Abstract:
Embodiments of the present invention may include a clip mounting seat having a clip attachment surface, a peripheral wall and an opening. The peripheral wall extends from the clip attachment surface. The opening opens a part of an outer peripheral edge of the clip attachment surface. The clip attachment surface has an attachment hole, a guide groove and a tongue. The guide groove guides an insertion of a neck portion of the clip from the opening into the attachment hole. The tongue protrudes from an edge of the guide groove towards the attachment hole. The tongue is deflected to permit the neck portion to enter from the opening into the attachment hole. When the neck portion moves from the attachment hole toward the opening, the tongue is deflected by the neck portion in a closing direction.

Description:
This application claims priority to Japanese patent application serial number 2013-226892, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention relate to a clip mounting seat of an interior component or an exterior component. For example, a clip is attached to the clip mounting seat to mount the interior or exterior component to a vehicle body panel. 
     There has been known a clip for mounting an automotive interior component (such as a door trim or an instrument panel) to a vehicle body panel. The interior component has a clip mounting seat on an inner surface thereof. A neck portion of the clip is attached to the clip mounting seat. The neck portion is passed through a guide groove of the interior component before being inserted into an attachment hole of the clip mounting seat. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-81881 discloses a clip mounting seat  202  shown in  FIG. 27 . The clip mounting seat  202  has a pair of tongues  228 . 
     The tongues  228  protrude toward an attachment hole  224  from both edges  226   a  of a guide groove  226 . When the clip  203  moves in a detaching direction from an attachment hole  224 , the pair of tongues  228  acts on a neck portion  234   c  of the clip  203  to provide resistance. As a result, it is possible to suppress inadvertent detachment of the clip  203  from the clip mounting seat  202 . It is possible to suppress detachment of an interior component (not shown) due to vibration during traveling of the automobile. When the clip  203  is inserted into the attachment hole  224 , the pair of tongues  228  do not act as resistance on the neck portion  234   c  of the clip  203 . Thus, the clip  203  can be easily attached to the clip mounting seat  202 . 
     When the requisite force for detaching the clip  203  from the clip mounting seat  202  (the retaining force) is large, it is difficult to detach the clip  203  from the clip mounting seat  202 . When, however, the retaining force is increased, the requisite force for attaching the clip  203  to the clip mounting seat  202  increases. 
     Therefore, there is a need in the art for a clip mounting seat to which the clip can be easily attached and from which the clip is not easily detached. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an aspect of the invention, certain embodiments of the present invention include a clip mounting seat of an interior component or an exterior component has a clip attachment surface, a peripheral wall, and an opening. The peripheral wall extends from the clip attachment surface. The opening opens a part of an outer peripheral edge of the clip attachment surface. The clip attachment surface has an attachment hole, a guide groove and a tongue. The guide groove guides an insertion of a neck portion of the clip from the opening into the attachment hole. The tongue protrudes from an edge of the guide groove toward the attachment hole. The tongue is deflected to thereby permit the neck portion to enter from the opening into the attachment hole. When the neck portion moves from the attachment hole toward the opening, the tongue is deflected by the neck portion in a closing direction to narrow a passage area used for preventing the neck portion from being detached from the attachment hole. 
     Thus, the tongue suppresses the movement of the neck portion of the clip from the attachment hole to the opening. As a result, it is possible to suppress inadvertent detachment of the clip from the clip mounting seat. On the other hand, the tongue is deflected so as to cause the neck portion to move from the opening to the attachment hole, allowing the neck portion to move to the attachment hole. Thus, the clip can relatively easily be attached to the clip mounting seat. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the tongue may have a first tongue and a second tongue. The first and second tongues are deflected in an opening direction to move away from each other via the neck portion when the neck portion moves from the opening to the attachment hole. The first and second tongues are deflected in the closing direction to move toward each other via the neck portion when the neck portion moves from the attachment hole to the opening. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the tongue may have a distal end configured to abut the neck portion when the neck portion moves from the attachment hole to the opening. The distal end is provided with a recess directed toward the attachment hole. Alternatively, the distal end may have an arc shape situated on an arc line in which an inner peripheral edge of the attachment hole is situated. Alternatively, the distal end may be formed in a linear configuration and the distal end may be directed towards the attachment hole. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the distal end of the tongue may have a first portion and a second portion. The first portion may have a first angle such that the tongue is deformed to move toward the guide groove via the neck portion when the neck portion moves from the attachment hole to the opening by an applied first force. The second portion may have a second angle such that the tongue is deformed to move away from the guide groove via the neck portion when the neck portion moves from the attachment hole to the opening by an applied second force larger than the applied first force. Thus, it is possible to detach the clip from the clip mounting seat by the second force. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the tongue may be provided with a protrusion protruding so as to reduce a groove width of the guide groove. According to another aspect of the invention, the tongue may be deflected by the neck portion moving from the opening toward the attachment hole to abut a groove wall of the guide groove. According to another aspect of the invention, a gap into which the neck portion is inserted when the tongue abuts the groove wall of the guide groove may be smaller than the diameter of the neck portion. Thus, the worker can feel the movement of the neck portion from the guide groove to the attachment hole since the tongue abuts the groove wall of the guide groove. As a result, it is possible to prevent the worker from forgetting to attach the clip to the clip mounting seat. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a vehicle having a door trim; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of the door trim of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a first clip mounting seat of the door trim of  FIG. 2  before a clip is attached to the first clip mounting seat; 
         FIG. 4  is a plane view of the first clip mounting seat of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of a portion V in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of the first clip mounting seat of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the first clip mounting seat of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a plane view of the first clip mounting seat and a neck portion of the clip before the clip is attached to the first clip mounting seat; 
         FIG. 9  is a plane view of the first clip mounting seat and the neck portion of the clip when tongues abut the groove walls while the neck portion is inserted into the first clip mounting seat; 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged view of a portion X in  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a plane view of the first clip mounting seat to which the neck portion of the clip is completely attached; 
         FIG. 12  is a plane view of the first clip mounting seat and the neck portion when a first force is applied on the clip in a detaching direction; 
         FIG. 13  is a plane view of the first clip mounting seat and the neck portion when a second force, that is greater than the first force, is applied on the clip in the detaching direction; 
         FIG. 14  is a plane view of the first clip mounting seat and the neck portion detached from the first clip mounting seat; 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view of a second clip mounting seat of the door trim before a clip is attached to the second mounting seat; 
         FIG. 16  is a perspective view of a third clip mounting seat of the door trim before a clip is attached to the third mounting seat; 
         FIG. 17  is a perspective view of a forth clip mounting seat of the door trim before a clip is attached to the forth mounting seat; 
         FIG. 18  is a perspective view of another clip mounting seat of the door trim before a clip is attached to the clip mounting seat; 
         FIG. 19  is a plane view of the clip mounting seat of  FIG. 18 ; 
         FIG. 20  is an enlarged view of a portion XX in  FIG. 19 ; 
         FIG. 21  is a plane view of the clip mounting seat of  FIG. 15  and a neck portion of the clip before the clip is attached to the clip mounting seat; 
         FIG. 22  is a plane view of the clip mounting seat of  FIG. 21  and the neck portion of the clip when tongues abut the groove walls while the neck portion is inserted into the clip mounting seat; 
         FIG. 23  is a plane view of the clip mounting seat of  FIG. 21  when the neck portion is completely attached to the clip mounting seat; 
         FIG. 24  is a plane view of the clip mounting seat of  FIG. 21  and the neck portion when a first force is applied on the clip in a detaching direction; 
         FIG. 25  is a plane view of the clip mounting seat of  FIG. 21  and the neck portion when a second force, that is greater than the first force, is applied on the clip in the detaching direction; 
         FIG. 26  is a plane view of the clip mounting seat of  FIG. 21  and the neck portion detached from the clip mounting seat; and 
         FIG. 27  is a perspective view of a conventional clip mounting seat and a clip before the clip is attached to the clip mounting seat. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Each of the additional features and teachings disclosed above and below may be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide improved clip mounting seats for interior components or an exterior components. Representative examples of the present invention, which utilize many of these additional features and teachings both separately and in conjunction with one another, will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person of ordinary skill in the art further details for practicing preferred aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Only the claims define the scope of the claimed invention. Therefore, combinations of features and steps disclosed in the following detailed description may not be necessary to practice the invention in the broadest sense, and are instead taught merely to particularly describe representative examples of the invention. Moreover, various features of the representative examples and the dependent claims may be combined in ways that are not specifically enumerated in order to provide additional useful configurations of the present teachings. 
       FIGS. 1 to 17  show an embodiment which has an interior component  1  and a clip  3 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the interior component  1  is, for example, a door trim for an automobile. The interior component  1  has an outer surface exhibiting a design property, and an inner surface on the other side of the outer surface. At the four corners of the inner surface, there are formed first to fourth clip mounting seats  2  ( 2   a  to  2   d ) to each of which a clip  3  is attached. The clip  3  has upper and lower flange portions  34   a  and  34   b  between which the clip mounting seat  2  is held. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a first clip mounting seat  2   a  has a first attachment hole  24   a  exhibiting an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of a neck portion  34   c  of the clip  3 . The first attachment hole  24   a  serves as a reference hole for setting the position of the door trim  1  with respect to a vehicle body panel P. The first attachment hole  24   a  is set to be of such a size that it cannot absorb a mounting error in the vertical direction and/or the front-rear direction of the door trim  1  with respect to the vehicle body panel P. 
     As shown in  FIG. 15 , a second clip mounting seat  2   b  has a second attachment hole  24   b . The second attachment hole  24   b  is a longitudinally (vertically) elongated hole capable of absorbing the mounting error in the vertical direction of the door trim  1  with respect to the vehicle body panel P. As shown in  FIG. 16 , a third clip mounting seat  2   c  has a third attachment hole  24   c . The third attachment hole  24   c  is a laterally elongated hole capable of absorbing the mounting error in the front-rear direction of the door trim  1  with respect to the vehicle body panel P. As shown in  FIG. 17 , a fourth clip mounting seat  2   d  has a fourth attachment hole  24   d . The fourth attachment hole  24   d  has a large diameter allowing absorption of the mounting error in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction of the door trim  1  with respect to the vehicle body panel P. 
     The first to fourth clip mounting seats  2   a  to  2   d  have the attachment holes  24   a  to  24   d  which are different from each other. With the exception of the attachment holes  24   a  to  24   d , the first to fourth mounting seats  2   a  to  2   d  are of the same construction. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 to 7 , the first clip mounting seat  2   a  is formed integrally with the interior component  1 . The first clip mounting seat  2   a  is formed of a synthetic resin exhibiting rigidity. The first clip mounting seat  2   a  has a peripheral wall  20  and a clip attachment surface  22 . The peripheral wall  20  protrudes from the interior component  1 . The clip attachment surface  22  is formed so as to close the upper side of the peripheral wall  20 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the first clip mounting seat  2   a  has an opening  20   a  for opening a part of the peripheral wall  20 . The clip attachment surface  22  is provided with a guide groove  26  and a pair of tongues  28 . The neck portion  34   c  of the clip  1  is inserted into the clip attachment surface  22  from the opening  20   a , and is guided to the first attachment hole  24   a  by the guide groove  26 . The tongues  28  protrude from both edges  26   a  of the guide groove  26  toward the first attachment hole  24   a.    
     Each tongue  28  has a distal end  28   a  and a protrusion  28   b . The distal end  28   a  has an arcuate recess. The distal end  28   a  is situated on the same arc line of the inner peripheral surface of the first attachment hole  24   a . The distal end  28   a  is an arc of substantially the same radius as the first attachment hole  24   a . The protrusions  28   b  protrude into the guide groove  26  so as to reduce the groove width of the guide groove  26 . The distance between the two protrusions  28   b  is smaller than the outer diameter of the neck portion  34   c  of the clip  3 . As shown in  FIGS. 9 to 11 , the pair of tongues  28  are deflected, and the neck portion  34   c  of the clip  3  passes between the pair of tongues  28  to reach the bottom of the first attachment hole  24   a . The pair of tongues  28  are restored from deformation, and the distance between the two protrusions  28   b  becomes smaller than the outer diameter of the neck portion  34   c  of the clip  3 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the clip  3  is a single member formed of a synthetic resin exhibiting rigidity. The clip  3  integrally has a base plate body  30 , an anchor body  32  and an attachment body  34 . The base plate body  30  is of a disc-like configuration, and constitutes the base of the clip  3 . The anchor body  32  protrudes from the upper surface of the base plate body  30 . The attachment body  34  protrudes from the lower surface of the base plate body  30 . A stabilizer  30   a  is formed in the outer periphery of the base plate body  30 . The stabilizer  30   a  is formed as a disc upwardly extending from the entire periphery of the base plate body  30 . 
     The anchor body  32  is inserted into a mounting hole (not shown) of the vehicle body panel. On the outer periphery of the anchor body  32 , there are formed a plurality of (e.g., four) elastic claws  32   a . The anchor body (swollen body)  32  is reduced in diameter when it is inserted into the mounting hole of the vehicle body panel, and it is increased in diameter when reaching beyond the mounting hole. The anchor body  32  is engaged with the mounting hole of the vehicle body panel. As a result, the door trim  1  is mounted to the vehicle body panel. 
     The attachment body  34  has flange portions (an upper flange portion  34   a  and a lower flange portion  34   b ) and the neck portion. The upper flange portion  34   a  and the lower flange portion  34   b  hold the clip attachment surface  22  of the first clip mounting seat  2   a  therebetween. The neck portion  34   c  is of a small diameter and connects the upper and lower flange portions  34   a  and  34   b  to each other. 
     For attaching the clip  3  to the first clip mounting seat  2   a , the anchor body  32  of the clip  3  is first gripped with fingers. The neck portion  34   c  is inserted into the guide groove  26  while causing the clip attachment surface  22  to be situated between the flange portions  34   a  and  34   b . As shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the neck portion  34   c  pushes the protrusions  28   b  of the pair of tongues  28 . The pair of tongues  28  are deflected so as to move away from each other. The pair of tongues  28  contact both edges  26   a  of the guide groove  26  (abutment state). 
     In the abutment state, the distance between the two protrusions  28   b  is smaller than the outer diameter of the neck portion  34   c  of the clip  3 . A distance S is generated between the tangent extending from the neck portion  34   c  and the distal end line extending from the distal end of each protrusion  28   b . In the abutment state, the neck portion  34   c  is further pushed toward the attachment hole  24 . The neck portion  34   c  deflects the distal end of each protrusion  28   b . The neck portion  34   c  goes beyond the distal end of each protrusion  28   b  (the distal end line of  FIG. 10 ). The neck portion  34   c  is attached to the attachment hole  24  of the clip attachment surface  22  (See  FIG. 11 ). 
     As a result, the clip  3  is attached to the first clip mounting seat  2   a  of the interior component  1 . When inserting the neck portion  34   c  into the attachment hole  24   a , the pair of tongues  28  are deformed. Thus, the clip  3  can be mounted to the clip mounting seat  2   a  relatively easily. 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , the clip  3  attached to the clip mounting seat  2   a  is retained on the clip mounting seat  2   a  by a predetermined retaining force. An external force is applied to the clip  3 , and the neck portion  34   c  moves from the attachment hole  24  to the guide groove  26 . The neck portion  34   c  abuts the distal end  28   a  of the tongues  28 . 
     The distal end  28   a  of the tongues  28  are of substantially the same arcuate configuration as the inner peripheral surface of the attachment hole  24 . Thus, the distal end  28   a  of the tongues  28  effectively receive the neck portion  34   c . As shown in  FIG. 12 , the tongues  28  are deflected so as to move toward each other to stop the advancement of the neck portion  34   c . As a result, the tongues  28  act as sufficient resistance to the movement of the neck portion  34   c . The tongues  28  can reliably suppress inadvertent detachment of the clip  3 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , the larger the external force applied to the clip  3 , the further the tongues  28  are deflected, and the smaller the distance between the tongues  28 . As a result, inadvertent detachment of the clip  3  can be suppressed more securely. 
     When a force larger than the retaining force is applied to the clip  3 , the neck portion  34   c  further deforms the tongues  28 . The tongues  28  move away from each other, and the neck portion  34   c  passes between the tongues  28 . As a result, as shown in  FIG. 14 , the neck portion  34   c  passes through the guide groove  26 , and is detached from the clip attachment surface  22 . The clip  3  is removed from the first clip mounting seat  2   a  of the interior component  1 . 
     As described above, the clip attachment surface  22  is provided with the attachment hole  24  ( 24   a ,  24   b ,  24   c  or  24   d ), the guide groove  26  and the pair of tongues  28 . The distal end  28   a  of the tongues  28  are of the same arcuate configuration as the inner peripheral surface of the attachment hole  24 . When the clip  3  receives a force in the detaching direction, the distal ends  28   a  of the tongues  28  receive the neck portion  34   c.    
     The pair of tongues  28  are deflected so as to move towards each other (See  FIG. 12 ). The tongues  28  move forward, i.e., in the direction in which the neck portion  34   c  is detached from the attachment hole  24 . Thus, the tongues  28  offer resistance to the movement of the neck portion  34   c , and inadvertent detachment of the clip  3  from the clip mounting seat  2   a  is suppressed. When attaching the clip  3  to the clip mounting seat  2   a , the tongues  28  are deflected. Thus, the clip  3  can be attached to the clip mounting seat  2   a  relatively easily. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the tongues  28  have the protrusions  28   b  protruding so as to reduce the groove width of the guide groove  26 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , in the state in which the deflected tongues  28  abut both edges  26   a  of the guide groove  26 , the distance between the protrusions  28   b  is smaller than the diameter of the neck portion  34   c . When attaching the clip  3  to the first clip mounting seat  2   a , the neck portion  34   c  is inserted toward the attachment hole  24 , and the neck portion  34   c  goes beyond the distal ends of the protrusions  28   b  of the tongues  28 . As a result, the worker can feel the attachment of the clip  3  to the clip mounting seat  2   a  from the fingers with which the anchor body  32  is gripped. As a result, it is possible to prevent the worker from forgetting to attach the clip  3  to the clip mounting seat  2   a.    
       FIGS. 18 to 26  show a clip mounting seat  102  which allows the clip  3  to be detached for maintenance more easily than the clip mounting seat  2  shown in  FIGS. 3 to 17 . The tongues  28  of the clip mounting seat  102  have distal ends  28   e  as shown in  FIG. 19  instead of the distal end  28   a  shown in  FIG. 4 . The distal ends  28   e  are substantially linear, and are directed to the center of the attachment hole  24 . 
     Each distal end  28   e  has a first portion  28   c  near the guide groove  26  and a second portion  28   d  far from the guide groove  26 . The second portion  28   d  extends near the extension of the arcuate line at the inner peripheral surface of the attachment hole  24 . The first portion  28   c  extends on the outer side of the extension of the arcuate line. As a result, the distal ends  28   e  can also cause the same effect as the distal end  28   a  shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 23 to 26 , when the clip  3  receives a force in the detaching direction, the neck portion  34   c  moves from the attachment hole  24  to the guide groove  26 . The neck portion  34   c  abuts the second portions  28   d  of the distal ends  28   e  of the tongues  28 . The second portions  28   d  receive the neck portion  34   c , and the tongues  28  are deflected so as to move towards each other. The tongues  28  act as resistance to the detachment of the neck portion  34   c  from the clip mounting seat  102 . As a result, it is possible to suppress inadvertent detachment of the clip  3  from the clip mounting seat  102 . 
     When a further force is applied to the clip  3 , the tongues  28  are deflected, and the neck portion  34   c  reaches the first portions  28   c  of the distal ends  28   e . The first portions  28   c  are pushed by the neck portion  34   c , and the tongues  28  are deflected so as to move away from each other. The first portions  28   c  have an angle causing them to be further directed to the guide groove  26  than the distal end  28   a  shown in  FIG. 4 . As compared with the distal end  28   a  shown in  FIG. 4 , it is more difficult for the distal ends  28   e  to offer resistance to the passing of the neck portion  34   c  through the guide groove  26 . Thus, as compared with the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , it is possible for the neck portion  34   c  to be passed through the guide groove  26  by a smaller force. As compared with the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the clip  3  can be detached from the first clip mounting seat  102  of the interior component  1  by a smaller force. Thus, plastic deformation of the tongues  28  is suppressed. As a result, it is possible to reuse the clip mounting seat  102 . 
     While the embodiments of invention have been described with reference to specific configurations, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many alternatives, modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention are intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations that may fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, embodiments of the present invention should not be limited to the representative configurations, but may be modified, for example, as described below. 
     The interior component  1  may be a door trim or various other kinds of resin molding. The above embodiments may be applied to the attachment of various exterior components instead of the interior component  1 . 
     The tongues  28  have the arcuate distal end  28   a  or the linear distal ends  28   e . Alternatively, each tongue  28  may have a V-shaped distal end or a grooved distal end. 
     The clip attachment surface has a pair of tongues. Alternatively, the clip attachment surface may have one or more than two tongues.