Patent Document

TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a grommet protection member and an electric wire connection device. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     One example of known electric wire connection devices is shown in Patent Document 1 (JP 2003-230214A). In this device, an electric wire group is passed in a sealed state through a hole that penetrates a wall. In particular, a grommet through which the electric wire group (wire harness) is inserted is attached to the wall provided with a through hole, and a flexible lip having a large diameter that is provided in the grommet is brought into elastic contact with the periphery of the through hole to seal the through hole. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     On the other hand, in hybrid vehicles or the like, the wire harness is routed between a motor and a battery, for example. The wire harness is introduced into a motor case through a hole penetrating the case. However, even when the above-described conventional sealing structure is used for this structure, it may not be necessarily sufficient as a sealing structure. This is because it is necessary to be prepared for the case that high-pressure washing water is blown to wash automobiles including hybrid vehicles. In such a case, in the above-described sealing structure, as the lip is exposed on the surface, if high-pressure washing water is blown to the edge of the lip, there is a concern that the edge turns up, thus reducing the sealing performance. 
     The present invention was made based on the foregoing circumstances, and it is an object thereof to provide an electric wire connection device that can achieve high water resistance with a small number of components and provide a grommet protection member used therewith. 
     Solution to Problem 
     A grommet protection member of disclosed embodiments is attached to an end portion of a grommet made of a soft material, the grommet being fitted to come into direct contact with an outer circumferential surface of an attachment member, wherein: 
     the grommet protection member is made of a material that is harder than the soft material of the grommet and is attached to surround, from an outer circumferential surface side, an end portion of the part of the grommet that is fitted to the attachment member, and a flange is integrally formed on an inner circumferential surface of the grommet protection member projecting therefrom, the flange compressing the grommet along the entire circumference of the grommet. 
     An electric wire connection device of the disclosed embodiments includes: an attachment member including, at one end, a tubular connecting portion that has an opening through which electric wires can be inserted and, on the other end, an attached portion capable of being attached to an attachment destination member; a grommet made of a soft material and formed into a tubular shape, the grommet covering the attachment member in direct contact therewith; and the grommet protection member as defined above that surrounds the part of the grommet covering the attachment member, the grommet protection member integrally including a flange that compresses an entire outer circumferential surface of the grommet. 
     Advantageous Effects of the Invention 
     According to aspects of the present invention, the grommet protection member covers the end portion of the grommet to prevent the end portion from being directly exposed to high-pressure washing water, thus contributing to the preservation of the sealing performance. 
     Moreover, the flange of the grommet protection member is capable of compressing the part of the grommet fitted to the attachment member from around the entire circumference. That is, the flange integrally formed on the grommet protection member has the capability of tightening the grommet without using a dedicated fastening component, such as a band. Accordingly, an increase in the number of components can be avoided by omitting a dedicated fastening component. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a connection between an end portion of a wire harness and a casing. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view illustrating a state where the end portion of the wire harness is connected to the casing. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a shielding shell. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the shielding shell. 
         FIG. 5  is a half cross-sectional top view of a grommet. 
         FIG. 6  is a partially cutaway top view illustrating a state where the end portion of the wire harness is connected to the casing. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a plan view of a grommet protection member. 
         FIG. 9  is a bottom view of the grommet protection member. 
         FIG. 10  is a bottom view of a grommet protection member according to Embodiment 2. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. 
     A grommet protection member according to the present invention may be provided with a drain opening for draining water entering between the grommet protection member and a grommet. 
     According to this configuration, water entering between the grommet protection member and the grommet can be quickly drained without retaining it. 
     The grommet protection member may be provided with a pair of segments that is divided in radial direction in at least one location so as to be capable of being opened, and link portions are provided at open ends of the two segments so that the segments are capable of being linked to each other such that the segments can be held in an annular shape that can surround the outer circumferential surface of the grommet. 
     According to this configuration, as the grommet protection member is formed by the segments that can be opened and closed, the operation of surrounding the outer circumferential surface of the grommet can be performed easily and smoothly. 
     In addition, preferably, the grommet protection member comprises two separate segments that are divided in radial direction at two locations together with the flange, and the link portions linking the two segments are formed at the two divided locations, and upon attachment to the grommet, the two segments are joined together so that the flange continues in circumferential direction. According to this configuration, as the grommet protection member is divided, it can be easily attached to the grommet, and as the flange is circumferentially continuous, it can provide sealing in the circumferential direction without a break. 
     Moreover, the segments are preferably provided with an identical shape. 
     According to this configuration, as no orientation is set for joining the segments, workability is improved. 
     Furthermore, outwardly extending link portions may be formed on both end portions of both segments such that the segments can be linked together by fastening screws. 
     According to this configuration, the segments can be securely tightened against the elasticity of the grommet by fastening the link portions with the screws. 
     Furthermore, in an electric wire connection device according to another invention, sealing lips may be formed circumferentially on an inner circumferential surface side of the grommet that opposes the attachment member, the sealing lips being capable of coming into direct contact with an outer circumferential surface of the attachment member, and upon attachment of a grommet protection member to the grommet, the sealing lips may be positioned in a portion immediately below a flange. 
     According to this configuration, as the flange of the grommet protection member compresses the portion above the sealing lips, the sealing function can be effectively enhanced. 
     Moreover, in the electric wire connection device, auxiliary lips may be provided circumferentially on the inner circumferential surface side of the grommet outside of a region tightened by the flange, the auxiliary lips being provided in locations between which the sealing lips are interposed in a front-rear direction. 
     According to this configuration, even if the seal lips may deteriorate over time by receiving the tightening force of the flange, the sealing function can be preserved for a long period of time as the auxiliary lips are provided outside of the region tightened by the flange. 
     Hereinafter, Embodiments 1 and 2, which embody an electric wire connection device of the present invention, will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that in the description below, the terms “front and rear” are defined so that a direction of moving away from a casing is “rear” and a direction of approaching the casing is “front”. 
     Embodiment 1 
       FIGS. 1-9  show Embodiment 1 of the present invention. More specifically, the battery power of a hybrid vehicle is supplied to a motor via an inverter. A bundle of a plurality of electric wires (wire harness) is used as the power feeder therebetween.  FIG. 1  shows an electric wire connection device of Embodiment 1, illustrating a connection on an inverter side. 
     Casing  1   
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , a through hole  2  is opened at a connecting portion of the casing  1  (made of metal) on the inverter side, and a casing-side connector  3  is attached to the inside of the through hole  2 , projecting outward. A hood portion  4  of the casing-side connector  3  is formed in an oval shape that is elongate in the width direction, and three male terminal fittings  5  are accommodated in the hood portion  4  and are arranged in a row in the width direction. Moreover, a boss portion  6  projects rearward from the portion above the through hole  2  on the front wall of the casing  1 , and a bolt hole  7  (screw hole) is provided at the central portion of the boss portion  6 . 
     In this embodiment, the wire harness W includes three electric wires. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the electric wires W 1  included in the wire harness W are collectively covered from the outside with a braided wire  8  and an outer cover  9  that is located outside the braided wire  8 . Moreover, a female terminal fitting  10  is connected to the end of each electric wire W 1 . The female terminal fittings  10  are respectively accommodated in corresponding cavities in a harness-side connector  11 . The harness-side connector  11  is formed to be capable of being fitted to the hood portion  4  of the casing-side connector  3 , and the male and female terminal fittings  5  and  10  are electrically connected to each other in a proper fitting state. Moreover, a first sealing ring  12  is fitted to a portion on the front end portion side of the outer circumferential surface of the harness-side connector  11 , and thus being capable of coming into direct contact with the inner circumferential surface of the hood portion  4  and providing sealing between both portions. A step  13  is formed at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction on the outer circumferential surface of the harness-side connector  11 , and a second sealing ring  14  is fitted to a portion near the border of the step  13 . The second sealing ring  14  comes into direct contact with the inner circumferential surface of a step portion  16  of a shielding shell  15  (attachment member), which will be described immediately below, in a water-tight state. 
     Shielding Shell  15   
     The wire harness W is inserted through the shielding shell  15  as shown in  FIG. 2 , and the harness-side connector  11  is accommodated in the shielding shell  15  in a state where the harness-side connector  11  projects forward from the shielding shell  15 . A metal plate is formed into a tubular shape as the shielding shell  15 , and as shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the front end portion thereof is provided with a cap portion  17  (attached portion) for attachment to the casing  1 . As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 , the cap portion  17  is open toward the casing  1  side, and has a substantially mountain-like shape in which the center on the upper end side in the drawing is a peak. An insertion hole  20  is formed in the peak portion of the cap portion  17 , and a fixing bolt  18  is inserted into the insertion hole  20 , penetrating from the rear surface side. Additionally, the shielding shell  15  is fixed to the casing  1  by screwing the fixing bolt  18  into the bolt hole  7  on the casing  1  side. 
     It should be noted that as shown in  FIG. 7 , the head of the bolt  18  is removably covered with a bolt cap  21  after the bolt  18  is screwed in. In this embodiment, the bolt cap  21  is connected, via a string-shaped hinge piece  26 , to an attachment tool (not shown) that is fixed together with the bolt  18 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the step portion  16  extends rearward from the cap portion  17 , and a connecting portion  19  extends further rearward from the step portion  16 . Both the connecting portion  19  and the step portion  16  are formed to have an oval cross section that is elongate in the width direction (horizontal direction). An opening  22  is formed on the rear end surface of the connecting portion  19 , and the wire harness W can be inserted through the opening  22  (see  FIG. 2 ). As shown in  FIG. 2 , the outer circumferential surface of the rear end portion of the connecting portion  19  is covered with the braided wire  8 . An annular fastening tool  23  is tightened with a screw or the like, and thus the braided wire  8  is fastened and fixed to the connecting portion  19 . 
     The step portion  16  is disposed coaxially with respect to the connecting portion  19 . The step portion  16  is formed to be slightly larger than the connecting portion  19 , having an oval cross section, and is shorter in the front-rear direction than the connecting portion  19 . The step portion  16  is continuous with the height position on the lower end portion side of the cap portion  17 , and the above-described bolt  18  is disposed at the height position spaced apart from the upper surface of the step portion  16 . As shown in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , two reinforcing ribs on both sides interposing the bolt  18  in the width direction as seen in a plan view, that is, four reinforcing ribs  25  in total, are formed by striking so as to project rearward from the rear surface of the cap portion  17  at the border portion with the upper surface of the step portion  16 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the second sealing ring  14  of the harness-side connector  11  is caused to abut against the step between the step portion  16  and the connecting portion  19 , and thereby the harness-side connector  11  is positioned in the front-rear direction. 
     Grommet  27   
     A grommet  27  is made of a single piece of an elastic soft material (rubber material) in a hollow shape. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the grommet  27  is configured to include a main portion  28 , a skirt portion  29 , and a pressure attachment portion  30  interposed therebetween. The main portion  28  has an extending tubular portion  31  that extends rearward. The extending tubular portion  31  is formed in a cylindrical shape through which the wire harness W can be inserted, and is formed coaxially with the axis of the entire grommet  27 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , sealing edges  32  are formed along the entire circumferences at the opening edge and the position entering forward from the opening edge on the inner circumferential surface of the extending tubular portion  31 . 
     The main portion  28  is formed to have an oval cross section that can be matched with the outer circumferential surface of the connecting portion  19  of a shielding case, and the main portion  28  is formed so as to be capable of surrounding the entire outer circumferential surface of the front half portion of the connecting portion  19  in a state where the grommet  27  covers the shielding shell  15 . 
     It should be noted that as shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 7 , an expanded portion  33  is formed at the position on the pressure attachment portion  30  side on the outer side surface of the main portion  28 , expanding outward in the width direction. The inside of the expanded portion  33  is a space for accommodating a fastening portion (portion fastened by a screw or the like) of the fastening tool  23  that fastens the above-described braided wire  8  to the connecting portion  19  of the shielding shell  15 . 
     The pressure attachment portion  30  is formed in a recess groove shape and connects the skirt portion  29  and the main portion  28 . Accordingly, its cross section has an oval shape that is slightly smaller than the main portion  28 . The outer circumferential surface of the pressure attachment portion  30  is fastened by a grommet protection member  42 , which will be explained below. In the pressure attachment portion  30 , both border walls on the connecting portion  19  side and the skirt portion  29  side have a substantially vertically rising shape. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a pair of sealing lips  36  that are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction projects from the central portion of the entire inner circumferential surface of the pressure attachment portion  30 . As described below, both sealing lips  36  are positioned substantially immediately below a flange  50  of the grommet protection member  42  when the grommet protection member  42  is attached. Upon attachment of the grommet protection member  42 , both sealing lips  36  are moderately squeezed and come into direct contact along the outer circumferential surface of the front half portion of the connecting portion  19  of the shielding shell  15 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , a pair of auxiliary lips  37  is formed at positions close to both front and rear end portions of the inner circumferential surface of the pressure attachment portion  30 , projecting from the entire inner circumferential surface. As shown in the drawing, the projecting height of the auxiliary lip  37  is set to substantially the same height as that of the sealing lip  36 . As the auxiliary lip  37  is sufficiently spaced apart in the front-rear direction from the position immediately below the flange  50  of the grommet protection member  42 , in a state where the grommet protection member  42  fastens the auxiliary lip  37  as described below, the squeezed amount of the auxiliary lip  37  is smaller than that of the sealing lip  36 . However, the auxiliary lip  37  correspondingly has an excellent durability compared with the sealing lip  36 , and it can be expected to maintain the sealing performance for a long period of time. 
     The grommet  27  of this embodiment has a shape in which the skirt portion  29  extends further forward from the pressure attachment portion  30 . The skirt portion  29  is open forward, and is formed to have an oval cross section that can be fitted to the outer circumferential surface of the step portion  16  of the shielding shell  15 . The skirt portion  29  is formed to come into direct contact along the outer circumferential surface of the step portion  16  together with the rising wall rising from the pressure attachment portion  30  in a state where the grommet  27  is attached to the shielding shell  15 . 
     Moreover, the skirt portion  29  excluding a part of its upper surface is formed to have substantially the same front-rear width as the front-rear width of the step portion  16 . As shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , a cut-out portion  38  is formed at the front edge portion of the region near the central portion of the upper surface of the skirt portion  29 , that is, the region in which the above-described reinforcing ribs  25  of the shielding shell  15  are formed, in order to prevent interference with the reinforcing ribs  25 . The central portion in the width direction of the front edge of the cut-out portion  38  is provided with a recess  39  by cutting out a range of a predetermined width. The recess  39  is for preventing interference with the bolt cap  21 , and a thin portion  39 A that is thinner than its surroundings (by thinning the outer surface side) is formed in a region on the front side of the portion in which the recess  39  is formed. 
     Two turn-up preventing ribs  40  are formed on both sides interposing the recess  39  of the cut-out portion  38  in the width direction. The turn-up preventing ribs  40  are each formed in the front-rear direction in a range extending from the front edge to the rear edge of the cut-out portion  38 . 
     Grommet Protection Member  42   
     Next, the grommet protection member  42  will be described. By surrounding the entire outer circumferential surfaces of the skirt portion  29  of the grommet  27  and the pressure attachment portion  30 , the grommet protection member  42 , can protect the outer circumferential surfaces of the skirt portion  29  and the pressure attachment portion  30  from high-pressure washing water and prevent the opening edge of the skirt portion  29  of the grommet  27  from turning up. Moreover, in addition to the above-described function, the grommet protection member  42  has the function of fastening the skirt portion  29  of the grommet  27 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the grommet protection member  42  of Embodiment 1 is configured to include a pair of segments  42 A that are both formed into an identical shape. Both segments  42 A are formed of a resin plate that is harder than the material of the grommet  27 . Both segments  42 A are formed to have a protection portion  43 , a pair of link portions  44  extending outward in the width direction from both ends of the protection portion  43 , and a flange  50  that is formed to project from the inner circumferential surfaces of both segment  42 A. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 6 , the protection portions  43  of both segments  42 A have a front-rear width that is approximately equal to or slightly shorter than the length from the front edge of the skirt  29  of the grommet  27  to the rear edge of the pressure attachment portion  30 , and the segments  42 A are formed into a shape that conforms to the shape of the outer circumferential surface of the grommet  27 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , in a state where the grommet protection member  42  is attached to the grommet  27 , the inner surfaces of the protection portions  43  of both segments  42 A are in approximately direct contact along the outer circumferential surface of the skirt portion  29 , and the front edges thereof are positioned slightly forward of the front edge of the skirt portion  29  and adapted to approximately abut against the rear surface of the cap portion  17  of the shielding shell  15 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , when joined together, both segments  42 A surround the skirt portion  29  and the pressure attachment portion  30  of the grommet  27 , coming into direct contact along the entire circumferential surfaces of the portions. The front edge portion of the protection portion  43  of the segment  42 A is cut out to form a drain opening  45 . The drain opening  45  drains water entering between the grommet protection member  42  and the grommet  27  and prevents the inside of the grommet protection member  42  from being filled with water. The dimension in the width direction of the drain opening  45  is set to be approximately the same as the width dimension of the cut-out portion  38  of the grommet  27 , and its dimension in the depth direction (front-rear direction) is set to be approximately the same as the length dimension from the front edge of the skirt portion  29  of the grommet  27  to the rear edge of each turn-up preventing rib  40 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , in a state where the grommet protection member  42  is attached to the grommet  27 , the drain opening  45  is matched with the region in which the turn-up preventing ribs  40  of the grommet  27  are formed to expose the entire region. 
     On the other hand, the link portions  44  are formed to protrude from the approximately central portions of both edges of the protection portion  43 . A through hole  47  penetrates the central portion of each link portion  44  to pass a bolt  46  therethrough. 
     In a state where both segments  42 A are joined together from the upward and downward directions, both protection portions  43  form a loop having an oval shape, surrounding the entire outer circumferential surfaces of the skirt portion  29  and the pressure attachment portion  30  of the grommet  27 . Moreover, in a state where both segments  42 A are joined, the through holes  47  of the corresponding link portions  44  are aligned with each other, and both segments  42 A are held in a joined state with bolts  46  and nuts  49 . 
     Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 9 , etc., the flange  50  is integrally formed on the inner surfaces of the protection portions  43  of both segments  42 A. The flange  50  is formed circumferentially along the entire length of the segments  42 A, protruding from a position on the rear edge of the segments  42 A rear of the link portions  44 . Both end surfaces of the flange  50  are formed into flat surfaces that are flush with both end surfaces of the protection portion  43 . Accordingly, in a state where both segments  42 A are joined together, the end surfaces of both segments  42 A are brought into abutment with each other, while the corresponding end surfaces of the flange  50  are brought into alignment and abutment with each other. As a result, in the joined state, the flange  50  continuously surrounds the entire outer circumferential surface of the attachment pressure portion  30  of the grommet  27  in the same plane. As previously described, when the grommet protection member  42  is attached to the grommet  27 , the flange  50  is positioned on the outer circumferential surface of the pressure attachment portion  30  of the grommet  27  so that the sealing lips  36  are approximately immediately below the flange  50 . In particular, the flange  50  is adapted to pressure the area between both sealing lips  36 . Moreover, the protruding height of the flange  50  is set to be able to come into contact with and press against the outer circumferential surface of the pressure attachment portion  30  of the grommet  27  so as to properly compress the sealing lips  36  once the grommet protection member  42  is attached to the grommet  27 . The flange  50  is formed to have a curved shape with a protruding rounded edge. 
     Next, the effects of this Embodiment 1 configured as described above will be described. An example of operations for connecting the end portion of the wire harness W to the casing  1  is described. First, the harness-side connector  11 , the shielding shell  15 , and the grommet  27  are attached to the end portion of the wire harness W (as shown in  FIG. 1 ). To attach the grommet  27 , the skirt portion  29  is fitted to come into direct contact with the outer circumferential surface of the step portion  16  of the shielding shell  15  so that the recess  39  of the grommet  27  is positioned below the insertion hole  20  of the shielding shell  15 . 
     Subsequently, one of the segments  42 A of the grommet protection member  42  is matched with the skirt portion  29  and the pressure attachment portion  30  of the grommet  27  from below, and the other segment  42 A is fitted from the above. Then, the corresponding link portions  44  of both segments  42 A are aligned with each other. Next, the bolts  46  and the nuts  49  are tightened via the through holes  47  to hold both segments  42 A in a joined state. At this point, the front edge of the grommet protection member  42  is aligned with or slightly forward of the front edge of the skirt portion  29  of the grommet  27 , thereby ensuring that the front edge portion of the grommet  27  is covered with the grommet protection member  42 . In this way, as the grommet protection member  42  is split into two pieces in a radial direction (vertical direction) in this Embodiment 1, the grommet protection member  42  can be easily attached to the grommet  27 . 
     Moreover, upon joining of both segments  42 A, the flange  50  of the grommet protection member  42  assumes a circumferentially continuous form to come into contact with and press against the entire outer circumferential surface of the pressure attachment portion  30  of the grommet  27 . At this point, as the shielding lips  36  are positioned approximately directly below the flange  50 , the shielding lips  36  are properly compressed around their entire circumferences so as to be in direct contact with the outer circumferential surface of the connecting portion  19  of the grommet  27  in a water-tight manner. 
     The harness-side connector  11  and the casing-side connector  3  are then fitted to each other. In that process, the cap portion  17  of the shielding shell  15  is caused to hit against the wall surface of the casing  1 , concealing the projecting portion of the casing-side connector  3  and the boss portion  6 . When the bolt  18  is screwed into the bolt hole  7  of the boss portion  6  in this state, the shielding shell  15  is fixed, and the operations for connecting the end portion of the wire harness W to the casing  1  side are completed. 
     Incidentally, as previously described, high-pressure washing water is sometimes blown to the portion in which the end portion of the wire harness W is connected to the casing  1 . In this Embodiment 1, as a measure taken against that, first, the flange  50  is integrally formed on the grommet protection member  42  so as to be able to reliably cut off water between the grommet  27  and the shielding shell  15 . If a dedicated fastening component, such as a bundling band, is employed to seal the grommet  27  to the shielding shell  15 , the number of components is increased, and the number of operations is also increased due to the addition of the tightening operation. In that regard, in this embodiment, as the flange  50  is integrally formed on the grommet protection member  42 , the number of components does not increase. Moreover, as the sealing between the shielding shell  15  and the grommet  27  is completed simultaneously with the operation of attaching the grommet protection member  42  to the grommet  27 , the work efficiency is increased without increasing the number of operations. Furthermore, as the sealing lips  36  are positioned approximately directly below the flange  50 , the flange  50  can be reliably caused to compress the sealing lips  36 . 
     Moreover, the end portion of the grommet  27  is surrounded by and covered with the grommet protection member  42 . More specifically, the grommet protection member  42  conceals the entire circumference of the front-rear range of the grommet  27  that extends from the front edge of the skirt portion  29  nearly to the rear edge of the pressure attachment portion  30 . Accordingly, as the skirt portion  29  and the pressure attachment portion  30  of the grommet  27  are not directly exposed to high-pressure washing water, such that the front edge of the skirt portion  29  of the grommet  27  can be prevented from turning up. Moreover, during washing, high-pressure washing water enters the inside of the grommet protection member  42  through the gap between the pressure attachment portion  30  and the grommet protection member  42 . However, as the water is smoothly drained through the drain openings  45 , the situation in which the sealing is reduced due to the pressure of water filled in the inside of the grommet protection member  42  can be avoided. 
     Furthermore, in the grommet  27  of Embodiment 1, the skirt portion  29  further extends from the pressure attachment portion  30  and is brought into direct contact with the step portion  16  of the shielding shell  15 . That is, although the pressure attachment portion  30  is usually formed as the end portion of the grommet  27 , in this embodiment, a channel through which water infiltrates inside the grommet  27  is elongated by extending the skirt portion  29 , which also enhances water resistance. 
     Furthermore, there is a concern that the sealing lips  36  are likely to be deteriorated by receiving the fastening force by the flange  50 . As a measure taken against such a problem, in this embodiment, the auxiliary lips  37  are formed outside the region to be fastened, such that a constant sealing force is also obtained at that region. Accordingly, it is possible to maintain a constant sealing function for a long period of time. 
     Embodiment 2 
       FIG. 10  shows Embodiment 2 of the present invention.  FIG. 10  shows the inner surface of a segment  60 A of a grommet protection member according to Embodiment 2. In Embodiment 1, the flange  50  was shown to have a form continuous for the entire length of both segments  60 A. In Embodiment 2, however, the flange  61  is divided into a plurality of segments longitudinally (circumferentially) at certain intervals in a staggered arrangement of two adjacent rows, one in the front and one in the rear, such that the segments of the flange  61  overlap each other in the front-rear direction. 
     Although each row of the flange  61  is arranged to have breaks in the circumferential direction, the overlapping positional relationship between the front and rear rows creates a condition in which they press against the sealing lips of the grommet along the entire circumference thereof without a break. 
     The configuration is otherwise identical with Embodiment 1, such that identical effects to those of Embodiment can be exerted. 
     OTHER EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is not limited to the embodiment explained by the above description and the drawings. Other embodiments, which will be explained below, for example, are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. 
     Although, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration was shown in which the flange  50  was provided with a uniform height along their entire circumference, the height may not have to be uniform. For example, if the grommet protection member  42  is elongated in the width direction (vertical direction as seen in  FIG. 8 ), there is a concern that the pressing force against the grommet is reduced in the central portion compared with that in the end portions. In such a case, the flange  50  may be formed to have a height gradually increasing from both ends in the width direction to the central portion in order to provide a uniform sealing pressure. 
     Although, in the above-described embodiment, the grommet protection member  42  was made of a synthetic resin, it may be made of metal. 
     Although, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration in which the skirt portion  29  extended from the grommet  27  was shown, the skirt portion  29  may not have to be provided. Rather, the pressure attachment portion  30  may form the longitudinal end portion. 
     Although, in the above-described embodiment, the grommet protection member  42  was divided into the two independent segments  42 A, the segments  42 A may be connected with a hinge at one end so that they can be opened and closed and may be provided with link portions only on the other end. In that case, the means for fastening the link portions is not limited to a bolt and a nut. A clip provided on one link portion and a hole provided in the other will be sufficient, and various other forms of such elastic locking means can also be contemplated. 
     Although, in the above-described embodiment, the auxiliary lips  37  were provided on the grommet  27 , they may be omitted. Localized pressure is applied to the shielding shell  15  on the grommet  27  immediately below the flange  50 . Accordingly, if a sufficient sealing function is exerted in this region, the sealing lips  36  may be omitted.

Technology Category: h