FASTENER FOR CURTAIN AIRBAG
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fastener for fixing a curtain airbag to a body panel of an automobile comprises a screw grommet having a shank to be inserted into mounting holes of an airbag-anchor portion and a body panel, and a flange to press the airbag-anchor portion against the body panel. The flange has an opening and the shank has a shank hole continuous to the opening into which a tapping screw is driven. The shank has resilient fingers protruding outward from sides of the shank to engage edge regions of mounting holes in a temporary fixing state. The fingers are held in a permanent fixing state by screwing the tapping screw into the shank hole, preventing the fingers from being bent inward. The flange has an edge with an upstanding partition to allow a central region of the flange to be partitioned from a main body of the curtain airbag.
30 Citations
21 Claims
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1-8. -8. (canceled)
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9. Apparatus comprising a curtain airbag having an airbag-anchor portion, and a fastener for fixing the airbag-anchor portion of the curtain airbag to a body panel of a vehicle, wherein the fastener comprises a screw grommet having a flange with a shank extending from one side of the flange through a hole in the airbag-anchor portion and disposed for insertion into a mounting hole of the body panel, and a tapping screw,
wherein the flange has an opening and the shank has a shank hole continuous to the opening to allow the tapping screw to be screwed thereinto, wherein the shank has resilient engagement fingers protruding outward from sides of the shank to engage edge regions of the mounting hole of the body panel, each finger being partially surrounded by a slot through a wall of the shank and projecting through the wall into the shank hole to engage the tapping screw, and wherein the airbag has an inflatable portion extending from the airbag-anchor portion, and the screw grommet has an integrally formed partition plate extending from the flange between the inflatable portion and the flange opening and separating the inflatable portion from the flange opening.
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15. Apparatus comprising a curtain airbag having an airbag-anchor portion with an opening therethrough, and a fastener for fixing the airbag-anchor portion of the curtain airbag to a body panel of a vehicle, wherein the fastener comprises a grommet having a flange with a shank extending from one side of the flange,
wherein the flange has an opening and the shank has a shank hole continuous to the opening, wherein the flange is juxtaposed with the airbag-anchor portion, and the shank extends through the opening in the airbag-anchor portion, wherein the shank has resilient engagement fingers protruding outward from sides of the shank to engage an edge of a mounting hole, and wherein the airbag has an inflatable portion extending from the airbag-anchor portion, and the grommet has an integrally formed partition plate extending from the flange between the inflatable portion and the flange opening and separating the inflatable portion from the flange opening.
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21. Apparatus as defined in 19, wherein the elongated member is a tapping screw screwed into the shank hole.
Specification