GB2303667A

GB2303667A - Releasable socket fastener

Info

Publication number: GB2303667A
Application number: GB9615048A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kunio Kiyohara
Original assignee: Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd; Nifco Inc
Current assignee: Koito Manufacturing Co Ltd; Nifco Inc
Priority date: 1995-07-25
Filing date: 1996-07-17
Publication date: 1997-02-26
Anticipated expiration: 2016-07-17
Also published as: JPH0942252A; GB9615048D0; DE19629917C2; JP3423494B2; GB2303667B; DE19629917A1

Description

1 FASTENER 2303667 The invention relates to a fastener which can be used,

for example, for holding the pivot of a headlamp in such a manner that the optical axis of the headlamp can be adjusted.

Figs. 6 and 7 show a conventional fastener. In these drawings, a lamp housing L has an attachment hole h that is so dimensioned as to allow a sleeve 1 to be fitted thereinto. The sleeve 1, which is moulded from synthetic resin, is open at one end and has a circular cross section. A retaining flange 2 which extends circumferentially around the sleeve is integral with the sleeve. A pair of retaining protuberances 3 are arranged integrally with the sleeve. The retaining protruberances 3 are formed by providing inverted U- shape openings 10 in the sleeve 1, and are circumferentially spaced by 1800 so as to be axially opposed. The retaining flange 2 abuts the lamp housing L around the hole h when the sleeve 1 is inserted into the attachment hole h. The pair of retaining protuberances 3 have retaining ends 3a that face and are spaced from the retaining flange 2.

A plurality of holding catches 4 that are tapered f rom top to bottom are f ormed integrally within the upper end of the sleeve 1. A receiving portion 5, which has cruciform cross section when viewed from above, is formed integrally with the sleeve. The receiving portion 5 is located between and is spaced from the holding catches 4 when seen in plan. In this case, four holding catches 4 are provided. The receiving portion 5 and the holding catches 4 hold a spherical engagement portion b of a pivot P which is arranged on a reflector mirror in the lamp housing L.

When the sleeve 1 is inserted into the attachment hole h, the retaining protuberances 3 f lex inwardly when pressed by the lamp housing L. As a result, the retaining protuberances 3 can pass through the attachment hole h, whereupon their resilience causes them to return tc their 2 original condition. The retaining ends 3a come into pressure contact with the lower surface of the lamp housing L and the retaining flange 2 comes into pressure contact with the upper surf ace of the lamp housing L as shown in Fig. 7.

Next the pivot P is inserted into the sleeve 1. The engagement portion b is forced between the holding catches 4 which deform resiliently to allow the engagement portion into the sleeve 1 and then snap against the engagement portion b. The engagement portion b comes into contact with the receiving portion 5.

Since the aforementioned fastener is constructed so as to clamp the lamp housing L between the retaining flange 2 and the retaining protuberances 3, the attachment of the fastener to the lamp housing L can be achieved. However, the reuse of the fastener after removal from the lamp housing L is not considered. That is, according to this construction, the fastener is attached to the lamp housing L so as to be irremovably fixed. Therefore, it is difficult to remove the fastener from the lamp housing L without breaking the fastener, which inconveniences the user as that the fastener cannot generally be reused.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a reusable fastener that can be removed from the fastened member with a single touch.

According to the present invention, there is provided a fastener for fitting into an attachment hole in a first member and receiving a second member, the fastener comprising a core having means for receiving the second member, retaining flanges for engaging, in use, with the first member on one side of the attachment hole and retaining protuberances, which are resiliently inwardly deformable to allow insertion of the core, in use, into the attachment hole, facing and spaced from the retaining flanges for engaging, in use, with the first member on the other side of the attachment hole so that, in use, the first memb,?r is clamped between the retaining flanges and 3 the retaining protuberances; and an outer sleeve receiving core and being retained thereon by engagement portions which allow relative sliding movement between the core and outer sleeve; wherein the sliding movement of the outer sleeve from the other side of the hole towards the one side causes the outer sleeve to move the retaining protuberances inwardly thereby releasing the core from the attachment hole so that further sliding of the outer sleeve in the same direction causes the outer sleeve and core to be removed together from the attachment hole.

An example of a fastener constructed in accordance with the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the fastener; Fig. 2(a) is a plan view of a core of the fastener; Fig. 2(b) is a front view showing the right half of the core in cross section; Fig. 2 (c) is a left side view of the core showing with the right half of the core in cross section; Fig. 3 (a) is a plan view of an outer sleeve of the fastener; Fig. 3(b) is a front view showing the right half of the outer sleeve in cross section; Fig. 3(c) is a left side view of the outer sleeve showing the right half of the outer sleeve in cross section; Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a fastener attached to a lamp housing; Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating how the fastener is removed from the lamp housing; Fig. 6 is a front view of a conventional fastener; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional fastener.

In the following description, the same or like parts and components as those of Figs. 6 and 7 are denoted as the same reference characters, and the descriptions thereof will be omitted.

4 A core 1A has a circular cross section and is moulded from synthetic resin. The core 1A has a construction similar to that of the sleeve 1 shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

Guide grooves ig form complementary engagement portions in the core 1A. The guide grooves are circumferentially spaced by 1800 and are arranged so that a line connecting the guide grooves 1g is orthogonal to the line connecting the retaining protuberances 3. Each guide groove ig extends from the upper end of the core 1A and is in the form of a rectangular opening or notch. The lower end of each guide groove 1g serves as an engagement end le. Retaining flanges 2A on the core 1A are circumferentially spaced by 18011 so as to be aligned with the retaining protuberance 3. Each retaining flange 2A subtends a central angle of about 500.

An outer sleeve 11 is moulded from synthetic resin so as to be closed at one end and be shaped to receive the core 1A. The outer sleeve 11 has engagement protuberances 12 integrally formed at upper inner circumferential portions that correspond to the guide grooves 1g. Openings 13 are formed by die cutting in bottom portions of the outer sleeve 11 so as to be axially aligned with respective engagement protuberances 12.

Pressing portions 14 are formed in the outer sleeve 11 and are circumferentially spaced by 1800 so that the line connecting both pressing portions 14 is orthogonal to the line connecting both engagement protuberances 12. The pressing portions 14 correspond to the retaining protuberances 3. The side wall is notched in semi-elliptic shape at two positions so that the engagement flanges 2A will not interfere with the side wall.

In order to assemble the core 1A and outer sleeve 11, the guide grooves ig are aligned with the engagement protuberances 12. The core 1A is then inserted into the outer sleeve 11 until the engagement protuberances 12 come into contact with the core 1A. When the core 1A is pushed further into the outer sleeve 11, the engagement between the protuberances 12 and the core 1A f lexes resiliently both the core 1A and the outer sleeve 11 to allow the engagement protuberances 12 to enter the guide grooves 1g. The pressing portions 14 come into pressure contact with the corresponding retaining protuberances 3 as shown in Fig. 4.

When the force for pushing the core 1A into the outer sleeve 11 is released in this condition, the pressing portions 14 are pressed by the resiliency of the retaining protuberances 3, so that the engagement protuberances 12 engage with the engagement ends le. As a result, the core 1A can be fixed inside the outer sleeve 11 without play. The assembling operation is thus completed.

To attach the fastener to the lamp housing L, the lower side of the outer sleeve 11 is pushed into the attachment hole h, causing the retaining protuberances 3 to be pressed by the lamp housing L towards the inside of the core 1A. Therefore, the retaining protuberances 3 can pass through the attachment hole h. Having passed through the attachment hole h, the resilience of the retaining protuberances 3 causes them to return to this original condition. The retaining ends 3a come into pressure contact with the lower surface of the lamp housing L, and the retaining flanges 2A come into pressure contact with the upper surface of the lamp housing L as shown in Fig. 4.

The engagement portion b of the pivot P is then f orced through holding catches 4 from above the core 1A against the resiliency of the holding catches 4 in order to snap the pivot P in place. The engagement portion b passes through the holding catches 4 and comes in contact with receiving portions 5, so that the engagement portion b is clamped without play between the four holding catches 4 and four receiving portions 5.

In order to remove the fastener from the lamp housing the outer sleeve 11 is pushed up from below (i.e., from the retaining protuberance 3 side towards the retaining flange 2A side). The engagement protuberances 12 are guided along 6 is the guide grooves ig to allow the outer sleeve 11 to advance towards the lamp housing L. At the same time, the retaining protuberances 3 are pressed by the pressing portions 14 to flex inwardly of the core 1A, so that the retaining ends 3a are disengaged from the lamp housing L as shown in Fig. 5. Therefore, the fastener can be removed from the lamp housing L by simply pushing the outer sleeve 11 out.

Thus, the direction in which the fastener is attached to the lamp housing L is opposite to the direction in which the outer sleeve is pressed to disengage the retaining protuberances 3 to remove the fastener from the lamp housing L. Therefore, the retaining protuberances 3 cannot be erroneously disengaged from the lamp housing L.

The fastener can be removed from the lamp housing by simply pushing the outer sleeve 11 towards the retaining f langes 2A. Therefore, a single touch is all that is required to remove the fastener.

Further, the fastener can be removed from the lamp housing L, which allows the fastener to be used again.

While the guide grooves ig are described as being formed so as to be flush with the top end of the core 1A, they may instead be formed so as to be slightly spaced from the top end of the core 1A.

While the guide grooves ig and the engagement protuberances 12 are arranged in the core 1A and the outer sleeve 11, respectively, as an alternative, the engagement protuberances 12 may be arranged on the outer circumference of the core and the guide grooves may be arranged in the outer sleeve in the form of openings or notches.

Further, the openings or notches may eitherpass through the entire thickness of the outer sleeve or may be recesses extending only part way through the thickness of the outer sleeve.

Still further, the number of complementary engagement portions is not limited to two, but may be more.

7 While the member in which the fastener is fitted is the lamp housing L and the member received in the fastener is the pivot P, it goes without saying that the fastener may be applied to other members.

8

Claims

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 is 16 17 18 19 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 1. A fastener structure, comprising:

first base member; second member to be fastened to said base member; and a fastener device retained to said base member and receiving said second member, said fastener device comprising:

a substantially cylindrical core member comprising a holding member receiving said second member, a first retaining member projecting outwardly, and a second retaining member projecting outwardly, said second retaining member being deformable in the radial direction of said core, said first retaining member and said second retaining member cooperatively retaining said base member; and an outer sleeve shaped to slidably receive said core member, said outer sleeve comprising a pressing section engaging with said second retaining member of said core member.

2. The fastener structure according to claim 1, wherein said core member further comprises a first engaging member and said outer sleeve comprises a second engaging member slidably engageable with said first engaging member of said core member.

3. The fastener structure according to Claim 1, wherein said first retaining member comprises a pair of flanges circumferentially spaced from each other by 180', and said second retaining member comprises a pair retaining protuberances circumferentially spaced from each other by 1800, said retaining protuberances being aligned to said flanges in the axial direction of said care member.

9 1 2 3

4 1 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4. The fastener structure according to Claim 2, wherein said first engaging member are circumferentially spaced by 1801 and are arranged so that a line connecting said first engaging member is orthogonal to the line connecting said second retaining member.

5. The fastener structure according to Claim 4, wherein first engaging member of said core member comprises at least two guide grooves formed in an outer surface of said core member and said second engaging member of said outer sleeve comprises at least two engagement protuberances formed on an inner surface of said outer sleeve.

6. The fastener structure according to Claim 4, wherein first engaging member of said core member comprises at least two engagement protuberances formed on an outer surface of said core member and said second engaging member of said outer sleeve comprises at least two guide grooves formed in an inner surface of said outer sleeve.

7. The fastener structure according to Claim 5, wherein each of said guide groove extends from an upper end of said core member.

8. The fastener structure according to Claim 5, wherein each of said guide groove is in the f orm of a rectangular opening.

9. The fastener structure according to Claim 5, wherein each of said guide groove is in the form of a rectangular notch.

10. The fastener structure according to Claim 3, wherein each of said retaining flange subtends a central angle of about 501.

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 is 16 17 18 19 20 21 1 2 The fastener structure according to Claim 1, wherein said pressing section is formed by forming notches on the side wall in semi-elliptic shape at two positions.

12. The fastener structure according to Claim 1, wherein said core member and said outer sleeve are moulded from synthetic resin.

13. The fastener structure according to Claim 1, wherein said first base member is a lamp housing, and said second member is a pivot of a lamp.

14. A fastener for fitting into an attachment hole in a first member and receiving a second member, the fastener comprising a core having means for receiving the second member, retaining flanges for engaging, in use, with the first member on one side of the attachment hole and retaining protuberances, which are resiliently inwardly deformable to allow insertion of the core, in use, into the attachment hole, facing and spaced from the retaining flanges for engaging, in use, with the first member on the other side of the attachment hole so that, in use, the first member is clamped between the retaining flanges and the retaining protuberances; and an outer sleeve receiving core and being retained thereon by engagement portions which allow relative sliding movement between the core and outer sleeve; wherein the sliding movement of the outer sleeve from the other side of the hole towards the one side causes the outer sleeve to move the retaining protuberances inwardly thereby releasing the core from the attachment hole so that further sliding of the outer sleeve in the same direction causes the outer sleeve and core to be removed together from the attachment hole.

15. A fastener substantially as described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.