Sun visor holder

Abstract: A sun visor holder (5) for supporting a supporting bar of a sun visor including a main body (5A) and a plug member (14) formed on the main body (5A) and insertable into a mounting opening (13) formed on an automobile body. The plug member (14) has a slit (15) for vertically splitting same and has a through bore (17) into which a fastening member (16) is received. The through bore (17) includes a tapered surface (17A) extending along the slit (13). The plug member (14) is flared by virtue of the slit (13) so as to be held in the mounting opening (13) when the fastening member (16) is inserted into the through bore (17) of the plug member (14) fitted to the mounting opening (13) formed on the automobile body, whereby the main body (5A) is fixed to the automobile body.

Description: The present invention relates to a sun visor holder for stably holding a supporting arm of a sun visor, and particularly to a sun visor holder having a specific mounting mechanism for mounting same on an automobile body. As shown in FIG. 7, a sun visor 101 for an automobile is generally rotatably connected to an L-shaped supporting arm 103 at one end portion thereof. The supporting arm 103 is mounted on a roof panel 102 of an automobile body, thereby mounting the sun visor 101 on the roof panel 102. Provided on the other end portion of the sun visor 101 is a supporting bar 104 which is held by a sun visor holder 105 fixedly mounted on the roof panel 102. With this arrangement, the sun visor 101 can be rotated around the supporting arm 103 and the holding bar 104. FIG. 8 is sectional view showing a conventional sun visor holder 105 mounted on the roof panel 102. As shown therein, the sun visor holder 105 includes a main body 105A. Formed on the lower surface of the main body 105A is a hook-like holding portion 111 which may receive the supporting bar 104 therein as the sun visor holder 105 is affixed to the roof panel 102. The main body 105A includes a positioning pin 106 which projects upwardly from the upper surface thereof. The main body 105A also includes a vertical stepped bore 109 formed therethrough. The sun visor holder 105 is located on the roof panel 102 by inserting the positioning pin 106 into a through hole 107 formed on the roof panel 102. The sun visor holder 105 is then affixed to the roof panel 102 by screwing a threaded fastener 110 into a threaded bore 108 formed on the roof panel 102 through the stepped bore 109. As will be appreciated, the through hole 107 and the threaded bore 108 are previously formed on the roof panel 102 so as to align with the positioning pin 106 and the stepped bore 109, respectively. A problem usually associated with the conventional sun visor holder 105 is that since the sun visor holder 105 is affixed to the roof panel 102 by the threaded fastener 110, the threaded fastener 110 may loosen due to vibrations from the automobile body, thereby causing chattering of the sun visor holder 105. This may lead to poor performance of the sun visor holder 105, thereby causing undesirable vibrations of the sun visor 101. In extreme case, loosening of the threaded fastener 110 may lead to a completely falling off of the sun visor holder 105 from the roof panel 102. Another problem usually associated with the prior art sun visor holder 105 is that the threaded fastener 110 is screwed to affix the sun visor holder 105 to the roof panel 102, thereby increasing work time for mounting the sun visor holder 105 on the roof panel 102. EP-A-0,348,277, upon which the preamble of claim 1 is based, discloses a sun visor fixing device which has a fixing member which is inserted through a hole in an automobile body. The fixing member is arranged to receive a fastening member which when inserted deflects the upper part of the fixing member, the deflected parts engaging the sides of the hole and retaining the fixing device in the hole. According to the present invention there is provided a sun visor holder for supporting a support bar of a sun visor mounted on an automobile body, comprising a main body having a holding portion for receiving the support bar of the sun visor and a plug member formed on said main body and for insertion into a mounting opening of the automobile body, said plug member having an elongate slit splitting the same and having a through bore for receiving a fastening member, said through bore having a pair of opposed bore surfaces each of which defines a taper extending in a direction generally parallel to said slit, said plug member being adapted to flare on introduction of said fastening member into said through bore such that when said flared plug member is in the mounting opening said main body is fixed to the automobile body, characterised in that said through bore has a substantially rectangular cross-section and in that said fastening member has a substantially rectangular cross-section and a pair of opposite surfaces, at least one of which surfaces includes a flanged portion at a forward edge thereof, said at least one flanged portion being engageable with said plug member to retain said fastening member against removal from said through bore, said plug member having a substantially rectangular cross-section and a pair of opposed surfaces each of which includes a protuberance formed thereon for retaining said plug member when received in the mounting opening, the distance between said protuberances being greater than the dimension of the mounting opening. In the illustrated embodiment of sun visor holder described hereinafter, the sun visor holder remains fixed to the automobile body, preventing undesirable rattling of the sun visor holder due to vibrations from the automobile body. Furthermore, in not using a threaded fastener the work time for mounting the sun visor holder on the automobile body is reduced. An embodiment of sun visor holder in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a side view of a sun visor holder according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the sun visor holder showing the process of its mounting onto a roof panel of an automobile body; Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the sun visor holder mounted on the roof panel of the automobile body; Fig. 4 is a plan view of an insertion pin; Fig. 5 is a side view of the insertion pin; Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the insertion pin; Fig. 7 is an elevational view of a sun visor and a conventional sun visor holder in combination for illustrative purpose of the sun visor holder in use; and Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the conventional sun visor holder mounted on a roof panel on an automobile body. A preferred embodiment of a sun visor holder according to the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a sun visor holder 5 includes a main body 5A having a slanted surface 5B. Formed on the lower surface of the main body 5A is a hook-like holding portion 11 for receiving a supporting bar (not shown) of a sun visor. The main body 5A has a vertical positioning pin 6 projecting upwardly from an upper surface 12 thereof and a vertical stepped bore 9 formed therethrough. The stepped bore 9 has a substantially rectangular configuration in cross section. The main body 5A of the sun visor holder 5 also has a vertical plug 14 integrally formed on the upper surface 12 thereof and having a rectangular configuration in cross section. The plug 14 includes a through bore 17 having a rectangular configuration in cross section. The through bore 17 is aligned with the stepped bore 9 so as to receive a fastener 16 to be described hereinafter. As shown in FIG. 2, the plug 14 also includes a vertical slit 15 for lateral flaring flexture thereof. The through bore 17 includes a pair of laterally opposed tapered surfaces 17A extending along the vertical slit 15. When the fastener 16 is inserted into the through bore 17, the fastener 16 cooperates with the tapered surfaces 17A of the through bore 17 to produce lateral biasing force in the plug 14. The biasing force may permit lateral flaring of the plug 14. As will be easily understood, the flaring of the plug 14 is smoothly achieved by the formation of the vertical slit 15, as shown in FIG. 3. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, formed on the laterally opposed outer surfaces of the plug 14 are a pair of protuberances 14A which protrude in the opposite direction of the vertical slit 15. Furthermore, the plug 14 has a pair of lower abutment lips 14B formed on the laterally opposed outer surfaces thereof. The abutment lips 14B are positioned near the proximal end of the plug 14 and extend in the opposite direction of the vertical slit 15. FIGS. 4 to 6 illustrates the fastener 16 which is to be inserted into the through bore 17 of the plug 14 through the stepped bore 9 for securing the sun visor holder 5 to a roof panel (not shown) of an automobile body. The fastener 16 includes a stick-like main portion 16B having a substantially rectangular configuration in cross section and an inclined rectangular end plate 16A integrally formed on the main portion 16B. The main portion 16B is provided with a pair of flanged portions 16C formed on the laterally opposed surfaces thereof. The flanged portions 16C are positioned near the proximal end of the main portion 16B so as to project beyond the tip of the plug 14 when the fastener 16 is completely inserted into the through bore 17. Integrally formed on the end plate 16A are four projections 16D which extend along the four surfaces of the main portion 16B, respectively. The projections 16D may act as a positioner to securely position the end plate 16A of the fastener 16 in the stepped bore 9. The end plate 16A has an inclination angle substantially corresponding to that of the slanted surface 5B of the main body 5 so as to be substantially coplanar with the slanted surface 5B as the fastener 16 is completely inserted into the through bore 17. Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, formed on a roof panel 2 of an automobile body is a shouldered square opening 13 for receiving the plug 14. The shouldered opening 13 has a dimension slightly smaller than the distance between the protuberances 14A of the plug 14. Shoulder portions 13A of the shouldered opening 13 may receive the abutment lips 14B of the plug 14 therein. As will be recognized from FIG. 3, with the abutment lips 14B contacting the shoulder portions 13A of the shouldered opening 13, the upper surface 12 of the main body 5A may fully contact the inner surface 2A of the roof panel 2. Furthermore, of course, the roof panel 2 is formed with a through hole (not shown) into which the positioning pin 6 is closely inserted. The operation of the sun visor holder 5 thus constructed will now be explained with reference to the drawings. The sun visor holder 5 is located on the roof panel 2 by inserting the positioning pin 6 into the through hole (not shown) formed on the roof panel 2. Thereafter, the plug 14 is inserted into the shouldered opening 13 until the protuberances 14A thereof are upwardly projected from the shouldered opening 13 (FIG. 2). It will be noted that although the distance between the protuberances 14A of the plug 14 is slightly greater than the dimension of the shouldered opening 13, the plug 14 may be easily inserted into the shouldered opening 13 because of inward flexture thereof by virtue of the vertical slit 15 formed thereon. Subsequently, the fastener 16 is forced into the through bore 17 through the stepped bore 9 of the main body 5A until it is completely inserted into the through bore 17 (FIG. 3). When the fastener 16 is forced into the through bore 17, the main body 5A of the sun visor holder 5 is upwardly urged so that the abutment lips 14B and the upper surface 12 of the main body 5A contact the shoulder portions 13A of the shouldered opening 13 and the lower surface 2A of the roof panel 2, respectively. Upon complete insertion of the fastener 16 into the through bore 17, the plug 14 is sufficiently laterally flared to enlarge the distance between the protuberances 14A formed thereon. This may permit retention of the plug 14 in the shouldered opening 13. It will be noted that the fastener 16 remains fitted in the through bore 17 by virtue of the flanged portions 16C formed thereon, thereby permitting stable retention of the plug 14 in the shouldered opening 13. Thus, the sun visor holder 5 is stably affixed to the roof panel 2 of the automobile body.

Claims: A sun visor holder (5) for supporting a support bar of a sun visor mounted on an automobile body, comprising a main body (5A) having a holding portion (11) for receiving the support bar of the sun visor and a plug member (14) formed on said main body (5A) and for insertion into a mounting opening (13) of the automobile body, said plug member (14) having an elongate slit (15) splitting the same and having a through bore (17) for receiving a fastening member (16), said through bore (17) having a pair of opposed bore surfaces each of which defines a taper extending in a direction generally parallel to said slit (15), said plug member (14) being adapted to flare on introduction of said fastening member (16) into said through bore (17) such that when said flared plug member is in the mounting opening (13) said main body (5A) is fixed to the automobile body, characterised in that said through bore has a substantially rectangular cross-section and in that said fastening member (16) has a substantially rectangular cross-section and a pair of opposite surfaces, at least one of which surfaces includes a flanged portion (16C) at a forward edge thereof, said at least one flanged portion (16C) being engageable with said plug member (14) to retain said fastening member (16) against removal from said through bore, said plug member (14) having a substantially rectangular cross-section and a pair of opposed surfaces each of which includes a protuberance (14A) formed thereon for retaining said plug member when received in the mounting opening (13), the distance between said protuberances (14A) being greater than the dimension of the mounting opening (13). A sun visor holder (5) according to claim 11 wherein said plug member has a lower abutment lip (14B) for contacting a shoulder portion of the mounting opening (13) when said fastening member (16) is inserted into said through bore (17). A sun visor holder (5) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said plug member (14) is formed on an upper surface of said main body (5A) and wherein said main body (5A) has a stepped bore (9) aligned with said through bore (17) and for the passage therethrough of said fastening member upon introduction of said fastening member into said through bore. A sun visor holder (5) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said fastening member (16) includes an end plate member (16A) for closing said stepped bore (9) when said fastening member is fully received in said through bore. A sun visor holder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising said fastening member.

Inventors: SETO TAKUMI, SETO, TAKUMI, Seto, Takumi, c/o Neo-ex Lab. Inc.
Applicants: NEO EX LAB INC, NEO-EX LAB. INC.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B60J3
IPC codes: F16B19, B60J3