FR2631662A1 - ORGAN ARRANGEMENT FOR CONNECTING A TORQUE OF MECHANICAL ELEMENTS TO A SUPPORT ELEMENT - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a set of members for connecting a pair of mechanical elements to a support element. The assembly comprises first connecting members 5 which can interconnect a first 1 and a second 2 mechanical elements and each comprising a threaded rod 6 which can be screwed into a corresponding threaded hole 7 of the second element and at least one pair of lugs 8 which can be elastically deformed, and provided with teeth 9 which can pass through a corresponding hole 19 made in the first element and hook onto a surface 10 of the element. The assembly further comprises second connecting members 13 which can connect the first and second elements to a support element 4, each of them comprising a threaded rod 14 which can be screwed into a threaded hole 15 of the element and pass through corresponding holes 16, 17 formed in the first and second elements, as well as a head 18 able to press on the first element.

Description

1i t52631662

  ORGAN ASSEMBLY FOR CONNECTING A COUPLE

  MECHANICAL ELEMENTS TO A SUPPORT ELEMENT

  The present invention relates to a set of members adapted to achieve the connection of a first mechanical element and a second mechanical element and their connection with a support element, in particular for the assembly of a lid and a body constituting a fuel supply device connected to a collector

  suction of an internal combustion engine.

  In many devices and machines there are mechanical groups substantially comprising a first and a second element, which elements must be interconnected to form a group, which in turn must be attached to a support element, for example a plate or to a frame; in this case, to connect the two elements above, and to form the group mentioned before, screws are normally used whose threaded rods pass through a hole in one of the elements and screw into a corresponding threaded hole in the other element; in addition, for the connection of the group to the element or to the support plate, other screws are used whose rods pass through holes formed in each of the elements of the group in order to screw themselves into corresponding threaded holes provided in

the support element.

  The assembly of members for making the above connection does not provide a connection that is reliable and in which the forcing pressures, which were imposed at the time of assembly by screwing the screws mentioned above, are preserved whatever the

263 1,662

  operating conditions and throughout the entire

life of the device or machine.

  Indeed, when making the connection between the first and the second elements to form the group described above, the first screws give rise to forcing pressures exchanged between the elements themselves, which forces maintain the screws in their position correct screwing. But, when the group is subsequently mounted on the support member, the axial force exerted by the second screws which completely pass through the holes of the first and second elements tend to modify the forcing pressures above which had been obtained between the two elements of the group: it follows that, under these conditions, it can easily happen spontaneous unscrewing of the first screws and the loss thereof. This disadvantage is particularly clear if the mechanical group

  constituted by the two elements mentioned above.

  above must work in conditions of high thermal variations, especially if external temperatures are reached within a very short time; this condition is further aggravated by the vibrations to which the device may be subjected, if it is connected to a mechanical group source of vibration, such as an endothermic motor. Obviously, these conditions determine elongations of the rods of the first screws and therefore a significant reduction of the forcing pressures. This disadvantage occurs especially when the mechanical group consists of a cover and a fuel supply device body to an internal combustion engine: in this case, the disadvantage mentioned above can cause serious disadvantages, until the threads of the screws are worn. In addition, to achieve the connection using the two sets of screws mentioned above, there may be other disadvantages during assembly: in particular, it is difficult to exactly center the first element relative to the second in the absence of centering elements, when one wants to introduce the first screws into the holes of the element itself and then screw them into the threaded holes of the other element; if these screws are not inserted into the tapped holes, they can fall easily - and, as a result, make it long and difficult.

assembly of the group.

  The object of the present invention is to provide a set of connecting members of a first mechanical element to a second mechanical element, which also allows their connection to a support element, and by which it is possible to eliminate the disadvantages encountered when these connecting members are constituted by two sets of screws. These objectives are therefore achieved through a set of members of this type, intended in particular for the connection of a cover and a body constituting a fuel supply device to the suction manifold of an engine, characterized in that it comprises first connecting members which can interconnect said first and second elements, each of them comprising a rod which can be fixed to said second element and at least one pair of pins which can be elastically deformed, protruding from said rod axially and provided with teeth that can pass through a corresponding hole in said first element and hook on a surface of the element itself; the assembly further comprises second connecting members being able to connect said first and second members to said support member, each of them comprising a rod attachable to said support member and able to pass through the corresponding holes in said first member; and second elements, and a bearing surface

  press on said first element.

  * The purpose of the present invention

  will appear more clearly from the description

  example given with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figures 1 and 2 show side views of a first connecting element of the assembly shown in two different configurations; - Figure 3 shows a top view of the connecting element shown in Figure 1; - Figures 4, 5 and 6 show sections of two mechanical elements that can be connected through the object of the invention during successive phases of realization of the connection; FIG. 7 represents a perspective of a mechanical group attached to a support plate, the two elements of the mechanical group having been connected to this behind thanks to the set of organs that is the subject of this invention, as well as equipment

  allowing the dismantling of the elements themselves.

  Referring essentially to FIG. 6, the assembly of the connecting members according to the invention makes it possible to effect the connection between a first and a second mechanical element 1 and 2 so as to obtain a group designated as a whole by 3 in which the first element is mechanically connected to the second, and then fix this group to a support element 4. The

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  elements 1 and 2 of group 3 may very well consist of a cover and a body of a feed device of an internal combustion engine, which must be connected to a support plate 4 forming part of the block of the motor. According to the invention, the assembly comprises first connecting members. 5 being able to interconnect the first and second elements 1 and 2, each of them comprising a threaded rod 6 that can be screwed into a corresponding threaded hole 7 of the element 2 and at least one pair of lugs 8, which can be elastically deformed, protruding axially from the rod and provided with teeth 9 which can hook on the upper surface 10 of the element 1; each tooth has an active surface 11 that can support

on the surface 10.

  To connect each connecting member 5 to the element 2, different modes from those indicated may be provided; thus, the rod 6 could be coupled to the hole 7 by a forced connection, or could be inserted into the hole itself by interposing between it and the hole a layer of glue; or this rod could be blocked in the corresponding hole by plastic deformation of the same material of which it is made or by plastic deformation of the part of

element 2 surrounding it.

  The assembly further comprises second connecting members designated by 13, which can connect the first and second elements 1 and 2 to the support member 4; each of them substantially comprises a threaded rod 14 which can be screwed into a corresponding threaded hole 15 of the element 4 and pass through corresponding holes 16 and 17 of the first and second

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  second elements, and a head 18 can press the element 1. The connecting members 13 are advantageously simply screws, as shown in the embodiments of the figures. The connecting members 13 may be different from those described and, instead, consist of screw threaded rod which can be screwed into the element 4 and on which can be

screwed threaded nuts.

  The lugs 8 of each connecting member 5 pass through a hole 19 formed in the element 1, as clearly shown in FIG. 1. The hole 19 has dimensions substantially greater than the external dimensions of the lugs 8, so as to leave between the first and the second predefined radial clearance, clearly visible in Figure 1. In addition, each connecting member 5 comprises an annular projection 20 disposed between the rod 6 and the lugs 8 and can press on a bearing surface 21 of the element. 2; this projection may also be used for centering a liner interposed between the elements 1 and 2. A cylindrical surface portion 22 is advantageously coupled with a corresponding cylindrical surface portion 23 of the hole 19, while between the remaining surfaces of the projection 20 and those of the corresponding hole 19 is formed a radial clearance, as clearly shown in FIG.

1.

  Each of the lugs 8 is delimited externally by a cylindrical surface portion 23 and internally by a flat surface 24; in addition, each of the teeth 9 is delimited externally by a conical surface portion 26 63 6'62 and, therefore, between the two lugs 8 is located

  an empty space 26 with predetermined dimensions.

  The set of members for the connection object of the invention is used as follows: The connecting members 5 are fixed on the element 2 by screwing the rod 6 in the corresponding threaded holes 7; then, the group 3 can be formed in the manner shown in Figure 4: the element 1 is disposed on top of the element 2 so that the holes 19 of the first element are positioned substantially coaxially with respect to axes of the connecting members 5; then, the element 1 'is pushed towards the element 2 so that the lugs 8 fit into the holes 19. During this operation, because of the presence of the conical surface portions of the teeth 9, the lugs are inflected elastically inward of the empty space 26 so as to allow the passage of the teeth through the holes 19. When the teeth come out of the holes mentioned above, they can elastically relax, so that the The active surface 11 of the teeth bears substantially on the surface 10 which delimits the element 1 upwards. Once this configuration shown in the figure is obtained, the two elements 1 and 2 are connected together to form the group 3: indeed, the presence of the teeth 9 whose surfaces 11 bear against the surface 10 of the element 1 prevents it from being separated from the other element. Once the editing is done, we can see a little play between the surfaces of the elements 1 and 2 coupled together; if this game were to be eliminated, we can insert a layer of elastic material

  and can be deformed between these elements.

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  The group thus obtained can then be fixed to the support element 4 by means of the connecting members 13: these can be inserted inside the holes 16 and 17 of the elements 1 and 2 until their threaded rod 14 can be screwed into the corresponding threaded holes 15 of the support element 4; the final link thus obtained is represented in

figure 6.

  If we must remove the group 3 of the element 4, and then separate the element 1 from the element 2, simply unscrew the connecting members 13 so as to separate the group 3 of the element 4 and deform then elastically the lugs 8 towards the empty space 26 according to the procedure shown in Figure 2: to do this, one can advantageously use a tool such as that designated by the reference 27 in Figure 2 having substantially a part of conical surface 28 engageable with the conical surface portions 25 of the lugs 8; by exerting an axial force adapted with this tool 27, the surfaces 28, cooperating with the surfaces 25, cause a deflection of the lugs, and thus detach the active surfaces 11 of the teeth 9 of the bearing surfaces 10 of the element 2; in this way, the teeth, once deformed, can pass through the hole 19 of the element 1 and the latter can be easily separated from

the other element 2.

  The tools 27 may optionally be interconnected by means of a handle 29, as shown in FIG. 7, in which only two connecting members 5 are provided, and the lugs 8 may be deformed simultaneously, in the manner described in FIG. indicated above, via a pair of tools 27 connected to the

sleeve 29.

  It is therefore obvious that with the set of connecting members of the invention, the disadvantages previously encountered, when these organs were simply constituted by screws, are eliminated. Indeed, above all, the traction exerted on the screws 13 fixing the group 3 to the support member 4 does not alter the conditions of the connection between the elements 1 and 2 obtained thanks to the connecting members 5; therefore, regardless of the axial forcing made with the screws 13, and whatever the expansions of the various parts (elements 1 and 2 and connecting members 5 and 13) which are created during operation, the connecting members 5 do not spontaneously separate elements 1 and 2. In addition, during the phases of assembly and disassembly of the elements 1 and 2, the connecting members 5 remain permanently attached to the element 2 and can therefore not accidentally fall, to the difference of what happens when this connection is made by screws. In addition, the operations necessary for the connection of the element 1 to the element 2 and their separation do not require precise centering between the parts and can be performed with extreme ease. Finally, because of the presence of the cylindrical surface portion 22, which cooperates with the corresponding cylindrical surface portion 23 of the holes 19, a rigorous centering of the element 1 relative to the element 2

is obtained.

  The connecting elements 5 can advantageously be made of plastic materials by using injection molding technologies, thus allowing a

inexpensive production.

  Even if, in the case of the embodiment described above, all the connecting members 5 and 13 have been used to fix two generic elements between them and the group thus obtained to a support element 4, it is obvious that these same members can be advantageously used to connect together parts of a fuel supply device to an internal combustion engine, for example parts of a carburettor or other fuel supply device, and to connect

  this one to a motor support frame.

  Changes and changes may be made to the shape and layout of the different parts of the elements and

  described herein without departing from the object of the invention.

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Claims (7)

  1. Assembly of members for connecting a first mechanical element (1) to a second mechanical element (2) and for connecting these two elements to a support element (4), in particular for the connection of a lid to a body of a fuel supply device of an internal combustion engine and for the connection of these two elements to a support plate, characterized in that it comprises first connecting members (5) capable of interconnecting said first and second elements, each of them comprising a rod (6) which can be fixed to said second element and at least one pair of pins (8) which can be elastically deformed = axially projecting said rod and provided with teeth (9) being able to pass through a corresponding hole (19) formed in said first element and hook to a surface (10) of this element, second connecting members (13) being able to connect said first and second elements to said support member, each of which comprises a rod (14) attachable to said support member and capable of passing through corresponding holes (16, 17) in said first and second members, and a surface   which can press on said first element.   2. An assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said rod (6) of said first connecting members is threaded and can be screwed into a corresponding threaded hole (7). said second element.   3. Assembly according to one of claims 1 or 2,   characterized in that said rod (14) of said second connecting members is threaded and can be screwed into a threaded hole (15) of said element 2 631662   of support, said support surface being provided   on a head (18) of the connecting member itself.   4. Assembly according to one of the claims   preceding, characterized in that each of said first connecting members (5) comprises an annular projection (20) placed between said rod and said lugs and being able to press on a surface   bearing (21) of said second element.   5. Assembly according to one of the claims   preceding, characterized in that each of said lugs is delimited externally by a cylindrical surface portion (23) and internally by a flat surface (24), each of said teeth being delimited by a conical surface portion (25) and by an active surface (11) substantially flat.   6. Assembly according to one of the claims   prior art, characterized in that said annular projection (20) of said first link members comprises a cylindrical surface portion (22) couplable with a cylindrical surface portion (23) of the corresponding hole (19) of said first member, a radial clearance predetermined position being provided between the other cylindrical surface portions of said first connecting members and the corresponding cylindrical surface portion of the hole (19) itself.   7. Assembly of members for connecting a first mechanical element to a second mechanical element and for their connection to a support element.