Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a vehicle sensor holder arrangement for attaching a vehicle sensor to a vehicle wall, the holder arrangement comprising a sensor holder adapted for holding a vehicle sensor and a fastening device for fastening the sensor holder to a vehicle wall.

Background Art

US 8,074,523 discloses an air pressure sensor for sensing a side impact. The air pressure sensor is fastened on a vehicle wall by a fastening element.

With respect to previously known solutions, it is desirable to provide a more robust vehicle sensor holder arrangement that is easy to mount in a vehicle.

Summary of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved vehicle sensor holder arrangement.

This and other objects that will be apparent from the following summary and description are achieved by a vehicle sensor holder arrangement according to the appended claims.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle sensor holder arrangement for attaching a vehicle sensor to a vehicle wall, the holder arrangement comprising a sensor holder adapted for holding a vehicle sensor and a fastening device for fastening the sensor holder to a vehicle wall, wherein the fastening device comprises an elongate member provided with a holding portion and a tension portion spaced apart from each other with a distance prior to fastening the sensor holder to the vehicle wall, the tension portion being movable toward the holding portion to clamp a connecting portion of the sensor holder and a portion of the vehicle wall between the holding portion and the tension portion, and the sensor holder comprises an abutment surface forming a rotational lock for preventing one of the holding portion and the tension portion from rotation.

Clamping the connecting portion and a portion of the vehicle wall together this way allows the vehicle sensor holder arrangement to be mounted in a very simple manner. Furthermore, it provides for a very robust and reliable attachment of the sensor holder. The rotational lock formed by the sensor holder provides for quick and easy fastening of the sensor holder to a vehicle wall. This vehicle sensor holder arrangement thus allows a sensor, such as an side impact sensor, to be mounted to a vehicle wall in a very robust and easy manner. Furthermore, a space- and/or cost-efficient sensor holder arrangement may be provided. Upon delivery of the sensor holder arrangement the fastening device may be premounted to the sensor holder portion, which facilitates handling, transport and correct mounting of the vehicle sensor holder arrangement. Furthermore, it allows mounting of the vehicle sensor holder arrangement to a vehicle wall with access from only one side of the vehicle wall.

According to one embodiment one of the holding portion and the tension portion is arranged to be insterted into an aperture of said vehicle wall and moved to a locking position.

According to one embodiment at least one of said holding portion and said tension portion is a nut. Such a nut may be tightened using a wrench.

According to one embodiment said elongate member is a threaded pin or a bolt. Preferably, the elongate member is a bolt, which has the advantage that an arrangement having few parts may be provided.

According to one embodiment the sensor holder comprises a non- rotation portion configured to, when the sensor holder is fastened to a vehicle wall, co-operate with the vehicle wall, thereby preventing the sensor holder from rotating relative to the vehicle wall. The non-rotation portion contributes to form a very robust fastening of the vehicle sensor holder arrangement to a vehicle wall.

According to one embodiment said sensor is a side impact sensor. According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a vehicle sensor arrangement comprising a sensor holder arrangement according to the present disclosure and an internal vehicle wall.

According to one embodiment said internal vehicle wall comprises a keyhole shaped aperture, which facilitates mounting of the vehicle sensor holder arrangement to the internal vehicle wall.

According to one embodiment one of the holding portion and the tension portion is arranged to co-operate with a narrow portion of said keyhole shaped aperture.

According to one embodiment a positioning portion of the sensor holder is configured to co-operate with an edge of said keyhole shaped aperture, thereby facilitating positioning of the sensor holder in the aperture of the internal vehicle wall.

According to one embodiment a non-rotation portion of the sensor holder is configured to co-operate with an edge of said keyhole shaped aperture, thereby preventing the sensor holder from rotating relative to the internal vehicle wall.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the claims and the embodiments described hereinafter.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will hereafter be described in more detail and with reference to the appended schematic drawings.

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle sensor holder arrangement according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2a-d are perspective views illustrating attachment of the vehicle sensor holder arrangement shown in Fig. 1 to an internal vehicle wall.

Fig. 3 is a section of the sensor holder arrangement in Fig. 2c taken along the line Ill-Ill.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention Fig. 1 illustrates a vehicle sensor holder arrangement 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The vehicle sensor holder

arrangement 1 comprises a sensor holder 3 and a fastening device 5.

The sensor holder 3 comprises a sensor holder portion 7 which is adapted for holding a vehicle sensor (not shown), such as, e.g, a side impact sensor. To this end the sensor holder portion 7 comprises a cavity 9.

The sensor holder 3 further comprises a fastening portion 1 1 , which is provided with a through hole 15 for receiving a bolt 17 of the fastening device 5, for fastening the sensor holder 3 to an internal vehicle wall 13.

The sensor holder 3 further comprises a positioning portion 19 adapted for positioning the sensor holder 3 during fastening thereof and an anti- rotation portion 21 adapted for preventing the sensor holder 3 from rotating relative to the vehicle wall 13 when the sensor holder 3 is mounted to the vehicle wall 13.

The positioning portion 19 projects from the attachment portion 1 1 and forms two parallel surfaces 23, of which one is visible in Fig. 1 , that aid positioning of the sensor holder 3. The positioning portion 19 further comprises a third surface, in the form of a flat abutment surface 25, forming a rotational lock preventing the bolt 17 from rotating relative to the sensor holder 3, as will be illustrated hereinafter with reference to Figs. 2b an Fig. 3.

The anti-rotation portion 21 projects from the sensor holder portion 7 and forms three surfaces 27 that, when the sensor holder 3 is mounted to the vehicle wall 13, prevents the sensor holder 3 from rotating relative to the vehicle wall 13.

The fastening device 5 comprises the bolt 17 and a nut 29. The bolt head 31 has an abutment surface 33 which is configured for abutment against the abutment surface 25 of the positioning portion 19 of the sensor holder 3.

The vehicle wall 13 comprises a key hole shaped aperture 35, having a narrow portion 37 and a wide portion 39, for receiving each of the positioning portion 19, the anti-rotation portion 21 and the bolt head 31 . The positioning portion 19 is configured to co-operate with an edge 37a of the narrow portion 37 of the keyhole shaped aperture 35 and the anti-rotation portion 21 of the sensor holder 3 is configured to co-operate with an edge 39a of the wide portion 39 of the keyhole shaped aperture 35.

With reference to Figs. 2a-d and Fig. 3, mounting of the sensor holder arrangement 1 to a vehicle wall will be described hereinafter. In this case the sensor holder arrangement 1 is mounted to an internal wall portion 13 forming a part of a B-pillar 41 of a vehicle 43, as illustrated in Fig. 2a.

As shown in Fig. 2a the fastening device 1 1 is premounted on the sensor holder 3, i.e. the bolt 17 is inserted into the through hole 15 of the attachment portion 1 1 and the nut 29 is screwed, but not tightened, to the bolt 17.

In a first step the bolt head 31 , the positioning portion 19 and the anti- rotation portion 21 are inserted through the keyhole shaped aperture 35 in the vehicle wall 13, as illustrated by the arrow A in Fig. 2a, and moved to a locking position, which is illustrated in Fig. 2c, as illustrated by the arrow B in Fig. 2b . This step is facilitated by the surfaces 23 of the positioning portion 19. When the positioning portion 19 and the anti-rotation portion 21 are positioned in the aperture 35 (Fig. 2c) each of the surfaces 27 of the anti rotation portion 21 co-operates with the edge 39a of the wide portion 39 of the keyhole shaped aperture 35 to prevent the sensor holder 3 from rotating relative to the wall 13. At this stage there is a clearance D1 between the bolt head 31 and the vehicle wall 13.

In a second step the nut 29 is tightened, as illustrated by the arrow C in Fig. 2b and Fig. 3. The attachment portion 1 1 and the vehicle wall 13 are then clamped between the nut 29 and the bolt head 31 , as best illustrated in Fig. 3. During tightening of the bolt 17 the bolt head 31 is prevented from rotation by the positioning portion 19 since the bolt head abutment surface 33 engages the positioning portion abutment surface 25, and moves towards the nut 29, as illustrated by the arrow D in Fig. 2c and Fig. 3. The nut 29 is tightened to a predetermined torque, e.g. by means of a torque wrench. During tightening of the nut 29 the sensor holder 3 is prevented from rotating relative to the internal vehicle wall 13 by the surfaces 27 of the anti-rotation portion 21 . It is realized by a person skilled in the art that features from various embodiments disclosed herein may be combined with one another in order to provide further alternative embodiments.

Hereinbefore, it has been described that the elongate member of the fastening device is a bolt. Alternatively, the elongate member may be a threaded pin which is provided with a first nut forming a holding portion and a second nut forming a tension portion.

Hereinbefore, it has been described that a sensor holder arrangement may be mounted to a wall portion forming a part of a B-pillar of a vehicle 43. It is however appreciated that a sensor holder arrangement according to the present disclosure may be mounted at different locations, such as, for example, at another pillar, a door sill or a bumper. The vehicle wall to which the sensor holder arrangement may be attached may thus, for example, form part of a door sill or a bumper of a vehicle.