Clip

Abstract

A clip (30), which is attached to an end edge of an upholstery cover material (18) and which can engage with a suspender (10) for attaching and securing the upholstery cover material (18) so as to cover the surface of a cushion material, comprises: a holding part (33), which has a bottom wall (34) and a pair of right and left side walls (35) extending to the right, to the left, and upward from the bottom wall, is open in a longitudinal direction, and can hold a part of the suspender (10); and a pair of right and left retention pieces (37) which extend from upper end parts of the right and left side walls (35) so as to approach each other and which can engage with the suspender (10). A wire member (15) is inserted into the bottom wall (34) along the longitudinal direction, and a recess (40) recessed in the longitudinal direction is formed in a longitudinal end face of the bottom wall (34).

Description

Clip

[0001] The present invention relates to a clip, and more particularly to a clip that can engage with a suspender attached to a skin material covering the surface of a cushioning material for, for example, an automobile seat.

[0002] Conventionally, in chairs used indoors, vehicle seats, etc., cushioning materials and flexible pads (foams) are installed in parts that come into contact with the human body such as the seat surface and backrest, and many are covered with a skin material on the surface. Various structures are adopted for covering and fixing such skin materials, and in particular, a skin material fixing tool having a structure that can easily and neatly fix the skin material and conceal the edge of the skin material in appearance is used.

[0003] As an attachment structure for the skin material fixing tool, a structure has been proposed in which a suspender is attached to the edge of the skin material, and a clip that can engage with the suspender is embedded in the skin material fixing groove of the cushioning material.

[0004] For example, in the locking element for fixing a cover to a seat body described in Patent Document 1, at least two base elements each having at least one locking element disposed therein are connected via at least one connecting web, thereby improving the assemblability of the locking element into the recess of the seat body. Further, it is described that by having the connecting web have at least one expansion zone, correction of dimensional tolerances by injection molding can be realized.

[0005] Further, in the clip for skin material locking described in Patent Document 2, a base portion in which a plurality of through holes into which the foam enters are formed in a plurality of rows in the longitudinal direction, and a locking portion that rises from the base portion and is formed in the longitudinal direction and locks a locked portion fixed to the skin covering the foam are provided. Notch portions are respectively formed in a pair of longitudinally extending edge sides constituting the base portion, and the pair of notch portions are asymmetric with respect to a center line extending in the longitudinal direction of the base portion when viewed from the plate thickness direction of the base portion. Thereby, the clip for skin material locking is suppressed from coming out of the foam.

[0006] German Utility Model Registration No. 202013101248 Specification, Japanese Patent Publication No. 6228562

[0007] Incidentally, in the case of a surface-locking clip as described in Patent Document 1, the wire is formed by extrusion molding with an inserted wire. Furthermore, when the molded product cools, the resin shrinks, while the wire hardly shrinks at all. During the extrusion molding process, these differences in shrinkage remain in the resin as residual stress, and after molding, when the product is cut, the resin at the cut end shrinks, releasing the residual stress, which can cause the wire to protrude from the end of the molded product. The protruding wire could get caught on other parts or come into contact with a worker's hand, potentially causing injury.

[0008] This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a clip that can prevent wire members from flying out, thereby improving work efficiency and ensuring worker safety.

[0009] To solve the above problems, the present invention is achieved by the following configuration: (1) A clip (30) that can engage with a suspender (10) to be attached to the edge of a skin material (18) and to attach and fix the skin material (18) so as to cover the surface of a cushioning material, the clip (30) having a bottom wall (34) and a pair of left and right side walls (35) extending left and right and upward from the bottom wall, a holding portion (33) that opens in the front-rear direction and can hold a part of the suspender (10), and a pair of left and right locking pieces (37) that extend from the upper ends of the pair of left and right side walls (35) toward each other and can engage with the suspender (10), a wire member (15) is inserted in the front-rear direction into the bottom wall (34), and a recess (40) that is recessed in the front-rear direction is formed on the front-rear end face of the bottom wall (34). (2) The clip (30) according to (1), comprising: a plurality of clip portions (31) each having a holding portion (33) and a pair of left and right locking pieces (37); and a connecting portion (32) connecting the bottom walls (34) of the plurality of clip portions (31) so that the plurality of clip portions (31) are aligned in the front-rear direction, wherein the wire member (15) is inserted along the front-rear direction across the bottom walls (34) and the connecting portion (32) of the plurality of clip portions (31), and the recess (40) is formed on the free front-rear end face (34a) of the bottom wall (34) of the clip portions (31) located at both front-rear ends of the plurality of clip portions (31) connected by the connecting portion (32), to which the connecting portion (32) is not connected. (3) The clip (30) according to (1) or (2), wherein the depth of the recess (40) is 1.6 mm or more. (4) The clip (30) according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the front-rear end face (34a) of the bottom wall (34) and the front-rear end faces (35a) of the pair of left and right side walls (35) are formed continuously so as to be flush, and the recess (40) is recessed in the front-rear direction more than the front-rear end faces (35a) of the pair of left and right side walls (35).

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent wire members from flying out, thereby improving work efficiency and ensuring worker safety.

[0011] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a skin material fastener equipped with a clip according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the skin material fastener. Figure 3 is a front view of the skin material fastener. Figure 4 is a perspective view of the clip. Figure 5 is a top view of the clip. Figure 6(a) is an enlarged view of part A in Figure 5, and Figure 6(b) is a front view of the main part of the clip.

[0012] The following describes a clip-equipped fastener for a surface material according to one embodiment of the present invention, with reference to Figures 1 to 6. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the surface material fastener 100 is used to fasten the surface material 18 of a seat to the cushion material 16 of a seat in a vehicle or the like, and comprises a suspender 10 and a clip 30 for fastening the suspender 10.

[0013] The surface material 18 is leather, cloth, synthetic leather sheet, etc., that covers the surface of the cushion material 16, and the suspenders 10 can be attached to the surface material 18. The cushion material 16 is a synthetic resin foam material such as foamed polyurethane molded into the shape of a seat, and grooves 16a for fastening the surface material are formed in the cushion material 16, and the clips 30 can be installed in the grooves 16a of the cushion material 16. Therefore, when the suspenders 10 are fastened to the clips 30, the surface material 18 is stretched to a predetermined position on the surface of the cushion material 16.

[0014] In the following description of the skin material fastener 100, Figures 1 to 6 will be used to explain the directions based on the mutually orthogonal XYZ axis directions. The X-axis direction coincides with the longitudinal direction of the suspender 10 (strip-shaped member 12) and the clip 30, and coincides with the direction in which the edge of the skin material 18 and the wire member 15 extend. The Z-axis direction, which is orthogonal to the X-axis direction, coincides with the width direction of the strip-shaped member 12, the depth direction of the groove 16a of the cushioning material 16 and the holding portion 33 of the clip 30 described later, and is called the vertical direction. Furthermore, the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction is called the Y-axis direction, and is called the left-right direction. The direction parallel to this left-right direction is also called the lateral direction.

[0015] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the suspenders 10 consist of a long, strip-shaped member 12 made of woven fabric or the like, and a locking member 14 provided along the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped member 12. The locking member 14 is molded from a thermoplastic resin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, or polybutylene terephthalate, and is integrally insert-molded along the longitudinal direction at the edge 12a of the strip-shaped member 12 opposite to the edge 12b to which the outer material 18 is fixed. The locking member 14 is used to attach clips 30, etc., which will be described later. The edge 18a of the outer material 18 is sewn and fixed to the edge 12b of the strip-shaped member 12 with sewing thread.

[0016] The strip-shaped member 12 is a long, strip-shaped member with a constant width in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and a long length in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction). It is formed from a woven fabric, nonwoven fabric, knitted fabric, synthetic leather, or a laminate of synthetic leather and fabric having a strength comparable to that of the surface material 18. The material constituting the strip-shaped member 12 can be selected from nylon, polyester, acrylic, or other appropriate materials. The strip-shaped member 12 may be a separate component from the locked member 14, or it may be formed integrally with the locked member 14 from resin.

[0017] The locking member 14, which is integrally provided along the edge 12a of the strip-shaped member 12, is formed by insert molding a thermoplastic resin so as to sandwich the edge 12a of the strip-shaped member 12, and is provided along the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped member 12 and is formed to the same length as the strip-shaped member 12.

[0018] The locking member 14 has a surface parallel to the surface of the strip-shaped member 12 and includes a central plate-like portion 20 that is provided in an elongated shape with a constant width along the longitudinal direction on the edge portion 12a of the strip-shaped member 12. The central plate-like portion 20 is formed to continuously cover both the left and right sides and the lower end surface of the strip-shaped member 12 so as to clamp the strip-shaped member 12, and the lower end is formed in a curved shape.

[0019] Furthermore, the locking member 14 includes a plurality of protrusions 26 that project from the left and right sides of the central plate-like portion 20 in the left-right direction at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of flange portions 21 that project from the left and right sides of the central plate-like portion 20 in the left-right direction at the same predetermined intervals as the protrusions 26 in the longitudinal direction, closer to the surface material than the plurality of protrusions 26. The protrusions 26 and flange portions 21 are arranged symmetrically on both the left and right sides of the strip-like member 12, with symmetrical positions and shapes.

[0020] The convex portion 26 extends from the side surface of the central plate-like portion 20 to the top portion 26a on the left-right outer side, and comprises a sloped surface 26b formed so as it moves from the tip side to the base side of the central plate-like portion 20, and a return surface 26c extending from the side surface 20a to the top portion 26a of the central plate-like portion 20, and has a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction. The return surface 26c is the side surface where a curved undercut portion 26c1 is formed, and the undercut portion 26c1 is also formed along the longitudinal direction of the convex portion 26. Therefore, the convex portion 26, with the return surface 26c and the sloped surface 26b which is the other side surface opposite to the return surface 26c in the width direction of the strip-like member 12, forms a tapered shape toward the top portion 28a.

[0021] Furthermore, the pair of left and right protrusions 26, which are provided symmetrically on both the left and right sides of the strip-shaped member 12, together with the lower end of the central plate-shaped portion 20, form an arrowhead-shaped locking portion 25 when viewed from the longitudinal direction. In other words, multiple locking portions 25 are intermittently formed on the locking member 14 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction.

[0022] Furthermore, when viewed from the thickness direction of the suspender 10, the multiple protrusions 26 overlap with the edge portion 12a of the strip-shaped member 12.

[0023] Multiple flange portions 21 are also formed intermittently along the longitudinal direction of the suspender 10. Note that the flange portions 21 may be formed only on one side of the suspender 10 in the left-right direction, or they may be provided continuously along the longitudinal direction.

[0024] In particular, as shown in Figure 3, the flange portion 21 is formed with a greater width in the left-right direction from the side surface 20a of the central plate-like portion 20 than the convex portion 26. The flange portion 21 extends to the top 21a in the left-right direction of the flange portion 21 and has an upper surface 21b which is a plane facing approximately upward in the vertical direction and a lower surface 21c which faces approximately downward in the vertical direction.

[0025] The lower surface 21c of the flange portion 21 is inclined away from the tip side of the suspender 10 (the tip side of the central plate-like portion 20) as it approaches the top 21a side of the flange portion 21. Also, the vertical width of the flange portion 21 decreases as it moves from the base connected to the central plate-like portion 20 towards the top 21a side of the flange portion 21.

[0026] Also, referring to Figures 4 to 6, the clip 30 has a plurality of clip portions 31 that engage with the locked portion 25, and a plurality of connecting portions 32 that connect the plurality of clip portions 31 in the longitudinal direction so that the plurality of clip portions 31 are aligned in the front-rear direction.

[0027] The clip 30 is formed by extrusion molding with a metal wire member 15 inserted, and the wire member 15 extends longitudinally across a plurality of clip portions 31 and a plurality of connecting portions 32.

[0028] The clip portion 31 includes a holding portion 33 that can hold a part of the suspender 10 (in this embodiment, the locked portion 25), a pair of left and right locking pieces 37 that extend from the upper part of the holding portion 33 toward each other and can engage with the locked portion 25 of the suspender 10, and a plate-shaped clip base portion 38 that extends toward the outer surface of the holding portion 33 and can be fixed to the cushioning material 16.

[0029] In particular, as shown in Figures 3, 4, and 6(b), the holding portion 33 has a bottom wall 34 located on the lower side in the vertical direction and a pair of left and right side walls 35 extending from the bottom wall 34 to the left and right and upward. The holding portion 33 has the same longitudinal length from the bottom wall 34 to the pair of left and right side walls 35, opens in the front-to-back direction, and has a U-shaped cross-section on the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The outer surfaces of the bottom wall 34 and the side walls 35 can come into contact with the inner surface of the groove 16a of the cushioning material 16.

[0030] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 3, 4, and 6(b), the pair of locking pieces 37 are provided projecting from the upper parts of the left and right side walls 35, with the tips moving downward in the vertical direction and approaching each other. The pair of locking pieces 37 are formed across the entire longitudinal width of the holding portion 33 and are longer than the pitch of the multiple engaged portions 25 of the suspender 10. The gap in the left-right direction at the tips of the pair of locking pieces 37 is smaller than the left-right width of the engaged portion 25, that is, the distance from the top 26a of one protrusion 26 to the top 26a of the other protrusion 26 in the left-right direction.

[0031] The clip base 38 extends from the upper parts of the left and right side walls 35 in the left-right and longitudinal directions. The clip base 38 is formed in a plate shape with a constant thickness in the vertical direction. The clip base 38 has an elongated hole 38a formed in it, into which the cushioning material 16 is filled by insert molding.

[0032] The connecting portion 32 connects the longitudinal ends of the bottom walls 34 of adjacent clip portions 31 in the longitudinal direction, and a wire member 15 is insert-molded inside. Therefore, the wire member 15 is inserted across the bottom walls 34 of the multiple clip portions 31 and the multiple connecting portions 32, and when the cushioning material 16 is molded, it is coupled to a magnet of a mold (not shown) to position the clip 30 relative to the mold.

[0033] Here, among the multiple clip portions 31 connected by the connecting portion 32, a recess 40 is formed in the front-rear direction on the front-rear end face 34a of the bottom wall 34 of the clip portions 31 located at both ends in the front-rear direction, on the free side not connected to the connecting portion 32. That is, in this embodiment, the front-rear end face 34a of the bottom wall 34 and the front-rear end faces 35a of the pair of left and right side walls 35 are formed continuously so as to be flush with each other, so the recess 40 is recessed in the front-rear direction more than the front-rear end faces 35a of the pair of left and right side walls 35.

[0034] As mentioned above, the clip portion 31 is formed by inserting the wire member 15 and extruding it. However, the wire member 15, which is inserted up to the front-rear end face 34a of the bottom wall 34 of the clip portion 31, may protrude from the front-rear end face 34a of the bottom wall 34 of the clip portion 31 due to the difference in shrinkage between the resin and the wire member 15, and the release of residual stress in the resin due to cutting.

[0035] Therefore, after forming multiple clip portions 31, when cutting the front-rear end face 34a of the bottom wall 34 of the clip portion 31 together with the wire member 15, by cutting in a manner that forms a recess 40, even if residual stress is released and the wire member 15 pops out from the wall surface of the recess 40, the end of the wire member 15 will remain inside the recess 40, preventing the wire member 15 from popping out from the front-rear end face 34a of the bottom wall 34 of the clip portion 31.

[0036] Furthermore, the depth of the recess 40 from the front-rear end face 34a is 1.6 mm or more, preferably 2.0 mm or more. If the maximum shrinkage amount at one end of the wire member 15 is A mm, and the degree of influence of the resin's restraint due to the close contact between the resin and the wire member 15 is B%, then the amount of wire member 15 protruding is A × {(100 - B) / 100} mm. The depth of the recess 40 is set to 1.6 mm or more, taking into account this amount of wire member 15 protruding. In addition, the depth of the recess 40 is preferably 1 / 3 or less of the front-rear length of the clip portion 31 in order to ensure the bonding strength between the magnet in the mold and the wire member 15 when positioning the clip portion 31 in the mold for molding the cushion material. In this embodiment, the shape of the recess 40 is a curved surface shape, but it may also be U-shaped or rectangular. Furthermore, the width of the recess 40 in the left-right direction is formed to be larger than the width of the connecting portion 32 in the left-right direction so that the wire member 15 can be reliably cut.

[0037] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified or improved as appropriate. For example, in the above embodiments, a plurality of clip portions 31 are connected via connecting portions 32, and the wire member 15 is inserted along the front-rear direction across the bottom walls 34 of the plurality of clip portions 31 and the connecting portions 32, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the clip 30 may not have connecting portions and may be composed of a single clip portion 31, with the wire member 15 inserted along the front-rear direction into the bottom wall of the clip portion.

[0038] As described above, the following matters are disclosed in this specification: (1) A clip (30) that can be attached to the edge of a skin material (18) and engage with a suspender (10) for attaching and fixing the skin material (18) so as to cover the surface of a cushioning material, comprising: a bottom wall (34) and a pair of left and right side walls (35) extending left and right and upward from the bottom wall, a holding portion (33) that opens in the front-rear direction and can hold a part of the suspender (10), and a pair of left and right locking pieces (37) that extend from the upper ends of the pair of left and right side walls (35) toward each other and can engage with the suspender (10), wherein a wire member (15) is inserted in the front-rear direction into the bottom wall (34), and a recess (40) that is recessed in the front-rear direction is formed on the front-rear end face of the bottom wall (34).

[0039] (2) The clip (30) according to (1), comprising: a plurality of clip portions (31) each having a holding portion (33) and a pair of left and right locking pieces (37); and a connecting portion (32) that connects the bottom walls (34) of the plurality of clip portions (31) so that the plurality of clip portions (31) are aligned in the front-rear direction, wherein the wire member (15) is inserted along the front-rear direction across the bottom walls (34) and the connecting portion (32) of the plurality of clip portions (31), and the recess (40) is formed on the free front-rear end face (34a) of the bottom wall (34) of the clip portions (31) located at both front-rear ends of the plurality of clip portions (31) connected by the connecting portion (32), to which the connecting portion (32) is not connected.

[0040] (3) The clip (30) according to (1) or (2), wherein the depth of the recess (40) is 1.6 mm or more. With this configuration, the wire member can be reliably prevented from flying out, thereby improving work efficiency and ensuring worker safety.

[0041] (4) The front-rear end face (34a) of the bottom wall (34) and the front-rear end faces (35a) of the pair of left and right side walls (35) are formed continuously so as to be flush, and the recess (40) is recessed in the front-rear direction more than the front-rear end faces (35a) of the pair of left and right side walls (35), the clip (30) according to any one of (1) to (3). With this configuration, even when the front-rear end faces of the bottom wall and the side walls are flush, it is possible to prevent the wire member from popping out and improve work efficiency and ensure worker safety.

[0042] 10 Suspenders 12 Strip-shaped members 12a, 12b Edge portions 14 Locking member 15 Wire member 18 Surface material 20 Central plate-shaped portion 21 Flange portion 25 Locking portion 26 Protrusion 30 Clip 33 Holding portion 34 Bottom wall 35 Side wall 37 Locking piece 38 Clip base 40 Recess 100 Surface material fastener

Claims

1. A clip (30) that can engage with a suspender (10) for attaching to the edge of a surface material (18) and fixing the surface material (18) so as to cover the surface of a cushioning material, the clip (30) having a bottom wall (34) and a pair of left and right side walls (35) extending left and right and upward from the bottom wall, a holding portion (33) that opens in the front-rear direction and can hold a part of the suspender (10), and a pair of left and right locking pieces (37) that extend from the upper ends of the pair of left and right side walls (35) toward each other and can engage with the suspender (10), a wire member (15) inserted along the front-rear direction into the bottom wall (34), and a recess (40) that is recessed in the front-rear direction is formed on the front-rear end face of the bottom wall (34).

2. The clip (30) according to claim 1, comprising: a plurality of clip portions (31) each having a holding portion (33) and a pair of left and right locking pieces (37); and a connecting portion (32) that connects the bottom walls (34) of the plurality of clip portions (31) so that the plurality of clip portions (31) are aligned in the front-rear direction, wherein the wire member (15) is inserted along the front-rear direction across the bottom walls (34) and the connecting portion (32) of the plurality of clip portions (31), and the recess (40) is formed on the free front-rear end face (34a) of the bottom wall (34) of the clip portions (31) located at both front-rear ends of the plurality of clip portions (31) connected by the connecting portion (32), to which the connecting portion (32) is not connected.

3. The clip (30) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the depth of the recess (40) is 1.6 mm or more.

4. The clip (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the front-rear end face (34a) of the bottom wall (34) and the front-rear end faces (35a) of the pair of left and right side walls (35) are formed continuously so as to be flush, and the recess (40) is recessed in the front-rear direction more than the front-rear end faces (35a) of the pair of left and right side walls (35).

Images