Mounting structure for flat circuitry

Details Mounting structure for flat circuitry Mounting structure for flat circuitry

2000-07-26

2001-07-10

Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

With vehicle structure

C174S135000, C248S074400, C248S074200

Reexamination Certificate

active

06257898

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a flat circuitry used for various kinds of electric equipments, such as a power window mechanism of a vehicle door.
Wire harnesses are usually wired in a space between an inner panel and a door trim to constitute electric circuits for carrying a switch on/off signal, an operation signal or the like to various electric equipments equipped on vehicle doors. In recent years, in place of conventional wires, cables and wire harnesses, a thin-and-flat flexible printed circuitry (hereinafter referred to as an FPC) has attracted attention, which is a flat circuitry that is excellent in operational efficiency at being handled for installation in spaces with its elasticity and flexibility. The FPCs are molded of resin, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
To attach the FPC inside a vehicle door, one end portion of the FPC, for instance, is connected to a switch unit of electric equipment while the other end portion is connected to a wire harness on the inner panel side or another circuit, such as a door control unit that is an electronically controlled unit (ECU).
FIG. 4
shows an outline of a case of operation to attach the FPC. A switch unit
2
for on-off switching operation of various electrical equipments by a driver or passengers is mounted on the internal side of a door trim
1
(inside of the vehicle) is installed. An end portion of the lead wire part of the FPC
3
is connected to a switching circuit board section (a printed circuit board: PCB) of the switch unit
2
. On the other hand, a door control unit
8
is mounted on an inner panel
7
on a door panel
5
side that is equipped with such as window glass
6
, and the other end portion of the lead wire part of the FPC
3
is connected to the door control unit
8
via an electric connector
4
.
After completion of the mounting operation, switch on-off signals are input from the switch unit
2
to the door control unit
8
via the electric connector
4
while control signals, such as an actuating signal, are output from the door control unit
8
to the various electric equipments.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-198036A discloses another example of the related operation to attach the flat circuitry. In this case, the flat circuitry is arranged on the lower face of the door panel and then the lead wire part of the flat circuitry that is connected to the switch unit is drawn out downward.
In the related operation to attach the FPC
3
, as shown in
FIG. 4
, when a worker assembles the door panel that includes the door trim
1
, an inner panel
6
and an outer panel
9
after connection of the electric connector
4
by insertion into the door control unit
8
, there may be caught a surplus length part
3
a
of the FPC
3
between the panels. The FPC caught between the panels may cause such a trouble as deformation, and sometimes even a wire break can be caused. This can happen also in the operation to attach the flat circuitry in the above publication.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a flat circuitry mounting structure that can avoid the trouble of deformation and wire break in the circuitry during assembly work of the door panel that includes the door trim and the inner and outer panels when the flat circuitry, such as the FPC, which constitutes the electric circuit for various electrical equipments that are equipped on and around the door.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a structure for mounting a flat circuitry between a molded panel and a body panel of a vehicle while providing a surplus length portion of the flat circuitry, comprising:
a base member provided on the molded panel; and
a support strip member including:
a fixed end portion for fixing a first part of the flat circuitry on the base member;
a free end portion for retaining a second part of the flat circuitry which is in the vicinity of an end portion of the flat circuitry to be connected to the body panel; and
an elastic main body connecting the fixed end portion and the free end portion so as to extend along a portion of the flat circuitry between the first and second part thereof such that a portion of the flat circuitry between the second part and the end portion thereof becomes the surplus length portion.
Preferably, the molded panel is a door trim and the body panel is a door panel. The flat circuitry connects a first circuit unit provided on the door trim and a second circuit unit provided on the door panel via a connector provided on the end portion of the flat circuitry.
In this case, the flat circuitry is supported by the elastic support strip member over approximately the full length. Since the flat circuitry is forced to return to a former posture when the elastic support member recovers a former shape from the flexed state in the course of assembly of the molded panel after the connector is connected to another circuit on the body panel side with the flat circuitry being drawn while the elastic support member is being flexed, the surplus length part of the flat circuitry can be prevented from being caught between the panels after assembly of the molded panel.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a method for mounting a flat circuitry between a molded panel and a body panel of a vehicle while providing a surplus length portion of the flat circuitry, comprising the steps of:
preparing an elastic strip member;
fixing a first part of the flat circuitry onto the molded panel with a first end portion of the strip member; and
retaining a second part of the flat circuitry which is in the vicinity of an end portion of the flat circuitry to be connected to the body panel with a second end portion of the strip member such that a portion of the flat circuitry between the second part and the end portion thereof becomes the surplus length portion.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2913740 (1959-11-01), Eldridge
patent: 4155613 (1979-05-01), Brandeau
patent: 5367126 (1994-11-01), Kikuchi
patent: 5445348 (1995-08-01), Caldwell et al.
patent: 5962814 (1999-10-01), Skipworth et al.
patent: 8-198036 (1996-08-01), None

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