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US 6,431,585 B1Granted
Dual stage fastener
AssigneeLear Corporation
InventorsTed R. Rickabus, Peter Schwartz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dual stage fastener for securing a vehicle interior trim component to a vehicle body component to cover an air curtain during storage. The fastener includes a pin tethered to a grommet. During deployment of the air curtain, the pin disengages from the grommet and the tether restrains the pin and the associated trim component to reduce the length of travel of the trim component within the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
Claims9
An apparatus for a vehicle comprising:
- an inflatable air curtain being deployed through a first opening in a vehicle part;
- a cover securable to the vehicle part to close the first opening in the vehicle part;
- and
- at least one fastener for releasably attaching said cover to the vehicle part, said fastener including:
- a grommet attached to one of said cover and the vehicle part, said grommet having an aperture formed therein;
- and
- a pin tethered to said grommet, said pin attached to the other one of said cover and the vehicle part, wherein said pin is releasably inserted through the aperture formed in said grommet to releasably secure said cover to the vehicle part.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.