Expanded – threaded – driven – headed – tool-deformed – or locked-thr – Threaded fastener locked to a discreet structure – Nut – and means to engage substructure on its opposite faces...
Patent
1997-09-04
1999-04-06
Saether, Flemming
Expanded, threaded, driven, headed, tool-deformed, or locked-thr
Threaded fastener locked to a discreet structure
Nut, and means to engage substructure on its opposite faces...
F16B 3702
Patent
active
058908587
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known to connect material to a carrier plate using a clamp-type sheet metal nut which is slipped onto a carrier plate. The sheet metal nut consists of two legs, connected to each other, with a pretapped plunged boss in one leg and a through-bore for a screw in the other leg. An annular centering strip is formed around at least three-fourths of the circumference of the through-bore; the rear region of the centering strip bends diagonally upward towards the threaded leg.
This type of slip-on nut is used for connecting a carrier plate, such as an auto body of a motor vehicle, to another component or sheet. The centering strip offers the advantage that the threaded portion of the sheet metal nut, when the former is being slipped on, is fixed precisely over the fastening hole of the carrier plate. When driving in the screw, the sheet metal nut no longer must be held, which means that assembly is greatly facilitated, particularly when the fastening hole is difficult to access.
If the sheet metal of the carrier plate is coated with a protective coating, e.g., a lacquer coating, then it should not be damaged by the fastening process. Therefore it is important that, as the sheet metal nut is being slipped on, the centering strip be able to spring back softly and, in this connection, without spring into the hole of the clamping leg from which the centering strip has been cut without damage. In order to fulfill said requirement, the centering strip in the prior art of the invention, in accordance with DE 2,828,078 C2, is cut such that it is surrounded by a region which has been cut free. However, the clamping leg must be of a wider design for the free punch, and requires a correspondingly wider sheet metal strip as starting material. In addition, the increased leg width may become an obstacle for narrow spatial conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the invention is to fashion a centering strip for the sheet metal nut such that with equally good spring-back properties the free punch may be largely omitted, and therefore less sheet metal material is required to produce the sheet metal nut.
The problem is solved in accordance with the present invention by the fact that a centering strip after it has been cut in, is bent 90.degree. over its entire length consequentlyextending perpendicularly to the plane of the clamping leg. This results in an advantageous deeper entry of the centering strip into the fastening hole of the carrier plate, consequently yielding an improved centering effect. In addition, the outer diameter of a "on edge" centering strip is less than the outer diameter of a conventional centering strip which lays flat, such that the through-bore in the carrier plate may also be of a smaller design, corresponding with the smaller outer diameter of the centering strip.
The advantages of the invention become especially apparent in the centering ring formation in which the centering strip is connected to the clamping leg by means of two parallel strips which spring back gently, and the outer edge of the centering strip is turned to an "on edge" position between the connecting elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The drawing represents an embodiment of a sheet metal nut in accordance with the invention which will be explained in greater detail in the following. Shown are:
FIG. 1: Shown is a side view of a clamp-type sheet metal nut,
FIG. 2: Shown is a horizontal sectional view taken through the sheet metal nut between the two legs, taken along line II--II of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3: Shown is a sectional view taken through the clamping leg in accordance with line III--III of FIG. 2, and
FIG. 4: Shown is the sheet metal nut, premounted on a carrier plate, in the centering position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The sheet metal nut (15) represented in the FIGS. 1-4 consists of two C-shaped legs (1,2) connected to each other, with one leg (1) provided with a screw thread (3) in a boss (8) and the other leg (2) provided with a through-bore (4) f
REFERENCES:
patent: 4729706 (1988-03-01), Peterson
patent: 4798507 (1989-01-01), Olah
patent: 5039264 (1991-08-01), Benn
A. Raymond & Cie
Saether Flemming
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