Electricity: conductors and insulators – Conduits – cables or conductors – Combined
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-27
2001-07-10
Reichard, Dean A. (Department: 2831)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Conduits, cables or conductors
Combined
C174S16600R, C174S1520GM, C439S464000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06259028
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grommet holder and method of bending a wiring harness, and more particularly, to a grommet holder and method for bending and guiding a wiring harness.
2. Description of Background Information
Wiring harnesses used in automobiles are often mounted at predetermined positions and are connected with respective electrical devices installed in, for example, an automobile. Wiring harnesses often have to be bent at predetermined angles for connecting respective electrical devices, depending on the position and direction of the device.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. (Hei) 9-35537, shown in
FIG. 5
, a known bending device
100
for bending a wiring harness W/H is shown. A heat shrink sheet
3
is wound around the around the portion of wiring harness W/H to be bent, and both ends of the device
100
are fastened with tape. Then, the inner side to be bent is heated, resulting in only the inside portion
3
a
of the heat shrink sheet
3
being shrunk.
To connect a wiring harness with this known bending device
100
, each wire S of wiring harness W/H is inserted into a grommet
2
which is mounted on the grommet holder
1
for easier wire connection, as shown in FIG.
6
. Each wire is guided so that each wire S is at a predetermined interval in accordance with a connecting end of a device to be wired (not illustrated). The end portion of each wire S may then be connected with the device to be wired, for installation in an automobile.
Therefore, when connecting the wiring harness with a device to be wired along a bent path, for instance, it is necessary to use both the heat shrink sheet and the grommet holder in combination, which necessitates an increased number of parts and presents a problem of increasing manufacturing processes with a resulting increase in cost. Moreover, the heat shrink sheet requires the application of a heat process that is dangerous and laborious, and requires difficulty in setting the required predetermined angle when bending the wiring harness.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a device and method for bending a wiring harness at a predetermined angle without increasing the number of parts and production processes. The grommet holder of the present invention includes a grommet holding portion having a grommet mounting hole configured to interconnect with a grommet, the grommet being configured to accept a wiring harness therein. Also provided is a wiring harness fastening portion integrally connected to the grommet holding portion, and forming a predetermined angle with respect to the grommet holding portion. The wiring harness is affixed to the wiring harness fastening portion by a fastening device.
The grommet holder may further include a generally V-shaped bent portion having a point and extending in a generally perpendicular direction between the grommet holding portion and the wiring harness fastening portion. The V-shaped bent portion provides for the bending of the wiring harness in contact with the point of the V-shaped bent portion, and further provides for the bending of the wiring harness in a direction generally perpendicular to the grommet holding portion.
The V-shaped bending portion of the grommet holder sets a bending portion and a bending angle of wiring harness, thereby reducing the biasing force that would otherwise return the grommet to a linear shape, by positioning the wiring harness perpendicular to the grommet holding portion.
The grommet holder may also include a stop provided on the grommet holding portion adapted to be fastened to the counterpart of the holder fastening unit. By providing a stop on the grommet holding portion, the grommet holder can be fastened onto a counterpart of a holder fastening unit.
Also, the grommet holder may include a connecting portion connecting the grommet holding portion to the wiring harness fastening portion, the connecting portion having a first end forming a generally perpendicularly extending, generally L-shaped member with the grommet holding portion, the connecting portion further having a second end connected to the fastening portion.
The generally L-shaped grommet holder can bend the wiring harness at a greater radius and can reduce a load due to the bending of the wiring harness. In addition, by properly setting the predetermined angle, it is possible to provide a bending portion of the wiring harness at a higher elevation than a horizontal connecting portion of the wiring harness. Thus, the harness may be bent without interference from other parts present beneath the horizontal portion of the wiring harness.
The method of bending a wiring harness using a grommet holder includes inserting a wire of the wiring harness through the grommet mounting hole, inserting the grommet into the grommet mounting hole, and fastening the wiring harness to the wiring harness fastening portion. The method may also include bending the wiring harness in contact with a bent portion of the grommet holder.
The grommet holder of the present invention allows the wiring harness to be bent to a predetermined angle without the use of other devices. In addition, when fastening the grommet holder to a device to be wired, or the like, no load is borne by the connecting portion between the wires and the device to be wired, because the load can be borne by the grommet holder even when the load is transferred to the wiring harness, thereby resulting in increased wiring harness performance. Furthermore, there is no increase in the number of parts, which eliminates the heating process, thereby reducing the production costs of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3818420 (1974-06-01), Barr
patent: 4090764 (1978-05-01), Maisby et al.
patent: 4638964 (1987-01-01), Sovacool et al.
patent: 5792995 (1998-08-01), Takeda et al.
patent: 5994645 (1999-11-01), Suzuki et al.
patent: 6051790 (2000-04-01), Takeuchi et al.
patent: 6079764 (2000-06-01), Suzuki et al.
patent: 6119305 (2000-09-01), Loveall et al.
patent: 9-35537 (1997-02-01), None
Greenblum & Bernstein. P.L.C.
Nino Adolfo
Reichard Dean A.
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
LandOfFree
Grommet holder and method of bending and guiding a wiring... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Grommet holder and method of bending and guiding a wiring..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Grommet holder and method of bending and guiding a wiring... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2467282