JPH09161581A - Grommet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a grommet which can be mounted on a car body panel at a low cost and by one-touch inserting motion from a single side. SOLUTION: A grommet concerned includes a minor diametric cylindrical part 5a to admit insertion of a wire harness W/H, a major diametric cylindrical part 5b continued to the front extremity of the minor diametric cylindrical part, and a folded- back part 5c formed by folding back from the front extremity of the major diametric cylindrical part, wherein a detaining recess 5d to be engaged by the inside edge of a through hole 6a formed in a car body panel 6 is furnished is provided in the outside surface of the folded-back part. The first provisional detent projection 5h is provided on the inside surface of the folded-back part while the second provisional detent projection 5i is provided on the outside surface of the major cylindrical part confronting the inside surface of the folded-back part, and the folded-back part at the front extremity is contracted in the diameter by pulling the major cylindrical part backward from the side with minor cylindrical part, and when the bottom of the recess gets a smaller diameter than the bore of the through hole in the panel, the second provisional detent projection is positioned rear more than the first provisional detent projection so that the first is detained provisionally, and the folded-back part is restituted and diametric enlargement is hindered temporarily.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grommet which is attached to a through hole of a vehicle body panel in a state where a wire harness is inserted, and more particularly to a grommet which can be improved in workability of attaching.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wire harness for an automobile is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), when the wire harness W / H is routed through the through hole 1a of the vehicle body panel (for example, a dash panel that separates the engine room A and the vehicle room B), a rubber grommet is used. The wire harness W / H is inserted through the small-diameter cylindrical portion 2a of 2, and in this state, the grommet 2 is inserted into the through hole 1a from the engine room A side toward the vehicle compartment B side, and the outer peripheral concave portion 2c of the large-diameter portion 2b is inserted. Is locked to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole 1a, so that the grommet 2 is attached to the vehicle body panel 1
Is attached to the through hole 1a.

[0003]

However, when the large-diameter portion 2b of the grommet 2 is inserted into the through hole 1a, the lip portion 2d at the tip may bend and be caught in the outer peripheral recess 2c at the inner edge of the through hole 1a. However, in that case, the grommet 2 is not securely attached, and the sealing property is poor, which causes water leakage. Therefore, the large diameter portion 2b is pushed into the through hole 1a up to the rear end and then pulled back to make the lip 2
Although the biting of d is prevented, the work in two directions of pushing and pulling back is required, and there is a problem that mounting workability is poor.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (B), instead of the large diameter portion 2b of the grommet 2, a large diameter member 3 made of synthetic resin is fixed and penetrates the outer peripheral concave portion 3a of the large diameter member 3. Hole 1a
What is provided is to be locked to the inner peripheral edge of the. (See Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-66816) However, this structure has a two-piece structure of the grommet 2 and the large-diameter member 3, which causes a problem of high cost.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a grommet which can be attached to a vehicle body panel in one direction by one-touch operation at low cost. It is a thing.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to claim 1 of the present invention, a small-diameter cylindrical portion through which a wire harness is inserted, and a large-diameter cylindrical portion continuous to the front end of the small-diameter cylindrical portion,
The large-diameter tubular portion has a folded-back portion that is folded back from the front end, and the outer peripheral surface of the folded-back portion is provided with a locking recess that is locked to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole of the vehicle body panel. A first temporary locking convex portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the folded portion, and a position forward of the first temporary locking convex portion on the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter cylindrical portion facing the inner peripheral surface of the folded portion. And a second temporary locking convex portion is provided in the second temporary locking convex portion, and the large diameter tubular portion is pulled rearward from the small diameter tubular portion side to reduce the diameter of the folded portion at the front end so that the bottom portion of the locking concave portion is a through hole of the vehicle body panel. When the diameter becomes smaller than the inner peripheral surface of the second temporary locking convex portion, the second temporary locking convex portion is positioned rearward of the first temporary locking convex portion to temporarily lock the first temporary locking convex portion, and (EN) Provided is a grommet characterized by being configured to temporarily prevent the restoration and expansion of the diameter.

The folded-back portion which is continuous with the large-diameter cylindrical portion is curved outward and is formed thin so as to be easily bent (claim 2).

Further, in a state where the first temporary locking convex portion of the folded portion is temporarily locked by the second temporary locking convex portion of the large-diameter tubular portion, the folded portion is extended to the locking concave portion in the through hole of the vehicle body panel. After inserting, by pushing the large-diameter tubular portion forward, the temporary locking of the first temporary locking convex portion by the second temporary locking convex portion is released, and the folded portion is restored to expand the diameter. The stopper recess is locked to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole. (Claim 3)

In the grommet of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the small-diameter cylindrical portion and the large-diameter cylindrical portion are moved rearward while the tip end surface of the folded portion is held by a jig or an operator's hand so as not to be pulled. When pulled, the folded-back portion that is continuous with the front end of the large-diameter tubular portion is pulled backward, and the front end of the folded-back portion is bent backward so as to be reduced in diameter and pulled backward. Further, by pulling the large-diameter cylindrical portion rearward, the second temporary locking convex portion is located rearward of the first temporary locking convex portion, and the first temporary locking convex portion is formed by the second temporary locking convex portion. Temporarily lock. As a result, the front folded portion of the large-diameter tubular portion is held in a reduced diameter state, and is temporarily prevented from restoring and expanding. At this time, the bottom of the locking recess of the folded-back portion has a smaller diameter than the inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the vehicle body panel.

In this state, after the folded portion is smoothly inserted into the through hole of the vehicle body panel up to the locking concave portion, the large-diameter cylindrical portion is pushed forward to move the second temporary locking convex portion to the first temporary locking convex portion. Then, the temporary locking of the first temporary locking convex portion is released by positioning the first temporary locking convex portion forward. As a result, the folded portion is restored in the direction of expanding the diameter, and the locking recess is automatically locked to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole. In this way, the grommet can be attached to the through hole of the vehicle body panel with one touch by only inserting the grommet from the insertion side in one direction.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 5, a through hole 6a is formed in a vehicle body panel 6 that divides an engine room A and a vehicle room B of an automobile, and the through hole 6a projects from a surface 6c on the engine room (insertion) A side. A cylindrical burring 6d is formed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2 or 5, the rubber grommet 5 basically has a small-diameter cylindrical portion 5a through which the wire harness W / H is inserted and a front end of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 5a. The large-diameter cylindrical portion 5b gradually increases in diameter, and the folded-back portion 5c is formed by folding the large-diameter cylindrical portion 5b backward from the front end thereof. After inserting the wire harness W / H into the small-diameter cylindrical portion 5a, a tape 7 is wound around the outer periphery of the wire harness W / H to fix the grommet 5 to the wire harness W / H.

The folded-back portion 5c is formed by folding the front end side of the large-diameter tubular portion 5b backward in the direction of the small-diameter tubular portion (see arrow D) in a substantially U-shape, and on the outer peripheral surface of the folded-back portion 5c. A locking recess 5d that is locked to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole 6a of the vehicle body panel 6 is provided. At the end of the locking recess 5d on the engine room A side, a large-diameter lip portion 5e for contacting and sealing the surface 6c of the vehicle body panel 6 on the engine room A side is formed, and the end on the vehicle compartment B side is formed. The portion is formed with a small-diameter lip portion 5f that abuts and seals the surface 6e of the vehicle body panel 6 on the vehicle compartment B side. A continuous portion 5g of the folded-back portion 5c which is continuous with the large-diameter cylindrical portion 5b is curved outward and formed to have a thin wall that is easily bent.

On the inner peripheral surface of the folded portion 5c, there is provided a first temporary locking convex portion 5h having a flat surface on the rear side and an inclined surface on the front side. Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 5b facing the inner peripheral surface of the folded portion 5c, in the original position, as shown in FIG. Locking protrusion 5i
Is provided. The rear surface side of the second temporary locking convex portion 5i is inclined, and the front surface side is a flat surface.

The grommet 5 is changed from the state of FIG. 3 to that of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the large-diameter tubular portion 5b is pulled rearward from the small-diameter tubular portion 5a in a state where the tip surface 5j of the folded-back portion 5c is held by the jig 8, and the folded-back portion 5c continuous to the front end of the large-diameter tubular portion 5b. Also, by pulling backward (in the direction of arrow D), the folded-back portion 5c also bends while being reduced in diameter rearward, and accordingly, the outer diameter d1 of the bottom of the locking recess 5d is the inner diameter of the through hole 6a of the vehicle body panel 6. The diameter is smaller than d2. In this state, when d1 <d2, the second temporary locking convex portion 5i is located rearward of the first temporary locking convex portion 5h, and the first temporary locking convex portion 5h of the folded portion 5c is moved to the second temporary locking convex portion 5h.
The temporary locking convex portion 5i is temporarily locked to hold the folded-back portion 5c in a reduced diameter state so as not to return to the expanded original state.

The second temporary locking convex portion 5i of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 5a.
As described above, the first temporary locking protrusion 5h of the folded-back portion 5c
The rear side is an inclined surface so that the temporary locking can be smoothly performed, and the front side is a flat surface so that the temporary locking cannot be released accidentally.

In the grommet 5 having the above structure, when the grommet 5 is attached to the through hole 6a of the vehicle body panel 6, as shown in FIG. 1, the small diameter cylindrical portion 5a and the large diameter cylindrical portion 5b of the grommet 5 are pulled rearward. The first temporary locking projection 5h and the second temporary locking projection 5i with the diameter of the folded-back portion 5c reduced.
Temporarily locks the folded-back portion 5c and restores the folded-back portion 5c to temporarily prevent the diameter from increasing.

To perform this work, the operator simply presses the tip surface 5j of the folded-back portion 5c with one hand and pulls the small-diameter cylindrical portion 5a rearward (see arrow D) with the other hand. It can be easily bent in the direction of pulling to reduce the diameter. Further, by using the jig 8 shown in FIG. 4, the concave groove 8a of the jig 8 is radially fitted onto the outer periphery of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 5b of the grommet 5, and the tip surface of the folded portion 5c is formed by the jig 8. By pressing 5j, it is possible to easily pull the small-diameter cylindrical portion 5a rearward.

In the temporarily locked state, the outer diameter d1 of the bottom of the locking recess 5d of the folded portion 5c is the through hole 6a of the vehicle body panel 6.
Since the inner diameter d2 is smaller than the inner diameter d2, the folded portion 5c can be smoothly inserted into the through hole 6a up to the locking recess 5d in this state. After that, when the large-diameter cylindrical portion 5a is forcibly pushed forward, the second provisional locking convex portion 5i becomes the first provisional locking convex portion 5h.
Moving further forward, the temporary lock is automatically released. As a result, the folded-back portion 5c is naturally restored in the direction of expanding the diameter, and the locking recess 5d is automatically locked to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole 6a.

As described above, the grommet 5 can be inserted into the through hole 6a of the vehicle body panel 6 with one touch by only inserting the unidirectionally.
Since it is not a two-way reciprocating work of pushing and pulling back as in the past, the mounting process can be simplified. Further, the grommet 5 has a one-piece structure and does not have a two-piece structure as in the related art, so the cost is reduced.

[0021]

As is apparent from the above description, the grommet of the present invention bends the folded-back portion folded back from the front end of the large-diameter tubular portion of the grommet in the direction of reducing the diameter, and the first folded-back portion is formed. The temporary locking convex portion can be temporarily locked by the second temporary locking convex portion of the large-diameter cylindrical portion to temporarily prevent the folded portion from being restored and expanding in diameter. In this state, if the grommet is attached to the through hole of the vehicle body panel, the folded part can be smoothly inserted into the through hole, and after inserting the temporary locking of both the temporary locking convex parts, the folded part will naturally The diameter is restored and the diameter is expanded, and the locking recess is automatically locked to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole. As described above, the grommet can be attached to the through hole of the vehicle body panel by only inserting it from the insertion side, that is, by one-directional insertion operation. Therefore, since it is not the two-way reciprocating work of pushing and pulling back as in the past, the mounting workability is improved, and the grommet has a
The cost is low because it is a one-piece structure rather than a one-piece structure.

Further, in the grommet of the present invention, since the base portion of the folded portion is curved outward and the connecting portion with the large-diameter tubular portion is formed into a thin wall that is easily bent, the reduced diameter and the enlarged diameter of the folded portion. Can be easily deformed in the radial direction.

Further, by simply pressing the tip end surface of the folded portion with one hand or a jig and pulling the small diameter tubular portion with the other hand, the folded portion can be easily bent in the direction of reducing the diameter. it can. Furthermore, since the temporary locking of the first and second temporary locking convex portions is automatically released only by forcibly pushing the large-diameter cylindrical portion after passing the folding portion through the through hole of the vehicle body, the folding portion Can be restored in the direction of expanding the diameter, and the locking recess can be automatically locked to the inner peripheral edge of the through hole.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a folded portion of a grommet of the present invention is bent and temporarily locked.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a grommet.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the folded portion of the grommet is not bent.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a jig.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a grommet is attached to a through hole of a vehicle body panel.

6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of a conventional grommet, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W / H Wire harness 5 Grommet 5a Small diameter tubular portion 5b Large diameter tubular portion 5c Folding portion 5d Locking concave portion 5g Connecting portion 5h First temporary locking convex portion 5i Second temporary locking convex portion 5j End surface 6 Body panel 6a Through hole

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A small-diameter tubular portion for inserting a wire harness,
It has a large-diameter cylindrical portion continuous to the front end of the small-diameter cylindrical portion and a folded-back portion that is folded back from the front end of the large-diameter cylindrical portion, and an outer peripheral surface of the folded-back portion has an inner peripheral edge of a through hole of a vehicle body panel. Is provided with a locking concave portion, and a first temporary locking convex portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the folded portion, while the large-diameter cylindrical portion facing the inner peripheral surface of the folded portion is provided. A second temporary locking convex portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface at a position forward of the first temporary locking convex portion, and the large diameter tubular portion is pulled rearward from the small diameter tubular portion side to reduce the diameter of the folded portion at the front end. When the bottom of the locking recess becomes smaller than the inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the vehicle body panel, the second temporary locking projection is located rearward of the first temporary locking projection and 1. Temporary locking The grommet is characterized in that the convex portion is temporarily locked to temporarily prevent the folded-back portion from restoring and expanding. 2. The grommet according to claim 1, wherein the folded-back portion that is continuous with the large-diameter cylindrical portion is curved outward and has a thin wall that is easily bent. 3. The folding part up to the locking concave part in the through hole of the vehicle body panel in a state where the first temporary locking convex part of the folding part is temporarily locked by the second temporary locking convex part of the large-diameter tubular part. After inserting, by pushing the large-diameter tubular portion forward, the temporary locking of the first temporary locking convex portion by the second temporary locking convex portion is released, and the folded portion is restored to expand the diameter. The grommet according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the stopper recess is engaged with the inner peripheral edge of the through hole.