Passenger air bag module fastenerless cover attachment
First Claim
1. An air bag module attachment assembly comprising:
- a module housing including a body having opposed sides and a top and bottom wall, and an end plate attached to each of said opposed ends;
a cover having a front face and a top, a bottom and opposed side legs extending from said front face, at least one of said side legs being hingedly connected to said front face;
first attachment means for attaching said top and bottom legs of said cover with said top and bottom walls of said housing, respectively; and
second attachment means for attaching said side legs of said cover and said end plates of said housing together.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A fastenerless air bag module attachment assembly for securing a molded plastic cover to a module housing. The housing includes a trough-shaped body having opposed ends, and a top and bottom wall. An end plate is attached to each opposed sides of the body. The cover has a front face and top, bottom and opposed side legs extending therefrom. Two separate attachment features are provided to secure the cover to the housing. First, the top and bottom cover legs each include an integral attachment, for example, a projection, which slides into a channel disposed integrally in the top and bottom walls of the housing. Secondly, the housing end plates each include a pair of protruding tabs formed integrally therewith. The tabs extend through openings provided in the cover side legs when the housing and cover are assembled. One side leg of the cover is hingedly connected to the front face of the cover to permit assembly. After the cover is properly positioned on the housing, the tabs protruding through the cover openings are deflected to secure the cover in place on the housing.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. An air bag module attachment assembly comprising:
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a module housing including a body having opposed sides and a top and bottom wall, and an end plate attached to each of said opposed ends; a cover having a front face and a top, a bottom and opposed side legs extending from said front face, at least one of said side legs being hingedly connected to said front face; first attachment means for attaching said top and bottom legs of said cover with said top and bottom walls of said housing, respectively; and second attachment means for attaching said side legs of said cover and said end plates of said housing together. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of assembling an air bag module assembly, comprising the steps of:
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providing a module housing, said housing including a top wall, a bottom wall and opposed end plates; providing a cover, said cover having a front face and a top, a bottom and opposed side legs extending from said front face, at least one of said side legs being hingedly connected to said front face; bending said hinged side leg of said cover outwardly and sliding said cover over said housing, such that a projection disposed on an end of both of said top and bottom cover legs engages a channel disposed on an end of both of said top and bottom housing walls, respectively; positioning said cover on said housing such that a first pair of tabs disposed on one of said housing end plates extend through a first pair of openings located in the other cover side leg; bending said hinged side leg of said cover inwardly until a second pair of tabs disposed on the other housing end plate extend through a second pair of openings located in said hinged cover side leg; and deflecting both the first and second pairs of tabs to secure said cover and housing together.
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Specification