Device for fastening an attached part, in particular in the form of a motor vehicle antenna

Abstract

A device for fastening an attached part, in particular in the form of a motor vehicle antenna, to a fitting wall provided with a fitting opening, in the form of a bodywork metal sheet. Tensioning structure is located in a region of the fitting opening and is arranged to secure the attached part relative to the fitting wall.

Claims

1. A device for fastening to an attached part including a fitting wall having a fitting opening therethrough and having a threaded portion, the device comprising: a screw member comprising a screw head and further comprising a screw shank structured and dimensioned to engage with and threadably screw into the attached part threaded portion, a tensioning structure comprising at least one element structured and configured to tension the device toward the fitting wall, the at least one element structured and dimensioned for insertion through the fitting opening from an attachment side thereof, the at least one element comprising a locking structure structured to lock behind the fitting opening with the at least one element inserted through the fitting opening from the attachment side, a plug-in system comprising plural plug connectors having the screw member disposed therebetween in such a way that, when viewed perpendicularly to the fitting opening, the plural plug connectors are arranged wholly or partially in a region of the fitting opening, the plural plug connectors having insertion openings defining an insertion plane, the screw member being structured and configured to penetrate the tensioning structure and apply pressure to the tensioning structure to thereby urge the at least one element to be supported, on a side of the fitting opening opposing the attached part, on the fitting wall surrounding the fitting opening and thereby fix the device to the attached part, with the screw head applying pressure to the tensioning structure being further structured to be located closer to the fitting wall than the insertion plane defined by the insertion openings of the plural plug connectors, wherein, externally to a central portion of the tensioning structure, clamping feet structured from a spring metal sheet or spring clip are formed having, in side view, an S-shape, a U-shape or a V-shape in such a way that each of the clamping feet comprises at least two legs which are joined together via an angled portion protruding toward the attached part, at least a first of the two legs being configured to penetrate the fitting opening, and a clamping edge provided on a second of the two legs and configured to reach behind the fitting opening to abut an underside of the fitting wall, wherein the clamping edge is disposed at a free end of the second leg.

2. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tensioning structure defines a through-opening penetrated by the screw shank of the screw member, a central portion thus formed of the tensioning structure, comprising the spring metal sheet or a spring clip, being located in a region or in a plane positioned, in the insertion and fitting direction, after the plane in which the insertion openings in the plural plug connectors are located.

3. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamping feet protrude at least partially through or into one or more apertures.

4. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central portion of the tensioning structure and the upper side of a screw head of the screw member being located in a region, at a level located sufficiently far below the insertion plane formed by the insertion openings in the plural plug connectors, to attach mating plug connectors to the plural plug connectors without the mating plug connectors colliding with the tensioning structure and the screw member.

5. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central portion of the tensioning structure is located in a region that is closer to the attached part than to the clamping edges which are supported in use on the fitting wall on a side opposing the attached part.

6. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1, wherein an upper side of the screw member is structured and dimensioned to lie at a distance from the fitting plate provided with the fitting opening that is less than 80% of the distance of the plane, formed by the insertion opening in the at least one plug connector, to the fitting wall.

7. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tensioning structure comprises in the central portion thereof ribs for increasing rigidity.

8. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamping feet comprise ribs via which resilience of the clamping feet is defined.

9. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clamping feet are configured at each radially outer end of the tensioning structure.

10. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising cable couplers attached to the plug-in system and secured thereon.

11. The fastening device of claim 1 wherein a top surface of the screw head is structured to be located in a plane which is closer to the attaching structure or the fitting wall, respectively, than to the insertion plane.

12. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the clamping feet comprise raised portions.

13. The fastening device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the clamping feet comprise material cutouts.

14. The device of claim 1 wherein the central portion of the tensioning structure includes a funnel-shaped recess which corresponds to a portion of the screw head where the screw head tapers conically from a point of transition between the screw head and the screw shank.

15. The device of claim 1 wherein the central portion comprises longitudinal ribs and/or recesses that at least in part determine the rigidity and/or resilience of the spring clip.

16. The device of claim 1 wherein the plural plug connectors comprise four plugs and the screw head is disposed between the four plugs in a position that does not mechanically interfere with mating of the four plugs with four further mating pluggable connectors.

17. The device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plural plug connectors includes a longitudinal coding rib that extends over only a part of the plug connector to thereby provide adjustment height clearance for the screw member.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other features and advantages will be better and more completely understood by referring to the following detailed description of exemplary non-limiting illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the drawings of which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a schematic spatial illustration of a foot or housing part of a motor vehicle antenna which is to be fitted at a through-opening at an opening in a bodywork;

(3) FIG. 2 is a schematic view from below of the embodiment according to FIG. 1 (with an additionally illustrated outer contour of the antenna which is already fitted to the bodywork);

(4) FIG. 3 is a corresponding view after the attachment of cable couplers or a socket housing onto the plug arrangement located on the underside or inside of the motor vehicle after the insertion and fitting of the motor vehicle antenna;

(5) FIG. 4 is a similar view corresponding to FIG. 1, but in vertical section;

(6) FIG. 5 is a cross section of the fully fitted motor vehicle antenna prior to insertion of the cable couplers onto the plug arrangement;

(7) FIG. 6 is a simplified spatial illustration of the fastening device prior to fitting in a through-opening in a motor vehicle bodywork;

(8) FIG. 7a is a view corresponding to FIG. 6, in vertical section;

(9) FIG. 7b is a cross section through the example according to FIG. 7a;

(10) FIGS. 8a and 8b are a spatial illustration and cross section at the time of the attachment of the fastening means in a through-opening;

(11) FIGS. 9a and 9b are a view corresponding to FIGS. 8a and 8b after the fastening means has passed through the fastening opening;

(12) FIGS. 10a and 10b are corresponding views after the tightening of the fastening means;

(13) FIG. 11 is a spatial, enlarged illustration of the spring clip or spring metal sheet of the fastening means;

(14) FIG. 12 is a view from below of the spring clip or spring metal sheet according to FIG. 11;

(15) FIG. 13 is a view corresponding to FIG. 11 with regard to a modified embodiment comprising an additional pressure part which cooperates with the spring metal sheet or spring clip;

(16) FIG. 14 is a corresponding view of the embodiment according to FIG. 13, but from the opposing side;

(17) FIG. 15a is a corresponding view comparable to FIG. 7a, but using a pressure part corresponding to FIGS. 13 and 14;

(18) FIG. 15b is a cross section through the embodiment according to FIG. 15a, comparable to the embodiment according to FIG. 7b;

(19) FIG. 16a is a spatial illustration of the tightened fastening means in a spatial cross section comparable to the embodiment according to FIG. 10a;

(20) FIG. 16b is a cross section through the embodiment according to FIG. 16a;

(21) FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of a spring clip or spring metal sheet with an associated pressure part; and

(22) FIG. 18 is a view of the embodiment according to FIG. 17, but seen from the opposing side.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(23) There will be described hereinafter an exemplary illustrative non-limiting first embodiment of a device for fastening an attached part 1, in particular in the form of a motor vehicle antenna, which is to be fitted at a fitting opening 3 in a fitting wall 5, preferably in the form of a bodywork metal sheet.

(24) FIG. 1 is accordingly a partial schematic, spatial illustration of the motor vehicle antenna 1 comprising a housing or a hood 7 below which there is provided a fitting plate or a chassis 9 which is sealed by the hood 7. The requisite electronics are accommodated in the interior, there having been omitted from the drawing a portion rising further upward of the housing cover 7 within which one or more antennas or antenna means are additionally accommodated and protrude further upward.

(25) FIG. 2 is a schematic view from below after fitting has been completed, there also being indicated the bordering or sealing of the chassis or of a seal 11 which is provided in the outer edge region and is per se not visible from the underside of the bodywork metal sheet 5. There protrudes through the fitting opening 3 a connector arrangement 13 comprising, for example, a plurality of plug connectors 15 having an associated plug connector housing 15, in the embodiment shown four plug connectors 15, which are arranged at the corners of a rectangle. These connectors may be screened coaxial connectors but equally non-shielded lines, wherein these plug connectors can comprise one or more lines or internal conductors. There is accordingly no limitation.

(26) FIG. 3 represents a view corresponding to FIG. 2, although in this case there are also attached cable couplers referred to hereinafter in some cases as the coded cable coupler housing 19. In this embodiment there are also provided cable connections 20 to the cable couplers 19, which connections project transversely but do not have to be provided.

(27) The plug connectors 15 may preferably be plug connectors which adhere to the FAKRA standard. The system may therefore be an SMD-mountable FAKRA plug-in system 17 which embodies the aforementioned plurality of plug connectors 15 in accordance with DIN Standard 72594-1 50 ohm high-frequency interface for road vehicles. This system is configured for the insertion of individual FAKRA contacts having a requisite minimum axial distance of 10 mm.

(28) FIG. 4 represents a view corresponding to FIG. 1, in vertical section. FIG. 4 also shows the fitting plate or the chassis 9 in cross section together with a plastics material casing and/or sealing means 10 facing the bodywork metal sheet 5.

(29) Reference will be made hereinafter to FIG. 6 and following. which illustrate the fastening system in greater detail.

(30) FIG. 6 shows, again in detail, the wall, in particular in the form of the bodywork metal sheet 5 comprising the fitting opening 3. Of the attached part, preferably in the form of the motor vehicle antenna 1, there is merely reproduced a detail of the fitting plate or the chassis 9 in which the aforementioned plug-in system is installed and fitted.

(31) The further illustrations show the further construction and the fitting process in detail.

(32) As may be seen, in particular, from the illustrations according to FIGS. 7a and 7b, the fastening means comprises a fastening screw 21, the shank 21a of which is screwed into a threaded hole 9a in the chassis 9. This threaded hole 9a is provided with a corresponding internal thread and comprises a receptacle, in the form of an opening penetrating the fitting plate 9 in the embodiment shown, into which opening the shank of the fastening screw 21 is screwed. In order to ensure a sufficiently secure fit, the fitting plate 9 is provided in this region with a sleeve-like extension 9b projecting away from the fitting wall 5.

(33) Also provided in the fitting plate 9, in the embodiment shown, are apertures 23 opposing the fastening screw 21 (offset to one another by an angle of 180).

(34) As may be seen from FIGS. 7a and 7b there is also provided a tensioning or locking means 25 also referred to hereinafter in some cases as the spring metal sheet or spring clip. This spring metal sheet or spring clip may be seen in greater detail in FIGS. 11 and 12 which show that this tensioning or locking means 25 comprises a central portion 25a provided with an opening 25b through which the aforementioned fastening screw 21 is inserted. Provided opposing the central opening 25b are clamping and locking portions 25c which are oriented so as to diverge counter to the direction of insertion, as indicated by arrow 29.

(35) These clamping and locking portions 25c are connected to the central portion 25a via a double V-shaped, S- or Z-shaped spring construction 25d, so in other words the central portion 25a merges, via a first angled portion 31a leading toward the attached part 1, with a subsequent leg portion 31b which merges, via a subsequent angled portion 31c (which almost forms a 180 deflection), with an adjacent leg portion 31d, at the free end of which there is then formed a further angled portion 31e which also produces an almost 180 deflection and ends in a clamping bearing portion 31f.

(36) In the embodiment shown, provided adjacent to the opening 25b in what is known as the spring metal sheet or spring clip 25 is a funnel-shaped recess 25e, the configuration of which corresponds to the underside of the head 21b of the fastening screw 21 which tapers in this case conically from the point of transition between the screw head and shank. In order to ensure, on the one hand, sufficient rigidity or else, on the other hand, desired resilience at various portions of this clamping and/or locking means 25, longitudinal ribs and/or recesses 25g or other embossed portions and/or measures can be provided, for example, in the region of the central portion 25a. In order to ensure increased resilience in the region of the clamping feet 31 thus formed (also referred to hereinafter in some cases as the clamping and support elements), there is provided in this case a central material portion comprising a recess 31h, a portion of the punched-out material being in the form of a web 31j which protrudes, i.e. projects from the clamping and bearing portion 31f.

(37) The illustration according to FIGS. 7a and 7b shows the attached part 1, in the form of the motor vehicle antenna 1, prior to its pre-adjustment and fastening in the fitting opening 3.

(38) FIGS. 8a and 8b show how, on further insertion in the fitting or insertion direction 29, the outer clamping and/or run-on faces 31f, which extend toward one another in the insertion direction, extend to the edge 3 of the fitting opening 3. When the attached part 1 is pressed in further using the fastening means, these clamping and/or run-on portions 31f are pressed by the edge 3 of the fitting opening 3 further inward toward the fastening screw, the clamping forces being increased, as the leg portions 31b and 31d are in this case increasingly pressed toward one another.

(39) During the further insertion movement, the edge 3 slides along the clamping and/or run-on face 31f until the trailing edge 31i of these clamping and/or bearing portions passes the edge 3 of the fitting opening 3 and the resilient clamping forces of the fastening means then cause the clamping and/or abutment portions 31f to spring outward again, as shown with reference to FIGS. 9a and 9b.

(40) The prerequirements for one-hand fitting are thus met, as after the fastening means thus constructed has been passed through and the clamping and bearing portions 31f have reached behind the fitting opening 3, the motor vehicle antenna 1 is held non-detachably in the fitting opening 3 in the motor vehicle bodywork 5.

(41) The fastening screw 21 is then tightened until it engages using a suitable tool, for example in the form of a screwdriver, as shown with reference to FIGS. 10a and 10b. The trailing edge 31i enters, in this case, into contact with the underside or inside 5a of a motor vehicle interior of the bodywork metal sheet 5 even before the fastening screw has been fully screwed in. When the fastening screw 21 is further tightened, the central portion 25a of the spring metal sheet or spring clip 25 is then moved increasingly toward the underside of the fitting plate 9, increasingly high clamping and tensioning forces being generated via the clamping feet 31 and the clamping support formed by the trailing edge 31i, which rest on the underside of the fitting wall 5. In this position, the fastening means is then held securely and without risk of slippage.

(42) Once the fastening screw 21 has been tightened, the downwardly pointing upper side of the fastening screw 21, i.e. the screw head 21b, comes to lie in a plane 41 which is located much closer yet to the fitting plate 9 or to the fitting wall 5, i.e. the distance thereof from the plane 43, formed by the insertion opening 15a in the plug connectors 15, is even greater.

(43) Once the screw 21 has been tightened for securing the motor vehicle antenna in the fitting opening 3, the aforementioned cable coupler 19 can then be attached to the plug connectors 15, there being sufficient space for this purpose without the fastening means comprising the tensioning and/or locking means 25 and the fastening screw 21 adjusting the requisite fitting space.

(44) In order, if necessary, firstly to ensure sufficient resilience for the tensioning means comprising the spring metal sheet or the spring clip 25, but secondly also to ensure, when tightening the fastening screw, that the high securing forces are as effective as possible in order to hold and to fix the attached part in question using the fastening means, it is shown, in accordance with a modified embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, that there may also be provided, in addition to the spring metal sheet or spring clip 25 itself, an additional pressure part 125.

(45) The pressure part 125 also has a central portion 125a comprising a central opening 125b to which there are connected two opposing pressure portions or pressure arms 125c which merge with a subsequent bend 125d and subsequent pressure-transmitting arms 125e angled toward the fitting plate. The end of these pressure-transmitting arms 125f comes to lie, in this case, between the two leg portions 31b and 31d of the clamping feet 31 of the spring metal sheet or spring clip 25.

(46) In this embodiment, the selection of an appropriate material, shaping, etc. allows the leg portions and angled portions of the clamping feet 31 to be configured in such a way that, in this case, the resilient evasion movement takes place more easily, generating lower spring forces, when the fastening means is attached, i.e. when the clamping bearing portions 31f pass through the fitting opening 3. However, when the fastening screw 21 is tightened, the ends 125f of the pressure part 125 then abut, between the respective pairs of leg portions 31b and 31d, the angled portion 31c located therebetween, so during the course of the securing movement of the securing screw increasingly high contact forces are exerted on this angled portion 31c and thus, counter to the fitting direction 29, the leg portions 31d leading to the clamping bearing portions 31f are subjected to increasing tensile loads in the tightening direction.

(47) A construction of this type allows for the requirement for corresponding resilience and optimally high transmission of compressive or tensile forces onto the clamping portions.

(48) FIGS. 15a and 15b show the situation with a spring clip 25 comprising an additional pressure part 125 prior to fitting, whereas FIGS. 16a and 16b reproduce the situation after the final pre-adjustment in the fitting opening 3 and the subsequent tightening of the screw 21. In this situation, the ends 125f of the pressure part 125 exert on the angled portion 31c of the spring clip 25 contact forces toward the motor vehicle antenna, via which the trailing edge 31i is pressed, via the subsequent leg 31d and the clamping and bearing portions, against the underside of the bodywork metal sheet 5 at higher contact forces.

(49) FIGS. 17 and 18 therefore show a further alternative with regard to the above-described embodiment, in which the clamping feet 31 are of modified construction. In this embodiment, these clamping feet 31 are formed substantially merely in a V-shaped or U-shaped or similar manner, wherein the clamping and bearing portion 131f itself does not comprise an angled portion further inverted compared to the angled portion 31c, but rather there are configured in this case clamping projections 31k which protrude transversely to the plane of the legs and the clamping edges 31i of the clamping or bearing portions 131f of which abut the underside of the fitting wall 5, i.e. the underside of the bodywork metal sheet arrangement 5 adjacent to the fitting opening 3. Further modifications are therefore possible.

(50) Once fitting has been completed, i.e. after the fastening screw 21 has been tightened, the entire height of the plug connectors is then available for contacting with the cable coupler to be attached or correspondingly shaped, further complementary plug connectors without the described fastening means thus contributing to an increase in the overall space. There can thus be attached to the plug connector housing 15 the cable couplers shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, which are held non-detachably to the plug connector housing 15 by corresponding projections and recesses.

(51) An in total low overall height can also be achieved in that the clamping feet 31 comprise one or more angled portions configured so as to protrude through an opening or through apertures 23 in the fitting plate or in the chassis 9, i.e. project counter to the fitting direction 29, and optionally protrude through the fitting opening 3 in such a way that the clamping edge 31i can be located at least approximately at the level of the central portion 25c of the spring metal sheet or the spring clip 25. In the extreme case, the central portion 25c can even be located further away from the insertion opening in the plug connectors, or even be located on the side of the bodywork metal sheet on which the attached part 1 is positioned, so substantially merely the clamping edges 31i protrude through the fitting opening and reach behind the fitting opening in order to rest on the fitting will 5. Overall, this configuration of the clamping feet can even allow the central portion of the spring metal sheet or the spring clip 25 to come to lie, viewed in the insertion direction, not only lower than the clamping edge 31 but also downstream, with regard to the insertion direction 29, i.e. even on the side opposing the fitting wall 5 provided with the fitting opening 3.

(52) In conclusion, it will be noted that the pressure part 125 can also be provided with an internal thread, so the pressure part 125 is held, along with the spring metal sheet or the spring clip 25, non-detachably to the screw, i.e. cannot slide off from the shank, when the screw is screwed in.