JP2008025797A - Hose protector and washer hose routing structure for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hose protector, preventing a hose held between a seal part made of elastic material and a panel member from being crushed in simple constitution and securing the sealing performance in a sealing part, and a washer hose routing structure for a vehicle using the hose protector. <P>SOLUTION: This hose protector 30 is held between a hood seal part 6 fitted to a cowl panel 5 and an inner panel 3a to arrange the hose 20 having flexibility in the communicating state from the inside of an engine room 2 to the outside across the hood seal part 6. The hose protector includes: a body part 31 fixed to the inside panel 3a and held between the hood seal part 6 and the inner panel 3a; a communicating hole 33 formed in the body part 31 to communicate one side of the hood seal part 6 with the other side thereof; and a hose joint 32 communicated with the communicating hole 33 on one side and on the other side of the hood seal part 6, respectively, to which the hose 20 can be connected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a hose protector and a vehicle washer hose wiring structure, and more particularly to a hose protector for preventing a flexible hose from being crushed and a vehicle washer hose wiring structure using the hose protector.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a car washer device, a pump device fixed to a washer tank and a washer nozzle attached to a vehicle bonnet, a cowl cover or the like are connected by a washer hose. The cleaning liquid pressurized by the pump device is pumped to the washer nozzle through the washer hose, and is sprayed from the washer nozzle toward the glass surface.

  The washer tank is disposed in the engine room, and the washer hose, one end of which is connected to the pump device, is led out from the inside to the outside at the rear of the engine room. A hood seal portion made of an elastic material is provided at the upper rear end of the engine room. This hood seal portion is in contact with the inner surface of the rear end side of the engine hood to ensure a sealing property between the inside and outside of the engine room. The washer hose is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the hood seal portion and the inner surface of the engine hood at a portion led out from the inside of the engine room to the outside.

The washer hose is flexible and elastically deforms into a flat cross-section when sandwiched between the hood seal portion and the inner surface of the engine hood. At this time, if the degree of flattening of the cross-section is large, the flow path of the cleaning liquid in the washer hose becomes narrow, and there is a possibility that a cleaning liquid injection failure may occur.
As a technique for preventing such a hose from collapsing, a coil spring made of metal is arranged in the washer hose, or a urethane foam material with an adhesive is wound around the coil spring after the coil spring is fitted on the washer hose. A technique for fixing a spring and a washer hose is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  By disposing the coil spring in the washer hose as described in Patent Document 1, the washer hose is prevented from being crushed by bending or the like. Further, as described in Patent Document 1, after the coil spring is externally fitted to the washer hose, the urethane foam material with adhesive is wound from the outside, so that the displacement of the coil spring is restricted and the washer hose is reliably crushed. Can be prevented.

JP 2001-304465 A

  However, in the above technique, a coil spring is necessary to prevent the washer hose from being crushed. Further, in order to prevent the coil spring from being displaced in a state where the coil spring is fitted on the washer hose, a urethane with adhesive is used. Since it is necessary to fix the coil spring to the washer hose with the foam material, the number of parts is large and the work is troublesome, and the workability is not good.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to prevent crushing of a hose sandwiched between a sealing portion made of an elastic material and a panel member with a simple configuration and to ensure sealing performance in the sealing portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hose protector and a vehicle washer hose wiring structure using the hose protector.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is sandwiched between a seal portion made of an elastic material attached to a first panel member and a second panel member, and is flexible from one side to the other side across the seal portion. A hose protector for routing a hose having a connection in a communicating state, the protector main body being fixed to the second panel member and sandwiched between the seal portion and the second panel member, and one side of the seal portion A communication hole formed in the protector main body so as to communicate with the other side, and a hose joint that is communicated with the communication hole on one side and the other side of the seal portion and connectable to the hose. It is characterized by that.

  Thus, in this invention, while forming a communicating hole in a protector main body, the hose joint connected to the communicating hole is formed in the one side and the other side of a seal part, respectively, It is set as the structure which can connect a hose. The hose protector having such a configuration is connected to the hose joint of the hose protector by fixing the hose protector corresponding to the seal portion to the second panel member and arranging the hose protector so as to be sandwiched between the seal portion and the second panel member. The flexible hose is not sandwiched between the seal portion and the second panel member. This can reliably prevent the hose from being crushed at the seal portion.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the protector body is integrally formed with a clamp portion having an engagement piece that is inserted into an attachment hole formed in the second panel member and elastically engages. .
In the present invention configured as described above, the hose protector can be easily fixed to the second panel member simply by inserting the clamp portion into the mounting hole formed in the second panel member. It becomes.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is sandwiched between a seal portion made of an elastic material attached to a first panel member and a second panel member, and can be passed from one side to the other side across the seal portion. A hose protector for routing a flexible hose, a protector body fixed to the second panel member and sandwiched between the seal portion and the second panel member, and from one side of the seal portion A hose receiving groove formed in the protector main body so as to accommodate and hold the hose toward the other side, and the protector main body is inserted into an attachment hole formed in the second panel member and elastically engaged therewith. The clamp part which has an engagement piece is formed integrally.

  Thus, in this invention, the hose accommodating groove is formed in the protector body, and the hose protector having such a configuration is fixed to the second panel member in correspondence with the seal portion, and the seal portion, the second panel member, Therefore, the hose accommodated and held in the hose accommodating groove of the protector body is not sandwiched between the seal portion and the second panel member. Accordingly, the hose can be reliably prevented from being crushed in the seal portion, and the hose can be led out from one side of the seal portion to the other side. Moreover, since the hose protector can be easily fixed to the second panel member simply by inserting the clamp portion into the mounting hole formed in the second panel member, the attachment workability is extremely good.

Further, in the present invention, the protector main body has end portions at both end portions in a direction orthogonal to a direction crossing the seal portion, where a cross-sectional outer shape of a portion sandwiched between the seal portion and the second panel member is respectively It is characterized by being formed so that the thickness becomes thinner as it is closer to.
In the present invention configured as described above, when the protector body is elastically sandwiched between the seal part and the second panel, the seal part is formed on the surface of the protector body in the vicinity of both ends in the width direction of the protector body. Therefore, the sealing property can be secured.

  In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle washer hose routing structure of the present invention is characterized by using the hose protector. By using the hose protector, the same effect as the above effect can be obtained.

  According to the hose protector of the present invention and the vehicle washer hose routing structure using the hose protector, it is possible to prevent the hose being crushed between the seal portion made of an elastic material and the panel member with a simple configuration. In addition, it is possible to ensure the sealing performance at the seal portion.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The members, arrangements, and the like described below are not intended to limit the present invention and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist of the present invention.
1 to 5 relate to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a state of attachment of the wiper device, and FIG. 2 is a cross section near the contact portion between the engine hood and the cowl panel of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the hose protector, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the hose protector of FIG. 3 viewed from the side, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the hose protector of FIG.
6 to 10 relate to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a hose protector, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the hose protector of FIG. 6 viewed from above, and FIG. It is sectional explanatory drawing which looked at the hose protector from the side surface direction. Moreover, FIG. 9 is explanatory drawing of a hose protector, FIG. 10 is sectional explanatory drawing which looked at the hose protector of FIG. 9 from the side surface direction.

A washer device W according to an embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a washer tank 10 that stores a cleaning liquid, a pump device 12 that is attached to the washer tank 10, a flexible hose 20 that is a conveyance path for the cleaning liquid, The main component is a washer nozzle 14 that injects the cleaning liquid toward the windshield 4.
The washer tank 10 is disposed in the lower front part in the engine room 2 of the vehicle 1. The pump device 12 is attached to the lower part of the washer tank 10.

The hose 20 is connected to the discharge port of the pump device 12, is routed toward the rear of the vehicle in the engine room 2, and is led out from the inside to the rear left side of the engine room 2.
The engine hood 3 is provided with hinges (not shown) on both sides of the rear of the vehicle, and the engine hood 3 can be opened and closed from the state where the upper part of the engine room 2 is closed to the state where the upper part of the engine room 2 is opened (see FIG. 1). It has become.

As shown in FIG. 2, the washer nozzle 14 is attached to the inner panel 3a on the rear end side of the engine hood 3 as the second panel member. In this example, the washer nozzles 14 are disposed at two locations apart in the vehicle width direction (see FIG. 1). Specifically, an attachment hole 3b for attaching the washer nozzle 14 is formed in the inner panel 3a of the engine hood 3, and the washer nozzle 14 elastically engages the elastic locking piece 14a with the attachment hole 3b. Is attached to the engine hood 3.
When the washer nozzle 14 is attached to the inner panel 3 a, the hose connection port 14 b of the washer nozzle 14 protrudes into the space between the inner panel 3 a and the outer panel of the engine hood 3.

  The hose 20 is led out from the left side of the vehicle in the engine room 2 to the outside of the engine room 2, and a plurality of clamps (not shown) are provided in the central direction along the inner panel 3a from the vicinity of the left side end of the engine hood 3 in the vehicle. Have been routed using. The hose 20 branches off at the inner panel 3a, and the ends of the branched hose 20 are connected to the hose connection ports 14b of the two washer nozzles 14 respectively.

  A cowl panel 5 as a first panel member is attached to the rear upper part of the engine room 2, that is, the lower end part of the windshield 4 along the vehicle width direction. An insertion hole 5a is formed in the cowl panel 5, and a wiper pivot 7 is inserted into the insertion hole 5a from the inside of the vehicle to the outside. A wiper arm 8 is fixed to the wiper pivot 7, and the wiper arm 8 can reciprocate and wipe the surface of the windshield 4 with a wiper blade 9 attached to the distal end portion by the reciprocating rotation of the wiper pivot 7. ing.

A front end 5b of the cowl panel 5 is bent so as to face the upper side of the vehicle, and a long hood seal portion (seal portion) 6 made of an elastic material such as rubber so as to protrude upward is formed at the front end 5b. Is arranged. The hood seal portion 6 is for liquid-tightly partitioning the inside and outside of the engine room 2 to ensure sealing performance by contacting the rear end side of the inner panel 3a of the engine hood 3 along the vehicle width direction. is there.
The hood seal portion 6 of this example includes a contact portion 6a that elastically contacts the inner panel 3a, and a mounting portion 6b that supports the contact portion 6a and can be attached to the front end 5b of the cowl panel 5. .

The contact portion 6a is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape in cross section in the longitudinal direction, and has a hollow portion 6d inside (see FIG. 4). When the abutting portion 6a abuts on the inner panel 3a, the abutting portion 6a can be elastically deformed into a flat cross-sectional shape in accordance with the shape of the inner panel 3a to ensure a sealing property.
A slot 6c is formed in the attachment portion 6b (see FIG. 4), and the hood seal portion 6 can be attached to the front end 5b of the cowl panel 5 by fitting the slot 6c into the front end 5b of the cowl panel 5. It is.

Normally, the engine hood 3 is in a closed state, and the hose 20 crosses the hood seal portion 6 in the vehicle front-rear direction at a portion A (see FIG. 1) led out from the inside of the engine room 2 to the outside. So that it is routed.
Here, when the hose 20 is directly sandwiched between the hood seal portion 6 and the inner panel 3a as in the conventional case, the flexible hose 20 is crushed into a flat cross-sectional shape, and the cleaning liquid is sufficiently discharged. There is a risk that it cannot be transported.

In order to prevent such crushing, if a coil spring or the like is disposed in a portion of the hose 20 that is sandwiched between the hood seal portion 6 and the inner panel 3a, the number of parts increases and the installation work takes time. End up.
In a state where the engine hood 3 is closed and the hood seal portion 6 is in elastic contact with the hose 20 provided with a coil spring or the like, the hose 20 is not flattened by the coil spring being provided. Is prevented.
However, since the hose 20 holds the cross-sectional outer shape in a substantially circular shape, it becomes difficult for the hood seal portion 6 to be deformed by following the cross-sectional shape of the hose 20 almost completely on both sides of the hose 20. As a result, when a coil spring or the like is provided, there is a problem that a gap is formed between the hood seal portion 6 and the inner panel 3a, and good sealing performance cannot be ensured.

  For this reason, in the washer hose routing structure of this example, as shown in FIG. 2, a resin material for routing the hose 20 in a communicating state between the hood seal portion 6 and the inner panel 3a. A hose protector 30 is provided. That is, in this example, the hose protector 30 is bonded and fixed to a position on the inner panel 3a where the hood seal portion 6 is elastically contacted when the engine hood 3 is closed. The hose protector 30 is formed with a hose joint 32 corresponding to the inside and outside of the engine room 2 with the engine hood 3 closed, and the hose 20 is connected to the hose joint 32.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hose protector 30 of this example includes a main body portion (protector main body) 31 having a substantially triangular cross-sectional outer shape and a cylindrical hose joint 32 integrally formed so as to protrude from the main body portion 31. I have.
The main body 31 includes a substantially rectangular flat surface portion 31a, curved surface portions 31b that are connected to both widthwise end portions of the flat surface portion 31a and projecting downward, and ends of the main body portion 31 in the extending direction (X direction). And a side surface portion 31c. That is, the main body 31 is formed in a curved shape so that the cross-sectional outer shape is thinner at the both end portions in the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction, which is the direction crossing the hood seal portion 6, as the end portions are closer to each other Has been.
A diameter-enlarged portion 32 a for preventing the removal is formed at the tip of the hose joint 32. Both hose joints 32 are communicated with each other through a communication hole 33 that penetrates the main body 31.

  The hose protector 30 is fixed to the engine hood 3 by bonding the flat portion 31a to the inner panel 3a with an adhesive 35 such as a double-sided tape. As described above, the hose protector 30 of this example can be easily attached and fixed to the predetermined portion of the inner panel 3a by the adhesive 35, and the hose protector 30 is attached to the inner panel 3a at the two hose joints 32. Before or after bonding, the hose 20 can be connected by inserting the end of the hose 20. That is, the hose protector 30 of this example is very easy to attach to the vehicle 1.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the hose protector 30 viewed from the Y direction in FIG. 3 with the engine hood 3 closed. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the hose protector 30 viewed from the X direction of FIG. 3 with the engine hood 3 closed.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the engine hood 3 is closed, the contact portion 6a of the hood seal portion 6 is in close contact with the curved surface portion 31b in a state where the contact portion 6a is elastically deformed into a flat cross section. In addition, the hood seal portion 6 is in close contact with the inner panel 3a other than at the location where the hose protector 30 crosses. At this time, the main body 31 receives a compressive force in the thickness direction, but hardly deforms because it has a predetermined rigidity. Thereby, the hose protector 30 can sufficiently convey the cleaning liquid through the internal communication hole 33.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the engine hood 3 is closed, the hood seal portion 6 bends in accordance with the curved shape of the curved surface portion 31b of the hose protector 30, so that the engine room 2 is provided on both sides of the hose as in the conventional case. It is possible to ensure a sealed state without causing a gap communicating between the inside and the outside.
That is, the main body 31 of the hose protector 30 of the present example has a cross-sectional outer shape that is close to the end without causing a steep step at each end in the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction across the hood seal portion 6. The hood seal portion 6 can follow the surface shape of the curved surface portion 31b of the main body portion 31 because the hood seal portion 6 is formed in a curved shape so that the thickness becomes thinner. Thereby, in this example, in the site | part which clamps the hose protector 30, the hood seal part 6 can maintain sealing performance.
In addition, in this example, although the main-body part 31 of the hose protector 30 is formed so that it may have the curved surface part 31b, if the hood seal part 6 can be stuck, it will not be restricted to this. For example, the main body 31 may be formed in a trapezoidal cross section.

Next, a modified example of the hose protector 30 of this example will be described. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component as the said embodiment, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.
The hose protector 130 shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is an example in which a clamp portion 36 is provided, and the hose protector 30 can be attached to the inner panel 3a by the clamp portion 36 instead of an adhesive.
In this example, a clamp portion 36 is integrally formed on the flat surface portion 31a of the main body portion 31 of the hose protector 130 so as to protrude upward.

The clamp part 36 of this example is composed of four engagement pieces 37 that are elastically engaged. The four engagement pieces 37 are arranged in an annular shape with a predetermined interval. Each engagement piece 37 includes a support portion 37a protruding upward from the flat surface portion 31a and an engagement portion 37b supported by the support portion 37a.
The support portion 37a has a substantially fan-shaped cross section, is set to have substantially the same length as the plate thickness of the inner panel 3a, and can be elastically bent in the radial direction (see FIG. 7). The engaging portion 37b has a fan shape that is larger in diameter than the support portion 37a in a top view, and is formed in a curved shape in which the upper surface is convex upward.

In this example, the inner panel 3a is formed with mounting holes 3c having substantially the same inner diameter as the outer circle formed by the four support portions 37a.
Since it is configured in this manner, in this example, the clamp portion 36 is pressed into the attachment hole 3c in a state where the clamp portion 36 of the hose protector 130 is disposed below the attachment hole 3c formed in the inner panel 3a. As a result, the inner peripheral edge of the attachment hole 3c and the upper surface (curved surface) of the engaging portion 37b come into contact with each other, whereby the four engaging pieces 37 are bent radially inward. When the engagement piece 37 bends inward in the radial direction, the engagement portion 37b passes through the attachment hole 3c, and when the engagement portion 37b passes through the attachment hole 3c, the four engagement pieces 37 become radially outward. Return to the natural state. Thereby, the clamp part 36 is engaged with the attachment hole 3c elastically, and the hose protector 130 is attached to the inner side panel 3a (refer FIG. 8).

  As described above, in this example, the hose protector 130 can be attached by elastically engaging the inner panel 3a with the clamp 36 instead of the adhesive, so that the attachment property is further improved and the removal is facilitated.

  The hose protector 230 shown in FIGS. 9 to 10 is provided with the clamp portion 36 as in the examples of FIGS. 6 to 8, and instead of providing the hose joint 32, a hose accommodating groove 38 that can accommodate and hold the hose 20 is formed. This is an example. Since the clamp part 36 is the same as that of the example of FIGS. 6-8, description is abbreviate | omitted.

In this example, the main body portion 31 has a substantially circular cross section along the extending direction so as to penetrate both side surface portions 31c at the center portion in the width direction of the curved surface portion 31b elastically contacting the hood seal portion 6. Hose accommodating groove 38 is formed. The inner diameter of the hose housing groove 38 is set to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the hose 20.
In this example, since the width of the opening 38a in the curved surface portion 31b is set to be narrower than the outer diameter of the hose 20, the hose accommodating groove 38 is configured to press the flexible hose 20 from below. The hose 20 can be housed and held in the hose housing groove 38.

In this example, after the clamp part 36 is elastically engaged with the attachment hole 3c and the hose protector 230 is attached to the inner panel 3a, the hose 20 can be accommodated and held in the hose accommodation groove 38 formed in the main body part 31. it can. That is, in this example, since the opening 38a is formed in the curved surface portion 31b of the main body 31, the hose 20 can be attached and detached while the hose protector 230 is attached to the inner panel 3a.
Further, as shown in FIG. 10, when the engine hood 3 is closed, the contact portion 6a of the hood seal portion 6 is elastically contacted with a part of the hose 20 and the curved surface portion 31b, thereby ensuring a sealing property. can do.

  In the above embodiment, the hose protectors 30, 130, and 230 for routing the hose 20 of the washer device W have been described. However, if the hose has flexibility, it is not a hose used for the washer device W. May be.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment state of the wiper apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory view in the vicinity of a contact portion between the engine hood and the cowl panel of FIG. 1. It is explanatory drawing of the hose protector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the cross-sectional explanatory drawing which looked at the hose protector of FIG. 3 from the side surface direction. It is sectional explanatory drawing which looked at the hose protector of FIG. 3 from the front direction. It is explanatory drawing of the hose protector which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the hose protector of FIG. 6 from the upper direction. It is the cross-sectional explanatory drawing which looked at the hose protector of FIG. 6 from the side surface direction. It is explanatory drawing of the hose protector which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is the cross-sectional explanatory drawing which looked at the hose protector of FIG. 9 from the side surface direction.

Explanation of symbols

1. Vehicle, 2. Engine room, 3. Engine hood,
3a ... inner panel (second panel member), 3b ... mounting hole, 3c ... mounting hole,
4. Windshield, 5. Cowl panel (first panel member),
5a ... insertion hole, 5b ... front end, 6 ... hood seal part (seal part), 6a ... contact part,
6b: Mounting portion, 6c: Slot, 6d: Hollow portion, 7: Wiper pivot,
8 Wiper arm, 9 Wiper blade, 10 Washer tank,
12: Pump device, 14: Washer nozzle, 14a: Elastic locking piece,
14b ... hose connection port, 20 ... hose, 30, 130, 230 ... hose protector,
31 ... Main body (protector main body), 31a ... Flat surface, 31b ... Curved surface,
31c ··· Side surface, 32 ··· Hose joint, 32a · · · Expanded diameter portion, 33 ··· Communication hole,
35 ... adhesive, 36 ... clamp part, 37 ... engagement piece, 37a ... support part,
37b ... engaging portion, 38 ... hose receiving groove, 38a ... opening, W ... washer device

Claims (5)

A hose that is sandwiched between a seal portion made of an elastic material attached to the first panel member and the second panel member, and that allows a flexible hose to be routed from one side to the other side across the seal portion. A protector,
A protector body fixed to the second panel member and sandwiched between the seal portion and the second panel member, and formed on the protector body so as to communicate one side and the other side of the seal portion. A hose protector comprising: a communication hole; and a hose joint that is connected to the communication hole on one side and the other side of the seal portion and to which the hose can be connected.   The clamp part which has the engaging piece which penetrates the attachment hole formed in the said 2nd panel member and is elastically engaged is formed in the said protector main body integrally. Hose protector. A hose protector for routing a flexible hose from one side to the other side across the seal part, sandwiched between a seal part made of an elastic material attached to the first panel member and the second panel member. And
A protector main body fixed to the second panel member and sandwiched between the seal portion and the second panel member, and formed on the protector main body so as to accommodate and hold the hose from one side to the other side of the seal portion. A hose receiving groove,
The hose protector according to claim 1, wherein the protector body is integrally formed with a clamp portion having an engagement piece that is inserted through an attachment hole formed in the second panel member and elastically engages.   The protector body has a thickness that is closer to the end portion at both ends in a direction perpendicular to the direction crossing the seal portion, where the cross-sectional outer shape of the portion sandwiched between the seal portion and the second panel member is closer to the end portion. It forms so that it may become thin, The hose protector of any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   A wiring structure for a washer hose for a vehicle, wherein the hose protector according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is used.

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