JP2009127694A - Clip - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the insertion load of a clip body into a mounting hole of a counterpart member while maintaining the joining force of a holding part to the rib of a mounting member. <P>SOLUTION: This clip is formed to be inserted into the mounting hole 42 of the counterpart member 40 while a clip body 10 is joined to the rib 32 of the mounting member 30. The clip body comprises the holding part 12 joinable to the rib 32 and a pair of elastic arms 20. Each of the elastic arms comprises a fixed end part 22 joined integrally to the holding part on the head part 10A side of the clip body 10 and a free end part 24 extending to the base end 10B side of the clip body. A narrow part 28 having a width smaller than that of the holding part 12 is set between the fixed end part and the free end part of each of the elastic arms. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a clip for attaching a mounting member such as a center cluster in a vehicle to a counterpart member such as an instrument panel.

For this type of clip, for example, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is already known. In this technique, a resin-made clip main body includes a holding portion that can be coupled to a rib formed on the back surface of the mounting member, and a pair of elastic arms that are positioned on both outer sides of the holding portion. The pair of elastic arms is located near the middle of the free end extending from the fixed end joined to the base on the opposite side to the base on the opposite side when the clip body is inserted into the mounting hole of the mating member. And has a shoulder bulging outward most.
Therefore, the clip body holding part is connected to the rib of the mounting member, and in this state, the clip body is inserted into the mounting hole of the mating member, so that the pair of elastic arms pass through the mounting hole while elastically deforming inward. The locking slope of each shoulder locks to the edge of the mounting hole. Accordingly, the mounting member is attached to the mating member through the clip body.
JP-A-2005-188718

  In the clip disclosed in Patent Document 1, the width between each fixed end portion and the free end portion of the pair of elastic arms is set to be larger than the width of the holding portion. For this reason, when both elastic arms pass the attachment hole of a mating member, they are not easily deformed inward, and the insertion load of the clip body tends to be a problem. As a countermeasure against this, it is conceivable to set the width of the clip main body small. However, if this is done, the bonding force of the holding portion to the rib of the mounting member is also undesirably reduced.

  The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and its purpose is to reduce the insertion load of the clip body to the mounting hole of the mating member while maintaining the coupling force of the holding portion to the rib of the mounting member. That is.

The present invention is for achieving the above object, and is configured as follows.
A first invention is a clip of a type in which a clip body is inserted into a mounting hole of a mating member in a state of being coupled to a rib of the mounting member in order to attach a predetermined mounting member to the mating member. A holding portion that can be coupled to the rib of the member, and a pair of elastic arms that are arranged to face each other on both outer side portions of the holding portion. The holding portion is closed on the leading head side when the clip main body is inserted into the mounting hole of the mating member, and is open so as to be able to receive the rib on the opposite base portion side. Both elastic arms have a fixed end integrally joined to the holding portion on the head side of the clip body, and a free end extending to the base side of the clip body. A narrow portion having a width smaller than the width of the holding portion is set between the fixed end portion and the free end portion of both elastic arms.

  By providing narrow portions in both elastic arms in this way, both the elastic arms are easily bent, so that the coupling force of the holding portion with respect to the rib of the mounting member is maintained and the clip body with respect to the mounting hole of the mating member is maintained. Insertion load is reduced.

  In the first invention, if the narrow portion is set over the entire region from the fixed end portion to the free end portion of both elastic arms, the insertion load of the clip body with respect to the mounting hole of the mating member can be most reduced.

  Furthermore, in the first invention, when the clip body is inserted into the mounting hole of the mating member by setting the narrow portion between the fixed end portions of both elastic arms and the vicinity of the shoulder portion that protrudes outward most. The width from the shoulder portion to the free end portion of both elastic arms locked to the edge of the mounting hole is wider than the narrow portion, and the posture of the clip body with respect to the mating member when inserted into the mounting hole is stabilized.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a resin clip together with a mounting member such as a center cluster and a counterpart member such as an instrument panel. 2 is an enlarged front view of the clip, and FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. The structure of the clip (clip body 10) shown in these drawings is roughly divided into a holding portion 12 and a pair of elastic arms 20 located on both outer side portions of the holding portion 12, and these are predetermined resin materials. It is molded as a single piece.

  The holding portion 12 has a “U” shape that is closed on the head portion 10A side in the clip body 10 and opened on the base portion 10B side, and is elastic so as to open the open side to the left and right with the closed side as a fulcrum. It can be deformed. Engaging claws 16 are provided on the inner side surfaces 14 of the holding portion 12 opposite to each other near the open end portion. In both the engaging claws 16, the surface facing the inside of the holding portion 12 is a flat engaging surface 16 a, and the surface facing the outside of the holding portion 12 opens outward together with the end surface on the opening side of the holding portion 12. The inclined guide surface 16b is formed. The functions of the engagement surface 16a and the guide surface 16b will be described later in detail in relation to the rib 32 of the mounting member 30.

  The pair of elastic arms 20 includes a fixed end portion 22 integrally coupled to the holding portion 12 on both sides of the head portion 10A of the clip body 10, and a free end portion extending from the fixed end portion 22 toward the base portion 10B. 24. Further, both elastic arms 20 have shoulder portions 26 that protrude outwardly between the respective fixed end portions 22 and free end portions 24. That is, these elastic arms 20 are inclined so as to be away from each other from the respective fixed end portions 22 to the shoulder portions 26 and are inclined so as to approach each other inward from the shoulder portions 26 to the free end portions 24. is doing. Both elastic arms 20 can be elastically deformed inward with the individual fixed end portions 22 as fulcrums. The free ends 24 of both elastic arms 20 have an arcuate outer shape.

  The width S of the clip main body 10 shown in FIG. 3 is slightly smaller than the dimension between the side plates 34 of the rib 32 of the mounting member 30 described below, or the dimension of one side of the mounting hole 42 opened in the mating member 40. It is set to a small dimension. However, the two elastic arms 20 are narrow portions 28 having a width smaller than the width S over the entire region from the fixed end portion 22 to the free end portion 24. The narrow portion 28 has a configuration in which both side portions of both elastic arms 20 are cut by approximately a quarter of the width S. As a result, the width of both elastic arms 20 is about half that of the holding portion 12 that remains the width S of the clip body 10. Therefore, both elastic arms 20 are easily bent over the entire region from the individual fixed end 22 to the free end 24.

A mounting member 30 such as a center cluster shown in FIG. 1 is a resin molded product, and a rib 32 for connecting the clip body 10 is integrally formed on the back side of the design surface. The plate thickness of the rib 32 is set such that it can be inserted between both inner side surfaces 14 of the holding portion 12 in the clip body 10. In addition, the ribs 32 are provided with engaging holes 36 penetrating over both surfaces thereof, and the reinforcing side plates 34 are positioned on both sides of the rib 32 in the width direction so as to be orthogonal to the ribs 32. Yes. The leading edge of the rib 32 is an inclined surface corresponding to the engaging claw 16 in the clip body 10 and the guide surface 16b on the end surface of the holding portion 12.
On the other hand, the mating member 40 shown in FIG. 1 is a resin plate as represented by an instrument panel of a vehicle, and has a rectangular attachment hole 42 into which the clip body 10 is inserted. However, the mating member 40 may be a metal plate.

Next, the use of the clip body 10 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, in order to couple the clip body 10 to the rib 32 of the mounting member 30, the rib 32 is relatively inserted into the holding portion 12 of the clip body 10 from the open side. As a result, the tip inclined surface of the rib 32 is guided by both the engaging claws 16 and the guide surface 16b of the end face of the holding portion 12, and the rib 32 passes between the engaging claws 16 while pushing the holding portion 12 left and right. And enters between both inner side surfaces 14. As a result, both engaging claws 16 are engaged with the engaging holes 36 of the ribs 32 from both sides, and the engaging surfaces 16a of both engaging claws 16 are pressed against the upper surface side in the engaging holes 36. Become. Both inner side surfaces 14 of the holding portion 12 sandwich the rib 32 from both sides, and the holding portion 12 is located between both side plates 34. Therefore, the clip body 10 and the rib 32 are coupled to each other without any backlash in any of the upper, lower, left, and right directions.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the clip body 10 is inserted into the mounting hole 42 of the mating member 40. Along with this insertion, both elastic arms 20 receive a pressing force when their outer surfaces come into contact with both edges of the mounting hole 42, and advance through the mounting hole 42 while being elastically deformed toward each other (inward). To go. And as already demonstrated, since both the elastic arms 20 become the narrow part 28 over the whole region from each fixed end part 22 to the free end part 24, they are easy to bend inward. On the other hand, since the holding portion 12 remains the width S of the clip main body 10, the insertion load of the clip main body 10 to the mounting hole 42 is reduced while maintaining the coupling force of the mounting member 30 to the rib 32.
As shown in FIG. 6, when the clip body 10 is completely inserted into the mounting hole 42 of the mating member 40, the elastic arms 20 are elastically moved by the individual shoulder portions 26 passing through the mounting holes 42. It spreads outward by the restoring force and is locked to the edge of the mounting hole 42. Therefore, the mounting member 30 is held in a state of being attached to the counterpart member 40 via the clip body 10.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
7 is a front view showing a clip in the second embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a side view of FIG. In the clip body 10 shown in these drawings, a narrow portion 28 is set between the fixed end portion 22 and the shoulder portion 26 in the pair of elastic arms 20. Therefore, the width S of the clip body 10 remains the same between the shoulder portions 26 and the free end portions 24 of the both elastic arms 20.
Thus, when the clip body 10 of the second embodiment is inserted into the mounting hole 42 of the mating member 40 as shown in FIG. Lock to the edge of the. For this reason, the wobbling of the clip body 10 with respect to the mating member 40 in the state of being inserted into the mounting hole 42 is prevented and the posture thereof is stabilized, and as a result, the mounting state of the mounting member 30 with respect to the mating member 40 is stabilized.

The perspective view which represented the clip made from resin with the mounting member and the other party member. The front view which expanded and represented the resin-made clip. The side view of FIG. Sectional drawing showing the combined state of the resin-made clips with respect to a mounting member. Sectional drawing showing the insertion middle of the resin-made clip with respect to an attachment hole. Sectional drawing showing the complete insertion state of the resin-made clip with respect to an attachment hole. The front view showing the clip in Embodiment 2. FIG. The side view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Clip main body 10A Head part 10B Base part 12 Holding part 20 Elastic arm 22 Fixed end part 24 Free end part 28 Narrow part 30 Mounting member 32 Rib 40 Opposing member 42 Mounting hole

Claims (3)

In order to attach a predetermined mounting member to a mating member, the clip is inserted into the mounting hole of the panel in a state where the clip body is coupled to the rib of the mounting member,
The clip main body includes a holding portion that can be coupled to the rib of the mounting member, and a pair of elastic arms that are arranged to face each other on both outer sides of the holding portion, and the holding portion attaches the clip main body to the mating member. When inserted into the hole, it is closed on the leading head side and opened on the opposite base side so as to be able to accept the rib, and both elastic arms are integrated with the holding part on the head side of the clip body. It has a fixed end joined and a free end extending to the base side of the clip body, and the width between the fixed end and the free end of both elastic arms is larger than the width of the holding part. A clip with a narrow part of small dimensions. A clip according to claim 1,
A clip in which the narrow portion is set over the entire area from the fixed end to the free end of both elastic arms. A clip according to claim 1,
Both elastic arms have shoulders projecting outward most between the fixed and free ends, and the shoulders of both elastic arms in a state where the clip body is inserted into the mounting hole of the mating member Clips in which the portion closer to the free end than the portion can be locked to the edge of the mounting hole, and the narrow portion is set between the fixed end of both elastic arms and the vicinity of the shoulder.

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