JP2570612Y2 - Screw grommet - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a screw grommet used for connecting and fixing a panel and an article. More specifically, the screw grommet exhibits a good fixing force against a twisting force in any direction. In addition, the present invention relates to a screw grommet that can firmly and reliably fix an object to be fixed, and is preferably used when an armrest is fixed to a door panel of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an armrest of an automobile is fixed to a door panel, a fixture called a screw grommet is generally used. As a screw grommet used for fixing such a door panel, FIG.
A screw grommet as shown in FIG. 0 is generally used.

That is, a screw insertion hole c is formed at the center of a rectangular block-shaped flange portion b, and a slit d extending between two opposing sides is formed integrally with the insertion hole c. A screw grommet a is generally used in which two legs e, e having a thick middle portion formed on the lower surface thereof are projected so as to face each other with the through hole c interposed therebetween.

When an armrest of an automobile is fixed to a door panel using the screw grommet, first, as shown in FIG. 11, both legs e and e of the screw grommet a are inserted into a square through hole g formed in the door panel f. Then, the screw grommet a is temporarily fixed to the door panel f by the thick portion. At this time, when the legs e, e are inserted, the outer surfaces on the tip side of the legs e, e abut on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole g, and the screw grommet a is pushed in so that the legs e, e come closer to each other. Is pressed. As a result, the flange b bends so as to widen the slit d, and the two legs e and e approach each other. When the thick middle portion of the two legs e and e passes through the through hole g, the flange b returns elastically. The thick portions of the legs e, e engage the peripheral edge of the through hole g, and the screw grommet a is temporarily fixed.

[0005] Next, as shown in FIG. 12, the armrest h is arranged so as to cover the flange portion b of the screw grommet a with the flange fitting recess i formed on the back surface of the armrest h. A tapping screw k is screwed into the screw grommet a from the formed screw insertion recess j through a through hole (not shown) formed in the fixed wall 1 separating the screw insertion recess j and the flange fitting recess i. At this time, the tapping screw k advances between the legs e and e while screwing a screw into the screw insertion hole c of the screw grommet a, and spreads the legs e and e outward from each other. The fixing wall 1 of the armrest h is fixedly held by the head of the tapping screw j and the flange portion b of the screw grommet a while being fixed to the door panel f.

Accordingly, the armrest h is fixed to the door panel f via the screw grommet a. In the figure, m is a washer interposed between the head of the tapping screw k and the fixed wall 1 of the armrest h.

[0007]

However, the screw grommet a has several problems in terms of stability at the time of temporary fixing and strength against prying force. That is,
When the screw grommet a is temporarily fixed by inserting the two legs e and e into the through holes g of the door panel f during the temporary fixing,
When the flange portion b is bent by the action of the slit d, the leg portions e and e are closed and the leg portions e and e are inserted into the through holes g. A large insertion force is required to insert the legs e into the through hole g of f, and the temporary fixing work may be difficult. In addition, when the tapping screw k is screwed in, the flange b is bent so that the slit d is widened, and accordingly, the legs e and e are closed, and the screw grommet a may fall off the door panel f. .

As shown in FIG. 13, the force applied to the armrest h attached to the door panel f of the automobile includes the force applied when closing the door n indicated by the arrow A and the arm indicated by the arrow B as the armrest. There is a force applied when the arm rests on the armrest h, as shown in FIG. 12, a force A applied when closing the door acts to pull out the screw grommet a. The force B acts on the screw grommet a.

Here, as shown in FIG. 14, the screw grommet a fixed to the panel f is fixed to the panel f by screwing the tapping screw k to expand the two legs e and e. It shows a good fixing force with respect to the twisting force F along the spreading direction, but is relatively weak with respect to the twisting force E perpendicular to the spreading direction of the legs e, e. There is a difference. Therefore, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a tapping screw a may be attached so as to spread both legs e and e in the same direction with respect to the prying force B. However, when the mating hole g provided in the door panel f is square, the screw grommet is used. Since the direction of a is not determined, if the screw grommet a is attached in a direction that is weak against the twisting force, the screw grommet a may fall off the door panel f.

Further, in the screw grommet a, a slit d is provided in the flange portion b to make the flange portion b easily bendable. For this purpose, a tapping screw k is screwed in to expand both leg portions e and e. Occasionally, the flange b is deformed with the spread of the legs e, e, and the mounting position of the armrest h may be shifted. In addition, when a force for strongly pressing the flange portion b of the screw grommet a is applied, the flange portion b may be bent so as to widen the slit d and may be deformed.

[0011] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can be securely temporarily fixed without inconvenience such as falling off when the tapping screw is screwed in. An object of the present invention is to provide a screw grommet that exhibits good strength against a twisting force in any direction and that can securely fix an object such as an armrest without causing deformation of a flange portion. I do.

[0012]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a screw insertion hole extending from the center of the upper surface to the center of the lower surface is formed in the block-like flange portion.
A quadrangular prism-shaped leg is protrudingly provided on the lower surface of the flange portion, and a screw entry hole having a gradually decreasing diameter from the base end side toward the distal end side is formed in the leg portion in communication with the screw insertion hole. Each of the four open ends from the entrance hole forms a cross-shaped slit extending from the four corners of the outer peripheral surface of the leg to the center of each side surface to divide the leg into four parts. Temporarily engaging locking projections projecting from the outer peripheral surface of the leg, the legs are inserted into square mounting holes formed in the mounting panel, and the fixing projections are temporarily projecting from the outer peripheral surface of the legs. The tapping screw is screwed from the screw insertion hole, and the shaft of the tapping screw is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft in the screw entry hole. Female thread corresponding to the male thread By making it enter while engraving, the leg portion divided into four by the slit is expanded in four directions, and the inner peripheral portion of the mounting hole is pressed by the leg portion, so that the leg is fixed to the mounting panel. A screw grommet is provided.

[0013]

[0014]

As described above, the screw grommet of the present invention has its legs inserted into the square mounting holes formed in the mounting panel, and the tapping screw is inserted from the screw insertion holes in the flange into the screw entry holes in the legs. By screwing in, the legs divided into four by the slits are spread in four directions, and the legs press the inner peripheral edge of the mounting hole, thereby fixing the mounting holes to the mounting panel.
In this case, the fixed object is arranged on the flange portion of the screw grommet, the tapping screw is screwed through the fixed object, and the fixed object is sandwiched and fixed between the head portion and the flange portion of the tapping screw. By doing so, the object to be fixed can be fixed to the mounting panel via the screw grommet.

At this time, in the screw grommet of the present invention, when the legs are inserted into the square mounting holes formed in the mounting panel, the temporary fixing locking projections projecting from the outer peripheral surfaces of the legs are attached. By contacting the inner peripheral edge of the hole and pressing the grommet in this state, the leg is pressed inward at the inner peripheral edge of the mounting hole via the locking projection, and the leg closes the slit. When the locking projections pass through the mounting holes as described above, the legs are elastically restored, and the locking projections are engaged with the inner peripheral edge of the mounting holes and temporarily fixed.

In this case, the screw grommet of the present invention does not insert the leg into the mounting hole by bending the flange, but inserts the leg into the mounting hole by bending the leg itself from its base end. In addition, the amount of flexure may be sufficient to allow the small locking projection to pass through, so that the leg can be very easily inserted into the mounting hole.

In this state, a tapping screw is screwed through the screw insertion hole of the flange portion, and the shaft portion of the tapping screw is inserted into the screw entry hole of the leg portion corresponding to the male screw portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion. While tapping the female screw portion to be screwed in, the tapping screw is screwed and fixed to the screw grommet, and the legs divided into four by the slit are spread in four directions by the shaft portion of the tapping screw, and this leg portion The screw grommet is fixed to the mounting panel by pressing the inner peripheral portion of the mounting hole.

At this time, in the screw grommet of the present invention, the leg itself is bent and spread from the base end, and the flange is not deformed. When the screw grommet is temporarily fixed securely to the mounting hole without causing the inconvenience that the flange part is deformed and the leg part is closed at the time of insertion and the screw grommet falls out of the mounting hole, the screw of the tapping screw is An inset operation can be performed.

Further, after the tapping screw is screwed in, the legs are spread and fixed in four directions by the action of the cross-shaped slits. That exerts equally good strength against the twisting force in the direction of, and can be suitably used without having to pay attention to the mounting direction when fixing the armrest to the door panel of the car. It is. In addition, since the flange portion is not provided with a slit or the like for bending the flange portion, the leg portion is not deformed due to the bending of the leg portion or the pressure applied to the flange portion. An object to be fixed, such as an armrest, can be securely fixed to a mounting panel, such as a door panel, without the occurrence of a problem.

Further, the cross-shaped slits of the legs are formed so that the four ends which open the outer peripheral surfaces of the legs are respectively located at the intermediate portions between the corners of the outer peripheral surface of the leg and the center of each side surface. Thereby, as will be described in detail in an embodiment described later, the four corners of the legs are left in a thick state, and these corners firmly contact the four corners of the mounting hole, and It is possible to reliably prevent the screw grommet from rotating together when screwing. In addition, the amount of opening of the legs can be made larger than in the case where the four tip portions of the cross-shaped slit are located at the center of the four side surfaces of the legs, so that the fixing can be performed more firmly. .

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 show a screw grommet 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The screw grommet 1 has a square block-shaped flange portion 2.
And a quadrangular prism-shaped leg 3 integrally projecting from the lower surface of the flange 2.

The flange portion 2 is provided with a screw insertion hole 4 extending from the center of the upper surface to the center of the lower surface. This screw insertion hole 4 is, as shown in FIG.
It has a large-diameter upper part 4a and a small-diameter lower part 4b, and has a substantially funnel-shaped intermediate part 4 between the upper part 4a and the lower part 4b.
c is formed. In the figure, reference numeral 5 denotes a lightening concave portion formed on two opposing side surfaces of the flange portion 2, thereby reducing material costs.

The quadrangular prism-shaped leg 3 is formed integrally with the lower surface of the flange 2 and, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, has a tapered shape in which the outer peripheral surface tip side gradually becomes smaller in diameter. Is formed. As shown in FIG. 4, a screw entry hole 6 having a gradually decreasing diameter from the base end to the distal end is formed in the center of the leg 3 in communication with the screw insertion hole 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, the leg 3 has four cross-shaped slits 7 extending from the screw entry hole 6 to the outer peripheral surface of the leg 3. The distal end is formed so as to be located at an intermediate portion between the four corners of the outer peripheral surface of the leg 3 and the center of each side surface, and the slit 7 divides the leg 3 into four. Further, a notch-shaped recess 8 is formed on one side wall of the center of the slit 7 (on the screw entry hole 6 side) without overlapping each divided portion, and a leg located outside the recess 8 is formed. On the outer peripheral surface of the portion 3, a temporary fixing locking projection 9 is formed near the flange portion 2. In addition, the locking projection 9 is integrally provided so as to protrude from the outer surface of the leg, and the lower end surface thereof is a tapered surface.

Next, the usage and operation of the screw grommet 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. This screw grommet 1 is suitably used when fixing an armrest to a door panel of a motor vehicle. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a leg 3 of the screw grommet 1 is formed in a rectangular panel in which a door panel 10 is formed. Insert it into the mounting hole 11. At this time, the lower end tapered surface of the temporary fixing locking projection 9 protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the leg portion 3 abuts on the inner peripheral edge of the mounting hole 11 and presses the grommet in this state, whereby the locking projection 9 is formed. The leg 3 is pressed inward at the inner peripheral edge of the mounting hole 11 through the
Is bent so as to close the slit 7, and at the same time, due to the action of the notch recess 8 formed in the slit 7, the locking projection 9 forming portion of the leg 3 is partially bent inward, and the locking projection 9 is attached to the mounting hole 11. , The leg 3 elastically returns, and the locking projection 9 engages with the inner peripheral portion of the mounting hole 11, and the locking projection 9 and the lower surface of the flange portion 2 form the peripheral portion of the mounting hole 11 of the door panel 10. The screw grommet 1 is temporarily fixed to the door panel 10 in a state in which is held.

In this case, the screw grommet 1
Does not insert the leg 3 into the mounting hole 11 by bending the flange 2, but instead causes the leg 3 itself to be bent from its base end and the action of the notch recess 8 formed in the slit 7. Inserting the mounting projection 11 of the leg 3 into the mounting hole 11 by partially bending the portion on which the locking projection 9 is formed,
In addition, since the amount of flexure is sufficient to allow the small protrusion 9 to pass through, the leg 3 can be very easily attached to the mounting hole 11.
And can be temporarily fixed. In addition, after the temporary fixing, it can be firmly fixed to the mounting hole 11 by the four locking projections 9.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the armrest 12 is arranged so as to cover the flange 2 of the screw grommet 1 with the flange fitting recess 13 formed on the back surface of the armrest 12, and The shaft 15a of the tapping screw 15 is inserted into the screw insertion hole 4 of the screw grommet 1 from the formed screw insertion recess 14 through a through hole 16a formed in a fixed wall 16 separating the screw insertion recess 14 and the flange fitting recess 13. By screwing this, the shaft portion 15a of the tapping screw 15 is
Screw it in.

As a result, the shaft 15 a of the tapping screw 15 is inserted into the screw entry hole 6 of the leg 3.
The female screw portion corresponding to the male screw portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of 5a enters while being screwed, and the tapping screw 15 is screwed and fixed to the screw grommet 1, and the leg portion 3 divided into four by the slit 7 is formed. Are spread in four directions by the shaft portion 15a of the tapping screw 15, and the leg portion 3 presses the inner peripheral portion of the mounting hole 11, whereby the screw grommet 1 is fixed to the panel 10. Then, a fixing wall 16 of the armrest 12 is sandwiched and fixed between the head 15 b of the tapping screw 15 and the upper surface of the flange portion 2, whereby the armrest 12 is fixed to the door panel 10 via the screw grommet 1. In the figure, 17 is the head 15 of the tapping screw 15.
b and a washer interposed between the fixed wall 16 of the armrest 12.

At this time, in the screw grommet 1, the leg 3 itself is bent and expanded from the base end thereof, and the flange 2 is not deformed. The screw grommet 1 is securely fixed to the mounting hole 11 without inconvenience such that the flange portion 2 is deformed at the time of screwing and the leg portion 3 is closed, and the screw grommet 1 drops out of the mounting hole 11. In this state, the tapping screw 15 can be screwed.

Further, after the tapping screw 15 is screwed in, the legs 3 are spread and fixed in four directions by the action of the cross-shaped slits 7, so that the pulling force of the tapping screw 15 along the axial direction is reduced. Of course, it exerts equally good strength against the twisting force in any direction.

Here, in the screw grommet 1 of the present embodiment, the four ends that open the cross-shaped slit 7 of the leg 3 to the outer peripheral surface of the leg 3 are formed with four corners of the outer peripheral surface of the leg 3. Since the screw grommet 1 is formed so as to be located at an intermediate portion with the center of the side surface, it is possible to reliably prevent the screw grommet 1 from rotating together when the tapping screw 15 is screwed in, and to reduce the opening amount of the leg 3. Can be larger,
For this reason, it is extremely workable and can be firmly fixed.

To explain this point in detail, as shown in FIG. 8, the four ends of the cross-shaped slit 7 opening to the outer peripheral surface of the leg 3 are located at the four corners of the outer peripheral surface of the leg 3 respectively. The tapping screw (FIG. A) is formed more than the tapping screw (FIG. B), in which the four ends opened to the outer peripheral surface of the leg 3 are respectively located at the center of each side surface of the leg 3 (FIG. B). The screw grommet 1a in which such a cross-shaped slit 7 is formed is preferable from the viewpoint that the spread amount of the leg portion 3 by the shaft portion is large and the leg portion 3 is firmly fixed (FIG. A).
When the leg 3 is inserted into the mounting hole of the mounting panel and the tapping screw is screwed, co-rotation tends to occur. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the tapping screw is screwed in, the four corners of the leg 3 are attached to the mounting holes 11.
8A, the screw grommet 1a shown in FIG. 8 (A) has a small thickness at the corners of the leg 3 and this portion (shown by hatching in FIG. 9). Part) is easily sheared at the edge of the panel. For this reason, co-rotation tends to occur when the tapping screw is screwed.

Therefore, in the screw grommet 1 of the present embodiment, as clearly shown in FIG. 3, the four end portions that open the cross-shaped slit 7 to the outer peripheral surface of the leg portion 3 are respectively formed on the outer periphery of the leg portion 3. It is formed so as to be located at the middle between the four corners of the surface and the center of each side surface, thereby preventing the co-rotation while leaving the meat of the corners, and securing a sufficient amount of opening of the legs. It is.

As described above, according to the screw grommet 1 of this embodiment, the screw grommet 1 can be easily temporarily fixed to the mounting panel 10 and, when the tapping screw 15 is screwed into the screw grommet 1, inconveniences such as falling off and co-rotation are prevented. Temporary fixing can be reliably performed without any occurrence. Further, after fixing, it exerts equally strong strength against the twisting force in any direction. In addition, since the flange 2 is not provided with a slit or the like for bending it, the leg 3
The flange 2 is not deformed by bending of the flange 2 or the pressure applied to the flange 2, so that an object to be fixed such as the armrest 12 can be securely fixed to the door panel 10 or the like without causing displacement or the like. Can be fixed to the mounting panel.

The screw grommet of the present invention is
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the cut-shaped concave portion 8 formed in the cross-shaped slit 7 is not always essential and can be omitted. Flange part 2
Also, the shape of the legs 3 and the like can be appropriately changed, and other configurations can be variously changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. In addition, the screw grommet of the present invention is preferably used when attaching an armrest to a door panel of an automobile, but its use is not limited to this, and the panel and articles or panels are interconnected. It can be used for any purpose as long as it can be used.

[0036]

As described above, according to the screw grommet of the present invention, the screw grommet of the present invention can be easily temporarily fixed to the mounting panel, and moreover, falls off from the mounting panel when the tapping screw is screwed. The temporary fixing can be reliably performed without causing any inconvenience.
Also, after fixing, it exerts equally strong strength against torsional force in any direction, and since there is no slit etc. formed in the flange part, the legs may be bent and the flange may be bent. The flanges are not deformed due to the pressure applied to the parts and the position is not displaced. Also, four cross-section slits for dividing the legs into four are opened to the outer peripheral surfaces of the legs. It is formed so that it is located in the middle part between the corner and the center of the side surface, and has a sufficient thickness at the corner of the leg and a sufficient amount of opening of the leg. It is possible to reliably prevent the screw grommet from rotating together at the time of insertion, and to fix the object to the mounting panel with extremely good workability and firmness.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a screw grommet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the screw grommet.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing the screw grommet.

FIG. 4 shows the screw grommet in FIG.
It is sectional drawing which followed the V line.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the screw grommet taken along line VV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a partially sectional side view showing a state where the screw grommet is temporarily fixed to a mounting panel.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a state in which an armrest is fixed to a door panel of an automobile using the screw grommet.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic views each showing a screw grommet in which a cross-shaped slit is formed outside the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a co-rotation phenomenon that occurs when a tapping screw is screwed in after a screw grommet is temporarily fixed to a mounting panel.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a conventional screw grommet.

FIG. 11 is a partially sectional side view showing a state where a conventional screw grommet is temporarily fixed to a mounting panel.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an armrest is fixed to a door panel of an automobile using a conventional screw grommet.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an armrest attached to an automobile door.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating strength against a twisting force when a conventional screw grommet is fixed to a mounting panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Screw grommet 2 Flange part 3 Leg part 4 Screw insertion hole 6 Screw entry hole 7 Cross slit 9 Temporary fixing locking projection 10 Door panel (mounting panel) 11 Mounting hole 12 Armrest (fixed object) 15 Tapping screw

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A screw insertion hole extending from the center of the upper surface to the center of the lower surface is formed in a block-shaped flange portion, and a quadrangular prism-shaped leg is protruded from the lower surface of the flange portion. In addition to forming a screw entrance hole having a gradually decreasing diameter from the base end side to the distal end side in communication with the insertion hole, four open distal end portions or four corner portions of the leg outer peripheral surface from the screw entry hole respectively. A cross-shaped slit extending to the center of each side is formed to divide the leg into four parts, and a temporary fixing locking projection is projected from the outer peripheral surface of the leg to form a mounting panel. The leg is inserted into the square mounting hole, and the temporary fixing locking projection protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the leg is engaged with the inner peripheral portion of the mounting hole and temporarily fixed, and the tapping screw is inserted through the screw. Screw in the hole and tap By inserting a female screw portion corresponding to a male screw portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion into the screw entry hole while screwing the shaft portion of the screw into the screw entry hole, the leg portion divided into four by the slit is made into four. The screw grommet is characterized in that the screw grommet is configured to be spread in a direction and fixed to a mounting panel by pressing an inner peripheral portion of the mounting hole with the leg portion.