Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes – Mechanical shaping or molding to form or reform shaped article – To produce composite – plural part or multilayered article
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-11
2001-12-25
Silbaugh, Jan H. (Department: 1732)
Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes
Mechanical shaping or molding to form or reform shaped article
To produce composite, plural part or multilayered article
C264S271100, C264S443000, C156S073100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06332995
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiring method for a resin mold product such as a pillar trim for vehicles, and more particularly to a resin mold product and a wiring method by which wires of various kinds can be easily arranged and workability can be enhanced by the automation of wiring.
2. Related Art
Since many electric devices of various kinds are mounted to a vehicle internally and externally, hundreds or thousands of wires are arranged to the vehicle regardless of whether it is a popularly-priced car or a luxury car.
In the prior art, a circuit mounted to an instrument panel and a circuit mounted to a roof are connected by a series of long wires (a wire harness) which extend from the instrument to the roof via the inside of a pillar trim (a resin mold product) mounted to the front pillar.
However, such pillar trim is long and narrow, and because of this, it has been difficult to fit long wires inside the pillar trim. For this reason, the wiring from the instrument panel to the roof cannot be performed efficiently, making it a time-consuming troublesome procedure.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 8-37991 and 8-45570 each discloses an electric connector box as shown in
FIGS. 11A and 11B
.
In those figures, reference numeral
101
indicates a case (a resin mold product) that constitutes the electric connector box having wire grooves
101
a
. Wires
102
are received by the wire grooves
101
a
and secured to the wire grooves
101
a
by solderless terminals
103
.
With this structure, the wires
102
are attached to the case
101
that is the resin mold product, so that the wires
102
can be efficiently arranged in the wire grooves
101
a
of the electric connector box with the help of the solderless terminals
103
.
According to the above conventional wiring method, however, the wires
102
cannot be secured at positions where there is no need to connect the solderless terminals
103
, because the wires
102
are secured firmly only where the solderless terminals
103
are connected.
On the other hand, since wires attached to a front pillar are lengthy, they need to be secured at least at both ends and at the mid section. Since no solderless terminal
103
is required at the mid section of the wires, there has been a problem that they cannot be secured at the mid section.
The solderless terminals
103
can secure the discrete wires
102
into the wire grooves
101
a
, but a flat wire harness consisting of a plurality of conductors covered with an insulating coating cannot be secured. This sets a limit to types of wires that can be employed.
Since the coating of a flat wire harness is generally made of PET (polyethylene telephthalate), it is difficult to secure the flat wire harness by using an adhesive to the wire grooves
101
a
of the case
101
that is a resin mold product.
Further, there has been a problem that the structure of the electric connector box tends to become too complicated, requiring separate components, such as the solderless terminals
103
, securing wires
102
. Moreover, the solderless terminals
103
need to be fitted into the wire grooves
101
a
one by one so as to secure the wires
102
to the case
101
. For this reason, mounting of the solderless terminals
103
has been troublesome and time-consuming.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a resin mold product of a simple structure, and a wiring method by which wires of various kinds can be easily arranged, and workability can be enhanced by introducing the automation of wiring.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a resin mold product which comprises: a main body having a shape compatible with the shape of securing positions of the wires; a plurality of side walls which are situated higher than the wires and face to each other; and wire receiving portions for the wires formed between the side walls. The main body and the side walls are integrally molded using a fusible resin material for forming a space between the side walls to provide the wires receiving portions.
The above object may also be achieved by a wiring method for the above resin mold product. This method comprises the steps of: receiving the wires at the wire receiving portions; and partially melting the side walls to weld and secure the wires to the resin mold product.
With the above resin mold product, no separate components are necessary in securing the wires, and the entire product can be integrally formed by a metal mold,there by greatly simplifying the entire structure of the product.
According to the above wiring method, the side walls of the resin mold product are partially melted to secure the wires. Thus, the wires can be easily attached to the resin mold product for wiring.
The more wire receiving portions the resin mold product has, the more discrete wires can be welded simultaneously by performing a single welding operation.
Thus, the wiring can be automated and workability can be improved.
Furthermore, if the wire receiving portions are made wider, a flat wire harness can also be held, making it possible to accept various kinds of wire.
The object of the present invention can also be achieved by providing a resin mold product which comprises: a main body having a shape compatible with the shape of securing positions of the wires; a plurality of opposed side walls having protrusions which are situated higher than the wires; and wire receiving portions formed between the side walls. The main body and the side walls are integrally molded using a fusible resin material for forming a space between the opposed side walls to provide the wire receiving portions.
The above object of the present invention can also be achieved by providing a resin mold product which comprises: a main body having a shape compatible with the shape of securing positions of the wires; a plurality of opposed side walls; a wire receiving portion formed between the side walls; and protrusions which are situated higher than the wires and integrally molded on the bottom of the wire receiving portion. The main body and the side walls are integrally molded using a fusible resin material.
The above object of the present invention can also be achieved by providing a method which comprises the steps of: receiving the wires at the wire receiving portions; and melting the protrusions to weld and secure the wires to the resin mold product.
With the above resin mold products and the wiring method, the resin material that forms the protrusions can be utilized for welding and securing the wires. Accordingly, the wires can be surely held as long as the protrusions are formed by a sufficient amount of resin material.
The protrusions used for welding are effective especially in holding a wide flat wire harness.
The above object of the present invention can also be achieved by providing a resin mold product, the main body of which is molded into the form of a pillar trim for vehicles, and the side walls and the receiving portions of which are integrally molded on the back of the main body. The same effects can be obtained by providing a resin mold product, the main body of which is molded into the form of a pillar trim for vehicles, and w the side walls and the wire receiving portions of which are integrally molded, together with the protrusions, on the back of the main body.
The object of the present invention can also be achieved by a wiring method which comprises the steps of: receiving wires which have been cut to the length equal to a front pillar for vehicles at the wire receiving portions molded into the form of a pillar trim; partially melting the side walls or melting the protrusions to weld and secure the wires to the resin mold product; mounting the resin mold product to the front pillar; and connecting circuits mounted on the instrument panel and the roof to each other with the wires.
With the above resin mold product and the wiring method, wires having the same length as the front pillar can be formed into the unit with the front p
Morimoto Mitsuaki
Yamaguchi Atsuyoshi
Armstrong Westerman Hattori McLeland & Naughton LLP
Silbaugh Jan H.
Staicovici Stefan
Yazaki -Corporation
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