JPH08335420A - Grommet installation structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily install a grommet for gas sealing. CONSTITUTION: A grommet 12 in which a wire 11 is inserted to each wire insertion hole 15 is fixed in a sealed condition through a lock 13 of resin to an outer surface of an aperture 31 provided in a box 10 installed close to a power supply battery of an electric car. The lock 13 is engaged with the outer side of the grommet 12, and a lock protrusion 20 protruded in the lock 13 is rotated to be inserted into a lock frame part 32 protruded in an outer surface of the box 10, so the lock 13 is fixed to the box 10, where a seal rib 16 of the grommet 12 is pressed to a circumferential edge of the aperture 31 by the lock 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grommet mounting structure for a gas seal used in an electric vehicle.
Grommet mounting structure that is attached to the wire harness that penetrates the partition wall so that hydrogen gas generated during charging of the power source battery (battery) does not enter the required area that separates the partition wall, for example, the box containing the control equipment. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, various electric vehicles have been provided, and in the electric vehicles, hydrogen gas is generated when a battery is charged. If the hydrogen gas enters a box containing a control device such as a sensor, a spark may be generated in the box, and the invaded hydrogen may be ignited. Therefore, it is necessary to reliably prevent gas from entering through the insertion portion of the wire harness connected to the control device in the box.

Conventionally, when inserting a wire harness through an opening provided in a vehicle body panel or the like, various waterproof and dustproof grommets have been proposed for sealing the opening. As shown in FIG. 8, this type of grommet is formed of rubber or elastomer, and a wire harness W / H in which a large number of electric wires w are bound by tape winding or the like is used as an electric wire insertion portion formed of a small diameter cylindrical portion of the grommet 1. 1a is expanded and inserted, and the locking groove 1c provided on the outer peripheral surface of the expanded diameter portion 1b continuous with the electric wire insertion portion 1a is locked to the peripheral edge of the through hole 2 of the vehicle body panel P to lock the locking groove 1c. The lip 1d provided in the vicinity of is attached to the vehicle body panel P by pressing.

The grommet press-contacts the outer peripheral surface of the wire harness W / H with the inner peripheral surface of the wire insertion portion 1a to seal between the wire harness W / H and the grommet 1, and
The gap between the grommet 1 and the through hole 2 is sealed by a lip 1d to prevent water from entering from the outside X of the vehicle body into the inside Y of the vehicle body, and also to prevent dust.

[0005]

The conventional grommet shown in FIG. 8 functions sufficiently for waterproofing and dustproofing, but is insufficient for gas sealing. That is, since a large number of electric wires are wrapped with a tape and bound to form a wire harness and are passed through a grommet, gaps are unavoidably generated between the bound electric wires, and these gaps are sealed. Not not. In order to seal the gaps between the electric wires, a sealing agent has been filled, but it is very difficult for the sealing agent to penetrate into all the gaps between the electric wires to completely seal the electric wires.

Therefore, there is a problem in using the grommet shown in FIG. 8 for waterproofing and dustproofing as a grommet for a gas seal in an electric vehicle. Therefore, it is desired to develop a grommet capable of reliably blocking the flow of gas. ing.

Further, for the seal between the opening of the box and the grommet, it is not enough to insert the peripheral edge of the opening of the panel into the locking groove 1c formed in the grommet made of an elastic material and press the lip 1d. It is demanded that the grommet seal portion be pressed against the box side with a strong force to achieve a reliable seal.

The present invention meets the above-mentioned demands, and in particular, makes it possible to surely achieve a seal between the grommet and the opening of the box, and to easily attach the grommet to the box. To be able to do
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to surely seal the electric wire through which the grommet itself is inserted so that gas can be surely prevented from entering the box.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a grommet attached to a wire harness wired in a box installed in the vicinity of a power source battery of an electric vehicle according to claim 1, and the grommet is attached. Seals the wiring opening of the box with a box to prevent gas from entering the box. It has a substantially columnar shape made of elastic material such as rubber. The wire insertion hole of the is provided through the axial direction, and a grommet in which an annular sealing rib is projectingly provided on the one end face, and a substantially cylindrical shape attached to the outer periphery of the grommet, the seal At least two locking projections are provided on the outer periphery of one end located at a required distance from the rib for use, and at the other end side, a pressing portion that locks to the other end surface of the grommet. The provided resin stopper is used, while the box outer surface has an L-shaped cross section into which the locking projections of the stopper are inserted at positions close to the wiring openings. The stop frame portion is provided so as to project from one surface in the circumferential direction, and the grommet is arranged on the outer periphery of the opening for wiring of the box with the sealing rib side abutting to rotate the stopper. The locking projection is inserted into the locking frame portion on the outer surface of the box from the circumferential direction to lock the locking projection, and the grommet sealing rib is attached to the outer surface of the box with a stopper. We provide grommet mounting structure.

It is preferable that the stopper has a grip portion for rotational operation projecting from the outer periphery of the tip on the side where the pressing portion is provided. (Claim 2) For example, it is preferable that four grip portions are provided at 90-degree intervals.

Further, four locking projections of the stopper are provided at intervals of 90 degrees, and four locking frame portions at which the locking projections are locked are also provided at 90 degrees on the box side. It is preferable to provide one. Needless to say, the opening sides in the circumferential direction of the plurality of locking frame portions are on the same surface side.

Further, the grommet is provided with a stepped recess at the center of one end face thereof, and the plurality of wire insertion holes are provided so as to penetrate axially between the recess and the other end face. At the same time, it is preferable that the annular sealing rib is projected on the end surface of the annular convex portion on the outer periphery of the concave portion.

The grommet and the stopper are fixed to each other by providing a locking projection on the outer periphery of the grommet, while the cylindrical stopper is axially moved from the end face side on which the locking projection is provided. It is preferable that the slit is provided, the inner peripheral surface of the slit is provided with a locking groove for locking the locking projection, and the locking projection is locked in the locking groove. The slit does not necessarily have to be provided,
The outer diameter of the grommet and the inner diameter of the stopper may be approximately the same, and the grommet may be pushed into the stopper by force.

The wire insertion hole provided in the grommet is
An annular valley portion and a mountain portion are continuously provided on the inner peripheral surface along the length direction, and the inner diameter of the hollow portion surrounded by the mountain portion is equal to or less than the outer diameter of the electric wire, and a seal between the grommet and the electric wire is provided. I am trying to make sure. Further, the inner diameter of the hollow portion surrounded by the valley portion is made larger than the width of the terminal fitting connected to the electric wire so that the electric wire can be easily inserted into the electric wire insertion hole. Incidentally, the wire insertion hole is not limited to the above shape, as long as the wire can be sealed with the wire insertion hole, for example, while setting the wire insertion hole larger than the width of the terminal fitting, a rubber plug is attached to the wire, The rubber plug may seal the wire insertion hole.

[0015]

In the grommet mounting structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, the stopper is externally fitted and fixed to the grommet, and the electric wires constituting the wire harness are individually passed through the electric wire insertion holes of the grommet. The stopper may be fixed after passing the electric wire through the grommet. Next, the sealing rib of the grommet is arranged so as to abut the outer peripheral portion of the wiring opening on the outer surface of the box. At this time, the locking projection of the stopper and the locking frame portion on the box side are aligned in the circumferential direction. Then, the worker grips the stopper and rotates it, and inserts the stopper from the one surface opening side in the circumferential direction of the locking frame portion. Since the other surface in the circumferential direction of the locking frame portion is a closed surface, the locking projection is locked in the locking frame portion. In this way, when one end of the stopper is locked to the box, the pressing portion at the other end of the stopper presses the grommet to the outer surface of the box, and the sealing rib protruding from the end surface of the grommet causes the box wiring opening to It is pressed against the outer peripheral surface. Therefore, the seal between the grommet and the box can be surely achieved, and gas can be prevented from entering the box.

On the other hand, since the grommet is a solid body and the electric wires are passed through the electric wire insertion holes formed inside one by one, and the electric wires are brought into close contact with the electric wire insertion holes, a seal between the grommet and the electric wires is formed. Can be surely achieved.

As described above, when the grommet is a solid body and the electric wire insertion hole is provided therein, the grommet is less likely to bend when it is attached to the box. Therefore, even if the locking groove is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the grommet as in the conventional case, it is difficult to insert and lock the box-side opening peripheral edge into the locking groove. Therefore, as described above, the grommet is attached by pressing it against the outer surface of the box without passing through the opening of the box, so that the grommet can be easily attached.

In the grommet mounting structure according to the second aspect, when the stopper is rotated, an operator can hold the grip portion and perform a rotating operation. The stopper is made of resin and is slippery, but since the grip is gripped and rotated, a strong force can be applied to rotate the stopper.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a control device housing box 10 such as a sensor installed in the vicinity of a battery of an electric vehicle, and FIG. 2 shows a state in which a grommet 12 passing through an electric wire 11 is attached to the box 10 using a fastener 13. There is.

An electric wire 11 passing through the grommet 12
Is composed of a plurality of electric wires that form the wire harness W / H, and terminal fittings 14 are crimped to the ends of these electric wires 11, and these terminal fittings 14 are connected to the control device in the box 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A to 3D, the grommet 12 is made of a rubber or elastomer elastic body, and is formed as a substantially cylindrical solid body.
A stepped concave portion 12a is provided at the center of one end face thereof, and a stepwise convex portion 12b protruding in an annular shape is provided on the outer periphery of the concave portion 12a. From the recess 12a to the other end surface 12c,
An electric wire insertion hole 15 for inserting the plurality of electric wires 11 one by one is formed so as to penetrate in the axial direction, and the length of each electric wire insertion hole 15 is set to be relatively short to facilitate the passage work. Moreover, the electric wire insertion holes 15 are formed with a required space.

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 3D, each wire insertion hole 15 is provided with an annular valley portion 15a and a mountain portion 15b which are continuously provided in the lengthwise direction and are surrounded by the valley portion 15a. The inner diameter of the hollow portion is set to be equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the electric wire 11 so as to be in close contact with the electric wire 11. On the other hand, the inner diameter of the hollow portion surrounded by the mountain portion 15b is set to be equal to or larger than the width of the terminal fitting 14 so that it can be easily passed therethrough. Since the wire insertion hole 15 is short, the inner diameter thereof may be set to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the electric wire 11, and the terminal fitting 14 may be forcedly inserted.

A plurality of annular sealing ribs 16 are concentrically provided on the convex portion 12b on one end surface of the grommet 12. Further, an annular locking projection 17 is provided on the outer peripheral surface on the side of the other end surface 12c.

The stopper 13 is made of a resin having rigidity and integrally molded into a substantially cylindrical shape. The stopper 13 is of a size that fits on the outer peripheral surface in a state of being pressed against the grommet 12, and has a holding portion 18 projecting on the inner peripheral side at one end thereof, and when fitted on the grommet 12, the other end surface of the grommet is provided. The outer peripheral portion of 12c is abutted. The other end of the stopper 13 is
It is set so that when it is fitted onto the grommet 12, the required dimension L is opened from the sealing rib 16.

At the other end of the stopper 13, four rectangular flat plate-shaped locking projections 20 projecting radially from the outer peripheral surface are provided at 90-degree intervals.

Further, the stopper 13 has a slit 22 cut in the axial direction from the end face side where the locking projection 20 is provided.
And a lock groove 23 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of which a required dimension is opened from the tip of the slit 22. The stopper 13
When attaching to the grommet 12, the locking protrusion 17 of the grommet 12 is inserted along the slit 22 and is further pushed in from the tip of the slit 22 to obtain the locking protrusion 1.
7 is engaged with the locking groove 23 to position and fix it. In this fixed position, the pressing portion 18 is pressed against the other end surface 12c of the grommet 12.

On the other hand, on the box 10 side, its outer wall 30
A circular opening 31 for inserting an electric wire is formed therethrough. The opening 31 is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the recess 12a provided on the one end surface of the grommet 12. Therefore, when the grommet 12 is attached, the projection 12b is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the opening 31.
Is positioned so that the sealing rib 16 provided on the convex portion 12b is brought into pressure contact.

Further, on the outer surface of the outer wall 30 of the box, four locking frame portions 32 are provided at 90 degree intervals in the same circumferential direction apart from the opening 31 by a required dimension. As shown in FIG. 4, each of the locking frame portions 32 has an L-shaped cross section, and an inner peripheral side facing the opening 31 is an opening 32a, while one surface in the circumferential direction is an insertion opening 32b and faces each other. The other surface in the circumferential direction is a closed surface 32c. The four locking frame portions 32 are set so that the same circumferential direction serves as the insertion opening 32b and the same circumferential direction serves as the closing surface 32c. Also, the locking frame portion 32
The gap C between the outer surface 32d of the outer wall and the outer surface of the outer wall 30 is fixed to the stopper 13
The size is such that the locking projection 20 can be inserted.

Next, the grommet 12 and the stopper 1 described above.
The mounting method of the grommet using 3 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the stopper 1 is attached to the grommet 12.
Put on 3. At this time, the grommet 12 is pushed from the end face 12c side through the opening on the side where the locking projection 20 of the stopper 13 is provided. At that time, the locking projection 1 is provided at the position of the slit 22.
7 and insert the locking protrusion 17 into the locking groove 2
Push in 3. In this state, the pressing portion 18 is the grommet 1
The second end face 12c is pressed. Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), each electric wire 11 is passed through the electric wire insertion hole 15 of the grommet 12. The electric wire 11 may be passed through the grommet 12 before attaching the stopper 13 to the grommet 12.

Grommet 1 combined with the above-mentioned stopper 13
When attaching 2 to the box 10, first, the electric wire 1
1 through the opening 31 of the box 10. Then, the sealing rib 16 of the grommet 12 is positioned on the peripheral edge of the opening 31. At this time, the locking projection 20 and the locking frame portion 3 on the box side
2 is phased in the circumferential direction.

Then, the worker holds the stopper 13 and rotates the stopper 13 in the direction of the arrow together with the grommet 12. By this rotation, as shown in FIG. 5 (C), the locking projection 20 is inserted into the locking frame portion 32 through the openings 32a and 32b of the locking frame portion 32 and abuts on the closing surface 32c to stop. To do. In this way, the four locking projections 20 of the stopper 13
Is in a state of being inserted and locked in the locking frame portion 32, and the stopper 13
And the grommet 12 is fixed to the box 10.

In the order described above, the grommet 12 passing through the electric wire 11 is attached to the box 10 via the stopper 13 as shown in FIG. In this mounted state, the sealing rib 16 of the grommet 12 is pressed against the entire outer peripheral surface of the opening 31, and the box 10 and the grommet 12 are completely sealed. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent gas such as hydrogen gas generated from the battery from entering the inside of the box 10.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show the second embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that it is for rotating operation at a 90 degree interval from the outer circumference of the tip of the stopper 13 on the side where the holding portion 18 is provided. Gripping part 4
This is the point where 0 is projected. Since other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, the stopper 13 is rotated to
When the locking projection 20 is inserted into the locking frame portion 32 on the box side, as shown in FIG. 7, a finger can be hooked on the gripping portion 40 to perform a rotating operation, and a strong force can be easily applied. be able to. Therefore, the workability of assembling the stopper 13 to which the grommet 12 is attached can be improved.

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, in the grommet mounting structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, the grommet is mounted on the outer surface of the opening of the box in a pressure contact state with the use of the fastener, so that the grommet is mounted in the opening. Compared with the case where the grommet is passed through, the grommet can be easily attached even if it is a solid body and does not easily bend. Further, since the locking projection of the stopper is rotated and pushed into the locking frame portion of the box, it can be easily pushed in with a strong force. Moreover, when the grommet is attached to the box, no external force such as a pulling force acts on the electric wire passed through the grommet, so that the electric wire does not move and the electric wire is not damaged.

Further, since it is locked and fixed to the locking frame of the box by the resin stopper, the locking force can be increased as compared with the case where the grommet is directly locked and fixed. Further, since the grommet is pressed against the box side with the stopper made of resin, the sealing rib provided on the grommet is pressed against and held against the opening peripheral edge of the box with a strong force, so that the seal between the grommet and the box is completely maintained. Also, unlike the conventional method, separate the wires one by one, and pass them through the wire insertion holes of the grommet,
Since each wire is pressed against the wire insertion hole for sealing, the gap between the wires that occurs when the conventional wires are bundled and inserted into the grommet can be eliminated without fail. It is possible to reliably block the flow of gas and perform gas sealing.

In the grommet mounting structure according to the second aspect, since the stopper is provided with the grip portion for the rotating work, the rotating work of the stopper is easy to perform and the working efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a box to which a grommet according to a first embodiment of the present invention is attached.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a grommet is attached to the box with a stopper.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the grommet and the stopper are assembled, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is a cross-sectional view, (C) is a side view, and (D) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the grommet. Is.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a relationship between locking portions of a box and a stopper.

5A, 5B, and 5C are cross-sectional views showing a mounting process.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which a grommet and a stopper according to a second embodiment of the present invention are assembled, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is a sectional view, and (C) is a side view.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state of attachment to a box using the stopper of the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a conventional grommet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Box 11 Electric Wire 12 Grommet 13 Stopper 14 Terminal Fitting 15 Electric Wire Insertion Hole 16 Sealing Rib 18 Pressing Part 20 Locking Protrusion 31 Wire Inserting Opening 32 Locking Frame Part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A grommet is attached to a wire harness installed in a box installed near a power source battery of an electric vehicle, and the grommet seals a wiring opening of the box to prevent gas from entering the box. In addition, a plurality of electric wire insertion holes, through which the electric wires of the electric wire group forming the wire harness are inserted one by one, are formed in a substantially cylindrical shape made of an elastic material such as rubber, and the one end surface is formed. A grommet in which a ring-shaped sealing rib is projected on the, and a substantially cylindrical shape attached to the outer periphery of the grommet,
At least two locking projections project from the outer circumference of one end located at a required distance from the sealing rib at opposite positions, and a pressing portion for locking the other end surface of the grommet is provided at the other end side. On the outer surface of the box, a locking frame having an L-shaped cross section, into which the locking projections of the locking tool are inserted, is provided on the outer surface of the box at a position close to the wiring opening. The part is provided so as to open one surface in the circumferential direction, and the grommet is arranged on the outer periphery of the opening for wiring of the box, with the sealing rib side abutting, and by rotating the stopper, The grommet is characterized in that the locking projections are inserted into the locking frame portion on the outer surface of the box from the circumferential direction and locked, and the grommet's sealing rib is pressed against the outer surface of the box by a stopper. Mounting structure. 2. The grommet mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the stopper has a grip portion for rotational operation projecting from an outer periphery of a tip on a side where the pressing portion is provided.