Grommet

• US 4,966,374 A
• Filed: 12/16/1988
• Issued: 10/30/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Sasaki, Touru, Ikari, Akira, Oikawa, Ryuetsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Shoap, Allan N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DePumpo, Daniel G.
• Application Number:
  US07/286,264
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 277/165, 277/178, 277/193, 277/199, 16/2, 248/56, 174/65 G, 174/153 G
• US Class Current: 277/606
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/956 Silicon carbide
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 277/925 Snap fit feature for mounting or assembly of seal

Abstract

A grommet for preventing water from leaking through the hole of a panel having a hard portion 10 made of a hard material and fixedly fitted in the hole of a panel, and a soft portion 20 made of a soft material and including an electric cord insertion part 23 and a waterproofing part 24. The hard portion is composed of a plurality of split parts whose coupled faces are provided with guide bars 16 and guide holes 17 in which the bars are slidably fitted so that the split parts can be moved away from each other in an expansionary manner as they remain coupled to each other to allow for insertion of the cord.

Claims

1. A grommet adopted to prevent water from leaking through the hole of a panel, comprising:

a hard portion made of a hard material and fixedly fitted in the hole of a panel; and

a soft portion made of a soft material and including an electric cord insertion part and a waterproofing part, said hard portion being composed of a plurality of split parts whose mutually coupled faces are provided with guide bars and provided with guide holes having an open and a closed end, said guide bars being respectively slidably fitted in said guide holes so that said split parts can be moved away from each other in an expansionary manner as they remain coupled to each other.

2. The grommet of claim 1, wherein each of said guide bars has an engaging projection circumscribing a tip thereof and each of said guide holes has a corresponding projection provided at an inner circumference of said open end thereof such that said projections prevent said guide bars from disengaging said guide holes when said split parts are moved away from each other.

3. The grommet of claim 2, wherein each of said guide holes has an engaging part at said closed end thereof for securely receiving said engaging projection of said guide bars when said split parts are adjacent one another.

4. The grommet of claim 3, wherein said engaging part is defined by a rib circumscribing the interior of said guide hole.

5. The grommet of claim 4, wherein each of said guide holes has a slotted portion at the closed end thereof such that said split parts do not expand when said engagement projection of said guide bar is received in said engaging part of said guide hole.

6. The grommet of claim 1, wherein said guide bars and said guide holes are curved at substantially the same curvature.

7. The grommet of claim 6, wherein each of said guide bars has an engaging projection on its bottom face and each of said guide holes has a corresponding retaining part for engaging said projection.

8. The grommet of claim 1, wherein said plurality of parts comprises at least three parts.