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CN-121993477-A - Mixing clamp

CN121993477ACN 121993477 ACN121993477 ACN 121993477ACN-121993477-A

Abstract

The application provides a hybrid clip, a hybrid plastic bracket and a metal fastening clip comprising a base plate, a pair of legs extending from the base plate, a locking tab formed on the legs, at least one wing extending from the legs, the wing comprising an engagement area on the wing, and a snap joint. The legs are bent away from each other to form a head and a lead-in section. A locking tab is formed on the second leg. A pair of opposing wingtips at the ends of the first and second wings are operable to engage the chassis slot. The plastic carrier has an opening for insertion of the substrate. The pair of opposing bracket walls formed on the top end of the bracket flex as the opposing locking tabs slide over the bracket walls, and the pair of opposing locking slots for engaging the opposing locking tabs.

Inventors

  • Daniel james dickinson

Assignees

  • 特迈驰公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20251104
Priority Date
20251029

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip comprising: A metal fastening clip, the metal fastening clip comprising: a substrate; a first leg extending from the base plate; A first locking tab formed on the first leg; at least one first wing extending from the first leg, the at least one first wing comprising: a first engagement region on the at least one first wing, and A first snap joint; A second leg extending from the base plate such that the first and second legs bend away from each other to form a head and a lead-in section; a second locking tab formed on the second leg; at least one second wing extending from the second leg, the at least one second wing comprising: a second engagement region on the at least one second wing, and A second snap joint opposite to the first snap joint, and A pair of opposing wingtips at the ends of the at least one first wing and the at least one second wing, the pair of opposing wingtips operable to engage the chassis slot, and A plastic tray having an opening for inserting the substrate; A pair of opposed bracket walls formed on the top end of the plastic bracket to bend as the first and second locking tabs slide past the pair of opposed bracket walls, and A pair of opposing locking slots for engaging the first locking tab and the second locking tab.
  2. 2. The hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip of claim 1, wherein the first snap joint and the second snap joint further comprise at least one of a bend, a curved leg, a abrupt edge, a gradual angled edge, a curve, a single angled edge, a discrete multi-angle edge, and a sharp edge.
  3. 3. The hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip of claim 1, wherein the metal fastening clip is formed by at least one of stamping, cutting, molding, etching, casting, machining, shaping, welding, embossing, stamping, heat treating, bonding, plating, and pressing.
  4. 4. The hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip of claim 1, wherein the first and second snap joints comprise at least one of a protrusion, a prong, an edge, a rounded portion, a bulbous portion, a stepped portion, an angled portion, a dimple, and a recess.
  5. 5. The hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip of claim 1, wherein: The pair of opposed bracket walls are curved with respect to the first and second legs and the first and second locking tabs, and Such that the first and second locking tabs slide past the pair of opposing bracket walls to allow the first and second locking tabs to respectively engage the pair of opposing locking slots.
  6. 6. The hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip of claim 1, further comprising: a sealing flange formed on the plastic carrier; a seal support plate for supporting the seal flange; A base panel operable to be releasably separated from a corresponding housing on the body panel, and And a post positioned between the base plate and the seal support plate to provide a spacing.
  7. 7. The hybrid plastic bracket and metal fastening clip of claim 1, wherein the plastic bracket further comprises: a tray floor for engaging the base plate such that the base plate is in compression with the tray floor when the first and second locking tabs engage the pair of opposing locking slots.
  8. 8. The hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip of claim 1, wherein the head and the lead-in section are operatively inserted into the chassis slot such that the first and second snap joints slide through the chassis slot and snap outwardly, and the pair of opposing wingtips engage the chassis slot.
  9. 9. The hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip of claim 1, wherein the curvature of the pair of opposing wingtips matches the curvature of the chassis slot.
  10. 10. The hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip of claim 1, wherein the engagement force is less than the extraction force.
  11. 11. The hybrid plastic bracket and metal fastening clip of claim 1, wherein the plastic bracket is made of at least one of rubber, plastisol, plastic, acetal, polyacetal, polyoxymethylene, nylon, fiberglass, carbon fiber, polyethylene, polycarbonate, acrylic, neoprene, silicone, polyurethane, thermoplastic elastomer.
  12. 12. The hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip as recited in claim 1, wherein the first and second engagement regions comprise at least one of a protrusion, a prong, an edge, a rounded portion, a bulbous portion, a stepped portion, an angled portion, a dimple, and a recess.
  13. 13. A hybrid plastic carrier and metal fastening clip assembly comprising: A body panel comprising a housing; A metal fastening clip, the metal fastening clip comprising: a substrate; A first leg extending from the base plate; A first locking tab formed on the first leg; at least one first wing extending from the first leg, the at least one first wing comprising: a first engagement region on the at least one first wing, and A first snap joint; A second leg extending from the base plate such that the first and second legs bend away from each other to form a head and a lead-in section; a second locking tab formed on the second leg; at least one second wing extending from the second leg, the at least one second wing comprising: a second engagement region on the at least one second wing, and A second snap joint opposite to the first snap joint, and A pair of opposing wingtips at the ends of the at least one first wing and the at least one second wing, the pair of opposing wingtips operable to engage a chassis slot; a plastic bracket having an opening for inserting the substrate, and A pair of discs at opposite ends for snap-fitting into the housing; A pair of opposed bracket walls formed on the top end of the plastic bracket to bend as the first and second locking tabs slide past the pair of opposed bracket walls, and A pair of opposed locking slots for engaging the first locking tab and the second locking tab.
  14. 14. The hybrid plastic bracket and metal fastening clip assembly of claim 13, wherein the pair of opposing bracket walls are curved relative to the first and second legs and the first and second locking tabs such that the first and second locking tabs slide past the pair of opposing bracket walls to allow the first and second locking tabs to engage the pair of opposing locking slots.
  15. 15. The hybrid plastic bracket and metal fastening clip assembly of claim 13, wherein the plastic bracket further comprises: A tray floor for engaging the base plate such that the base plate is in compression with the tray floor when the first and second locking tabs engage the opposing locking slots.
  16. 16. The hybrid plastic bracket and metal fastening clip assembly of claim 13, wherein the head and the lead-in section are operatively inserted into the chassis slot such that the first and second snap joints slide through the chassis slot and snap outwardly, and the pair of opposing wingtips engage the chassis slot.
  17. 17. The hybrid plastic bracket and metal fastening clip assembly of claim 13, wherein the metal fastening clip is formed by at least one of stamping, cutting, molding, etching, casting, machining, shaping, welding, embossing, stamping, heat treating, bonding, plating, and pressing.
  18. 18. The hybrid plastic bracket and metal fastening clip assembly of claim 13, further comprising: A sealing flange formed on the plastic carrier at an end opposite the tip; a seal support plate for supporting the seal flange; a base panel operable to be releasably separated from a corresponding housing on the body panel, and And a post positioned between the base plate and the seal support plate to provide a spacing.
  19. 19. The hybrid plastic bracket and metal fastening clip assembly of claim 13, wherein the plastic bracket is made of at least one of rubber, plastisol, plastic, acetal, polyacetal, polyoxymethylene, nylon, fiberglass, and carbon fiber.
  20. 20. The hybrid plastic bracket and metal fastening clip assembly of claim 13, wherein the engagement force is less than the extraction force.

Description

Mixing clamp Technical Field The present invention relates generally to devices for fastening objects, and more particularly to fastening clips for insertion into an engagement structure, such as a vehicle chassis, hollow substrate, wall, building structure, panel, or any suitable surface. Background Many devices and fasteners are currently available for fastening panels, automotive interior trim panels, and body panels to the chassis of a vehicle. As used herein, a body panel refers to, for example, any interior or exterior body panel, plastic interior trim, headliner, or any interior trim on a vehicle. In addition, the panel may be any suitable exterior body panel, such as a fender, bumper, cladding, rear fender, or door panel. The chassis of the vehicle may include any substrate, panel, body panel, structural backbone, chassis component or sub-component, wall, or any suitable structure. These body panels typically need to be attached to the chassis of the vehicle with a relatively low level of insertion force while providing a high level of extraction force suitable for maintaining the attachment of the panel to the chassis. However, these conventional fastener devices instead provide substantially relatively equal levels of insertion and extraction forces or high insertion and low retention forces. In addition, conventional fasteners often fail to adequately secure a panel to a vehicle chassis having metal plates and fasteners with different curvatures or thicknesses throughout the chassis. Furthermore, conventional fasteners are unsuitable under various environmental conditions, such as in the presence of vibrations of various levels of amplitude and frequency. For example, the fastener device should prevent or minimize the amount of buzzing, rattling, or any other type of noise that may draw the attention of the vehicle occupant or otherwise attenuate the attachment. In addition, conventional fasteners are not sufficiently adaptable to various levels of production tolerances, such as, for example, various dimensions between the body panel fasteners and the vehicle chassis. As a result, conventional fastener devices often fail to adequately secure to a range of sheet metal thicknesses, and fail to minimize or eliminate buzzing and rattling, and fail to adequately accommodate variations in manufacturing tolerances. Fastening clips (such as metal spring fasteners) are known for attaching body panels to automotive chassis. For example, fastening clips are known having a base plate and four stepped arms extending from the base plate. Each step arm includes four incremental steps (steps) adapted to engage a slot in the vehicle chassis with one of the steps on each arm. However, the incremental steps allow engagement in only one of four discrete step positions, rather than in a continuous range of engagement positions. Furthermore, each step has a relatively large rise and extension such that once inserted, the clip may move within the range of step sizes, causing wear and/or generating noise, including buzzing and rattling due to vibrations occurring within the vehicle. Furthermore, the steps are typically cut into each arm during manufacture and each wing on the clip also needs to be twisted in order to engage a slot in the vehicle chassis. Thus, only the edge or a portion of the edge of each step engages the aperture in the vehicle slot. For example, if the thickness of the metal plate varies, or if production tolerances of slots in the vehicle chassis or trim vary, engagement of a portion of the aperture in the chassis with one of the arms may not provide a suitable frictional engagement or otherwise result in movement. Furthermore, fewer than all four of the arms will engage with slots of the vehicle chassis. Torsion of the body panels will likely be more prevalent because in practice fewer than four points of contact are formed with the slots of the vehicle chassis. As a result, wear, squeak, rattle, buzzing, corrosion and loss of elasticity, and loss of sealing, may result, especially after years of vehicle operation and exposure to vibration and other environmental conditions. Disclosure of Invention A hybrid plastic bracket and metal fastening clip "includes a base plate, a pair of legs extending from the base plate, locking tabs formed on the legs, and at least one wing extending from the legs, the wing including an engagement area on the wing, and a snap joint. The legs are bent away from each other to form a head and a lead-in section. A locking tab is formed on the second leg. A pair of opposing wingtips at the ends of the first and second wings are operable to engage the chassis slot. The plastic carrier has an opening for insertion of the substrate. A pair of opposed bracket walls formed on the top end of the bracket flex as the opposed locking tabs slide over the bracket walls and a pair of opposed locking slots engage the opposed locking tabs. Drawings FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a fasteni