Emblem having a fastening structure

Details Emblem having a fastening structure Emblem having a fastening structure

2000-12-14

2003-09-02

Pyon, Harold (Department: 1772)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Structurally defined web or sheet

Including aperture

C280S727000, C280S728100, C280S728200, C280S728300, C264S135000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06613415

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a structure and process for attaching emblems or marks to molded articles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a structure and process for securely attaching emblems in a simple and efficient manner to vehicle airbag covers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional airbag equipment is commonly attached to the steering wheel pads of vehicles. The coverings that overlap such airbag equipment typically include emblems. The emblems are typically formed in the following manner: Referring to
FIG. 8
, the approach depicts a cover
31
being injection-molded using a synthetic resin material whereby the mark is forged onto the molding surface providing shape which forms an emblem
32
on the surface of the cover
31
. Since the emblem
32
is formed integrally on the surface of the cover
31
with the same synthetic resin material, the emblem
32
fails to be distinctive and lacks aesthetically pleasing qualities.
In an attempt to overcome this problem, the approaches shown in
FIGS. 9 and 10
have been proposed. In these illustrations, emblems
33
and covers
31
are molded separately, and the emblems
33
each have a surface layer
33
a
formed by plating or an equivalent method. Each cover
31
has a plurality of through holes
34
, and each emblem
33
has a plurality of mounting feet
35
, which engage with holes
34
, respectively.
In the illustration depicted in
FIG. 9
, a stopper
36
, such as a clip, is engaged about to the tip of each mounting foot
35
to fasten the emblem
33
to the cover
31
. Alternatively, in
FIG. 10
, a screw
37
is driven into the tip of each mounting foot
35
to fasten the emblem
33
to the cover
31
. A washer
38
may be located between the screw
37
and the emblem
33
.
However, the examples in
FIGS. 9 and 10
require a plurality of fastening pieces such as stoppers
36
, screws
37
and washers
38
, in addition to the independent emblems
33
. This increases the number of necessary parts and requires the fastening of each mounting foot
35
. Therefore, mounting of the emblem
33
to the cover
31
becomes a complicated procedure thereby increasing the associated production costs.
To alleviate these problems, an insert molding method has been proposed where an emblem, which has been previously molded, is set in a cover-forming mold, and a resin material is injected into the mold to attach the emblem to the cover. Although mounting the emblem to the cover is facilitated, the surface of the accessory is likely to be flawed when the cover is molded with the emblem in the mold. Thus, in addition to being difficult to use, this method also has a poor product yield.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was formulated to resolve problems presented by the approaches described above. The present invention is directed towards providing a support structure for mounting parts towards molded articles. The support structure provides a cost effective, simple apparatus which minimizes the number of parts needed.
In order to achieve the above objective, a fastening structure for mounting an emblem to a molded article is required. The fastening structure, comprising a thermoplastic resin foot with a distal end protruding from the emblem, is inserted through a hole formed in the molded article. The emblem is then secured to the molded article by thermally deforming the distal end.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.


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patent: 6053526 (2000-04-01), Preisler et al.
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