Fastener Clip

The present invention relates to an improved fastener clip which will frictionally mount on a sheet material and which is used in securing an object to a sheet material.

A fastener clip currently used in the automotive industry for securing objects to metal and plastic sheet materials is a clip with two legs between which the sheet material is disposed and which is secured by a threaded bolt. Typically, one leg frictionally engages the sheet and on the second leg of the clip there is an integral barrel which serves as a nut. This known fastener clip is shown at FIG. 5.

Such clips are useful for fastening objects to sheet materials where it would be difficult or impossible to hold a nut in place behind the sheet material to receive the bolt. The use of such a clip allows the barrel to be easily placed in a particular location and then secured with a threaded bolt, thus reducing the need to hold a nut in place behind the sheet material while the bolt is threaded into it.

This known fastener clip is adapted to be pushed onto an edge of a sheet material so that the first leg of the clip is on one side of the sheet material and the second leg is on the other side of the sheet. A D-shaped tongue is cut from the first leg and bent towards the other so as to frictionally engage a sheet onto which the clip is pushed. The D-shaped tongue has a circular hole punched in it. The D-shaped tongue is connected to the first leg of the fastener clip for the complete width of its root, which is the upright on the left side of the "D".

The second leg of the known fastener clip has an integral internally threaded barrel for receiving a threaded bolt. An object may be fastened to a sheet material by inserting a threaded bolt fastener through the circular hole in the D-shaped tongue and the sheet material, and into the threaded barrel.

It has been found that the prior art fastener clip suffers several practical drawbacks when used with sheet materials of varying thickness. When uesd on thinner sheets of approximately 0.030 inches in thickness, the prior art fastener clip can be mounted with a reasonable effort; however, mounting the clip on thicker sheets such as 0.157 inch plastic is difficult, as it requires a high degree of effort to push the clip onto the sheet.

The object of the present invention is to provide a fastener clip which is adapted for use with a range of material thicknesses, and which is free from the drawbacks encountered with the prior art fastener clip. More particularly, the present invention provides an improved fastener clip structure that is easily mounted and which provides a more consistent clamping force over a wide range of sheet material thicknesses.

These objects, and other objects which will become apparent from the description which follows, are achieved by a device in accordance with the invention, which comprises a fastener clip of the type wherein a clip has two legs disposed on either side of a flat material, the first leg having a U-shaped tongue formed thereon and the second leg having an outwardly protruding internally threaded barrel for receiving a fastener. The U-shaped tongue is attached to the first leg by the tips of the "U" and is formed by punching an oblong hole instead of the circular hole of the prior art. The U-shaped tongue is bent towards the second leg so as to frictionally engage the surface of a flat material and clamp the clip to the flat material. The tongue has an elongated spring arm that provides an even degree of clamping force on materials disposed between the clip fingers yet yields easily to allow the clip to be mounted on materials of varying thicknesses. The adaptability of the fastener clip of the present invention to a variety of sheet thicknesses is enhanced by providing a first offset bend in the arms of the U-shaped tongue which provides for easier yielding of the tongue when sheet materials are disposed between the legs of the clip.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fastener clip in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of a fastener clip in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a fastener clip in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a fastener clip with a sheet material disposed between its legs.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the prior art fastener clip.

The invention will now be illustrated further with respect to the drawings.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 a fastener clip 10 is shown. The clip 10 is formed in a manner as is well known by stamping from a metal sheet such as steel or aluminum. Clip 10 includes a first leg 18 which has punched from it a tongue 20. Tongue 20, as seen in FIG. 3, is generally U-shaped and is connected to first leg 18 at the tips 24 of the U shape. Tips 24 act as an attachment point for the tongue. Tongue 20 may be formed by punching an oblong or elongate hole 22 in a solid tongue. Tongue 20 of the present invention, in comparison with the prior art clip shown in FIG. 5, is elongated. Tongue 20, as seen in FIG. 2, is bent or angled towards the leg 12 such that it can frictionally engage a material inserted between legs 18 and 12 of the clip 10. Typically, tongue 20 has an offset bend 26 located between the tips 24 and the straight portion 25. The offset bend 26 is provided so that Tongue 20 may more easily yield when the clip 10 is mounted on a sheet material. In the preferred embodiment, the angle .theta. between the leg 18 and the tongue 20 at the tips 24 is 45.degree., although a range from 0.degree. to 90.degree. can also be used. The angle .phi. of the offset bend 26 between the tip portion 24 of the Tongue 20 and the straight portion 25 of tongue 20 is optimally 150.degree., but a range of 105.degree. to 195.degree. can be used, such that the angle .beta. between the tongue 20 and the leg 12 is approximately 15.degree.. Clip 10 also includes a second leg 12 with an integral internally threaded barrel 14 designed to receive a threaded fastener 16, as shown in FIG. 4.

Tongue 20 is adapted to yield upwardly towards leg 12 when a sheet is placed between the clip legs 12 and 18, as shown in FIG. 4. In contrast to the prior art clip shown in FIG. 5 as 27 which has a tongue connected to a leg along the entire width of the tongue root 28, the clip of the present invention has a tongue connected by two points at the tips 24 of the U-shape. The tips 24 act to reduce the push necessary to mount the clip because they form the roots of the U-shaped tongue 20, and are narrow metal strips which give a long, uniform spring arm. Thus, the tongue yields more easily than the D-shaped tongue of the prior art which is connected along the entire length of one side of the "D", much in the same way that less effort is required to bend a wire than a sheet of equal thickness. Thus, less force is required to push the tongue upwardly.

A reduced level of effort for mounting the clip is also attributable to the offset bends 26, which also contribute to the ease with which the tongue yields upwardly when the clip is mounted on a sheet material.

It is also to be appreciated that a fastener clip of the present invention is also made easier to mount than the prior art clip because of the effect of the lengthened spring arm formed by the elongated U-shaped tongue 20 as well as the configuration of the bends 26 in the tongue.

Tongue 20 has a further bend 28 where tongue 20 is adjacent to leg 12 such that the tongue tip 30 is pointed back towards the leg 18. As can be seen in FIG. 4, bend 28 allows the tongue to ride up on a sheet material when the clip is mounted and the tip 30 passes through the opening formed by punching out tongue 20.

FIG. 4 illustrates the fastener clip configured for use with a threaded fastener 16. As shown in FIG. 4, a sheet material S is inserted between the legs of the clip 10 and the clip is held in place by the frictional effect of tongue 20 pressed against the sheet material. Typically, an object to be fastened to the sheet material would be placed on finger 12 and secured by the fastener 16. The fastener 16 is inserted through an opening in the object, into the hole 22 and the hole 32 in sheet S, and is secured by threading it into the barrel 14.

The use of the improved fastener clip 10 with the tongue 20 reduces the amount of force necessary to mount the clip 10 to sheet material S. Testing has shown that the force necessary to push the prior art clip onto a sheet 0.147 inches in thickness is approximately 30 lbs. The clip of the present invention may be mounted with approximately 12-15 lbs. of push. The reduced mounting effort makes the improved fastener clip preferable to the prior art devices when used in an assembly line.