Abstract:
A wire protecting member ( 10 ) accommodates and protects wires ( 11, 12 ) to be routed in a vehicle inside. The wire protecting member ( 10 ) includes an corrugated tube ( 40 ) with an inner tube portion ( 41 ) open on an end and having the wires ( 11, 12 ) inserted therein, a grommet ( 60 ) including an outer tube portion ( 61 ) having an inner diameter larger than an inner diameter in the case of external fitting to the inner tube portion ( 41 ) without any clearance and having the wires ( 11, 12 ) inserted therein. An auxiliary grommet ( 90 ) is interposed between the inner tube portion ( 41 ) and the outer tube portion ( 61 ) to couple the corrugated tube ( 40 ) and the grommet ( 60 ).

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This disclosure relates to a wire protecting member. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-226948 discloses a pipe harness to be routed along a front-back direction of a vehicle. This known pipe harness has a shield pipe, a corrugated tube through which a plurality of wires are inserted, and a rubber boot connecting the shield pipe and the corrugated tube in a sealed state. The rubber boot functions as a grommet and includes a pipe-side fitting to be fit externally to an end of the shield pipe and a tube-side fitting to be fit externally to an end part of the corrugated tube. Sealing is provided between the shield pipe and the rubber boot by close contact between the inner peripheral surface of the pipe-side fitting and the outer peripheral surface of the shield pipe. On the other hand, inner peripheral projections are provided circumferentially on the inner peripheral surface of the tube-side fitting and fit into outer peripheral recesses of the corrugated tube. 
         [0005]    The size of the wires is determined by the current applied to the wires. Thus, a diameter of the shield pipe and a diameter of the pipe-side fitting of the rubber boot through which the wires are inserted also become smaller if the size of the wires becomes smaller. Further, a diameter of the tube-side fitting of the rubber boot has to be reduced if a diameter of the corrugated tube becomes smaller. Thus, it has been necessary to remake the rubber boot and to manufacture a new mold for molding this rubber boot. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The invention relates to wire protecting member for accommodating and protecting a wire to be routed in a vehicle. The wire protecting member includes an exterior material, a grommet and an auxiliary grommet. The exterior material has an inner tube portion open on an end and having the wire inserted therein. The grommet has an outer tube portion with an inner diameter larger than an inner diameter in the case of external fitting to the inner tube portion without any clearance and having the wire inserted therein. The auxiliary grommet is interposed between the inner tube portion and the outer tube portion to couple the exterior material and the grommet. 
         [0007]    According to this configuration, even if the sizes of the wire and the exterior material becomes smaller, the size of the grommet need not be reduced and the inner tube portion of the exterior material and the outer tube portion of the grommet can be coupled by the auxiliary grommet. Thus, it is not necessary to make a new grommet and a new mold for the grommet. 
         [0008]    As just described, existing components can be used and specification changes of the existing components can be dealt with quickly merely by providing a new auxiliary grommet. Further, the auxiliary grommet has only to be mounted in a part connecting the grommet and the exterior material. Thus, the size of the auxiliary grommet can be suppressed to a minimum size. 
         [0009]    The inner tube portion of the corrugated tube and the outer tube portion of the grommet can be coupled by an auxiliary grommet only when the size of the exterior material becomes smaller or when the size of the grommet becomes larger. Thus, the exterior material need not be remade according to a size change of the grommet. 
         [0010]    The auxiliary grommet may have a tubular shape and may be mounted between an outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion and an inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion. Accordingly, the auxiliary grommet is incorporated as a part of a section where the inner tube portion and the outer tube portion are fit and connected. Therefore the overall shape of the wire protecting member need not be changed. 
         [0011]    The auxiliary grommet may be formed of rubber and stops water between the inner tube portion and the outer tube portion. According to this configuration, the auxiliary grommet can be substituted for a seal. 
         [0012]    The exterior material may be a bellows-like corrugated tube with alternating crests and troughs, and the auxiliary grommet may include a projection to be fit into a trough. Accordingly, the auxiliary grommet can be positioned relative to the exterior material in an axial direction by fitting the projection into the trough to prevent axial displacement of the auxiliary grommet. 
         [0013]    The grommet and the auxiliary grommet may be fixed to the corrugated tube by a fastening band. The fastening band may be mounted at a position for pressing the crest of the corrugated tube. This configuration reliably stops water between the grommet and the corrugated tube. 
         [0014]    The exterior material may be a shield pipe made of metal. According to this configuration, the auxiliary grommet also can be applied to the part coupling the shield pipe and the grommet. 
         [0015]    The wire protecting member disclosed by this specification uses an auxiliary grommet so that existing components can be used. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a plan view showing a wire protecting member in an embodiment. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a section showing a state where an auxiliary grommet is mounted between a grommet and a corrugated tube. 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a section showing a state where an auxiliary grommet is mounted between a forked grommet and a shield pipe. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a wire protecting member  10  of this embodiment includes a shield pipe  20  for accommodating and protecting thick and thin wires  11 ,  12 , a clamp  13  for fixing the shield pipe  20  to a body of a vehicle, a forked grommet  30  connected to an end part of the shield pipe  20 , two types of large and small corrugated tubes  40 ,  50  connected to end parts of the forked grommet  30  and two types of large and small grommets  60 ,  70  connected to end parts of the corrugated tubes  40 ,  50 . 
         [0020]    Large and small terminals  14 ,  15  are connected respectively to end parts of the thick and thin wires  11 ,  12  on a vehicle rear side (right side shown). The thick wires  11  and the large terminals  14  mounted on these wires constitute a power circuit for driving and the like. On the other hand, the thin wires  12  and the small terminals  15  mounted on these wires constitute a signal circuit for control and the like. Each wire  11 ,  12  has a core configured by twisting electrically conductive metal strands and is surrounded by an insulation coating made of synthetic resin. 
         [0021]    The shield pipe  20  is a hollow cylindrical member made of electrically conductive metal (e.g. aluminum alloy) and functions to shield and protect the wires  11 ,  12 . The shield pipe  20  is bent at a plurality of positions after the wires  11 ,  12  are inserted into a straight pipe. Thus, a length of the shield pipe  20  is shorter than the entire lengths of the wires  11 ,  12 . 
         [0022]    The forked grommet  30  is formed of rubber and includes an outer tube portion  31  to be fit externally to an inner tube portion  21  open on the end part of the shield pipe  20 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . This outer tube portion  31  is open on the end part of the forked grommet  30 . The inner tube portion  21  and the outer tube portion  31  are fit to each other and a first auxiliary grommet  80  is interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion  21  and the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  31 . The first auxiliary grommet  80  connects the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion  2  to the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  31  without any clearance. Note that interposition means located between two members and being mounted to the two members. Thus, the first auxiliary grommet  80  is between the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion  21  and the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  31  and is mounted to both the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion  21  and the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  31 . 
         [0023]    A mounting recess  33  is provided circumferentially on the outer peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  31 . The outer tube portion  31  and the first auxiliary grommet  80  are pressed against the inner tube portion  21  by fastening a fastening band  32  in the mounting recess  33 . Thus, the outer tube portion  31  and the auxiliary grommet  80  are fixed to the inner tube portion  21  so that the auxiliary grommet  80  provides sealing between the forked grommet  30  and the shield pipe  20 . 
         [0024]    An inner tube portion  41  is provided open on an end part of the corrugated tube  40  and an outer tube portion  61  is provided open on an end part of the grommet  60 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . A second auxiliary grommet  90  is interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion  41  and the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  61 . The inner tube portion  41  is arranged radially inward of the outer tube portion  61 . The second auxiliary grommet  90  connects the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion  41  to the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  61  without any clearance. 
         [0025]    The corrugated tube  40  is made of synthetic resin and defines a known bellows structure with alternating crests  42  and troughs  43 . 
         [0026]    The grommet  60  is formed of a rubber and has inner peripheral recesses  62  provided on the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  61  of the grommet  60 . The inner peripheral recesses  62  are provided circumferentially along crests so that the crests are fit therein if a corrugated tube has an original size fittable to the grommet  60 . However, the corrugated tube  40  is smaller than the original corrugated tube in this embodiment. Thus, the inner peripheral recesses  62  are not fit to the crests  42 . Further, a plurality of inner peripheral recesses  62  are provided in an arrangement direction of the crests  42  within a range of the outer tube portion  61 . An interval between the inner peripheral recesses  62  is equal to that between the crests  42 . 
         [0027]    The second auxiliary grommet  90  is formed of rubber and has outer peripheral projections  91  that fit in the inner peripheral recesses  62  of the grommet  60 . On the other hand, inner peripheral projections  92  are provided circumferentially on the inner peripheral surface of the second auxiliary grommet  90  to fit into the troughs  43  of the corrugated tube  40 . The outer peripheral projections  91  and the inner peripheral projections  92  are arranged at the same interval and are arranged alternately in an axial direction. 
         [0028]    , the second auxiliary grommet  90  is positioned relative to the corrugated tube  40  by fitting the inner peripheral projections  92  into the troughs  43  to prevent axial displacement. Further, the second auxiliary grommet  90  is positioned relative to the grommet  60  by fitting the outer peripheral projections  91  into the inner peripheral recesses  62 , to prevent axial displacement. 
         [0029]    A mounting recess  64  is provided circumferentially on the outer peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  61  of the grommet  60  and a fastening band  63  can be fit therein. The mounting recess  64  is located at an outer peripheral side of one of the inner peripheral recesses  62 . Thus, a crest  42  of the corrugated tube  40  is located at an inner peripheral side of the mounting recess  64 . Accordingly, when the fastening band  63  is fastened in the mounting recess  64 , the inner peripheral recess  62  presses the outer peripheral projection  91  of the second auxiliary grommet  90  and the inner peripheral surface of the second auxiliary grommet  90  presses the crest  42  of the corrugated tube  40 . In this way, the auxiliary grommet  90  provides sealing between the grommet  60  and the corrugated tube  40 . 
         [0030]    The outer peripheral projections  91  of the second auxiliary grommet  90  are covered by the grommet  60 . Thus, water is unlikely to enter between the second auxiliary grommet  90  and the grommet  60  even if water directly hits the end part of the grommet  60  when the vehicle is washed with high-pressure water. 
         [0031]    As described above, the size of the grommet  60  needs not to be reduced and the inner tube portion  41  of the corrugated tube  40  and the outer tube portion  61  of the grommet  60  can be coupled by the auxiliary grommet  90  even if the sizes of the wires become smaller and the size of the corrugated tube  40  becomes smaller. Thus, it is not necessary to remake the grommet and newly manufacture a mold for molding the grommet. 
         [0032]    As just described, existing components can be used and specification changes of the existing components can be dealt with quickly, merely by preparing the new second auxiliary grommet  90 . Further, the second auxiliary grommet  90  only has to be mounted in a part connecting the grommet  60  and the corrugated tube  40 , and can be very small. 
         [0033]    The inner tube portion  41  of the corrugated tube  40  and the outer tube portion of the grommet can be coupled by using an auxiliary grommet when the size of the corrugated tube  40  becomes smaller, as described above, and also when the size of the grommet  60  becomes larger. Thus, the corrugated tube  40  need not be remade according to a size change of the grommet  60 . 
         [0034]    The auxiliary grommet  90  may be tubular and may be between the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion  41  and the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  61 . According to this configuration, the auxiliary grommet  90  is incorporated as a part of a section where the inner tube portion  41  and the outer tube portion  61  are connected. Therefore, the overall shape of the wire protecting member  10  need not be changed. 
         [0035]    The second auxiliary grommet  90  may be formed of rubber and stops water between the inner tube portion  41  and the outer tube portion  61 . Thus, the auxiliary grommet  90  can be substituted for a seal. 
         [0036]    An exterior material may be the bellows-like corrugated tube  40  in which the crests  42  and the troughs  43  are arranged alternately and the second auxiliary grommet  90  may include the inner peripheral projections  92  to be fit into the trough portions  43 . Thus, the second auxiliary grommet  90  can be positioned relative to the corrugated tube  40  in the axial direction by fitting the inner peripheral projections  92  into the troughs  43 . Further, a displacement of the second auxiliary grommet  90  in the axial direction can be avoided. 
         [0037]    The grommet  60  and the second auxiliary grommet  90  may be fixed to the corrugated tube  40  by the fastening band  63 . Accordingly, the grommet  60  and the auxiliary grommet  90  can be fixed firmly to the corrugated tube  40  by using the fastening band  63 . 
         [0038]    The fastening band  63  may be mounted at a position for pressing the crest  42  of the corrugated tube  40 . According to this configuration, the second auxiliary grommet  90  is pressed against the crest  42  of the corrugated tube  40  by fastening the fastening band  63 , wherefore water can be reliably stopped between the grommet  60  and the corrugated tube  40 . 
         [0039]    The exterior material may be the shield pipe  20  made of metal. Thus, the first auxiliary grommet  80  can be applied also to the part coupling the shield pipe  20  and the forked grommet  30 . 
         [0040]    The technology disclosed by this specification is not limited to the above described and illustrated embodiment. For example, the following various modes are also included. 
         [0041]    Although the part to be mounted to the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion  41  and the part to be mounted to the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  61  are integral in the second auxiliary grommet  90 . However, a part to be mounted to the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion  41  and a part to be mounted to the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  61  may be at different axial positions in an auxiliary grommet. 
         [0042]    Although the auxiliary grommets  80 ,  90  made of rubber are illustrated in the above embodiment, auxiliary grommets made of resin may be used in a wire protecting member that need not have waterproof performance. 
         [0043]    The auxiliary grommet  90  has the inner peripheral projections  92  to fit into the troughs  43  of the corrugated tube  40  in the above embodiment. However, the inner peripheral projections  92  may not be necessarily provided. 
         [0044]    The grommet  60  is fastened with the fastening band  63  in the above embodiment. However, the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube portion  61  and the outer peripheral surface of the auxiliary grommet may be held in close contact and the inner peripheral surface of the auxiliary grommet and the outer peripheral surface of the inner tube portion  41  of the corrugated tube  40  may be held in close contact by forming the auxiliary grommet thicker than that of the embodiment. 
         [0045]    The fastening band  63  is mounted at a position for pressing one crest  42  in the above embodiment. However, a wide fastening band may press two or more crests  42 . 
         [0046]    Although the hollow cylindrical shield pipe  20  and the hollow cylindrical corrugated tubes  40 ,  50  are illustrated as the exterior materials in the above embodiment, rectangular tubular resin pipes may be used as the exterior materials. 
       LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS 
       [0000]    
       
           10  . . . wire protecting member 
           11 ,  12  . . . wire 
           20  . . . shield pipe 
           21  . . . inner tube portion 
           30  . . . forked grommet 
           31  . . . outer tube portion 
           32  . . . fastening band 
           40  . . . corrugated tube 
           41  . . . inner tube portion 
           42  . . . crest 
           43  . . . trough 
           50  . . . corrugated tube 
           60  . . . grommet 
           61  . . . outer tube portion 
           63  . . . fastening band 
           70  . . . grommet 
           80  . . . first auxiliary grommet for pipe 
           90  . . . second auxiliary grommet for tube 
           92  . . . inner peripheral projection