WELD BRACKET

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2008- 60068 filed March 10, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to a weld bracket and, typically, to a weld bracket suitable for use when attaching various types of mounted components to a workpiece such as a panel.

Background Art

[0003] In order to mount various types of mounted components to a panel, a bracket is welded to the panel and the desired component is mounted in the bracket. Patent Document 1 describes the welding of the end of a plate-shaped weld bracket to a workpiece. Because the arc is discharged using the end of the weld bracket and this end is welded to the workpiece, the degree of design freedom is limited and weld strength improvement is also limited.

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Published Unexamined Utility Model Application No. 61-194807

[0005] [Patent Document 2] Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2004-160546

[0006] [Patent Document 3] Published Unexamined Utility Model Application No. 7-010669

[0007] [Patent Document 4] Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 51-077554

[0008] [Patent Document 5] Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 5- 023857

[0009] [Patent Document 6] Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 6- 066872

[0010] Patent Document 2 describes an L-shaped weld bracket welded to a thin metal panel. The weld bracket in Patent Document 2 has better weld strength than the weld bracket in Patent Document 1. However, because the end surface of the weld bracket is welded to the workpiece, the degree of design freedom is limited and weld strength improvement is also limited.

[0011] Patent Document 3 describes a weld bracket for securing pipes. The welded portion of the weld bracket is formed in the shape of a rectangular plate with a protrusion in the center. Spot welding is performed using this protrusion. This protrusion contributes to the welding of the welded portion, but weld strength improvement is limited.

[0012] Patent Document 4 describes a weld plate in which a plurality of radiating protruding ribs is formed near the center of the welded surface of the welded portion. This weld plate appears to obtain a certain welding strength, but the shape of the protruding ribs on the welded surface is complicated. Machining these protruding ribs is thus time-consuming and expensive.

[0013] Patent Documents 5 and 6 describe weld spot bolts. A particular protrusion is formed on the weld surface of the spot bolt head that obtains high weld

strength. These spot bolts are not weld brackets, and so these inventions cannot be applied to weld brackets.

Disclosure of the Invention

[0014] The object of the present invention is to provide a weld bracket with improved welding strength, greater design freedom and enhanced rigidity.

[0015] In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a weld bracket comprising a welded portion welded to a workpiece and a main portion extending upright from the welded portion, wherein the welded portion is formed in the shape of a plate with one side facing the workpiece, wherein the surface welded to the workpiece has a single protruding portion protruding toward the workpiece, and wherein the welded surface of the protruding portion is formed so as to have a fixed surface area.

[0016] This weld bracket is fixed with a high degree of strength to the workpiece. In particular, because the welded surface of the protruding portion of the welded portion has a fixed surface area, the melted area is broad and the welding strength is great. Because the protruding portion serving as the arc generating portion is singular and continuous, the arc discharge is not dispersed but concentrated, the positioning is precise with a high fusion effect, and the welding is good. Thus, the welding strength of the weld bracket is improved. Because only one protruding portion is formed in the welding portion, the weld bracket has greater design freedom, and the rigidity of the weld bracket is improved. Here, "continuous" means connected and not split.

[0017] In this weld bracket, the welded surface can be formed in a linear shape with a fixed width and length. This is a simple way to form a protruding portion. The welded surface can also be formed in a non-linear shape such as a bent shape, hook shape or U-shape with a fixed width and length. In addition, the welded surface can be formed in a ring shape such as a round ring shape or polygonal ring shape with a fixed width. The welded surface can also be formed in a multiple branch shape such as an X-shape with a fixed width and length. Furthermore, the welded surface can be formed in a shape with extended portions extending horizontally or obliquely at the ends of the linear portion, such as an H-shape or an l-shape with a fixed width and length. All of these shapes have a single protruding portion, and the welded surface has a continuous broad fixed surface area. This forms a surface that maintains a high degree of fixing strength after welding, and a higher fixing strength is obtained than a protruding portion with a linear shape.

[0018] The horizontal cross-section of the protruding portion is somewhat U- shaped or V-shaped. This is a simple way to form a protruding portion for press molding. The main unit is formed in the shape of a plate standing erect from one edge of the welded portion and formed in a shape for holding a mounted component mounted on the workpiece.

[0019] The present invention is also a method for welding one of these weld brackets, wherein the welded portion of the weld bracket is positioned so the welded surface of the protruding portion contacts a predetermined portion of the workpiece, wherein the welded surface of the protruding portion stands erect from the workpiece, a low current pilot arc is generated between the welded surface of the protruding portion

and the workpiece, and the interval between the welded surface of the protruding portion and the workpiece is maintained to generate a large current main arc between the welded surface of the protruding portion and the workpiece and to melt the welded surfaces of the protruding portion and the workpiece, and wherein the melted protruding portion is contacted with a portion of the welded surface of the workpiece, the main arc is stopped, and the melted protruding portion and a portion of the welded surface of the workpiece are welded together. This welding securely fixes the weld bracket to the workpiece.

Brief Explanation of the Drawings

[0020] FIG 1 is a front view of the weld bracket in the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] FIG 2 is a right view of the weld bracket in FIG 1.

[0022] FIG 3 is across-sectional view of the weld bracket from A-A in FIG 2.

[0023] FIG 4 is a bottom view of the weld bracket in FIG 1.

[0024] FIG 5 is a cross-sectional views of the weld bracket from B-B in FIG 4 in which (A) through (D) are variations on the protruding portion with different horizontal cross-sectional profiles.

[0025] FIG 6 (A) through (C) are variations on the protruding portion in which the welded surfaces have different non-linear shapes.

[0026] FIG 7 (A) through (B) are variations on the protruding portion in which the welded surfaces have a ring shape.

[0027] FIG 8 (A) is a variation on the protruding portion in which the welded surface has a multiple branch shape, and (B) is a variation on a shape with extended portions in which the welded surface has portions extending horizontally or obliquely at the ends of the linear portion.

[0028] FIG 9 is a perspective view of the weld bracket in another embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] FIG 10 (A) through (D) are diagrams showing how the weld bracket is arc welded to a panel serving as the workpiece.

Embodiment of the Invention

[0030] The following is an explanation of the weld bracket in embodiments of the present invention with reference to the figures. FIG 1 through FIG 4 show the weld bracket 1 in the first embodiment. The weld bracket 1 is made out of a metal that can be welded and has the form of a thick plate. In this explanation, the bracket 1 consists of a substantially rectangular welded portion 2 in the form of a plate, and a substantially rectangular main portion 3 standing erect from one edge of the welded portion 2. The main point 3 is formed in a shape for holding a mounted component mounted on a workpiece such as a panel. Therefore, it can have any shape conforming to the component to be mounted, not just the shape shown in the figure. For example, the main component 3 can have a hole for engaging the mounted component and a bolt insertion hole in the center to engage the engaging portion of the mounted component. Clips can also be mounted on the main component 3 to hold another component. In the figure, the main component 3 is formed so as to stand erect from one edge of the

welded component 2. However, it can also stand erect from the other edge of the welded component or take any other shape.

[0031] The welded portion 2 is a plate with a fixed thickness, and one surface (the bottom surface in FIG 1 through FIG 3) faces a workpiece such as a panel. This surface is the surface welded to the workpiece. A single protruding portion 5 protruding in the direction of the workpiece is formed on this surface of the welded portion 2. This protruding portion 5 is continuous, or connected and not split. The welded surface 6 of this protruding portion 5 is a surface with a fixed surface area. This protruding portion 5 can be formed, for example, using a press. The arc is generated from the welded surface 6 at the tip of this protruding portion.

[0032] In the embodiment shown in FIG 1 through FIG 4, the shape of the protruding portion 5 is formed so that the horizontal cross-section of the protruding portion 5 has a substantial V-shape. As long as the welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 has a fixed surface area, it can take any one of the shapes shown in FIGS 5 (A) through (D). In FIG 5, the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the protruding portion 5 can have a rounded U-shape (A), an angular (squared-off) U-shape (B), a triangular V-shape (C), or a narrow pentagonal V-shape (D). A combination of these shapes can also be used.

[0033] Only one protruding portion 5 is formed on one surface of the welded portion 2 (i.e., the surface facing the workpiece or the bottom surface in FIG 1 through FIG 3). This can unify and concentrate the discharge arc and increase the melding effect of the arc. In the embodiment shown in FIG 1 through FIG 4, the shape of the protruding portion 5 is formed so that the welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 is

linear with a fixed width and length. The welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 can have any shape as long as it is continuous. For example, as shown in FIGS 6 (A) through (C), it can have a non-linear shape such as a bent shape (A), hook shape (B) or U-shape (C) with a fixed width and length. As shown in FIGS 7 (A) and (B), the welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 can also have a ring shape such as a round ring (A) or a squared-off ring (B) with a fixed width and length. As shown in FIG 8 (A), the welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 can have a multiple branch shape with a fixed width and length such as an X, a star or a six-legged shape. As shown in FIG 8 (B), it can have a shape with extended portions extending horizontally or obliquely at the ends of the linear portion such as an H-shape or an l-shape with a fixed width and length. All of these shapes have a single protruding portion 5 with a welded surface 6 that is continuous and have a fixed broad surface that maintains a high degree of fixing strength after welding. The shapes of the protruding portions in FIG 6 through FIG 8 obtain a fixing strength that is greater than a protruding portion with a linear shape.

[0034] FIG 9 shows the weld bracket 10 in another embodiment of the present invention. This weld bracket 10 consists of a welded portion 11 with a plate shape and a main portion 13 standing erect from one edge of the welded portion 11. The main portion 13 is formed in a shape for holding a mounted component mounted on the workpiece and has a retaining hole 14 formed in the center. A protruding portion 15 is formed in the welded portion 11 on the opposite surface in FIG 9. Because details regarding the protruding portion 15 are shown in FIG 1 through FIG 8, they can be referenced along with the aforementioned descriptions.

[0035] FiGS 10 (A) through (D) show how weld bracket 1 (or weld bracket 10) is welded to a panel workpiece. In the following explanation, the welding of weld bracket 1 is described. Because weld bracket 10 is welded in the same way, a description of this has been omitted,

[0036] As shown in FIG 10 (A), the weld bracket 1 is held by the welding gun (not shown) in an arc discharge type welding device (not shown) such as a spot welding device, and is positioned so that the welded surface 6 on the protruding portion 5 of the welded portion 2 contacts a predetermined position on the metal panel 17 serving as the workpiece. Next, in FIG 10 (B), the welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 is lifted off the surface of the panel 17, and a low current pilot arc 18 is generated between the welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 and the surface of the panel 17. Afterwards, as shown in FIG 10 (C), the interval between the welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 and the surface of the panel 17 is maintained to generate a large current main arc 19 between the welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 and the surface of the panel 17 and to melt the welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 and the welded surface of the panel 17. Afterwards, as shown in FIG 10 (D), the melted protruding portion 5 is contacted with a portion of the welded surface of the panel 17, the main arc is stopped, and the melted protruding portion 5 and a portion of the welded surface of the workpiece are welded together.

[0037] This welding secures weld bracket 1 (or weld bracket 10) to the panel 17 workpiece with a high degree of strength. In particular, because the welded surface 6 of the protruding portion 5 of the welded portion 2 has a fixed surface area, the melted area is broad and the welding strength is great. Because the protruding portion 5

serving as the arc generating portion is singular, the arc discharge is not dispersed but concentrated, the positioning is precise with a high fusion effect, and the welding is good.

[0038] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.