Clip
The clip design addresses the issue of reduced holding force at oblique angles by ensuring the engaging claws follow the mounting hole edge and the clamping claws securely attach to the rib, maintaining a consistent holding force across angles.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024208216
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-12-12
- Filing Date
- 2024-11-29
- Publication Date
- 2025-06-24
AI Technical Summary
Existing clip technologies experience a significant reduction in holding load when used at an oblique angle due to inclination in the mating panel or attached member, leading to a decrease in the oblique holding load compared to the vertical holding load.
The clip design features a continuous body with outer and inner legs, where the outer legs have engaging claws that follow the edge of the mounting hole even when the panel is inclined, and inner legs with clamping claws that securely attach to the rib, maintaining holding force consistency across angles.
This design effectively suppresses the reduction in oblique holding load, maintaining a holding force close to the vertical load, with a reduction rate minimized to about 20%, thereby ensuring reliable attachment and detachment across various panel orientations.
Smart Images

Figure 2025093881000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a clip. More specifically, the present invention relates to a clip for detachably attaching a mounted member to a mating panel by inserting a clip body attached to a rib of a mounting seat formed on the mounted member into a mounting hole of the mating panel.
Background Art
[0002] As this type of clip, for example, the technique shown in Patent Document 1 is already known. In this technique, the clip body of the clip has a pair of inner legs and a pair of outer legs. The inner legs have clamping claws that can be attached to the rib through an engagement hole formed in the rib of the mounting seat of the mounted member (for example, a center cluster). The outer legs are formed to be elastically deformable outside the pair of inner legs and have engagement claws that can engage with a mounting hole of a mating panel (for example, an instrument panel of an automobile). Then, by inserting the clip body attached to the rib of the mounting seat formed on the mounted member into the mounting hole of the mating panel, the mounted member can be attached to the mating panel. Also, by pulling out the clip body inserted into this mounting hole, the mounted member can be removed from this mating panel. That is, the mounted member can be attached and detached from the mating panel.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] However, in the technology of Patent Document 1 described above, in the state where the attached member 202 is attached to the mating panel 203 (the state of using the clip 201), the clip 201 may be in an obliquely used state due to the occurrence of inclination in the mating panel 203 and / or the attached member 202 (see Fig. 19). In that case, since the heads 211 of the pair of outer legs 210 of the clip body 201a are connected by the connecting member 260, the engaging claws 217 of the pair of outer legs 210 do not follow the edge of the mounting hole 203a of the mating panel 203. Therefore, the engagement of the engaging claws 217 (engagement inclined surfaces) of the pair of outer legs 210 with respect to the edge of the mounting hole 203a of the mating panel 203 becomes loose (the engagement amount is insufficient). Therefore, there was a risk that the peak position of the holding load would shift in the engaging claws 217 of the pair of outer legs 210. As a result, there was a risk that the oblique holding load of the clip 201 (the holding load in the obliquely used state of the clip 201) would decrease with respect to the vertical holding load of the clip 201 (the holding load in the used state of the clip 201). For example, the reduction rate of the oblique holding load with respect to the vertical holding load of the clip 201 was about 45%.
[0005] The present invention aims to solve such problems, and its object is to provide a clip capable of suppressing the reduction rate of the oblique holding load with respect to the vertical holding load.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] According to one feature of the present disclosure, the clip detachably attaches the attached member to the mating panel by inserting the clip body attached to the rib of the mounting seat formed on the attached member into the mounting hole of the mating panel. The clip body of the clip is continuously formed from a head that curves in a substantially inverted U shape when viewed from the front, and has a pair of outer legs facing each other in the front-rear direction when viewed from the front. Further, the clip body is continuously formed from a head that forms a free end, and has a pair of inner legs sandwiched between the pair of outer legs and facing each other in the width direction when viewed from the front. Further, the clip body has a pair of connecting members that connect the bases of one side and the other side in the width direction of the pair of outer legs and the pair of inner legs in the front-rear direction, respectively. The pair of outer legs each have an engaging claw that can engage with the mounting hole of the mating panel. The pair of inner legs each have a clamping claw that can be attached to the rib.
[0007] Therefore, in a state where the attached member is attached to the mating panel (the state of using the clip), for example, when the mating panel is inclined, the clip may be in an obliquely used state. In that case, since the heads of the pair of outer legs of the clip body are not connected to each other, the engaging claws of the pair of outer legs follow the edge of the mounting hole of the mating panel. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the deviation of the peak position of the holding load in the engaging claws of the pair of outer legs. That is, in the engaging claws of the pair of outer legs, the peak positions of the holding loads are close to each other and the holding load is less likely to decrease. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the oblique holding load (the holding load in the obliquely used state of the clip) of the clip with respect to the vertical holding load (the holding load in the used state of the clip) of the clip. For example, the reduction rate of the oblique holding load with respect to the vertical holding load of the clip can be suppressed to about 20%.
[0008] According to another feature of the present disclosure, in a used state where the clip body is attached to the mounting hole of the mating panel, a gap for allowing elastic deformation of one of the outer legs is provided between the pair of outer legs.
[0009] Therefore, in the diagonal use state of the clip with inclination occurring in the mating panel and / or the attached member, one of the outer legs can be elastically deformed into the gap. Accordingly, the engagement of the engaging claws of the pair of outer legs with the mounting holes of the mating panel can be made to follow more closely. Thus, the reduction rate of the diagonal holding load with respect to the vertical holding load of the clip can be further suppressed.
[0010] According to another feature of the present disclosure, when the mating panel and / or the attached member is inclined to be in a diagonal use state and one of the outer legs is elastically deformed, the elastically deformed one of the outer legs interferes with the pair of inner legs.
[0011] Therefore, the diagonal holding force of the clip can be improved.
[0012] According to another feature of the present disclosure, in the process of inserting the clip body into the mounting hole of the mating panel, the pair of outer legs are elastically deformed so as to overlap the pair of inner legs in the front-rear direction in a front view by being pressed and bent by the mounting hole.
[0013] Therefore, the pair of outer legs can be smoothly passed through the mounting holes of the mating panel.
[0014] According to another feature of the present disclosure, in the use state of the clip, the pair of inner legs are set to a length such that the tips of the pair of inner legs are located inward of the outer surfaces of the pair of outer legs.
[0015] Therefore, when the clip body that is shape-retained due to the thermal creep phenomenon in the use state of the clip is reused and inserted into the mounting hole of the mating panel, it is possible to prevent the tips of the pair of inner legs from being caught by the edge of the mounting hole of the mating panel. Accordingly, the clip body can be smoothly inserted into the mounting hole.
[0016] According to another feature of the present disclosure, the bases of the pair of inner legs are arranged in a state where the inner surfaces protrude in the axial direction of the clip body from the inner surfaces of the bases of the pair of outer legs. The pair of connecting members each have a protrusion that connects to the bases of the pair of inner legs arranged in the protruding state.
[0017] Therefore, in the state where the clip is used, each protrusion of the pair of connecting members presses against the rib of the mounting seat. Accordingly, deformation of the pair of inner legs is suppressed. As a result, the attachment of the clip body to the rib can be made firm.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0018]
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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
[0019] (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. First, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, the clip 1 and the member to be attached 2 according to the embodiment will be described separately. In the following description, up and down, front and back, and left and right refer to the directions shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, that is, as shown in FIG. 3, the state in which the head 11 of the outer leg 10 looks substantially inverted U-shaped is defined as the front view of the clip 1, and the direction of the clip 1 is defined based on this defined direction. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the front-back direction is defined as the front-back direction of the paper surface. This is the same in the second embodiment described later.
[0020] First, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, the clip 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the clip body 1a mainly includes a pair of outer legs 10, a pair of inner legs 30, and a pair of connecting members 40. The pair of outer legs 10, the pair of inner legs 30, and the pair of connecting members 40 are integrally formed of a synthetic resin having rigidity.
[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, the outer leg 10 includes a pair of engaging legs 12 that are formed continuously from a head 11 that curves in a substantially inverted U shape (inverted U shape or inverted V shape) in a front view and are paired left and right. The pair of engaging legs 12 are elastically deformable in a direction in which their bases 19 approach each other starting from the head 11. This elastic deformation is set so that the distance between the pair of engaging legs 12 is narrowed by inserting the clip body 1a into the mounting hole 3a of the counterpart panel 3 described later.
[0022] As shown in Fig. 3, the head 11 serves as a leading guide when inserting the clip body 1a into the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3. Therefore, the head 11 has a curved shape with a rounded outer peripheral surface. The engaging leg 12 has a substantially U-shaped configuration that protrudes outward in a front view. That is, the engaging leg 12 has a shape in which the outer surface 13 is bent at the outer bending portion 15 and the inner surface 14 is bent at the inner bending portion 16 so as to form a substantially U shape.
[0023] As shown in Fig. 3, the inner bending portion 16 is located closer to the head 11 side than the outer bending portion 15. The raised portion where the outer bending portion 15 is formed is an engaging claw 17 that engages with the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 described later. On the base 19 side of the engaging leg 12 in the engaging claw 17, an engaging slope 18 that can engage with the edge (upper edge) of the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 is formed. The outer legs 10 form a pair so as to face each other front and back.
[0024] As shown in Fig. 3, the inner leg 30 is continuously formed from the head 32 that forms a free end. On the inner surface 31 of the inner leg 30, a clamping claw 33 that can engage with the edge (upper edge) of the engaging hole 52 of the rib 51 of the member 2 to be mounted described later is formed. The inner legs 30 form a pair so as to be sandwiched between the pair of outer legs 10 and face each other in the left-right direction (width direction in a front view). Note that the pair of inner legs 30 are formed so as to face each other with a space equal to or slightly narrower than the plate thickness of the rib 51 of the member 2 to be mounted.
[0025] Also, the pair of inner legs 30 can be mounted on the rib 51 by inserting the rib 51 between themselves 30. As shown in Fig. 3, the base 34 of the inner leg 30 is arranged (curved) in a state where the inner surface 35 protrudes in the axial direction Z of the clip body 1a from the inner surface 20 of the base 19 of the outer leg 10. Further, the interval between the bases 34 of the pair of inner legs 30 is formed to be sufficiently larger than the plate thickness of the rib 51 of the member 2 to be mounted.
[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, the distance between the pair of inner legs 30 is tapered from the base portion 34 toward the clamping claws 33. Therefore, as will be described later, it is possible to ensure the guiding property when the pair of inner legs 30 are attached to the rib 51 of the member 2 to be attached. Further, when the clip 1 gets hot, the pair of inner legs 30 are deformed such that the respective heads 32 of the pair of inner legs 30 move away from each other.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 2, the connecting member 40 is formed so as to connect the base portion 19 of the front outer leg 10, the base portion 34 of the inner leg 30, and the base portion 19 of the rear outer leg 10 in the front-rear direction. The connecting member 40 has a protrusion 41 that protrudes inward so as to connect to the base portion 34 of the inner leg 30 arranged in the protruding state as described above. As shown in FIG. 5, in a plan view, the width length L1 of the protrusion 41 is formed longer than the width length L2 of the inner leg 30. Therefore, the protrusion 41 can stably support the base portion 34 of the inner leg 30.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 3, the connecting member 40 has a retaining portion 42 that protrudes outward (in the direction opposite to the protruding direction of the protrusion 41). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the clip 1 from falling out inside the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 (the back side of the mating panel 3). As shown in FIG. 4, in a side view, the width length L3 of the retaining portion 42 is formed to be approximately the same as the width length L2 of the inner leg 30. Therefore, the clip 1 can be integrally formed by a molding die (not shown) without using a slide type.
[0029] As shown in FIG. 4, in a side view, the connecting member 40 is rounded so that the lower corner has an R shape. That is, in a side view, the lower corner of the connecting member 40 has an R portion 44. Therefore, when the pair of inner legs 30 are attached to the rib 51 of the member 2 to be attached, even if the lower corner of the connecting member 40 of the clip 1 interferes with the guide 53 of the mounting seat 50, it can be smoothly attached. The connecting members 40 are paired (a pair) so as to face each other in the left-right direction (one side and the other side in the width direction in a front view). The clip 1 is configured in this way.
[0030] Next, the member to be attached 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the member to be attached 2 is a resin member (for example, a center cluster) that is attached so as to cover a mating panel 3 (for example, an instrument panel of an automobile). The member to be attached 2 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin having rigidity from a member to be attached body 2a having a design surface thereof and a mounting seat 50 formed on the inner surface (anti-design surface) of the member to be attached body 2a.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting seat 50 is composed of a rib 51 having an engagement hole 52 and a pair of guides 53 that guide the mounting of a pair of inner legs 30 of the clip body 1a to the rib 51. As already described, the engagement hole 52 of the rib 51 is formed such that a pair of clamping claws 33 can be clamped on its upper edge. Further, the tip surface of the rib 51 is an inclined surface so that the rib 51 can be smoothly inserted between the pair of inner legs 30. On the other hand, the guide 53 is formed so as to have a substantially convex shape having an overhanging edge 54. The member to be attached 2 is configured in this way.
[0032] Subsequently, the procedure for attaching the member to be attached 2 to the mating panel 3 using the clip 1 described above will be explained. First, the rib 51 of the mounting seat 50 of the member to be attached 2 is relatively sandwiched between a pair of inner legs 30 of the clip body 1a. Then, the rib 51 is sandwiched from both sides by the pair of inner legs 30, and at the same time, both clamping claws 33 clamp the upper edge of the engagement hole 52 of the rib 51. Thereby, the clip body 1a is attached to the rib 51.
[0033] Next, the clip body 1a attached to the rib 51 is inserted into the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 from the side of the heads 11 of the pair of outer legs 10. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the pair of outer legs 10 pass through the mounting hole 3a while bending in a direction in which each engagement leg 12 approaches elastically. Eventually, when each engagement claw 17 of the pair of outer legs 10 passes through the mounting hole 3a, the overhanging edge 54 of the mounting seat 50 contacts the surface 3a of the mating panel 3.
[0034] At the same time, the engaging slopes 18 of the engaging claws 17 of each of the pair of outer legs 10 will be positioned at the edge (upper edge) on the back surface 3c side of the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 (see Fig. 7). At this time, since the engaging legs 12 of the pair of outer legs 10 are elastically deformed inward, the engaging slopes 18 of the engaging legs 12 of the pair of outer legs 10 are pressed against the edge on the back surface 3c side of the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 by the reaction force of this deflection.
[0035] As a result, the clip body 1a is held in a state of being attached to the mating panel 3. Consequently, the member 2 to be attached is attached to the mating panel 3. The clip 1 in the state where the member 2 to be attached is attached to the mating panel 3 in this way is defined as the usage state of the clip 1. As shown in Fig. 7, in the usage state of the clip 1, each protrusion 41 of the pair of connecting members 40 presses against the rib 51 of the mounting seat 50 respectively. Therefore, the deformation of the pair of inner legs 30 is suppressed. Thus, the holding force of the clip body 1a with respect to the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 can be improved.
[0036] Also, in the state where the member 2 to be attached is attached to the mating panel 3 in this way, when the clip body 1a is pulled out from the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 (when a pulling-out load is applied to the clip body 1a), the member 2 to be attached can be removed from this mating panel 3. In this way, the member 2 to be attached can be attached to and detached from the mating panel 3 (can be attached and detached).
[0037] Also, as shown in Fig. 8, in the state where the member 2 to be attached is attached to the mating panel 3 (usage state of the clip 1), for example, as shown in Fig. 9, when the mating panel 3 is inclined, the clip 1 may be in an inclined usage state. In that case, since the heads 11 of the pair of outer legs 10 of the clip body 1a are not connected to each other, the engaging claws 17 (engaging slopes 18) of the pair of outer legs 10 follow the edge of the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3.
[0038] Therefore, in the engaging claws 17 of the pair of outer legs 10, the deviation of the peak position of the holding load can be suppressed. That is, in the engaging claws of the pair of outer legs, the peak positions of the holding load become closer and the holding load is less likely to decrease. Therefore, the decrease in the diagonal holding load (the holding load in the diagonal use state of the clip 1) of the clip 1 with respect to the vertical holding load (the holding load in the use state of the clip 1) can be suppressed. For example, the decrease rate of the diagonal holding load with respect to the vertical holding load of the clip 1 can be suppressed to about 20%.
[0039] Also, as shown in FIG. 8, in the use state of the clip 1, the clip 1 has a gap F that allows elastic deformation of one of the outer legs 10 between the pair of outer legs 10. Therefore, in the diagonal use state of the clip 1 with an inclination occurring in the mating panel 3, one of the outer legs 10 can be elastically deformed into the gap F. Therefore, the engagement of the engaging claws 17 of the pair of outer legs 10 with the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 can be made to follow more closely. Thus, the decrease rate of the diagonal holding load with respect to the vertical holding load of the clip 1 can be further suppressed.
[0040] Also, as shown in FIG. 9, when the mating panel 3 is inclined to be in a diagonal use state and one of the outer legs 10 (the rear side in FIG. 9) is elastically deformed, the elastically deformed one of the outer legs 10 interferes with the pair of inner legs 30. Therefore, the diagonal holding force of the clip 1 can be improved.
[0041] Also, as shown in FIG. 6, in the process of inserting the clip body 1a into the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3, the pair of outer legs 10 are elastically deformed so as to overlap with the pair of inner legs 30 in the front-rear direction in a front view by being pressed and bent by the mounting hole 3a. Therefore, the pair of outer legs 10 can be smoothly passed through the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3.
[0042] Also, as shown in FIG. 7, in the state where the clip 1 is in use, the pair of inner legs 30 are set to a length such that the tips of the pair of inner legs 30 are located inward (in the direction from the axis Z) of the outer surface 13 of the engaging legs 12 of the pair of outer legs 10. Therefore, when reusing the clip body 1a that has been shape-retained due to the thermal creep phenomenon in the state where the clip 1 is in use and inserting it into the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3, it is possible to prevent the tips of the pair of inner legs 30 from being caught by the edge of the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3. Accordingly, the clip body 1a can be smoothly inserted into the mounting hole 3a.
[0043] Note that if the clip body 1a is not reused, the setting of the lengths of the pair of inner legs 30 as described above is unnecessary. That is, the pair of inner legs 30 may be set to a length such that the tips of the pair of inner legs 30 are located outward (protruding) of the outer surface 13 of the engaging legs 12 of the pair of outer legs 10. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the height position 32a of the inner leg 30 is set to be within a range of about 1 / 3 to 2 / 3 of the total length H of the outer leg 10.
[0044] Also, the pair of connecting members 40 each have a protrusion 41 that protrudes inward so as to connect to the base 34 of the inner leg 30 arranged in a protruding state. Therefore, in the state where the clip 1 is in use, each protrusion 41 of the pair of connecting members 40 presses against the rib 51 of the mounting seat 50. Accordingly, deformation of the pair of inner legs 30 is suppressed. As a result, the attachment of the clip body 1a to the rib 51 can be made firm.
[0045] (Second Embodiment) Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 18. In the following description, members having the same or equivalent configurations as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and redundant descriptions are omitted.
[0046] First, the clip 101 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14. As shown in FIGS. 10 to 11, the clip body 101a mainly includes a pair of outer legs 10, a pair of inner legs 30, and a pair of connecting members 40.
[0047] As shown in FIG. 12, the inner legs 30 are continuously formed from the head 32 that forms the free end. The outer surface 32b of the head 32 has a tapered shape that slopes downward toward the outer legs 10. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15 described later, when inserting the clip body 101a attached to the rib 51 into the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 from the side of the heads 11 of the pair of outer legs 10, it is possible to prevent the pair of inner legs 30 from interfering with the mounting hole 3a. Accordingly, the clip body 101a attached to the rib 51 can be smoothly inserted into the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the base 34 of the inner leg 30 is flush with the base 19 of the outer leg 10 so as not to protrude.
[0048] As shown in FIG. 11, the connecting member 40 is formed to connect the base 19 of the front outer leg 10, the base 34 of the inner leg 30, and the base 19 of the rear outer leg 10 in the front-rear direction. The inner surface of the connecting member 40 has a protrusion 41 whose longitudinal section protrudes in a semi-circular shape. The protrusion 41 is formed in all regions in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the connecting member 40.
[0049] As shown in FIG. 12, the connecting member 40 has a retaining portion 42 that protrudes outward (in the direction opposite to the protruding direction of the protrusion 41). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the clip 1 from falling out inside the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 (on the back side of the mating panel 3). The retaining portion 42 is formed in an upwardly inclined shape with its tip facing upward. As shown in FIGS. 13 to 14, the retaining portion 42 is formed in all regions in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the connecting member 40. The clip 101 is configured in this way.
[0050] Subsequently, a procedure for attaching the attached member 2 to the mating panel 3 using the above-described clip 101 will be described. First, the rib 51 of the mounting seat 50 of the attached member 2 is relatively sandwiched between the pair of inner legs 30 of the clip body 101a. Then, the rib 51 is sandwiched from both sides by the pair of inner legs 30, and at the same time, both clamping claws 33 clamp the upper edge of the engagement hole 52 of the rib 51. Thereby, the clip body 101a is attached to the rib 51.
[0051] Next, the clip body 101a attached to the rib 51 is inserted into the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 from the side of the heads 11 of the pair of outer legs 10. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the pair of outer legs 10 pass through the mounting hole 3a while bending in the direction in which the respective engaging legs 12 approach each other elastically. Eventually, when the respective engaging claws 17 of the pair of outer legs 10 pass through the mounting hole 3a, the overhanging edge 54 of the mounting seat 50 contacts the surface 3a of the mating panel 3.
[0052] At the same time, the engaging slopes 18 of the respective engaging claws 17 of the pair of outer legs 10 will be located at the edge (upper edge) on the back surface 3c side of the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 (see FIG. 16). At this time, since the respective engaging legs 12 of the pair of outer legs 10 are elastically deformed inward, the engaging slopes 18 of the respective engaging legs 12 of the pair of outer legs 10 are pressed against the edge on the back surface 3c side of the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 by the reaction force of this bending.
[0053] As a result, the clip body 101a is held in a state of being attached to the mating panel 3, and as a result, the member 2 to be attached is attached to the mating panel 3. The clip 101 in the state where the member 2 to be attached is attached to the mating panel 3 in this way is defined as the use state of the clip 101. As shown in FIG. 16, in the use state of the clip 101, each protrusion 41 of the pair of connecting members 40 presses against the rib 51 of the mounting seat 50 respectively. Therefore, the deformation of the pair of inner legs 30 is suppressed. Accordingly, the holding force of the clip body 101a with respect to the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 can be improved.
[0054] Also, in the state where the member 2 to be attached is attached to the mating panel 3 in this way, when the clip body 101a is pulled out from the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 (when a pulling-out load is applied to the clip body 101a), the member 2 to be attached can be removed from this mating panel 3. In this way, the member 2 to be attached can be attached to and detached from the mating panel 3 (can be attached and detached).
[0055] Further, as shown in FIG. 17, in a state where the member 2 to be attached is attached to the mating panel 3 (the state of using the clip 101), for example, as shown in FIG. 18, when the mating panel 3 is inclined, the clip 101 may be in an obliquely used state. In that case, since the heads 11 of the pair of outer legs 10 of the clip body 101a are not connected to each other, the engaging claws 17 (engaging inclined surfaces 18) of the pair of outer legs 10 follow the edge of the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3.
[0056] Therefore, in the engaging claws 17 of the pair of outer legs 10, it is possible to suppress the deviation of the peak position of the holding load. That is, in the engaging claws 17 of the pair of outer legs 10, the peak positions of the holding loads are close to each other and the holding load is less likely to decrease. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the decrease in the oblique holding load of the clip 101 (the holding load in the obliquely used state of the clip 1) with respect to the vertical holding load of the clip 101 (the holding load in the used state of the clip 101). For example, the decrease rate of the oblique holding load with respect to the vertical holding load of the clip 101 can be suppressed to about 30%.
[0057] Further, as shown in FIG. 17, in the used state of the clip 101, the clip 101 is provided with a gap F that allows elastic deformation of one of the outer legs 10 between the pair of outer legs 10. Therefore, in the obliquely used state of the clip 101 where the mating panel 3 is inclined, one of the outer legs 10 can be elastically deformed into the gap F. Therefore, the engagement of the engaging claws 17 of the pair of outer legs 10 with respect to the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3 can be made to follow more. Therefore, the decrease rate of the oblique holding load with respect to the vertical holding load of the clip 101 can be further suppressed.
[0058] Further, as shown in FIG. 18, when the mating panel 3 is inclined to be in an obliquely used state and one of the outer legs 10 (the rear side in FIG. 18) is elastically deformed, the elastically deformed one of the outer legs 10 interferes with the pair of inner legs 30. Therefore, the oblique holding force of the clip 101 can be improved.
[0059] Also, as shown in FIG. 15, in the process of inserting the clip body 101a into the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3, the pair of outer legs 10 are elastically deformed so as to overlap with the pair of inner legs 30 in the front-rear direction in a front view by being bent by the mounting hole 3a. Therefore, the pair of outer legs 10 can be smoothly passed through the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3.
[0060] Also, as shown in FIG. 16, in the usage state of the clip 101, the pair of inner legs 30 are set to a length such that the tips of the pair of inner legs 30 are located inward (in the direction from the axis Z) of the outer surface 13 of the engaging leg 12 of the pair of outer legs 10. Therefore, when reusing the clip body 101a that has been shape-retained due to the thermal creep phenomenon in the usage state of the clip 101 and inserting it into the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3, it is possible to prevent the tips of the pair of inner legs 30 from being caught by the edge of the mounting hole 3a of the mating panel 3. Therefore, the clip body 101a can be smoothly inserted into the mounting hole 3a.
[0061] In addition, if the clip body 101a is not reused, the setting of the length of the pair of inner legs 30 as described above is not necessary. That is, the pair of inner legs 30 may be set to a length such that the tips of the pair of inner legs 30 are located outward (protruding) from the outer surface 13 of the engaging leg 12 of the pair of outer legs 10. Also, as shown in FIG. 12, the height position 32a of the inner leg 30 is set to be within the range of about 1 / 3 to 2 / 3 of the total length H of the outer leg 10.
[0062] The above-described content is only related to one embodiment of the present invention and does not mean that the present invention is limited to the above content.
[0063] In the first and second embodiments, the case where the clips 1 and 101 are in an inclined usage state due to the inclination of the mating panel 3 in the state where the member to be attached 2 is attached to the mating panel 3 (usage state of the clips 1 and 101) has been described. Without being limited to this, the clips 1 and 101 may be in an inclined usage state due to the inclination of the mounting seat 50 of the member to be attached 2.
Description of Reference Numerals
[0064] 1 Clip 1a Clip body 2 Mounting member 3 Opposing panel 3a Mounting hole 10 Outer leg 11 Head 17 Engaging claw 19 Base 30 Inner leg 32 Head 33 Clamping claw 34 Base 40 Connecting member 50 Mounting seat 51 Rib
Claims
1. A resin clip for removably attaching a workpiece to a mating panel by inserting a clip body attached to a rib of a mounting seat formed on the workpiece into a mounting hole of a mating panel, The clip body includes: A pair of outer legs formed continuously from a head curved into a substantially inverted U shape in front view and facing each other in a front-rear direction in the front view; A pair of inner legs formed continuously from a head portion forming a free end, sandwiched between the pair of outer legs and facing each other in the width direction when viewed from the front; A pair of connecting members respectively connecting one and the other base portions of the pair of outer legs and the pair of inner legs in the width direction in the front-rear direction, The pair of outer legs each have an engagement claw that can be engaged with the mounting hole of the mating panel, The pair of inner legs of the clip each have a clamping claw that can be attached to the rib.
2. 2. The clip of claim 1, A clip has a gap between the pair of outer legs that allows elastic deformation of one of the outer legs when the clip body is attached to the mounting hole of the mating panel in an in-use state.
3. 3. The clip of claim 2, When the mating panel and / or the attached member is tilted and placed in an oblique use state, causing one of the outer legs to elastically deform, the elastically deformed one of the outer legs interferes with the pair of inner legs.
4. 4. The clip of claim 3, In the process of inserting the clip body into the mounting hole of the mating panel, The pair of outer legs are elastically deformed by being pressed and bent into the mounting hole so as to overlap the pair of inner legs in the front-rear direction when viewed from the front.
5. 5. The clip of claim 4, In the above-mentioned usage state, A clip in which the pair of inner legs are set to a length such that the tips of the pair of inner legs are positioned inward from outer surfaces of the pair of outer legs.
6. The clip according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The base portions of the pair of inner legs are disposed such that their inner surfaces extend beyond the inner surfaces of the base portions of the pair of outer legs in the axial direction of the clip body, A clip in which the pair of connecting members each have a protrusion that connects to the base portion of the pair of inner legs arranged in the protruding state.
Citation Information
Patent Citations
Clip
JP2013044391A