JP5341743B2 - Pipe holder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance a holding force for a pipe P1, without making a tolerance dimension severe, in a pipe holder 10. <P>SOLUTION: This pipe holder 10 includes a resin holder body 12 and a metal attaching fitting 50. The holder body 12 includes a clamp part 13 for holding the pipe P1, and a part 31 to be engaged for holding one end part of the attaching fitting 50. The part 31 to be engaged includes a pressing piece 31a, and an elastic bending piece 14b arranged with an insertion clearance 31c in the pressing piece 31a, and a fitting side engagement part 52 is clamped by the pressing piece 31a and the elastic bending part 14b, by inserting the fitting side engagement part 52 into the insertion clearance 31c. The elastic bending part 14b deforms elastically the clamp part 13 to narrow an insertion opening 13Sa when clamping the fitting side engagement part 52 together with the pressing piece 31a, and presses thereby the pipe P1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pipe holder for holding a pipe such as a fuel inlet pipe or a breather pipe used in an automobile or the like.

  Conventionally, in this type of pipe holder, in a fuel supply device for supplying fuel to a fuel tank of an automobile, a fuel inlet pipe or a breather pipe is used as a vehicle body side member by using a metal clamp or a resin clamp. The structure fixed to is known (patent document 1).

  However, when a conventional metal clamp is formed by bending or the like, it is difficult to increase the dimensional accuracy. Therefore, it is easy to cause problems such as over-tightening the fuel supply pipe or causing looseness. . On the other hand, the clamp made of resin has a large elastic deformation due to its material, and its value increases due to fuel swelling, and it may be difficult to ensure a desired holding force. In other words, both metal and resin clamps have a problem that a great deal of design work is required to satisfy the specifications of mechanical strength for ensuring dimensional accuracy and holding power.

JP 2008-220404 A

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and to provide a pipe holder that can increase the holding force on the pipe without strict tolerances.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

[Application Example 1]
Application Example 1 is a pipe holder that includes a holder main body that holds a pipe, and a mounting bracket that is attached to the holder main body and supports the pipe, and is fixed to a vehicle body side member.
The holder body is made of resin and has an insertion opening for inserting the pipe, has a clamp part having an arc piece surrounding the part of the pipe and holding the pipe, and a side end of the clamp part An engaged portion that is formed in a portion and holds one end of the mounting bracket,
The mounting bracket is a thin plate made of metal and is formed on one end of the metal fitting body to cover a part of the pipe exposed from the insertion opening, and is engaged with the engaged portion. A metal fitting side engaging portion, and a metal fitting fixing portion formed at the other end of the metal fitting body for fixing to the vehicle body side member,
The clamp portion is formed integrally with the arc piece, and when the metal fitting side engaging portion is engaged with the engaged portion, the clamp opening is pressed by the metal fitting side engaging portion to narrow the insertion opening. Having an elastic bending piece that elastically deforms the arc piece and presses the pipe,
It is characterized by.

  In the pipe holder according to the application example 1, in order to hold the pipe in the clamp portion of the holder body, the fitting-side engagement portion of the fitting is engaged with the engaged portion, and the fitting is fastened with a fastening member or the like. By doing so, the pipe can be easily supported by the vehicle body side member.

  Such a holder main body can hold a pipe with a large force by an elastic bent piece which is pushed and elastically deformed by an end of the mounting bracket. That is, when the fitting side engaging part of the mounting bracket is inserted into the insertion gap and the mounting bracket is attached to the vehicle body side member with a fastening member or the like, the elastic bent piece is pushed by the fitting side engaging part of the mounting bracket. The arc piece is elastically deformed so as to narrow the insertion opening of the clamp portion, and the pipe is pressed. The elastic bent piece has a spring structure and applies a holding force to the pipe. At this time, the elastic bent piece made of resin is backed up by hitting the metal high-rigidity metal fitting side engaging portion, and elastic deformation toward the metal fitting side engaging portion side is restricted, so that the elastic deformation greatly toward the pipe side. As a result, a large pressing force is generated on the pipe, and the play of the pipe can be reduced.

  The pipe holder adopts a combination in which the mounting bracket is made of metal and the holder body is made of resin. In such a combination, it is possible to obtain a desired holding force with respect to the pipe by forming the holder body that directly holds the pipe with a resin that can be easily formed with a small dimensional error. An increase in holding force to the pipe can be realized by forming the mounting bracket for applying a pressing force to the pipe indirectly through the piece by using a metal having a large rigidity but having a large tolerance.

  Furthermore, since the pipe holder receives the weight of the pipe held by the holder main body with a metal fitting having a high rigidity, the pipe can be firmly held, and even if the pipe swells, Pipe displacement and dropout can be prevented.

[Application Example 2]
The engaged portion of the application example 2 includes a pressing piece that is opposed to the elastic bending piece with an insertion gap therebetween, and an engaging protrusion that is formed on the pressing piece and engages the fitting side engaging portion. Configuration can be taken.

[Application Example 3]
The arc piece of Application Example 3 can be configured to include a pressing protrusion that presses the pipe by protruding from the end facing the insertion opening. With this configuration, the holding force for the pipe can be increased.

[Application Example 4]
The holder body of Application Example 4 has a clamp portion that holds another pipe having a conductive resin as an outer layer, and the pipe held by the clamp portion is connected to the vehicle body side member through the mounting bracket. An earth path can be configured. With this configuration, when the fastening member is fixed to the vehicle body side member, it contacts the outer layer of the pipe formed of a conductive material to form a part of the ground path, so that the ground path can be easily obtained. The work is also easy.

It is a schematic block diagram explaining the structure which applied the pipe holder concerning one Example of this invention to the fuel supply apparatus for supplying a fuel to the fuel tank of a motor vehicle. It is a perspective view which shows the pipe holder which hold | maintained the pipe. It is explanatory drawing which shows the pipe holder which hold | maintained the pipe. It is explanatory drawing which shows the pipe holder before attaching a pipe. It is explanatory drawing explaining the operation | work which attaches a pipe to a vehicle body side member using a pipe holder. It is explanatory drawing explaining the operation | work following FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the operation | work following FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the operation | work following FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the operation | work following FIG.

  In order to further clarify the configuration and operation of the present invention described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

(1) Schematic Structure of Fuel Supply Device FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration in which a pipe holder 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a fuel supply device for supplying fuel to a fuel tank of an automobile. It is. The fuel supply device includes a filler neck FN sealed with a fuel cap, a pipe P1 that is a fuel inlet pipe connected to a lower portion of the filler neck FN, and a breather pipe connected to a lower side portion of the filler neck FN. And a path for supplying fuel discharged from a fuel gun (not shown) to the fuel tank. The pipe P1 is prevented from rotating around the pipe holder 10 by partially flattening the pipe. The pipe P2 is formed of a plurality of layers, and is formed from a resin imparted with conductivity by adding carbon to the outer layer, thereby constituting a part of the ground path.

(2) Detailed Configuration of Each Part of Pipe Holder 10 FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the pipe holder 10 holding the pipe P1 and the pipe P2, and FIG. 3 shows the pipe holder 10 holding the pipe P1 and the pipe P2. It is a side view. The pipe holder 10 includes a holder body 12 and a mounting bracket 50, holds the pipe P1 and the pipe P2, and is secured to a vehicle body side member BM (see FIG. 3) disposed at the lower portion of the vehicle by a bolt Bt and a nut Nt. It is fixed.

(2) -1 Configuration of Holder Main Body 12 FIG. 4 is a side view showing the pipe holder 10 before the pipes P1, P2 are attached. The holder main body 12 mainly includes a clamp portion 13, a clamp portion 23, a metal fitting attachment portion 30, and a vehicle body attachment portion 40, and is integrally formed from a hard resin such as polyacetal (POM). The clamp part 13 forms an accommodating part 13S so as to surround and accommodate the pipe P1 by the arc piece 14, the arc piece 15 and the stopper 16, and the pipe P1 is connected between the arc piece 14 and the tip of the arc piece 15. The insertion opening 13Sa is used for insertion. The stopper 16 is a part for preventing the pipe P1 from rotating, and is a flat surface that becomes a chord with respect to the arc of the arc piece 14 and the arc piece 15, and a plurality of axial streaks formed on the flat surface. The pipe P1 is prevented from rotating by the shaped groove. Press projections 14a and 15a are respectively formed at the ends of the arc piece 14 and the arc piece 15 on the insertion opening 13Sa side, and the retaining force of the pipe P1 is increased by pressing the outer layer of the pipe P1. . Further, an elastic bent piece 14 b is extended at one end of the arc piece 14. The elastic bent piece 14b is cantilevered from the end of the arc piece 14 and is formed in a U-shaped cross section.

  The clamp portion 23 is formed by the arc piece 25 and the arc piece 25 so as to enclose and accommodate the pipe P2 and to insert the pipe P2 between the arc piece 24 and the tip of the arc piece 25. Insertion opening 23Sa. Press projections 24a and 25a are formed at the inner ends of the arc piece 24 and the arc piece 25 on the insertion opening 23Sa side, and the retaining force of the pipe P2 is increased by pressing the outer layer of the pipe P2.

  The bracket mounting portion 30 is a part for mounting the mounting bracket 50 on the outer lower portion of the holder main body 12, and includes an engaged portion 31, a positioning projection 32, and a positioning piece 33. The engaged portion 31 includes a pressing piece 31 a protruding from the end of the holder body 12 and an engaging protrusion 31 b protruding from the pressing piece 31 a. The pressing piece 31a is disposed at an insertion gap 31c with respect to the elastic bent piece 14b, inserts the end of the mounting bracket 50, is sandwiched between the pressing piece 31a and the elastic bent piece 14b, and is formed on the engaging protrusion 31b. By engaging, it is formed so as to hold one end of the mounting bracket 50. Further, the positioning protrusion 32 and the positioning piece 33 are formed along the lower outer portion of the holder body 12 to which the mounting bracket 50 is attached. In addition, the engagement structure of the bracket mounting portion 30 and the mounting bracket 50 will be described later.

  The vehicle body attachment portion 40 is a base portion that is fixed to the vehicle body side member BM and connects the clamp portion 13 and the clamp portion 23, and includes an attachment substrate 41, a temporary fixing member 42 protruding from the attachment substrate 41, and the attachment substrate 41. And an elastic locking piece 43 projecting from one end of each. The temporary fixing member 42 is configured by a so-called snap fit, and is an engaging portion that temporarily fixes the holder main body 12 to the vehicle body side member BM by being inserted into the attachment hole BMa of the vehicle body side member BM. The elastic locking piece 43 is a cantilever piece that protrudes from the end of the mounting substrate 41 and is elastically deformed by being pushed by the vehicle body side member BM, thereby increasing the holding force for the vehicle body side member BM.

(2) -2 Mounting bracket 50
The mounting bracket 50 is a member that holds the pipes P1 and P2 together with the holder main body 12 and is fixed to the vehicle body side member BM by being mounted on the bracket mounting portion 30 of the holder main body 12. 51, the metal fitting side engaging part 52, and the metal fitting fixing part 53, and can be manufactured by performing bending and hole machining by press molding of a metal thin plate. The metal fitting body 51 is a part that covers the pipe P1 exposed from the insertion opening 13Sa and contacts the portion of the pipe P2 exposed from the insertion opening 23Sa. A protrusion 51a is formed in the metal body 51 in the longitudinal direction. The protrusion 51a increases the mechanical strength of the mounting bracket 50 and pushes the outer layer of the pipe P2 to reduce the variation in the contact area, thereby improving the connectivity of the ground path. The metal fitting side engaging portion 52 is formed at one end portion of the mounting metal fitting 50 and has an engaging hole 52a. By inserting the fitting side engaging portion 52 into the insertion gap 31c of the engaged portion 31, the metal fitting side engaging portion 52 is elastically folded with the pressing piece 31a. It is clamped by the bending piece 14b and is fixed to the holder main body 12 in a state of being engaged with the engaging protrusion 31b. The bracket fixing portion 53 is formed at the other end of the mounting bracket 50, has a bolt hole 53a, is inserted into the bolt hole 53a, and is fixed to the vehicle body side member BM by fastening a nut Nt. Further, the mounting bracket 50 is formed with an engagement hole 54 and an engagement hole 55 for inserting and positioning the positioning protrusion 32 and the positioning piece 33.

(3) Holding operation of pipes P1 and P2 Next, an operation of holding the pipe P1 and the pipe P2 on the vehicle body side member BM via the pipe holder 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the pipe P <b> 1 is inserted from the insertion opening 13 </ b> Sa of the clamp part 13, and the pipe P <b> 1 is held by the clamp part 13. At this time, the flat portion P1b of the pipe P1 is aligned with the stopper 16. Further, the pipe P2 is inserted from the insertion opening 23Sa of the clamp part 23, and the pipe P2 is held by the clamp part 23.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, the metal fitting side engaging portion 52, which is one end portion of the fitting 50, is inserted into the insertion gap 31 c of the engaged portion 31 of the metal fitting 30, and the pressing piece 31 a and elastic The engagement hole 52a is engaged with the engagement protrusion 31b while being sandwiched between the bent pieces 14b. Then, while fitting the mounting bracket 50 along the lower portion of the holder body 12, the engaging hole 54 is aligned with the positioning projection 32 and the engaging hole 55 is positioned and inserted into the positioning piece 33. 50 is attached to the lower side of the holder body 12. Accordingly, the insertion openings 13Sa and 23Sa are closed by the mounting bracket 50, and the pipes P1 and P2 are held by the pipe holder 10 in a state where they are in contact with the mounting bracket 50. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, when the fitting side engaging portion 52 of the mounting fitting 50 is inserted into the insertion gap 31c and the engaging hole 52a is engaged with the engaging protrusion 31b, the fitting side engaging portion is obtained. 52 presses the elastic bent piece 14b of the engaged portion 31, and the elastic bent piece 14b presses the pipe P1. Since the elastic bent piece 14b has a U-shaped cross section and a spring structure, it applies a holding force to the pipe P1.

  Next, the pipe holder 10 is fixed to the vehicle body side member BM. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the pipe holder 10 is temporarily fixed to the vehicle body side member BM by inserting / engaging the temporary fixing member 42 of the holder main body 12 into the mounting hole BMa of the vehicle body side member BM. Subsequently, the pipe holder 10 is fastened to the vehicle body side member BM with the bolt Bt and the nut Nt through the bolt hole 53a of the metal fitting fixing portion 53 and the mounting hole BMb of the vehicle body side member BM. Thereby, the pipe P1 is fixed to the vehicle body side member BM via the pipe holder 10.

  When the pipe P2 is fixed to the vehicle body side member BM by the pipe holder 10 together with the pipe P1, the pipe P2 is connected via the metal filler neck FN (FIG. 1), the conductive outer layer of the pipe P2, the mounting bracket 50, and the bolt Bt. A ground path to the vehicle body side member BM is configured, that is, a path for guiding static electricity charged to the user from the metal filler neck FN to the vehicle body side member BM is configured.

(4) Action and effect of pipe holder 10 According to the pipe holder 10, the following action and effect can be achieved.

(4) -1 In FIG. 3, the pipes P <b> 1 and P <b> 2 are respectively held by the clamp portions 13 and 23 of the holder main body 12, and the metal fitting side engaging portion 52 of the attachment metal fitting 50 is engaged with the engaged portion 31. By engaging the engaging hole 54 and the engaging hole 55 with the positioning protrusion 32 and the positioning piece 33, respectively, the pipe P1 is temporarily fixed by the mounting bracket 50, and then the temporary fixing member 42 is engaged with the vehicle body side member BM. The pipe P1 can be easily supported on the vehicle body side member BM via the pipe holder 10 by being fastened to the vehicle body side member BM via the bolt Bt by the metal fitting fixing portion 53.

(4) -2 As shown in FIGS. 3, 7, and 8, the holder body 12 causes the pipe P <b> 1 to be pressed with a large force by the engaged portion 31 that is pushed and elastically deformed by the end of the mounting bracket 50. Can be held. That is, the metal fitting side engaging portion 52 of the fitting 50 is inserted into the insertion gap 31c, the engagement hole 52a is engaged with the engagement protrusion 31b, and the fitting 50 is attached to the vehicle body side member BM with the bolt Bt (FIG. 3). When attached, the metal fitting side engaging portion 52 presses the elastic bent piece 14b of the clamp portion 13, and the elastic bent piece 14b presses the pipe P1. Since the elastic bent piece 14b has a U-shaped cross section and a spring structure, it applies a holding force to the pipe P1. At this time, the elastic bent piece 14b made of resin is backed up by hitting the metal high-rigidity metal fitting side engagement portion 52, and elastic deformation toward the metal fitting side engagement portion 52 side is restricted, so that the pipe P1 side Is greatly elastically deformed to generate a large pressing force on the pipe P1, and the backlash of the pipe P1 can be reduced.

(4) -3 The pipe holder 10 employs a combination in which the mounting bracket 50 is made of metal and the holder body 12 is made of resin. In such a combination, a reliable holding force of the pipe P1 can be obtained by forming the holder body 12 that directly holds the pipe P1 with a resin that can be easily formed with a small dimensional error. By forming the mounting bracket 50 for applying a pressing force indirectly through the elastic bent piece 14b with a metal having a large rigidity but having a large tolerance, it is possible to increase the holding force to the pipe P1.

(4) -4 Since the pipe holder 10 receives the weights of the pipe P1 and the pipe P2 held by the holder body 12 by the metal fitting 50 having a high rigidity, the pipes P1 and P2 are firmly held. Even if the pipes P1 and P2 swell, the pipes P1 and P2 can be prevented from being displaced or dropped.

(4) -5 As shown in FIG. 3, the stopper 16 of the clamp portion 13 is formed as a flat surface between the arc piece 14 and the arc piece 15, and is fitted to the flat portion P1b of the pipe P1 to connect the pipe P1. Since the structure for preventing rotation is taken, the mechanism for preventing rotation of the pipe P1 can be configured simply by changing a part of the shape of the clamp portion 13.

(4) -6 Since the clamp part 13 supports the pipe P1 at three points of the pressing protrusion 14a of the arc piece 14, the pressing protrusion 15a of the arc piece 15, and the stopper 16, the arc piece 14 and the arc piece The tolerance of the dimensional tolerance by 15 resin molding is enlarged, and manufacture and assembly work are made easy.

(4) -7 The mounting bracket 50 is attached to the holder body 12 so as to hold down the pipe P2, and contacts the outer layer of the pipe P2 formed of a conductive material when fixed to the vehicle body side member BM with the bolt Bt. Since a part of the ground path is configured, the ground path can be realized with a simple configuration, and the work is also easy.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible.
Although the engagement protrusion 31b which comprises the to-be-engaged part 31 concerning the said Example was formed in the press piece 31a, it is not restricted to this, It is the structure which can engage the metal fitting side engaging part 52 of the attachment metal fitting 50. If present, it may be provided on the side of the holder body 12 facing the pressing piece 31a.
In the said Example, although applied to the fuel supply apparatus of a motor vehicle, it is not restricted to this, It can apply also to the pipe holder for fixing the hose etc. of a cooling water system.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Pipe holder 12 ... Holder main body 13,23 ... Clamp part 13S ... Storage part 13Sa, 23Sa ... Insertion opening 14 ... Arc piece 14a, 15a ... Pressing protrusion 14b ... Elastic bending piece 15 ... Arc piece 16 ... Stopper 23S ... Storage part 24 ... Arc piece 24a, 25a ... Pressing protrusion 25 ... Arc piece 30 ... Metal mounting part 31 ... Engaged part 31a ... Pressing piece 31b ... engagement protrusion 31c ... insertion gap 32 ... positioning protrusion 33 ... positioning Piece 40 ... Vehicle body attachment portion 41 ... Mounting substrate 42 ... Temporary fixing member 43 ... Elastic locking piece 50 ... Mounting bracket 51 ... Metal fitting body 51a ... Projection 52 ... Metal fitting side engagement portion 52a ... Engagement hole 53 ... Metal fitting fixing portion 53a ... Bolt hole 54 ... Engagement hole 55 ... Engagement hole BM ... Car body side member BMa ... Mounting hole BMb ... Mounting hole Bt ... Bolt FN ... Filler neck Nt ... Nut P1, P2 ... Pa Type P1b ... Flat part

Claims (4)

A pipe holder for fixing to a vehicle body side member (BM), comprising a holder body (12) for holding a pipe, and a mounting bracket (50) attached to the holder body (12) for supporting the pipe. There,
The holder body (12) is made of resin, has a insertion opening (13Sa) for inserting the pipe, and has a circular arc piece (14) that surrounds a part of the pipe and holds the pipe. A portion (13), and an engaged portion (31) that is formed at a side end portion of the clamp portion (13) and holds one end portion of the mounting bracket (50),
The mounting bracket (50) is a thin plate made of metal, and a bracket body (51) covering a part of the pipe exposed from the insertion opening (13Sa), and one end of the bracket body (51). A metal fitting side engaging portion (52) formed in a portion and engaged with the engaged portion (31), and formed on the other end portion of the metal fitting main body (51) for fixing to the vehicle body side member (BM). Metal fitting fixing part (53),
The clamp part (13) is formed integrally with the arc piece (14), and the metal fitting side engagement is achieved when the metal fitting side engaging part (52) is engaged with the engaged part (31). Having an elastic bent piece (14b) for pressing the pipe by elastically deforming the arc piece (14) so as to narrow the insertion opening (13Sa) by being pushed by the portion (52);
Pipe holder characterized by. The pipe holder according to claim 1, wherein
The engaged portion (31) is formed on the pressing piece (31a), the pressing piece (31a) disposed opposite to the elastic bending piece (14b) with an insertion gap (31c) therebetween, and the metal fittings A pipe holder having an engaging protrusion (31b) that engages with the side engaging portion (52). In the pipe holder according to claim 1 or 2,
The said arc piece (14) is a pipe holder provided with the press protrusion (14a) which presses the said pipe by protruding from the edge part which faced the said insertion opening (13Sa). The pipe holder according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The holder body (12) has a clamp part (23) for holding another pipe having a conductive resin as an outer layer, and the pipe held by the clamp part (23) is the mounting bracket (50). A pipe holder that constitutes an earth path connected to the vehicle body side member (BM) through.

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