JP2006296050A - Corrugated clamp - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a corrugated clamp that can improve the workability of installation work by simple structure while coping with the space saving of a vehicle body, when conducting earth processing simultaneously with the installation of a wiring harness to the vehicle body. <P>SOLUTION: The corrugated clamp is constituted such that: the corrugated clamp 11 comprises a housing 14 that can accommodated an earth terminal 20 and a metal bracket piece 10 simultaneously; the metal bracket piece 10 and the earth terminal 20 are elastically, electrically and directly connected when the metal bracket piece 10 is inserted into the housing 14 in a state that the earth terminal 20 is accommodated in the housing 14 in advance; and the metal bracket piece 10 and the earth terminal 20 are engaged and fixed to each other in the housing 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a corrugated clamp, and more particularly, a wire harness attached to a vehicle body of an automobile can be fixed by a simple operation, and at the same time, a ground wire can be grounded to the vehicle body.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to fix a wire harness routed in an automobile to a required portion of a vehicle body and to connect a ground wire, as shown in FIG. 9, a fixed hole 1a and a grounding hole 1b are provided in the vehicle body 1 in advance. The fixed hole 1a and the grounding hole 1b are processed to be connected using the bracket 2 and the grounding terminal 3. That is, one end of the bracket 2 is fixed to the fixing hole 1a by the bolt 5a, and the locking hole 4a of the clamp 4 attached to the outer periphery of the wire harness W / H is locked to the other end of the bracket 2 to thereby connect the wire harness W. / H is fixed, and the ground terminal 3 crimped to the end of the ground wire 6 drawn out from the wire harness W / H is fixed to the ground hole 1b with a bolt 5b.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the ground wire 6 'of the wire harness W / H is projected from the vehicle body via the connector C without being bolted to the vehicle body. What is connected to the bracket 2 'is described. In this example, an internal terminal 9 is housed in a corrugated clamp 8 attached to the outer periphery of a corrugated tube 7 that is sheathed on a wire harness W / H, and a connector C of a ground wire 6 'is connected to the internal terminal 9 Like to do. When the corrugated clamp 8 is engaged with the bracket 2 ′ to fix the wire harness W / H, the internal terminal 9 and the bracket 2 ′ are electrically connected to each other via the internal terminal 9 and the bracket 2 ′. The ground wire 6 'is grounded to the vehicle body.

JP-A-8-9540

According to the fixing structure shown in FIG. 9, two fixing holes 1a and a grounding hole 1b are required to be processed in advance on the vehicle body 1 side, and the tightening operation of the two bolts 5a and 5b is required. In recent automobiles, the mounting space for the component parts is becoming narrower as the weight is reduced. Therefore, in the above fixing structure, it may be difficult to secure the seating surfaces of the two fixing holes 1a and the grounding hole 1b. There was a problem that the number of parts was increased and installation work was troublesome.
On the other hand, in the fixing structure shown in FIGS. 10 (A) and 10 (B), a corrugated clamp 8 having a special structure including the internal terminal 9 is required, and as a connector C for connecting to the internal terminal 9, Crimping of the terminal to the ground wire 6 ', insertion of the crimping terminal to the housing Ca, and fitting of the connector C to the corrugated clamp 8 are required, which complicates the structure and increases the number of assembly steps. there were.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and in the case of grounding performed simultaneously with the mounting of the wire harness to the vehicle body, it is possible to improve the workability of the mounting operation with a simple structure while corresponding to space saving of the vehicle body. It is an object to provide a corrugated clamp that can be realized.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the present invention, a corrugated clamp attached to a corrugated tube mounted on a wire harness routed to an automobile,
The vehicle body includes an annular main body that is externally fitted and fixed to the corrugated tube, and a vehicle body locking portion that is provided on the vehicle body side and has a receiving portion that can be received by inserting a metal bracket piece having a locking hole. On the side wall of the locking portion, an insertion port is formed through which the ground terminal can be accommodated in the accommodating portion by inserting the ground terminal from a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the metal bracket piece,
The ground terminal extends from the electrical connection portion connected to the ground wire to a spiral spring-like electrical contact portion, and the electrical contact portion has a latching claw that can be engaged with the latch hole of the metal bracket piece. Project
When the metal bracket piece is inserted into the housing portion in a state where the ground terminal is housed in the housing portion, the electrical connection portion of the ground terminal is elastically electrically connected to the metal bracket piece, and the ground terminal There is provided a corrugated clamp in which a locking claw is engaged with a locking hole of a metal bracket piece and the corrugated clamp is fixed to a vehicle body.

  According to the said structure, the ground terminal attached to the earth wire withdraw | derived from a wire harness can be accommodated in the accommodating part of a corrugated clamp. Then, by inserting a metal bracket piece projecting on the vehicle body side into the housing portion, the wire harness is fixed via the corrugated clamp, and the grounding treatment to the vehicle body is performed by electrical connection between the metal bracket piece and the ground terminal. Can be done simultaneously. At this time, the metal bracket piece and the corrugated clamp can be reliably and easily fixed via the ground terminal by engaging the locking claw protruding from the ground terminal with the locking hole of the metal bracket piece.

Moreover, in the other invention, a corrugated clamp attached to a corrugated tube to be mounted on a wire harness routed to an automobile,
The vehicle body includes an annular main body that is externally fitted and fixed to the corrugated tube, and a vehicle body locking portion that is provided on the vehicle body side and has a receiving portion that can be received by inserting a metal bracket piece having a locking hole. On the side wall of the locking portion, an insertion port is formed through which the ground terminal can be accommodated in the accommodating portion by inserting the ground terminal from a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the metal bracket piece,
The ground terminal extends a spiral spring-shaped electrical contact portion from an electrical connection portion connected to the ground wire, and the electrical contact portion has a locking hole when the metal bracket piece is inserted into the housing portion. On the other hand, a locking hole that is engageable with the locking hole of the metal bracket piece and the locking hole of the ground terminal protrudes toward the housing portion on the vehicle body locking portion.
When the metal bracket piece is inserted into the housing portion in a state where the ground terminal is housed in the housing portion, an electrical connection portion of the ground terminal is elastically electrically connected to the metal bracket piece, and the vehicle body is locked. The corrugated clamp is configured such that the corrugated clamp is fixed to the vehicle body by simultaneously engaging the engaging protrusion of the portion with the engaging hole of the metal bracket piece and the lock hole of the ground terminal.

  In this way, the wire harness can be fixed to the vehicle body by a simple operation through the metal bracket piece by the corrugated clamp as in the first aspect of the invention, and the ground wire can be connected. In addition, the metal bracket piece and the ground terminal are configured such that the locking protrusion protruding from the vehicle body locking portion of the corrugated clamp toward the housing portion is simultaneously engaged with the locking hole of the metal bracket piece and the locking hole of the ground terminal. Since the corrugated clamp can be engaged and fixed, the metal bracket piece and the corrugated clamp can be directly engaged and fixed without imposing a burden on the ground terminal.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the corrugated clamp of the present invention, the space for fixing the wire harness and the space for grounding on the vehicle body side can be reduced. In addition, the corrugated clamp can be configured so that the ground terminal and the metal bracket material can be directly connected in the housing without having a relay terminal, simplifying the configuration of the corrugated clamp and improving the assembling workability. Thus, it is possible to improve the connection reliability of the grounding process.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5 show a first embodiment of a corrugated clamp. The corrugated clamp 11 is made of a synthetic resin, and includes an annular main body 12 that is externally fixed to a wire harness W / H that is routed in an automobile, and a vehicle body B side. The vehicle body locking part 13 for fixing to the metal bracket piece 10 which has the locking hole 10a protrudingly provided in this is comprised. As shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, the annular main body 12 includes semi-annular portions 12b and 12c that are openably and closably connected by a hinge 12a at the center, and an end portion of one semi-annular portion 12b. The semi-annular portions 12b and 12c can be locked in a closed state by the engaging action of the claw piece 12d projecting from the claw piece 12f and the claw piece 12f in the locking groove 12e provided at the opposite position of the other semi-annular portion 12c. It is like that. Further, the inner circumferential surfaces of the semi-annular portions 12b and 12c are provided with ridges 12g that can be positioned in the axial direction by meshing with the irregular surface on the outer periphery of the corrugated tube C.

  The vehicle body locking portion 13 is disposed on the side of the annular body 12 and includes a hollow housing portion 14 having an insertion port 14a that can be received by inserting the metal bracket piece 10 from below. In addition, an insertion port 14b is formed in the side wall 13a of the vehicle body locking portion 13 so that a ground terminal 20 (described later) can be inserted from the direction in which the metal bracket piece 10 is inserted and the travel direction into the accommodation portion 14 and the ground terminal 20 can be accommodated. is doing. The accommodating portion 14 is set to a size that can accommodate the ground terminal 20 and the metal bracket piece 10 at the same time, and the insertion port 14b has an opening size slightly smaller than the accommodating portion 14, and the ground terminal 20 is inserted and disposed in the accommodating portion 14. When this is done, a stopper portion 14c is formed that prevents the ground terminal 20 from moving in the pulling direction (FIG. 4B).

  As shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B), the ground terminal 20 is a barrel serving as an electrical connection part for electrically connecting the ground wire W drawn from the wire harness W / H by means such as crimping or pressure welding. A portion 21 is provided at one end, and an electrical contact portion 22 for electrical connection to the metal bracket piece 10 is provided at the other end. The electrical contact portion 22 is composed of a substrate portion 22a and an elastic contact portion 22b having a spiral spring shape at the tip end portion, and a metal bracket piece between the substrate portion 22a and the elastic contact portion 22b. 10 is elastically clamped so that electrical connection between the two can be obtained. When the ground terminal 20 is inserted into the accommodating portion 14 in the corrugated clamp 11, the elastic contact portion 22b is inserted into the accommodating portion 14 through the insertion port 14b while being narrowed in the width direction, and after the elastic contact portion 22b is elastically restored. By engaging with the inner surface of the stopper portion 14c, the movement of the ground terminal 20 in the removal direction is restricted (FIG. 4B). Further, a locking claw 23 that can be engaged with the locking hole 10a of the metal bracket piece 10 accommodated in the accommodating portion 14 is formed on the base plate portion 22a of the ground terminal 20 so as to project inwardly. is doing.

  In order to fix the wire harness W / H to the metal bracket piece 10 using the corrugated clamp 11, the corrugated clamp 11 is externally fitted to the corrugated tube CT and then attached to the ground wire W as shown in FIG. The electrical contact portion 22 of the ground terminal 20 thus inserted is inserted into the housing portion 14 through the insertion port 14 b of the vehicle body locking portion 13. At this time, since the electrical contact portion 22 is elastically deformed and passes through the insertion port 14b and then elastically returns to engage with the inner surface of the stopper portion 14c, the movement of the ground terminal 20 in the pulling direction is restricted and accommodated. Arranged and fixed in the portion 14.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the insertion port 14a of the corrugated clamp 11 is made to correspond to the tip of the metal bracket piece 10 which is fixed in advance to the vehicle body B of the automobile by means such as welding or bolting. The mating operation is performed. Thereby, the front-end | tip of the metal bracket piece 10 is inserted in the accommodating part 14 through the insertion port 14a. At this time, the metal bracket piece 10 spreads the elastic contact portion 22b and the locking claw 23 between the substrate portion 22a and the elastic contact portion 22b of the electric contact portion 22 in the ground terminal 20 previously arranged in the accommodating portion 14. It is inserted sequentially while being elastically deformed. Then, when inserted to a position that matches the locking hole 10a of the metal bracket piece 10, the locking claw 23 is elastically restored and engages in the locking hole 10a, so that the metal bracket piece 10 moves in the removal direction. Is regulated and is stably fixed in the accommodating portion 14. In this way, the metal bracket piece 10 inserted into the accommodating portion 14 is elastically sandwiched between the substrate portion 22a of the ground terminal 20 and the elastic contact portion 22b, thereby stably connecting to the ground terminal 20. Is done. Therefore, the ground wire W drawn from the wire harness W / H is grounded to the vehicle body B via the ground terminal 20 and the metal bracket piece 10.

  As described above, the corrugated clamp 11 is fixed to the metal bracket piece 10 by relatively inserting the metal bracket piece 10 from the insertion port 14 a in a state where the ground terminal 20 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 14 of the corrugated clamp 11. In addition, the metal bracket piece 10 and the ground terminal 20 can be electrically connected at the same time. Therefore, the wire harness W / H can be fixed to the vehicle body B and the grounding treatment of the ground wire W can be performed by a simple operation with a single touch, so that a significant improvement in workability can be expected. Further, since a space such as bolt fastening for grounding the vehicle body B is not required, the wire harness W / H can be easily fixed in a narrow space and grounded easily. Furthermore, since the corrugated clamp 11 does not require an internal terminal for electrical relay processing between the ground terminal 20 and the metal bracket piece 10 or a locking structure for the metal bracket piece 10, the corrugated clamp 11 itself has a structure. It can be simplified.

6 to 8 show a second embodiment of the corrugated clamp, in which the ground terminal 40 and the metal bracket piece 10 are simultaneously locked and fixed to the inner wall portion 35 of the housing portion 34 provided in the vehicle body locking portion 33 in the corrugated clamp 31. It is provided with a locking structure for doing this. That is, as shown in FIG. 7A, the ground terminal 40 used in the present embodiment forms a lock hole 43 in place of the locking claw on the substrate portion 42a of the electrical contact portion 42. The lock hole 33 is formed at a position facing the locking hole 10a when the metal bracket piece 10 is inserted into the accommodating portion 34. Further, a locking projection 35 a that can be engaged with the locking hole 10 a of the metal bracket piece 10 and the lock hole 43 of the ground terminal 40 at the same time is provided on the inner wall portion 35 of the storage portion 34. Yes. As shown in FIG. 6 (B), the inner wall portion 35 is formed with slits 35b on both sides so that the locking projection 35a can be elastically tilted back and forth toward the housing portion 34, and the ground terminal 40 and the metal bracket piece When 10 is inserted into the accommodating portion 34, it is elastically deformed to allow acceptance thereof, and is then elastically restored to engage with the locking hole 10a and the lock hole 43.
Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

  Further, in the second embodiment, a locking claw is provided on the inner wall portion of the housing portion in order to fix the ground terminal and the metal bracket piece, but this locking claw has a semicircular ring portion on the movable side. The wall part forming the claw piece for locking may be used in common, and the claw piece for fixing the semi-annular part, the ground terminal, and the locking claw for fixing the metal bracket piece may be provided at the front and back integrated opposing positions. Good. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which opens the open direction of a semi-annular part from the above-mentioned each embodiment, and various conventional structures can be employ | adopted about the basic structure of corrugated clamp itself.

It is a perspective view of the corrugated clamp which concerns on this invention. (A) is sectional drawing of the state which opened the corrugated clamp, (B) is sectional drawing of the closed state, (C) is XX partial sectional drawing of (A). (A) is a perspective view of the state which attached the corrugated clamp to the wire harness, (B) is a perspective view of a ground terminal. (A) is a perspective view of the state which accommodated the ground terminal in the corrugated clamp, (B) is sectional drawing of the principal part. (A) is a perspective view of a state in which a corrugated clamp is attached to a metal bracket piece, (B) is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part, and (C) is a transverse sectional view of the essential part. (A) is sectional drawing of the corrugated clamp of 2nd Embodiment, (B) is YY partial sectional drawing of (A). (A) is a perspective view of a ground terminal, (B) is a sectional view of a state in which the ground terminal is accommodated in the corrugated clamp of the second embodiment. (A) is a perspective view of the state which attached the corrugated clamp of 2nd Embodiment to the metal bracket piece, (B) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part, (C) is a cross-sectional view of the principal part. It is a figure which shows a prior art example. (A) (B) It is a figure which shows another prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Metal bracket piece 10a Locking hole 11 Corrugated clamp 12 Annular body 13 Car body locking part 13a Side wall 14 Storage part 14a Insertion port 14b Insertion port 20 Ground terminal 21 Barrel part (electrical connection part)
22 Electrical contact portion 22b Elastic contact portion 23 Locking claw 31 Corrugated clamp 33 Vehicle body locking portion 34 Housing portion 35 Inner wall portion 35a Locking protrusion 40 Ground terminal 42 Electrical contact portion 42a Substrate portion 43 Lock hole CT Corrugated tube W / H wire Harness W Ground wire

Claims (2)

A corrugated clamp attached to a corrugated tube that is sheathed on a wire harness routed in an automobile,
The vehicle body includes an annular main body that is externally fitted and fixed to the corrugated tube, and a vehicle body locking portion that is provided on the vehicle body side and has a receiving portion that can be received by inserting a metal bracket piece having a locking hole. On the side wall of the locking portion, an insertion port is formed through which the ground terminal can be accommodated in the accommodating portion by inserting the ground terminal from a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the metal bracket piece,
The ground terminal extends from the electrical connection portion connected to the ground wire to a spiral spring-like electrical contact portion, and the electrical contact portion has a latching claw that can be engaged with the latch hole of the metal bracket piece. Project
When the metal bracket piece is inserted into the housing portion in a state where the ground terminal is housed in the housing portion, an electrical connection portion of the ground terminal is elastically electrically connected to the metal bracket piece, and the ground terminal A corrugated clamp in which the locking claw is engaged with the locking hole of the metal bracket piece and the corrugated clamp is fixed to the vehicle body. A corrugated clamp attached to a corrugated tube that is sheathed on a wire harness routed in an automobile,
The vehicle body includes an annular main body that is externally fitted and fixed to the corrugated tube, and a vehicle body locking portion that is provided on the vehicle body side and has a receiving portion that can be received by inserting a metal bracket piece having a locking hole. On the side wall of the locking portion, an insertion port is formed through which the ground terminal can be accommodated in the accommodating portion by inserting the ground terminal from a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the metal bracket piece,
The ground terminal extends a spiral spring-shaped electrical contact portion from an electrical connection portion connected to the ground wire, and the electrical contact portion has a locking hole when the metal bracket piece is inserted into the housing portion. On the other hand, a locking hole that is engageable with the locking hole of the metal bracket piece and the locking hole of the ground terminal protrudes toward the housing portion on the vehicle body locking portion.
When the metal bracket piece is inserted into the housing portion in a state where the ground terminal is housed in the housing portion, an electrical connection portion of the ground terminal is elastically electrically connected to the metal bracket piece, and the vehicle body is locked. Corrugated clamp in which the corrugated clamp is fixed to the vehicle body by simultaneously engaging the locking protrusion of the portion with the locking hole of the metal bracket piece and the lock hole of the ground terminal.

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