JP2018091363A - Clamp and clamp fastening structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce man-hours for assembling a clamp into a first case and fastening the first case and a second case.SOLUTION: A base end part 31 of a clamp 30 is supported in an unrotated manner by being assembled into a first case 10 from an outer peripheral side. A hooking part 32 is positioned on a rear side with respect to the base end part 31. An extension part 33 has a first portion 331 continuing to a rear end of the base end part 31, a second portion 332 continuing to a rear end of the hooking part 32, and a connection part 333 positioned on a rear side with respect to the hooking part 32 and connecting between the first portion 331 and the second portion 332. The first portion 331 and the second portion 332 are each formed into a planar shape.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention includes a base end portion supported by the first case, a hook portion that can be hooked to the second case, and an extending portion that extends between the base end portion and the hook portion. The present invention relates to a clamp and a clamp fastening structure for fastening a first case and a second case by having a latching portion latched on a second case by its own elastic deformation.

Conventionally, this type of clamp fastening structure is used, for example, as a structure for fastening cases of an air cleaner of an in-vehicle internal combustion engine (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
As shown in FIG. 10, the air cleaner described in Patent Document 1 includes a first case 110, a second case 120, and a filter element 40 accommodated inside these cases 110 and 120. The air cleaner is provided with a clamp 130 for fastening the first case 110 and the second case 120.

  The clamp 130 is engaged with the support shaft portion 115 of the first case 110 and is hooked to the base end portion 131 that is swingably supported by the support shaft portion 115 and the hooked portion 125 of the second case 120. And the extending portion 133 having an arcuate cross section extending between the base end portion 131 and the engaging portion 132. Further, the operating portion 134 is formed continuously with the latch portion 132.

  When the operator fastens the first case 110 and the second case 120 with the clamp 130, the operator grasps the operation unit 134 and tilts the clamp 130 around the proximal end portion 131, and uses the operation unit 134. By pulling upward in the drawing, the latching portion 132 is latched to the latched portion 125 while the extending portion 133 is elastically deformed.

  In the manufacturing process of the air cleaner having such a clamp fastening structure, first, the clamp 130 is clamped to the first case 110 by fitting the base end portion 131 of the clamp 130 to the support shaft portion 115 of the first case 110. Assemble. Subsequently, the first case 110 and the second case 120 are fastened by operating the operation unit 134 of the clamp 130 as described above.

JP 2011-247354 A

  By the way, in the case of the conventional clamp and clamp fastening structure including the technique of patent document 1, the process of assembling the base end part 131 of the clamp 130 with respect to the 1st case 110, and the 1st case 110 by the clamp 130 A step of fastening the second case 120 is required separately. For this reason, the number of man-hours increases and labor is required for manufacturing.

  The objective of this invention is providing the clamp and clamp fastening structure which can reduce the man-hour of the assembly | attachment operation | work of the clamp with respect to a 1st case, and the fastening operation | work of the 1st case and 2nd case by a clamp.

  The clamp for achieving the above object includes a base end portion supported by the first case, a latching portion that can be latched on the second case, and a gap between the base end portion and the latching portion. The first case and the second case are fastened by the latching portion being hooked on the second case by its own elastic deformation. The base end portion is assembled to the first case from the outer peripheral side and is supported so as not to rotate, and the front end and the rear side of the base end portion in the assembly direction with respect to the first case are arranged. When the front side and the rear side, respectively, the latching part is located on the rear side of the base end part, and the extending part is a first part continuous to the rear end of the base end part, A second portion connected to the rear end of the latching portion; and a connecting portion that is located on the rear side of the latching portion and connects the first portion and the second portion. The first portion has a planar shape or a circular arc shape that bulges toward the front side, and the second portion has a flat shape or a circular arc shape that bulges toward the front side. ing.

  Moreover, the clamp fastening structure for achieving the said objective is the said 1st case which has the support part which supports the said clamp, and the said base end part of the said clamp so that rotation is impossible, and the said latching part latches. The second case having a hooked portion to be hooked, and the first case and the second case are fastened by the hooking portion being hooked on the hooked portion. .

  According to this configuration, the base end portion of the clamp is assembled to the support portion of the first case by pressing the connecting portion of the extending portion of the clamp from the outer peripheral side toward the first case. At this time, the first portion of the extending portion has a flat surface or a circular arc shape that bulges toward the front side, and the second portion has a flat surface shape or a circular arc surface shape that bulges toward the front side. And the base end portion is supported so as not to rotate with respect to the first case. For this reason, the extension part is elastically deformed so as to extend by the force of pressing the clamp. Thereby, a latching part gets over the to-be-latched part of a 2nd case. Thereafter, when the pressing force is released, the second portion is restored and hooked on the hooked portion of the second case, and the first case and the second case are fastened.

  Thus, according to the said structure, a clamp is assembled | attached with respect to a 1st case by a series of processes which press the connection part of the extension part of a clamp toward a 1st case and a 2nd case from an outer peripheral side. In addition, the first case and the second case can be fastened by the clamp.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the man-hours for assembling the clamp with respect to the first case and for fastening the first case with the second case by the clamp.

The perspective view which shows an air cleaner about one Embodiment of the air cleaner of the internal combustion engine to which the clamp and the clamp fastening structure were applied. (A) is a perspective view which shows the clamp of the embodiment, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the clamp of the embodiment. The expansion perspective view which expands and shows a part of FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view corresponding to FIG. 3 and showing a state where a clamp is not assembled. Sectional drawing which shows the cross-section of the air cleaner along line 5-5 in FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the cross-section of the air cleaner along 6-6 line of FIG. It is a figure explaining the assembly | attachment process of the clamp of the embodiment, and the fastening process of the 1st case and 2nd case by a clamp, Comprising: (a) is sectional drawing which shows the state before an assembly | attachment, (b) Sectional drawing which shows the state after fastening. Sectional drawing which shows the clamp of a 1st modification. Sectional drawing which shows the clamp of a 2nd modification. Sectional drawing which shows the clamp fastening structure of the conventional air cleaner.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied as a clamp and a clamp fastening mechanism of an air cleaner of an internal combustion engine will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the air cleaner is provided in an intake passage of the internal combustion engine, and includes a first case 10 and a second case 20.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, the first case 10 includes a peripheral wall 12 that surrounds the opening 11. The second case 20 includes a peripheral wall 22 that surrounds the opening 21.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, a flange 13 that protrudes toward the outer peripheral side is formed on the periphery of the opening 11. A cylindrical inlet 14 that communicates the inside and outside of the first case 10 protrudes from the outer surface of the peripheral wall 12 (see FIG. 1). An annular flange 23 is formed on the periphery of the opening 21 so as to protrude toward the outer peripheral side. A cylindrical outlet 24 is provided on the outer surface of the peripheral wall 22 so as to communicate with the inside and outside of the second case 20 (see FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a filter element 40 is accommodated between the opening 11 of the first case 10 and the opening 21 of the second case 20. The filter element 40 has a filtration part 41 formed by folding a filter medium sheet such as a nonwoven fabric or filter paper, and an annular seal part 42 provided on the periphery of the filtration part 41. By sealing the seal portion 42 between the flange 13 of the first case 10 and the flange 23 of the second case 20, the gap between the flange 23 and the seal portion 42 of the second case 20 is sealed. .

Next, the clamp 30 and the clamp fastening structure that fasten the first case 10 and the second case 20 will be described.
First, the clamp 30 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the clamp 30 includes a base end portion 31 supported by the first case 10, and a hook portion 32 that can be hooked on the second case 20. In addition, an extending portion 33 extending between the base end portion 31 and the latching portion 32 is provided. In addition, the operating portion 34 is formed continuously with the latch portion 32. The clamp 30 is formed by bending a metal plate material such as spring steel having a predetermined width.

<Base end 31>
The base end portion 31 is assembled to the first case 10 from the outer peripheral side and is supported so as not to rotate. Hereinafter, the front side and the rear side in the direction in which the base end portion 31 is assembled to the first case 10 (the left-right direction in the figure, hereinafter, the assembly direction A) are referred to as “front side” and “rear side”, respectively. The direction orthogonal to both the assembly direction A and the width direction of the clamp 30 (the vertical direction in the figure) will be described as an “orthogonal direction B”.

  The base end portion 31 includes a straight portion 311 extending along the assembling direction A, and a folded portion 312 that is continuous with the front end of the straight portion 311 and folded back toward the rear side through a bent portion. It is substantially U-shaped. The folded portion 312 is located on the latching portion 32 side (upper side in the figure) with respect to the straight portion 311 in the orthogonal direction B.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (a), two slits are formed in the front end portion of the folded portion 312 at an interval in the width direction. The front end portion has an inner engagement portion 313 and an inner engagement portion. The portion 313 is divided into a pair of outer engaging portions 314 located on the outer sides in the width direction. Each outer engagement portion 314 is bent at its proximal end, and the distal ends of the engagement portions 314 are positioned closer to the latching portion 32 side (upper side in the drawing) than the inner engagement portion 313 in the orthogonal direction B. ing.

<Hanging part 32>
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the latching portion 32 is located on the rear side of the base end portion 31, is bent at the front end of the extending portion 33, and is closer to the front side. In the orthogonal direction B, it extends so as to be located on the base end portion 31 side (the lower side in the figure).

<Extension part 33>
The extending part 33 is located on the rear side of the first part 331 connected to the rear end of the base end part 31, the second part 332 connected to the rear end of the hook part 32, and the hook part 32. It has the connection part 333 which connects the 1st part 331 and the 2nd part 332, and has comprised the cross-section "<" shape.

As shown in FIG. 2B, each of the first portion 331 and the second portion 332 has a planar shape.
The connecting portion 333 is located in the middle between the base end portion 31 and the latching portion 32 in the orthogonal direction B, and has a cross-sectional arc shape protruding toward the rear side.

<Operation unit 34>
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the operation portion 34 bends at the front end of the latching portion 32 and moves away from the base end portion 31 in the orthogonal direction B, that is, as shown in FIG. The upper side extends so as to be located on the rear side, and has a cross-sectional “H” shape.

Next, the support portion 15 of the first case 10 that supports the base end portion 31 of the clamp 30 and the hooked portion 25 of the second case 20 on which the hook portion 32 of the clamp 30 is hooked will be described. .
<Supporting part 15>
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the support portion 15 is formed on the outer surface of the peripheral wall 12 of the first case 10.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a pair of projecting walls 153 are formed on the outer surface of the peripheral wall 12 so as to be spaced apart in the circumferential direction. An opposing wall 154 that faces the peripheral wall 12 is formed between the tips of the protruding walls 153. The opposing wall 154 is not provided at the lower ends of the pair of protruding walls 153.

  A support wall 155 protrudes from the outer surface of the peripheral wall 12 between the pair of protruding walls 153. The support wall 155 is formed at a distance from the pair of protruding walls 153. Further, the support wall 155 is located on the side farther from the second case 20 in the orthogonal direction B than the opposing wall 154 (lower side in the figure). The upper surface of the support wall 155 extends along the assembly direction A.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, a regulation protrusion 152 that protrudes downward is formed at the center of the lower end of the facing wall 154.
As shown in FIG. 5, both ends of the lower end of the facing wall 154 where the restricting protrusion 152 is not formed and the outer surface of the peripheral wall 22 are connected by a connecting portion 156.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the proximal end portion 31 of the clamp 30 is inserted by the inner surfaces of the pair of protruding walls 153, the lower end of the opposing wall 154, the upper surface of the support wall 155, and the lower surface of the connecting portion 156. An insertion recess 151 is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the tip (rear end) of the inner engagement portion 313 of the clamp 30 is the inner surface of the restricting projection 152 in a state where the base end portion 31 is inserted into the insertion recess 151 of the support portion 15. The pair of outer engaging portions 314 are pressed against the lower surfaces of the pair of connecting portions 156 by a restoring force. As a result, the removal of the base end portion 31 from the insertion recess 151 is restricted.

<Hook part 25>
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the hooked portion 25 is formed on the outer surface of the flange 23 of the second case 20, and is away from the first case 10 in the orthogonal direction B (the upper side in the figure). ) Projecting toward). A pair of ribs 26 are integrally formed on the outer surface of the flange 23 so as to sandwich the hooked portion 25 from the outer side in the circumferential direction.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, by holding the connecting portion 333 of the clamp 30 with the hand of the assembly robot and pressing the clamp 30 from the outer peripheral side toward the first case 10, The base end portion 31 of the clamp 30 is inserted into the insertion recess 151 of the support portion 15 and assembled.

  At this time, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7B, the first portion 331 and the second portion 332 of the extending portion 33 are each planar, and the base end portion 31 is the first portion. Since the first case 10 is supported so as not to rotate, the extending portion 33 is elastically deformed so as to be extended by a force pressing the clamp 30. Thereby, the latching part 32 gets over the peak part 251 of the latched part 25 of the second case 20. Thereafter, when the pressing force is released, the second portion 332 is restored and hooked to the hooked portion 25 of the second case 20, and the first case 10 and the second case 20 are fastened.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first case is formed by a series of steps of pressing the connecting portion 333 of the extending portion 33 of the clamp 30 from the outer peripheral side toward the first case 10 and the second case 20. The first case 10 and the second case 20 can be fastened together with the clamp 30 by assembling the clamp 30 with the clamp 30.

According to the clamp and clamp fastening structure according to the present embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The base end portion 31 of the clamp 30 is assembled to the first case 10 from the outer peripheral side and is supported so as not to rotate. The latching portion 32 is located on the rear side of the base end portion 31, and the extending portion 33 is connected to the first portion 331 that continues to the rear end of the base end portion 31 and the rear end of the latching portion 32. It has the 2nd part 332 which continues, and the connection part 333 which connects the 1st part 331 and the 2nd part 332 while being located behind the latching part 32. FIG. Each of the first portion 331 and the second portion 332 has a planar shape.

  According to such a configuration, since the above-described operation is achieved, the man-hours for assembling the clamp 30 to the first case 10 and fastening work between the first case 10 and the second case 20 by the clamp 30 can be reduced. .

(2) Each of the first portion 331 and the second portion 332 has a planar shape.
According to such a configuration, the shape of the clamp 30 is simplified. For this reason, the clamp 30 can be formed easily.

  (3) The base end portion 31 includes a straight portion 311 that is continuous with the extending portion 33, and a folded portion 312 that is folded toward the rear side at the front end of the straight portion 311. The outer surfaces of the straight portion 311 and the folded portion 312 form a guide surface that guides the base end portion 31 toward the assembly position in the first case 10.

  According to such a configuration, when the base end portion 31 is assembled to the first case 10, the base end portion 31 is guided along its own guide surface. For this reason, the base end part 31 can be smoothly and stably assembled to the first case 10.

(4) Engaging portions 313 and 314 that are engaged with the first case 10 are formed at the tip of the folded portion 312.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to appropriately suppress the proximal end portion 31 of the clamp 30 from coming out of the first case 10.

  (5) The clamp fastening structure of the air cleaner includes the clamp 30, the first case 10 having the support portion 15 that supports the base end portion 31 of the clamp 30 so as not to rotate, and the hook portion 32 on which the hook portion 32 is hooked. And a second case 20 having a latching portion 25. The first case 10 and the second case 20 are fastened by the hooking portion 32 being hooked on the hooked portion 25.

According to such a configuration, the same effect as the effect (1) can be obtained.
(6) An inner engagement portion 313 is formed at the tip of the folded portion 312. The support portion 15 includes an insertion recess 151 into which the base end portion 31 of the clamp 30 is inserted, and a restriction projection that restricts the base end portion 31 from coming out of the insertion recess 151 when the inner engagement portion 313 is engaged. 152.

  According to such a configuration, when the proximal end portion 31 of the clamp 30 is inserted into the insertion recess 151, the inner engagement portion 313 is engaged with the restriction projecting portion 152, thereby preventing the removal of the proximal end portion 31. Is done. For this reason, the support part 15 which supports the base end part 31 of the clamp 30 so that rotation is impossible is realizable with a simple structure.

<Modification>
In addition, the said embodiment can also be changed as follows, for example.
The inner engagement portion 313 of the base end portion 31 may be bent at the base end like the outer engagement portion 314 while the outer engagement portions 314 may not be bent. In this case, the restricting protrusion 152 may be formed at a position corresponding to the pair of outer engaging portions 314 at the lower end of the facing wall 154. Further, the connecting portion 156 may be formed at a position corresponding to the inner engaging portion 313.

One of the pair of outer engaging portions 314 of the base end portion 31 can be omitted.
-The connection part 333 is not limited to what makes the cross-sectional arc shape which protruded toward the back side. In addition, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the connecting portion 333 may have a shape extending along the orthogonal direction B.

  -The 1st part 331 and the 2nd part 332 which comprise the extension part 33 are not limited to what makes planar shape. In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the first portion 331 and the second portion 332 may each have an arcuate surface shape that bulges toward the front side. Alternatively, any one of the first portion 331 and the second portion 332 may have an arcuate surface shape that bulges toward the front side.

  The connecting portion 333 can be formed at a position closer to the base end portion 31 than an intermediate position between the base end portion 31 and the hooking portion 32 in the orthogonal direction B. Further, the connecting portion 333 can be formed at a position closer to the latching portion 32 than an intermediate position between the base end portion 31 and the latching portion 32 in the orthogonal direction B.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,110 ... 1st case, 11 ... Opening, 12 ... Perimeter wall, 13 ... Flange, 14 ... Inlet, 15, 115 ... Supporting part, 151 ... Insertion recessed part, 152 ... Restriction protrusion (regulation part), 153 ... Protrusion Walls, 154 ... opposing walls, 155 ... support walls, 156 ... connecting parts, 20, 120 ... second case (second member), 21 ... opening, 22 ... peripheral wall, 23 ... flange, 24 ... outlet, 25, 125 ... Hook part, 251 ... Mountain part, 26 ... Rib, 30, 130 ... Clamp, 31,131 ... Base end part, 311 ... Straight part, 312 ... Folded part, 313 ... Inner engagement part, 314 ... Outer part Joint part, 32, 132 ... Hook part, 33, 133 ... Extension part, 331 ... First part, 332 ... Second part, 333 ... Connection part, 34, 134 ... Operation part, 40 ... Filter element, 41 ... filtering part, 42 ... sh Le part.

Claims (7)

A base end portion supported by the first case; a hooking portion that can be hooked to the second case; and an extending portion that extends between the base end portion and the hooking portion. In the clamp that fastens the first case and the second case by the latching portion being hooked on the second case by its own elastic deformation,
The base end portion is assembled from the outer peripheral side with respect to the first case and is supported so as not to rotate,
When the front side and the rear side in the assembly direction of the base end portion with respect to the first case are the front side and the rear side, respectively.
The latching portion is located on the rear side of the base end portion,
The extending portion is located on the rear side of the first engaging portion, the second portion connecting to the rear end of the hooking portion, the second portion continuous to the rear end of the hooking portion, and the first portion. A connecting portion that connects the first portion and the second portion;
The first portion has a planar shape or a circular arc shape that bulges toward the front side,
The second portion has a planar shape or a circular arc shape that bulges toward the front side.
Clamp. Each of the first portion and the second portion is planar.
The clamp according to claim 1. The base end portion has a guide surface for guiding itself toward an assembly position in the first case.
The clamp according to claim 1 or 2. The base end portion includes a straight portion that continues to the first portion, and a folded portion that is folded back toward the rear side at the front end of the straight portion.
The guide surface is formed by outer surfaces of the straight portion and the folded portion,
The clamp according to claim 3. An engaging portion that is engaged with the first case is formed at the tip of the folded portion.
The clamp according to claim 4. The clamp according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The first case having a support portion for supporting the base end portion of the clamp in a non-rotatable manner;
The second case having a hooked portion on which the hooking portion is hooked;
The first case and the second case are fastened by the hook being hooked on the hooked portion,
Clamp fastening structure. The base end portion includes a straight portion that is continuous with the extending portion, and a folded portion that is folded back toward the rear at the front end of the straight portion,
The outer surfaces of the straight part and the folded part form a guide surface that guides the base end part toward the assembly position in the first case,
An engaging portion is formed at the tip of the folded portion,
The support portion includes an insertion concave portion into which the base end portion of the clamp is inserted, and a restriction portion that restricts the base end portion from coming out of the insertion concave portion when the engagement portion is engaged. doing,
The clamp fastening structure according to claim 6.

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