Tube fastening unit and method for fastening a tube to a fastening clip

Abstract

Tube fastening unit of at least one fastening clip and at least one motor vehicle tube fastened to the fastening clip. The motor vehicle tube has an outer surface made of plastic, which is welded with the fastening clip. The fastening clip has at least one welding element, which at least partially consists of a weldable plastic which is welded with the outer surface of the tube. The welding element is positively and/or non-positively fastened to the fastening clip.

Claims

1. Tube fastening assembly comprising at least one fastening clip and at least one motor vehicle tube configured to be fastened to the fastening clip, the motor vehicle tube having an outer surface made of plastic which is weldable to the fastening clip, wherein the fastening clip has at least one welding element, which consists at least regionally of a weldable plastic, and which is weldable with the outer surface of the tube, and wherein the welding element can be at least one of positively fastened and non-positively fastened to a mounting clip, wherein the fastening clip has a window-shaped clip receptacle which extends through a wall of the fastening clip and connects two opposite sides, namely an inside and an outside, of the fastening clip to one another, and wherein the welding element is positioned in the window-shaped clip receptacle and is at least one of positively fastened and non-positively fastened.

2. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein the fastening clip substantially consists of a material or plastic different from the weldable plastic of the welding element.

3. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein at least one region of the welding element or the weldable plastic of the welding element is arranged at a first side of the fastening clip facing the tube without a cover or the interposition of further components.

4. Fastening assembly according to claim 3, wherein at least one part of the welding element or the weldable plastic of the welding element is arranged at the first side of the fastening clip facing the tube as well as at a second side opposite the first side of the fastening clip, without cover or the interposition of other components.

5. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein the welding element is only positively fastened in a clip receptacle of the fastening clip.

6. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein the welding element is fastened to the fastening clip in a clip receptacle of the fastening clip by a latching connection.

7. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein the fastening clip has at least one tube receptacle in which the tube is positively receivable, and wherein the clip receptacle with the welding element is arranged at the tube receptacle and at a base of a U-shaped tube receptacle.

8. Fastening assembly according to claim 7, wherein the tube in the mounted or welded state covers a fastening surface of the tube receptacle and the surface of the welding element which is open and cover-free facing towards the tube amounts to at most 40% of the fastening surface.

9. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein the weldable plastic of the welding element substantially corresponds to the plastic of the outer surface of the tube.

10. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein the tube is a multi-layer tube and the welding element is weldable to the outer layer of the multi-layer tube.

11. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein the welding element is weldable to the outer surface or to the outer layer of the tube by means of laser welding.

12. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein at least the weldable region or the weldable plastic of the welding element substantially consists of laser-transparent plastic.

13. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein the welding element is multi-layered and a layer of the welding element facing the tube substantially consists of the weldable plastic.

14. Fastening assembly according to claim 1, wherein the welding element is welded to the tube and the fastening clip can be fastened to the welded-on welding element, and pushed or latched to the welded-on welding element and is removable from the welding element.

15. Method for fastening a motor vehicle tube to at least one fastening clip, wherein the motor vehicle tube has an outer surface or an outer layer made of plastic, which is welded to the fastening clip, wherein a fastening clip is used, which has at least one welding element, which consists at least partially of a plastic which is weldable to the outer surface or to the outer layer of the tube, comprising the step of fastening the welding element, positively or non-positively, to the fastening clip, by welding to the outer surface or to the outer layer of the tube, wherein the fastening clip has a window-shaped clip receptacle which extends through a wall of the fastening clip and connects two opposite sides, namely an inside and an outside, of the fastening clip to one another, and wherein the welding element is positioned in the window-shaped clip receptacle and is at least one of positively fastened and non-positively fastened.

16. Method according to claim 15, wherein initially the welding element is at least one of positively fastened and non-positively fastened to a mounting clip and that subsequently the tube is welded to the welding element of the fastening clip by laser welding.

17. Method according to claim 15, wherein initially the welding element at the outer surface or at the outer layer of the tube is welded on by laser welding, and subsequently the remaining fastening clip is at least one of positively fastened and non-positively fastened to the welded-on welding element.

18. Tube fastening assembly comprising at least one fastening clip and at least one motor vehicle tube configured to be fastened to the fastening clip, the motor vehicle tube having an outer surface made of plastic which is weldable to the fastening clip, wherein the fastening clip has at least one welding element, which consists at least regionally of a weldable plastic, and which is weldable with the outer surface of the tube, and wherein the welding element can be at least one of positively fastened, non-positively fastened, and materially fastened to a mounting clip, and wherein the welding element is fastened to the fastening clip in a clip receptacle of the fastening clip by a latching connection.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The disclosure will be explained in more detail with reference to a drawing showing only one exemplary embodiment. In a schematic representation:

(2) FIG. 1 is a section through a tube fastening unit according to the disclosure,

(3) FIG. 2 is a plan view of the object according to FIG. 1 and

(4) FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the object according to FIG. 1.

(5) The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) The figures show a tube fastening unit 1 from a fastening clip 2 and a motor vehicle tube 3 fastened to the fastening clip 2 according to the disclosure. It is within the scope of the disclosure that the motor vehicle tube 3 is fastened to a plurality of fastening clips 2 of the type shown, wherein the fastening clips are in particular fastened in a motor vehicle. According to the disclosure, the motor vehicle tube 3 has an outer surface 4 made of plastic, which is weldable with or welded to the fastening clip 2. In the exemplary embodiment according to the figures, it can be seen that the fastening clip 2 is equipped with a welding element 5, which preferably and in the exemplary embodiment completely consists of a weldable plastic which is welded with the outer surface 4 of the tube 2. Expediently and in the exemplary embodiment, the tube 3 is a multi-layer tube 3, and the welding element 5 is welded with the outer layer 11 of the multi-layer tube 3. In the exemplary embodiment, the remaining fastening clip 2 consists of a plastic that is different from the weldable plastic of the welding element 5.

(7) Expediently, and in the exemplary embodiment, the welding element 5 is positively and non-positively fastened to the fastening clip 2. Preferably, and in the exemplary embodiment, the fastening clip 2 is provided for fastening the welding element 5 with a window-like clip receptacle 8, which passes through the wall of the fastening clip 2 or interconnects the two opposite sides, namely the inside 6 and the outside 7 of the fastening clip 2. The welding element 5 is preferably and in the exemplary embodiment positively and non-positively received in the window-like clip receptacle 8. As a result, the welding element 5 is arranged at the first side or inside 6 of the fastening clip 2 facing the tube 3 without cover or without the interposition of further components. Furthermore, the welding element 5 is preferred and arranged in the exemplary embodiment also at the second side or outside 7 of the fastening clip 2 opposite the first side or the inside 6 without cover or without the interposition of other components. Due to this arrangement, the welding element 5 can be easily brought into contact with the outer surface 4 or the outer layer 11 of the tube 3 for welding, and also the welding element 5 is easily accessible from the outside 7 for welding.

(8) Expediently, and in the exemplary embodiment, edge regions of the welding element 5 are positively and non-positively fastened at the edges of the window-like clip receptacle 8. Preferably, and in the exemplary embodiment, the weldable plastic of the welding element 5 may correspond to the plastic of the outer surface 4 or the plastic of the outer layer 11 of the tube 3, so that a welding of the welding element 5 with the outer layer 11 of the tube 3 is easily possible. It is recommended, and is the case in the exemplary embodiment, that the welding of the welding element 5 with the outer layer 11 of the tube 3 is carried out by means of laser welding. For this purpose, preferably and in the exemplary embodiment, the welding element 5 consists of a laser-transparent plastic and due to the arrangement in the window-like clip receptacle 8, the welding element 5 is easily accessible for laser welding from the outside 7.

(9) The design of the attachment unit 1 according to the disclosure makes it possible that only the relatively small welding element 5 must be selected with respect to the material of the tube 3 and that the fastening clip 2 may otherwise consist of any material or plastic material. Thus, a complex production and storage of a variety of different fastening clips 2 can be omitted and only different relatively small welding elements 5 must be kept in stock.

(10) Preferably and in the exemplary embodiment, the fastening clip 2 moreover has a U-shaped tube receptacle 9, in which the tube 3 is positively received. The welding element 5 or the window-like clip receptacle 8 with the welding element 5 is preferably and in the exemplary embodiment centrally arranged at the U-base 10 of the U-shaped tube receptacle 9. This placement of the welding element 5 has proven particularly useful for a functionally reliable fastening in the disclosure.