JP2019071776A - Protector - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a protector which can be made compact while preventing a crack caused by a weld line or the like and improving workability of locking a lid member to a protector body.SOLUTION: The protector includes a lock mechanism 23 for locking a protector body 12 and a lid member 13. The protector body 12 is provided with a female lock portion 33 forming a lock hole 31. the lid member 13 is provided with a male side lock portion 36 with a locking claw 34 inserted into the lock hole 31. A frame portion 32 of the female lock portion 33 includes: a pair of support portions 41 forming a base end upper end surface 41a continuous with an upper end surface 12f of one side wall portion 12b; a beam portion 42 forming a projecting end side upper end surface 42a positioned above the side wall upper end surface 12f at the projecting end side where a distance from the one side wall portion 12b is increased; and a locking projection 43 that projects downward from the upper end surface 42a in the same direction and snap-locks an elastic piece 35.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a protector for protecting a wire harness, and more particularly to a protector for locking a lid member to a protector body having a recess for storing an electric wire.

  In manufacturing a wire harness mounted on a vehicle, a part of the wiring section is often surrounded and protected by a protector. Also, the protector is generally cylindrically shaped by the protector body having a concave cross section and the lid member, and the protector body and the lid member are held in the closed lid state by the snap lock type locking mechanism. It is common.

  As a conventional protector of this type, for example, an elastic piece with a locking claw is formed on the side wall of the protector main body, and the elastic piece and a holding frame facing the locking claw while straddling the cut on both sides thereof There is known one in which a female lock portion comprising a lock frame with a lock hole that can be locked by a lock claw is provided on the lid member side while being integrally provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, while providing an elastic piece with a locking claw and a male side lock portion having a cut on both sides thereof on the lid member side, a frame shape capable of locking the locking claw by inserting the male side lock portion There is also known a female side lock portion provided on the side wall of the protector body, and a recess capable of accommodating the elastic piece on the side wall of the protector body as a relief shape for bending of the elastic piece. reference).

JP, 2012-167736, A JP-A-8-296621

  However, in the above-mentioned conventional protector, the holding frame and the female side lock portion of the lock mechanism formed on the outer surface side of both side walls of the protector main body are the upper end surfaces of the side walls where the protector main body and the lid member are butting surfaces. The locking claw is engaged with the beam portion facing the locking claw while straddling the elastic piece and the pair of cuts on both sides of the elastic piece and the recess accommodating the elastic piece. Because of the need to do so, the vertical width of the beam portion was limited.

  Further, the positions where the both ends of the beam portion project from the both side walls of the protector body are close to the recesses for receiving the pair of incisions or elastic pieces on both sides of the elastic piece with the locking claw. Therefore, weld lines are likely to be generated in the holding frame and the beam portion of the frame-shaped female side lock portion, and there is a problem that the holding frame in the locked state and the frame-shaped female side lock portion are easily cracked at the weld line. there were. That is, when the molten resin is allowed to flow into the mold to form the protector body, the molten resin reaches two side wall corner portions which become both side walls of the pair of cuts or recesses in the side wall of the protector body, and from there When the two resin flows that gradually flow in the opposite direction flow around the lock hole while reducing the cross-sectional area sequentially to the beam part merge, a thin film-like solidified layer appears on the tip side of the resin flow There is a problem that a weld line is easily formed due to formation or the like.

  Further, within the above-described limitation in the height direction, when the width of the lock hole is increased in the thickness direction of the side wall of the protector main body in order to secure the insertion workability of the male lock portion of the lock mechanism, the holding frame on the side wall surface In addition, the protrusion height of the female lock portion has to be increased, and there is also a problem that the workability of the lid closing operation accompanied by the lock operation is forced to be reduced due to the compactness of the protector.

  The present invention has been made to solve such conventional problems, and while the protector is made compact, the lock mechanism between the protector body and the lid member is broken or the lid member is locked to the protector body. An object of the present invention is to provide a protector that can prevent the workability of closing operation from being reduced.

  In order to achieve the above object, the protector according to the present invention has a bowl-shaped protector body having a bottom wall and both side walls, and a lid member disposed opposite to the upper ends of both side walls of the protector body. A lock mechanism for locking at least one side wall portion of the both side wall portions and the lid member in a closed state, and a substantially U-shaped form forming a lock hole with the one side wall portion in the protector main body A protector provided with a female side lock portion having a frame portion and a male side lock portion having an elastic piece with a locking claw which is inserted into the lock hole and locked to the frame portion, A pair of support portions forming a pair of proximal end upper end surfaces that are continuous with the upper end surface of the one side wall portion at both ends supported by the one side wall portion, and the frame portion of the female lock portion; Support integrally on a pair of support parts Above the upper surface of the pair of base end upper end faces and the upper end surface of the one side wall portion at the protruding end side where the distance from the one side wall portion increases while continuing to the pair of base end upper surface surfaces. And a beam portion forming an upper end surface on the projecting end side, and projecting downward from the beam portion downward in the same direction as the upper end surface on the projecting end side, snapping the elastic piece with the locking claw of the male lock portion. And a locking projection portion for locking.

  With this configuration, even if the lock hole is narrowed in the thickness direction of the side wall portion of the protector main body in order to suppress the protruding height of the lock mechanism, the upper end surface on the protruding end side is upper side than the upper end surface of the side wall portion The beam portion inclined so as to be located at the position of the upper end of the lower end portion serves as an insertion guide whose cross section is expanded so as to protrude toward the lid member. Therefore, the insertion guide function is secured for the elastic piece of the male lock portion as much as or more than the normal lock hole (more than when the lock mechanism is disposed on the both side wall portions of the protector main body).

  In addition, at the time of forming the protector, the resin flow which joins newly while the meeting angle becomes large on the upper end side of the beam portion where the two resin flows flow into the beam portion and join with respect to the pair of support portions of the frame portion. By forming a resin flow that flows obliquely downward from the beam portion to the locking projection side, the generation of weld lines is effectively suppressed.

  In the protector of the present invention, the projecting end side upper end surface of the beam portion forms an inclined surface together with the projecting end side upper end surfaces of the pair of support portions, and both ends of the beam portion are at least one of the ones. It may be configured to be supported by the pair of support portions on the upper side of the upper end surface of the side wall portion.

  According to the present invention, while the protector is made compact, the lock mechanism between the protector main body and the lid member is cracked or the workability of the lid closing operation for locking the lid member to the protector main body is lowered. Can provide a protector that can prevent the

It is a principal part perspective view of a protector concerning a 1 embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part side view of a protector concerning a 1 embodiment of the present invention. It is the III-III arrow sectional drawing of FIG. It is a principal part top view of a protector concerning a 1 embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part side view of a protector of a comparative example. It is the VI-VI arrow sectional drawing of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(One embodiment)
1 to 4 show a protector 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The protector 10 of the present embodiment is configured as a protective material of the wire harness 1 for a car. That is, the wire harness 1 of this embodiment protects a specific wiring section of the wire group 20 by the protector 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the protector 10 has a bowl-shaped protector body 12 forming a recess 12 a capable of storing the wire group 20, and an upper portion in the figure in which the recess 12 a is opened with respect to the protector body 12. And a lid member 13 disposed on the side so as to be openable and closable.

  The protector main body 12 is configured to form a wire insertion hole 14 corresponding to the recess 12 a in the closed lid state where the open end of the recess 12 a is closed by the lid member 13.

  Moreover, the protector main body 12 is made of resin (synthetic resin) of a predetermined length that forms the groove-shaped concave portion 12a as a whole, and has a U-shaped concave shape in cross section. The protector body 12 has a bottom wall 12d and side walls 12b and 12c orthogonal to the bottom wall 12d.

  The lid member 13 is a resin-made concave body or a plate-like body having a predetermined length that can be supported in a closed state by the side wall portions 12 b and 12 c of the protector body 12 and has substantially the same width as the protector body 12. The resin referred to here is, for example, polypropylene or polyamide resin.

  The lid member 13 has side end portions 13a and 13b close to the upper end surfaces 12f and 12g of the side wall portions 12b and 12c of the protector body 12, respectively.

  The protector 10 is configured by the protector main body 12 and the lid member 13 in a square tube shape that is a substantially square or rectangular cross section as a whole. It goes without saying that the protector body 12 and the lid member 13 may be integrally hinged, for example, on the side end 13b side to make the protector 10 into a single part.

  The wire group 20 includes a plurality of coated wires 21. The conductors 21a of the plurality of wires 21 are, for example, formed of a circular strand formed by twisting a plurality of soft copper wires. The coating 11 b is made of, for example, a cylindrical insulating material made of resin mainly composed of polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene.

  The wire group 20 is formed by bundling a plurality of wires 21 with, for example, an insulating tape at a predetermined interval, or by winding the insulating tape roughly in a helical shape, or any of the loose wire groups whose paths are regulated by the protector 10. It is.

  At least one, for example, a plurality of locking mechanisms 23 for locking the lid member 13 in the closed state is provided between the lid member 13 and the both side walls 12b and 12c.

  Specifically, the protector main body 12 is provided with a female lock 33 having a substantially U-shaped frame 32 forming the lock hole 31 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) together with at least one side wall 12b. ing. On the other hand, the cover member 13 is provided with a male lock 36 having an elastic piece 35 with a locking claw 34 which is inserted into the lock hole 31 and locked to the frame 32. And the lock mechanism 23 is comprised by the female side lock part 33 and the male side lock part 36 which are mutually latched.

  In each figure, only one lock mechanism 23 in the axial direction of the protector 10 is shown, but the lock mechanisms 23 are disposed at a plurality of axial locations of the protector 10, and the plurality of lock mechanisms 23 are protectors In the longitudinal direction of the main body 12, they are arranged substantially at equal intervals.

  The frame portion 32 of each female lock portion 33 is integrally supported by a pair of support portions 41 projecting on one of the side wall portions 12b and 12c and the pair of support portions 41 at both ends. It has a beam portion 42 and a locking projection 43 integrally supported on the beam portion 42.

  The pair of support portions 41 is, for example, one end portion thereof supported by one side wall portion 12b (a surface portion supported by the left and right end sides of the frame portion 32 in FIG. 4 and supported by one side wall portion 12b) A pair of base end upper end surfaces 41a are formed continuous with the upper end surface 12f of the side wall portion 12b.

  The beam portion 42 is integrally supported at both ends by a pair of support portions 41. The beam portion 42 is continuous with the pair of base end upper end surfaces 41a and has a large distance from one side wall portion 12b. The protruding end side (upper side in FIG. 3) of the base end side upper end surface 41a and the side wall portion 12b is positioned on the upper side (upper side in FIG. 3) at the protruding end side (lower end side in FIG. The projecting end side upper end surface 42a inclined upward is formed.

  A portion within a predetermined height range of the beam portion 42 located above the base end upper surface 41a of the support portion 41 and the upper end surface 12f of the side wall portion 12b, that is, the upper end side where the protruding end upper surface 42a is formed Hereinafter, the portion 42b within the predetermined height range is referred to as the upper end portion 42b.

  The locking projection 43 is the same as the projecting end upper end surface 42a in the same direction from the beam 42, that is, the upper end is away from one side wall 12b and the lower end is closer to one side 12b. Protruding towards.

  When the elastic piece 35 with the locking claw 34 of the male lock portion 36 is inserted into the lock hole 31 from the end guide portion 35 a side, the locking projection portion 43 is formed by the locking claw 34 of the elastic piece 35. It is pressed outward and elastically deformed so as to separate from one side wall portion 12b, and returns to approach one side wall portion 12b when the locking claw 34 of the elastic piece 35 passes downward, and the elastic piece It is designed so that the 35 can be retained and locked.

  The width of the tip of the tip guide portion 35a in the wall surface direction of one side wall portion 12b is sufficiently smaller than the length in the same direction of the lock hole 31, and the widthwise centers of the elastic piece 35 and the lock hole 31 in the same direction are It is set to the same position.

  The projecting end-side upper end surface 42a of the beam portion 42 forms, together with the inclined surfaces 41b on the projecting end side of the pair of support portions 41, an inclined surface 32g wider than the tip of the tip guide portion 35a in the wall surface direction of the side wall 12b. .

  In addition, the beam portion 42 is supported by the pair of support portions 41 on the upper side of the upper end surface 12 f of at least one side wall portion 12 b, and is integrated with the upper end portions of the pair of support portions 41 as shown in FIG. The upper surfaces 42c at both ends of the beam portion 42 are inclined obliquely downward while being curved at a constant radius of curvature so as to be continuous with the outer surfaces 41c of the pair of support portions 41.

  Such a shape of the beam portion 42 forms a so-called guiding structure by having an inclined surface 32g which can function as a guide surface at the time of insertion of the male lock portion 36. Furthermore, at the time of injection molding of the protector main body 12 The mold portion of the frame portion 32 in the structure is structured such that the resin flow flowing from the pair of support portions 41 into the beam portion 42 easily flows into the height range above the upper end surface 12f of one side wall portion 12b. It is a thing.

  In the present embodiment, among the upper and lower concave bodies constituting the protector 10, the side on which the wire group 20 is stored in the open state is called the protector main body 12, and the female lock portion 33 of the lock mechanism 23 is a protector. The male side lock portion 36 is disposed on the main body 12 side, and is disposed on the lid portion taste 13 side. However, when the butting surfaces of the protector main body 12 and the lid member 13 are different in the vicinity of the lock mechanism 23 and the other wire length section, the arrangement of the female lock portion 33 and the male lock portion 36 of the lock mechanism 23 Can be reversed. In the present invention, in either case, the side on which the female lock portion of the lock mechanism is formed is referred to as the protector body, and the side on which the male lock portion of the lock mechanism is formed is referred to as the lid member.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  In the protector 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the beam portion 42 inclined so that the projecting end side upper end surface 42 a is positioned above the upper end surface 12 f of the side wall portion 12 b of the protector main body 12 is The cross section is expanded so as to protrude toward the lid member 13 side, and it becomes an insertion guide which forms a wide guiding range above the lock hole 31.

  Therefore, the width of the lock hole 31 in the thickness direction of the side wall portion 12b of the protector main body 12 is reduced in order to suppress the protrusion height of the lock mechanism 23 on one of the side wall portions 12b and 12c, for example, the wall surface of one side wall portion 12b. Even if it is narrowed, an insertion guide function equal to or more than that of a normal lock hole can be obtained with respect to the elastic piece 35 of the male lock portion 36.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, when the lock mechanism 23 is disposed on both side walls 12 b and 12 c of the protector main body 12, the male lock portion 36 can be introduced from both sides of the lid member 13. The advanced insertion guide function is secured, and the fitting operation at the time of locking the plurality of lock mechanisms 23 for locking the lid member 13 to the protector body 12 is greatly facilitated.

  Moreover, at the time of molding of the protector 10, at the upper end portion 42b of the beam portion 42 where the two resin flows flow into the beam portion 42 and merge with the pair of support portions 41 of the frame 32, the meeting angles of the two resin flows By forming a resin flow in which the resin flow newly merged flows obliquely downward from the beam portion 42 to the locking projection 43 side while the flow velocity is increased, the generation of weld lines is effectively suppressed. Ru.

  In particular, the side walls 12b and 12c of the protector main body 12 do not require notches such as the cuts and recesses in the aforementioned Patent Documents 1 and 2 and the corner portions of the two side walls to be the both side walls are not formed From this point of view, it is also difficult to form a weld line.

  Therefore, thickness reduction of the frame part 32 is attained, For example, the thickness of the beam part 42 of the frame part 32 is 1.1-1.3 mm, making side wall part 12b, 12c of the protector main body 12 into thickness about 1.5 mm. It becomes possible to make it to a degree (for example, 1.2 mm), and by thinning the thickness of the elastic piece 35 other than the locking claw 34 to the same degree, it is possible to make the protector 10 effectively compact. Further, since the upper end surface of the beam portion 42 does not go above the upper end of the lid member 13 and does not go above the upper end of the elastic piece 35, there is no adverse effect on other operations.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the projecting end side upper end surface 42a of the beam portion 42 forms a wide inclined surface 32g together with the inclined surfaces 41b on the projecting end side of the pair of support portions 41, and both ends of the beam portion 42 are at least one. The support portion 41 is supported on the upper side of the upper end surface 12f of the side wall portion 12b. Therefore, the resin flow from the pair of support portions 41 can be favorably flowed into the upper end portion 42b of the beam portion 42, and the generation of weld lines can be more effectively suppressed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the protrusion height of the elastic portion 35 with the frame portion 32 and the locking claw 34 on any of the side wall portions 12 b and 12 c of the protector main body 12 is suppressed. Although the lock mechanism 23 between the protector main body 12 and the lid member 13 is cracked or the workability of the lid closing operation for locking the lid member 13 to the protector main body 12 is lowered while achieving compactness. The protector 10 which can be reliably prevented can be provided.

(Comparative example)
The protector 50 of a comparative example is shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.

  The protector 50 does not have a portion corresponding to the upper end portion 42b of the beam portion 42 in one embodiment, and the lock mechanism 63 is disposed on the outer surface side of the side wall 52b of the protector main body 52 and the lid member 53 as in the prior art. It is done.

  The substantially U-shaped frame portion 62 in the female lock portion 63 of the lock mechanism 63 has an upper end surface 62a having the same height as the upper end surface 52f of the side wall portion 52b which is a mating surface of the protector main body 52 and the lid member 53. It is a thing.

  In this case, the insertion guide surface 72a of the male lock portion 66 can not be sufficiently formed above the beam portion 72, and a guiding effect can not be exhibited. Therefore, the thickness direction of the side wall 52b (left and right direction in FIG. The thickness of the beam portion 72 of the frame portion 62 and the width of the lock hole 71 are increased to some extent.

  Specifically, the side wall 52b of the protector main body 52 has a thickness of 1.5 mm, and the thickness width of the beam portion 72 of the frame 62 is 1.5 mm. The width of the lock hole 71 in the thickness direction of the side wall 52b is The lock hole 31 in the embodiment is about 1.5 times larger than the lock hole 31. Accordingly, the thickness of the male lock portion 66 is also increased at the same magnification.

  In the configuration of this comparative example, when the protruding height of the lock mechanism 63 on the wall surface of the side wall portion 52b is suppressed, the fitting workability at the time of locking of the lock mechanism 63 is reduced, and downsizing of the protector 50 is easy It will not be.

  In the above-described embodiment, such a problem is eliminated.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the protector 10 is provided which can improve the workability of locking the lid member to the protector main body while preventing the crack caused by the weld line and the like, and can be made compact. be able to.

  In the above-described embodiment, the lock mechanism 23 between the protector main body 12 and the lid member 13 is provided on any one of the side walls 12b and 12c, for example, the side wall 12b. It goes without saying that the lock mechanism 23 may be provided between each of the wall portions 12b and 12c and the lid member 13, or a plurality of lock mechanisms 23 may be disposed on the side wall portions 12b and 12c. Further, the shape of the protector main body 12 and the cover member 13 is bent or partially curved within a range in which the female lock portion 33 and the male lock portion 36 in the lock mechanism 23 can normally be fitted and locked. It may be

  As described above, the present invention can provide a protector capable of preventing a reduction in workability in a closing operation in which a crack in a lock mechanism or a lid member is locked while achieving compactness, and a recess for storing an electric wire. The present invention is useful for protectors in general in which the lid member is locked to the protector body.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 wire harness 10 protector 11b coating 12 protector main body 12a recessed part 12b, 12c side wall part 12d bottom wall part 12f, 12g upper end surface 13 lid member 13a, 13b side end part 14 electric wire insertion hole 20 electric wire group 21 electric wire (coated electric wire)
21a conductor 23 lock mechanism 31 lock hole 32 frame portion 32g inclined surface 33 female lock portion 34 locking claw 35 elastic piece 35a tip guide portion 36 male lock portion 41 support portion 41a proximal end upper end surface 41b inclination of protruding end side Surface 41c Outer surface 42 Beam portion 42a Protruding end side upper end surface 42b Upper end side (portion of predetermined height range on upper end side)
42c Upper surface 43 Locking projection part

Protector according to the present invention, for this purpose achieved, the bottom wall and have a side wall portions includes a protector body forming recesses, and a lid member which closes the open end of the recess, the lid member has a male locking portion with a resilient piece with the locking pawl, wherein the protector body is female comprising a frame portion for engaging the locking claw on at least one side wall portion of the side wall portions has a locking portion, integrally with the frame portion of the female-side lock portion, a pair of support portions forming a pair of base end side upper surface continuous to the upper end surface of the one side wall portion, the pair of support portions And an elastic piece with a locking claw of the male lock portion projecting downward from the beam portion, and a beam portion supported on the upper surface and forming a projecting end side upper surface continuous with the pair of proximal end upper surface possess a locking protrusion portion for locking, wherein the projecting end side upper face, said pair of base side End face and positioned on the upper side than the upper end surface of the one side wall portion, the projecting end side upper face and the locking protrusion portion is away from the upper side the one side wall portion, with the lower end side compared to the upper side It protrudes in the direction which approaches said one side wall part .

Claims (2)

A tub-like protector body having a bottom wall and side walls, a lid member disposed opposite to the upper ends of the side walls of the protector body, and at least one side wall of the side walls; A lock mechanism for locking the lid member in the closed state, and the female body lock portion is provided with a substantially U-shaped frame portion forming a lock hole with the one side wall portion, A protector provided with a male side lock portion having an elastic piece with a locking claw which is inserted into the lock hole and locked to the frame portion,
The frame portion of the female lock portion is
A pair of support portions forming a pair of proximal end upper end surfaces that are continuous with the upper end surface of the one side wall portion at both ends supported by the one side wall portion;
The pair of base end upper end faces and the one end side are provided on the projecting end side integrally supported by the pair of support portions and continuing to the pair of base end side upper end faces while increasing the distance from the one side wall portion. A beam portion forming a projecting end side upper end surface located above the upper end surface of the side wall portion;
And a locking projection that projects downward from the beam section and downward in the same direction as the upper end surface of the projecting end, and snap-locks the elastic piece with the locking claw of the male locking section. A protector characterized in that.   The projecting end side upper end face of the beam portion forms an inclined surface together with the projecting end side upper end face of the pair of support portions, and both ends of the beam portion are above the upper end face of at least the one side wall portion. The protector according to claim 1, wherein the protector is supported by the pair of support portions on the side.

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