GB2333800A - Anti-rotation mounting clip - Google Patents

Abstract

An anti-rotation mounting clip for mounting vehicle accessories, such as grab handles, to a vehicle work bracket. The mounting clip comprises a bezel 26 having a fixed leg 14 with a notch 27 and a flexible leg 12. The notch is adapted to receive an edge of the opening in the roof bracket and the flexible leg is adapted to abut an edge of the opening in the roof bracket. The fixed leg and the flexible leg are oriented so that their contact with the side edges of the roof bracket substantially prevent rotation of the mounting clip within the roof bracket opening. A hinged flap 28 carries formations 38, 40 which can be inserted through the bezel 26 to engage between the legs to resist removal of the clip.

Description

ANTI-ROTATION MOUNTING CLIP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention This invention relates to a mounting clip, and more particularly tQ an anti-rotation mounting clip for attaching vehicle accessories to an automobile structure.

Description of the Related Art The passenger compartments of contemporary automobiles have a sheet metal roof to which a headliner is mounted. The headliner is typically a fibrous batting layer molded with a decorative surface or covered with an outer decorative layer. The headliner can be attached to the vehicle roof by clips that pass through aligned slots or apertures in the headliner and roof. In addition to mounting the headliner to the roof, it is common for the clips to mount accessories to the vehicle. These accessories include: pull grips, garment hooks, light assemblies, mirror assemblies, visors, and visor mounts, for example.

Different clip arrangements have been proposed for mounting vehicle sun visors or other accessories to the vehicle interior roof structure. One such arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,314,227 issued to Weiland et al. on May 24, 1994. This patent discloses a locking visor mount having an attachment member with a pair of resilient spaced legs for gripping the upper surface of a sheet metal roof of a vehicle. A snap-in bezel serves to urge the legs into a locking position against the roof and to lock the bezel with the attachment member.

A sun visor retainer assembly for attachment to an opening in a vehicle header is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,560,669 issued to Gute on January 21, 1992. The visor retainer assembly includes a housing and a retainer pin. The housing has a main body with a pin opening and four flaps pivotally connected to the main body by living hinge portions. The retaining pin is insertable through the pin opening to pivot the flaps toward the edge of the header opening and to clamp the header between the flaps and a portion of the main body adjacent the flaps.

The U.S. Patent to Adams et al., 5,662,375, issued on September 2, 1997, discloses a vehicle accessory such as a grip handle with an integrally formed mounting clip. The mounting clip has a pair of diverging legs joined together at an apex at one end and one of the legs joined to the accessory at the other end. The other of the legs is unattached at the other end and is resilient. Retainers on the other end of the legs seat on the roof sheet metal to retain the mounting clip within the roof. A locking bezel has a pair of lugs and a locking finger which are received between the legs after insertion into the sheet metal slot to lock the clip to the sheet metal. The finger is received in a slot in one of the legs to releasably fasten the bezel to the clip.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention addresses the problem of mounting clips tending to rotate within an opening in a vehicle roof bracket by providing an anti-rotation mounting clip for use in a roof bracket having a multi-sided opening, each side of the opening having an edge. The anti-rotation mounting clip comprises a generally planar bezel that is sized to cover the multi-sided roof opening when the mounting clip is installed. The bezel has opposing upper and lower surfaces and defines a locking flap opening that extends through the upper and lower surfaces. A portion of the bezel is adapted to mount a vehicle accessory.

The anti-rotation mounting clip further includes a fixed leg having a lower end that extends upwardly from the bezel upper surface and terminating in an apex. A notch is provided in a side of the fixed leg and is adapted to receive a side edge of the multi-sided opening to retain the clip in the roof bracket. At least two flexible legs are provided and have first ends connected to the fixed leg at its apex and second ends that terminate in a lip having a first surface adapted to overlie an upper surface of the roof and a second surface adapted to abut a side edge of the multi-sided opening when the clip is mounted to the roof bracket. Each flexible leg, in combination with the fixed leg, form a gap which overlies the locking flap opening. Each flexible leg is spaced relative to the fixed leg and to each other so that at least a portion of each lip first surface is adapted to abut a different side edge of the multi-sided opening than the fixed leg and the other flexible legs. A locking flap, having a lower surface and an upper surface, is pivotally mounted to the bezel for movement between a locked position and an unlocked position. A locking tab is provided on the upper surface of the locking flap and is free of the locking flap opening when the locking flap is in the unlocked position and extends through the locking flap opening and into the gap when the locking flap is in the locked position to substantially prevent any inward movement of the flexible legs when the clip is installed to thereby hold the first surfaces of each flexible leg in abutment with the roof upper surface and to further hold at least a portion of each second surface in abutment with different side edges of the multi-sided opening, which, in combination with the notch holding another side edge of the multi-sided opening, prevents the rotation of the clip within the multi-sided opening about an axis of rotation, which is generally orthogonal to the bezel upper surface.

Preferably, each lip second surface has two faces and each face is adapted to abut a different side edge when the clip is mounted to the roof bracket. Additionally, when there are two flexible legs, it is preferred that one face of each leg abuts the same side edge and the other face of each leg abuts opposing side edges. Further, the side faces of each leg preferably intersect to form a corner that is adapted to be complementary to a corner of the multi-sided opening formed by the intersection of two side edges so that each leg abuts two adjacent side edges at their corners.

The locking tab can also comprise a first portion that is received between the two flexible legs and biases the other face of each leg against the corresponding opposing side edge when the locking tab is in the locked position. The locking tab can further include a second portion that is received within the fixed leg and each of the two flexible legs to bias the one face of each of the two flexible legs against the same side edge when the locking flap is in the locked position. The fixed leg can be sized so that its two opposing sides are adapted to be adjacent side edges of the multi-sided opening when the locking flap is in the locked position to further prevent rotation of the mounting clip about the axis.

The anti-rotation mounting clip can preferably include three flexible legs oriented relative to the fixed leg such that each lip is adapted to abut a different side edge of the multi-sided opening having a rectangular shape than the other lips and the notch when the locking tab is in the locked position. Preferably, the three flexible legs and the fixed leg are oriented in a cross pattern so that each leg is generally orthogonal relative to the two adjacent legs and generally parallel to the opposing leg to form opposing first and second flexible legs and opposing third flexible leg and fixed leg. In the three flexible leg configuration, the locking tab preferably includes a transverse wall having opposing tapered ends, each of which abuts one of the first and second flexible leg to bias the second face of the first and second legs against a side edge of a multi-sided opening when the locking tab is in the locked position. The locking tab can further comprise a spacer generally orthogonal to the transverse wall and abutting the third flexible in the fixed leg to bias the second surface of the third leg against a side edge of a multi-sided opening.

An alternative embodiment of the invention can be accomplished by an antirotation mounting clip comprising a generally planar bezel sized to cover a multi-sided roof opening when the mounting clip is installed. The bezel has opposing upper and lower surfaces and a locking flap opening that extends through the upper and lower surfaces. A portion of the bezel is adapted to mount a vehicle accessory. A hook member is provided on the bezel and has a base connected to the bezel upper surface. A finger associated with the hook member extends away from the base and overlies the bezel upper surface whereby the finger and the base define a notch adapted to receive a side edge of a multi-sided opening when the clip is mounted to the roof. A fixed leg has a lower end extending upwardly from the bezel upper surface and terminating in an apex.

A resilient flexible leg as a first end connected to the fixed leg apex and extends downwardly from the apex so that a gap between the flexible leg and the fixed leg overlies the locking flap opening. The flexible leg terminates in a lip having a first surface adapted to overlie an upper surface of the roof and a second surface adapted to abut a different side edge of the multi-sided opening than the notch when the clip is mounted to the roof bracket. A locking flap is pivotally mounted to the bezel for movement between a locked position and an unlocked position. A locking tab is provided on the upper surface of the locking flap and is removed from the locking flap opening when the locking flap is in the locked position and extends into the opening an into the gap when the locking flap is in the locked position. When the locking flap is in the locked position, the locking tab is positioned within the gap to substantially prevent any inward movement of the flexible leg. When the clip is mounted to the roof, the notch is adapted to retain the clip at one side edge of the multi-sided opening and, a portion of the notch in the lip first surface abut different side edges of the multi-sided opening, and a portion of the notch and lip second surface abut different side edges of the multi-sided opening.

Preferably, the hook base includes opposing side faces that are spaced so that each side face will abut an opposite side edge of'the multi-sided opening when the clip is mounted to the roof. The opposing side faces are preferably beveled. The anti-rotation mounting clip preferably comprises a hollow snap-end connector that is concentric with a opening in the bezel. The snap-end connector is adapted to receive and hold a visor support arm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an anti-rotation clip according to the invention having a locking flap illustrated in the locked position; FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the roof of a vehicle with the mounting clip of FIG. 1 installed; FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the anti-rotation mounting clip of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is sectional view of the anti-rotation mounting clip of FIG. 2-2 taken along line 44; FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the anti-rotation mounting clip with a locking flap in its unlocked position; FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of an anti-rotation mounting clip according to a second embodiment of the invention; FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the anti-rotation mounting clip of FIG. 6 in the installed position; FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of a portion of an anti-rotation mounting clip according to a third embodiment of the invention; FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of an anti-rotation mounting clip according to a fourth embodiment of the invention; FIG. 10 is a top perspective view of a locking flap that forms part of the antirotation mounting clip of FIG. 9; and FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the anti-rotation mounting clip of FIG. 9 illustrating movement of the locking flap to the locked position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1-5, a vehicle accessory mounting clip or bracket includes an anti-rotation, snap-in mounting clip 10 having four legs 12, 14, 16 and 18. Leg 14 is stationary and extends upwardly from bezel 26, terminating in an apex 20. Legs 12, 16, 18 are integrally formed with and extend downwardly from the central apex 20. The legs are adapted to fit in a multi-sided opening 25 of a panel 24. In one application, the panel 24 is an interior roof bracket of a vehicle, which can be constructed of sheet metal, and the clip 10 is adapted for mounting in the opening 25 for attaching accessories and/or a headliner 29 to the interior roof bracket. The leg 14 has a notch 22 that is sized to receive an inner edge 27 of the sheet metal opening 25 when the clip 10 is installed in the opening. Each of the legs 12, 16 and 18 are flexible and have lips 43, 44 and 46, respectively, formed at a lower portion thereof for seating engagement with the upper surface of the panel 24 adjacent the opening 25. Each lip has a first surface 43a, 44a, 46a that overlies the upper surface of the panel and a second surface 43b, 44b, 46b that abuts a side edge of the multi-sided opening 25 when the clip is mounted to the roof.

A bezel 26 is formed integrally with the leg 14 and forms a base for the legs, defining a clip opening 42. A locking flap 28 is pivotally connected to the bezel 26 through an integrally formed living hinge 30. Stand-off ribs 32 extend upwardly from the bezel base 26 to bear against an underside of the panel 24 and space the bezel 26 from the panel a sufficient distance to provide for a headliner.

The locking flap 28 includes a locking tab for fixing the relative positions of the flexible legs to the multi-sided opening. The locking tab comprises a wedge member 35 having an upright wall 37 with a pair of laterally extending ribs 34, 36 formed at opposite ends of the wall, and a pair of spaced ribs 38, 40 formed with the wall 37 that preferably extend substantially perpendicular to the wall. An accessory (not shown), such as a vehicle accessory, can be integrally formed with or otherwise attached to the mounting clip 10 for installation on the vehicle when the mounting clip is installed. A vehicle accessory with an integrally formed mounting clip is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,662,375 issued on September 2, 1997, which is incorporated by reference.

During installation, the legs 12, 14, 16, and 18 are first inserted into the opening 25 of the panel 24 until the notch 22 of the leg 14 receives the inner edge of the opening 25 and the first surfaces 43a, 44a, 46a of the lips 44, 46 of the legs 16, 18 seat on the upper surface 27 of the panel 24 adjacent the opening as illustrated in FIG. 2. The legs and the central apex 20 are preferably formed of a plastic material that exhibits some resiliency such that the legs are naturally biased outwardly before installation and flex inwardly during installation so that the flap lower surfaces 43b, 44b, and 46b firmly abut an edge of the opening 25.

With the legs in engagement with the panel, the locking flap 28 is rotated about the living hinge 30 in a direction as denoted by arrow 48 as shown in FIG.5. When the flap 28 is inserted into the bezel opening, the ribs 34, 36 bear against the legs 16, 18 while the ribs 38, 40 bear against the legs 12, 14 to fix the locking clip 10 relative to the panel 24 at the four contact points between the legs and the panel. Thus, when in the fully installed or locked position, the locking flap 28 locks the clip 10 into the sheet metal opening with the lower surface 47 of the locking flap 28 flush with a lower surface 49 of the bezel 26. With this arrangement, the clip resists rotation in response to torsional forces from vehicle accessories connected to the clip, such as hand grips, visors, etc., that would otherwise tend to rotate the clip 10 along any of the rotational directions illustrated by arrows A, B, and C (FIGS. 2-4), which are generally orthogonal to each other. The receipt of a side edge 27 of the opening 25 in the notch 22 tends to resist rotation about the B direction. The lip first surface 43a also tends to resist rotation about the B direction as do, to a much smaller extent, the lip first surfaces 44a and 46a. However, the lip first surfaces 44a and 46a in addition to the notch, greatly resist the rotation of the clip about the A direction. The abutment with the opening side edges of the second surfaces 43b, 44b, and 46b function to resist the rotation of the clip about the C direction of rotation or within the opening 25.

With reference now to FIGS. 5 and 6, an anti-rotation mounting clip 50 according to a second embodiment of the invention is shown, wherein like parts in the previous embodiment are represented by like numerals. The anti-rotation mounting clip 50 includes a hook 52 that extends from a bezel 54. A tubular bracket 56 extends from the bezel 54 adjacent the hook 52 for receiving a pivot rod (not shown) from a vehicle sun visor. The particular construction of the tubular bracket 56 is well-known and therefore will not be described in greater detail. The hook 52 includes spaced side walls 55 that partially surround the tubular bracket 56 together with a front wall 57. The front wall 57 is connected to a bottom wall 59 and the front and bottom walls extend between the side walls 55. A reinforcing rib 61 is connected to the front wall 57 and bottom wall 59 and extends substantially parallel with the side walls 55. A hook base 63 is connected to the lower portion of the side walls 55 and front wall 57. The intersection between each side wall 55 and the front wall 57 is beveled at 65. The hook base 63 and bottom wall 59 together function like the notch of the first embodiment.

A locking member 58 also extends upwardly from the bezel 54 and includes a stationary leg 60 attached to a flexible leg 62 at an apex 64. A lip 66 and a protrusion 68 on the leg 62 are adapted to receive the edge of the panel opening 25 along with a forward portion of the hook bottom wall 59 which rests on an upper surface of the panel 24 to maintain alignment and prevent rotation of the clip 50 in the installed position. The lip has a first surface 66a that overlies the panel 24 upper surface and a second surface 66b that abuts a side edge of the opening 25.

A locking flap 70 is pivotally connected to the bezel 54 through an integrally formed living hinge 72. A locking tab is provided on the locking flap and comprises locking ribs 74, 76 and retainer flanges 77. The spaced locking ribs 74 and 76 extend from a bottom wall 75 of the locking flap 70. The resilient retainer flanges 77 extend upwardly from bottom wall 75 in spaced relationship to the locking ribs 74 and 76 and have beveled shoulders 78 which snap fit above an upper edge of side walls 79.

During installation of the clip 50 onto the panel 24, the hook 52 is first inserted into the opening 25 of the panel 24. The clip 50 is then rotated clockwise as viewed in FIG. 6 until the legs 60 and 62 are located within the opening 24 with the lip 66 of the leg 62 seated on the upper surface 27 of the panel 24 adjacent the opening. In this position, the protrusion 68 also extends in a notch 29 in the panel 24 for maintaining alignment of the clip with respect to the opening 25.

As in the previous embodiment, the legs 60, 62 and the central apex 64 are preferably formed of a material that exhibits some resiliency such that the leg 62 is naturally biased away from the leg 60 before installation and flexes inwardly toward the leg 60 during installation so that the second surface 66b firmly abuts the panel 24 at the edge 27 of the opening 25. With the leg 62 firmly seated within the panel, the beveled intersections 65 of the hook member 52 are wedged against the inner edge of the opening 25. The locking flap 70 is then rotated about the living hinge 72 in a direction as denoted by arrow 80. The ribs 74 and 76 bear against the legs 60 and 62 to push the legs apart and force the hook 52 and the leg 62 into tight locking engagement with the panel opening when the locking flap 70 is rotated into the bezel opening 81. The locking flap 70 is pushed upwardly until the shoulders 78 on the resilient locking flanges 77 snap over the upper edge of side walls 79. When in the fully installed position, the locking flap 70 locks the clip 50 into the sheet metal opening with the bottom wall 75 of the locking flap 70 flush with a lower surface 82 of the bezel 54.

With this arrangement, torsional forces from vehicle sun visors that tend to rotate the clip 50 are resisted because of the contact points between the clip 50 and the panel 24, in much the same manner as described in the first embodiment. The receipt of the panel edge 27 between the base 63 and lower surface 59 functions along with the first surface 66a to prevent the rotation of the clip in the A and B directions. The opposing beveled surfaces 63, 65, as well as the second surface 66b and the protrusion 68, all alone or in combination, prevent the rotation of the clip in the C direction.

In an alternative arrangement, as shown in FIG. 8, the hook member 52 can be replaced with a snap-in connector 90. The connector 90 includes spaced upright flanges 92 that extend forwardly of the tubular bracket 56 and project upwardly from the bezel 54. Each of the flanges has a beveled guide portion 94 and a retaining notch 96 beneath the guide portion 94 for receiving the inner edge 95 of the opening 25.

With the above-described arrangement, installation of the clip 50 can be performed by simultaneously inserting the legs 60, 62 and snap-in connector 90 into the panel opening 25. The beveled guide portions 94 of the snap-in connector 90 ride along the inner edge 95 of the opening 25 until the inner edge 27 is received in the notch 96.

The locking flap 70 can then be rotated into the bezel opening 81 to lock the clip 50 to the panel 24.

Referring now to FIGS. 9-11, an anti-rotation mounting clip 110 according to a further embodiment of the invention is shown, wherein like parts in the previous embodiments are represented by like numerals. The anti-rotation mounting clip 110 includes a rear leg 112 and a pair of front legs 118, 120 integrally formed with, and extending downwardly from a central apex 115. The front legs 118, 120 are laterally biased away from each other and are adapted to contact inner edges 95 of the opening 25 of the panel 24. The rear leg 112 is also integrally formed with a bead (not shown) as, for example, bezel base 26 as shown in FIGS 1 and 2. As in the previous embodiments, the panel 24 can be the sheet metal inner roof of a vehicle, and the clip 110 can have vehicle accessories integrally formed therewith or otherwise mounted thereto. A lower portion of each front leg 118 and 120 is beveled on three surfaces or faces at 125, which transitions into a tip having adjacent faces 127a, 1 27b that abut adjacent edges 95 at a corner of the opening 25.

A locking flap 122 (FIG. 10) is pivotally attached to the rear leg 112 through a living hinge (not shown) as in the previous embodiments. The locking flap 122 includes a base 123 and spaced locking ribs 124 that extend upwardly from the base. A wedge shaped rib 126 also extends upwardly from the base 123 and is located between the spaced locking ribs 124.

When the locking flap 122 is inserted between the front leg 114 and the rear leg 112, the locking ribs 124 press against the legs 11 8 and 120 and bias the front legs in the direction as represented by arrow 130. Simultaneously, the wedge-shaped rib 126 presses the front legs laterally away from each other in the direction as represented by arrows 132 and 134. When installed, the locking flap 122 locks the clip 110 into the panel opening 25 against rotation caused by accessories, such as hand grips, sun visors, etc., mounted thereto. In greater detail, the sides of the rear leg and the face 127a, 1 27b of each front leg tip abut multiple inner edges 95 of the opening 25 to prevent rotation in the C direction. One of the edges 95 is received within a notch on the rear surface of the back leg and the front leg beveled surfaces overlie the panel upper surface to prevent rotation in the A and B directions.

Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the spirit of the foregoing specification and drawings without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (27)

1. An anti-rotation mounting clip for mounting a vehicle accessory within a vehicle passenger compartment comprising a vehicle roof bracket having a multi-sided opening, each side having an edge, for receiving a portion of the clip, the anti-rotation mounting clip comprising: a generally planar bezel sized to cover the multi-sided bracket opening when installed, the bezel having opposing upper and lower surfaces, a locking flap opening extending through the upper and lower surfaces, and a portion of the bezel being adapted to mount a vehicle accessory; a fixed leg having a lower end extending upwardly from the bezel upper surface, the fixed leg terminating in an apex and having a notch on a side of the fixed leg adapted to receive a side edge of the multi-sided opening within the notch to retain the clip in the roof bracket; at least two flexible legs having a first end connected to the fixed leg at the apex thereof and a second end terminating in a lip having a first surface adapted to overlie an upper surface of the roof and a second surface adapted to abut a side edge of the multisided opening in the roof bracket when the clip is mounted to the roof bracket, each flexible leg forming with the fixed leg a gap which overlies the locking flap opening, and each flexible leg is spaced relative to the fixed leg and to each other so that at least a portion of each lip first surface is adapted to abut a different side edge of the multi-sided opening than the fixed leg and the other flexible legs; and a locking flap having a lower surface and an upper surface with a locking tab, the locking flap is pivotally mounted to the bezel for movement between an unlocked position, in which the locking tab is free of the locking flap opening, and a locked position, in which the flap closes the locking flap opening and the locking tab extends through the locking flap opening and into the gap between the fixed leg and the at least two flexible legs to substantially prevent any inward movement of the flexible legs when the clip is installed to thereby hold the first surfaces of each flexible leg in abutment with the roof upper surface , and, to further hold at least a portion of each leg second surface in abutment with different side edges of the multi-sided opening, which, in combination with the notch holding another side edge of the multi-sided opening, prevents the rotation of the clip within the multi-sided opening about an axis of rotation, which is generally orthogonal to the bezel upper surface.

2. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 1 wherein each lip second surface has two faces and each face is adapted to abut a different side edge when the clip is mounted to the roof bracket.

3. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 2 wherein there are two flexible legs and one face of each leg abuts the same side edge and the other face of each leg abuts opposing side edges.

4. An anti-rotation clip mounting according to claim 3 wherein the side faces of each leg intersect to form a corner that is adapted to be complementary to a corner of the multi-sided opening formed by the intersection of two side edges so that each leg abuts two adjacent side edges at their corners.

5. An anti-rotation clip mounting according to claim 3 wherein the locking tab comprises a first portion that is received between the two flexible legs and biases the other face of each leg against the corresponding opposing side edge when the locking tab is in the locked position.

6. An anti-rotation clip mounting according to claim 5 wherein the locking tab further comprises a second portion that is received between the fixed leg and each of the two flexible legs to bias the one face of each of the two flexible legs against the same side edge when the locking flap is in the locked position.

7. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 6 wherein the fixed leg has two opposing sides and is sized such that the opposing sides are adapted to be adjacent opposing side edges of the multi-sided opening having a rectangular shape when the locking flap is in the locked position.

8. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 1 wherein there are three flexible legs oriented relative to the fixed leg such that each lip is adapted to abut a different side edge of multi-sided opening having a rectangular shape than the other lips and the notch of the fixed edge when locking tab is in the locked position.

9. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 8 wherein the three flexible legs and the fixed leg are oriented in a cross pattern so that each leg is generally orthogonal relative to the two adjacent legs and generally parallel to the opposing leg to form opposing first and second flexible legs and opposing third flexible leg and fixed leg.

10. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 10 wherein the locking tab comprises a transverse wall having opposing tapered ends and each tapered end abuts one of the first and second flexible legs to bias the second face of the first and second leg against a side edge of a multi-sided opening when the locking flap is in the locked position.

11. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 10 wherein the locking tab further comprises a spacer generally orthogonal to the transverse wall and abutting the third flexible leg and the fixed leg to bias the second surface of the third flexible leg against a side edge of a multi-sided opening when the locking flap is in the locked position.

12. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 1 wherein the locking tab comprises a first portion that is received between the flexible legs and is adapted to bias the second surface of each leg against a corresponding side edge of the multi-sided opening when the locking flap is in the locked position.

13. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 12 wherein the locking tab further comprises a second portion that is received between the fixed leg and at least one of the flexible legs and is adapted to bias the second surface of the at least one of the flexible leg against a corresponding side edge of a multi-sided opening when the locking tab is in the locked position.

14. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 13 and further comprising spacers extending upwardly from the upper surface of the bezel and which are adapted to space the bezel upper surface from the roof bracket lower surface when the clip is mounted to the roof bracket.

15. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 14 and further comprising a living hinge extending between the bezel and the locking flange to pivotally connect the locking flange to the bezel.

16. An anti-rotation clip according to claim 15 wherein each lip first surface is beveled and is adapted to overlie at least a portion of the upper surface of the roof when the clip is mounted to the roof.

17. An anti-rotation mounting clip for mounting a vehicle accessory within a vehicle passenger compartment comprising a vehicle roof having a multi-sided opening, each side having an edge, for receiving a portion of the clip, the anti-rotation mounting clip comprising: a generally planar bezel sized to cover the multi-sided roof opening when the clip installed, the bezel having opposing upper and lower surfaces, a locking flap opening extending through the upper and lower surfaces, and a portion of the bezel being adapted to mount a vehicle accessory; a hook member having a base connected to the bezel upper surface and a finger extending away from the base and overlying the bezel upper surface whereby the finger and the base define a notch adapted to receive a side edge of the multi-sided opening when the clip is mounted to the roof; a fixed leg having a lower end extending upwardly from the bezel upper surface and the fixed leg terminating in an apex; a resilient flexible leg having a first end connected to the fixed leg apex, the resilient leg extending downwardly from the apex so that a gap between the flexible leg and the fixed leg overlies the locking flap opening, and the flexible leg terminates in a lip having a first surface adapted to overlie an upper surface of the roof and a second surface adapted to abut a different side edge of the multi-sided opening than the notch when the clip is mounted to the roof; and a locking flap having a lower surface and an upper surface with a locking tab on the upper surface, the locking flap is pivotally mounted to the bezel for movement between an unlocked position, in which the locking tab is removed from the locking flap opening, and a locked position, in which the flap closes the locking flap opening and the locking tab extends into the opening and into the gap between the fixed leg and the flexible leg to substantially prevent any inward movement of the flexible leg when the clip is mounted to the roof bracket; and when the clip is mounted to the roof, the notch is adapted to retain the clip at one side edge of the multi-sided opening, a portion of the notch and the lip first surface abut different side edges of the multi-sided opening, and a portion of the notch and the lip second surface abut different side edges of the multi-sided opening.

18. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 17 wherein the hook base includes opposing side faces that are spaced so that each side face will abut an opposite side edge of the multi-sided opening when the clip is mounted to a roof.

19. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 18 wherein the opposing side faces are beveled so they are adapted to abut opposing side edges of the multi-sided opening when the clip is mounted to a vehicle roof to further prevent rotation about the third axis.

20. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 19 wherein the bezel comprises a second opening and the portion of the bezel adapted to be connected to a vehicle component is a hollow snap-in connector concentric with the second opening and extending upwardly from the bezel and is adapted to receive and hold a visor support arm.

21. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 20 wherein the snap-in connector is positioned between the fixed leg and the hook.

22. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 21 wherein the locking flap comprises a locking tab sized to be received between the fixed leg and the flexible leg when the locking flap is in the locked position to substantially prevent the flexible leg from moving toward the fixed leg.

23. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 22 wherein the locking tab includes a rib sized to fill in the gap between the flexible leg and the fixed leg to prevent the flexible leg from moving toward the fixed leg when the locking flap is in the fixed position.

24. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 23 wherein the locking tab includes a pair of resilient fingers, each locking tab finger extending upwardly from the locking flap upper surface at opposite sides of the locking tab, and each locking tab finger having a tip with a flat bottom and a beveled top that extends beyond the corresponding side of the locking tab so that as the locking flap is moved from the unlocked position to the locked position the beveled tops are deflected inwardly as they contact the lower surface of the bezel surrounding the first bezel opening and then spring back so the flat bottoms overlie the upper surface of the bezel surrounding the first bezel opening when the locking flap is in the locked position.

25. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 24 wherein the bezel includes opposing side walls on the upper surface that extend at least partially around the first bezel opening and the flat bottoms overlie a corresponding bezel side wall.

26. An anti-rotation mounting clip according to claim 23 wherein the lip lower surface includes a protrusion that is adapted to be received in a key slot in a multi-sided opening when the clip is mounted to the roof bracket to aid in preventing rotation of the clip about the third axis of rotation.

27. An anti-rotation mounting clip substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1-5 or Figures 6 and 7, or in Figures 8-11 of the accompanying drawings.