US3332717A

US3332717A - Top boot assembly

Info

Publication number: US3332717A
Application number: US490011A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert R Amesbury
Original assignee: United Carr Inc
Current assignee: United Carr Inc
Priority date: 1965-09-24
Filing date: 1965-09-24
Publication date: 1967-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 1984-07-25
Also published as: GB1104777A; DE1951844U; FR1502795A

Description

y 1967 R. R. AMESBURY TOP BOOT ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 24. 1965 R02"??? R. flnaesbury, b i

9 K Mw United States Patent 3,332,717 TOP BOOT ASSEMBLY Robert R. Amesbury, Wellesley, Mass., assignor to United- Carr Incorporated, Cambridge, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 490,011 2 Claims. (Cl. 296-136) This invention relates generally to an improved convertible top boot construction and more specifically to a novel fastener and fastener boot combination by which the boot is releasably attached to the body of the convertible vehicle.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a top boot which can be quickly and securely attached to and readily detached from an exterior deck molding located adjacent the top receiving well of a vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel fastener for engaging a cross-section of a deck molding, which fastener will not damage, or mar the appearance of 3,332,717 Patented July 25, 1967 ice through which the stud 8 extends with the head of the stud overlying portions of the band to securely retain it to the molding engaging member, an end flange 14 extending angularly outwardly and upwardly from one end of the band beyond the corresponding end of the member 2, and a pair of integral, oppositely bent fingers 15 drawn from the band and extending upwardly from the surface thereof remote from the member 2. The drawing of the fingers 15 from the band provides an opening 16 in registration with the opening 10 in the member 2.

FIGS. 1 and 2 disclose the installation of the top boot assembly 17 over the top-receiving well of a convertible vehicle. The inboard edges of the boot 17 are secured to the interior of the vehicle by any conventional fastening means desired and the outboard edges are secured to an exterior deck molding located adjacent the Well by a plurality of the fasteners shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 which the molding even after repeated fastening and unfastening of the top boot.

Another object of the invention is to provide a top boot wherein the fastening means for securing it to the vehicle body are completely concealed when the boot is in place.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a top boot fastener which will engage a substantial crosssection of the deck molding anywhere along the length of the molding, thus eliminating the problems previously encountered with the alignment of the fasteners attached 1 to the boot with selectively spaced mating fasteners mounted on the vehicle body or narrow headings and/or protrusions on the deck molding.

Other objects and advantages of the novel top boot and fastener construction will become evident from a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with a viewing of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the rear portion of a convertible automobile with the top retracted and the boot installed over the top-receiving well;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the molding engaging fastener shown in FIG. 2 prior to its attachment to the top boot; and

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a clip employed to secure the molding engaging fastener to the top boot.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like referenced characters refer to corresponding parts in all views, the fastener 1 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 includes a molded synthetic resin, for example, the acetal resin marketed by Dupon-t under the trade name Delrin, molding engaging member 2 and a sheet metal reinforcing band 3 clamped about the upper surface of the molding engaging member 2.

The molding engaging member 2 has a generally C shaped cross section and includes opposed, internal hooklike portions 4 and 5, a plurality of external notches 6 and 7 located generally opposite the hook-like portions, an integral stud 8 extending outwardly from its top surface, a recess 9 formed in its undersurface intermediate the hook-like portions 4 and 5, a through aperture 10 adjacent the recess 9 and a pair of side flanges 11 extending outwardly from its upper surface and forming a channel for receipt of the reinforcing band 3.

The reinforcing band 3, made from spn'ngy sheet metal, is clamped over the top surface of the molding engaging member 2 between the flanges 11. The band 3 includes a pair of hooks 12 at its opposite ends which are in snapped engagement in the notches 6 and 7, a slot 13 are located at selected spaced intervals along the outboard edges of the boot. When the boot is in place the fasteners which engage the molding are fully concealed from view.

For purposes of illustration the boot 17 is shown to include'a cloth vinyl external covering 18 and a foam rubber backing 19 secured to the underside of the covering. In addition, the boot 17 is provided with a flat, relatively rigid, stiffener 20, in this instance shown to be of a synthetic resin, for example polyethylene adjacent its outboard edges. The covering, backing, and stifiener are secured together by a binding 21 stitched or otherwise secured along the edge of the boot 17. The backing 19 is secured by an adhesive to the remainder of the underside of the covering and the stiffener is adhesively secured to the backing after the attachment of the fastener 1 as will be more fully explained hereinafter. The stiffener 20 is provided with a plurality of generally rectangular openings 22 and a plurality of elongated slots 23 adjacent the outboard edges of the boot.

The assembly of the fastener 1 to the top boot is accomplished prior to the adhesion of the stiffener 20 to the foam rubber backing 19. The flange 14 extending from the band 3 is first passed through the slot 23 in the stiffener and thereafter the oppositely bent fingers 15 are passed through the opening 22 and engaged by the spring clip 24 to complete the attachment.

As seen in FIG. 4 the clip 24 includes a base portion 25, upwardly extending end flange 26 and a pair of generally parallel, planar, spring legs 27 partially sheared from the base 25 and extending from the base opposite the flange 26 to define a slot 28. The internal edge of each of the spring legs 27 is notched at 29 with the length of each notch being slightly greater than the length of the fingers 15. The distance across the entrance to the slot 28 is slightly less than the distance between the external sides of the fingers 15 adjacent the aperture 16. Thus one can readily observe that as the clip 24 is forced over the fingers 15 by a pressure exerted on the end flange 26 the legs 27 are spread apart until the fingers 15 seat in the notches 29 whereupon the legs spring back to the position of FIG. 4 and lock the fastener 1'to the stiffener 20. The clip 24 is prevented from riding upwardly by the outwardly bent portions of the fingers 15 which overlie the upper surface of the legs 27 and force the latter against the adjacent surface of the stiffener 20.

It should also be noted that in certain applications the spring clip 24 may be eliminated and the fastener 1 secured to the boot by a rivet passing through the

aligned apertures

10, 16 and 22 and overlying the upper surface of the stiffener 20 and the undersurface of the molding engaging member 2 adjacent the recess 9. In fact it is for the purpose of accommodating a head of a rivet that the member 2 is provided with said recess.

Once the fastener 1 is secured to the stilfener by the clip 24, a rivet or some other acceptable attaching means, the stilfener is adhesively secured to the backing 19.

At this point it should be noted that the flange 14 bears against the upper surface of the stiffener 20 and acts to stabilize the fastener by preventing any vertical pivotal motion with respect to the boot, and also acts to transmit upward forces on the boot and stiifener directly to the molding engaging portions of the fastener when one desires to detach the top boot from the molding.

As clearly seen in FIG. 2 the outboard edges of the boot are secured to the vehicle body by snapping the molding engaging portion 2 of the fastener 1 over a substantial'cross section of the deck molding 30.

For purposes of this disclosure only, the illustrated molding is depicted as having a dimpled profile along its inboard side to accommodate the hook-like portion 4 of the member 2. However, the cross-sectional configuration of a molding is not considered critical to the invention since the molding engaging member 2 may be formed or molded to provide hook-like portions which will elfectively engage a cross-section of a variety of generally C shaped moldings.

In this regard it should be generally understood that What has been disclosed herein is to be interpreted in an illustrative rather than a limited sense, and that it is anticipated that changes and modifications to the disclosures may be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention as clearly defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A convertible vehicle top boot assembly which is adapted to be secured to a deck molding adjacent the topreceiving well when the top is retracted, said top boot having a stiffening means adjacent its outer marginal edge, said stiffening means having a plurality of openings therein for receiving multiple elements of each of a plurality 4 of molding engaging clips and a plurality of molding engaging clips secured thereto by attaching means passing through certain of said openings, said clips including a resilient, nonmetallic, molding engaging member having 5 opposed hook-like portions adapted to be snapped over the exterior of-a cross section of the molding and a resilient, metalreinforcing band clamped about the top surface of said molding engaging member adjacent said stiifening means, said reinforcing band having a clip stabilizing flange extending longitudinally thereof beyond one end of said molding engaging member and through other of the openings in said stiflening means and bear- I ing against the surface of said'stifiening means remote from said molding engaging member.

2. A top boot assembly according to claim 1 wherein said attaching means includes a pair of integral opposed fingers extending from said metal reinforcing band through said openings in said stiflfening means and a spring clip in snapped engagement with said fingers at the surface of said stiifening means remote from said molding engaging member in spaced relationship to said clip stabilizing flange.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

C. C. PARSONS, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE TOP BOOT ASSEMBLY WHICH IS ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO A DECK MOLDING ADJACENT THE TOPRECEIVING WELL WHEN THE TOP IS RETRACTED, SAID TOP BOOT HAVING A STIFFENING MEANS ADJACENT ITS OUTER MARGINAL EDGE, SAID STIFFENING MEANS HAVING A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS THEREIN FOR RECEIVING MULTIPLE ELEMENTS OF EACH OF A PLURALITY OF MOLDING ENGAGING CLIPS AND A PLURALITY OF MOLDING ENGAGING CLIPS SECURED THERETO BY ATTACHING MEANS PASSING THROUGH CERTAIN OF SAID OPENINGS, SAID CLIPS INCLUDING A RESILIENT, NONMETALLIC, MOLDING ENGAGING MEMBER HAVING OPPOSED HOOK-LIKE PORTIONS ADAPTED TO BE SNAPPED OVER THE EXTERIOR OF A CROSS SECTION OF THE MOLDING AND A RESILIENT, METAL REINFORCING BAND CLAMPED ABOUT THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID MOLDING ENGAGING MEMBER ADJACENT SAID STIFFENING MEANS, SAID REINFORCING BAND HAVING A CLIP STABILIZING FLANGE EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF BEYOND ONE END OF SAID MOLDING ENGAGING MEMBER AND THROUGH OTHER OF THE OPENINGS IN SAID STIFFENING MEANS AND BEARING AGAINST THE SURFACE OF SAID STIFFENING MEANS REMOTE FROM SAID MOLDING ENGAGING MEMBER.