Protector unit and wire harness

Abstract

To provide a protector unit and a wire harness which can raise workability of fitting work of electronic components.SOLUTION: A protector unit 1 comprises: a protector part 10 provided with an insertion space part 13 into which a wiring material W is inserted along an axial direction X; an electronic component holder part 20 provided at an end of the protector part 10, to which an electronic component 50 is fitted, and which holds the electronic component 50; and a hinge part 30 which rotatably connects the electronic component holder part 20 with the protector part 10 between a usage position P1 and a fitting work position P2 to allow the fitting direction of the electronic component 50 into the electronic component holder part 20 to be changeable.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] As an example of technology relating to a protector unit for a conventional wire harness, Patent Document 1 discloses a protector unit including a protector portion having an insertion space through which a wiring material is inserted along the axial direction, and an electronic component holder portion provided at an end of the protector portion into which an electronic component is fitted and which holds the electronic component. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-114401 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the wire harness described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 has room for further improvement, for example, in terms of improving the workability of fitting the electronic component into the electronic component holder portion.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a protector unit and a wire harness that can further improve the workability of fitting electronic components. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the protector unit of the present invention comprises a protector portion having an insertion space through which a wiring material is inserted along the axial direction, an electronic component holder portion provided at an end of the protector portion into which an electronic component is fitted and holds the electronic component, and a hinge portion that rotatably connects the electronic component holder portion to the protector portion between a use position and a fitting operation position and allows the fitting direction of the electronic component relative to the electronic component holder portion to be changed. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The protector unit and wire harness according to the present invention include a hinge portion that rotatably connects the electronic component holder portion to the protector portion between a use position and a fitting operation position and changes the fitting direction of the electronic component to the electronic component holder portion. With this configuration, the protector unit and wire harness can change the fitting direction (attachment direction) of the electronic component to the electronic component holder portion, for example, by the hinge portion. As a result, the protector unit and wire harness have the effect of further improving the workability of fitting the electronic components. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view of a wire harness to which a protector unit according to an embodiment is applied, showing a state in which a rotating cover is in a closed position and an electronic component holder portion is in a use position. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exemplary perspective view of the protector unit according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the rotating cover is in an open position and the electronic component holder portion is in a use position. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an exemplary perspective view of the protector unit according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the rotating cover is in an open position and the electronic component holder portion is in a fitting operation position. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an exemplary enlarged view of the vicinity of the hinge portion of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same. Note that in this specification, ordinal numbers are used only to distinguish between parts, members, parts, positions, directions, etc., and do not indicate order or priority.

[0010] [Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wire harness WH to which a protector unit 1 according to an embodiment is applied, in which a rotating cover 40 is in a closed position P11 and an electronic component holder portion 20 is in a use position P1. The protector unit 1 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is incorporated into a wire harness WH to be wired in a vehicle. Here, the wire harness WH is, for example, a bundle of wiring materials W used for power supply and signal communication to connect each device mounted on a vehicle, and the wiring materials W are connected to each device by connectors or the like. The wire harness WH of the present embodiment includes a wiring material W having conductivity and a protector unit 1 through which the wiring material W is inserted. In addition, the wire harness WH may be configured to include various components such as grommets, electrical connection boxes, fixtures, and connectors.

[0011] In the following description, among the first, second, and third directions that intersect with each other, the first direction is referred to as the "axial direction X", the second direction is referred to as the "width direction Y", and the third direction is referred to as the "height direction Z". Here, the axial direction X, the width direction Y, and the height direction Z are approximately perpendicular to each other. The axial direction X typically follows the extension direction of the wiring material W, the insertion direction of the wiring material W into the protector unit 1, the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the protector unit 1, etc. The width direction Y typically follows the width direction (left-right direction) of the protector unit 1, etc. The height direction Z typically follows the height direction (up-down direction) of the protector unit 1, etc. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, each direction used in the following description will be described as a direction in a state in which the protector unit 1 is assembled to a vehicle.

[0012] The wiring material W is composed of, for example, a metal rod, an electric wire, an electric wire bundle, etc. The metal rod is a conductive rod-shaped member whose outside is covered with an insulating covering. The electric wire is a conductor part (core wire) made of multiple conductive metal wires whose outside is covered with an insulating covering. The electric wire bundle is a bundle of the electric wires. The wiring material W extends linearly along the axial direction X and is formed so as to extend with approximately the same diameter in the axial direction X (extension direction). The wiring material W may be composed of, for example, an electric wire bundle in which multiple electric wires are bundled together, and a corrugated tube as a cylindrical exterior material that covers the electric wire bundle.

[0013] The protector unit 1 includes, for example, a protector portion 10, an electronic component holder portion 20, a hinge portion 30 (see FIG. 3), and a rotating cover 40. The protector portion 10 is configured to have the wiring material W inserted therethrough along the axial direction X and to protect the wiring material W. The protector portion 10 is formed generally in a substantially U-shape or a substantially L-shape and extends along the axial direction X. The protector portion 10 is provided with an insertion space portion 13 along the axial direction X, which protects the wiring material W inserted into the insertion space portion 13 and regulates the wiring path of the wiring material W.

[0014] The electronic component holder part 20 is provided at one end (upper end) of the protector part 10 in the height direction Z, and the electronic component 50 is fitted into and holds the electronic component 50. The electronic component holder part 20 is formed in a generally C-shape and extends along the axial direction X. The electronic component holder part 20 is provided with a holding space part that is open toward one side in the width direction Y, for example, and holds a mating connector 50A of the electronic component 50, etc. The mating connector 50A is fitted into and connected to, for example, a joint connector provided at an end of the wiring material W. The mating connector 50A and the joint connector are examples of the electronic component 50.

[0015] The hinge portion 30 (see FIG. 3) rotatably connects the electronic component holder portion 20 to the protector portion 10. The hinge portion 30 has, for example, a rotation axis extending along the axial direction X. The electronic component holder portion 20 is configured to be rotatable by rotation of the hinge portion 30 around the rotation axis between a use position P1 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) where the mating connector 50A faces one side in the width direction Y, and a fitting operation position P2 (see FIG. 3) where the mating connector 50A faces an inclined direction (diagonally upward) between one side in the width direction Y and one side (upper side) in the height direction Z. The use position P1 is also referred to as an initial position, and the fitting operation position P2 is also referred to as a movable position.

[0016] The rotating cover 40 is rotatably connected to the electronic component holder part 20 via a hinge, and opens and closes the insertion space part 13 of the protector part 10. The hinge of the rotating cover 40 has, for example, a rotation axis extending along the axial direction X. The rotating cover 40 is configured to be openable and closable between a closed position P11 (see FIG. 1) that covers the wiring material W inserted into the insertion space part 13 and an open position P12 (see FIG. 2) that releases the wiring material W inserted into the insertion space part 13 when the electronic component holder part 20 is in the use position P1, by rotating around the rotation axis of the hinge.

[0017] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the protector unit 1, showing a state in which the rotating cover 40 is in the open position P12 and the electronic component holder part 20 is in the use position P1. As shown in Fig. 2, the protector part 10 includes, for example, a bottom wall part 11, a side wall part 12, and a mounting part 16. The protector part 10 has the bottom wall part 11, the side wall part 12, and the mounting part 16 integrally formed from, for example, a synthetic resin or the like. The protector part 10 has a substantially U-shaped or substantially L-shaped cross section with the bottom wall part 11 and the side wall part 12 connected to each other.

[0018] The bottom wall portion 11 and the side wall portion 12 are structures for partitioning the above-mentioned insertion space portion 13 as the internal space portion of the protector portion 10. The insertion space portion 13 is a space portion into which the wiring material W is inserted and routed along the axial direction X. The bottom wall portion 11 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape and extends along the axial direction X. The side wall portion 12 is formed protruding from the other end portion of the bottom wall portion 11 in the width direction Y to one side (upper side) in the height direction Z and extends along the axial direction X. In this embodiment, the inner surface corner portion between the bottom wall portion 11 and the side wall portion 12 is configured in an arc shape along the outer peripheral surface of the wiring material W.

[0019] The mounting portion 16 is for mounting and fixing the protector portion 10 to an object of attachment of the vehicle. The mounting portion 16 protrudes from one end of the bottom wall portion 11 in the width direction Y toward one side in the width direction Y. Here, the bottom wall portion 11 is provided with a plurality of mounting portions 16 spaced apart from one another in the axial direction X. Each of the plurality of mounting portions 16 is provided with a fastening hole penetrating along the height direction. A fastening member such as a bolt for fastening the mounting portion 16 to the object of attachment of the vehicle is inserted into the fastening hole. In addition, in this embodiment, a plurality of locking portions 42 are provided at one end of the bottom wall portion 11 in the width direction Y. Each of the plurality of locking portions 42 is formed in a protruding shape, and is locked to the tip of the rotating cover 40 by so-called snap fit when the rotating cover 40 is in the closed position P11 (see FIG. 1).

[0020] The electronic component holder part 20 includes, for example, a top wall part 21, a side wall part 22, and a middle wall part 23. The electronic component holder part 20 includes the top wall part 21, the side wall part 22, and the middle wall part 23, which are integrally formed of, for example, a synthetic resin or the like. The electronic component holder part 20 has a substantially C-shaped cross section with the top wall part 21, the side wall part 22, and the middle wall part 23, which are connected to each other. The electronic component holder part 20 is connected to one end part (upper end part) of the protector part 10 (side wall part 12) in the height direction Z via a hinge part 30 (see FIG. 3), and covers the insertion space part 13 from one side in the height direction Z. That is, the electronic component holder part 20 constitutes a part of the insertion space part 13 together with the protector part 10.

[0021] The top wall 21, the side wall 22, and the middle wall 23 are structures for partitioning the above-mentioned holding space as the internal space of the electronic component holder 20. The holding space is a space in which the mating connector 50A of the electronic component 50 is fitted and held. The top wall 21 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape and extends along the axial direction X. The side wall 22 is formed to protrude from the other end of the top wall 21 in the width direction Y to the other side (lower side) in the height direction Z and extends along the axial direction X. The middle wall 23 is formed to protrude from the other end (lower end) of the side wall 22 in the height direction Z to one side in the width direction Y and extends along the axial direction X. In this embodiment, a plurality of mating connectors 50A are arranged in the holding space between the top wall 21, the side wall 22, and the middle wall 23 in the axial direction X.

[0022] The rotating cover 40 includes, for example, a cover portion 41 and a locked portion provided at a tip of the cover portion 41. The rotating cover 40 is formed, for example, by a synthetic resin or the like, with the cover portion 41 and the locked portion integrally. The rotating cover 40 has a substantially L-shaped cross section with the cover portion 41 and the locked portion connected to each other. The rotating cover 40 is connected to one end of the electronic component holder portion 20 (top wall portion 21) in the width direction Y via a hinge, and covers the insertion space portion 13 from one side in the width direction Y in an openable and closable manner. That is, the rotating cover 40 constitutes a part of the insertion space portion 13 together with the protector portion 10 and the electronic component holder portion 20.

[0023] The cover portion 41 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape and extends along the height direction Z. The length of the cover portion 41 along the height direction Z is approximately the same as the opening width along the height direction Z of the insertion space 13 between the bottom wall portion 11 and the top wall portion 21. The locked portion protrudes in a claw shape from the tip of the cover portion 41 along the width direction Y. The locked portion is provided with a locking hole into which the above-mentioned locking portion 42 is locked. In this embodiment, the top wall portion 21 is provided with a plurality of rotating covers 40 spaced apart from each other in the axial direction X. Each of the plurality of rotating covers 40 includes the above-mentioned cover portion 41 and the locked portion.

[0024] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the protector unit 1 with the rotating cover 40 in the open position P12 and the electronic component holder part 20 in the fitting operation position P2, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the hinge part 30 in Fig. 3. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the hinge part 30 rotatably connects the electronic component holder part 20 to the protector part 10. The hinge part 30 can rotate the electronic component holder part 20 between the above-mentioned use position P1 and the fitting operation position P2, for example, by rotating about a rotation axis extending along the axial direction X.

[0025] In this embodiment, when the electronic component holder part 20 is at the fitting position P2, the mating connector 50A of the electronic component 50 faces in an inclined direction (diagonally upward) between one side in the width direction Y and one side (upper side) in the height direction Z. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the worker can perform the fitting operation between the mating connector 50A of the electronic component 50 and the joint connector with the electronic component holder part 20 positioned at the fitting position P2 (for example, at an angle of 45 degrees).

[0026] In this manner, in this embodiment, the hinge portion 30 is provided to rotatably connect the electronic component holder portion 20 to the protector portion 10, and therefore the fitting direction of the electronic component 50 to the electronic component holder portion 20, i.e., the fitting direction of the joint connector to the mating connector 50A, can be changed by the hinge portion 30. Note that, in this embodiment, the rotation angle of the electronic component holder portion 20 to the protector portion 10, i.e., the rotation angle between the use position P1 and the fitting operation position P2, is set to about 45 degrees, but is not limited to this example.

[0027] In this embodiment, the protector portion 10 is provided with a support rib 15 (see FIG. 4). The support rib 15 supports the electronic component holder portion 20 when the electronic component holder portion 20 is in the use position P1 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The support rib 15 is provided at one end (upper end) of the side wall portion 12 in the height direction Z, and is formed to protrude from the one end to one side in the height direction Z. Here, the side wall portion 12 is provided with a plurality of support ribs 15 spaced apart from one another in the axial direction X. The plurality of support ribs 15 support, for example, both ends of the electronic component holder portion 20 in the axial direction X.

[0028] As described above, the protector unit 1 and the wire harness WH of the present embodiment include the protector part 10 provided with the insertion space part 13 through which the wiring material W is inserted along the axial direction X, the electronic component holder part 20 provided at the end part of the protector part 10 and into which the electronic component 50 is fitted and holds the electronic component 50, and the hinge part 30 that rotatably connects the electronic component holder part 20 to the protector part 10 between the use position P1 and the fitting operation position P2 and changes the fitting direction of the electronic component 50 to the electronic component holder part 20. With this configuration, the protector unit 1 and the wire harness WH can change the fitting direction (attachment direction) of the electronic component 50 to the electronic component holder part 20 by the hinge part 30, for example. As a result, the protector unit 1 and the wire harness WH can further improve the workability of the fitting operation of the electronic component 50.

[0029] Here, if the hinge portion 30 for rotatably connecting the electronic component holder portion 20 to the protector portion 10 is not provided, the fitting operation of the electronic component 50 needs to be performed with the electronic component holder portion 20 in the use position P1. In this case, the mating connector 50A of the electronic component 50 is blocked by the top wall portion 21 of the electronic component holder portion 20, and the alignment of the mating connector 50A of the electronic component 50 with the joint connector becomes a blind operation, which may deteriorate the workability of the fitting operation of the electronic component 50. In this regard, according to the present embodiment, the hinge portion 30 for rotatably connecting the electronic component holder portion 20 to the protector portion 10 is provided, so that the fitting operation of the electronic component 50 can be performed with the electronic component holder portion 20 in the fitting operation position P2. This makes it easier to perform the fitting operation between the mating connector 50A of the electronic component 50 and the joint connector, and thus makes it possible to prevent partial fitting, erroneous fitting, and the like, between the mating connector 50A and the joint connector.

[0030] In the protector unit 1 and wire harness WH of this embodiment, the protector part 10 has a support rib 15 that supports the electronic component holder part 20 when the electronic component holder part 20 is in the use position P1. With this configuration, the protector unit 1 and the wire harness WH can hold the electronic component holder part 20 in the use position P1 while ensuring strength (rigidity) in the vicinity of the hinge part 30 between the protector part 10 and the electronic component holder part 20 by the support rib 15, for example.

[0031] The protector unit 1 and the wire harness WH of this embodiment are provided with a rotating cover 40 that is provided across the electronic component holder part 20 and the protector part 10 and covers the wiring material W inserted into the insertion space 13 when the electronic component holder part 20 is in the use position P1. With this configuration, the protector unit 1 and the wire harness WH can, for example, prevent the wiring material W inserted into the insertion space 13 from coming off the insertion space 13 while ensuring rigidity (strength) when the electronic component holder part 20 is in the use position P1, i.e., in the use state, by the rotating cover 40.

[0032] Furthermore, in the protector unit 1 and wire harness WH of this embodiment, when the electronic component holder part 20 is in the use position P1, the fitting direction of the electronic component 50 into the electronic component holder part 20 is along the width direction Y, and when the electronic component holder part 20 is in the fitting position P2, the fitting direction of the electronic component 50 into the electronic component holder part 20 is along the inclined direction between the height direction Z and the width direction Y. With this configuration, the protector unit 1 and the wire harness WH can further improve the ease of fitting the electronic component 50 into the electronic component holder part 20 when the electronic component holder part 20 is in the fitting position P2, for example.

[0033] In this embodiment, the rotation angle of the electronic component holder part 20 relative to the protector part 10, i.e., the rotation angle between the use position P1 and the fitting operation position P2, is set to about 45 degrees, but is not limited to this example and may be set to another angle, such as about 90 degrees. Also, in this embodiment, the electronic component 50 is configured by the mating connector 50A and a joint connector, but is not limited to this example and may be configured by other electronic components.

[0034] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated above, the above embodiment is merely an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, combinations, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, the specifications of each configuration, shape, and the like (structure, type, direction, format, size, length, width, thickness, height, number, arrangement, position, material, etc.) can be appropriately changed and implemented. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1 Protector unit 10 Protector part 13 Insertion space 15 Support rib 20 Electronic component holder 30 Hinge part 40 Rotating cover 50 Electronic Components P1 Usage position P2 Mating work position W Routing material WH Wire harness X-axis direction Y Width direction Z height direction

Claims

1. A protector portion having an insertion space through which a wiring material is inserted along an axial direction; an electronic component holder portion provided at an end of the protector portion, the electronic component being fitted into the electronic component and holding the electronic component; a hinge portion that rotatably connects the electronic component holder portion to the protector portion between a use position and a fitting operation position and changes a fitting direction of the electronic component to the electronic component holder portion; A protector unit comprising:

2. the protector portion has a support rib that supports the electronic component holder portion when the electronic component holder portion is in the use position. The protector unit according to claim 1 .

3. a rotating cover provided across the electronic component holder portion and the protector portion, the rotating cover covering the wiring material inserted into the insertion space portion when the electronic component holder portion is in the use position; 3. The protector unit according to claim 1 or 2.

4. When the electronic component holder portion is in the use position, a fitting direction of the electronic component with respect to the electronic component holder portion is along a width direction perpendicular to the axial direction, When the electronic component holder portion is in the fitting operation position, a fitting direction of the electronic component to the electronic component holder portion is along an inclined direction between a height direction perpendicular to the axial direction and the width direction and the width direction.

3. The protector unit according to claim 1 or 2.

5. A conductive wiring material; A protector unit through which the wiring material is inserted, The protector unit includes: a protector portion having an insertion space through which the wiring material is inserted along an axial direction; an electronic component holder portion provided at an end of the protector portion, the electronic component being fitted into the electronic component and holding the electronic component; a hinge portion that rotatably connects the electronic component holder portion to the protector portion between a use position and a fitting operation position and changes a fitting direction of the electronic component to the electronic component holder portion; A wire harness comprising:

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