JPH09163544A - Protector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the high precision one-piece molding of a protector in which a linear element is housed, form a housing space during an operation, improve the operation workability and reduce a cost by a method wherein the bottom surface and side surfaces are formed to be approximately flat and the side surfaces are stood when the protector is used. SOLUTION: A bottom surface 11 and a pair of side surfaces 12 of which a space in which a linear element is housed are linked with each other by hinges 13 by which the side surfaces 12 can be turned from the approximately flat states relatively to the bottom surface 11 in directions so as to have both the side surfaces 12 face each other. The claws 15a of locking parts 15 which protrude from the parts of the side surfaces 12 near the hinges 13 are retained by the notches 16a, 16b of retainers 16 on the bottom surface 11 and fixed. With this constitution, the turns of the side surfaces 12 in the opposite directions can be restricted and angles between the side surfaces 12 and the bottom surface 11 are maintained to be values good enough to form the housing space.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a protector for accommodating a linear body, and more specifically, to a linear body by an external force or the like.
For example, the present invention relates to a protector that accommodates a part of its extension direction in order to prevent the wire harness from being damaged.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a linear body such as a wire harness is arranged, the linear body is housed in a protector in order to guide the wiring and prevent mechanical damage. Is generally practiced. In this type of protector, as shown in FIG. 6, the protector body 1 is usually integrally formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section, and its inner surface forms a storage space. Further, the protector shown in FIG. 7 has a hinge 2 at the end of one side wall (side surface) 1a of the protector body 1.
A lid 3 that is rotatably connected via a lid is integrally formed, and the lid 3 can close the storage space. In FIG. 7, reference numerals 4 and 5 denote lock means formed at corresponding positions of the protector main body 1 and the lid 3 which are engaged with each other when the molding space is closed and hold the closed state.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional protector, as shown in FIG.
Since the cavity 8 for molding the protector body 1 is defined such that the core mold 6 is inserted into the cavity mold 7, the temperature of the core mold 6 becomes higher than that of the cavity mold 7 side, and the protector body 1 becomes The side wall 1a falls inward due to the pulling force toward the core mold 6. This problem has been difficult to prevent within the normal molding process.

Thus, the side wall 1a of the protector body 1
9 falls inwardly, as shown in FIG. 9, the distance between the end sides of the side wall 1a becomes narrow, and the workability of internally mounting the electric wire C is significantly deteriorated. Further, there is a problem that the shape of the protector main body 1 with respect to the receiving jig 9 is not designed as designed, and a storage space corresponding to the cross-sectional area of the wire harness cannot be secured.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the bottom surface and the side surface of the protector are formed in a substantially flat state, and the side surface is erected and kept upright with respect to the bottom surface during use so that the protector can be integrally formed with high precision and can be stored during the operation. The purpose of the present invention is to improve the workability and reduce the cost by making it possible to form the mounting space.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 has a space for accommodating the linear body, and extends the accommodating space in the extending direction of the linear body. A protector formed of a bottom surface and a pair of side surface portions facing each other, wherein the side surface portion is hinged to be rotatably connected to the bottom surface portion in a direction facing each other from a substantially flat state with respect to the bottom surface portion, The present invention is characterized in that a holding means for holding the included angle between the bottom surface portion and the side surface portion at an angle forming a storage space is provided.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the side surface portion is rotatably connected to the bottom surface portion via the hinge portion from a flat state, and the included angle of the side surface portion with respect to the bottom surface portion is an angle forming a molding space. Held in opposition. Therefore, the bottom surface portion, the side surface portion, and the hinge portion are integrally molded in a flat state that is not affected by the mold temperature, and when used, the side surface portions are opposed to each other to form a storage space for storing the linear body. be able to.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in addition to the structure of the first aspect of the invention, as the holding means, a claw-shaped portion formed on one of a bottom surface portion and a side surface portion near the hinge portion, and the claw-shaped portion. A locking portion formed on the other of the bottom surface portion or the side surface portion for allowing the movement of the portion in the rotation direction and restricting and locking the movement in the direction opposite to the rotation direction. At least one locking position of the claw-shaped portion by the stopper is provided.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the movement of the claw-shaped portion due to the rotation of the side surface portion is allowed in the rotation direction, but is restricted and locked in at least one position in the opposite direction. . Therefore, the space for accommodating the linear body can be maintained with at least one kind of capacity without the side portion returning during use. The holding means may be integrally formed with the bottom surface portion and the side surface portion, or may be attached from the outside. Further, the claw-shaped portion is formed in an arc shape so as to extend in the rotation direction from one of the bottom surface portion or the side surface portion, and the inner surface side, outer surface side surface side surface side surface side claw is formed in one or more notches formed in the other. May be engaged and locked, or may be engaged while being inserted into the opening hole formed in the other.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 are views showing an embodiment of a protector according to the present invention, and this embodiment shows an example applied to a protector for accommodating a wire harness and preventing its damage.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, 10 is a protector, and the protector 10 is composed of a bottom surface portion 11 and a pair of side surface portions 12 extending in one direction so as to have the length of the portion of the wire harness to be accommodated. And the side part 12 is the bottom part
The hinges 13 are connected in parallel to both sides of the hinge 11 so that they can rotate in a direction opposite to each other (upward in FIG. 2) from a flat state.

Reference numeral 15 is a lock claw (claw-shaped portion), and the lock claw 15 is provided in the vicinity of the hinge portion 13 of the side surface portion 12 so as to project in an arc shape in the direction of rotation thereof, and the tip thereof is inward. A claw 15a that bends is formed. Reference numeral 16 denotes a locking portion, and the locking portion 16 is provided so as to project at a position corresponding to the lock claw 15 near the hinge portion 13 of the bottom surface portion 11, and the outer surface of the bottom surface portion 11 side is substantially the same as the lock claw 15. With a wide curvature and its nails 15
The notches 16a and 16b with which a is engaged are formed. In addition,
The notch of the locking portion 16 may be the notch 16b only, or may be three or more.

As shown in FIG. 3, the locking claw 15 has a claw 15a which is engaged with the side surface 12 when the side surface 12 rotates.
The outer surface of 16 is bent while being slidably contacted to allow its rotation. However, when the claw 15a fits in the notches 16a and 16b, the side surface 12 is restricted from rotating in the opposite direction and the bottom surface 11
The position with respect to is held (locked) with a two-step included angle, and the shape of the protector 10 is maintained, for example, as shown in FIG.

Further, the bottom surface portion 11 and the side surface portion 12 are provided at positions facing the lock claws 15 and the engaging portions 16 and the punch hole 1 for the mold is formed.
8 and 19 are provided, the lock claw 15 and the engaging portion 1
Enables integral molding with 6 types of resin. Therefore, these bottom surface portion 11, side surface portion 12, hinge portion 13, lock claw
The bottom surface portion 11 and the side surface portion 12 of the engagement member 16 and the engagement portion 16 can be integrally formed in a flat state.

It should be noted that the lock claw 15 and the locking portion 16 can be held at a predetermined angle with respect to the bottom surface portion 11 if they are provided at one location on both side surface portions 12 side, but in terms of strength. It goes without saying that it is better to provide two or more places. Further, the width W of the lock claw 15 and the locking portion 16 may be set so that the shape of the protector 10 can be maintained without impairing the function of the protector 10, and may be, for example, about 10 mm.

Next, the operation will be described together with the work of storing the wire harness. First, the protector 10 may be formed in a state where the side surface portion 12 is flat with respect to the bottom surface portion 11 as shown in FIG. And the mold can be easily manufactured. In addition, since it is in a flat state before use, it can be stacked without taking up unnecessary space.

Then, the protector 10 rotates the side portions 12 in directions opposite to each other prior to the work of housing the wire harness, and as shown in FIG.
After the 15 claws 15a are engaged with the notches 16a in the first step of the locking portion 16 to hold the position, the electric wire C is housed between the side surface portions 12. At this time, since the distance between the end sides (upper side) of the side surface portions 12 is wider, the electric wire C can be easily accommodated between the side surface portions 12 (storage space). Further, since the lock portion 15 and the locking portion 16 are in a state of engaging with each other, the electric wire C does not enter between them.

After that, the side surface portion 12 is further rotated in the same direction, and as shown in FIG.
The shape of the protector 10 having a U-shaped cross section, that is, the storage space is maintained by engaging a with the second cutout 16b of the locking portion 16. At this time, the wire harness is stored in the storage space. Note that the electric wire C is the lock portion 15
When the diameter is larger than the gap between the locking portion 16 and the locking portion 16, the electric wire C may be placed on the protector 10 in a flat state, and then the side surface portion 12 may be rotated to form the protector shape. Also,
It goes without saying that the electric wire C may be housed in the housing space formed after the protector 10 is formed into the protector shape.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the protector 10 is molded in a flat state, the protector 10 can be manufactured with high precision without being deformed after molding, and the manufacturing cost of the mold can be reduced. Storage and transportation costs can also be reduced. And, in use, the side part
If the wire harness is accommodated in the state in which the distance between the end sides of 12 is large, and then the side surface portion 12 is rotated so as to form the final housing space, the locking claw 15 is locked to the locking portion 16. Since it is good, the packing operation can be facilitated.

In this embodiment, the lock claw 15 and the locking portion 16 are integrally molded together with the bottom surface portion 11 and the side surface portion 12. However, the angle between the bottom surface portion 11 and the side surface portion 12 is sandwiched by another member attached from the outside. May be retained and its shape maintained. Further, as the claw-shaped portion, the lock claw 15 formed in the shape of a quarter arc is provided on the side surface 12 side.
An arc-shaped claw-shaped portion is formed on one of the bottom surface portion 11 or the side surface portion 12, and an opening portion for inserting the claw-shaped portion at the time of rotation is formed on the other, and the outer surface, inner surface, side surface, etc. of the claw-shaped portion are formed. It may be locked in the opening.

[0021]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the side surface portion can be rotated by the hinge portion with respect to the bottom surface portion, and the side surface portion can be opposed to each other when in use, it is affected by the mold temperature. It can be integrally molded in a flat state that does not receive it. Therefore, the protector can be easily and accurately manufactured with a mold shape that does not cause a temperature difference that decreases the molding accuracy when integrally molded, and it can be stacked without wasting space during storage and transportation. You can Further, it is possible to facilitate the work of storing the linear body before the final storage space is formed. As a result, it is possible to improve workability and reduce mold manufacturing costs and storage / transport costs.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the side surface portion is rotated, the movement in the opposite direction can be restricted at one or more places and locked at that position, so that the linear body can be rotated. Before and during movement, after being rotated, it may be stored on the bottom surface portion, which facilitates the packing operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of a protector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view from the one direction.

3A and 3B are partially enlarged cross-sectional views of a main part thereof, where FIG. 3A is a state diagram showing before use, and FIG.
(C) is a state diagram after the rotation is completed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state of a main part after the end of the rotation.

5A and 5B are side views from one direction at the time of work for explaining the use, FIG. 5A is a state diagram during the work, and FIG. 5B is a state diagram after the end of the work.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional example thereof.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a conventional example different from FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a mold for producing the conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the problem.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Protector 11 Bottom part 12 Side part 13 Hinge part 15 Lock part (claw-shaped part) 15a Claw 16 Locking part 16a, 16b Notch 18, 19 Hole

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A protector having a space for accommodating a linear body, the protector being formed by a bottom surface extending in the extending direction of the linear body and a pair of side surface portions facing each other. The side surface part is kept substantially flat with respect to the bottom surface part, and the hinge part that is connected to the bottom surface part so as to be rotatable in a direction opposite to each other and the angle between the bottom surface part and the side surface part are held at an angle that forms a storage space. A protector characterized in that it is provided with a holding means for 2. A claw-shaped portion formed on one of a bottom surface portion and a side surface portion near the hinge portion as the holding means, and permitting movement of the claw-shaped portion in a rotation direction and the rotation direction. And a locking portion formed on the other of the bottom surface portion and the side surface portion that restricts and locks the movement in the opposite direction, and at least one locking position of the claw-shaped portion by the locking portion is provided. The protector according to claim 1, wherein: