MOTOR VEHICLE MOUNTING SYSTEM

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a motor vehicle fastening system in which a first motor vehicle component is attached to a second motor vehicle component by means of a fastening device.

[0002] Such automotive fastening systems serve, for example, to attach a bracket for an exterior door handle or an actuator to a vehicle body panel. Various fastening methods are known, such as screw connections using one or more fastening screws, and rivet connections using one or more rivets. Furthermore, click and clip connections are known from the prior art for attaching actuators or other automotive components to a vehicle body panel. However, these click and clip connections usually need to be adapted to the varying wall thickness of the body panel from vehicle to vehicle, so this fastening method is considered a secondary option.For example, when mounting a support bracket to the body panel, tolerance compensation is necessary for bolted connections because, due to manufacturing tolerances, the hole for the fastening screw in the bracket is usually not aligned with the screw receptacle in the body panel. This required tolerance compensation results in additional assembly effort, which is a disadvantage.

[0003] FR 2 768 199 A1 discloses a sliding mounting system for a thin-walled plastic component attached to a support structure. To compensate for temperature-related expansion and contraction of the plastic part relative to the vehicle structure and to prevent deformation, a thicker intermediate layer (entretoise) is guided in an elongated opening in the wall. This intermediate layer is initially held by releasable pre-positioning elements and released after attachment to the support structure, allowing the component to slide relative to the support structure. The system is easy to manufacture, cost-effective, and simplifies assembly.

[0004] The invention is based on the objective of creating a solution that provides an improved and more convenient vehicle fastening system in a structurally simple manner.

[0005] This problem is solved according to the invention by a motor vehicle fastening system comprising a first motor vehicle component, a second motor vehicle component and at least one fastening device designed for the detachable fastening of the first motor vehicle component to the second motor vehicle component, wherein the at least one fastening device comprises a fastening screw which is screwed into a screw receptacle formed in the second motor vehicle component in a screwing direction, and a screw holder which is movably mounted on the first motor vehicle component in a direction transverse to the screwing direction and is designed with a guide sleeve extending in the direction of the screw receptacle and receiving a section of the fastening screw.

[0006] Advantageous and appropriate embodiments and further developments of the invention are set out in the dependent claims.

[0007] The invention provides a motor vehicle fastening system characterized by a simple and cost-effective design. The first motor vehicle component is detachably connected to the second motor vehicle component via the fastening device, the detachable connection being realized by a fastening screw that is screwed into a screw receptacle formed in the second motor vehicle component. According to the invention, the fastening screw is aligned for insertion by means of a screw holder, which is movably mounted on the first motor vehicle component in a direction transverse to the screwing direction.The movable mounting of the screw holder ensures that the guide sleeve and thus the fastening screw can be aligned with the screw receptacle, thereby easily achieving the necessary tolerance compensation in such a way that the assembly of the first motor vehicle component onto the second motor vehicle component is advantageously facilitated.

[0008] According to claim 1, the invention further provides that a receptacle with a through-hole and lateral boundary walls is formed on a side surface of the first motor vehicle component facing away from the second motor vehicle component, in which the screw holder is movably mounted. According to this embodiment, the screw holder is not arbitrarily arranged on the first motor vehicle component. Rather, a defined area in the form of the receptacle equipped with boundary walls is provided on the first motor vehicle component, the boundary walls merely providing an initial position for the screw holder before the fastening screw is tightened. This is because, prior to tightening, the screw holder can be aligned transversely to the screw-in direction of the fastening screw in order to align the fastening screw with the screw receptacle.

[0009] A simple way to compensate for tolerances is to move the screw holder by having a guide sleeve with a cross-section smaller than the through-hole, with the guide sleeve extending through the through-hole. This also provides a compact and space-saving design for the fastening device.

[0010] In a further embodiment, the invention provides that the screw holder is designed with a base plate through which the guide sleeve extends and which is arranged on the side surface of the first vehicle component facing away from the second vehicle component and within the receptacle. The base plate of the screw holder is thus arranged in the receptacle of the first vehicle component, so that during assembly, the base plate presses against the first vehicle component when the fastening screw is screwed into the screw receptacle.

[0011] In order to enable the screw holder to assume a certain basic position on the first motor vehicle component, in which the guide sleeve is at least approximately aligned with the screw receptacle and gravity does not force the guide sleeve into an unrealistically distant position relative to the screw receptacle, an embodiment of the invention provides that several compensating elements are formed on the base plate of the screw holder, which extend in a direction transverse to the screwing direction and which are spring-elastic and allow movement of the screw holder within the receptacle in the direction of a lateral boundary wall.

[0012] In a further embodiment of the invention, it is provided that several gripping arms are formed on the guide sleeve of the screw holder, which extend away from the guide sleeve in such a way that the multiple gripping arms project beyond the through-hole of the receptacle and engage the second vehicle component on a side surface of the first vehicle component facing the second vehicle component. The screw holder is thus attached to the first vehicle component in a simple manner.

[0013] With regard to simplified pre-assembly, a further embodiment of the invention offers the advantage of having the multiple gripping arms designed to be elastically deformable, such that they can be inserted through the through-hole of the receptacle towards the first vehicle component under elastic deformation. Additionally, each gripping arm can have a curvature pointing away from the second vehicle component, which further facilitates insertion.

[0014] In addition to the screw holder being movably mounted within the receptacle in two spatial directions, tolerance compensation is also possible in a third spatial direction. For this purpose, the invention according to claim 1 provides that the receptacle is connected to the first motor vehicle component via an elastically deformable compensating element such that the receptacle is relatively movable and adjustable in the screw-in direction relative to the first motor vehicle component.

[0015] In this regard, the invention provides in a further embodiment for a movement of the screw holder in the third spatial direction that the compensating means is designed as a bridge with a curved cross-section, via which the receptacle is connected to the first motor vehicle component.

[0016] Finally, in an embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the fastening screw is designed at a first longitudinal end with a screw head that has a wider cross-section, which rests on the screw holder and clamps the screw holder against the first motor vehicle component, and at a second longitudinal end with a tapered screw-in end, which is screwed into the screw receptacle to fasten the first motor vehicle component to the second motor vehicle component.

[0017] It is understood that the features mentioned above and those to be explained below can be used not only in the combinations specified, but also in other combinations or individually, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined solely by the claims.

[0018] Further details, features and advantages of the subject matter of the invention will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the drawing, in which an exemplary and preferred embodiment of the invention is shown.

[0019] The drawing shows: Figure 1 a schematic perspective view of a motor vehicle door designed as a second motor vehicle component and a support attached to the inside of the motor vehicle door and designed as a first motor vehicle component, Figure 2 a perspective rear view of part of the carrier designed as the first motor vehicle component, Figure 3 a side view detail of the first motor vehicle component, which is detachably attached to the second motor vehicle component by means of a fastening device, Figure 4 a lateral sectional view to illustrate the Figure 3 , Figure 5a perspective front view of a detail of the first motor vehicle component and the fastening device, Figure 6 a perspective rear view of the first motor vehicle component and the fastening device, Figure 7 a single-part illustration of a screw holder, a fastening screw and a detail of the first motor vehicle component, Figure 8 a perspective view of the screw holder, Figure 9 a side view of the screw holder and Figure 10 A top view of the screw holder.

[0020] In Figure 1Figure 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of the invention, in which a vehicle door 1 and a support 2, attached to the inside of the vehicle door 1 and supporting an external door handle, are shown in a perspective view. The invention is applied to these components. For the purposes of the invention, the support 2 represents a first motor vehicle component 3 and the vehicle door 1 represents a second motor vehicle component 4. It is understood that the invention can also be implemented for other components of a motor vehicle if a first motor vehicle component is to be attached to a second motor vehicle component.

[0021] The Figure 2Figure 1 shows a perspective rear view of a portion of the carrier 2, which is designed as the first motor vehicle component 3. Besides supporting the exterior door handle, this carrier can also support functional components, such as electronic or mechanical parts. A fastening device 5 is arranged on the second motor vehicle component 3, or on the carrier 2. This fastening device includes a fastening screw 6 and a screw holder 7, which together detachably fasten the first motor vehicle component 3 to the second motor vehicle component 4. The fastening device 5 is attached to a type of tab on the carrier. Figures 3 to 7 Only this tab-like section of the carrier 2 or of the first motor vehicle component 3 is shown.

[0022] As described in more detail below, the fastening screw 6 is screwed into a screw receptacle 8 formed in the second motor vehicle component 4 or the vehicle door 1 in a screw-in direction 9, which is the z-direction, wherein the screw holder 7 is movably mounted on the first motor vehicle component 3 or on the side 10 or 11 extending transversely to the screw-in direction 9, which are the x-direction and / or the y-direction (see, for example, also Figure 6According to the invention, the first motor vehicle component 3, the second motor vehicle component 4, and the at least one fastening device 5 designed for the detachable fastening of the first motor vehicle component 3 to the second motor vehicle component 4 form a motor vehicle fastening system 12, wherein it is conceivable that more than one fastening device 5 is used for fastening. The screw holder 7 is designed with a guide sleeve 14 extending in the direction of the screw receptacle 8 and receiving a section of the fastening screw 6, as can be seen, for example, in the sectional view of the Figure 4 as is evident.

[0023] For the movable mounting of the screw holder 7, a receptacle 16 with a through-hole 17 is formed on a side surface 15 of the first motor vehicle component 3 facing away from the second motor vehicle component 4. The receptacle 16 has lateral limiting walls 18. The screw holder 7 is movably mounted in the receptacle 16. More precisely, the screw holder 7 is movably mounted in the receptacle 16 in the manner of a floating bearing in the x-direction 10 and / or in the y-direction 11, and thus transversely to the screw-in direction 9 of the fastening screw 6, in order to align the fastening screw 6 with the screw receptacle 8 and to compensate for tolerances during installation. The through-hole 17 and the limiting walls 18 of the receptacle 16 of the first motor vehicle component 3 can be seen, for example, in the detailed drawing of the Figure 7As can be seen, since the guide sleeve 14 extends through the through hole 17, the guide sleeve 14 has a cross-section 19 for the purpose of aligning the fastening screw 6 (see, for example, Figure 9 ) which is smaller than the diameter 20 (see for example Figure 7 ) of the through hole 17. Thus, the screw holder 7 can be arbitrarily aligned in the x-direction 10 and / or in the y-direction 11 to align the fastening screw 6 with the screw receptacle 8.

[0024] From the Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10It is further evident that the screw holder 7 is designed with a base plate 21. When the vehicle fastening system 12 is mounted, the base plate 21 rests on the bottom of the receptacle 16 or on the side surface 15. The guide sleeve 14 extends through the base plate 21 located within the receptacle 16, with the base plate 21 located on the side surface 15 of the first vehicle component 3 facing away from the second vehicle component 4 having a smaller spatial extent than the receptacle 16, so that the base plate 21 can be moved freely within the receptacle 16 in the x-direction 10 and / or in the y-direction 11.

[0025] As can be seen particularly from the Figures 6 to 10As can be seen, several compensating elements 22 are integrally formed on the base plate 21 of the screw holder 7. These compensating elements 22 serve to support the screw holder 7 within the receptacle 16 against gravity, which facilitates the alignment of the guide sleeve 14 and thus of the fastening screw 6 with the screw receptacle 8 and simultaneously simplifies assembly. The compensating elements 22 are arranged evenly distributed around the circumference of the base plate 21 and thus extend in the x-direction 10 and in the y-direction 11, so that the compensating elements 22 extend overall in a direction transverse to the screw-in direction 9. In the illustrated embodiment, the compensating elements 22 are designed as a kind of wing pair, with each wing pair being arranged on a side edge of the base plate 21.With regard to the movable mounting of the screw holder 7 within the receptacle 16, the compensating elements 22 are spring-elastic and designed to allow movement of the screw holder 7 within the receptacle 16 in the direction of one of the lateral boundary walls 18. Consequently, when a compensating element 22 comes into contact with one of the lateral boundary walls 18, the compensating element 22 yields elastically and allows the corresponding movement or displacement of the screw holder 7 within the receptacle 16.

[0026] To simplify assembly, the first vehicle component 3 with the attached receptacle 16 and the screw holder 7 are designed as separate components that are only movably connected to each other during assembly. For this purpose, several gripping arms 23 are formed on the guide sleeve 14 of the screw holder 7. These gripping arms 23 are designed to be elastically deformable such that, for attaching the screw holder 7 to the first vehicle component 2, 3, the several gripping arms 23 are designed to be inserted through the through-hole 17 of the receptacle 16 towards the first vehicle component 3 under elastic deformation, as shown in the detailed drawing of the Figure 7The gripping arms 23 extend from the guide sleeve 14 in such a way that the multiple gripping arms 23 project beyond the through-hole 17 of the receptacle 16 and engage the second vehicle component 4 on a side surface 24 of the first vehicle component 3 facing the second vehicle component 4, as can be seen, for example, in the sectional view of the Figure 4 as is evident.

[0027] The alignment of the fastening screw 6 is facilitated according to the illustrated embodiment by the fastening screw 6 being designed at a first longitudinal end with a screw head 27 that is wider in cross-section and at a second longitudinal end with a tapered screw-in end 28, as shown in Figure 7As can be seen, the widened screw head 27 clamps the screw holder 7 against the first vehicle component 3 during assembly, with the widened screw head 27 resting on the screw holder 7 or on the base plate 21 and / or on a longitudinal end of the guide sleeve 14 of the screw holder 7. The tapered threaded end 28 of the fastening screw 6, on the other hand, facilitates alignment with the screw receptacle 8, whereby, in the assembled state, the threaded end 28 is screwed into the screw receptacle 8, thus fastening the first vehicle component 3 to the second vehicle component 4.

[0028] To compensate for tolerances in the third spatial direction, which is the z-direction or the screw-in direction 9, the receptacle 16 is connected to the first vehicle component 3 via an elastically deformable compensating element 25 such that the receptacle 16 is relatively movable and adjustable in the screw-in direction 9 relative to the first vehicle component 3. This compensating element 25 is therefore designed to yield when the fastening screw 6 is tightened. As the Figures 2 , 4 , 5 and 6 The compensating agent 25, which can be removed, is designed as a web 26 with a curved cross-section.

[0029] The described invention is, of course, not limited to the embodiment described and illustrated. Numerous modifications to the embodiment shown in the drawing, which would be obvious to a person skilled in the art according to the intended application, can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as long as these modifications fall within the scope of the claims. Reference symbol list

[0030] 1 Vehicle door 2 Carrier 3 First vehicle component 4 Second vehicle component 5 Fastening device 6 Fastening screw 7 Screw holder 8 Screw receptacle 9 Screw-in direction 10 X-direction 11 Y-direction 12 Vehicle fastening system 14 Guide sleeve 15 Side surface 16 Receptacle 17 Through hole 18 Limit walls 19 Cross-section of 14 20 Diameter of 17 21 Base plate 22 Compensating elements 23 Gripping arms 24 Side surface 25 Compensating element 26 Web 27 Widened screw head 28 Screw-in end

Claims

1. Motor vehicle fastening system (12) with a first motor vehicle component (2, 3), a second motor vehicle component (1, 4) and at least one fastening apparatus (5) designed to fasten the first motor vehicle component (2, 3) detachably to the second motor vehicle component (1, 4), wherein the at least one fastening apparatus (5) includes a fastening screw (6) which is screwed in a screw-in direction (9) into a screw socket (8) formed in the second motor vehicle component (1, 4), and a screw holder (7) which is mounted on the first motor vehicle component (2, 3) so as to be movable in a direction (10, 11) extending transversely to the screw-in direction (9) and is constructed with a guide bushing (14) that extends in the direction of the screw socket (8) and accommodates a portion of the fastening screw (6), wherein a mounting (16) with a through-hole (17) and with lateral limiting walls (18) is formed on a lateral surface (15) of the first motor vehicle component (2, 3) facing away from the second motor vehicle component (1, 4), in which mounting the screw holder (7) is mounted movably, characterized in that the mounting (16) is connected to the first motor vehicle component (2, 3) via an elastically deformable compensating means (25) in such manner that the mounting (16) can be moved in the screw-in direction (9) and disposed relatively to the first motor vehicle component (2, 3).

2. Motor vehicle fastening system (12) according to Claim 1, wherein the guide bushing (14) has a cross-section (19) that is smaller than the through-hole (17), wherein the guide bushing (14) protrudes through the through-hole (17).

3. Motor vehicle fastening system (12) according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the screw holder (7) is constructed with a base plate (21) through which the guide bushing (14) protrudes extends, and which is arranged on the lateral surface (15) of the first motor vehicle component (2, 3) facing away from the second motor vehicle component (1, 4) and inside the mounting (16).

4. Motor vehicle fastening system (12) according to Claim 3, wherein a plurality of compensating elements (22) are formed on the base plate (21) of the screw holder (7), which elements extend in a direction transverse to the screw-in direction (9) and are of resilient construction, allowing a movement of the screw holder (7) inside the mounting (16) in the direction of one of the lateral limiting walls (18).

5. Motor vehicle fastening system (12) according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein a plurality of gripper arms (23) are formed on the guide bushing (14) of the screw holder (7), and extend away from the guide bushing (14) in such manner that the plurality of gripper arms (23) pass beyond the through-hole (17) in the mounting (16) and clasp the second motor vehicle component (1, 4) from behind on a lateral surface (24) of the first motor vehicle component (2, 3) facing towards the second motor vehicle component (1, 4).

6. Motor vehicle fastening system (12) according to Claim 5, wherein the plurality of gripper arms (23) are designed to be elastically deformable in such manner that in order to bring the screw holder (7) towards the first motor vehicle component (2, 3) the plurality of gripper arms (23) are designed such that they can be inserted with elastic deformation through the through-hole (17) in the mounting (16) in the direction of the first motor vehicle component (2, 3).

7. Motor vehicle fastening system (12) according to Claim 1, wherein the compensating means (25) is embodied as a flange (26) with a curved cross-section.

8. Motor vehicle fastening system (12) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fastening screw (6) is designed with a screw head (27) having a widened cross-section at the first longitudinal end, so that when bearing on the screw holder (7) the screw head clamps the screw holder (7) against the first motor vehicle component (2, 3), and with a tapered screw-in tip (28) at the second longitudinal end, which is screwed into the screw socket (8) in such a way that the first motor vehicle component (2, 3) is fastened to the second motor vehicle component (1, 4).