US 11,685,322 B2
Wiring harness assembly having 3-dimensional sleeve guide, and method of making same
Mitchell Ryan Adams, Peoria, IL (US); and Adam Fash, Normal, IL (US)
Assigned to Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, IL (US)
Filed by Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, IL (US)
Filed on Sep. 4, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/12,986.
Prior Publication US 2022/0073014 A1, Mar. 10, 2022
Int. Cl. B60R 16/02 (2006.01); H01R 43/28 (2006.01)
CPC B60R 16/0215 (2013.01) [H01R 43/28 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A sleeve guide for a wiring harness comprising:
a one-piece sleeve guide body defining a center axis and including an incoming guide tube and an outgoing guide tube forming, respectively, an incoming segment and an outgoing segment of a through-bore structured to receive an undivided trunk section and a divided trunk section, of a main trunk of a wiring harness;
the one-piece sleeve guide body further including an enlarged middle section formed in part by each of the incoming guide tube and the outgoing guide tube, and forming a wire bend cavity connecting between the incoming segment and the outgoing segment of the through-bore;
the one-piece sleeve guide body further including a plurality of breakout guide tubes each forming a transverse bore connected to the wire bend cavity and structured to receive one of a plurality of breakouts of the wiring harness diverging from the main trunk at locations between the undivided trunk section and the divided trunk section;
the plurality of breakout guide tubes are attached to the enlarged middle section and arranged at a plurality of different locations circumferentially around the center axis, and advance outwardly from the enlarged middle section so as to fix outgoing trajectories of the plurality of breakouts in a 3-dimensional pattern about the center axis; and
the enlarged middle section has an outer surface upon the incoming guide tube that is continuous circumferentially around the center axis, and an outer surface upon the outgoing guide tube that is discontinuous circumferentially around the center axis and interrupted by the plurality of breakout tubes; and
the outer surface upon the incoming guide tube and the outer surface upon the outgoing guide tube are each conical.