This invention relates to a holding clamp for connecting together two sheets of material having different expansion characteristics by means of a screw that can be passed through holes in the sheets and aligned holes in overlapping legs of the clamp.
Connectors of this type are required, for example, in automobile construction to fasten synthetic casings or covers to body parts. The synthetic covers tend to expand more in heat than the body panel, so elongated holes are provided in the synthetic sheets in the direction of expansion. There is a danger here, however, of the screws used with the holding clamps being tightened too strongly. This then results in the synthetic sheet being unable to yield within the clamp so that it tends to arch between its connection points as a result of its expansion.
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a clamp such that, on the one hand, the screw used with the clamp can be tightened strongly enough to achieve a secure clamping, while, on the other hand, the expansion characteristics of one of the sheets clamped by it are not impaired by the screw.