This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2013/081674 filed Nov. 25, 2013, claiming priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-258747, filed Nov. 27, 2012, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The technology of the present disclosure relates to an attachment structure and an attachment method for attaching a vehicle exterior member, which is formed integrally with an attachment piece that includes an integral hinge, to a target section of a vehicle.
In recent years, various vehicle exterior members have been proposed that include integral hinges for easier attachment to a vehicle.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle bumper that includes a bumper main body, a holding piece, and a support piece that are formed integrally of plastic. The holding piece projects in the horizontal direction from the vicinity of the center of the bumper main body. An integral hinge connects the support piece to the lower end of the bumper main body. In this vehicle bumper, after the bumper main body is attached to a vehicle, the support piece is pivoted upward about the integral hinge. The pivoted support piece is connected to the holding piece and held at a predetermined angle. A grommet fixes the distal end of the pivoted support piece to the vehicle.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-326548
In Patent Document 1, the support piece (attachment piece), which includes the integral hinge, is used only when the vehicle exterior member is finally fixed to the vehicle and is not used when the bumper main body of the vehicle exterior member is first attached to the vehicle.
In general, when a relatively large or long vehicle exterior member, such as a vehicle bumper, is first attached to a vehicle, a guide member, which differs from a support piece (attachment piece) including an integral hinge, is required to facilitate assembly. This complicates the structure of the vehicle exterior member.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present disclosure to provide an attachment structure and an attachment method for a vehicle exterior member that facilitate assembly by arranging a guide portion in a vehicle exterior member, which is formed integrally with an attachment piece, and simplify the structure of the vehicle exterior member.
To achieve the foregoing objective and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an attachment structure for a vehicle exterior member is provided. The attachment structure attaches a vehicle exterior member to a protruding target section of a vehicle that includes a first side and a second side. The vehicle exterior member is curved to cover the target section. The attachment structure includes a vehicle engagement portion located on the first side of the target section, an attachment hole located on the second side of the target section, a covering portion, an engagement portion, and an attachment piece. The covering portion is located in the vehicle exterior member and configured to cover the target section. The covering portion includes a first side and a second side. The engagement portion is located on the first side of the covering portion and configured to engage with the vehicle engagement portion of the target section. The attachment piece is located on the second side of the covering portion and configured to be inserted into the attachment hole of the target section. The covering portion and the attachment piece are formed integrally of plastic. A section of the attachment piece that is connected to the covering portion forms a thin integral hinge. When the attachment piece is inserted into the attachment hole, the attachment piece positions the covering portion at a temporary position relative to the target section. When the covering portion is pulled toward the vehicle engagement portion and the attachment piece is pressed against a rim of the attachment hole, the attachment piece pivots in a direction opposite to a direction in which the covering portion is pulled while remaining inserted in the attachment hole. When the covering portion covers the target section and is positioned in a desired position, the attachment piece returns to an original position and maintain engagement between the vehicle engagement portion and the engagement portion.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method for attaching a vehicle exterior member is provided. The method attaches a vehicle exterior member to a protruding target section of a vehicle that includes a first side and a second side. The vehicle exterior member is curved to cover the target section. The target section includes a vehicle engagement portion on the first side. The target section includes an attachment hole on the second side. The vehicle exterior member includes a covering portion that is configured to cover the target section and includes a first side and a second side. The covering portion includes on its first side an engagement portion that is configured to engage with the vehicle engagement portion of the target section. The covering portion includes on its second side an attachment piece that is configured to be inserted into the attachment hole of the target section. The covering portion and the attachment piece are formed integrally of plastic. A section of the attachment piece that is connected to the covering portion forms a thin integral hinge. The method includes: positioning the covering portion in a temporary position relative to the target section by inserting the attachment piece into the attachment hole; pulling the covering portion toward the vehicle engagement portion such that the pressing piece is pressed against a rim of the attachment hole and pivots in a direction opposite to a direction in which the covering portion is pulled while remaining inserted in the attachment hole; and positioning the covering portion such that the covering portion covers the target section and is positioned in a desired position, wherein the attachment part returns to an original position and maintains engagement between the vehicle engagement portion and the engagement portion.
Referring to the drawings, an attachment structure for a vehicle exterior member according to one embodiment will now be described. The attachment structure attaches a vehicle exterior member 1, which is formed integrally with an attachment piece 20 that includes an integral hinge, to a target section of a vehicle.
[Overall Structure of Vehicle Exterior Member 1 (
As shown in
A bumper molding is a vehicle exterior member attached to the front and rear ends of a vehicle. In
The covering portion 10 is curved to cover a protruding target section of a vehicle.
The covering portion 10 has a first side (upper side as viewed in
The covering portion 10 has a second side (lower side as viewed in
The covering portion 10, which includes the engagement portion 11, and the attachment piece 20 are formed integrally of plastic.
As shown in
The section of the attachment piece 20 that is connected to the covering portion 10 forms the thin integral hinge 21. As indicated by the long dashed double-short dashed lines in
[Outline of Structure of Vehicle Target Section 80 and Procedure for Attaching Vehicle Exterior Member 1 to Target Section 80 (
The outline of the structure of the target section 80 of a vehicle will now be described.
As shown in
Thus, the vehicle target section 80 has a very simple structure.
A procedure for attaching the vehicle exterior member 1 to the vehicle target section 80 will now be described.
As shown in
As shown in
Further, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
When covering the target section with the covering portion 10, the operator pulls the covering portion 10 upward so that the engagement portion 11 of the vehicle exterior member 1 is located above the vehicle engagement portion 81 as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The fasteners 90 and 91 are not limited to wedge-shaped components. Various kinds of fasteners, such as a nut and bolt or a grommet, may be used.
In the embodiment described above, the vehicle engagement portion located in the first side of the vehicle target section 80 is the projecting vehicle engagement portion 81. However, the vehicle engagement portion is not limited to such a structure. For example, as shown in
For example, as shown in
Then, the operator inserts the fastener 92 into the through hole 11A of the engagement portion 11 from the back side of the target section 80 in operation (3) and inserts the fastener 90 into the through hole 20A of the attachment piece 20 in operation (4). Since the vehicle exterior member 1 (covering portion 10) is positioned in the desired position in operation (2), either of operations (3) and (4) may be performed first.
In the attachment structure of the vehicle exterior member described in the above described embodiments, the attachment piece 20, which includes the integral hinge 21, is inserted into the attachment hole 82 before the covering portion 10 is engaged with the target section 80 of the vehicle. The attachment piece 20 functions as a guide for positioning the covering portion 10 in a temporary position relative to the vehicle target section 80. When the target section 80 is covered by the covering portion 10, the attachment piece 20 pivots about the integral hinge 21 and maintains the positioning of the covering portion 10 in the temporary position. This facilitates the attachment of the vehicle exterior member by the operator. The attachment piece 20, which includes the integral hinge 21, has the function of positioning the covering portion 10 (
The attachment structure of the vehicle exterior member of the present disclosure is not limited to the configuration, structure, and the like described in the above described embodiments. Various modifications, additions, and omissions are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
The features including the shapes of the vehicle exterior member and the target section of a vehicle and the attachment procedure of the vehicle exterior member are not limited to those described in the above described embodiments.
In the description of the above embodiments, a vehicle bumper molding is described as an example of a vehicle exterior member. However, the present disclosure is not limited to a vehicle bumper molding and is applicable to various vehicle exterior members, such as elongated side splash guards that are attached to opposite sides of a vehicle.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2012-258747 | Nov 2012 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2013/081674 | 11/25/2013 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2014/084176 | 6/5/2014 | WO | A |
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4355842 | Hira | Oct 1982 | A |
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20100259027 | Buck | Oct 2010 | A1 |
20110027522 | Kubo | Feb 2011 | A1 |
20110127797 | Garnett | Jun 2011 | A1 |
20120119532 | She | May 2012 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1 375 255 | Jan 2004 | EP |
2002-326548 | Nov 2002 | JP |
2002-362265 | Dec 2002 | JP |
2003-212070 | Jul 2003 | JP |
2004-017879 | Jan 2004 | JP |
2007137410 | Jun 2007 | JP |
2007261480 | Oct 2007 | JP |
2008-087206 | Apr 2008 | JP |
2010-000839 | Jan 2010 | JP |
2010-083477 | Apr 2010 | JP |
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Entry |
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International Preliminary Report on Patentability issued by the International Searching Authority in counterpart International Application No. PCT/JP2013081674. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20150298632 A1 | Oct 2015 | US |