)
Supports
Pipe or cable
Brackets
C248S073000, C285S419000, C138S108000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06595473
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fixing structure and a fixing tool for a corrugated tube which can prevent twisting or bending thereof when a wire harness using a flexible corrugated tube for wire protection is arranged in an bended manner along the side of an attaching side of a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 12
shows a conventional fixing structure for a corrugated tube.
A corrugated tube
71
is made of synthetic resin and is formed in a shape of a thin cylinder. The corrugated tube
71
has circumferential concave grooves and convex strips arranged in parallel at regular pitches in a longitudinal direction. The corrugated tube is flexible. The corrugated tube with plural electric wires passed internally serves as a wire harness.
The corrugated tube
71
serves as a tube for protecting electric wires. The corrugated tube
71
is apt to flex together with the plural electric wires
72
according to a two-dimensional or three-dimensional curved panel
75
on the mounting side
74
of a vehicle body. This enhances workability of arranging the wire harness.
Some corrugated tubes may have a longitudinal slit, and some corrugated tubes may not have the longitudinal slit. In the corrugated tube
71
with the slit, the electric wires can be easily ushered into the corrugated tube
71
. In the corrugated tube
71
with no slit, it is troublesome to pass the electric wires through the corrugated tube. However, the slit will not open and winding of a vinyl tape is not required.
A corrugated tube fixing tool (hereinafter simply referred to as a fixing tool)
76
is constituted as a clamp for clamping the corrugated tube
71
against a panel
75
on the mounting side. The fixing tool
76
is necessarily arranged at the bending portion on the mounting side of the vehicle body. The fixing tool may be a binding tool such as a band.
The fixing tool
76
is secured to the panel
75
on the mounting side
74
using a flexible clip or screw. The clamping clip has a pair of flexible clamping pieces and fixed in a hole of the panel
75
. In the case of using the screw (not shown), the screw is inserted into the hole of a bracket of the fixing tool
76
and further passed into a screw hole of the panel
75
.
The wire harness
73
is arranged on the curve of the mounting side of the vehicle body. The outer corrugated tube
71
is firmly secured to the mounting side
74
by a plurality of fixing tools
76
in the longitudinal direction so that the wire harness
73
is firmly secured to the mounting side
74
. This prevents swing of the wire harness due to vibration while a vehicle is running and interference between the vehicle body (represented by (
74
)) and wire harness
73
and attendant alien sound.
The electric wires
72
within the corrugated tube
71
are protected from rainwater or dust by the corrugated tube
71
. The electric wires
72
are extended along the vehicle body (
74
) to predetermined positions of an instrument panel, floor, door (hinge door or slide door) so that they are connected to the corresponding electric devices and auxiliary devices through a connector.
However, in the conventional fixing structure and fixing tool
76
for the corrugated tube, when the corrugated tube
71
is firmly secured by the fixing tool
76
in order to secure the wire harness
73
at the flexing position of the three-dimensional mounting side
74
of the vehicle body, the electric wires
72
and the corrugated tube
71
will be twisted while they are flexing. In this case, the corrugated tube itself suffers the twisting stress. This presents a problem of deformation or damaging of the corrugated tube
71
or opening of the slit. When the slit opens, the internal electric wires
72
may bust out and may be stepped on by a human's foot, or otherwise water or dust may invade the opening portion.
Since the corrugated tube
71
suffers tension, the fixing tool
76
is apt to be pulled and come off. This leads to poor workability of its assembling into the vehicle body. Further, the fixing tool
76
may come off so that the wire harness dangles and generates interference with the vehicle body.
Further, where the wire harness
73
is greatly flexed for arrangement or largely swung at a fulcrum of the fixing tool
76
, the end of the fixing tool
76
, i.e. the opening portion from which the corrugated tube
71
is derived, the wire harness inclusive of the corrugated tube
71
is apt to flex. In this case, the corrugated tube
71
and the internal electric wires
72
are apt to be damaged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above circumstances, an object of this invention is to provide a fixing structure and fixing tool of a corrugated tube that can prevent the twisting of the corrugated tube when the wire harness using the corrugated tube is securely arranged, thereby improving assembling workability, prevent the deformation or damaging of the corrugated tube or opening of the slit and opening of the slit which are attributable to the twisting, thereby assuring the function of the corrugated tube as a harness protecting tube, and prevent the coming-off of the fixing tool due to the tension of the corrugated tube.
Another object of this invention is to provide a fixing tool of a corrugated tube that can prevent a wire harness, i.e. corrugated tube and internal electric wires from being damaged where the wire harness is greatly flexed for arrangement, or greatly swung.
In order to attain the above objects, there is provided a fixing structure for a corrugated tube which is fixed on a mounting side of a vehicle body by a fixing tool, the corrugated tube being circular in section and having circumferential concave grooves and convex strips arranged alternately in its longitudinal direction of a wire harness, the corrugated tube and a plurality of electric wires passing through the corrugated tube constituting the wire harness, wherein the fixing tool includes slidable-contact supporting portions which are slidably engaged with the concave grooves of the corrugated tube so that the corrugated tube is supported rotatably in a circumferential direction by the slidable supporting portions.
There is also provided a fixing tool for a corrugated tube to a mounting side of a vehicle body, the corrugated tube being circular in section and having circumferential concave grooves and convex strips arranged alternately in its longitudinal direction, wherein the fixing tool includes a receiving part and a covering part for holding rotatably the corrugated tube in its circumferential direction, and the receiving part and the covering part have slidable-contact supporting portions to be slidably engaged with the concave grooves.
In such configurations of the fixing structure and fixing tool, where the wire harness with the corrugated tube which is circular in section is arranged on the two-dimensional or three-dimensional curved panel, even when twisting force is acted on the corrugated tube, the corrugated tube rotates circumferentially along the slidable-contact supporting portions of the fixing tool to absorb the twisting force. For this reason, undue twisting force is not acted on the corrugated tube. Thus, the deformation or damaging of the corrugated tube or opening of the slit for ushering the wire harness can be surely prevented. The pulling force due to the twisting of the corrugated tube is relaxed so that coming-off of the fixing tool from the panel can be prevented.
There is also provided a fixing structure for a corrugated tube which is fixed on a mounting side of a vehicle body by a fixing tool, the corrugated tube being circular in section and having circumferential concave grooves and convex strips arranged alternately in its longitudinal direction, the corrugated tube and a plurality of electric wires passing through the corrugated tube constituting a wire harness, wherein the fixing tool includes a rotating member having a circular outer periphery for the corrugated tube in its inside, and rotating member is held rotatab
Aoki Tohru
Doshita Kenichi
Tsunoda Mitsunori
Watanabe Hiroshi
Armstrong Westerman & Hattori, LLP
King Anita
Yazaki -Corporation
LandOfFree
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