Structure of installation member to be installed to vehicle outer panel, and bolt retaining member and attachment used therefor
To provide a structure of an installation member to be installed to a vehicle outer panel that can prevent rust from developing on a bolt and an outer panel without requiring resist-coating processing. A structure of an installation member to be installed to a vehicle outer panel includes a metallic retaining portion provided to a rear garnish (installation member) to be installed to a vehicle outer panel in order to install this member to this outer panel, a resin-made attachment to be attached to the retaining portion and having no metallic plating film, and a bolt whose head portion is retained by the attachment, wherein the bolt is integrally incorporated to the retaining portion via the attachment and the rear garnish is installed to the outer panel by using the bolt.
1. A structure of an installation member for installation to a vehicle outer panel, the structure comprising:
a metallic retaining portion fixed to the vehicle outer panel and having an opening;
a resin-made attachment to be attached to the retaining portion via the opening and having no metallic plating film; and
a bolt having a head portion that is retained by the attachment and having metallic plating film, wherein:
the bolt is incorporated integrally to the retaining portion via the attachment, wherein the installation member is installed to the outer panel by this bolt; and
the head portion of the bolt comes into sliding engagement with the attachment, wherein the head portion of this bolt and this attachment cannot relatively rotate around an axial line of this bolt; and
the attachment is in sliding engagement with the retaining portion, and the attachment and this retaining portion cannot relatively rotate around an axis line of the bolt; and
the retaining portion includes an upper wall and a lower wall, which are disposed parallel with each other at upper and lower positions and erected on a base surface so as to extend in the right-and-left direction of the outer panel and a coupling wall which is erected on the base surface coupling one end side of the upper wall and one end side of the lower wall and extend in a vertical direction of the outer panel, wherein
the upper wall and the lower wall have each engagement wall formed integrally at each edge and extending in downward and upward directions in relation to the outer panel to approach each other, respectively, and the coupling wall has a locking portion formed on its top position projecting from the engagement walls by a predetermined height;
wherein the attachment is generally Y-shaped, and engagement grooves are formed in outer side portion of fork portions of the attachment so that the engagement walls of the retaining portion come into sliding engagement with those grooves respectively;
a straight site projecting linearly from a base end portion of the attachment provides a cantilever beam portion and the beam portion has a to-be-locked portion formed at its tip position corresponding to the locking portion of the retaining portion;
wherein elastic displacement of the beam portion allows the to-be-locked portion to pass over the locking portion of the retaining portion; and
wherein when the to-be-locked portion is locked by the locking portion, the attachment is retained by the retaining portion allowing the attachment to move in the direction of sliding engagement relatively to the retaining portion by a predetermined stroke.