Supports – Brackets – Specially mounted or attached
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-02
2003-02-11
Ramirez, Ramon O. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Brackets
Specially mounted or attached
C248S289110, C296S097130
Reexamination Certificate
active
06517039
ABSTRACT:
The present patent application claims the benefit of earlier Japanese Patent Application Nos. H11-157774, filed on Jun. 4, 1999, and 2000-092302, filed on Mar. 29, 2000, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fixing clip for fixing an article onto walls, panels, or the like, via through-holes, in a detachable manner, and to an interior module with a fixing clip. The fixing clip is suitably used to secure a sun visor or an assist grip onto a lining or a ceiling trim of an automobile. The interior module with a fixing clip is applied to, for example, a ceiling panel or a body panel of an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, sun visors are furnished above the front sheets of an automobile in order to protect the driver's eyes and the passenger's eyes from the sun. The sun visor is generally attached to the ceiling panel of an automobile by a fixing clip that holds one end of the shaft of the sun visor in a rotatable manner. Such a conventional fixing clip generally has a base, on which a grommet for receiving the shaft of the sun visor is monolithically formed, and stoppers for elastically supporting the base onto the body panel.
With this fixing clip, the stoppers have to be inserted into a through-hole formed in the panel in order to fix the base onto the panel. However, the stoppers generally greatly extend outward in order to support the base onto the panel via the through-hole. It is troublesome to insert the stoppers into the through-hole, and in addition, the rim of the sun visor often hits the front window or the room mirror.
Recently, several parts or accessories are temporarily fixed to a lining or a ceiling trim in advance, prior to shipping to an assembly plant. This process is so-called modularization. The modularized lining or ceiling trim is assembled into an automobile, and the parts and the accessories temporarily attached to the lining or the ceiling trim are finally fixed to the ceiling panel or the body panel of the automobile.
For example, in order to secure a ceiling module, in which sun visors are temporarily attached by fixing clips to a ceiling trim, to the ceiling panel, the elastic stoppers extending outward from the ceiling module have to be inserted into a through-hole formed in the ceiling panel again. This process is troublesome.
To overcome this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H7-069054 proposes a holder structure having screw grommets, as stoppers, which are monolithically formed on a base.
FIG. 1A
illustrates such a holder with screw grommets in a perspective view, and
FIG. 1B
is a cross-sectional view of the screw grommet taken along the A—A line of FIG.
1
A.
The holder
10
has a base
11
, a shaft holder
12
for receiving the shaft of a sun visor, and a pair of barrel-shaped half grommets
13
. The half grommet
13
is formed of an elastic material, and consists of two half shells separated by a vertical groove. The shaft holder
12
and the half grommets
13
are inserted in the corresponding through-holes
18
formed in advance in an interior panel
16
. Since the half grommets
13
are barrel-shaped with their upper portions tapered, they are easily inserted into the associated through-holes
18
. After the insertion, the half grommet
13
is stopped by the edge of the through-hole
18
at the center swelling, as shown in
FIG. 1B
by the solid lines. This state is a temporarily fixed state.
To finally fix the holder
10
, a screw pin
15
is inserted from the bottom of the half grommet
13
between the half shells
13
a,
as indicated by the virtual lines in FIG.
1
B. The insertion of the pin
15
causes the two elastic half shells
13
a
to open outward. This state is a finally fixed state.
However, this structure disclosed in H7-69054 requires multiple holes to be formed in advanced in the interior panel
16
at a precise configuration. Furthermore, since the half grommet
13
is merely swelled in the middle, it is very likely that the holder
10
comes out from the interior panel
16
by, for example, vibration during shipping or transportation because the holder is temporarily fixed to the interior panel
16
without the pin
15
. In addition, it is troublesome to fix and detach the holder
10
to and from the panel
16
using a screw pin. Using the screw pin also deteriorates the appearance of the holder
10
when it is applied to the interior of an automobile.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to overcome these problems in the prior art, and to provide a fixing clip which allows a sun visor or an assist grip to be attached to a ceiling panel or a ceiling trim of an automobile easily and reliably.
It is another object of the invention to provide a fixing clip which can be switched between a temporarily fixed state and a finally fixed state in a simply manner.
It is still another object of the invention to provide an interior module, in which one or more fixing clips are assembled into a lining in a temporarily fixed state. This interior module facilitates assembling interior components of an automobile.
In one aspect of the invention, a fixing clip fixes an article onto a panel via a through-hole formed therein. Such an article generally has a shaft, which is to be held by the fixing clip. The through-hole has a front edge and a rear edge. The fixing clip includes a base having a front end, a rear end, and an opening; a shaft holder formed on the base and for receiving the shaft of the article; and a lid connected to the rear end of the base. The shaft holder has a side wall. The fixing clip has a first stopper that is a portion of the area on the side wall of the shaft holder and that faces the front end of the base, and a second stopper positioned along one side of the opening, facing the rear end of the base. When the fixing clip is attached to the panel, the first stopper comes into frictional contact with the front edge of the through-hole, and the second stopper catches the rear edge of the through-hole.
The lid is capable of swinging between an open position, which is in a temporarily fixed state, and a closed position, which is in a finally fixed state. The lid has a projection on its inner face, and the projection is fit into the opening of the base when the lid is closed.
Preferably, the base has an arched front end and a substantially straight rear end. Preferably, the side wall of the shaft holder is a conical wall, and the first stopper is a portion of the area on the conical wall, extending horizontally along the conical wall.
The fixing clip further has a third stopper extending from the side wall of the shaft holder above the first stopper and toward the front end of the base; and a fourth stopper projecting from the side wall of the shaft holder between the first stopper and the third stopper. The third stopper is a tail-like stopper made of an elastic material and extends obliquely downward having a crook near the end. When the fixing clip is attached to the panel, the crook elastically pushes the surroundings of the through-hole.
The second stopper has a ridge facing the rear end of the base in order to catch the rear edge of the through-hole. The distance from the crook of the third stopper to the front edge of the through-hole is set greater than the distance from the top of the ridge of the second stopper to the rear edge of the through-hole. This arrangement allows the entire weight of the article, such as a sun visor or an assist grip, to be reliably supported.
With the lid open in the temporarily fixed state, the first through fourth stoppers catch the periphery of the through-hole. Accordingly, the fixing clip is reliably attached to the panel even in the temporarily state.
The fixing clip further has a pair of fifth stoppers, positioned along two opposing sides of the opening. The projection of the lid has a pair of pushing pieces on the top. When the lid is closed, the projection is fit into the opening of the b
Howard & Howard
Piolax Inc.
Ramirez Ramon O.
Szumny Jon
LandOfFree
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