JPS6344571B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fastener or adapter for attaching an elastic molding member or the like to a panel surface, and more particularly to a fastener or adapter for attaching an elastic molding member or the like to a panel surface.
The present invention relates to a fastener for attaching a molding member to a vehicle body so as to bridge a gap between a glass or rear window glass and a panel adjacent to an opening in the vehicle body.

In the assembly of an automobile body, it is common practice to set the front or rear windshield glass into a rubber gasket that engages the periphery of the glass, and this gasket is inserted between the glass and the opening provided for its insertion. Attached by adhesive or other means to the adjacent body panel edges.
However, when attaching such glass to the car body panel, a gap is created between the glass periphery and the car body panel because the dimensions of the glass change due to mass production. If left as is, it will spoil the aesthetic appearance of the final finished product.

This opening is covered by a resilient molding of metal sheet or other sheet-like composition attached to the vehicle body and arranged to bridge the gap between the vehicle body panel and the front window or rear window structure. .

In the past, various molding attachment techniques have been employed which provide a strong bond between the vehicle body panel and the front or rear window glass and which maintain this bond throughout the life of the vehicle. One method is to use a number of fasteners held on button-headed studs attached to the vehicle body panel. This type of structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,800 and
Please refer to No. 3807964.

While these prior art devices have been satisfactory in achieving the desired results, they also eliminate the need for studs with button-heads to be attached to the vehicle body panel, and they do not require a stud with a button head to be attached to the vehicle body panel; A need has arisen to develop suitable fasteners capable of holding moldings in resilient engagement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fastener or adapter that is easy to manufacture, simple in structure, and easy to assemble on the panel for attaching a molding member or the like in the gap between the glass and the body panel of an automobile. It is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fastener or adapter that does not require extra fasteners such as button-headed studs, bolts, etc. to secure the fastener to a vehicle body panel.

These and other objects of the present invention provide a fastener or adapter for attaching a flanged resilient molding member or the like to a panel surface and a structural member spaced apart from the panel surface, the fastener or adapter having a bottom surface in contact with the panel surface. This is accomplished by a fastener or adapter consisting of a body portion and a resilient tab extending outwardly from the body portion. The resilient tab has a lower surface that engages a flange of the molding member, and a pair of arcuate resilient wings extend upwardly from the side of the body portion at an angle to contact the bottom surface of the structural member. It is growing to The fastener or adapter is held between the panel surface and the structural member with its wings in a deflected or curved state in contact with the structural member, and the molding member is held between the panel surface and the structural member in a deflected or curved state with its wings in contact with the structural member. It is curved into engagement with the bottom surface of the tab.

Preferably, the fastener or adapter is formed into a one-piece piece of resilient plastic by injection molding or other plastic forming techniques and is of unitary construction.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof shown in the accompanying drawings.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, particularly FIG.
A fastener or adapter 10 is shown molded from a plastic material, such as Celanese Corp. -90, a trade name of Celanese Corp. The fastener or adapter 10 may be made of any suitable material capable of imparting a bending property to the element, hereinafter referred to as "elasticity".

As is clear from FIG. 1, the fastener 10 has a generally rectangular body 1 having a curved surface 14 at the rear end.
2, from which extends forwardly an elastic tab 16 having the same width as the body member 12. The tab 16 is provided on its bottom surface with a surface-to-surface engagement device in the form of a number of lateral teeth 18 capable of pinching adjacent structures.

Both sides of the body member 12 are provided with arcuate resilient wings 20, 22 extending outwardly and laterally therefrom. At the outer end of each wing 20, 22,
An arcuate or curved wedge-shaped surface is provided such that the rear side of the fastener is higher than the front side of the fastener.

In the embodiment shown, a resilient stabilizing fin 28 of approximately the same width as the wings 20, 22 extends upwardly from the body member 12 and extends upwardly from the body member 12.
8 is the main body member 12, as is clear from FIG.
It has a linear surface (in FIG. 1, the elongated surface at the top of the stabilizing fin 28) that is substantially parallel to the upper surface (in FIG. 1, the surface at the bottom of the body member 12). are doing.

2-5, a fastener 10 used in a typical automobile structure is shown. This fastener 10 is used to attach a decorative molding 30 with opposing flanges 31, 32 to a vehicle body panel 34. This body panel 34 includes an L-shaped recess, called a pinch well, provided by a surface 35 adjacent to the flange 36, which L-shaped recess defines the perimeter of a front or rear window opening in the vehicle body. It consists of In the illustrated construction, the rear window glass structure 38 is attached to the flange 36 by a rubber gasket 40. Note that the rubber gasket 40 has a surface adhered to the glass structure and an opposite surface adhered to the flange 36.

When attaching the glass structure 38 to the vehicle body, the glass structure 38 and the gasket 40 are attached to the flange, and a sealing material 42 is attached to the inner surface of the glass structure adjacent to the gasket 40. This sealing material 42 is applied to the bottom surface of the glass structure 38 to a uniform thickness, as shown in FIGS. 2-5. The sealant 42 used here may be one conventionally used for this purpose, such as a urethane compound, which remains flexible and sticky for several hours until it hardens after being attached. It is something.

As is clear from FIGS. 2 and 3, there are tolerances in the opening formed by the glass structure 38 and the surface 35, and considering that these elements are assembled in mass production, the glass structure The gap between the bottom edge of 38 and the surface 35 varies. In FIG. 2, this gap is wider than that shown in FIG. 3 and also varies along the perimeter of the glass structure 38.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the glass structure 38 is attached to the panel 34, a number of fasteners 10
is inserted between the surface 35 and the bottom of the glass structure 38. When the gap is wide as shown in FIG. 2, the fastener 10 is inserted with its wings 20, 22 slightly curved. However, on each wing 20, 22, a curved wedge-shaped surface 2
4 and 26 are respectively curved to form a glass structure 38.
contact with the bottom edge of The pointed ends of each wing 20, 22 are also embedded in a soft seal material 42. Thus, the fastener 10 has its back surface adjacent the flange 36 and the lower surface of the body portion 12 by having the arcuate wedge-shaped surfaces 24, 26 contact the bottom of the glass structure 38 at a point on that surface. and are wedged in place with the surface 35 in contact with the surface 35.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the final assembly process, the decorative molding 30 is attached to the flange 32.
the tab 16 of the fastener 10 and the surface 3 of the body panel
5 and is pressed into a predetermined position. In the example shown here, molding 3
0 is also equipped with a stabilizing flange 45.

By providing a number of teeth on the lower surface of the tab 18, the decorative molding is pressed towards the glass structure until the flange 31 comes into resilient contact with the surface of the glass. In the structure shown in FIG.
When the flange 32 of the molding is inserted between the tab 16 and the panel surface 35, the horizontal movement of the fastener 10 is minimized. Furthermore, the stabilizing flange 45 strengthens the prevention of the fastener 10 from rolling due to its clamping action with the flange 32. This allows the tab to flex elastically so that a clamping force can be applied between the tab and the body panel surface 35.

Furthermore, because the stabilizing fins 28 are disposed between the body portion 12 of the fastener 10 and the bottom surface of the glass structure 38, additional stabilizing forces are provided to overcome the tendency of the fastener to roll.

Reference is made to FIG. 6, which shows another embodiment of the structure for attaching the glass structure to the vehicle body panel 34. This embodiment is commonly known as "high glass" or "low glass." When the distance from the flange 36 is as shown by the outermost imaginary line in FIG.
If the gap between the glass and the flange 36 is relatively large, it is considered "high glass."

On the other hand, "low glass" is a state in which the gap between the glass structure 38 and the flange 36 is small as shown by the innermost imaginary line in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the structure according to the invention not only provides a fastener that can accommodate gaps of different lengths between the glass structure 38 and the surface 35, but also provides a "high glass" , the fastener itself can be provided which provides a similarly strong attachment regardless of the "low glass" condition. Thus, when the glass is in the "low glass" position, the bottom surface or corner of the glass structure 38 rests high on the wedge-shaped surface 24 or 26, and when the glass is in the "high glass" position, Even though the glass rests low on the surface, a wedging effect is still obtained.

From the foregoing, it is clear that the invention provides a flexible fastener suitable for achieving its objectives.

Also, by assembling the fasteners after the glass structure is in place, the fastener assembly process is more efficient than the assembly process of attaching the fasteners to either the glass structure or the panel structure before they are assembled. It can be done easily.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fastener or adapter according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are views of the fastener shown in FIG. 1 installed in a gap between an automobile glass structure and a vehicle body panel. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a part of the fastener shown in FIG. 1 in a fully assembled state, and FIG. 6 is a top view showing the structure shown in FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG. 4 is a front view showing, in phantom lines, various relative positions of the elements; 10...Fasuna, 16...Elastic tab, 18...
...Engagement device with molding member, 20, 22
...Elastic wing, 30... Molding member, 32... Flange, 35... Panel surface, 3
8...Structural member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a fastener for attaching a flanged molding member to a panel surface such that the molding member bridges between the panel surface and a structural member spaced from the panel surface, the bottom portion that comes into contact with the panel surface; a body portion having a surface, a resilient tab projecting outwardly from the body portion and having means for engaging a flange portion of the molding member disposed on the bottom surface of the body, contacting the bottom surface of the structural member; a pair of elastic wings extending upwardly from the sides of the body so as to
and elongated elastic fins extending upward from the main body portion in an unflexed state, and the distal end portion of each elastic wing is such that the molding member side is lower than the panel surface side when the elastic wing is in a relaxed state. The fasteners are curved and are retained between the panel surface and the structural member by flexing the wings and resilient fins into contact with the structural member and flexing the tabs. 2. A fastener according to claim 1, wherein said molding member is held between a bottom surface of said tab and a surface of the panel by being held in a tilted position.