JP7783129B2 - Grommet - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a grommet.

Conventionally, when routing materials such as electrical wires through a through-hole, groove, or other insertion portion between two spaces, a grommet is sometimes placed in the insertion portion to protect the routing material from the periphery of the insertion portion. These grommets are sometimes made liquid-proof to prevent liquids such as water from passing between the two spaces through the insertion portion. For example, this type of grommet is disclosed in Patent Document 1 listed below.

JP 2009-106091 A

However, conventional grommets are held in place by fitting them into the insertion section. This makes it difficult for conventional grommets to absorb deviations within the tolerance range of the length of the wiring material.

The object of the present invention is to provide a grommet that can accommodate the axial length tolerance of the wiring material.

The present invention comprises a grommet body having an insertion passage formed therein for inserting a straight portion of a wiring material, and a connector connected to the grommet body outside the grommet body. The connector is housed in a storage chamber having a wiring material insertion hole on each side of two spaces through which the wiring material passes. The storage chamber has a retainer held so as to be movable relative to the wiring axial direction of the straight portion, and a connector connecting the retainer to the grommet body. The connector is a wall that connects the grommet body and the retainer, intersects the wiring axial direction, and is flexible in the wiring axial direction. The retainer is shaped to leave a gap in the wiring axial direction relative to the inner walls of the storage chamber on the two wiring material insertion hole sides, and is shaped to deform as the connector flexes, allowing a portion of it to enter one of the two wiring material insertion holes.

In the grommet of the present invention, the retainer is formed in a shape that allows a gap in the wiring axis direction from the inner wall of the storage chamber on the two wiring material insertion hole sides. This allows the grommet to move relative to the storage chamber in the wiring axis direction by the amount of this gap, absorbing any deviation in the length of the wiring material within the tolerance range. Furthermore, in the grommet of the present invention, the retainer is formed in a shape that gives the connector flexibility in the wiring axis direction and allows it to deform as the connector flexes, allowing a portion of it to enter one of the two wiring material insertion holes. This allows the grommet to further absorb any deviation in the length of the wiring material within the tolerance range.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a grommet in a closed state according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the grommet in the closed state according to the embodiment, as viewed from the protruding body side. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the grommet in the closed state according to the embodiment, as viewed from the lip side. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line YY in FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the grommet moved relatively to the outside of the container box. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the grommet moved relatively to the inside of the container box.

Below, an embodiment of a grommet according to the present invention is described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

[Embodiment]
One embodiment of a grommet according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG.

Reference numeral 1 in Figures 1 to 5 denotes a grommet of this embodiment. This grommet 1 is disposed in a through-hole (hereinafter referred to as the "routing material insertion hole") through which a wiring material We (Figures 1 and 2) passes between two spaces. It protects the wiring material We from the periphery of the wiring material insertion hole in the partition between the two spaces and prevents liquids such as water from passing between the two spaces through the gap between the periphery and the wiring material We. Therefore, this grommet 1 is molded from a flexible synthetic resin material such as synthetic rubber. Here, the wiring material We refers to, for example, an electric wire (such as a communication wire or a power supply wire). The partition between the two spaces may be, for example, a plate-like member such as a vehicle body panel, or the wall of a storage box such as an electrical junction box.

The grommet 1 has a grommet body 1A formed with an insertion passage 1a through which the straight portion of the wiring material We passes, and a connecting body 1B connected to the grommet body 1A outside the grommet body 1A (Figures 1 to 5).

The grommet 1 is held in place by its connector 1B placed in the routing material insertion hole. In this example, the grommet 1 is attached to a storage box 500 (Figure 2). In this case, the storage box 500 includes a box body 501 with an insertion opening for inserting an object to be stored, and a cover (not shown) that covers the insertion opening. The wall of the box body 501 is provided with a storage chamber 502, with wall portions protruding from the periphery of the notch to both space sides (the interior space side of the box body and the space outside the box body), and with routing material insertion holes 502a provided on both space sides. In this storage box 500, the two wiring material insertion holes 502a are positioned opposite each other in the axial direction of the straight portion of the wiring material We (hereinafter referred to as the "wiring axis direction"), and the connecting body 1B is stored in the storage chamber 502, and the connecting body 1B is held within this storage chamber 502.

The grommet body 1A comprises a main body 10, whose insertion passage 1a is divided into two insertion grooves 11 in the axial direction of the straight portion of the wiring material We, with the opening of one of the insertion grooves 11 serving as the insertion opening 11a for the wiring material We, and a movable body 20, whose insertion passage 1a is divided into two insertion grooves 21, with the opening of the other insertion groove 21 serving as the insertion opening 21a for the wiring material We (Figs. 1 to 4). A connecting body 1B is connected to one end of the grommet body 1A in the axial direction. The grommet body 1A also has a protrusion 30 that protrudes coaxially from the other end of the main body 10 in the axial direction (Figs. 1 to 3).

The main body 10 shown here has two insertion grooves 11 aligned in the direction of the wiring axis. Each insertion groove 11 extends to the end of the protruding body 30 in the protruding direction (Figure 1). The movable body 20 shown here is provided for each insertion passage 1a (i.e., for each insertion groove 11).

The connector 1B has a retainer 40A that is held in the housing chamber 502 so that it can move relatively in the wiring axial direction, and a connector 40B that connects the retainer 40A to the grommet body 1A (Figures 1 to 5).

The retaining body 40A is formed in a shape that allows a gap in the wiring axis direction from the inner wall 502b of the storage chamber 502 on the side of the two wiring material insertion holes 502a (Figure 2). Here, the connecting body 40B connects the grommet body 1A and the retaining body 40A, crosses the wiring axis direction, and is formed as a wall that is flexible in the wiring axis direction. Therefore, the retaining body 40A is formed to be deformable in response to the bending of the connecting body 40B. The retaining body 40A shown here is formed in a shape that allows it to deform in response to the bending of the connecting body 40B, allowing a portion of it to enter one of the two wiring material insertion holes 502a (Figures 6 and 7).

Specifically, the connector 1B has a first connector 41 connected to one end of the main body 10 in the wiring axis direction, and a second connector 42 for each movable body 20 connected to one end of the movable body 20 in the wiring axis direction (Figures 3 and 5).

The grommet 1 has hinges 50 that connect the main body 10 and the movable body 20 and also connect the first link body 41 and the second link body 42, and allow the main body 10 and the movable body 20, and the first link body 41 and the second link body 42, to rotate relatively between an open state and a closed state around a rotation axis extending in the wiring axis direction (FIGS. 3 and 4). A hinge 50 is provided for each combination of movable body 20 and second link body 42. In other words, in this grommet 1, the main body 10 and the movable body 20 are integrated via the hinges 50, and the main body 10, two movable bodies 20, and portions of the two hinges 50, plus the protrusions 30, form the grommet body 1A. In addition, in this grommet 1, the first linking body 41 and the second linking body 42 are integrated via a hinge 50, and the first linking body 41, the two second linking bodies 42, and the remaining two hinges 50 form linking body 1B.

In the grommet 1, by providing this hinge 50, the main body 10, the movable body 20, the first linking body 41, and the second linking body 42 are positioned in the following positional relationship in the closed and open states:

When in the closed state, the main body 10 and the movable bodies 20 abut their respective ends (hereinafter referred to as the "first external slit peripheries") 12, 22 around the axis of the wiring material We, forming an external slit (hereinafter referred to as the "first external slit") 61 between the first external slit peripheries 12, 22 (Figures 1, 2, and 4). This first external slit 61 is provided for each movable body 20. When in the closed state, the main body 10 and the movable bodies 20 align the insertion openings 11a, 21a of one insertion groove 11 and the other insertion groove 21 to form an insertion passage 1a. When in the closed state, the main body 10 and the two movable bodies 20 have an external shape that is rectangular.

When the first connecting body 41 and the two second connecting bodies 42 are in the closed state, the ends 42a, 42b of the two second connecting bodies 42 (hereinafter referred to as the "second external slit peripheral portions") abut against each other to form an external slit (hereinafter referred to as the "second external slit") 62 between the second external slit peripheral portions 42a, 42b (Figures 1 to 4).

The first connecting body 41 and the two second connecting bodies 42 are roughly divided into a portion that, when closed, forms an annular body (here, a rectangular annular body) with a slit in the wiring axis direction, and an annular wall body that connects the annular body to the grommet body 1A and has a slit that connects to the slit in the annular body. In this connecting body 1B, the annular body becomes the retaining body 40A, and the annular wall body becomes the connecting body 40B (Figure 5). In this connecting body 1B, the slits in the retaining body 40A (wall body) and the connecting body 40B (annular wall body) become the second external slits 62. The connecting body 40B is formed as a wall body that connects the inner surface of the retaining body 40A to the outer surface of the grommet body 1A.

When this connecting body 1B is closed, the internal space of the holding body 40A serves as a communication passage 1b connecting the two insertion passages 1a (Figure 5). This communication passage 1b also connects the two insertion passages 1a to one of the two spaces (here, the internal space of the box body).

In this grommet 1, the two first external slits 61 and the second external slit 62 are formed as a single trident-shaped slit with one end of each gathered in one place when closed (Figure 2). In this case, a single Y-shaped slit is formed, as if branching from the second external slit 62 to the two first external slits 61.

In this grommet 1, the hinge 50 rotates relative to one another between the open and closed states in conjunction with the relative rotation of the main body 10 and the movable body 20 between the open and closed states, allowing relative rotation between one side and the other of the slits (second external slits 62) of the holding body 40A and the connecting body 40B in the connecting body 1B (i.e., between one second connecting body 42 and the other second connecting body 42) between the open and closed states.

When open, the main body 10 and the movable body 20 expand the width of the first external slit 61, exposing the insertion openings 11a, 21a of the respective insertion grooves 11, 21 from the first external slit 61. In this open state, the wiring material We is inserted into the respective insertion grooves 11, 21 through the first external slit 61. When open, the first connecting body 41 and the two second connecting bodies 42 expand the width of the second external slit 62, exposing the wall surfaces (respective inner wall surfaces) of the communicating passage 1b from the second external slit 62. In this open state, the wiring material We is inserted through the second external slit 62. In other words, with this grommet 1, when the main body 10, movable body 20, first link body 41, and second link body 42 are in the open state, one wiring material We can be assembled through one of the first external slits 61 and second external slits 62, and the other wiring material We can be assembled through the other of the first external slits 61 and second external slits 62.

In this grommet 1, a first external slit 61 is provided between the main body 10 and the movable body 20 for each movable body 20, and a second external slit 62 is provided between the first linking body 41 and the second linking body 42. In this grommet 1, due to the relative positions of the main body 10, movable body 20, first linking body 41, second linking body 42, and hinge 50, when the main body 10 and movable body 20 and the first linking body 41 and second linking body 42 are in a closed state, the two first external slits 61 and the second external slit 62 form a single slit with one end connected at one point. Here, the two first external slits 61 and the second external slit 62 form a single trifurcated (Y-shaped) slit. Therefore, in this grommet 1, when the main body 10, the movable body 20, and the first and second connecting bodies 41, 42 are in the open state, the width of the second external slit 62 can be made wider than the width of each of the first external slits 61. Therefore, when assembling the wiring material We with this grommet 1, the wiring material We can be inserted first through the wider second external slit 62, and then through the first external slit 61, thereby improving the assembling work of the wiring material We.

This grommet 1 has a lip 70 that protrudes from the inner peripheral surfaces 11b, 21b of each insertion groove 11, 21. When closed, the ends 71a, 71b of the wiring material We abut against each other around the axis of the wiring material We, forming an internal slit 63 between the ends 71a, 71b and tightly contacting the outer peripheral surface of the wiring material We (Figure 3). This lip 70 is provided for each insertion passage 1a (i.e., for each combination of one insertion groove 11 and the other insertion groove 21). When closed, the lip 70 shown here forms a cantilevered cylinder with its cylindrical axis aligned with the wiring axis, tightly contacting the outer peripheral surface of the wiring material We around the entire circumference. When open, the lip 70 widens the width of the internal slit 63, exposing the inner wall surface from the internal slit 63. When in this open state, the wiring material We is inserted through the internal slit 63.

This grommet 1 is made of a flexible synthetic resin material such as synthetic rubber, and is molded as a single integrated part, with the grommet body 1A (main body 10, movable body 20, protruding body 30), connecting body 1B (first connecting body 41, second connecting body 42), hinge 50, and lip 70.

As described above, in the grommet 1 of this embodiment, the retaining body 40A is formed in a shape that allows a gap to be left in the wiring axis direction relative to the inner wall 502b of the storage chamber 502 on the side of the two wiring material insertion holes 502a (Figure 2). Therefore, the grommet 1 can move relative to the storage chamber 502 in the wiring axis direction by the amount of that gap (Figures 6 and 7), thereby absorbing deviations within the tolerance range of the length of the wiring material We. Therefore, the grommet 1 can improve the ease of assembly of the wiring material We pulled outward from the storage box 500 to, for example, a vehicle body.

Furthermore, in the grommet 1 of this embodiment, the connector 40B is made flexible in the wiring axis direction, and the retaining body 40A is formed in a shape that allows it to deform as the connector 40B flexes, allowing a portion of it to enter one of the two wiring material insertion holes 502a (Figures 6 and 7). This allows the grommet 1 to further absorb deviations within the length tolerance of the wiring material We. Therefore, the grommet 1 can further improve the ease of assembly of the wiring material We pulled outward from the storage box 500 to, for example, a vehicle body.

In this grommet 1, it is preferable that portions of the second external slit peripheries 42a, 42b abut against each other when the retaining body 40A is inserted into one of the two wiring material insertion holes 502a (Figures 6 and 7). This ensures that at least portions of the second external slit peripheries 42a, 42b are always in contact with each other when the grommet 1 is closed, thereby reducing the intrusion of liquids such as water.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 grommet 1A grommet body 1B connecting body 1a insertion passage 10 main body 11, 21 insertion groove 11a, 21a insertion opening 20 movable body 40A holding body 40B connecting body 50 hinge 62 second external slit (slit)
502 Storage chamber 502a Cable insertion hole 502b Inner wall We Cable

Claims (3)

A grommet body having an insertion passage formed therein through which a straight portion of a wiring material is inserted;
a connector connected to the grommet body outside the grommet body;
and
The connecting body includes a retaining body that is accommodated in an accommodation chamber provided on each of the two spaces with a wiring material insertion hole for passing the wiring material between the two spaces, and that is held in this accommodation chamber so as to be relatively movable in the wiring axis direction of the straight portion, and a connecting body that connects the retaining body to the grommet body,
the connecting body is a wall body that connects the grommet body and the holding body, crosses the wiring axis direction, and has flexibility in the wiring axis direction,
A grommet characterized in that the retaining body is shaped so that a gap can be created in the direction of the wiring axis relative to the inner wall on the two wiring material insertion hole sides of the storage chamber, and is shaped so that it can deform as the connecting body flexes and allow a portion of it to insert into either of the two wiring material insertion holes. The retainer is formed as an annular body having a slit in the wiring axis direction,
2. The grommet according to claim 1, wherein the connector is formed as a wall that connects the inner peripheral surface of the holder to the outer peripheral surface of the grommet body. The grommet body is
The insertion passage is divided into two in the wiring axis direction, and one of the insertion grooves is provided at two locations aligned in the wiring axis direction, and an opening of the one of the insertion grooves serves as an insertion port for the wiring material; and
a movable body for each of the insertion passages, the movable body having the other insertion groove divided into two in the insertion passage and having an opening of the other insertion groove as an insertion port for the wiring material;
and
a hinge for each of the movable bodies that connects the main body and the movable body and rotates the main body and the movable body relatively between an open state and a closed state around a rotation axis that extends in the wiring axis direction;
the connecting body has a slit connected to the slit of the holding body,
3. The grommet of claim 2, wherein the hinge rotates relative to one side of the slit between the holding body and the connecting body in the connecting body in conjunction with the relative rotation of the main body and the movable body between the open state and the closed state.