JP4259384B2 - Grommet - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a grommet, and more specifically, in a grommet that is externally mounted on a wire harness that is routed to an automobile and is attached to a through-hole provided in a vehicle body panel so as to be waterproof and dustproof. It is related with the two-body grommet which consists of inner.

A grommet that is attached to a through-hole provided in a vehicle body panel that partitions the vehicle compartment and the exterior of this type of vehicle to prevent water from entering the indoor side, and is an integral grommet made of an elastic material such as rubber or elastomer, and elastic There is a two-body grommet in which a resin inner is assembled to an outer member made of a body.
The two-piece grommet described later includes, for example, a small-diameter cylindrical portion 3 through which the wire harness W / H is inserted and the small-diameter cylinder in the grommet 1 shown in FIG. 10 disclosed in JP-A-11-127527 (Patent Document 1). The outer member 2 which consists of the large diameter cylinder part 4 continued to the front-end | tip of the part 3 and the hard resin inner 5 fitted in a large diameter cylinder part are provided. In the grommet 1, the sealing portion 4 a formed at the tip of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 4 is formed by inserting a locking portion 6 protruding from the outer surface of the resin inner 5 into the through hole 8 of the vehicle body panel 7 and locking it to the periphery. It is attached with a single touch in a sealed state that is crimped to the periphery of the through-hole 8.

  In the grommet 1, the holding force to the through hole 8 can be increased by increasing the spring force of the locking portion 6, but when the spring force of the locking portion 6 is increased, the insertion force is applied to the through hole 8. Increases workability. Further, when the spring force is large, the engaging portion may not be completely engaged with the periphery of the through hole of the vehicle body panel and may be in a half-engaged state, but there is a problem that it is difficult to visually confirm this state.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-127527

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a two-piece grommet assembled with the resin inner, it is possible to provide a grommet that can secure a locking force to the vehicle body while reducing the insertion force to the vehicle body panel. It is an issue.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a grommet to be mounted on a wire harness for an automobile,
It consists of an inner member made of resin and an outer member made of rubber or elastomer that fits the inner member,
The outer member has a large-diameter cylindrical portion continuous from one end of a small-diameter cylindrical portion that allows the electric wire group to be in close contact therewith, and an annular tip surface of the large-diameter cylindrical portion serves as a sealing surface to one side periphery of the panel through-hole. on the other hand,
The inner member is fitted into the large-diameter cylindrical portion of the outer member, and an annular protrusion protruding from the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion of the inner member is fitted into an annular groove formed on the inner peripheral surface of the large-diameter cylindrical portion. Locked
The L-shaped sealing protrusion is protruded from the four corners of the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the inner member through the thin hinge part, and the bent end of the sealing protrusion is set as the outer sealing part.
When the sealing protrusion is rotated outward, it is displaced to a sealing position where the outer sealing portion contacts the other side periphery of the panel through-hole ,
The seal projection pieces provided at the four corners of the inner member are arranged opposite to each other, and a lock portion is provided at the base of one of the seal projection pieces arranged opposite to the left and right, while the other seal projection piece the locked portions projecting from the base portion, said locking portion between the sealing protrusion that faces the portion to be locked in the sealing position is locked coupling, said sealing protrusion has a configuration that will be fixed to the sealing position It has to offer features and to Heidelberg grommet a.

  The grommet having the above-described configuration does not bend and lock the engaging portion into the through hole as in the prior art, but rotates the L-shaped sealing protrusion to lock the outer seal portion to the periphery of the through hole. By doing so, the grommet is attached to the panel, so that the insertion force can be reduced and the attachment workability can be improved. In addition, even if the sealing protrusion does not rotate sufficiently and is in a half-bound state around the periphery of the through hole, whether the outer seal portion of the sealing protrusion is floating from the panel surface or is in full contact, Since it can be easily confirmed by visual observation from the opposite side of the panel, the sealing projection piece can be securely engaged with and attached to the through hole.

As described above, the sealing protrusions provided at the four corners of the inner member are arranged to face each other in the left-right direction, and the lock part protrudes from the base of one of the right-and-left oppositely arranged protruding pieces, while the other seal A locked portion protrudes from the base of the projecting piece, and the locking portion and the locked portion of the sealing projecting pieces facing each other at the sealing position are lock-coupled, and the sealing projecting piece is fixed at the sealing position. It is and configuration.
As described above, when the sealing protrusion is locked and coupled at the rotated sealing position, the sealing protrusion can be surely positioned and held at the sealing position, and the sealing performance by the grommet can be improved.

The lock part and the locked part protruding from the base part of the sealing protrusion are positioned inside the enlarged diameter cylindrical part which is a thin part of the outer member, and are pushed from the outer surface of the thin part into the seal position. It can be rotated.
Alternatively, when a pressing step is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the base portion of the small-diameter cylindrical portion of the outer member and the small-diameter cylindrical portion is pushed into the large-diameter cylindrical portion, the base portion is folded back and the pressing step The base portion of the sealing projection piece may be pressed by the portion so as to be rotatable to the sealing position.
In either case, the grommet can be mounted with a single touch with a light force, improving workability.

Further, the sealing protrusion of the inner member is rotated by the electric wire group penetrating from the small-diameter cylindrical portion of the outer member, and the tip of the sealing protrusion is at the rotational position from the distal end surface of the cylindrical portion of the inner member. It is good also as it protrudes outward and can hold | grip the protruded part and can rotate to the said sealing position.
That is, the seal protrusion before being displaced to the seal position protrudes inward so as to narrow the inside of the large-diameter cylindrical portion, so that it rotates while being pushed outward by the inserted electric wire, and the seal protrusion The tip side of the piece protrudes from the tip opening of the outer member. Therefore, when attaching to the through hole of the vehicle body panel, the operator grasps the outer seal portion of the protruding sealing piece and locks it to the periphery of the through hole, so that it is easy and reliable while visually observing. In addition, the grommet can be attached to the through hole.

  As described above, according to the present invention, two-piece grommets incorporating a resin inner can be attached to the through hole of the vehicle body panel without requiring a large insertion force, thereby improving workability. In addition, even when the sealing projection piece does not rotate sufficiently and becomes half-coupled, it is possible to easily determine whether it is half-coupled or not by visual inspection from the opposite side of the panel through hole, so that the grommet can always be surely secured. It can be attached to the panel through-hole and quality can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5 show a grommet 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and the grommet 10 passes through a through hole H provided in a vehicle body panel P that partitions a vehicle compartment X side and an outdoor Y side of an automobile. It is attached to the wire harness W / H.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the grommet 10 includes a resin inner member 20 and an outer member 11 made of rubber or elastomer, and the inner member 20 is fitted inside the outer member 11. Yes.

  The outer member 11 is integrally formed with a small-diameter cylindrical portion 12 that allows the wire harness W / H to be in close contact therethrough and a large-diameter cylindrical portion 13 that is continuous with one end of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 12 via an enlarged cylindrical portion 14. Do it. The enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 14 is thin, and a lip 15 projects outwardly from the annular tip surface 13 a of the large diameter cylindrical portion 13 that is continuous with the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 14. The large-diameter cylindrical portion 13 has a substantially quadrangular cross section, and an annular groove 13b having a U-shaped cross section for fitting and locking an annular protrusion 22 of an inner member 20 to be described later is provided around the inner peripheral surface thereof. .

The inner member 20 has an annular protrusion 22 projecting from the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 21 accommodated inside the large-diameter cylindrical portion 13 of the outer member 11, and the annular protrusion 22 is fitted and locked in the annular groove 13b. And attached to the outer member 11.
As shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical portion 21 of the inner member 20 has a substantially quadrangular cross section corresponding to the shape of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 13, and the inner surfaces on the long sides facing each other on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 21. At the four corners, L-shaped sealing protrusions 24 are protruded inward one by one through a thin hinge portion 23 from the inner end on the side where the annular protrusion 22 is provided. These four sealing protrusions 24 are arranged opposite to each other, and are composed of a base portion 24a protruding inward of the cylindrical portion 21 and an outer seal portion 24b refracted approximately 90 degrees outward from the tip of the base portion 24a. It is possible to rotate outward through the hinge part 23.

A locking portion 25 or a locked portion 26 protrudes from the base portion 24a of the sealing protrusion 24 in a direction opposite to the bending direction of the outer sealing portion 24b.
Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C, the base portion 24a of one of the sealing protrusions 24-1 (24-3) arranged opposite to the left and right is spaced apart by a required dimension. A lock portion 25 made up of two lock rods 25a is provided. The base portion 24a of the other sealing protrusion piece 24-2 (24-4) is provided with an insertion piece portion 26a inserted between the two lock rods 25a, and protrudes left and right from the insertion piece portion 26a. Thus, a locked portion 26 having a cross-sectional arrow shape is provided in a columnar shape, and includes a locking projection 26b that prevents the lock rod 25a from coming off.
The lock portion 25 and the locked portion 26 are positioned inside the diameter-expanded cylindrical portion 14 of the outer member 11 before the sealing protrusion 24 is rotated outward as shown in FIG. Designed to be

  When the grommet 10 is attached to the through hole H of the vehicle body panel P, as shown in FIG. 4A, the inner diameter lock portion 14 is pressed from the outside by pressing the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 14 which is a thin portion of the outer member 11. The portion 25 and the locked portion 26 are pushed outward (inside the room X), and the sealing protrusion 24 is rotated outward in accordance with this, and as shown in FIG. 4B, the outer side of the sealing protrusion 24 The seal portion 24 b is brought into contact with the peripheral edge on the indoor X side of the through hole H.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, on the indoor X side of the through hole H, the outer seal portions 24 b of the four sealing protrusions 24 are locked to the periphery of the through hole H, and on the outdoor Y side of the through hole H. 4B, the lip 15 of the outer member 11 is pressed against the panel P to form a sealed state.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C, the sealing protrusions 24-1 and 24-2 (24-3 and 24-4) at the left and right facing positions rotate in the proximity direction to each other. As a result, the lock part 25 and the locked part 26 that face each other are locked together by the insertion piece 26a of the locked part 26 being inserted into the lock part 25 and the locking part 25 being prevented from coming off by the locking projection 26b. Join.
Therefore, the grommet 10 can be attached to the through-hole H with one touch and can be locked and fixed by pressing the enlarged diameter cylindrical portion 14 of the outer member 11 from the outside.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, it is easy to determine whether or not the outer seal portion 24 b of the sealing projection piece 24 is completely locked to the periphery of the through hole H by viewing from the room X side of the panel P. Since it can be confirmed, quality can be improved by reliably preventing half-cutting.

6 and 7 show a grommet 10 'according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Although it is different from the first embodiment in that the pressing step 16 is provided around the outer peripheral surface of the base portion of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 12 ′ of the outer member 11 ′ and protrudes outward, the other configurations are the same. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given and the description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the outer member 11 ′ is formed by continuously and integrally forming a large-diameter cylindrical portion 13 ′ at one end of a small-diameter cylindrical portion 12 ′ via a flange-shaped enlarged diameter portion 14 ′. .

When this grommet 10 ′ is attached to the through hole H, the small diameter cylindrical portion 12 ′ is pushed into the large diameter cylindrical portion 13 ′, thereby, as shown in FIG. 7B, the root portion 12a of the small diameter cylindrical portion 12 ′. While pressing ', the pressing step portion 16 is fitted into the large-diameter cylindrical portion 13' together with the enlarged-diameter portion 14 ', and the lock portion 25 and the locked portion 26 of the internal sealing projection piece 24 are moved outward (in the room X side). And the sealing protrusion 24 is rotated, the outer seal portion 24b is brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the through hole H on the interior X side, and the grommet 10 'is locked.
Therefore, also in the present embodiment, the grommet 10 ′ can be attached with one touch with a light force, and the small-diameter cylindrical portion 12 ′, the pressing step portion 16, and the enlarged-diameter portion 14 ′ that are pushed in as described above are easily restored. And return to its original state.

  8A, 8B, and 9 show a grommet 10 "according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The grommet 10 'according to the second embodiment does not have a pressing step 16 formed therein. The large-diameter cylindrical portion 13 ″ and the inner member 20 ″ are different in that the cross-sectional shapes are circular, and the attachment method to the through hole H of the vehicle body panel P is also different, but the other points are the same. The same reference numerals are given and the description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the inner member 20 ″ rotates the sealing protrusion 24 ″ via the hinge portion 23 at four positions on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 21 ″ at equal intervals. Although projecting so as to be possible, the locking projection 25 ″ is not provided with the locking portion 25 and the locked portion 26. In addition, the dimension L1 between the outer seal portions 24b "of the opposing seal protrusions 24" before being displaced to the seal position is larger than the outer diameter D1 of the wire harness W / H that passes through the small diameter cylindrical portion 12 ". Is also small.

  When the grommet 10 ″ is attached to the through hole H, as shown in FIG. 9, when the wire harness W / H is inserted into the small-diameter cylindrical portion 12 ″, the seal protrusion piece is formed by the wire harness W / H. After the base 24a ″ of 24 ″ is pushed toward the room X side to rotate the projecting piece 24 ″ for sealing, and the outer seal portion 24b ″ is projected outward from the front end surface of the cylindrical portion 21 ″ of the inner member 20 ″, An operator grasps and rotates the outer seal portion 24b ″ from the inside X side of the through hole H, and as shown in FIG. Install it in contact.

  In the present embodiment, the sealing protrusion 24 ″ is locked to the through hole H while being visually observed by the operator, so that the grommet can be securely attached while preventing the half-cut.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. The large-diameter cylindrical portion and the inner member of the outer member may have an oblong cross-sectional shape in addition to a square cross-sectional shape and a circular cross-sectional shape.

The grommet which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention is shown, (A) is a front view, (B) is sectional drawing. It is a perspective view of the inner member shown in FIG. It is the side view which looked at the state which attached the grommet shown in FIG. 1 to the panel through-hole from the indoor side. (A) (B) is sectional drawing which shows the attachment procedure to the panel through-hole of the grommet shown in FIG. FIGS. 1A and 1B show a lock structure of a sealing protrusion piece of an inner member shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. It is a perspective view which shows the grommet which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention. (A) (B) is sectional drawing which shows the attachment procedure to the panel through-hole of the grommet shown in FIG. The grommet which concerns on 3rd embodiment of this invention is shown, (A) is a side view of a grommet, (B) is the side view which looked at the state which attached the grommet to the panel through-hole from the indoor side. It is sectional drawing which shows the attachment method to the panel through-hole of the grommet shown in FIG. It is a figure of a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

10, 10 ', 10 "grommet 12, 12', 12" small diameter cylindrical portion 13, 13 ', 13 "large diameter cylindrical portion 20, 20" inner member 24, 24 "sealing protrusion 24a, 24a" base 24b, 24b "outer seal part 25 lock part 26 locked part

Claims (4)

A grommet to be mounted on an automotive wire harness,
It consists of an inner member made of resin and an outer member made of rubber or elastomer that fits the inner member,
The outer member has a large-diameter cylindrical portion continuous from one end of a small-diameter cylindrical portion that allows the electric wire group to be in close contact therewith, and an annular tip surface of the large-diameter cylindrical portion serves as a sealing surface to one side periphery of the panel through-hole. on the other hand,
The inner member is fitted into the large-diameter cylindrical portion of the outer member, and an annular protrusion protruding from the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion of the inner member is fitted into an annular groove formed on the inner peripheral surface of the large-diameter cylindrical portion. Locked
The L-shaped sealing protrusion is protruded from the four corners of the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the inner member through the thin hinge part, and the bent end of the sealing protrusion is set as the outer sealing part.
When the sealing protrusion is rotated outward, it is displaced to a sealing position where the outer sealing portion contacts the other side periphery of the panel through-hole ,
The seal projection pieces provided at the four corners of the inner member are arranged opposite to each other, and a lock portion is provided at the base of one of the seal projection pieces arranged opposite to the left and right, while the other seal projection piece the locked portions projecting from the base portion, said locking portion between the sealing protrusion that faces the portion to be locked in the sealing position is locked coupling, said sealing protrusion has a configuration that will be fixed to the sealing position the characteristics and to Heidelberg grommet. The lock part and the locked part protruding from the base part of the sealing protrusion are positioned inside the enlarged diameter cylindrical part which is a thin part of the outer member, and are pushed from the outer surface of the thin part into the seal position. The grommet according to claim 1, wherein the grommet is rotatable . A pressing step is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the base portion of the small-diameter cylindrical portion of the outer member, and when the small-diameter cylindrical portion is pushed into the large-diameter cylindrical portion, the root portion is folded and the pressing step portion The grommet according to claim 1 , wherein the grommet is configured to be able to rotate to the seal position by pressing a base portion of the seal projecting piece. The sealing protrusion of the inner member is rotated by the wire group penetrating from the small-diameter cylindrical portion of the outer member, and the distal end of the sealing protruding piece is outward from the distal end surface of the inner member cylindrical portion at the rotational position. The grommet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the grommet is protruded to the position, and the protruding portion is gripped to be rotatable to the seal position .

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