Plastic serviceable screw grommet and related methods

摘要

A retaining wing can be hingedly coupled to an outer surface of each of two legs along a hinge line. The retaining wing can include a leading edge facing toward, and a trailing edge facing away from, the distal end of the legs, and together with the hinge line can define a substantially triangular shape. When a screw is not present in the screw passage, engagement of the trailing edge against one of the automobile components can operate to direct a servicing removal force applied through the base inwardly on the wings causing the wings to flex inwardly and permit removal of the screw grommet from the aperture without damaging any of the components or requiring a separate inwardly directed force to be directly applied to the wings. An associated method is also provided.

主权项

1. A plastic serviceable screw grommet for joining automobile components comprising:
a base; a pair of legs extending upwardly from the base and defining screw passage between the legs, the screw passage defining a central longitudinal axis; a retaining wing hingedly coupled to an outer surface of each of the legs along a hinge line, the retaining wing extending outwardly from the outer surface, the hinge line extending parallel to the central longitudinal axis or at a hinge line angle that is less than about 45 degrees from the central longitudinal axis, the retaining wing having a trailing edge defining a retention surface; wherein, when the screw grommet is inserted into an aperture of a first of the automobile components, at least a portion of the retention surface extends along its length at a retention angle relative to an adjacent surface of the first of the automobile components; wherein, when the screw grommet is inserted into the aperture and a screw is not present in the screw passage, the retention angle is such that engagement of the retention surface against the first of the automobile components operates to direct a portion of a servicing removal force, applied to the screw grommet through the base, inwardly on the wings causing the wings to flex inwardly to a collapsed position and permit removal of the screw grommet from the aperture without damaging any of the grommet and the automobile components and without applying a separate inwardly directed force against the wings.