JP2000329231A - Drain plug - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drain plug which can be easily fitted to a drain hole of a car body panel. SOLUTION: A first member 1 made of flexible material and a second member 11 made of rigid material are provided, the first member 1 is molded in a cap shape and formed of an elastic lip wall 3 partitioning an annular groove in an inner surface side thereof also formed of a drain port communicating with the annular groove in an outer surface side, the second member 11 is molded in a cylindrical shape and formed of a flange 13 locked to the annular groove of the first member 1, also in a side of this flange 13, a drain passage 18 communicating with the drain port is partitioned, and a back flow check wall 19 is formed in the drain passage 18. While in a peripheral wall thereof, lock legs 14, 15 fixed to a hole edge of a drain hole opened to a car body panel side are formed, so as to constitute a drain plug itself by two parts of the first member 1 made of flexible material and the second member 1 made of hard rigid quality material, and the second member made of rigid material, by utilizing its lock leg, can be fitted the drain hole of a car body panel, so that fitting work to the drain hole of the drain plug comes to very easy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a drain plug for draining rainwater that has entered the inside of a vehicle body panel constituting a bag-shaped portion of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional water drain plug is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-30914. Although not specifically shown, the conventional plug includes a plug body that is integrally formed of a soft rubber material and fits into a drain hole having a pair of enlarged diameter portions formed in a vehicle body panel. An elastic rib wall is formed on the inner surface of the main body so as to be engaged with the edge of the drain hole, and a positioning protrusion is formed on a portion of the elastic rib wall corresponding to the one enlarged diameter portion. A portion corresponding to the enlarged diameter portion is cut out, and a skirt piece is integrally extended in the radial direction from the notched portion, and one end communicates with the other enlarged diameter portion on the inner surface side of the skirt piece. Defines a drain passage communicating with the outside and forms a backflow prevention wall in the drain passage.

In actual use, if a plug body is fitted through a drain hole formed in a vehicle body panel through an elastic rib wall, rainwater that has entered the inside of the vehicle body panel can be skirted from the other enlarged portion. Since it is possible to drain the water to the outside through the one drain passage, it is possible to automatically drain rainwater that has entered the inside of the vehicle body panel. Conversely, when muddy water or the like flows back into the drain passage from outside the vehicle body, the presence of the backflow prevention wall can prevent the intrusion.

[0004]

However, in a conventional drain plug, when the plug body is fitted into a drain hole of a vehicle body panel, the soft plug of the rubber material is used to remove the plug body. Since it is necessary to fit while forcibly deforming, it is necessary to perform a serious work by itself, but in addition to this, the positioning projection and the opening of the drain passage are formed for each enlarged diameter portion of the drain hole. It could not be denied that the work would be even more difficult if they had to be matched.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been developed in order to effectively solve the problems of the conventional drain plug, and the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a first material made of a soft material. It comprises a member and a second member made of a hard material, the first member,
Formed in a cap shape, forming an elastic lip wall defining an annular groove on the inner surface side, and forming a drain port communicating with the annular groove on the outer surface side, the second member is formed into a cylindrical shape A flange is formed at an end edge of the flange to be engaged with the annular groove of the first member, and a drain passage communicating with the drain port is formed on the flange side to form a backflow prevention wall in the drain passage. On the other hand, a configuration is adopted in which a locking leg is formed on the peripheral wall to lock the edge of a drain hole formed on the vehicle body panel side.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, based on the first aspect, a configuration is adopted in which the locking legs of the second member are of two types, one for centering and the other for locking the drainage hole.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, based on the first and second aspects, a configuration is adopted in which the elastic lip wall of the first member has a double sealing structure.

The invention according to claim 4 adopts a configuration based on claims 1 to 3, wherein a through hole is formed in a central portion of the first member so as to pass a pipe for draining rainwater from the roof of the automobile. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, based on the fourth aspect, a connector connected to a pipe is held in a through hole,
A configuration is adopted in which the direction of drainage of rainwater from the automobile roof is regulated by the connector.

The invention according to claim 6 adopts a configuration based on claim 5, in which a detent means and a detent means are provided between the connector and the second member.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
The drain plug itself is composed of two parts, a first member made of a soft material and a second member made of a hard material, and the second member made of a hard material is inserted into a drain hole of a vehicle body panel by using its locking leg. Since the fitting can be performed, the fitting operation of the drain plug into the drain hole becomes very easy. In addition, since the drainage passage is defined on the flange side of the second member made of the hard material and the backflow prevention wall is formed in the drainage passage, the backflow prevention wall is not crushed, so that muddy water or the like flows backward from the outside of the vehicle body. Can be reliably prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the locking legs of the second member are of two types, one for centering and one for locking, the second member is fitted into the drain hole of the vehicle body panel with a correct posture and one-touch. I can wear it. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the elastic lip wall that comes into contact with the vehicle body panel surface has a double sealing structure, the watertightness is excellent. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to rainwater that has entered the inside of the vehicle body panel, rainwater from the roof of the automobile can be simultaneously drained through the piping, which is extremely rational. is there.

In the invention according to claim 5, for example,
By restricting the direction of drainage by the connector to the rear of the vehicle or to the inside of the vehicle, traveling wind blows into the inside of the connector, adversely affecting drainage, and avoiding unnecessary interference with the outer plate. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the drainage direction of the connector is kept constant by the rotation preventing means, and the connector can be prevented from coming off from the drain plug by the retaining means.

[0014]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drain plug according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. And a second member 11 integrally formed of a hard material such as polyacetal. In the present embodiment, in particular, The first and second members 1 and 11 are organically combined with a connector 31 connected to a drain hose for draining rainwater collected on the sunroof side of the vehicle.

First, the first member 1 made of a soft material will be explained. As shown in FIG. 2, the outer elastic lip wall 3 and the inner elastic lip are formed on the inner peripheral edge of the substrate 2 as shown in FIG. The wall 4 is formed to define an annular groove 5 for locking an outward flange 13 of a second member 11 to be described later between the inner elastic lip wall 4 and the substrate 2, and the annular groove 5 is formed on the outer surface side. A single drain port 6 communicating with the drain port 6 is formed, a part of the inner elastic lip wall 4 corresponding to the drain port 6 is cut out, and a drain nozzle portion 35 of a connector 31 described later is formed at the center of the substrate 2. The through hole 7 is formed to pass through.
In the drawing, reference numeral 8 denotes a projection serving as a mark for positioning.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second member 11 made of a hard material is formed into a cylindrical shape, and forms an outward flange 13 which is locked in the annular groove 5 at one edge side of the base 12 thereof. A pair of locking legs 14 having a tapered outer surface at the distal end and a pair of locking legs 15 having a stepped outer surface at the peripheral wall of the base 12 are formed so as to face each other via a slit 16. When the base 12 is fitted into the drain hole H of the vehicle body panel P, which will be described later, first, one of the opposite locking legs 1
4 locks the outer surface of the tapered tip to the hole edge of the drain hole H to center the base 12, and at the same time, the other opposing locking leg 15 firmly attaches the step-shaped outer tip surface to the hole edge of the drain hole H. And the base 12 can be locked in the drain hole H.

The second member 11 is provided with a thick portion 17 protruding outward on the outer surface of the base 12 having a cylindrical shape, and a one-step recessed drain passage on the upper surface of the thick portion 17 on the outward flange 13 side. 18 and a backflow preventing wall 19 is formed in the drain passage 18, while a retaining claw 20 elastically engaged with a flange 33 of a connector 31 described below is formed below the thick portion 17.
And a rotation preventing convex portion 21 that fits into a rotation preventing concave portion 36 of the connector 31 described later is formed on the inner surface of the base 12 facing the thick portion 17.

The connector 31 has an annular flange 33 formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical main body 32 for locking the retaining claw 20, and a connection port 34 for connecting a drain hose is provided at one end. At the same time, a drain nozzle portion 35 extending in a U-shape is provided on the other end side, and the detent recess 36 is fitted in the detent projection 21 in the axial direction of the cylindrical body 32.
The diameter of the cylindrical main body 32 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the base 12 of the second member 11.

As shown in FIG. 4, the drainage hole H formed in the vehicle body panel P has a round shape large enough to allow the above-mentioned locking legs 14 and 15 to be engaged. One thickened portion Ha for positioning and storing the 11 thick portions 17 is formed.

Therefore, below the drain plug according to the present embodiment, first, the outward flange 13 of the second member 11 is locked in the annular groove 5 defined inside the first member 1. In this case, the first member 1 and the second member 11 are integrated with each other. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6 shall be locked.

Therefore, this time, the drain nozzle portion 35 of the connector 31 in which the drain hose 41 is connected to the connection port portion 34 side.
Is brought into the through-hole 7 of the first member 1, and the detent concave portion 36 on the connector 31 side and the detent convex portion 21 on the second member 11 side are aligned, and the cylindrical main body 32 of the connector 31 is
Is pushed into the base 12 of the second member 11, as shown in FIG. 6, the flange 33 formed on the cylindrical main body 32 of the connector 31 has the through-hole provided on the thick portion 17 of the second member 11. Since the locking claw 20 is elastically locked, the connector 31 is thereby held by the second member 11 without being detached. In this state, the detent protrusion 21 and the detent recess 36 are retained. Mates with the connector 3
The position of the first drain nozzle section 35 is kept constant.

Therefore, after that, in such a state, the connector 31 is inserted into the drain hole H of the vehicle body panel P, and the thick portion 17 of the second member 11 is connected to the enlarged diameter portion Ha of the drain hole H.
While the base 12 of the second member 11 is
When it is inserted into the inside, one of the opposing locking legs 14 formed on the second member 11 locks the outer surface of the tapered distal end to the hole edge of the drain hole H, and centers the base 12 of the second member 11. At the same time, the other opposing locking leg 15 firmly locks the stepped tip outer surface to the hole edge of the drain hole H,
As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the drain plug itself can be extremely easily fitted into the drain hole H of the vehicle body panel P together with the connector 31. In this case, as shown in the figure, the outer elastic lip wall 3 of the first member 1 made of a soft material is used.
And the inner elastic lip wall 4 has a double sealing structure to elastically contact the surface of the vehicle body panel P, so that a reliable watertight state can be obtained.

In such a state, the rainwater that has entered the inside of the vehicle body panel P constituting the bag-shaped portion of the automobile is defined on the outward flange 13 side of the second member 11 of the drain plug. Rainwater drained to the outside through the drainage port 6 of the first member 1 through the drainage passage 18 and accumulated on the roof of the automobile (sunroof) is drained out of the connector 31 held by the drain plug via the drain hose 41. Because it will be drained, it is very reasonable.

In this case, the action of the rotation preventing concave portion 36 and the rotation preventing convex portion 21 causes the drain nozzle portion 3 of the connector 31 to operate.
5 can be directed to the rear side of the vehicle body,
5, so that it does not hinder the drainage. Also, as shown in FIG. 8, if it is directed to the inside of the vehicle body, it can be drained without interfering with the outer plate 42 such as a mudguard. Wastewater can be obtained.

When muddy water or the like flows from the outside of the vehicle body into the drain passage 18 through the drain port 6, the backflow preventing wall 19 prevents the intrusion, as in the conventional case. Since the backflow prevention wall 19 is formed on the side of the second member 11 made of a hard material, there is no fear that the backflow prevention wall 19 is crushed and its function cannot be exhibited.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the drain plug itself is made up of two parts, a first member made of a soft material and a second member made of a hard material. With this configuration, the second member made of a hard material can be fitted to the drain hole of the vehicle body panel using the locking leg,
The work of fitting the drain plug into the drain hole becomes extremely easy. In addition, since the drainage passage is defined on the flange side of the second member made of the hard material and the backflow prevention wall is formed in the drainage passage, the backflow prevention wall is not crushed, so that muddy water or the like flows backward from the outside of the vehicle body. Can be reliably prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the locking legs of the second member are of two types, one for centering and the other for locking, the second member can be fitted into the drain hole of the vehicle body panel with a correct posture with one touch. According to the third aspect, the elastic lip wall that comes into contact with the vehicle body panel surface has a double sealing structure, so that the watertightness is excellent. According to the fourth aspect, in addition to the rainwater that has entered the inside of the vehicle body panel, rainwater from the roof of the automobile can be drained at the same time through the piping, which is extremely rational.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, for example, by restricting the drainage direction of the connector to the rear side or the inside of the vehicle body, traveling wind blows into the inside of the connector to adversely affect drainage, and unnecessary unnecessary connection with the outer plate. Interference can be avoided. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the drainage direction of the connector is kept constant by the rotation preventing means, and the connector can be prevented from coming off from the drain plug by the retaining means.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a drain plug according to an embodiment of the present invention in relation to a connector.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 1, and FIG.
1C is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC, and FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part showing a shape of a drain hole formed in the vehicle body panel.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state where the first member and the second member are integrated.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a connector is held by a drain plug.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a drain plug is fitted into a drain hole of a vehicle body panel together with a connector.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing an example in which the direction of drainage of rainwater from a car roof is regulated by a connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 first member 2 substrate 3 outer elastic lip wall 4 inner elastic lip wall 5 annular groove 6 drain port 7 through hole 8 projection 11 second member 12 base 13 outward flange 14 one locking leg 15 the other locking leg 16 slit 17 Thick part 18 Drainage passage 19 Backflow prevention wall 20 Retaining claw (retaining means) 21 Detent projection (detenting means) 31 Connector 32 Cylindrical main body 33 Flange (Retaining means) 34 Connection port 35 Drainage Nozzle portion 36 Detent recess (rotation stop means) 41 Drain hose 42 Outer plate P Body panel H Drainage hole Ha Large diameter portion

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A first member made of a soft material and a second member made of a hard material, wherein the first member is formed into a cap shape and has an elastic lip wall defining an annular groove on an inner surface thereof. Forming and forming a drain port communicating with the annular groove on the outer surface side, the second member is formed into a cylindrical shape, and at its end edge, forming a flange to be engaged with the annular groove of the first member and A drain passage communicating with the drain port is formed on the flange side to form a backflow prevention wall in the drain passage, and the peripheral wall is engaged with a hole of a drain hole formed on the vehicle body panel side. A drain plug characterized by forming a locking leg to be formed. 2. The drain plug according to claim 1, wherein the locking legs of the second member are of two types, one for centering and the other for locking the drain hole. 3. The drain plug according to claim 1, wherein the elastic lip wall of the first member has a double sealing structure. 4. A drain plug according to claim 1, wherein a through hole is formed in a central portion of the first member to pass a pipe for draining rainwater from an automobile roof. . 5. The drain plug according to claim 4, wherein a connector connected to the pipe is held in a through hole, and the connector regulates a direction of drainage of rainwater from an automobile roof. 6. The drain plug according to claim 5, wherein a rotation preventing means and a retaining means are provided between the connector and the second member.