Tether clip and structure for coupling the tether clip to a pillar garnish

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10137845-B2
Application number	US-201515310291-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 24, 2015
Priority date	Jul 30, 2014
Publication date	Nov 27, 2018
Grant date	Nov 27, 2018

Abstract

A tether has a pair of guide plates. The pair of guide plates has two sides. A distance between points located on the two sides increases, as the points on the two sides approach a tip of the tether. The tether may have elastic branches. The pair of guide plates may have protrusions protruding toward an anchor. The tether may be made long by curving a tether intermediate portion. The tether may have a second guide plate and a third guide plate. When a pillar garnish is moved in a direction away from a pillar, the two sides of the guide plates are brought into contact with a rim portion of a tether housing portion defining the tether inserting aperture, thereby preventing the tether from rotating about a center axis line of the clip and the anchor to pass through the tether inserting aperture. When a bottom wall of the tether housing portion comes to a tether portion located between the guide plates and the anchor, the elastic branches and the protrusions prevent rotation of the tether. The second and third guide plates also prevent rotation of the tether.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A structure comprising:
a pillar garnish having a tether housing portion provided with a bottom wall having a tether inserting aperture, and
a tether clip coupled to the pillar garnish and including a tether and an anchor, the tether including a tip, a seat-side end and a tether intermediate portion, the tether extending along one plane, the anchor being connected to the tip of the tether and extending in a direction perpendicular to the one plane, wherein
the tether intermediate portion includes a pair of guide plates extending parallel to the one plane, respective guide plates of the pair of guide plates extending in directions away from the tether intermediate portion and opposite to each other, the tether intermediate portion including:
a first portion extending in a direction upward and away from the anchor from the seat-side end;
a second portion extending in a direction upward and toward the anchor from an upper end of the first portion;
a third portion extending in a direction downward and toward the anchor from an upper end of the second portion; and
a fourth portion extending in the direction upward and toward the anchor from a lower end of the third portion to the tip of the tether,

the pair of guide plated is provided at the fourth portion of the tether intermediate portion,
the pair of guide plates has two sides located on opposite sides of a guide plate-provided portion of the tether intermediate portion and opposing each other, and a distance between points located on the two sides increases, as the points located on the two sides approach the tip of the tether,
a protrusion protruding in a direction toward the anchor is formed at a portion of each guide plate of the pair of guide plates opposing the anchor, the protrusion being nearly rigid, and
a space is provided between an anchor-side end of the nearly rigid protrusion and the anchor, the space being larger than a thickness of the bottom wall of the tether housing portion.

2. The structure according to claim 1 , wherein the space causes the protrusion of at least one guide plate of the pair of guide plates to enter the tether inserting aperture when a center line of the tip of the tether is inclined relative to a line perpendicular to the bottom wall of the tether housing portion.

3. The structure according to claim 1 , wherein at the portion of each guide plate of the pair of guide plates opposing the anchor, and at a portion of each guide plate of the pair of guide plates closer to the tether intermediate portion than the protrusion, a concavity concave in a direction further away from the anchor than the anchor-side end of the protrusion is formed.

4. The structure according to claim 1 , wherein at least one portion of the first, second and third portions of the tether intermediate portion is provided with at least one of a second guide plate and a third guide plate which place the tether intermediate portion therebetween and extend in directions opposite to each other.

5. The structure according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one of the second guide plate and the third guide plate is discontinuous with the pair of guide plates provided at the fourth portion in a direction along an extending direction of the tether intermediate portion.

6. The structure according to claim 1 , wherein
the anchor has a rectangular configuration,
the tether inserting aperture is rectangular, and
the tether clip is coupled to the pillar garnish such that an extending direction of the tether coincides with a longitudinal direction of the pillar garnish,
a long side of the tether inserting aperture is longer than a maximum of the distance between the opposing two sides of the pair of guide plates, and
a short side of the tether inserting aperture is shorter than the maximum of the distance between the opposing two sides of the pair of guide plates.

7. The structure according to claim 6 , wherein
the tether housing portion includes an opening directed in a longitudinal direction of the pillar garnish, and
the tether extends from an interior to an exterior of the tether housing portion and the anchor is located outside the tether housing portion in a state where the tether clip has been coupled to the pillar garnish.

8. The structure according to claim 6 , wherein
at an outside surface of the bottom wall of the tether housing portion, a rotational stopper, which the protrusion can be brought into engagement with and which stops rotation of the tether relative to the bottom wall of the tether housing portion when the protrusion engages the rotational stopper, is provided.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yamamoto Kazuhito

Classifications

• B60R13/02

  {Internal} Trim mouldings {; Internal} Ledges; Wall liners {for passenger compartments}; Roof liners (B60R13/01 takes precedence {; padded linings for the vehicle interior B60R21/04; arrangements or adaptations of floor mats or carpets in vehicles B60N3/04; internal lining for trains B61D17/18}) · CPC title

• B60R13/0206 Primary

  Arrangements of fasteners and clips specially adapted for attaching inner vehicle liners or mouldings (devices for fastening or securing F16B) · CPC title

• Y10T24/309

  Plastic type · CPC title

• Y10T24/42

  Independent, headed, aperture pass-through fastener · CPC title

• B60R21/213

  in vehicle roof frames or pillars · CPC title