JP7542484B2 - Fastening structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fastening structure that can absorb dimensional tolerances even if the insertion hole of the main body and the mounting hole of the mounting member are misaligned when the main body is fixed to the mounting member by a fastening means.

Figure 7 shows the fastening structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, where (a) is a perspective view of the main body (support member), (b) is a cross-sectional view of the main body in a front view, and (c) is a cross-sectional view of the main body in a side view. In this fastening structure, a resin-made main body 20 is fixed to an attachment member (body) 50 via a bolt 40, and includes an attachment part 23 provided on the main body 20 and a plate 60 arranged on the attachment part 23. The plate 60 is made of metal and has an insertion hole 63 through which the bolt 40 is inserted and a rising piece 62 standing up from one side edge of the flat plate. The attachment part 23 has an elastic lock part 34 protruding from one side wall 25 to restrict the plate 60 from slipping out of the attachment part 23, a guide groove 28 provided on the other side wall 24 to fit loosely with the rising piece 62, and an upper cover part 31 protruding above the guide groove 28 to restrict the rising piece 62 from slipping out.

In this fastening structure, the plate 60 is placed in the mounting portion 23 between the side walls 24, 25 with some play in the left-right direction. That is, when the plate 60 is placed, the elastic locking portion 34 faces the side edge of the plate with a gap, and while allowing the plate 60 to move within the gap, the engagement surface 37 at the lower end of the locking portion and the upper cover portion 31 restrict the plate from slipping out. Then, when the main body portion 20 is attached to the mounting member 50, the mounting portion 23 is placed on the upper end surface of the boss portion 51 of the mounting member 50, and is aligned so that the screw hole 52 of the boss portion communicates with the insertion hole 63 of the plate 60.

The above effects include that the plate can move within the range of play that may occur between the plate and the elastic locking portion, so that the difference in thermal expansion between the resin main body and the metal plate can be absorbed. In addition, the plate can be attached by positioning one side of the plate on the guide groove side and the other side of the plate on the elastic locking portion side, so that excessive elastic reaction force from the elastic locking portion can be prevented, and it is described as having excellent attachment operability (paragraph 0007).

Patent No. 6481860

However, in the structure of Patent Document 1, the movement of the plate is restricted by the side walls (24, 25) and end wall (26) that define the mounting portion, so if the dimensional error of the insertion hole of the plate relative to the screw hole provided in the boss portion of the mounting member becomes large, there is a concern that the dimensional error cannot be absorbed. In addition, since the plate is placed in any position until it is fixed with a bolt, the initial position of the plate is not fixed, which makes it difficult to work with and handle.

The object of the present invention is to provide a fastening structure that can solve the above problems and can be fixed by fastening means, even if there is a large error in the positional dimensions of the insertion hole of the plate relative to the mounting hole of the mounting member, by allowing the error via the plate. Other objects will be made clear in the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1, when specified with reference to the drawings, is characterized in that in a fastening structure in which a main body portion (2) is fixed to an attachment member (1) via fastening means (F) such as a bolt or a clip, the main body portion (2) comprises a plate (4) having an insertion hole (4c) as a fastening portion for an attachment hole (1c) provided in the attachment member (1), and a retaining portion (3) that supports the plate so that it can move along the main body portion arrangement surface (2a), and the retaining portion (3) is provided in plurality so as to sandwich the plate (4) therebetween, and is capable of sandwiching the plate with portions (3b) extending from a connecting portion integrated with the main body portion along the periphery of the plate, and when fastened by the fastening means, the plate is moved via the retaining portion to an alignment position between the insertion hole (4c) and the attachment hole (1c), thereby absorbing errors in the positional dimensions of the insertion hole and the attachment hole.

In the present invention described above, the fastening means includes a bolt as exemplified in FIG. 5, a clip as exemplified in FIG. 6, and similar members. The nut used for the bolt may be pre-attached to the mounting member by welding or the like in correspondence with the mounting hole, or may have a screw hole for the bolt formed in the mounting member as in Patent Document 1. The clip is not limited to a single structure and may be, for example, a male/female member structure.

The present invention is more preferably embodied as in claims 2 to 6. That is,
(A) In claim 1, the holding portion is configured to be elastically deformable (claim 2).

(i) In claim 1 or 2 , the holding portion has a fitting claw (3c) that fits onto the peripheral edge of the plate (Claim 3) .
(c) In any of claims 1 to 3 , the plate has a function of centering at an initial position on the main body placement surface, and the plate is moved from the initial position by an operation of the fastening means to make the insertion hole and the mounting hole coaxial, thereby absorbing errors in the positional dimensions of the insertion hole and the mounting hole (Claim 4) .

In the invention of claim 1, the main body is provided with a plate having an insertion hole and a holding part that supports the plate movably along the main body arrangement surface as a fastening part for the mounting hole provided in the mounting member, and when fastened by the fastening means, the plate is moved via the holding part to a position where the insertion hole and the mounting hole are aligned, thereby absorbing the error in the positional dimensions of the insertion hole and the mounting hole. Therefore, compared to the fastening structure of Patent Document 1, even if there is a large error in the positional dimensions of the mounting hole of the mounting member and the insertion hole of the main body during the fastening operation, the error can be tolerated via the plate and fixed by the fastening means. This advantage is particularly convenient when the main body and mounting member are fastened at multiple points.

In addition, in the present invention, when the holding portion is composed of a plurality of portions that sandwich the plate therebetween, the plate can be stably supported as in the embodiment. In addition, in the present invention, the holding portion sandwiches the plate at portions that extend from the connecting portion with the main body portion along the periphery of the plate on both sides, so that the plate can be more stably supported by the portions that extend on both sides.

In the invention of claim 2, the holding portion is elastically displaced relative to the main body portion, so that the plate can be elastically supported in the initial position via the holding portion as shown in Figure 2, and when the plate is moved from the initial position, the holding portion is elastically displaced, thereby preventing rattling of the plate.

In the invention of claim 3 , the holding portion has engaging claws that engage with the periphery of the plate, eliminating the risk of the holding portion inadvertently coming off the plate, and the presence of the engaging claws makes it easier to reliably move the plate to the adjustment position when moving the plate along the main body placement surface.

In the invention of claim 4 , the holding portion has a function of centering the plate in an initial position on the main body arrangement surface, and the plate is moved from the initial position as shown in Fig. 2 by an operation of making the insertion hole and the mounting hole coaxial with each other by the fastening means as shown in Fig. 5, thereby absorbing errors in the positional dimensions of the insertion hole and the mounting hole. With this configuration, the position of the plate is fixed to the initial position during assembly, which provides excellent workability and handleability, and by moving the insertion hole and the mounting hole from the initial position by the required tolerance, errors in the positional dimensions can be efficiently absorbed.

1A is a top view showing a state in which a plate is not placed, and FIG. 1B is a top view showing a state in which a plate is supported by a holding portion, as a fastening structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of the top surface of the main body before the plate is arranged, FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of the top surface of the main body after the plate is arranged, and FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of the top surface of the main body in a state in which the insertion hole of the plate is offset by the dimension L in the X2 direction relative to the mounting hole of the mounting member, and FIG. 1B is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line A1-A1 of FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of the top surface of the main body in a state in which the main body is fixed to the mounting member by a bolt, which is a fastening means, from FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line A2-A2 in FIG. FIG. 1 shows two modified examples using clips as a fastening means, where (a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main body portion fixed to the mounting member by a single clip, and (b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main body portion fixed to the mounting member by male and female clips. 1 shows the fastening structure of Patent Document 1, and (a), (b), and (c) show FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 disclosed in Patent Document 1.

The optimal embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this description, we will explain in detail an example of the fastening structure and the operation of its main parts, as well as modified examples 1 and 2.

(Example) As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, this fastening structure fastens the main body 2 to the mounting member 1 via fastening means F. The motivation for the invention is that it was devised as a countermeasure when, when a battery cover, which is the main body 2, is fastened to a vehicle battery case, which is the mounting member 1, by fastening means F such as multiple bolts, multiple insertion holes (not shown) provided in the main body 2 cannot be coaxially overlapped with the corresponding mounting holes 1c of the mounting member 1 due to dimensional errors. The main part is that a plate 4 having insertion holes 4c is held by a holding part 3 so that it can move a predetermined distance in all directions relative to the main body 2, and when the insertion hole 4c cannot be overlapped with the desired mounting hole 1c, the plate 4 can be moved relative to the main body 2 via the holding part 3 to absorb the dimensional tolerance. The details of these are explained below.

This fastening structure is particularly suitable when the mounting member 1 and main body 2 are relatively large, such as a battery case and a battery cover, and the main body 2 is fixed to the mounting member 1 by multiple fastening means F.

Here, the mounting member 1 is a resin molded product, but it can be made of materials other than resin. The mounting member 1 has a mounting hole 1c through which the fastening means F passes. The mounting hole 1c is a circular hole, and although only one is shown in the figure, in reality there are multiple mounting holes. The reference characters 1a and 1b indicate the top and bottom surfaces of the mounting member.

The main body 2 is a resin molded product, and has an insertion hole 2c that is slightly larger than the mounting hole 1c and is provided at a location corresponding to the mounting hole 1c, and a number of holding parts 3 that are provided on the top surface 2a and protrude outward from the insertion hole 2c. The top surface 2a is the main body placement surface on which the plate 4 is placed. Reference symbol 2b is the bottom surface that is overlaid on the mounting member 1. Note that the insertion hole 2c and the multiple holding parts 3 are not shown in the figure, as is the mounting hole 1c, but are actually provided in multiple locations.

The insertion hole 2c is a circular hole of a size that allows the plate 4 to be moved in all directions by a predetermined distance. Each holding part 3 is arranged to sandwich the plate 4 therebetween, and has parts 3b, 3b extending to both sides from the connecting part 3a integrated into the upper surface 2a of the main body, and mating claws 3c provided at the tip of each part 3b. Each holding part 3 is roughly arc-shaped with the connecting part 3a and the extending parts 3b on both sides of the connecting part. The symbol 3d is a reinforcing rib provided on the outer periphery of each holding part 3 and joined to the connecting part 3a.

The parts 3b, 3b are located on both sides of the connecting part 3a as shown in Figure 1, and extend in an arc with approximately the same curvature as the circumference of the plate 4, while maintaining a gap G with the top surface 2a as shown in Figure 2. Therefore, when each part 3b receives stress from the plate 4, it can be elastically displaced with the connecting part 3a as a fulcrum (see Figure 5). The mating claws 3c are provided on the inner peripheral side of the tip of each part 3b, and have a convex shape that pinches the outer edge of the plate 4 between them and the top surface 2a. Each mating claw 3c allows the movement of the plate 4 by the elastic displacement of the part 3b, and also restrains the plate 4 at multiple points to prevent it from floating up or coming off the top surface 2a.

The plate 4 is made of metal and consists of a large diameter portion 4a with an outer diameter larger than the insertion hole 2c of the main body, and a small diameter portion 4b with an outer diameter smaller than the insertion hole 2c, forming a two-tiered disk shape as a whole. The small diameter portion 4b of the plate 4 is inserted into the insertion hole 2c of the main body 2 so that it can move freely in all directions a predetermined distance until the large diameter portion 4a abuts against the upper surface 2a of the main body. The plate is not limited to being made of metal, and may be made of, for example, hard resin, etc.

The plate 4 is sandwiched between the opposing holding parts 3 via the mating claws 3c. In other words, the holding parts 3, 3 sandwich the large diameter part 4a of the plate between them at the tip sides of the parts 3b, 3b extending from the connecting part 3a on both sides, and the mating claws 3c at the tip of each extended part 3b are fitted with the outer periphery of the large diameter part 4a of the plate. In addition, the plate 4 is supported so as to be movable by the difference dimension M between the hole diameter of the insertion hole 2c and the outer diameter of the small diameter part 4b with the small diameter part 4b loosely fitted in the insertion hole 2c. The plate 4 is centered between the opposing mating claws 3c as shown in Figures 1(b) and 2.

Therefore, Fig. 1(b) and Fig. 2 show an example in which the mounting member 1 (mounting hole 1c) and the main body 2 (insertion hole 2c) are not misaligned, and the mounting hole 1c and the insertion hole 4c of the plate are arranged coaxially. In contrast, Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show an example in which the mounting member 1 (mounting hole 1c) and the main body 2 (insertion hole 2c) are misaligned by dimension L. In this case, when the bolt 5, which is the fastening means, is inserted from the insertion hole 4c into the mounting hole 1c, the retaining portion 3 of the plate 4 moves against the elasticity of the plate 4 relative to the main body 2 to absorb the misalignment, and the plate 4 is tightened with the nut 6 in this state.

(Operation of Main Parts) The above fastening structure has the following excellent effects.
(1) The main body 2 includes a plate 4 having an insertion hole 4c as a fastening part for a mounting hole 1a provided in the mounting member 1, and a holding part 3 that supports the plate 4 movably along the main body arrangement surface, which is the upper surface 2a, and during fastening work, the plate 4 is moved to an alignment position between the insertion hole 4c and the mounting hole 1c with the elastic displacement of the holding part 3, thereby absorbing the error in the positional dimensions of the insertion hole 4c and the mounting hole 1c. Therefore, compared to the fastening structure of Patent Document 1, even if the error in the positional dimensions of the mounting hole 1c of the mounting member and the insertion hole 2c of the main body 2 or the insertion hole 4c of the plate 4 is large during fastening operation, this fastening structure can tolerate the error through the movement of the plate 4 in all directions relative to the main body 2 and can be fixed by the fastening means F. Such a fastening structure functions effectively and is convenient, especially when the main body 2 and the mounting member 1 are fastened at multiple points.

(2) As described above, this fastening structure has the function of centering the plate 4 in the initial position on the main body placement surface, which is the upper surface 2a, and by operating the fastening means F to make the insertion hole 4c and the mounting hole 1c coaxial from the initial position shown in FIG. 2, the plate 4 can be moved against the elastic force of the retaining portion 3 as illustrated in FIG. 5, absorbing the error in the positional dimensions of the insertion hole 4c and the mounting hole 1c. Therefore, even if the error in the positional dimensions is large, this fastening structure can reliably absorb the error by moving the plate 4. In other words, since the position of the plate 4 is fixed to the initial position during assembly, it is easy to work with and easy to handle, and by moving the insertion hole 4c and the mounting hole 1c by the necessary tolerance from the initial position, the error in the positional dimensions can be efficiently absorbed.

(3) In this fastening structure, the extended portion 3b of each holding portion 3 is elastically displaced relative to the main body portion 2, so that, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the plate 4 is elastically supported in the initial position via the holding portion 3, and when it is moved from the initial position, the plate 4 is elastically displaced, which prevents the plate 4 from wobbling. Also, in this fastening structure, the holding portion 3 is composed of two portions that sandwich the plate 4 therebetween, so that the plate 4 can be stably supported as in the embodiment. However, although the embodiment is composed of a pair of opposing holding portions 3, it is also possible to divide the holding portion 3 in two at the connecting portion 3a, for example, to have a total of four holding portions.

(4) In this fastening structure, the holding portion 3 clamps the plate with the portion 3b extending from the connecting portion 3a with the main body 2 along the periphery of the plate 4 on both sides, so that the plate 4 can be supported more stably. In addition, because the holding portion 3 has an engagement claw 3c that engages with the periphery of the plate 4, there is no risk of the holding portion 3 accidentally coming off the plate 4, and furthermore, when the plate 4 is moved along the upper surface 2a, which is the main body placement surface, the presence of the engagement claw 3c makes it easier to reliably move the plate 4 to the adjustment position.

(Modifications) Figure 6 shows two examples of fastening means F using clips instead of bolts, corresponding to Figure 5(b). In this explanation, new reference symbols are given to the changed parts, and only the changed configuration is described in detail.

Figure 6(a) shows a configuration using a single clip. That is, this clip 7 is composed of an umbrella-shaped head 7a, a body 7b that protrudes from the inside center of the head 7a and fits into the insertion hole 4c of the plate, legs 7c attached below the body 7b, and anchor-shaped locking pieces 7d, 7d that are folded back on both sides from the tip of the legs 7c. Each locking piece 7d of the clip 7 is inserted from the insertion hole 4c into the mounting hole 1c, and in the process of insertion, the position of the plate 4 is moved and it finally passes through the mounting hole 1c while reducing its diameter, and at the same time it engages with the lower edge of the mounting hole 1c as shown in the figure, fixing the main body 2 to the mounting member 1.

6(b) shows a configuration in which the fastening means F uses a clip consisting of male and female members. That is, in this fastening means F, the male member 8 has a head 8a , a support 8b suspended from the head, and a locking projection (not shown) provided on the support. The female member 9 has a tubular portion 9b into which the support 8b is inserted, a flange 9a protruding from the upper outer periphery of the tubular portion 9b, and locking legs 9c, 9c connected to the tubular portion 9b and expandable through slits.

In this clip, the support 8b of the male member is inserted a specified distance into the tubular portion 9b of the female member in a provisionally fixed state, and then the tubular portion 9b is inserted from the insertion hole 4c into the mounting hole 1c. During the insertion process, the position of the plate 4 is shifted and it finally passes through the mounting hole 1c while reducing its diameter. At the same time, as shown in the figure, each of the locking legs 9c engages with the lower edge of the mounting hole 1c, and the main body 2 is fixed to the mounting member 1. For details, please refer to JP 2015-72036 A.

As described above, the present invention only needs to have the configuration specified in the claims, and the details can be modified in various ways as necessary, as in the modified examples. For example, when the main body is fixed to the mounting member by a fastening means, a washer or a packing may be added as necessary. Also, instead of the nut in FIG. 5 , the mounting hole of the mounting member may be formed with a female screw as in Patent Document 1. The holding portion may be configured to sandwich a plate between two pieces having a U-shaped or inverted L-shaped cross section, or between two holding portions having a V-shaped cross section, or may be configured as a hinge lid, that is, a lid having an opening large enough to fit the plate inside is connected to the main body via a one-sided hinge, and the lid may be switched between a closed position where it is placed on the top surface of the main body and an open position where it is raised up.

1.....Mounting member (1c is a mounting hole)
2....Main body (2c is an insertion hole)
2a...Top surface (main body placement surface)
3. Holding portion (3a is a connecting portion)
3b: extended part 3c: mating claw 4: plate (4c is an insertion hole)
4a: Large diameter portion 4b: Small diameter portion 5: Bolt (fastening means)
6: Nut 7: Clip (fastening means)
8: Male member of clip (fastening means)
9. Female member of clip (fastening means)
F. Fastening means G. Gap

Claims (4)

In a fastening structure in which a main body is fixed to a mounting member via fastening means such as a bolt or a clip,
the main body portion includes a plate having an insertion hole as a fastening portion for a mounting hole provided in the mounting member, and a holding portion that supports the plate so as to be movable along a main body portion arrangement surface, and the holding portion is provided in a plurality of portions so as to sandwich the plate therebetween, and is capable of sandwiching the plate with portions that extend from a connecting portion integrated with the main body portion along a periphery of the plate on both sides,
A fastening structure characterized in that, when fastening by the fastening means, the plate is moved via the retaining portion to a position where the insertion hole of the plate and the mounting hole are aligned, thereby absorbing errors in the positional dimensions of the insertion hole and the mounting hole. The fastening structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the retaining portion is configured to be elastically deformed. 3. The fastening structure according to claim 1, wherein the holding portion has a mating claw that fits onto a peripheral edge of the plate. The fastening structure described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the retaining portion has a function of centering the plate at an initial position on the main body placement surface, and the plate is moved from the initial position by an operation of the fastening means to make the insertion hole and the mounting hole coaxial, thereby absorbing errors in the positional dimensions of the insertion hole and the mounting hole.

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