JP5527009B2 - Grommet - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a grommet, and more particularly, to a grommet having a cover portion that covers and protects a connector connected to a terminal of a harness, and turns the cover portion when the connector is coupled to a counterpart member and during a coupling inspection. After covering, the cover part is returned to its original position and put on the connector.

For the purpose of protecting the connector connected to the terminal of the harness, a grommet provided with a cover portion covering the connector may be attached to the harness terminal.
As shown in FIG. 6 (A), this type of commonly used grommet has a medium-diameter cylindrical portion 102 connected to one end of a small-diameter cylindrical portion 101 through which a group of wires are passed, and the tip of the medium-diameter cylindrical portion 102 is externally attached. The cover portion 104 is formed of a large-diameter cylindrical portion through a step portion 103 projecting in the radial direction, and the end of the cover portion 104 has an opening 104a. The connector 112 connected to the terminal of the harness 110 is covered with the cover part 104 of the grommet.

  When the connector 112 is coupled to the mating connector or the connector fitting portion of the mating member, the cover portion 104 becomes an obstacle during the coupling operation. Therefore, as shown in FIG. The connector 112 is exposed over the side. After the coupling work, the cover part 104 is returned to the original position and is put on the connector 112. Further, the cover part 104 is turned over at the time of connector connection inspection, and the cover part is returned to the original state after the inspection.

The grommet has a thin wall thickness 104t of the cover portion 104 and a relatively thick wall thickness 102t of the medium diameter cylindrical portion 102 so that the work of turning the cover portion 104 and the operation of returning the cover portion 104 can be easily performed. The cover portion 104 is wound around the outer periphery of the medium diameter cylindrical portion 102.
However, the operation of turning the cover portion 104 cannot be easily performed with one hand. Therefore, for example, the entire portion cannot be rolled unless the opposite positions of the peripheral wall of the cover portion 104 are pushed inward while holding the opposite portions of the cover portion with both hands so that at least two locations are not simultaneously rolled. In addition, the cover 104 is thin as described above so that the cover 104 can be easily rolled. Therefore, there is also a problem that the protection function for the external interference material having a sharp tip is not sufficient.

Conventionally, a grommet shown in FIGS. 7 (A) and 7 (B) is proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-25786 as a grommet that is not provided with a grooving portion but is provided with a protruding portion. The grommet 120 has a wire insertion tube portion 121 connected to the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 122, a panel fixing portion 123 is provided at the distal end of the expanded diameter cylindrical portion 122, and a second cylindrical portion that is thin from the distal end of the panel fixing portion 123. 124 protrudes freely.
A harness 130 is inserted into the grommet 120, and the tip of the second cylindrical portion 124 is wound around the harness 130 with a tape 125, and the second cylindrical portion 124 is pushed down into the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 122. In this way, the dustproof and soundproofing functions are enhanced.

  The grommet has a thin second cylindrical portion 124 that can be projected and retracted with respect to the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 122, but once the second cylindrical portion 124 is immersed and accommodated in the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 122, It is used in this state, and is not returned after being rolled like a cover portion covering the connector, and the operation of pushing the second cylindrical portion 124 into the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 122 is not easy. It is recognized.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-25786

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and in a grommet in which a cover portion of a connector is provided at the tip of an electric wire insertion tube portion, the cover portion can be swung with one touch and can be returned from a drowned state. At the same time, it is an object to increase the protective function of the connector by making the cover portion relatively thick.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a grommet that covers a connector connected to a terminal of a wire harness that is routed in an automobile and that can be exposed by a one-touch operation.
Is molded of an elastic body made of rubber or elastomer, and a semicircular annular and the tape winding portion of the allowed electrodeposition wire inserting cylinder portion continuously bellows tube portion to the tip, the protruding diameter direction from the tip of the bellows tube portion One thin-walled hinge part, a medium-diameter cylinder part continuous through the first thin-walled hinge part, a second thin-walled hinge part projecting in the diameter-expanding direction from the tip of the medium-diameter cylinder part, and the second thin-walled hinge part The cover has a thick, large-diameter cylindrical cover that is continuous through the handle, and a knob for backward operation and forward operation extends in the length direction on the outer peripheral surface of the cover. ,
The thickness t5 of the wire insertion tube portion, the thickness of the first thin hinge portion t1, the wall thickness of the second thin hinge portion t2, the wall thickness of the medium diameter tube portion t3, and the wall thickness of the cover portion t4 Then, t1 ≦ t2 <t5 <t3 <t4 is set,
The electric wire insertion tube portion inserted through the wire group to the electric line group is fixed by winding an adhesive tape to the tape winding portion, and a connector connected to the power line group of the terminal Tsu covered by the cover portion,
To project the previous SL connector to the outside from the cover part, retracting the cover portion with the knob piece, the bellows-like cylindrical portion continuous in the tape winding portion which is fixed to the wire group is The first bellows hinge portion that continues to the bellows tube portion is used as a fulcrum to reverse the medium diameter tube portion, and the bellows tube portion and the tape winding portion are pushed into the inverted medium diameter tube portion. And a grommet in which the second thin-walled hinge portion between the tip of the middle-diameter cylindrical portion and the cover portion serves as a fulcrum and the middle-diameter cylindrical portion is inverted and pushed into the cover portion. providing.

In the grommet, when it is necessary to expose the connector from the cover part, the cover part is retracted. Since the cover portion has rigidity with the thickness t4 as the maximum thickness, the cover portion moves backward without being folded back. As the cover part is retracted, the wire insertion tube part cannot be retracted because it is fixed to the wire group with an adhesive tape or the like, and the first thin hinge part with the minimum wall thickness t1 serves as a fulcrum to turn the wire insertion tube part into a medium diameter tube. Push it into the club. Next, the second thin-walled hinge portion is turned as a fulcrum so as to turn over the medium-diameter cylindrical portion and accommodated in the cover portion. In this way, the middle-diameter cylindrical portion is held in the retracted cover portion with the first and second thin hinge portions at both ends as fulcrums (that is, the inner and outer surfaces are inverted), and thus the cover portion is The connector is held in an exposed position.
When the connector is covered with the cover portion, the cover portion can be moved forward and returned to the original position by pulling the cover portion forward on the connector side so that the medium-diameter cylindrical portion is pulled out of the cover portion by the reverse action.

  It is preferable that the thickness t4 of the cover portion is 3 to 5 times the thickness t1 and t2 of the first and second thin hinge portions and less than 2 to 3 times the thickness t3 of the medium-diameter cylindrical portion. .

The leading end side of the wire insertion tube portion that is continuous with the first thin-walled hinge portion is a bellows tube portion of about two ridges . When the bellows tube portion is retracted, when the cover portion is retracted, the bellows tube portion is first contracted and a load is applied to the first thin-walled hinge portion, so that the medium-diameter tube portion is wound around the first thin-walled hinge portion as a fulcrum. Can do.
As described above , the wall thickness t5 of the bellows tube portion and the wire insertion tube portion is in the range of wall thickness t2 <t5 ≦ t3 .

The said thickness of each part of a grommet should just be what can be accommodated in a cover part by turning an inside diameter cylinder part inversion with the 1st and 2nd thin hinge part as a fulcrum.
The cover portion does not need to have the entire thickness t4, and it is sufficient to provide a thick portion in the circumferential direction of the thickness t4 at least in a portion continuous with the second thin hinge portion.

Also projecting a knob piece of the backward operation and forward operation of the cover portion in the circumferential direction of the portion the outer surface of the cover portion. In this way, if the knob is protruded from the cover part, the worker can pull back the cover part to expose the connector by simply pulling with the knob. Since the connector can be returned and covered with the cover portion, the work time can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional case.
The knob is provided at a position where it does not get in the way of connector connection.

  The length of the cover part is preferably about twice as long as the medium diameter cylinder part. The length of the cover is such that when the connector is mated with the mating connector, the length of the cover is also covered. When the cover is attached to the connector housing of the mating member, the opening of the connector housing is covered. It is preferable to do. Furthermore, the inner diameter of the cover part is preferably about 1.2 to 2 times the outer diameter of the medium diameter cylinder part.

  The grommet of the present invention extends the wire insertion tube portion, the extended portion is a bellows tube portion, and the other end of the wire insertion tube portion is provided with a similar medium diameter tube portion and a cover portion. It is good also as a structure which protects the connector of the both ends of the electric wire group which lets it pass by the said cover part.

As described above, in the present invention, the cover portion that covers the connector is connected to the intermediate diameter cylindrical portion via the second thin hinge portion, and the intermediate diameter cylindrical portion is further connected to the bellows cylindrical portion via the first thin thickness hinge portion. It is made to continue.
With this shape, when the cover part is retracted in order to expose the connector, the inside diameter cylinder part is turned over with the first and second thin hinge parts at the two locations as fulcrums. And retract the cover part. In this way, the connector can be exposed only by pulling in the direction in which the cover part is retracted, and when returning to the original state, it is only necessary to pull it in the reverse direction and advance. Therefore, the operation of turning the cover portion and the operation of returning the cover portion can be easily performed with one touch, so that the operation time can be greatly reduced.

It is a perspective view of the grommet of an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the said grommet. The state which passed the harness with a connector through the said grommet is shown, (A) is sectional drawing, (B) is a perspective view. The state which retracted the said grommet and exposed the connector is shown, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is sectional drawing. It is a perspective view which shows the state which has connected the said connector with the other party member. (A) (B) is drawing which shows a prior art example. (A) and (B) are drawings showing other conventional examples.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The grommet of the present invention is provided with a cover portion covering the connector connected to the harness terminal, which is provided on the terminal side of the harness routed in the automobile.

As shown in FIG. 1, the grommet 1 is a molded product of an elastic body made of rubber or elastomer, and the grommet 1 of this embodiment is molded by EPDM.
The grommet 1 includes an electric wire insertion tube portion 2, a bellows tube portion 3 provided at the tip of the wire insertion tube portion 2, and a first thin-walled hinge portion 4 that protrudes in the diameter increasing direction continuous to the tip of the bellows tube portion 3. An intermediate diameter cylindrical portion 5 that is continuous with the first thin thickness hinge portion 4, a second thin thickness hinge portion 6 that projects from the tip of the intermediate diameter cylindrical portion 5 in the diameter increasing direction, and the second thin thickness hinge portion 6. It consists of a continuous thick, large-diameter cylindrical cover portion 7. Further, a knob piece 8 protruding in the axial direction is provided on the outer surface of the cover portion 7.

The thickness of each part of the grommet 1 is that the thickness of the first thin-walled hinge portion 4 is t1, the thickness of the second thin-walled hinge portion 6 is t2, the thickness of the medium-diameter cylindrical portion 5 is t3, and the thickness of the cover portion 7 When the thickness is t4, t1 ≦ t2 <t3 <t4 is set. Moreover, the thickness t5 of the electric wire insertion cylinder part 2 and the bellows cylinder part 3 is made equal, and the thickness t5 is t2 <t5 <t3.
The wall thickness t4 of the cover portion 7 is 3 to 5 times the wall thickness t1 and t2 of the first and second thin-walled hinge portions 4 and 6, and less than 2 to 3 times the wall thickness t3 of the medium-diameter cylindrical portion 5. It is said.

As described above, the wall thickness is set, the wall thickness t4 of the cover portion 7 is maximized to give rigidity, and even if a pulling force in the backward and forward directions is applied, it does not cause a hip break and goes straight. It is not necessary for the entire cover portion 7 to have the thickness t4, and at least the entire circumference of the peripheral wall 7a that is continuous with the second thin-walled hinge portion 6 may be thickened.
Further, the inner diameter r1 of the cover portion 7 is about 1.2 to 2 times the outer diameter r2 of the medium diameter cylindrical portion 5, and the length of the cover portion 7 is about twice the length of the medium diameter cylindrical portion.

  Further, the peripheral wall 7a on the second thin hinge portion 6 side of the cover portion 7 is slightly enlarged in diameter toward the distal end side, and the peripheral wall 7b on the distal end side is formed in a straight tube shape without being expanded. A drain hole 7c is provided in the base portion of the peripheral wall 7a having an enlarged diameter at a position on the lower surface side when attached.

In the grommet 1 of this embodiment, the wire insertion tube portion 2 is very short, and is provided with a tape winding portion 9 that is continuous with the bellows tube portion 3 and has a semicircular shape.
It is to be noted that a small diameter cylindrical linear or bent wire insertion tube portion may be provided continuously to the bellows tube portion 3, and a tape winding portion may be provided at the tip thereof. Depending on the wiring condition of the harness, the wire insertion tube portion 2 The shape can be changed as appropriate.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the grommet 1 having the shape is attached to the distal end side of a harness 31 in which a connector 30 is connected to the distal end. That is, the wire insertion tube portion 2 is externally mounted on the harness 31, and the adhesive tape T is wound around the tape winding portion 9 and fixed thereto. The attachment position of the grommet 1 to the harness 31 is a position where the connector 30 is covered and protected by the cover portion 7.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the harness 31 may be routed in the automobile in a state where the connector 30 is surrounded and protected by the cover portion 7 of the grommet 1 attached to the harness 31. The harness 31 may be routed in the automobile with the connector 30 exposed from the portion 7 to the outside.

The operation of changing the connector 30 shown in FIG. 4 from the state where the connector 30 is covered with the cover portion 7 of the grommet 1 shown in FIG. 3 will be described.
Holding the knob 8 protruding from the outer surface of the cover part 7 and pulling it in the retreating direction Y1, the cover part 7 is retreated toward the medium diameter cylinder part 5 side. Since the cover portion 7 has rigidity with the wall thickness t4 as the maximum wall thickness, the cover portion 7 moves backward without being folded back. Even if the cover portion 7 is retracted in this way, the wire insertion tube portion 2 at the rear end of the grommet 1 cannot be retracted because it is fixed to the wire group with the adhesive tape T, and the bellows tube portion 3 contracts and the bellows tube portion. 3 and the first thin-walled hinge part 4 having the minimum thickness t1 is bent, and the first thin-walled hinge part 4 is deformed so that the bellows tube part 3 and the wire insertion tube part 2 are inverted and pushed into the medium-diameter tube part 5. I will do it.
Then, the second thin-walled hinge portion 6 having a thickness t2 serves as a fulcrum, and the medium-diameter cylindrical portion 5 is rolled so as to be accommodated in the retracting cover portion 7.

In this way, the one-touch operation of holding the knob piece 8 and retreating the cover portion 7 allows the medium-diameter cylindrical portion 5 to be located in the cover portion 7 with the first and second thin hinge portions 4 and 6 at both ends as fulcrums. The cover 7 is held in a folded state (that is, in a bent state), and is held at a position where the connector 30 is exposed.
On the other hand, in the operation of returning the connector 30 from the exposed state to the state covered with the cover part 7, when the knob 8 is advanced in the forward direction Y2 in the opposite direction, the first and second thin hinge parts 4 and 6 are supported. As a result, the medium-diameter cylindrical portion 5 is reversed so as to return to the original state, and the grommet 1 is extended.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the connector 30 is coupled to the connector coupling portion 41 of the counterpart member 40 with the connector 30 exposed from the cover portion 7. In addition, after checking the connection between the connector 30 and the counterpart member 40, the grommet 1 is gripped and pulled in the direction in which the cover portion 7 is advanced by holding the piece 8, and the connector 30 is covered with the cover portion 7 as shown in FIG.

  Thus, in the grommet 1, the connector can be exposed by retreating the cover part by one-touch operation with only one hand holding the knob piece 8 and pulling in the retreating direction and the advancing direction. Can be covered. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform the turning operation of the cover part, which has been a comparatively difficult work until now, and to reduce the work time. Moreover, since the thickness of the cover part is increased, the protection function of the connector can be enhanced.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, The electric wire penetration cylinder part is extended long, the 1st thin hinge part, the medium diameter cylinder part, the 2nd thin hinge part, and the cover part are provided in the other end, You may put a cover part on the connector connected to both ends.
Further, the knob piece provided on the outer surface of the cover portion changes the protruding position according to the work space. In addition, when there is no space for providing the knob, the knob may be removed and the cover portion may be gripped to be moved backward or forward.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Grommet 2 Electric wire insertion cylinder part 3 Bellows cylinder part 4 1st thin-walled hinge part 5 Medium diameter cylinder part 6 2nd thin-walled hinge part 7 Cover part 8 Knob piece 30 Connector 31 Harness

Claims (2)

A grommet that covers the connector connected to the terminal of the wire harness that is routed in the automobile and that can be exposed with a one-touch operation.
Is molded of an elastic body made of rubber or elastomer, and a semicircular annular and the tape winding portion of the allowed electrodeposition wire inserting cylinder portion continuously bellows tube portion to the tip, the protruding diameter direction from the tip of the bellows tube portion One thin-walled hinge part, a medium-diameter cylinder part continuous through the first thin-walled hinge part, a second thin-walled hinge part projecting in the diameter-expanding direction from the tip of the medium-diameter cylinder part, and the second thin-walled hinge part The cover has a thick, large-diameter cylindrical cover that is continuous through the handle, and a knob for backward operation and forward operation extends in the length direction on the outer peripheral surface of the cover. ,
The thickness t5 of the wire insertion tube portion, the thickness of the first thin hinge portion t1, the wall thickness of the second thin hinge portion t2, the wall thickness of the medium diameter tube portion t3, and the wall thickness of the cover portion t4 Then, t1 ≦ t2 <t5 <t3 <t4 is set,
The electric wire insertion tube portion inserted through the wire group to the electric line group is fixed by winding an adhesive tape to the tape winding portion, and a connector connected to the power line group of the terminal Tsu covered by the cover portion,
To project the previous SL connector to the outside from the cover part, retracting the cover portion with the knob piece, the bellows-like cylindrical portion continuous in the tape winding portion which is fixed to the wire group is The first bellows hinge portion that continues to the bellows tube portion is used as a fulcrum to reverse the medium diameter tube portion, and the bellows tube portion and the tape winding portion are pushed into the inverted medium diameter tube portion. In addition, the grommet is characterized in that the second cylindrical hinge portion between the tip of the middle diameter cylindrical portion and the cover portion serves as a fulcrum and the middle diameter cylindrical portion is inverted and pushed into the cover portion . The wall thickness t4 of the cover part is 3 to 5 times the wall thickness t1 and t2 of the first and second thin-walled hinge parts and is less than 2 to 3 times the wall thickness t3 of the medium-diameter cylindrical part. Grommet described in.

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