Protector

Abstract

To provide a protector which can be easily unlocked without damaging a lock part and be reused.SOLUTION: A protector 1 comprises: a base part 3 having a housing part 5 for housing an electric wire; a cover part 4 attached to the base part 3 to cover the housing part 5; and a lock part 10 for locking the cover part 4 to the base part 3. The protector 1 comprises an unlock part 20 formed in the vicinity of the lock part 10 to release locking between the base part 3 and the cover part 4. The unlock part 20 has an insertion opening 21 formed between the base part 3 and the cover part 4 to insert an unlock jig 30 used in releasing the locking between the base part 3 and the cover part 4 into the inside from the outside of the base part 3. The unlock part 20 has an extension part 24 extended in the opposite direction of the housing part 5 from the base part 3 and inserted into the insertion opening 21 to function as a fulcrum 31 of the unlock jig 30 for separating the cover part 4 from the base part 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a protector. [Background technology]

[0002] A large number of wire harnesses each consisting of a bundle of electric wires are arranged inside a vehicle such as an automobile, and protectors are sometimes attached to these wire harnesses to protect the electric wires. The protector includes a base portion having an electric wire housing portion that houses the electric wires that make up the wire harness, a cover portion that is attached to the base portion and covers the electric wire housing portion, and a lock portion that locks the cover portion to the base portion (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-71600 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, in order to remove the cover from the base and reuse it when the protector is mistakenly assembled in the wrong position, the locking part that locks the base and cover together may be provided with an unlocking part for unlocking the locking using an unlocking jig such as a tool. However, if the unlocking part is provided on the locking part, there is a possibility that the locking part may be damaged by the unlocking jig, making it impossible to reuse the protector.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems inherent in the conventional technology, and an object of the present invention is to provide a protector that can be easily released without damaging the locking portion and that can be reused. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A protector according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a base portion having a storage portion for storing an electric wire, a cover portion attached to the base portion to cover the storage portion, a locking portion for engaging the cover portion with the base portion, and an unlocking portion formed near the locking portion for releasing the engagement between the base portion and the cover portion. The unlocking portion has an insertion opening formed between the base portion and the cover portion for inserting a release tool used to release the engagement between the base portion and the cover portion from the outside to the inside of the base portion, and an extension portion extending from the base portion in the opposite direction to the storage portion and functioning as a fulcrum for the release tool that is inserted into the insertion opening to separate the cover portion from the base portion. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a reusable protector in which the locking portion can be easily released without damaging it. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a protector according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a protector according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] 13 is a perspective view of the protector showing a state in which the unlocking tool is inserted into an insertion opening of the lock releasing portion. FIG. [Figure 4] 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the protector, showing a state in which a cover portion is pushed up using a release tool. FIG. [Diagram 5] 5 is a view taken along the arrow A in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 5 is a view taken along the arrow B in FIG. 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The protector according to the present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for the convenience of explanation and may differ from the actual ratios.

[0010] 1 and 2 is installed in a vehicle such as an automobile, and holds a wire harness (not shown) arranged inside the vehicle. This wire harness is a bundle of multiple electric wires. The shape or structure of the wire harness to be held by the protector 1 is not particularly limited.

[0011] The protector 1 has a protector body 2 that is fixed to a panel (not shown) such as a body panel inside the vehicle. The material of the protector body 2 is, for example, a synthetic resin material.

[0012] The protector 1 is supported by a panel (not shown). In the following drawings, the vertical direction in which the protector 1 is installed on the panel is defined as the Z direction. Two directions perpendicular to each other in an imaginary plane perpendicular to the Z direction are defined as the X direction and the Y direction. Of these, the Y direction is along the extension direction of the wire harness when installed.

[0013] The protector body 2 includes a base portion 3 and a cover portion 4 .

[0014] The base portion 3 has an electric wire housing portion (housing portion 5) that houses electric wires that constitute the wire harness. The base portion 3 is formed in a U-shape in cross section, having a bottom wall portion 3a and a pair of lower side walls 3b, 3b. Each of the pair of lower side walls 3b, 3b is formed with a female lock portion (locking portion 6) that locks with a male lock portion (locked portion 7) described later.

[0015] The cover part 4 is connected to the base part 3 and covers the base part 3 (accommodating part 5). The cover part 4 is formed in an inverted U-shape in cross section, and has a top wall part 4a and a pair of upper side walls 4b, 4b. Each of the pair of upper side walls 4b, 4b is formed with a male lock part (locked part 7) that locks with a female lock part (locking part 6).

[0016] The protector 1 according to this embodiment includes a locking portion 10 and an unlocking portion 20.

[0017] The locking portion 10 is for locking the cover portion 4 to the base portion 3. The locking portion 10 is configured to have a female locking portion (locking portion 6) formed on the base portion 3, and a male locking portion (locked portion 7) formed on the cover portion 4 and having a claw portion 11 that locks with the locking portion 6. The claw portion 11 has tapered portions 12, 12 on both the left and right sides in a plan view so that it tapers toward the tip.

[0018] In this embodiment, the locking portion 10 is provided on both sides in the width direction (X direction) of the protector body 2. This is not limited to this, and the locking portion 10 may be provided only on one side in the width direction of the protector body 2, and the base portion 3 and the cover portion 4 may be connected to each other on the other side in the width direction, for example, by a hinge portion.

[0019] The cover part 4 is attached to the base part 3 by covering the opening side of the base part 3 with the cover part 4 and locking the male lock part (locked part 7) to the female lock part (locking part 6).

[0020] The unlocking portion 20 is formed near the locking portion 10 and serves to release the engagement between the base portion 3 and the cover portion 4. More preferably, the unlocking portion 20 is formed adjacent to the locking portion 10. The unlocking portion 20 is formed between the base portion 3 and the cover portion 4 and has an insertion opening (insertion opening 21) for inserting the release tool 30 used when releasing the engagement between the base portion 3 and the cover portion 4 from the outside to the inside of the base portion 3. This insertion opening 21 is configured to have an upper cutout portion 22 formed by cutting out the upper side wall portion 4b of the cover portion 4 and a cutout portion 23 formed by cutting out the upper end of the lower side wall portion 3b of the base portion 3. In this embodiment, the ceiling surface of the upper cutout portion 22 and the lower surface of the top wall portion 4a of the cover portion 4 are flush with each other (see FIG. 4).

[0021] The unlocking portion 20 has a jig support base portion (extension portion 24) that extends from the base portion 3 in the opposite direction to the storage portion 5 and functions as a fulcrum 31 of the unlocking jig 30 that is inserted into the insertion opening 21 to separate the cover portion 4 from the base portion 3. The extension portion 24 is formed continuously with the bottom of the cutout portion 23 and extends from the lower side wall portion 3b of the base portion 3 to the outside in the width direction (X direction) of the base portion 3. In other words, the bottom surface of the cutout portion 23 and the upper surface of the extension portion 24 are flush with each other. The protruding length L of the extension portion 24 from the base portion 3 is smaller than the protruding length of the locking portion 6 from the base portion 3 (see FIG. 4).

[0022] In this embodiment, the unlocking part 20 is provided only on one side in the width direction (X direction) of the protector body 2. This is not limited to this, and the unlocking part 20 may be provided on both sides of the protector body 2 in the width direction.

[0023] The release jig 30 is used to release the engagement between the base part 3 and the cover part 4. This release jig 30 may be a tool such as a flat head screwdriver as in the illustrated example, or may be a dedicated member for releasing the aforementioned engagement.

[0024] Next, the operation of the protector 1 will be described.

[0025] First, as shown in FIG. 3, the tip portion 30a of the release jig 30 is inserted into the insertion opening 21 (the gap between the notch 23 provided in the lower side wall portion 3b of the base portion 3 and the upper notch 22 provided in the upper side wall portion 4b of the cover portion 4).

[0026] Next, as shown in Figures 4 to 6, the gripping portion 30b (see Figure 3) of the release tool 30 is lowered downward using the extension portion 24 as a fulcrum 31, thereby separating the cover portion 4 from the base portion 3 and lifting (pushing up) the cover portion 4.

[0027] That is, after inserting the tip portion 30a of the release tool 30 into the insertion opening 21, the cover portion 4 is moved away from the base portion 3 using the principle of leverage as shown in FIG. 4 to release the engagement between the locking portion 6 and the locked portion 7.

[0028] 5 and 6, the claw portion 11 of the locked portion 7 is tilted with respect to the horizontal direction, so that the tapered portion 12 of the claw portion 11 comes into contact with the locking portion 6, and the locking portion 6 is deformed in a portion with a small overlap amount, so that an external force can be transmitted in a direction in which the locking portion 6 opens. Therefore, the locking portion 6 can be deformed by a small external force, and the lock between the locking portion 6 and the locked portion 7 can be released without damaging the locking portion 6 of the locking unit 10.

[0029] Next, the effects of the protector 1 will be described.

[0030] Thus, the protector 1 according to this embodiment includes a base portion 3 having a storage portion 5 for storing an electric wire, a cover portion 4 attached to the base portion 3 to cover the storage portion 5, and a lock portion 10 for locking the cover portion 4 to the base portion 3. The protector 1 includes an unlocking portion 20 formed near the locking portion 10 for unlocking the base portion 3 and the cover portion 4. The unlocking portion 20 is formed between the base portion 3 and the cover portion 4, and has an insertion opening 21 for inserting an unlocking tool 30 used for unlocking the base portion 3 and the cover portion 4 from the outside to the inside of the base portion 3. The unlocking portion 20 extends from the base portion 3 in the opposite direction to the storage portion 5, and has an extension portion 24 that functions as a fulcrum 31 for the unlocking tool 30 that is inserted into the insertion opening 21 to separate the cover portion 4 from the base portion 3.

[0031] In the protector 1, the engagement between the locking portion 6 and the locked portion 7 can be released by using the principle of leverage to move the cover portion 4 away from the base portion 3 after inserting the tip portion 30a of the releasing tool 30 into the insertion opening 21. Since the engagement between the locking portion 6 and the locked portion 7 is released by the lock releasing portion 20 provided in the vicinity of the locking portion 10, damage to the locking portion 10 by the releasing tool 30 can be prevented.

[0032] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a reusable protector 1 in which the lock portion 10 can be easily released without being damaged.

[0033] In the protector 1, the base portion 3 may have a bottom wall portion 3a and a pair of side walls (lower side walls 3b, 3b). The insertion opening 21 may be configured with a notch portion 23 formed by cutting out an upper end of the side wall portion (lower side wall portion 3b) of the base portion 3. The extension portion 24 may be formed continuously with the bottom portion of the notch portion 23 and extend from the side wall portion (lower side wall portion 3b) of the base portion 3 to the outside in the width direction of the base portion 3.

[0034] Since it is only necessary to provide at least the cutout portion 23 and the extension portion 24 in the base portion 3 and there is no need to modify the structure of the lock portion 10, the protector 1 having the unlock portion 20 can be realized at low cost.

[0035] In the protector 1, the locking portion 10 may be configured to have a locking portion 6 formed on the base portion 3, and a locked portion 7 formed on the cover portion 4 and having a claw portion 11 that is locked to the locking portion 6. The claw portion 11 may have tapered portions 12, 12 on both the left and right sides in a plan view so as to taper toward the tip.

[0036] As the claw portion 11 of the locked portion 7 tilts from the initial position, the tapered portion 12 of the claw portion 11 comes into contact with the locking portion 6, and the locking portion 6 is deformed in a portion with a small overlap amount, so that an external force can be transmitted in a direction in which the locking portion 6 opens. Therefore, the locking portion 6 can be deformed by a small external force, and the lock between the locking portion 6 and the locked portion 7 can be released without damaging the locking portion 6 of the locking unit 10.

[0037] In the protector 1, the locking portion 10 may be configured to have a locking portion 6 formed on the base portion 3, and a locked portion 7 formed on the cover portion 4 and having a claw portion 11 that is locked to the locking portion 6. The protruding length L of the extension portion 24 from the base portion 3 is smaller than the protruding length of the locking portion 6 from the base portion 3.

[0038] By making the protruding length L of the extension 24 from the base 3 smaller than the protruding length of the locking portion 6 from the base 3 in this manner, the extension 24 does not affect the arrangement of the protector 1.

[0039] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1 Protector 3 Base 3a Bottom wall 3b Lower side wall 4 Cover part 5. Storage section 6 Locking part 7 Locked part 10 Lock Section 11 Claw part 12 Tapered section 20 Unlocking section 21 Insertion opening 23 Notch 24 Stretching section 30 Release tool 31 Fulcrum L: Projection length of extension part

Claims

1. a base portion having a housing portion for housing an electric wire; a cover portion attached to the base portion to cover the storage portion; a lock portion that locks the cover portion to the base portion; an unlocking portion formed near the locking portion for unlocking the base portion and the cover portion, The unlocking unit is an insertion opening formed between the base portion and the cover portion for inserting a release tool used for releasing the engagement between the base portion and the cover portion from the outside to the inside of the base portion; an extension portion that extends from the base portion in a direction opposite to the housing portion and functions as a fulcrum of the release tool that is inserted into the insertion opening and separates the cover portion from the base portion; Protector.

2. The base portion has a bottom wall portion and a pair of side walls, the insertion opening has a notch formed by cutting out an upper end of the side wall of the base, The extension portion is formed continuously with the bottom of the notch portion and extends from the side wall portion of the base portion to the outside in the width direction of the base portion. The protector according to claim 1 .

3. The lock portion is A locking portion formed on the base portion; a latched portion formed on the cover portion and having a claw portion to be latched to the latch portion, The claw portion has tapered portions on both the left and right sides in a plan view so as to taper toward the tip. The protector according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The lock portion is A locking portion formed on the base portion; a latched portion formed on the cover portion and having a claw portion to be latched to the latch portion, a protruding length of the extension portion from the base portion is smaller than a protruding length of the locking portion from the base portion; The protector according to claim 1 or 2.

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