Mounting and grounding connectors for electrical components

A connector for mounting and grounding electrical components to an underlying electrically conductive support structure by a mounting screw includes an electrically insulating mounting block which defines at least one mounting hole, and an electrically conductive bus bar which is operatively associated with the mounting block. The bus bar is bent to establish a first leg which is sandwiched between the electrically insulating mounting block and the electrically conductive support structure, and a second leg which defines a flat surface which is disposed within the mounting hole of the electrically insulating mounting block. At least one bent piece is attached to the second leg and bent so as to bound at least an interior surface portion of the mounting hole defined in the electrically insulating mounting block. The first leg of the bus bar makes planar contact with the electrically conductive support structure with the bus bar being positionally fixed in place by the second leg disposed within the mounting hole when the mounting screw is inserted and threaded thereinto.

FIELD OF INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a conductive connector suitable for 
mounting and grounding an electrical component, such as an interior lamp, 
to the painted surface of an underlying conductive support structure such 
as the surface of an automobile body. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,296, discloses a technique for body grounding by 
opening a hole in the painted surface of a conductive attaching body, such 
as an automobile body, and fastening together a lead wire and bus bar with 
screws. 
In this example of the prior art, a conductive member having a bent piece 
is inserted into a hole formed adjacent to an attachment hole of an 
insulated mounting block. The surface of the mounting block on which a 
conductive member is arranged makes planar contact with a conductive 
support structure so that the mounting block may be tightly fastened to a 
hole of the conductive support structure with a conductive screw inserted 
through the attachment hole. The end of the bent piece of the conductive 
member is connected to the inner surface of the hole of the conductive 
support structure with the conductive screw while making "scratching" 
contact with the inner surface of the screw head. 
In attaching an interior lamp and the like by fastening with screws to the 
automobile body, since there are no reinforcing members (particularly on 
the inner surface and periphery of the cylindrical attachment hole of a 
plastic attached body), a problem is encountered wherein a completely 
satisfactory attachment state cannot always be obtained due to the 
cracking, cutting, tearing or breaking off of the mounting block by virtue 
of the powerful twisting force of the set screws. 
In addition, there is also a problem of the conductive member, integrated 
into a single unit with a bus bar, becoming displaced by the turning force 
of the screws. 
Furthermore, since the mounting block is attached by only its surface on 
which a conductive member is arranged, there has also been the problem of 
it being subjected to restrictions on its direction of attachment. 
That is, since handling of lead wires and bus bars is troublesome at 
visible locations such as door switches and interior electrical components 
such as interior lamps (not to mention locations hidden from sight), the 
screws sometimes become loose due to vibrations and the like. As a result, 
numerous problems arose which required the use of spring washers. 
Consequently, although there are other prior art examples which prevent 
partial damage to the mounting block by the screws, for example, by 
embedding a reinforcing ring by insertion-molding in line with the 
attachment hole, there is still the problem of molding costs becoming 
expensive due to the need for plastic insert molding means. 
Therefore, although it is possible to consider simply tightly fitting a 
reinforcing ring in the cylindrical attachment hole, a press machine is 
required which also results in poor workability. In contrast, the case 
where the reinforcing ring is loosely fit, there are problems such as the 
ring easily falling out or still requiring the use of a spring washer. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In order to eliminate each of the above-mentioned problems, the present 
invention improves the shape of the attachment hole of the attached body 
by inserting a cylindrical bent piece, of which at least one leg thereof 
extends from a conductive member and is formed into a fiat surface, along 
at least a portion of the inner surface of the attachment hole of the 
mounting block. The mounting block may then be fastened to a conductive 
support structure with a conductive screw. 
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reinforce the 
periphery of the attachment hole with the bent piece, and to positionally 
lock the conductive member so that it does not become displaced during 
assembly. The attachment direction of the mounting block is thus 
accommodated to an extent that the conductive screw does not become 
loosened by the resilient bending force exerted on the bent piece by the 
mounting screw. The need for a spring washer is thereby prevented. 
The present invention noted above is accomplished by arranging a conductive 
member, having a bent piece aligned with the inner surface of an 
attachment hole of an insulated mounting block made of plastic and the 
like. The bent piece is inserted into the attachment hole and slightly 
protrudes from its inner surface. One leg of the attached body makes 
planar contact with a conductive structure. By tightly fastening the 
mounting block to the hole of the conductive support structure with a 
conductive screw inserted through the bent piece within the attachment 
hole, the bent piece of the conductive member is forcibly bent. As a 
result, its end is connected to the inner surface of the hole of said 
conductive support structure with the conductive screw so as to maintain 
electrical continuity. 
When the mounting block is fastened to the hole of a conductive support 
structure with a conductive screw inserted into the attachment hole of the 
mounting block, the inner surface and periphery of said attachment hole 
can be reinforced, since the conductive bent piece is present within and 
bounds the inner surface of the attachment hole of the mounting block. The 
mounting block may thus be securely fastened to the painted surface of a 
conductive support structure without being cut, torn or broken off by the 
twisting force of the conductive screw. 
Moreover, during this fastening, since the bent piece of the conductive 
member is pushed against the painted surface of the conductive support 
structure by the twisting force of the conductive screw, the conductive 
screw can be threaded at a angle to the conductive support structure with 
the conductive screw being positioned in the hole of the conductive 
support structure. This forcibly pushes the projecting portion of the bent 
piece into the attachment hole with the inner surface of the head of the 
conductive screw. 
In addition, by tightly fastening the mounting block in the hole of the 
conductive support structure with a conductive screw inserted through an 
attachment hole of the mounting block, the projecting portion of the bent 
piece of the conductive member is forcibly pushed into the attachment hole 
by the powerful twisting force of the conductive screw. The bent piece 
thus makes resilient contact with the inner surface of the head of the 
conductive screw by strongly bending the bent piece with slight looseness. 
The conductive member is therefore able to be connected to the inner 
surface of the hole of the conductive support structure so as to maintain 
electrical continuity. The conductive screw is thus not inadvertently 
loosened by external disturbances such as vibrations and the like due to 
the powerful resilient contact friction of the bent piece. As a result, 
secure resilient contact with the inner surface of its head portion is 
ensured. 
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the bent piece of 
a conductive member is pushed against the painted surface of a conductive 
support structure by the twisting force of a conductive screw during 
fastening. In this regard, the conductive screw is threaded into an 
attachment hole while a projection provided on the bent piece forcibly 
scratches and cuts into the inner surface of the head portion of the 
conductive screw. The conductive screw may thus be threaded at a right 
angle to the conductive attaching body. 
As a result of the bent piece being tightly clamped by a projecting 
residual portion between the inside of the head of the conductive screw 
and the painted surface of the conductive support structure wherein the 
majority of its projection has been scratched and cut away, the conductive 
member can securely be connected to the conductive support structure at 
the inner surface of its hole through the conductive screw by means of the 
bent piece to thereby maintain electrical continuity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
The following provides an explanation of a first embodiment of the 
connector according to the present invention with reference to the 
drawings. 
First, with respect tot he basic construction of the present invention, on 
a conductive member 5, in the form of a bus bar having bent pieces 4a and 
4b is inserted in attachment hole 2 of an insulated mounting block 1 made 
of plastic and the like (see FIGS. 2 and 3A). An annular edge 3 of the 
bent pieces 4a and 4b slightly projects from the attachment hole 2 beyond 
the body 1. The conductive member 5 includes a planar leg 5a which is 
arranged on the surface of the mounting block 1, for example within flat 
groove 1a so as to be sandwiched between the mounting block 1 and the 
support structure 7. 
The surface of the mounting block 1 on which the conductive member 5 is 
arranged makes planar contact with metal conductive attaching body 7 via 
leg 5a as shown in FIG. 3B. The mounting block 1 is tightly fastened to 
hole 8 of conductive support structure 7 as shown in FIG. 1, (or to a nut 
welded to conductive support structure 7 in place of this hole 8), with 
conductive screw 9, which may be in the form of a tapping screw and the 
like inserted through the attachment hole 2. Leading annular projection 
edge 3 of bent pieces 4a, 4b of the conductive member 5 is thus forcibly 
pushed into the attachment hole 2 by the powerful twisting force of the 
conductive screw 9, thus enabling bent pieces 4a, 4b to be strongly bent 
with slight looseness and make resilient contact with the inner surface of 
the head of conductive screw 9 as shown in FIG. 1. As a result, the 
conductive member 5 is able to be connected to the inner surface of hole 8 
of conductive attaching body 7 to thereby maintain electrical continuity. 
The following provides an explanation of the operation of the present 
invention. 
Since paint is peeled from the inner surface of hole 8 formed in conductive 
support structure 7 during drilling or burring, the inner surface of the 
hole 8 (or a nut welded to conductive support structure 7) is likewise 
electrically conductive. 
When the mounting block I is fastened to hole 8 of the conductive support 
structure 7 with conductive screw 9 inserted through bent pieces 4a and 4b 
as shown in FIG. 3A inside attachment hole 2 of mounting block 1, the 
inner surface and periphery of attachment hole 2 can be reinforced by bent 
pieces 4a and 4b that is, the conductive bent pieces 4a and 4b are present 
inside attachment hole 2 of attached body 1 and are aligned with its inner 
surface thereby; providing structural reinforcement. The mounting block 1 
nay thus be securely fastened to painted surface 7a of conductive support 
structure 7 (see FIG. 1) without being cut or damaged by the twisting 
force of conductive screw 9, and without displacing the bus bar 5 since 
one leg of the bus bar 5 is in the form of a fiat surface defined by bent 
piece 4a. 
During this fastening, while bent pieces 4a and 4b of conductive member 5 
are pushed against the painted surface of conductive support structure 7 
by twisting force of conductive screw 9, the conductive screw 9 may be 
threaded and fastened at a right angle, since the conductive screw 9 is 
threaded into hole 8 of the conductive support structure 7 while the 
projection edge 3 of bent pieces 4a and 4b is forcibly pushed into 
attachment hole 2 by the inner surface of the head of conductive screw 9. 
Following this fastening, conductive screw 9 does not become inadvertently 
loosened by external disturbances, such as vibrations and the like, due to 
the powerful resilient contact friction of the bent piece 4b securely 
making resilient contact with the inner surface of the screw head. 
The shape of bent pieces 4a and 4b that are formed on conductive member 5 
is not limited to a curved cylinder as shown in FIGS. 1-4, but instead may 
have one of the various shapes shown in each FIGS. 5A, 6A and 7A. 
Although an example of attaching the mounting block 1 is described in the 
above-mentioned embodiment wherein its surface on which conductive member 
5 is provided makes contact with conductive support structure 7, the 
mounting block 1 may also be fastened with conductive screw 9 by having 
the surface of the mounting block 1 on which a conductive member is not 
arranged make contact with conductive support structure 7 as shown in 
FIGS. 8 and 9. 
The following provides an explanation of a second embodiment of the present 
invention with reference to the drawings. 
As shown in FIG. 4, the bent pieces 4a and 4b may have a projection 3 which 
slightly protrudes from attachment hole 2 of insulated mounting block 1. 
The bent pieces 4a, 4b are inserted into attachment hole 2. The conductive 
member 5, in the form of a buss bar and the like, is integrated into a 
single trait with bent pieces 4a and 4b, and includes a leg 5a which is 
arranged on the surface of the mounting block 1, for example, on flat 
groove 1a. 
As a result of the surface of the mounting block 1 on which the conductive 
member 5 is arranged so as to make planar contact with metal conductive 
support structure 7, in the form of an automobile door or chassis, as 
shown in FIG. 3B, the mounting block 1 may be tightly fixed to hole 8 of 
the conductive support structure 7 as shown in FIG. 3B (or to a nut welded 
to conductive attaching body 7) with conductive screw 9. That is, screw 9 
is inserted through the attachment hole 2. As a result, the leading ends 
of bent pieces 4a and 4b of the conductive member 5 can be connected to 
the inner surface of hole 8 of the conductive support structure 7 with the 
screw 9 so as to maintain electrical continuity. 
During this fastening, bent pieces 4a and 4b of conductive member 5 are 
pushed against the painted surface of conductive support structure 7 by 
twisting force of conductive screw 9. Conductive screw 9 is threaded into 
attachment hole 2 while projection 3 of bent pieces 4a and 4b is forcibly 
scratched and cut by the inner surface of the head of conductive screw 9. 
Conductive screw 9 may thus be threaded and fastened at a right angle to 
conductive support structure 7. 
As a result of the bent pieces 4a and 4b being tightly clamped by means of 
the residual projection portion 3a between the inside of the head of 
conductive screw 9 and the painted surface of conductive support structure 
7 in the state wherein the majority of its projection 3 has been scratched 
and cut away, the conductive member 5 can be reliably connected to 
conductive support structure 7 at the inner surface of its hole 8 through 
conductive screw 9 by means of its bent pieces 4a and 4b to thus maintain 
electrical continuity. 
Following this fastening, conductive screw 9 does not become inadvertently 
loosened by external disturbances such as vibrations and the like due to 
the powerful resilient contact friction resulting from the small residual 
portion 3a of projection 3 of the above-mentioned bent pieces 4a and 4b 
securely inserted and making contact with the inner surface of its head. 
The shape of bent pieces 4a and 4b that may be formed on conductive member 
5 is not limited to a curved cylinder, but rather various shapes of bent 
pieces 4a and 4b can be employed as shown in each of FIGS. 5B, 6B and 7. 
As a result of having the construction as explained above, the present 
invention offers the advantages described below. 
When fastening the mounting block 1 to hole 8 of the conductive support 
structure 7 with conductive screw 9 inserted into attachment hole 2 of 
mounting block 1, the inner surface and periphery of attachment hole 2 are 
structurally reinforced by the bent pieces 4a and 4b due to their physical 
presence within the hole 8. As a result, an advantage in terms of 
manufacturing is achieved since the mounting block 1 can securely be 
fastened to painted surface 7a of conductive support structure 7 without 
being cut or broken off by the twisting force of conductive screw 9. 
During this fastening, while bent pieces 4a and 4b of conductive member 5 
are being pushed against painted surface 7a of the conductive support, 
structure 7 by the twisting force of conductive screw 9, conductive screw 
9 is able to be threaded and fastened at a right angle to conductive 
support structure 7 since conductive screw 9 is threaded into hole 8 of 
conductive support structure 7 while projection 3 of bent pieces 4a and 4b 
is forcibly pushed into attachment hole 2 by the inner surface of the head 
of conductive screw 9. The screw 9 is not inadvertently loosened by 
external disturbance in the form of vibrations and the like due to the 
powerful resilient contact friction of the bent piece 4b securely making 
resilient contact with the inner surface of its head, thereby offering the 
advantage that the need for a spring washer is eliminated. 
In addition, since projection 3 of bent pieces 4a and 4b of the conductive 
member 5 is forcibly pushed into attachment hole 2 by conductive screw 9 
inserted in hole 8 of conductive support structure 7 through attachment 
hole 2 of the mounting block 1 due to the powerful twisting force of the 
conductive screw 9 as shown in FIG. 1, it is capable of making resilient 
contact with the inner surface of the head of conductive screw 9. As a 
result, bent piece 4b is deformed with slight looseness. The conducting 
member 5 is able to be connected to the inner surface of hole 8 of 
conductive support structure 7 to thereby maintain electrical continuity, 
thereby offering numerous advantages including being able to reliably 
maintain a state of electrical continuity for prolonged time periods.