JP4177003B2 - clip - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
The present invention relates to a clip .
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, a curtain type airbag is often mounted on a vehicle for the purpose of protecting a passenger's head at the time of a side collision. The curtain-type airbag is stored in a folded state from a curtain-type airbag pillar garnish (hereinafter also simply referred to as pillar garnish) 90 to the roof side rail 100 as shown in FIG. Then, the inflator I is actuated by an impact when the vehicle collides, and the airbag A is inflated. The vehicle rear side 90R of the pillar garnish 90 and the lower side 100U of the roof side rail 100 are pushed or bent toward the vehicle interior. Thus, the airbag A is inflated into the vehicle compartment along the side glass G from the gap generated or widened thereby, as shown by a two-dot chain line Ao, and the occupant head T is protected. . Reference numeral 90F is a vehicle front side of the pillar garnish, and P is an instrument panel.
[0003]
The curtain-type airbag garnish 90 includes a pillar inner panel 80 in a pillar portion of a vehicle in a state in which a part of the folded airbag A is stored as shown in FIG. Is attached. As a mounting structure of the curtain airbag pillar garnish, a clip 95 is attached to a clip attaching portion 91 formed on the back surface of the pillar garnish 90, and an attachment hole 81 is formed in the pillar inner panel 80, and the attachment It is known that the clip 95 is inserted into the hole 81 and the elastic engagement pieces 96 and 97 of the clip 95 are engaged with the peripheral edge of the mounting hole 81. In the drawing, F denotes a windshield, C denotes wiring from the engine room, 101 denotes an opening trim, 102 denotes a glass channel, and 103 denotes a pillar outer panel.
[0004]
In the curtain airbag pillar garnish mounting structure, the clip 95 is firmly engaged with the mounting hole 81 so that the pillar garnish 90 does not come off the pillar inner panel 80 and scatter when the airbag A is inflated. There is a need to. On the other hand, when the pillar garnish 90 is attached to the pillar inner panel 80, the clip 95 is easily engaged with the attachment hole 81 so that the attachment work is easy, and the pillar garnish 90 is used for maintenance or the like. It is desirable that the clip 95 and the mounting hole 81 are easily disengaged when removing the clip so that the removal work is easy.
[0005]
However, in the conventional attachment structure, when the engagement between the clip 95 and the attachment hole 81 is strengthened so that the pillar garnish 90 is not scattered and scattered when the airbag A is inflated, The pillar garnish 90 must be pushed or pulled with a large force. In the worst case, once the pillar garnish 90 is attached to the pillar inner panel 80, it may not be removed. On the contrary, if the engagement between the clip 95 and the mounting hole 81 is weakened in order to facilitate the attachment and removal work of the pillar garnish 90, the clip 95 is removed from the mounting hole 81 when the airbag A is inflated. There is a risk that the pillar garnish 90 will fly off.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is simply concerned with the force in one direction among the forces applied in the direction of removing the pillar garnish, such as the pillar garnish for curtain airbags. Provides a clip suitable for applications where it is desirable that the engagement is not released and the disengagement with respect to the other force is easy, and easy installation and removal of the curtain garnish for curtain airbags In addition, the present invention provides a structure for attaching a pillar garnish for a curtain-type airbag that is difficult to come off when the airbag is inflated.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, at least one set of elastic engagement pieces inserted into the attachment holes and engaged with the periphery of the attachment holes are provided in opposite directions, and the engagement with the periphery of the attachment hole is caused by elastic deformation of the elastic engagement pieces. In the clip that can be engaged and disengaged, the longitudinal section of the elastic engagement piece is formed in a bent shape that bulges outward in a substantially U shape, and the substantially U shape in the elastic engagement piece. The inclined surface between the bent top of the shape and the free end constitutes an engagement portion with the peripheral edge of the mounting hole, and the degree of bulging outward of the one elastic engagement piece is larger than that of the other elastic engagement piece. The engagement of the one elastic engagement piece with the periphery of the mounting hole is stronger than the engagement of the other elastic engagement piece with the periphery of the attachment hole , and the one elastic engagement piece is so hard to be disengaged with respect to the mounting hole periphery than Gohen, and one of the Bending angle with respect to the clip insertion direction of the inclined surface in sexual engagement pieces (m1) is a feature that was made to be larger than the bending angle with respect to the clip insertion direction of the inclined surface of the other elastic engagement piece (m2) To do.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of a clip according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 1 2-2, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a clip according to the second embodiment, and FIG. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a clip according to the embodiment, Fig. 5 is a perspective view when the clip of the present invention is attached to a pillar garnish, and Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the attachment structure of the pillar garnish for a curtain airbag of the present invention. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the action when the airbag is inflated, and FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the action when the airbag is removed.
[0009]
The clip 10A according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is suitable for attaching an attachment object such as a pillar garnish to an attachment counterpart such as the pillar inner panel 80 shown in FIG. It is. An attachment hole 81 is formed in the attachment counterpart such as the pillar inner panel 80, and the clip 10 </ b> A is inserted into the attachment hole 81 so as to engage with the peripheral edge 82 of the attachment hole 81. The mounting hole 81 has a rectangular shape in this example, and a mounting hole peripheral edge 82 is composed of a pair of opposing long edges 82a and 82b and a pair of opposing short edges 82c and 82d.
[0010]
In the illustrated clip 10A, a substantially rectangular metal plate is folded in half at an intermediate position in the longitudinal direction, and the distal end sides 12A and 13A at positions opposite to the clip top portion 11A formed by the bending are bent outward to form a flange. 14A, 15A, and a pair of elastic engagement pieces 16A, 17A formed by cutting S from the top 11A of the clip to the flanges 14A, 15A side, on opposite sides of the clip 10A. .
[0011]
The elastic engagement pieces 16A and 17A have a longitudinal cross-sectional shape that is cut in parallel with the insertion direction J of the clip 10A, as shown in FIG. The inclined surfaces 22A and 23A from the bent top portions 18A and 19A to the free ends 20A and 21A in the substantially U-shape are engaging portions with the long edges 82a and 82b at the peripheral edge 82 of the mounting hole 81. 24A and 25A are configured.
[0012]
The bent top portions 18A and 19A of the elastic engagement pieces 16A and 17A are elastically deformed inward by being pushed by the long edges 82a and 82b of the mounting hole peripheral edge 82 when the clip 10A is inserted into the mounting hole 81, The space | interval between both the bending top parts 18A and 19A is narrowed. As a result, the bent tops 18A and 19A pass through the mounting hole 81 in the insertion direction of the clip 10A, and after the passage, the elastic engagement pieces 16A and 17A are restored outward and the both elastic engagement pieces 16A and 17A. The engaging portions 24A and 25A formed by the inclined surfaces 22A and 23A between the bent top portions 18A and 19A and the free ends 20A and 21A are engaged with the long edges 82a and 82b of the mounting hole peripheral edge 82. Thus, the clip 10A is prevented from coming off in the direction opposite to the insertion direction J.
[0013]
Of the pair of elastic engagement pieces 16A and 17A, one of the elastic engagement pieces 16A has a bulge of the bent top 18A larger than the bulge of the bent top of the other elastic engagement piece 17A (see FIG. d1> d2), the force required for the bent top portion 18A of the one elastic engagement piece 16A to pass through the mounting hole peripheral edge 82, and the bent top portion 19A of the other elastic engagement piece 17A is the peripheral edge of the mounting hole. It is a high-strength elastic engagement piece that is greater than the force required to pass through 82. Therefore, the other elastic engagement piece 17A is a relatively low strength elastic engagement piece. As a result, the high-strength elastic engagement piece (one elastic engagement piece 16A, which shares the reference numeral 16A) 16A is a low-strength elastic engagement piece (the other elastic engagement piece 17A). Yes, the reference numeral 17A is shared.) Engagement with the mounting hole peripheral edge 82 is stronger than 17A, and it is difficult to disengage on the high strength elastic engagement piece 16A side, whereas on the low strength elastic engagement piece 17A side It becomes easy to release engagement.
[0014]
In the figure, reference numerals 26A and 27A denote fixing claws which are inclined inward from the base side of the flange portions 14A and 15A in order to fix the clip 10A to the attachment object, and are attachment objects such as pillar garnishes. It is possible to engage with a clip mounting convex portion (reference numeral 43 in FIG. 5) formed in the above. Reference numerals 28 </ b> A and 29 </ b> A denote clamping portions for clamping the clip mounting convex portion to prevent rattling of the clip 10 </ b> A.
[0015]
In the clip 10B of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the inclined surfaces 22B and 23B between the substantially square-shaped bent top portions 18B and 19B and the free ends 20B and 21B of the elastic engagement pieces 16B and 17B are formed in the mounting holes. Engaging portions 24B and 25B with respect to the peripheral edge 82 are formed. For one elastic engagement piece 16B, the bending angle m1 of the inclined surface 24B of the engaging portion 22B with respect to the clip insertion direction J is set to be the same as that of the inclined surface 25B of the engaging portion 23B of the other elastic engagement piece 17B. A high-strength elastic engagement that is larger than the bending angle m2 with respect to the clip insertion direction J and that strongly engages one elastic engagement piece 16B with respect to the mounting hole peripheral edge 82 against the withdrawal in the direction opposite to the insertion direction J. and Gohen 16B, engaging the other of elastic engagement pieces 17B against the mounting hole periphery 82 to escape in the opposite direction to the insertion direction J is weaker than the high strength elastic engagement pieces 16B low intensity acoustic The engagement piece 17B was obtained. Also in the clip 10B of the second embodiment, the high-strength elastic engagement piece 16B and the low-strength elastic engagement piece 17B are combined with the high-strength elastic engagement piece 16A and the low-strength elastic engagement piece in the clip 10A of the first embodiment. The operation is the same as that of the composite piece 17A. The other configurations of the clip 10B of the second embodiment are the same as those of the clip 10A of the first embodiment, and the reference numerals indicating the respective parts are the same as those of the first embodiment except that A is changed to B. Made the same.
[0016]
The clip 10C of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 4 has a width w1 in a part of one elastic engagement piece 16C larger than the width w2 of the other elastic engagement piece 17C (w1> w2). One elastic engagement piece 16C is a high-rigidity high-strength elastic engagement piece 16C, and the other elastic engagement piece 17C is a low-rigidity low-strength elastic engagement piece 17C. As a result, the high-strength elastic engagement piece 16C has a stronger engagement with the mounting hole 81 than the low-strength elastic engagement piece 17C. Also in the clip 10C of the third embodiment, the high-strength elastic engagement piece 16C and the low-strength elastic engagement piece 17C are the same as the high-strength elastic engagement piece 16A and the low-strength elastic engagement piece 17A of the first embodiment. The same action is performed. 4A is a perspective view of the clip 10C viewed from the low-strength elastic engagement piece 17C side, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the clip 10C viewed from the high-strength elastic engagement piece 16C side. FIG. In addition, the portion of the one elastic engagement piece 16C whose width is increased is not limited to a part, and the one elastic engagement piece 16C may be the whole. The other configuration is the same as that of the clip 10A of the first embodiment, and only the alphabet of the symbols used in the first embodiment is changed to C to indicate the respective parts. Further, in this third embodiment, the rigidity of the elastic engagement piece is made different by making the width different between the one elastic engagement piece 16C and the other elastic engagement piece 17C, but other methods, For example, the rigidity of the elastic engagement piece may be made different by changing the thickness of the elastic engagement piece at least partially or by providing a groove in a part of the elastic engagement piece.
[0017]
Next, an example of a structure for attaching a pillar garnish for a curtain airbag according to the present invention will be described using the clips 10A, 10B, and 10C of the first to third embodiments. In the following, in order to avoid complicated description, the clips 10A, 10B, and 10C of the first to third embodiments are collectively referred to as a clip 10, and similarly, the high-strength elastic engagement pieces 16A, 16B, Reference numeral 16C denotes a high-strength elastic engagement piece 16, low-strength elastic engagement pieces 17A, 17B, and 17C denote low-strength elastic engagement pieces 17, and the reference numerals of the other parts are also expressed by numbers excluding alphabets.
[0018]
The structure for attaching the pillar garnish for the curtain airbag according to the present invention is a structure in which the pillar garnish is attached to the pillar portion of the vehicle with a clip, like the pillar garnish for the curtain airbag shown in FIG. Yes, below is an example of a front pillar garnish. As shown in FIG. 5, the pillar garnish 40 of this example is made of a plastic product having a predetermined length and formed in a predetermined shape, and a clip mounting convex portion 43 is formed on the mounting portion on the back surface.
[0019]
The clip mounting convex portion 43 is inserted between the elastic engagement pieces 16 and 17 and the sandwiching portions 28 and 29 of the clip 10 and is sandwiched between the sandwiching portions 28 and 29 and is formed at one base portion. By engaging the fixing claws 26 and 27 of the clip 10 with the engaged step 44, the clip 10 is prevented from being detached. The engagement step 44 is preferably provided so as to face the vehicle rear side 40R of the pillar garnish 40, which is the airbag deployment direction. In this way, when the rear side 40R of the pillar garnish 40 is pushed into the passenger compartment due to the inflation of the airbag, one of the fixing claws 26 in the clip 10 is firmly engaged with the engagement step 44, The clip 10 is difficult to come off from the back surface of the pillar garnish 40.
[0020]
The clip 10 is arranged so that the high-strength elastic engagement piece 16 faces the airbag inflating and deploying side of the pillar garnish 40, that is, the rear side 40R in the front pillar garnish of this example, and the low-strength elastic engagement piece. 17 is fitted to the clip mounting projection 43 so as to face the other side of the pillar garnish 40, that is, the front side 40F which is the non-inflated deployment side of the airbag in the front pillar garnish of this example. Next, as shown in FIG. 6 showing a cross section at the same position as the XX cross section of FIG. 9, the clip 10 is inserted into the mounting hole 81 formed in the pillar inner panel 80 of the vehicle, and the elastic engagement pieces 16, 17 are inserted. Is engaged with the peripheral edge 82 of the mounting hole 81. In FIG. 6 and the following description, the same parts as those shown in FIG. 10 are indicated by the reference numerals used in FIG.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting hole 81 has a substantially rectangular shape into which the clip 10 can be press-fitted, and an interval k between the opposing long edges 82 a and 82 b is an elastic engagement piece in the free state of the clip 10. The distance between the bent apexes 18 and 19 of the 16 and 17 is smaller. Therefore, when the clip is inserted, the elastic engagement pieces 16 and 17 of the clip 10 are pushed inward by the long edges 82a and 82a of the mounting hole 81 to be elastically deformed, and the interval between the bending apexes 18 and 19 is reduced. 18 and 19 pass between the long edges 82a and 82b of the mounting hole 81, and the elastic engagement pieces 16 and 17 are restored again, whereby the engagement portions 24 and 25 between the bent top portions 18 and 19 and the free ends 20 and 21 are restored. Is engaged with the peripheral edge 82 of the mounting hole 81. At that time, in the clip 10, only one of the elastic engagement pieces 16 and 17 is a high-strength elastic engagement piece, and the other elastic engagement piece 17 has a low strength. Since it is an elastic engagement piece, the clip 10 can be easily inserted into the mounting hole 81.
[0022]
The pillar garnish 40 attached to the pillar inner panel 80 in this way has the high-strength elastic engagement piece 16 of the clip 10 on the airbag inflating and deploying side of the pillar garnish 40, that is, the rear side in the front pillar garnish of this example. 40R, the low-strength side elastic engagement piece 17 faces the other side of the pillar garnish 40, that is, the front side 40F that is the non-inflated deployment side of the airbag in the front pillar garnish of this example, and the peripheral edge 82 of the mounting hole 81 Is engaged.
[0023]
When the airbag A is inflated, the pillar garnish 40 is deformed by the rear side 40R of the pillar garnish 40 being pushed in the vehicle interior direction Y, as shown in FIG. A gap is formed between the inner panels 80 for inflating and deploying the airbag A into the vehicle interior. At this time, since the rear side 40R of the pillar garnish 40 is pushed toward the vehicle interior, the clip 10 is pulled toward the vehicle interior direction Y by the vehicle rear side, and the vehicle rear side of the mounting hole peripheral edge 82 in the pillar inner panel 80 is pulled. It tries to come out of the mounting hole 81 while being in pressure contact with the side. However, since the high-strength elastic engagement piece 16 is firmly engaged with the mounting hole peripheral edge 82 of the pillar inner panel 80 on the rear side of the clip 10, the engagement is not easily released, and the pillar garnish 40 is hard to come off from the pillar inner panel 80.
[0024]
Further, when the pillar garnish 40 is removed from the pillar inner panel 80 for maintenance or the like, the pillar garnish 40 is pulled in the vehicle front direction Z as shown in FIG. Thus, the clip 10 is pulled together with the pillar garnish 40 on the front side of the vehicle, and tries to come out of the mounting hole 81 while being in pressure contact with the front side of the mounting hole peripheral edge 82 of the pillar inner panel 80. At this time, since the low strength elastic engagement piece 17 is engaged with the mounting hole 81 of the pillar inner panel 80 on the vehicle front side of the clip 10, the low strength elastic engagement piece is caused by the force in the vehicle front direction Z. 17 easily elastically deforms and passes through the peripheral edge 82 of the mounting hole, the engagement between the clip 10 and the mounting hole 81 is released, and the pillar garnish 40 is released.
[0025]
In addition, the clip of this invention is used not only for the attachment of the pillar garnish for curtain type airbags but for the attachment of various articles. Further, the shape of the clip is not limited to that shown in the drawing. In the above description, the installation of the front pillar garnish has been described as an example. However, the structure for installing the pillar garnish for the curtain airbag according to the present invention is not limited to this, and other parts such as the center pillar garnish and the rear pillar garnish. This also applies to other garnishes. Furthermore, in the structure for attaching a pillar garnish for a curtain-type airbag according to the present invention, the fixing position to the pillar inner panel is not limited to one, but may be an appropriate plurality of positions, or another fixing means may be provided together with the clip of the present invention. It may be used together. For example, the clip of the present invention may be used for the upper part of the front pillar garnish, and other fixing means such as a bolt may be used for the lower part of the pillar garnish.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
In the clip of the present invention, since the strength of engagement with the mounting hole is different between one elastic engagement piece and the other elastic engagement piece, the direction of the force applied when a force to be pulled out from the attachment hole is applied to the clip The ease and possibility of disengagement will differ depending on the situation. Therefore, it is difficult to disengage from the pillar inner panel of the vehicle when the force is applied in one direction among the forces applied in the direction to remove the pillar garnish, such as the curtain garnish for curtain type airbags in the vehicle, and the other direction. It is ideal for applications where it is desired to be able to easily disengage when force is applied.
[0027]
In addition, by using the clip of the present invention for the fixing structure of the pillar type garnish for curtain airbags, the pillar garnish can be removed when the airbag is inflated without impairing the mounting workability of the pillar garnish and the detachability workability when necessary. Can be prevented. In addition, there is an advantage that the fixing structure is not complicated and is not expensive.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a clip according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a 2-2 vertical sectional view of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a clip according to a second embodiment (embodiment of the invention of claim 1) .
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a clip according to a third embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view when the clip of the present invention is attached to a pillar garnish.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a structure for attaching a pillar garnish for a curtain airbag.
FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the action when the airbag is inflated.
FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the operation at the time of removal.
FIG. 9 is a simplified view of the interior of the vehicle.
10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 9 for a conventional structure for fixing a pillar garnish for a curtain airbag.
[Explanation of symbols]
10, 10A, 10B, 10C Clip 16, 16A, 16B, 16C High-strength elastic engagement piece 17, 17A, 17B, 17C Low-strength elastic engagement piece 18, 18A, 18B, 18C Bend top 19, 19A, 19B, 19C Bend top 22, 22A, 22B, 22C Inclined surface 23, 23A, 23B, 23C Inclined surface 40 Pillar garnish 40F Front side of pillar garnish 40F Rear side of pillar garnish 80 Pillar inner panel 81 Mounting hole 82 Mounting hole periphery A Air bag

Claims (1)

At least one set of elastic engagement pieces inserted into the attachment holes and engaged with the periphery of the attachment holes are provided in opposite directions, and can be engaged and disengaged with respect to the periphery of the attachment holes by elastic deformation of the elastic engagement pieces. In the clip
A vertical cross-sectional shape of the elastic engagement piece is a bent shape that bulges outward in a substantially U-shape, and an inclined surface between the substantially U-shaped bent top portion and the free end of the elastic engagement piece is The one elastic engagement piece is configured to form an engagement portion with the peripheral edge of the mounting hole, and the one elastic engagement piece has a larger degree of outward bulging than the other elastic engagement piece. stronger than engage the engagement with the mounting hole periphery relative to the mounting hole periphery of the other of the elastic engagement piece, engaging one of the elastic engaging pieces the relative mounting hole periphery than the other elastic engagement piece Make it difficult to release ,
The bending angle (m1) of the inclined surface of the one elastic engagement piece with respect to the clip insertion direction is larger than the bending angle (m2) of the inclined surface of the other elastic engagement piece with respect to the clip insertion direction . A clip characterized by that.

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