Grommet and method of inserting grommet

A grommet for automatic insertion into a mounting hole in a panel comprising:

• a robot arm;
• a member engaging said robot arm, said member having a head portion and a bottom portion integrally attached to said head portion at one side of said head portion and at least one locking claw attached to said member,
• said member having a longitudinal bore extending through said head portion and at least a major portion of said bottom portion,
• said head portion having an outer periphery larger than the inner circumference of the mounting hole,
• said bottom portion having an outer periphery smaller than the inner circumference of the mounting hole and having a stepped portion located within said longitudinal bore,
• said outer periphery of said bottom portion surrounding said stepped portion being spaced from the inner circumference of the mounting hole so as to allow said bottom portion to expand when said robot arm is retracted,
• said stepped portion having an inside diameter smaller than that of said longitudinal bore for engaging said robot arm,
• said at least one locking claw having a free end extending outwardly from said member with said free end of said at least one locking claw being spaced from said member,
• each of said at least one locking claw being resiliently deflectable relative to the longitudinal axis of said member such that when said member is inserted in the mounting hole and after said free end of said at least one locking claw clears the mounting hole said free end of said at least one locking claw is released to spring snap into engagement with the side of the panel opposite from said head portion such that the force required to deflect said stepped portion and expand said bottom portion and thereby retract said robot arm is less than the force required to remove said grommet from the mounting hole after said at least one locking claw has snapped into engagement with the opposite side of the panel.

A method for automatic insertion of a grommet into a hole in a panel by a robot arm, comprising the steps of:

• inserting the robot arm into said grommet and engaging a stepped portion located within said grommet, said grommet having a head portion and at least one locking claw, said locking claw having a free end extending outwardly from said grommet with said free end of said at least one locking claw being spaced from said grommet;
• causing the robot arm to insert said grommet into the mounting hole in the panel such that when said grommet is inserted in the mounting hole and after said free end of said at least one locking claw clears the mounting hole, said free end of said at least one locking claw is released to spring snap into engagement with the side of said panel opposite from said head portion;
• retracting the robot arm from the mounting hole thereby resiliently deflecting said stepped portion so that the robot arm is disengaged from said grommet;
• and
• measuring the force required to retract the robot arm to determine whether the grommet has been properly inserted.