Protector and wire harness

Abstract

To provide a protector capable of properly routing a wiring material in a pipe member, and a wire harness.SOLUTION: A protector 1 comprises a cylinder section 10, a cover section 20, and a support section 30. The cylinder section 10 is formed cylindrical around an axis X1 and locked to a cylindrical headrest stay H while being inserted inside of the headrest stay H, and a wiring material W is inserted inside. The cover section 20 is disposed at one side of the cylinder section 10 in an axial direction X along the axis X1 and positioned outside of the headrest stay H and covers a front end Ha of the headrest stay H in the axial direction X. The support section 30 is provided at the other side of the cylinder section 10 in the axial direction X and extends from the other side of the cylinder section 10 to an opposite side of the cover section 20 in the axial direction X, and a tape member T is wound together with the wiring material W in a state where the wiring material W is supported.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, Patent Document 1 describes a connector unit including a cylindrically formed metal holder and a connector housed in the holder. In this connector unit, one of the holder and the connector is provided with a protrusion protruding toward the other, and the other is provided with a protrusion housing hole that houses the protrusion to fix the holder and the connector, and the tip of the connector that fits with the mating connector is disposed outside the holder with respect to one end of the holder in the longitudinal direction. Patent Documents 2 to 10 describe protectors and wire harnesses related to technology for wiring a wiring material in a pipe member. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-52979 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2018-144606 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2022-103997 A [Patent Document 4] JP 2022-189686 A [Patent Document 5] JP 2018-95029 A [Patent Document 6] JP 2008-30654 A [Patent Document 7] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-86250 [Patent Document 8] JP 2006-341699 A [Patent Document 9] JP 2008-49820 A [Patent Document 10] JP 2016-165968 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, the connector unit described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 electrically connects the headrest side and the seat back side by, for example, fitting a connector connected to a wiring material routed within the headrest stay, which is a holder (pipe member), into a mating connector provided on the seat back.Since the wiring material is routed within the headrest stay via such a connector connection, there is a risk of an increase in the number of parts.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and has an object to provide a protector and a wire harness that enable a wiring material to be properly wired to a pipe member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the protector of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a tubular portion formed in a cylindrical shape around an axis, engaged with the pipe member when inserted inside the pipe member, and through which a wiring material is inserted, a covering portion provided on one side in the axial direction along the axis of the tubular portion, located outside the pipe member, and covering the axial tip of the pipe member, and a support portion provided on the other side of the axial direction of the tubular portion, extending from the other side of the tubular portion along the axial direction to the opposite side from the covering portion, and around which a tape member is wound together with the wiring material while supporting the wiring material.

[0007] The wire harness of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a conductive wiring material, a tape member for fixing the wiring material, a tubular portion formed in a cylindrical shape around an axis and engaged with a tubular pipe member when inserted inside the pipe member, through which the wiring material is inserted, a covering portion provided on one side of the axial direction along the axis of the tubular portion, located outside the pipe member, and covering the axial tip of the pipe member, and a protector provided on the other side of the axial direction of the tubular portion, extending from the other side of the tubular portion along the axial direction to the opposite side from the covering portion, and having a support portion around which the tape member is wound together with the wiring material while supporting the wiring material. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The protector according to the present invention can prevent the tip of the pipe member from being exposed by the covering portion. In addition, the protector can fix the wiring material inserted inside to the support portion by wrapping a tape member around the support portion and the wiring material while the support portion supports the wiring material. The protector can prevent an increase in the number of parts compared to a conventional case in which a connector connected to the wiring material routed inside the headrest stay is fitted into a mating connector provided on the seat back to electrically connect the headrest side and the seat side. As a result, the protector and a wire harness including the protector can properly route the wiring material to the pipe member. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a wire harness according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a protector according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a protector according to a comparative example. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the protector according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The form (embodiment) for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiment. Furthermore, the components described below include those that a person skilled in the art can easily imagine and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the configurations described below can be appropriately combined. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the configurations can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0011] A wire harness WH including a protector 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Fig. 1, the wire harness WH includes a conductive wiring material W, a protector 1 supporting the wiring material W, and a tape member T fixing the wiring material W to the protector 1. The wire harness WH may further include other components such as a connector.

[0012] The wiring material W is composed of, for example, an electric wire, an electric wire bundle, etc. An electric wire is a conductor part (core wire) made of multiple conductive metal wires, the outside of which is covered with an insulating coating part. A wire bundle is a bundle of such electric wires. A wire harness WH bundles and aggregates multiple wiring materials W, and various devices are electrically connected via connectors or the like provided at the ends of the bundled wiring materials W.

[0013] The wiring material W in this embodiment is connected to, for example, a device such as a speaker built into the headrest of a vehicle seat. Here, the vehicle seat includes a seat cushion, a seat back, and a headrest. The seat cushion is a seating portion on which an occupant sits. The seat back is rotatably connected to the rear end of the seat cushion and supports the back of the occupant. The headrest is connected to the upper end of the seat back so as to be movable up and down, and supports the head of the occupant. The headrest includes a headrest stay H and a headrest pad.

[0014] The headrest stay H is, for example, a metal cylindrical pipe member bent into an inverted U-shape. The headrest stay H has, for example, a pair of legs Hd inserted into a holder provided at the upper end of the seat back, and a connecting portion connecting the upper ends of the pair of legs Hd. The headrest stay H connects a headrest pad to the seat back so that the headrest pad can be raised and lowered in a state where the pair of legs Hd are inserted into the holder of the seat back. The headrest pad is formed of, for example, a foamed resin, is provided at the connecting portion at the upper end of the headrest stay H, and supports the head of the occupant. When the wiring material W is connected to a device such as a speaker built into the headrest, for example, it is inserted inside the headrest stay H and wired from the seat back side to the headrest side.

[0015] The protector 1 holds the wiring material W in a state where it is fitted to the tip Ha of the leg Hd of the headrest stay H. Here, the shape of the tip Ha of the leg Hd of the headrest stay H is regulated in order to protect the occupant (regulations on protrusions in the vehicle interior). In the conventional headrest stay, the tip Ha of the leg Hd is formed into a convex spherical shape by, for example, swaging processing in order to satisfy the regulations on protrusions in the vehicle interior. In contrast, the headrest stay H of the present embodiment does not form the tip Ha of the leg Hd into a convex spherical shape, and the protector 1 is fitted to the tip Ha of the leg Hd to satisfy the regulations on protrusions in the vehicle interior. As a result, since the tip Ha of the headrest stay H of the present embodiment is not formed into a convex spherical shape, it is possible to suppress the opening of the tip Ha from becoming small, and it is easy to insert the wiring material W into the tip Ha, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in workability.

[0016] 1 and 2, the protector 1 includes a cylindrical portion 10, a cover portion 20, and a support portion 30. The protector 1 is formed from an insulating resin material or the like, and the cylindrical portion 10, the cover portion 20, and the support portion 30 are integrally formed by, for example, injection molding the resin material.

[0017] The tubular portion 10 is a portion that is inserted into the inside of the leg portion Hd of the tubular headrest stay H, and has a tubular portion main body 11 and a locking portion 12.

[0018] The tubular body 11 is formed in a tubular shape around the axis X1 and extends in the axial direction X along the axis X1. When viewed from the axial direction X, the tubular body 11 is formed to have an outer shape slightly smaller than the inner shape of the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H. This allows the tubular body 11 to be inserted into the inner side of the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H.

[0019] The locking portion 12 is provided on the tubular main body 11, and locks the tubular main body 11 to the inside of the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H. The locking portion 12 has an arm 121 and a locking claw 122.

[0020] The arm 121 extends in the axial direction X, has one end connected to the outer surface of the tubular main body 11, and the other end is a free end, and is formed to be elastically deformable along the radial direction Y perpendicular to the axial direction X. When the tubular main body 11 is inserted into the inside of the leg Hd of the headrest stay H, the arm 121 is pressed by the inner surface of the leg Hd and elastically deforms toward the inside of the tubular main body 11 (toward the axis X1).

[0021] The locking claw 122 locks the tubular main body 11 to the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H. The locking claw 122 is provided at a free end of the arm 121, and is locked to an opening Hb provided in the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H.

[0022] When the tubular portion 10 configured as described above has the tubular portion main body 11 inserted inside the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H, the arm 121 is first elastically deformed and the tubular portion main body 11 is pushed further into the leg portion Hd, whereby the locking claw 122 is locked in the opening portion Hb of the leg portion Hd, and at this time, the elastically deformed arm 121 returns to its original position. This allows the tubular portion 10 to lock the tubular portion main body 11 inside the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H by the locking portion 12. With the tubular portion 10 inserted and locked inside the headrest stay H, the wiring material W is inserted inside the tubular portion 10.

[0023] The cover portion 20 covers the tip Ha of the headrest stay H. The cover portion 20 is provided on one side of the axial direction X of the tube portion 10, and has an annular portion 21. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the annular portion 21 is formed in a substantially annular shape along the circumferential direction R around the axis X1. When viewed from the axial direction X, the annular portion 21 is formed to have an outer shape of the same size as the outer shape of the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H. That is, the annular portion 21 protrudes in the radial direction Y from the outer circumferential surface of the tube main body 11. As a result, when the tube portion 10 is inserted inside the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H, the annular portion 21 is located outside the headrest stay H in a state in which the abutment surface 211 of the annular portion 21 abuts against the tip Ha of the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H. As a result, the covering portion 20 can cover the tip end Ha of the leg portion Hd of the headrest stay H in the axial direction X with the annular portion 21, so that the above-mentioned regulations on protrusions in the vehicle interior can be satisfied.

[0024] The support portion 30 supports the wiring material W. The support portion 30 is provided on the other side of the tubular portion 10 in the axial direction X, and has a connecting portion 31 and a support plate 32.

[0025] The connecting portion 31 connects the support plate 32 to the tubular body 11. The connecting portion 31 is formed in a plate shape and connects an end of the tubular body 11 opposite to the cover portion 20 in the axial direction X to an end of the support plate 32. The connecting portion 31 connects the end of the tubular body 11 to the end of the support plate 32, for example, in a state in which the support plate 32 is offset from the tubular body 11 side to the axial line X1 side of the tubular portion 10 along the radial direction Y. That is, the connecting portion 31 connects the end of the tubular body 11 to the end of the support plate 32 in a state in which the support plate 32 is separated from the tubular body 11 to the axial line X1 side.

[0026] The support plate 32 supports the wiring material W. The support plate 32 is formed in a plate shape and extends from the other side (opposite side to the cover part 20) of the tube part 10 along the axial direction X to the opposite side to the cover part 20. One end of the support plate 32 in the axial direction X is connected to an end of the tube part main body 11 in the axial direction X via a connecting part 31. The support plate 32 is connected to the tube part main body 11 in a state where it is offset from the tube part main body 11 side to the axis X1 side of the tube part 10 along the radial direction Y. That is, the support plate 32 is connected to the tube part main body 11 in a state where it is spaced from the tube part main body 11 to the axis X1 side along the radial direction Y. The support plate 32 supports the wiring material W inserted into the inner side of the leg part Hd of the headrest stay H in a state where the tube part main body 11 is inserted into the inner side of the leg part Hd. The tape member T is wound around the support plate 32 together with the wiring material W while supporting the wiring material W. This allows the support plate 32 to hold the wiring material W while bringing the wiring material W closer to the axis X1 side.

[0027] The tape member T is for fixing the wiring material W supported by the support plate 32 to the support plate 32. The tape member T is formed in a belt shape, and is wound around the wiring material W and the support plate 32 in a state in which the wiring material W is supported by the support plate 32, thereby fixing the wiring material W to the support plate 32.

[0028] As described above, the protector 1 according to the embodiment includes the tube portion 10, the cover portion 20, and the support portion 30. The tube portion 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape around the axis X1, and is engaged with the headrest stay H in a state where it is inserted inside the cylindrical headrest stay H, and the wiring material W is inserted inside. The cover portion 20 is provided on one side of the axial direction X along the axis X1 of the tube portion 10, is located outside the headrest stay H, and covers the tip Ha of the headrest stay H in the axial direction X. The support portion 30 is provided on the other side of the axial direction X of the tube portion 10, extends from the other side of the tube portion 10 along the axial direction X to the opposite side to the cover portion 20, and supports the wiring material W, and the tape member T is wound together with the wiring material W.

[0029] With this configuration, the protector 1 can prevent the tip Ha of the headrest stay H from being exposed by the cover portion 20. In addition, the protector 1 can fix the wiring material W to the support portion 30 by wrapping a tape member T around the support portion 30 and the wiring material W while the wiring material W inserted inside is supported by the support portion 30. The protector 1 can prevent an increase in the number of parts compared to a conventional example in which the headrest side and the seat side are electrically connected by fitting a connector connected to the wiring material W wired inside the headrest stay H into a mating connector provided on the seat back as in the conventional example. As a result, the protector 1 can properly wire the wiring material W to the headrest stay H.

[0030] In the protector 1, the support portion 30 has a plate-shaped support plate 32 that supports the wiring material W. The support plate 32 is offset from the cylindrical body 11 side of the cylindrical portion 10 toward the axis X1 side of the cylindrical portion 10.

[0031] Here, for example, as shown in Fig. 3, the support plate M according to the comparative example is connected to the tubular main body 11 without being offset toward the axis X1 side of the tubular portion 10. Therefore, the wiring material W held by the support plate M has a relatively short distance P1 from the welded portion Hc of the headrest stay H, which may cause the wiring material W to interfere with the welded portion Hc. Here, the welded portion Hc is a portion where the ends of the bent metal plate in the circumferential direction R are welded together when the headrest stay H is formed by bending the metal plate into a ring shape along the circumferential direction R. The welded portion Hc is formed along the axial direction X, and a part of it protrudes inside the headrest stay H.

[0032] In contrast, the support plate 32 according to this embodiment is offset from the tubular main body 11 side toward the axis X1 side as shown in Fig. 4, so that the distance P2 in the radial direction Y between the wiring material W and the welded portion Hc is longer than the distance P1 in the comparative example. As a result, the support plate 32 can support the wiring material W in a state in which the wiring material W is spaced away from the welded portion Hc toward the axis X1 side, so that the wiring material W held by the support plate 32 can be prevented from interfering with the welded portion Hc.

[0033] In the above protector 1, the pipe member into which the protector 1 is fitted is a headrest stay H that connects a headrest pad to a seat back of a vehicle so that the headrest pad can be raised and lowered. The cover portion 20 covers the tip end Ha of the headrest stay H in the axial direction X in a state in which the tube portion 10 is inserted inside the headrest stay H. In this way, by applying the protector 1 to the headrest stay H, the wiring material W can be properly wired to the headrest stay H while satisfying the above-mentioned regulations on protrusions in the vehicle interior.

[0034] The wire harness WH includes a conductive wiring material W, a tape member T for fixing the wiring material W, and a protector 1, so that the wiring material W can be properly wired to the headrest stay H.

[0035] In the above description, an example has been described in which the support portion 30 has a plate-shaped support plate 32 that supports the wiring material W, but this is not limited to this and may, for example, have a rod-shaped member that supports the wiring material W.

[0036] Although an example has been described in which the support plate 32 is offset from the cylindrical main body 11 side toward the axis X1 side, the present invention is not limited to this, and the support plate 32 may be provided on the cylindrical main body 11 side without being offset.

[0037] Although the example in which the pipe member is the headrest stay H has been described, the present invention is not limited to this and may be another cylindrical member. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1 Protector 10 Cylinder part 11 Cylinder body (wall) 20 Cover 30 Support part 32 Support plate H Headrest stay (pipe component) Ha tip Hc Welding R circumferential direction T tape material W Routing material WH Wire harness X1 axis X-axis direction

Claims

1. A cylindrical portion formed in a cylindrical shape around an axis, inserted into a cylindrical pipe member and engaged with the pipe member, through which a wiring material is inserted; a cover portion provided on one side of the cylindrical portion in an axial direction along the axis, positioned outside the pipe member, and covering a tip end of the pipe member in the axial direction; A protector characterized by comprising a support portion provided on the other side of the tubular portion in the axial direction, extending from the other side of the tubular portion along the axial direction to the opposite side of the cover portion, and around which a tape member is wound together with the wiring material while supporting the wiring material.

2. The support portion has a plate-shaped support plate that supports the wiring material, The protector according to claim 1 , wherein the support plate is offset from a wall side of the cylindrical portion toward the axis of the cylindrical portion.

3. The pipe member is formed by bending a metal plate into a ring shape along a circumferential direction around the axis, and has a welded portion in which ends of the metal plate in the circumferential direction after the bending are welded to each other, The protector according to claim 2 , wherein the support plate supports the wiring material in a state in which the wiring material is spaced away from the welded portion toward the axial line.

4. the pipe member is a headrest stay that connects a headrest pad to a seat back of a vehicle so as to be movable up and down; The protector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover portion covers a tip end of the headrest stay in the axial direction in a state where the tubular portion is inserted inside the headrest stay.

5. A conductive wiring material; A tape member for fixing the wiring material; a tubular portion formed in a cylindrical shape around an axis, inserted inside a tubular pipe member and engaged with the pipe member, through which a wiring material is inserted; a cover portion provided on one side of the axial direction along the axis of the tubular portion, positioned outside the pipe member, and covering the axial tip of the pipe member; and a protector provided on the other side of the axial direction of the tubular portion, extending from the other side of the tubular portion along the axial direction to the opposite side from the cover portion, and having a support portion around which the tape member is wound together with the wiring material while supporting the wiring material.

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