JP2519682Y2 - Weld nut for ground - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ground welding nut for electrically connecting the ground of an electrical component mounted on a vehicle to the vehicle body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art To electrically connect the ground of a vehicle electrical component to a vehicle body, a terminal such as a crimp terminal is fixed to the end of a cable connected to the ground side of the electrical component, and the terminal is fixed with a bolt and a nut. This is done by tightening it so that it is in close contact with the body panel. In this case, a weld nut previously welded to the body panel is used as the nut.

The body panel is painted after welding the weld nut. As a result, since there is no paint between the weld nut and the body panel, they are electrically connected.

[0004]

However, the electrical component must be mounted after painting the body panel, and its ground must be connected after mounting. Even if the terminal is brought into close contact with the painted part, the terminal and the body panel are not grounded because they are not electrically connected to each other because the paint adheres to the body panel. For this reason, when painting the body panel, a tape or the like is attached to a portion that is in close contact with the terminal, masking is applied, and the masking tape is peeled off when the bolt is fastened to the weld nut.

Although it is certain that the masking tape secures the ground portion, the work of attaching the masking tape and the peeling work are complicated. Also, since the masking tape may peel off in the coating furnace,
It will cause the painting furnace to be polluted.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a grounding weld nut which can be connected to the ground only by tightening a bolt on the weld nut even after painting the body panel.

[0007]

For the above-mentioned purpose, a grounding weld nut according to the present invention is welded to a body panel and screwed with a bolt to hold the grounding terminal together with the body panel. In the above, a groove is formed in the peripheral portion of the weld portion of the weld nut on the welding surface side, and the shape of the groove portion is formed such that the peripheral portion of the screw portion projects from the welding surface due to the axial force applied to the screw portion. However, it is characterized in that the cross-sectional shape between the groove portion and the screw portion is a shape in which the paint does not adhere.

[0008]

When a bolt, through which the terminal is inserted, is tightened on the weld nut, and the terminal comes into contact with the body panel and is further tightened, an axial force acts on the threaded portion of the weld nut. For this reason,
The peripheral portion of the screw portion protrudes toward the body panel, and the portion between the groove portion and the screw portion contacts the terminal.

Therefore, the terminal is electrically connected to the body panel through the weld nut, and the electric component connected to the terminal is grounded.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A grounding weld nut according to the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a component for electrically connecting the ground of an electric component (not shown), which is constructed by combining a weld nut 2, a terminal 4, a bolt 6 and a washer 8.

The weld nut 2 is, as shown in FIG.
The threaded portion 2a is aligned with the through hole 10a formed in the body panel 10 and is welded to the body panel 10 by projection welding or the like. A groove portion 2b having an appropriate shape such as a width and a depth that sufficiently achieves the operation described below is provided on the peripheral portion of the screw portion 2a and the surface to be welded to the body panel 10.
Is formed, and the portion between the groove 2b and the screw 2a
The cross-sectional shape of 2c is formed in a protrusion shape as shown in FIGS. The reason why the portion 2c is formed in a projection shape is that when the body panel 10 is painted together with the weld nut 2, paint does not adhere to the tip end of the projection shape due to its shape, that is, the paint does not adhere. The shape is not limited to the protruding shape. The groove 2b may be formed in an annular shape around the threaded portion 2a or may be formed in an appropriate number in a discontinuous manner along an arc.

The terminal 4 is fixed to the tip of a cable 3 connected to a ground terminal of an electric component (not shown) by crimping or the like, and a bolt 6 is attached to the terminal 4.
A through hole 4a is formed so as to pass through.

The operation of the earth weld nut constructed as described above will be described below.

To connect the ground of the electrical component, the bolt 6
The washer 8 is passed through, the terminal 4 is further inserted, and the bolt 6 is fastened to the weld nut 2. The bolt 6
Moves forward with respect to the weld nut 2, and when tightened to a proper position, the terminal 4 comes into close contact with the body panel 10 as shown in FIG. 1, and the bolt 6 does not move forward any further. When the bolt 6 is further tightened in this state, the rotation of the bolt 6 applies a force to the threaded portion 2a of the weld nut 2 so that the threaded portion 2a is attracted to the head of the bolt 6. A groove 2b is formed in the peripheral portion of the screw portion 2a, and the rigidity of the peripheral portion of the screw portion 2a is reduced by the groove portion 2b. It will bend toward and project from the welding surface.

Then, in an appropriately bent and projected state, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the projecting tip of the portion 2c between the screw portion 2a and the groove portion 2b comes into contact with the terminal 4. No paint is applied to the protruding tip even after the body panel 10 is painted, so that the terminal 4 and the weld nut 2 are electrically connected. Therefore, the ground terminals of the electrical equipment (not shown) are the terminal 4 and the weld nut 2.
It will be electrically connected to the body panel 10 via and and will be grounded to the vehicle body. It should be noted that when the bolt 6 is loosened, the screw portion 2a bent to the state shown in FIG. 2 returns to the state shown in FIG. 1 so that the deformation of the screw portion 2a occurs within the elastic range. It is preferable to select the material and the shape of the groove 2b.

[0017]

As described above, according to the earth weld nut according to the present invention, attention is paid to the property that the paint does not adhere to the protruding ridges even when the body panel is painted. Since the periphery of the threaded portion of the nut is appropriately bent when an axial force is applied to the threaded portion, the threaded portion is bent toward the head of the bolt by tightening the bolt on the weld nut, If a grounding terminal is interposed between the head and the weld nut, the peripheral portion of the threaded portion of the weld nut contacts the terminal, and the vehicle electrical component is grounded through the terminal. It will be.

Moreover, the grounding can be connected only by tightening the bolts without the need for preparatory work for attaching the masking tape or the like before painting the body panel or the work for peeling off the masking tape when connecting the ground. Therefore, the work is simplified and the work cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a bolt is fastened to a weld nut, taken along the longitudinal direction of the bolt, showing a state before a peripheral edge portion of a thread portion of the weld nut protrudes from a welding surface.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a bolt is fastened to a weld nut, taken along the longitudinal direction of the bolt, and shows a state in which the peripheral portion of the thread portion of the weld nut projects from the welding surface and ground is conducted.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a component for electrically connecting the ground of the vehicle electrical component.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Weld nut 2a Screw part 2b Groove part 3 Cable 4 Terminal 6 Bolt 8 Washer 10 Body panel

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A grounding weld nut that is welded to a body panel and screwed with a bolt to hold an earthing terminal together with the body panel, wherein a groove is formed in a peripheral portion of a screw portion on the welding surface side of the weld nut. The groove portion is formed in a shape in which the peripheral portion of the screw portion is projected from the welding surface by an axial force applied to the screw portion, and the cross-sectional shape between the groove portion and the screw portion is a shape in which the paint does not adhere. Weld nut for grounding which is characterized.