GB2447538A

GB2447538A - Device for receiving a vehicle jack

Info

Publication number: GB2447538A
Application number: GB0802578A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Daniel Schneider
Original assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH
Current assignee: ITW Automotive Products GmbH
Priority date: 2007-03-13
Filing date: 2008-02-12
Publication date: 2008-09-17
Also published as: GB0802578D0; DE102007012931B3

Abstract

A device for receiving a vehicle jack comprises a body 10 of hard plastic material including a peripheral wall 16 and resilient circular segment-shaped mounting fingers 26, 28 adapted to be introduced through a fixing aperture in a body part of a vehicle while the body 10 bears against the vehicle body part. Locking portions on the free ends of the mounting fingers 26, 28 grip behind the edge of the aperture. The wall 16 of the body has a recess 34 which is closed by a wall portion 36 of soft plastic material that can be pierced and is in alignment with an actuable mounting finger 28. To remove the device, a tool pierces the wall portion 36 and moves the finger 28 away from the edge of the fixing aperture. The resilience of mounting fingers 32, 32, which lack locking portions, allows the device to now be pivoted out of engagement with the vehicle body.

Description

DEVICE FOR RECEIVING A VEHICLE JACK

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a device for receiving a vehicle jack.

Background to the Invention

A device for receiving a vehicle jack is known from DE 35 32 375 Cl. It includes a plug which has an elastic receptacle. The plug has a dimensionally rigid distance piece extending beyond the abutment face outside the receiving opening in the body part, which distance piece has a hat-shaped configuration open towards the abutment face and is completely surrounded inside and outside by elastic material.

Known from DE 198 31 548 is a device for holding a vehicle jack with a basic body of hard plastic material and resilient mounting fingers on the side oriented towards the vehicle and projecting in the same direction, which mounting fingers have locking portions which grip behind the edge of the aperture in the body part.

Furthermore, the basic body has a peripheral sealing lip which comes into sealing engagement with the body part. The mounting fingers are formed integrally with the basic body and the basic body has a central through-aperture between the mounting fingers which has, on its peripheral edge oriented away from the vehicle, a sealing ring of a flexible soft plastic material which is connected integrally to the sealing lip by the basic body. The basic body and the peripheral seal, together with the sealing ring abutting the central through-aperture, are produced using a two-component injection molding process. A spreading pin ensures secure fixing of the mounting fingers in the spread state.

Known from EP 1 291 255 A2 is a device for receiving a vehicle jack in which the basic body of hard plastic material has a centering device and resilient latching elements on the vehicle body side, which are latchable in a vehicle body part. A peripheral seal is further provided. The latching elements are fixed to the basic body at a lateral distance from the centering device, and the peripheral seal has at least one sealing lip which is oriented obliquely outwardly with respect to the centering device, and/or is deformable.

The devices described have the function of transmitting the weight of the vehicle via the body to a lifting device. The mounting is such that, as far as possible, dust and water do not enter the body via the apertures. S 2

It would be desirable to provide an alternative device for receiving a vehicle jack which is of simple construction and can be easily installed and removed.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a device for receiving a vehicle jack, the device comprising: a basic body of hard plastic material, the basic body having a first side and a second side and including a peripheral wall; and resilient mounting fingers provided in a spaced relationship projecting beyond the first side of the basic body, the mounting fingers being circular segment-shaped and adapted to be introduced through an opening in a body part of a vehicle while the first side of the basic body bears against the body part of the vehicle, the mounting fingers being attached to a bottom portion of the basic body adjacent the second side of the basic body, and locking portions on the free ends of at least two flexible mounting fingers gripping behind the edge of the opening in a mounting position of the basic body, wherein the peripheral wall of the basic body has a recess which is closed by a wall portion of soft plastic material which can be pierced, the wall portion being in alignment with an actuable mounting finger having a locking portion; and, further mounting fingers without locking portions being positioned adjacent to the actuable mounting finger, at least one portion at the free end of the further mounting fingers adjacent to the actuable mounting finger being radiall y offset inwardly with respect to an outer surface of the actuable mounting finger in a released state, while a lower protruding portion of the further mounting fingers has an outer diameter which corresponds approximately to that of the actuable mounting finger in the released state.

In the case of the device according to the present invention, only mounting fingers with locking portions for fixing the basic body to a vehicle body in a locked manner are provided. Securing means which maintain the locking are not provided.

According to the invention the wall of the basic body is provided with a recess which is closed by a wall portion of soft plastic material. The wall section and the peripheral seal are made of softer plastic material than the basic body.

Nevertheless, all parts of the basic body can be produced in one piece, for example using the two-component injection molding process. The wall portion of soft material can be pierced by a tool. Facing towards it is a mounting finger with locking portion.

If a tool pierces the wall portion the locking finger can be swung inwardly with the tool in order to release the locking to one edge of the aperture. *.

As such, the device is of simple construction and can be easily installed and removed. The removal process has the advantage that the vehicle body, in particular its paintwork, is not detrimentally affected, because the recess is located at a distance from the body part.

It is further provided according to the invention that mounting fingers not provided with locking portions are positioned adjacent to the actuable mounting finger. The adjacent, relatively rigid mounting fingers have at least in their upper portion outer regions which are offset inwardly. They have a smaller outer diameter than the outside of the actuable mounting finger. Because only the one locking portion can be brought out of engagement with the edge of the aperture by means of the tool during removal, while the locking portion of a further mounting finger remains in engagement it is necessary, in order to release the basic body, to tilt the latter somewhat. The radially inwardly offset region of the mounting fingers adjacent to the actuable mounting finger makes said tilting possible, so that the basic body can be removed from the vehicle body in the manner described.

The recess with the wall portion makes possible the exclusion of dust and moisture, so that the risk of damage to the vehicle body via this area is excluded. After the basic body has been released from the vehicle body the basic body cannot be reused, because the seal in the region of the recess has been broken. However, this is not a grave disadvantage since removal of the basic body is normally considered only if it has been damaged or has become unusable.

According to a configuration of the invention, it is provided that the outside of the adjacent mounting finger has an outer diameter which becomes constantly smaller in the direction of the actuable mounting finger, and an elevated portion is provided in proximity to the actuable mounting finger, the outside of which elevated portion has approximately the diameter of the actuable mounting finger in the released state. The elevated portion ensures that secure seating in the fixing aperture is present on both sides of the actuable mounting finger, i.e. seating with minimal or no lateral displaceability. If the actuable mounting finger is swung or bent inwardly, tilting of the basic body is possible, since in this case the inwardly offset regions of the adjacent mounting fingers have sufficient clearance from the edge of the aperture, whereby a locking portion of a further mounting finger can be freed from the edge of the aperture.

According to a configuration of the invention, the elevated portion is formed by a rib which extends approximately to the height of the locking portion of the actuable mounting finger and is disposed approximately parallel to the mounting finger. The outside of the rib has the outer diameter of the outside of the actuable mounting finger in the released state.

According to a further configuration of the invention, the soft wall portion is arranged in a sunken manner in the recess. It is thereby prevented that the soft wall portion is accidentally pierced and thereby loses its sealing effect.

Brief Description of the Figures

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective top view of a device according to the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the bottom side of the device according to Figure 1; Figure 3 is a top view of the device according to Figure 1; Figure 4 shows a section through the representation in Figure 3 along the line 4-4 during insertion into a fixing aperture; Figure 5 is a representation similar to Figure 4 after insertion of the device into the fixing aperture; Figure 6 shows the view W of the representation according to Figure 1 after installation in the fixing aperture; Figure 7 is a representation similar to Figure 5 shortly before removal; Figure 8 shows the representation according to Figure 7 during removal; Figure 9 is a top view of the unlocking operation shown in Figure 8; and, Figure 10 shows the release of the inventive device from the fixing aperture.

Detailed Description

Figs. 1 to 10 show a rectangular or parallelepipedic basic body 10 of relatively hard plastic material with a top 12 and a bottom side 14. The basic body 10 has side faces or side walls 16 which delimit with the bottom side 14 a cavity which is reinforced by a reinforcing grid 18. The reinforcing grid 18 will not be described in detail.

The upper edge of the basic body 10, which is formed by the side walls 16, has a peripheral sealing arrangement 20 which includes two parallel sealing lips, as can be seen in Figs. 7, 8 and 10. The base 14 of the basic body 10 is completely closed and has a central base portion 22 which is offset towards the top 12. As can be seen in numerous figures, mounting fingers are molded integrally to said base portion 22.

First bendable or pivotable mounting fingers 24, 26 are located diametrically opposite one another and have cross sections in the form of a circular arc. On their free ends they have hook-like locking portions 28. Diametrically opposite are provided relatively stiff second mounting fingers 30, 32 which do not have locking portions. They also have cross sections configured as circular segments, but extend over a larger angle than the mounting fingers 24, 26. The mounting finger 24 is aligned with a recess 34 in a longitudinal waIl 16 of the basic body 10. The recess 34 forms a kind of window which is closed by a wall portion 36 of softer plastic material. The wall portion 36 consists, for example, of the same material as the seal and can therefore be produced with the seal 20 in an injection molding process.

This can be seen very clearly from Figs. 4, 7 and 8. It can be seen in those figures that the wall portion 36 has a direct connection to the seal 20.

The mounting fingers 30, 32 are chamfered at their upper ends. These chamfers, in conjunction with the chamfers on the hook-shaped locking portions 28, facilitate insertion into a fixing aperture 40 formed in a body panel 42, a flanged wall portion 44 being formed by bending the sheet-metal material inwards towards the vehicle.

During installation, the basic body 10 is moved into the fixing aperture 40 in the direction of the arrow 46 with the mounting fingers 24, 26, 30, 32 leading, as shown in Fig. 4. As this happens the mounting fingers 24, 26 bend slightly inwardly until the locking portions 28 grip behind the edge of the fixing aperture, as shown in Figs. and 6. The other mounting fingers 30, 32 are relatively rigid and secure the basic body 10 against lateral movement. As is apparent from Figs. 3, 6 and 9, however, the radius of the circular segment-shaped mounting fingers 30, 32 is not constant.

Starting from the mounting finger 26, it is approximately constant in the first region of the mounting fingers 30, 32. Thereafter the radius grows increasingly smaller up to the mounting finger 24, leaving a gap open on both sides. This can be seen at 50 and 52 in Figs. 3 and 5. A wedge-shaped curved gap 54 is thereby formed in the region of the mounting finger sections 50, 52 and of the wall of the aperture 40. So that a firm seating in the fixing aperture 40 is nevertheless ensured, the outside ribs 56, 58, which are directly adjacent to the gap to the mounting finger 24, are formed on the outside of the mounting finger sections 50, 52. The ribs also have a circular arc-shaped cross section with a radius corresponding to the radius of the mounting fingers 30, 32 in the region to which the mounting finger 26 is adjacent. The ribs 56, 58 extend approximately as high as the locking portion 28, as can be seen in Fig. 1, and have an oblique face 60 at their upper ends. In this way a kind of mandrel is formed by the mounting fingers 24, 26 and 30, 32, and the ribs 56, 58, which ensures a secure seating in the fixing aperture 40. The completed installation situation is also apparent from Figs. 5 and 6. The locking portions 28 grip effectively behind the aperture edge 44. The mounting finger sections 50, 52 provide clearance from the aperture edge 44, which is bridged only in the region of the ribs 56, 58, which extend parallel to the mounting finger 24.

The bottom side 14 of the basic body 10 has a shape which allows a vehicle jack to be fitted thereto. This shape is not, however, described further.

The removal of the basic body 10 is described with reference to Figs. 7 to 10. With the aid of a relatively thin or pointed tool 70 which is introduced into the recess 34, the wall portion 36 is pierced or cut away. The tool 70 can thus reach the mounting finger 24 and bend the latter inwardly, as shown in Fig. 8. The locking portion 28 is thereby freed from the fixing aperture, as can also be seen in Fig. 9. Because the locking portion 28 of the other mounting finger 26 is still gripping behind the aperture edge 44, it is necessary to swivel the basic body 10, as illustrated in Fig. 10. This is permitted by the sections 50, 52 of the mounting fingers 30, 32, which leave sufficient room in the upper region above the ribs 56, 58 for the swiveling to take place, as can be seen in Fig. 10. The locking portion 28 of the mounting finger 24 is thereby fully released from the aperture 40, so that the basic body 10 can then be withdrawn from below.

Claims

Claims 1. A device for receiving a vehicle jack, the device comprising:

a basic body of hard plastic material, the basic body having a first side and a second side and including a peripheral wall; and resilient mounting fingers provided in a spaced relationship projecting beyond the first side of the basic body, the mounting fingers being circular segment-shaped and adapted to be introduced through an opening in a body part of a vehicle while the first side of the basic body bears against the body part of the vehicle, the mounting fingers being attached to a bottom portion of the basic body adjacent the second side of the basic body, and locking portions on the free ends of at least two flexible mounting fingers gripping behind the edge of the opening in a mounting position of the basic body, wherein the peripheral wall (16) of the basic body (10) has a recess (34) which is closed by a wall portion (36) of soft plastic material which can be pierced, the wall portion (36) being in alignment with an actuable mounting finger (24) having a locking portion (28); and, further mounting fingers (30, 32) without locking portions being positioned adjacent to the actuable mounting finger (24), at least one portion at the free end of the further mounting fingers (30, 32) adjacent to the actuable mounting finger (24) being radially offset inwardly with respect to an outer surface of the actuable mounting finger in a released state, while a lower protruding portion of the further mounting fingers (30, 32) has an outer diameter which corresponds approximately to that of the actuable mounting finger (24) in the released state.
2. A device according to c laim 1, wherein an outer surface of the further mounting fingers (30, 32) has a diameter which becomes gradually smaller towards the actuable mounting finger (24), and the further mounting fingers (30, 32) have in proximity to the actuable mounting finger (24) a protruding portion, an outer surface of which has a diameter that corresponds approximately to the outer diameter of the actuable mounting finger (24) in the released state.
3. A device according to claim 2, wherein the protruding portion is formed by a rib (56, 58) which is positioned close to an edge of the further mounting finger (30,32) adjacent to the actuable mounting finger (24) and which extends approximately parallel to the edge up to approximately a height level with the locking portion (28) of the actuable mounting finger (24).
4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the end of the rib (56, 58) adjacent the locking portion (28) has an oblique face (60) descending outwardly.
5. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein two diametrically opposing flexible mounting fingers (24, 26) of circular segment-shaped cross section are provided with locking portions (28) which are connected to the basic body (10) via flexible portions.
6. A device according to claim 5, wherein a pair of mounting fingers (30, 32) without locking portions are formed on the basic body (10) and are angularly offset by approximately 90 with respect to the flexible mounting fingers (24, 26) having locking portions (28).
7. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a peripheral lip seal (20) is molded integrally with the basic body (10) using a two-component molding process, the at least one sealing lip being inclined towards the axis of the basic body (10).
8. A device according to claim 7, wherein the peripheral lip seal (20) and the wall portion (36) are connected to one another.
9. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the soft wall portion (36) is arranged in a sunken manner in the recess (34) with respect to the outer surface of the peripheral wall.