JP2010236559A - Piping installation structure to vehicle body - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To be able to prevent a positional deviation between piping and a clamping member effectively and install the piping in the same state when the piping is assembled to a device installed in the vehicle body. <P>SOLUTION: A piping installation structure to a vehicle body includes the piping 20 in which one end 20a is assembled to a hydraulic unit 10 installed in the vehicle body 1, and arranged on the vehicle body 1, the clamping member 30 provided in the middle of the piping 20 to fix the piping 20 to the vehicle body 1, and a stopper member 40 fixed to the piping 20 so as to be adjacent to the clamping member 30. When mounting the piping 20 on the hydraulic unit 10 with rotation of the one end 20a by fastening a nut 21, the stopper member 40 is brought in contact with the clamping member 30, so that the axial movement of the piping 20 relative to the clamping member 30 is restricted. Since the deviation in the installing position of the piping 20 can prevented by fastening the nut 21, the piping 20 can be laid out as designed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure for attaching a pipe to a vehicle body for attaching various pipes such as a hydraulic pipe to a frame of the vehicle body.

Conventionally, various devices such as a hydraulic unit for controlling a brake mechanism, a steering mechanism, and the like are installed in an engine room of an automobile. And as an attachment structure of piping for attaching hydraulic piping etc. which extend from a hydraulic unit to the frame of a body, there is an attachment structure using a clamp member indicated in patent documents 1 and 2. The clamp members described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are small components that are attached to a pipe and fixed to a frame of a vehicle body. The clamp member is mounted in the middle of the pipe routed in the engine room, and supports the weight of the pipe. It also plays a role of suppressing resonance with other parts by suppressing vibration of the piping. The clamp member is made of a synthetic resin or a metal, but recently, many are made of a synthetic resin in view of weight reduction and ease of mounting.
JP 2004-132394 A JP 2006-336732 A

  By the way, the assembly of the pipe to the apparatus such as the hydraulic unit is performed by fastening the end of the pipe to the apparatus with a nut. In that case, the pipe is temporarily fixed with a nut in advance, and a pipe is fixed to the vehicle body by a clamp member, and then the pipe is finally fixed by retightening the nut. At that time, if the nut is tightened with a torque wrench, the end of the pipe rotates (co-rotates) in the same direction as the nut. As a result, the entire pipe rotates with the end portion as a fulcrum. At this time, if the thrust direction (moving direction due to rotation) of the pipe attached to the clamp member is the same as the axial direction of the pipe, the pipe attached to the clamp member is displaced in the axial direction. In this case, the layout of the piping with respect to the vehicle body cannot be reproduced in a normal state, and there arises a disadvantage that the clearance between the adjacent pipings is reduced.

  Conventionally, as a countermeasure to this problem, by bending the pipe before and after the clamp member, the bent portion is brought into contact with the clamp member to restrict the thrust movement of the pipe. However, this method has a problem in that the holding force of the pipe by the clamp member is reduced because the pipe subjected to the bending process partially enters the inside of the clamp member with the thrust movement of the pipe. In addition, the work of bending the pipe requires time and effort, leading to an increase in the cost of the product.

  Also, as another countermeasure, when retightening the pipe, the worker who installs the pipe should be alerted to the work so that the pipe does not move in the thrust direction as much as possible. Has been done. However, the amount of movement in the thrust direction associated with the assembly of the pipes varies greatly depending on the manner of assembly work. For this reason, even if the operator is cautioned, it is not easy to suppress variations in the fixed state of the piping, which may affect the quality of the product. In addition, urging the above-mentioned attention to the worker is an additional process management item, which makes the management of the vehicle assembly process complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to effectively restrict the movement of the pipe relative to the clamp member when assembling the pipe to a device installed on the vehicle body, and always attach the pipe in the same state. It is to provide a mounting structure.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the pipe mounting structure according to the present invention is arranged on the vehicle body (1) with the end (20a) assembled to the device (10) installed on the vehicle body (1). A pipe (20), a clamp member (30) mounted in the middle of the pipe (20) and fixing the pipe (20) to the vehicle body (1), and a pipe (20 The stopper member (40) is fixed to the clamp member (30) when the pipe (20) is assembled to the device (10) with the rotation of the end (20a). It is configured that the movement in the axial direction of the pipe (20) with respect to the clamp member (30) is restricted by the contact.

  According to the mounting structure of the piping to the vehicle body according to the present invention, when the piping is assembled to the apparatus with the rotation of the end portion, the stopper member is clamped even when the piping mounted on the clamping member is about to move in the axial direction. The movement of the piping is regulated by contacting the member. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the piping attached to the clamp member from moving and shifting its mounting position, so that the piping layout can always be reproduced in a normal state.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to perform bending work for restricting the movement of the pipe, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the holding force of the clamp member due to the bent part as in the prior art. In addition, since the bending of the pipe can be reduced, the product cost can be kept low. In addition, since the fixing position of the pipe can be made constant by the stopper member, there is no variation in the fixing position of the pipe for each worker, leading to an improvement in product quality. In addition, since it is not necessary to call the operator special attention when assembling the pipes to the apparatus, the process management can be simplified.

In the mounting structure described above, the stopper member (40) has the end (20a) of the pipe (20) out of the both sides of the clamp member (30) in the axial direction of the pipe (20) with respect to the device (10). The stopper member (40) may be attached to the side approaching the clamp member (30) when rotated in the tightening direction. According to this, since the stopper member comes into contact with the clamp member when performing the tightening operation of the pipe, it is possible to more effectively regulate the movement of the pipe mounted on the clamp member and the displacement of the mounting position. . In the mounting structure described above, the stopper member (40) may be a ring-shaped member that is fixed to the outer peripheral surface (20b) of the pipe (20) by snap-in engagement. According to this, the stopper member can be fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the pipe by a simple manual operation without using a tool or the like. Accordingly, it is possible to facilitate the piping work.
In addition, the code | symbol in said parenthesis has shown the code | symbol of the corresponding component of embodiment mentioned later as an example of this invention.

  According to the structure for mounting a pipe to a vehicle body according to the present invention, when assembling the pipe to a device installed on the vehicle body, the movement of the pipe relative to the clamp member can be effectively restricted. It can be fixed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing a structure for attaching a pipe to a vehicle body according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic view showing a part in an engine room of an automobile. The figure shows a portion surrounded by a dashboard lower panel 2, a front side frame 3 and a wheel house 4 that constitute a part of the vehicle body 1 in the engine room 5. A hydraulic unit (device) 10 is installed in the upper part of the wheel house 4. A plurality of pipes (hydraulic pipes) 20 are assembled in the hydraulic unit 10. The pipe 20 is made of a thin metal tube, one end 20a is connected to the hydraulic unit 10, and the other end is bent and disposed on the wheel house 4 and the front side frame 3, and the other end is the engine room. 5 is connected to another device (not shown) installed inside and outside.

  One end 20 a of the pipe 20 is fixed to the hydraulic unit 10 by tightening a nut 21. A clamp member 30 for fixing the pipe 20 to the front side frame 3 and a clamp member 50 for fixing the pipe 20 to the dashboard lower panel 2 are mounted in the middle of the pipe 20 extending from the hydraulic unit 10. ing. The clamp members 30 and 50 are parts for collectively fixing the plurality of pipes 20 extending from the hydraulic unit 10 to the vehicle body 1. In addition, a clamp member (a so-called air clamp) 60 for bundling a plurality of pipes 20 in the air is also attached to another part of the pipe 20.

  A stopper member 40 is attached at a position adjacent to the clamp member 30 in the pipe 20. The stopper member 40 is made of a ring-shaped member fixed to the outer peripheral surface 20b of the pipe 20, as will be described later. Although FIG. 1 shows a state in which the stopper member 40 is attached to only a part of the pipes 20, the stopper member 40 can be attached to other pipes 20 as necessary.

  FIG. 2A is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a detailed configuration of the clamp member 30 and the stopper member 40. FIG. 2B is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a place where the pipe 20 is attached to the hydraulic unit 10 (one end 20a of the pipe 20). In FIG. 2, only one of the plurality of pipes 20 attached to the clamp member 30 and the hydraulic unit 10 is illustrated. The clamp member 30 is made of a synthetic resin molded product, and includes a main body portion 31 formed in a substantially straight bar shape. A mounting portion 32 for mounting the pipe 20 is formed in the main body portion 31. The mounting portion 32 is formed of a semi-cylindrical concave portion along the outer periphery of the pipe 20, and its axial direction extends in a direction (lateral direction in the drawing) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 31. It penetrates the surfaces 31c and 31d. Hereinafter, the axial direction refers to the axial direction of the pipe 20 attached to the attachment portion 32 of the clamp member 30.

  A plurality (five in the figure) of the mounting portions 32 of the clamp member 30 are arranged along the longitudinal direction (vertical direction in the figure) of the main body part 31. Each mounting portion 32 communicates with an opening 33 for inserting the pipe 20 provided on the front surface 31 a of the main body 31, and an elastic locking piece 33 a is formed inside the opening 33. Yes. The locking piece 33a protrudes toward the mounting portion 32, and prevents the piping 20 from coming off by contacting the outer peripheral surface 20b of the piping 20 mounted on the mounting portion 32.

  Although not shown, a fixing tool for fixing the clamp member 30 to the front side frame 3 is provided on the back surface 31 b of the main body 31. This fixture is composed of, for example, a small protrusion-like portion that is inserted and fixed in a hole (not shown) provided in the front side frame 3.

  Since the pipe 20 attached to the attachment portion 32 of the clamp member 30 is firmly held between the inner surface of the attachment portion 32 and the locking piece 33a, it does not move easily in the axial direction. However, when a strong force is applied to move the pipe 20 in the axial direction, the pipe 20 may be displaced in the axial direction with respect to the clamp member 30. As will be described later, when the pipe 20 is assembled to the hydraulic unit 10, the thrust direction (moving direction) of the pipe 20 that rotates as the nut 21 is tightened is the axis of the pipe 20 attached to the clamp member 30. The same direction as the direction.

  On the other hand, the stopper member 40 fixed to the pipe 20 is fixed to a position adjacent to the clamp member 30 as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the stopper member 40 is attached only to the side (front side) close to the hydraulic unit 10 among both sides (front and rear) of the clamp member 30 in the axial direction of the pipe 20. .

  3A and 3B are diagrams showing a detailed structure of the stopper member 40, in which FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing the stopper member 40 before being attached to the pipe 20, and FIG. 3B is a view showing the stopper member 40 attached to the pipe 20. It is sectional drawing seen from the axial direction of the piping 20. FIG. The stopper member 40 is made of a synthetic resin molded product formed in a ring shape, and a hinge portion 41 having flexibility is provided at one place in the circumferential direction, and on both sides of the hinge portion 41. A pair of semicircular arc-shaped portions (herein, referred to as an upper half 42 and a lower half 43, respectively) are connected so as to be relatively rotatable. The stopper member 40 is formed in a substantially circular ring shape in which the whole of the upper half body 42 and the lower half body 43 is larger than the outer diameter of the pipe 20. The upper half body 42 and the lower half body 43 rotate about the hinge portion 41, so that the substantially cylindrical inner surface 44 can be opened and closed.

  A holding portion 45 made of a small protrusion is formed on the inner surface 44 of the stopper member 40. A plurality of holding portions 45 are formed at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction of the inner surface 44 (four in the figure at intervals of about 90 degrees). Each of the holding portions 45 has the same shape and extends linearly from one side surface 40a of the stopper member 40 to the other side surface 40b along the axial direction of the pipe 20. Further, the inner peripheral dimension between the tips of the holding portions 45 is designed to be slightly smaller than the outer peripheral dimension of the pipe 20 with the upper half 42 and the lower half 43 of the stopper member 40 closed. ing. Thereby, when the stopper member 40 is attached to the outer peripheral surface 20 b of the pipe 20, the distal end of the holding portion 45 is strongly pressed against the outer peripheral surface 20 b of the pipe 20 due to the flexibility of the stopper member 40. Therefore, the stopper member 40 is firmly fixed so as not to easily move in the axial direction with respect to the pipe 20.

  And between the rotation end 42a of the upper half 42 and the rotation end 43a of the lower half 43, the upper half 42 and the lower half 43 are snap-in engaged (the upper half without using a tool or the like). A snap-in engagement mechanism 48 for engaging the body 42 and the lower half 43 only by closing the body 42 and the lower half 43 is provided. The snap-in engagement mechanism 48 engages the engagement claw 46 having elasticity provided at the rotation end 42 a of the upper half 42 and the engagement claw 46 provided at the rotation end 43 a of the lower half 43. It is composed of a joint hole 47. The engaging claw 46 is a small protrusion that protrudes from the rotating end 42 a of the upper half 42 toward the rotating end 43 a of the lower half 43. On the outer surface of the engaging claw 46, a locking claw portion 46a is formed to project. On the other hand, the engagement hole 47 is formed by a recess formed in the rotation end 43 a of the lower half 43. The engagement hole 47 is formed in a shape into which the engagement claw 46 can be inserted, and a step portion for locking the claw portion 46 a at a position facing the claw portion 46 a on the inner surface of the engagement hole 47. 47a is formed.

  If the upper half 42 and the lower half 43 of the stopper member 40 are rotated and closed, the engagement claw 46 of the snap-in engagement mechanism 48 is engaged with the engagement hole 47, so that the upper half 42 and the lower half 42 are engaged. The half 43 is snap-in engaged. Therefore, the upper half 42 and the lower half 43 are fixed in a closed state only by closing the stopper member 40. Thereby, the stopper member 40 can be fixed to the pipe 20 by a simple manual operation without using a tool or the like.

  Here, as a structure for fixing the stopper member 40 to the pipe 20, a configuration is shown in which the stopper member 40 is provided with a protruding holding portion 45 and the tip of the holding portion 45 is strongly pressed against the outer peripheral surface 20 b of the pipe 20. However, the structure which fixes the stopper member 40 to the piping 20 is not limited to this, Other structures may be sufficient. Further, even when the protrusion-shaped holding portion is formed on the stopper member 40, for example, in addition to the protrusion that linearly contacts the outer peripheral surface 20b of the pipe 20 as described above, a protrusion that contacts in a dot shape may be used. . Alternatively, a structure in which a part or the whole of the inner surface 44 of the stopper member 40 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface 20b of the pipe 20 in a planar shape may be used.

  Next, a procedure for attaching the pipe 20 to the vehicle body 1 will be described. First, one end 20a of the pipe 20 is temporarily fixed to the hydraulic unit 10 by tightening the nut 21 shown in FIG. Further, the clamp member 30 is fixed to the front side frame 3 with a fixing tool (not shown), and a midway portion of the pipe 20 is mounted on the mounting portion 32 of the clamp member 30. The pipe 20 is attached to the clamp member 30 by inserting the pipe 20 pushed through the opening 33 into the attachment part 32. Further, the stopper member 40 is fixed to the pipe 20. The stopper member 40 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface 20 b of the pipe 20 by a snap-in engagement mechanism 48. The fixing position of the stopper member 40 is a position adjacent to the clamp member 30, and as described later, the restriction by the stopper member 40 acts so that the pipe 20 is in a normal state (as designed) with respect to the clamp member 30. Position).

  In this way, as shown in FIG. 2, the pipe 20 temporarily fixed to the hydraulic unit 10 is in a state of being fixed to the front side frame 3 by the clamp member 30 at an intermediate position. The stopper member 40 fixed to the pipe 20 is adjacent to the clamp member 30 on the side close to the hydraulic unit 10, and the side surface 40 b of the stopper member 40 faces the side surface 31 c of the clamp member 30.

  In this state, by tightening the nut 21 with a torque wrench (not shown), the pipe 20 is further tightened (fixed) to the hydraulic unit 10. At that time, the friction between the one end 20a of the pipe 20 and the nut 21 causes the one end 20a of the pipe 20 to rotate (co-rotate) in the tightening direction as shown in FIG. When one end 20a of the pipe 20 is rotated, the entire pipe 20 is rotated about the one end 20a as a fulcrum. Here, the thrust direction of the pipe 20 attached to the clamp member 30 by the rotation is the same direction as the axial direction of the pipe 20. Therefore, the pipe 20 attached to the clamp member 30 tends to move in the axial direction with respect to the clamp member 30 by the rotation.

  However, in the mounting structure of the present embodiment, when the pipe 20 attached to the clamp member 30 attempts to move in the axial direction, the stopper member 40 fixed to the pipe 20 contacts the clamp member 30. Thereby, the movement of the pipe 20 in the axial direction with respect to the clamp member 30 is restricted, and the mounting position of the pipe 20 can be prevented from being displaced. Therefore, since the pipe 20 after the additional tightening is mounted at the designed position, the layout of the pipe 20 with respect to the vehicle body 1 can be reproduced in a normal state. That is, according to the mounting structure of the present embodiment, the fixed state of the pipe 20 can be reproduced according to the design layout even after the pipe 20 is tightened by the stopper member 40 fixed to the pipe 20. When the amount of movement of the pipe 20 with respect to the clamp member 30 is within a design allowable range, the stopper member 40 may only approach the clamp member 30 and may not come into contact.

  In addition, according to the mounting structure of the present embodiment, it is not necessary to bend the pipe to restrict the movement of the pipe, so that the holding force of the clamp member due to the bent portion does not decrease as in the conventional case. . Further, since the number of places where the pipe 20 is bent can be reduced, the processing steps of the pipe 20 can be simplified, and the product cost can be reduced. Moreover, since the fixing position of the pipe 20 is fixed by the stopper member 40, there is no variation in the fixing position of the pipe 20 for each worker, leading to an improvement in product quality. In addition, when the pipe 20 is assembled, it is not necessary to call the operator special attention, so that the process management can be simplified.

  In addition, conventionally, the pipe 20 is bent so as to be brought into contact with the clamp member 30 so as to suppress the movement of the pipe 20 in the thrust direction. In the mounting structure of the present embodiment, the movement of the pipe 20 in the thrust direction is regulated by the cooperation of the stopper member 40 and the clamp member 30. The strength of 30 can be relaxed compared to the conventional case. Thereby, simplification of a structure and weight reduction can be achieved by making the thickness of the clamp member 30 thin.

  Further, after the pipe 20 is permanently fixed, the fixing position of the pipe 20 is regulated by the tightening action of the nut 21. Therefore, the stopper member 40 only needs to fix the pipe 20 only when the nut 21 is tightened. For this reason, even if the stopper member 40 is damaged or detached from the pipe 20 after the pipe 20 is permanently fixed, the fixing position of the pipe 20 is not affected. Moreover, since it is not necessary to give the stopper member 40 high durability, the range of material selection is expanded. Furthermore, since it is possible to select an environmentally friendly material as the material of the stopper member 40, the product can be green.

  In the mounting structure of this embodiment, the stopper member 40 is fixed to the pipe 20 by the snap-in engagement mechanism 48. Thereby, the stopper member 40 can be easily fixed to the pipe 20 manually without using a tool or the like. Therefore, the work of attaching the pipe 20 to the vehicle body 1 can be facilitated.

  In the mounting structure of the present embodiment, the stopper member 40 is mounted only on the side closer to the hydraulic unit 10 (front side) among the front and rear sides of the clamp member 30 in the axial direction of the pipe 20. That is, if the stopper member 40 is attached to either one of the front and rear of the clamp member 30 so that the thrust direction of the pipe 20 during assembly to the hydraulic unit 10 can be grasped and the movement of the pipe 20 in the same direction can be regulated. Good.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims and the specification and drawings. Is possible. It should be noted that any shape, structure, and material not directly described in the specification and drawings are within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention as long as the effects and advantages of the present invention are exhibited. For example, in the said embodiment, although the case where the stopper member 40 was a substantially circular ring shape surrounding the piping 20 was shown, the shape of the stopper member concerning this invention is not limited to what is shown in the said embodiment. Therefore, the stopper member of the present invention may have a shape other than the ring shape as long as it is a component that is fixed to the pipe and can contact the clamp member.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the hydraulic piping assembled | attached to the hydraulic unit 10 installed in the engine room 5 was shown as the piping 20 to which the mounting structure of this invention is applied, the piping which applies the mounting structure of this invention is the above-mentioned. However, other types of piping such as fuel piping may be used. Further, the apparatus for assembling the pipe of the present invention is not limited to the hydraulic unit 10, and may be another apparatus.

  Further, the specific configuration of the clamp member 30 shown in the above embodiment is an example, and the clamp member 30 can be fixed to the vehicle body 1 by being attached to the pipe 20 and can be brought into contact with the stopper member 40. For example, parts having other shapes or parts made of other materials may be used.

It is a figure which shows the attachment structure to the vehicle body of the piping concerning one Embodiment of this invention, and is the schematic which shows a part in the engine room of a motor vehicle. (A) is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the detailed structure of a clamp member and a stopper member, (b) is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the assembly | attachment location to the hydraulic unit of piping. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of a stopper member, (a) is a perspective view which shows the stopper member before attaching to piping, (b) is sectional drawing which looked at the stopper member attached to piping from the axial direction of piping. It is.

1 Car body 2 Dashboard lower panel 3 Front side frame 4 Wheel house 5 Engine room 10 Hydraulic unit (device)
20 Piping 20a One end (end)
20b Outer peripheral surface 21 Nut 30 Clamp member 31 Body portion 32 Mounting portion 40 Stopper member 41 Hinge portion 42 Upper half body 43 Lower half body 45 Holding portion 46 Engagement claw 47 Engagement hole 48 Snap-in engagement mechanism

Claims (3)

Piping installed on the vehicle body with an end assembled to the device installed on the vehicle body;
A clamp member mounted in the middle of the pipe and fixing the pipe to the vehicle body;
A stopper member fixed to the pipe so as to be adjacent to the clamp member;
With
When assembling the pipe with the rotation operation of the end portion, the stopper member comes into contact with the clamp member, so that movement of the pipe in the axial direction relative to the clamp member is restricted. A structure for mounting a pipe to a vehicle body characterized by the above. The stopper member is a side on which the stopper member approaches the clamp member when the end portion of the pipe is rotated in a direction of tightening the device with respect to the apparatus, on both sides of the clamp member in the axial direction of the pipe. The structure for mounting a pipe to a vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein the pipe is mounted on the body. The said stopper member consists of a ring-shaped member fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the said pipe by snap-in engagement, The attachment structure to the vehicle body of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.

Images