JP7488172B2 - clip - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a clip used to bond plate-shaped metal panels together with an adhesive.

Regarding the panel joining structure, Patent Document 1 describes how two panels are joined together using an adhesive placed in the space formed between the two panels.

JP 2019-94936 A

The panel joint structure of a case for housing a battery pack or the like for a vehicle is composed of an upper panel and a lower panel, the battery pack or the like is housed between the upper and lower panels, and the upper and lower panels are joined by adhesive located in the gap formed between the upper and lower panels at their edge portions. At this time, a recess is created in the upper panel of the case, the recess is brought into contact with the lower panel, and adhesive is applied to the non-recessed area adjacent to the recess. In this way, in joining the panels, the height of the adhesive is regulated by the depth of the recess in the upper panel.
However, forming the recess requires a large space for the recess, and because it is made of sheet metal, there is a problem that there is a large variation in the adhesive height, which makes it difficult to maintain a constant level. In this regard, airtightness is important for the case that houses the battery pack, and if the adhesive height is not constant, this will have a significant impact on the airtightness.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to stabilize the adhesive quality when joining two panels using an adhesive.

To this end, one aspect of the present invention comprises:
A clip for supporting two plate members when they are joined together with an adhesive,
It has an upper clip and a lower clip,
The lower clip is
an upper support portion for supporting one of the two plate members between the upper clip and the upper clip disposed on the lower clip;
a lower support portion that supports the other of the two plate members below the lower clip;
a wall extending between the upper support portion and the lower support portion;
The wall portion is a clip configured to maintain a constant distance between the two plate members and to prevent the adhesive between the two plate members from flowing into the fastening mechanism that fastens the upper clip and the lower clip.

In the clip, the fastening mechanism is positioned on the opposite side of the wall of the lower clip from the adhesive.

In the clip,
The fastening mechanism includes a fastening portion formed to extend from a flange portion of the upper clip,
The fastening portion is configured to fasten the lower clip and the upper clip by penetrating a hole provided in one of the two plate members and a hole provided in the upper surface of the lower clip.

In the clip,
the fastening mechanism includes a protrusion extending upwardly from a top surface of the lower clip;
The lower clip and the upper clip are configured to be fastened together by placing the upper clip over the protrusion with the protrusion passing through a hole provided in one of the two plate members.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method for producing a
A method for supporting two plate members using clips when bonding them with an adhesive, comprising the steps of:
The clip comprises an upper clip and a lower clip,
supporting one of the two plate members below the lower clip;
a step of applying the adhesive to a lower surface of the other of the two plate members, aligning the other plate member so that a position of a hole in the other plate member coincides with a position of a hole provided in an upper surface of the lower clip, and abutting the other plate member against the upper surface of the lower clip, thereby bonding the two plate members with the adhesive;
and fastening the upper clip and the lower clip together by passing a fastening portion formed on the upper clip through a hole in the other plate member and a hole provided on an upper surface of the lower clip,
A wall portion formed on the lower clip is configured to maintain a constant distance between the two plate members and to prevent the adhesive between the two plate members from flowing into the fastening portion of the upper clip after fastening.
This is the method.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is
A method for supporting two plate members using clips when bonding them with an adhesive, comprising the steps of:
The clip comprises an upper clip and a lower clip,
supporting one of the two plate members below the lower clip;
a step of applying the adhesive to a lower surface of the other of the two plate members, passing a protrusion formed on an upper surface of the lower clip through a hole in the other plate member, and abutting the other plate member against the upper surface of the lower clip, thereby joining the two plate members with the adhesive;
and fastening the upper clip and the lower clip together by placing the upper clip over the protrusion formed on the lower clip,
A wall portion formed on the lower clip is configured to maintain a constant distance between the two plate members.
This is the method.

According to the present invention, it is possible to make the amount of adhesive crushed constant, reducing variation in adhesive strength, and also to provide stable adhesive quality through a fastening structure that is not affected by the adhesive.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lower clip according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A and 2B are top and side views of the lower clip of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an upper clip according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4A and 4B are side and bottom views of the upper clip of FIG. 3 . 1A and 1B are diagrams showing how two plate members are fixed together using a clip according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a lower clip according to another embodiment of the present invention. 7A and 7B are side and top views of the lower clip of FIG. 6; FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an upper clip according to another embodiment of the present invention. 9A and 9B are bottom and side views of the upper clip of FIG. 8 . 13A and 13B are diagrams showing how two plate members are fixed together using a clip according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The clip according to the embodiment of the present invention is composed of a lower clip 100 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and an upper clip 200 shown in Figs. 3 and 4. As shown in Fig. 5, the lower clip 100 and the upper clip 200 are combined to function as a clip supporting two plate members. For example, when a case of a battery pack for a vehicle is composed of an upper panel and a lower panel, the clip according to this embodiment can be used to join the plate-shaped edge portions of the upper panel and the lower panel.
First, the lower clip 100 will be described, and then the upper clip 200 will be described. Next, how two plate members are fixed together using the lower clip 100 and the upper clip 200 will be described.

Bottom Clip
A lower clip 100 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. With regard to perspective views of the lower clip 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1(a) shows a perspective view seen from above, and Figure 1(b) shows a perspective view seen from below.

For the lower clip 100 in Figure 1, Figure 2(a) shows a top view, and Figures 2(b) and (c) show side views.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower clip 100 has an upper plate 112, a lower plate 118, a side plate 110, and a narrow side support portion 116 on the side opposite the side plate 110. The lower clip 100 also has an intermediate plate 117 extending horizontally from the lower end of the side plate 110 between the upper plate 112 and the lower plate 118, and the intermediate plate 117 and the lower plate 118 are configured so that a plate member can be inserted between them to be supported. The lower plate 118 also has a protrusion 119 that passes through a hole in the plate member to support the plate member when the plate member is inserted and supported.

In addition, the top plate 112 has a hole 113, and is configured so that the fastening portion 212 of the upper clip 200 (described later) can be inserted into the hole 113 together with the hole in the plate member to support the plate member and fasten the upper clip 200 and the lower clip 100 together.

Top Clip
The upper clip 200 will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3(a) shows a perspective view of the upper clip 200 as seen from above, and Figure 3(b) shows a perspective view as seen from below. Figure 4(a) shows a side view of the upper clip 200 in Figure 3, and Figure 4(b) shows a bottom view.

The upper clip 200 has a flange portion 210 and a fastening portion 212 extending from the flange portion 210. The fastening portion 212 can be, for example, an anchor leg, but may be something else. The fastening portion 212 of the upper clip 200 functions as a fastening mechanism that fastens the upper clip 200 and the lower clip 100. Specifically, the fastening portion 212 is configured to be able to fasten the upper clip 200 and the lower clip 100 by being inserted into a hole in an aligned plate member and a hole 113 in the lower clip 100.

[Fixing two plate components using clips]
With reference to FIG. 5, a manner in which two plate members are fixed together using the clip according to the present invention will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 5(a), one of the two plate members, plate member 310, is inserted between the intermediate plate 117 and the bottom plate 118 of the lower clip 100 to support it. At this time, the bottom plate 118 has a protrusion 119 for attaching the plate member 310, and the plate member 310 can be supported by inserting the protrusion 119 into the hole in the plate member 310.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5(b), adhesive 330 is applied to the underside of the other plate member 300, and then, as shown in FIG. 5(c), the other plate member 300 is placed against the upper plate 112 of the lower clip 100 with the plate member 310 supported by the lower clip 100. At this time, a hole is provided in the plate member 300, and the position of the plate member 300 is adjusted so that the hole in the plate member 300 and the hole 113 in the upper plate 112 are aligned. Adhesive 330 is applied to the underside of the plate member 300, and the plate member 300 and the plate member 310 can be joined to each other by the adhesive 330.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5(d), the fastening portion 212 of the upper clip 200 is inserted into the hole 113 of the top plate 112 of the lower clip 100 and the hole in the plate member 300, thereby supporting the plate members 300 and 310 that are joined by the adhesive 330.

The position where the adhesive 330 is applied to the plate member 300 is adjusted so that when the plate member 300 is placed on the top plate 112 of the lower clip 100, the adhesive is positioned near the outside of the side plate 110 of the lower clip 100. By adjusting the position of the adhesive in this way, the adhesive 330 is sandwiched between the plate members 300 and 310 as shown in Figures 5(c) and (d), and part of it is pushed out in the left-right direction of the drawing and adheres to the side plate 110 of the lower clip 100. At this time, the side plate 110 functions as a wall to prevent the adhesive 330 from flowing inside the lower clip 100 (to the right side of the drawing).

The fastening portion 212 functions as a fastening mechanism for fastening the upper clip 200 and the lower clip 100 together, but in order to allow the upper clip 200 and the lower clip 100 to be easily attached and detached, it may be desirable to not fix the fastening portion 212 with adhesive. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5(d), the fastening portion 212 is disposed inside the lower clip 100 away from the position where the adhesive 330 is applied so that the adhesive 330 does not adhere to the fastening portion 212.

As described above, in the present invention, the side plate 110 of the lower clip 100 is configured to prevent the adhesive 330 that is squeezed between the plate members 300 and 310 and extruded from the plate members 300 and 310 from flowing into the inside of the lower clip 100. Therefore, the adhesive 330 that is squeezed between the plate members 300 and 310 and extruded from the plate members 300 and 310 will not flow into the inside of the lower clip 100, and there is no risk that the fastening portion 212 will not be able to be properly inserted into the inside of the lower clip 100.

The plate members 300 and 310 extend in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 5. Therefore, when attaching or detaching the upper clip 200 and the lower clip 100, it is desirable to configure the fastening portion 212 to be released from the opposite side of the side plate 110. Specifically, the side support portion 116 on the opposite side of the side plate 110 may be narrowed, so that the fastening portion 212 can be released from the side support portion 116 side.

The side plate 110 of the lower clip 100 has a height 120 and functions to maintain a constant distance between the plate members 300 and 310. By maintaining a constant distance between the plate members 300 and 310 in this way, the height to which the adhesive 330 is applied is also regulated to a constant value, as shown in FIG. 5(d), making it possible to maintain a constant amount of adhesive squeezing and stabilizing the adhesion quality.

In this way, the side panel 110 of the lower clip 100 has both the function of preventing the adhesive 330 from flowing into the interior of the lower clip 100 and the function of maintaining a constant height of the adhesive application.

<Modification>
Next, a clip according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 10. The clip according to this embodiment comprises a lower clip 400 shown in Figures 6 and 7, and an upper clip 500 shown in Figures 8 and 9. As shown in Figure 10, the lower clip 400 and the upper clip 500 are combined to function as a clip and fix two plate members. For example, the clip according to this embodiment can be used when joining the plate-shaped edge portions of the upper panel and the lower panel when the case of a battery pack for a vehicle is composed of an upper panel and a lower panel.

First, the lower clip 400 will be described, and then the upper clip 500 will be described. Next, how the lower clip 400 and the upper clip 500 are used to fasten two plate members together will be described.

[<Modification> Lower clip]
The lower clip 400 will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 shows a perspective view of the lower clip 400 according to this embodiment.

The lower clip 400 differs from the lower clip 100 in Figs. 1 and 2 in that it has a protrusion 410. The protrusion 410 functions as a fastening mechanism for the upper clip 500, which will be described later, and is configured so that the lower clip 400 and the upper clip 500 can be fastened together by being inserted into the upper clip 500.

The lower clip 400 has an upper plate 414, a lower plate 418, and a side plate 412, similar to the lower clip 100 shown in Figures 1 and 2. The lower clip 400 also has an intermediate plate 417 extending horizontally from the lower end of the side plate 412 between the upper plate 414 and the lower plate 418, and the intermediate plate 417 and the lower plate 418 are configured so that a plate member can be inserted between them and supported. The lower plate 418 also has a protrusion 419 that passes through a hole in the plate member to support the plate member when the plate member is inserted and supported.

[<Modification>Upper clip]
The upper clip 500 will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the upper clip 500, Figure 9(a) shows a bottom view of the upper clip 500, and Figure 9(b) shows a side view of the upper clip 500.

The upper clip 500 is configured so that the protrusion 410 extending upward from the top plate 414 of the lower clip 400 can be inserted from the flange 510 side, and so that the upper clip 500 and the lower clip 400 can be fastened together. In this regard, when the protrusion 410 of the lower clip 400 is inserted into the upper clip 500, the claw 520 is configured to support the protrusion 410 from below so that it does not come off.

[<Modification> Fixing two plate members using clips]
With reference to FIG. 10, a manner in which two plate members are fixed together using the clip according to this embodiment will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 10(a), one of the two plate members, plate member 310, is inserted between the intermediate plate 417 and the bottom plate 418 of the lower clip 400 to support it. At this time, the bottom plate 418 has a protrusion 419 for attaching the plate member 310, and by inserting the protrusion 419 into the hole in the plate member 310, the plate member 310 can be stably supported.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10(b), adhesive 330 is applied to the underside of the other plate member 300, and then, as shown in FIG. 10(c), while the plate member 310 is supported by the lower clip 400, the protrusion 410 of the upper plate 414 of the lower clip 400 is passed through the hole in the other plate member 300, and the underside of the plate member 300 and the upper side of the lower clip 400 are brought into contact. At this time, adhesive 330 has been applied to the underside of the plate member 300, and the plate member 300 and the plate member 310 can be joined to each other by the adhesive 330.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10(d), the upper clip 500 is placed over the protrusion 410 of the lower clip 400. At this time, the claw 520 supports the protrusion 410 from below to prevent it from coming loose, resulting in a downward force being applied from the upper clip 500 to the plate member 300, which can support the joining of the plate members 300 and 310 with the adhesive 330. That is, in this embodiment, the protrusion 410 of the lower clip 400 and the claw 520 of the upper clip 500 function as a fastening mechanism for each other.

The application position of adhesive 330 on plate member 300 is adjusted so that the adhesive is located near the outside of side plate 412 of lower clip 400, as in the embodiment of FIG. 5(b). By adjusting the position of adhesive 330 in this way, adhesive 330 is sandwiched between plate member 300 and plate member 310, and part of it adheres to side plate 412 of lower clip 400, but side plate 412 functions as a wall to prevent adhesive from flowing inside lower clip 400.

As shown in FIG. 10(d), when the plate members 300 and 310 are joined by adhesive 330 and are supported by the upper clip 500 and the lower clip 400, the protrusion 410 is disposed above the lower clip 400, away from the position where the adhesive 330 is applied. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is ensured that the adhesive 330 applied to the underside of the plate member 300 does not flow into the protrusion 410 when fastened. This configuration allows the upper clip 500 and the lower clip 400 to be freely attached and detached.

The side plate 412 of the lower clip 400 has a height 420 and functions to maintain a constant distance between the plate members 300 and 310. By maintaining a constant distance between the plate members 300 and 310 in this way, the height to which the adhesive 330 is applied is also regulated to a constant value, as shown in FIG. 10(d), making it possible to maintain a constant amount of adhesive squeezing and stabilizing the adhesion quality.

In this way, the side panel 412 of the lower clip 400 has both the function of preventing the adhesive from flowing into the interior of the lower clip 400 and the function of maintaining a constant height of the adhesive application.

6 and 7, the inlet 422 of the intermediate plate 417 of the lower clip 400 into which the plate member 310 is inserted may be inclined so that the gap between the intermediate plate 417 and the lower plate 418 is wider. By inclining the inlet 422 in this manner, the adhesive 330 can be inserted between the intermediate plate 417 and the lower plate 418 during fastening, so that the plate member 310 can be fixed to the clip 400 below the adhesive 330. As described above, in this embodiment, the fastening mechanism is disposed above the lower clip 400, away from the position of the adhesive 330, and it is possible to allow the adhesive 330 to enter between the intermediate plate 417 and the lower plate 418 during fastening.

Although one embodiment and example of the clip according to the present invention have been described above, it is easily understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example, and various modifications can be made to it. As long as they fall within the scope of the matters described in the claims and equivalents thereto, they are naturally included in the technical scope of the present invention. The above-mentioned example was directed to fastening a panel for storing a battery pack, etc., but this is merely one example, and the present invention is not limited to this specific example.

100 400 Lower clip 200 500 Upper clip 112 414 Upper plate 118 418 Lower plate 110 412 Side plate 116 Side support portion 117 417 Intermediate plate 119 410 419 Protrusion 113 Hole 212 Fastening portion 300 310 Plate member 422 Inlet portion 520 Claw

Claims (5)

A clip for supporting two plate members when they are joined together with an adhesive,
It has an upper clip and a lower clip,
The lower clip is
an upper support portion for supporting one of the two plate members between the upper clip and the upper clip disposed on the lower clip;
a lower support portion that supports the other of the two plate members below the lower clip;
a wall extending between the upper support portion and the lower support portion;
the wall portion is configured to maintain a constant distance between the two plate members and to prevent the adhesive between the two plate members from flowing into a fastening mechanism that fastens the upper clip and the lower clip ;
The fastening mechanism includes a fastening portion formed to extend from a flange portion of the upper clip,
The fastening portion is configured to fasten the lower clip and the upper clip by penetrating a hole provided in one of the two plate members and a hole provided in an upper surface of the lower clip.
clip. The clip of claim 1, wherein the fastening mechanism is disposed on the wall of the lower clip opposite the adhesive. the fastening mechanism includes a protrusion extending upwardly from a top surface of the lower clip;
3. The clip according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the clip is configured to fasten the lower clip and the upper clip by placing the upper clip over the protrusion with the protrusion passing through a hole provided in one of the two plate members. A method for supporting two plate members using clips when bonding them with an adhesive, comprising the steps of:
The clip comprises an upper clip and a lower clip,
supporting one of the two plate members below the lower clip;
a step of applying the adhesive to a lower surface of the other of the two plate members, aligning the other plate member so that a position of a hole in the other plate member coincides with a position of a hole provided in an upper surface of the lower clip, and abutting the other plate member against the upper surface of the lower clip, thereby bonding the two plate members with the adhesive;
and fastening the upper clip and the lower clip together by passing a fastening portion formed on the upper clip through a hole in the other plate member and a hole provided on an upper surface of the lower clip,
A wall portion formed on the lower clip is configured to maintain a constant distance between the two plate members and to prevent the adhesive between the two plate members from flowing into the fastening portion of the upper clip after fastening.
Method. A method for supporting two plate members using clips when bonding them with an adhesive, comprising the steps of:
The clip comprises an upper clip and a lower clip,
supporting one of the two plate members below the lower clip;
a step of applying the adhesive to a lower surface of the other of the two plate members, passing a protrusion formed on an upper surface of the lower clip through a hole in the other plate member, and abutting the other plate member against the upper surface of the lower clip, thereby joining the two plate members with the adhesive;
and fastening the upper clip and the lower clip together by placing the upper clip over the protrusion formed on the lower clip,
A wall portion formed on the lower clip is configured to maintain a constant distance between the two plate members.
Method.

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