Abstract:
A cage nut assembly is disclosed having a body defining a through bore. The cage is disposed about at least a portion of the body. The body is hexagonal in shape, while the cage defines a seam configured to be placed adjacent the coupling surface of the cage and base material.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/377,075, filed on Apr. 30, 2002. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to an encaged threaded fastener, and, more particularly, to an encaged fastener which minimizes problems of cage deformation caused by miss-insertion of a threaded member into the fastener.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    With ever increasing design demands, flexibility and adaptivity of unibody construction is increasingly required in order to provide vehicles that meet broader customer needs. Increases in the number of components and structures which are coupled to the unibody construction have led designers to consistently add threaded fasteners to the unibody frame. Variation in manufacturing tolerances require that the fastener couple to the unibody frame in a way which allows a degree of positional adjustment during final assembly. This positional adjustment is provided by using a female fastener which is an encaged fastener. Typically, this takes the form of a nut encaged in a structure that is attached to the inner body frame. The cage is configured so as to provide the nut with a range of movement so that when a component is coupled to the frame, the alignment of the component and frame can be adjusted until they meet manufacturing standards.  
           [0004]    Prior to final coupling of the components to the frame, however, significant rotational forces apply forces to the cage. To date, the step of rotating a fastener into the nut will often cause the fastener to bend the cage. This causes a significant amount of rework of the fastener joint and, therefore, causes manufacturing problems in the final assembly of the product. To prevent the manufacturing problems, post-process rework is often required to ensure that the fasteners can be properly coupled with an appropriate strength.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    Accordingly, this invention provides a cage nut fastener which is weldable to a substructure that overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the cage nuts of the prior art. Briefly, the invention includes a threaded fastener having a hexagonal head; a fastener cage capable of fastening the fastener to a substructure, the cage being formed so as to have a seam adjacent the substructure.  
           [0006]    Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The greatest advantage of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading the following specification and by reference to the drawings in which:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cage nut fastener in its assembled condition;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the nut and base plate of the present invention;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cage in FIG. 1; and  
         [0011]    [0011]FIGS. 4 a - 4   c  represent top, side, and end views of the cage shown in FIG. 3. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0012]    The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.  
         [0013]    With reference to FIGS.  1 - 3 , a cage nut fastener, shown generally at  8 , has a hexagonal body  16  coupled to a planar base  12 . The body  16  and planar base  12  define a threaded through bore  14 . Planar base  12  has an upper base surface  18  and lower base surface  20 . The cage nut assembly  8  further has a cage  22  which is generally disposed about the planar base  12 . The cage  22  has a cage upper surface  34  and cage lower surface  32 . The cage  22  lower surface is defined by a pair of co-planar flanges  28 . The upper surface  34  defines a through hole  26  which generally corresponds to the shape of the hexagonal body  16 .  
         [0014]    As best seen in FIG. 2, the hexagonal body  16  takes the form of a hex nut  35  coupled to the planar base  12 . The planar base  12  defines a hole  36  which is co-axial to the threaded through bore  14  of the hex nut  35 . It is preferred that the hex nut  35  be of a type  10  hex nut or other suitable size defined by the needed configuration. Also, it is preferred that the hex nut  35  be of sufficient hardness through either heat treatment or metallurgy to ensure the proper coupling to the mating bolt (not shown).  
         [0015]    As seen in FIG. 2, each corner  40   a - d  of the planar base  12  has a defined flats  42   a - d  which function as a load bearing surfaces to apply distributed loads to an interior surface  44   a  and  44   b  of the depending sidewalls  46   a  and  46   b  of the cage  22  when a bolt is inserted.  
         [0016]    As best seen in FIGS. 3 through 4 c,  the cage  22  is formed of a single folded piece of sheet metal  48 . The cage  22  has a through hole  50  which has a diameter larger than the diameter of the hex nut  38 . The side  52  of the hole  50  limits the travel of the hex nut  35  within the cage  22 .  
         [0017]    The pair of depending sidewalls  46   a  and  46   b  of the cage  22  functions to couple the top member  54  of the cage  22  to the weldable lower members  56 . Additionally, the depending sidewalls  46   a  and  46   b  absorb torsional energy imparted onto the cage  22  by the corners  40   a - d  of the base  12 . The height of the cage  22  minimizes the movement of the base  12  away from the lower members  56  and further allows the hex nut  35  to rotate to ensure proper alignment upon driving of the coupling threaded fastener (not shown).  
         [0018]    As seen in FIG. 4 a,  the lower members  56  define a through hole  58  which is co-axial to the passage of the hex nut  35  and the planar base  12 . Additionally formed on the two sides  60  and  62  defining the lower members  56  are a number of upturned tabs  64  which raise the base  12  above the lower members  56  to prevent adhesion during painting applications. Additionally defined on the lower members  56  are four weldment pad areas  66   a - d  which provide the area to allow welding of the cage to the base substrate material. Defined generally equidistant between the two sides  60  and  62  is a seam, formed when the cage is wrapped around the base  12 .  
         [0019]    The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.