grommet

Abstract

To provide a grommet capable of inserting each of plural long bodies into an insertion cylinder part without deteriorating workability.SOLUTION: A grommet 1 mounted to an opening provided on a panel material 200, holding plural wire harnesses 100 inserted into the opening, and constituted of an elastic material comprises: a disc part 21 mounted to the opening; and three tubular insertion parts 30 extending from the disc part 21 and inserting the wire harnesses 100 one by one. The plural insertion parts 30 are formed into a tubular shape, and isolated from each other when seen from an insertion direction L. Two of the plural tubular insertion parts 30 are front side insertion tubular parts 31 extending to a near side LF against the disc part 21, and the remaining of the insertion parts are back side insertion tubular parts 34 extending to a depth side LB against the disc part 21.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a grommet that is attached to an opening provided in a panel material such as an automobile dash panel, and elastically supports an elongated object such as a wire harness that passes through the opening. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, when routing a long object such as a wire harness between the passenger compartment and the engine compartment of an automobile, the long object is routed by being inserted through an opening provided in a panel material such as a dash panel or floor panel that separates the passenger compartment from the engine compartment.

[0003] In this case, as shown in Patent Document 1, the long object is inserted into a cylindrical insertion portion provided in a grommet made of an elastic material such as rubber, and the grommet is attached to the opening and elastically supported, thereby preventing damage to the long object due to contact with the peripheral edge of the opening in the panel material and ensuring waterproofing to prevent water from entering through the opening.

[0004] In order to ensure watertightness, the insertion tube portion is configured to fit tightly against the outer surface of the elongated body when inserted, so for example, a tool called an inserter is used to expand the diameter of the insertion tube portion and insert the elongated body into the insertion tube portion.

[0005] Electric and hybrid vehicles, which have been increasing in number recently, have more long-length wiring systems such as wire harnesses than conventional vehicles. Furthermore, even conventional vehicles may have multiple long-length wiring systems due to the diversification of electrical equipment and devices.

[0006] Therefore, a plurality of elongated objects are inserted through the same opening, and a plurality of elongated objects are inserted through one grommet. In order to insert multiple elongated objects, it is thought that by providing multiple insertion tube sections corresponding to the number of elongated objects and inserting the elongated objects into each insertion tube section, it is possible to prevent damage to the elongated objects and ensure watertightness.

[0007] However, if multiple insertion tube portions are provided in a grommet, for example, when using an inserter to insert a long object into each insertion tube portion, or when wrapping tape or the like around an insertion tube portion through which a long object has been inserted to improve watertightness, other inserted long objects and other insertion tube portions will be in close proximity, which could reduce workability. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-219123 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a grommet in which each of a plurality of elongated objects can be inserted into a cylindrical insertion portion without reducing workability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] This invention provides a grommet made of an elastic material that is attached to an opening provided in a panel material and holds a plurality of elongated bodies that pass through the opening, the grommet comprising a base portion that is attached to the opening, and a plurality of insertion tube portions that extend from the base portion and through which the elongated bodies pass one by one, the plurality of insertion tube portions being formed in a cylindrical shape and being arranged at intervals from each other when viewed from the insertion direction in which the elongated bodies pass through the opening, and at least one of the plurality of insertion tube portions being a one-side insertion tube portion that extends to one side of the base portion in the insertion direction, and at least one other of the plurality of insertion tube portions being an other-side insertion tube portion that extends to the other side of the insertion direction relative to the base portion.

[0011] The panel material is a thin plate material having a flat surface around the periphery of the opening on which the engaging portion can be engaged, and may be any suitable panel material such as a dash panel or floor panel in an automobile. The opening may be an approximately circular, elliptical, or elongated opening.

[0012] The long body includes a bundle of insulated electric wires formed by bundling multiple insulated electric wires, a single insulated electric wire, a communication cable such as an optical fiber cable for transmitting information, a bundle of communication cables, various cables such as a clutch cable, or a combination of these.

[0013] According to this invention, each of the plurality of elongated objects can be inserted into the insertion tube portion without reducing workability. In more detail, in a grommet made of an elastic material that is attached to an opening provided in a panel material and holds a plurality of elongated bodies that pass through the opening, a plurality of insertion tube portions that extend from a base portion that is attached to the opening and through which the elongated bodies are inserted one by one are arranged at intervals from each other when viewed from the insertion direction, and at least one of the plurality of insertion tube portions is a one-side insertion tube portion that extends to one side in the insertion direction relative to the base portion, and at least one other of the plurality of insertion tube portions is an other-side insertion tube portion that extends to the other side in the insertion direction relative to the base portion.Therefore, when inserting the elongated body into each of the one-side insertion tube portion and the other-side insertion tube portion, or when wrapping tape or the like around the one-side insertion tube portion and the other-side insertion tube portion through which the elongated body has been inserted to improve watertightness, the elongated body can be inserted into the insertion tube portions with good operability without being hindered by the inserted elongated body or other insertion tube portions. Therefore, the elongated object can be inserted through the opening in the panel material while preventing damage to the elongated object due to contact with the peripheral edge of the opening in the panel material and ensuring watertightness to prevent water from entering through the opening.

[0014] Furthermore, since each of the multiple elongated bodies is inserted into one of the multiple insertion tube portions, the insertion and removal points of the elongated bodies are not mixed on one side and the other side of the insertion direction relative to the base portion.In other words, when attached to the panel material, there is no chance of mistaking the elongated bodies for one side and the other side of the panel material, thereby improving the ease of routing the elongated bodies.

[0015] As an aspect of the present invention, the one-side insertion cylindrical portion may be arranged in plurality at predetermined intervals when viewed from the insertion direction. According to this invention, even though the one-side insertion tube portions are arranged in multiple numbers on one side of the base portion in the insertion direction, they are spaced apart at a predetermined interval when viewed from the insertion direction. Therefore, even when inserting the long object into each of the one-side insertion tube portions or when wrapping tape or the like around the one-side insertion tube portion through which the long object has been inserted, the long object can be inserted into the one-side insertion tube portion with good workability without being obstructed by the inserted long object or other one-side insertion tube portions.

[0016] As another aspect of the present invention, at least one of the plurality of one-side insertion cylindrical portions may be provided with a flexibility enhancing mechanism that enhances flexibility in a direction intersecting the insertion direction. The flexibility-enhancing mechanism described above includes a mechanism configured in a portion that is formed to improve flexibility compared to other portions, such as a bellows-like or thin-walled portion provided in at least a portion of the longitudinal direction of the one-side insertion tube portion.

[0017] According to this invention, even if there are multiple one-side insertion tube portions arranged on one side of the base portion in the insertion direction, at least one of the one-side insertion tube portions is provided with a flexibility enhancing mechanism.Therefore, even when inserting the long object into a one-side insertion tube portion other than the one-side insertion tube portion provided with a flexibility enhancing mechanism, or when wrapping tape or the like around the one-side insertion tube portion, the one-side insertion tube portion provided with the flexibility enhancing mechanism can be bent in a direction away from the one-side insertion tube portion, so that the long object can be inserted into the one-side insertion tube portion with good workability without any hindrance.

[0018] In another aspect of the present invention, the multiple one-side insertion tube portions may be arranged so that the spacing between them when viewed from the insertion direction is wider than the spacing between the one-side insertion tube portion and the other-side insertion tube portion when viewed from the insertion direction.

[0019] According to this invention, even though the one-side insertion tube portions are arranged in multiple numbers on one side of the base portion in the insertion direction, they are spaced at a predetermined interval when viewed from the insertion direction and are arranged at a wider interval than the interval between the one-side insertion tube portion and the other-side insertion tube portion when viewed from the insertion direction.Therefore, after inserting the long object into the other-side insertion tube portion, even when inserting the long object into each of the one-side insertion tube portions or when wrapping tape or the like around the one-side insertion tube portion through which the long object has been inserted, the long object can be inserted into the one-side insertion tube portion with good workability without being hindered by the long object that has already been inserted or the other one-side insertion tube portions.

[0020] As another aspect of the present invention, the other-side insertion cylindrical portion may be formed to have a larger diameter than the one-side insertion cylindrical portion so that the elongated object having a larger diameter can be inserted therethrough. According to this invention, a bundle of elongated objects, including elongated objects with large diameters, can be inserted into the insertion tube portion of the grommet without reducing workability.

[0021] In more detail, if any of the multiple elongated objects inserted collectively into the insertion tube portion has a large diameter, and if any of the multiple one-side insertion tube portions is formed with a diameter that allows the large-diameter elongated object to be inserted therethrough, the one-side insertion tube portion through which the large-diameter elongated object can be inserted is likely to interfere with inserting the elongated object into each of the one-side insertion tube portions or when winding tape or the like around the one-side insertion tube portion through which the elongated object has been inserted, which could reduce workability. In contrast, because the other-side insertion tube portion is formed so that the large-diameter elongated object can be inserted therethrough, the elongated object can be inserted into the one-side insertion tube portion with good workability when inserting the elongated object into the multiple one-side insertion tube portions arranged on one side of the base portion or when winding tape or the like around the one-side insertion tube portion through which the elongated object has been inserted.

[0022] In another aspect of the present invention, the one-side insertion tube portion and the other-side insertion tube portion may each be provided in plurality, and the distance between the one-side insertion tube portions and the other-side insertion tube portions when viewed from the insertion direction may be wider than the distance between the one-side insertion tube portion and the other-side insertion tube portion when viewed from the insertion direction.

[0023] With this invention, even when inserting the long object into each of the one-side insertion tube portion and the other-side insertion tube portion, or when wrapping tape or the like around the one-side insertion tube portion or the other-side insertion tube portion through which the long object has been inserted, the long object can be inserted into the one-side insertion tube portion or the other-side insertion tube portion with good workability without interfering with the long object that has already been inserted or the other one-side insertion tube portions or the other-side insertion tube portions. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a grommet in which each of a plurality of elongated objects can be inserted into the insertion tube portion without reducing workability. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the grommet in an attached state. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] An explanatory diagram of a grommet. [Figure 4] An explanatory diagram of a grommet. [Figure 5] An explanatory diagram of a grommet. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating insertion of a wire harness into an insertion tube portion. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating insertion of a wire harness into an insertion tube portion. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a grommet according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The grommet 1 in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0027] 1 is an explanatory diagram of the grommet 1 in an attached state, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the grommet 1 in an attached state. 1(a) is a perspective view showing the front, right side, and top of the grommet 1 in the installed state, and FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view showing the back, right side, and bottom of the grommet 1 in the installed state. In addition, in FIGS. 1 and 2, the panel material 200 having the opening 201 for installing the grommet 1 is made of a donut-shaped plate material for convenience, and is shown in a see-through state.

[0028] Figures 3 to 5 are explanatory diagrams of grommet 1. In detail, Figure 3(a) is a perspective view showing the front, right side, and plan of grommet 1, and Figure 3(b) is a perspective view showing the back, right side, and bottom of grommet 1. Figure 4(a) is a rear view of grommet 1, Figure 4(b) is an upside-down left side view of grommet 1, Figure 4(c) is a bottom view of grommet 1, Figure 4(d) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in Figure 4(a), and Figure 4(e) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in Figure 4(a). Figure 5(a) is a perspective view showing the front, right side, and plan of grommet 1 in a disassembled state, and Figure 5(b) is a perspective view showing the back, right side, and bottom of grommet 1 in a disassembled state.

[0029] 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams illustrating the insertion of wire harnesses into the insertion tube portions. Specifically, Fig. 6(a) is a bottom view of the state before the first harness 101 is inserted into the front-side short insertion tube portion 32, Fig. 6(b) is a bottom view of the state after the first harness 101 is inserted into the front-side short insertion tube portion 32, Fig. 6(c) is a bottom view of the state before the second harness 102 is inserted into the front-side long insertion tube portion 33, Fig. 7(a) is a bottom view of the state after the second harness 102 is inserted into the front-side long insertion tube portion 33, Fig. 7(b) is a bottom view of the state before the third harness 103 is inserted into the rear-side insertion tube portion 34, and Fig. 7(c) is a bottom view of the state after the third harness 103 is inserted into the rear-side insertion tube portion 34.

[0030] In FIG. 1, the longitudinal direction of the wire harness 100, that is, the direction connecting the lower left side and the upper right side, is the insertion direction L, the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction L and connecting the upper left side and the lower right side is the width direction W, and the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction L and the width direction W is the up-down direction H.

[0031] 1(a), the lower left side in the insertion direction L is the front side LF, the upper right side is the back side LB, the upper left side in the width direction W is the left side WL, and the lower right side is the right side WR. Furthermore, the upper side in the up-down direction H is the upper side HU, and the lower side is the lower side HD.

[0032] The grommet 1 is attached to an opening 201 provided in a panel material 200 such as a dash panel or floor panel in a vehicle, and serves to hold a plurality of wire harnesses 100 passing through the opening 201.

[0033] The wire harness 100 electrically connects electrical equipment and power supplies mounted on a vehicle, and is formed by bundling multiple insulated electric wires. However, it may also be formed by a single insulated electric wire, a bundle of communication cables such as optical fiber cables for transmitting information, or a bundle of various cables such as clutch cables.

[0034] In this embodiment, two wire harnesses 101, 102 and a third harness 103 with a larger diameter, a total of three wire harnesses, are inserted through the opening 201 provided in the panel material 200 via the grommet 1, but this is not limited to this and any appropriate number of wire harnesses 100 may be inserted.

[0035] The grommet 1 is constructed by assembling an inner member 10 made of resin and a grommet body member 20 having appropriate elasticity. The inner member 10 is composed of a ring portion 11 that is circular in front view, and a flange portion 12 that protrudes radially outward from the end of the ring portion 11 on the far side LB.

[0036] The grommet body member 20 is integrally formed with a disk portion 21 that is circular in front view and a cylindrical insertion portion 30 that is cylindrical and protrudes from the disk portion 21 in the insertion direction L. The disk portion 21 is disk-shaped and slightly larger than the outer diameter of the flange portion 12, and has a locking side wall portion 22 that protrudes from the outer peripheral edge toward the front side LF and has a locking recess 23 that locks into the opening 201 of the panel material 200.

[0037] The tubular insertion portion 30 has a cylindrical shape protruding from the disk portion 21 in the insertion direction L, and has a thick-walled portion 35 protruding radially outward at its end. Three tubular insertion portions 30 are provided, corresponding to the number of wire harnesses 100 to be inserted through the opening 201.

[0038] Specifically, two front-side through-tube portions 31 are provided at a predetermined distance in the width direction W on the side HD below the center of the circular disk portion 21 when viewed from the front, and one back-side through-tube portion 34 is provided in the center of the width direction W on the side HU above the center of the disk portion 21.

[0039] Two front side insertion tubes 31 are provided at a predetermined interval in the width direction W below the center of the circular disk portion 21 when viewed from the front, on the side HD, and protrude toward the front side LF from the disk portion 21. Of the two front side insertion tubes 31, one is located on the left side WL when viewed from the front, and includes a front side short insertion tube 32 through which the first harness 101 is inserted, and a front side long insertion tube 33 is located on the right side WR, and through which the second harness 102 is inserted.

[0040] The front side short insertion tube portion 32 through which the first harness 101 is inserted and the front side long insertion tube portion 33 through which the second harness 102 of the same diameter as the first harness 101 is inserted are cylindrical with an inner surface that is the same diameter as or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the wire harnesses 101, 102 so that they can be in close contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the wire harnesses 101, 102 when inserted.

[0041] However, the front long insert cylinder portion 33 located on the right side WR is formed to have a longer length that protrudes from the disk portion 21 toward the front side LF than the front short insert cylinder portion 32 located on the left side WL. Specifically, the front long insert cylinder portion 33 is formed to have a length that is approximately twice as long as the front short insert cylinder portion 32.

[0042] In contrast, the rear-side insertion tube portion 34, which is provided at the center in the width direction W on the side HU above the center of the circular disk portion 21 when viewed from the front, protrudes toward the rear side LB from the disk portion 21. The rear-side insertion tube portion 34 is configured to allow the third harness 103, which has a larger diameter than the wire harnesses 101 and 102, to be inserted therethrough, and is therefore formed into a cylindrical shape having an inner diameter the same as or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the third harness 103 so that it can be in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the third harness 103 when inserted.

[0043] Therefore, the rear side insertion tube portion 34 is formed with a larger diameter than the front side insertion tube portion 31 that protrudes to the front side LF, but the protruding length from the disk portion 21 is formed to be approximately the same as the protruding length from the disk portion 21 of the front side long insertion tube portion 33.

[0044] The two front-side insertion tube portions 31 provided at a predetermined interval in the width direction W on a side HD below the center of the circular disk portion 21 when viewed from the front, and the back-side insertion tube portion 34 provided in the center of the width direction W on a side HU above the center of the circular disk portion 21 when viewed from the front, are arranged in a triangle when viewed from the insertion direction L. As shown in FIG. 4(a), the center-to-center distance X1 between the two front-side insertion tube portions 31 when viewed from the insertion direction L is longer than the center-to-center distance X2 between the front-side insertion tube portion 31 and the back-side insertion tube portion 34.

[0045] The flange portion 12 of the inner member 10 fits inside the locking side wall portion 22 of the disk portion 21 in the grommet main body member 20 configured in this manner, and the inner member 10 and the grommet main body member 20 can be assembled to form the grommet 1. Next, a method for inserting the grommet body member 20 into the grommet 1 formed by assembling the inner member 10 and the grommet body member 20 will be described below.

[0046] As described above, in order to insert the wire harness 100 into the tubular insertion portion 30, a tool such as an inserter is used to expand the diameter of the tubular insertion portion 30 before inserting the wire harness 100. However, in the explanatory diagrams of the insertion of the wire harness 100 into the tubular insertion portion 30 in Figures 6 and 7, the tool such as an inserter and the tubular insertion portion 30 in the expanded state are not shown.

[0047] To insert three wire harnesses 100 into a grommet 1 having three tubular insertion portions 30, first, the first harness 101 is inserted into the front short insertion tubular portion 32 of the front insertion tubular portion 31, then the second harness 102 is inserted into the front long insertion tubular portion 33, and finally the third harness 103 is inserted into the back insertion tubular portion 34.

[0048] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 6(a), in order to insert the first harness 101 into the front short insertion tube portion 32, the first harness 101 is placed on the front side LF of the front short insertion tube portion 32. Then, as shown in Fig. 6(b), the first harness 101 is inserted into the front long insertion tube portion 33 from the front side LF toward the back side LB. Furthermore, after the first harness 101 has been inserted a predetermined length, tape or a cable tie is wrapped around the outer periphery of the front short insertion tube portion 32 through which the first harness 101 has been inserted to secure it in place, thereby improving watertightness. In this way, when inserting the first harness 101 into the front side short insertion tube portion 32, or when securing the front side short insertion tube portion 32 through which the first harness 101 has been inserted by wrapping tape or a cable tie around it, the front side long insertion tube portion 33 can be bent away from the front side short insertion tube portion 32, as shown in Figure 6(b), thereby improving the workability of the above work.

[0049] Next, as shown in Fig. 6(c), in order to insert the second harness 102 into the front-side long insertion tube portion 33, the second harness 102 is placed on the front side LF of the front-side long insertion tube portion 33. Then, as shown in Fig. 7(a), the second harness 102 is inserted into the front-side long insertion tube portion 33 from the front side LF toward the back side LB. Furthermore, after the second harness 102 has been inserted a predetermined length, tape or a cable tie is wrapped around the outer periphery of the front-side long insertion tube portion 33 through which the second harness 102 has been inserted to secure it in place, thereby improving watertightness.

[0050] In this way, when inserting the second harness 102 into the front-side long insertion tube portion 33, or when securing the front-side long insertion tube portion 33 through which the second harness 102 has been inserted by wrapping tape or a cable tie around it, the first harness 101 extending from the front-side short insertion tube portion 32 can be bent away from the front-side long insertion tube portion 33, as shown in Figure 7(a), thereby improving the workability of the above work.

[0051] Furthermore, since the front side short insertion tube portion 32 is formed shorter than the front side long insertion tube portion 33, the short front side short insertion tube portion 32 and the first harness 101 are less likely to interfere when inserting the second harness 102 into the front side long insertion tube portion 33, and even if the first harness 101 inserted into the short front side short insertion tube portion 32 is about to interfere, it can be resolved by simply bending only the first harness 101, thereby improving the workability of the above-mentioned work.

[0052] Finally, as shown in Fig. 7(b), in order to insert the third harness 103 into the rear side insertion tube portion 34, the third harness 103 is placed on the rear side LB of the rear side insertion tube portion 34. Then, as shown in Fig. 7(c), the third harness 103 is inserted into the rear side insertion tube portion 34 from the rear side LB toward the front side LF.

[0053] After the third harness 103 has been inserted to a predetermined length, the third harness 103 is secured by wrapping tape or a cable tie around the outer periphery of the rear-side insertion tube portion 34 through which the third harness 103 has been inserted, thereby improving watertightness. When inserting the third harness 103 into the rear-side insertion tube portion 34 or when wrapping tape or a cable tie around the rear-side insertion tube portion 34 through which the third harness 103 has been inserted to secure it, there are no other tubular insertion portions 30 on the rear side LB of the disk portion 21. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7(c), by bending the second harnesses 102, 102 led from the disk portion 21 to the rear side LB so as to be away from the rear-side insertion tube portion 34, the workability of the above work can be improved.

[0054] In the above description, the first harness 101 is inserted into the front-side short insertion tube portion 32 of the front-side insertion tube portion 31, then the second harness 102 is inserted into the front-side long insertion tube portion 33, and finally the third harness 103 is inserted into the back-side insertion tube portion 34. However, the insertion of the first harness 101 into the front-side short insertion tube portion 32 and the insertion of the second harness 102 into the front-side long insertion tube portion 33 may be reversed, or the third harness 103 may be inserted into the back-side insertion tube portion 34 before the wire harnesses 101 and 102 are inserted into the front-side insertion tube portion 31. The wire harness 100 can be inserted into each of the tubular insertion portions 30 in any appropriate order.

[0055] As described above, the grommet 1 made of an elastic material is attached to the opening 201 provided in the panel material 200 and holds the three wire harnesses 100 passing through the opening 201. The grommet 1 includes the disk portion 21 attached to the opening 201 and three tubular insertion portions 30 extending from the disk portion 21 and inserting the wire harnesses 100 one by one. The three tubular insertion portions 30 are formed in a cylindrical shape and are arranged spaced apart from one another when viewed from the insertion direction L in which the wire harnesses 100 pass through the opening 201. Two of the three tubular insertion portions 30 are front-side insertion tube portions 31 extending toward the front side LF with respect to the disk portion 21, and the other of the three tubular insertion portions 30 is a back-side insertion tube portion 34 extending toward the rear side LB with respect to the disk portion 21. Therefore, each of the three wire harnesses 100 can be inserted into the cylindrical insertion portion 30 without reducing workability.

[0056] More specifically, in the grommet 1 made of an elastic material, which is attached to an opening 201 provided in a panel material 200 and holds three wire harnesses 100 passing through the opening 201, three cylindrical insertion portions 30 extend from a disk portion 21 attached to the opening 201 and insert one of the wire harnesses 100 therethrough, and are arranged at intervals from each other when viewed from the insertion direction L, and two of the three cylindrical insertion portions 30 are front side insertion cylindrical portions 31 that extend toward the front side LF with respect to the disk portion 21. Of the tubular insertion portions 30, the other is a rear-side insertion tube portion 34 that extends toward the rear side LB relative to the disk portion 21. Therefore, when inserting the wire harness 100 into each of the front-side insertion tube portion 31 and the rear-side insertion tube portion 34, or when wrapping tape or the like around the front-side insertion tube portion 31 and the rear-side insertion tube portion 34 through which the wire harness 100 has been inserted to improve watertightness, the wire harness 100 can be inserted into the tubular insertion portion 30 with good workability without being hindered by the wire harness 100 already inserted or other tubular insertion portions 30.

[0057] Therefore, the wire harness 100 can be inserted through the opening 201 provided in the panel material 200 while preventing damage to the wire harness 100 due to contact with the peripheral edge of the opening 201 provided in the panel material 200 and ensuring watertightness that prevents water from entering through the opening 201.

[0058] Furthermore, since each of the three wire harnesses 100 is inserted into the three cylindrical insertion portions 30, the insertion and removal points of the wire harness 100 are not mixed up on the front side LF and the back side LB of the disk portion 21. In other words, when attached to the panel material 200, the wire harness 100 is not mistakenly picked up on the front side LF and the back side LB of the panel material 200, thereby improving the ease of routing the wire harness 100.

[0059] Furthermore, since the front side insertion tube portions 31 (32, 33) are arranged at a predetermined interval when viewed from the insertion direction L, even if there are multiple front side insertion tube portions 31 arranged on the front side LF of the disc portion 21, when inserting the wire harness 100 into each of the front side short insertion tube portions 32 and the front side long insertion tube portion 33, or when wrapping tape or the like around the front side short insertion tube portion 32 or the front side long insertion tube portion 33 through which the wire harness 100 has been inserted, the wire harness 100 can be inserted into the front side insertion tube portion 31 with good workability without interfering with the inserted wire harness 100 or other front side insertion tube portions 31.

[0060] Furthermore, the front side short insertion tube portion 32 and the front side long insertion tube portion 33 are arranged such that the center-to-center distance X1 between them when viewed from the insertion direction L is wider than the center-to-center distance X2 between the front side insertion tube portion 31 and the rear side insertion tube portion 34 when viewed from the insertion direction L. Therefore, even if there are multiple front side insertion tube portions 31 arranged on the front side LF of the disk portion 21, when the first harness 101 and the second harness 102 are inserted into the front side short insertion tube portion 32 and the front side long insertion tube portion 33 after the third harness 103 has been inserted into the back side insertion tube portion 34, or when tape or the like is wrapped around the front side short insertion tube portion 32 and the front side long insertion tube portion 33 through which the first harness 101 and the second harness 102 have been inserted, the first harness 101 and the second harness 102 can be inserted into the front side short insertion tube portion 32 and the front side long insertion tube portion 33 with good workability without being hindered by the wire harness 100 that has already been inserted or the other front side insertion tube portions 31.

[0061] Furthermore, the rear side insertion tube portion 34 is formed with a larger diameter than the front side short insertion tube portion 32 and the front side long insertion tube portion 33 so that a larger diameter third harness 103 can be inserted therethrough. Therefore, a bundle of wire harnesses 100 including the larger diameter third harness 103 can be inserted into the tubular insertion portion 30 of the grommet 1 without reducing workability.

[0062] More specifically, when the third harness 103, which has a larger diameter among the three wire harnesses 100 inserted together into the tubular insertion portion 30, is inserted into either the front side short insertion tube portion 32 or the front side long insertion tube portion 33, the front side short insertion tube portion 32 and the front side long insertion tube portion 33, through which the large diameter third harness 103 can be inserted, are likely to be obstructed when inserting the wire harness 100 into each of the front side insertion tube portions 31 or when wrapping tape or the like around the front side insertion tube portion 31 through which the wire harness 100 has been inserted, which may reduce workability. In contrast, the rear side insertion tube portion 34 is formed so that the large diameter third harness 103 can be inserted therethrough. Therefore, even when inserting the wire harness 100 into the front side insertion tube portions 31 arranged in plurality on the front side LF of the disk portion 21, or when wrapping tape or the like around the front side insertion tube portion 31 through which the wire harness 100 has been inserted, the wire harness 100 can be inserted into the front side insertion tube portion 31, the front side short insertion tube portion 32, and the front side long insertion tube portion 33 with good workability.

[0063] In the above description, of the two front-side inserting tube portions 31, the front-side short inserting tube portion 32 is formed to be shorter than the front-side long inserting tube portion 33, so that when inserting the second harness 102 into the front-side long inserting tube portion 33, the first harness 101 inserted into the front-side short inserting tube portion 32 is less likely to get in the way, and even if the first harness 101 inserted into the short front-side short inserting tube portion 32 is about to get in the way, it can be solved by simply bending only the first harness 101, thereby improving the workability of the above work.

[0064] However, the two front side insertion cylindrical portions 31 may be formed to have the same length. Furthermore, the front side insertion cylindrical portions 31a formed to have the same length may be provided with a bellows portion 36 for improving flexibility, as shown in FIG. 8(a) shows a bottom view of the grommet 1a having the bellows portion 36 in the cylindrical insertion portion 30a, and FIG. 8(b) shows a cross-sectional view of the cross-section passing through the center of the front side cylindrical insertion portion 31a. In FIG. 8, the same components as those in the grommet 1 described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0065] Unlike the grommet 1 in which the front-side short insert tube portion 32 and the front-side long insert tube portion 33 constituting the front-side insert tube portion 31 of the tubular insert portion 30 are configured with different lengths, the grommet 1a shown in Fig. 8 has two front-side insert tube portions 31a formed with the same length. In other words, the two front-side insert tube portions 31a are formed with the same shape. Note that the two front-side insert tube portions 31a of the same shape are formed with approximately the same length as the front-side long insert tube portion 33 of the grommet 1 described above.

[0066] In this way, the front side long insertion tube portion 31a, which is formed with the same shape and length as the front side long insertion tube portion 33 of the above-mentioned grommet 1, has a bellows portion 36 in the central part of the longitudinal direction, i.e., the insertion direction L, in which convex portions protruding radially outward and concave portions protruding radially inward are arranged alternately in the insertion direction L.

[0067] 8(b), the front side insertion tube portion 31a, which is provided with a bellows portion 36 in which convex portions and concave portions are alternately arranged in the central portion in the insertion direction L, has improved flexibility compared to the front side elongated insertion tube portion 33 of the grommet 1 described above, which does not have the bellows portion 36. Therefore, when inserting the wire harness 100 into either one of the front side insertion tube portions 31a or when wrapping tape around the outer periphery with the wire harness 100 inserted, the other can be bent by the bellows portion 36, thereby improving the workability of the above work.

[0068] In this way, the plurality of front side insertion tube portions 31a are provided with the bellows portion 36 that improves flexibility in a direction intersecting the insertion direction L. Therefore, even if two front side insertion tube portions 31a are arranged on the front side LF relative to the disk portion 21, when inserting the wire harness 100 into one of the front side insertion tube portions 31a or when wrapping tape or the like around the front side insertion tube portion 31a, the bellows portion 36 bends the other front side insertion tube portion 31a in a direction away from each other, so that the wire harness 100 can be inserted into the front side insertion tube portion 31a with good workability without any hindrance. The bellows portion 36 may be formed of a thin portion formed on at least a portion of the front insertion tube portion 31 in the longitudinal direction.

[0069] In correspondence between the configuration of this invention and the above-mentioned embodiment, The panel material of the present invention corresponds to panel material 200, Similarly, The long body corresponds to a wire harness 100, a first harness 101, a second harness 102, and a third harness 103, The grommet is compatible with grommet 1, 1a, The base part corresponds to the disk part 21, The insertion tube portion corresponds to the cylindrical insertion portion 30, 30a, The insertion direction corresponds to the insertion direction L, One side of the insertion direction corresponds to the front side LF, The one-side insertion tube portion corresponds to the front side insertion tube portions 31, 31a, the front side short insertion tube portion 32, and the front side long insertion tube portion 33. The other side of the insertion direction corresponds to the back side LB, The other side insertion tube portion corresponds to the rear side insertion tube portion 34, The flexibility enhancing mechanism corresponds to the bellows portion 36, The distance between the front-side insertion cylindrical portions 31 as viewed from the insertion direction L corresponds to the center-to-center distance X1, The distance between the rear side insertion cylindrical portion 34 and the front side insertion cylindrical portion 31 when viewed from the insertion direction L corresponds to the center distance X2, The long, thick-diameter body corresponds to the third harness 103. The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and many other embodiments can be obtained.

[0070] For example, the opening 201 described above has a substantially circular shape, but it may have a substantially elliptical shape or a substantially oblong hole shape. In the above description of the grommets 1, 1a, two front-side insertion tube portions 31, 31a are provided on the near side LF of the disk portion 21 and one rear-side insertion tube portion 34 is provided on the far side LB. However, two front-side insertion tube portions 31, 31a may be provided on the far side LB of the disk portion 21 and one rear-side insertion tube portion 34 on the front side LF. Alternatively, two front-side insertion tube portions 31, 31a may be provided on the near side LF of the disk portion 21 and two rear-side insertion tube portions 34 on the far side LB. In this case, it is preferable to arrange the grommets in a quadrangle so that an imaginary line connecting the centers of the two front-side insertion tube portions 31, 31a and an imaginary line connecting the centers of the two rear-side insertion tube portions 34 are perpendicular to each other when viewed from the insertion direction L. Furthermore, the front side insertion tube portions 31 and the back side insertion tube portions 34, which are provided in pairs, are preferably arranged so that the distance between the front side insertion tube portions 31, 31a and the back side insertion tube portions 34 when viewed from the insertion direction is wider than the distance between the front side insertion tube portions 31, 31a and the back side insertion tube portions 34 when viewed from the insertion direction.

[0071] In this case, even when inserting the wire harness 100 into each of the front side insertion tube portions 31, 31a and the rear side insertion tube portion 34, or when wrapping tape or the like around the front side insertion tube portion 31 or the rear side insertion tube portion 34 through which the wire harness 100 has been inserted, the wire harness 100 can be inserted into the front side insertion tube portions 31, 31a and the rear side insertion tube portion 34 with good workability without interfering with the already inserted wire harness 100 or the other front side insertion tube portions 31, 31a and the rear side insertion tube portion 34. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1,1a...Grommet 21...Disc section 30, 30a... Cylindrical insertion portion 31, 31a... Front side insertion tube portion 32...Front short insertion tube 33...Front side long insertion tube 34...Rear side insertion tube 37...Bell section 100...Wire harness 101...1st harness 102...Second harness 103...Third harness 200...Panel material 201...Opening L...Insertion direction LF: Front side LB...back side X1…Distance between centers X2…Distance between centers

Claims

1. A grommet made of an elastic material that is attached to an opening provided in a panel material and holds a plurality of elongated objects that pass through the opening, a base portion attached to the opening; a plurality of insertion tube portions extending from the base portion and through which the elongated bodies are inserted one by one; The plurality of insertion tube portions are formed in a cylindrical shape, and are arranged at intervals from each other when viewed from the insertion direction in which the elongated body is inserted through the opening, and At least one of the plurality of insertion cylindrical portions is a one-side insertion cylindrical portion extending toward one side in the insertion direction relative to the base portion, At least one other of the plurality of insertion cylindrical portions is an other-side insertion cylindrical portion that extends to the other side in the insertion direction relative to the base portion. Grommet.

2. The one-side insertion tube portion is a plurality of tubes arranged at predetermined intervals when viewed from the insertion direction. The grommet of claim 1 .

3. At least one of the plurality of one-side insertion cylindrical portions is provided with a flexibility improving mechanism that improves flexibility in a direction intersecting the insertion direction. The grommet of claim 2.

4. The plurality of one-side insertion cylindrical portions are arranged such that the intervals between them as viewed from the insertion direction are wider than the intervals between the one-side insertion cylindrical portion and the other-side insertion cylindrical portion as viewed from the insertion direction. The grommet of claim 2.

5. The other-side insertion cylindrical portion is formed to have a larger diameter than the one-side insertion cylindrical portion so that the elongated object having a larger diameter can be inserted therethrough. The grommet of claim 1 .

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