Abstract:
The invention allows upper and lower plates of a harness clip to be aligned simply, irrespective of the diameter of a wire harness. 
     A wire harness fixing clip ( 11 ) has a ring-like frame through which a wire harness is passed, fixing holes ( 12   a,    13   a ) being provided on upper and lower plates, and a retaining member being passed through these fixing holes to fix the wire harness clip ( 11 ) to a fixture. The clip has an L-shaped side locking member ( 16 ) on one of the upper and lower plates, the other of these plates catching from the side with the locking member, the pair of plates thereby resting one above the other, on the locking member and thereby becoming aligned.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a wire harness fixing clip for fixing a wire harness distributed within an automobile to a car body or the like. In particular, the clip can accommodate wire harnesses of varying diameter. 
     JP 63-83923 describes a type of wire harness fixing clip, wherein a joining member of a pair of upper and lower plate members comprises a ring shaped frame through which a wire harness is passed, and wherein the fixing holes are provided on the pair of upper and lower plate members, a retaining member being passed therethrough to fix the clip to the fixture, as shown in FIGS. 12-14 of this application. 
     This clip  1  has a hook member  1   c  provided on one end (on the plate member  1   a ) of an open anterior end of a pair of upper and lower plate members  1   a  and  1   b.  The other end (on the plate member  1   b ) has a fixing member  1   d  which connects with the hook member  1   c  and comprises a frame shaped receiving member or the like. 
     In the case where the hook member  1   c  and the fixing member  1   d  are provided on the open ends of the pair of upper and lower plate members  1   a  and  1   b,  these upper and lower plate members  1   a  and  1   b  open out when a wire harness W/H is passed through a ring shaped frame  1   e  provided between the plate members  1   a  and  1   b.  At this juncture, lateral slippage can easily occur between the upper and lower plate members  1   a  and  1   b,  and as a consequence, the position of the hook member  1   c  may no longer correspond with the fixing member  1   d.  Thus the two may not easily connect. In particular, in the case where the outer diameter of the wire harness W/H is large, it is difficult to correct the lateral slippage. It is difficult to align the fixing holes  1   f  and  1   g  formed on the upper and lower plate members, and it is difficult to fix the clip to a car body panel or the like. 
     The present invention has taken the above problem into consideration, and aims to provide a wire harness fixing clip wherein upper and lower plate members can be positioned so as to correspond without lateral slippage irrespective of the width of the outer diameter of the wire harness, the fixing holes on the upper and lower plate members therefore being easily aligned, thereby allowing the clip to be fixed simply and reliably to a fixture. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention, there is provided a wire harness fixing clip comprising a ring-like frame having an axis and being adapted to receive an elongate wire harness along said axis, said clip having substantially planar ends adapted for overlying contact, said ends each having an aperture therethrough for receiving a fixing member, wherein one of said planar ends is provided with a latching member adapted to receive an edge of the other of said planar ends, said latching member being further adapted to extend over the other of said planar ends in the direction of said axis. 
     Preferably, the latching member is hook-like. The latching member may extend from a side of one of said planar ends, or from a surface thereof, for example, by punching out of a metal clip. 
     One or both of said apertures may be elongate in a direction perpendicular to said axis, in order to accommodate a variation in the wire harness diameter. 
     The latching member may engage a slot in the side of the other of said planar members, and the slot is preferably longer than the width of the locking member in order to allow for variation in the wire harness diameter. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of several preferred embodiments shown by way of example only in the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a diagonal view showing a clip of a first embodiment of the present invention, 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part of FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-section through the part of FIG. 2, 
     FIG. 4 is a diagonal view of the clip in an open state, 
     FIG. 5 shows schematic plan views of an opening-closing process of the clip, 
     FIG. 6 shows schematic side views of the opening-closing process of the clip, 
     FIG. 7 is a diagonal view showing a clip of a second embodiment, 
     FIG. 8 is a diagonal view showing the clip of the second embodiment with a wide diameter wire harness passing therethrough, 
     FIG. 9 shows explanatory figures relating to the operation of a third embodiment, 
     FIG. 10 is a diagonal view showing a clip of a fourth embodiment, 
     FIG. 11 is a diagonal view showing a fifth embodiment and, 
     FIGS. 12-14 show a prior art wire harness clip. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the present invention is described below with the aid of FIGS. 1-6. FIG. 1 shows a wire harness W/H sheathed by a corrugated tube  10 , and passing through a clip  11 . The clip  11  is retained by a bolt passing through bolt holes  12   a,    13   a,  and is thereby fixed along a wire distribution path of the wire harness within a car body. 
     The clip  11  is formed from metal and is provided with a ring shaped frame  14  through which the wire harness passes, this ring shaped frame  14  being formed at a joining portion of a pair of upper and lower plates  12  and  13 . The clip  11  need not be formed from metal; it may equally be formed from a suitable hard plastic. 
     Circular fixing holes  12   a  and  13   a  pass through plates  12  and  13 . Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an extending member  15  is formed on a side face of the lower plate  13  at a location adjoining the ring shaped frame  14 , this extending member  15  facing outwards and protruding slightly in a horizontal direction (as viewed). An L-shaped side locking member  16 , formed in a unitary manner, protrudes from the extending member  15 . This side locking member  16  comprises a vertical member  16   a  protruding upwards from the extending member  15 , and a gripping member  16   b  which extends horizontally inwards from a tip of the vertical member  16   a.  The dimension L of the space between the gripping member  16   b  and the lower plate  13  is considerably greater than the plate thickness W of the upper plate  12  (FIG.  3 ). Consequently, a space remains between the upper plate  12  and the lower plate  13  when the upper plate  12  is engaged between the gripping member  16   b  and the lower plate  13 . 
     The extending member  15  need not necessarily be provided. Moreover, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the bends may be curved rather than at right angles. 
     With reference to FIG. 4, the wire harness W/H sheathed in the corrugated tube  10  is passed through the upper and lower plates  12  and  13  of the clip  1  while these are in an open state, and the upper plate  12  is subsequently engaged in the side locking member  16 . In order to fix the wire harness the upper and lower plates  12  and  13  are forcefully made to flare, the wire harness W/H sheathed in the corrugated tube  10  is passed through the bent frame member  14 , and then the upper plate  12  is twisted slightly in a lateral direction in order to prevent interference with the gripping member  16   b  of the side locking member  16 , and is brought into contact with the lower plate, thus going from the state shown in FIG. 5A to the state shown in FIG.  5 B. 
     If the upper plate  12  is twisted forcefully in a lateral direction, it returns naturally to its original position and, as shown in FIG. 5C, slides into the gripping member  16   b  of the side locking member  16 . As shown in FIG. 6A-6C, even if the upper plate  12  lies on an upper face of the gripping member  16   b  it may slide on the side locking member  16  and then naturally slide into the gripping member  16   b.  If it is difficult for the upper plate  12  to return to its original position naturally, the operator may laterally slide the upper plate  12  into the gripping member  16   b.    
     In this manner, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper and lower plates  12  and  13  overlap precisely, and the fixing holes  12   a  and  13   a  formed in the upper and lower plates  12  and  13  are aligned. Consequently, after the fixing holes  12   a  and  13   a  have been positioned so as to correspond with the bolt holes of the fixture of the car body panel, etc., the bolt is passed therethrough and fixed by being tightened, thereby fixing the clip  11  and the wire harness. 
     FIG. 7 shows a clip  11 ′ of a second embodiment. A pair of upper and lower plates  12 ′ and  13 ′ are provided with fixing holes, these comprising a circular fixing hole  13   a ′ provided on the lower plate  13 ′ adjacent to a fixture, and a slot shaped fixing hole  12   a ′ provided on the upper plate  12 ′. 
     In this configuration, as shown in FIG. 8, even if the position of the upper plate  12 ′ should move away from the position of the lower plate  13 ′ towards a ring shaped frame  14 ′ because the outer diameter of a wire harness W/H is large, the position of the slot shaped fixing hole  12   a ′ will correspond to the position of a bolt hole of the fixture while still being aligned with the circular fixing hole  13   a ′ of the lower plate  13 ′. 
     Moreover, the shape of the fixing holes may be inverted, with the fixing hole  13   a ′ of the lower plate  13 ′ being slot shaped and the fixing hole  12   a ′ of the upper plate  12 ′ being circular. Alternatively, both the fixing hole  12   a ′ and the fixing hole  13   a ′ may be slot like. 
     FIGS. 9A and 9B show a third embodiment. A side locking member having an inverted L-shape is not formed in advance. Instead, as shown in FIG. 9A, a long member  30  protrudes in a horizontal direction from a side face of the plate (a lower plate  13 ). As shown in FIG. 9B, the length of the vertical portion of the member  30  is adjusted depending on the outer diameter of the wire harness so as to form an inverted L-shape. In this case, the member  30  is thin in order for it to bend easily. In this manner, the size of the vertical portion of the inverted L-shaped side locking member can be regulated so as to correspond to the diameter of the wire harness. Consequently, the locking member can easily be made to correspond even with a wire harness having a varying diameter. FIG. 9C shows a partial plan view, on a reduced scale, of the member  30  in the unbent state. 
     FIG. 10 shows a wire harness fixing clip  51  of a fourth embodiment. An inverted L-shaped side locking member  56  does not protrude from a side face of a lower plate  53 . Instead, the side locking member  56  protrudes from an inner upper face of the lower plate  53 . This side locking member  56  is formed by punching out a portion of the lower plate  53  so that a side face of this punched portion remains attached thereto, the punched portion is bent to form the side locking member  56  which has a vertical member  56   a  and a gripping member  56   b.  This embodiment allows the number of manufacturing steps to be decreased when the clip  51  is formed from metal or the like. 
     A cut-away member  52   d  is formed by cutting away a side portion of an upper plate  52  at a location corresponding to the side locking member  56 . The length of the cut-away member  52   d  in a longitudinal direction is longer than the width of the side locking member  56 . Further, a slot-shaped punched member  52   e  is formed at a location close to a central portion of a member which joins the upper plate  52  and ring shaped frame  54 . The shape, etc., of fixing holes  52   a and  53   a formed on the upper and lower plates  52  and  53  is identical with that of the fixing holes of the first and second embodiments. 
     When the clip  51  is to be fixed to the wire harness, the side locking retainer  56  of the lower plate  53  is housed within the cut-away member  52   d  of the upper plate  52 , and lower face of the gripping member  56   b  grips an upper face of the upper plate  52 . Moreover, even if the diameter, etc., of the corrugated tube within which the wire harness is fixed is increased or decreased, the length of the cut-away member  52   d  in a longitudinal direction is ample relative to the width of the side locking member  56 . Consequently, it can be made to correspond to the diameter of the tube and fit therewith. Furthermore, when the upper plate  52  is bent from an open state towards the lower plate  53 , the punched member  52   e  reduces the resistance of the upper plate  52 , allowing bending to occur with this location as the fulcrum. As a result, the positions of the upper plate  52  and the lower plate  53  can easily be made to correspond. Further, less force is required for bending. 
     The punched member  52   e  need not be slot shaped. It may equally well be round or square. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the location of the punched member  52   e  need not be central. Rather, punched members  52   e ′ may be formed on both sides of the upper plate  52 . This punched member  52   e  is suitable not only for the clip  51  of the fourth embodiment, but also for the clips of the first to third embodiments.