Paint drain closure and vehicle panel
First Claim
1. A closure for sealing a paint drain hole in a planar portion of a vehicle body panels, said closure comprising a deformable sheet metal plug of inverted hat-shaped configuration;
- said plug being formed in one piece and having an imperforate bottom wall, a continuous side wall projecting upwardly from the outer limits of, said bottom wall, and a generally planar continuous perimetric flange extending outwardly from the upper end of said side wall;
said side wall being curved along a substantial portion of its perimetric extent and including at least two perimetrically-spaced indented wall portions lying within a projected continuation of the curvature of said side wall;
each indented wall portion having an elongated outwardly-projecting integral camming rib disposed within said projected continuation of curvature of said side wall and a thermoplastic sealant ring secured to the underside of said flange;
said ribs being sloped relative to said perimetric flange and spaced from said perimetric flange a distance exceeding the thickness of said sealant ring but less than the combined thicknesses of the sealant ring and the panel at said hole;
said sealant ring being heatable to expand and adhesively bond to both the underside of said flange and the planar portion of said panel adjacent said hole therein.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved closure for sealing the paint drain holes of a vehicle body, and a tool and method of use therefor, are disclosed. The closure takes the form of a one-piece sheet metal plug of inverted hat-shaped configuration having a peripheral flange with a thermoplastic sealant ring located beneath the flange to form a hermetic seal about the opening of the vehicle body. In use, the closure is supported, preferably magneticlly, by the head of an insertion tool and is directed by that tool into a floor pan opening or other panel opening of a vehicle body. Depending on the shape of the panel opening, the plug is then temporarily secured in place, with the sealant ring clamped between the flange of the plug and the body panel, either by a partial turn of the plug or by a tool with cam-driven dimpling elements that are forced outwardly within the cavity of the plug to produce a plurality of external enlargments or nubs. The same closure plug may be used for either type of attachment and, following such attachment, the entire assembly is heated (in the normal baking cycle of the painting operation) to soften and expand the sealant ring and produce a permanent adhesive bond between the parts. The use of the paint drain openings to support and position a vehicle prior to plug insertion and attachment is also disclosed.
32 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A closure for sealing a paint drain hole in a planar portion of a vehicle body panels, said closure comprising a deformable sheet metal plug of inverted hat-shaped configuration;
- said plug being formed in one piece and having an imperforate bottom wall, a continuous side wall projecting upwardly from the outer limits of, said bottom wall, and a generally planar continuous perimetric flange extending outwardly from the upper end of said side wall;
said side wall being curved along a substantial portion of its perimetric extent and including at least two perimetrically-spaced indented wall portions lying within a projected continuation of the curvature of said side wall;
each indented wall portion having an elongated outwardly-projecting integral camming rib disposed within said projected continuation of curvature of said side wall and a thermoplastic sealant ring secured to the underside of said flange;
said ribs being sloped relative to said perimetric flange and spaced from said perimetric flange a distance exceeding the thickness of said sealant ring but less than the combined thicknesses of the sealant ring and the panel at said hole;
said sealant ring being heatable to expand and adhesively bond to both the underside of said flange and the planar portion of said panel adjacent said hole therein. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
- said plug being formed in one piece and having an imperforate bottom wall, a continuous side wall projecting upwardly from the outer limits of, said bottom wall, and a generally planar continuous perimetric flange extending outwardly from the upper end of said side wall;
Specification