Assist grip

Abstract

To provide an assist grip with a simple structure capable of simply performing attachment work by a small number of man-hours.SOLUTION: Provided is an assist grip comprising a grip body 1 with attachment leg parts 2 which are projected on base parts of both right and left ends, and fixing attachment means 8 provided on the pair of attachment leg parts 2. Leg projection parts 2a of the attachment leg parts 2 are pressed into square fixing holes 9 provided on a vehicle body panel, and the attachment leg parts 2 are fixed and attached to the vehicle body panel by the fixing attachment means 8. Locking claws 5 are rotatably and tiltably supported in locking claw chambers 4 provided in the attachment leg parts 2 by the fixing attachment means 8. Coil springs 7 biased to locking sides are provided to the locking claws 5, and a cover 3 covering the locking claw chambers 4 of the attachment leg parts 2 is fitted in openings 4a opening to inner sides of the attachment leg parts 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an assist grip to be mounted inside a vehicle cabin, and more particularly to an assist grip whose legs can be easily pushed into a mounting hole on the vehicle body side. [Background technology]

[0002] Assist grips that are held by occupants when necessary are attached to various locations inside a vehicle cabin. As this type of assist grip, a fixed-type assist grip has been proposed in, for example, Patent Document 1 listed below.

[0003] This assist grip has mounting parts at both ends of the grip body into which a mounting bolt can be screwed, and the mounting bolt is inserted into this mounting part, and a nut is fixed to a mounting hole in a vehicle panel provided on the ceiling or side wall of the vehicle interior, and the mounting bolt is screwed into the nut to tighten and fix it. A cover is provided over the opening of the mounting part, and the cover is closed after the installation work to cover the opening.

[0004] However, when installing an assist grip, first, the mounting parts on both sides of the assist grip are placed against the mounting holes in the vehicle panel, and the bolt is inserted into the mounting hole together with the bush and washer from the front side (grip body side) and the bolt is screwed in with the tip of the bolt inserted into the nut. The bolt and nut are then tightened to install the assist grip in the designated location inside the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6006882 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5492835 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] For this reason, when installing the assist grip, the small bushing and washer must be inserted into the bolt, the bolt must be inserted into the mounting hole from the front side (the grip body side), and with the tip of the bolt protruding from the back side, the nut must be screwed onto the tip of the bolt from the back side and tightened to secure it in place.

[0007] As such, when attaching an assist grip to a vehicle body panel, a worker is forced to perform complicated installation work, such as inserting a bush and a washer, which are small parts separate from the grip body, into a bolt, inserting the tip of the bolt into the panel mounting hole from the front side, and screwing a nut onto the tip of the bolt from the back side, which poses the problem of reduced work efficiency.

[0008] Also, a rotating assist grip in which the grip body is provided rotatably with respect to the legs on both sides is known from the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 and the like. In this rotating assist grip, a mounting clip made of elastic material such as metal is attached to the mounting legs, and the mounting clip of this leg is pushed into a rectangular hole provided on the vehicle body panel, and the bulging part of the mounting clip is engaged with the rear edge of the elastic panel to attach and fix it. Therefore, although tightening of bolts and nuts is not required during installation, precise work is required to accurately push the clip support part into the inside of the mounting clip and ensure that the mounting clip is engaged, and further, since a mounting clip made of elastic material such as metal is used, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost is high, such as the cost of manufacturing the mounting clip.

[0009] In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an assist grip that has a simple structure, requires fewer steps, and can be easily attached. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The assist grip according to the present invention comprises a grip body having mounting legs protruding from the base portions at both left and right ends, and a fixing means provided on the pair of mounting legs, and is attached by pressing the leg protrusions of the mounting legs into a rectangular fixing hole provided in a vehicle body panel, and fixing the mounting legs to the vehicle body panel by the fixing means. The fixed attachment means includes an engagement claw pivotally supported in an engagement claw chamber provided in the attachment leg portion so as to be tiltable, a spring elastic member for biasing the engagement claw in the engagement direction, and a cover attached to an opening portion opening on the inner and inner sides of the attachment leg portion so as to cover the engagement claw chamber of the attachment leg portion, When the leg protrusion of the mounting leg is pushed into the fixing hole, the locking claw contacts the edge of the fixing hole and tilts, and when it advances to a predetermined position, the spring force of the spring elastic member causes the locking claw to return to the locking position and lock onto the edge of the fixing hole, thereby fixing the mounting leg to the vehicle body panel.

[0011] The assist grip of this invention has a relatively simple structure, which allows for reduced manufacturing costs. During installation, there is no need to tighten bolts and nuts. The mounting legs can be fixed to the vehicle body panel by simply pushing the leg protrusions of the mounting legs into the fixing holes in the vehicle body panel, making it possible to install the assist grip with very little labor. In addition, when the leg protrusion of the mounting leg is pushed into the fixing hole, the locking claw comes into contact with the edge of the fixing hole and tilts, and when it advances to a specified position, the spring force of the spring elastic member causes the locking claw to return to the locking position and lock onto the edge of the fixing hole, so that the mounting leg of the assist grip can be attached securely and without rattling. In addition, since the cover that covers the locking claw chamber is provided on the inside back side of the mounting leg, the parting line of the edge of the cover is less visible, and the external design of the assist grip can be maintained in good condition.

[0012] Here, it is preferable that the cover covering the opening is attached to the opening so as to be pushable and slidable, and that a push-in portion for releasing the lock is provided on the inside of the cover, so that when the cover is pushed in, the push-in portion presses the locking claw and rotates it in a direction to release the locking claw.

[0013] According to this, when removing the assist grip from the vehicle body panel for maintenance, etc., by pushing in the cover on the inside and inside of the grip body, the pushing portion of the cover pushes and tilts the locking claw, releasing the lock and allowing the assist grip to be removed.

[0014] Furthermore, it is preferable that a bearing portion is provided at the base of the locking claw, a spring storage chamber is provided within the bearing portion, an axis passes through the spring storage chamber of the bearing portion, the locking claw is supported so as to be tiltable, and a coil spring as a spring elastic member biases the locking claw in the locking direction and is stored in the spring storage chamber.

[0015] In addition, it is preferable that a sliding portion is provided on the inside of the cover so as to protrude in the same direction as the pushing portion, and a sliding support portion and an elastic sliding portion are provided on the sliding portion with a sliding gap therebetween, and when the cover is pushed in, the sliding support portion and the elastic sliding portion slide within a sliding groove portion provided on the side wall of the locking claw chamber, and the cover slides inward. According to this, when the assist grip is to be removed for maintenance or the like, the cover can be smoothly pushed in and the locking claw can be tilted to smoothly remove the grip.

[0016] It is also preferable that a stopper protrudes from the outer periphery of the bearing portion of the locking claw, and when the locking claw is locked to the edge of the fixing hole, the stopper hits a convex portion inside the locking claw chamber to stop the tilting of the locking claw. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the assist grip of this invention, the assist grip can be attached to the vehicle body panel with a simple operation of simply pushing the leg protrusion of the mounting leg into the fixing hole in the vehicle body panel, with little labor and simple installation work. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of an assist grip showing one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the longitudinal direction of the assist grip. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 . [Figure 6] This is an oblique view of the entire core part of the assist grip with the cover removed. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the entire core portion of the assist grip. [Figure 8] 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which a cover is attached to a mounting leg of the assist grip. FIG. [Figure 9] 11 is a perspective view of the mounting leg of the assist grip from a different viewing angle. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of only the core portion of the assist grip not including the cover. [Figure 11] 1A and 1B are perspective views of the locking pawl with a shaft and a coil spring attached thereto, viewed from different angles. [Figure 12] 1A, 1B, and 1C are perspective views of the cover from different viewing angles. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 and 2 show an assist grip that is attached by pressing mounting legs 2 at both ends into fixing holes 9 provided in a vehicle body panel inside the vehicle cabin, and Figures 3 to 12 show only the core portion 1a of the assist grip, excluding the skin 1b, and its assembly parts.

[0020] As shown in Figure 7, this assist grip comprises a grip body 1 which is held by the occupant, mounting legs 2 protruding from the base at both the left and right ends of the grip body 1, and fixed attachment means 8 provided on the pair of mounting legs 2. The mounting legs 2 are configured to be fixed and attached to the vehicle body panel BP by pressing the leg protrusions 2a of the mounting legs 2 into a rectangular fixing hole 9 provided in the vehicle body panel BP using the fixed attachment means 8.

[0021] The fixed mounting means 8 comprises a locking claw 5 tiltably supported in a locking claw chamber 4 provided in the mounting leg 2, a coil spring 7 as a spring elastic member for biasing the locking claw 5 in the locking direction, and a cover 3 attached to an opening 4a opening on the inner and inner sides of the mounting leg 2 so as to cover the locking claw chamber 4 of the mounting leg 2. That is, as shown in Fig. 2, the locking claw chambers 4 are provided in the mounting legs 2 at both left and right ends of the grip body 1, the locking claw 5 is tiltably supported in the locking claw chamber 4 via its bearing portion 51 and a shaft 6, and the cover 3 is fitted into the opening 4a of the locking claw chamber 4 to cover the opening 4a.

[0022] 3, the opening 4a and the cover 3 are provided on the inside and inside of the assist grip (the side where the fingers of the hand are positioned when gripping the grip body 1 of the assist grip), rather than on the front side, and the cover 3 is fitted thereto to cover the opening 4a. For this reason, when the assist grip is viewed from the outside, if the cover 3 and its edge line (parting line) were on the front side (design surface side), the parting line would be easily noticeable, but since the opening 4a and the cover 3 are on the inside and inside of the grip body 1, they are less visible, and the appearance of the assist grip can be maintained in a good condition.

[0023] As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6, the leg protrusions 2a of the mounting legs 2 protrude from both ends of the grip body, and the internal space of the leg protrusions 2a is continuous with the locking claw chamber 4, in which the claw portions 50 of the locking claws 5 are located. The inner side of the leg protrusions 2a is open, and the claw portions 50 are exposed from the opening and protrude slightly outward. As a result, when the leg protrusions 2a of the mounting legs 2 are pressed into the fixing hole 9 of the vehicle body panel during installation of the assist grip, the claw portions 50 of the locking claws 5 are pressed against the edge of the fixing hole 9 and tilt inward, and then move back so that the locking claws 5 are locked in the fixing hole 9. Ribs 2b are provided on the outer circumferential surface of leg protrusion 2a, and when leg protrusion 2a enters fixing hole 9, ribs 2b have the function of positioning and absorbing dimensional variations of fixing hole 9. As shown in Fig. 3, inclined surface 50a on claw 50 effectively tilts locking claw 5 outward when it comes into contact with the edge of fixing hole 9, and notch 50b at the tip of claw 50 prevents the tip of claw 50 from contacting the wall of leg protrusion 2a when released from locking.

[0024] 11, a bearing portion 51 is provided at the base of the locking claw 5, and a spring storage chamber 52 is provided within the bearing portion 51. The shaft hole through which the shaft 6 is inserted communicates with the spring storage chamber 52, and the shaft 6 is attached by penetrating through the spring storage chamber 52. As shown in FIG. 7, during assembly, the shaft 6 is inserted into the spring storage chamber 52 through a shaft hole provided in the mounting leg portion 2 of the core portion 1a of the grip body 1, and penetrates the bearing portion 51 of the locking claw 5. As a result, the locking claw 5 is pivotally supported by the shaft 6 within the locking claw chamber 4 so as to be tiltable. The coil spring 7, which acts as a spring elastic member and biases the locking pawl 5 in the locking direction, is stored in the spring storage chamber 52 and fitted onto the outer periphery of the shaft 6. One end of the coil spring 7 is hooked on a part of the locking pawl 5, and the other end is hooked on the side wall of the locking pawl chamber 4. As a result, the locking pawl 5 is always biased by the coil spring 7 in the locking direction into the fixing hole 9. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, a stopper 53 protruding from the outer periphery of the bearing portion 51 of the locking pawl 5 hits a protrusion 4b provided on a part of the locking pawl chamber 4, and the locking pawl 5 stops in a state where it can be locked when pressed in. It should be noted that a spring member other than a coil spring may be used as the spring elastic member. 3, an arc-shaped concave surface 4d that receives and rotatably holds the cylindrical curved surface of the bearing portion 51 of the locking claw 5 is formed in the back wall of the locking claw chamber 4 near the protrusion 4b that abuts against the stopper 53. The cylindrical bearing portion 51 of the locking claw 5 comes into contact with this concave surface 4d, and the bearing portion 51 of the locking claw 5 is held so as to be capable of smooth rotation.

[0025] As described above, when the assist grip is installed, when the leg protrusion 2a of the mounting leg 2 is pushed into the fixing hole 9, the locking claw 5 contacts the edge of the fixing hole 9 and tilts, and when it advances to a predetermined position, the spring force of the coil spring 7 causes the locking claw 5 to return to the locking position and lock onto the edge of the fixing hole 9, and the mounting leg 2 is fixed and attached to the vehicle body panel BP.

[0026] On the other hand, a cover 3 is fitted into the opening 4a of the locking claw chamber 4, and the opening 4a is covered by the cover 3. This cover 3 has the added function of biasing the locking claw 5 in the lock release direction when the assist grip is removed.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 12, a push-in portion 30 is protruded from the inside of the cover 3, and a sliding portion 31 is further protruded in the same direction as the push-in portion 30. A sliding support portion 33 and an elastic sliding portion 32 are provided on the sliding portion 31 with a sliding gap therebetween. When the cover 3 is pushed in the horizontal direction in Fig. 3 when removing the assist grip, the sliding support portion 33 and the elastic sliding portion 32 slide within the sliding groove portion 4c provided in the side wall of the locking claw chamber 4, and the pressing tip portion 34 of the push-in portion 30 presses the middle portion of the locking claw 5, tilting the locking claw 5 to the unlocking side in the clockwise direction in Fig. 3.

[0028] That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the locking claw 5 is supported by an axis 6 so as to be able to tilt (rotate), and the sliding support portion 33 and the elastic sliding portion 32 are held slidably within the sliding groove portion 4c provided in the side wall of the locking claw chamber 4 so that the pushing portion 30 of the cover 3 moves on the tangent line CL of a circle R centered on the axis 6 when the cover 3 is pushed in.

[0029] Also, a small protrusion 32a (Fig. 12) is provided at the tip of the elastic sliding part 32, and when the cover 3 is inserted into the locking claw chamber 4 from the opening 4a as shown in Fig. 8 and the surface position of the cover 3 reaches a predetermined closed position, the small protrusion 32a at the tip of the elastic sliding part 32 slightly fits into the recess 4e (Fig. 8) in the sliding groove 4c (Fig. 7) provided in the locking claw chamber 4, so that the cover 3 stops at the appropriate mounting position. Furthermore, when the cover 3 is pushed to the left in the horizontal direction of Fig. 3 during removal of the assist grip, the pressing tip 34 of the pushing part 30 pushes the middle part of the locking claw 5, tilting it to the left in Fig. 3.

[0030] Next, a mounting operation for mounting the assist grip having the above-mentioned configuration to the vehicle body panel BP will be described. 2, a pair of fixing holes 9 are provided in predetermined positions on the vehicle body panel BP, and the worker presses the leg protrusions 2a of the pair of mounting legs 2 of the assist grip into the fixing holes 9. At this time, the claws 50 of the locking claws 5 first come into contact with the edges of the fixing holes 9 and tilt as shown in FIG. Then, when it has advanced to a predetermined position, the tilted locking claw 5 returns due to the spring force of the coil spring 7, and the claw portion 50 is locked and fixed to the edge of the fixing hole 9 as shown in Fig. 3. At this time, the locking claw 5 is strongly biased in the locking direction by the coil spring 7, so the attached state of the assist grip does not rattle, and the assist grip can be stably attached. In this way, the attachment work of the assist grip can be performed reliably and stably with a simple operation of just pushing the leg protrusion 2a of the mounting leg 2 into the fixing hole 9. On the other hand, when removing the assist grip, the cover 3 is pushed in as shown in Fig. 4. At this time, the cover 3 uses its pushing portion 30 to push the middle portion of the locking claw 5 in the unlocking direction, tilting the locking claw 5 against the spring force of the coil spring 7. This causes the claw portion 50 of the locking claw 5 to come off the edge of the fixing hole 9, releasing the lock by the locking claw 5. The assist grip can be easily removed from the vehicle body panel by pulling the grip body 1 of the assist grip towards you. Thus, the above assist grip has a relatively simple structure, and can reduce manufacturing costs. During installation, tightening of bolts and nuts is not required. The installation leg 2 can be fixed to the vehicle body panel BP simply by pushing the leg protrusion 2a of the installation leg 2 into the fixing hole of the vehicle body panel BP, and the assist grip can be installed with a very small number of work steps. When the leg protrusion 2a of the installation leg 2 is pushed into the fixing hole 9, the locking claw 5 comes into contact with the edge of the fixing hole and tilts, and when it advances to a predetermined position, the locking claw 5 returns to the locking position by the spring force and is locked to the edge of the fixing hole, so that the installation leg of the assist grip can be installed reliably without rattling. Furthermore, since the cover 3 covering the locking claw chamber 4 is provided on the inside and inside of the installation leg 2, the parting line of the edge of the cover 3 is not easily visible, and the external design of the assist grip can be maintained in a good condition. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 Grip body 1a Core section 1b Epidermis 2 Mounting feet 2a Leg protrusion 2b Rib 3 Cover 4 Locking claw chamber 4a opening 4b Convex part 4c Sliding groove 4d concave surface 4e Recess 5 Locking claw 6-axis 8 Fixed mounting means 9 fixing hole 30 Push-in section 31 Sliding part 32 Elastic sliding part 32a Small convex part 33 Sliding support part 34 Pressing tip 50 Claw part 50a slope 50b Notch 51 Bearing section 52 Storage Room 53 Stopper BP body panel

Claims

1. An assist grip comprising a grip body having mounting legs protruding from the base at both left and right ends, and a fastening means provided on the pair of mounting legs, the fastening means fastening the mounting legs to the vehicle body panel by pushing the leg protrusions of the mounting legs into a rectangular fixing hole provided in the vehicle body panel, The fixed attachment means includes an engagement claw pivotally supported in an engagement claw chamber provided in the attachment leg portion so as to be tiltable, a spring elastic member for biasing the engagement claw in the engagement direction, and a cover attached to an opening portion opening on the inner and inner sides of the attachment leg portion so as to cover the engagement claw chamber of the attachment leg portion, When the leg protrusion of the mounting leg is pushed into the fixing hole, the locking claw contacts the edge of the fixing hole and tilts, and when it advances to a predetermined position, the spring force of the spring elastic member causes the locking claw to return to the locking position and lock onto the edge of the fixing hole, thereby fixing the mounting leg to the vehicle body panel.

2. The assist grip according to claim 1, characterized in that a cover covering an opening of the locking claw chamber is attached to the locking claw chamber so as to be pushable and slidable, and a push-in portion for releasing the lock is provided on the inside of the cover, and when the cover is pushed into the locking claw chamber, the push-in portion pushes the locking claw to release the lock of the locking claw.

3. 2. The assist grip according to claim 1, characterized in that a bearing portion is provided at the base of the locking claw, a spring storage chamber is provided within the bearing portion, an axis passes through the spring storage chamber of the bearing portion, the locking claw is supported so as to be tiltable, and a coil spring as the spring elastic member is stored in the spring storage chamber while biasing the locking claw in the locking direction.

4. A sliding portion is provided on the inside of the cover so as to protrude in the same direction as the pushing portion, and the sliding portion The assist grip according to claim 2, characterized in that a sliding support portion and an elastic sliding portion are provided with a sliding gap between them, and when the cover is pushed in, the sliding support portion and the elastic sliding portion slide within a sliding groove portion provided in the side wall of the locking claw chamber, and the cover slides inward.

5. The assist grip according to claim 3, characterized in that a stopper protrudes from the outer periphery of the bearing portion of the locking claw, and when the locking claw is locked to the edge of the fixing hole, the stopper hits a convex portion within the locking claw chamber and stops the locking claw.

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