JPH09280217A - Fixture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fixture capable of simply fixing/detaching parts such as a metallic cover to close a panel hole such as a maintenance hole to/from a panel side. SOLUTION: This fixture comprises two parts, i.e., a male member 1 and a female member 2 which are continuously provided through a hinge piece 3. The male member 1 is provided with a flange part 4 in which an operation groove 5 is formed, and a pin part 6 on which a pair of locking shoulders 7 are formed opposite to each other, the female member 2 is provided with a flange part 8 to hold an end part of the parts in cooperation with the flange part of the male member 1, and a body part 9 in which a through hole 10 to rotatably insert a pin part of the male member 1 is demarcated, and a pair of locking means 11 to be locked to fitting holes on the panel side, and a pair of projected claws 12 to be locked to each locking shoulder of the pin part are formed on the body part 9. The parts can be easily fixed/detached to/from the panel side without troublesome works to turn a screw, and in particular, the workability in a narrow place is extremely excellent.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fixing tool for removably fixing to the panel side a cover for closing a panel hole such as a maintenance hole formed on the vehicle body panel side of an automobile. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional closing structure using this type of cover is
Japanese Utility Model Publication 62-32877, Japanese Utility Model Publication 62-5936.
As shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-72476, there are some structural differences, but in both cases, the cover itself is molded with synthetic resin and a maintenance hole is formed in the synthetic resin cover. It is configured such that a flange portion that can be closed and a locking leg portion that can be elastically locked to the hole edge of the maintenance hole are integrally provided.

Therefore, under the conventional closed structure, without using a working tool, the front end of the locking leg portion is simply pushed into the maintenance hole while the front end of the locking leg portion is exposed to the maintenance hole. The legs are elastically locked to the edge of the maintenance hole and the cover is fixed to the maintenance hole, and at the same time, the flange of the synthetic resin cover can completely close the maintenance hole.

However, since this synthetic resin cover is fixed only by elastically locking the locking legs of itself to the hole edge of the maintenance hole, if an unexpected external force or the like is applied. However, it has a big problem that it is easy to get out of the maintenance hole, and also has a problem that a sufficient sound insulation effect cannot be expected by this alone. Therefore, in view of such a situation, in recent years, the metal cover has tended to attract attention again.
This time, a fixing means for fixing the metal cover to the panel side becomes a problem.

[0005]

Therefore, in general,
It is conceivable to use a screw grommet commonly used in the art. Because, as is well known, the screw grommet has an advantage that a predetermined component can be firmly fixed to the panel side by simply screwing a screw member into the grommet body. Since the manufactured cover can also be firmly fixed to the panel side, unlike the synthetic resin cover, there is no need to worry about accidental removal from the maintenance hole.

[0006] However, since the maintenance holes formed in the vehicle body panel are often formed in a narrow place, the screw members should be used in actual work by using a work tool such as a screwdriver. Screwing in the grommet body while rotating the
It requires a lot of work and requires maintenance, so when removing the cover from the maintenance hole,
After all, a great amount of rotary work is required using the same work tool, and in any case, improvement in workability is inevitable. Therefore, in this field, the advent of a new fixture capable of easily fixing or removing such metal covers on the panel side is highly desired.

[0007]

The fixture of the present invention was developed in order to meet such a demand, and the invention according to claim 1 relates to a male member and a female member connected in series via a hinge piece. The male member is composed of two parts, the male member integrally has a flange portion having an operation groove for inserting a tool, and the pin portion having a pair of locking shoulders facing the tip portion, and the female member has A flange portion that cooperates with the flange portion of the male member to hold the end portion of the component, and a barrel portion that defines an insertion hole that rotatably inserts the pin portion of the male member are integrally provided. A pair of locking means for locking the mounting holes formed on the panel side is formed on the side wall of the portion, and a pair of protrusions for locking the locking shoulders of the pin portion on the lower end edge of the body portion. The structure that forms the nail is adopted.

In this case, as in the second aspect of the present invention, a stopper wall similar to the edge shape of the component is formed on the flange portion of the female member so that the female member can be rotated by the rotation of the male member. It is configured so as to prevent rotation, or as in the invention according to claim 3, the locking means is formed on the outside and the projection claw is formed on the inside at the same position of the body portion of the female member. Or, like the invention according to claim 4,
It is preferable that a pair of convex shoulders are formed on the lower surface of the flange portion of the female member so as to be opposed to each other, and a gap with respect to the panel surface exists between the convex shoulders.

Therefore, in the invention according to claim 1, when the metal cover is fixed to the vehicle body panel side in order to close the maintenance hole, first, the cover-side end hole is formed. And the female member side insertion hole are aligned, and while the female member flange portion is applied to the lower surface of the end of the metal cover, the male member pin portion is left as it is from the through hole to the body portion insertion hole. When inserted inside, the pair of projecting claws formed on the lower end edge of the body part automatically engage with the respective engaging shoulders of the pin part, whereby the cover between the flange parts of the male and female members is provided. After obtaining the united state in which the ends of the male member and the female member are held together, the male member and the female member are fixed to the metal cover side.

Then, thereafter, when the body portion of the female member in the fixed state is pushed into the mounting hole of the panel formed in the peripheral portion of the maintenance hole, it is formed on the side wall of the body portion. Since the pair of locking means locks to the edge of the mounting hole, the metal cover is fixed to the panel side, and at the same time, the maintenance hole can be completely closed by the cover.

When the metal cover is to be removed from the panel side for maintenance, the tip of the driver is inserted into the operation groove formed in the flange of the male member to bend and deform the hinge piece. Then, when the male member itself is forcibly rotated by about 90 °, the pin portion of the male member rotates in the same direction in the insertion hole of the female member in the same direction, thereby locking each locking shoulder with respect to the protruding claw. Since the state is immediately released, this makes it possible to separate the male member from the female member and easily remove the metal cover from the panel side.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even when the male member is forcibly rotated, there is no fear that the female member will erroneously rotate together. When the metal cover is fixed, even if an unexpected external force is applied to the pin of the male member in the pulling direction, the outer locking means is expanded by the lever principle with the inner protruding claw as a fulcrum. Therefore, it is possible to increase the locking force with respect to the hole edge of the mounting hole of the locking means. Further, in the invention according to claim 4, the flange portion of the female member can be easily bent due to the gap existing between the convex shoulders, so that the variation in the panel plate thickness can be effectively absorbed.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. The fixture according to the embodiment temporarily closes a maintenance hole formed on the panel side. It was developed to detachably fix the metal cover, but the fixture is not limited to this, and various parts other than the metal cover can be detachably fixed to the panel side. Needless to say, it can be used as appropriate even when it is necessary to do so.

Next, the fixture according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. The fixture is an integrally molded product of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a relatively long thin-walled hinge. It is composed of two parts, a male member 1 and a female member 2, which are continuously arranged via a piece 3.

The former male member 1 has a flange portion 4 formed with an operation groove 5 for inserting a driver on the upper surface side, and a pair of locking members that hang down from the lower surface of the flange portion 4 and project outward to the tip end portion. A plate which integrally has a pin portion 6 formed so as to face a shoulder 7, and the latter female member 2 cooperates with the flange portion 4 of the male member 1 to hold a collar piece of a metal cover described later. Shaped flange portion 8 and an elliptic body portion 9 defining an insertion hole 10 through which the pin portion 6 of the male member 1 is rotatably inserted are integrally formed.

In particular, with respect to the female member 2, a pair of elastic arms 11 serving as locking means for locking the hole edge of the mounting hole of the panel to be described later is provided on the outer surface of the long side wall of the elliptical body 9. A state in which a pair of projecting claws 12 that engage with the engaging shoulders 7 of the pin portion 6 project toward the inside of the insertion hole 10 at the lower edge of the side wall of the same length side of the body portion 9 while being formed upright. And a pair of slits 13 for enlarging the long side wall of the body 9 are provided on the short side wall of the body 9 on which the protruding claws 12 are not formed. In the portion 8, an arc-shaped projection 1 similar to the edge shape of the brim piece of the metal cover.
The stopper wall 14 with 4a is integrally formed, and the protrusion 14
The abutment restricting action of the stopper wall with a 14 positively adopts a configuration capable of reliably preventing co-rotation of the female member 2 due to rotation of the male member 1.

In addition to this, a pair of convex shoulders 15 are formed on both end edges of the lower surface of the flange portion 8 of the female member 2 in the lengthwise direction, and a space S for the panel surface exists between the convex shoulders 15. As a result, a configuration is also adopted in which the flange portion 8 is easily bent in response to variations in panel thickness.
Incidentally, reference numeral 16 in the drawing denotes a cylindrical guide wall for matching a through hole formed in a collar piece of a metal cover described later with the through hole 10.

On the other hand, with respect to the metal cover C, as shown in FIG. 3, the maintenance hole H2 opened on the side of the vehicle body panel P is formed into a disk shape having a size capable of completely closing it, and the periphery thereof is formed. A plurality of flange pieces Ca having through holes H1 through which the pin portion 6 of the male member 1 is inserted are extended at predetermined intervals, and the protrusions of the stopper wall 14 are provided at the central portions of the respective flange pieces Ca. Each of the recesses 17 into which the 14a is fitted is formed, and the maintenance hole H is formed on the panel P side.
It is assumed that a long hole-shaped attachment hole H3 for engaging the body portion 9 of the female member 2 is formed at the peripheral edge of the second member 2 in correspondence with each of the through holes H1.

Therefore, in the case where the metal cover C is fixed to the panel P side in order to close the maintenance hole H2 under such a structure, first, as shown in FIG. Utilizing the wall 16, each through hole H1 and through hole 1
While matching 0 with the flange 8 of the female member 2 against the lower surface of each flange piece Ca of the metal cover C, the male member 1
5 is inserted into the insertion hole 10 of the body portion 9 from the through hole H1 of the flange piece Ca while keeping the connecting posture as it is.
・ As shown in FIG. 6, the tip of the pin portion 6 has each slit 13
A pair of projecting claws formed on the respective locking shoulders 7 of the elliptical body 9 facing the lower end edge of the body 9 while expanding and passing the opposite long side walls of the body 9 through Since 12 automatically locks, the male member 1 and the female member 2 are brought into a combined state in which the corresponding flange piece Ca is held between the respective flange portions 4 and 8 of the female and male members 1 and 2. It is securely and firmly fixed to the metal cover C side.

Then, after that, when the body portion 9 of each female member 2 in such a fixed state is pushed into the respective mounting holes H3 formed on the panel P side, as shown in FIG. Since the tip ends of the pair of elastic arms 11 formed on the side walls of the portion 9 elastically engage with the hole edges of the mounting hole H3, this allows
At the same time that the metal cover C is fixed to the panel P side, the maintenance hole H2 can be reliably closed by the cover C. Moreover, in this fixing work, it is sufficient to simply and strongly press the metal cover C, to which the fixing member is fixed, linearly to the panel P side, without performing a laborious work of rotating the screw member as in the conventional case. Therefore, even if the work is done in a narrow place, there is no fear that the work will be troublesome.

Further, in the fixed state of the metal cover C, even if an unexpected external force is applied to the pin portion 6 of the male member 1 in the pulling direction, as described above, each elastic arm 11 and each protrusion. The claws 12 are formed continuously on the outer side and the inner side with respect to the same position on the long side wall of the body part 9. When an unexpected external force is applied, the projecting claws 12 on the inner side serve as a fulcrum to make a leverage. It is possible to forcibly expand each elastic arm 11 outward based on the above principle. Therefore, the locking force of the elastic arm 11 with respect to the hole edge of the mounting hole H3 is increased, and the metal cover It is never possible for C to leave the maintenance hole H2. Further, in the case where the plate thickness of the panel P is varied, the flange portion 8 of the female member 2 is easily bent through the space S, so that the variation can be absorbed. In any case, a reliable fixed state of the metal cover C can be guaranteed.

When the metal cover C is to be removed from the panel P side for maintenance, the male member 1
Insert the tip of a small screwdriver (not shown) into the operation groove 5 formed in the flange portion 4 of the to obtain the bending deformation of the long thin hinge piece 3 and force the male member 1 itself. When rotated by about 90 °, the male member 1 is correspondingly rotated.
Since the pin portion 6 of the same rotates in the same direction in the insertion hole 10 of the female member 2 as shown in FIG. 8, the engagement state of each engagement shoulder 7 of itself with respect to the projection claw 12 is immediately released. After that, the male member 1 can be easily separated from the female member 2 only by pulling out the pin portion 6 from the insertion hole 10 of the female member 2 as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 7.

Therefore, under the present embodiment, even if the female member 2 side of the clip is still engaged with the mounting hole H3, the metal cover C can be easily removed from the panel P side. As a result, the necessary maintenance work can be sufficiently ensured, and since the separated male member 1 is connected to the female member 2 side via the hinge piece 3, there is no risk of loss.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, as described above,
A stopper wall 14 similar to the edge shape of the flange piece Ca is formed on the flange portion 8 of the female member 2, and a protrusion 14a on the stopper wall 14 side is provided with a corresponding recess 17 on the flange piece Ca side.
Due to the positive adoption of the configuration of fitting the male member 1 to the female member 2, there is no risk of the female member 2 mistakenly co-rotating when the male member 1 is forcibly rotated by 90 °. However, even if it is forced to work temporarily, there is no risk of impairing workability, and since the driver to be used can be small, there is almost no space restriction even during removal work.

However, the presence of the protrusion 14a on the stopper wall 14 side and the depression 17 on the flange piece Ca side is the same as in the present embodiment.
This is effective when the flange piece Ca and the stopper wall 14 have an arc shape. However, for example, when the flange piece Ca has a triangle shape, the stopper wall 14 is similar to the triangle shape. Since the co-rotation of the female member 2 can be surely prevented by just doing so, the presence of the protrusion 14a and the depression 17 is not an absolute condition under the present invention. Incidentally, when utilizing the protrusion 14a and the depression 17, contrary to the embodiment, the depression is provided on the stopper protrusion 14 side, and the collar piece C is formed.
It goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained even if the protrusion is provided on the a side.

When the maintenance is completed, this time, the insertion hole 1 of each female member 2 engaged with the mounting hole H3 is inserted.
0 to match each through hole H1 on the side of the metal cover C, and again insert the pin portion 6 of each male member 1 into the insertion hole 10 of the female member 2 from the corresponding through hole H1 while keeping the connecting posture. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the metal cover C is again attached to the panel P.
Since it can be reliably fixed to the side, there is an advantage that the re-fixing work of the metal cover C becomes very easy.

In the above embodiment, the disk-shaped metal cover C has been described, but it goes without saying that the shape of the cover C is determined according to the shape of the maintenance hole H2. The number of the flange piece Ca having the through hole H1 and the corresponding mounting hole H3 on the panel P side is not limited to the illustrated one.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, by adopting the above configuration, it is possible to easily fix a component such as a metal cover to the panel side without performing a great work of rotating the screw member. Also, when the component is removed from the panel side, the male member is rotated about 90 ° to engage the engagement shoulder formed on the pin portion with the projection claw formed on the body portion of the female member. Since it is only necessary to cancel the state, in any case, when working in a narrow place, the workability is outstanding.

Furthermore, if a stopper wall is formed on the flange portion of the female member, there is no fear that the female member will erroneously rotate together when the male member is forcibly rotated. Even if the use of the is temporarily forced, this will never hurt workability.

If the locking means is formed on the outside and the projection claw is formed on the inside at the same position on the body of the female member,
When the metal cover is fixed, even if an unexpected external force is applied to the pin of the male member in the pull-out direction, the locking mechanism is expanded outward by the principle of leverage by using the inner protruding claw as a fulcrum. Since it is possible to increase the locking force with respect to the hole edge of the mounting hole of the locking means and to form a pair of convex shoulders facing the lower surface of the flange portion of the female member, the female member Since the flange portion can be easily bent, variations in panel thickness can be effectively absorbed, and a reliable fixed state of the components can be guaranteed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a fixture according to an embodiment of the present invention from the upper surface side.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the fixture from the lower surface side.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a structure of a metal cover and a panel side.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part showing a pre-process of fixing the fixing tool to the collar piece of the metal cover.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an essential part showing a state in which a fixing tool is fixedly attached to a collar piece of a metal cover.

6A and 6B are vertical cross-sectional views and bottom views for explaining a state in which a locking shoulder formed on a pin portion of a male member and a protruding claw formed on a body portion of a female member are locked. Is.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a state in which the metal cover is finally fixed to the panel.

8A and 8B are vertical cross-sectional views illustrating a state in which the engagement between the engagement shoulder formed on the pin portion of the male member and the projection claw formed on the body portion of the female member is released. It is a bottom view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Male member 2 Female member 3 Thin hinge piece 4 Male member flange portion 5 Operation groove 6 Pin portion 7 Locking shoulder 8 Female member flange portion 9 Elliptical body portion 10 Insertion hole 11 Elastic arm (locking means) 12 Projection Claw 14 Stopper wall 15 Convex shoulder 16 Cylindrical guide wall 17 Cavity C Metal cover (part) Ca Collar piece H1 Through hole P Panel H2 Maintenance hole H3 Mounting hole S Space

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A fixture for detachably fixing a component to a panel side, which comprises two components, a male member and a female member, which are connected in series via a hinge piece, and the male member is an operation for inserting a tool. The flange part having the groove and the pin part having a pair of locking shoulders facing the tip end are integrally provided, and the female member cooperates with the flange part of the male member to fix the end part of the component. It has integrally a flange part for holding and a body part defining an insertion hole through which the pin part of the male member is rotatably inserted, and a side wall of the body part is engaged with a mounting hole formed on the panel side. A fixture comprising a pair of locking means for stopping and a pair of projecting claws for locking with the respective locking shoulders of the pin portion formed on the lower end edge of the body. 2. A stopper wall having a shape similar to the edge of the component is formed on the flange portion of the female member so as to prevent co-rotation of the female member due to rotation of the male member. The fixture according to Item 1. 3. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the locking means is formed on the outer side and the projection claw is formed on the inner side at the same position of the body portion of the female member.
The fixture according to any one of 1. 4. A pair of convex shoulders are formed on the lower surface of the flange of the female member so as to face each other, and a gap is formed between the convex shoulders with respect to the panel surface.
The fixing tool according to claim 3.