JP7105099B2 - Grommet - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a grommet attached to a vehicle body panel of an automobile or the like and through which an electric wire such as a wire harness is inserted.

As this type of grommet, for example, those described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are known.

In the grommet described in Patent Document 1, a slack portion capable of absorbing the extension of the bent portion is provided at the base of the small-diameter cylindrical portion corresponding to the region on the opposite side of the bending direction of the small-diameter cylindrical portion through which the wire harness is inserted. When wiring the harness (small-diameter tubular portion) downward along the vehicle body panel on the engine compartment side, the slack portion expands outward so that the small-diameter tubular portion can be bent approximately perpendicularly. ing.

Further, the grommet described in Patent Document 2 is provided with a bellows portion on the panel mounting portion continuous side of the cylindrical wire harness insertion portion, and is provided with a thin portion at a portion facing the bellows portion in the radial direction, and is connected to the vehicle body panel. The wire harness insertion part is made bendable so as to be in a parallel state.

In addition, the grommet described in Patent Document 3 has a wire harness on the outer peripheral surface of an intermediate portion between a large-diameter cylindrical portion that fits into a hole in the panel and a small-diameter cylindrical portion that penetrates and holds the wire harness. A rib-shaped annular thick portion that acts as a bending point when bent is provided, and the bending force due to bending of the wire harness is cut off at the bending point.

Furthermore, the grommet described in Patent Document 4 has a bellows portion as a flexible portion that can be bent at the base of the small-diameter tubular portion through which the electric wire is inserted, so that the small-diameter tubular portion through which the electric wire is inserted can be tilted in a desired direction. I'm trying

Further, in the grommet described in Patent Document 5, folds are provided on the side surface of the diameter-enlarged tubular portion between the tubular portion through which the bundle of electric wires is inserted and the connector fitting portion that holds the connector inside, so that the tubular portion is The folds open when bent to absorb tensile stress.

JP-A-2001-251737 JP-A-7-21863 JP-A-7-14452 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-160329 JP-A-2006-339116

In the conventional grommet, when the wire harness is passed through the vehicle body, it is attached to the vehicle body panel via the grommet. Since it is assumed that the harness is routed straight, if the wire harness is passed through the small-diameter tubular portion and then bent along the vehicle body panel, the length of the bellows portion provided in the small-diameter tubular portion must be adjusted. In addition, it was difficult to bend the wire harness along the vehicle body panel due to interference between the bent wire harness and the large-diameter tubular portion serving as the base portion of the grommet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a grommet that can easily bend electric wires passing through each tubular portion along a vehicle body panel.

The present invention is a grommet, which has a large-diameter tubular portion attached to a vehicle body panel, a small-diameter tubular portion through which an electric wire is passed, and has flexibility, and the large-diameter tubular portion and the small-diameter tubular portion are connected. and an intermediate cylindrical portion, the portion facing the region in the bending direction of the small-diameter cylindrical portion on the surface side of the large-diameter cylindrical portion, and the region on the back side of the large-diameter cylindrical portion in the bending direction of the small-diameter cylindrical portion. A gouged relief portion is provided in at least the portion on the back side of the large-diameter tubular portion among the portions facing the area on the opposite side, and the intermediate tubular portion corresponding to the area in the bending direction of the small-diameter tubular portion. A small expansion/contraction part with small expansion/contraction is provided in the part, and a large expansion/contraction part with large expansion/contraction is provided in the part of the intermediate tube corresponding to the area on the side opposite to the bending direction of the small diameter tube .

According to the present invention, the relief portion provided in the large-diameter tubular portion allows the electric wire passing through the large-diameter tubular portion, the intermediate tubular portion, and the small-diameter tubular portion to be easily bent along the vehicle body panel.

1 is a plan view showing a grommet according to one embodiment of the invention; FIG. It is a bottom view of the said grommet. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the grommet during production of a wire harness; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the grommet when it is attached to the vehicle; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the grommet of the comparative example when assembled to the vehicle.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a grommet according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the same grommet, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the same grommet during production of a wire harness, and FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the same grommet during vehicle assembly. FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 are cross-sectional views of a grommet of a comparative example when assembled to the same vehicle.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the grommet 10 includes a large-diameter cylindrical portion 11 assembled around the through-hole 8a of the vehicle body panel 8 and a small-diameter cylindrical portion 11 through which a wire harness (electric wire) 9 bundled with a plurality of electric wires passes. It has a cylindrical portion 18 and a flexible intermediate cylindrical portion 15 connecting the large-diameter cylindrical portion 11 and the small-diameter cylindrical portion 18, and is integrally formed of rubber material, elastomer resin material, or the like. .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the large-diameter cylindrical portion 11 is formed in a thick annular shape, and the portion facing the bending direction X region of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 18 on the surface 11a side has: A relief portion 12 is formed which is hollowed out in a conical concave shape. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a portion of the large-diameter tubular portion 11 on the side of the rear surface 11b facing the region opposite to the region in the bending direction X of the small-diameter tubular portion 18 is hollowed out in a conical concave shape. A relief portion 13 is formed. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, escape portions 12 and 13 which are hollowed out in a conical concave shape are provided at positions 180° apart from each other on both the front and back surfaces 11a and 11b of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 11 as the base portion. The wire harness 9 can be bent up to the escape portions 12 and 13 on the front and back surfaces 11a and 11b of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 11, respectively.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, an annular mounting plate 14 made of metal is insert-molded on the outer peripheral side of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 11 . A pair of tongue portions 14a, 14a are formed on the mounting plate 14 at positions separated by 180 degrees. A round hole 14b and an elliptical hole 14c through which the shank of a bolt (not shown) is inserted are formed in the center of the pair of tongues 14a, 14a. With the surface 11a of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 11 in contact with the through hole 8a of the vehicle body panel 8, the shank portion is inserted through the holes 14b and 14c of the pair of tongue portions 14a and 14a of the mounting plate 14. The large-diameter cylindrical portion 11 can be assembled around the through-hole 8a of the vehicle body panel 8 by bolting through a bolt and a nut (not shown) screwed onto the threaded portion of the shank portion.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the intermediate cylindrical portion 15 is formed in a flexible, expanded diameter cylindrical shape, and the portion corresponding to the region in the bending direction X of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 18 has little expansion and contraction. A bellows-like small expansion/contraction portion 16 is formed, and a large bellows-like expansion/contraction portion 17 is formed in a portion corresponding to a region on the side opposite to the bending direction X of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 18 . That is, the height (length) of the bellows portion of the large expansion/contraction portion 17 located on the opposite side of the bending direction of the wire harness 9 of the intermediate cylindrical portion 15 with flexibility is It is higher (longer) than the height of the bellows portion of the small stretchable portion 16 located in the direction portion.

As shown in FIG. 3, the small-diameter tubular portion 18 is formed in an elongated cylindrical shape coaxially connected to the large-diameter tubular portion 11 via the intermediate tubular portion 15, and a wire harness is provided on the inner peripheral surface thereof. A plurality of lip portions 19 are integrally formed to seal and hold the lip 9 without gaps.

In addition, FIG. 5 shows a grommet 1 of a comparative example at the time of assembly to a vehicle. In the grommet 1 of this comparative example, no escape portion is provided on the front and back surfaces of the large-diameter tubular portion 2 as a base portion attached to the vehicle body panel 8, and the large-diameter tubular portion 2 and the wire harness 9 pass through. An elastic flexible bellows portion 4 is uniformly provided in all directions in an intermediate cylindrical portion 3 having flexibility located in the middle of the small diameter cylindrical portion 5 . Further, in FIGS. 3 to 5, symbol A indicates the interior, and symbol B indicates the exterior.

According to the grommet 10 of the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. The wire harness 9 passing through is produced so as to be assembled vertically to the body panel (vehicle) 8 .

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, when assembling the grommet 10 to the vehicle, the wire harness 9 passing through the large-diameter tubular portion 11, the intermediate tubular portion 15, and the small-diameter tubular portion 18 of the grommet 10 is attached to the vehicle body panel 8. However, as shown in FIG. 5, in the case of the grommet 1 of the comparative example, the bellows portion 4 is uniformly provided in all directions on the intermediate cylindrical portion 3 and has the same length, so the diameter is small. It is difficult to tilt the cylinder part 5 obliquely. Further, if the small-diameter cylindrical portion 5 of the grommet 1 is forcibly pulled to bring the wire harness 9 passing through the grommet 1 closer to the vehicle body panel 8, the bellows portion 4 of the grommet 1 may be cut.

On the other hand, in the grommet 10 of the present embodiment, when the wire harness 9 is pulled after being attached to the vehicle, the intermediate tubular portion 15 and the small stretchable portion 16 and the large stretchable portion 16 of the intermediate cylindrical portion 15 are stretched in accordance with the wiring route of the wire harness 9 . Since the expansion/contraction part 17 expands and contracts, when the wire harness 9 penetrating the grommet 10 is set parallel to the vehicle body panel 8, the small-diameter cylindrical part 18, which is the water stop part of the grommet 10, is not deformed and assembled to the vehicle. be done. Also, even if the large elastic portion 17 of the intermediate tubular portion 15 is stretched, the small diameter tubular portion 18 is not cut.

In addition, since there is only one direction in which the wire harness 9 is attached to the vehicle, the wiring route of the wire harness 9 is also determined. , 11b are formed with relief portions 12 and 13, which are hollowed out in a conical concave shape. It can be easily assembled to the vehicle so that it is parallel to the vehicle body panels 8 on both sides. As a result, the wire harness 9 can be routed easily and reliably in a very small gap (space) inside the automobile.

Furthermore, since interference between the wire harness 9 and the grommet 10 can be reduced, wear of the grommet 10 can be prevented. In addition, since the relief portions 12 and 13 which are hollowed out in a conical concave shape are provided on the front and back surfaces 11a and 11b of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 11 of the grommet 10, the wiring route of the wire harness 9 can be easily recognized. It becomes easy to assemble the wire harness 9 to the vehicle.

According to the above embodiment, a grommet through which a wire harness in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled has been described. can be In addition, the large-diameter tubular portion of the grommet is attached to the vehicle body panel by bolting. It may be assembled by fitting the locking groove of the.

8 vehicle body panel 9 wire harness (electric wire)
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Grommet 11 Large-diameter tubular portion 11a Front surface 11b Back surface 12 Gouged relief portion 13 Gouged relief portion 15 Intermediate tubular portion 16 Small expansion/contraction portion 17 Large expansion/contraction portion 18 Small-diameter tubular portion X Bending direction of small-diameter tubular portion

Claims (2)

a large-diameter cylindrical portion assembled to the vehicle body panel;
a small-diameter cylindrical portion through which the electric wire is passed;
an intermediate cylindrical portion having flexibility and connecting the large-diameter cylindrical portion and the small-diameter cylindrical portion;
with
A portion on the surface side of the large-diameter tubular portion facing the area in the bending direction of the small-diameter tubular portion and a portion on the back side of the large-diameter tubular portion facing the area on the side opposite to the area in the bending direction of the small-diameter tubular portion. A gouged relief portion is provided at least in the portion on the back side of the large-diameter cylindrical portion. ,
A portion of the intermediate tubular portion corresponding to a region in the bending direction of the small-diameter tubular portion is provided with a small expansion-contraction portion having small expansion and contraction, and the intermediate tubular portion corresponding to a region on the side opposite to the bending direction of the small-diameter tubular portion. A large expansion and contraction part is provided in the part A grommet, characterized in that: The grommet of claim 1 , wherein
A wire harness in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled as the electric wire,
A portion on the surface side of the large-diameter tubular portion that faces the area in the bending direction of the small-diameter tubular portion, and a portion on the back side of the large-diameter tubular portion that faces the area on the side opposite to the area in the bending direction of the small-diameter tubular portion. and the wire harness is bendable toward each of the relief portions provided on both front and back surfaces of the large-diameter cylindrical portion.

Images