JP4339054B2 - Grommet - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a grommet that holds a tubular member such as a pipe or tube on a plate.

  Conventionally, when pipe members such as pipes and tubes are piped in an area partitioned by a plate, without opening the plate, an opening is made in the plate, and the tubular member is piped through the opening. This enables efficient piping. When inserting the tubular member into the opening, in order to avoid mutual interference, a grommet is attached between the opening and the tubular member, and the tubular member is held in the opening via the grommet.

  Generally, since the grommet is formed in a ring shape, in order to engage with the opening, the grommet is inserted into the tubular member in advance, and after inserting the tubular member into the opening, the grommet is inserted into the opening. By engaging, the tubular member is held.

  However, when a component having a diameter larger than the diameter of the tubular member is attached to the tubular member, it is difficult to insert the grommet into the tubular member, so the grommet is inserted before assembling the component. There is a problem that the assembly process becomes complicated.

  As a countermeasure, for example, in Patent Document 1, a slit is formed in the radial direction from the center with respect to the grommet, and when assembling, the tubular member is inserted into the opening, and then the slit formed in the grommet is formed into the tubular member. After the tubular member is temporarily held in the holding part formed in the center part of the grommet and the sleeve protruding in the axial direction from the grommet is attached to the opening, the claw part formed on the outer periphery of the sleeve Has been disclosed that elastically deforms along the inner surface of the opening, passes through the opening, and then expands to engage the back surface of the plate to fix the grommet to the plate and hold the tubular member .

According to Patent Literature 1, since the grommet can be retrofitted after the tubular member is inserted into the opening, simplification of the assembly procedure can be realized.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-49253

  However, in Patent Document 1, when the tubular member is pulled and an external force is applied to the grommet via the tubular member, the grommet is elastically deformed, the slit is expanded, and the tubular member is likely to come off to the slit side. There is.

  Further, when the grommet is attached to the tubular member, since the edge of the slit slides on the outer periphery of the tubular member, there is a problem that the tubular member is damaged when the tubular member is made of a softer material than the grommet.

  Furthermore, since the thickness of the holding portion that holds the tubular member is thin, it is difficult to sufficiently hold the tubular member.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to hold the tubular member in the opening through the grommet and then the slit does not expand even if an external force is applied to the grommet through the tubular member, and the tubular member is used as the holding unit. It is in providing the grommet which can be hold | maintained firmly.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a grommet for holding a tubular member inserted through an opening formed in a plate, and a cylindrical portion formed with an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the opening. A holding portion for holding the tubular member, a slit formed in the radial direction from the holding portion and guiding the tubular member to the holding portion, and a claw portion engaged with a peripheral edge portion of the opening portion, A protrusion abutting on the inner periphery of the opening, the protrusion extending in a radial direction from the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion, and having an outer diameter substantially the same as the inner diameter of the opening. And a predetermined gap is provided on both sides of the claw portion.

  In such a configuration, after the tubular member is inserted through the opening formed in the plate, the slit formed in the grommet is inserted into the tubular member, and the tubular member is guided to the holding portion formed at the center. The tubular member is fitted into the holding portion. Next, when the grommet is engaged with the opening, the claw formed on the outer periphery engages with the peripheral edge of the opening to fix the grommet. Since the grommet has a protrusion that contacts the inner periphery of the opening, when an external force is applied to the grommet via the tubular member, the protrusion contacts the inner periphery of the opening and Since the diameter expansion is restricted, the tubular member can be held firmly against the holding portion.

  A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a rib is formed along an edge of the slit.

  In such a configuration, after the tubular member is inserted into the opening formed in the plate, the slit formed in the grommet is inserted into the tubular member, and the tubular member is guided to the holding portion formed at the center. . Since the rib is formed along the edge of the slit, the tubular member is hardly damaged even if the slit slides on the tubular member, and the tubular member can be protected from damage. Then, after the tubular member is mounted on the holding portion, when the grommet is engaged with the opening, the claw portion formed on the outer periphery engages with the peripheral portion of the opening to fix the grommet.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the holding portion is formed in a cylindrical shape capable of holding the tubular member.

  In such a configuration, the tubular member can be firmly held by forming the holding portion in a cylindrical shape.

  According to the present invention, after the tubular member is held in the opening via the grommet, even if an external force is applied to the grommet via the tubular member, the slit does not expand and the tubular member is firmly attached to the holding portion. Can be held.

  Further, when the grommet is attached to the tubular member, even if the slit slides on the tubular member, the tubular member is hardly damaged and the tubular member can be protected from damage.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of a grommet and a tube, FIG. 2 is a rear view of the grommet, FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, FIG. FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3B.

  Reference numeral 1 in the figure denotes a grommet, which is an integrally molded product made of a resin such as polyacetal. The grommet 1 has a disc-shaped grommet main body 2, and a cylindrical portion 3 having a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the grommet main body 2 protrudes from the back surface of the grommet main body 2, and has the same height as the cylindrical portion 3 at the center. A cylindrical holding portion 4 is formed.

  The grommet body 2 is formed with a first slit 5 that expands in the radial direction from the center. A rib 6 having the same height as the cylindrical portion 3 is formed at the edge of the first slit 5, and the cylindrical portion 3 and the holding portion 4 are continuously formed through the rib 6. Further, a second slit 7 extending in the radial direction is formed on the opposite side of the grommet body 2 with respect to the first slit 5 across the center of the holding portion 4. The extending end is located on the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion 3.

  On the other hand, reference numeral 11 denotes a panel, and an opening 11a through which a tube 12 as an example of a tubular member is inserted is formed in the panel 11. The tube 12 is, for example, an evaporation tube that guides an evaporation (fuel evaporation) gas in a fuel tank mounted on the vehicle to a canister that constitutes an evaporation gas purge system (not shown). The panel 11 is disposed in the fuel tank and is a fuel. When the in-tank type pressure regulating valve is provided at the tip of the tube 12, the opening 11a is slightly larger than the pressure regulating valve in order to insert the pressure regulating valve. It is formed with a diameter.

  The holding part 4 holds the tube 12, and its inner circumference is set to a shape that fits the tube 12, that is, a diameter that is the same as or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the tube 12. Further, the portion of the first slit 5 that is continuous with the holding portion 4 is formed with a width narrower than the inner diameter of the holding portion 4, while the portion of the first slit 5 that opens to the outer diameter of the grommet body 2 is the tube 12. It is formed with a width wider than the outer diameter. Further, the outer diameter of the grommet body 2 is formed to be larger than the opening 11a, and the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 3 is formed to be smaller than the inner diameter of the opening 11a. When the tube 12 is fitted to the holding portion 4 via the first slit 5, the tube 12 itself is elastically deformed in the direction of slightly expanding the diameter.

  A plurality of claw portions 8 are formed at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 3. In the present embodiment, the claw portion 8 is formed at a position divided into three equal parts with respect to the position facing the first slit 5 across the holding portion 4. As shown in FIG. 3, each claw portion 8 is formed by being folded back from the end face of the cylindrical portion 3 toward the grommet body 2, and a hook portion 9 is formed in the middle thereof. The outer diameter of the hook portion 9 is formed to be larger than the inner diameter of the opening portion 11a, and the outer diameter of the lip portion 10 continuous with the upper end thereof is formed to be substantially the same as the inner diameter of the opening portion 11a. Further, the axial width between the hook portion 9 and the inner surface of the grommet body 2 is formed to be substantially the same as the thickness of the panel 11.

  Further, a notch 2 a is formed on the face of the grommet body 2 that faces the claw 8. By forming the notch portion 2a on the surface of the grommet body 2 facing the claw portion 8, the mold division when the grommet body 2 is injection-molded is the front side (left side in FIG. 3) and the back side of the grommet body 2. (The right side of FIG. 3) and the structure of the mold can be simplified. The grommet body 2 can be formed in a disk shape without forming the notch 2a. In this case, the claw portion 8 is formed by nesting that faces from the side surface (in the direction toward the paper surface in FIG. 3). .

  Further, on both sides of the claw portion 8, the protrusions 3 a are provided at positions where a predetermined gap is opened with respect to both sides of the claw portion 8. As shown in FIG. 2, the protrusion 3a extends in the radial direction from the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 3, and has an outer diameter that is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the opening 11a.

  As described above, the outer diameter of the hook portion 9 is formed to be larger than the inner diameter of the opening portion 11a, and the lip portion 10 contacts the inner periphery of the opening portion 11a. Since the protrusion 3a has an outer diameter that is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the opening 11a, the movement of the protrusion 3a is restricted by the protrusion 3a and the panel of the hook 9 11 is not disengaged.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described.
First, the assembly procedure will be described. An evaporative tube that guides the evaporative gas in the fuel tank to the canister constituting the evaporative gas purge system, which is inserted through an opening 11a formed in the panel 11 such as a baffle plate in the fuel tank. As shown in FIG. 1, a first slit 5 that is opened to one side of the grommet 1 from the direction perpendicular to the axis is attached to the tube 12.

  Then, the rib 6 formed along the first slit 5 comes into sliding contact with the side surface of the tube 12, and the first slit 5 is expanded along the outer periphery of the tube 12. At that time, since the tube 12 moves while being slidably contacted with the rib 6 having the same height as the cylindrical portion 3, the tube 12 is hardly damaged and can effectively protect the resin tube 12 from damage.

  When the tube 12 moves to the vicinity of the center of the grommet 1 due to the sliding of the first slit 5, the width of the first slit 5 gradually becomes smaller than the outer diameter of the tube 12. It is elastically deformed in the expanding direction by the tube 12 and attached to the holding part 4 formed in the center part. When the tube 12 is attached to the holding portion 4, the first slit 5 is restored to the initial state, and the tube 12 is fitted to the holding portion 4 and temporarily held.

  After that, when the protruding end of the cylindrical portion 3 protruding from the back surface of the grommet 1 is inserted into the opening portion 11a and further pushed in, the claw portions 8 formed at three locations on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 3 and both sides thereof The protrusion 3a provided on the opening 11a is engaged with the opening 11a, and the claw 8 is pressed by the inner periphery of the opening 11a and elastically deforms in the inner diameter direction.

  When the hook portion 9 of the claw portion 8 is exposed on the back surface of the panel 11, the claw portion 8 is restored by its own resilience, and the lip portion 10 formed on the front end side of the hook portion 9 is within the opening portion 11a. While abutting on the periphery, the hook portion 9 is engaged with the back surface of the panel 11, and movement in the plate thickness direction is restricted. Furthermore, the outer periphery of the protrusion 3a provided on both sides of the claw 8 abuts on the inner periphery of the opening 11a, and movement in the radial direction is restricted. Since the protrusions 3a are formed on both sides of the claw portion 8, it is possible to effectively prevent the claw portion 8 from being bent, and the movement of the grommet is restricted. As a result, the grommet 1 is fixed to the opening 11 a, the tube 12 is held by the cylindrical holding unit 4, and the opening 11 a is closed by the grommet 1.

  In this state, even if an external force is applied to the tube 12 and the tube 12 moves in the direction of the first slit 5 and tries to spread the holding portion 4, the protrusion 3a is brought into contact with the inner periphery of the opening 11a. Therefore, the holding part 4 is not pushed out and the tube 12 can be firmly held by the holding part 4. Moreover, since the holding portion 4 is formed in a cylindrical shape so as to come into surface contact with the tube 12, it can be securely held by the holding portion 4 without being damaged even if an external force is applied to the tube 12. High reliability can be obtained.

  In addition, since the cylindrical portion 3 and the holding portion 4 are continuously formed through the ribs 6, high rigidity can be obtained, and the grommet 1 can be applied even when an external force is applied to the grommet 1 through the tube 12. It does not come off from the opening 11a.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the protrusions 3a do not need to be provided on both sides of the claw portion 8, and are disposed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 3 at predetermined intervals. Also good. Moreover, the cylindrical part 3 does not need to be continuous, and slits may be formed at predetermined intervals. Further, the tubular member may be an electric cable such as a coaxial cable, an optical fiber cable, or the like in addition to the tube and the pipe.

Perspective view of grommet and tube Grommet rear view (A) is an AA cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, and (B) is a BB cross-sectional view of FIG. (A) is a view taken along arrow IV in FIG. 3 (A), and (B) is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 (B).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Grommet 2 Grommet main body 2a Notch part 3 Cylindrical part 3a Protrusion part 4 Holding part 5 1st slit 6 Rib 7 2nd slit 8 Claw part 9 Hook part 10 Lip part 11 Panel 11a Opening part 12 Tube

Claims (3)

In the grommet holding the tubular member inserted through the opening formed in the plate,
A cylindrical portion formed with an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the opening;
A holding part for holding the tubular member;
A slit that is formed in a radial direction from the holding portion and guides the tubular member to the holding portion;
A claw portion engaged with a peripheral edge portion of the opening,
A protrusion that contacts the inner periphery of the opening,
The protrusion extends radially from the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion, has an outer diameter that is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the opening, and has a predetermined gap on both sides of the claw portion. Grommet characterized by being provided in.   The grommet according to claim 1, wherein a rib is formed along an edge of the slit.   The grommet according to claim 1, wherein the holding portion is formed in a cylindrical shape capable of holding the tubular member.

Images