US-20260125005-A1 - Sleeve Assembly for Wiring Harness Installation

Abstract

An end cap for a wiring harness installation sleeve includes a base, a first portion, and a second portion. The base is disposed around a central axis and includes a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The first portion extends from the first end and is disposed about the central axis. The first portion includes an outer surface. The second portion extends from the first end and is disposed about the central axis. The second portion includes an inner surface. The inner surface and the outer surface define a gap configured to receive the wiring harness installation sleeve.

Inventors

• Jeffrey Michael
• Ryan Lewis
• Robert Dean
• Jared Bilas
• Joseph Sudik, Jr.
• David R. Peterson

Assignees

• Aptiv Technologies AG

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20241101

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An end cap for a wiring harness installation sleeve, the end cap comprising: a base disposed around a central axis and including a first end and a second end opposite the first end; a first portion extending from the first end and disposed about the central axis, the first portion including an outer surface; and a second portion extending from the first end and disposed about the central axis, the second portion including an inner surface, the inner surface and the outer surface defining a gap configured to receive the wiring harness installation sleeve.
2. 2 . A wiring harness installation assembly comprising: the end cap of claim 1 ; and a sleeve, wherein the inner surface engages the sleeve.
3. 3 . The wiring harness installation assembly of claim 2 , wherein the outer surface engages the sleeve.
4. 4 . The wiring harness installation assembly of claim 2 , wherein the sleeve is disposed within the gap.
5. 5 . The wiring harness installation assembly of claim 2 , further comprising: a second end cap, wherein: the sleeve includes a first end and a second end opposite the first end, the end cap is configured to engage the first end of the sleeve, and the second end cap is configured to engage the second end of the sleeve.
6. 6 . The end cap of claim 1 , further comprising a robotic installation feature extending from the base.
7. 7 . The end cap of claim 6 , wherein the robotic installation feature extends from the second end of the base.
8. 8 . The end cap of claim 1 , wherein the first portion is parallel to the second portion.
9. 9 . The end cap of claim 1 , wherein the base defines a semi-spherical shape.
10. 10 . The end cap of claim 1 , wherein: the first portion includes a set of first fingers, and the second portion includes a set of second fingers.
11. 11 . A wiring harness installation sleeve comprising: a first surface extending from a first end of the sleeve to a second end of the sleeve; and a second surface opposite the first surface and extending from the first end to the second end, the second surface defining at least one recess disposed between the first end and the second end and configured to facilitate bending the sleeve in a first direction.
12. 12 . The wiring harness installation sleeve of claim 11 , wherein the first surface and the second surface collectively define a hollow cylinder configured to receive a wiring harness.
13. 13 . The wiring harness installation sleeve of claim 11 , wherein the at least one recess extends through the first surface.
14. 14 . The wiring harness installation sleeve of claim 11 , wherein the at least one recess includes a plurality of recesses collectively surrounding the sleeve.
15. 15 . The wiring harness installation sleeve of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of recesses is equally spaced around at least a portion of the sleeve.
16. 16 . The wiring harness installation sleeve of claim 11 , wherein each recess of the at least one recess has a diamond shape.
17. 17 . A wiring harness installation assembly comprising: the sleeve of claim 11 ; and an endcap coupled to the first end of the sleeve.
18. 18 . The wiring harness installation assembly of claim 17 , wherein the endcap includes: a base disposed around a central axis and including a first end and a second end opposite the first end; a first portion extending from the first end and disposed about the central axis, the first portion including an outer surface; and a second portion extending from the first end and disposed about the central axis, the second portion including an inner surface, the inner surface and the outer surface defining a gap configured to receive the sleeve.
19. 19 . The wiring harness installation assembly of claim 18 , wherein the inner surface engages the sleeve.
20. 20 . The wiring harness installation assembly of claim 17 , further comprising a second endcap coupled to the second end of the sleeve and defining an opening configured to receive a wiring harness.

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to systems for installing wiring harnesses and more particularly to a sleeve assembly for wiring harness installation. BACKGROUND Modern vehicles (e.g., automobiles) rely on electrical wiring and electrical connections to facilitate the transmission of electricity within, and between various components of, the vehicle. Wiring harnesses (e.g., connectors and bundles of wires) play an important role in ensuring the integrity of these electrical connections and the reliability and performance of the vehicle. Wiring harness often lack the structural integrity (e.g., rigidity) to ensure the accurate and repeatable handling, positioning, and securement of the wiring harnesses and/or other components during an assembly process. Often, these wiring harnesses require manual installation or complex tooling to install, which can increase the cost and complexity of the wiring harnesses. For example, the wiring harnesses may be placed inside another component (e.g., a sleeve) to provide the rigidity necessary to install the wiring harness automatically/robotically. These components are often costly and complex. In view of the foregoing, while known systems and methods for installing wiring harnesses have proven acceptable for their intended purpose, a continuous need for improvement remains in the pertinent art to address the challenges associated with accurate and efficient assembly of the wiring harnesses. The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. SUMMARY This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. One aspect of the disclosure provides an end cap for a wiring harness installation sleeve. The end cap includes a base, a first portion, and a second portion. The base is disposed around a central axis and includes a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The first portion extends from the first end and is disposed about the central axis. The first portion includes an outer surface. The second portion extends from the first end and is disposed about the central axis. The second portion includes an inner surface. The inner surface and the outer surface define a gap configured to receive the wiring harness installation sleeve. Another aspect of the disclosure provides a wiring harness installation sleeve. The wiring harness installation sleeve includes a first surface and a second surface. The first surface extends from a first end of the sleeve to a second end of the sleeve. The second surface is opposite the first surface and extends from the first end to the second end. The second surface defines at least one recess disposed between the first end and the second end and configured to facilitate bending the sleeve in a first direction. The details of one or more implementations of the disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other aspects, features, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wiring harness installation assembly in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the wiring harness installation assembly of FIG. 1 in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wiring harness installation assembly of FIG. 1 taken through the line A-A in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a tool manipulating a wiring harness installation assembly in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a sleeve of a wiring harness installation assembly in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a first endcap of a wiring harness installation assembly in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second endcap of a wiring harness installation assembly in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. In the drawings, reference numbers may be reused to identify similar and/or identical elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example configurations will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example configurations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those of ordinary skill in the art