US-12617369-B2 - Center pillar upper

US12617369B2US 12617369 B2US12617369 B2US 12617369B2US-12617369-B2

Abstract

A center pillar's upper part trim includes a slider and a knob. The slider has a boss projecting in the back side direction. The knob has a flexible member extending in a cantilever manner in a first direction being one operation direction and other end opposed to the flexible member on the first direction side of the flexible member. The center pillar's upper part trim further includes: a slide-and-join structure allowing the knob to slide and join to a plurality of engaging catches from a state where the flexible member of the knob is placed on the boss; and a restriction structure restricting the knob, in a state where the knob has slid and joined, from excessively shifting in the first direction and the second direction by setting the boss between the flexible member and the other end when the knob is operated to slide.

Inventors

Akira TONOSAKI

Assignees

KASAI KOGYO CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220808

Claims (4)

1 . A center pillar's upper part trim covering a vehicular center pillar, comprising: a base member mounted on the vehicular center pillar and having an opening; a slider mounted on the opening from a back side of the base member to be slidable; and a knob joined from a back side of the slider by a plurality of engaging catches to be slidably operated, the knob being partially exposed on a front side as an operation part, wherein the slider has a boss projecting in a back side direction, the knob has a flexible member extending in a cantilever manner in a first direction being one operation direction of the knob and an opposed wall opposed to the flexible member on the first direction side of the flexible member, the center pillar's upper part trim further comprising a slide-and-join structure allowing, in joining the knob to the slider, the knob to fit in a space between the back side of the slider and the plurality of engaging catches by causing the knob having the flexible member placed on the boss to slide by a predetermined distance in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a restriction structure restricting the knob, when the knob has joined to the slider fitting in the space as a result of the sliding by a predetermined distance, from excessively shifting in the first direction and the second direction by the flexible member leaving the position on the boss to set the boss between the flexible member and the opposed wall, and by the boss being brought into contact with the flexible member or the opposed wall when the knob is operated.
2 . The center pillar's upper part trim according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible member being convex in a direction facing away from the boss.
3 . The center pillar's upper part trim according to claim 1 , wherein the slider has a plurality of the bosses, and the knob has a plurality of combination sets of the flexible member and the opposed wall, and a sidewall between the flexible member and the opposed wall in each set, the sidewall restricting the knob from shifting in a direction crossing a sliding operation direction of the knob.
4 . The center pillar's upper part trim according to claim 2 , wherein the slider has a plurality of the bosses, and the knob has a plurality of combination sets of the flexible member and the opposed wall, and a sidewall between the flexible member and the opposed wall in each set, the sidewall restricting the knob from shifting in a direction crossing a sliding operation direction of the knob.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a National Stage Entry application of PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2022/030258, filed on Aug. 8, 2022, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present invention relates to a center pillar's upper part trim. 2. Description of the Background Conventionally, center pillar's upper part trims that cover vehicles' center pillars are known. A center pillar's upper part trim schematically consists of a base member, a slider mounted on the back side of the base member, and a knob joined to the back side of the slider. A seat belt anchor is disposed on the back side of the base member. The slider is mounted also on the seat belt anchor. With the seat belt anchor, the slider is slidable relative to the base member to adjust the vertical position of the seat belt anchor. The knob corresponds to an operation part joined to the slider. An operation on the knob allows an adjustor to adjust the vertical position of the seat belt anchor and the slider (e.g., see JP 2019-116228 A). BRIEF SUMMARY In such a center pillar's upper part trim, the slider has an anchoring catch (hereinafter referred to as the engaging catch) that projects perpendicularly to the slider's surface. By the knob being pushed in along the surface of the slider against the slider's engaging catch, the knob climbs over the catch to be joined to the slider. The slider has a restriction member for restricting the knob's movement amount on each of one (e.g., the upper) and the other (e.g., the lower) directions in the knob operation directions. Thus, the knob's excessive shifting is restricted by one or the other end in the operation directions being brought into contact with the restriction member. Here, in joining the knob to the slider, the knob must be pushed in while flexing the engaging catch. However, the height of the engaging catch is just enough to prevent the knob from wobbling. Thus, pushing in the knob while flexing the low-height engaging catch incurs a great load, and the flexing can cause the engaging catch to blanch. Furthermore, requiring restriction members on one and other sides in the knob's operation directions to restrict the knob's sliding movement increases the resin amount and weight of the restriction members and complicates other members' layouts. The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an object thereof is to provide a center pillar's upper part trim that can dispense with a restriction member on a slider in the operation direction relative to a knob, requires less force in joining the knob, and suppresses blanching. In order to solve the problem, a center pillar's upper part trim of the present invention provides a center pillar's upper part trim covering a vehicular center pillar, including: a base member mounted on a center pillar and having an opening; a slider mounted on the opening from a back side of the base member to be slidable with a seat belt anchor; and a knob joined from a back side of the slider by a plurality of engaging catches to be slidably operated, the knob being partially exposed on a front side as an operation part. The slider has a boss projecting in a back side direction. The knob has a flexible member extending in a cantilever manner in a first direction being one operation direction of the knob and an opposed wall opposed to the flexible member on the first direction side of the flexible member. The center pillar's upper part trim further includes a slide-and-join structure allowing, in joining the knob to the slider, the knob to fit in space between the back side of the slider and the plurality of engaging catches by causing the knob having the flexible member placed on the bosses to slide by a predetermined distance in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a restriction structure restricting the knob, in a state where the knob has joined to the slider fitting in the space as a result of the sliding by a predetermined distance, from excessively shifting in the first direction and the second direction by the flexible member leaving the position on the boss to set the boss between the flexible member and the opposed wall, and by the boss being brought into contact with the flexible member or the opposed wall when the knob is operated. The present invention provides a center pillar's upper part trim that can dispense with a restriction member on a slider in the operation direction relative to a knob, requires less force in joining the knob, and suppresses blanching. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of a center pillar's upper part trim according to a present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded back side view of the center pillar's upper part trim in FIG. 1. FIG. 3A is a back side plan view of the joined knob and slider. FIG. 3B is a partial enlarged sectional view of the joined knob and slider when the knob is not op