The present invention relates to a method for routing an electrical conductor within a vehicle body and more particularly to embedding the electrical conductor within an adhesive bond that attaches the vehicle body panels together.
It is known that vehicle bodies are typically manufactured by attaching together a large number of body panels and mounting various components on the vehicle body. The vehicle body panels can be attached together by welding or bolting or by adhesive bonding.
It is also known to route electrical conductors between various switches, gauges, motors, lights and other components for supplying operating current as well as control signals. The electrical conductors can be individual insulated wires, bundles of wires, or flat foil conductors carried on a flexible plastic strip. The conductors are attached to the vehicle body by clips and fasteners and adhesive tapes. The conductors may be routed through protective conduits for protection against wear and short circuits. At those points where a conductor must pass through a hole from one side of a panel to the other side of the panel, a protective grommet is installed to protect the conductor against chafing and wear.
It would be desirable to provide a new and improved method for routing electrical conductors through a vehicle body in manner that would reduce the need for clips to hold the conductors in place and reduce the need for conduits and grommets for the protecting of the conductors from wear.
A method is provided for routing electrical conductors through a vehicle body having first and second body panels with panel edges attached together. The method includes placing a bead of adhesive along the edge of the first body panel; placing the electrical conductor along the edge of the first body panel; placing an edge of a second body panel onto the bead of adhesive; and curing the adhesive so that the edges of the body panels are adhered together by an adhesive joint and the electrical conductor is embedded between the body panels within the adhesive joint.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description of certain exemplary embodiments is exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
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The foregoing description of the invention is exemplary in nature and, thus, variations thereof are intended to be within the scope of the invention. For example, the electrical conductor can be one or more individual insulated wires, or the electrical conductor can be a ribbon cable where flat foil conductors are carried on a strip of flexible plastic, or the conductor can be a bundle of wires. The order of assembling the panels, the adhesive and the wires can be varied. For example, the conductor can be laid on the panel and then the adhesive bead applied. Or the adhesive can be applied and then the conductor can be laid and pressed onto the adhesive bead. Or the adhesive can be applied to the electrical conductor and then the pre-applied electrical conductor and the adhesive can be laid onto the one panel in readiness to receive the other panel atop the combined adhesive bead and electrical conductor. Furthermore, if the conductor has no insulation, the adhesive can act as insulation.
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