Buckles – buttons – clasps – etc. – Clasp – clip – support-clamp – or required component thereof – With specific mounting means for attaching to rigid or...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-21
2001-12-04
Sakran, Victor N. (Department: 3626)
Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
Clasp, clip, support-clamp, or required component thereof
With specific mounting means for attaching to rigid or...
C024S453000, C024S523000, C296S097900, C248S222120
Reexamination Certificate
active
06324732
ABSTRACT:
The present patent application claims the benefit of earlier Japanese Patent Application No. H11-117084 filed on Apr. 23, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fastening structure for fastening an article onto a wall, a panel board, or the like, via through-hole, in a detachable manner. The fastener is suitably applied to a holder for receiving a shaft of a sun visor used in an automobile, and to any other holders or retainers.
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 upper front of the interior of the automobile to block the sunlight streaming into the car through the front glass.
FIGS. 19 and 20
illustrate such sun visors furnished above the front sheets
22
. The sun visor
1
has a pivoting shaft
24
, which is retained by the retainer
25
fixed to the top front wall of the automobile C. The sun visor
1
swings about the pivoting shaft
24
between the home position (i.e., non-used position) and the light-blocking position (i.e., used position). The sun visor
1
also has a short shaft
26
. When not in use, the sun visor
1
is rotated upward to the home position, and the short shaft
26
is received by the holder
27
so as to prevent the sun visor
1
from swinging downward.
The holder
27
is generally screwed onto the ceiling
23
. However, screwing the holder
27
spoils the appearance of the interior of the car. In addition, the screw (or the vis) damages the lining and the ceiling
23
. In order to overcome these problems, it was proposed to provide snappers to the holder
27
. When the snappers are inserted into a through-hole, which is formed on the ceiling
23
of a car in advance, the snappers catch the edge of the through-hole, thereby securing the holder
27
onto the ceiling
23
.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H4-110224 discloses such structure. In this publication, the base of the holder
27
has a projection for positioning itself, and two wavy snappers extend from the positioning projection in opposite directions. When the snappers and the projection are inserted into the through-hole formed on the ceiling
23
, the two wavy snappers come into contact with the fold-back formed around the through-hole, whereby the holder
27
is attached to the ceiling
23
. This structure does not spoil the appearance of the interior of a car, or damage the lining or the ceiling
23
.
However, the structure disclosed in H4-110224 has some problems. The two wavy snappers are elastically deformed when they are inserted into the through-hole of the ceiling
23
. After the snappers were inserted, they are spontaneously restored, and come into contact with the fold-back of the through-hole. In order to insert the snappers in the through-hole, a certain extent of force must be applied to the snappers to deform them. After the insertion, only elastic contact between the tip of the snapper and the fold-back of the through-hole supports the weight of the holder
27
. This elastic contact may not be sufficient to securely support the holder
27
and the pivoting shaft of the sun visor for a long time, because the end portions of the snappers are in contact with the fold-back in the free states. Meanwhile, it is not easy to detach the holder
27
from the ceiling
23
because of difficulties to elastically deform the snappers, which are now positioned behind the ceiling, from the inside the car to pull them out of the through-hole. This inconvenience becomes conspicuous when the holder
27
needs to be repaired or changed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to overcome these problems in the prior art, and to provide a fastening structure, which allows an article to be fixed onto a wall securely with a little force, and to be easily detached from the wall as necessary.
It is another object of the invention to provide a holder with a fastening structure, which can be easily attached to and detached from a board, and which has an improved appearance.
It is another object of the invention to provide a roof lining with a holder, in which a holder and a lining are assembled into a single unit via a temporary, but reliable attachment.
To achieve the objects, in one aspect of the invention, a fastening structure for fixing an article onto a board via a through-hole is provided. The fastening structure includes a base having a top face, side faces opposed to each other, and a rear end. An opening that has at least two opposing edges is formed in the base. A pair of first elastic stoppers stands upright from the top face of the base and positioned along the edges of the opening. Each of the first elastic stoppers has an inclined projection extending outward. A pair of second elastic stoppers stands upright from the top face of the base and positioned next to the first elastic stoppers. Each of the second elastic stoppers has a leg and a wing extending from the leg. The wings spread outward so as not to be parallel to each other. A cover plate is attached to the rear end of the base in a pivotable manner, so that the cover plate swings between an open position and a closed position. An insertion extends from the inner surface of the cover plate. As the cover plate is closed, the insertion is going to fit into the opening of the base and pushes at least the first elastic stoppers outward (i.e., in a direction that the first elastic stoppers are apart from each other).
When the fastening structure is actually used to fix the article onto the board, the first and second elastic stoppers are elastically deformed, and inserted into the through-hole, with the cover plate open. Preferably, the second stoppers are more elastic than the first stoppers, so that the wings are easily inserted into and removed from the through-hole. In addition, the lap of the second elastic stopper is greater than that of the first elastic stopper. Accordingly, the inclined projections of the first elastic stoppers are in light contact with the edges of the through-hole, and the wings of the second elastic stoppers catch the edges of the through-hole more securely. This state is referred to as “temporary attachment”.
To finally fix the article onto the board, the cover plate is closed. As the cover plate is closed, the insertion formed on the inner surface of the cover plate is going to fit into the opening of the base. When the insertion is completely fit into the opening, the outer surface of the insertion pushes at least the first elastic stoppers outward, which brings the inclined projections into firm contact with the edges of the through-hole formed on the board. This state is referred to as “final attachment”.
Preferably, the insertion has contact pieces, and the contact pieces push the first elastic stoppers outward (i.e., in a direction that the first elastic stoppers are apart from each other) when the cover plate is closed.
The fastening structure may have an arched plate that connects the legs of the second elastic stoppers. The top of the arched plate is smoothly curved, so that it functions as a guide when the first and second elastic stoppers are inserted into the through-hole.
Preferably, the fastening structure further has a front stopper, which stands upright from the top face of the base. The front stopper is substantially perpendicular to the first and second elastic stoppers, so that the front stopper comes into contact with an edge of the through-hole on the board, the edge being perpendicular to the edges with which the first elastic stoppers are engaged. The front stopper prevents the fastening structure from moving along the longitudinal axis of the through-hole in the temporary attachment mode.
When removing the article from the board, the cover plate is opened to pull the insertion out of the opening. Then, the first elastic stoppers return
Arisaka Oomi
Okada Shigeo
Howard & Howard
Piolax Inc
Sakran Victor N.
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