Patent ID: 8973778
Filing Date: 2015-03-10
Classification: B60K,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A liquid receptacle comprising: a wall of a plastic material that defines an interior space; an accessory component located within the interior space; and a plurality of self-adjusting connectors of a resilient plastic material that attach the accessory component to the wall, wherein each of the self-adjusting connectors includes a mounting portion with a foot attached to the wall at an attachment site, a flange portion connected to the accessory component, and a load-accommodating portion between the foot and the flange portion, the load-accommodating portion having a first bend that transitions from the foot to a first leg projecting away from the foot at a first angle, a second bend that transitions from the flange portion to a second leg that projects away from the flange portion and a return bend flexibly joining the first and second legs at a third angle and permitting the first and second legs to move relative to one another; and the load-accommodating portion permitting the foot and the flange portion of each self-adjusting connector to move relative to one another by at least 5% between an unloaded state and a flexed or displaced state without permanent deformation of the load-accommodating portion while exerting a force on the wall of less than 40 N, and also permitting limited relative movement between spaced-apart feet of the mounting portions of the plurality of self-adjusting connectors.