FR2885634A1 - Temporary plastic fastener for opening panel of motor vehicle e.g. door has elastic tongue connected to base plate by arch to ensure flexibility - Google Patents

Abstract

The fastener (10) consists of a plastic body (11) with a captive screw (17) for attaching to a threaded hole in a fixed vehicle body component, a stop that interacts with the edge of a door lock cavity, and a retaining member in the shape of a flexible elastic tongue (19). At the base of the tongue the body has a plate (20) located over a gap, with an arch (21) connecting the plate to the tongue to provide a flexible coupling. The arch extends from the middle of the tongue to the free end of the plate, with the tongue and plate forming an acute angle.

Description

The present invention relates to a temporary closure device

  an element opening on a fixed element of a bodywork of a motor vehicle.

  The production lines of motor vehicles 5 comprise paint lines of the bodies which are provided with openings and in particular doors.

  These doors are not yet equipped with closing devices or locks and it is therefore necessary to provide temporary and removable closure devices that can maintain the opening in the closed position on the body during its transfer to the line paint.

  Until now, the temporary closure devices are mounted in place of the final lock by means of fasteners, such as for example screws.

  These devices are constituted by metal parts that have a service life at least equal to the manufacturing time of the vehicles on which they are used. The metal parts may damage the body and / or paint during installation or removal and they must regularly undergo various cleaning treatments whose frequency depends on the speed of fouling at each passage in the paint lines.

  After cleaning, the temporary closure devices 25 must undergo a reconditioning operation on a control template.

  In addition, the transfer of devices between the paint lines and the cleaning center requires transport infrastructure and significant investments.

  Also known is a device for temporarily closing an element opening on a fixed element, as illustrated in the document EP 931 895 B1, solving the above drawbacks, simple and economical design, requiring no fastener which allows greater ease and greater speed of installation and removal of the device.

  However, the device according to EP 931 895 BI has the disadvantage of having a tab constituting a means for retaining the opening element which is subject to high stresses and deformations when closing the opening element on the element. fixed. The effort to overcome during this closure is important. In addition, the radius of curvature of said tongue can cause splinters of paint covering the device, which can be particularly troublesome impurities for the subsequent application of paint on the vehicle body.

  The device according to the invention therefore aims to overcome the above drawbacks by proposing a device for temporarily closing an element opening on a fixed element of a bodywork of a motor vehicle, said opening element comprising a housing for receiving a lock and said fixed element comprising at least one tapped hole for fastening a striker, the device comprising a plastic body provided with mounting means in said threaded orifice and having, at a first end, a stop intended to cooperate with a first flange of the housing when closing the opening element and, at a second end, a means for retaining said opening element in its closed position against the fixed element, and intended to penetrate inside the housing behind a second rim of said housing, the retaining means being formed by an elastic tongue able to flex under the stress of the s econd rim when the opening member is moved from its free position to its closed position, the body being extended in its zone corresponding substantially to the base of the tongue by a plate suspended above a recessed area, the plate and the tongue being connected by an arch ensuring a flexible connection.

  According to other characteristics of the device according to the invention: the boom is connected to the tongue substantially in its middle, and to the plate substantially at its free end, the plate is turned in a direction opposite to the first end of the device, - the tongue and the plate form an acute angle, - the tongue (19), the plate (20) and the arch (21) are integral with the body (11) of the device, lo other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the description which follows and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of the inner face of an opening member to be maintained in the closed position by the temporary closure device; FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a fixed element of a bodywork intended to receive the temporary closure device; FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C; are respectively front, side and perspective views of the temporary closure device according to the invention, - Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the temporary closure device according to the invention, mounted on the fixed element.

  - Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of the temporary closure device according to the invention against which the opening element is disposed in abutment, the opening element being thus in the closed position, - Figures 6A, 6B and 6C are sectional views along the section line AA shown in FIG. 3A, illustrating the sequence of operations during closing of the opening member on the fixed member.

  - Figures 7A and 7B are perspective views of the temporary closure device according to the invention on which is mounted a spacer means for keeping the door away from the device.

  In the figures, there is shown a temporary closure device 10 of an opening element 1 on a fixed element 5 of a body of a motor vehicle.

  In fact, the production lines of motor vehicles comprise in particular paint lines of the bodies which are provided with the opening elements, such as for example doors.

  These opening elements are not yet equipped with closing devices or locks and it is therefore necessary to provide temporary and removable closure devices that keep the opening elements in the closed position on the body.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the opening element 1 which is constituted in the embodiment represented by a door comprises a housing 2 intended to receive a lock.

  The housing 2 is formed by a cut made on the inner face of the opening element 1 and comprises in particular a flange 3 extending perpendicularly to the plane of the opening element 1 and a flange 4 extending parallel to the plane of said opening element 1.

  These flanges 3 and 4 are intended to cooperate with the temporary closure device 10, as will be seen later. As shown in Figure 2, the fixed element on which the opening member 1 is intended to be applied in the closed position, comprises at least one threaded orifice 6 for receiving a keeper.

  In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the fixed element 5 comprises two tapped and parallel orifices 6.

  In addition, the fixed element 5 comprises in the axis of each threaded orifice 6 a recess 7.

  In general, the temporary closure device 10 shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C comprises a plastic body 11 provided with mounting means in the threaded orifices 6 and having, at a first end 11a, a stop 18 intended to cooperate with the flange 3 of the housing 2 during the closing of the opening element 1 and, at a second end 11b, disposed above the body of the device, a means for retaining the opening element 1 in its closing position against the fixed element and intended to penetrate inside the housing 2 behind the rim 4.

  The body 11 comprises below its lower face a plate 12 extending on either side of the body 11 and perpendicular to the body 11, thus forming lateral wings for fixing the device 10 on the fixed element 5.

  In this embodiment, the mounting means of the temporary closure device 10 on the fixed element 5 comprise fasteners formed, on the one hand, by a pin 13 disposed below the plate 12, and on secondly by a screw 17 integral with the body of the device and connected thereto by lugs (captive screw). The screw 17 is essentially located above the plate 12, ready to be screwed and to pass through the plane of said plate 12. The pin 13 and the screw 17 are arranged substantially parallel, each on a corresponding flange of the plate 12 and separated by the body 11.

  The pin 13 and the screw may be arranged at the ends of the lateral wings of the plate 12.

  The pin 13 has at its free end a centering cone 15 in the corresponding threaded hole 6, or a rounded surface having the same effect. Similarly, the screw 17 comprises at its tip a centering cone or a rounded surface for the same purpose.

  The mounting means also comprise interlocking members in the recesses 7 and which consist of two shoulders 16 each disposed below the plate 12 in the corresponding axis of the pin 13 and the screw 17.

  The pin 13 has a smooth guide surface and a cavity 14 allowing the passage of a tool, such as a spacer means 30, for holding the opening member 1 away from the device 10 (Figures 7A and 7B). The pin 13 may be either completely cylindrical or half cylindrical as shown in FIG. 3B.

  The end 11a of the device has a substantially rounded shape, extending over the height of the body 11, so as to constitute a guide means of the flange 3 of the housing 2 which straddles the body 11 when closing the opening element 1.

  In addition, the stop 18 of the device 10 comprises a shock absorption means due to contact with the first rim 3 of the opening element 1 when it is closed on the fixed element 5.

  This means is constituted by a portion of material suspended relative to the body 11 of the device 10, so as to be able to locally deform and use the elastic properties of the material. In the embodiment described, an opening 11d is formed in the body 11 of the device 10 passing right through it. Thus the stop 18 is formed by the center of the suspended portion.

  The means for retaining the opening element 1 on the fixed element 5 is formed by a substantially flat elastic tongue 19 extending above the body 11 at an inclination of the order of 15 and 30 with respect to the vertical plane. defined by the axes of the pin 13 and the screw 17 (Figure 3B). The inclination of the tongue is defined in the direction opposite to the first end 11a of the device 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C, tongue 19 has a flat extension 19a, perpendicular to the plane of the tongue 19, turned towards the first end 11a, that is to say on the opposite side to the closing direction of the opening element (1). The extension 19a cooperates in contact with its edge 19b with the second flange 4 of the housing 2, during the displacement of the opening element 1 from its free position to its closed position.

  Note that the extension 19a may have the general shape of a triangle whose one side forms a ramp away from the tongue 19 as one progresses from the end to the base of said tongue 19. This ramp is intended to come into contact with the second rim 4 of the opening element during the displacement of the opening element of its free position, so that the contact area is reduced to the maximum.

  This instantaneous contact zone, during the displacement of the opening element 1 is almost point-like, which facilitates the sliding of the flange 4 and starts as little paint as possible when the device 10 is already covered with paint and is again brought into contact with the opening element 1 when the latter is closed again.

  Reminder means are also provided between the tongue 19 and the body 11 of the device so as to assist the tongue 19 in the return to its initial position after being urged 3o deformation under the constraint of the opening element 1. The body 11 of the device 10 is extended in its area corresponding substantially to the base of the tongue 19, by a plate 20, parallel to the plate 12, suspended above a recessed area.

  This plate 20 constitutes a secondary tongue intended to take up part of the stresses and the deformation of the tongue 19. To do this, as illustrated in FIG. 3B, the tongue 19 and the plate 20 are connected by an arch 21 providing a connection flexible. The arch 21 is connected to the tongue 19 in the middle, and the plate 20 at its free end. The flexion of the tongue 19 is as limited as the stresses and the deformation are distributed over various parts of the device 10.

  Before the passage through the paint line of the bodywork on which the opening elements 1 have been previously mounted, the fixed elements 5 of this bodywork intended to receive the opening elements 1 when they are closed, are each equipped with a locking device. provisional closure 10.

  For this, the operator engages the centering cones 15 of the pin 13 in the threaded hole 6 corresponding to the fixed element 5 and exerts a pressure on the body 11 so that, on the one hand, the pin 13 penetrates in a threaded orifice 6 and, on the other hand, each shoulder 16 fits into a recess 7 formed on the fixed element 5.

  Preferably, the recesses 7 have a square shape and the shoulders 16 have a cylindrical shape.

  The body 11 is applied to the fixed element 5 so that the lower face 11c of this body II comes into contact with the fixed element 5, as shown in FIG. 4.

  The operator first engages the pin 13 in the corresponding tapped hole 6 and then this operator screws the screw 17 in the other tapped hole 6.

  In addition, as can be seen in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the lower surface 11c of the plate 12 can be equipped with small studs intended to provide a slight space between the plate 12 and the corresponding bearing surface of the fixed element. 1. This space makes it possible to facilitate the flow of liquid (surface treatment and anticorrosion) and to avoid sticking, in anticipation of the dismantling of the device 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C, during the closure of the opening element 1 made manually or automatically, in the direction of movement of the arrow D (FIG. 6A), the rim 3 of the housing 2 formed in this element opening 1 progressively comes into contact with the abutment of the end 11a of the device 10 by overlapping the body of the latter, which thus ensures an automatic adjustment of the body 11 relative to the housing 2.

  Then, continuing to exert a thrust on the opening element 1, the flange 4 of the housing 2 bends the tongue 19, so that this flange 4 passes behind said tongue 19, as shown in Figure 6.

  In addition, the flange 3 of the housing 2 abuts against the surface of the end 11a (Figure 6B).

  Then, the tab 19 resumes its initial position thanks to its elasticity and ensures the locking of the rim 4 and consequently of the opening element 1.

  To increase the locking force of the opening element 1 on the fixed element 5 by the temporary closure device 10, it is sufficient to increase the width of the elastic tongue 19.

  When opening the opening element 1 which can be carried out manually or automatically, the elastic tongue 19 bends in the opposite direction so as to allow the flange 4 to pass, thereby opening the opening element 1.

  To remove the temporary closure device 10 from the fixed element 5, the operator first unscrews the screw 17 and then exerts a pull on the body 11 so as to release the pin 13 from the threaded orifice 6.

  The temporary closure device according to the invention avoids any deterioration of the paint and / or body during its installation or removal.

Claims (5)

  1. Device for temporarily closing an opening element (1) on a fixed element (5) of a bodywork of a motor vehicle, said opening element (1) comprising a housing (2) intended to receive a lock and said fixed element (5) comprising at least one threaded hole (6) for fixing a striker, the device comprising a body (11) of plastic material provided with means (13; 16; 17) for mounting in said threaded orifice (6 ) and having, at a first end (11a), a stop (18) intended to cooperate with a first flange (3) of the housing (2) during closing of the opening element (1) and at a second end (11b), a retaining means (19) of said opening element (1) in its closed position against the fixed element (5), and intended to penetrate inside the housing (2) behind a second flange (4). ) of said housing (2), the retaining means being formed by an elastic tongue (19) able to flex under the stress of second flange (4) when the opening element (1) is moved from its free position to its closed position, characterized in that the body (11) is extended in its zone substantially corresponding to the base of the tongue (19) by a plate (20) suspended above a recessed area, the plate (20) and the tongue (19) being connected by an arch (21) providing a flexible connection.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the arch (21) is connected to the tongue (19) substantially in its middle, and the plate (20) substantially at its free end.   3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the plate (20) is rotated in a direction opposite to the first end (11a) of the device (10).   4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tongue (19) and the plate (20) form an acute angle.   5. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tongue (19), the plate (20) and the arch (21) are integral with the body (11) of the device.