Fastener means for interior trim panel

• US 4,270,328 A
• Filed: 12/19/1979
• Issued: 06/02/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Original Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Motors Liquidation Co. GUC Trust)
• Inventors: Page, Norman B., Bursott, Leslie W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Leppink, James A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Raduazo, Henry E.
• Application Number:
  US06/105,276
• Time in Patent Office: 531 Days
• Field of Search: 52/511, 52/512, 52/717, 24/204, 24/213
• US Class Current: 52/511
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 13/0206 Arrangements of fasteners and clips specially adapted for attaching inner vehicle liners or mouldings devices for fastening or securing F16B
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 21/084 with a series of flexible ribs or fins extending laterally from the shank of the stud, pin or spigot, said ribs or fins deforming predominantly in a direction parallel to the direction of insertion of the shank
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 5/0628 allowing for adjustment parallel or perpendicular to the plane of the sheets or plates
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 5/126 at least one of the sheets, plates, bars or strips having integrally formed or integrally connected snap-in-features
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/303 having laterally extending biasing appendage

Abstract

A fastener device used to mount, for example, a trim panel to a support panel in a vehicle body, the support panel having a push-in stud extending therefrom. The fastener device, in a preferred embodiment, includes a retainer base on the trim panel which is used to support a multi-holed retainer movably thereon. The multi-holed retainer is provided with a plurality of stud receiving holes extending therethrough in closely spaced relationship to each other whereby to define a honeycomb cellular core structure separating adjacent holes.

Claims

1. A fastener means to effect the attachment together of a first panel, having the shank of a push-in stud extending outward from one side thereof, and a second panel, said fastener means including a retainer base adapted to be fixed on said second panel, said retainer base having a fastener receiving opening therein for reception of the push-in stud, said opening being substantially larger than the maximum outside diameter of the shank of the stud;

and, a multi-holed retainer having opposed inboard and outboard surfaces thereon and mounting means adjacent to its outer edges adapted to effect attachment of said multi-holed retainer to said retainer base so that said outboard surface faces away from the second panel with said multi-holed retainer positioned so as to overlie said enlarged opening in said retainer base while still permitting limited movement of said multi-holed retainer on said retainer base in a plane parallel to and spaced from the second panel, said multi-holed retainer having a plurality of spaced apart stud receiving holes therethrough of a size for the normal reception of the stud, said holes being grouped in the central portion of said multi-holed retainer and arranged in a pattern to overlie substantially the entire area of said enlarged fastener receiving opening, said stud receiving holes being spaced closely adjacent to each other so as to define a honeycomb cellular structure having a thin core wall separating adjacent said stud receiving holes, each said core wall adjacent to said outboard surface being tapered so as to define a substantially sharp edge at said outboard surface whereby to effect guiding of the shank of the push-in stud into an associated said hole during assembly of the second panel to the first panel and so as to permit the shank of the stud to effect movement of said multi-holed retainer as the push-in stud is inserted into the associated said stud receiving hole to effect substantially alignment of the stud therewith.

2. A fastener means to effect the attachment together of a second panel to a first panel, said first panel having a push-in stud fixed thereto with the shank of the stud extending from the first panel toward the second panel, said fastener means comprising a retainer base and a multi-holed retainer, said fastener means being of open box like configuration and adapted with an apertured top wall, said retainer base being adapted to be secured to the second panel with said top wall spaced from and parallel to the second panel, said top wall having an aperture therein defining an opening for reception of the shank of the push-in stud which opening is substantially larger than the maximum outside diameter of the shank of the stud, said multi-holed retainer having opposed inboard and outboard surfaces thereon and mounting means adjacent to its outer edges adapted to effect attachment of said multi-holed retainer to said retainer base so that said outboard surface faces away from the second work piece with said multi-holed retainer positioned so as to overlie said enlarged opening while still permitting limited movement of said multi-holed retainer in a plane parallel to the second work piece, said multi-holed retainer having a plurality of spaced apart stud receiving holes therethrough grouped in the pattern to overlie substantially the entire area of the enlarged opening when said multi-holed retainer is secured to the second work piece, said stud receiving holes being spaced closely adjacent to each other so as to define a honeycomb cellular structure having a thin core wall separating adjacent said stud receiving openings, each said core wall adjacent to said outboard surface being tapered so as to define a substantially sharp edge at said outboard surface whereby to effect guiding of the tip of the push-in stud into a said hole so that the stud upon entering said hole will engage said core wall so as to effect axial alignment of the stud with the axis of the most nearly aligned said hole by lateral displacement of said multi-holed retainer as the push-in stud is inserted into the associated said hole whereby to effect substantially alignment of the stud therewith.

3. A fastener device to effect the attachment together of a first panel having the shank of a push-in stud extending therefrom and a second panel having a fastener receiving means defining an opening for reception of the push-in stud which opening is substantially larger than the maximum outside diameter of the shank of the stud, said fastener device including a multi-holed retainer having opposed inboard and outboard surfaces thereon and mounting means adjacent to its outer edges adapted to effect attachment of said multi-holed retainer to the fastener receiving means so that said outboard surface faces away from the second panel with said multi-holed retainer positioned so as to overlie the enlarged opening while still permitting limited movement of said multi-holed retainer in a plane parallel to the second panel, said multi-holed retainer having a plurality of spaced apart stud receiving holes therethrough grouped in the pattern to overlie substantially the entire area of the enlarged opening when said multi-holed retainer is secured to the second work piece, said holes being spaced closely adjacent to each other so as to define a honeycomb cellular structure having a thin core wall separating adjacent said stud receiving openings, each said core wall adjacent to said outboard surface being tapered so as to define a substantially sharp edge at said outboard surface whereby to effect guiding of the free end shank tip of the push-in stud into a said hole so that the stud upon entering said hole will engage said core wall so as to effect axial alignment of the stud with the axis of the most nearly aligned said hole by lateral displacement of said multi-holed retainer as the push-in stud is inserted into the associated said hole whereby to effect substantially alignment of the stud therewith.