Clip
AssigneeNifco Inc.
InventorHajime Naoi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An airbag device attached to a vehicle body frame member and covered by a garnish is configured such that when a bag body is deployed, the airbag device pushes out the garnish to create a gap between the garnish and the vehicle body frame member to allow the bag body to be inflated out of the gap. A clip for securing the garnish to the vehicle body frame member includes a first member configured to be fixed to the vehicle body frame member, a second member configured to be fixed to the garnish, and a connecting member for keeping the first member and the second member connected when the airbag is deployed. The first member and the second member are provided with a first inclined planar surface and a second inclined planar surface, respectively, that are slidable relative to each other.
Claims4
A clip for use in a vehicle body structure, including a vehicle body frame member, an airbag device attached to the vehicle body frame member, and a garnish covering the airbag device, to secure the garnish to the vehicle body frame member, the clip comprising:
- a first member configured to be fixed to the vehicle body frame member;
- a second member configured to be fixed to the garnish, and engaged by the first member with a prescribed retaining force;
- and
- a connecting portion for connecting the first member and the second member to each other so as to prevent the second member from being displaced from the first member beyond a prescribed distance;
- wherein one of mutually opposing parts of the first member and the second member opposing each other with respect to a movement direction in which the garnish moves toward and away from the vehicle body frame member is provided with a first inclined planar surface which is inclined with respect to the movement direction, and another of the mutually opposing parts of the first member and the second member is provided with a sliding part configured to slide over the first inclined planar surface,
- the first member and the second member being configured not to collide with each other in a direction that the sliding part is guided by the first inclined planar surface when the first member and the second member move away from each other, and
- wherein the connecting portion is formed as a member separate from the first member and the second member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.