Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electrical power distribution systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-15
2001-06-19
Picard, Leo P. (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electrical power distribution systems and devices
C361S641000, C361S622000, C307S010100, C174S0720TR, C439S034000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249425
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wiring structure for an instrument panel of a vehicle.
Hitherto, wiring for an instrument panel has been performed such that electronic units are disposed in a multiplicity of portions of the instrument panel. Then, a wire harness for an instrument panel stretched in the form of a net is disposed on the reverse side of the instrument panel. Moreover, connectors provided for each end of the wire harness and connectors of the electronic units are sequentially connected to each other.
The foregoing wiring structure must be formed such that all of the operations for mounting each electronic unit on the instrument panel and the operations for connecting each electronic unit to the wire harness are performed on a manufacturing line for only the instrument panel. The number of electronic units provided for the instrument panel has yearly been increased. Therefore, the amount of labor required to perform the operations for mounting the electronic units and the wiring operations have been enlarged. Thus, assembly cannot easily be performed. Hence it follows that an excessively long time is required to manufacture the instrument panel on the manufacturing line. As a result, automatization of the assembly and improvement in the efficiency have undesirably been inhibited.
As the number of the electronic units is increased, the shape of the wire harness for the instrument panel connecting the electronic units becomes more complicated. Also the weight of the wire harness has excessively been enlarged. Therefore, the wire harness cannot easily be handled.
When the types of the electronic units and the layout of the electronic units are changed to realize a required grade, the wire harness for the instrument panel must be changed to correspond to the type and layout. Thus, there arises a problem in that the conventional technique is uneconomical and adaptation cannot easily be permitted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide a wiring structure for an instrument panel of a vehicle with which wiring can be simplified, the weight of the wiring can be reduced and the wiring operation can be flexibly adapting to changes in the grade or the like.
As a means for solving the foregoing problems, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wiring structure for an instrument panel of a vehicle arranged to be provided for a plurality of electronic units disposed in the instrument panel of a vehicle, the wiring structure for an instrument panel of a vehicle comprising: a plurality of sub-modules constituted by connecting a plurality of electronic units for the instrument panel to a common control unit, wherein the control units of the sub-modules are connected to a common wire harness so that multiple communication is performed among the plural control units.
The foregoing structure permits multiple communication to be performed between the control units for controlling the plural electronic units in the sub-modules. Thus, a communication network connecting the electronic units of all of the sub-modules is formed. As compared with the conventional structure in which each electronic unit is individually connected to the wire harness, the structure according to the present invention is able to considerably simplify the shape and structure of the wire harness. Moreover, the wiring operation can be facilitated. When the types and layout of the electronic units to be adapted to a required grade are changed, adaptation can be performed by simply changing the sub-module. Thus, the adapting operation can be facilitated. Moreover, a common wire harness can be employed.
Each sub-module and the wire harness can directly be connected to each other through electric wires or the like. A structure may be employed in which a connector is provided for each sub-module, connectors which are detachably connected to the connectors of the sub-modules are provided for the wire harness and the connections of the connectors enable the control units of the sub-modules to be connected to one another such that multiple communication is permitted. In the foregoing case, the sub-module can easily be changed.
A structure may be employed in which an electric junction box which is connected to electronic units for a vehicle except for the electronic units for the instrument panel is connected to the wire harness so that multiple communication is performed between a control unit of the electronic junction box and the control unit of at least one sub-module. Thus, a wide network including the other electronic units as well as the electronic units for the instrument panel can be formed with a simple structure.
When the wire harness is allowed to pass close by the instrument panel so as to be arranged in the widthwise direction of the vehicle, the electric junction box is connected to each of two ends of the wire harness and the control unit of each sub-module is connected to an intermediate portion of the wire harness, the wiring structure using the wire harness can be simplified and rationalized.
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Abe Hisashige
Kobayashi Takashi
Sudo Hiroshi
Chervinsky Boris L.
Harness System Technologies Research Ltd.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Picard Leo P.
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