1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a stud bolt clip, and particularly to a stud bolt clip for securing a wire harness clamp or wire harness protector to a stud bolt projecting from a body panel while absorbing any offset there may be between the pitch of the stud bolts and the pitch of the clips.
2. Description of the prior art
Automotive wire harnesses are installed by first passing the wire harness through a conduit-like protector or attaching the wire harness with a tape to a narrow clamp band, and then securing this protector or clamp to the body panel while routing the harness through its required path.
This protector or clamp is most commonly attached to the body panels by engaging a clip, which is formed integrally to the protector or clamp, to a stud bolt welded to and projecting from the body panels.
To secure the clip to the stud bolt, a cylindrically shaped plastic clip 1 molded integrally to the protector is fit over the stud bolt 2. Plural claws la projecting from the inside circumference surface of the clip 1 are thus engaged between the peaks of the thread 2a spiraling around the outside surface of the stud bolt 2 shank.
The protector or clamp is secured at two points along its length using clips 1 and stud bolts 2. In some cases, the distance between the clips is offset slightly from the distance between the stud bolts projecting from the body panel. It is therefore necessary to secure one of the clips to the stud bolt while enabling the clip to slide and thereby absorb any offset in the pitch between clips and stud bolts.
As shown in FIGS. 8a and 8b, therefore, the prior art clip 1 provided on one end of the protector 3 is engaged with the stud bolt 2 at the specified position by means of four claws la projecting from the inside circumference of a normally round tube lb. The clip 1' provided at the other end has a pair of long claws 1a' provided on the long sides of the oval tube 1b'. This pair of opposing claws 1a' secures the clip 1' to the stud bolt 2 while absorbing any difference in the stud bolt pitch and the clip pitch.
According to another prior art, as shown in FIGS. 9a and 9b, a long hole 4 is provided in the clips at both ends of the protector, opposing slotted claws 5 are provided on both sides of the long hole 4, and the stud bolt 2 is secured between the slotted claws 5. This is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. H 2-118417.
As described above, an offset between the stud bolt pitch and the corresponding clip pitch can be absorbed with the clips secured to the stud bolts by making the hole fit over the stud bolt long in the pitch absorption direction, providing long claws along the long side (i.e., along the pitch absorption direction) of the hole, and engaging the clip to the stud bolt at the appropriate position in the long hole.
The engagement force of this configuration is weak, however, because only two claws engage the stud bolt. When the clip is integrally molded with the protector or clamp from 10 polypropylene (PP) or some other plastic resin, the smoothness of the plastic further decreases the engagement force, and it becomes difficult to obtain the required engagement force (i.e., sufficient holding power to prevent easy separation of the clip from the stud bolt).
To this end, it is possible to design a movable clip mounted to a rail-shaped engaging member for moving the clip on the protector or clamp, and auxiliary clip is provided at a predetermined position of the engaging member, with this clip being secured to the stud bolt.
In this case, however, an extra assembly step is required for mounting the auxiliary clip, extra clerical work is required for inventory control of another part (the auxiliary clip), and overall cost is thus increased.