JP2007231777A - Connecting device for on-vehicle component - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connecting device for an on-vehicle component optimal for, in an embodiment, attachment of a reservoir tank of a vehicular engine cooling device, enabling attachment by one-touch with a small number of components. <P>SOLUTION: The connecting device for the on-vehicle component provided with a projection part 5 formed on the first on-vehicle component and having wider root width W2 than tip width W1 in cross section shape, and at least one pocket part 6 formed on a second on-vehicle part and provided with a groove 24 having wider bottom part width w1 than opening side width w2 to engage with the projection part and capable of retaining the projection part 5 inserted from an open upper end side of the groove 24 at a predetermined retention position. A part of a flat spring shape piece 25 formed in the pocket part 6 enters a depressed part 15 formed on a projection front surface 13 of the projection part 5. Consequently, upward movement of the projection part 5 from the retention position is prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connecting device for on-vehicle components that is optimal for a connecting device for a reserve tank of, for example, a vehicle engine cooling device.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the radiator 200 of the vehicle engine cooling device is provided with a radiator and a blower in order to efficiently guide the air flow induced by the blower 201 to the radiator and increase the heat exchange capacity. A shroud 202 is attached to cover the gap. And the reserve tank 203 for radiators is often attached to such a shroud 202.

  When the reserve tank is attached to the shroud, in the conventional structure shown in FIG. 11, two bracket-like portions 204 protruding from the reserve tank 203 are placed on a shelf-like portion 206 formed on the shroud 202 and bolts 207, metal inserts ( (Not shown), and the nut 208 is used for fixing. Further, the pin 209 protruding downward from the bottom of the reserve tank 202 is inserted into a hole (not shown) formed in the shroud to prevent the steady state. With such an attachment structure, the reserve tank can be firmly attached to the shroud, but the number of parts is large, such as bolts, metal inserts, and nuts, and the number of assembly steps is also large. As another mounting structure for such a reserve tank, for example, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known.

JP-A-8-14046

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an on-vehicle component connecting device that is optimal for mounting a reserve tank of, for example, a vehicle engine cooling device and has a small number of components and can be mounted with one touch. .

  As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a connecting device for in-vehicle components according to each claim.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the on-vehicle component coupling device for attaching the first on-vehicle component to the second on-vehicle component is at least one protrusion (5) formed on the first on-vehicle component. A protrusion (5) having a tip width (W ₁ ) wider than a root width (W ₂ ) in the transverse shape of the protrusion (5), and at least one pocket ( 6), a groove (24) having a width (w ₁ ) wider than a width (w ₂ ) on the opening side so as to be fitted to the protrusion (5), and the open upper end of the groove (24) At least one pocket portion (6) capable of holding the protruding portion (5) inserted from the side in a predetermined holding position, and at least a recessed portion (15) closed at the lower side of the protruding portion (5) Formed on the protruding front surface (13), the leaf spring-shaped piece (25) is formed in the pocket portion (6). The leaf spring-like piece (25) is bent to allow insertion when the protrusion (5) is inserted into the groove (24), but when the protrusion (5) moves to a predetermined holding position. It is characterized in that the upward movement of the protrusion (5) is prevented by releasing the bending at least partially and part of the leaf spring-like piece (25) entering the recess (15).

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first in-vehicle component can be attached to the second in-vehicle component with a single touch, and if the protrusion and the pocket are formed integrally with each in-vehicle component, The number of separate parts becomes zero.

  The on-vehicle component connecting device according to claim 2, wherein the leaf spring-like piece (25) separates the protrusion (5) from the pocket (6) when the protrusion (5) is in the holding position. It is characterized by bending so as to generate a force P that presses the protrusion (5) almost horizontally.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-vehicle component coupling device that has no vibration and has excellent vibration resistance even when there is a clearance between the protrusion and the groove of the pocket.

The on-vehicle component connecting device according to claim 3 is tapered so that the width (W _1u ; W _2u ) of the upper end portion of the protrusion (5) becomes narrower downward, and the upper end portion of the groove. The width (w _1u ; w _2u ) is tapered so as to become narrower downward corresponding to the taper of the protrusion. Thereby, the insertion property with respect to the groove | channel of the protrusion part (5) is improved.

  In the on-vehicle component connecting device according to claim 4, the protruding portion (5) has a dovetail shape, and the groove (24) formed by the pocket portion (6) has a dovetail shape. It is characterized by being.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connecting device for in-vehicle components that is excellent in slidability and little shakiness.

  In the invention according to claim 5, the first in-vehicle component is a reserve tank (4) for a water-cooled cooling device for a vehicle engine, and the second in-vehicle component is a shroud for an electric fan of the cooling device ( 3).

  The connecting device according to claim 5 enables one-touch mounting of the reserve tank to the shroud with excellent vibration resistance, and if the protruding portion and the pocket portion are formed integrally with the reserve tank and the shroud, respectively, Therefore, the number of separate parts becomes zero.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis attached | subjected to each said means is an example which shows a corresponding relationship with the specific means as described in the Example mentioned later.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the on-vehicle component connecting device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a reserve tank and a shroud as examples. FIG. 1 is a front view of a heat exchanger portion of a water-cooled cooling device for a vehicle, and includes an electric fan 2 and a shroud 3 attached to a frame 1 of the heat exchanger, a reserve tank 4 attached to the shroud 3, and the like. Show. The on-vehicle component coupling device of the present invention comprises a protrusion formed on the first on-vehicle component and a pocket formed on the second on-vehicle component. In the embodiment shown in FIG. Two protrusions 5 are integrally formed in the reserve tank 4 near the lower corner of the surface facing the shroud 3 of the reserve tank 4 which is the first in-vehicle component, and this is indicated by a broken line. Although not shown, the two pocket portions are formed integrally with the upper portion of the shroud 3 as the second vehicle-mounted component so as to face the protruding portion, and the reserve tank inserts the protruding portion 5 into the two pocket portions. By doing so, it is connected to the shroud 3 in the state of FIG.

  In this embodiment, the reserve tank is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape by welding flanges 9 and 10 formed on a tank upper body 7 and a tank lower body 8 formed of polypropylene resin. A cap 12 that closes the opening of the neck filler 11 is provided at the upper end of the tank body. The shroud 3 is also an integrally molded product of polypropylene resin in this embodiment.

  FIG. 2 is a side view of the reserve tank 4 connected to the shroud 3. As described above, the protruding portion 5 formed in the reserve tank is inserted and held in the pocket portion 6 formed in the shroud 3 from above. ing. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 2. The protrusion 5 is fitted in a groove formed in the pocket 6, and a leaf spring-like piece 25, which will be described later of the pocket 6, is described later of the pocket. The state which engaged with the recessed part 13 to show is shown.

Next, the detailed structure of the protrusion part 5 is demonstrated below. FIG. 4 shows one of the two protrusions 5 formed integrally with the tank lower body 8. 4A is a front view of the protrusion 5, FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4C is a right side view of FIG. The protruding portion 5 has a slightly vertically long protruding front surface 13 having a width W ₁ and a length L symmetrical with respect to the central axis AX _{1 when} viewed from the front. The base surface 14 protrudes from the outer surface of the tank lower body 8 at a height B with the same width and length as the width W ₁ and the length L of the protruding front surface, and the protruding portion 5 extends from the base surface 14 at a height H. Further projecting and has the projecting front surface 13 at the tip. Further, a rectangular recess 15 is formed in the protruding front surface 13, and the lower side surface 16 of the recess is located at a substantially central position in the length direction of the protruding front surface 13. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the left and right side surfaces 17 of the protruding portion 5 are inclined at approximately 45 degrees so as to spread toward the tip, so that the width W ₁ on the tip side is the root. Is larger than the width W ₂ , and as a result, the projecting portion 5 has a so-called “relief” shape.

Next, the detailed structure of the pocket portion will be described below. 5 and 6 are views showing one of the two pocket portions 6 formed in the shroud 3 corresponding to the protruding portion 5 on the reserve tank side. FIG. 5A shows the pocket portion 6. FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 6A, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. The pocket 6 is symmetric with respect to the central axes ax ₁ and ax ₂ . The outer shape of the pocket portion 6, forms a pocket front 20 that protrudes at a height D from the outer surface of the shroud, and the pocket side surface 21 which forms a width W _P of the pocket portion 6, the length L _P of the pocket portion 6 The pocket portion is formed of an upper surface 22 and a lower surface 23.

As shown in FIG. 5 (b), on the inner side of the pocket portion 6, a “groove” -shaped groove 24 that fits into the “almost ten” -shaped protrusion 5 is formed from the pocket portion front surface 20. It is formed with a depth h ₁ , a groove bottom width w ₁ , and a groove entrance width w ₂ . A leaf spring-like piece 25 is provided at the center of the pocket 6 along the axis ax ₁ , and a slit 27 is provided at the bottom 26 of the groove to form the leaf spring-like piece 25. ing. The holes 29 in the bottom 26 substantially coincident with the groove of the projected area in the axial ax ₂ direction of the groove of the inclined surface 28 is provided. The bottom portion 26 of the groove is thus discontinuous by the slit 27 and the hole 29, but there is no problem in fulfilling the function as a dovetail groove. The hole 29 is provided to form a structure of a shroud molding die (not shown) including a pocket portion by a simple upper and lower core and cavity.

  The lower end of the groove 24 in the pocket portion is closed by the groove lower end surface 30, but the upper end of the groove 24 is opened to insert the protruding portion 5 of the reserve tank from above the groove 24. When inserted, the protrusion moves downward to a holding position where the lower surface 18 contacts the groove lower end surface 30 of the pocket portion. The protrusion 5 inserted into the pocket 6 is constrained in the horizontal and front-and-rear directions by the groove bottom surface 31 and the pocket front 20 formed by the two slopes 17 and the groove bottom 26, and vertically downward by the groove lower end surface 30. Is prevented from moving. Prevention of movement in the vertical upward direction is prevented by a hook portion of a leaf spring-like piece 25 described in detail below.

The leaf spring-like piece 25 is an elongated piece 25 having a width w _s and a length l _s separated from the groove bottom 26 by slits 27 on both sides thereof, and having a substantially uniform thickness t _s. . As shown in FIG. 6, the upper end of the leaf spring-like piece 25 is a low portion 32 formed near the upper center of the bottom of the groove of the pocket portion, and has a depth h ₂ deeper than the depth of the groove. The lower end is coupled to the surface forming the groove lower end surface 30. If the width, length, and thickness are appropriately set, the leaf spring-like portion 25 can be made to function as a leaf spring fixed at both ends having a desired spring constant. The leaf spring-shaped piece 25 forms a hook portion 34 having a top ridge line 33 having a height j from the groove bottom surface 31 at a substantially half portion of the length l _s , and the hook portion 34 has a top ridge line. An upper slope 35 that gradually falls from the top 33 to the height h ₃ , a vertical lower surface 36 that extends from the top ridge 33 along the direction of the axis ax ₂ , and a height that is relatively gentle from the end of the vertical lower surface 36. It is formed by a lower slope 37 that decreases to h ₃ . Here, the position of the intersection point 38 between the vertical lower surface 36 and the lower inclined surface 37 is set at a height g from the groove bottom surface 31 that is approximately ½ of the height j.

Next, the mutual action of the protrusion 5 inserted into the pocket 6 and the leaf spring-like piece 25 will be described below. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the protruding portion 5 is inserted into the pocket portion 6, the front end ridge 19 of the lower surface 18 of the protruding portion contacts the upper slope 35 of the hook portion of the leaf spring-like piece 25. The leaf spring-like piece 25 is gradually bent, and as shown in FIG. 7B, the protrusion 5 moves downward, and the top ridge line 33 of the hook portion of the leaf spring-like piece 25 becomes the protrusion of the protrusion. When in contact with the projecting front surface 13, the leaf spring-shaped piece 25 is elastically deformed with a first deflection j ′ substantially equal to the height j of the top ridge line from the groove bottom surface. Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (c), the top ridge line 33 reaches the lower surface 16 of the recess 15 provided on the protruding front surface 13, and the top ridge line 33 and the vertical lower surface 36 enter the recess 15. When the projecting portion 5 moves downward at the same time or a slight distance that cannot be illustrated, the lower surface 18 of the projecting portion and the groove lower end surface 30 of the pocket portion come into contact with each other, and the projecting portion 5 reaches the holding position. The vertical lower surface 36 of the leaf spring-like piece that has entered 15 prevents the upward movement of the protrusion 5 that may be caused by vibration or the like. Regarding the bending of the leaf spring-like piece at this holding position, the front end ridge of the lower side surface 16 of the recess abuts on the intersection point 38 where the vertical lower surface 36 and the lower slope 37 of the leaf spring-like piece intersect. All of the first deflection j 'is not released, and the leaf spring-like piece is still elastically deformed by the second deflection g' substantially equal to the height g. Accordingly, the leaf spring-shaped piece presses the protruding portion 5 in the direction of the axis ax _{2 with} the force P based on the second deflection g ′.

  A slight clearance is set between the projecting portion and the pocket portion in accordance with an assumed manufacturing dimensional error, but a leaf spring-shaped piece 25 is generated when the projecting portion is in the holding position. Since the movement of the projecting portion due to the clearance is prevented by the force P, a coupling device having high vibration resistance without rattling can be obtained.

Next, a second embodiment of the reserve tank coupling device will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, in order to improve the insertion property when the protruding portion is inserted into the groove of the pocket portion, the widths W _1u and W _2u of the upper end of the protruding portion 5 are directed downward as shown in FIG. Taper to reduce. On the other hand, the groove of the pocket portion 6 is similarly tapered as shown in FIG. Since the taper is provided in this way, the widths W _1b and W _{2b at} the lower end of the protruding portion are sufficiently narrower than the widths w _1u and w _{2u at} the upper end of the groove of the pocket portion, respectively, so that the _{insertability} is improved. In this embodiment, each width is 1/10 tapered.

  Further, FIG. 10 shows a modified example in which the moldability of the pocket portion and the strength of the molding die are increased in the first and second embodiments described above. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the pocket portion 106 of this modified example. By forming the cross-sectional shape of the bottom portion 126 of the groove into a substantially Z shape, the slits 127 on both sides of the leaf spring-like piece 125 and the slopes 128 of the groove are formed. The strength of the portion of the mold for forming the hole 129 on the back side can be increased, and the thick portion at the bottom of the groove is reduced to improve the moldability. As described above, in the present invention, there can be other modified examples in which the shape of the pocket portion is changed in order to optimize the mold structure or improve the moldability, and also on the protruding portion side. Should be understood.

  In addition, the protruding portion in the above embodiment was in the shape of “along tenon” and the groove in the pocket portion was in the shape of “groove”, but the transverse shape of the protruding portion was T-shaped and the groove in the pocket portion was T-groove. It should be readily understood that this is also possible in the present invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, there are two sets of mounting portions and pocket portions. However, the number of mounting portions and pocket portions depends on the size and weight of the reserve tank and the required vibration resistance. You can increase or decrease.

  Further, it will be apparent that the connecting device of the present invention can be applied to mounting other on-vehicle components different from the reserve tank and the shroud.

It is the front view which showed the whole structure of the 1st Example of the coupling device of the vehicle-mounted component by this invention. It is the side view which showed the whole structure of the said 1st Example. It is sectional drawing of the said connection apparatus by the II cutting | disconnection line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the protrusion part of the said 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the pocket part of the said 1st Example. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the pocket part by the IV-IV cutting line of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state in which the protrusion part of the said 1st Example was inserted in the pocket part in steps. It is a front view of the protrusion part of 2nd Example of the vehicle-mounted component by this invention. It is a front view of the pocket part of the said 2nd Example. It is a cross-sectional view of the pocket part of the modification of the said 1st and 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the conventional structure which attaches a reserve tank to a shroud.

Explanation of symbols

3 Shroud 4 Reserve tank 5 Protruding portion 6 Pocket portion 8 Tank lower body 15 Recessed portion 24 Groove 25 Leaf spring-shaped piece

Claims (5)

An in-vehicle component coupling device for attaching a first in-vehicle component to a second in-vehicle component,
As the at least one protrusion (5) formed on the first vehicle-mounted component, the protrusion (5) having a width (W ₁ ) at the tip in the transverse shape of the protrusion (5) is wider than the root width (W ₂ ). (5) and
The width (w ₁ ) of the bottom portion is made larger than the width (w ₂ ) on the opening side so as to be fitted with the protruding portion (5) in at least one pocket portion (6) formed in the second on-vehicle component. At least one pocket portion (6) having a wide groove (24) and capable of holding the protruding portion (5) inserted from the opened upper end side of the groove (24) in a predetermined holding position; In the in-vehicle component coupling device comprising:
A concave portion (15) closed at least below is formed on the protruding front surface (13) of the protruding portion (5), a leaf spring-like piece (25) is formed on the pocket portion (6), and the leaf spring-like portion The piece (25) is bent to allow the insertion when the protrusion (5) is inserted into the groove (24), but when the protrusion (5) moves to the predetermined holding position. At least partially releasing the bending, and a part of the leaf spring-like piece (25) enters the recess (15) to prevent the protrusion (5) from moving upward. A connecting device for in-vehicle components.   When the projecting portion (5) is in the holding position, the leaf spring-like piece (25) has the projecting portion (5) substantially horizontally in the direction of separating the projecting portion (5) from the pocket portion (6). The connecting device for on-vehicle components according to claim 1, wherein the connecting device is bent so as to generate a pressing force P. In order to enhance the insertability of the protruding portion (5) into the groove (24), the width (W _1u ; W _2u ) of the upper end portion of the protruding portion (5) is tapered so as to narrow downward. In addition, the width (w _1u ; w _2u ) of the upper end of the groove (24) is tapered so as to become narrower downward corresponding to the taper of the protrusion (5). The on-vehicle component coupling device according to claim 1 or 2.   The transverse shape of the projecting part (5) is dovetail-like, and the transverse shape of the groove (24) formed by the pocket part (6) is dovetail-shaped, 4. The on-vehicle component connecting device according to claim 3.   The first vehicle-mounted component is a reserve tank (4) for a water-cooled cooling device of a vehicle engine, and the second vehicle-mounted component is a shroud (3) for an electric fan of the cooling device. The on-vehicle component connecting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the connecting device is an on-vehicle component.

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