Patent Grant
7222893
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure for attaching a striker for vehicles such as cars.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-112198, filed Apr. 6, 2004, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
In an example of the structure for attaching a striker, the striker is tightened and fastened to a bracket which is provided at the back of a vehicle body panel.
Generally, the striker is attached in the final process of assembly of a vehicle body. More specifically, the striker is fastened after final fitting such as accurately positioning a door or a trunk lid in the assembled vehicle body is completed (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2001-152712).
However, in the above conventional technique in which the striker is attached to a bracket at the back of a vehicle body panel, it is difficult to perform the work of attaching the striker. In addition, when the attachment work is difficult, accurate positioning is also difficult and an additional or extra fitting or adjustment process may be necessary.
In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a structure for attaching a striker, wherein the attachment and positioning can be easily performed without a high level of skill.
Therefore, the present invention provides a structure for attaching a striker (e.g., a striker 20 in an embodiment explained below), comprising:
an attachment bracket (e.g., an attachment bracket 19 in the embodiment) including a base (e.g., a base 23 in the embodiment) and a protruding portion (e.g., a protruding portion 24 in the embodiment) joined to the base, wherein the base is fastened to a panel (e.g., a trunk lid 2 the embodiment) and the protruding portion extends in a direction different from a direction in which the base is arranged,
wherein the striker is attached to the protruding portion of the attachment bracket.
Typically, the panel is a member of a vehicle.
According to the above structure, in order to mount a striker, what is necessary is just to attach the striker to the protruding portion which protrudes from the base of the attachment bracket. Therefore, the attachment work can be precisely and easily performed while confirming the positions of the protruding portion and the striker.
Preferably, the striker has a swelling portion (e.g., a swelling portion 31 in the embodiment) which swells in a direction going away from the base of the attachment bracket. Accordingly, the engaging function necessary in the striker should be secured only in the swelling portion. Therefore, it is unnecessary to secure considerably large portions other than the swelling portion; thus, the attachment bracket can be small, thereby improving the flexibility in the arrangement of the striker.
The structure may further comprise a cover member (e.g., a cover member 33 in the embodiment) for covering an outside of the attachment bracket, wherein a work hole (e.g., work holes 39 in the embodiment) for adjusting the position of the striker is formed in the cover member.
Accordingly, the work for positioning the striker can be performed while the cover member is mounted, and additionally, the work hole of the cover member for covering the attachment bracket from the outside of the bracket can be formed at a position which is hidden from the outside, thereby improving the quality of appearance.
It is possible that:
the striker has a base plate (e.g., a base plate 27 in the embodiment) and a striker main portion (e.g., a striker main portion 28 in the embodiment); and
the base plate is approachable to and retreatable from the attachment bracket via at least one screw member (e.g., bolts 25 in the embodiment) which is inserted through a through hole (e.g., a through hole 26 in the embodiment) provided in the protruding portion of the attachment bracket and is adjustably screwed into the base plate.
Accordingly, it is possible to position an opening/closing portion, to which the striker is attached, with respect to a vehicle body or the like, by making the striker approach to or retreat from the attachment bracket via the at least one screw member. Therefore, positioning or attachment work can be easily performed.
In the above structure, it is possible that:
two screw members are adjustably screwed into the base plate in a manner such that the striker main portion is positioned between the two screw members; and
the base plate is variably inclined with respect to the attachment bracket, via the two screw members.
Accordingly, the degree of inclination of the striker main portion with respect to the protruding portion of the attachment bracket can be adjusted by adjusting the quantity of screwing of each screw member. Therefore, the direction of inclination and the direction of approach and retreat of the striker main portion with respect to the protruding portion of the attachment bracket can be finely adjusted.
Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.
As shown in the figure, in a rear portion of a vehicle body 1, a trunk lid 2 (i.e., a panel (member)) is provided, which can be opened and closed. The trunk lid 2 has a rear wall 3 which extends downward so as to secure a wide space at a rear portion of a trunk opening 4. A locking device 5 is provided at a lower edge of the trunk opening 4, and a striker unit 7 corresponding to the locking device 5 is attached to a lower face 6 of the rear wall 3 of the trunk lid 2.
The locking device 5, mounted in the closed-section structure formed by the rear end panel 8 and the reinforcement 9, has a locking main portion 13. A striker 20 (explained below) enters through an upper opening 14 of the locking main portion 13, so that the striker 20 is engaged with the locking device 5.
The trunk lid 2 is formed by an outer panel 15 and an inner panel 16, whose peripheral edges are wound and tightened together as shown in
The striker unit 7 is composed of an attachment bracket 19 and a striker 20 attached to the attachment bracket 19.
The attachment bracket 19, a thick metal plate having an L-shaped section, has (i) a base 23 fastened to the inner panel 16 and the reinforcement 17 via two bolts 21 and 21 and a screw 22, and (ii) a protruding portion 24, integrally formed with the base 23, extending from the base 23 downward (i.e., in a direction different from the direction in which the base 23 is arranged). Specifically, the base 23 of the attachment bracket 19 is arranged at an oblique angle backward and downward, in a manner such that the base 23 is arranged along the lower end of the closed trunk lid 2, and the protruding portion 24 is arranged at an oblique angle backward and frontward, that is, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the base 23 is arranged.
In the protruding portion 24, a through hole 26 is provided for a bolt 25 (i.e., a screw member) for fastening a base plate 27 of the striker 2.
The striker 20 is composed of the base plate 27 and a striker main portion 28. The base plate 27 is a metal member attached to the protruding portion 24 of the attachment bracket 19. Two weld nuts 29 are attached to the base plate 27 in the width direction of the vehicle, and two bolts 25, inserted through the through hole 26 of the protruding portion 24, are screwed into the weld nuts 29. Accordingly, the base plate 27 of the striker 20, and therefore the striker 20 itself, can be closer to or farther from the attachment bracket 19 by using the two bolts 25 (see the double-headed arrow in
To the base plate 27, the striker main portion 28, having a loop shape and a rounded sectional shape, is fastened via caulking portions 30. The caulking portions 30 are arranged on the base plate 27 in a manner such that the line drawn between the caulking portions 30 and the line between the weld nuts 29 cross each other, thereby forming a loop of the striker main portion 28 in the vertical direction. The striker main portion 28 has a swelling portion 31 at the head side, which swells downward, that is, in a direction going away from the base 23 of the attachment bracket 19.
The lower side 32 of the swelling portion 31 is arranged backward at an oblique angle (see
As shown in
According to the above embodiment, in order to attach the striker 20 while positioning the striker, the striker 20 is attached to the protruding portion 24 which protrudes from the base 23 of the attachment bracket 19, so that the attachment work can be precisely and easily performed while confirming the positions of the protruding portion 24 and the striker 20. That is, the attachment work for the striker 20 does not include any work performed at the back side of the inner panel 16 of the trunk lid 2, or the like. Therefore, a high level of skill is not necessary and the attachment work can be easily performed, thereby simply performing precise positioning or fitting in a short time.
In addition, the swelling portion 31 is provided in a head portion of the striker main portion 28, where the swelling portion 31 swells downward, that is, in a direction going away from the base 23 of the attachment bracket 19. Therefore, the engaging function necessary in the striker 20 should be secured only in the swelling portion 31. Accordingly, it is unnecessary to secure considerably large portions other than the swelling portion 31; thus, the attachment bracket 19 can be small, thereby improving the flexibility in the arrangement of the striker 20.
Furthermore, the cover member 33 is provided at the outside of the attachment bracket 19, and the work holes 39 for adjusting the position of the striker 20 are formed in the cover member 33. Therefore, the work for positioning the striker 20 can be performed while the cover member 33 is mounted, and additionally, the work holes 39 of the cover member 33 for covering the attachment bracket 19 from the outside of the bracket can be formed at positions which are hidden from the outside, that is, the trunk interior, thereby improving the quality of appearance.
In the positioning of the striker 20, when the two bolts 25 are screwed by the same distance, the base plate 27 of the striker 20 approaches the protruding portion 24 of the attachment bracket 19 (see the arrow “(1)” in
In
Accordingly, the direction of inclination and the direction of approach and retreat of the striker main portion 28 with respect to the protruding portion 24 of the attachment bracket 19 can be finely adjusted, thereby easily and correctly performing the work for adjusting the striker 20.
While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Additions, omissions, substitutions, and other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as being limited by the foregoing description, and is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
For example, in the above embodiment, the striker unit 7 is provided at the trunk lid 2. However, the present invention can be applied to a constitution in which the striker unit 7 is attached to the vehicle (main) body side. In addition, instead of integrally forming the cover member 33 and the interior material 34, the cover member 33 may be detachably attached.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-112198 | Apr 2004 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4209194 | Poe | Jun 1980 | A |
| 4220364 | Poe | Sep 1980 | A |
| 4869537 | Compeau et al. | Sep 1989 | A |
| 4946208 | Myslicki et al. | Aug 1990 | A |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2001-152712 | Jun 2001 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050218671 A1 | Oct 2005 | US |
