This invention relates to a partially molded corrugate tube composed of a straight tube portion and a bellows tube portion for, for example, inserting and protecting a line-shaped object such as a wiring harness used in a vehicle.
This corrugate tube 31 is used for connecting to a fuel tank of a vehicle. This corrugate tube 31 is made of synthetic resin material, and integrally composed of a long bellows tube portion 32 and a short straight tube portion 33 at an end of the long bellows tube portion 32 in a longitudinal (back and forth) direction of the long bellows tube portion 32. Each tube portion 32, 33 is formed in a circular sectional shape. A diameter of the straight tube portion 33 is smaller than a diameter of the long bellows tube portion 32. A thickness of the straight tube portion 33 is thicker than a thickness of the long bellows tube portion 32. One straight tube portion 33 is connected to a not-shown fuel tank, the other straight tube portion 33 is connected to a not-shown fill opening, and the middle long bellows tube portion 32 is bent to absorb a position gap between the fuel tank and the fill opening.
In the PTL 1, as a production method of the above corrugate tube, it is described that a partially molded corrugate tube 31 in
Further, in PTL 2 (not shown), it is described that a synthetic-resin-made corrugate tube for inserting and protecting a plurality of electric wires (wiring harness) is composed of bellows tube portions having a circular sectional shape disposed front and rear in a longitudinal direction, and a wide and flat middle bellows tube portion integrally continued to the front and rear bellows tube portions. A thickness of the flat bellows tube portion is equal to an outer diameter of the front and rear bellows tube portions. This corrugate tube is routed in a floor or a trunk room of a vehicle while inserting a plurality of electric wires, and for example, the flat bellows tube portion is bent in a thickness direction with opening and closing of the trunk room.
For example, the corrugate tube having the longer bellows tube portion 32 than the straight tube portion 33 such as the corrugate tube 31 of
Therefore, as a corrugate tube 21 shown in
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a partially molded corrugate tube able to be bent smoothly in a large angle (small radius) at a position required to be bent without being bleached (weakened).
For attaining the object, according to the invention claimed in claim 1, there is provided a partially molded corrugate tube integrally comprising: a straight tube portion, a small-diameter bellows tube portion, and a large-diameter bellows tube portion of which diameter is larger than the small-diameter bellows tube portion and integrally continued to the small-diameter bellows tube portion, and configured to be bent firstly.
According to the above configuration, for example, the large-diameter bellows tube portion is arranged at a position required to be bent, and bent in a large angle (small radius) in a radial direction, and the small-diameter bellows portion continued to the large-diameter bellows portion is smoothly bent in a small angle (large radius). Thereby, the small-diameter bellows tube portion is prevented from being bleached (weakened). Because the large-diameter bellows tube portion is more flexible than the small-diameter bellows tube portion, there is no fear that the large-diameter bellows tube portion may be bleached (weakened). Incidentally, in general, a diameter of the small-diameter bellow tube portion is larger than a diameter of the straight tube portion because a hill portion is projected. For example, the small-diameter bellows tube portion is continued to an end of the large-diameter bellows tube portion, and the straight tube portion or the other small-diameter bellows tube portion is continued to the other end of the large-diameter bellows tube portion (the straight tube portion is continued to the other small-diameter bellows tube portion).
According to the invention claimed in claim 2, there is provided the partially molded corrugate tube as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the small-diameter bellows tube portion is integrally continued to an end of the large-diameter bellows tube portion, and the straight tube portion is integrally continued to the other end of the large-diameter bellows tube portion.
According to the above configuration, the small-diameter bellows tube portion is smoothly bent in a small angle (large radius) about the large-diameter bellows tube portion, and the straight tube portion is extended straight in a tangential direction of the bent large-diameter bellows tube portion. Because the large-diameter bellows tube portion is interposed between the small-diameter bellows tube portion and the straight tube portion, an excessive bending load at a boundary between the small-diameter tube portion and the straight tube portion of the existing corrugate tube will be disappear.
According to the invention claimed in claim 3, there is provided the partially molded corrugate tube as claimed in claim 1 or 2,
wherein the large-diameter bellows tube portion is formed shorter than the small-diameter bellows tube portion in a longitudinal direction of the tube.
According to the above configuration, for example, the short-length large-diameter bellows tube portion is arranged at a position required to be bent, and correctly bent at the position required to be bent without a position gap in the longitudinal direction.
According to the invention claimed in claim 4, there is provided the partially molded corrugate tube as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3,
wherein a thickness of a hill portion of the large-diameter bellows tube portion is gradually reduced as the hill portion extends toward a tip.
According to the above configuration, when the large-diameter bellows tube portion is bent in a large angle (small radius), tips of the hill portions of the large-diameter bellows tube portion at an inside bent portion are hard to abut on each other, and at the same time, valley portions of the large-diameter bellows tube portion at an outside bent portion are easy to open. Thereby, the large-diameter bellows tube portion is smoothly bent in a large angle (small radius) without being deformed.
According to the invention claimed in claim 1, with the large-diameter bellows tube portion, the corrugate tube can be smoothly bent in a large angle (small radius) at a position required to be bent without being bleached (weakened). Therefore, the corrugate tube and the wiring harness inserted into the tube are smoothly bent in a large angle (small radius) along a vehicle body or the like, and routed effectively. Further, the corrugate tube is prevented from being damaged or the like caused by the bleached bellows tube portion.
According to the invention claimed in claim 2, an excessive bending load generated at a boundary between the straight tube portion and the bellows tube portion in the existing corrugate tube is absorbed by the large-diameter bellows tube portion, thereby a bent portion is prevented from being bleached (weakened).
According to the invention claimed in claim 3, a bending position of the corrugate tube is correctly set by the short-length large-diameter bellows tube portion. When the short-length large-diameter bellows tube portion is arranged at a position required to be bent in a vehicle body or the like without a position gap, for example, a position gap of the corrugate tube in a back and forth direction is prevented, and a slack or a stress of the wiring harness guided out from the corrugate tube is surely prevented.
According to the invention claimed in claim 4, the tips of the hill portions do not abut on each other at an inside bent portion of the large-diameter bellows tube portion, and the hill portions are largely separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the tube at an outside bent portion.
As shown in
As shown in
Because the short-length large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 is bent in a large angle, an excessive bending load is not applied to the middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3 continued to an end of the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4, and an end 3a of the middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3 is perfectly protected from being bleached (weakened) or the like. Because the other end of the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 is directly continued to the long straight tube portion 2, by bending the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 in a large angle (small radius R1), the straight tube portion 2 is arranged straight in a desired direction.
The partially molded corrugate tube 1 in this embodiment is substantially equal to an embodiment in which the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 is integrally arranged between a small-diameter straight tube portion 22 and a middle-diameter bellows tube portion 23 of a corrugate tube 21 in
The middle-diameter bellows tube portion 23 and the small-diameter straight tube portion 22 in
As one example, the partially molded corrugate tube 1 of
The second middle-diameter bellows tube portion 9 may extend in substantially the same length as the first middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3. Another not-shown straight tube portion may be continued to the second middle-diameter bellows tube portion 9. (In that case, preferably, a not-shown second large-diameter bellows tube portion (4) is integrally provided between the second middle-diameter bellows tube portion 9 and the another straight tube portion for routing the another straight portion in a large angle with respect to the second middle-diameter bellows tube portion 9.)
The middle-diameter bellows tube portions 3, 9 are formed in a rectangular wave sectional shape, and include a hill portion (convex projection) 7 projected in a substantially U sectional shape, and a valley portion (concave groove) 8 concaved in a substantially U sectional shape. The hill portions 7 and the valley portions 8 are formed on whole circumference of the circular sectional shaped middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3, 9, and arranged alternately in a regular pitch in the longitudinal direction of the tube.
The large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 is not formed in a rectangular wave sectional shape, but in a shape that a thickness of the hill portion (convex projection) 5 is gradually reduced as the hill portion 5 extends toward a tip 5a. Thereby, the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 is more flexible than the rectangular wave sectional shaped middle-diameter bellows tube portions 3, 9. A side wall 5b of the hill portion 5 in front and rear in the longitudinal direction of the tube is expanded in a curve shape toward the projection tip 5a, while the thickness T is gradually reduced. The tip 5a of the hill portion 5 is not sharpened, but curved in a small radius.
A width of the valley portion 6 between the hill portions 5 is gradually reduced toward a bottom wall (outer peripheral wall of the tube main body) 6a. A width of a space (also denoted by 6) between the hill portions 5 is gradually increased toward the tip 5a of the hill portion 5. Thereby, as shown in
Namely, in a bending condition of
In
As shown in
In the above embodiment, the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 is continued to an end of the straight tube portion 2. However, for example, a short or long middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3, 9 may be integrally continued to both front and rear ends of the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4.
In this case, the straight tube portion 2 is integrally continued to one and/or the other of the middle-diameter bellows tube portions 3, 9 continued to the front and rear ends of the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4. Because the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 is more flexible than the middle-diameter bellows tube portions 3, 9, even when the middle-diameter bellows tube portions 3, 9 are continued to the both front and rear ends of the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4, the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 is bent in a large angle (small radius), and the middle-diameter bellows tube portions 3, 9 are bent in a small angle (large radius) and smoothly continued to the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4.
Preferably, the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 and the middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3 are arranged in series. For example, when the straight tube portion 2 is interposed between the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 and the middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3, the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 and the middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3 are separately bent, and it is difficult for the partially molded corrugate tube 1 to be bent in a desired (required) position, and the partially molded corrugate tube 1 is not smoothly bent.
As shown in
The straight tube portion 2 works as the fixed shape portion, and when the partially molded corrugate tube 1 is routed (assembled) in a vehicle body or the like, a guiding out direction of a plurality of electric wires (wiring harness) previously inserted into the partially molded corrugate tube 1 can be easily and correctly set.
Incidentally, in the above embodiment, an outer diameter of the hill portion 7 of the middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3, 9 is formed larger than an outer diameter of the straight tube portion 2. However, for example, the outer diameter of the hill portion 7 of the middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3, 9 may be the same as the outer diameter of the straight tube portion 2. (In this case, the middle-diameter bellows tube portion 3, 9 is referred to as a small-diameter bellows tube portion.) In this case also, of course, the outer diameter of the large-diameter bellows tube portion 4 is larger than the outer diameter of the small-diameter bellows tube portion (3, 9).
Further, as a line-shaped object, a water-supplying pipe of which outer diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the electric wire, an optical fiber of which outer diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the electric wire, or the like other than the electric wire can be inserted into the partially molded corrugate tube 1. To provide a not-shown slit in a longitudinal direction on the partially molded corrugate tube 1 for inserting the line-shaped object easily into the partially molded corrugate tube 1 is well-known. Further, the partially molded corrugate tube 1 is also referred to as a harness protecting tube, a harness exterior member, or the like.
A partially molded corrugate tube according to the present invention can be bent in a large angle (small radius) at a position required to be bent without being bleached (weakened), and for example, used for smoothly bending and routing a wiring harness along a vehicle body or the like.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2011-148852 | Jul 2011 | JP | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2012/004294 | Jul 2012 | US |
Child | 14144945 | US |