FR2786538A1 - Hose clip for motor vehicle has clip section and spigot which deforms during passage through opening in support - Google Patents

Abstract

The hose clip for a motor vehicle has a clip section (10) and a spigot (20) to be inserted into an opening (2) in the support (3). The spigot is partially elastic and is shaped so that it deforms and rotates when inserted into a standard opening. The spigot rotates back to a retaining position when it has passed through the opening.

Description

 The invention relates to a system for attaching any part, in particular a brake tube, to a support.

 Such a fastening system conventionally comprises a part retaining element, which is integral with a fixing element, the latter being intended to be inserted into an orifice or the like formed in the support.

 Such a fastening system is already known, the fastening element of which is constituted by elastically deformable V-shaped legs and connected to a central leg, this fastening element being able to be snapped into an orifice in the support.

 Indeed, when the legs are introduced into the orifice, by one of its sides, they approach one another and then they move apart when they come out on the other side of the orifice.

 This fastening system is easy to use but has the drawback of not being able to withstand a large tearing force.

 However, in certain applications, the parts are particularly stressed. This is for example the case of brake tubes which are fixed under the floor of a motor vehicle.

 This is why it is possible to use another fastening system comprising a relatively rigid fixing element, which is intended to be introduced into an orifice of the support and then turned a quarter of a turn for example, to lock it relative to the support. .

 Such a fastening system withstands well tearing forces, but a part can only be introduced into the retaining element after the fastening system has been placed on the support.

 However, for certain applications, it is useful for the part to be mounted in the retaining element, before the attachment system is put in place, and this in particular to facilitate the final mounting of the part on the support.

 A fastening system fixed by rotation on the support is therefore not usable.

 The object of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks by proposing a system for attaching any part to a support allowing the part to be mounted in the attachment system before the latter is fixed to the support, the system for fastener resistant to tearing forces, in use.

 The invention therefore relates to a system for attaching any part to a support comprising a retaining element for said part and a staple or the like intended to be inserted into an orifice passing through the support in order to secure said part on the support, characterized in that said clip is partly elastically deformable, its dimensions and its shape being such that it must be forced into said orifice, which causes it to deform in rotation, especially around the direction in which the orifice s extends in the support, in a direction inside the orifice, and a substantially identical rotational deformation and in an opposite direction, when the staple passes on the other side of the orifice, so that the clip is locked against the support, being able to resist a tearing force.

 In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the external parts of the staple, intended to come into contact with the walls of the orifice when the staple is introduced, are relatively rigid and define a plane which is inclined relative to the direction in which the orifice extends on the support, when the clip is blocked on the support.

 This inclination is advantageously around 15.

 Preferably, the clip comprises an elastically deformable and torsion-resistant central foot, to which are fixed two relatively rigid tabs which extend on either side of said foot.

 The foot of the clip is advantageously connected to the retaining element of said part.

 Preferably, a free space is provided between the retaining element and said tabs, so that the free end of the latter comes to bear against the support to block the clip on the latter.

 In an alternative embodiment, each tab has a shoulder which hooks the clip onto the support.

 Preferably, the two legs extend substantially parallel to said foot.

 In a preferred embodiment, the retaining element consists of a collar capable of receiving and holding a tube, in particular a brake tube.

 The fastening system according to the invention advantageously comprises an elastically deformable wall, between said retaining element and said clip, intended to come to bear on a face of the support, opposite to that on which the clip itself comes to bear. , after its introduction into the orifice.

The invention will be better understood and other objects, advantages and characteristics thereof will appear more clearly on reading the following description of nonlimiting examples of embodiment of the invention and which is given with reference to the accompanying drawings , on which ones :
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a fastening system according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view from below of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the attachment system of FIGS. 1 and 2 at the start of its introduction into an orifice made in a support;
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the attachment system of FIG. 3 being introduced into the orifice of the support;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the attachment system shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, after its complete introduction into the orifice of the support; and
FIG. 6 is a bottom view of FIG. 5.

 The elements common to the different figures will be designated by the same references.

 First of all, reference is made to FIG. 1 which illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a system 1 according to the invention intended to fix any piece on a support.

 This attachment system essentially comprises a retaining element 10 and a clip or the like 20.

 It is in the retaining element 10 that the part intended to be fixed in a support is placed (not shown).

 In the example illustrated in the figures, this retaining element 10 is in the form of a collar comprising two parts 11 and 12, preferably connected by a hinge 13.

 Each of its parts 11 and 12 therefore has the shape of a half cylinder and the retaining element 10 is more particularly intended for a part having the shape of a tube.

 At their end opposite to the articulation 13, each of the parts 11 and 12 comprises an element 14 and 15, these two elements cooperating with each other to ensure the closure of the retaining element 10.

 In this particular embodiment, the element 15 consists of a recess and the element 14 of a flexible tab which can snap into the recess 15.

 The clip 20 or the like comprises a central leg 21 which is connected to the retaining element 10 via a wall 30 whose function will be explained later.

 The foot 21 is made of an elastically deformable and torsion-resistant material.

 On this central foot 21 are fixed two outer parts in the form of legs which have the function of hanging the attachment system 1 on a support.

 These two tabs 22 and 23 are made of a relatively rigid material. They are interconnected by an end element 26 which is also made of a relatively rigid material.

 As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the two legs 22 and 23 define a plane which is inclined relative to the plane in which the retaining element 10 extends.

 Near their end face 24,25, each tab 22,23 has a shoulder 22a, 23a, in this exemplary embodiment.

 We now refer to FIG. 3 which shows the attachment system 1 at the start of its insertion into an orifice 2, formed in a support 3.

 This orifice 2 extends in the direction XX on the support and in the direction YY ′, inside the support 3.

 As shown in Figure 3, when the clip 20 is inserted into the orifice 2, given its thickness, the plane defined by the two legs 22,23 is inclined at an angle a with respect to the direction XX 'that the hole 2 extends on the support.

 This angle a corresponds to the angle formed by the plane defined by the lugs 22 and 23 with the plane of the retaining element 10.

 Furthermore, the width of the clip 21 at the two legs 22, 23 is greater than the width of the orifice 2 and the length of the clip 21 is less than the length of the orifice in the direction XX ' .

 Under these conditions, the clip 20 must be forced into the support. The lugs 22 and 23 of the clip 20 therefore come into contact with the walls of the orifice 2, which causes the deformation in rotation of the staple around the direction Y 'according to which the orifice extends in the support 3 , or around the central foot 21.

 FIG. 4 illustrates the clip 20 during its introduction into the orifice 2 made in the support 3. This figure shows that the deformation in rotation of the clip around the axis YY 'has the effect of placing the two tabs 22 and 23 in a plane passing through the direction XX ′ or even a plane parallel to that of the retaining element 10.

 Thanks to this deformation in rotation, the clip 20 and in particular its legs 22 and 23 can effectively penetrate into the orifice 3, the dimension of the orifice in the direction XX 'being greater than that in the inclined direction of the angle a relative to direction XX 'and to the length of the clip.

 FIG. 5 illustrates the attachment system 1 according to the invention after complete insertion of the clip into the orifice 2.

 In the example illustrated in the figures, the lugs 22 and 23 have shoulders 22a and 23b and it is therefore by these shoulders that the clip 20 comes to bear on the support 3. These shoulders also have a stop function.

 If such shoulders were not provided, the tabs 22 and 23 would come to bear on the support 3 at their end faces 24,25.

 FIG. 5 shows that, when the clip is completely inserted into the orifice 2, it undergoes a deformation in rotation substantially identical to that undergone by the clip when it is inserted into the orifice 2, and this in the opposite direction.

 Indeed, the elasticity of the central leg 21 causes the clip 20 to return to its initial position, that is to say before its insertion into the orifice, when the legs 22 and 23 no longer undergo stresses due to their contact with the walls of the orifice 2.

 This deformation in the opposite direction is also illustrated in FIG. 6 which is a bottom view of FIG. 5.

 This FIG. 6 shows that the clip 20 has resumed, relative to the orifice 2, the inclination which it exhibited at the very beginning of its introduction into the orifice as illustrated in FIG. 3.

 In this situation, the clip 20 is slightly oblique with respect to the direction XX 'according to which the orifice 2 extends in the support 3. Thus, everything happens as if we had printed a rotation at the clip 20, after its introduction into the orifice.

 Thanks to this inclination, the fastening system 1 according to the invention is fixed on the support 3 while being able to effectively resist tearing forces, like conventional staples which are rotated for example by a quarter turn.

 However, the fastening system according to the invention has a fundamental advantage over this type of clip. Indeed, with the fastening system according to the invention, the relative position of the retaining element 10 and the orifice 2 is the same at the beginning and at the end of the introduction of the fastening system 1 in orifice 2.

 The inclination of the clip 20 relative to the direction XX ′ in which the orifice 2 extends is due to deformations in rotation and in the opposite direction to the clip 20 and not to a rotation printed on the clip, after its insertion.

 Under these conditions, it is possible to mount in the retaining element 10 any piece, such as a tube, before any insertion of the clip 20 into an orifice of the support.

 FIG. 5 shows that, when the clip 20 is completely inserted into the orifice 2, the shoulders 22a and 23a coming into contact with one side of the support 3, the elastic wall 30 comes to bear on the other side of the support.

 This wall 30 contributes to the good retention of the fastening system 1 on the support 3 and this, for supports of different thickness.

 The invention is of course not limited to the various embodiments which have just been described and it includes all their technical equivalents, as well as their combinations if these fall within the scope of the claims.

 Finally, the reference signs inserted after the technical characteristics appearing in the claims are intended only to facilitate the understanding of the latter and should not limit their scope.

Claims (10)

 1. System for attaching any part, in particular a tube, to a support comprising a retaining element (10) of said part and a clip (20) or the like intended to be inserted in an orifice (2) passing through the support ( 3) to secure said part to the support, characterized in that said clip (20) is partially elastically deformable and its dimensions and shape being such that it must be forced into said orifice (2), which causes its deformation in rotation, in particular around the direction in which the orifice extends in the support, in a direction inside the orifice, and a substantially identical rotational deformation and in an opposite direction, when the staple passes on the other side of the orifice, so that the staple is locked against the support being able to resist a tearing force.  2. Fastening system according to claim 1, characterized in that the external parts of the clip, intended to come into contact with the walls of the orifice (2) during the introduction of the clip, are relatively rigid and define a plane which is inclined with respect to the direction in which the orifice extends on the support, when the clip is locked on the support.  3. Fastening system according to claim 2, characterized in that the inclination (a) of this plane is approximately 15.  4. Fastening system according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said clip (20) comprises a central foot (21) elastically deformable and resistant to torsion, to which are fixed two legs (22,23) relatively rigid which extend on either side of said foot.  5. Fastening system according to claim 4, characterized in that the foot (21) of the clip is connected to the retaining element (10).  6. fastening system according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that a free space is provided between the retaining element (10) and said tabs (22,23), so that the free end thereof ( 24.25) comes to bear against the support (3) to lock the clip (20) on the latter.  7. Fastening system according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that each tab (22,23) has a shoulder (22a, 23a) which hooks the clip (20) onto the support (3).  8. Fastening system according to one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that said tabs (22,23) extend substantially parallel to said foot (21).  9. Fastening system according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said retaining element (10) consists of a collar capable of receiving and holding a tube, in particular a brake tube.  10. Fastening system according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it comprises a wall (30) elastically deformable, between said retaining element (10) and said clip (20), this wall being intended to come bearing on a face of the support (3) opposite to that on which the clip (20) itself bears, after its introduction into said orifice (2).