Buckles – buttons – clasps – etc. – Trim molding fastener – Having externally threaded attaching means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-05
2001-05-22
Sakran, Victor N. (Department: 3626)
Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
Trim molding fastener
Having externally threaded attaching means
C024S289000, C024S297000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06233792
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a holding clip for holding an attachment member such as a bumper or a front grille of a motor vehicle on a workpiece such as a vehicle body panel.
Holding dips for holding attachment members such as a radiator grille or a front grille on workpieces such as vehicle body panels are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Publications No. 60-25643 and No. 3-70651. These clips are constructed to hold attachment members on workpieces, each clip comprising a base plate, a holding portion formed on one of the surfaces of the base plate for receiving and holding the supporting portion of the attachment member such as a radiator grille, and a fixing portion formed on the other surface of the base plate and adapted to be attached to the workpiece such as a vehicle body panel. When their fixing portions are attached to workpieces, these clips allow attachment members to be held on workpieces only by inserting the supporting portions of the attachment members respectively into the holding portions of the clips.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-240207 discloses a temporary fixing clip for fastening which attaches a bumper temporarily in order to thereafter obtain a permanent fixing by using a bolt or the like. This clip also comprises a base plate, a holding portion formed on one of the surfaces of the base plate for receiving and holding the supporting portion of the attachment member such as a bumper, and a fixing portion formed on the other surface of the base plate to be attached to the workpiece such as a vehicle body panel, so that when the supporting portion of the attachment member is simply inserted into the holding portion of the clip, it can hold the attachment member temporarily on the workpiece.
All of the prior-known clips stated above are advantageous in that their mounting operation is easy as it is accomplished by simply inserting the supporting portion of an attachment member into the holding portion of each of the clips. In a case where the attachment member such as a bumper is a heavy article, however, the fastening force is not sufficient to hold it by the clip alone. If a bumper is held on a vehicle body panel only means of any of these prior-known clips, the bumper tends to hang down from the vehicle body panel. This requires troublesome operation or work. That is, after the bumper is fixed temporarily, the operator has to bolt it by one of his hands while supporting it by the other hand so as not to allow it to hang down or sag.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims to provide a holding Clip for a bumper or the like which is capable of sufficiently holding a bumper or some other heavy article against gravity, while maintaining the easy mounting operation.
In order to attain the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, there is provided a bumper holding clip for fastening an attachment member onto a workpiece, comprising a base, a holding portion formed on one of the surfaces of the base for receiving and holding a supporting portion of the attachment member such as a bumper or the like, and a fixing portion formed on the other surface of the base and adapted to be attached to the workpiece such as a vehicle body panel or the like; characterized in that the holding portion has a receiving portion for receiving the supporting portion of the attachment member, and that a portion of a wall defining the holding portion is formed by a resilient holding member which is associated with an opposite wall to engage with the supporting portion to prevent the received supporting portion from getting out, and at least a portion of the wall portions, excluding the resilient holding member, is made as a rigid wall which immovably support the supporting portion of the attachment member received in the receiving portion within said receiving portion to prevent the body of the attachment member from being shifted from the workpiece. The facilitated or easy mounting operation is maintained by the resilient holding member, and further the rigid walls sufficiently hold a bumper or other heavy articles against gravity.
According to the present invention, the receiving portion may be formed in a bag-like, or closed end, insertion groove having an elongated cross section to receive the plate-like supporting portion of the attachment member, and the resilient holding member may be provided in a first wall portion defining a center portion of the insertion groove, and the rigid walls may be formed by a second wall portion including the corners of the insertion groove on both sides of the holding member. Further, the outer wall of the receiving portion may be connected to the base by means of reinforcing ribs, so that when the insertion groove is in a horizontal position, the supporting portion of the attachment member received in the insertion groove is kept in the horizontal attitude. When the insertion groove is in a horizontal position, the lower wall of the receiving portion can also be extended to form a temporary placing space to guide the supporting portion of the attachment member toward the insertion into the insertion groove. The fixing portion may be formed with a resilient engagement leg to be fixed to the workpiece when inserted into a mounting hole in the workpiece. The fixing portion may be hollowed for a screw to be screwed in the hollow portion to strengthen the fixing force by preventing the engagement leg from bending inwardly. It is also possible that the fixing portion comprises a base hole formed in the base to correspond to a mounting hole in the workpiece, and a bolt and a nut. Between the base and the workpiece, a watertight packing may be provided at least around the fixing portion.
According to the present invention, the resilient holding member maintains the easy mounting operation and the rigid walls are capable of satisfactorily holding a bumper or some other heavy article in own gravity. Particularly, the use of rigid walls in the portions except the resilient holding member to define the insertion groove as the receiving portion prevents the bumper from falling down or sagging. The strength to hold the bumper is maintained even if the number of holding clips is reduced, and the bumper mounting operation becomes easier without the need to support the bumper by hands.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2330675 (1943-09-01), Brown
patent: 2531351 (1950-11-01), Churchill
patent: 3478395 (1969-11-01), Flora
patent: 3897967 (1975-08-01), Barenyi
patent: 4103400 (1978-08-01), Munse
patent: 5448804 (1995-09-01), Warren
patent: 5542158 (1996-08-01), Gronau et al.
patent: 2091801 (1982-08-01), None
patent: 59-048248A (1984-03-01), None
patent: 60-25643 (1985-06-01), None
patent: 0191851 (1985-09-01), None
patent: 370651 (1991-08-01), None
patent: 8240207 (1996-09-01), None
Emhart Inc.
Murphy Edward D.
Sakran Victor N.
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