JP7132260B2 - protector and wire harness - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a protector for protecting electric wires and a wire harness provided with such a protector.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, protectors have been used that house and protect electric wires mounted on, for example, vehicles. As an example of such a protector, there is known a protector having a groove-shaped protector main body for housing electric wires inside and a cover for closing the open side (see, for example, Patent Document 1). With such a structure, the wires can be easily housed inside the protector for protection.

JP 2018-137897 A

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

By the way, many protectors are provided with a fixing structure for fixing the protector to a predetermined mounting location. At this time, when the protector has a branched shape as described above, a fixing structure may be provided so as to protrude from between the branches of the branch. In such a case, when the branched cover is attached to the branched protector main body, the branched structure of the cover tends to interfere with the fixing structure, and there is room for improvement in terms of workability of the mounting 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 increases the cost of the parts of the cover portion. There is a risk of

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a branched protector and a wire harness that can improve the workability of mounting the cover part while suppressing an increase in the parts cost. do.

In order to solve the above problems, the protector has a branched groove shape that branches into a plurality of branch grooves according to the wiring shape of the electric wire, and the electric wire is stored inside from the open side of the groove to protect the electric wire. and a protector main body, and between the plurality of branch grooves of the protector main body so as to protrude from the mutual opening direction of the grooves in the protector main body, and the protruding end of the protruding end is provided for a predetermined mounting. a fixing protrusion that fixes the protector main body to the mounting position by being fixed to the mounting position; A hinge in which at least one of a pair of branch lids corresponding to a pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing projection between the main body and at least one of the branch lids is provided on the branch base side of an adjacent portion adjacent to the fixing projection. a cover part that is a bendable lid that can be bent in a separation direction in which the movable part including the adjacent part is separated from the branch groove on the other side through the
characterized by comprising

Moreover, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a wire harness is characterized by comprising the above-described protector and the electric wires housed inside the protector main body for protection.

The protector described above is a branched protector having a branched groove-shaped protector main body portion and a branched lid-shaped cover portion. 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 projection between them is a bendable lid that can be bent via the hinge. It's becoming With such a configuration, it is possible to bend the bent lid so as to avoid interference with the fixed projections and perform the work of attaching the cover portion. Since the cover part is an integral part having such a bent lid, it is possible to suppress an increase in part cost as compared with the case where the cover part is divided into a plurality of parts. That is, according to the above-described branched protector, it is possible to improve the workability of attaching the cover portion while suppressing an increase in the cost of parts.

Further, according to the wire harness described above, since the protector described above is used to protect the electric wires, it is possible to improve the workability of attaching the cover portion while suppressing an increase in the cost of parts.

1 is a perspective view of a wire harness to which a protector of one embodiment is applied, viewed from the side of a panel to which the protector is fixed; FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an assembly process of the protector shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a comparative example for comparison with the protector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; FIG.

An embodiment of the protector and wire harness will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wire harness to which a protector of one embodiment is applied, viewed from the side of a panel to which the protector is fixed. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams showing the steps of assembling the protector shown in FIG.

This wire harness 1 has an electric wire 20 mounted and routed on a vehicle, 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 the vehicle body. It is fastened and fixed at P20. A wire harness 1 includes a protector 10 and electric wires 20 . In this embodiment, the electric wire 20 is routed in a shape branched into two branch paths, one main line formed by further bundling two bundles, and one branch line formed by one bundle. . The protector 10 is also formed in a branched shape according to such a wiring shape of the electric wire 20 . That is, it has a bifurcated shape in which it is branched into two cylindrical portions, a large rectangular tube 10a for accommodating two bundles of electric wires 20 and a thin rectangular tube 10b for accommodating one bundle of electric wires 20. FIG. The protector 10 includes a protector body portion 11 , fixed protrusions 12 and a cover portion 13 .

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

The fixing projection 12 is arranged between the two branch grooves of the protector main body 11 so as to protrude from between the grooves in the opening direction D11 of the protector main body 11 . Then, the projecting end portion 121 is fixed to the panel P10 as an attachment portion, thereby fixing the protector main body portion 11 (that is, the wire harness 1 having the protector 10) to the panel P10. In this embodiment, the fixing projection 12 is molded integrally with a side wall 111a forming a large branch groove 111 of a pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing projection 12 in the protector main body 11 with resin.

The cover portion 13 is a lid member made of resin and having a branch lid shape corresponding to the shape of the branch groove so as to close the open side of the protector main body portion 11 . That is, the cover portion 13 includes a thick-branch lid 131 that closes the thick-branch groove 111 of the protector main body 11, a small-branch lid 132 that closes the small-branch groove 112, and a branch cover at which the branching of the large-branch groove 111 and the small-branch groove 112 starts. and a base cover 133 . Each of the thick branch cover 131, the small branch cover 132, and the branch base cover 133 has a top plate portion and a pair of side wall ribs hanging down from both side edges thereof. The side wall ribs of the large branch groove 111 are notched so that the portions corresponding to the fixing projections 12 do not interfere with each other. When the cover portion 13 is put on the protector main body portion 11, each side wall rib overlaps the outer surfaces of the pair of side walls in each of the large branch groove 111, the small branch groove 112, and the confluence of both. Each side wall of the thick branch groove 111 and the small branch groove 112 is provided with locked portions 113 for locking and fixing the cover portion 13 at a plurality of locations. On the other hand, a pair of locking projections 134 for locking with the locked portions 113 of the protector body portion 11 are provided on the plurality of locked portions 113 from the side wall ribs of the thick branch lid 131 and the narrow branch lid 132 of the cover portion 13 . It extends at a point corresponding to one.

In the cover portion 13, the branch lid 132, which is one of the pair of branch lids corresponding to the pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing projection 12 in the protector body portion 11, is a bent lid as follows. It has become. In other words, the branch lid 132, which is the bent lid, has a movable portion 132c including the adjacent portion 132a via a hinge 132b provided closer to the branch origin than the adjacent portion 132a adjacent to the fixed protrusion 12. 132 can be bent in the separation direction D12. Here, in this embodiment, the hinge 132b is a portion formed thinner than other portions of the branch lid 132, which is the bent lid. Further, in this branch cover 132, a hinge 132b is provided at a midway position between a portion 132a adjacent to the fixing protrusion 12 and the branch origin of the branch cover 132. As shown in FIG. A movable portion 132b is formed on the side farther from the branch source than the hinge 132b, and the branch cover 132 is formed as a bendable cover. In addition, the branch lid 132 is provided with locking projections 134 so as to sandwich the hinge portion 132b in the longitudinal direction thereof. The small branch groove 112 of the protector main body 11 is also provided with a locked portion 113 corresponding to the position where the locking protrusion 134 of the small branch cover 132 is formed.

When the wires 20 are housed in the protector 10 described above and the wire harness 1 is assembled, the assembly process shown in FIG. 2 is followed.

First, in step S<b>11 , bundles of electric wires 20 are accommodated in the branch grooves of the protector main body 11 . Further, the cover portion 13 is put on the protector body portion 11, and at this time, the branch cover 132, which is a bending cover, is bent so as to separate the movable portion 132c from the branch groove 112 in the separation direction D12.

In the subsequent step S12, the cover portion 13 closes the open side of the protector body portion 11 except for the movable portion 132c, and the locking projections 134 of the cover portion 13 are locked to the locked portions 113 of the protector body portion 11. FIG.

Finally, in step S13, the movable portion 132c of the branch cover 132 is closed as indicated by an arrow D13 in the drawing, and the locking projection 134 is locked to the locked portion 113 of the branch groove 112. be done. The assembly process shown in FIG. 2 is completed with the closure of the branch groove 112 by the movable portion 132c.

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

The protector 50 in the wire harness 5 of the comparative example shown in FIG. 3 differs from the protector 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the cover portion 53. In FIG. The same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 and 2 are assigned to the same components. In the following, redundant description of these same components will be omitted, and the cover portion 53 of the comparative example, which is the difference, will be described.

In the cover portion 53 of the comparative example, the branch lid 532 is not provided with a hinge, and the branch lid 532 is formed so as to be unbendable. 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. The fixed protrusion 12 thus formed tends to interfere with the adjacent interference points E11 and E12. In other words, if interference between the small branch cover 532 and the fixed projection 12 is to be avoided, the large branch cover 131 on the opposite side tends to interfere with the fixed projection 12 at the interference point E11. Conversely, if interference between the large branch lid 131 and the fixed projection 12 is to be avoided, the small branch lid 532 tends to interfere with the fixed projection 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 degraded. On the other hand, it is conceivable to divide the cover portion 53 into separate parts for each branch of the branched structure to suppress interference with the fixed projection 12 and improve workability. However, if the cover portion 53 is made of resin, for example, such a divisional formation requires a mold for each divided part, 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. The branch lid 132 is a bendable lid that can be bent via a hinge 132b. With such a configuration, it is possible to bend the twig cover 132 as a bending cover so as to avoid interference with the fixing projection 12 and perform the mounting operation of the cover portion 13, as in the assembly process shown in FIG. Become. Since the cover part 13 is an integral part having such a bent lid, only one mold is required to form the cover part 13 with resin, so compared to the case where the cover part 13 is divided into a plurality of parts. An increase in component cost can be suppressed. That is, according to the branched protector 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the workability of mounting the cover portion 13 while suppressing an increase in component cost.

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

Further, in this embodiment, the cover portion 13 is made of resin, and the hinge 132b is formed thinner than the other portions of the branch lid 132, which is the bent lid. According to this configuration, since the cover portion 13 including the hinge 132b is integrally molded with resin, it is possible to further suppress an increase in the cost of parts.

In this embodiment, the branch lid 132, which is a bent lid, is provided with a hinge 132b at an intermediate position between a portion 132a adjacent to the fixed protrusion 12 and the branch origin, and is located at a side farther from the branch origin than the hinge 132b. It is formed so as to be bendable with the portion as the movable portion 132c. According to this configuration, the length of the movable portion 132c from the hinge 132b to the tip of the branch in the bent lid is It can be suppressed while avoiding interference with the fixed projection 12.例文帳に追加As a result, the weight applied to the hinge 132b and its surroundings is reduced, and the load on the relevant portion can be reduced.

Further, according to the wire harness 1 of the present embodiment, since the protector 10 described above is employed to protect the electric wires, it is possible to improve the workability of the mounting work of the cover portion 13 while suppressing an increase in the cost of parts. can be done.

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 various modifications can be made.

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 wire harness are not limited to this. As long as the protector and the wire harness are attached to the panel as an attachment point for wiring the electric wires, the specific aspect of the panel does not matter.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the protector main body 11 having a rectangular groove shape for accommodating three branched bundles of electric wires 20 is exemplified, but the protector main body is not limited to this. The groove shape of the protector may be, for example, a semi-circular groove shape, a triangular groove shape, or the like, as long as the protector can accommodate and protect the electric wire. Also, the wires to be housed may be housed in a branched shape other than a bundle of three wires, or the wires may be housed in a single wire state instead of a bundle. In this way, the protector main body does not require a specific groove shape or a specific housing form of the electric wire.

In the above-described embodiment, the protector main body 11 branched into two branch grooves and the cover 13 branched into two branch lids are exemplified. is not limited to The form of branching of the protector main body and the cover part can be arbitrarily set according to the routing shape of the electric wire, and the specific form of the number of branches and the like is not limited.

In the above-described embodiment, only one fixing protrusion 12 is arranged between the pair of branch grooves of the protector main body 11, but the fixing protrusion is not limited to this. A plurality of fixing projections may be arranged, for example, between a pair of branch grooves as long as they are arranged between the plurality of branch grooves of the protector main body. Alternatively, one fixing projection may be arranged between each pair of plural pairs of branch grooves, or a plurality of fixing projections may be arranged between each pair of plural pairs of branch grooves. Alternatively, one fixing projection or a plurality of fixing projections may be arranged between at least one pair of the plurality of pairs of branch grooves. In this manner, the manner of arrangement of the fixing projections can be arbitrarily set according to the manner of attachment to the attachment location.

In the above-described embodiment, the fixed projection 12 is exemplified in which the protruding end portion 121 is fastened and fixed to the panel P10, which is the mounting point, with the bolt P20, but the fixed projection is not limited to this. For example, the fixing protrusion may be adhesively fixed to the mounting location, or may be locked and fixed, and the specific fixing manner is not limited.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, only the branch cover 132, which is one of the pair of branch covers, which are the full branch cover, of the cover portion 13 is a bent cover. The form of forming the bent lid in is not limited to this. A mode of forming the bent lids may be, for example, a mode in which both of the branch lids of a pair of branch lids sandwiching the fixing projection between them are bent lids. Alternatively, in a branch lid-shaped cover portion having a branch lid other than the pair of branch lids sandwiching the fixing projection between them, at least one of the pair of branch lids is unrelated to the fixing projection. Other branch lids may be used as curved lids.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the fixed protrusion 12 is integrally formed with the side wall 111a of the thick branch groove 111 in the protector main body 11 and resin. However, the fixing protrusion is not limited to this, and for example, it may be formed of metal or the like as a separate part from the protector main body and fixed to the protector main body by adhesion, screwing, or the like. However, as described above, by integrally molding the fixing projection 12 with the protector main body 11, an increase in the cost of parts can be further suppressed. In this embodiment, the fixing protrusion 12 is formed integrally with the side wall 111a of the thick branch groove 111, which is one of the pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing protrusion 12 in the protector main body 11. ing. However, the fixing protrusion is not limited to this, and may be formed integrally with both of the pair of branch grooves that sandwich the fixing protrusion therebetween.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the cover portion 13 is made of resin as a whole, and the hinge 132b is formed thinner than the other portions of the branch lid 132, which is the bent lid. However, the cover part is not limited to this, and a branch lid as a bending lid may be composed of two parts, a movable part and another part, and connected by a hinge part such as a hinge. good. However, as described above, the cover portion 13 including the hinges and the movable portion is integrally formed of resin, thereby further suppressing an increase in the cost of parts.

Further, in the present embodiment, a hinge 132b is provided at an intermediate position of a branch lid 132, which is a bent lid, and a portion of the side farther from the hinge 132b is a movable portion 132c. However, the cover portion is not limited to this, and a hinge may be provided at the branching point of the branch lid, which is the bent lid, and the entire branch lid may be used as a movable portion. However, by making only a part of the branch lid, which is a bent lid, a movable part, the load on the hinge 132b and its surroundings can be reduced compared to the case where a hinge is provided at the base of the branch and the entire branch lid is made a movable part. The point that it can be reduced is also as described above.

Reference Signs List 1 wire harness 10 protector 10a thick square tube 10b thin square tube 11 protector main body 12 fixing projection 13 cover part 20 electric wire 111 large branch groove 111a side wall 112 small branch groove 113 engaged part 121 projecting end 131 large branch lid 132 narrow Branch lid (flexed lid)
132a Adjacent part 132b Hinge 132c Movable part 133 Branch base cover 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 branched groove shape that branches into a plurality of branch grooves according to the wiring shape of the electric wire, and that protects the electric wire by storing the electric wire inside from the open side of the groove;
arranged between the plurality of branch grooves of the protector body so as to protrude from between the plurality of branch grooves in the opening direction of the grooves of the protector body, and the protruding end of the branch groove is fixed to a predetermined mounting location a fixing projection for fixing the protector main body to the mounting location;
A pair of branch lids having a branch lid shape corresponding to the shape of the branch groove so as to close the open side of the protector main body, and corresponding to a pair of branch grooves sandwiching the fixing projections in the protector main body. At least one of the branch lids is bent in a separation direction in which the movable portion including the adjacent portion is separated from the counterpart branch groove via a hinge provided on the branch origin side of the adjacent portion adjacent to the fixed projection. a cover portion that is a bendable lid;
A protector comprising: The protector main body is made of resin,
2. The protector according to claim 1, wherein the fixing projection is molded integrally with a side wall forming at least one of the pair of branch grooves in the protector main body with the resin. The cover portion is made of resin,
3. The protector according to claim 1, wherein the hinge is a portion formed thinner than other portions of the bendable lid provided with the hinge. The bendable lid is provided with the hinge at a position midway between the adjacent portion and the branch origin of the bendable lid, and is formed to be bendable with a portion of the side farther from the branch origin than the hinge as the movable portion. 4. The protector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: a protector according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
the electric wire housed inside the protector main body and protected;
A wire harness comprising:

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