Abstract:
In a two-member assembling structure in which a clip mounted to a pedestal of an attachment member is inserted into a clip hole of a mating member, the clip includes a pedestal coupling portion coupled to a rib of the pedestal, an engaging arm adapted to pass through the clip hole while undergoing elastic deformation when the clip is inserted into or removed of the clip hole, an engaging surface formed on an outer side surface of the engaging arm and capable of engaging with a hole edge of the clip hole, a stable portion extending from the engaging surface and opposed to the rib of the pedestal so as to be capable of contacting therewith, and a regulating portion  26  protruding toward the rib of the pedestal from a position in the vicinity of the stable portion. As the pedestal of the attachment member, there are prepared at least three kinds of pedestals for low retention, medium retention, and high retention. The rib of the pedestal for low retention is provided with a relief hole allowing entrance of the regulating portion of the clip, and the rib of the pedestal for high retention is provided with a protrusion for receiving the stable portion of the clip.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
       [0001]    The present application is a National Phase entry of PCT Application No. PCT/JP2009/062205, filed Jul. 3, 2009, which claims priority from Japanese Patent Application Number 2008-175661, filed Jul. 4, 2008, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to two-member assembling structures for assembling an attachment member, such as a center cluster of a vehicle, to a mating member, such as an instrument panel by using a clip. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0003]    Regarding assembling structures of this type, for example, a technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-50229 is known. A clip employed in this technique is equipped with a pair of lock members mounted to a pedestal so as to be situated on both sides of a rib of the pedestal, which is molded integrally with an attachment member, and two side walls protruding outwardly from these lock members. And, by inserting the clip mounted to the pedestal of the attachment member into a clip hole provided in the mating member, shoulder portions of the two side walls are engaged with the edge of the clip hole on the inner surface side of the mating member, whereby the attachment member is assembled to the mating member via the clip. 
         [0004]    In the technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-50229, in the state in which the attachment member has been assembled to the mating member via the clip, the retention load of the clip with respect to the mating member is determined exclusively by the engaging force exerted between the edge of the clip hole and the shoulder portions of both two side walls. And, this retention load is always fixed as long as the clip and the clip hole remain the same. Thus, to change the retention load, it is necessary to employ an appropriate clip selected from among different kinds of clips, and there is a risk of a wrong clip being employed. 
         [0005]    Therefore, there is a need in the art for enabling to select different retention loads with respect to the clip hole of the mating member with a single kind of clip, and eliminating an operational error in the step of mounting the clip to the attachment member. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    According to one aspect of the present teachings, in a two-member assembling structure for assembling a predetermined attachment member to a mating member by inserting a clip mounted to a pedestal provided on the attachment member into a clip hole provided in the mating member, the clip includes a pedestal coupling portion to be coupled to a rib of the pedestal protruding from the attachment member, an engaging arm situated on the outer side of the pedestal coupling portion and adapted to pass through the clip hole while undergoing elastic deformation so as to be inwardly pushed and flexed when the clip is inserted into or removed from the clip hole of the mating member, an engaging surface formed on an outer side surface of the engaging arm and capable of engaging with a hole edge of the clip hole on the inner surface side of the mating member, a stable portion extending rearwards from the engaging surface with respect the direction in which the clip is inserted into the clip hole and opposed to the rib of the pedestal so as to be capable of contacting therewith in the state in which the clip has been mounted to the pedestal, and a regulating portion protruding toward the rib of the pedestal from a position in the vicinity of the stable portion. 
         [0007]    As the pedestal of the attachment member, at least three kinds of pedestals for low retention, medium retention, and high retention are provided. Each of the three kinds of pedestals has an engagement means for effecting coupling between the rib and the pedestal coupling portion of the clip. And, the rib of the pedestal for low retention is provided with a relief hole allowing entrance of the regulating portion of the clip mounted to the pedestal. The rib of the pedestal for high retention is provided with a protrusion for receiving the stable portion of the clip mounted to the pedestal. 
         [0008]    According to this construction, when the engaging arm of the clip passing through the clip hole is inwardly pushed and flexed, the regulating portion enters the relief hole of the rib, and the stable portion is received by the rib in the case that the clip is mounted to the pedestal of the clip for low retention, whereas, in the case that the clip is mounted to the pedestal of the clip for medium retention, the regulating portion is received by the rib. And, in the case that the clip is mounted to the pedestal of the clip for high retention, the stable portion is received by the protrusion of the rib. As a result, assuming the case of mounting the clip to the pedestal for medium retention as a reference, the elasticity characteristic of the engaging arm of the clip is soft when the clip is mounted to the pedestal for low retention, and the elasticity characteristic of the engaging arm of the clip is hard when the clip is mounted to the pedestal for high retention. 
         [0009]    As a result, it is possible to employ at least three different levels of retention load for the clip hole of the mating member with a single kind of clip. And, since the selection of this retention load is made based on the kind of pedestal mounted to the clip, it is possible to eliminate an operational error in the step of mounting the clip to the attachment member. 
         [0010]    Preferably, an end portion of the stable portion of the clip is situated on the rear side of an end portion of the pedestal coupling portion with respect to the direction in which the clip is inserted into the clip hole, and the regulating portion of the engaging arm connects the end portion of the stable portion and the end portion of the pedestal coupling portion to each other. 
         [0011]    In this way, because the end portion of the stable portion of the clip and the end portion of the pedestal coupling portion thereof are connected together by the regulating portion, a beam structure in which the engaging arm has bending fulcrums at both ends thereof is realized. Thus, when the clip is removed from the clip hole of the mating member, the engaging arm undergoes deformation such that the angle between the engaging surface thereof and the inner peripheral surface of the clip hole becomes gentler, thereby facilitating the removal of the clip. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  A perspective view of a two-member assembling structure using a clip 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  A perspective view of the clip 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  A perspective view, as seen from below, of the clip 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  A front view of the clip 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  A perspective view of a pedestal for low retention 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  A perspective view of a pedestal for medium retention 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  A perspective view of a pedestal for high retention 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  A front view, partly in section, of the assembling state when the pedestal for low retention is used 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  A front view, partly in section, of the assembling state when the pedestal for medium retention is used 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  A front view, partly in section, of the assembling state when the pedestal for high retention is used 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    An example will be hereinafter described with reference to the drawings. A clip  10  used to assemble two members to each other is an integrally molded product made of synthetic resin material, and as shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , the clip  10  has a general construction, in which it is closed on the side of a head portion  12  and opened on the side of a skirt portion  14 . By way of the clip  10 , it is possible to assemble an attachment member  30 , such as a center cluster, as shown in  FIG. 1  to a mating member  40 , such as an instrumental panel. In general, the clip  10  is divided into a pedestal coupling portion  16 , and a pair of engaging arms  20  situated on both outer sides of the pedestal coupling portion  16 . The head portion  12  of the clip  10  constitutes the forward end portion and the skirt portion  14  constitutes the rear end portion when the clip  10  is inserted into a clip hole  42  ( FIG. 1 ) previously provided in the mating member  40 . 
         [0023]    The pedestal coupling portion  16  has a pair of holding members  16   a  protruding from the side of the head portion  12  toward the side of the skirt portion  14 , and engagement claws  16   b  provided on the inner side surfaces opposed to each other at the terminal end portions of the holding members  16   a . The holding members  16   a  are capable of elastic deformation so as to be opened to the right and left using as fulcrums the base end portions thereof on the side of the head portion  12  integrated with the clip  10 . 
         [0024]    The pair of engaging arms  20  respectively extend on the outer sides of the pedestal coupling portion  16  from the side of the head portion  12  toward the skirt portion  14 . On the outer side surfaces of the engaging arms  20  at substantially intermediate portions between the head portion  12  and the skirt portion  14  of the clip  10 , there are provided shoulder portions  21  protruding most outwardly. Engaging surfaces  22  set at a predetermined inclination angle are provided on the side of the skirt portion  14  of the clip  10 , which is continuous with the shoulder portions  21 . When the clip  10  is inserted into a clip hole  42  of the mating member  40 , both engaging surfaces  22  can be engaged with the hole edge of the clip hole  42 . Further, the clip  10  has stable portions  24  extending from the engaging surfaces  22  of the engaging arms  20  toward the skirt portion  14  of the clip  10 . The stable portions  24  are situated on side of the skirt portion  14  relative to the end portions of the holding members  16   a  of the pedestal coupling portion  16  and on the outer sides relative to the holding members  16   a . Unlike the portions of the clip  10  from the head portion  12  to the shoulder portions  21  or the engaging surfaces  22 , the stable portions  24  have no inclination angle, and are set to be substantially parallel to the holding members  16   a  of the pedestal coupling portion  16 . 
         [0025]    And, the clip  10  has stabilizers  25  bent outwardly from the end portions of the stable portions  24  that are continuous with the engaging arms  20 . The stabilizers  25  serves to facilitate the operation of mounting the clip  10  to a pedestal  34  shown, for example, in  FIG. 1 , and other operations and to contact with the surface of the mating member  40  to thereby prevent rattling of the clip  10  when the clip  10  is inserted into the clip hole  42  of the mating member  40  as will be described later. 
         [0026]    On the inner sides of the stable portions  24  continuous with the engaging arms  20 , the clip  10  has regulating portions  26  connecting the end portions of the stable portions  24  and the end portions of the holding members  16   a  of the pedestal coupling portion  16  to each other. In this way, because the end portions of the stable portions  24  continuous with the engaging arms  20  and the end portions of the holding members  16   a  of the pedestal coupling portion  16  are connected to each other via the regulating portions  26 , each of the engaging arms  20  assumes a beam structure having bending fulcrums at both ends of a length L 1  as shown in  FIG. 4 . That is, the engaging arms  20  are capable of elastic deformation so as to be individually inwardly flexed using as fulcrums the two points on the side of the head portion  12  and the side of the skirt portion  14  of the clip  10 . 
         [0027]    Both regulating portions  26  are positioned in a state of extending the holding members  16   a  straight, that is, substantially parallel to the stable portions  24 . The dimension of the regulating portions  26  with respect to the width direction of the clip  10  is approximately one third of the holding members  16   a  (the pedestal coupling portion  16 ) and the stable portions  24  (the engaging arms  20 ), and the end portions of the regulating portions  26  are respectively coupled to the centers with respect to the width direction of the holding members  16   a  and the stable portions  24  ( FIG. 3 ). 
         [0028]    Incidentally, in this embodiment, the dimension of the pedestal coupling portion  16  with respect to the width direction of the clip  10  is set to be the same as that of the engaging arms  20  ( FIGS. 1 through 3 ). 
         [0029]    An attachment member  30  shown in  FIG. 1  is a molded product made of synthetic resin material, like a center cluster. The mating member  40  likewise shown in  FIG. 1  is an instrument panel of a vehicle or the like, and has the rectangular clip hole  42  extending therethrough from the front to the back side at a predetermined position thereof. 
         [0030]    On a back surface  30   a  on the opposite side of the decorated surface of the attachment member  30 , there is provided one of three kinds of pedestals  32 ,  34 , and  36  as shown in  FIGS. 5 through 7  selected at the designing stage. However, depending upon the way the attachment member  30  is used, two or all of the three kinds of pedestals  32 ,  34 , and  36  may be arranged on the back surface  30   a  thereof. By mounting the clip  10  to the pedestals  32 ,  34 , and  36 , it is possible to select the retention load of the clip  10  with respect to the clip hole  42  of the mating member  40  from among three levels of low retention, medium retention, and high retention. 
         [0031]      FIG. 1  shows the pedestal  34  for medium (standard) retention. The basic construction of the different pedestals  32 ,  34 , and  36  will be described with reference to the standard pedestal  34 . 
         [0032]    As is also apparent from  FIG. 6 , the pedestal  34  has a rib  34   a  protruding from the back surface  30   a  of the attachment member  30 , and reinforcing side plates  34   b  situated on its both sides. In general, the thickness of the rib  34   a  is set to be slightly larger than the interval between the holding members  16   a  of the pedestal coupling portion  16  of the clip  10 . Thus, when the pedestal coupling portion  16  is coupled to the pedestal  34  as will be described below, the rib  34   a  of the pedestal  34  enters the interval between the holding members  16   a  while outwardly pushing and flexing the holding members  16   a  of the pedestal coupling portion  16 . As a result, any rattling of the clip  10  mounted to the pedestal  34  is suppressed. Depending on the kind of the clip  10 , the interval between the holding members  16   a  and the thickness of the rib  34   a  may be set to be of substantially the same dimension. 
         [0033]    The rib  34   a  has an engagement hole  34   c  extending therethrough from one to the other side thereof. When the clip  10  is mounted to the pedestal  34  as described above, two engagement claws  16   b  of the pedestal coupling portion  16  are engaged with the engagement hole  34   c  from both sides of the rib  34   a , so that the pedestal coupling portion  16  and the pedestal  34  are coupled to each other. That is, the engagement hole  34   c , which allows coupling between the engagement claws  16   b  of the pedestal coupling portion  16  and the rib  34   a , serves as a “pedestal engagement means”. This also applies to engagement holes  32   c  and  36   c  of the pedestals  32  and  36  that will be described below. 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  shows the pedestal  32  for low retention and a rib  32   a , two side plates  32   b , and an engagement hole  32   c  thereof are of the same construction as those of the standard pedestal  34 . The specific feature of the pedestal  32  lies in the fact that the rib  32   a  has a relief hole  32   d  extending therethrough from one to the other side thereof. The relief hole  32   d  communicates with the engagement hole  32   c  and extends downwards, and at the same time, it is set to a width smaller than that of the engagement hole  32   c , that is, a width slightly larger than that of the regulating portions  26  of the clip  10 . Thus, in the state in which the pedestal coupling portion  16  of the clip  10  is coupled to the rib  32   a  of the pedestal  32 , the regulating portions  26  of the clip  10  can enter the relief hole  32   d  from both sides of the rib  32   a.    
         [0035]      FIG. 7  shows the pedestal  36  for high retention, and regarding a rib  36   a , two side plates  36   b , and an engagement hole  36   c  thereof, they are of the same construction as those of the standard pedestal  34 . The specific feature of the pedestal  36  is that there are respectively provided on both side surfaces of the rib  36   a  two pairs of right and left protrusions  36   d , i.e., four protrusions in total. The protrusions  36   d  are arranged close to both corners below the engagement hole  36   c  (both side plates  36   b ). That is, in the state in which the pedestal coupling portion  16  of the clip  10  is coupled to the rib  36   a  of the pedestal  36 , the protrusions  36   d  are at positions where they can avoid interference with the regulating portions  26  of the clip  10  and receive the stable portions  24 . 
         [0036]    Next, the operation of using the clip  10  with three different retention loads of low retention, medium retention, and high retention will be described with reference to  FIGS. 8 through 10 . 
         [0037]    First, as shown in  FIG. 8 , when the clip  10  is to be used with low retention load, the clip  10  is mounted to the pedestal  32  for low retention of the attachment member  30 . At this time, the rib  32   a  of the pedestal  32  relatively enters the interval between the holding members  16   a  of the pedestal coupling portion  16  from the side of the skirt portion  14  of the clip  10 , and the engagement claws  16   b  of the holding members  16   a  are engaged from both sides with the engagement hole  32   c  of the rib  32   a . In this state, the holding members  16   a  of the pedestal coupling portion  16  hold the rib  32   a  therebetween from both sides thereof, and the clip  10  is mounted to the pedestal  32  in a stable manner. As described previously, the regulating portions  26  of the clip  10  are situated on both sides of the rib  32   a  and can each enter the relief hole  32   d  of the rib  32   a  ( FIG. 8 ). 
         [0038]    Next, the clip  10  mounted to the pedestal  32  for low retention is inserted into the clip hole  42  of the mating member  40  starting with the side of the head portion  12 . As a result of this operation, the outer side surfaces of both engaging arms  20  of the clip  10  are brought into contact with the inner periphery of the clip hole  42 , whereby the engaging arms  20  undergo elastic deformation together with both stable portions  24  so as to be pushed and flexed inwardly. And, when the shoulder portions  21  of both engaging arms  20  are passed through the clip hole  42 , and the insertion of the clip  10  is completed, the engaging surfaces  22  of both engaging arms  20  are engaged with the hole edge of the clip hole  42  on the side of the inner surface  40   a  of the mating member  40  ( FIG. 8 ). As a result, the attachment member  30  is assembled to the mating member  40  via the clip  10 . 
         [0039]    When both engaging arms  20  of the clip  10  mounted to the pedestal  32  for low retention undergo elastic deformation as described above, both regulating portions  26  of the clip  10  enter, depending upon the deformation amount of the engaging arms  20 , the relief hole  32   d  from both sides of the rib  32   a . Thus, in this case, both engaging arms  20  exhibit a relatively soft elasticity characteristic, and undergo deformation with low load. After both stable portions  24  of the clip  10  interfere with both side surfaces of the rib  32   a  so as to be received by them, both engaging arms  20  exhibit a relatively hard elasticity characteristic. However, at this point in time, the engagement amount of both engaging surfaces  22  with the edge of the clip hole  42  is small. 
         [0040]    As a result, the insertion load and the removing load for the clip hole  42  of the mating member  40  of the clip  10  mounted to the pedestal  32  for low retention are both low, and therefore, the clip  10  can be used as a low retention load clip. 
         [0041]    As shown in  FIG. 9 , when the clip  10  is to be used with medium retention load, the clip  10  is mounted to the pedestal  34  for medium retention of the attachment member  30 . In this case, the coupling between the pedestal coupling portion  16  of the clip  10  and the rib  34   a  of the pedestal  34  is the same as that in the case of the pedestal  32  for low retention. However, in the pedestal  34 , there is no relief hole  32   d  as in the case of the pedestal  32  for low retention, so that, in the state in which the clip  10  is mounted to the pedestal  34 , both regulating portions  26  of the clip  10  interfere with both side surfaces of the rib  34   a  and are received by them. As a result, both engaging arms  20  of the clip  10  assume, as stated above, a beam structure in which they have bending fulcrums at both ends of the dimension L 1  as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0042]    Thus, when the clip  10  mounted to the pedestal  34  for medium retention is inserted into the clip hole  42  of the mating member  40 , both engaging arms  20  are inwardly pushed and flexed based on the above-described bridging beam structure. Thus, as compared with the case in which the clip  10  is mounted to the pedestal  32  for low retention, both engaging arms  20  of the clip  10  exhibit in this case a relatively hard elasticity characteristic, and the clip  10  can be used as a medium retention load clip. 
         [0043]    When the clip  10  is to be used with high retention load, the clip  10  is mounted to the pedestal  36  for high retention of the attachment member  30  as shown in  FIG. 10 . At this time, the coupling between the pedestal coupling portion  16  of the clip  10  and the rib  34   a  of the pedestal  34  is the same as that in the case of the pedestal  32  for low retention and the pedestal  34  for medium retention. And, in the state in which the clip  10  is mounted to the pedestal  36 , both stable portions  24  of the clip  10  interfere with the pairs of protrusions  36   d  respectively provided on both side surfaces of the rib  36   a  so as to be received by them. On both side surfaces of the rib  36   a , both regulating portions  26  of the clip  10  are situated between both protrusions  36   d  and do not interfere with the protrusions  36   d.    
         [0044]    Because both stable portions  24  of the clip  10  are received by the protrusions  36   d , both engaging arms  20  assume a beam structure having bending fulcrums at both ends of a length L 2  as shown in  FIG. 10 . The length L 2  is smaller than the length L 1  shown in  FIGS. 4 and 9 , so that the length of the bridging beam is necessarily smaller. Thus, the elasticity characteristic of both engaging arms  20  of the clip  10  mounted to the pedestal  36  for high retention is harder than that in the case in which the clip  10  is mounted to the pedestal  34  for medium retention. Thus, in this case, the insertion load and the removing load of the clip  10  for the clip hole  42  of the mating member  40  are both high, so that the clip  10  can be used as a high retention load clip. 
         [0045]    In this way, by mounting a single kind of clip  10  to one of the three kinds of pedestals  32 ,  34 , and  36 , the retention load of the clip  10  for the clip hole  42  of the mating member  40  can be appropriately selected from among low retention, medium retention, and high retention. While it is common practice to adopt one kind of pedestal for one attachment member  30 , if two or more kinds of pedestals are used for one attachment member  30 , the differences between the three kinds of the pedestals  32 ,  34 , and  36  are distinct ( FIGS. 5 through 7 ), and their respective arrangement positions are clearly distinguishable. Thus, in the operation of mounting the clip  10  to the attachment member  30 , no judgment is required as to which retention load is to be adopted, thus eliminating an operational error. 
         [0046]    When, for example, the clip  10  is mounted to the pedestal  34  for medium retention ( FIG. 9 ), both engaging arms  20  assume, as stated above, a beam structure having bending fulcrums at both ends of the dimension L 1 . Thus, when the clip  10  passes through the clip hole  42 , the coupling portions of both engaging arms  20  on the side of the head portion  12  and the side of the skirt portion  14  constituting the bending fulcrums undergo no displacement, and their respective shoulder portions  21  undergo inward displacement. 
         [0047]    Thus, when the clip  10  is removed from the clip hole  42  of the mating member  40 , an angle between the engaging surfaces  22  of both engaging arms  20  and the inner peripheral surface of the clip hole  42  becomes gentler from θ 1  to θ 2  as shown in  FIG. 9 . As a result, even in the case that the mating member  40  is a metal plate and that there are burrs at the edge of the clip hole  42  on the inner surface  40   a  side, it is not likely that the engaging arms  20  are caught by the burrs, thus preventing damage of the clip  10  and enabling it to be repeatedly attached and detached. 
         [0048]    Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, the embodiment can be changed or modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. 
         [0049]    For example, as described above, the clip  10  of this embodiment is provided with the engaging arms  20  on both right and left sides thereof as shown, for example, in  FIG. 4 . However, when the retention load required of the clip  10  is relatively low or when the space available for use is small, it is possible to adopt a construction in which the engaging arm  20  (inclusive of the stable portion  24 ) and the regulating portion  26  are provided on one outer side only. Further, it is not always necessary for the regulating portion  26  of the clip  10  to adopt the construction in which the end portion of the holding member  16   a  of the pedestal coupling portion  16  and the end portion of the stable portion  24  continuous with the engaging arm  20  are coupled together. That is, when there is no need for the engaging arm  20  to adopt a bridging beam structure, it is possible to provide a protrusion on the inner side of the stable portion  24  and to use it as the regulating portion  26 , thus providing the above-mentioned function. 
         [0050]    Further, as the three kinds of pedestals  32 ,  34 , and  36 , it is also possible to prepare ones differing in the thickness of the rib  32   a ,  34   a ,  36   a  or ones differing in the protruding amount of the protrusions  36   d  of the pedestal  36  in order to select and use them appropriately, so that it is possible to vary the retention load at four or more levels for a single kind of clip  10 . 
       DESCRIPTION OF THE NUMERALS 
       [0000]    
       
           10  clip 
           16  pedestal coupling portion 
           16   b  engaging claw 
           20  engaging arm 
           21  shoulder portion 
           22  engaging surface 
           24  stable portion 
           25  stabilizer 
           26  regulating portion 
           30  attachment member 
           32 ,  34 ,  36  pedestal 
           32   a ,  34   c ,  36   c  engaging hole 
           36   d  protrusion 
           40  mating member 
           40   a  inner surface 
           42  clip hole