Patent ID: 6431584
Filing Date: 2002-08-13
Classification: B60R,F16B

Abstract:
An air bag apparatus for use with a vehicle, having an air bag for expanding into a cabin compartment of the vehicle through a clearance for allowing a passage of said air bag, comprising:said air bag disposed in a vehicle body panel at the cabin compartment side; and a garnish disposed covering said air bag from the cabin compartment side; and a holding device for holding said garnish in a first posture in which said garnish assumes a predetermined mounted state where said garnish approaches to said vehicle body panel and a second posture in which the garnish forms a clearance relative to said vehicle body panel in response to expansion pressure of said air bag; wherein: said holding device comprises a pin member and a grommet member; said pin member has a first mounting engagement portion detachably engageable with said garnish and a leg portion extending integrally from the first mounting engagement portion; said grommet member has a cylindrical portion receiving said leg portion and a second mounting engagement portion formed integrally in said cylindrical portion and mountable on said vehicle body panel; said leg portion is provided with a first engagement claw and a second engagement claw, which are disposed apart from each other in an axial direction of said leg portion; said cylindrical portion is further provided with a first engagement portion engageable with said first engagement claw to offer an action of preventing said leg portion from coming off from said cylindrical portion in a state in which said leg portion is inserted deeply to assume said first posture; said cylindrical portion is further provided with a second engagement portion engageable with said second engagement claw to offer an action of preventing said leg portion from coming off from said cylindrical portion in a state in which said leg portion is inserted shallowly to assume said second posture; a force of engagement of said first engagement claw with said first engagement portion is set to be smaller than a force of engagement of said second engagement claw with said second engagement portion, and the engagement of said first engagement claw with said first engagement portion is arranged to be released as said garnish receives a force of separating apart from said vehicle body panel by means of expansion force of said air bag upon operation of said air bag apparatus, while said second posture is set to be maintained by engagement of said second engagement claw with said second engagement portion; and said second engagement claw is detachably engaged with said second engagement portion.