GB2040350A - Securing trim - Google Patents

Abstract

A one-piece plastics trim clip 12 for securing a channel-shaped mouldings to a car body P has a body portion for attachment to the car body, a shoulder 40 along an edge of the body to engage one inturned flange E of the strip and, hinged to the body, a movable portion 14 with a second shoulder 42 to engage an opposite inturned flange E of the strip. By hinging the movable portion downwardly on assembling the strip, the distance between the shoulders increases to provide firm securing of the strip. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Trim clip This invention is concerned with plastics trim clips of a type comprising a body shaped to permit its attachment to a panel, the body having along one side a retaining shoulder for engagement by one inturned edge of a channel-shaped trim strip, and the clip having a second retaining shoulder for engagement by the other inturned edge of the strip.

In the manufacture of cars, it is a common practice to adorn the car body with decorative strips to enhance its appeal to the eye. Such strips are normally channel-shaped with inturned edges along each side so that they can clip on to the shoulders of a retaining piece or "trim clip", of the type referred to.

A row of trim clips for the foregoing purpose may be secured two a panel of a car body by any one of various means, including welded T-studs, and may be made of sheet metal or plastics. The degree of retention achieved when the trim strip is assembled on them usually depends on the resilience of the clips and the ease of attachment. Where, as is usually the case, the clips have shoulders spaced apart by a little more than the distance between the inturned edges of the strip, interference is achieved by the resilience of the clips and strip, and the greater the resistance to detachment, the greater the force required for assembly.Not only does a high assembly force require greater effort on an operator and a greater risk of damage to the trim or panel, but, especially where the clips are resilient plastics ones, there is a tendency for the edge of the trim strip (which may be sharp if a burr has been left by its manufacturing process) to shave off a thin sliver of material from the shoulder on to which it is being forced, thus reducing the holding ability of the clip.

It is an object of the invention to provide a trim clip which achieves a higher degree of retention without requiring a substantially greater force for assembly of the trim than is generally involved with known clips.

It is another object of the invention to provide a trim clip which achieves a high degree of retention, while allowing ready assembly of a trim strip with little or no risk of damage to the clip.

There is hereinafter described in detail to illustrate the invention a plastics trim clip of the type referred to in which the second retaining shoulder of the clip is formed on a portion of the clip which is pivoted to the body about an axis which, when the clip is mounted on a panel, lies parallel to the surface of the panel so that said portion is movable relative to the body from a release position in which, when the clip is mounted on a panel, the movable portion is raised from the surface of the panel and its shoulder is spaced from the shoulder on the body by a distance which allows the edges of the strip readily to envelop the shoulders, and a retaining position into which the movable portion can be pushed by pressing the trim strip towards the panel surface and in which the movable portion is held with the shoulder spaced further apart so as to overlap the edges of the strip and firmly retain it in place.

A clip in accordance with the invention, as is the case with the illustrative clip, may be moulded in one piece of resilient thermoplastic material with the movable portion hinged to the body by a narrow neck, the hinge lying parallel to the retaining shoulders. In such a case, the clip acts like a toggle with the shoulder of the movable portion being in its release position at an upper side of the plane in which lie the hinge line and the retaining shoulder on the body and in its retaining position below such plane.By such toggle action, the movable portion and the body may be firmly held together by the tension of the trim strip bridging the shoulders, but positive locking together of the two parts of the clip may be achieved by interlocking means, e.g. tongue and groove, which interengage when the movable portion assumes its retaining position, as is the case with the illustrative clip.

A clip in accordance with the invention may have two movable portions arranged to swing about a common hinge line, each with its retaining shoulder, and also may have two aligned spaced retaining shoulders on the body. Projecting flaps may be arranged to underlie the trim strip to prevent it directly contacting the surface of the panel on which it is to be mounted.

The invention provides a plastics trim clip comprising a body shaped to permit its attachment to a panel, the body having along one side a retaining shoulder for engagement by one inturned edge of a channel-shaped trim strip and the clip having a second retaining shoulder for engagement by the other inturned edge of the strip, the second retaining shoulder being formed on a portion of the clip which is movable relative to the body from a release position in which, when the clip is mounted on the panel, the movable portion is raised from the surface of the panel and its shoulder is spaced from the shoulder on the body by a distance which allows the edges of the strip readily to envelop the shoulders, and a retaining position into which the movable portion can be pushed by pressing the trim strip towards the panel surface and in which the movable portion is held with the shoulders spaced further apart so as to overlap the edges of the strip and firmly retain the strip in place.

There now follows a detailed description, to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings of the illustrative clip aforementioned. It will be realised that this illustrative clip has been selected for description of the invention by way of example and not of limitation.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure lisa plan view of the illustrative clip; Figure 2 is a view of the illustrative clip in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view of the illustrative clip in section on the line Ill-Ill of Figure 1 mounted on a panel and with a movable portion of the clip in a release position, a trim strip about to be mounted on the panel being shown in section; and Figure 4 is a view of the illustrative clip with the movable portion in its strip-retaining position.

The illustrative clip 10 is moulded in one piece of resilient thermoplastic material, viz. acetal resin, and comprises a body 12 and two movable portions 14, 16 hinged to the body at aligned narrow necks 18,20 respectively. The underside of the body 12 is relieved at 22 (Figure 3) to provide a resilient central web 24 in which a keyhole slot 26 (Figure 1) is provided. The length of the slot 26 is generally parallel to the hinge line 18, 20 but it has at one side a ramp 28 and at the other a ramped retaining finger 30 leading to a seat 32 for the head 34 of a welded T-stud (Figure 3) having a shank 36. The clip can thus be assembled on the stud by sliding the ramp 28 and finger 30 under the stud head 34. With the head 34 of the T-stud on the seat 32, the finger 30 holds the clip on the stud.

The clip 10 in the relaxed condition in which it is taken from the mould has its movable portions 14, 16 raised, as shown in Figure 3 (where the portion 14 only is visible), from the positions they would assume if they were lying flat on the same plane as the body 12. The body 12 has two aligned concave shoulders 40 which run parallel to the line of the hinges 18, 20 and on the opposite side of the body from them. The portions 14 have undercut, convex, shoulders 42 likewise running parallel to, but at the opposite side of the portions from, the hinge line.

With the portions 14 in their raised positions, the retaining shoulders 40,42 are not so far apart that the inturned edges E of a trim strip S cannot readily envelop them, see Figure 3 where the clip is assembled on the stud 34, 36 welded to a panel P.

Viewing Figure 3, if now the strip S is pressed towards the panel Pthe portions 14, of the clip swing down to the position shown in Figure 4 in which they lie flat on the panel alongside the body 12. Because the shoulders 42 when the portions 14 are in their raised positions are above the plane in which lie the hinges 18,20 and the shoulders 40, while in their lowered positions (Figure 4) they are below such plane, in swinging from one to the other the clip acts like a toggle, the portions 14, 16 swinging over "top-dead centre".Moreover, the shoulders 40,42 with the portions 14, 16 in the position shown in Figure 4 are farther apart than they are as shown in Figure 3, and the shoulders therefore overlie the edges of the strip and the clip is subject to compression by the strip which, because of the toggle action referred to, is in tension across its width and resists any tendency of the portions 14, 16 to swing up to their relaxed condition, thus effectively to hold the clip in the condition shown in Figure 4.

The holding effect of the clip shown in the drawings is enhanced by a positive locking action effected by a tongue 46 of each portion 14,16 interengaging with a groove 44 running along the underside of the body 12. When the portions move into their lowered positions, the tongues 46 are forced under the adjacent edge of the body, between the body and the panel, and into the groove, thus effecting a positive locking of the shoulders 42 in their extended condition.

The body 12 and portions 14, 16 of the clip have flaps 50, 52 respectively at a lower level than the shoulders 40,42 to prevent the strips from coming into direct contact with the panel P.

The clip 10 is convenient to mould economically in one piece, easy to assemble on a weld stud, and enables a higher degree of retention of a trim strip to be achieved without a substantially greater force for assembly of a trim strip being required than is generally involved with conventional clips. Moreover, the act of assembly of a trim strip on a row of such clips can be effected smoothly and firmly without any significant risk of shearing material from them by sharp edges of the trim.

Whereas two parts of a trim clip hinged together and acting as a toggle have been selected to describe the invention herein, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such an arrangement. Other means can be provided for causing the distance between the retaining shoulders of a clip to increase when a trim strip is pressed on to it and for them to be held in their extended condition.

Claims (9)

1. A plastics trim clip comprising a body shaped to permit its attachment to a panel, the body having along one side a retaining shoulder for engagement by one inturned edge of a channel-shaped trim strip and the clip having a second retaining shoulder for engagement by the other inturned edge of the strip, the second retaining shoulder being formed on a portion of the clip which is movable relative to the body from a release position in which, when the clip is mounted on the panel, the movable portion is raised from the surface of the panel and its shoulder is spaced from the shoulder on the body by a distance which allows the edges of the strip readily to envelop the shoulders, and a retaining position into which the movable portion can be pushed by pressing the trim strip towards the panel surface and in which the movable portion is held with the shoulders spaced further apart so as to overlap the edges of the strip and firmly retain the strip in place.

2. A clip according to claim 1, the movable portion of which is hinged to the body and in moving to its retaining position the shoulder of said portion crosses the plane in which lie the hinge line and the other shoulder.

3. A clip according to claim 2 moulded in one piece of resilient plastics material.

4. A clip according to claim 3, the movable portion of which interengages with the body when in its retaining position, to lock the parts together.

5. A clip according to claim 4, the movable portion of which has a tongue which engages a groove in the body when the portion swings into its retaining position, the tongue thus being forced between the body and the panel to lock into the groove.

6. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims having projecting flaps on the body and movable portion to underlie the trim strip and protect the panel of the car.

7. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims having two movable portions with a common hinge line, each with a retaining shoulder.

8. A clip according to any one of the preceding claims having two, spaced, aligned retaining shoulders on its body.

9. A plastics trim clip substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.