JP7632175B2 - Tether clip and pillar garnish mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a tether clip and pillar garnish mounting structure.

Patent Document 1 below discloses a pillar garnish mounting structure in which a pillar of a vehicle and a pillar garnish attached to the pillar are connected by a tether clip. The pillar garnish has a garnish main body that stores a curtain airbag in a folded state, and a tether storage section. The tether storage section has a bottom wall that is separated from the garnish main body and has an insertion hole formed therein, and a connection wall that connects the garnish main body and the bottom wall. The tether clip has an engagement holding section that fits into the insertion hole, a long tether section that extends from the engagement holding section, and an anchor section that is provided at the tip configuration section of the tether section. The anchor section has a pair of retention sections that are symmetrical to each other with respect to the tip configuration section of the tether section.

When the deployment of the curtain airbag causes the engagement and retention portion of the tether clip to disengage from the insertion hole of the pillar garnish, the pillar garnish moves along the tether clip toward the tip component of the tether clip. In addition, a pair of retention portions of the anchor portion of the tether clip engage with the bottom wall of the tether storage portion.

JP 2017-88081 A

When the pillar garnish in Patent Document 1 moves toward the tip component of the tether clip, one of the retaining portions may engage with the tether storage portion, while the other retaining portion may enter the insertion hole of the tether storage portion.

In consideration of the above, the present invention aims to provide a tether clip and pillar garnish mounting structure in which a pair of retaining portions easily engage with the tether storage portion when the curtain airbag is deployed.

The tether clip according to claim 1 is a tether clip for connecting a pillar garnish having a garnish main body for storing a curtain airbag in a folded state, and a tether storage section having a bottom wall separated from the garnish main body and having an insertion hole formed therein, and a connecting wall connecting the garnish main body and the bottom wall, to a pillar of a vehicle, the tether clip comprising: a fastening part fastened to the pillar; a seat part facing the bottom wall from the pillar side and unable to pass through the insertion hole; an engagement holding part provided on the seat part and fitted into the insertion hole; and a long tether portion extending from a seat portion in a direction penetrating the insertion hole, at least a portion of which is disposed within the tether storage portion; and an anchor portion connected to a tip configuration portion which is an end of the tether portion opposite to the fastening portion and which moves away from the bottom wall when the engagement holding portion is fitted into the insertion hole, the anchor portion being connected to the tip configuration portion and having a base portion which approaches the bottom wall when the engagement holding portion is released from the insertion hole to the pillar side as the curtain airbag is deployed, and a base end portion which is connected to the base and has a tip end portion which moves away from the bottom wall when the engagement holding portion is in a free state. a first retaining portion having a curved shape and a base end portion separated from the tether portion when in a free state, and a second retaining portion having a straight shape and a tip end portion separated from the tether portion when in a free state, the entire length of the second retaining portion is shorter than the entire length of the first retaining portion, the connecting wall is separated from the insertion hole, the bottom wall is provided with a first rib extending along an edge portion of the insertion hole on the connecting wall side and located closer to the garnish body than the insertion hole, and a second retaining portion extending along an edge portion of the insertion hole on the opposite side to the connecting wall and located closer to the garnish body than the insertion hole, A second rib is provided located on the garnish main body side, and when the anchor portion is in a free state, the distance between the tip portion of the first retention portion and the tip portion of the second retention portion is longer than the distance between the first rib and the second rib, and when the tip portion of the first retention portion contacts the connecting wall while the base approaches the bottom wall and the intermediate component of the first retention portion contacts the first rib, the second rib is located between the tip portion of the second retention portion and the insertion hole, and the tip portion of the second retention portion does not enter the insertion hole and contacts the bottom wall.

The engaging and retaining portion of the tether clip described in claim 1 is released from the insertion hole in the bottom wall of the tether storage portion of the pillar garnish toward the pillar side when the curtain airbag is deployed. This causes the first and second retaining portions of the tether clip to approach the bottom wall side. Since the first retaining portion has a curved shape in the free state, the tip of the first retaining portion is likely to come into contact with the connecting wall of the tether storage portion when the curtain airbag is deployed. When the base approaches the bottom wall while the tip of the first retaining portion is in contact with the connecting wall of the tether storage portion, the tip of the second retaining portion comes into contact with the bottom wall without entering the insertion hole. Therefore, when the curtain airbag is deployed, the first and second retaining portions of the tether clip described in claim 1 are likely to engage with the tether storage portion.

In addition, because the first and second retaining portions are elastically deformable, they are less likely to be damaged when they engage with the tether storage portion.

The tether clip of the invention described in claim 2 is the invention described in claim 1 , wherein the shape when viewed in the thickness direction of the bottom wall of the insertion hole is rectangular, the first and second removal prevention portions are both plate-shaped, the widthwise dimensions of at least a portion of the first removal prevention portion and at least a portion of the second removal prevention portion are larger than the widthwise dimension of the insertion hole, and when the base approaches the bottom wall without the tip of the first removal prevention portion contacting the connecting wall, the widthwise directions of the first and second removal prevention portions are aligned with the widthwise direction of the insertion hole when the anchor portion and the bottom wall are viewed in the thickness direction of the bottom wall.

In the invention described in claim 2 , when the anchor portion and the bottom wall are viewed along the thickness direction of the bottom wall when the curtain airbag is deployed, the width direction of the first and second retaining portions may be aligned with the short side direction of the insertion hole. When the base portion approaches the bottom wall while the width directions of the first and second retaining portions are aligned with the short side direction of the insertion hole, at least a part of the first and second retaining portions engage with the bottom wall. Therefore, in this case, there is little risk that the first and second retaining portions will pass through the insertion hole in the bottom wall. Therefore, when the curtain airbag is deployed, the first and second retaining portions of the tether clip described in claim 2 are likely to engage with the tether storage portion.

The tether clip according to a third aspect of the present invention is the tether clip according to the second aspect , wherein the widthwise dimension of the base is greater than the widthwise dimensions of the first retaining portion and the second retaining portion.

In the invention described in claim 3 , when the curtain airbag is deployed, the width direction of the first and second retaining parts may be aligned with the short side direction of the insertion hole when the anchor part and the bottom wall are viewed along the thickness direction of the bottom wall. If the base approaches the bottom wall while the width directions of the first and second retaining parts are aligned with the short side direction of the insertion hole, the base engages with the bottom wall. Therefore, when the curtain airbag is deployed, it becomes more difficult for the first and second retaining parts to pass through the insertion hole of the bottom wall.

The pillar garnish mounting structure of the invention described in claim 4 comprises a vehicle pillar, a garnish having a garnish main body for storing a curtain airbag in a folded state, and a pillar garnish having a tether storage section having a bottom wall separated from the garnish main body and having an insertion hole formed therein, and a connecting wall connecting the garnish main body and the bottom wall, all of which are connected by a tether clip described in any one of claims 1 to 3 .

As explained above, the tether clip and pillar garnish mounting structure of the present invention has the excellent effect that the pair of retaining portions easily engage with the tether storage portion when the curtain airbag is deployed, making it difficult for the pillar garnish to come off the tether clip.

1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the longitudinal direction of a pillar garnish of a pillar garnish mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an upper end portion of the pillar garnish shown in FIG. 1 taken along the width direction of the pillar garnish. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an insertion hole formed in a bottom wall of a tether storage portion of the pillar garnish shown in FIG. 1 . 1 is a perspective view of a tether clip according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of the anchor portion of the tether clip shown in FIG. 4 in section. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 4. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the anchor portion, the tether portion, and the tether storage portion when the pillar garnish moves in a direction away from the pillar and the tip portion of the first anti-slip portion contacts the second side wall of the tether storage portion. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 7 when the pillar garnish has been further moved in a direction away from the pillar from the position of FIG. 7 . 8 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 7 when the second anti-slip portion comes into contact with the bottom surface of the bottom groove of the tether storage portion. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the anchor portion, the tether portion, and the tether storage portion in the state shown in FIG. 9 . 13 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the tether clip and the bottom wall to show the dimensional relationship between a tip configuration portion of a tether portion of the tether clip and an insertion hole in the bottom wall of the tether storage portion. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the anchor portion and the tether storage portion when the pillar garnish is moved in a manner different from that in FIGS. 7 to 10 . FIG. 13 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 12 of a modified example of the present invention.

Below, a pillar garnish 50 and a pillar garnish mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the front pillars 60 and pillar garnish mounting structures on the left and right sides of the vehicle body are symmetrical to each other. Therefore, the following description will focus on the left front pillar 60 and pillar garnish mounting structure.

1 indicates the longitudinal direction of the front pillar 60, and the arrow Wd indicates the thickness direction of the pillar inner panel 62. Furthermore, FL indicates one side of the longitudinal direction 60L of the front pillar 60. The end on one side of the front pillar 60 is the front end (lower end) of the front pillar 60. Furthermore, IN indicates one side of the thickness direction Wd of the pillar inner panel 62. The thickness direction Wd is approximately parallel to the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the direction indicated by IN is approximately parallel to the direction from the pillar inner panel 82 toward the interior space (vehicle compartment).

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a pair of left and right front pillars 60 are provided at the front of the vehicle equipped with the tether clip 10. Each front pillar 60 is a metal body frame member that extends from the front end of the roof (not shown) of the vehicle body toward the lower front side of the vehicle.

The front pillar 60 includes a pillar inner panel 62 that constitutes the inner plate of the front pillar 60, and a pillar outer panel (not shown) that constitutes the outer plate of the front pillar 60. The pillar inner panel 62 has a clip attachment hole 62X formed as a through hole.

Next, we will explain the tether clip 10 and pillar garnish 50, which are components of the pillar garnish mounting structure.

The pillar garnish 50, which is a one-piece resin molded product, is provided on the passenger compartment side of the pillar inner panel 62. The longitudinal direction of the pillar garnish 50 is parallel to the extension direction of the front pillar 60. The pillar garnish 50 comprises a pillar garnish main body 52 (hereinafter simply referred to as the "garnish main body 52") and a tether storage section 54. As shown in FIG. 2, the cross-sectional shape of the garnish main body 52 is approximately C-shaped.

1 and 2, a hollow tether storage section 54 is connected to the back surface (inner surface) of the upper end of the garnish main body 52. The tether storage section 54 has a bottom wall 54A, a first side wall 54B, a second side wall (connecting wall) 54C, and a third side wall 54D. The bottom wall 54A is spaced from the back surface of the garnish main body 52 toward the pillar inner panel 62. The bottom wall 54A is approximately parallel to the back surface of the garnish main body 52. The first side wall 54B, the second side wall 54C, and the third side wall 54D connect the bottom wall 54A to the back surface of the garnish main body 52. The first side wall 54B and the second side wall 54C face each other in the short direction of the pillar garnish 50 (the left-right direction in FIG. 2). The inclination angle of the insertion hole 54X formed in the bottom wall 54A with respect to the axis 54XA is larger in the second side wall 54C than in the first side wall 54B. The ends of the first side wall 54B and the second side wall 54C on the front pillar 60 side are connected by the bottom wall 54A. The third side wall 54D connects the ends of the first side wall 54B and the second side wall 54C on the lower front side of the vehicle. An opening 54E is formed in the end of the tether storage section 54 on the upper rear side of the vehicle (opposite the FL).

The bottom wall 54A is formed with an insertion hole 54X as a through hole. As shown in FIG. 3, the shape of the insertion hole 54X when viewed in the thickness direction Wd of the pillar inner panel 62 (thickness direction of the bottom wall 54A) is rectangular. The shape of the insertion hole 54X when viewed in the thickness direction Wd may be approximately rectangular. This approximately rectangular shape is also included in the "rectangle" in the claims. The longitudinal direction of the insertion hole 54X is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the pillar garnish 50. In other words, the longitudinal direction of the insertion hole 54X is parallel to the arrow 60L in FIG. 1. The longitudinal dimension of the insertion hole 54X is 54EL. The lateral direction of the insertion hole 54X is parallel to the width direction of the pillar garnish 50. The lateral dimension of the insertion hole 54X is 54SL, which is shorter than the dimension 54EL.

2 and 7 to 10, a first rib 54F and a second rib 54G are provided on the inner surface of the bottom wall 54A, which are located on both sides of the short side of the insertion hole 54X and extend along the longitudinal direction of the insertion hole 54X. The corner of the second rib 54G on the first side wall 54B side of the end of the garnish main body 52 side is chamfered. That is, a guide surface 54Ga is formed at the corner of the second rib 54G. Furthermore, a bottom groove 54H is provided on the inner surface of the bottom wall 54A, which is located between the first rib 54F and the second side wall 54C, and a bottom groove 54I is provided on the inner surface of the bottom wall 54A, which is located between the second rib 54G and the first side wall 54B. The bottom groove 54H and the bottom groove 54I extend in a direction parallel to the first rib 54F and the second rib 54G.

Next, we will explain the tether clip 10. The tether clip 10 shown in Figures 1 and 4 is a member for attaching the pillar garnish 50 to the pillar inner panel 62.

The tether clip 10 is a one-piece molded resin product. The elastically deformable tether clip 10 has a seat portion 12, a fastening portion 14, a tether portion 20, an anchor portion 30, and an engagement holding portion 40.

A roughly rectangular flat seat 12 is provided in the middle of the tether clip 10 in the longitudinal direction (extension direction). A pair of engagement retainers 40 and the base end of the tether portion 20 are connected to a first surface 12A, which is one surface of the seat 12 in the thickness direction. A fastening portion 14 is connected to a second surface 12B, which is the other surface of the seat 12 in the thickness direction.

The fastening portion 14 is a portion that is fastened to the pillar inner panel 62. Note that the basic configuration of the fastening portion 14 is substantially the same as the known configuration disclosed, for example, in JP 2017-88081 A, and therefore a detailed description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, each engaging retaining portion 40 has a pair of engaging protrusions 44A. When each engaging retaining portion 40 is in a free state, the width 40W (see FIG. 4) of the portion of each engaging retaining portion 40 on the base end side of the pair of engaging protrusions 44A is substantially the same as the short-side dimension 54SL of the insertion hole 54X. When each engaging retaining portion 40 is in a free state, the distance 44L between the tips of the pair of engaging protrusions 44A is longer than the short-side dimension 54SL of the insertion hole 54X. Each engaging retaining portion 40 is elastically deformable in the direction in which the pair of engaging protrusions 44A approach and move away from each other.

The base end 22 of the elongated tether portion 20 is connected to a portion of the first surface 12A of the seat portion 12 located between a pair of engagement retaining portions 40. As shown in FIG. 1, the longitudinal direction L of the tether portion 20 in the free state is aligned with the longitudinal direction of the pillar garnish 50.

The tether portion 20 has a base end portion 22, a first curved portion 24 connected to the base end portion 22, an extension portion 25 connected to the first curved portion 24 and substantially parallel to the seat portion 12 when in a free state, a second curved portion 26 connected to the extension portion 25, and a tip component portion 27 connected to the second curved portion 26. The length of the tether portion 20 is set according to the distance by which the pillar garnish 50 is separated from the pillar inner panel 62 when the curtain airbag 70 (see FIG. 2), which will be described later, is deployed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the tip component 27, which is linear in the free state, has one end 27A that connects to the second curved portion 26 and the other end 27B that connects to the anchor portion 30. The width 27W (see FIG. 5) of the tip component 27 gradually increases from the one end 27A toward the other end 27B. The widths 27W of the one end 27A and the other end 27B are shorter than the longitudinal dimension 54EL of the insertion hole 54X. As shown in FIG. 11, the width 27W of the one end 27A is shorter than the lateral dimension 54SL of the insertion hole 54X, and the width 27W of the other end 27B is longer than the dimension 54SL. The thickness 27TH (see FIG. 5) of the tip component 27 gradually decreases from the one end 27A toward the other end 27B. The thickness 27TH of one end 27A and the other end 27B is shorter than the short dimension 54SL of the insertion hole 54X.

An anchor portion 30 is connected to the tip component 27 of the tether portion 20. As shown in Fig. 1 and Figs. 4 to 6, the anchor portion 30 includes a base portion 32, a first retaining portion 34 having a base end (one end) connected to the base portion 32, and a second retaining portion 36 having a base end (one end) connected to the base portion 32. The base portion 32 connected to the tip component 27 extends in a direction parallel to the width 27W direction of the tip component 27. The dimension 32L in the extension direction of the base portion 32 (see Fig. 5) is the same as the width 27W of the other end 27B of the tip component 27.

The first retaining portion 34 and the second retaining portion 36 are plate-shaped. As shown in FIG. 1, the first retaining portion 34 is located on one side of the thickness 27TH direction of the tip component 27 from the base portion 32 when viewed from the width 27W direction of the tip component 27 (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1). The second retaining portion 36 of the anchor portion 30 is located on the other side of the thickness 27TH direction from the base portion 32 when viewed from the width direction of the tip component 27. As shown in FIG. 6, the first retaining portion 34 is curved in a free state. The distance between the first retaining portion 34 and the tip component 27 in the thickness 27TH direction of the tip component 27 gradually increases from the base end side of the first retaining portion 34 toward the tip portion 34A. The portion between the intermediate portion 34B, which is the portion between the base end and the tip portion 34A of the first retaining portion 34, and the tip portion 34A is approximately parallel to the thickness 27TH direction of the tip component 27. The width (width dimension) 34L of the first retaining portion 34 is constant over the entire length. The width 34L of the first retaining portion 34 is the same as the longitudinal dimension 32L of the base portion 32. The second retaining portion 36 has a linear shape in a free state. The distance between the second retaining portion 36 and the tip component portion 27 in the thickness 27TH direction of the tip component portion 27 gradually increases from the base end side of the second retaining portion 36 toward the tip portion 36A. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when the anchor portion 30 in the free state is viewed (in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 6), the first retaining portion 34 and the second retaining portion 36 are asymmetric with respect to the center line 27CL of the tip component portion 27. The width (width dimension) 36L of the second retaining portion 36 is constant over the entire length. The width 36L of the second retaining portion 36 is the same as the longitudinal dimension 32L of the base portion 32. The longitudinal dimension 32L and the widths 34L and 36L are shorter than the longitudinal dimension 54EL of the insertion hole 54X of the tether storage section 54, and longer than the transverse dimension 54SL of the insertion hole 54X (see FIG. 3). Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the total length 34LT, which is the distance along the first retaining portion 34 of the base end portion and the tip portion 34A of the first retaining portion 34 in the free state, is longer than the total length 36LT, which is the distance along the second retaining portion 36 of the base end portion and the tip portion 36A of the second retaining portion 36 in the free state.

The tether clip 10 having the above-described configuration is attached to the pillar garnish 50 in a state separated from the pillar inner panel 62. Specifically, the anchor portion 30, in which the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 are elastically deformed in a direction approaching the tip configuration portion 27, is inserted into the insertion hole 54X of the tether storage portion 54 from the front pillar 60 side. After the anchor portion 30 passes through the insertion hole 54X and is positioned inside the tether storage portion 54, the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 are returned to their free state. Furthermore, the tether clip 10 is moved relative to the tether storage portion 54 (rotated 90°), and the pair of engagement retaining portions 40 aligned in the longitudinal direction of the insertion hole 54X are inserted into the insertion hole 54X as shown in FIG. 1. When each of the engagement projections 44A provided on each of the engagement holders 40 moves in the thickness direction of the bottom wall 54A within the insertion hole 54X, each of the engagement projections 44A is pushed by the inner surface of the insertion hole 54X, and the pair of engagement holders 40 is elastically deformed. When each of the engagement projections 44A passes through the insertion hole 54X, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the pair of engagement holders 40 return to a free state, and the base end side portion of each of the engagement holders 40 from the pair of engagement projections 44A fits into the insertion hole 54X. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, a part of the first surface 12A of the seat 12 contacts the outer surface of the tether storage section 54, and the end of each of the engagement projections 44A of each of the engagement holders 40 on the seat 12 side contacts the inner surface of the tether storage section 54 (the first rib 54F and the second rib 54G). At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, most of the anchor portion 30 and the tip component 27 of the tether portion 20 pass through the opening 54E and are positioned outside the tether storage portion 54. In this way, the pillar garnish 50 and the tether clip 10, which have been separated from the pillar inner panel 62, are integrated together.

Then, the fastening portion 14 of the tether clip 10 is pressed into the clip mounting hole 62X of the pillar inner panel 62. This causes the pillar garnish 50 to be attached to the front pillar 60 via the tether clip 10. The longitudinal middle portion of the garnish body 52 is fastened to the pillar inner panel 62 by a clip (not shown) separate from the tether clip 10. The lower end of the garnish body 52 is inserted into an insertion hole formed in the outer end of the instrument panel (not shown) in the vehicle width direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, wiring items 72 such as a wire harness and a drain hose are arranged in the front space S1 formed between the front part 52A of the garnish main body 52 and the pillar inner panel 62. A folded curtain airbag 70 is stored in the rear space S2 formed between the rear part 52C of the pillar garnish main body 52 and the pillar inner panel 62. The curtain airbag 70 is deployed toward the rear lower side of the vehicle and toward the inside of the passenger compartment.

(Action and Effects)
Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

Next, we will explain the action and effect when the pillar garnish 50 is attached to the front pillar 60 of a vehicle using the tether clip 10.

2 is deployed during a side collision or rollover, the deployment pressure of the curtain airbag 70 causes the pillar garnish 50 to move away from the front pillar 60. The insertion hole 54X of the pillar garnish 50 then disengages from the engagement holding portion 40 of the tether clip 10, and the pillar garnish 50 moves away from the front pillar 60. Furthermore, the tether portion 20 moves relative to the insertion hole 54X of the pillar garnish 50, and the anchor portion 30 approaches the bottom wall 54A of the tether storage portion 54.

At this time, due to the structure of the tether clip 10 and the pillar garnish 50, it is highly likely that the pillar garnish 50 will rotate relative to the tether portion 20 while the anchor portion 30 approaches the bottom wall 54A of the tether storage portion 54. More specifically, when the curtain airbag 70 is deployed and the anchor portion 30 approaches the bottom wall 54A, it is highly likely that the rotational positions of the pillar garnish 50 (insertion hole 54X) and the anchor portion 30 around the tether portion 20 will change by approximately 90°. That is, when the anchor portion 30 and the bottom wall 54A approaching each other are viewed along the longitudinal direction of the tether portion 20, it is highly likely that the widths 34L, 36L of the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 will be approximately perpendicular to the short side direction of the insertion hole 54X (see FIG. 7). However, the first retaining portion 34 has a curved shape, and the portion between the intermediate component 34B and the tip portion 34A of the first retaining portion 34 is approximately parallel to the thickness 27TH direction of the tip portion 27. Therefore, in this case, there is a high possibility that the tip portion 34A of the first retaining portion 34 of the tether clip 10 will come into contact with a part of the inner surface of the second side wall 54C (portion 54Ea).

The virtual lines in FIG. 6 show a comparative example of the first retaining portion 34. In this comparative example, the first retaining portion 34 has a linear shape with a total length greater than that of the second retaining portion 36 in a free state. In this comparative example, as shown by the virtual lines in FIG. 8, when the anchor portion 30 approaches the bottom wall 54A side from the position in FIG. 7, the tip portion 34A of the first retaining portion 34 may collide with the bottom surface of the bottom groove 54H without contacting the inner surface of the second side wall 54C. In this case, a large force is applied from the bottom surface of the bottom groove 54H to the tip portion 34A along the extension direction of the first retaining portion 34, so there is a risk that the first retaining portion 34 may buckle (break). In contrast, when the tip portion 34A of the first retaining portion 34, which is curved, comes into contact with the second side wall 54C (part 54Ea), the first retaining portion 34 is elastically deformed in the curved direction, so there is little risk that the first retaining portion 34 will break at this time.

After the tip 34A comes into contact with the portion 54Ea, the anchor portion 30 moves further toward the bottom wall 54A in the direction of the arrow DA in FIG. 7. When the tip 34A moves along the inner surface of the second side wall 54C to the position shown in FIG. 8, the tip 36A of the second retaining portion 36 is positioned closer to the second rib 54G than the side edge of the insertion hole 54X on the second rib 54G side.

When the tip 34A moves along the inner surface of the second side wall 54C to the position shown in FIG. 9, the intermediate component 34B of the first retaining portion 34 comes into contact with the first rib 54F. When the tip 34A comes into contact with the inner surface of the second side wall 54C and the intermediate component 34B comes into contact with the first rib 54F in this manner, the tip 36A is positioned closer to the first side wall 54B than the second rib 54G.

Furthermore, when the tip 34A contacts the third side wall 54D, the tether storage section 54 is likely to rotate relative to the anchor section 30 in the RD direction indicated by the arrow in Figures 8 and 9. That is, the second side wall 54C is likely to push the first retaining section 34 (anchor section 30) in the RD direction while rotating relative to the anchor section 30 in the RD direction. Therefore, as shown in Figure 9, the second retaining section 36 moves toward the bottom groove 54I while being guided by the guide surface 54Ga of the second rib 54G, and the tip 36A of the second retaining section 36 contacts the bottom surface of the bottom groove 54I.

In addition, when the curtain airbag 70 is deployed, the pillar garnish 50 may not rotate relative to the tether portion 20, and the anchor portion 30 may approach the bottom wall 54A of the tether storage portion 54. That is, as shown in Fig. 11, the anchor portion 30 may approach the bottom wall 54A of the tether storage portion 54 in a manner in which the width direction of the first retaining portion 34 (and the second retaining portion 36) and the short side direction of the insertion hole 54X are substantially parallel to each other. In this case, as shown in Fig. 12, when the anchor portion 30 and the bottom wall 54A are viewed along the longitudinal direction of the tether portion 20, the width direction of the first retaining portion 34 and the second retaining portion 36 may be aligned with the short side direction of the insertion hole 54X. That is, when the anchor portion 30 and the bottom wall 54A are viewed along the longitudinal direction of the tether portion 20, the width direction of the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 may be parallel to the short side direction of the insertion hole 54X, or the width direction of the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 may be slightly inclined with respect to the short side direction of the insertion hole 54X. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 3, the widths 34L and 36L of the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 are longer than the short side dimension 54SL of the insertion hole 54X of the tether storage portion 54. Therefore, in this case, as shown in FIG. 12, a part of the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 contact the first and second ribs 54F and 54G. Therefore, in this case, there is little risk that at least one of the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 enters the insertion hole 54X of the tether storage portion 54. In other words, in this case too, there is a high possibility that the first and second retaining portions 34, 36 will not enter the insertion holes 54X and will instead engage with the inner surface of the tether storage portion 54 (the first rib 54F, the second rib 54G).

In this way, in both cases where the pillar garnish 50 rotates relative to the tether portion 20 and where it does not rotate relative to the tether portion 20, the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 are likely to engage with the inner surface of the tether storage portion 54 without entering the insertion hole 54X. When the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 engage with the inner surface of the tether storage portion 54 in this way, the force applied from the tether storage portion 54 to the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 is smaller than when only one of the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 engages with the inner surface of the tether storage portion 54, so the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 are less likely to be damaged. Therefore, when the curtain airbag 70 is deployed, the pillar garnish 50 is less likely to detach from the tether clip 10.

Furthermore, when the anchor portion 30 engages with the tether storage portion 54 in the manner shown in Figures 7 to 10, the first retaining portion 34 elastically deforms when it comes into contact with the tether storage portion 54. Therefore, there is little risk that the first retaining portion 34 will be damaged by contact with the tether storage portion 54. Furthermore, because the first retaining portion 34 elastically deforms in this manner, it absorbs the impact generated on the anchor portion 30 by the collision between the anchor portion 30 and the tether storage portion 54, so there is little risk that the second retaining portion 36 will be damaged when the tip portion 36A comes into contact with the bottom groove 54I. Also, when the anchor portion 30 engages with the tether storage portion 54 in the manner shown in Figure 12, the first retaining portion 34 and the second retaining portion 36 elastically deform when they come into contact with the first rib 54F and the second rib 54G. Therefore, when the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 come into contact with the first and second ribs 54F and 54G, the second retaining portion 36 is unlikely to be damaged.

11, when the anchor portion 30 approaches the bottom wall 54A of the tether storage portion 54, the intermediate portion 27M, whose width 27W is greater than the short-side dimension 54SL of the through hole 54X, pushes the through hole 54X in the short-side direction when the intermediate portion 27M of the tip configuration portion 27 is inserted into the through hole 54X. That is, the short-side dimension 54SL of the through hole 54X changes to a dimension 54SLE that is slightly greater than the short-side dimension 54SL of the through hole 54X. In this way, the intermediate portion 27M of the tip configuration portion 27 pushes the through hole 54X in the short-side direction, thereby reducing the moving speed of the anchor portion 30 as it approaches the bottom wall 54A. Therefore, when a part of the first removal prevention portion 34 and a part of the second removal prevention portion 36 contact the first rib 54F and the second rib 54G, a large force is unlikely to be applied from the first rib 54F and the second rib 54G to the first removal prevention portion 34 and the second removal prevention portion 36. Therefore, when the first removal prevention portion 34 and the second removal prevention portion 36 contact the first rib 54F and the second rib 54G, there is little risk that the first removal prevention portion 34 and the second removal prevention portion 36 will be damaged.

Furthermore, the upper end of the pillar garnish 50 (the end on the right side of the pillar garnish 50 in FIG. 1) is connected to the front end of the roof (not shown) of the vehicle body. Therefore, as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 1, if the second retaining portion 36 were shaped symmetrically to the first retaining portion 34 with respect to the center line 27CL, the tip of the second retaining portion 36 would interfere with the tip of the roof before the curtain airbag 70 is deployed. On the other hand, the second retaining portion 36 of the tether clip 10 of this embodiment is configured in a straight line with a total length 36LT shorter than the total length 34LT of the first retaining portion 34. Therefore, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, the tip 36A of the second retaining portion 36 does not interfere with the tip of the roof before the curtain airbag 70 is deployed.

The above describes the tether clip 10 and pillar garnish mounting structure according to the embodiment, but the design of the tether clip 10 and pillar garnish mounting structure can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

For example, the present invention may be implemented in the manner shown in FIG. 13. The dimension 32LA in the extension direction of the base 32A of the anchor portion 30 of this modified example is longer than the dimension 32L in the extension direction of the base 32 of the above embodiment. Both ends of the base 32A are located laterally than both side edges of the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36. When the anchor portion 30 of this modified example engages with the tether storage portion 54 in the same manner as in FIG. 12, as shown in FIG. 13, both ends of the base 32A are located laterally than the insertion hole 54X. Therefore, when the anchor portion 30 of this modified example engages with the tether storage portion 54, the possibility that the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 enter the insertion hole 54X is lower than the possibility that the first and second retaining portions 34 and 36 enter the insertion hole 54X of the above embodiment.

The total length of the second retaining portion 36 may be equal to or greater than the total length of the first retaining portion 34.

The first rib 54F and the second rib 54G may be omitted from the tether storage section 54.

The pillar garnish 50 in the above embodiment is a front pillar garnish. However, the present invention may be applied to pillars other than front pillars and pillar garnishes attached thereto. For example, the present invention may be applied to rear pillars and rear pillar garnishes.

10 Tether clip 12 Seat portion 14 Fastening portion 20 Tether portion 27 Tip configuration portion 30 Anchor portion 32 Base portion 34 First retaining portion 34A Tip portion 36 Second retaining portion 36A Tip portion 40 Engagement holding portion 50 Pillar garnish 52 Pillar garnish main body 54 Tether storage portion 54A Bottom wall 54C Second side wall (connection wall)
54X Insertion hole 60 Pillar

Claims (4)

A tether clip connects a pillar garnish having a garnish body that stores a curtain airbag in a folded state, and a tether storage section having a bottom wall that is separated from the garnish body and has an insertion hole formed therein, and a connection wall that connects the garnish body and the bottom wall, to a pillar of a vehicle,
A fastening portion that is fastened to the pillar;
a seat portion that faces the bottom wall from the pillar side and cannot pass through the insertion hole;
an engagement holding portion provided on the seat portion and fitted into the insertion hole;
a long tether portion extending from the seat portion in a direction penetrating the insertion hole and at least a portion of which is disposed within the tether storage portion;
an anchor portion connected to a tip constituent portion that is an end portion of the tether portion opposite to the fastening portion, and which separates from the bottom wall when the engagement holding portion is fitted into the insertion hole;
Equipped with
The anchor portion is
a base portion connected to the tip constituent portion and approaching the bottom wall when the engagement holding portion is separated from the insertion hole toward the pillar side due to the deployment of the curtain airbag;
a first retaining portion having a base end connected to the base portion and a tip end separated from the tether portion and curved in a free state;
a second retaining portion having a base end connected to the base portion and having a linear shape in which a tip end is separated from the tether portion when in a free state;
Equipped with
The entire length of the second retaining portion is shorter than the entire length of the first retaining portion,
The connection wall is separated from the insertion hole,
The bottom wall is provided with a first rib extending along an edge of the insertion hole on the connection wall side and positioned closer to the garnish body than the insertion hole, and a second rib extending along an edge of the insertion hole on the opposite side to the connection wall and positioned closer to the garnish body than the insertion hole,
a distance between the tip end of the first retaining portion and the tip end of the second retaining portion when the anchor portion is in a free state is longer than a distance between the first rib and the second rib,
A tether clip in which, when the tip portion of the first prevention portion contacts the connecting wall while the base approaches the bottom wall and the intermediate component of the first prevention portion contacts the first rib, the second rib is positioned between the tip portion of the second prevention portion and the insertion hole, and the tip portion of the second prevention portion does not enter the insertion hole and contacts the bottom wall. The shape of the insertion hole when viewed in a thickness direction of the bottom wall is rectangular,
The first retaining portion and the second retaining portion are both plate-shaped,
a width direction dimension of at least a part of the first retaining portion and at least a part of the second retaining portion is larger than a width direction dimension of the insertion hole,
2. A tether clip as described in claim 1, wherein when the base approaches the bottom wall without the tip portion of the first retaining portion contacting the connecting wall, when the anchor portion and the bottom wall are viewed in the thickness direction of the bottom wall, the width direction of the first retaining portion and the second retaining portion is aligned with the short direction of the insertion hole . The tether clip according to claim 2 , wherein a dimension of the base in the width direction is larger than dimensions of the first retaining portion and the second retaining portion in the width direction . A pillar of the vehicle;
a pillar garnish including a tether storage section having a garnish body that stores a curtain airbag in a folded state, a bottom wall that is separated from the garnish body and has an insertion hole formed therein, and a connecting wall that connects the garnish body and the bottom wall;
A pillar garnish mounting structure connected by the tether clip according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .