Insert nut insertion structure

Abstract

The present invention relates to an insert nut insertion structure, comprising an insert nut including a bolt tightening portion having a thread on its inner peripheral edge so that a bolt can be tightened, and a flange portion disposed on the outer peripheral edge of the bolt tightening portion and expanded in the circumferential direction of the bolt tightening portion, and a nut fixing groove provided to allow insertion of the insert nut in a first direction intersecting the bolt tightening direction, wherein the nut fixing groove includes a flange accommodating portion having an internal space corresponding to the shape of the flange portion, and a pair of fingers disposed on an upper portion of the flange portion arranged in the flange accommodating portion, shaped like a cantilever, and partially wrapping around the bolt tightening portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an insert nut insertion structure for preventing deformation and damage of an injection molded structure by minimizing stress that can be applied to the injection molded structure when inserting an insert nut.

[0002] This application claims priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0081117 filed on June 22, 2021, and all of the contents disclosed in the specification and drawings of the application are incorporated into this application.

Background Art

[0003] Bolts and nuts are widely used in assembling two or more parts or two or more structures. Recently, in products that require thinning, bolts or nuts may be pre-embedded in injection molded structures. For example, the main body and cover of a battery pack are molded and combined as two divided cases, and an insert nut may be pre-embedded by pressing or insert injection for ease of combining the cases.

[0004] Although the method of insert injection molding the injection molded product and the insert nut together is advantageous in terms of assemblability and durability, when considering various factors such as the assembly structure with the product, the number of insert nuts required for the product, and the manufacturing cost, the method of pushing the insert nut after molding the injection molded product may be more preferred.

[0005] However, the method of pushing the insert nut into the injection molded structure has a problem that there is a high risk that the injection molded structure will be deformed or damaged when the insert nut is pushed in.

[0006] For example, as shown in FIG. 1, in order to insert the insert nut 3 into the nut fixing groove 2 of the injection structure 1, the portion indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1 needs to be forcibly expanded to hook a part of the insert nut on the nut fixing groove 2 and place it thereon. After that, it must be completely pushed into the nut fixing groove 2 by hitting it with a hammer (not shown). In this process, stress is applied to the insertion location of the insert nut, and thus deformation or breakage is likely to occur at this location. In this case, when the bolt is tightened on the insert nut, the tightening force between the bolt / nut causes more severe deformation and breakage of the injection structure, and the durability of the product has to be weakened. Also, since damage to the insertion location of such an insert nut is not easily noticeable visually, it is often difficult to find the cause even when a defect is determined during the durability test of the product.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an insert nut insertion structure for suppressing as much as possible the stress that can be applied to the injection structure when inserting the insert nut, and preventing deformation and breakage of the injection structure.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide an insert nut and an insert nut insertion structure that can easily insert the insert nut into the injection structure by hand without using tools such as a hammer (mallet).

[0009] Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood from the following description and will become more clearly understood by the embodiments of the present invention. Also, the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by the means and combinations thereof shown in the claims.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] The insert nut insertion structure according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes a bolt tightening portion having a thread on its inner peripheral edge so that a bolt can be tightened, and a flange portion disposed on the outer peripheral edge of the bolt tightening portion and formed to expand in the circumferential direction of the bolt tightening portion. An insert nut including: a nut fixing groove provided so as to allow insertion of the insert nut in a first direction intersecting the tightening direction of the bolt, the nut fixing groove having a flange accommodating portion having an internal space corresponding to the shape of the flange portion, and the flange accommodating portion being disposed on the upper portion of the flange portion disposed therein. And a pair of fingers provided in the shape of a cantilever and partially surrounding the bolt tightening portion.

[0011] The flange accommodating portion may include a base plate on which the flange portion is placed, both side plates extending in a vertical direction from the base plate and facing both side surfaces of the flange portion, and both side plates extending in a horizontal direction and facing the upper surface of the flange portion. And a lid plate configured to be separated from the pair of fingers by a predetermined interval.

[0012] The flange portion may be provided so as to be in contact with the lid plate and not in contact with the pair of fingers.

[0013] The flange portion includes a lower layer flange portion and an upper layer flange portion formed in two stages along the longitudinal direction of the bolt tightening portion. The upper layer flange portion is interposed in the space between the pair of fingers and the lid plate, and the lower layer flange portion is interposed in the space between the lid plate and the base plate.

[0014] The lower layer flange portion may be provided so as to be in contact with the lid plate.

[0015] The upper layer flange portion may be provided so as not to contact the pair of fingers.

[0016] The bolt tightening portion is cylindrical, and the pair of fingers extend so as to be arranged in the direction opposite to the first direction, and the opposing inner surfaces may have a curved shape corresponding to the outer peripheral edge of the bolt tightening portion.

[0017] The pair of fingers can be formed of an elastic material that can return to its original state when it expands and then releases so that the distance between them widens.

[0018] The bolt tightening portion can be shrink-fitted in the first direction between the pair of fingers around the upper end portion.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present invention, a battery pack case including the above-described insert nut insertion structure can be provided.

Advantages of the Invention

[0020] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent deformation and breakage of the injection structure by minimizing the stress that can be applied to the injection structure when inserting the insert nut.

[0021] Also, according to the present invention, the insert nut can be easily inserted into the injection structure by hand without using a tool such as a hammer.

[0022] The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above effects, and other effects not mentioned should be clearly understood by those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains from this specification and the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 11

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0024] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, the terms and words used in this specification and the claims are not to be construed as being limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings. The inventor himself interprets them according to the meaning and concept corresponding to the technical idea of the present invention in accordance with the principle that he can appropriately define the concept of the terms in order to explain the invention in the best way. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention. At the time of this application, there may be various equivalents and modifications that can replace them.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an insert nut according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the insert nut and a nut fixing groove according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an assembled structure of the insert nut and the nut fixing groove of FIG. 3.

[0026] As shown in the figure, an insert nut insertion structure according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an insert nut 10 and a nut fixing groove 20.

[0027] The insert nut 10 includes a bolt tightening portion 11 having a thread 11a on an inner peripheral edge so that a bolt 30 can be tightened, and a flange portion 12 disposed on an outer peripheral edge of the bolt tightening portion 11 and formed to extend in a circumferential direction of the bolt tightening portion 11. The nut fixing groove 20 includes a flange accommodating portion 21 and a pair of fingers 22, 23, and may be configured such that the insert nut 10 can be inserted in a first direction (Y-axis direction) intersecting with a tightening direction of the bolt 30.

[0028] Although described in detail later, in the present invention, when the insert nut 10 is inserted into the nut fixing groove 20, a pair of fingers 22, 23 that serve to hold the insert nut 10 can be easily expanded with a slight force, making it easy to insert the insert nut 10. When the bolt 30 is tightened, the tightening force of the bolt 30 is applied not to the pair of fingers 22, 23 but to the lid plates 21d, 21e of the flange accommodating portion 21, and there is almost no concern about deformation and breakage of the case structure.

[0029] Hereinafter, the configuration of such an insert nut insertion structure of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, the bolt tightening portion 11 of the insert nut 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is cylindrical with a thread formed on its inner peripheral edge, and the flange portion 12 is rectangular plate-shaped and can be disposed at the lower end portion of the bolt tightening portion 11. Further, the insert nut 10 can be configured in a shape in which the cylindrical bolt tightening portion 11 protrudes by a predetermined height in the Z-axis direction from the center portion of the rectangular plate-shaped flange portion 12. In particular, in the case of this embodiment, the horizontal length of the flange portion 12 is further extended in a longer shape compared to the vertical length. This is to ensure that when the bolt 30 is tightened to the insert nut 10 in the future, the tightening force of the bolt 30 is applied to the lid plates 21d and 21e of the flange accommodating portion 21 described later.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 3, the flange accommodating portion 21 of the nut fixing groove 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to have an internal space corresponding to the shape of the flange portion 12 so that the insert nut 10 can be inserted. As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of fingers 22 and 23 are located above the flange portion 12 when the flange portion 12 is disposed in the flange accommodating portion 21, and may be composed of a first finger 22 and a second finger 23 in the shape of a cantilever beam that partially wraps around the bolt tightening portion 11.

[0032] The first finger 22 and the second finger 23 can be integrally formed with the top plate of the case structure C1, and extend so as to be arranged in the opposite direction (-Y-axis direction) of the first direction (+Y-axis direction) with a space for fitting the bolt tightening portion 11 therebetween. The opposing inner surfaces exhibit a curved shape corresponding to the outer peripheral edge of the bolt tightening portion 11 and can be configured to be in close contact with the outer peripheral edge of the bolt tightening portion 11.

[0033] Further, the pair of fingers 22 and 23 are in the shape of a cantilever beam separated from the lid plates 21d and 21e by predetermined intervals S1 and S2, are made of an elastic material, and can return to the original state if they are expanded so that the interval between the first finger 22 and the second finger 23 becomes wider and then released. Here, the elastic material includes a plastic material that can return to the original state after applying a weak force to cause slight deformation. Although the pair of fingers 22 and 23 in this embodiment are integrally formed with the case structure C1 made by injection molding plastic, they will not be damaged even if a slight force is applied to widen the interval and then released. As an example of an alternative to eliminate the concern about breakage of the pair of fingers 22 and 23, the pair of fingers 22 and 23 may be replaced with a metal material. For example, after the pair of fingers 22 and 23 are made of a metal material, it is also possible to assemble them to the case structure C1.

[0034] Since the first finger 22 and the second finger 23 having such a cantilever beam structure can easily widen the gap therebetween, when inserting the insert nut 10 into the nut fixing groove 20, the bolt tightening portion 11 can be inserted very easily between the first finger 22 and the second finger 23. For example, even if the first finger 22 and the second finger 23 are not deliberately grasped by hand and expanded, in the process of pushing the flange portion 12 into the flange accommodating portion 21 in the first direction, the gap between the first finger 22 and the second finger 23 will naturally widen slightly by the bolt tightening portion 11. In this state, when the flange portion 12 is completely pushed into the flange accommodating portion 21, the interval between the first finger 22 and the second finger 23 returns to the original state and the periphery of the upper end portion of the bolt tightening portion 11 can be clamped between the pair of fingers 22 and 23.

[0035] As a result, the flange portion 12 of the insert nut 10 will be located in the internal space of the flange accommodating portion 21, and the upper end portion of the bolt tightening portion 11 will be constrained between the first finger 22 and the second finger 23 and will not move in the reverse direction of the insertion direction (-Y-axis direction).

[0036] Returning to FIGS. 3 and 4, the flange accommodating portion 21 of the nut fixing groove 20 according to this embodiment may include a base plate 21a on which the flange portion 12 is placed, both side plates 21b and 21c that extend in the vertical direction from the base plate 21a and face both side surfaces of the flange portion 12, and lid plates 21d and 21e that extend in the horizontal direction (±X-axis direction) from both side plates 21b and 21c, face the upper surface of the flange portion 12, and are configured to be separated from the pair of fingers 22 and 23 by a predetermined distance.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 4, when the insert nut 10 in this embodiment is inserted into the nut fixing groove 20, the left side surface of the flange portion 12 will contact the left side plate 21b of the flange accommodating portion 21, and the right side surface of the flange portion 12 will contact the right side plate 21c of the flange accommodating portion 21. Therefore, during future tightening of the bolt 30, the rotation of the insert nut 10 can be prevented.

[0038] Also, the upper surface portions of the peripheral portions in the lateral direction (±X-axis direction) of the flange portion 12 are each closed at the top by the left lid plate 21d and the right lid plate 21e of the flange accommodating portion 21. Therefore, during future tightening of the bolt 30, the fastening force between the bolt 30 and the insert nut 10 will act on the left lid plate 21d and the right lid plate 21e.

[0039] Particularly, when tightening the bolt 30, the flange portion 12 contacts the lid plates 21d and 21e, but is configured not to contact the pair of fingers 22 and 23 described above. For this purpose, the lid plates 21d and 21e are configured to be thicker than the first finger 22 and the second finger 23. Further, the bottom surfaces of the pair of fingers 22 and 23 are configured to be located slightly higher than the bottom surfaces of the lid plates 21d and 21e.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 5, by fastening the bolt 30 and the insert nut 10, the case structure C1 to which the insert nut insertion structure is applied can be combined with another relative structure C2.

[0041] At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, since the left side surface and the right side surface of the flange portion 12 of the insert nut 10 are in contact with the left side plate 21b and the right side plate 21c of the flange housing portion 21, the insert nut 10 does not rotate idly when the bolt 30 is tightened. And as described above, when tightening the bolt 30, the upper surfaces of both peripheral edge portions in the lateral direction (±X-axis direction) of the flange portion 12 of the insert nut 10 come into contact with the left lid plate 21d and the right lid plate 21e of the flange housing portion 21, and do not come into contact with the first finger 22 and the second finger 23. Therefore, the fastening force between the bolt 30 and the insert nut 10 is applied only to the left lid plate 21d and the right lid plate 21e as shown by the arrow in FIG. 6, and is not applied to the first finger 22 and the second finger 23. Therefore, when tightening the bolt 30, since the force due to the tightening of the bolt 30 hardly acts on the pair of fingers 22 and 23, there is no possibility that the pair of fingers 22 and 23 are deformed or damaged.

[0042] As described above, the insert nut insertion structure according to an embodiment of the present invention can easily and quickly insert the insert nut 10 into the nut fixing groove 20 without applying excessive force to the groove of the structure or using a hammer as in the conventional method of pushing in the insert nut, and there is almost no concern about deformation or damage to the portion of the nut fixing groove 20 when inserting the insert nut 10 or tightening the bolt 30.

[0043] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an insert nut 10A according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the insert nut 10A and the nut fixing groove 20A according to another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the assembled structure of the insert nut 10A and the nut fixing groove 20A of FIG. 8, FIG. 10 is a view showing that the insert nut insertion structure according to another embodiment of the present invention and another relative structure are tightened together using a bolt 30, and FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 10.

[0044] Next, based on FIGS. 7 to 11, an insert nut insertion structure according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0045] The same member numbers as those in the above-described embodiment indicate the same members, and redundant descriptions of the same members are omitted, and the description will focus on the differences from the above-described embodiment.

[0046] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the bolt tightening portion 11 of the insert nut 10A is cylindrical with a thread formed on its inner peripheral edge, and the flange portion 12 is rectangular plate-shaped, which is the same as the foregoing embodiment. However, as shown in FIG. 7, when compared with the foregoing embodiment, the flange portion 13 of the insert nut 10A according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a lower layer flange portion 15 and an upper layer flange portion 14 formed in two steps along the longitudinal direction (Z-axis direction) of the bolt tightening portion 11. The horizontal length of the flange portion 13 is shorter, and the length of the bolt tightening portion 11 is further extended in a longer shape, which is a difference. And in the nut fixing groove 20A according to another embodiment of the present invention, a flange accommodating portion 21 and a pair of fingers 22, 23 are arranged so that the insert nut 10A can be inserted.

[0047] In the case of such another embodiment of the present invention, like the foregoing embodiment, the insert nut 10A can be easily inserted into the nut fixing groove 20A, and when tightening the bolt 30 in the future, the tightening force of the bolt 30 can be prevented from being applied to the first finger 22 and the second finger 23. Also, a bolt 30 having a length longer than that of the foregoing embodiment can be tightened to the insert nut 10A to increase the tightening strength. Moreover, there is an advantage that the lateral width of the nut fixing groove 20A can be narrowed.

[0048] Also, as shown in FIG. 8, the flange accommodating portion 21 according to another embodiment of the present invention has a narrower lateral width of the base plate 21a and is formed in a longer shape in the Z-axis direction of both side plates 21b, 21c compared with the flange accommodating portion 21 of the foregoing embodiment. And the lid plates 21d, 21e are configured to extend in the horizontal direction (±X-axis direction) from the middle position between both side plates 21b, 21c.

[0049] Then, a pair of fingers 22 and 23 can be arranged in a structure substantially the same as that of the above-described embodiment at a position at the same level as the height of the uppermost ends of both side plates 21b and 21c. That is, in another embodiment of the present invention, the lid plates 21d and 21e are arranged below the pair of fingers 22 and 23.

[0050] If the insert nut 10A of such another embodiment of the present invention is inserted into the nut fixing groove 20A, as shown in FIG. 9, the upper end portion of the bolt tightening portion 11 is press-fitted between the first finger 22 and the second finger 23, and the upper flange portion 14 of the insert nut 10A is interposed in the space between the pair of fingers 22 and 23 and the lid plates 21d and 21e, and the lower flange portion 15 of the insert nut 10A is interposed in the space between the lid plates 21d and 21e and the base plate 21a.

[0051] And, as shown in FIG. 10, the case structure C1 including the insertion structure of the insert nut 10A of another embodiment of the present invention can be assembled by tightening the bolt 30 with another relative structure C2.

[0052] At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, when tightening the bolt 30, since the lower flange portion 15 of the insert nut 10A can contact the lid plates 21d and 21e and the upper flange portion 14 is provided so as not to contact the pair of fingers 22 and 23, the fastening force between the bolt 30 and the insert nut 10A is applied only to the left lid plate 21d and the right lid plate 21e as shown by the arrow in FIG. 11, and is not applied to the first finger 22 and the second finger 23. Therefore, since the force due to the tightening of the bolt 30 hardly acts on the pair of fingers 22 and 23, deformation or breakage of the pair of fingers 22 and 23 can be prevented.

[0053] On the one hand, the battery pack case according to the present invention may include the above-described insert nut insertion structure. Here, the battery pack case may mean something for accommodating one or more battery cells, various devices for controlling charging and discharging of the battery cells, a so-called battery management system (BMS), an electric current sensor, electrical components such as fuses, etc.

[0054] As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to limited embodiments and drawings. However, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto at all, and it goes without saying that those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications and variations within the equivalent scope of the technical idea of the present invention and the scope of the claims.

[0055] On the other hand, in this specification, directional terms such as up, down, left, right, front, and back are used. However, these terms are merely used for ease of explanation, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art of the present invention that they may vary depending on the position of the object to be described and the position of the observer, etc.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0056] 10, 10A Insert Nut 11 Bolt Tightening Portion 11a Thread 12 Flange Portion 20, 20A Nut Fixing Groove 21 Flange Accommodating Portion 22, 23 Finger 30 Bolt

Claims

1. An insert nut including a bolt tightening portion having a thread on its inner peripheral edge so that a bolt can be tightened, and a flange portion disposed on the outer peripheral edge of the bolt tightening portion and formed to expand in the circumferential direction of the bolt tightening portion; A nut fixing groove provided so as to allow insertion of the insert nut in a first direction intersecting the tightening direction of the bolt; comprising; The nut fixing groove has a flange accommodating portion having an internal space corresponding to the shape of the flange portion, and a pair of fingers disposed on the upper part of the flange portion disposed in the flange accommodating portion, provided in the shape of a cantilever beam, and partially surrounding the bolt tightening portion; comprising; The flange accommodating portion has a base plate on which the flange portion is placed, a pair of side plates extending in the vertical direction from the base plate and facing both side surfaces of the flange portion, and a lid plate extending in the horizontal direction from both side plates, facing the upper surface of the flange portion, and configured to be separated from the pair of fingers by a predetermined interval; comprising; The flange portion is provided so as to be able to contact the lid plate and not contact the pair of fingers, an insert nut insertion structure.

2. The flange portion includes a lower layer flange portion and an upper layer flange portion formed in two stages along the longitudinal direction of the bolt tightening portion, The upper layer flange portion is interposed in the space between the pair of fingers and the lid plate, The lower layer flange portion is interposed in the space between the lid plate and the base plate, the insert nut insertion structure according to claim 1.

3. The lower layer flange portion is provided so as to be able to contact the lid plate, the insert nut insertion structure according to claim 2.

4. The upper layer flange portion is provided so as not to contact the pair of fingers, the insert nut insertion structure according to claim 2.

5. The bolt tightening portion is cylindrical, The pair of fingers extend so as to be arranged in the reverse direction of the first direction, and the opposing inner surfaces exhibit a curved shape corresponding to the outer peripheral edge of the bolt tightening portion, the insert nut insertion structure according to claim 1.

6. The insert nut insertion structure according to claim 1, wherein the pair of fingers is formed of an elastic material that can return to its original state when it is expanded so that the interval therebetween becomes wide and then released.

7. The insert nut insertion structure according to claim 1, wherein the bolt tightening portion is press-fitted in the first direction between the pair of fingers around the upper end portion.

8. A battery pack case including the insert nut insertion structure according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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