Protector and wire harness

Abstract

To provide a protector and a wire harness for more properly performing fitting work of a female lock and a male lock.SOLUTION: A protector 1 includes a lock portion 30 having a female lock 31 provided in a base 10 (a first member) and a male lock 32 configured to include a pair of arm portions 32a provided in a cover 20 (a second member), a coupling portion 32b for coupling base end portions 32a1 of the pair of arm portions 32a to each other, and a pair of claw portions 32c provided in a tip end portion 32a2 of the pair of arm portions 32a. The male lock 32 further has a deformation allowable space portion 33 formed by being surrounded by the pair of arm portions 32a and the coupling portion 32b and opening toward a base 10 side in an assembling direction Z, and being configured such that the pair of arm portions 32a can be elastically deformed toward a deformation allowable space portion 33 along an axial direction X (an intersecting direction) so as to approach each other as the female lock 31 is inserted into a through hole 31a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] As a technology relating to a conventional wire harness protector, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a protector including a first member and a second member that are assembled together along an assembly direction and form a wiring space through which a wiring material can be inserted, and a locking part that locks the first member and the second member in an assembled state. The locking part includes a female lock that is provided on the first member and has a through-hole that penetrates along the assembly direction, and a male lock that is provided on the second member and has a deformation-permitting space that opens toward the opposite side from the first member in the assembly direction by a pair of arms and a connecting part. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-80434 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the protector described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 has room for further improvement, for example, in terms of more appropriately performing the mating operation between the female lock and the male lock.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a protector and a wire harness that enable the fitting operation of the female lock and the male lock to be performed more appropriately. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, a protector according to the present invention includes a first member and a second member that are assembled together along an assembly direction and form a wiring space through which a wiring material can be inserted, and a locking portion that locks the first member and the second member in an assembled state, the locking portion comprising a female lock that is provided on the first member and has a through hole that penetrates along the assembly direction, a pair of arm portions that are provided on the second member at intervals along a direction that intersects the assembly direction and that protrude toward the first member along the assembly direction and are inserted into the through hole of the female lock, and a pair of arm portions that are provided on the second member at intervals along a direction that intersects the assembly direction and that protrude toward the first member along the assembly direction and are inserted into the through hole of the female lock and a male lock including a connecting portion connecting base ends of the pair of arm portions in the assembly direction to each other, and a pair of claw portions provided at tip ends of the pair of arm portions in the assembly direction, protruding toward sides away from each other along the intersecting direction, and engaged with a peripheral portion of the through hole of the female lock, wherein the male lock has a deformation-permitting space portion that is surrounded by the pair of arm portions and the connecting portion and opens toward the first member side in the assembly direction, and is configured so that the pair of arm portions can elastically deform toward each other toward the deformation-permitting space portion along the intersecting direction as the female lock is inserted into the through hole. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] In the protector and wire harness according to the present invention, the male lock is surrounded by a pair of arms and a connecting portion, has a deformation-permitting space that opens toward the first member in the assembly direction, and is configured so that the pair of arms are elastically deformable toward each other along the transverse direction toward the deformation-permitting space as the female lock is inserted into the through hole. With this configuration, for example, when the male lock is inserted into the through hole of the female lock, the deformation-permitting space allows the free ends of the pair of arms to elastically deform along the transverse direction relatively easily. As a result, the protector and wire harness exhibit the effect of enabling the female lock and male lock to be mated more appropriately. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view of a wire harness to which a protector according to an embodiment is applied. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exemplary perspective view of the protector according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the cover is in an open position. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an exemplary cross-sectional view of the locking portion of the protector according to the embodiment, showing the male lock in a pre-mating position. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an exemplary cross-sectional view of the locking portion of the protector according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the male lock is in an intermediate mating position. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an exemplary cross-sectional view of the locking portion of the protector according to the embodiment, showing a state in which the male lock is in the mating completion position. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an exemplary plan view of a protector according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments and modifications 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 and modifications. Furthermore, the components in the following embodiments and modifications include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially identical.

[0010] Furthermore, the embodiments and modifications disclosed below include similar components. Therefore, in the following, the similar components are given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted. Note that in this specification, ordinal numbers are used only to distinguish between parts, members, portions, positions, directions, etc., and do not indicate order or priority.

[0011] [Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wire harness WH to which a protector 1 according to an embodiment is applied. The protector 1 of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is incorporated into the wire harness WH to be routed in a vehicle such as an automobile. Here, the wire harness WH is, for example, a composite component made by bundling wiring materials W used for power supply and signal communication to connect various devices mounted on the vehicle, and the wiring materials W are connected to the various devices using connectors or the like. The wire harness WH of this embodiment includes a conductive wiring material W and a protector 1 that is exteriorly mounted on the wiring material W. The wire harness WH may further include various other components such as grommets, electrical connection boxes, and fixtures.

[0012] In the following description, of the first, second, and third directions that intersect with one another, the first direction will be referred to as the "axial direction X," the second direction will be referred to as the "width direction Y," and the third direction will be referred to as the "assembly direction Z." Here, the axial direction X, the width direction Y, and the assembly direction Z are approximately perpendicular to one another. The axial direction X typically aligns with the extension direction of the wiring material W, the insertion direction of the wiring material W into the protector 1, the longitudinal direction (extension direction) of the protector 1, etc. The width direction Y typically aligns with the width direction of the protector 1, etc. The assembly direction Z typically aligns with the height direction (vertical direction) of the protector 1, the assembly direction (stacking direction) of the protector 1 between the base 10 and the cover 20, which will be described later, etc. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the directions used in the following description will be described as directions when the protector 1 is assembled to the vehicle.

[0013] The wiring material W is composed of, for example, a metal rod, an electric wire, a bundle of electric wires, etc. A metal rod is a conductive rod-shaped member whose outside is covered with an insulating covering. An electric wire is a conductor (core wire) made of multiple conductive metal wires whose outside is covered with an insulating covering. A bundle of electric wires is a bundle of these electric wires. In the example of Figure 1, the wire harness WH includes one wiring material W, but this is not limited to this and the wiring harness WH may include multiple wiring materials W. The wiring material W extends along the axial direction X.

[0014] The protector 1 includes, for example, a base 10 as a first member, a cover 20 as a second member, a locking portion 30, and a hinge portion 40. The base 10 and the cover 20 are assembled together along an assembly direction Z to form a wiring space 2 through which a wiring material W can be inserted. The base 10 and the cover 20 are formed separately from each other using, for example, a synthetic resin or the like, and are integrated together by a locking structure (snap fit) using the locking portion 30. By assembling the base 10 and the cover 20 together, the protector 1 is formed into a rectangular tubular shape as a whole, with the wiring space 2 extending along the axial direction X as its center.

[0015] The locking unit 30 locks the cover 20 in the closed position P1 relative to the base 10. The locking unit 30 includes, for example, a female lock 31 (see FIG. 2) in the form of a locking hole provided on the base 10 side, and a male lock 32 in the form of a locking arm provided on the cover 20 side. With the cover 20 positioned in the closed position P1 relative to the base 10, the female lock 31 and the male lock 32 are locked together in the assembly direction Z, thereby locking the cover 20 in the closed position P1 relative to the base 10.

[0016] The hinge portion 40 rotatably connects the cover 20 to the base 10. The hinge portion 40 has, for example, a rotation axis extending along the axial direction X. The cover 20 is configured to be rotatable around the rotation axis of the hinge portion 40 between a closed position P1 (see FIG. 1) that closes the wiring space portion 2 of the protector 1 and an open position P2 (see FIG. 2) that opens the wiring space portion 2. For convenience, FIG. 2 shows a state in which the rotation angle of the open position P2 of the cover 20 relative to the closed position P1 is approximately 180 degrees, but this is not limited to this example and may be another angle, for example, approximately 90 degrees, approximately 270 degrees, or the like.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the protector 1, showing the cover 20 in the open position P2. As shown in FIG. 2, the base 10 includes, for example, a base-side bottom wall 11 and a pair of base-side side walls 12. The base-side bottom wall 11 and the pair of base-side side walls 12 are structures for defining the wiring space 2 of the protector 1. The wiring space 2 is a space into which the wiring material W is inserted and routed along the axial direction X. The base-side bottom wall 11 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape and extends along the axial direction X. The base-side bottom wall 11 constitutes the lower end portion 10b of the base 10.

[0018] The pair of base-side side walls 12 protrude, for example, from both ends of the base-side bottom wall 11 in the width direction Y toward the cover 20 in the assembly direction Z and extend along the axial direction X. The pair of base-side side walls 12 include a base-side first side wall located at one end in the width direction Y and a base-side second side wall located at the other end in the width direction Y. The base-side first side wall constitutes the left end of the base 10, and the base-side second side wall constitutes the right end of the base 10. In this embodiment, the above-mentioned hinge portion 40 is provided at the upper end 10a of the base-side first side wall, and the above-mentioned female lock 31 of the lock portion 30 is provided at the upper end 10a of the base-side second side wall.

[0019] The cover 20 is configured to include, for example, a cover-side bottom wall 21 and a pair of cover-side side walls 22. The cover-side bottom wall 21 and the pair of cover-side side walls 22, together with the base-side bottom wall 11 and the pair of base-side side walls 12 of the base 10, are structures for partitioning the wiring space 2 of the protector 1. The cover-side bottom wall 21 is formed, for example, in a flat plate shape and extends along the axial direction X. The cover-side bottom wall 21 forms the upper end of the cover 20 and covers the wiring space 2 from one end side (upper side) in the assembly direction Z.

[0020] The pair of cover-side side walls 22 protrude, for example, from both ends of the cover-side bottom wall 21 in the width direction Y toward the base 10 in the assembly direction Z and extend along the axial direction X. The pair of cover-side side walls 22 include a cover-side first side wall located on one end side in the width direction Y and a cover-side second side wall located on the other end side in the width direction Y. The cover-side first side wall constitutes the left end of the cover 20, and the cover-side second side wall constitutes the right end of the cover 20. In this embodiment, the cover-side first side wall is connected to the base-side first side wall via the above-mentioned hinge portion 40, and the cover-side second side wall is provided with the male lock 32 of the above-mentioned lock portion 30.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the locking portion 30 of the protector 1, showing the male lock 32 in a pre-mating position. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the locking portion 30, showing the male lock 32 in an intermediate mating position. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the locking portion 30, showing the male lock 32 in a mating completion position. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the female lock 31 includes, for example, a flange-shaped main body portion and a through-hole 31a penetrating the main body portion in the assembly direction Z. The main body portion is provided on one of the base-side side walls 12 and protrudes in the width direction Y to the opposite side from the wiring space portion 2. The main body portion is formed in a flange shape at the upper end portion 10a of one of the base-side side walls 12. The through-hole 31a is a locking hole penetrating the main body portion in the assembly direction Z. The male lock 32 is inserted into and engaged with the through-hole 31a.

[0022] The male lock 32 includes, for example, a pair of arm portions 32a, a connecting portion 32b, and a pair of claw portions 32c. The pair of arm portions 32a are portions of the male lock 32 that protrude from the cover 20 toward the base 10 along the assembly direction Z and are inserted into the through-hole 31a of the female lock 31. The pair of arm portions 32a, i.e., the male lock 32, are formed integrally with the cover 20 using a flexible, bending member such as a synthetic resin. In this embodiment, the pair of arm portions 32a are provided at a distance from each other along the axial direction X on one cover-side side wall 22 of the cover 20. In this embodiment, the axial direction X is an example of an intersecting direction that intersects with the assembly direction Z.

[0023] The connecting portion 32b is a portion that connects the base ends 32a1 of the pair of arm portions 32a of the male lock 32 in the assembly direction Z. The connecting portion 32b is provided, for example, to protrude from the outer surface of one of the cover-side side walls 22 of the cover 20. The connecting portion 32b extends along the axial direction X so as to span between the base ends 32a1 of the pair of arm portions 32a.

[0024] The pair of claws 32c are provided on the tip ends 32a2 of the pair of arm portions 32a of the male lock 32 in the assembly direction Z, and are portions that are engaged with the periphery of the through hole 31a of the female lock 31. The pair of claws 32c, for example, protrude in a claw-like shape from the tip ends 32a2 of the pair of arm portions 32a toward sides that move away from each other along the axial direction X. The pair of claws 32c have engaging surfaces 32c1 that face the periphery of the through hole 31a in the assembly direction Z, and when the male lock 32 is in the mating completion position (see FIG. 5), the engaging surfaces 32c1 and the periphery of the through hole 31a are engaged with each other in the assembly direction Z, thereby locking the cover 20 in the closed position P1 relative to the base 10.

[0025] In this embodiment, the male lock 32 is surrounded by a pair of arm portions 32a and a connecting portion 32b and includes a deformation allowance space 33 that opens toward the base 10 in the assembly direction Z. That is, the male lock 32 has a substantially U-shaped cross section that opens toward the base 10 in the assembly direction Z. The deformation allowance space 33 allows the pair of arm portions 32a to elastically deform toward each other along the axial direction X as the male lock 32 is inserted into the through hole 31a.

[0026] Next, an example of the mating operation between the female lock 31 and the male lock 32 will be described. First, when the male lock 32 is in the pre-mating position (see FIG. 3), the through hole 31a of the female lock 31 and the pair of claws 32c (the tip ends 32a2 of the pair of arm portions 32a) of the male lock 32 are aligned. At this time, in this embodiment, tapered surfaces are provided at the tips of the pair of claws 32c to improve the ease of insertion of the male lock 32 into the through hole 31a. The tapered surfaces are inclined so as to widen on both sides in the axial direction X as they move toward the base ends 32a1 of the pair of arm portions 32a along the assembly direction Z.

[0027] Next, when the male lock 32 is in the intermediate mating position (see FIG. 4), the pair of claws 32c of the male lock 32 is inserted into the through-hole 31a of the female lock 31, and the pair of arms 32a elastically deform toward each other along the axial direction X. At this time, in this embodiment, the deformation-permitting space 33 formed in the male lock 32 allows the pair of arms 32a to elastically deform toward each other along the axial direction X, and the tip ends 32a2, which are the free ends of the pair of arms 32a, elastically deform along the axial direction X relatively easily.

[0028] When the male lock 32 is in the mating completion position (see FIG. 5), the pair of claws 32c of the male lock 32 climbs over the through-hole 31a of the female lock 31, and the pair of arms 32a returns to a free state. This causes the locking surfaces 32c1 of the pair of claws 32c to lock with the peripheral edge of the through-hole 31a on the base 10 side (lower side) in the assembly direction Z, and ultimately the cover 20 is locked with respect to the base 10 in the closed position P1.

[0029] As described above, in the protector 1 and the wire harness WH of this embodiment, the male lock 32 is surrounded by the pair of arm portions 32a and the connecting portion 32b, has a deformation allowance space 33 that opens toward the base 10 (first member) in the assembly direction Z, and is configured so that the pair of arm portions 32a can elastically deform toward each other along the axial direction X (intersecting direction) toward the deformation allowance space 33 as the female lock 31 is inserted into the through hole 31a. With this configuration, in the protector 1 and the wire harness WH, for example, when the male lock 32 is inserted into the through hole 31a of the female lock 31, the deformation allowance space 33 allows the tip portions 32a2, which are the free ends of the pair of arm portions 32a, to elastically deform along the axial direction X relatively easily. As a result, the protector 1 and the wire harness WH can more appropriately perform the mating operation of the female lock 31 and the male lock 32.

[0030] In this embodiment, the female lock 31 is provided on the base 10 side as the first member, and the male lock 32 is provided on the cover 20 side as the second member, but this example is not limited to this. For example, the female lock 31 may be provided on the cover 20 side as the first member, and the male lock 32 may be provided on the base 10 side as the second member.

[0031] [Variations] Fig. 6 is a plan view of a protector 1A according to a modified example. The protector 1A shown in Fig. 6 has the same configuration as the protector 1 of the above embodiment. Therefore, the protector 1A can obtain the same functions and effects as the above embodiment based on the same configuration.

[0032] However, this modified example differs from the above embodiment in that, as shown in Fig. 6, the female lock 31 of the locking portion 30 is provided on a plate-like portion 17 formed on the outer surface of the base 10. The plate-like portion 17 is formed, for example, by a reinforcing plate for reinforcing a root portion of the base 10 between the base-side first passage portion 15 extending along the axial direction X and the base-side second passage portion 16 extending along the width direction Y. The plate-like portion 17 protrudes in a plate-like shape so as to connect the outer surface of the base-side first passage portion 15 and the outer surface of the base-side second passage portion 16, for example.

[0033] In this modification, the plate-shaped portion 17 is provided with the through hole 31a of the female lock 31, and the area around the through hole 31a is blocked by the plate-shaped portion 17. That is, the plate-shaped portion 17 does not have any openings around the through hole 31a other than the through hole 31a that passes through the plate-shaped portion 17 in the assembly direction Z. In this modification, the through hole 31a in the plate-shaped portion 17 extends along an inclined direction between the axial direction X and the width direction Y. Therefore, in this modification, the pair of arm portions 32a (see FIG. 5) of the male lock 32 are spaced apart from each other along the inclined direction. In this modification, the inclined direction is an example of an intersecting direction that intersects with the assembly direction Z.

[0034] In this modification, the wire harness WH includes, for example, a trunk portion extending along the axial direction X and branch portions branching from the trunk portion and extending along the width direction Y. The trunk portion is a main portion of the wire harness WH, and is formed by bundling a plurality of wiring materials W, and is routed in the routing space portion 2 of the base-side first passage portion 15. The trunk portion may include, for example, a portion of the wire harness WH where the largest number of wiring materials W are bundled, or may include a portion of the wire harness WH having the largest outer diameter.

[0035] The branch wire portion is a sub-harness portion of the wire harness WH, and is formed by one or more wiring materials W branching off from the trunk wire portion. The branch wire portion is bent along the width direction Y with respect to the trunk wire portion extending along the axial direction X, and is routed in the routing space portion 2 of the base-side second passage portion 16. In this modification, the cover 20 is configured to include, for example, a cover-side first passage portion 25 that covers the routing space portion 2 of the base-side first passage portion 15 in the base 10, and a cover-side second passage portion 26 that covers the routing space portion 2 of the base-side second passage portion 16.

[0036] As described above, in the protector 1A and wire harness WH of this modified example, the through hole 31a of the female lock 31 is provided in the plate-like portion 17 that is formed in a plate shape on the outer surface of the base 10 (first member), and the periphery of the through hole 31a is closed by the plate-like portion 17. With this configuration, the protector 1A and wire harness WH can, for example, prevent erroneous insertion of the male lock 32 into the through hole 31a of the female lock 31, and can configure the locking section 30 more compactly.

[0037] That is, in this modified example, similar to the above embodiment, when the male lock 32 is inserted into the through-hole 31a of the female lock 31, the male lock 32 itself can elastically deform toward the deformation-permitting space 33 formed between the pair of arm portions 32a. With this configuration, the protector 1A and the wire harness WH can have the configuration of claim 2, and it is therefore not necessary to provide an opening or the like in the plate-like portion 17 adjacent to the through-hole 31a for deflecting the female lock 31. This makes it possible to prevent erroneous insertion of the male lock 32 and to configure the locking portion 30 more compactly.

[0038] While the above describes exemplary embodiments and modifications of the present invention, these are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above embodiments and modifications can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, combinations, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, 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 modified as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1, 1A protector 2. Wiring space 10 Base (first member) 17 Plate-shaped part 20 Cover (second member) 30 Rock Club 31 Mesrock 31a Through hole 32 Oslock 32a Pair of arms 32a1 Proximal end 32a2 Tip 32b Connection part 32c Claw part 33 Deformation allowance space W Routing material WH Wire Harness X-axis direction (cross direction) Y width direction Z installation direction

Claims

1. a first member and a second member that are assembled together along an assembly direction and form a wiring space through which a wiring material can be inserted; a locking portion that locks the first member and the second member in a state where they are assembled together, The locking portion is a female lock provided in the first member and having a through hole passing through along the assembling direction; a male lock including: a pair of arm portions provided at an interval from each other along a transverse direction intersecting the assembly direction on the second member, protruding toward the first member along the assembly direction, and inserted into the through hole of the female lock; a connecting portion connecting base ends of the pair of arm portions in the assembly direction; and a pair of claw portions provided at tip ends of the pair of arm portions in the assembly direction, protruding toward sides away from each other along the transverse direction, and engaged with a peripheral edge of the through hole of the female lock, the male lock is formed by being surrounded by the pair of arm portions and the connecting portion, and has a deformation allowance space portion that opens toward the first member side in the assembly direction, and the pair of arm portions are configured to be elastically deformable toward each other toward the deformation allowance space portion along the intersecting direction as the female lock is inserted into the through hole. Protector.

2. the through hole of the female lock is provided in a plate-like portion formed on the outer surface of the first member, and the periphery of the through hole is closed by the plate-like portion; The protector according to claim 1 .

3. A conductive wiring material; A protector that is wrapped around the wiring material, The protector comprises: a first member and a second member that are assembled together along an assembly direction and form a wiring space through which the wiring material can be inserted; a locking portion that locks the first member and the second member in a state where they are assembled together, The locking portion is a female lock provided in the first member and having a through hole passing through along the assembling direction; a male lock including: a pair of arm portions provided at an interval from each other along a transverse direction intersecting the assembly direction on the second member, protruding toward the first member along the assembly direction, and inserted into the through hole of the female lock; a connecting portion connecting base ends of the pair of arm portions in the assembly direction; and a pair of claw portions provided at tip ends of the pair of arm portions in the assembly direction, protruding toward sides away from each other along the transverse direction, and engaged with a peripheral edge of the through hole of the female lock, the male lock is formed by being surrounded by the pair of arm portions and the connecting portion, and has a deformation allowance space portion that opens toward the first member side in the assembly direction, and the pair of arm portions are configured to be elastically deformable toward each other toward the deformation allowance space portion along the intersecting direction as the female lock is inserted into the through hole. Wire harness.

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