JP2021136743A - Protector and wiring harness - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve workability of an attachment operation of a cover part while suppressing an increase in component cost in a branch-shaped protector.SOLUTION: A protector 10 comprises: a protector main body part 11 that has a branch groove shape corresponding to a routing shape of an electric wire 20, and houses and protects the electric wire 20; a fixed projection 12 that is arranged between two branch grooves of the protector main body part 11 in order to fix the protector main body part 11; and a cover part 13 that has a branch lid shape corresponding to the branch groove shape so as to block an open side of the protector main body part 11, and in which a thin branch lid 132 which is one of a pair of branch lids corresponding to the pair of branch grooves nipping the fixed projection 12 in the protector main body part 11 is a bent lid which can be folded in a separation direction D12 where a movable part 132c containing an adjacent portion 132a is separated from a mating branch groove via a hinge 132b provided to a branch source side from the adjacent portion 132a adjacent to the fixed projection 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a protector that protects an electric wire and a wire harness provided with such a protector.

Conventionally, for example, a protector that protects an electric wire mounted on a vehicle and arranged inside is used. As an example of such a protector, a groove-shaped protector main body for accommodating an electric wire and a cover for closing the open side thereof are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). With such a structure, the electric wire can be easily housed inside the protector and protected.

JP-A-2018-137897

Here, the electric wire may be arranged in a shape branched into a plurality of branch paths, and the protector may also be formed in a branched shape according to the arrangement shape of the electric wire. In such a case, the protector main body and the cover as described above are often formed in a branched shape.

By the way, many protectors are provided with a fixing structure for fixing the protector at a predetermined mounting location. At this time, when the protector has a branch shape as described above, a fixed structure may be provided so as to protrude from each other of the branches of the branch. In such a case, when the branch-shaped cover portion is attached to the branch-shaped protector main body portion, the branch structure in the cover portion easily interferes with the fixed structure, and there is room for improvement in terms of workability of the attachment work. On the other hand, it is conceivable to divide the cover portion into separate parts for each branch of the branch structure to suppress interference with the fixed structure and improve workability, but such division formation increases the component cost of the cover portion. There is a risk of causing it.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to pay attention to the above problems and to provide a branched protector and a wire harness capable of improving the workability of the cover portion mounting work while suppressing an increase in component cost. do.

In order to solve the above problem, the protector has a branch groove shape branched into a plurality of branch grooves according to the arrangement shape of the electric wire, and the electric wire is housed inside from the open side of the groove to protect the electric wire. The protector main body and the plurality of branch grooves of the protector main body are arranged so as to project from each other in the opening direction of the grooves in the protector main body, and the protruding end portion thereof is attached to a predetermined position. It has a fixing protrusion that fixes the protector main body to the mounting location by being fixed to the location, and a branch lid shape corresponding to the branch groove shape so as to close the open side of the protector main body portion, and the protector main body. At least one of the pair of branch lids corresponding to the pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixed protrusions between the portions has a hinge provided on the branch source side with respect to the adjacent portion adjacent to the fixed protrusions. The movable portion including the adjacent portion is provided with a cover portion that is a bent lid that can be bent in a separation direction away from the branch groove on the other side.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, the wire harness is characterized by including the above-mentioned protector and the electric wire housed and protected inside the protector main body.

The above-mentioned protector is a branch-shaped protector having a branch groove-shaped protector main body portion and a branch lid-shaped cover portion. Then, according to this protector, in the cover portion, at least one of the pair of branch lids corresponding to the pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing protrusions with each other is a flexible lid that can be bent via a hinge. It has become. With such a configuration, it is possible to bend the bent lid and attach the cover portion so as to avoid interference with the fixing protrusions. Since the cover portion is an integral part having such a bent lid, it is possible to suppress an increase in component cost as compared with the case where the cover portion is divided and formed into a plurality of components. That is, according to the above-mentioned branched protector, it is possible to improve the workability of the cover portion mounting work while suppressing an increase in component cost.

Further, according to the above-mentioned wire harness, since the above-mentioned protector is adopted for electric wire protection, it is possible to improve the workability of the cover portion mounting work while suppressing an increase in component cost.

It is a perspective view which looked at the wire harness to which the protector of one Embodiment was applied from the side of the panel which is the object of fixing the protector. It is a schematic diagram which shows the assembly process of the protector shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the comparative example for comparison with the protector shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the protector and the wire harness will be described.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wire harness to which the protector of one embodiment is applied as viewed from the side of a panel to which the protector is fixed. Further, FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an assembling process of the protector shown in FIG.

The wire harness 1 has an electric wire 20 mounted on a vehicle and arranged, and a protector 10 for protecting the electric wire 20 is bolted to a screw hole P11 provided in a panel P10 as a metal panel constituting a vehicle body. It is fastened and fixed at P20. The wire harness 1 includes a protector 10 and an electric wire 20. In the present embodiment, the electric wire 20 is arranged in a shape branched into two branch paths, one trunk line in which two bundles are further bundled and one branch line composed of one bundle. .. The protector 10 is also formed in a branched shape according to the arrangement shape of the electric wire 20. That is, it has a branched shape branched into two tubular portions, a thick square cylinder 10a containing two bundles of electric wires 20 and a thin square cylinder 10b containing one bundle of electric wires 20. The protector 10 includes a protector main body portion 11, a fixing protrusion 12, and a cover portion 13.

The protector main body 11 is a groove-shaped member formed of resin and accommodating the electric wire 20 inside, and has a branch groove shape according to the branch shape of the protector 10 according to the arrangement shape of the electric wire 20. That is, the protector main body 11 has a branch groove shape branched into two branch grooves, that is, a thick branch groove 111 corresponding to the thick square tube 10a and a fine branch groove 112 corresponding to the thin square tube 10b. have. The inside of the thick branch groove 111 is further divided into two rows of grooves by a partition plate at the center in the width direction, and one bundle of electric wires 20 is housed in each groove. Only one bundle of electric wires 20 can be accommodated in the twig groove 112. The protector main body 11 having such a branch groove shape protects the electric wire 20 by accommodating the electric wire 20 inside from the open side of the groove. The bundle of each electric wire 20 housed extends outward from both ends of each groove of the protector main body 11, and heads toward the distribution destination of each electric wire 20.

The fixing protrusions 12 are arranged between the two branch grooves of the protector main body 11 so as to project from each other in the opening direction D11 of the grooves in the protector main body 11. Then, the protruding end portion 121 is fixed to the panel P10 as a mounting location, so that the protector main body portion 11 (that is, the wire harness 1 having the protector 10) is fixed to the panel P10. In the present embodiment, the fixing protrusion 12 is integrally molded with resin from the side wall 111a forming the thick branch groove 111 of the pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing protrusion 12 between the protector main body portion 11.

The cover portion 13 is a lid member formed of resin and having a branch lid shape corresponding to the branch groove shape so as to close the open side of the protector main body portion 11. That is, the cover portion 13 is a branch in which the twig lid 131 that closes the twig groove 111 of the protector main body 11, the twig lid 132 that closes the twig groove 112, and the twig groove 111 and the twig groove 112 start to branch. It has a main lid 133 and. Each of the thick branch lid 131, the thin branch lid 132, and the branch base lid 133 has a top plate portion and a pair of side wall ribs hanging from both side edges thereof. The side wall rib of the thick branch groove 111 is cut out so that the portion corresponding to the fixing protrusion 12 does not interfere with each other. Each side wall rib overlaps the outer surface of a pair of side walls at each of the thick branch groove 111, the twig groove 112, and the confluence portion of both when the cover portion 13 is put on the protector main body portion 11. Locked portions 113 for locking and fixing the cover portion 13 are provided at a plurality of locations on the side walls of the thick branch groove 111 and the twig groove 112. On the other hand, from each side wall rib of the thick branch lid 131 and the thin branch lid 132 of the cover portion 13, locking projections 134 that lock with the locked portion 113 of the protector main body portion 11 are paired with the plurality of locked portions 113. It extends at the place corresponding to one.

Then, in the cover portion 13, the thin branch lid 132, which is one of the pair of branch lids corresponding to the pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing protrusions 12 between the protector main body portion 11, has the following bending lid. It has become. That is, in this bending lid, the twig lid 132 has a movable portion 132c including the adjacent portion 132a via a hinge 132b provided on the branch source side of the adjacent portion 132a adjacent to the fixing protrusion 12, and the twig lid on the other side. It can be bent in the separation direction D12 away from 132. Here, in the present embodiment, the hinge 132b is a portion formed thinner than the other portion of the twig lid 132 which is a bending lid. Further, in the twig lid 132, a hinge 132b is provided at an intermediate position between the portion 132a adjacent to the fixing protrusion 12 and the branch source in the twig lid 132. The twig lid 132 is formed into a bendable lid with a part of the hinge 132b on the side farther from the branch source as a movable portion 132b. Further, in the twig lid 132, a locking projection 134 is provided so as to sandwich the hinge portion 132b in the length direction thereof. The twig groove 112 of the protector main body 11 is also provided with a locked portion 113 so as to correspond to a portion where the locking projection 134 of the twig lid 132 is formed.

When assembling the wire harness 1 by accommodating the electric wire 20 in the protector 10 described above, the work is performed according to the assembly process shown in FIG.

First, in step S11, a bundle of electric wires 20 is housed in each branch groove of the protector main body 11. Further, the cover portion 13 is put on the protector main body portion 11, and at this time, the twig lid 132, which is a bending lid, is bent so as to separate the movable portion 132c from the twig groove 112 in the separation direction D12.

In the following step S12, the cover portion 13 closes the open side of the protector main body 11 except for the movable portion 132c, and the locking projection 134 of the cover portion 13 is locked to the locked portion 113 of the protector main body 11.

Finally, in step S13, the movable portion 132c of the twig lid 132 is closed as shown by the arrow D13 in the drawing, and the locking projection 134 is locked to the locked portion 113 of the twig groove 112. Will be done. The assembly process shown in FIG. 2 is completed by closing the twig groove 112 by the movable portion 132c.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a comparative example for comparison with the protectors shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The protector 50 in the wire harness 5 of the comparative example shown in FIG. 3 has a different cover portion 53 from the protector 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The same components are designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the following, duplicate explanations of these same components will be omitted, and the cover portion 53 of the comparative example, which is a difference, will be described.

In the cover portion 53 of the comparative example, the twig lid 532 is not provided with a hinge, and the twig lid 532 is formed so as not to be bendable. When such a cover portion 53 is to be attached to the protector main body portion 11, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 3, the two branch lids of the cover portion 53 are arranged so as to project from between the two. Interference is likely to occur between the fixed protrusion 12 and the interference points E11 and E12 in the vicinity thereof. That is, if the interference between the twig lid 532 and the fixing protrusion 12 is to be avoided, the thick branch lid 131 on the opposite side tends to interfere with the fixing protrusion 12 at the interference point E11. On the contrary, if the interference between the thick branch lid 131 and the fixed protrusion 12 is to be avoided, the thin branch lid 532 tends to interfere with the fixed protrusion 12 at the interference point E12 on the opposite side. In such a situation, there is room for improvement because the workability of the mounting work is reduced. On the other hand, it is conceivable that the cover portion 53 is divided into separate parts for each branch of the branch structure to suppress interference with the fixing projection 12 and improve workability. However, in such division formation, for example, when the cover portion 53 is formed of resin, a mold is required for each of the divided parts, which may increase the component cost of the cover portion 53.

In contrast to this comparative example, according to the protector 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the cover portion 13, the finer of the pair of branch lids corresponding to the pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing protrusions 12 between them. The branch lid 132 is a flexible lid that can be bent via the hinge 132b. With such a configuration, it is possible to bend the twig lid 132, which is a bending lid, to attach the cover portion 13 so as to avoid interference with the fixing protrusion 12 as in the assembly process shown in FIG. Become. Since the cover portion 13 is an integral part having such a bent lid, only one mold is required when the cover portion 13 is formed of resin, as compared with the case where the cover portion 13 is divided into a plurality of parts. It is possible to suppress an increase in component cost. That is, according to the branched protector 10 in the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the workability of the attachment work of the cover portion 13 while suppressing the increase in the component cost.

Here, in the present embodiment, the fixing protrusion 12 is integrally molded with the side wall 111a forming the thick branch groove 111, which is one of the pair of branch grooves in the protector main body 11, and the resin. According to this configuration, the number of parts in the protector 10 can be reduced, and the increase in parts cost can be further suppressed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the cover portion 13 is formed of resin, and the hinge 132b is a portion formed thinner than other portions of the twig lid 132 which is a bending lid. According to this configuration, since the cover portion 13 including the hinge 132b is integrally molded with the resin, an increase in component cost can be further suppressed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the twig lid 132, which is a bending lid, is provided with a hinge 132b at an intermediate position between the portion 132a adjacent to the fixing protrusion 12 and the branch source, and is one on the side farther from the branch source than the hinge 132b. The portion is formed as a movable portion 132c so as to be bendable. According to this configuration, the length of the movable portion 132c from the hinge 132b to the branch tip in the bent lid is longer than that in the case where the hinge 132b is provided at the branch source and the entire twig lid 132 is used as the movable portion. It can be suppressed while avoiding interference with the fixing protrusion 12. As a result, the weight applied to the hinge 132b and its surroundings is reduced, and the load load on the portion can be reduced.

Further, according to the wire harness 1 of the present embodiment, since the above-mentioned protector 10 is adopted for electric wire protection, the workability of the attachment work of the cover portion 13 can be improved while suppressing an increase in component cost. Can be done.

It should be noted that the embodiments described above merely show typical forms of the protector and the wire harness, and the protector and the wire harness are not limited to this, and can be implemented in various modifications.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the protector 10 and the wire harness 1 in which the panel P10 to be assembled is a metal panel constituting the vehicle body are exemplified, but the protector and the wire harness are not limited thereto. The protector and the wire harness do not ask the specific mode of the panel as long as they are attached to the panel as an attachment point when arranging the electric wires.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the protector main body 11 having a square groove shape for accommodating three bundles of electric wires 20 in a branched shape is exemplified, but the protector main body is not limited to this. As long as the protector accommodates and protects the electric wire, the groove shape may be, for example, a semicircular groove shape or a triangular groove shape. Further, the electric wires to be accommodated may be those in which the bundle is accommodated in a branched shape other than three, or the electric wires may be accommodated in a single wire state instead of a bundle. As described above, the protector main body does not ask the specific groove shape or the specific accommodation form of the electric wire.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the protector main body portion 11 branched into two branch grooves and the cover portion 13 branched into two branch lids are exemplified, but the branching mode of the protector main body portion and the cover portion is this. It is not limited to. The branching mode of the protector main body and the cover can be arbitrarily set according to the arrangement shape of the electric wire, and the specific mode such as the number of branches is not questioned.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, only one fixing protrusion 12 is exemplified between the pair of branch grooves of the protector main body 11, but the fixing protrusion is not limited to this. As long as the fixing protrusions are arranged between the plurality of branch grooves of the protector main body, for example, a plurality of fixing protrusions may be arranged between the pair of branch grooves. Alternatively, one fixed protrusion may be arranged between each pair in the plurality of pairs of branch grooves, or a plurality of fixed protrusions may be arranged between each pair in the plurality of pairs of branch grooves. Alternatively, one or a plurality of fixing protrusions may be arranged between at least a pair of branch grooves in a plurality of pairs of branch grooves. As described above, the arrangement mode of the fixing protrusions can be arbitrarily set according to the mounting mode at the mounting location and the like.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the fixing protrusion 12 in which the protruding end portion 121 is fastened and fixed to the panel P10 which is the mounting location by the bolt P20 is exemplified, but the fixing protrusion is not limited to this. The fixing protrusion may be, for example, adhesively fixed to a mounting location, or may be locked and fixed, and the specific fixing mode thereof is not questioned.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a form in which only the fine branch lid 132, which is one of the pair of branch lids, which is the entire branch lid in the cover portion 13, is a bent lid is exemplified. The form of the bent lid in the above is not limited to this. The form of the bending lid may be, for example, a mode in which both branch lids of a pair of branch lids sandwiching the fixing protrusions are used as the bending lids. Alternatively, in a branch lid-shaped cover portion having a branch lid other than the pair of branch lids sandwiching the fixing protrusions between each other, at least one of the above pair of branch lids and the fixing protrusion are irrelevant. Other branch lids may be used as a bent lid.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the side wall 111a of the thick branch groove 111 in the protector main body 11 and the fixing protrusion 12 integrally molded with resin are exemplified. However, the fixing protrusion is not limited to this, and may be formed of metal or the like as a separate part from the protector main body, and may be fixed to the protector main body by adhesion, screwing, or the like. However, as described above, the increase in component cost can be further suppressed by integrally molding the fixing protrusion 12 with the protector main body 11. In the present embodiment, the fixing protrusion 12 integrally formed with the side wall 111a of the thick branch groove 111, which is one of the pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing protrusions 12 between the protector main body 11, is exemplified. ing. However, the fixing protrusion is not limited to this, and may be integrally formed with both of the pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixed protrusion.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the cover portion 13 which is formed of resin as a whole and whose hinge 132b is formed thinner than other portions of the twig lid 132 which is a bending lid is exemplified. However, the cover portion is not limited to this, and even if the branch lid, which is a bending lid, is composed of two parts, a movable part and another part, and is connected by a hinge part such as a hinge, for example. good. However, as described above, the cover portion 13 including the hinge and the movable portion is integrally molded with the resin, so that the increase in the component cost can be further suppressed.

Further, in the present embodiment, a cover portion 13 in which a hinge 132b is provided at an intermediate position of a twig lid 132 as a bending lid and a part on the side farther from the hinge 132b is a movable portion 132c is exemplified. However, the cover portion is not limited to this, and may be one in which a hinge is provided at the branch source of the branch lid, which is a bending lid, and the entire branch lid is used as a movable portion. However, by making only a part of the branch lid, which is a bending lid, a movable part, the load load on the hinge 132b and its surroundings is increased as compared with the case where a hinge is provided at the branch source and the entire branch lid is made a movable part. The points that can be reduced are also as described above.

1 Wire harness 10 Protector 10a Thick square cylinder 10b Thin square cylinder 11 Protector main body 12 Fixed protrusion 13 Cover part 20 Electric wire 111 Thick branch groove 111a Side wall 112 Twig groove 113 Locked part 121 Protruding end 131 Thick branch lid 132 Branch lid (bending lid)
132a Adjacent part 132b Hinge 132c Movable part 133 Branch main lid 134 Locking protrusion P10 Panel P11 Screw hole P20 Electric wire D11 Opening direction D12 Separation direction

Claims (5)

A protector main body that has a branch groove shape that branches into a plurality of branch grooves according to the arrangement shape of the electric wire, and the electric wire is housed inside from the open side of the groove to protect the electric wire.
It is arranged between the plurality of branch grooves of the protector main body so as to project from each other in the opening direction of the grooves in the protector main body, and the protruding end thereof is fixed at a predetermined mounting location. With a fixing protrusion that fixes the protector body to the mounting location,
A pair of branch lids having a branch lid shape corresponding to the branch groove shape so as to close the open side of the protector main body portion, and corresponding to a pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing protrusions between the protector main body portions. At least one of the branch lids is bent in a distance direction in which the movable portion including the adjacent portion is separated from the branch groove on the other side via a hinge provided on the branching source side with respect to the adjacent portion adjacent to the fixed protrusion. The cover part that became a possible bending lid and
A protector characterized by being equipped with. The protector body is made of resin
The protector according to claim 1, wherein the fixing protrusion is integrally molded with the resin and a side wall forming at least one of the pair of branch grooves in the protector main body. The cover portion is made of resin,
The protector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hinge is a portion formed thinner than another portion of the bent lid provided with the hinge. The bent lid is formed so that the hinge is provided at an intermediate position between the adjacent portion and the branch source in the bent lid, and a part of the side farther from the branch source from the hinge is used as the movable portion so as to be bendable. The protector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protector is characterized by the above. The protector according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The electric wire that is housed and protected inside the protector body,
A wire harness characterized by being equipped with.

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