Supports – Brackets – Specially mounted or attached
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-13
2004-04-27
Ramirez, Ramon O. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Brackets
Specially mounted or attached
C296S097900
Reexamination Certificate
active
06726165
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a bracket connecting structure, and more particularly to a bracket connecting structure useful at the time of fixing an auxiliary device equipped in a vehicle compartment, such as a sun visor, to a body panel.
A sun visor is disposed, for example, in the vicinity of an upper end of the windshield of an automobile on the driver's seat or the passenger's seat side. Depending on the type of the sun visor, there is a type in which the sun visor is provided with, for instance, a vanity mirror which in some cases is provided with a lamp to allow its use at night.
FIG. 18
shows an example of a bracket for mounting such a sun visor. This bracket
100
is fitted on a reverse side of a trim
200
, i.e., an interior member of the vehicle body, and is fixed to a body panel (not shown) by being combined with a sun visor-side bracket (not shown). The brackets are respectively provided with connectors, and as the connectors are engaged with each other by combining both brackets, the wiring on the vehicle body side and the wiring on the sun visor side are connected.
As shown in
FIG. 18
, the assembling operation is performed in a procedure in which the vehicle body-side bracket
100
is fitted in advance to the trim
200
, and the trim
200
in this state is fitted to an inner panel of the vehicle body. Accordingly, a plurality of hooks
101
for fitting to an opening
201
in the trim
200
are provided on the bracket
100
.
These hooks
101
are L-shaped in their cross sections, and are provided at a plurality of positions on a plate surface of a base plate
102
of the bracket
100
such that their distal ends are oriented outward. As these hooks
101
are engaged with peripheral edge portions of the opening
201
of the trim
200
, the bracket
100
is attached to the trim
200
.
FIG. 19
shows the relationship between the hooks
101
and the opening
201
of the trim
200
. The plurality of hooks
101
are formed such that opposing ones are oriented in opposite directions, the size of the opening
201
is set such that the peripheral edge of the opening
201
is located on an inner side than the position of the distal end of each hook
101
, so that all the hooks
101
can engage the peripheral edge portions of the opening
201
.
Conventionally, in a case where the bracket
100
is attached to the trim
200
, as shown in
FIG. 20
, while the bracket
100
is being tilted, one of the opposing hooks
101
is first caught at a peripheral edge portion of the opening
201
in the trim
200
, and a force is then applied to the other hook side as indicated by arrow N, thereby allowing the hook
101
on the other side to be pushed in and engaged with a peripheral edge portion of the opening
201
in the trim
200
by mainly utilizing the flexibility (deflection) of the trim
200
. Namely, the fitting is effected by applying such a force that it does not break the hooks
101
and does not damage the trim
200
.
However, since the degree to which the force is applied is difficult to adjust, the hook is liable to be broken as shown in
FIG. 21
, and the trim
200
is liable to be broken as shown in FIG.
22
.
FIGS. 23
to
26
show another related bracket connecting structure. As shown in
FIG. 23
, a sun visor
501
having such a lamp has a bracket
502
at a tip of a fixing shaft
503
for fixing the sun visor
501
to the vehicle body side. This bracket
502
is fixed by being screwed down to an inner panel
504
of the vehicle body.
Hereafter, a description will be given of the structure for fixing the sun visor
501
to the inner panel
504
. To obtain this structure, as shown in
FIGS. 23 and 24
, a wire harness
507
is first pulled out toward the vehicle compartment side through an opening
506
formed in the inner panel
504
in the vicinity of an upper end of a windshield
505
, and a connector
510
attached to a tip of an electric wire
509
led out from the bracket
502
is joined to a connector
508
provided at a tip of the wire harness
507
. The operation of connecting the connectors
508
and
510
is performed by the manual operation of an operator having trained skill.
Next, as shown in
FIG. 24
, the sun visor
501
is mounted while the joined connectors
508
and
510
and the wire harness
507
are being accommodated in a space
512
formed between the inner panel
504
and an outer panel
511
through the opening
506
formed in the inner panel
504
.
Namely, as shown in
FIG. 25
, in a state in which the bracket
502
is being tilted while accommodating the connectors
508
and
510
and the wire harness
507
in the aforementioned space
512
, a hook
518
provided on one end side of the bracket
502
is caught at a peripheral edge portion of the opening
506
in the inner panel
504
. A grommet screw
513
formed on the other end side of the bracket
502
is inserted in a bracket mounting hole
514
(see
FIG. 23
) formed in the inner panel
504
in such a manner as to rotate the bracket
502
by using that caught portion as a fulcrum, and the bracket
502
is pushed in toward the inner panel
504
side.
Next, as shown in
FIG. 26
, a screw
515
is inserted in a central hole of the grommet screw
513
which is hollow cylindrical in shape, and the screw
515
is tightened. Then, a tip portion of the grommet screw
513
is pressed and expanded by the screw
515
by means of a slit
513
a
formed in the grommet screw
513
in a height wise direction from its tip portion. As one half portion
513
b
of the pressed and expanded grommet screw
513
is pressed against the peripheral edge portion of the bracket mounting hole
514
, the bracket
502
is fixed to the inner panel
504
.
However, since the above-described structure is arranged such that the bracket
502
is assembled while being rotated in the state in which the hook
518
has been caught beforehand, a relatively large clearance H for allowing the rotation is required between the hook
518
and the inner panel
504
. Due to the presence of this clearance H, there has been a problem in that looseness or shakiness is liable to occur in the assembled state. In addition, since the hook
518
is inserted diagonally and is caught at the peripheral edge portion of the opening
506
, there has been a problem in that an allowance for engagement between the hook
518
and the peripheral edge portion of the opening
506
cannot be made very large, so that it is impossible to secure high engaging strength at this portion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a bracket connecting structure which makes it possible to engage the hooks of the bracket with the opening in the trim (a plate member to be attached to) easily without an excessive force, thereby making it possible to prevent incidents of the breakage of the hooks and of causing damage to the trim.
The another object of the invention is to provide a bracket connecting structure for an auxiliary device in which looseness or shakiness does not occur and which makes it possible to exhibit a positive and firm connecting force.
In order to solve the aforesaid object, the invention is characterized by having the following arrangement.
(1) A bracket comprising:
a base plate;
a pair of hooks, for engaging with opposing peripheral edge portions of an opening formed through a plate member, respectively, so that the bracket is attached to the plate member, provided at opposite ends of the base plate; and
a thin-walled portion having a thickness thinner than that of the base portion, which traverses an intermediate portion of the base plate between the pair of hooks.
(2) The bracket according to (1), wherein each of the pair of hooks has an L-shaped cross section whose distal end is oriented outwardly.
(3) The bracket according to (1), wherein the thin-walled portion is defined by a U-shaped groove for passing an electric wire therethrough.
(4) The bracket according to (3) further comprising a connector disposed midway in the U-shaped groove so that the electric wire passed though t
Sawayanagi Masahiro
Takahashi Goro
Yoneyama Isao
Ramirez Ramon O.
Schulterbrandt Kofi
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
Yazaki -Corporation
LandOfFree
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