Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
8'~
This invention relates to mounting systems for
equipment, such as shock mounting arranyemen~s for
compressors or the like, and is more particularly directed
to the provision of a nut adapted for such use. It is of
course apparent tnat the invention is not limited solely to
sucl~ a~plication.
The present invention is therefore directed to
providing an improved arrangement for holding a grommet or
the like in a mounting system, for example, for a compressor.
According to one aspect of the present invention
there is provided a mounting assembly including a threaded
stud mounted to a base, a grommet surrounding said stud for
resiliently supporting an element from said stud, said
grommet having an annular recess in its outer surface for
receiving said element, and means for retaining said grommet
on said stud, the improvement wherein said retaining means
comprises a unitary plastic nut having a hollow cylindrical
sleeve portion on one end extending through said grommet and
having an internal surface engaging the threads of said
stud, a radially outwardly extending flange adjoining said
sleeve portion and having an outer diameter suf f iciently
large to retain said grommet on said stud be~ween said
flange and saia base, the other end of sai~ nut being shaped
to engage a tool for rotating said nut on said stud.
Preferably according to the invention, a plastic
elongated nut is provided, being devoid of internal threads
until assembled. The sleeve extending through the g~ommet
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is a part of the nut, and has internal stops. A flange on
the nut serves to retain the grommet in position, without
the application of axial pressure thereto, if desired. Due
to the provision of a unitary nut, the sleeve, lock washer
and flat washer of the above known assembly may be omitted,
and the overall height of the mounting structure is
considerably reduced.
In order that the invention will be more clearly
understood, it will now be disclosed in greater detail with
reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective sketch of an
application of the mounting elements, both of the prior art
and the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a
mounting system in accordance with the prior art;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a
mounting assembly, adaptable for use in the arrangement of
FIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention
and
FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a nut in
accordance with the invention.
In a typical resilient mounting system, fo~r
example for a compressor for an air conditioner, referring
to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the compressor illustrated
figuratively by the block 10, has or is mounted on a
compressor foot plate 11. The compressor foot plate 11 is
shock mounted on a base plate 12 by a plurality of corner
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shock mounts 13.
The typical construction of such shock mounts, as
employed in the past, is illustrated in the cross section of
FIG. 2. As illustrated in this fiyure, a stud 20, which may
have an enlarged base 21, is welded to extend upright from
the base plate 12. A shock mount 22, or example, of
neoprene rubber, is fit over the stud 20, with the bottom
end 23 engaging the base plate 12. An annular groove 24 is
provided ln the base of the grommet 22, to clear the
enlarged 21 of the stud. The grommet 22 has an annular
recess 25 formed therein, for being received in a suitable
` aperture of the compressor foot plate 11. In order to
permit the grommet to be assembled in the compressor foot
plate, its upper diameter may be somewllat reduced, in
lS accordance with conventional practice, to enable the grommet
to be snapped in place.
A rigid sleeve 26, for example of metal, extends
through the grommet from the enlarged base 21 of the stud to
just slightly above the top of the grommetO A flat washer
27 is assembled on top of the sleeve 26, followed by the
conventional 10CK washer 28 and nut 29. The sleeve 26 is
thus dimensioned to enable the nut to be tightened thereon,
without compressing the grommet.
While the assembly illustrated in FIG. 2 is
generally satis~actory from a functional standpoint, it will
be noted that a number of parts are required, the assembly
requires a number of steps, and the stud must extend for a
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considerable distance above the base plate, since it must
receive the nut. This of course is undesirable from the
space standpoint, as well as the additional material
required for such an extending structure.
Referring now to FIG. 3, the assembly in
accordance with the invention of course employs the same
form of base plate 12 and compressor foot plate 11 as in the
prior art, and the grommet 22 may be fashioned in the same
manner as in the past~ -
In accordance with the present invention, however,
a nut 40 is provided, having an axially extending sleeve 41
extending throuyh the central hole in the grommet and
abutting the enlarged base 21 oE the stud 20. In the system
of the invention, the stud 20 is threaded substantially
completely to its base as il}ustrated. An annU1ar recess 42
is provided in the bottom of the sleeve 41 of the nut to
serve as clearance for any enlargement of the stud in this
region.
The nut 40 has a radially outwardly extending
flange 45 at the upper end of the sleeve 41. The sleeve 41
thus has a length such that, when it is bottomed on the
stud, the flange will exert no substantial amount of axial
pressure on the grommet, and, in fact, is preferably spaced
a nominal distance from the top of the grommet as
illustrated. In this way it is evident that the nut 40 may
be fully tightened on the stud, without compressing, at
least to any significant degree, the grommet.
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The upper portion of the nut 40 has a conventional,
for example, hex head 46, to permit it to be readily assembl-
e~.
Prior to the initial assembly of the nut on the
stud, the inside surface 50 of the sleeve 41 of the nut has
no threads formed therein, so that the threads of the stud
20 deform the inside surface of the sleeve to form threads
therein, upon assernbly. As a consequence, the nut of the
invention is firmly held to the stud, so that no lock washer
is necessary. A radially inwardly extending shoulder 51 is
provided at the upper end of the inner surEace of the sleeve,
to also ser~e as a stop on the top of the stud. This shoulder
51 may in fact be higher in the nut than the top of the sleeve
portion proper thereof, as illustrated. The internal diameter
of the nut in the portion 52 ~hereof above the shoulder is
of course less than that of the sleeve portion 50.
It must be pointed out that, in the arrangement
of the invention, the stud 20 need not extend to any consider-
able distance above the grommet, as shown in FI~,. 3, and,
in fact may be at substantially the same height as the top
of the grommet. As a consequence, comparing the structure
of the invention with that of the prior art illustrated in
FIG. 2, it is apparent that the overall height of the stud
is considerably reduced in accordance with the invention.
This of course saves material, as well as desirably reducing
the overall hei~ht of the structure.
In addition, the invention only requires a single
element to be assembled on the stud after the grommet has
been placed, thereby omitting the separate sleeve, flat washer
and lock nut of the known assembly, as well as the costs of
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these items. The reductlon o components o~ course also pro~
vides the advantage that the assembly time, ancl hence costs,
is also considerably reduced~
The nut, in accordance with the invention, is pre-
ferably of a plastic material, such as, but not limited, to
Nylon. As a consequence, the invention provicles the further
advantage that it does not rust. The nut o the invention
further enables the standardiæation of stud lengths, since
the same length nut may be employed on all units. As a conse-
quence, the invention permits a larger volume of standardizedweld studs to be produced, reducing the price of such ele-
ments. The nut in accordance with the invention is much light-
er in weight than prior devices, thereby also reducing lts
costs, from the standpoint of shippln~. The cost of the nut
in accordance with the invention is hence about half the cost
of the four elements required in the prior art mounting
system.
While the invention has been disclosed and described
with reference to a single embodiment3 it will be apparent
that variations and modifications may be made therein, ancl
it is therefore intended in the following claims to cover
each such variation and modification as falls within the true
spirit and scope of the invention.
