OUTER SLEEVE OF A CONNECTION ELEMENT WITHOUT A FEMALE THREAD AND HAVING A DAMPING FUNCTION, CONNECTION ELEMENT COMPRISING AN OUTER SLEEVE, AND CORRESPONDING CONNECTION AND MANUFACTURING METHOD

Abstract

A connection element without a female thread, having a damping function, and by which two components can be connected. The connection element has an outer sleeve, a spacer sleeve, and a screw having a first outer diameter and a tolerance compensation disc positioned on the screw. The outer sleeve has an outer body having a shaft with a fastening flange at a first end and, adjacent to a second end, a folding zone which can form a compression bead. The outer sleeve has a first inner diameter and a second inner diameter smaller than the first. A first component can be supported between the fastening flange and the compression bead. The second component can be fastened, adjacent to the second end of the outer sleeve, by means of the sleeve. The screw and the tolerance compensation disc are positioned in the outer sleeve with radial play.

Claims

1. An outer sleeve of a connection element without female thread with a damping function, comprising: a. an elastic outer body with a sleeve-like shaft having a fastening flange at a first axial end and, adjacent to a second axial end, a hollow-cylindrical folding zone which is foldable to form a compression bead so that a first component can be supported between the fastening flange and the compression bead, b. a first inner diameter in the portion of the fastening flange and a second inner diameter in the portion of the hollow-cylindrical folding zone, wherein the first inner diameter is larger than the second inner diameter and a second component is attachable adjacent to a second axial end.

2. The outer sleeve according to claim 1 at which a plurality of preferably evenly spaced locking notches is provided at a radial outside, so that the outer sleeve is fixable in a first opening in the first component such, that the first component is arrangeable between the fastening flange and the plurality of locking notches.

3. The outer sleeve according to claim 1, at which, in the portion of the hollow-cylindrical folding zone, adjacent to a second axial end at a radial inside, at least one first fastening feature is provided for fastening a spacer sleeve.

4. The outer sleeve according to claim 1, which, adjacent to a first axial end, include a holding feature for interacting with a holding disc at a radial inside, so that a screw with a tolerance compensation disc is axially fixable in the portion of the fastening flange.

5. The outer sleeve according to claim 1 which consists of an elastically deformable plastic material.

6. A connection element without a female thread with a damping function with which at least a first component and a second component are connectable by means of a screw connection, comprising the following features: a. an outer sleeve according to claim 1, b. a spacer sleeve with a third inner diameter that is arranged in the outer sleeve adjacent to the second axial end, c. a screw with a first outer diameter, wherein the first outer diameter is smaller than the third inner diameter of the spacer sleeve so that the screw is arranged in the outer sleeve with a radial play and that the second component is fixable by means of the screw adjacent to the second axial end of the outer sleeve of the connection element, as well as d. a tolerance compensation disc arranged on a shaft of the screw, having a second outer diameter that is smaller than the first inner diameter of the outer sleeve and than the third inner diameter of the distance sleeve so that the tolerance compensation disc is arranged with a radial play in the outer sleeve.

7. The connection element according to claim 6, wherein the outer sleeve comprises a plurality of preferably evenly spaced locking notches at a radial outside, so that the outer sleeve is fixable in a first opening in the first component such, that the first component is arrangeable between the fastening flange and the plurality of locking notches.

8. The connection element according to claim 6, wherein the outer sleeve comprises at least a first fastening feature in the portion of the hollow-cylindrical folding zone adjacent to a second axial end at a radial inside, the fastening feature interacting with a corresponding second fastening feature of the spacer sleeve.

9. The connection element according to claim 6, which furthermore comprises a holding disc, the inner diameter of which is smaller than the outer diameter of the tolerance compensation disc and the radial outer portion of which engages a holding feature at the radial inside of the outer sleeve adjacent to the first axial end, so that the tolerance compensation disc is arranged with a radial play and is held in axial direction due to the holding disc.

10. The connection element according to claim 6, the screw of which comprises a securing bush on the shaft, axially spaced with respect to a head of the screw, so that the tolerance compensation disc is held between the head and the securing bush.

11. The connection element according to claim 10, wherein the distance between head and securing bush corresponds to a maximum protrusion of the screw beyond the second axial end of the outer sleeve, so that when the screw is flush with the second axial end of the outer sleeve, the securing bush abuts the tolerance compensation disc.

12. The connection element according to claim 6, wherein the outer sleeve and the holding disc consist of a plastic material.

13. The connection element according to claim 6, wherein the distance sleeve, the screw and the tolerance compensation disc consist of metal, particularly of steel.

14. A first component with at least one opening and a. an outer sleeve according to claim 1 arranged therein or b. a connection element according to claim 6 arranged therein.

15. The first component according to claim 14 which includes a plurality of openings with outer sleeves or connection elements arranged therein, in particular at least two, preferably at least three.

16. A connection of a first component with a second component by means of a connection element according to claim 6, wherein the second component comprises a fastening portion with inner thread into which the screw is screwed in.

17. The connection according to claim 16, wherein the first component includes a plurality of openings with connection elements arranged therein, in particular at least two, preferably at least three, and the second component includes a corresponding number of fastening portions.

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Description

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] In the following, the present disclosure will be described in detail based on the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference signs denote the same components and/or elements. It shows:

[0049] FIG. 1 a perspective view of an embodiment of an outer sleeve,

[0050] FIG. 2 an exploded view of a subassembly of an embodiment of the connection element consisting of screw, tolerance compensation disc and securing bush,

[0051] FIG. 3 the subassembly according to FIG. 2 in an assembled state,

[0052] FIG. 4 an exploded view of an embodiment of the connection element,

[0053] FIG. 5 a perspective view of the embodiment according to FIG. 4 in an assembled state from above,

[0054] FIG. 6 a perspective view of the embodiment according to FIG. 4 in an assembled state from below,

[0055] FIG. 7 a top view onto the embodiment according to FIG. 4 in an assembled state with a centrally arranged screw,

[0056] FIG. 8 a sectional view of the embodiment according to FIG. 4 in an assembled state,

[0057] FIG. 9 a sectional view of the embodiment according to FIG. 4 in an assembled and installed state,

[0058] FIG. 10 a top view onto the embodiment according to FIG. 4 in an assembled state with an eccentrically arranged screw,

[0059] FIG. 11 a sectional view of the embodiment according to FIG. 10 in an installed state,

[0060] FIG. 12 a flow chart of a first embodiment of a connection method,

[0061] FIG. 13 a flow chart of a second embodiment of a connection method,

[0062] FIG. 14 a flow chart of an embodiment of a manufacturing method of an outer sleeve, and

[0063] FIG. 15 a flow chart of an embodiment of a manufacturing method of a connection element.

5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] In the following, an embodiment of an outer sleeve 10 as well as an embodiment of a connection element 1 is described in detail. In this context, the use of the connection element 1 as well as of the outer sleeve 10 is described with regard to the connection of two components 3, 5. In this case, the first component 3 may be an attachment part and the second component 5 is a support part.

[0065] Subsequently, with reference to FIG. 1, a perspective view of an embodiment of the outer sleeve 10 is illustrated which consists of an elastically deformable plastic material. Exemplary materials for the outer sleeve 10 may be elastomers or thermoplastic elastomers based on polyester or out of a cross-linked elastomer. Depending on the application case, materials with a good resistance to chemicals and/or thermal forming are chosen from this material range. The polyester-based elastomer may be a polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Further, non-concluding examples for elastomers are ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM), acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), silicone rubber (VMQ) and chemically chlorosulphonated polyethylene (CSM). The outer sleeve 10 may consist of a silicone or a similar chemically and thermally resistant material.

[0066] The outer sleeve 10 includes an elastic outer body with a sleeve-like shaft 12. The outer body comprises a fastening flange 14 at a first axial end. Similarly, the elastic outer body includes a hollow-cylindrical folding zone 16 which can be folded to form a compression bead 18 and which is adjacent to a second axial end.

[0067] The outer sleeve 10 includes a first inner diameter in the portion of the fastening flange 14 and a second inner diameter in the portion of the hollow-cylindrical folding zone 16. The first inner diameter is larger than the second inner diameter. In this way, a contact surface 28 is formed at the inside of the outer sleeve 10 in the portion of the transition from the fastening flange 14 to the hollow-cylindrical folding zone or the sleeve-like shaped shaft 12, respectively.

[0068] Adjacent to the fastening flange 14, three evenly spaced locking notches 20 are provided at the radial outside of the outer sleeve 10. During the later use of the outer sleeve 10, the outer sleeve 10 is inserted into an opening in the first component 3 so far until the fastening flange abuts a side of the first component 3. The opening in the first component 3 may be formed round. The locking notches 20 therefore face the opposite second side of the first component 3 in this inserted state. A distance between the locking notches 20 and the fastening flange 14 is therefore adapted to the thickness of the first component 3 in the portion of the respective opening.

[0069] Furthermore, the outer sleeve 10 has a first 22 as well as third fastening feature 24 adjacent to the second axial end in the inside, which serve for fastening a spacer sleeve 30, as will be explained later. Furthermore, a holding feature 26 is provided adjacent to the first axial end of the outer sleeve 10, here in the form of a radially inwardly protruding projection. The significance of this projection will be discussed later in connection with the embodiment of the connection element 1.

[0070] Now, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, a subassembly 7 of the connection element 1 is illustrated. This subassembly 7 consists of a screw 40, the tolerance compensation disc 42 as well as a securing bush 44, which may consist of plastic material and includes an inner chamfer 46. The screw 40 is for example a metric screw, even though other kinds of screws can be used, too.

[0071] The diameter of the opening in the tolerance compensation disc 42 is only slightly larger than the diameter of the outer thread of the screw 40. Thus, the tolerance compensation disc 42 only has little play but can smoothly be shifted axially. The securing bush 44 out of plastic material has a smaller inner diameter than the outer thread of the screw 40. Therefore, the securing bush 44 is pressed onto the outer thread of the screw 40. This process is facilitated by the chamfer of the screw 40 and the inner chamfer 46 of the securing bush 44. An outer diameter of the securing bush 44 is chosen slightly larger than the inner diameter of the tolerance compensation disc 42. Principally, in this state, the securing bush 44 serves as an anti-loss security for the tolerance compensation disc 42. In this way, an automatic processing of the screw 40 with tolerance compensation disc 42 arranged thereon can be realized.

[0072] With regard to the axial height of the arrangement of the securing bush 44, the latter is slid onto the screw 40 so far that a defined distance between head bottom side of the screw 40 and the end of the securing bush 44 arises, the end facing the screw head. The distance is chosen such that it corresponds to a protrusion of the screw 40 over the second axial end of the outer sleeve 10 when the screw 40 is inserted into the outer sleeve 10. This defined interim space is important for the faultless function of the connection element 1, in particular in case of a completely automated processing, as becomes clear later on.

[0073] FIG. 3 shows the assembled subassembly consisting of screw 40, tolerance compensation disc 42 as well as securing processes 44.

[0074] In the following, reference is made to FIGS. 4-8 which show an embodiment of a connection element 1, wherein with regard to the outer sleeve 10, reference is made to the above descriptions. A spacer sleeve 30 is arranged adjacent to the second axial end of the outer sleeve 10. The spacer sleeve 30 may consist of steel, even though a configuration out of plastic material may also be realized. The spacer sleeve 30 is for example slid into the outer sleeve 10 until the second fastening feature 32 and the fourth fastening feature 34 of the spacer sleeve 30 interact with corresponding first fastening features 22 and third fastening features 24 of the outer sleeve 10. The second 32 and fourth fastening feature 34 of the spacer sleeve 30 are for example beads and the first 22 and the third fastening feature 24 of the outer sleeve 10 are corresponding complementary forms. Instead of the beads, grooves can also be provided at the spacer sleeve 30. In this connection, it is important that the inner contour of the outer sleeve 10 in the inner portion of the folding zone 16 is adapted to that.

[0075] Now, the screw 40 with tolerance compensation disc 42 and securing bush 44 arranged thereon is inserted into the outer sleeve 10 from the first axial end of the outer sleeve 10. In this way, a bottom side of the tolerance compensation disc 42 comes into contact with the contact surface 28, which arises due to the step between the first inner diameter and the second inner diameter. In this connection, an outer diameter of the tolerance compensation disc 42 is chosen such that it is smaller than the first inner diameter in the fastening flange 14. In this way, a radial play is present in the portion of the fastening flange 14. Similarly, the second inner diameter of the outer sleeve 10 as well as the third inner diameter of the spacer sleeve 30 are chosen such that they are larger than the outer diameter of the screw 40 as well as of the securing bush 44. In this way, the screw 40 is overall arranged in the outer sleeve 10 with a radial play. The radial play can be adapted depending on the respective application case by means of a suitable dimensioning. It is particularly advantageous that in the centered state of the screw 40 in the outer sleeve 10, a radial distance between the radial outside of the securing bush 44 and the radial inside of the spacer sleeve 30, and the radial outside of the tolerance compensation disc 42 and the radial inside of the fastening flange 14 is equal. In an exemplary embodiment, the distance is 1 mm, so that radial tolerances in the range of 1 mm can be compensated.

[0076] Once this has taken place, the holding disc 50 is inserted into the fastening flange 14 from the first axial end of the outer sleeve 10. An outer diameter of the holding disc 50 is chosen such that the radial outside of the holding disc 50 interact with the holding feature 26 in the portion of the fastening flange 14. An inner diameter of the holding disc 50 is chosen such that it is smaller than the outer diameter of the tolerance compensation disc 42, but larger than the outer diameter of the head of the screw 40.

[0077] When a first component 3 in a vehicle is intended to be fastened at, for example, three or more connection points, the first component 3 includes corresponding openings into which the connection element 1 is plugged until it locks behind the locking notches 20. At the second component 5, for example the vehicle body, fastening portions with inner thread are provided at the corresponding positions, for example in the form of weld nuts. Later, the screw 40 is screwed into these fastening portions with inner thread.

[0078] However, first of all, the first component 3 is positioned such that the connection element 1 and thus the screws 40 are aligned with all fastening portions of the second component 5. In order to support the screwing in of the screws 40, the screws 40 can include a center point. Furthermore, the screws 40 have a drive feature at the screw head. In the illustrated example, this is a hexagon socket. Other inner drive features can be realized, too. Moreover, the use of an outer drive feature is possible, too.

[0079] When tightening the screw 40, a compression bead 18 forms underneath the locking notches 20, so that the edge of the opening in the first component 3 is enclosed by the outer sleeve 10. The tightening takes place until the spacer sleeve 30 abuts the second component 5 with one end and the tolerance compensation disc 42 with the other end. In particular when the tolerance compensation disc 42 and the spacer sleeve 30 are of a metal, e.g. steel, a high-strength screwing can be realized.

[0080] A particular advantage of this connection element 1 is that it can compensate distance tolerances of the individual connection points. The tolerance compensation disc 42 is therefore not clipped behind the holding feature 26 but has a radial play in the portion of the fastening flange 14. The same applies to the screw 40 in the outer sleeve 10. In the outer sleeve 10, the subassembly 7 is held by means of the holding disc 50, wherein before the fastening, only the screw 40 can move in an axial direction, so that an accidental pushing out of the holding disc 50 from the outer sleeve 10 is avoided.

[0081] For this purpose, the distance between the bottom side of the head of the screw 40 and the end of the securing bush 44 which faces the head of the screw is chosen such that in the delivery state of the connection element 1, the screw 40 does not project at the bottom edge, when the securing bush 44 abuts the tolerance compensation disc 42. This is important so that the holding disc 50 cannot be pushed out of the rear locking in case of an improper handling of the connection element 1.

[0082] An exemplary illustration of a connection with which the radial play is taken advantage of is illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. Here, the screw 40 with tolerance compensation disc 42 and securing bush 44 is arranged eccentrically and is in contact with the radial inside of the spacer sleeve 30 and the fastening flange 14.

[0083] FIG. 12 shows a flow chart of an embodiment of a connection method of a first component 3 with a second component 5 by means of a connection element 1. In a first step A, a providing of the first component 3 with an outer sleeve 10 of the connection element 1 that is arranged in a first opening of the first component 3 takes place. In this context, step A of the providing may comprise step D of the arranging of the outer sleeve 10 in the first opening. In this connection, the first component 3 may be equipped with a plurality of outer sleeves 10 which are arranged in a plurality of first openings, in particular at least two, or at least three.

[0084] After that, in a further step B, an aligning of the at least one opening of the first component 3 with outer sleeve 10 of the connection element 1 arranged therein with at least one fastening portion of the second component 5 takes place. As described above, the fastening portion provides an inner thread which matches an outer thread of the screw 40 of the connection element 1. Finally, in step C, a screwing-in of the screw 40 into the inner thread of the fastening portion takes place.

[0085] A further flow chart of an embodiment of a connection method is illustrated in FIG. 13. The specialty of this method, particularly in comparison with the method according to FIG. 12, is based on the configuration of the used connection element 1. The connection element 1 used with this connection method additionally comprises a holding disc 50. An inner diameter of the holding disc 50 is smaller than the outer diameter of the tolerance compensation disc 42. Furthermore, the radial outer portion of the holding disc 50 engages a holding feature 26 at the radial inside of the outer sleeve 10 adjacent to the first axial end. In this way, the tolerance compensation disc 42 is arranged in the outer sleeve 10 with a radial play and is held in axial direction due to the holding disc 50. The screw 40 already includes a securing bush 44 on the shaft, axially spaced with respect to a head of the screw 40. Therefore, the tolerance compensation disc 42 is held between the head and the securing bush 44 in a loss-proof manner, so that the subassembly 7 is overall arranged in a loss-proof manner in the outer sleeve 10.

[0086] The steps of the connection method itself correspond with the steps of the connection method that is already described above. In contrast to the above-described connection method, the steps can, however, be carried out in a completely automated manner due to the special design of the connection element 1. That means that in a first step a, a providing of the first component 3 with an outer sleeve 10 of the connection element 1 arranged in a first opening of the first component 3 takes place. In this connection, the step a of the providing may also include the step d of the arranging of the outer sleeve 10 in the first opening. In this context, the first component 3 may be equipped with a plurality of outer sleeves 10 which are arranged in a plurality of first openings, in particular at least two, or at least three.

[0087] After that, in a further step b, an aligning of the at least one opening of the first component 3 with outer sleeve of the connection element 1 arranged therein with at least one fastening portion of the second component 5 takes place. As described above, the fastening portion 5 provides an inner thread which matches an outer thread of a screw 40 of the connection element 1. Finally, in step c, a screwing-in of the screw 40 into the inner thread of the fastening portion takes place.

[0088] An embodiment of a manufacturing method for an outer sleeve 10 is illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 14. In a first step I, a mold is provided, in particular an injection mold, having a cavity which is configured complementary with respect to the outer sleeve 10 to be formed. The manufacturing method is now divided into two different approaches.

[0089] In a first configuration, after the first step I, a molding, in particular an injection-molding, of an elastic plastic material, in particular of an elastomer, into the cavity takes place in a second step II. Subsequently, in step III, a removing of the formed outer sleeve 10 from the mold takes place after the plastic material has cured. Optionally, the outer sleeve 10 which has been formed in this way can already be provided with a spacer sleeve 30 by the further step V of the inserting of the spacer sleeve 30 into the outer sleeve 10 after removing the outer sleeve 10 from the mold.

[0090] In a second configuration, after the first step I, a providing of a spacer sleeve 30 in the mold before the molding takes place in a subsequent step IV, so that the spacer sleeve 30 is overmolded. Step II of the molding follows, in particular of the injection-molding, of an elastic plastic material, in particular of an elastomer, into the cavity. Now, in the next step III, a removing of the formed outer sleeve 10 from the mold takes place after the plastic material has cured. As in this case, the outer sleeve 10 is already formed directly with the spacer sleeve 30, step V of plugging the spacer sleeve 30 into the outer sleeve 10 is not necessary.

[0091] Finally, FIG. 15 shows a flow chart of a manufacturing method for a connection element 1. Here, in a first step i, a providing of an outer sleeve 10 and an arranging of a spacer sleeve 30 in it, adjacent to a second axial end of the outer sleeve 10 takes place. Provided that the outer sleeve 10 is already equipped with a spacer sleeve 30, for example due to the manufacturing by means of the above described manufacturing method, the step of arranging the spacer sleeve 30 in the outer sleeve 10 can be omitted.

[0092] Before that, parallel to it or after it, an arranging of a tolerance compensation disc 42 on the screw 40 takes place in step iv and after that, in step v, an arranging of the securing bush 44 on the shaft of the screw 40 takes place so that the tolerance compensation disc 42 is held between the head and the securing bush 44. The screw 40 which is configured in this way with tolerance compensation disc 42, is now plugged into the outer sleeve 10 and the spacer sleeve 30 in step ii, so that a head of the screw 40 as well as the tolerance compensation disc 42 are arranged adjacent to the first axial end of the outer sleeve 10. Finally, in step iii, an arranging of a holding disc 50 adjacent to the first axial end takes place so that the tolerance compensation disc 42 is held in axial direction.