Mounting device

Abstract

Fastening device designed for use in attaching the rear lights of vehicles, which is of the type of fastening device that must establish a connection by means of a threaded bolt screwed into the bulb socket or lamp holder, thereby creating a sealing tension against a support plate, characterized in that the fastening device allows anchoring on the bulb socket or lamp holder as well as anchoring on the support plate;and the fastening device is formed solely by a bolt (1) provided with a thread (11), a washer (2) and a spring (3, 34), wherein the washer (2) includes retaining means configured to anchor the fastening device to the support plate after installation of the fastening device, wherein a connection between the fastening device and the support plate is maintained when the bolt (1) is loosened to replace the bulb or lamp holder.

Description

[0001] The present invention discloses a fastening device designed for use in the installation of rear lights of vehicles, which is of the type which must maintain a sealing tension against the plate or surface of the structure of the lamp holder and is fastened by a screw screwed into the bulb socket or lamp holder and which has the special feature that the design of the device has been optimized in such a way as to make it lighter and to reduce the number of components in order to allow its fastening to the plate, its falling off or misplacing when the support screw of the light is loosened.

[0002] It is well known that vehicle lights, especially taillights, need to be mounted, and these lights must be mounted in such a way as to allow for repair, including by a user, i.e., with few or no tools. This mounting has an elastic compression component due to the requirement for a perfect seal between the connection and the mounting plate, and the need to compensate for slight variations in the distance between the lamp holder and the plate.

[0003] To solve both problems, bolts with a collar are typically used, onto which pressure is exerted by the action of a spring on the plate. The bolt is screwed into the lamp holder via the thread, while the collar exerts pressure on the mounting plate and ensures a seal.

[0004] When drivers need to replace the bulb, they unscrew the aforementioned mounting bracket and remove the bulb holder before replacing it with a bulb in good condition. Several problems arise at this point. One is that, because this is often done at night and on the road, it's not uncommon for the bracket to be misplaced during removal, making reinstallation impossible. This is because the bracket must be completely removed from its support plate to expose the bulb holder.

[0005] Another disadvantage is that some of these fastenings require the user to employ unfamiliar tools, necessitating the assistance of a specialist; in other cases, even the required use of a simple tool, such as a specific type of screwdriver, presents an insurmountable problem under road conditions and with little or no light.

[0006] Finally, solutions known in the industry use various or multiple parts to meet the requirements of this type of fastening, making their manufacture and installation complex and costly.

[0007] For this reason, one of the main objectives of the present invention is to simplify it, to reduce the number of elements from which it is composed, thereby achieving a greater simplification of its installation and use as well as a reduction in its manufacturing costs.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is that, with the installation of the fastening on the vehicle during its assembly, it is no longer necessary to completely remove the fastening in order to release the lamp holder of the bulb or bulbs to be replaced, thus preventing them from being lost when working under difficult conditions.

[0009] Another of the objectives of the present invention is that it can be loosened and tightened without the use of any tool.

[0010] These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the following description.

[0011] The present invention is a fastening device designed for use in attaching the rear lights of vehicles, which is of the type of fastening device that must maintain a sealing tension against the plate or surface of the lamp holder structure and must also be attached by a screw screwed into the bulb socket or lamp holder and which has the special feature that the design of the device has been optimized to make it lighter and to reduce the number of components in order to allow its attachment to the plate, its falling off or misplacing when the lamp's support screw is loosened.

[0012] This concerns a composite part in which plastic and metal elements are combined. Specifically, the device of the invention requires three elements, two of which are made of plastic material and, in some embodiments, are manufactured in the same operation as a single part that splits into two during installation.

[0013] The device comprises a plastic bolt with a threaded end for screwing into a lamp holder. The bolt head has a rectangular surface that supports a hexagonal head with a central recess for accommodating various points of the tightening tool, and wings for manual application of the device.

[0014] It features a movable disc that is held on the bolt shaft by lugs or feet, with an axial spring acting between the surface of the bolt head and the movable disc. This disc has various means of engaging with the surface of the plate, where it remains embedded after installation.

[0015] In this way, the device of the present invention solves all the intended problems, resulting in a simple and economical fastening, the manual use of which is permitted under difficult conditions, with the fastening remaining in the plate at the same time when it becomes necessary to release the lamp holder of the bulb or bulbs to be replaced.

[0016] To better understand the invention, it is accompanied by four-page drawings that merely illustrate the invention and do not limit it.

[0017] Fig. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred method of an embodiment of the fastening device of the present invention.

[0018] Fig. Figure 2 is a front view of the embodiment of the preceding figure.

[0019] Fig. Figure 3 is a front view of the bolt of the embodiment shown in the preceding figures.

[0020] Fig. Figure 4 is a top view of the bolt of the embodiment shown in the preceding figures.

[0021] Fig. 5, Fig. 6 and Fig. Figure 7 shows representations of the disc in the embodiment shown in the preceding figures. These are perspective views, front views, and top views.

[0022] Fig. Figure 8 is a perspective drawing similar to that of Fig. 1, however, another preferred embodiment within the present invention. The difference in this particular embodiment lies in the different types of claws of the disc.

[0023] Fig. Figure 9 is a perspective view of a disk according to the embodiment of the preceding figure.

[0024] Fig. 10 and Fig. Figure 11 is a perspective view or a front view of another possible embodiment within the present invention.

[0025] Fig. Figure 12 represents another exemplary embodiment within the invention, which has a blind part on the bolt and uses a spring as a spring.

[0026] Fig. Figure 13 is the isolated representation of the bolt of the embodiment of the preceding figure.

[0027] Fig. 14 is a disc, like the one in Fig. 5 is shown, which according to the exemplary embodiment of Fig. 12 and Fig. 13 is executed.

[0028] The present invention consists of a fastening device designed for use in the installation of vehicle rear lights, which is of the type of fastening that requires anchoring by means of a screw screwed into the bulb socket or lamp holder, thereby creating a sealing tension against the support plate, and which is secured by a bolt made of plastic material ( 1 ), a disc ( 2 ) and a spring is formed.

[0029] This spring can be designed in different forms, for example as a metal strip ( 3 ) as shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 8 and Fig. 9. It can also be described as a spring ( 34 ) as shown in Fig. 12 must be executed.

[0030] This plastic bolt ( 1 ) has a threaded area ( 11 ) approximately at the end of the shaft, while the other end forms an approximately rectangular area ( 12 ) includes a hexagonal head with a recess ( 13 ) and wings ( 14 ) supports. This type of bolt head ( 1 ) allows its use both manually due to the wings ( 14 ) and as a flat-head screw due to the recess, as well as with a pneumatic wrench due to its hexagonal head. The invention can be implemented such that it has head types other than hexagonal heads for compatibility with other inserts or automatic tightening tools.

[0031] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, according to the illustration in Fig. 1– Fig. 7 on the shaft of the bolt ( 1) and in front of the threaded area ( 11 ) the same nose ( 18 ) arranged. These lugs allow the disc to be supported ( 2 ). In other possible embodiments according to the illustration in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 are feet ( 19 ) for the function of supporting the disc ( 2 ) arranged.

[0032] At the in Fig. 12– Fig. In the embodiment shown in 14, the shaft of the bolt ( 1 ) an area ( 30 ) to limit the area for positioning the spring ( 34 ) while a blind area ( 31 ) on the shaft of the bolt ( 1 ) is provided, which is designed to bridge a gap between plates that can be determined in advance for each application and is parameterized during the manufacture of the bolt for positioning the fastening device.

[0033] This bolt (1 ) includes bridges ( 32 ), which both serve to stiffen it and to center the spring ( 34 ) be used.

[0034] The bolt ( 1 ) consists of a plastic material and is manufactured in a single molding process. In some embodiments, such as the one in Fig. 10 and Fig. As shown in 11, a disc is simultaneously attached axially to the shaft of the screw in the same operation ( 1 ) generated, whereby the disc, which is also made of plastic, is released during use of the device and is moved by the feet ( 19 ) is held.

[0035] The disc ( 2 ) is divided by an area ( 21 ) with the task of making the spring ( 3 or 34 ) to counteract this and maintain the tension of the fastening. In these corresponding embodiments, this surface ( 21) on one side a nasal area ( 22 ) and a central protrusion ( 23 ) to support the spring ( 3 ) on.

[0036] The disc, in turn, exhibits in the embodiment of Fig. 12– Fig. 14 a lip ( 33 ) circumferentially around its axial opening, which serves to center the spring ( 34 ) contributes.

[0037] The head of the bolt ( 1 ) in turn, in the embodiments which feature a laminar strip ( 3 ) are designed as a spring, in the lower area of ​​the surface ( 12 ) of which an area ( 15 ) on, which belongs to the disc ( 2 ) is symmetrical. This means that it has an area of ​​a terminal nose ( 16 ) and a medium lead ( 17 ) to hold the spring ( 3 ) comprising a laminar strip of steel.

[0038] The disc ( 2), which is also made of plastic material, may contain means for fastening to the support plate, so that if the thread ( 11 ) the screw ( 1 ) the lamp holder of the lamp to be replaced is released, the device of the invention is not released, but is held by the plate, thus preventing possible misplacement of this.

[0039] In one embodiment, these fastenings to the plate consist of legs ( 27 ) with hook ( 28 ) at their ends, so that when passed through the opening of the plate they hook onto its edge, thereby holding the arrangement of the device on the plate.

[0040] In further embodiments and in particular in preferred embodiments of the invention, which are described in Fig. 1– Fig. 7 and Fig. 12– Fig. Figure 14 shows that “ornate” feet are used as an alternative. This is a double-bending mechanism that allows additional axial elasticity along the line or direction between the inside or shaft of the screw and the outside. This foot is formed by a first sloping area ( 24 ) formed, which forms an arc in the circumferential direction ( 25 ) has a flange at its end ( 26 ) is arranged.

[0041] The spring, which provides the tension and elasticity, the pressure on the mounting of the disc ( 2 ) against the support plate, is in some exemplary embodiments a spring ( 3 ) with a laminar strip of steel or, in other embodiments, a coil spring ( 32 ). The spring is between the two surfaces ( 15 and 21 ) of the head of the screw and the washer ( 2) included. Depending on whether the spring is a laminar strip ( 3 ) is, the respective noses take ( 16 and 22 ) together with the respective projections ( 17 and 23 ) the stripe stably.

[0042] The various designs represent two basic types of spring attachment ( 3 ) on the device according to the present invention: axial or lateral.

[0043] In the embodiment of Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, as is clear from the perspective of Fig. As can be seen from point 10, the part is attached laterally. The disc ( 2 ) is constructed in the same forming process as the bolt ( 1 ) is produced, and is detached from the latter. Its course downwards along the shaft of the bolt ( 1 ) hits the nose of the feet ( 19 ). The laminar strip ( 3) made of steel is in turn inserted laterally and between the surfaces ( 15 and 21 ) included.

[0044] In the other embodiments shown in the figures, the arrangement is axial. According to the design of the screw ( 1 ) the spring is made with laminar strips ( 3 ) made of steel, inserted at the end of it, as in Fig. 1 and Fig. 8 is shown. Then the disc ( 2 ) guided axially onto the shaft of the screw. The washer has recesses ( 29 ) which makes their passing by the noses ( 18 ) and, if present, the feet ( 19 ) of the screw shaft ( 1 ) during this assembly operation.

[0045] After overcoming the obstacle, a quarter turn is performed, causing the disc ( 2 ) now on the noses ( 18 ) is supported. The spring ( 3) is wedged between the surface ( 15 ) of the screw head and the surface ( 21 ) the disc ( 2 ). The noses ( 16 and 22 ) and the projections ( 17 and 23 ) take the strip ( 3 ) between the two surfaces ( 15 and 21 ) on.

[0046] In the embodiment of Fig. 12– Fig. 14 will be the feet ( 19 ) is overcome elastically by pressure. The screw is then constructed axially, in a similar manner to the previous case, first at the spring ( 32 ) and then the disc ( 2 ) passed by, whereby the tension caused the feet ( 19 ) of the bolt ( 1 ) are overcome, thereby assembling the device.

[0047] In this way, all the problems envisaged by the invention are solved with the foregoing embodiments. A fastening device is achieved that allows its anchoring to two spaced-apart points or structures, the lamp holder socket and the mounting plate, and which maintains the connection of the device to the plate when detached, thus preventing the device from being misplaced when the lamp holder is loosened to replace the bulb.

[0048] The device of the invention is easy to manufacture and cost-effective due to the simplification of the elements that constitute it and their constructive arrangement.

[0049] It is understood that the details listed here regarding the design and form are variable and do not constitute a substantial variation of the invention.

Claims

[1] Fastening device designed for use in the fastening of rear lights of vehicles, which is of the type of fastening device which must provide anchoring by means of a screw screwed into the bulb socket or lamp holder, thereby creating a sealing tension against the support plate, characterized by that they are only connected by a bolt ( 1 ), a disc ( 2 ) and a spring is formed, the disc containing retaining means configured to anchor the device to the plate after installation of the device, maintaining the connection when the threaded screw is loosened to replace the bulb or lamp holder. [2] Fastening device according to the preceding claim, characterized by that the spring is a spring ( 3 ) with a laminar strip of steel. [3] Fastening device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the bolt on the shaft has a support lug ( 18 ) for the disc ( 2 ) includes. [4] Fastening device according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized by that the bolt on the shaft of which anchor feet ( 19 ) for the disc ( 2 ) includes. [5] Fastening device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the bolt ( 1 ) near the end of the shaft, a threaded section ( 11 ) has an approximately rectangular area ( 12 ) includes a hexagonal head with a recess ( 13 ) and wings ( 14 ) supports. [6] Fastening device according to the preceding claim, characterized by that the head of the bolt ( 1 ) a lower surface ( 15 ) includes, which has an advantage ( 17 ) and a nose ( 16 ) exhibits. [7] Fastening device according to one of claims 1–5, characterized by that the bolt ( 1 ) a boundary surface ( 30 ) has a blind area ( 31 ) limited, which can be parameterized according to the configuration requirements of each application. [8] Fastening device according to the preceding claim, characterized by that the bolt ( 1 ) Bridges ( 32 ) for stiffening and centering a spring ( 34 ), which acts as a spring, wherein the spring ( 34 ) between the boundary surface ( 30 ) and the disc ( 2 ) is recorded. [9] Fastening device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the disc ( 2 ) through an area ( 21 ) is formed, which acts as a limit for the spring. [10] Fastening device according to the preceding claim, characterized by that the disc ( 2) Passages ( 29 ) in the middle opening of which is configured to fit on the noses ( 18 ) or the feet ( 19 ) the screw ( 1 to lead past. [11] Fastening device according to the preceding claim, characterized by that the disc ( 2 ) thighs ( 27 ) with hook ( 28 ) at the end of it, which is used to anchor the disc ( 2 ) are configured on the disk. [12] Fastening device according to one of claims 1–10, characterized by that the disc ( 2 ) contains feet that pass through an initial sloping area ( 24 ) are formed, which forms an arc in the circumferential direction ( 25 ) has a flange at its end ( 26 ) is arranged, with the feet being used to anchor the disc ( 2) are configured on the plate, with a certain adjustment or flexibility in the direction transverse to the axial shaft of the screw ( 1 ) is permitted. [13] Fastening device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the disc ( 2 ) a nose at one end ( 22 ) and a projecting area ( 23 ) exhibits. [14] Fastening device according to one of claims 1–12, characterized by that the disc ( 2 ) a lip ( 33 ) circumferentially around its axial opening, which serves to center the spring ( 34 ) contributes. [15] Fastening device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the disc ( 2 ) is made of plastic material. [16] Fastening device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the bolt ( 1 ) is made of plastic material.

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