US-12617356-B2 - Wire harness

US12617356B2US 12617356 B2US12617356 B2US 12617356B2US-12617356-B2

Abstract

A wire harness includes a trunk module including a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards, a plurality of trunk connectors, and a first wiring member module connecting the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards to each other, and a plurality of branch modules each including a plurality of branch wiring members and a branch connector provided at ends of the plurality of branch wiring members and connected to one of the trunk connectors. Each of the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards is provided with a wiring pattern including a plurality of conductor circuit portions electrically connected to the plurality of branch wiring members, respectively, via the trunk connectors and the branch connectors to constitute transmission paths, and joint portions each connecting at least two of the plurality of conductor circuit portions to each other.

Inventors

Hiroki Suganuma
Mitsuhisa Sano
Shuji Kimura

Assignees

YAZAKI CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240617
Priority Date: 20230713

Claims (8)

1 . A wire harness comprising: a trunk module including a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards having flexibility, a plurality of trunk connectors provided at ends of the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards, and a first wiring member module including a plurality of trunk first wiring members having conductivity and connecting the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards to each other; and a plurality of branch modules each including a plurality of branch wiring members having conductivity, and a branch connector provided at ends of the plurality of branch wiring members and connected to one of the trunk connectors, wherein each of the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards is provided with a wiring pattern including a plurality of conductor circuit portions electrically connected to the plurality of branch wiring members, respectively, via the trunk connectors and the branch connectors to constitute transmission paths, and joint portions each connecting at least two of the plurality of conductor circuit portions to each other.
2 . The wire harness according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards is provided along an extending direction of the trunk module with a gap provided therebetween, and the plurality of branch modules is routed toward electronic devices disposed separate from the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards in a direction that intersects the extending direction.
3 . The wire harness according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards includes a first flexible printed circuit board provided at one end of the trunk module in an extending direction and connected to a first ECU via the trunk connector, and a second flexible printed circuit board provided at another end of the trunk module in the extending direction and connected to a second ECU via the trunk connector.
4 . The wire harness according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards includes a first flexible printed circuit board provided at one end of the trunk module in an extending direction and connected to a first ECU via the trunk connector, and a second flexible printed circuit board provided at another end of the trunk module in the extending direction and connected to a second ECU via the trunk connector.
5 . The wire harness according to claim 3 , wherein the trunk module is disposed on a structural member provided in an instrument panel of a vehicle and extending along the extending direction, the first ECU and the second ECU are disposed separate from both ends of the structural member in the direction intersecting the extending direction, the first flexible printed circuit board includes a first portion extending along the structural member in the extending direction, and a second portion connected to the first portion via a plurality of first folded portions and extending toward the first ECU along the direction intersecting the extending direction, and the second flexible printed circuit board includes a third portion extending along the structural member in the extending direction, and a fourth portion connected to the third portion via a plurality of second folded portions and extending toward the second ECU along the direction intersecting the extending direction.
6 . The wire harness according to claim 4 , wherein the trunk module is disposed on a structural member provided in an instrument panel of a vehicle and extending along the extending direction, the first ECU and the second ECU are disposed separate from both ends of the structural member in the direction intersecting the extending direction, the first flexible printed circuit board includes a first portion extending along the structural member in the extending direction, and a second portion connected to the first portion via a plurality of first folded portions and extending toward the first ECU along the direction intersecting the extending direction, and the second flexible printed circuit board includes a third portion extending along the structural member in the extending direction, and a fourth portion connected to the third portion via a plurality of second folded portions and extending toward the second ECU along the direction intersecting the extending direction.
7 . The wire harness according to claim 3 , wherein the trunk module is disposed on a structural member provided in an instrument panel of a vehicle and extending along the extending direction, the first ECU and the second ECU are disposed separate from both ends of the structural member in the direction intersecting the extending direction, and the trunk module includes a second wiring member module including a plurality of trunk second wiring members having conductivity and connecting the first flexible printed circuit board on the structural member and the first ECU to each other, and a third wiring member module including a plurality of trunk third wiring members having conductivity and connecting the second flexible printed circuit board on the structural member and the second ECU to each other.
8 . The wire harness according to claim 4 , wherein the trunk module is disposed on a structural member provided in an instrument panel of a vehicle and extending along the extending direction, the first ECU and the second ECU are disposed separate from both ends of the structural member in the direction intersecting the extending direction, and the trunk module includes a second wiring member module including a plurality of trunk second wiring members having conductivity and connecting the first flexible printed circuit board on the structural member and the first ECU to each other, and a third wiring member module including a plurality of trunk third wiring members having conductivity and connecting the second flexible printed circuit board on the structural member and the second ECU to each other.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) The present application claims priority to and incorporates by reference the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-114950 filed in Japan on Jul. 13, 2023. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wire harness. 2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional technique related to wire harnesses, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-150047 A discloses a wire harness provided with a trunk module including flexible printed circuit boards having flexibility and a plurality of trunk connectors provided at ends of the flexible printed circuit boards. The wire harness described in the above-described Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-150047 A, however, has room for further improvement in terms of, for example, ease of assembly to a vehicle or the like. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a wire harness capable of improving ease of assembly to a vehicle or the like. In order to achieve the above mentioned object, a wire harness according to one aspect of the present invention includes a trunk module including a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards having flexibility, a plurality of trunk connectors provided at ends of the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards, and a first wiring member module including a plurality of trunk first wiring members having conductivity and connecting the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards to each other; and a plurality of branch modules each including a plurality of branch wiring members having conductivity, and a branch connector provided at ends of the plurality of branch wiring members and connected to one of the trunk connectors, wherein each of the plurality of flexible printed circuit boards is provided with a wiring pattern including a plurality of conductor circuit portions electrically connected to the plurality of branch wiring members, respectively, via the trunk connectors and the branch connectors to constitute transmission paths, and joint portions each connecting at least two of the plurality of conductor circuit portions to each other. The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of this invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view of a vehicle for which a wire harness according to an embodiment is used; FIG. 2 is an exemplary schematic plan view of the wire harness according to the embodiment; FIG. 3 is an exemplary schematic plan view of a part of one of flexible printed circuit boards of the wire harness according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is an exemplary schematic plan view of a branch module of the wire harness according to the embodiment; FIG. 5 is an exemplary perspective view of a vehicle for which a wire harness according to a modification is used; and FIG. 6 is an exemplary schematic plan view of the wire harness according to the modification. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment and a modification of the present invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by the following embodiment and modification. In addition, components in the following embodiment and modification include ones that can be easily replaced by those skilled in the art and ones that are substantially the same. In addition, the embodiment and modification disclosed below include similar components. In the following description, therefore, such similar components will be given the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof is omitted. Note that ordinal numbers are used only to distinguish components, members, parts, positions, directions, and the like, and do not indicate order or priority. Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle 100 for which a wire harness WH according to an embodiment is used. Note that in the following description, a first direction, a second direction, and a third direction, which intersect one another, will be referred to as an “extending direction Y”, a “depth direction X”, and a “height direction Z”, respectively. Here, the extending direction Y, the depth direction X, and the height direction Z are substantially perpendicular to one another. The extending direction Y typically corresponds to a longitudinal direction of a trunk module 10 of the wire harness WH, a vehicle width direction, and the like. The depth direction X corresponds to a lateral direction of the trunk module 10 of the wire harness WH, a vehicle length direction, and the like. The height direction Z corresponds to a thickness direction