Patents by Inventor Sunao Tonami

Sunao Tonami has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Grommet and method of inserting grommet
    Patent number: 5203051
    Abstract: A grommet for automatic insertion into a mounting hole in a panel by a robot including a head portion 1 having a longitudinal bore for receiving a screw through its center, a bottom portion 3 including a stepped portion 7 elastically engaging the robot arm located within the longitudinal bore; and locking claws 4 attached to the grommet which reflect during insertion of the grommet into the mounting hole and then spring snap into engagement when the locking claws 4 clear the mounting hole, such that the force required to disengage the robot arm 5 from the stepped portion 7 is less than the force required to extract the grommet from the panel, which enables the robot to easily determine whether or not the grommet is accurately inserted into the mounting hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 20, 1993
    Assignee: K.K. Aoyama Seisakusho
    Inventors: Sunao Tonami, Naoto Horiguchi, Sotoaki Yamamoto, Hiroshi Kazino, Masaaki Ide, Hideki Kakamu, Tomiyasu Kakeno