Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6564433
-
Patent Number
6,564,433
-
Date Filed
Friday, January 18, 200223 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, May 20, 200322 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 024 297
- 024 289
- 024 291
- 024 292
- 411 508
-
International Classifications
- A44B1700
- F16B1304
- B60R1304
-
Abstract
A clip for attaching a cover member to cover a groove section includes a base plate attached to a bottom surface of the groove section, a pair of engaging sections projected from the base plate and engaging side engaging sections of the cover member, and an abutting piece section projected from the base plate and having a free end abutting against an inner surface of the cover member to restrain an excessive movement thereof. In the condition that the cover member is attached, a spring force of the free end is applied to the cover member so that friction between the cover member and the engaging sections of the clip at both sides of the trim is effectively increased. Accordingly, the trim can be held in the width direction without loosening.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
The present invention relates to a clip for attaching a cover member or trim and a structure for attaching the cover member.
In a vehicle, such as an automobile, and a building or the like, there is a structure that a groove section is formed and extended in a member to which the cover member is mounted (a roof, a side body, a door, a wall or the like), and the cover member or trim is held by a clip fixed at a bottom surface of the groove section, so that the groove section is covered by the cover member. In the structure for attaching the cover member described above, the cover member generally has a substantially C-shape in section, and a cover member side engaging section is formed at a longitudinal opening of the cover member.
Using this characteristics, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 8-72630, the clip may include a base plate fixed to the bottom surface of the groove section formed in the member to which the cover member is mounted, a pair of engaging sections projected from the base plate to engage the cover member side engaging sections, and an abutting piece section projected from the base plate and elastically abutting against a central portion of a top inner surface of the cover member in a width direction. Accordingly, by engaging the cover member side engaging section of the cover member with the engaging sections of the clip, the cover member is fixed tightly to the base plate, so that the loosening in the accessing and separating directions is restrained by an urging force attributed to the abutting piece section. At the same time, the cover member is prevented from disengaging from the clip, that is, the cover member is constantly fixed to the member to which the cover member is mounted.
The aforementioned cover member is generally provided with lip members, which are made of an elastic material and disposed at both sides of the cover member in the width direction. The lip members elastically abut against the inside wall of the groove section to prevent the cover member from loosening inside the groove section (including a mode in which the cover member is partly displaced and rotated in accordance therewith) in the width direction of the cover member (a width direction of the groove section). As a deformation of the lip members absorbs excessive movements of the cover member in the width direction, the lip members may corrugate or lie outside the groove section. To solve this problem, the lip members may be omitted from the cover member.
However, if the lip members are omitted from the cover member, only the friction between the side engaging sections of the cover member and the engaging section of the clip due to the urging force of the abutting piece section is a force for preventing the widthwise movement of the cover member in the groove section, and the movement of the cover member can not be effectively prevented by the friction described above.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an object of the invention is to provide a clip and a structure for attaching a cover member, in which the cover member can be retained without an excessive movement of the cover member in the width direction regardless of the existence of the lip members at both sides of the cover member in the width direction.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the aforementioned object, the first aspect of the invention provides a clip for attaching a cover member or trim for covering a groove section. The clip comprises a base plate to be attached to the groove section; a pair of engaging sections projected from the base plate and engaging trim side engaging sections at both sides of the trim in a width direction thereof; and an abutting piece section projected from the base plate and elastically abutting against an inner surface of a top wall of the trim in a condition that a movement of the trim in a direction away from the base plate is regulated by the engagement between the trim side engaging sections and a pair of the engaging sections. The abutting piece section includes free ends, which respectively abut against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim at both sides of the trim in the width direction thereof, as means of abutting against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim.
The second aspect of the invention provides a structure for attaching a trim for covering a groove section by a clip attached to the groove section formed in a member to which the trim is mounted. The clip comprises a base plate attached to a bottom surface of the groove section; a pair of engaging sections projected from the base plate and engaging trim side engaging sections at both sides of the trim in the width direction thereof; and an abutting piece section projected from the base plate and elastically abutting against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim in a condition that a movement of the trim in a direction away from the base plate is regulated by the engagement between the trim side engaging sections and a pair of the engaging sections. The abutting piece section includes free ends, which respectively abut against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim at both sides of the trim in the width direction thereof, as means of abutting the inner surface of the top wall of the trim.
The third aspect of the invention provides a structure for attaching the trim by a plurality of clips, which is disposed sequentially in an extending direction of a groove section with an interval therebetween, to the groove section formed in a member to which a trim is mounted so that the trim for covering the groove section is held by means of a plurality of clips. In the structure for attaching the trim by a plurality of clips described above, each clip comprises a base plate attached to a bottom surface of the groove section; an engaging section projected from the base plate and engaging the trim side engaging section; and an abutting piece section projected from the base plate and elastically abutting against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim under a condition that a movement of the trim in a direction away from the base plate is regulated by the engagement between the trim side engaging section and the engaging section. The abutting piece section constitutes a single engaging section, and each of the engaging sections engages sequentially and alternately to the trim side engaging section at both the sides of the trim in the width direction.
Each clip has one engaging section, and the engaging sections of the respective clips are disposed sequentially and alternately to engage the trim side engaging sections at both sides of the trim in the width direction. The abutting piece section includes a free end as means of abutting against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim, and the free end abuts against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim at a side where the engaging section of the clip exists.
According to the first aspect of the invention, the abutting piece section has the free end for abutting the inner surface of the top wall of the trim at both sides of the trim in the width direction. Therefore, a spring force of the free end is applied to the trim at a position closer to the engaging section as opposed to a center portion of the trim in the width direction. Thus, an engaging force (frictional force) between the trim side engaging sections and the engaging sections at both sides of the trim in the width direction is effectively increased. Accordingly, regardless of the existence of the lip members at both sides of the trim in the width direction, the trim can be tightly held without loosening in the width direction.
Also, when the top wall of the trim is inclined by using a pair of the engaging sections with different projection heights, the deformation of the free end can be easily adjusted by changing inclination postures of the respective free ends. The engaging force between the trim side engaging section and the engaging section of the clip can be substantially equal at both sides of the trim in the width direction.
The free end for abutting against one side of the trim in the width direction may extend closer to one engaging section for abutting against the trim side engaging section at one side of the trim in the width direction, and the free end for abutting against the other side of the trim in the width direction may extend closer to the other engaging section for engaging the trim side engaging section at the other side of the trim in the width direction. In this aspect, a spring force of the free end is applied to the trim at a position closer to the engaging section as opposed to a center portion of the trim in the width direction. Thus, the engaging force (frictional force) between the trim side engaging sections and the engaging sections at both sides of the trim in the width direction is further increased.
The abutting piece section may be formed of a pair of abutting piece sections disposed to sandwich a pair of the engaging sections therebetween. One of the abutting piece engaging sections has a free end that extends toward one engaging section side from the other engaging section side to thereby abut against one side of the trim in the width direction. The other abutting piece section constitutes a free end that extends from one engaging section side toward the other engaging section side to thereby abut against the other side of the trim in the width direction. In this aspect, the spring forces of a pair of the free ends effectively enhance the engagement between the trim side engaging sections and the engaging sections of the clip at both sides of the trim in the width direction.
Also, the abutting piece section may include a leg and a pair of free ends. One of the free ends abuts against one side of the trim in the width direction, and the other free end abuts against the other side of the trim in the width direction. Therefore, by means of the abutting piece section with a pair of the free ends, an increased spring force can be applied to both sides of the trim in the width direction.
A pair of the engaging sections may be disposed with an interval therebetween. Additionally, in an arranging direction of a pair of the engaging sections, a thickness of the trim is larger than a gap between one of the engaging sections and the free end abutting against one side of the trim in the width direction, and also larger than a gap between the other engaging section and the free end abutting against the other side of the trim in the width direction. Therefore, both sides of the trim in the width direction will not be inserted into a gap between the engaging sections and the free ends, to thereby prevent a trim from being attached incorrectly.
A projecting length of one of the engaging sections may be longer than that of the other engaging section. Furthermore, one free end for abutting one side of the trim has an increased inclination posture as compared with the other free end. Therefore, the trim can be disposed to be inclined, and the engaging force between the trim side engaging section and the engaging section can be still approximately identical at both sides of the trim in the width direction.
According to the second aspect of the invention, the trim is mounted to the member using the clip according to the first aspect of the invention. Regardless of the presence of the lip members at both sides of the trim in the width direction, the trim is attached to the member without wobbling in the width direction.
Further, as an example of modifications, each clip may include only one engaging section, and the engaging sections of the clips may sequentially and alternately engage the trim side engaging sections at both sides of the trim in the width direction. The abutting piece section of each clip may include the free end as means for abutting against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim, and the free end abuts against the inner surface of the top wall of the trim at the side, in which the engaging section of the clip exists, between both sides of the trim in the width direction. Therefore, when the clip members can not be provided at both sides of the trim in the width direction as a plurality of clips is linked, the trim can be held at the member to which a trim is mounted without wobbling in the width direction of the trim. Accordingly, each clip needs only one engaging section and one free end, and an amount of material used for each clip can be reduced.
Also, the member to which the trim is mounted may be a roof of an automobile, and the trim may be a roof trim for the automobile. Thus, in the case the roof trim is attached to the roof of the automobile, the trim can be attached without wobbling in the width direction thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an exploded perspective view of a main part showing a roof section of an automobile to which the present invention is applied;
FIG. 2
is an enlarged sectional vied taken along line
2
—
2
in
FIG. 1
showing the first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3
is a perspective view showing a clip according to the first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4
is a plan view of the clip according to the first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5
is a left side view of the clip shown in
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 6
is a right side view of the clip shown in
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 7
is a front view of the clip shown in
FIG. 4
;
FIG. 8
is a cross sectional view taken along line
8
—
8
in
FIG. 7
;
FIG. 9
is a view for explaining a clip according to the second embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 10
is a view for explaining one of clips according to the third embodiment; and
FIG. 11
is a view for explaining the other clip according to the third embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hereunder, embodiments of the invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. In
FIG. 1
, numeral reference
1
denotes a roof of an automobile as a member to which a trim is mounted, and a groove section
2
is formed at an end section of a the roof in the width direction extending throughout an entire length thereof in the front and rear directions. The groove section
2
is covered by a roof trim or cover member
11
extending in the front and rear directions, and the roof trim
11
is fixed to the roof
1
by a plurality of clips
21
shown in FIG.
1
. Incidentally, a structure for attaching the roof trim
11
described below is structured symmetrically at a right and a left end section of the roof
1
.
A substantially entire portion of the roof
1
except the width end section is formed of a roof panel
3
, and the width end section of the roof
1
is formed of an upper end portion of side panels
4
. As shown in
FIG. 2
, the groove section
2
is formed of a connecting section of the roof panel
3
and the side panel
4
. More specifically, a sidewall section
2
a
in the width direction inner side of the groove section
2
is formed of a downwardly extending wall section
3
a
that is formed by bending an end portion of the roof panel
3
downwardly. A sidewall section
2
b
of the groove section
2
in the width direction outer side is formed of a downwardly extending wall section
4
a
formed by bending an end portion of the side panel
4
. A bottom wall section
2
c
of the groove section
2
is formed of horizontal wall sections
3
b
and
4
b
, which extend substantially horizontally. In this case, the horizontal wall sections
3
b
and
4
b
are overlapped and welded by a predetermined length thereof with each other in the vertical direction. A connecting section between the horizontal wall sections
3
b
and
4
b
is provided with a sealing member
5
, and the sealing member
5
seals the connecting section between the horizontal wall sections
3
b
and
4
b.
The structure of the clip
21
will be explained with reference to
FIGS. 2
to
8
. The clip
21
includes a base plate
22
, a pair of engaging sections
23
and
24
, a pair of abutting piece sections
25
and
26
, and a pair of positioning sections
27
. The clip
21
is integrally molded as one unit by a synthetic resin (by injection molding).
The base plate
22
is a flat elongated thin plate (in the embodiment, a width thereof is about 16 mm, and a length thereof is about 30 mm) as a whole, and the base plate
22
is attached to the roof
1
while the longitudinal direction thereof (right and left directions in
FIG. 4
) is aligned along an extending direction (front and rear directions in
FIG. 4
) of the groove section
2
. Namely, with a double-side adhesive tape
31
bonded on a bottom surface of the base plate
22
in advance, the base plate
22
is attached to the bottom wall section
2
c
of the groove section
2
.
A pair of the engaging sections
23
and
24
is projected upwardly from the upper surface of the base plate
22
. The projecting positions of the engaging sections
23
and
24
are located around the center of the longitudinal direction of the base plate
22
and close to end portions in the width direction (the vertical direction in
FIG. 4
) of the base plate
22
. One engaging section
23
is located at one side (right side in
FIG. 6
) of the width direction of the base plate
22
, and projected higher than the other engaging section
24
located at the other side (left side in
FIG. 6
) of the width direction of the base plate
22
. The engaging sections
23
and
24
are extended (about 5 mm in the embodiment) in the longitudinal direction of the base plate
22
by a length shorter than the length of the base plate
22
in the longitudinal direction. The engaging section
23
(
24
) includes a pillar section
23
a
(
24
a
) extending upwardly straight, and a stopper section
23
b
(
24
b
) projecting from the upper end of the pillar section
23
a
(
24
a
) toward an outer side in the width direction of the base plate
22
. The stopper section
23
b
(
24
b
) includes an inclined surface
23
c
(
24
c
) and a substantially horizontal engaging surface
23
d
(
24
d
). A pair of the inclined surfaces
23
c
and
24
c
is separated gradually away from each other toward a lower side. A pair of ribs
28
is integrally provided between the engaging sections
23
and
24
. The rib
28
is disposed at a lower portion of the pillar sections
23
a
and
24
a
of the engaging sections
23
and
24
, and regulates bending of the lower portions of the pillar sections
23
a
and
24
a
in the width direction.
A pair of the abutting piece sections
25
and
26
is projected upwardly from the upper surface of the base plate
22
. The abutting piece sections
25
and
26
are formed to sandwich a pair of the engaging sections
23
and
24
therebetween in the longitudinal direction of the base plate
22
. Each of the abutting piece sections
25
and
26
includes a leg section
25
a
(
26
a
), which stands while extending astride the engaging sections
23
and
24
, and a free end
25
b
(
26
b
) provided at an upper portion of the leg section
25
a
(
26
a
) to be deformable elastically in the vertical direction. The free end
25
b
of the abutting piece section
25
forms a bendable space between the free end
25
b
and the leg section
25
a
, and extends such that it is inclined upwardly toward one side of the base plate from the other side of the base plate
22
in the width direction. The free end
26
b
of the abutting piece section
26
forms a bendable space between the free end
26
b
and the leg section
26
a
, and extends horizontally from one side of the base plate
22
toward the other side of the base plate
22
in the width direction. In a state that an external force is not applied on the free end, a distal end of the free end
25
b
is located at a position by a predetermined length higher than the engaging surface
23
d
of the engaging section
23
, and a distal end of the free end
26
b
is located at a position higher by a predetermined length than the engaging surface
24
d
of the engaging section
24
.
Also, the free end
25
b
is disposed such that a base end thereof is overlapped with the engaging section
24
in the width direction of the base plate
22
, and a distal end thereof extends to reach the engaging section
23
. Accordingly, in the width direction of the base plate
22
, there is no gap between the free end
25
b
and the engaging section
23
. Similarly, the free end
26
b
is disposed such that a base end thereof is overlapped with the engaging section
23
in the width direction of the base plate
22
, and a distal end thereof extends to reach the engaging section
24
. Accordingly, in the width direction of the base plate
22
, there is no gap between the free end
26
b
and the engaging section
24
.
In this case, the abutting piece sections
25
and
26
have such lengths or heights that when the abutting piece sections
25
and
26
are held between fingers of an operator to attach the clip
21
into the groove section
2
, the fingers of the operator do not interfere with an opening end rim of the groove section
2
, and the base plate
22
can be pressed against the bottom wall section
2
c
of the groove section
2
with a sufficient force.
A pair of the positioning sections
27
is formed at one side (inner end side of the width direction of a vehicle) of the base plate
22
in the width direction, and is located at the ends of the base plate
22
in the longitudinal direction. A distal end of each positioning section
27
is slightly curved upwardly toward one side of the width direction (inner side of the width direction).
A roof trim
11
will be explained with reference to FIG.
2
. The roof trim
11
has a double layer structure of an inner trim
12
and an outer trim
13
. The inner trim
12
is made of metal, such as an aluminum alloy, stainless steel, or a sufficiently rigid material, and the outer trim
13
is made of a hard or soft synthetic resin and the like which is softer than the inner trim
12
. The inner trim
12
includes a top wall section
12
a
; a pair of right and left side wall sections extending downwardly from both end portions (right and left end portions in
FIG. 2
) of the top wall section
12
a
in the width direction; and a pair of right and left bottom wall sections
12
c
extending inwardly from lower end portions of the respective side wall sections. A distal end (free end) of each bottom wall section
12
c
constitutes a trim side engaging section
12
d
curved slightly upwardly. Then, a space between the trim side engaging sections
12
d
constitutes an attachment opening
14
(also refer to FIG.
1
).
The outer trim
13
mainly covers the top wall section
12
a
and the side wall sections
12
b
, but does not cover portions corresponding to the trim side engaging sections
12
d
. In an aspect of the invention, the outer trim
13
integrally includes an outer lip member
13
a
made of a soft material. The outer lip member
13
a
has a tongue shape in section, and a distal end of the outer lip member
13
a
is set to elastically abut against the sidewall sections
2
b
in the condition that the lip member
13
a
is positioned inside the groove section
2
.
In the structure as described above, the attachment of the roof trim
11
to the roof
1
is carried out by the following steps. Firstly, in the condition that upper end portions of the engaging sections
23
,
24
in a pair are held between a thumb and an index finger or a middle finger of an operator, a strip on a lower surface of the double-sided adhesive tape
31
is peeled off, and then the clip
21
(the base plate
22
thereof) is bonded to the bottom wall section
2
c
of the groove section
2
. At this time, while the positioning sections
27
are allowed to abut against the
2
sidewall section
2
a
at the inner side of the groove section
2
, the downward pressing force for bonding is added thereto, so that the clip
21
is bonded precisely at a predetermined position.
The bonding of the clip
21
to the roof
1
can be carried out after a coating (final coating) to the vehicle body. The clip
21
may also be attached to the roof
1
in the middle of the coating steps. The double side adhesive tape
31
may be formed of a thermosetting resin, so that a curing of the resin can be completed by a heat of the coating and drying steps. More specifically, the clip may be bonded to the roof
1
between a drying step of an intermediate coat and an application step of an over coat. Accordingly, during the drying step of the over coat, the clip is strongly bonded to the roof
1
by a high heat in a drying path (in this case, the over coat is also applied to the clip).
Then, as shown in
FIG. 2
, the roof trim
11
is pushed into the groove section
2
, and a pair of engaging sections
23
and
24
of the clip
21
engages the trim side engaging sections
12
d
at both sides of the roof trim
11
in the width direction, to thereby complete the mounting. When each engaging section
23
(
24
) engages the engaging section
12
d
, the attachment opening
14
of the roof trim
11
is slightly expanded (elastically deformed) once by the inclined surfaces
23
c
and
24
c
. After the attachment opening
14
passes through the engaging sections
23
and
24
, the space or interval of the attachment opening
14
is returned to the original state, and the trim side engaging sections
12
d
engage the lower surface of the engaging sections
23
and
24
, i.e. the engaging surfaces
23
d
and
24
d
, to thereby prevent the trim from disengaging therefrom upwardly.
In this case, in the width direction of the base plate
22
, there is no gap between the free end
25
b
and the engaging section
23
, and between the free end
26
b
and the engaging section
24
. Thus, the trim side engaging sections
12
d
will not be inserted incorrectly between the clip side engaging sections
23
and
24
, eliminating misalignment.
In a condition that attaching the roof trim
11
is completed, the free end
25
b
(
26
b
) of the clip
21
abuts against the inner surface of the top wall of the roof trim
11
while the free end
25
b
(
26
b
) of the abutting piece section
25
(
26
) is elastically deformed downwardly. In this case, the distal end portion of the free end
25
b
(
26
b
) reaches the engaging section
23
(
24
) in the width direction of the base plate
22
, and mainly abuts against the inner surface of the top wall at one side of the roof trim
11
in the width direction. Accordingly, spring forces of both free ends
25
b
and
261
) are applied closer to the engaging sections
23
and
24
. As a result, the trim side engaging sections
12
d
are effectively pushed against the lower surfaces of the engaging sections
23
and
24
. Thus, the engagement between the trim side engaging section
12
d
and the engaging sections
23
and
24
become stronger, and relative movements or displacement of the roof trim
11
are restrained not only in the vertical direction with respect to the clip
21
but also in the width direction. Therefore, in the embodiment of the invention, although the roof trim
11
has the outer lip member
13
a
, the outer lip member
13
a
will not be corrugated or lie outside the groove section
2
.
In this case, in order to be aligned along the roof
1
as much as possible, the roof trim
11
is inclined by the engaging sections
23
and
24
with different heights. However, since the free end
25
b
is inclined so as to increase the height thereof in accordance with the height of the engaging section
23
, the respective engagement forces of the trim side engaging sections
12
d
relative to the engaging sections
23
and
24
are substantially equally high at both sides of the roof trim
11
in the width direction.
FIG. 9
shows the second embodiment of the invention, and
FIGS. 10 and 11
show the third embodiment of the invention. In each of these embodiments, the same constituent members as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, to thereby omit the explanation thereof.
In the second embodiment shown in
FIG. 9
, an abutting piece section
32
includes a leg
33
, and a pair of free ends
34
a
and
34
b
diverting from the leg
33
. A pair of the free ends
34
a
and
34
b
mainly abuts against the inner surface of the top wall at both sides of the roof trim
11
in the width direction, and spring forces attributed to the pair of the free ends
34
a
and
34
b
can effectively increase the engagements between the trim side engaging sections
12
d
and the engaging sections
23
and
24
at both sides of the roof trim
11
in the width direction.
In the third embodiment, two types of clips
35
and
36
are used. As shown in
FIG. 10
, the clip
35
includes the engaging section
23
that engages one of the trim side engaging sections
12
d
and the free end
25
b
only, and does not have the engaging section
24
and the free end
26
b
as in the first embodiment. As shown in
FIG. 11
, the clip
36
includes the engaging section
24
that engages the other trim side engaging section
12
d
and the free end
26
b
only, and does not have the engaging section
23
and the free end
25
b
as in the first embodiment. Both the clips
35
and
36
are sequentially fixed to the groove section
2
with a predetermined interval therebetween in the extending direction of the groove section
2
, and the engaging section
23
(
24
) of each clip
35
(
36
) engages one of the trim side engaging sections
12
d
at both sides of the roof trim
11
in the width direction while obtaining the effective force of the free end
25
b
(
26
b
). Therefore, even though each clip
35
(
36
) does not have a pair of engaging sections and a pair of free ends, by using the clips
35
and
36
, widthwise movement or displacement of the roof trim
11
in the groove section
2
can be restrained.
Although the embodiments of the invention have been explained above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, the present invention can provide the following modifications (1) to (5).
(1) The trim
11
may not be inclined, and may be disposed substantially horizontally. Accordingly, the heights of the engaging sections
23
and
24
, and the inclining angles of the free ends
25
b
and
26
b
are respectively equalized.
(2) The groove section
2
may be partially formed in the front and rear directions of the roof
1
.
(3) The clip
21
can be bonded to the roof
1
without using the double-sided adhesive tape
31
. Instead, the clip
21
can be bonded to the roof
1
by applying an adhesive when the clip is attached.
(4) The positioning section
27
may be formed at the both ends of the base plate
22
in the width direction. In this case, the width of the bottom wall section
2
c
of the groove section
2
is set to be the same size as the width of the base plate
22
. However, in consideration of dimensional variations in the width of the groove section
2
, it is preferable that the width of the base plate
22
is set smaller than the size of the bottom wall section
12
c
of the groove section
2
while the positioning section
27
is formed at one side of the width direction.
(5) The structure of attaching the trim
11
may be applied to a side body and a side door of an automobile, or a wall of a vehicle or building.
While the invention has been explained with reference to the specific embodiments of the invention, the explanation is illustrative and the invention is limited only by the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A clip for attaching a cover member to cover a groove section, comprising:a base plate to be attached to a bottom surface of the groove section, a pair of engaging sections projecting outwardly from one side of the base plate to be able to engage the cover member, one of the pair of the engaging sections having one engaging portion for engaging one edge of the cover member, and the other of the pair of the engaging sections having the other engaging portion for engaging the other edge of the cover member, and an abutting piece section projecting outwardly from the one side of the base plate and having a pair of abutting pieces to sandwich the pair of the engaging sections therebetween, each abutting piece having a free end, one free end of one abutting piece extending in a width direction of the clip from a side close to one of the engaging sections and the other free end of the other abutting piece extending in the width direction from a side close to the other of the engaging sections, said free ends extending outwardly from the base plate beyond the engaging sections corresponding thereto at the one side of the base plate for urging the cover member, when it is assembled with the clip, outwardly to restrain a movement thereof.
- 2. A clip for attaching a cover member according to claim 1, wherein said pair of the engaging sections is provided with an interval therebetween to allow one engaging section to engage one edge of the cover member and the other engaging section to engage the other edge of the cover member.
- 3. A clip for attaching a cover member according to claim 1, wherein one of the engaging sections has a height greater than that of the other of the engaging sections.
- 4. A clip for attaching a cover member according to claim 1, wherein said base includes an adhesive material for attaching the base to the groove section.
- 5. A clip for attaching a cover member to cover a groove section, comprising:a base plate to be attached to a bottom surface of the groove section, a pair of engaging sections projecting outwardly from one side of the base plate to be able to engage the cover member, one of the pair of the engaging sections having one engaging portion for engaging one edge of the cover member, and the other of the pair of the engaging sections having the other engaging portion for engaging the other edge of the cover member, and an abutting piece section projecting outwardly from the one side of the base plate and having a leg and a pair of free ends diverting from the leg for allowing one of said free ends to abut against one inside wall of the cover member in a width direction of the clip, and the other of said free ends to abut against the other inside wall of the cover member in the width direction, said free ends extending beyond the engaging sections at the one side of the base plate for urging the cover member, when it is assembled with the clip, outwardly to restrain a movement thereof.
Priority Claims (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
| 2001-019787 |
Jan 2001 |
JP |
|
US Referenced Citations (8)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 8-72630 |
Mar 1996 |
JP |