Source: http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/5040917.html
Timestamp: 2019-01-17 04:24:11
Document Index: 40053383

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 68092', 'art 7', 'application No. 68092', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 7']

Device for fixing mechanical parts to the body of a motor vehicle - Patent # 5040917 - PatentGenius
Device for fixing mechanical parts to the body of a motor vehicle
5040917 Device for fixing mechanical parts to the body of a motor vehicle
Inventor: Camuffo
Application: 07/501,053
Inventors: Camuffo; Sergio (Turin, IT)
U.S. Class: 403/408.1; 411/338; 411/339; 411/353; 411/546; 411/970; 411/999
Field Of Search: 403/408.1; 403/406.1; 403/388; 403/380; 403/286; 403/405.1; 403/407.1; 411/339; 411/338; 411/383; 411/171; 411/353; 411/352
U.S Patent Documents: 2915152; 3271058; 3603626; 4238165; 4312145; 4334599; 4647264; 4787793; 4850771; 4921371
Abstract: A device is described for fixing to the floor of a motor-vehicle body, by screwing from above, a mechanical part which has previously been brought up to the floor from below. The mechanical part to be fixed carries at least one locating element which engages a corresponding hole formed in the body. The locating element has a threaded hole which is engaged by a screw on which the smaller-diameter portion of a sleeve can slide. The sleeve has a larger-diameter portion which is adapted to fit over the outer surface of that part of the locating element which projects through the corresponding locating hole in order to facilitate the centering and insertion of the screw in the threaded hole in the locating element.
1. A device for fixing to a floor of a motor-vehicle body, by securing from above, a mechanical part which has previously been brought up to the floor below, wherein:
a) the mechanical part being fixed carries at least one locating element and the body defines a corresponding locating hole for engagement by the locating element;
b) the locating element comprising a peg-like member having an elongated tubular portion with a threaded hole and a flange at one end welded to said mechanical part; and
c) a screw having a head and a shank with a threaded end portion spaced from said head adapted to engage the threaded hole in the locating element, and
a sleeve having a first, smaller-diameter portion mounted slidably on the shank of said screw with the head of the screw bearing on its end, and a second, larger-diameter portion extending over said threaded end portion in spaced relation theretoand adapted to fit over the outer surface of said tubular portion of the locating element which projects through the corresponding locating hole so as to facilitate the centering and insertion of the screw in the threaded hole in the locating element.
2. A fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the device includes a resilient ring which is fitted onto the shank of the screw to prevent the accidental disengagement of the screw from the sleeve.
A tendency has developed recently in the art to preassemble the mechanical units of a motor vehicle, usually by mounting the various parts on preassembly subframes, and then to mount the subframes carrying the preassembled units on the motorvehicle body by means of automatic equipment. An example of this mode of production which relates to a rear suspension unit mounted on the floor of the motor-vehicle body from below, is described in the prior Italian Patent Application No. 68092-A/88filed by the same Applicant and designating the same inventor as the present Application. In this mode of production, the preassembled unit is fixed under the floor of the motor-vehicle body by screwing from below with the aid of automatic screwingdevices. Because of the particular shape and size of the structure to be fixed, however, some of the fixing points of the preassembled unit may have to be screwed to the body from above, that is, from inside the motor-vehicle body, instead of frombelow, and this may be difficult to carry out with automatic equipment. Moreover, the mechanical parts are sometimes mounted on box elements forming part of the body and this can make them even more difficult to fix, taking into account the need toavoid the risk of deformation or local weakening of the box element. taking into account the need to avoid the risk of deformation or local weakening of the box element.
In order to resolve all the aforesaid problems simply, the subject of the present invention is a device for fixing to the floor of a motor-vehicle body, by screwing from above, a mechanical part which has previously been brought up to the floorfrom below,
-a sleeve having a first, smaller-diameter portion mounted slidably on the screw with the head of the screw bearing on its end, and a second, larger-diameter portion adapted to fit over the outer surface of that part of the locating element whichprojects through the corresponding locating hole so as to facilitate the centering and insertion of the screw in the threaded hole in the locating element.
The locating element may be constituted, for example, by a peg the head of which is welded to the mechanical part to be fixed according to a technique known in applications in which locators have to be provided for the mounting of a preassembledunit on the body of the motor vehicle. Moreover, the fixing device preferably includes a resilient ring which is fitted on the shank of the screw to prevent the accidental disengagement of the screw from the sleeve.
In the drawings, a mechanical part 7 (for example, an element with a cross member on which a rear suspension unit has been preassembled--see the Applicant's patent application No. 68092-A/88) is to be brought up to the floor 2 of themotor-vehicle body from below and fixed to the floor by screwing from above. The part 7 carries at least one locating element 1 which, in the embodiment illustrated, is constituted by a locating peg with a body which is inserted through a hole 7' in thepart 7 and a head which is fixed to the part 7 by welding 9. When the part 7 is mounted under the floor 2 of the body, the portion of the locating peg 1 which projects from the part 7 engages a locating hole 2' formed in the floor 2. The free end ofthe locating peg 1 which projects above the floor 2--still with reference to the particular embodiment shown--has a circumferential chamfer 1'.
FIG. 3 shows the portion of the floor 2 to which the part 7 is to be fixed in greater detail. As can be seen, in the embodiment shown, the part 7 is fixed to the lower wall of a box element. The fixing device according to the invention,generally indicated 8, (see also FIG. 2) includes a screw 3 with a threaded end portion 3a terminating in a conical point 3b. The threaded portion 3a is intended to be screwed into the threaded hole 1a in the locating peg 1. A sleeve, indicated 5, hasa first, smaller-diameter portion 11 mounted slidably on the unthreaded part of the shank of the screw 3 and a second, larger-diameter portion 12 (the diameters of the two portions are indicated d and D respectively in the drawings). The head 3' of thescrew 3 abuts the free end surface of the smaller-diameter portion 11 of the sleeve 5 with the interposition of a washer 4. The shank of the screw 3 also has a circumferential groove 3c in which a resilient split ring 6 to prevent the accidentaldisengagement of the screw 3 from the sleeve 5.
FIG. 3 clearly shows the operating principle of the device 8 according to the invention: after the mechanical part 7 has been positioned adjacent the box element 2 from below by the insertion of the locating peg 1 in the locating hole 2', thedevice 8 is fitted into the cavity of the body element 2 from above by being passed through a hole 2a (FIG. 3) in the upper wall of the box element. The larger-diameter portion 12 of the sleeve 5 fits over the outer surface of that part of the locatingpeg 1 which projects through the hole 2' so as to facilitate the centering and insertion of the screw 3 in the threaded hole in the locating peg 1. The chamfer 1' of the locating peg facilitates the fitting of the sleeve over it. At the same time, theconical point 3b of the screw facilitates its fitting in the threaded hole 1a.
The fixing achieved by the device according to the invention provides a good distribution of the loading of the bolts between the connected elements by virtue of the wide annular coupling surface between the larger-diameter portion of the sleeve5 and the fixed parts. Moreover, good resilience under tension is achieved by virtue of the overall length of the screw.
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