The present invention relates to a grounding element. In particular the present invention relates to a grounding element for use in a vehicle.

In a vehicle such as a truck or a bus a grounding element is typically provided. The grounding element serves as a terminal for the electrical system of the vehicle. The grounding element is usually provided in the frame of the vehicle and the frame acts as a conductor connected to a terminal of the battery of the vehicle.

When mounting a grounding element it is desired to provide a grounding element having good electrical properties and which at the same time is easy to mount.

Conventional grounding elements are for example described in WO 2007028882 and EP0575259, which describe grounding elements for railways. For vehicles it is common to punch a hole in the frame, polish the hole and apply a screw. DE20102063U U1 shows a grounding element according to the preamble of claim 1. Existing solutions for vehicles is cumbersome and expensive. Also in the future higher demands will be put on performance for grounding elements for less resistance and more robust fixation.

Hence there exists a need for an improved grounding element for a vehicle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved grounding element for a vehicle, in particular for a heavy vehicle such as a truck or a bus.

This object and others are obtained by the grounding element as set out in the claims.

Thus, a grounding element is provided for providing a ground terminal in a vehicle. The grounding element is formed by an electrically conducting sleeve having a generally conical shape and an insert also having a generally conical shape formed by a material being harder than the sleeve.

The invention also extends to a vehicle comprising a grounding element according to the above.

The present invention will now be described in more detail by way of nonlimiting examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• Fig. 1a is view of a sleeve of a grounding element,
• Fig. 1b is a view an insert for a grounding element,
• Fig. 1c is a view of a sleeve interacting with an insert forming a grounding element, and
• Fig. 2 is a combined cross sectional and side view of a grounding element.

In Fig. 1a sleeve 1 for a grounding element 3 is shown. The sleeve 1 comprises flanges 1a connected to a support part 1b. The sleeve 1 is preferably made of a conducting material with relatively soft properties enabling the sleeve to expand in a lateral direction. The sleeve 1 can for example be made of copper, in particular tinned copper.

The sleeve has a generally conical shape to fit in a hole made in a frame of a vehicle. The flanges 1a provides for the conical shape whereby the sleeve 1 can be inserted into a hole having a conical shape as is typically the case when a hole has been punched without being subsequently polished. The support part, besides providing a connection to the flanges 1a constitutes an electrical terminal to which grounding can take place.

In Fig. 1b an insert 2 to be threaded or otherwise inserted into the sleeve 1 is shown. The insert 2 has a generally conical shape to match the shape of the sleeve 1 and a hole in the frame of a vehicle. The insert 2 is preferably made of a material harder than the sleeve 1 and can be made of steel. The outer side of the insert has a structure adapted to lock into the sleeve. For example the outside can be rugged or threaded. The inside of the insert is formed to receive a tool adapted to insert the insert into the sleeve. For example the inside may have smooth walls or threaded walls depending on the tool used for inserting the insert 2. In particular a tool for mounting blind rivets can be used for inserting the insert 2.

In Fig. 1c the grounding element 3 is shown during assembly with the insert 2 being inserted into the sleeve 1.

In Fig. 2, the grounding element 3 is shown mounted into a hole 5 of a frame 4 of a vehicle. The top section of Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the position of the sleeve 1 and insert 2 when mounted by a mounting tool into the hole 5. The inside 6 of the insert 2 may be hollow or threaded. The bottom part of Fig. 2 is a view from the side of the other half of the grounding element mounted in the hole 5. The hole 5 can in one example be conical. A conical shape of a hole 5 can for example be the result if the hole is punched in the frame 4.

Using the grounding element as described herein will result in a lower component cost compared to existing methods of providing a grounding element. Also the contact area will be larger which in turn will improve the electrical properties of the grounding element.

Furthermore, the grounding element can be pre assembled when assembling the frame of a vehicle thereby reducing the risk of corrosion because the assembly can take place prior to applying paint.

The assembly time is very fast due to few components and only one tool being required to be used once for each grounding element to be applied to a frame. The grounding element is possible to use in a punched hole having a conical shape thereby eliminating the need for polishing or boring or similar procedures. A standard tool can be used to assemble the grounding element.