Patent ID: 7492319

Claim:
An antenna assembly configured to be installed and fixedly mounted to a vehicle body wall after being inserted into a mounting hole in the vehicle body wall from an external side of the vehicle and nipped from the interior compartment side, the antenna assembly comprising: an antenna base configured to be disposed along an external side of the vehicle body wall; an electrical connector coupled to the antenna base such that, when the antenna base is disposed along the external side of the vehicle body wall, the electrical connector is accessible from inside the vehicle for a pluggable electrical connection to at least one communication link for communicating signals received by the antenna assembly to another device; a first retaining member having tapered faces and shoulder portions configured to be inserted through the mounting hole such that the shoulder portions are snapped under the interior compartment side while the antenna base is disposed on the external side of the vehicle body wall, to thereby help hold the antenna assembly in place relative to the vehicle body wall in a first installed position; a second retaining member having two or more legs, the two or more legs configured to be inserted through the mounting hole without catching the inside of the mounting hole, the two or more legs defining a spaced distance therebetween less than a width of the mounting hole in the first installed position, the two or more legs configured for making contact with the corresponding tapered faces of the first retaining member as the second retaining member moves generally towards the mounting hole, whereby the two or more legs achieve a second installed position in which the spaced distance defined by the two or more legs is greater than the width of the mounting hole; a fastener member that captures the first and second retaining components to the antenna base, thereby allowing the antenna base and the first and second retaining components to be positioned collectively as a single unit relative to the mounting hole.