Illinois Tool Works Inc.

James T Kirchen

Brock T Cooley

Benjamin H Moerke

Anatoly I Gosis

David W Edland

Marc R Risdale

Jesse L Jensen

Stephen M Everard

Adam C Peterson

Yury Shkolnikov

Mark Owen Lepper

Lawrence W Johnson

Brian R Peek

James S Tisol, Jr

Frank Otte

Edward P Massof

Robert Nesky

Mark W Severin

Steve Everard

A system is disclosed for verification of the installation of a component such as a side curtain air bag into a vehicle passenger compartment where energy absorbing quarter-turn fasteners attached to the air bag are employed to affix hanger brackets to structural base plates in the vehicle. The system includes an image capturing camera, stored data in a machine readable form of an acceptable installation, a central processing unit to compare the captured images to the stored machine readable data and an output generator to create an output signal based on the results of the comparison.

Rotatable fastener verification

A fastener mounting assembly is configured to securely mount to at least one panel of a component. The fastener mounting assembly may include a base, a fastener mount extending from the base, and at least one panel-engaging member connected to one or both of the base and the fastener. The panel-engaging member(s) is configured to securely engage the panel(s) of the component to securely lock the fastener mounting assembly to the panel(s).

Fastener mounting assembly

An anchoring clip assembly is configured to securely anchor to a structure. The assembly may include a main body, a plurality of anchoring members extending from the main body, wherein the plurality of anchoring members are configured to securely anchor to the structure, and at least one verification member configured to provide verification when the plurality of anchoring members are securely anchored to the structure. The verification member(s) may provide visual verification when the plurality of anchoring members are securely anchored to the structure, and/or may include at least one separable portion that is configured to separate from the main body after the plurality of anchoring members are securely anchored to the structure.

Airbag anchoring clip assembly

A fastening clip assembly configured to securely fasten to a mounting stud of a panel includes a main clip and a tapered member, such as a tapered locking pin. The main clip may include a central column defining a central passage. The central column may include a ledge. The tapered locking pin integrally connects to the central column through at least one flash joint integrally connected to the main clip proximate the ledge. The said tapered locking pin is configured to move into the central passage in order to securely fasten the assembly to the mounting stud.

Fastening clip assembly

A push-in fastener clip assembly includes a fastener having deflectable legs and compression ring for sliding along the deflectable legs during installation, with the compression ring connected to the fastener by frangible connections that are broken as the fastener clip assembly is being installed. Slots in the fastener guide the broken frangible connections during installation of the fastener, limiting rotation of the compression ring.

Fastener clip assembly

A piercing rib clip has first and second legs defining a space for receiving a rib of a component held thereby and a piercing pin held by at least one of the legs piercing the rib held between the legs.

Piercing rib clip

A fastener clip includes a body having an opening extending therethrough, a pair of detents formed in an exterior surface of the body, and a rigid retaining pin inserted through the opening, the rigid retaining pin having a pair of flexible fingers configured to engage the pair of detents, the flexible fingers configured to disengage from the pair of detents when an airbag is deployed. The fastener clip also includes a plurality of molding gates formed at an intersection between the body and the rigid retaining pin, the rigid retaining pin being subsequently movable with respect to the body after the molding gates are broken. The fastener clip further includes a pair of flexible retention legs adapted to secure the fastener clip to a vehicle chassis. An airbag retention system including the fastener clip is also described herein.

Fastener clip

A vehicle headliner attachment system for displaceable attachment of a headliner to a sunroof assembly frame. The attachment system includes at least one snap-in male connector including a distal insertion head adapted to be press fit into a corresponding elongated female acceptance slot disposed at a position adjacent to the perimeter of a sunroof opening. The male connector is releasably held at a support element secured to the headliner. The support element is oriented on the headliner such that the male connector is slideable along the elongated female acceptance slot without disengaging from the support element when the headliner is moved rearward relative to the assembly frame.

Sunroof headliner attachment system

A fastener clip includes a body having an opening extending therethrough, and a rigid retaining pin inserted through the opening, the rigid retaining pin having a first end secured within the body and a second end disposed outside the body, the retaining pin configured to limit the movement of a vehicle trim piece with respect to the vehicle chassis when an airbag is deployed. The fastener clip also includes a plurality of molding gates formed at an intersection between the body and the rigid retaining pin, the rigid retaining pin being subsequently movable with respect to the body after the molding gates are broken. The fastener clip further includes a pair of flexible retention legs adapted to secure the fastener clip to a vehicle chassis and a pair of flexible retention legs adapted to secure the trim piece to a vehicle chassis.

Fastener clip and method of fabricating the same

A fastener for securing an airbag assembly in a motor vehicle includes first and second body components held one against another with a fastening tab of an airbag there between. A flexible collet from the body of the fastener is secured in a hole of a supporting component in a vehicle roof, and a pin pushed into the collet secures the installation. Tools and fastener structures for verification testing are disclosed.

Airbag fastener assembly

The invention relates to fasteners adapted for use in automobile air bag attachment systems. The fastener comprises a hook to engage a vehicle structure during installation and a pin to lock the fastener in place. Advantageously, the hook portion may be quickly installed and will support the air bag assembly while allowing any positional adjustments to be made prior to locking the fastener by depressing the pin until it is fully engaged in the vehicle structure. An embodiment of the invention incorporates both a locking method to prevent the fastener from being disengaged and a method of releasing this lock if needed for servicing. Another aspect of the invention provides a method for reducing the likelihood of improperly installed parts by preventing locking when the fastener is in a partially installed configuration.

Fastener

A substantially watertight grommet having a sealing mechanism that can simultaneously form a watertight seal between the grommet and a pin received therein and between the grommet and a panel within which the grommet is received is herein described. In a preferred embodiment, the sealing mechanism is formed integrally with the head of the grommet by an overmolding process. A body of the grommet has a retention structure for securing the grommet within a bore formed in a panel and a catchment mechanism for securing a pin within the grommet. The catchment mechanism is constructed so as to permit the pin to be secured within the grommet in a plurality of positions.

Water-tight grommet

A fastener for securing a panel to a substrate is herein disclosed. The fastener has a body portion that is received in a substrate and a pin portion that is passed through a panel and driven into the body portion to secure the panel to the substrate. The body portion has a pair of legs that act to retain the body portion within the substrate and which incorporate an interference control mechanism that controls the force required to insert the pin portion of the fastener into the body portion. The interference control mechanism may include a bore formed through a leg of the body portion, a reduced cross-sectional area formed adjacent the base of a leg at the fastener, or an elastomeric member molded into the base of a leg of the fastener.

Ergonomic fastener

A fastener for securing a first object such as a headliner to a second object such as the interior of an aircraft or automobile which is also capable of being pre-assembled with the first object in a predetermined orientation is disclosed. A fastener constructed and arranged according to the present invention has an upper head from which extends a shank having a shank fastener formed therein for securing the retainer into a bore formed in the second object. At least one pre-assembly leg is secured to the shank at a predetermined offset distance from the head. A lower head having a bore formed therethrough so that it may be received over the shank of the fastener is secured to a distal end of the at least one pre-assembly leg and actuates the pre-assembly leg so as to double the pre-assembly leg upon itself and simultaneously bias it into contact with the first object, thereby securing the fastener within a bore formed through the first object in the predetermined orientation.

Fastener for pre-assembling work pieces

A grommet having a body formed of an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve wherein the inner sleeve may be made to spin within the outer sleeve upon the application of a torqueing force that exceeds a predetermined release torque is herein disclosed. The grommet has a head attached to the body thereof to limit the insertion of a shank of the grommet into an aperture formed in a primary panel and a retaining structure formed into the outer surface of the shank to permit the grommet to be pre-assembled with the primary panel.

Growing community of inventors

Chippewa Falls, WI, United States of America

James T Kirchen