Temporary holding structure and temporary holding clip of vehicular visual recognition device

Abstract

To restrain a temporary holding clip from slipping off from a base pin when removing, from a vehicular door panel, a visual recognition device, such as a door mirror, assembled temporarily to the door panel.SOLUTION: A temporary holding structure 40 includes: a base pin 20 projectingly formed on an attachment surface 12a of an attachment base 12; and a temporary holding clip 44 which is housed and held in a cavity 42 of the base pin 20. In a state that the temporary holding clip 44 is housed and held in the cavity 42, a tip 44f, 44f' of a circular arc shape of a projection or an elliptical arc shape of a projection of a second piece 44c of the temporary holding clip 44 is pressed and abutted by elastic force of the second piece 44c against an inner wall surface 42c, 42c' of a circular arc of a recess or an elliptical arc shape of a recess of a deep part 42b of the cavity 42.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1A

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a structure for temporarily holding a vehicle vision device such as a door mirror on a door panel of a vehicle when assembling the vehicle vision device to the door panel. The present invention also relates to a temporary holding clip that can be used for the temporary holding structure.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, the operation of assembling a door mirror to a vehicle has been performed as follows. An operator inserts a plurality of bolts protruding from the mounting surface of the mounting base of the door mirror into the bolt through-holes of the door panel from the vehicle outer surface side of the door panel to hook the door mirror on the door panel. At this time, the door mirror is temporarily held on the door panel by a temporary holding structure so that the door mirror does not fall from the door panel even when the hand is released from the door mirror. Next, nuts are respectively screwed onto the bolts protruding from the vehicle inner surface side of the door panel to firmly fix the door mirror to the door panel. Thus, the door mirror is in a state of being assembled to the door panel. In such an assembling operation, various temporary holding structures used for temporary holding have been proposed conventionally. Examples of the conventionally proposed temporary holding structures include those described in Patent Documents 1 to 4. In addition to the temporary holding structures described in Patent Documents 1 to 4, there has been a conventionally implemented temporary holding structure that uses a temporary holding clip made of a metal plate spring.

[0003] A temporary holding structure using a conventionally implemented metal plate spring temporary holding clip will be described. FIG. 2A shows a single unit of a general door mirror 10 before being assembled to a door panel, with its mirror body portion 14 arranged in a deployed position (use position) with respect to the mounting base 12 and viewed from a position corresponding to the inside of the vehicle compartment. FIG. 2B shows the door mirror 10 in a state where it is assembled to the door panel 28 of the vehicle and viewed from the rear side of the vehicle. The door mirror 10 has a mounting base 12 made of reinforced resin and a mirror body portion 14. The mirror body portion 14 is rotatably supported by the mounting base 12 so as to be displaceable between a deployed position and a stored position (non-use position). Three metal bolts 16, 17, 18 for fixedly attaching the door mirror 10 to the door panel 28 of the vehicle project from the mounting surface 12a of the mounting base 12. Base pins 20, 21 are integrally formed with the mounting base 12 and project in the vicinity of the bolts 16, 17, respectively. The base pins 20, 21 are originally provided for positioning when assembling the door mirror to the door panel. Here, a temporary holding structure is configured on the upper base pin 20. Thus, the upper base pin 20 has both a positioning function and a temporary holding function. Note that the tip portions of the base pins 20, 21 are arranged in the gap between the inner plate and the outer plate constituting the door panel 28 and thus do not appear in FIG. 2B.

[0004] FIG. 3 shows a conventional temporary holding structure 22 formed on a base pin 20. The temporary holding structure 22 has a structure in which a temporary holding clip 26 is pushed into a cavity 24 inside the base pin 20 against the elastic force of the temporary holding clip 26 to be housed and held therein. The temporary holding clip 26 is made of metal and has a structure in which a band-shaped leaf spring is bent in the plate thickness direction so that the side shape is roughly triangular (FIG. 5B). The structure of the base pin 20 is shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C. FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the base pin 20, FIG. 4B is a view taken along the arrow A in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow BB in FIG. 4B (reduced). The structure of the temporary holding clip 26 is shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D. FIG. 5A is a development view of the temporary holding clip 26, FIG. 5B is a side view of the temporary holding clip 26 (showing the state before it is assembled into the base pin 20), FIG. 5C is a bottom view of the same, and FIG. 5D is a perspective view of the same. The temporary holding structure 22 (FIG. 3) is formed by pushing the temporary holding clip 26 into the cavity 24 (FIGS. 4A to 4C) of the base pin 20 against the elastic force of the temporary holding clip 26 and holding it therein. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of the temporary holding structure 22 (a cross-sectional view at the same position as FIG. 4C) and shows the state when the door mirror 10 is temporarily held on the door panel 28. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken at approximately the CC arrow position in FIG. 6A (a position facing the tip 26d of the second piece 26c of the temporary holding clip 26). As shown in FIG. 6A, the peak 26h of the temporary holding clip 26 protrudes from the opening 24a of the cavity 24 in the shaft of the base pin 20 into the external space of the base pin 20.

[0005] The temporary holding state of FIG. 6A will be described. The door panel 28 has three through-holes for main fixing bolts (not shown) for respectively inserting bolts 16, 17, and 18 arranged on the mounting surface 12a of the mounting base 12 of the door mirror 10, a positioning hole 30 (a positioning hole for both temporary fixing and positioning) for inserting the base pin 20, and a positioning hole (not shown) for inserting the base pin 21. Exactly, the door panel 28 at the location where the door mirror 10 is assembled has a structure in which two metal plates, an inner plate (the plate on the vehicle interior side) and an outer plate (the plate on the vehicle exterior side), face each other with a gap therebetween and are connected to each other (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-051434 related to the applicant's application). The upper bolt 16 passes through the bolt through-holes continuously formed in the outer plate and the inner plate and is fixed to the inner plate with a nut. The lower bolts 17 and 18 pass through the bolt through-holes respectively formed in the outer plate and are fixed to the outer plate with nuts. The base pins 20 and 21 are respectively inserted into the positioning holes formed in the outer plate. In FIG. 6A, the door panel 28 is the outer plate, and the base pin 20 is inserted into the positioning hole 30 formed in the door panel 28. The tips of the base pins 20 and 21 are arranged in the gap (the position indicated by G in FIG. 6A) between the inner plate and the outer plate.

[0006] The temporary holding state of FIG. 6A is obtained through the following operations. The operator manually supports the door mirror 10 and inserts the three bolts 16, 17, 18 and the two base pins 20, 21 arranged on the mounting surface 12a of the mounting base into the three bolt through-holes and the two positioning holes of the door panel 28, respectively, and pushes them in against the elastic force of the temporary holding clip 26. As a result, the temporary holding clip 26 is bent, and the peak portion 26h of the temporary holding clip 26 slides while abutting against the inner peripheral surface of the positioning hole 30 and lowers its height to cross over the positioning hole 30. When the peak portion 26h crosses over the positioning hole 30, the bending of the temporary holding clip 26 is restored, and the peak portion 26h raises its height. The pushing-in of the door mirror 10 is locked when a predetermined portion of the mounting base 12 abuts against a predetermined portion of the door panel 28. At this time, the temporary holding clip 26 is in a state of being pressed against and abutting on the inner peripheral surface of the positioning hole 30 by its elastic force. As described above, the temporary holding state of FIG. 6A in which the door mirror 10 does not easily fall from the door panel 28 is obtained.

[0007] According to the temporary holding structure 22 having the above configuration, the overall length of the temporary holding structure (in the case of the temporary holding structure 22 in FIG. 6A, the overall length in the axial direction of the base pin 20 + the amount by which the temporary holding clip 26 protrudes upward from the upper end surface of the base pin 20) can be reduced, so there is an advantage that it can be adopted even when the gap between the inner plate and the outer plate is narrow.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] In the conventionally implemented temporary holding structure 22, when an operator pushes the door mirror 10 into the door panel 28 for temporary holding, the clicking feeling when the crest portion 26h of the temporary holding clip 26 crosses the positioning hole 30 is weak, and the operator cannot clearly feel that the temporary holding is completed. Therefore, when the height of the crest portion 26h of the temporary holding clip 26 was increased (that is, the inclination of the crest portion 26h was made steeper) to enhance the clicking feeling, a new problem occurred. That is, in the case of the door mirror, it is necessary to be able to remove it from the door panel in case the door mirror is accidentally assembled to the door panel for some reason. However, when a temporary holding structure in which the height of the crest portion 26h of the temporary holding clip 26 is increased to enhance the clicking feeling is adopted, a problem occurs in that the temporary holding clip 26 comes off from the base pin 20. This state is shown in FIG. 7. From the state where the door mirror 10 is fixedly secured to the door panel 28, loosen the nut and remove it from the bolts 16, 17, 18 to return to the temporarily fixed state shown in step (i) of FIG. 7. When trying to pull the door mirror 10 by hand from the door panel 28 from this state, since the crest portion 26h of the temporary holding clip 26 is high, a large force is required for the crest portion 26h to cross the positioning hole 30. As a result, before the crest portion 26h crosses the positioning hole 30, the temporary holding clip 26 comes off from the base pin 20 (step (ii) of FIG. 7).

[0010] In the conventionally implemented temporary holding structure 22, another problem also occurred. This state is shown in FIG. 8. The operation of accommodating the temporary holding clip 26 in the cavity 24 inside the base pin 20 is performed by pushing the temporary holding clip 26 into the cavity 24 from the tip side of the base pin 20. This pushing operation requires a relatively large force, and it is difficult for an operator to perform it manually, so a machine such as a robot is used. In the pushing operation by the machine, the temporary holding clip 26 is first temporarily placed at the opening 24a of the base pin 20, and then the temporary holding clip 26 is pushed into the cavity 24 by the machine. At this time, the temporary holding clip 26 may fall down through the opening 24a of the shaft portion of the base pin 20 and the pushing may fail.

[0011] The present invention solves the above-described problems in the conventional temporary holding structure, and suppresses the temporary holding clip from coming off the base pin when removing the vehicle visual recognition device once assembled to the door panel from the door panel. Further, the present invention suppresses the temporary holding clip from falling when pushing the temporary holding clip into the cavity of the base pin.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0012] The temporary holding structure of the present invention is a temporary holding structure arranged on the mounting base for temporarily holding a vehicle vision device to a door panel of a vehicle via the mounting base of the vehicle vision device. In the temporary holding structure, the temporary holding structure has a base pin protruding from the mounting surface of the mounting base facing the door panel, and a temporary holding clip having a structure formed by bending a strip-shaped leaf spring in the plate thickness direction and being received and held by the base pin. The base pin has a cavity formed inside the base pin and extending in the protruding direction of the base pin. The cavity has an opening that opens from the tip surface of the base pin to the shaft portion of the base pin along the extending direction of the cavity, a back portion located deeper than the opening when viewed from the tip surface side of the base pin and where the opening is not formed, and an inner wall surface formed in an arc shape concave or an elliptical arc shape concave in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the cavity and located on the extension of the opening in the back portion. The temporary holding clip has, in the extending direction of the leaf spring constituting the temporary holding clip, a first piece, a second piece formed via a first bending portion that bends at an acute angle at one end of the first piece, and a third piece formed via a second bending portion that bends at an acute angle on the same side as the first bending portion at the other end of the first piece. The tip of the free end of the second piece is formed in an arc shape convex or an elliptical arc shape convex when viewed from the plate thickness direction of the second piece. The third piece has a third bending portion that bends toward the side closer to the first piece at a middle position in its extending direction to form a peak portion. The temporary holding clip is received and held in the cavity with the first bending portion received in the back portion of the cavity and the first piece arranged along the extending direction of the cavity. In a state where the temporary holding clip is received and held in the cavity, the convex arc-shaped or convex elliptical arc-shaped tip of the free end of the second piece is pressed and abutted against the concave arc-shaped or concave elliptical arc-shaped inner wall surface of the back portion of the cavity by the elastic force of the second piece. The third bending portion of the third piece protrudes from the opening opening to the shaft portion of the base pin into the external space of the cavity, and the free end of the third piece is received in the back portion of the cavity.According to this, in a state where the temporary holding clip is accommodated and held in the cavity, the tip of the second piece linearly presses against and contacts the inner wall surface at the back of the cavity at an arcuate or elliptical arc portion (see FIGS. 1B and 14A). Therefore, compared with the conventional temporary holding structure (where the tip of the second piece presses against and contacts the inner wall surface at the back of the cavity at the left and right corners in a point-like manner, see FIGS. 6B and 14B), a larger frictional load due to the pressing contact can be obtained. As a result, when removing the viewing device once assembled to the door panel from the door panel, it is possible to suppress the temporary holding clip from coming off the base pin (see FIG. 13).

[0013] In the temporary holding structure of this invention, the base pin can be made of resin and the temporary holding clip can be made of metal. According to this, since the resin-made base pin is softer than the metal-made temporary holding clip, the inner wall surface of the base pin is bent by the elastic force of the second piece, or the tip of the free end of the second piece bites into the inner wall surface. As a result, compared with the case where the base pin is made of hard metal, the length of the line that linearly presses against and contacts the inner wall surface at the back of the cavity at the arcuate or elliptical arc portion of the tip of the second piece can be made longer, and the frictional load increases accordingly, enhancing the effect of suppressing the temporary holding clip from coming off the base pin. In the case of the conventional temporary holding structure, even if the inner wall surface of the base pin is bent by the elastic force of the second piece or the tip of the free end of the second piece bites into the inner wall surface, the tip of the second piece still presses against and contacts the inner wall surface at the back of the cavity at the left and right corners in a point-like manner without change, and does not linearly press against and contact, so the effect of increasing the frictional load by linearly pressing against and contacting cannot be obtained.

[0014] In the temporary holding structure of the present invention, the temporary holding clip may have flanges formed to project on both sides in the width direction of the first piece, and the base pin may have rails on the inner wall surface of the cavity for slidably supporting the respective flanges in the extending direction of the cavity. According to this, when assembling the temporary holding clip to the base pin, the flange of the first piece of the temporary holding clip can be supported and slid on the rail of the cavity of the base pin during assembly (see FIG. 15), so that the problem that the temporary holding clip falls down when assembling the temporary holding clip to the base pin in the conventional temporary holding structure (see FIG. 8) can be solved.

[0015] In the temporary holding structure of the present invention, the tip of the free end of the third piece may have a concave arc shape or a concave elliptical arc shape that is complementary to the convex arc shape or the convex elliptical arc shape of the tip of the free end of the second piece. According to this, when cutting a long leaf spring material at each length of the temporary holding clip by press working or the like to sequentially cut out the leaf spring material of the temporary holding clip, if the cutting shape is made into an arc shape or an elliptical arc shape, one end portion of the cut-out leaf spring material having a convex arc shape or a convex elliptical arc shape can be used as the tip of the free end of the second piece, and the other end portion having a concave arc shape or a concave elliptical arc shape can be used as the tip of the free end of the third piece. Therefore, compared with the case where the other end portion having the concave arc shape or the concave elliptical arc shape is further cut into a straight shape to form the tip of the free end of the third piece, the process for cutting into the straight shape is unnecessary, and there is no generation of cutting chips associated with cutting into the straight shape. Moreover, even if the tip of the free end of the third piece has a concave arc shape or a concave elliptical arc shape, none of the temporary holding operation, the temporary holding function, and the temporary holding release operation will be hindered.

[0016] The temporary holding clip of the present invention is a temporary holding clip that can be used in the temporary holding structure of the present invention. The temporary holding clip has a structure formed by bending a strip-shaped leaf spring in the plate thickness direction. The temporary holding clip includes, in the extending direction of the leaf spring constituting the temporary holding clip, a first piece, a second piece formed via a first bending portion that bends at an acute angle at one end of the first piece, and a third piece formed via a second bending portion that bends at an acute angle on the same side as the first bending portion at the other end of the first piece. The tip of the free end of the second piece is formed in a convex arc shape or a convex elliptical arc shape when viewed from the plate thickness direction of the second piece. The third piece has a third bending portion that bends toward the side approaching the first piece at an intermediate position in its extending direction to form a mountain portion. The temporary holding clip of the present invention can have flanges formed to project on both sides in the width direction of the first piece. In the temporary holding clip of the present invention, the tip of the free end of the third piece can have a concave arc shape or a concave elliptical arc shape that is complementary to the convex arc shape or the convex elliptical arc shape of the tip of the free end of the second piece.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

Figure 1A

Figure 1B

Figure 2A

Figure 2B

Figure 3

Figure 4A

Figure 4B

Figure 4C

Figure 5A

Figure 5B

Figure 5C

Figure 5D

Figure 6A

Figure 6B

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10A

Figure 10B

Figure 10C

Figure 11A

Figure 11B

Figure 11C

Figure 11D

Figure 11E

Figure 11F

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14A

Figure 14B

Figure 15

Figure 16A

Figure 16B

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] An embodiment of the temporary holding structure according to the present invention configured in the base pin 20 of FIG. 2A will be described below. For the base pin 200 according to this embodiment, in order to distinguish it from the base pin 20 of the conventional structure shown in FIG. 3, the reference numeral is changed and it is denoted as "base pin 200". FIG. 9 shows the temporary holding structure 40 according to this embodiment. The temporary holding structure 40 has a configuration in which a temporary holding clip 44 is pushed into and housed in a cavity 42 inside the base pin 200 against the elastic force of the temporary holding clip 44.

[0019] The structure of the base pin 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10C. FIG. 10A is a perspective view of the base pin 200, FIG. 10B is a view taken in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 10A, and FIG. 10C is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E in FIG. 10B (shown in a reduced scale). The base pin 200 has a cavity 42 formed therein that extends in the protruding direction of the base pin 200. The cavity 42 has an opening 42a that opens from the tip surface 200a of the base pin 200 to one side surface of the shaft portion 200b. The cavity 42 has a back portion 42b that is located deeper than the end position of the opening 42a in the shaft portion 200b as viewed from the tip surface 200a side of the base pin 200 and where no opening is formed. As shown in FIG. 10B, the cavity 42 has an inner wall surface 42c (ceiling surface) in the back portion 42b that is located on the extension of the opening 42a in the shaft portion 200b in the extending direction of the cavity 42. The inner wall surface 42c is formed in a concave arc shape in a cross-section in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the cavity 42. The cross-sectional shapes of the left and right wall surfaces 42d, 42e and the floor surface 42f of the cavity 42 in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the cavity 42 are linear. On the left and right of the floor surface 42f, rails 42g, 42h are formed that extend along the cavity 42 and have a concave cross-sectional shape in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the cavity 42. A ridge 42i that constitutes a support base for the temporary holding clip 44 protrudes from the central portion in the width direction of the floor surface 42f. The ridge 42i is formed to extend along the cavity 42 from a position slightly inside the cavity 42 from the tip surface 200a of the base pin 200 to the abutting surface at the deepest part of the cavity 42 (FIG. 10C). The reason for starting the ridge 42i not from the position of the tip surface 200a of the base pin 200 but from a position slightly inside the cavity 42 from the tip surface 200a is to make it easier to insert the temporary holding clip 44 into the cavity 42. The temporary holding clip 44 is accommodated in the cavity 42 while being supported by the ridge 42i (FIG. 1B). The presence of the ridge 42i can reduce the sliding resistance when pushing the temporary holding clip 44 into the cavity 42 and enable smooth pushing. Also, the presence of the ridge 42i clarifies the support location of the temporary holding clip 44 in the cavity 42 and suppresses rattling of the temporary holding clip 44 after being accommodated in the cavity 42.

[0020] The structure of the temporary holding clip 44 will be described with reference to Figures 11A to 11E. Figure 11A is a development view of the temporary holding clip 44, Figure 11B is a side view (showing the state before being assembled into the base pin 200), Figure 11C is a bottom view, Figure 11D is a perspective view seen diagonally from above, and Figure 11E is a perspective view seen diagonally from above. The temporary holding clip 44 has a structure in which a band-shaped metal leaf spring is bent in the thickness direction so that the side shape is roughly triangular (Figure 11B). In Fig. 11B, the temporary holding clip 44 has, in the extending direction of the leaf spring constituting the temporary holding clip 44, a first piece 44a, a second piece 44c formed via a first bent portion 44b bent at an acute angle at one end of the first piece 44a, and a third piece 44e formed via a second bent portion 44d bent at an acute angle on the same side as the first bent portion 44b (upper side in Fig. 11B) at the other end of the first piece 44a. The bending angle θ1 of the first bent portion 44b (the angle formed by the first piece 44a and the second piece 44c) is set smaller than the bending angle θ2 of the second bent portion 44d (the angle formed by the first piece 44a and the third piece 44e) (i.e., θ1<θ2). The first piece 44a has flanges 44j and 44k (Fig. 11D, etc.) formed to protrude on both sides in the width direction. The flanges 44j, 44k slidably fit into the rails 42g, 42h of the cavity 42 of the base pin 200 (FIG. 1B). Stoppers 44m, 44n (FIG. 11C, etc.) are formed on both the left and right sides of the second bent portion 44d, protruding outward. When the temporary holding clip 44 is pushed into the cavity 42 of the base pin 200, the stoppers 44m, 44n come into contact with the tip surface 200a of the base pin 200 to stop the pushing action of the temporary holding clip 44 (FIG. 9). As a result, the temporary holding clip 44 is accommodated in the cavity 42 of the base pin 200 to a predetermined depth (the depth immediately before it hits the abutting surface of the cavity 42, FIG. 1A).

[0021] The tip 44f of the free end of the second piece 44c of the temporary holding clip 44 is formed in a convex arc shape when viewed from the thickness direction of the second piece 44c (FIGS. 11A and 11D). The radius of the convex arc of the tip 44f of the second piece 44c is set to be approximately the same as the radius of the concave arc of the inner wall surface 42c. The tip 44g of the free end of the third piece 44e is formed in a concave arc shape that is complementary to the convex arc shape of the tip 44f of the free end of the second piece 44c (FIGS. 11A and 11E). In FIG. 11B, the third piece 44e has a third bending portion 44i that forms a peak portion 44h by bending at an obtuse angle toward the side approaching the first piece 44a at an intermediate position in its extending direction. The height H1 of the peak portion 44h (the height from the lower surface of the first piece 44a, the same applies to the heights H3 and H4 described later) is set such that when the temporary holding clip 44 is accommodated and held in the cavity 42 of the base pin 200, the peak portion 44h protrudes from the opening 24a of the shaft portion 200b of the base pin 200 into the external space of the cavity 24. Also, the height H1 of the peak portion 44h is set higher than the height H2 of the peak portion 26h of the conventional temporary holding structure 22 (the height from the lower surface of the first piece 26a in FIG. 5B), so as to obtain a stronger click feeling during the temporary holding operation.

[0022] In FIG. 11B, the length L1 from the tip of the first bending portion 44b of the temporary holding clip 44 to the contact surfaces of the stoppers 44m and 44n (the surfaces that contact the tip surface 200a of the base pin 200) is set to be slightly shorter than the total length of the cavity 42 in the extending direction. Thereby, in the state where the temporary holding clip 44 is accommodated and held in the cavity 42 of the base pin 200 (the state where the pushing of the temporary holding clip 44 into the cavity 24 is locked by the stoppers 44m and 44n), the tip of the first bending portion 44b stops at a position immediately before hitting the abutting surface at the inner end 24b of the cavity 42 (FIG. 12(ii)). Also, the length L2 from the tip of the first bending portion 44b of the temporary holding clip 44 to the tip 44f of the free end of the second piece 44c is set such that in the state where the temporary holding clip 44 is accommodated and held in the cavity 42 of the base pin 200, the entire second piece 44c is accommodated in the inner end 24b of the cavity 24 (FIGS. 1A and 12(ii)).

[0023] In FIG. 11A, the width W1 of the temporary holding clip 44 (the width at the portion excluding the flanges 44j and 44k and the stoppers 44m and 44n) is set to be slightly smaller than the width between the left and right wall surfaces 42d and 42e of the cavity 24 and the width of the opening 42a in the shaft portion 200b (FIG. 10B) (FIG. 1B). The width W2 of the temporary holding clip 44 at the portions of the flanges 44j and 44k is set to be narrower than the width between the left and right rails 42g and 42h of the cavity 24 and wider than the width between the left and right wall surfaces 42d and 42e of the cavity 24 (FIG. 1B). The width W3 of the temporary holding clip 44 at the portions of the stoppers 44m and 44n is set to be wider than the width between the left and right rails 42g and 42h of the cavity 24.

[0024] In FIG. 11B, the free end of the second piece 44c and the free end of the third piece 44e are arranged so that the free end of the third piece 44e is disposed closer to the first piece 44a side (the free end of the third piece 44e is disposed below the free end of the second piece 44c in FIG. 11B) with respect to the free end of the second piece 44c and overlap each other. The free end of the third piece 44e is pressed and abutted against the free end of the second piece 44c from below and locked by the elastic force of the third piece 44e (the force that the third piece 44e tries to rise with respect to the first piece 44a). As a result, the portion of the third piece 44e on the tip 44g side rather than the third bending portion 44i of the third piece 44e (the front portion 44e1 of the third piece) forms an inclined surface with an angle θ1 that slopes downward to the right in FIG. 11B with respect to the first piece 44a following the inclination of the second piece 44c. On the other hand, the portion of the third piece 44e on the rear side rather than the third bending portion 44i of the third piece 44e (the rear portion 44e2 of the third piece) forms an inclined surface with an angle θ2 that slopes downward to the left in FIG. 11B with respect to the first piece 44a. Since θ1 < θ2 is set as described above, the rear portion 44e2 of the third piece is formed with a steeper inclined surface than the front portion 44e1 of the third piece.

[0025] With the above configuration, the temporary holding clip 44 has a substantially scalene triangular side shape as shown in Fig. 11B before being incorporated into the base pin 200. The height H3 of the lower end position of the second piece 44c (the boundary position with the first bent portion 44b) is set to a height at which, when the second piece 44c is inserted into the inner part 42b of the cavity 42 of the base pin 200, the lower end position is accommodated in the inner part 42b without contacting the inner wall surface 42c (ceiling surface) of the inner part 42b. The height H4 of the tip 44f of the free end of the second piece 44c is set to a height at which, when the second piece 44c is inserted into the inner part 42b of the cavity 42 of the base pin 200, the tip 44f of the free end contacts the inner wall surface 42c (ceiling surface), bends, and slides on the inner wall surface 42c and is accommodated in the inner part 42b. When the temporary holding clip 44 is inserted into the cavity 42 through the opening 42a with the first bent portion 44b side as the leading end, after the inclined surface of the second piece 44c contacts the entrance of the inner part 42b (the front end portion of the inner wall surface 42c), by pushing the temporary holding clip 44 against the elastic force of the second piece 44c, the second piece 44c bends in a direction to reduce the angle θ1 and is accommodated in the inner part 42b. At this time, due to the elastic force generated by the bending of the second piece 44c, the tip 44f of the second piece 44c and the inner wall surface 42c (ceiling surface) of the cavity 42 of the base pin 200 are in a pressed contact state. In this way, the temporary holding clip 44 is accommodated and held in the cavity 42, and the temporary holding structure 40 is assembled.

[0026] An example of a method for forming the convex arc shape of the tip 44f of the second piece 44c and the concave arc shape of the tip 44g of the third piece 44e in the temporary holding clip 44 will be described. As shown in Fig. 11F, a long leaf spring material 45 is cut for each length of the temporary holding clip 44 by pressing or the like to sequentially cut out the leaf spring materials of individual temporary holding clips 44’, 44, 44” ···. At this time, the cutting shapes of both tips 44f and 44g are cut so as to be arc shapes that are complementary to each other. As a result, the convex arc-shaped tip 44f of the second piece 44c is formed at the front end of the leaf spring material of the temporary holding clip 44, and at the same time, the concave arc-shaped tip 44g’ of the third piece 44e is formed at the rear end of the leaf spring material of the temporary holding clip 44’. Also, the concave arc-shaped tip 44g of the third piece 44e is formed at the rear end of the leaf spring material of the temporary holding clip 44, and at the same time, the convex arc-shaped tip 44f” of the second piece 44c is formed at the front end of the leaf spring material of the temporary holding clip 44”. According to such a forming method, compared with the case where the tip 44g of the third piece 44e of the temporary holding clip 44 is formed in a linear shape orthogonal to the extending direction of the leaf spring material, a separate cutting process for forming the linear shape is not required, and there is no generation of cutting chips associated with cutting into the linear shape. Moreover, even if the tip 44g of the third piece 44e has a concave arc shape, none of the temporary holding operation, the temporary holding function, and the temporary holding release operation will be hindered.

[0027] The procedure for assembling the temporary holding structure 40 by accommodating the temporary holding clip 44 in the base pin 200 and the procedure for assembling the door mirror 10 having the assembled temporary holding structure 40 to the door panel 28 will be described with reference to FIG. 12. The assembly of the temporary holding structure 40 is performed as follows. As shown in step (i) of FIG. 12, the temporary holding clip 44 is inserted into the cavity 42 from the tip surface 200a side of the base pin 200 with the first bent portion 44b at the head. This insertion can be performed smoothly without any resistance. When the second piece 44c abuts against the entrance of the inner part 42b of the cavity 42 (the front end of the inner wall surface 42c) (the temporarily placed state shown by the two-dot chain line in step (i) of FIG. 12), the temporary holding clip 44 is pushed into the cavity 42 against the elastic force of the second piece 44c (the force with which the second piece 44c tries to rise with respect to the first piece 44a). The pushing is locked when the stoppers 44m, 44n (FIG. 11E etc.) at the rear end of the base pin 200 reach and abut against the tip surface 200a of the base pin 200. Thus, the second piece 44c is completely accommodated in the inner part 42b. The upper side of the tip 44f of the second piece 44c is pressed and abuts against the inner wall surface 42c (ceiling surface) of the inner part 42b. The tip 44g of the third piece 44e is accommodated in the inner part 42b in a state of being disposed below the second piece 44c. As a result, the state shown in step (ii) of FIG. 12 is obtained, and the assembly operation of the temporary holding structure 40 is completed. Thus, the temporary holding clip 44 is in a state of being accommodated and held in the base pin 200, and the assembly of the temporary holding structure 40 is completed.

[0028] The operation of assembling the door mirror 10 having the temporary holding structure 40 assembled as described above to the door panel 28 is performed as follows. The operator manually supports the door mirror 10 (FIGS. 2A and 2B) and inserts the three bolts 16, 17, 18 and the two base pins 200, 21 arranged on the mounting surface 12a of the mounting base 12 from the vehicle outer surface side of the door panel 28 into the three bolt through-holes and the two positioning holes, respectively, and pushes them in against the elastic force of the temporary holding clip 44. Step (iii) in FIG. 12 shows the initial state when the pushing-in of the door mirror 10 is started. At this time, as the front portion 44e1 of the third piece of the temporary holding clip 44 abuts and slides on the inner peripheral surface of the positioning hole 30, the third piece 44e bends in the direction of reducing the angle θ2 (FIG. 11B), and the peak portion 44h lowers in height. When the peak portion 44h gets over the positioning hole 30, the bending of the third piece 44e is restored. The pushing-in of the door mirror 10 is stopped when a predetermined portion of the mounting base 12 abuts and locks to a predetermined portion of the door panel 28. Thereby, the temporary holding state (the same state as in FIG. 1A) shown in step (iv) of FIG. 12 in which the door mirror 10 does not easily fall from the door panel 28 is obtained. At this time, the third piece 44e is in a state where the bending is not completely restored, and remains in pressure contact with the inner peripheral surface of the positioning hole 30 by its elastic force. Thus, the temporary holding operation is completed. Thereafter, nuts are respectively screwed onto the bolts 16, 17, 18 protruding on the vehicle inner surface side of the door panel 28 to firmly fix the door mirror 10 to the door panel 28. Thus, the assembly of the door mirror 10 to the door panel 28 is completed.

[0029] FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the temporary holding structure 40 in a state where the temporary holding is completed (the same state as the process (iv) in FIG. 12), which is a cross-sectional view at the same position as FIG. 10C. At this time, the temporary holding clip 44 is housed in the inner part 42b of the cavity 42 with the first bent portion 44b and is housed and held in the cavity 42 with the first piece 44a along the extending direction of the cavity 42. The convex arc-shaped tip 44f of the second piece 44c is pressed and abutted against the concave arc-shaped inner wall surface 42c of the inner part 42b of the cavity 42 by the elastic force of the second piece 44c (the force with which the second piece 44c tries to rise with respect to the first piece 44a). At this time, with respect to the extending direction of the cavity 42, the second piece 44c is in an inclined posture with respect to the inner wall surface 42c. The peak portion 44h including the third bent portion 44i of the third piece 44e projects from the opening 42a opening to one side surface of the shaft portion 200b of the base pin 200 into the external space of the cavity 42. The third piece 44e is pressed and abutted against the inner peripheral surface of the positioning hole 30 at the front portion 44e1 of the third piece by its elastic force (the force with which the third piece 44e tries to rise with respect to the first piece 44a). The free end portion of the third piece 44e is disposed at a position sandwiched between the free end portion of the second piece 44c and the first piece 44a in the inner part 42b of the cavity 42.

[0030] FIG. 1B shows a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1A generally at the position viewed in the direction of arrow F-F (the position facing the tip 44f of the second piece 44c of the temporary holding clip 44). In FIG. 1B, the contact state between the upper side of the convex arc-shaped tip 44f of the second piece 44c and the concave arc-shaped inner wall surface 42c of the inner part 42b of the cavity 42 is shown. Since the tip 44f is formed in a convex arc shape and the inner wall surface 42c is formed in a concave arc shape, the tip 44f and the inner wall surface 42c are in linear pressing contact. On the other hand, in the temporary holding by the conventional temporary holding structure, as shown in FIG. 6B showing the cross-sectional view taken along the arrow C-C of FIG. 6A, the inner wall surface 24c (ceiling surface) of the inner part 24b of the cavity 24 is formed in a concave arc shape in cross-section, while the tip 26d of the second piece 26c is formed in a straight line shape. Therefore, the tip 26d is in point-like pressing contact with the inner wall surface 24c at two points of the left and right corners. Therefore, according to the temporary holding structure 40 of this embodiment, compared with the conventional temporary holding structure 22, the area of the surface pressing against the concave arc-shaped inner wall surface 42c becomes larger, and a large frictional load can be obtained between the base pin 200 and the temporary holding clip 44. As a result, when removing the door mirror 10 once assembled to the door panel 28 from the door panel 28, it is possible to suppress the temporary holding clip 44 from coming off the base pin 200. FIG. 13 shows this state. From the state where the door mirror 10 is fixedly attached to the door panel 28, loosen the nut and remove it from the bolts 16, 17, 18 to return to the temporarily fixed state shown in step (i) of FIG. 13. When pulling the door mirror 10 by hand from this state, while the temporary holding clip 44 is held by the base pin 200, the front part 44e1 of the third piece of the temporary holding clip 44 abuts and slides on the inner peripheral surface of the positioning hole 30, and the third piece 44e bends in the direction of reducing the angle θ2 (FIG. 11B). When the ridge part 44h gets over the positioning hole 30, as shown in step (ii) of FIG. 13, the door mirror 10 is removed from the door panel 28.

[0031] In addition, in FIG. 1B, the upper side of the convex arc-shaped tip 44f of the second piece 44c is shown to be in contact with the inner wall surface 42c over the entire circumferential length. However, in reality, as shown in FIG. 1A, the tip 44f of the second piece 44c contacts the inner wall surface 42c in a tilted posture with respect to the inner wall surface 42c (that is, the second piece 44c is not in a posture perpendicular to the inner wall surface 42c when the tip 44f contacts the inner wall surface 42c). Therefore, when both the tip 44f and the inner wall surface 42c are arc-shaped, the tip 44f will not be in contact with the inner wall surface 42c over the entire circumferential length. That is, in reality, the convex arc-shaped tip 44f of the second piece 44c linearly presses and contacts the inner wall surface 42c in the regions on both the left and right sides in the circumferential direction of the tip 44f, as shown by the region blacked out in FIG. 14A. FIG. 14B shows, by blacking out the region where the tip 26d of the second piece 26c contacts the concave arc-shaped inner wall surface 24c (FIG. 6B) in the conventional temporary holding structure 22. The tip 26d presses and contacts the inner wall surface 24c pointwise at two points at the left and right corners.

[0032] FIG. 15 shows how the problem of the temporary holding clip falling over when the temporary holding clip is pushed into the cavity of the base pin in the conventional temporary holding structure (see FIG. 8) is solved by the temporary holding structure 40 of the embodiment of the present invention. When the temporary holding clip 44 is pushed into the cavity 42 of the base pin 200, the flanges 44j, 44k (FIG. 11D, etc.) of the first piece 44a of the temporary holding clip 44 are supported by the rails 42g, 42h of the cavity 42 (FIG. 1B). Therefore, the temporary holding clip 44 is accommodated in the cavity 42 without falling over.

[0033] In the above-described embodiment, the tip 44f of the free end of the second piece 44c of the temporary holding clip 44 is formed in a convex arc shape, and the inner wall surface 42c of the inner part 42b of the cavity 42 of the base pin 200 is formed in a concave arc shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, for example, the tip 44f of the second piece 44c can be formed in a convex elliptical arc shape, and the inner wall surface 42c can be formed in a concave arc shape. Also, the tip 44f of the second piece 44c can be formed in a convex arc shape, and the inner wall surface 42c can be formed in a concave elliptical arc shape. Further, the tip 44f of the second piece 44c can be formed in a convex elliptical arc shape, and the inner wall surface 42c can be formed in a concave elliptical arc shape. FIG. 16A shows an example of the tip 44f' of the second piece 44c formed in a convex elliptical arc shape. As shown in this figure, by configuring the convex elliptical arc-shaped tip 44f' with the sides in the major axis direction of the ellipse, the length of the line that linearly presses and contacts the concave arc-shaped inner wall surface 42c can be increased, and the frictional load due to the pressing contact can be increased. FIG. 16B shows an example of the inner wall surface 42c' formed in a concave elliptical arc shape. As shown in this figure, by configuring the concave elliptical arc-shaped inner wall surface 42c' with the sides in the minor axis direction of the ellipse, the length of the line that linearly presses and contacts the convex arc-shaped tip 44f can be increased, and the frictional load due to the pressing contact can be increased.

[0034] In the above-described embodiment, the case where the height of the ridge portion of the temporary holding clip is made higher than that of the conventional one has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to the case where the height of the ridge portion of the temporary holding clip is not higher than that of the conventional one. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the temporary holding clip from coming off and detaching from the base pin.

[0035] In the above-described embodiment, the case where the vehicle visual recognition device is a door mirror has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to the case where the vehicle visual recognition device is a camera.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0036] 10…Door mirror, 12…Mounting base, 12a…Mounting surface, 14…Mirror body, 16, 17, 18…Bolts, 20…Base pin, 21…Base pin, 200…Base pin, 200a…Tip surface, 200b…Shaft portion, 22…Conventional temporary holding structure, 24…Hollow, 24a…Opening, 24b…Inner part, 24c…Inner wall surface, 26…Temporary holding clip, 26a…First piece, 26c…Second piece, 26d…Tip of the free end of the second piece, 26h…Ridge portion, 28…Door panel, 30…Positioning hole, 40…Temporary holding structure, 42…Hollow, 42a…Opening, 42b…Inner part, 42c…Inner wall surface (ceiling surface) formed in a concave arc shape, 42c’…Inner wall surface (ceiling surface) formed in a concave elliptical arc shape, 42d, 42e…Left and right wall surfaces, 42f…Floor surface, 42g, 42h…Rails, 42i…Ridge, 44, 44’, 44”…Temporary holding clips, 44a…First piece, 44b…First bent portion, 44c…Second piece, 44d…Second bent portion, 44e…Third piece, 44e1…Front portion of the third piece, 44e2…Rear portion of the third piece, 44f, 44f”…Tips formed in a convex arc shape at the free end of the second piece, 44f’…Tip formed in a convex elliptical arc shape at the free end of the second piece, 44g, 44g’…Tips at the free end of the third piece, 44h…Ridge portion, 44i…Third bent portion, 44j, 44k…Flanges, 44m, 44n…Stops, 45…Long plate spring material, G…Gap between the inner plate and the outer plate, H1…Height of the ridge portion, H2…Height of the ridge portion of the conventional structure, H3…Height of the lower end of the second piece, H4…Height of the tip of the free end of the second piece, L1…Length from the tip of the first bent portion to the contact surface of the stop, L2…Length from the tip of the first bent portion to the tip of the free end of the second piece, W1…Width of the temporary holding clip excluding the flange and the stop, W2…Width of the temporary holding clip at the flange portion, W3…Width of the temporary holding clip at the stop portion, θ1…Bending angle of the first bent portion, θ2…Bending angle of the second bent portion

Claims

1. A temporary holding structure for temporarily holding a vehicle visual confirmation device on a door panel of a vehicle via a mounting base of the vehicle visual confirmation device, the temporary holding structure being disposed on the mounting base, The temporary holding structure includes a base pin protruding from a mounting surface of the mounting base facing the door panel, and a temporary holding clip having a structure formed by bending a band-shaped leaf spring in a plate thickness direction and housed and held by the base pin, The base pin has a cavity formed therein and extending in a protruding direction of the base pin, The cavity has an opening that opens from the tip surface of the base pin to the shaft portion of the base pin along the extension direction of the cavity, a rear portion that is located further back than the opening when viewed from the tip surface side of the base pin and where the opening is not formed, and an inner wall surface that is located on an extension of the opening in the rear portion and has a cross section in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the cavity that is formed into a concave arc shape or a concave elliptical arc shape, The temporary holding clip has, in an extending direction of the leaf spring constituting the temporary holding clip, a first piece, a second piece formed at one end of the first piece via a first bent portion bent at an acute angle to the same side as the first bent portion, and a third piece formed at the other end of the first piece via a second bent portion bent at an acute angle to the same side as the first bent portion, a tip of a free end of the second piece is formed into a convex circular arc shape or a convex elliptical arc shape when viewed from a plate thickness direction of the second piece, The third piece has a third bent portion bent toward the first piece at a midpoint in the extending direction to form a mountain portion, The temporary holding clip is housed and held in the cavity with the first bent portion housed in the innermost portion of the cavity and the first piece aligned along the extending direction of the cavity, When the temporary retaining clip is housed and held in the cavity, the convex arc-shaped or convex elliptical arc-shaped tip of the free end of the second piece is pressed into contact with the concave arc-shaped or concave elliptical arc-shaped inner wall surface of the back part of the cavity by the elastic force of the second piece, the third bent portion of the third piece protrudes into the external space of the cavity from the opening that opens into the shank of the base pin, and the free end of the third piece is housed in the back part of the cavity. Temporary holding structure.

2. The temporary holding structure according to claim 1 , wherein the base pin is made of resin, and the temporary holding clip is made of metal.

3. The temporary holding clip has flanges formed to protrude from both sides of the first piece in the width direction, The base pin has rails on the inner wall surface of the cavity for supporting the flanges slidably in the extending direction of the cavity. The temporary holding structure according to claim 1 .

4. A temporary retention structure described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tip of the free end of the third piece has a concave arc shape or a concave elliptical arc shape complementary to the convex arc shape or convex elliptical arc shape of the tip of the free end of the second piece.

5. A temporary holding clip that can be used in the temporary holding structure according to claim 1, The temporary holding clip has a structure formed by bending a band-shaped leaf spring in a plate thickness direction, The temporary holding clip has, in an extending direction of the leaf spring constituting the temporary holding clip, a first piece, a second piece formed at one end of the first piece via a first bent portion bent at an acute angle to the same side as the first bent portion, and a third piece formed at the other end of the first piece via a second bent portion bent at an acute angle to the same side as the first bent portion, a tip of a free end of the second piece is formed into a convex circular arc shape or a convex elliptical arc shape when viewed from a plate thickness direction of the second piece, The third piece has a third bent portion bent toward the first piece at a midpoint in the extending direction to form a mountain portion. Temporary retention clip.

6. 6. The temporary holding clip according to claim 5, further comprising flanges formed to protrude from both sides in the width direction of the first piece.

7. 7. A temporary retaining clip as described in claim 5 or 6, wherein the tip of the free end of the third piece has a concave arc shape or a concave elliptical arc shape complementary to the convex arc shape or convex elliptical arc shape of the tip of the free end of the second piece.

Images