Patent ID: 6952863

Claim:
A tether clip for fastening a first panel relative to a second panel, the first panel having a first opening and the second panel having a second opening, the tether clip comprising: a first retaining means adapted to be securable to the first panel, said first retaining means comprising: a shoulder; a first body portion projecting from a first side of said shoulder and having an end distal from said shoulder, said first body portion having a first longitudinal axis; and a first pair of resilient snap legs attached to said first body portion proximate said end of said first body portion distal from said shoulder; a second retaining means that is engageable with the second panel and limits the relative separation between the first and second panels; and a releasable fastener means intermediate said first and second retaining means and being adapted to be releasably engageable with the second panel, said releasable fastener means being adapted to normally maintain the first and second panels in a closed configuration relative to one another, and wherein said releasable fastener means releases the second panel in response to a force tending to separate the first and second panels that is greater than a first predetermined value, said releasable fastener means comprising: a second body portion projecting from a second side of said shoulder and having an end distal from said shoulder, said second body portion having a second longitudinal axis in line with said first longitudinal axis; and a second pair of resilient snap legs attached to said second body portion proximate said end of said second body portion distal from said shoulder, each of said second pair of resilient snap legs having a proximal end and a distal end, each of said second pair of resilient snap legs being attached to said second body portion proximate said proximal end of each of said second pair of resilient snap legs, wherein said second retaining means comprises: a third pair of resilient snap legs attached to said releasable fastener means proximate said proximal end of each of said second pair of resilient snap legs, said third pair of snap legs extending away from said shoulder in a fork-like manner, each of said third pair of snap legs having a terminating end located distally from said releasable fastener means, and each of said third pair of snap legs being provided with a snap hook near said terminating end thereof.