CN109114085B

CN109114085B - Nut fastening clamp and nut fastening clamp assembly

Info

Publication number: CN109114085B
Application number: CN201710487452.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李志林
Original assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc
Current assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc
Priority date: 2017-06-23
Filing date: 2017-06-23
Publication date: 2021-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 2037-06-23
Also published as: CN109114085A

Abstract

The application provides a nut fastening clip and an assembly thereof for supporting an upper panel and a lower panel. The nut fastening clip includes a base plate and a sleeve, wherein the base plate has an upper surface and a lower surface, and a first side, a second side, a third side and a fourth side, the sleeve extends downward from the lower surface of the base plate and is provided with an internal thread, and a first up-down direction holding claw and a second up-down direction holding claw are respectively provided on the first side and the second side for restricting up-down movement of the nut fastening clip mounted on the upper panel with respect to the upper panel. The third side and the fourth side are provided with a first rotation direction holding claw and a second rotation direction holding claw, respectively, for restricting rotation of the nut clip mounted on the upper panel with respect to the upper panel, thereby fastening the nut clip to the panel. The nut fastening clamp assembly is also provided with a bolt which can be screwed in or out of the sleeve, so that the length of the nut fastening clamp assembly is adjusted to adapt to different distances between the upper panel and the lower panel.

Description

Nut fastening clamp and nut fastening clamp assembly

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a nut fastening clip and an assembly thereof, and more particularly, to a nut fastening clip fixed in a panel hole and an assembly thereof.

Background

In the automotive industry, there is often a need for a fixing fitting, where the fixing point is at a different separation distance from the point where the mounting is performed, and the fixing operation will be performed without changing the above separation distance. For example, in an apparatus for fixing an accessory such as a roof rack of a vehicle to a ceiling of the vehicle, it is necessary to maintain a fixed distance between a floor panel and a panel of the ceiling of the vehicle to prevent the panel from being crushed when the accessory is fixed.

To solve this problem, the prior art proposes a solution using a nut assembly with a length adjustment system to prevent the panel from deforming or collapsing when a particular tightening torque is applied or installed. However, the existing nut assembly is complicated in manufacturing process and inconvenient in installation operation, and it is inconvenient to detach it at the outside of the panel.

Disclosure of Invention

To overcome the drawbacks of the prior art, according to a first aspect of the present application, there is provided a nut fastening clip comprising:

a substrate having an upper surface, a lower surface, a first side, a second side, a third side, and a fourth side, wherein the first side and the second side are disposed on opposite sides of the substrate, and the third side and the fourth side are disposed on other opposite sides of the substrate;

a sleeve extending through the base plate, the sleeve including an upper opening at an upper surface of the base plate, a lower opening below a lower surface of the base plate, the sleeve having a central axis A;

a first vertical holding claw and a second vertical holding claw, the first vertical holding claw and the second vertical holding claw being provided on the first side and the second side, respectively, and being symmetrically provided with respect to the central axis, the first vertical holding claw and the second vertical holding claw being provided below a lower surface of the substrate and forming a gap with the lower surface of the substrate, the first vertical holding claw and the second vertical holding claw being located on an oblique extension line C passing through the central axis;

a first rotational direction holding claw and a second rotational direction holding claw provided on the third side and the fourth side, respectively, the first rotational direction holding claw and the second rotational direction holding claw having an operating position and a non-operating position.

The nut fastening clip (100) as described above, characterized in that:

the nut fastening clip (100) is attached in place by rotation, and after the attachment in place, the first up-down direction holding claw (115.1) and the second up-down direction holding claw (115.2) restrict the up-down movement of the nut fastening clip (100), and the first rotation direction holding claw (117.1), the second rotation direction holding claw (117.2), the first up-down direction holding claw (115.1), and the second up-down direction holding claw (115.2) collectively restrict the rotation of the nut fastening clip (100).

The nut fastening clip (100) as described above, characterized in that:

the first side (131) and the second side (132) have a centre line (B) through the centre axis (A), the oblique extension line (C) being deflected with respect to the centre line (B) to form an acute angle.

The nut fastening clip as described above, characterized in that:

the first and second rotating direction holding claws can be turned from the rest position to the work position during rotation of the base plate about the center axis against the deflecting direction of the oblique extension line C.

The nut fastening clip as described above, characterized in that:

the first and second rotation direction holding claws extend from the third and fourth sides, respectively, and each of the first and second rotation direction holding claws includes a proximal end elastically connected to the third and fourth sides, and a free end opposite to the proximal end thereof, the free ends of the first and second rotation direction holding claws being working ends, respectively, and the working ends of the first and second rotation direction holding claws being located outside edges of the third and fourth sides, respectively.

The nut fastening clip as described above, characterized in that:

the working end has the working position and the inoperative position, from which it can be turned into the working position during rotation of the base plate about the central axis a against the deflection direction of the oblique extension C.

The nut fastening clip as described above, characterized in that:

the first and second rotational-direction holding claws are configured to deflect around their proximal ends in the direction of the central axis a when the outside thereof is pressed, and to deflect around their proximal ends away from the central axis a when the pressing force is reduced or disappears.

The nut fastening clip as described above, characterized in that:

the extending direction of the first rotating direction holding claw and the second rotating direction holding claw is substantially the same as the deflecting direction of the oblique extension line C.

The nut fastening clip as described above, characterized in that:

the first up-down direction holding claw and the second up-down direction holding claw are provided with bending structures, each bending structure is provided with a vertical extending portion and a transverse extending portion, the near end of each vertical extending portion extends downwards from the lower surface of the base plate, the near end of each transverse extending portion is connected with the far end of each vertical extending portion, and the distance between each transverse extending portion and the lower surface of the base plate forms the gap.

The nut fastening clip as described above, characterized in that:

the distal end of the laterally extending portion is provided with a downwardly extending guide leg.

The nut fastening clip as described above, characterized in that:

the edges of the third side and the fourth side are provided with notches at positions corresponding to the working end of the first rotating direction holding claw and the working end of the second rotating direction holding claw, respectively.

The nut fastening clip as described above, characterized in that:

the recess is configured to receive the working end when the first and second rotational-direction holding claws are configured to be pressed on the outside to be deflected in the direction of the center axis a.

The nut fastening clip as described above, which is integrally formed.

The nut fastening clip as described above, which is stamped and formed from sheet metal.

To overcome the drawbacks of the prior art, according to a second aspect of the present application, there is provided a nut fastening clip assembly comprising:

the nut fastening clip is characterized in that the inner surface of the sleeve is provided with threads;

a bolt that can be threaded into or out of the sleeve to adjust the length of the nut tightening clamp assembly.

The nut tightening clip assembly as described above, characterized by comprising:

the bolt has a receiving channel in which the bolt is received from the lower opening of the sleeve such that a driving tool may be extended into the receiving channel of the bolt when adjusting the nut fastener assembly length.

The nut fastening clamp provided in the application is formed by stamping a metal sheet, is simple in manufacturing process, light in weight, ingenious in structure, low in manufacturing cost, easy to install and convenient to detach from the outer side of the panel.

Drawings

These and other features and advantages of the present application may be better understood by reading the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a nut fastener clip according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 1B is a top view of the nut clamp shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a side view of the nut clamp shown in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1D is an enlarged view of section E of FIG. 1C;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a nut fastener clip according to another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a partial schematic view of a panel for use with the nut clip of the present application;

FIG. 4A is a schematic view of the nut fastener clip of the present application in a pre-installed position relative to the panel shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4B is a schematic view of the nut fastener clip of the present application installed in place relative to the panel shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4C is a perspective view of the nut clip of the present application mounted to the panel shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5A is an exploded view of the nut-fastening clip assembly of one embodiment of the present application, further showing a face plate for use with the nut-fastening clip assembly;

FIG. 5B is an exploded schematic view of a nut tightening clip assembly according to another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5C is a perspective view of the assembled nut tightening clip assembly of the present application;

FIG. 5D is a state of use view of the nut tightening clip assembly of the present application;

FIG. 6A is a top view of a bushing according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the bushing shown in FIG. 6A;

FIG. 6C is a top view of the bushing shown in FIG. 6A assembled in a bolt;

FIG. 7A is a top view of a bushing according to another embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7B is a perspective view of the bushing shown in FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8A is a top view of a bushing according to yet another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8B is a perspective view of the bushing shown in fig. 7A.

Detailed Description

Various embodiments of the present application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. It should be understood that although directional terms, such as "front," "rear," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," etc., may be used herein to describe various example features and elements of the application, these terms are used herein for convenience of description only and are intended to be based on the example orientations shown in the figures. Because the embodiments disclosed herein can be arranged in a variety of orientations, these directional terms are used for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed as limiting. In the following drawings, like parts are given like reference numerals and similar parts are given like reference numerals to avoid repetition of the description.

FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of a nut fastening clip 100 of one embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1A, the nut fastening clip 100 has a base plate 102 and a sleeve 106, the base plate 102 having an upper surface 103 and a lower surface 105. The sleeve 106 extends through the base plate 102 and is generally hollow and cylindrical. The inner surface of the sleeve 106 is provided with a thread (not shown) for engagement with a bolt 501 (see fig. 5A and 5B) to be mentioned later. The sleeve 106 has an upper opening 110 and a lower opening 112, wherein the upper opening 110 is located at the upper surface of the substrate 102 and the lower opening 112 is located below the lower surface 105 of the substrate 102. A bolt 501 and a driving tool, which will be mentioned below, can be screwed or inserted into the sleeve 106 from the lower opening 112 and the upper opening 110, respectively. The sleeve 106 has a central axis a.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1A, the substrate 120 is substantially square and includes a first side 131, a second side 132, a third side 133, and a fourth side 134. The first side 131 and the second side 132 are oppositely arranged, the third side 133 and the fourth side 134 are oppositely arranged, and the first side 131, the third side 133, the second side 132 and the fourth side 134 are sequentially connected. The first side 131 and the second side 132 are provided with a first up-down direction holding claw 115.1 and a second up-down direction holding claw 115.2, respectively, and the third side 133 and the fourth side 134 are provided with a first rotational direction holding claw 117.1 and a second rotational direction holding claw 117.2, respectively. After the nut fastening clip 100 is mounted in the hole of the panel (e.g., the panel 301 shown in fig. 3), the first and second up-down direction holding claws 115.1 and 115.2 restrict the nut fastening clip 100 from moving in the up-down direction perpendicular to the panel with respect to the panel, and the first and second rotation direction holding claws 117.1 and 117.2 cooperate with the first and second up-down direction holding claws 115.1 and 115.2 to restrict the nut fastening clip 100 from rotating with respect to the panel 301, so that the nut fastening clip 100 is securely mounted on the panel 301. Of course, the substrate 120 may also be other than square, and may have other regular or irregular shapes, which are within the scope of the present application.

FIG. 1B is a top view of the nut clamp shown in FIG. 1A. As shown, a line connecting the midpoints of the first side 131 and the second side 132 defines a centerline B that passes through the central axis a of the sleeve 106. It should be noted that the middle line B is only an auxiliary line introduced for convenience of description of the present embodiment, and is a line passing through the middle portion of the first side 131 and the second side 132 when the substrate 120 has an irregular shape such that it is inconvenient to define the midpoint of the first side 131 and the second side 132. The first and second up-down direction holding claws 115.1 and 115.2 are provided on the first and

second sides

131 and 132, respectively, and are arranged symmetrically with respect to the central axis a. The first up-down direction holding claw 115.1 and the second up-down direction holding claw 115.2 are disposed obliquely with respect to the center line B of the first side 131 and the second side 132, and the first up-down direction holding claw 151.1 and the second up-down direction holding claw 151.2 are located on an obliquely extending line C passing through the center axis a, the obliquely extending line C being deflected with respect to the center line B by an acute angle α. For convenience of explanation, the deflection direction in which the obliquely extending line C is deflected with respect to the center line B to form the acute angle α is referred to as a first direction (i.e., clockwise as shown by an arrow D1 in the drawing), and the direction opposite to the deflection direction is referred to as a second direction (i.e., counterclockwise as shown by an arrow D2 in the drawing).

As also shown in fig. 1B, the first rotational direction maintaining pawl 117.1 and the second rotational direction maintaining pawl 117.2 extend from the third side 133 and the fourth side 134, respectively. Each of the first rotation direction maintaining pawl 117.1 and the second rotation direction maintaining pawl 117.2 has a proximal end elastically connected to the third side 133 and the fourth side 134 and a distal end at an opposite end of the proximal end, which is a free end. The distal ends of the first and second rotational-direction holding claws 117.1 and 117.2 are located outside the edges of the third and

fourth sides

133 and 134, respectively. As can be seen from the figure, the extending direction of the first rotation direction maintaining claw 117.1 and the second rotation direction maintaining claw 117.2 from the proximal end to the distal end is substantially the same as the deflecting direction of the obliquely extending line C. Thereby, the proximal end of the first rotating direction holding claw 117.1 is closer to the first up-down direction holding claw 115.1 located at the first side 131 of the substrate 120 than the distal end thereof, and the proximal end of the second rotating direction holding claw 117.2 is closer to the first up-down direction holding claw 115.2 located at the third side 132 of the substrate 120 than the distal end thereof.

The distal end of the first rotational direction holding claw 117.1 and the distal end of the second rotational direction holding claw 117.2 form a first working end 170.1 of the first rotational direction holding claw 117.1 and a second working end 170.2 of the second rotational direction holding claw 117.2, respectively. When an external force is applied to the first working end 170.1 and the second working end 170.2, respectively, in a direction towards the central axis a, the distal end of the first rotational direction holding claw 117.1 and the second rotational direction holding claw 117.2, respectively, are deflectable around their proximal ends in a direction towards the central axis a. The first 170.1 and second 170.2 working ends have a non-working position and a working position, respectively.

As also shown in fig. 1B, the third side 133 and the fourth side 134 are provided with a first notch 180.1 and a second notch 180.2 at positions corresponding to the first working end 170.1 and the second working end 170.2, respectively, for accommodating the first working end 170.1 and the second working end 170.2, respectively, when the first working end 170.1 and the second working end 170.2 are deflected by pressure in the direction of the central axis a.

Fig. 1C is a side view of the nut clip shown in fig. 1A, and fig. 1D is an enlarged view of a portion E in fig. 1C. As shown in fig. 1C and 1D, the first up-down direction holding claw 115.1 and the second up-down direction holding claw 115.2 are located on the lower side of the lower surface 105 of the substrate 102. The first up-down direction holding claw 115.1 and the second up-down direction holding claw 115.2 have the same structure. Next, the structure of the two vertical holding claws will be described by taking the second vertical holding claw 115.2 shown in fig. 1D as an example.

As shown in fig. 1D, the second up-down direction holding claw 115.2 has a bent structure having a vertically extending portion 151.2 and a laterally extending portion 152.2. The vertically extending portion 151.2 has a proximal end 154.2 and a distal end 155.2 and the laterally extending portion 152.2 has a proximal end 156.2 and a distal end 157.2. Wherein the proximal end 154.2 of the vertically extending portion 151.2 is connected to the base plate 102 at the second side 132, but the proximal end 154.2 of the vertically extending portion 151.2 is not directly connected to the outer edge of the second side 132, but is spaced from the outer edge of the second side 132 and is located close to the upper opening 110 of the sleeve 106. The vertically extending portion 151.2 extends vertically downwardly from its proximal end 154.2 and its distal end 155.2 is connected to the proximal end 156.2 of the laterally extending portion 152.2. And the laterally extending portion 152.2 extends from its proximal end 152.2 in a horizontal direction away from the central axis a such that the laterally extending portion 152.2 forms a gap 140 with the lower surface 105 of the base plate. The thickness of the gap 140 is not less than the thickness of the panel 301 so that the panel 301 can be accommodated. The vertically extending portion 151.2 has a first side edge 191.2 and a second side edge 192.2 (see fig. 1B). The first side edge 191.2 is closer to said centre line B than the second side edge 192.2 and the first side edge 191.2 is closer to the respective side. The substrate 120 is provided with a notch (as shown in fig. 1A) at a position of the second side 132 corresponding to the second vertical holding claw 115.2. Therefore, although the second vertical holding claw 115.2 is positioned below the substrate 102, the second vertical holding claw 115.2 can be seen through the notch from above the substrate 102. The first vertical holding claw 115.1 has the same structure as the second vertical holding claw 115.2 described above.

When the nut fastening clip 100 is mounted in place in the panel 301, the panel 301 is sandwiched between the laterally extending portions (152.1, 152.2) and the base plate 102, so that the base plate 102 cooperates with the first up-down direction holding claws 115.1 and the second up-down direction holding claws 115.2 to restrict the nut fastening clip 100 from moving relative to the panel 301 in the up-down direction perpendicular to the panel.

As an example, as shown in fig. 1C and 1D, the distal end 157.2 of the laterally extending portion 152.2 has a downwardly extending guide leg 160.2 for guiding the nut fastening clip 100 to a pre-installation position (the pre-installation position is shown in fig. 4A) when the nut fastening clip 100 is installed on the panel 301. The guide leg 160.2 extends toward the central axis direction, and the width of the guide leg 160.2 is gradually narrowed from top to bottom for better guiding.

As another example, as shown in fig. 2, the laterally extending portions (152.1', 152.2') are no longer provided with guide legs 160. According to this example, the nut fastening clip 100 can also restrict the up-down movement of the nut fastening clip 100 with respect to the panel 301 by the first up-down direction holding claws 115.1 and the second up-down direction holding claws 115.2.

Fig. 3 is a partial schematic view of a panel 301 for use with the nut clip 100 of the present application. As shown in fig. 3, the panel 301 has an opening 302, and the opening 302 has a substantially rectangular shape. The opening 302 has first and second length sides 311.1 and 311.2 and first and second width sides 312.1 and 312.2, and the distance d1 between the first and second length sides 311.1 and 311.2 is less than the width (or length) of the third and

fourth sides

133 and 134. The distance d2 between the first width edge 311.1 and the second width edge 311.2 is approximately the same as the width (or length) of the first side 131 and the second side 132. The panel 301 is provided with a first notch 305.1 and a second notch 305.2 extending outwardly from the first width edge 312.1 and the second width edge 312.2, respectively. First notch 305.1 and second notch 305.2 have first blocking edge 307.1 and second blocking edge 307.2, respectively, first blocking edge 307.1 and second blocking edge 307.2 are transverse to first width edge 312.1 and second width edge 312.2, respectively, such that first blocking edge 307.1 and second blocking edge 307.2 form corners (317.1, 371.2), respectively, with respective first width edge 312.1 and second width 312.2. The first and second notches 305.1, 305.2 receive the first and second rotational direction retaining pawls 117.1, 117.2, respectively, when the nut fastening clip 100 is installed in place on the panel 301.

FIG. 4A is a schematic view of the nut clip of the present application in a pre-installed position relative to a panel. As shown in fig. 4A, in mounting the nut fastening clip 100 to the panel 301, it is first necessary to place the nut fastening clip 100 at a pre-mounting position. In the pre-installation position, the sleeve 106 of the nut tightening clip 100 is inserted into the opening, the first and second up-down direction retaining claws 115.1 and 115.2 are substantially aligned with the diagonal of the panel opening 302 and are located below the panel opening 302, and the working ends of the first and second rotation direction retaining claws 117.1 and 117.2 are located in the panel opening 302 and are located near the first and second notches 305.1 and 305.2 of the panel opening 302, respectively. The working ends of the first rotation direction holding pawl 117.1 and the second rotation direction holding pawl 117.2 are still in the rest position at this time.

FIG. 4B is a schematic view of the nut clip of the present application installed in place relative to the panel shown in FIG. 3. From the pre-installation position shown in fig. 4A to the installed position shown in fig. 4B, the nut fastener clip 100 is rotated in the second direction D2 until the first and second working ends 170.1 and 170.2 of the first and second rotational direction holding pawls 117.1 and 117.2 are received in the first and second notches 305.1 and 305.2 of the panel opening 302, and the first and second working ends 170.1 and 170.2 abut the first and second blocking edges 307.1 and 307.2, respectively. At this point, the first working end 170.1 and the second working end 170.2 of the first rotational direction holding claw 117.1 and the second rotational direction holding claw 117.2 reach the working position. During rotation from the pre-installation position shown in fig. 4A to the installed position shown in fig. 4B, the first working end 170.1 and the second working end 170.2 are first in contact with corresponding corners (317.1, 371.2) of the panel opening 302, respectively, and as the nut clip 100 continues to rotate in the second direction, the corners (317.1, 371.2) apply pressure to the first working end 170.1 and the second working end 170.2, respectively, thereby deflecting the first working end 170.1 and the second working end 170.2 towards the central axis a to be elastically deformed. When the nut fastening clip 100 is rotated in the second direction such that the first working end 170.1 and the second working end 170.2 pass over the corresponding corners (317.1, 371.2), the first working end 170.1 and the second working end 170.2 will not be pressed and return to their original shape and will be received by the first notch 305.1 and the second notch 305.2, respectively. The first and second working ends 170.1 and 170.2 in their working positions are able to limit the rotation of the nut fastening clip 100 in the first direction D1 due to the blocking by the first and second blocking edges 307.1 and 307.2. Also, as described above, the panel 301 is sandwiched in the gap 140 formed between the first and second up-down direction holding claws 115.1 and 115.2 and the lower surface 105 of the substrate 102, thereby restricting the up-down movement of the nut fastening clip 100. Meanwhile, the rotation of the nut fastening clip 100 in the second direction D2 is restricted by the vertical extensions of the first up-down direction holding claw 115.1 and the second up-down direction holding claw 115.2 because the first side edges (191.1, 191.2) of the vertical extensions of the two up-down direction holding claws abut on the length sides 311.1 and 311.2 of the panel 301. Further, the first and second vertical holding claws 115.1 and 115.2 and the first and second rotational holding claws 117.1 and 117.2 can also restrict the left and right movement of the nut clip 100 with respect to the panel 301. Thereby, the nut fastening clip 100 is not movable in the up, down, left, and right directions nor in the rotational direction with respect to the panel 301, and is thus firmly fixed to the panel 301. During rotation of the nut fastening clip 100 from the pre-installation position of FIG. 4A to the installation position of FIG. 4B, the nut fastening clip 100 is rotated about 20-30.

Fig. 4C is a perspective view of the nut clip 100 mounted on a panel. As shown in fig. 4C, the tip ends of the first and second working ends 170.1 and 170.2 of the first and second rotation direction holding claws 117.1 and 117.2 are higher than the upper surface of the panel, so that the first and second working ends 170.1 and 170.2 can be disengaged from the first and second notches 305.1 and 305.2 by clamping the first and second working ends 170.1 and 170.2 inward after the nut fastening clip 100 is mounted on the panel 301, so that the nut fastening clip 100 can be rotated in the second direction D2 to the pre-mounting position. Thereafter, the nut clip 100 in the pre-installed position may be detached from above the panel.

FIG. 5A is an exploded view of a nut tightening clip assembly according to one embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5A, the nut clamp assembly 500 includes the nut clamp 100 and a bolt 501. The bolt 501 has a main body 520 having a substantially cylindrical shape and a base 523, and a lower end of the main body 520 is connected to the base 523. The outer diameter of the base 523 is larger than that of the body 520, so that a larger contact area with the panel is facilitated. The lower end of the main body 105 may be in direct contact with the panel without providing the base 523. The outer surface of the body 520 is provided with external threads 522, and the external threads 522 are engaged with threads (not shown) on the inner surface of the sleeve 106 of the nut clip 100, so that the bolt 501 can be screwed into or out of the sleeve 106 from the lower opening 112 of the sleeve 106, thereby adjusting the overall height (or length) of the nut clip assembly 500.

As shown in fig. 5A, as an example, bolt 501 has a receiving channel 521. When it is desired to adjust the height of the nut fastener assembly 500, a driving tool can be inserted into the bolt receiving channel 521 from the upper opening 110 of the sleeve 106, and the height (or length) of the nut fastener assembly 500 can be adjusted by rotating the bolt 501. In fact, bolt 501 may also be solid, with a cross, a straight line, or other groove at its upper end that facilitates the use of a tool to drive bolt 501, and a corresponding screwdriver may be used to drive bolt 501.

FIG. 5B is an exploded view of a nut tightening clip assembly according to another embodiment of the present application. The nut tightening clip assembly shown in FIG. 5B is similar to the nut tightening clip assembly shown in FIG. 5A, except that a bushing is also included in the nut tightening clip assembly shown in FIG. 5B. A bushing is installed in the receiving channel 521 of the bolt 501 for increasing the driving torque of the driving tool inserted into the receiving channel 521. The specific structure of the bushing will be described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 6A-8B.

Fig. 5C is a perspective view of the assembled nut tightening clip assembly of the present application, and fig. 5D is a view of a state of use of the nut tightening clip assembly of the present application. One application of the adjustable length nut tightening clip assembly 500, as shown in FIG. 5D, is where it is desired to maintain a spacing between two mounting

plates

301 and 311. The length of the entire nut fastening clip assembly 500 as shown in fig. 5C can be adjusted by adjusting the depth to which the bolt 501 is screwed into the sleeve 106 of the nut fastening clip 100, so that different pitches can be accommodated. For example, a vehicle roof has two panels, a lower bearing plate and an upper trim panel with a spacing between the two panels. When installing luggage rack or other heavy objects on the vehicle roof, need install luggage rack or other heavy objects simultaneously on two panels just can guarantee the structural strength of installation. When the luggage rack is mounted on the ceiling of the vehicle using the nut tightening clip assembly 500 of the present application, first, the nut tightening clip assembly 500 is fixed to the upper panel 301 by the nut tightening clip 100, and then the base 523 of the bolt 501 is abutted against the lower bearing plate 311 by adjusting the depth of the bolt 501 screwed into the sleeve 106 of the nut tightening clip 100. Since the nut fastening clip 100 cannot move up and down and left and right with respect to the panel 301 or rotate with respect to the panel 301 after being installed in the opening 302 of the panel 301 as described above, after the nut fastening clip assembly 500 is fixed to the panel 301 by the nut fastening clip 100, the bolt 501 can be rotated with respect to the nut fastening clip 100 by inserting a driving tool from the upper opening 110 of the sleeve 106 so that the base 523 of the bolt 501 just contacts the bearing plate 311 of the lower portion, thereby enabling the length of the nut fastening clip assembly 500 to be adapted to the interval between the two panels. After the length of the nut clip assembly 500 is adjusted, the mounting hole of the luggage rack is aligned with the receiving channel 521 of the bolt 501, and then one end of a screw (not shown) for fixing is inserted into the mounting hole of the luggage rack and the bolt 501, and then the luggage rack is fastened and mounted by the insertion end of the screw being engaged with a fastening nut (not shown). By maintaining the spacing between the two

panels

301 and 311 using a plurality of nut-fastening clip assemblies 500, the upper trim panel is not crushed when threaded through in securing the roof rack to the vehicle ceiling.

The nut fastening clamp assembly is manufactured by a stamping process, is simple in process and low in manufacturing cost, and can meet the use requirement.

Fig. 6A illustrates a top view of a bushing 600 of one embodiment of the present application, and fig. 6B is a perspective view of the bushing shown in fig. 6A. As described above, bushing 600 serves to increase the frictional force between a driving tool (not shown) and the inner surface of bolt 501, thereby increasing the driving torque of the driving tool. As shown in fig. 6A and 6B, the bushing 600 is configured as a hollow cylinder having an outer wall 602 and an inner wall 604. The outer wall 602 includes a plurality of outer ribs 606 and the inner wall 604 includes a plurality of inner ribs 608. The outer rib 606 and the inner rib 608 extend in the axial direction of the bush 600. The outer ribs 606 are staggered from the inner ribs 608 in the circumferential direction of the bushing 600. In one embodiment of the present application, the outer rib 606 and the inner rib 608 are both circular in cross-section. Of course, the cross-section of the outer rib 606 and the inner rib 608 may have other shapes.

Fig. 6C is a top view of the bushing shown in fig. 6A assembled in a bolt. As shown in FIG. 6A, the rounded or otherwise shaped vertices of the cross-section of the plurality of outer ribs 606 collectively form a circle 610. As shown in fig. 6C, the diameter of circle 610 matches the inner diameter of receiving channel 521 of bolt 501 in nut clamp assembly 500 so that bushing 600 can fit within receiving channel 521 of bolt 501 and frictionally engage within receiving channel 521. The diameter of the circle 610 is the same as or slightly larger than the inner diameter of the receiving channel 521 of the bolt 501 in the nut clamp assembly 500. The friction between the external ribs 606 and the inner wall of the receiving channel 521 of the bolt 501 is such that the bushing 600 does not rotate relative to the bolt 501 when the driving tool is used to rotate the bolt 501 to adjust the length of the nut tightening assembly.

As also shown in FIG. 6A, the rounded or otherwise shaped vertices of the cross-section of the plurality of inner ribs 608 collectively form a circle 612. The diameter of circle 612 matches the outer diameter of the driving tool to enable the driving tool to extend into bushing 600 and to frictionally engage bushing 600. When the driving tool is inserted into the bushing 600 to rotate the bolt 501, the bushing 600, and the driving tool are coupled to each other by friction force and cannot be rotated relatively, so that the nut clip 100 and the bolt 501 can be rotated relatively by rotating the driving tool.

As one example, the bushing 600 is made of an elastic material. The properties of the resilient material provide some adjustability of the bushing 600, whereby the outer diameter of the driving tool need not be the same as the diameter of the circle 612, but may be slightly larger than the diameter of the circle 612. The diameter of circle 610 may also be slightly larger than the inner diameter of receiving channel 521 of bolt 501. The resilient material of the inner rib 608 allows some elastic deformation of the inner rib 608 to accommodate the adjustment tool and to use the elastic deformation to allow the bushing 600 to be slightly compressed when inserted into the bolt 501 for greater friction. The bushing 600 may be integrally formed of an elastic material. The elastic material may be a rubber material or a plastic material having elasticity.

For one embodiment, the cross-section of the outer rib 606 and the inner rib 608 may have other shapes, such as square or semi-circular, etc. As yet another example, the outer ribs 606 and the inner ribs 608 may be discontinuous protrusions disposed along an axial or circumferential direction of the bushing 600, such as dots, multiple elongated strips, or other shapes.

As shown in fig. 6B, one or both ends 614 of the external rib 606 have a slope inclined outward from the bushing body 601 to facilitate the receiving channel 521 of the bolt into which the bushing 600 is inserted. Similarly, as another example, one or both ends 616 of the inner rib 608 may have an inside-out sloped surface to facilitate guiding a driving tool into the interior of the bushing 600.

Fig. 7A is a top view of a bushing according to another embodiment of the present application, and fig. 7B is a perspective view of the bushing shown in fig. 7A. The embodiment shown in fig. 7A and 7B is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 6A and 6B, except that the embodiment shown in fig. 7A and 7B adds a protrusion to the inner rib 708.

As shown in fig. 7A and 7B, the bushing 700 includes a plurality of inner ribs 708 and a plurality of outer ribs 706, with the inner ribs 708 and the outer ribs 706 being staggered. Inner ribs 708 and outer ribs 706 extend along the axial direction of bushing 700. A protrusion 705 is provided on the arc top of the inner rib 708. According to one example, each inner rib 708 of the bushing 700 is provided with a protrusion 705 on the top of the arc. The protrusion 705 extends in the axial direction of the bushing 700.

As also shown in fig. 7A, in the cross-section of the bushing 700, the apexes of the protrusions 705 of the respective inner ribs 708 collectively form a circle 712. The diameter of the circle 712 matches the outer diameter of the driving tool to enable the driving tool to extend into the bushing 700 and to frictionally engage the bushing 700. When the driving tool is inserted into the bushing 700 to rotate the bolt 501, the bushing 700, and the driving tool are coupled to each other by friction force and cannot be rotated relatively, so that the nut clip 100 and the bolt 501 can be rotated relatively by rotating the driving tool. It is noted that in the embodiment shown in fig. 6A and 6B, the drive tool directly engages the apexes of the inner ribs 608, such that the apexes of the respective inner ribs 608 collectively form a circle 612 having a diameter that matches the outer diameter of the drive tool. However, in the embodiment shown in fig. 7A and 7B, the drive tool directly engages the apexes of the protrusions 705 on the inner rib 708, thus requiring the diameter of the circle 712 collectively formed by the apexes of the respective protrusions 705 to match the outer diameter of the drive tool.

As with bushing 600, bushing 700 may also be made of a resilient material. The bushing 700 may be integrally formed of an elastic material, which may be a rubber material or a plastic material having elasticity.

Fig. 8A is a top view of a bushing according to yet another embodiment of the present application, and fig. 8B is a perspective view of the bushing shown in fig. 8A. The embodiment shown in fig. 8A and 8B is similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 6A and 6B, except that the embodiment shown in fig. 8A and 8B adds an engagement strip to the inner wall of the liner body.

As shown in fig. 8A and 8B, the bushing 800 includes a plurality of inner ribs 808 and a plurality of outer ribs 806, the inner ribs 808 and the outer ribs 806 being staggered with a space 850 between adjacent inner ribs 808. The inner ribs 808 and the outer ribs 806 extend along the axial direction of the bushing 800. The cross-section of the inner rib 808 is circular arc. An engagement bar 830 is provided on each of the inner ribs 808. The cross section of the engagement strip 830 is also circular arc-shaped, and the engagement strip 830 also extends in the axial direction of the bushing 800. Each of the engagement strips 830 extends from the circular arc start point 822 of one of the inner ribs 808 to the circular arc start point 822 of an adjacent one of the inner ribs 808. Due to the space 850 between two adjacent inner ribs 808, the engaging strip 830 crosses the arc end point 824 of one inner rib 808 and the adjacent space 850 during the process of extending from the arc start point 822 of the one inner rib 808 to the arc start point 822 of the adjacent one inner rib 808, thereby forming the deformation space 820 between the engaging strip 830 and the inner wall 804 of the bushing 800. And it can be seen from fig. 8A that the deformation space 820 formed by the engaging strips 830 of each inner rib 808 has a smaller portion near the inner rib 808 and a larger portion near the adjacent space 850.

As also shown in fig. 8A, in the cross-section of the bushing 800, the rounded vertices of the respective engagement bars 830 collectively form a circle 812. The diameter of the circle 812 matches the outer diameter of the driving tool to enable the driving tool to extend into the bushing 800 and to frictionally engage the bushing 800. When the driving tool is inserted into the bushing 800 to rotate the bolt 501, the bushing 800, and the driving tool are coupled to each other by friction force and cannot be rotated relatively, so that the nut clip 100 and the bolt 501 can be rotated relatively by rotating the driving tool. It is noted that in the embodiment shown in fig. 6A and 6B, the drive tool directly engages the apexes of the inner ribs 608, such that the apexes of the respective inner ribs 608 collectively form a circle 612 having a diameter that matches the outer diameter of the drive tool. However, in the embodiment shown in fig. 8A and 8B, the drive tool directly engages the apexes of the engagement bars 830 on the inner ribs 808, thus requiring the diameter of the circle 812 collectively formed by the apexes of the respective engagement bars 830 to match the outer diameter of the drive tool.

As one example, the bushing 800 is made of an elastic material. In this case, the engagement strip 830 can be pressed to move toward the deformation space 820. Therefore, if the diameter of the circle 812 formed by the circular arc apexes of the respective engaging strips 830 is larger than the outer diameter of the driving tool, the driving tool can force the engaging strips 830 to be deformed to move toward the deformation space 820 when the driving tool is inserted into the bushing 800, thereby increasing the frictional force between the driving tool and the bushing 800. Also, in use, bushing 800 can be better utilized to increase the torque of the driving tool to rotate bolt 501 if the direction of rotation of the driving tool is coordinated with the structural arrangement of engagement bar 803.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8A, each inner rib 808 extends from its arc start 822 to its arc end 824 in a clockwise direction as viewed from the top of the bushing 800. And each inner rib 808 extends from its arc start 822 to its arc end 824 in a counterclockwise direction if viewed from the bottom of the bushing 800. As previously described, when bushing 800 is used, bushing 800 is installed in bolt 501 and a driving tool extends into bushing 800. Since the outer wall of bushing 800 is frictionally engaged in bolt 501 and the driving tool is frictionally engaged in the inner wall of bushing 800, bolt 501 can be rotated by rotating or turning the driving tool. For the bushing embodiment shown in fig. 8A having an engagement strip 803, the direction of rotation of the drive tool may be selected to be the same as the direction in which the inner rib 808 extends from its arc start 822 to its arc end 824, to better utilize the bushing 800 to increase the torque of the drive tool to rotate the bolt 501. More specifically, if the direction in which the inner rib 808 of the bushing 800 extends from the circular arc start point 822 thereof to the circular arc end point 824 thereof as viewed from the top of the bolt 501 after the bushing 800 is installed in the bolt 501 is clockwise as shown in fig. 8A, rotating the driving tool in the clockwise direction after the driving tool is inserted into the bolt 501 from the top of the bolt 501 enables better use of the bushing 800 to increase the torque of the driving tool to rotate the bolt 501. This is because the driver tool deforms the trip bar 830 at a smaller portion of the deformation space 820 first when rotated, and since the trip bar 830 is located close to the inner rib 808, this deformation enables the trip bar 830 to contact the inner rib 808, thereby enabling the rotational force applied by the driver tool to be transmitted to the inner rib 808 and thus to the next adjacent outer rib 806 in the direction of rotation. Thereby, the rotational force applied by the driving tool is enabled to increase the frictional force between the outer rib 806 and the screw 501. Further, making the engaging bar 830 deformed first at a smaller portion of the deformation space 820 also makes it possible to increase the frictional force between the engaging bar 830 and the driving tool by the reaction force of the inner rib 808 received when the engaging bar 830 contacts the inner rib 808. The increased friction between the outer ribs 806 and the threaded rod 501, and the increased friction between the engagement bar 830 and the driving tool, both facilitate the torque of the driving tool in rotating the bolt 501, thereby allowing an operator to more easily rotate the bolt 501 to adjust the length of the nut-fastening clip assembly.

While only certain features of the application have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the application.

Claims

1. A nut fastening clip (100), the nut fastening clip (100) comprising:

a substrate (102), the substrate (102) having an upper surface (103), a lower surface (105), a first side (131), a second side (132), a third side (133), and a fourth side (134), wherein the first side (131) and the second side (132) are disposed on opposite sides of the substrate (102), and the third side (133) and the fourth side (134) are disposed on additional opposite sides of the substrate (102);

a sleeve (106), the sleeve (106) extending through the base plate (102), the sleeve (106) comprising an upper opening (110) at an upper surface (103) of the base plate, a lower opening (112) below a lower surface (105) of the base plate, the sleeve (106) having a central axis (A);

a first up-down direction holding claw (115.1) and a second up-down direction holding claw (115.2), the first up-down direction holding claw (115.1) and the second up-down direction holding claw (115.2) being provided on the first side (131) and the second side (132), respectively, and being symmetrically arranged with respect to the central axis (a), the first up-down direction holding claw (115.1) and the second up-down direction holding claw (115.2) being provided on a lower side of a lower surface (105) of the substrate (102) and forming a gap (140) with the lower surface (105) of the substrate (102), the first up-down direction holding claw (115.1) and the second up-down direction holding claw (115.2) being located on an oblique extension line (C) passing through the central axis (a);

-a first (117.1) and a second (117.2) rotation direction holding pawl, said first (117.1) and second (117.2) rotation direction holding pawl being arranged on said third (133) and fourth side (134), respectively, said first (117.1) and second (117.2) rotation direction holding pawl having an active position and an inactive position.

2. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 1 wherein:

3. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 1 wherein:

4. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 3 wherein:

the first (117.1) and the second (117.2) rotation direction holding claws can be turned from the inoperative position to the operative position during a rotation of the base plate (102) about the central axis (A) against a deflection direction of a slanted extension (C).

5. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 4 wherein:

the first and second rotation direction holding claws (117.1, 117.2) extend from the third and fourth sides (133, 134), respectively, the first and second rotation direction holding claws (117.1, 117.2) include proximal ends elastically connected to the third and fourth sides (133, 134), respectively, and free ends opposite to the proximal ends thereof, the free ends of the first and second rotation direction holding claws (117.1, 117.2) are working ends, respectively, and the working ends (170.1, 170.2) of the first and second rotation direction holding claws (117.1, 117.2) are located outside edges of the third and fourth sides (133, 134), respectively.

6. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 5 wherein:

the working end (170.1) of the first direction of rotation holding claw (117.1) and the working end (170.2) of the second direction of rotation holding claw (117.2) have the working position and the inoperative position, from which the working end (170.1) of the first direction of rotation holding claw (117.1) and the working end (170.2) of the second direction of rotation holding claw (117.2) can be turned into the working position during rotation of the base plate (102) about the central axis (A) against the deflection direction of the oblique extension line (C).

7. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 5 wherein:

the first rotational direction holding claw (117.1) and the second rotational direction holding claw (117.2) are configured to deflect around their proximal ends in the direction of the central axis (a) when pressed on the outside thereof, and to deflect around their proximal ends away from the central axis (a) when the pressing force is reduced or disappears.

8. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 5 wherein:

the first rotation direction holding claw (117.1) and the second rotation direction holding claw (117.2) extend in substantially the same direction as the deflection direction of the oblique extension line (C).

9. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 1 wherein:

the first up-down direction holding claw (115.1) and the second up-down direction holding claw (115.2) have a bent structure having a vertically extending portion (151) and a laterally extending portion (152), a proximal end (154) of the vertically extending portion (151) extends downward from the lower surface (105) of the base plate (102), a proximal end of the laterally extending portion (152) is connected with a distal end (155) of the vertically extending portion (151), and a distance between the laterally extending portion (152) and the lower surface (105) of the base plate (102) forms the gap (140).

10. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 9 wherein:

the distal end (157) of the laterally extending portion (152) is provided with a downwardly extending guide leg (160).

11. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 7 wherein:

the edges of the third side (133) and the fourth side (134) are provided with a first notch (180.1) and a second notch (180.2) at positions corresponding to the working end (170.1) of the first rotational direction holding claw (117.1) and the working end (170.2) of the second rotational direction holding claw (117.2), respectively.

12. The nut fastener clip (100) of claim 11 wherein:

the first recess (180.1) and the second recess (180.2) are used for accommodating a working end (170.1) of the first rotational direction holding claw (117.1) and a working end (170.2) of the second rotational direction holding claw (117.2), respectively, when the first rotational direction holding claw (117.1) and the second rotational direction holding claw (117.2) are configured to be pressed on the outside to deflect in the direction of the central axis (a).

13. The nut fastening clip (100) of claim 1, the nut fastening clip (100) being integrally formed.

14. The nut fastening clip (100) of claim 13, said nut fastening clip (100) being stamped and formed from sheet metal.

15. A nut tightening clip assembly, comprising:

the nut fastening clip (100) of any of claims 1-14, said sleeve (106) being threaded on an inner surface;

a bolt (501), the bolt (501) being capable of being threaded into or out of the sleeve (106) to adjust the length of the nut tightening clip assembly.

16. The nut tightening clip assembly of claim 15, comprising:

the bolt (501) has a receiving channel (521), and the bolt (501) is received in the sleeve (106) from the lower opening (112) of the sleeve (106) such that a driving tool can extend into the receiving channel (521) of the bolt (501) when adjusting the nut fastener assembly length.