JP2001251737A - Grommet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a grommet with which a wire harness inserted into and passed through a small-diameter tube can be wired together with the small- diameter tube, to be bent nearly at right angles inside a narrow region. SOLUTION: The grommet is formed, in such a way that a large-diameter tube 32 which is fitted internally to a through-hole Pa in a car-body panel P and the small-diameter tube 33 into and through which the wire harness W/H is inserted and passed are installed so as to be continued, ad the small- diameter tube 33 is curved and used nearly at right angles in a required direction. A loose part 34, which can absorb elongation of a bend part 35, is formed in the base of the small-diameter tube 33 which corresponds to a region on the side opposite to the bending direction of the small-diameter tube 33. The loose part 34 is formed so as to be swollen in the outward direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grommet, and more particularly, to a wire harness inserted through a small-diameter cylindrical portion and a small-diameter cylindrical portion that can be bent at a substantially right angle in a narrow area so as to be routed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 6A, a wire harness W / H that is routed through a vehicle body panel P that divides an engine room A and a room B of an automobile is used for waterproofing and soundproofing. A rubber grommet 1 in which a large-diameter cylindrical portion 2 and a small-diameter cylindrical portion 3 are connected to each other is used. When the accessory C disposed in the engine room A is adjacent to the grommet 1 in the axial direction, the wire harness W / H bends at a substantially right angle downward along the vehicle body panel P together with the small-diameter cylindrical portion 3. Be routed.

In the above case, in order to facilitate the arrangement of the bent portion, for example, as shown in FIG. 6B, a small-diameter tube portion 13 is formed by bending a small-diameter tube portion 13 at a substantially right angle in advance with respect to a large-diameter tube portion. A grommet 11 is used (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-106830). Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6 (C), a grommet 21 having a bellows portion 23a formed at a connecting portion between the large-diameter cylindrical portion 22 and the small-diameter cylindrical portion 23 may be used. The bent small-diameter cylindrical portion 23 is attached along the vehicle body panel P by a clip 24.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above grommet 1
With the use of 1, 21, the wire harness W / H can be routed substantially at right angles. However, in the former grommet 11, since the small-diameter cylindrical portion 13 is bent and formed in advance, the grommet 11 is expanded and the wire harness W /
In the operation in the previous step of penetrating H, the small-diameter cylindrical portion 13
Must be regulated in a straight line to perform the penetrating work, and the workability is poor. On the other hand, in the latter grommet 21,
Due to the presence of the bellows 23a, the small-diameter cylindrical portion 23 can be easily bent from the base. Cannot be bent at an appropriate angle, and the radius of the bent portion becomes large. For this reason, the dimension L1 from the vehicle body panel P to the bent portion is long, and it is difficult to apply to a portion that needs to be bent in a narrow region.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and has an object to provide a small-diameter cylindrical portion which can be bent within a narrow area when bent.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is to provide a large-diameter cylindrical portion which is fitted in a through hole of a vehicle body panel and a small-diameter cylindrical portion through which a wire harness is inserted. A grommet which is used by bending the small-diameter cylindrical portion at a substantially right angle in a required direction, wherein a bent portion extends to a base of the small-diameter cylindrical portion corresponding to a region opposite to a bending direction of the small-diameter cylindrical portion. There is provided a grommet characterized by having a slack portion capable of absorbing the water.

[0007] In this way, when the wire harness and the small-diameter cylindrical portion are bent at a substantially right angle in the required direction and routed, the extension of the outer peripheral side of the bent portion caused by the bending can be compensated for by the slack portion and absorbed. The small-diameter cylindrical portion can be bent without difficulty. On the other hand, since the inner peripheral side of the bent portion is simply folded in two and does not generate extra bending resistance, it can be bent in a narrow area. More specifically, the slack portion is formed so as to bulge outward, and its formation range is substantially opposite to the bending direction of the small-diameter cylindrical portion when viewed from the axial direction of the small-diameter cylindrical portion before bending. It is preferable that the angle is formed in the range of 180 ° to 260 °.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of a grommet. The grommet 31 is made of rubber or an elastomer, and is formed so that a large-diameter cylindrical portion 32 and a small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 are continuously provided.

The large-diameter cylindrical portion 32 is formed into an enlarged-diameter cylindrical shape, and has an annular recessed groove 32a fitted in the through hole Pa of the vehicle body panel P on the outer periphery of the end portion. On the other hand, the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33
Is formed in an elongated tubular shape coaxially connected to the large-diameter tubular portion 32, and has an electric wire insertion passage 33a through which the wire harness W / H can be inserted in a tightly contacting manner.

As shown in FIG. 5, the grommet 31 of the present invention is configured such that a wire harness W / H routed through the vehicle body panel P is connected to the vehicle body panel P on the engine room A side.
It is applied to a place where it is necessary to bend at a substantially right angle downward along the route. In order to easily bend the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 in a required direction corresponding to such a usage pattern, the large-diameter cylindrical portion 3 is used.
At the base of the small-diameter tube 33, which is the boundary portion between the small-diameter tube 33 and the small-diameter tube 33, a slack portion 34 is formed in a region opposite to the bending direction X of the small-diameter tube 33. The slack portion 34 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 is in the required bending direction X.
When it is bent at a substantially right angle to the outside, at least an amount corresponding to the amount by which the outer peripheral side of the bent portion 35 is elongated is formed to expand outward in advance. This slack 34
As shown in FIG. 2B, the formation range Y is formed in a range of approximately 180 ° to 260 ° when viewed from the axial direction of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 before bending.

A tongue piece 33b extends around the distal end of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 for winding and fixing the wire harness W / H with a tape T. The base of the tongue piece 33b is shifted from the end of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 via the tapered portion 33c, and secures close contact with the wire harness W / H in the use state as described later.

Next, the grommet 31 having the above-described structure will be described.
3A, the wire harness W / H is inserted into the wire insertion passage 33a of the grommet 31, and the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 is bent at the end of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33, as shown in FIG. A clip 36 for fixing to the vehicle body panel P in the posture is attached. The clip 36 includes a conical head portion 36a for being inserted into and engaged with the room B side from the mounting hole Pb of the vehicle body panel P, and a mounting hole P from the room A side.
A waterproof type that includes a tray portion 36b that is in close contact with the periphery of b in a water-tight manner and a band portion 36c is used.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3 (B), a tape T is wound around the outer periphery of the wire harness W / H including the attachment area of the clip 36 and the tongue piece 33b.
The small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 is fixed to the outer periphery of the wire harness W / H. At this time, in the mounting region of the clip 36, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, there is an open area 37 that is not covered with the tape T because the head 36a of the clip 36 is in the way.
For this reason, there is a possibility that water entering from the open area 37 at the end of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 may reach the outer periphery of the wire harness W / H, but the tapered portion 3 formed at the base of the tongue piece 33b.
Since the distance from the open area 37 is ensured by 3c, it is possible to prevent the intrusion of water passing through the gap.

To attach the wire harness W / H on which the grommet 31 is mounted as described above to the vehicle body panel P, first, as shown in FIG. The locking groove 32a of the cylindrical portion 32 is fitted in the through hole Pa. Next, the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 is bent at a substantially right angle in the required bending direction X (downward in the present embodiment), and the head portion 36a of the clip 36 attached to the end of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 is engaged with the mounting hole Pb. Thus, the bent state is maintained. In the bending operation of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33, the outer peripheral side of the bent portion 35 is pulled by the bending of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 to resist bending. However, since the slack portion 34 is formed on the outer peripheral side. The slack portion 34 acts to absorb the extension caused by the bending.
On the other hand, on the inner peripheral side, the resistance to bending can be extremely small since the peripheral wall portion is merely folded in two.

As described above, since the bent portion 35 can be bent with a smaller radius by the action of the slack portion 34, the dimension L2 from the vehicle body panel P to the bent portion 35 is
It can be set to be less than L1 in the case of the bellows grommet 21 shown in the conventional example, and the interference region with the accessory C arranged in the engine room A can be reduced.
In the attached state of the grommet 31 to the vehicle body panel P, an example is shown in which the clip 36 is used to make the bent small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 follow the vehicle body panel P. The small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 may be held by projecting a locking piece on the P side.

[0016]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the grommet of the present invention, when the small diameter cylindrical portion is used by bending, the extension accompanying the pulling of the outer peripheral side of the bent portion is used as the slack portion. Therefore, the small-diameter cylindrical portion can be bent with a small radius. Therefore, when arranging the wire harness by bending the small-diameter cylindrical portion at a substantially right angle in the required direction to prevent interference with accessories and the like arranged in the engine room, a dimension from the vehicle body panel to the bent portion is required. Since it can be minimized, the degree of freedom of routing in a narrow area can be increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a grommet according to the present invention.

2A is a sectional view of a grommet, and FIG. 2B is a side view.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where a wire harness is inserted through a grommet and a clip is attached, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a state where a tape is further wound.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a clip mounting portion.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the grommet is attached to a vehicle body panel.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are diagrams showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W / H Wire harness P Body panel Pa Through hole 31 Grommet 32 Large-diameter cylindrical part 33 Small-diameter cylindrical part 34 Loose part 35 Bent part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A large-diameter cylindrical portion fitted in a through hole of a vehicle body panel and a small-diameter cylindrical portion into which a wire harness is inserted are connected to each other, and the small-diameter cylindrical portion is bent at a substantially right angle in a required direction. A grommet, characterized in that a slack portion capable of absorbing the extension of the bent portion is provided at a base portion of the small-diameter tube portion corresponding to a region opposite to a bending direction of the small-diameter tube portion. .