CONDUIT COMPONENT FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE HAVING DEMAND-COMPATIBLY DIMENSIONED INTEGRATED ELECTRICAL LEADS

Abstract

A motor-vehicle conduit component encompassing an inherently rigid conduit structure having a conduit wall that surrounds a fluid-carrying volume embodied for the passage of a fluid along a virtual conduit path; the virtual conduit path notionally penetrating centrally through the fluid-carrying volume; a plurality of electrical conductors being arranged on and/or in the conduit wall, each electrical conductor of which is electrically conductively contactable from outside the conduit component at least at a first contact location and at a second contact location arranged with a spacing along the conduit path from the first contact location; the conduit structure being inherently rigid, and the plurality of electrical conductors having a first conductor group constituting a power conductor group and having a lower length-related resistance, and a second conductor group constituting a signal conductor group and having a higher length-related resistance.

Claims

1-8. (canceled)

9. A motor-vehicle conduit component encompassing an inherently rigid conduit structure having a conduit wall that surrounds a fluid-carrying volume embodied for the passage of an associated fluid along a virtual conduit path; the virtual conduit path notionally penetrating centrally through the fluid-carrying volume; a plurality of electrical conductors being arranged on and/or in the conduit wall, each electrical conductor of which is electrically conductively contactable from outside the conduit component at least at a first contact location and at a second contact location arranged with a spacing along the conduit path from the first contact location, wherein the inherently rigid conduit structure is inherently rigid, and the plurality of electrical conductors has a first conductor group constituting a power conductor group and having a lower length-related resistance, and a second conductor group constituting a signal conductor group and having a higher length-related resistance.

10. The motor-vehicle conduit component according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of electrical conductors encompass solid-metal conductor traces.

11. The motor-vehicle conduit component according to claim 10, wherein a bond between the solid-metal conductor traces and the conduit wall is realized by at least one of the following: the solid-metal conductor traces are adhesively bonded onto the conduit wall, and the conduit wall is injection-applied onto the solid-metal conductor traces, and the solid-metal conductor traces, with the exception of the first and the second contact location, are embedded into material of the conduit wall.

12. The motor-vehicle conduit component according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of electrical conductors encompasses at least one of: a conductor trace printed onto a surface of the conduit wall, and at least one electrical conductor generated by injection molding, or extrusion, from plastic filled with electrically conductive material.

13. The motor-vehicle conduit component according to claim 9, wherein the inherently rigid conduit structure is generated by at least one of injection molding and blow molding.

14. The motor-vehicle conduit component according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of electrical conductors are arranged at least in part on the outer side, facing away from the fluid-carrying volume, of the inherently rigid conduit structure.

15. The motor-vehicle conduit component according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of electrical leads are arranged at least in part on the inner side, facing toward the fluid-carrying volume, of the inherently rigid conduit structure.

16. The motor-vehicle conduit component according to claim 9, wherein at least some of the electrical conductors of the power conductor group extend parallel to one another, and at least some of the electrical conductors of the signal conductor group extend parallel to one another.

17. The motor-vehicle conduit component according to claim 11, wherein the solid-metal conductor traces are adhesively bonded onto the conduit wall indirectly via a carrier film carrying the solid-metal conductor traces.

18. The motor-vehicle conduit component according to claim 12, wherein at least one solid-metal conductor trace of the signal conductor group encompasses at least one of: a conductor trace printed onto a surface of the conduit wall, and at least one electrical conductor generated by injection molding or extrusion from plastic filled with electrically conductive material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which forms a part hereof and wherein:

[0024] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an embodiment according to the present invention of a motor-vehicle conduit; and

[0025] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view through the conduit component of FIG. 1 along a section plane II-II in FIG. 1 which is orthogonal to the conduit path.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating preferred and alternative embodiments of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting the same, in FIGS. 1 and 2, an embodiment according to the present invention of a motor-vehicle conduit component of the present invention is labeled in general with the number 10. Conduit component 10 has at the ends a respective attachment flange 12, 14, which flanges are arranged with a spacing 16 from one another along a virtual conduit path K. Extending between attachment flanges 12 and 14, along virtual conduit path K, is a conduit wall 18 having a substantially circular cross section. The cross section can also have a shape other than a circular one. The circular shape is recited merely as an example.

[0027] Also by way of example, conduit component 10 is constituted from two injection-molded conduit component shells 10a and 10b that are heat-sealed to one another. Conduit component 10 can, however, also be blow-molded or manufactured using a combination of blow-molding and injection-molding processes. For example, conduit wall 18 surrounding a fluid-carrying volume 20 can be blow-molded, the end-located attachment flanges 12 and 14 then having been injection-applied onto conduit wall 18.

[0028] In the injection-molded conduit component 10 depicted by way of example in FIGS. 1 and 2, in FIG. 2 the joining plane extending orthogonally to the drawing plane of FIG. 2 and parallel to the drawing plane of FIG. 1 is depicted with dashed lines and labeled with a reference character 22. Conduit component 10 is inherently rigid, and requires no additional supporting structure to maintain its shape once it has been achieved. The material from which the conduit component is constituted is a thermoplastic polymer, preferably a polyolefin.

[0029] Arranged on outer side 18a, facing away from fluid-carrying volume 20, of conduit wall 18 is a plurality of electrical conductors 24 and 26. Electrical conductors 24, of which, by way of example, three electrical conductors 24 extending parallel to one another are depicted, constitute a power conductor group 28 having a lower length-related electrical resistance. Electrical conductors 26, of which, by way of example, two electrical conductors 26 extending parallel to one another are depicted, constitute a signal conductor group 30 having a higher length-related electrical resistance.

[0030] Electrical conductors 24, which extend from a first contact location 32 to a second contact location 34 located remotely along virtual conduit path K, serve to transfer electrical power that is necessary for operation of an electrical apparatus, for example an electric fan or another electrical load.

[0031] Electrical conductors 26, which also extend from a first contact location 36 to a second contact location 38, serve to transfer electrical communication signals, which are represented substantially by a potential difference or a change in electrical potentials between a reference potential and an electrical potential of electrical conductor 26 and thus do not require the transfer of appreciable electrical power, and can therefore be furnished inexpensively with a higher length-related electrical resistance.

[0032] First contact locations 32 and 36 and second contact locations 34 and 38 are respectively embodied, by way of example, as solder attachment points onto which an electrical lead that extends further can be soldered. Alternatively or additionally, the aforesaid contact locations can be embodied, individually or in their entirety, as a plug connection configuration, for example as contact pins projecting from outer side 18a of conduit wall 18 or as contact sockets reachable from outer side 18a of conduit wall 18.

[0033] In the present case, electrical conductors 24 are embodied as solid metal leads 40 onto which conduit component shell 10a has been injection-applied. For that purpose, before the injection-molding operation, metal leads 40 were laid into recesses provided therefor in the injection-molding cavity for manufacturing conduit component shell 10a. As a result of this injection-application, metal leads 40 are recessed at least over part of their thickness extent into conduit wall 18. Divergently from what is depicted in FIG. 2, a metal lead 40 can also be recessed completely into conduit wall 18 if the thickness of conduit wall 18 is sufficient.

[0034] In contrast to electrical conductors 24 of power conductor group 28, electrical conductors 26 of signal conductor group 30 are extruded onto or printed onto outer side 18a of conduit wall 18. Electrical conductors 26 are therefore constituted from a polymer filled with electrically conductive particles, a polymer compatible with the polymer of conduit wall 18 being selected as the matrix polymer carrying the particles in order to ensure a connection of electrical conductors 26 to conduit wall 18 which is as durable, and as simple to produce, as possible.

[0035] The advantage of printing or extruding electrical conductors onto outer wall 18a of conduit wall 18 is the almost unrestrictedly selectable shape, and likewise almost unrestrictedly selectable routing, of electrical conductors 26. Electrical conductors 24 are also adjustable in terms of their routing, but because they are configured from solid metal, and furthermore because of their larger conductive cross section compared with that of electrical conductors 26, the selection of their routing is subject to more restrictive boundary conditions than is the case for electrical conductors 26.

[0036] As indicated schematically in FIG. 1, the routing direction and/or flow cross section of conduit component 10 along virtual conduit path K can change. Divergently from the multiply angled routing that is depicted, conduit 10 can additionally or alternatively extend along a curved conduit path.

[0037] By way of conduit component 10 presented here, electrical currents for operating electrical loads, as well as electrical communication signals, can be transferred via conduit component 10, the resource consumption for producing electrical conductors being minimized as a result of the demand-compatible dimensioning of the electrical conductors used for that purpose.

[0038] While considerable emphasis has been placed on the preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated that other embodiments, and equivalences thereof, can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments described above can be combined to form yet other embodiments of the invention of this application. Accordingly, it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.