Electricity: conductors and insulators – Conduits – cables or conductors – Combined
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-26
2003-06-03
Reichard, Dean (Department: 2831)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Conduits, cables or conductors
Combined
C439S701000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06573453
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiring harness arranged in a mobile unit such as a motor vehicle and also relates to a manufacturing method of the wiring harness.
2. Related Art
A motor vehicle has a wiring harness for supplying power to electrical appliances, such as various lamps and motors, from a battery. A conventional wiring harness includes a plurality of electrical cables, a plurality of terminals each fitted to an end of each electrical cable, connector housings accommodating the terminals, and a connection portion. The electrical cable is an insulated cable having a wire core and an insulating cover.
The connection portion electrically connects the electrical cables to one another. The connection portion directly connects the wire cores of some of the electrical cables to one another.
For example, the connection portion connects one end of the wire core of one electrical cable to one end or a longitudinal middle of the core of another electrical cable. The connection portion connects the wire cores to each other by press-crimping them with a joint terminal or by hot-press-crimping of a resistance welding device.
To obtain the conventional wiring harness, a terminal is fitted to an end of an electrical cable by press-crimping or press-fitting, for example, in the use of a press-fitting unit disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H. 10-154568 or a press-crimping unit disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H. 9-115639.
For the connection portion, there has been used a press-crimping machine or a resistance welding device, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H. 10-112229. Furthermore, a terminal is inserted into a terminal accommodation chamber of a connector housing to assemble a wiring harness with the use of an insertion device, for example, disclosed in the Application Laid-open No. H. 10-112229.
However, the conventional wiring harness needs to transfer the cables to the press-crimping machine or the resistance welding device for completing the connection portion. The transfer is disadvantageous for an automatic manufacturing method of the wiring harness.
That is, it requires a time and work steps for the transfer of the cables to the press-crimping machine or the resistance welding device and further to the insertion device. This causes a longer manufacturing time of the wiring harness.
Moreover, it also takes an increased time to align the electrical cables for press-crimping or heat-press-crimping them to one another by the press-crimping machine or the resistance welding device to complete the connection portion. Thereby, the conventional wiring harness requires a further increased assembling time, causing a lower productivity thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the disadvantages, an object of the present invention is to provide a wiring harness and a manufacturing method of the same, in which an improved productivity is allowed.
For achieving the object, a first aspect of the present invention is a wiring harness having a plurality of electrical cables and a connection portion electrically connecting one of the electrical cables to another of the electrical cables. The wiring harness includes:
a plurality of sub-harnesses each having at least one press-fit terminal and an isolator supporting the press-fit terminal, the press-fit terminal being joined to an end of one of the electrical cables, and
a connection means for connecting the press-fit terminals held by different ones of the isolators to ones another.
The connection portion is defined by the connection means that connects the press-fit terminals held by different ones of the isolators to one another when the isolators are layered.
A second aspect of the present invention is a wiring harness having a plurality of electrical cables and a connection portion electrically connecting one of the electrical cables to another of the electrical cables. The wiring harness includes:
a plurality of first sub-harnesses each having a first press-fit terminal joined to each end of a first one of the electrical cables, the first sub-harness having a first isolator holding the first press-fit terminal,
a plurality of second sub-harnesses each having a second press-fit terminal, a crimp terminal, and a connector housing for accommodating the crimp terminal, and a second isolator supporting the second press-fit terminal, the second press-fit terminal being connected to one end of a second one of the electrical cables, the crimp terminal being connected to the other end of the second electrical cable, and
a connection means for connecting the press-fit terminal held by one of the first or second isolators to the press-fit terminal held by another of the first or second isolators.
The connection portion is completed by the connection means that connects the press-fit terminals held by different ones of the isolators to one another when any of the first and second isolators are layered.
A third aspect of the present invention is a wiring harness having a plurality of electrical cables and a connection portion electrically connecting one of the electrical cables to another of the electrical cables. The wiring harness includes:
a plurality of first sub-harnesses each having a first press-fit terminal joined to each end of one of the electrical cables, the first sub-harness having a first isolator supporting the first press-fit terminal, and
a connection means for connecting one of the press-fit terminals held by one of the first isolators to the press-fit terminal held by another of the first isolators.
The connection portion is defined by the connection means that connects the press-fit terminals held by different ones of the isolators to one another when any of the isolators are layered.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is a wiring harness having a plurality of electrical cables and a connection portion electrically connecting one of the electrical cables to another of the electrical cables. The wiring harness includes:
a plurality of sub-harnesses each having a press-fit terminal, a crimp terminal, a connector housing for accommodating the crimp terminal, and a second isolator holding the press-fit terminal, the press-fit terminal being connected to an end of one of the electrical cables, the crimp terminal being connected to the other end of the one of the electrical cables, and
a connection means for connecting the press-fit terminal held by one of the isolators to the press-fit terminal held by another of the isolators.
The connection portion is defined by the connection means that connects the press-fit terminals held by different ones of the isolators to one another when the isolators are layered.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is a manufacturing method of a wiring harness having a plurality of first sub-harnesses, a plurality of second sub-harnesses, and a connection means. Each of the first sub-harnesses has a plurality of first electrical cables, a first press-fit terminal joined to each end of each of the first electrical cables, and a first isolator holding the first press-fit terminals. Each of the second sub-harnesses has a plurality of second electrical cables, a second press-fit terminal joined to one end of each of the second electrical cables, a crimp terminal joined to the other end of each of the second electrical cables, a connector housing receiving the crimp terminals, and a second isolator holding the second press-fit terminals. The connection means connects the press-fit terminals to one another when any of the first and second isolators are layered. The manufacturing method includes the steps of:
a first sub-harness assembling step,
a second sub-harness assembling step, and
a wiring harness assembling step, wherein any of the first and second isolators of the first and second sub-harnesses are layered, while the connection means connects the press-fit terminals held by different ones of the isolators to one another.
Preferably, the first sub-harness assemb
Matsuoka Yutaka
Sakamoto Masami
Takada Kazuhiko
Armstrong Westerman & Hattori, LLP
Lee Jinhee
Reichard Dean
Yazaki -Corporation
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