The present invention relates to a grommet constructed and arranged to make a blind connection between a primary panel and a secondary panel. More specifically, the grommet of the present invention may be laterally secured to a pin extending from the undersurface of the primary panel.
The present invention can best be summarized as a side mounting grommet that comprises a body having an aperture formed entirely therethrough and a head that extends laterally from its upper end and which acts to limit the depth of insertion of the body into a bore that is formed into a panel. Both the body and the head have a slot formed therethrough that communicates with the aperture formed through the body. This slot allows the grommet to be addressed laterally to a pin that extends from the underside of a primary panel such that the pin is received within the aperture.
A detent structure formed within the aperture of the body extends into the aperture and is constructed and arranged to engage a flat or depression formed near the base of the pin such that once the pin is seated within the aperture of the grommet""s body, the pin may not easily be withdrawn longitudinally from the bore. At least one retaining mechanism on the exterior surface of the body of the grommet acts to retain the grommet, and the pin that has been pre-assembled therewith, within a bore formed in a secondary panel. Typically, the connection made between the primary and secondary panels is considered xe2x80x9cblindxe2x80x9d, i.e., the pre-assembled pin and grommet are not visible as they are being inserted into the bore formed through the secondary panel.
One advantage of the grommet of the present invention is that it may be disassembled for the purposes of repair or replacement of the panels or related structures. To facilitate this, the cooperative bearing surfaces of the depression formed in the pin and/or the bearing surfaces of the detent structure may be constructed and arranged to impose a predetermined withdrawal force upon the grommet. Forming an angled or curvilinear surface on one or both of the detent structure and depression will allow one or both of these structures to be biased or elastically deformed such that the pin may be removed longitudinally from the aperture in the grommet body. The withdrawal force required to remove the pin longitudinally from the body may be larger or smaller than the force required to remove the body of the grommet from the bore formed in the secondary panel when the grommet and pin are received therein.
To further facilitate the disassembly of the grommet of the present invention, the head of the grommet may be provided with release apertures that allow a user to pry or bias the retaining mechanism(s) that retain the grommet body in the bore in the secondary panel inwardly such that the grommet body may be removed from the bore.
The present invention also comprises a method of creating a blind connection between a primary and a secondary panel. The process begins with the step of providing a pin on the underside of the primary panel. This pin may be formed integral with the panel in a molding operation or it may be adhered or mechanically secured thereto after the primary panel has been manufactured. A grommet having a body constructed as described herein is then assembled with the pin by addressing a longitudinal slot in the grommet body to the pin and forcing the grommet body onto the pin such that the pin is received and retained within the aperture formed through the body of the grommet. Once the grommet and pin have been pre-assembled, the grommet, with the pin received therein, is inserted into a bore formed through the secondary panel until the retaining structures on the grommet body engage the secondary panel, thereby securing the primary panel to the secondary panel. Disassembly of the primary and secondary panel is undertaken by first applying a withdrawal force to the pin. Note that this withdrawal force is typically applied by prying the primary panel away from the secondary panel but may be applied directly to the pin itself where a suitable tool can be addressed thereto. Once the pin has been withdrawn from the grommet body, the retaining structures are accessed through the release apertures formed in the head of the grommet body and biased away from the bore in the secondary panel to a degree that allows the grommet body to be removed from the bore.
Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention, which may be embodied in other specific structure. While the preferred embodiment has been described, the details may be changed without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims.