EP1368569A1 - Component fastening assembly, component fastener and screw grommet - Google Patents

Component fastening assembly, component fastener and screw grommet

Info

Publication number
EP1368569A1
EP1368569A1 EP02719183A EP02719183A EP1368569A1 EP 1368569 A1 EP1368569 A1 EP 1368569A1 EP 02719183 A EP02719183 A EP 02719183A EP 02719183 A EP02719183 A EP 02719183A EP 1368569 A1 EP1368569 A1 EP 1368569A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
bracket
screw
grommet
piece
sliding direction
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP02719183A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Hiroyuki c/o POP Rivet Fastener K.K. Kato
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Newfrey LLC
Original Assignee
Newfrey LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Newfrey LLC filed Critical Newfrey LLC
Publication of EP1368569A1 publication Critical patent/EP1368569A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16B—DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
    • F16B5/00—Joining sheets or plates, e.g. panels, to one another or to strips or bars parallel to them
    • F16B5/02—Joining sheets or plates, e.g. panels, to one another or to strips or bars parallel to them by means of fastening members using screw-thread
    • F16B5/0258—Joining sheets or plates, e.g. panels, to one another or to strips or bars parallel to them by means of fastening members using screw-thread using resiliently deformable sleeves, grommets or inserts

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a component fastening assembly for fastening an attachment component such as a cover to a workpiece such as an automobile body by using a screw such as a tapping screw without looseness or play in the connection.
  • Fig. 1(A) and Fig. 1 (B) show a conventional approach for fastening an attachment component such as a side cover of an automobile without looseness or play in the connection.
  • a first L-shaped bracket 2A is fixed to a side cover 1 to allow a mounting portion of the first bracket to extend in the width direction of an automobile body.
  • a second L-shaped bracket 5 is also fixed to the automobile body 3A to allow a mounting portion of the second bracket to extend vertically.
  • a bolt 6 is fixed to the second bracket 5 by welding or the like to allow the bolt to be passed through a mounting hole of the first bracket 2.
  • the side cover 1 with the first bracket 2 is positioned and moved in the direction of the arrow 9 along the automobile body 3 to allow the bolt 6 to be passed through the mounting hole of the first bracket 2. Then, this movement is stopped at a final target position. After the stoppage, a first nut 10 is threadedly attached to the bolt 6, and then a second nut 11 is threadedly attached to the bolt 6 to lock the first nut 10. In this manner, the side cover 1 is fastened to the automobile body 3 so as not to move in the direction of the arrow 7. The side cover has been also fixedly fastened in the direction of the arrow 9 at other positions. This fastening operation of the side cover 1 is so restricted that an operator can access only in the direction of the arrow 13 of Fig. 1 (A) to attach the nuts.
  • the cover In the aforementioned conventional approach of attaching the cover, it is cumbersome to carry out the operation for positioning the bolt of the automobile body to and inserting it into the mounting hole of the first bracket and the other operation for rotating the nuts located inside from one direction. In addition, if the cover is bulky and heavy, it is necessary to increase the number of operators due to difficulty in completing the operations singly. Further, as shown in Fig. 1 , the first bracket 2 is positioned apart from the second bracket 2 after the fastening operation. Thus, the first bracket 2 can be loosed to the bolt which extends through the second bracket and be unstably moved in the gap between the mounting hole thereof and the outer surface of the bolt.
  • the operation has to be carried out according to a limited sequence of stopping the side cover at the final target position, and then fastening the side cover at a position on further left side than the left end of Fig. 1 to prevent the side cover from moving in the direction parallel to the arrow 9, followed by attaching the nuts.
  • a component fastening assembly for fastening an attachment component such as a cover to a workpiece such as an automobile body by using a screw such as a tapping screw, comprising a first bracket fixed to the attachment component, a second bracket mounted on the workpiece, and a screw grommet slidably connected to the second bracket and for receiving a screw which extends through the first bracket.
  • the screw grommet is formed in one piece of synthetic resin.
  • the screw grommet includes a grommet body extending in its sliding direction from one end thereof facing to a mounting portion of the first bracket to allow the screw to be screwed therein and having therein a screw receiving hole which has an opening at the one end facing to the mounting portion of the first bracket and extends in the sliding direction, a spring piece located at the other end of the grommet body on the opposite side of the opened end and for pushing the opened end of the grommet body toward the first bracket, and an anti-dropping piece to engage with the second bracket to prevent the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket due to the biasing force of the spring piece.
  • the screw grommet is slidably connected to the second bracket with ease, and the screw grommet is connected to the second bracket movably in the sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction.
  • the attachment component such as a cover mounted on the first bracket can be adjustably fixed.
  • a hole in the mounting portion of the first bracket can be readily aligned with the screw receiving hole of the screw grommet only by moving the attachment component such as a cover along the sliding direction. This allows the screw to be threadedly attached reliably and readily.
  • the second bracket may be formed with a pair of guide rails extending longitudinally in the sliding direction
  • the grommet body may be formed with a pair of guide grooves extending longitudinally in the sliding direction and fitting into the guide rails.
  • the screw grommet is adapted to be connected to the second bracket movably in the sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction.
  • the pair of guide rails of the second bracket may be formed by providing an elongated hole in the second bracket. The elongate hole extends in the sliding direction from the end of the second bracket on the side of the first bracket and has a closed end at the opposite end of the second bracket.
  • the elongated hole includes an inlet portion formed in a tapered opening having a greater width than a distance between the guide rails.
  • the screw grommet is adapted to be connected to the second bracket by sliding the guide grooves from the tapered opening along the guide rails.
  • the second bracket may also be formed with a wall facing to the spring piece of the screw grommet to receive the end of the spring piece.
  • the second bracket may include a base portion formed with a hole facing to the anti-dropping piece of the screw grommet to receive the end of the anti-dropping piece.
  • the end of the anti-dropping piece is adapted to be engaged with the edge of the hole to prevent the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket.
  • the base portion is fixed to the workpiece.
  • a component fastener and a screw grommet forming the aforementioned component fastener assembly.
  • the component fastener comprises a workpiece bracket mounted on the workpiece, and a screw grommet slidably connected to the bracket.
  • the screw grommet is formed in one piece of synthetic resin.
  • the screw grommet includes a grommet body extending in its sliding direction from one end thereof to allow the screw to be screwed therein and having therein a screw receiving hole which has an opening at the one end and extends in the sliding direction, a spring piece located at the other end of the grommet body on the opposite side of the one end of the grommet body, and an anti-dropping piece to engage with the workpiece bracket to prevent the screw grommet from dropping out of the workpiece bracket due to the biasing force of the spring piece.
  • the screw grommet is formed in one piece of synthetic resin and is adapted to be slidably connected to a second bracket.
  • the screw grommet includes a grommet body extending in its sliding direction from one end thereof facing to a mounting portion of the first bracket to allow the screw to be screwed therein and having therein a screw receiving hole which has an opening at the one end facing to the mounting portion of the first bracket and extends in the sliding direction, a spring piece located at the other end of the grommet body on the opposite side of the opened end, and an anti-dropping piece to engage with the second bracket to prevent the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket due to the biasing force of the spring piece.
  • FIG. 1 shows a conventional component fastening assembly; wherein Fig. 1 (A) is a plan view of the component fastening assembly and Fig. 1 (B) is a view seen from the direction of the arrow B in Fig. 1 (A).
  • Fig. 2 is a plan view of a second bracket of a component fastening assembly according to the present invention.
  • Fig. 3 is a front view of the second bracket of Fig. 2.
  • Fig. 4 is a left side view of the second bracket of Fig. 3.
  • Fig. 5 is a plan view of a screw grommet of a component fastening assembly according to the present invention.
  • Fig. 6 is a front view of the screw grommet of Fig. 5.
  • Fig. 7 is a left side view of the screw grommet of Fig. 6.
  • Fig. 8 is a right side view of the screw grommet of Fig. 6.
  • Fig. 9 is a plan view of a component fastener according to the present invention.
  • Fig. 10 is a front view showing the component fastener of Fig. 9 in connection with the automobile body.
  • Fig. 11 is a right side view of the component fastener of Fig. 10.
  • Fig. 12 is a plan view showing the condition that a side cover is fixed to an automobile body with a screw by using a component fastening assembly according to the present invention.
  • Fig. 13 is a front view of the component fastening assembly of Fig. 12.
  • Fig. 14 is a right side view showing a broken-out section of a mounting portion of a first bracket in the component fastening assembly of Fig. 12.
  • Fig. 15 is a plan view of a component fastening assembly showing a disadvantage when a screw grommet has no spring piece and a second bracket has no wall.
  • a first L-shaped metal bracket 2 fixed to an attachment component such as the side cover 1 as shown in Fig. 1 is used as it is.
  • the component fastening assembly according to the present invention includes a second metal bracket 15, as shown in Figs. 2 to 4, to be mounted on an automobile body as a workpiece, and a screw grommet 17, as shown in Figs. 5 to 8, formed in one piece of synthetic resin.
  • the second workpiece bracket 15 and the screw grommet 17 form a component fastener for the component fastening assembly.
  • FIGS. 9 to 11 show a component fastener 18 in which the screw grommet 17 is connected to the second bracket 15 fixed to the automobile body 3 as a workpiece.
  • Figs. 12 to 14 show the condition that the cover 1 as an attachment component is fastened to the automobile body 3 as a workpiece by the fastening assembly according to the present invention and a screw 19 such as a tapping screw.
  • the second bracket 15 is formed in one piece of sheet metal.
  • the second bracket 15 includes a rectangular-platy base portion 21 to be fixed to the automobile body 3 by welding or the like, and an elongated and rectangular-platy coupling portion 22 standing up from the base portion 21 in an L-shape and extending longitudinally from the base portion 19.
  • a pair of guide rails 23 extending longitudinally in the length of the coupling portion (i.e. in the sliding direction of the screw grommet 17) are formed at the center of the coupling portion 22.
  • the guide rails 23 are formed by providing an elongated hole 25 in the coupling portion 22.
  • the elongated hole 25 extends from one end of the coupling portion (which is the right- side end of the coupling portion in Figs.
  • An inlet portion 26 (the end on the side of the first bracket) of the elongated hole 25 is formed in a tapered opening of a greater width than a distance between the guide rails 23 to facilitate an operation of inserting the screw grommet 17 thereinto and coupling it therewith.
  • the inlet portion 26 is provided with a support 27 extending from the coupling portion 22 to form an L-shape in a plan view of Fig.
  • the support 27 is spaced apart from the guide rails 23 in the inlet portion 26 to allow the screw grommet 17 to be readily inserted.
  • a wall 29 is formed at the other end (the left-side end in Figs. 2 and 3) of the coupling portion 22 on the opposite side of the inlet portion 26 to prevent the screw grommet 17 from sliding more than necessary.
  • the wall 29 is formed by a plate extending from the coupling portion 22 to form an L-shape in the plan view of Fig. 2 in the direction to interrupt the sliding operation of the screw grommet.
  • the wall 29 is located at a position for receiving the end of a spring piece (described later) of the screw grommet 17 so as to push the screw grommet 17 toward the inlet portion.
  • the base portion 21 is formed with a rectangular hole 30 facing to an anti-dropping piece (described later) of the screw grommet to receive the end of the anti-dropping piece.
  • the engagement between the end of the anti-dropping piece and the edge of the hole 30 prevents the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket.
  • the screw grommet 17 is formed in one piece of synthetic resin.
  • the screw grommet 17 includes a grommet body 31 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape extending longitudinally in the sliding direction.
  • the grommet body 31 is formed with a pair of guide grooves 33 extending longitudinally in the longitudinal direction, i.e. in the sliding direction, to be fitted into the pair of the guide rails 23 of the second bracket 15.
  • the screw grommet 17 is connected to the second bracket 15 to form the component fastener.
  • the screw grommet 17 is connected to the second bracket 15 movably in the sliding direction (longitudinal direction) but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction.
  • the grommet body 31 is formed with a screw receiving hole 34 extending in the longitudinal direction to receive a screw such as a tapping screw.
  • the screw receiving hole 34 is opened at the side facing to a mounting portion 35 of the first bracket 2 (see Fig. 1 (A)) to receive therein the screw such as the tapping screw which extends through the first bracket 2.
  • the grommet body 31 is integrally formed with a spring piece 37 provided at the other end opposite to the opened end of the screw receiving hole 34 to push the opened end of the screw receiving hole 34 toward the first bracket.
  • the spring piece 37 is formed in a chevron or inverted-V shape to allow the grommet body 31 to be springly biased and pushed out.
  • the spring piece 37 may be formed in any suitable shape having a spring function.
  • the screw grommet 17 has advantageously longer travel distance in the sliding direction while the screw grommet 17 remains slidably connected to the second bracket. This allows a location tolerance for fixing the second bracket 15 to the automobile body 3 by welding or the like to be set widely, and allows a longitudinal position error between the first bracket 2 and the screw grommet 17 to be can be set widely.
  • the grommet body 31 of the screw grommet 17 is integrally formed with an anti-dropping piece 38 for preventing the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket due to the biasing force of the spring piece 37.
  • the anti-dropping piece 38 is formed at a position allowing its end to be received by the hole 30 of the base portion 21 of the second bracket 15 under the condition that the screw grommet 17 is slidably connected to the second bracket 15.
  • the anti-dropping piece 38 is formed in a resilient piece (see Fig. 6) extending toward the hole 30 of the base portion 21 and obliquely toward the opened end of the screw receiving hole 34.
  • the anti-dropping piece 38 of the resilient piece does not interrupt the inserting operation of slidably inserting the screw grommet 17 into the second bracket 15.
  • the resilient anti-dropping piece 38 allows the screw grommet 17 to stop short of dropping off.
  • the engagement between the end of the anti-dropping piece 38 and the edge of the hole 30 of the base portion 21 prevents the screw grommet 17 from dropping out of the second bracket 15.
  • a recess 39 is formed in the upper portion of the anti-dropping piece 38 in the grommet body 31 to mold the anti-dropping piece 38 having a thin thickness and a sufficient resiliency.
  • the length and the position of the anti-dropping piece 38 are determined in association with the spring piece 37.
  • the end of the anti-dropping piece 38 is engaged with the edge of the hole 30, the end the spring piece 37 is arranged to be brought into contact with the wall 29 of the second bracket 15 to deform the spring piece 37.
  • the component fastener 18 according to the present invention is assembled by slidably connecting the screw grommet 17 to the second bracket 15.
  • the second bracket 15 is fixed to the automobile body 3 by fixing the base portion 21 to the automobile body 3, for example, with spot-welding (see Figs. 10 and 1 1 ).
  • the guide grooves 33 are positioned at the inlet of the guide rails 23 of the second bracket 15 fixed to the automobile body 3, and the screw grommet 17 is slid leftward in Figs. 9 and 10. This sliding operation is kept on until the end of the anti-dropping piece 38 is received in the hole 30 of the base portion 21 of the second bracket 15.
  • an operator can recognize it by click transmitted to his/her hand or the like.
  • the sliding operation may be kept on to bring the spring piece 37 into contact with the wall 29 so as to deform the spring piece 37 largely, and then the operator may release the screw grommet 17 to be returned to the position of Fig. 10 under influence of by the resilience of the spring piece 37.
  • the end of the spring piece 37 is brought into contact with the wall 29 of the second bracket 15 to deform the spring piece 37.
  • the length 41 in Fig. 10 shows an adjustable length of the screw grommet 17 in the sliding direction.
  • the screw grommet 17 is mounted on the second bracket 15 movably in the sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction (the direction of the arrow 42 in Fig. 9).
  • Another attachment component can be attached to the component fastener 18 formed in this mounted condition by screwing or driving the screw such as a tapping screw in the screw receiving hole 34 of the grommet body 31.
  • Figs. 12 to 14 show the condition that the side cover 1 as the attachment component is mounted to the automobile body 3 as the workpiece with preventing the movement in the direction of the arrow 43 in Fig. 12 by using the component fastening assembly according to the present invention and the screw 19 such as a tapping screw.
  • the component fastening assembly according to the present invention comprises the component fastener 18 including the second bracket 15 and the screw grommet 17, and the first bracket 2 mounted on the side cover 1.
  • the first bracket 2 has a base portion 45 fixed to the side cover 1 by welding or the like, and a mounting portion 35 extending from the base portion 45 to form a L-shape.
  • the mounting portion 35 is formed with a mounting hole.
  • the screw 19 passes through the mounting portion and is screwed in the screw grommet 17 to fasten the first bracket 2 to the screw grommet. Further, the screw grommet 17 is connected to the second bracket 15 movably in the sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction, and the second bracket 15 is fixed to the automobile body 3.
  • the side cover 1 is fastened immovably in the direction of the arrow 43 and almost immovably in the direction of the arrow 46 in Fig. 13 (movably only in a gap between the guide rails 23 and the guide grooves 33).
  • the side cover 1 is fastened to another bracket 49 fixed to the automobile body by a screw 50 so as not to move in the direction of the arrow 47 (sliding direction) in Fig. 12.
  • the screw grommet 17 is pushed out rightward in Figs. 12 and 13 by the spring piece 37 having its end in contact with the wall 29.
  • the right-side end of the spring-biased grommet body 31 is brought into contact with the mounting portion 35 of the first bracket 2. This allows the screw grommet 17 to be positioned precisely to the first bracket 2 simply by sliding the side cover leftward.
  • Fig. 15 shows a disadvantage caused when the screw grommet has no spring piece and the second bracket has no wall.
  • the screw grommet Since the screw grommet has no spring bias rightward, the screw grommet can get away from the first bracket 2, and thereby the screw 19 is hardly screwed therein. Particularly, at a narrow place in an automobile where an operator is' limited to access it only in the direction of the arrow 51 in Fig. 12, it is extremely difficult to drive the screw in the condition as shown in Fig. 15. In contrast, in the component fastening assembly according to the present invention, when the side cover 1 is slid leftward along the automobile body 3 and located at the position to be mounted, the right-side end of the spring-biased grommet body 31 is reliably brought into contact with the mounting portion 35 of the first bracket 2.
  • the screw 19 can be screwed in the screw grommet 17 reliably and readily.
  • the screw grommet 17 is slidably connected to the second bracket 15, and thereby the mounting position can be adjusted by the length 55.
  • the side cover 1 can be adjustably mounted at an appropriate position with respect to the automobile body.
  • the screw grommet can be readily connected to the second bracket by the sliding operation, and the screw grommet is mounted to the second bracket movably in the sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction.
  • the attachment component such as a cover fixed to the first bracket can be adjustably fastened.
  • the screw grommet is always pushed out toward the mounting portion of the first bracket without dropping. This allows the hole of the mounting portion of the first bracket to be readily aligned with the screw receiving hole of the screw grommet only by moving the attachment component such as a cover along the sliding direction, and thereby the screwing operation can be carried out reliably and readily.
  • the present invention provides a component fastening assembly capable of readily positioning the screw as the fastener, of eliminating the need for the operation of inserting the bolt into the bracket hole to facilitate the operation of positioning and moving the cover or the like, and of minimizing looseness in connection to suppress occurrences of rust and noise without any restriction in fastening sequence, even if an operator is limited to access the screw only in one direction to rotate a fastener such as a screw. Further, the present invention provides the improved component fastener forming the component fastening assembly by the second bracket and the screw grommet, and provides the improved screw grommet.

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  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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Abstract

A component fastening assembly comprises a first bracket (2) fixed to a side cover (1), a second bracket (15) mounted on an automobile body (3), and a screw grommet (17) slidably connected to the second bracket and for receiving a screw (19) which extends through the first bracket. The screw grommet is formed in one piece of synthetic resin. The screw grommet includes a grommet body (31) extending in its sliding direction from one end thereof facing to a mounting portion (35) of the first bracket (2) to allow the screw to be screwed therein and having therein a screw receiving hole (34) which has an opening at the one end of the mounting portion (35) of the first bracket (2) and extends in the sliding direction, a spring piece (37) provided at the other end of the grommet body on the opposite side of the opened end for pushing the opened end of the grommet body toward the first bracket, and an anti-dropping piece (38) to engage with a base portion (21) of the second bracket to prevent the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket due to the biasing force of the spring piece.

Description

COMPONENT FASTENING ASSEMBLY, COMPONENT FASTENER AND SCREW GROMMET
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a component fastening assembly for fastening an attachment component such as a cover to a workpiece such as an automobile body by using a screw such as a tapping screw without looseness or play in the connection.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fig. 1(A) and Fig. 1 (B) show a conventional approach for fastening an attachment component such as a side cover of an automobile without looseness or play in the connection. A first L-shaped bracket 2A is fixed to a side cover 1 to allow a mounting portion of the first bracket to extend in the width direction of an automobile body. A second L-shaped bracket 5 is also fixed to the automobile body 3A to allow a mounting portion of the second bracket to extend vertically. A bolt 6 is fixed to the second bracket 5 by welding or the like to allow the bolt to be passed through a mounting hole of the first bracket 2. For fastening the side cover 1 to the automobile body 3 with minimizing looseness in the direction of the arrow 7 (see Fig. 1 (A)), the side cover 1 with the first bracket 2 is positioned and moved in the direction of the arrow 9 along the automobile body 3 to allow the bolt 6 to be passed through the mounting hole of the first bracket 2. Then, this movement is stopped at a final target position. After the stoppage, a first nut 10 is threadedly attached to the bolt 6, and then a second nut 11 is threadedly attached to the bolt 6 to lock the first nut 10. In this manner, the side cover 1 is fastened to the automobile body 3 so as not to move in the direction of the arrow 7. The side cover has been also fixedly fastened in the direction of the arrow 9 at other positions. This fastening operation of the side cover 1 is so restricted that an operator can access only in the direction of the arrow 13 of Fig. 1 (A) to attach the nuts.
In the aforementioned conventional approach of attaching the cover, it is cumbersome to carry out the operation for positioning the bolt of the automobile body to and inserting it into the mounting hole of the first bracket and the other operation for rotating the nuts located inside from one direction. In addition, if the cover is bulky and heavy, it is necessary to increase the number of operators due to difficulty in completing the operations singly. Further, as shown in Fig. 1 , the first bracket 2 is positioned apart from the second bracket 2 after the fastening operation. Thus, the first bracket 2 can be loosed to the bolt which extends through the second bracket and be unstably moved in the gap between the mounting hole thereof and the outer surface of the bolt. In that case, since all of the bolt, the first bracket and the nuts are made of metal, the looseness causes rusts due to damages of their coating, and a loud noise will also be produced by the looseness. Furthermore, the operation has to be carried out according to a limited sequence of stopping the side cover at the final target position, and then fastening the side cover at a position on further left side than the left end of Fig. 1 to prevent the side cover from moving in the direction parallel to the arrow 9, followed by attaching the nuts.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a component fastening assembly capable of facilitating an operation of positioning a screw as a fastener, of eliminating the need for an operation of inserting a bolt into a bracket hole to facilitate an operation of positioning and moving a cover or the like, and of minimizing looseness in connection to suppress occurrences of rust and noise, without any restriction in fastening sequence, even if an operator is limited to access a fastener only in one direction to rotate the fastener. It is another object of the present invention to provide a component fastener and a screw grommet forming the component fastening assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a component fastening assembly for fastening an attachment component such as a cover to a workpiece such as an automobile body by using a screw such as a tapping screw, comprising a first bracket fixed to the attachment component, a second bracket mounted on the workpiece, and a screw grommet slidably connected to the second bracket and for receiving a screw which extends through the first bracket. The screw grommet is formed in one piece of synthetic resin. The screw grommet includes a grommet body extending in its sliding direction from one end thereof facing to a mounting portion of the first bracket to allow the screw to be screwed therein and having therein a screw receiving hole which has an opening at the one end facing to the mounting portion of the first bracket and extends in the sliding direction, a spring piece located at the other end of the grommet body on the opposite side of the opened end and for pushing the opened end of the grommet body toward the first bracket, and an anti-dropping piece to engage with the second bracket to prevent the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket due to the biasing force of the spring piece. According to this construction, the screw grommet is slidably connected to the second bracket with ease, and the screw grommet is connected to the second bracket movably in the sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. Thus, the attachment component such as a cover mounted on the first bracket can be adjustably fixed. Further, since the screw grommet is always pushed out toward the mounting portion of the first bracket without dropping out, a hole in the mounting portion of the first bracket can be readily aligned with the screw receiving hole of the screw grommet only by moving the attachment component such as a cover along the sliding direction. This allows the screw to be threadedly attached reliably and readily.
In the above fastening assembly, the second bracket may be formed with a pair of guide rails extending longitudinally in the sliding direction, and the grommet body may be formed with a pair of guide grooves extending longitudinally in the sliding direction and fitting into the guide rails. In that case, the screw grommet is adapted to be connected to the second bracket movably in the sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. In this assembly, the pair of guide rails of the second bracket may be formed by providing an elongated hole in the second bracket. The elongate hole extends in the sliding direction from the end of the second bracket on the side of the first bracket and has a closed end at the opposite end of the second bracket. Further, the elongated hole includes an inlet portion formed in a tapered opening having a greater width than a distance between the guide rails. In this case, the screw grommet is adapted to be connected to the second bracket by sliding the guide grooves from the tapered opening along the guide rails. In this assembly, the second bracket may also be formed with a wall facing to the spring piece of the screw grommet to receive the end of the spring piece. Further, in this assembly, the second bracket may include a base portion formed with a hole facing to the anti-dropping piece of the screw grommet to receive the end of the anti-dropping piece. In this case, the end of the anti-dropping piece is adapted to be engaged with the edge of the hole to prevent the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket. The base portion is fixed to the workpiece.
According to the present invention, there are provided a component fastener and a screw grommet forming the aforementioned component fastener assembly. The component fastener comprises a workpiece bracket mounted on the workpiece, and a screw grommet slidably connected to the bracket. The screw grommet is formed in one piece of synthetic resin. The screw grommet includes a grommet body extending in its sliding direction from one end thereof to allow the screw to be screwed therein and having therein a screw receiving hole which has an opening at the one end and extends in the sliding direction, a spring piece located at the other end of the grommet body on the opposite side of the one end of the grommet body, and an anti-dropping piece to engage with the workpiece bracket to prevent the screw grommet from dropping out of the workpiece bracket due to the biasing force of the spring piece.
Further, the screw grommet is formed in one piece of synthetic resin and is adapted to be slidably connected to a second bracket. The screw grommet includes a grommet body extending in its sliding direction from one end thereof facing to a mounting portion of the first bracket to allow the screw to be screwed therein and having therein a screw receiving hole which has an opening at the one end facing to the mounting portion of the first bracket and extends in the sliding direction, a spring piece located at the other end of the grommet body on the opposite side of the opened end, and an anti-dropping piece to engage with the second bracket to prevent the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket due to the biasing force of the spring piece.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 shows a conventional component fastening assembly; wherein Fig. 1 (A) is a plan view of the component fastening assembly and Fig. 1 (B) is a view seen from the direction of the arrow B in Fig. 1 (A).
Fig. 2 is a plan view of a second bracket of a component fastening assembly according to the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a front view of the second bracket of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a left side view of the second bracket of Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a plan view of a screw grommet of a component fastening assembly according to the present invention.
Fig. 6 is a front view of the screw grommet of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a left side view of the screw grommet of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a right side view of the screw grommet of Fig. 6.
Fig. 9 is a plan view of a component fastener according to the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a front view showing the component fastener of Fig. 9 in connection with the automobile body. Fig. 11 is a right side view of the component fastener of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a plan view showing the condition that a side cover is fixed to an automobile body with a screw by using a component fastening assembly according to the present invention.
Fig. 13 is a front view of the component fastening assembly of Fig. 12. Fig. 14 is a right side view showing a broken-out section of a mounting portion of a first bracket in the component fastening assembly of Fig. 12.
Fig. 15 is a plan view of a component fastening assembly showing a disadvantage when a screw grommet has no spring piece and a second bracket has no wall. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. In a component fastening assembly according to the present invention, a first L-shaped metal bracket 2 fixed to an attachment component such as the side cover 1 as shown in Fig. 1 is used as it is. In addition to the first bracket 2, the component fastening assembly according to the present invention includes a second metal bracket 15, as shown in Figs. 2 to 4, to be mounted on an automobile body as a workpiece, and a screw grommet 17, as shown in Figs. 5 to 8, formed in one piece of synthetic resin. The second workpiece bracket 15 and the screw grommet 17 form a component fastener for the component fastening assembly. Figs. 9 to 11 show a component fastener 18 in which the screw grommet 17 is connected to the second bracket 15 fixed to the automobile body 3 as a workpiece. Figs. 12 to 14 show the condition that the cover 1 as an attachment component is fastened to the automobile body 3 as a workpiece by the fastening assembly according to the present invention and a screw 19 such as a tapping screw. In Figs. 2 to 4, the second bracket 15 is formed in one piece of sheet metal.
The second bracket 15 includes a rectangular-platy base portion 21 to be fixed to the automobile body 3 by welding or the like, and an elongated and rectangular-platy coupling portion 22 standing up from the base portion 21 in an L-shape and extending longitudinally from the base portion 19. A pair of guide rails 23 extending longitudinally in the length of the coupling portion (i.e. in the sliding direction of the screw grommet 17) are formed at the center of the coupling portion 22. The guide rails 23 are formed by providing an elongated hole 25 in the coupling portion 22. The elongated hole 25 extends from one end of the coupling portion (which is the right- side end of the coupling portion in Figs. 2 and 3, and is to be connected opposedly to the first bracket 2) in the sliding direction (in the longitudinal direction), and has a closed end at the other end of the coupling portion (the left-side end of the coupling portion in Figs. 2 and 3). An inlet portion 26 (the end on the side of the first bracket) of the elongated hole 25 is formed in a tapered opening of a greater width than a distance between the guide rails 23 to facilitate an operation of inserting the screw grommet 17 thereinto and coupling it therewith. The inlet portion 26 is provided with a support 27 extending from the coupling portion 22 to form an L-shape in a plan view of Fig. 2 in the direction to avoid interruption of the sliding and inserting operation of the screw grommet 17 so as to keep a given distance between the guide rails 23. As seen in Fig. 4, the support 27 is spaced apart from the guide rails 23 in the inlet portion 26 to allow the screw grommet 17 to be readily inserted.
A wall 29 is formed at the other end (the left-side end in Figs. 2 and 3) of the coupling portion 22 on the opposite side of the inlet portion 26 to prevent the screw grommet 17 from sliding more than necessary. The wall 29 is formed by a plate extending from the coupling portion 22 to form an L-shape in the plan view of Fig. 2 in the direction to interrupt the sliding operation of the screw grommet. In addition to prevent the sliding operation of the screw grommet 17, the wall 29 is located at a position for receiving the end of a spring piece (described later) of the screw grommet 17 so as to push the screw grommet 17 toward the inlet portion. The base portion 21 is formed with a rectangular hole 30 facing to an anti-dropping piece (described later) of the screw grommet to receive the end of the anti-dropping piece. The engagement between the end of the anti-dropping piece and the edge of the hole 30 prevents the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket.
In Figs. 5 to 8, the screw grommet 17 according to the present invention is formed in one piece of synthetic resin. The screw grommet 17 includes a grommet body 31 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape extending longitudinally in the sliding direction. The grommet body 31 is formed with a pair of guide grooves 33 extending longitudinally in the longitudinal direction, i.e. in the sliding direction, to be fitted into the pair of the guide rails 23 of the second bracket 15. By sliding the grommet body 31 in the longitudinal direction of the second bracket 15 with fitting the guide grooves 33 into the guide rails 23, the screw grommet 17 is connected to the second bracket 15 to form the component fastener. In this connected condition, the screw grommet 17 is connected to the second bracket 15 movably in the sliding direction (longitudinal direction) but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. The grommet body 31 is formed with a screw receiving hole 34 extending in the longitudinal direction to receive a screw such as a tapping screw. In the condition that the screw grommet 17 is connected to the second bracket 15 fixed to the automobile body, the screw receiving hole 34 is opened at the side facing to a mounting portion 35 of the first bracket 2 (see Fig. 1 (A)) to receive therein the screw such as the tapping screw which extends through the first bracket 2.
The grommet body 31 is integrally formed with a spring piece 37 provided at the other end opposite to the opened end of the screw receiving hole 34 to push the opened end of the screw receiving hole 34 toward the first bracket. In the illustrated embodiment, the spring piece 37 is formed in a chevron or inverted-V shape to allow the grommet body 31 to be springly biased and pushed out. However, the spring piece 37 may be formed in any suitable shape having a spring function. When the screw grommet 17 is slidably connected to the second bracket 15, the end of the spring piece 37 is brought into contact with the wall 29 of the second bracket 15, and the spring piece 37 pushes out the grommet body 31 to bring the opened end of the screw receiving hole 34 into contact with the first bracket 2. Where the spring piece 37 is formed in the chevron shape, the screw grommet 17 has advantageously longer travel distance in the sliding direction while the screw grommet 17 remains slidably connected to the second bracket. This allows a location tolerance for fixing the second bracket 15 to the automobile body 3 by welding or the like to be set widely, and allows a longitudinal position error between the first bracket 2 and the screw grommet 17 to be can be set widely.
Further, the grommet body 31 of the screw grommet 17 is integrally formed with an anti-dropping piece 38 for preventing the screw grommet from dropping out of the second bracket due to the biasing force of the spring piece 37. The anti-dropping piece 38 is formed at a position allowing its end to be received by the hole 30 of the base portion 21 of the second bracket 15 under the condition that the screw grommet 17 is slidably connected to the second bracket 15. The anti-dropping piece 38 is formed in a resilient piece (see Fig. 6) extending toward the hole 30 of the base portion 21 and obliquely toward the opened end of the screw receiving hole 34. Thus, the anti-dropping piece 38 of the resilient piece does not interrupt the inserting operation of slidably inserting the screw grommet 17 into the second bracket 15. However, when the screw grommet 17 is slid in the direction causing its dropping from the second bracket 15 due to the biasing force of the spring piece 37, the resilient anti-dropping piece 38 allows the screw grommet 17 to stop short of dropping off. The engagement between the end of the anti-dropping piece 38 and the edge of the hole 30 of the base portion 21 (see Fig. 10) prevents the screw grommet 17 from dropping out of the second bracket 15. Since the screw grommet 17 is formed in one piece of synthetic resin, a recess 39 is formed in the upper portion of the anti-dropping piece 38 in the grommet body 31 to mold the anti-dropping piece 38 having a thin thickness and a sufficient resiliency. Preferably, the length and the position of the anti-dropping piece 38 are determined in association with the spring piece 37. For example, when the end of the anti-dropping piece 38 is engaged with the edge of the hole 30, the end the spring piece 37 is arranged to be brought into contact with the wall 29 of the second bracket 15 to deform the spring piece 37. In Figs. 9 to 11 , the component fastener 18 according to the present invention is assembled by slidably connecting the screw grommet 17 to the second bracket 15. The second bracket 15 is fixed to the automobile body 3 by fixing the base portion 21 to the automobile body 3, for example, with spot-welding (see Figs. 10 and 1 1 ). With placing the spring piece 37 at the front of the screw grommet 17, the guide grooves 33 are positioned at the inlet of the guide rails 23 of the second bracket 15 fixed to the automobile body 3, and the screw grommet 17 is slid leftward in Figs. 9 and 10. This sliding operation is kept on until the end of the anti-dropping piece 38 is received in the hole 30 of the base portion 21 of the second bracket 15. When the end of the anti-dropping piece 38 is received in the hole 30, an operator can recognize it by click transmitted to his/her hand or the like. Otherwise, the sliding operation may be kept on to bring the spring piece 37 into contact with the wall 29 so as to deform the spring piece 37 largely, and then the operator may release the screw grommet 17 to be returned to the position of Fig. 10 under influence of by the resilience of the spring piece 37. In the position of Fig. 10, the end of the spring piece 37 is brought into contact with the wall 29 of the second bracket 15 to deform the spring piece 37. The length 41 in Fig. 10 shows an adjustable length of the screw grommet 17 in the sliding direction. In this condition, the screw grommet 17 is mounted on the second bracket 15 movably in the sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction (the direction of the arrow 42 in Fig. 9). Another attachment component can be attached to the component fastener 18 formed in this mounted condition by screwing or driving the screw such as a tapping screw in the screw receiving hole 34 of the grommet body 31.
Figs. 12 to 14 show the condition that the side cover 1 as the attachment component is mounted to the automobile body 3 as the workpiece with preventing the movement in the direction of the arrow 43 in Fig. 12 by using the component fastening assembly according to the present invention and the screw 19 such as a tapping screw. The component fastening assembly according to the present invention comprises the component fastener 18 including the second bracket 15 and the screw grommet 17, and the first bracket 2 mounted on the side cover 1. The first bracket 2 has a base portion 45 fixed to the side cover 1 by welding or the like, and a mounting portion 35 extending from the base portion 45 to form a L-shape. The mounting portion 35 is formed with a mounting hole. The screw 19 passes through the mounting portion and is screwed in the screw grommet 17 to fasten the first bracket 2 to the screw grommet. Further, the screw grommet 17 is connected to the second bracket 15 movably in the sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction, and the second bracket 15 is fixed to the automobile body 3. Thus, the side cover 1 is fastened immovably in the direction of the arrow 43 and almost immovably in the direction of the arrow 46 in Fig. 13 (movably only in a gap between the guide rails 23 and the guide grooves 33). The side cover 1 is fastened to another bracket 49 fixed to the automobile body by a screw 50 so as not to move in the direction of the arrow 47 (sliding direction) in Fig. 12. In the conventional component fastening assembly, it has been required to fasten the side cover 1 to the bracket 49 by the screw 50 and then to carry out an operation of fastening the first bracket 2 to the automobile body. However, in the component fastening assembly according to the present invention, it is not required to specify the sequence of the operation of driving the screw 19 in the screw grommet 17 and the operation of driving the screw 50 in the bracket 49.
In the component fastening assembly according to the present invention, before the side cover 1 is attached, the screw grommet 17 is pushed out rightward in Figs. 12 and 13 by the spring piece 37 having its end in contact with the wall 29. Thus, for example, when the side cover 1 is slid leftward along the automobile body 3 and located at a position to be mounted, the right-side end of the spring-biased grommet body 31 is brought into contact with the mounting portion 35 of the first bracket 2. This allows the screw grommet 17 to be positioned precisely to the first bracket 2 simply by sliding the side cover leftward. Fig. 15 shows a disadvantage caused when the screw grommet has no spring piece and the second bracket has no wall. Since the screw grommet has no spring bias rightward, the screw grommet can get away from the first bracket 2, and thereby the screw 19 is hardly screwed therein. Particularly, at a narrow place in an automobile where an operator is' limited to access it only in the direction of the arrow 51 in Fig. 12, it is extremely difficult to drive the screw in the condition as shown in Fig. 15. In contrast, in the component fastening assembly according to the present invention, when the side cover 1 is slid leftward along the automobile body 3 and located at the position to be mounted, the right-side end of the spring-biased grommet body 31 is reliably brought into contact with the mounting portion 35 of the first bracket 2. Thus, even at the narrow place in the automobile where the operator is limited to access the screw 19 only in the direction of the arrow 51 in Fig. 12, the screw 19 can be screwed in the screw grommet 17 reliably and readily. Further, in a reference position of the side cover 1 shown by the line 53 in Fig. 12, the screw grommet 17 is slidably connected to the second bracket 15, and thereby the mounting position can be adjusted by the length 55. Thus, the side cover 1 can be adjustably mounted at an appropriate position with respect to the automobile body.
According to the present invention, the screw grommet can be readily connected to the second bracket by the sliding operation, and the screw grommet is mounted to the second bracket movably in the sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. Thus, the attachment component such as a cover fixed to the first bracket can be adjustably fastened. Further, the screw grommet is always pushed out toward the mounting portion of the first bracket without dropping. This allows the hole of the mounting portion of the first bracket to be readily aligned with the screw receiving hole of the screw grommet only by moving the attachment component such as a cover along the sliding direction, and thereby the screwing operation can be carried out reliably and readily. In this manner, the present invention provides a component fastening assembly capable of readily positioning the screw as the fastener, of eliminating the need for the operation of inserting the bolt into the bracket hole to facilitate the operation of positioning and moving the cover or the like, and of minimizing looseness in connection to suppress occurrences of rust and noise without any restriction in fastening sequence, even if an operator is limited to access the screw only in one direction to rotate a fastener such as a screw. Further, the present invention provides the improved component fastener forming the component fastening assembly by the second bracket and the screw grommet, and provides the improved screw grommet.

Claims

CLAIMS I claim:
1. A component fastening assembly for fastening an attachment component such as a cover to a workpiece such as an automobile body by using a screw such as a tapping screw, said component fastening assembly comprising: a first bracket fixed to said attachment component; a second bracket mounted on said workpiece; and a screw grommet slidably connected to said second bracket for receiving the screw which extends through said first bracket, and wherein said screw grommet is formed in one piece of synthetic resin, and said screw grommet includes a grommet body extending in its sliding direction from one end thereof facing to a mounting portion of said first bracket to allow said screw to be screwed therein and having therein a screw receiving hole which has an opening at said one end facing to said mounting portion of said first bracket and extends in said sliding direction; a spring piece located at the other end of said grommet body on the opposite side of said one end to bias the grommet body to push said opened end of the grommet body toward said first bracket; and an anti- dropping piece to engage with said second bracket to prevent said screw grommet from dropping out of said second bracket due to the biasing force of said spring piece.
2. An assembly as defined in claim 1 , wherein said second bracket is formed with a pair of guide rails extending longitudinally in said sliding direction, and said grommet body is formed with a pair of guide grooves extending longitudinally in said sliding direction and fitting into said guide rails, whereby said screw grommet can be connected to said second bracket movably in said sliding direction but immovably in the direction perpendicular to said sliding direction.
3. An assembly as defined in claim 2, wherein said pair of guide rails of said second bracket are formed by providing an elongated hole in said second bracket, said elongate hole extending in said sliding direction from said one end adjacent to said first bracket and being closed at said other end, said elongated hole including an inlet portion formed in a tapered opening of a greater width than the distance between said guide rails, whereby said screw grommet can be connected to said second bracket by positioning said guide grooves on said guide rails and sliding said screw grommet from said tapered opening along said guide rails.
4. An assembly as defined in claim 3, wherein said second bracket is formed with a wall facing to said spring piece of said screw grommet to receive the end of said spring piece.
5. An assembly as defined in claim 4, wherein said second bracket includes a base portion formed with a hole facing to said anti-dropping piece of said screw grommet to receive the end of said anti-dropping piece, whereby said end of said anti-dropping piece can be engaged with the edge of said hole to prevent said screw grommet from dropping out of said second bracket.
6. A component fastener for fastening an attachment component such as a cover to a workpiece such as an automobile body by using a screw such as a tapping screw, said component fastener comprising: a workpiece bracket mounted on said workpiece; and a screw grommet slidably connected to said bracket, and wherein said screw grommet is formed in one piece of synthetic resin, and said screw grommet includes a grommet body extending in its sliding direction from one end thereof to allow the screw to be screwed therein and having therein a screw receiving hole which has an opening at said one end and extends in said sliding direction; a spring piece located at the other end of said grommet body on the opposite side of said one end of said grommet body; and an anti-dropping piece to engage with said workpiece bracket to prevent said screw grommet from dropping out of said workpiece bracket due to the biasing force of said spring piece.
7. A screw grommet for fastening an attachment component such as a cover, which has a first bracket attached thereto, to a workpiece such as an automobile body by using a screw such as a tapping screw, wherein said screw grommet is formed in one piece of synthetic resin and is adapted to be slidably connected to a second bracket which is mounted on the workpiece, and said screw grommet includes a grommet body extending in its sliding direction from one end thereof facing to a mounting portion of said first bracket to allow the screw to be screwed therein and having therein a screw receiving hole which has an opening at said one end facing to said mounting portion of said first bracket and extends in said sliding direction; a spring piece located at the other end of said grommet body on the opposite side of said one end having said opening; and an anti-dropping piece to engage with said second bracket to prevent said screw grommet from dropping out of said second bracket due to the biasing force of said spring piece.
EP02719183A 2001-03-12 2002-03-11 Component fastening assembly, component fastener and screw grommet Withdrawn EP1368569A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2001068066A JP4408583B2 (en) 2001-03-12 2001-03-12 Part fixing device, part fixing tool, and screw grommet
JP2001068066 2001-03-12
PCT/US2002/007240 WO2002073044A1 (en) 2001-03-12 2002-03-11 Component fastening assembly, component fastener and screw grommet

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EP1368569A1 true EP1368569A1 (en) 2003-12-10

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JP (1) JP4408583B2 (en)
CN (1) CN1283928C (en)
WO (1) WO2002073044A1 (en)

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DE102014215385A1 (en) * 2014-08-05 2016-02-11 Mahle International Gmbh Arrangement for fall protection for a bottom-side cover of a rail vehicle

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US3490509A (en) * 1967-11-14 1970-01-20 Electric Regulator Corp Captive nut assembly
IT1222016B (en) * 1987-07-13 1990-08-31 Videoplastic Spa SELF-ADJUSTABLE DEVICE FOR THE MUTUAL LOCKING OF TWO BODIES, IN WHICH THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE ANCHORING BRIDGES OF ONE BODY TO THE OTHER CAN BE VARIABLE

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See references of WO02073044A1 *

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JP4408583B2 (en) 2010-02-03
CN1283928C (en) 2006-11-08
CN1496450A (en) 2004-05-12
JP2002266820A (en) 2002-09-18
WO2002073044A1 (en) 2002-09-19

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