The present invention concerns fasteners for fixing a mat to a carpet, in particular in an automotive vehicle.

Such fasteners are known, in particular from the documents DE 196 17 408 and WO 2009/076333, which comprise a male member to attach to the carpet and a female member to attach to the mat. The male member comprises a mushroom-shaped head which projects from the carpet whereas the female member comprises an accommodation adapted to latchingly and reversibly receive the head of the male member for fixing the mat to the carpet.

The invention aims to provide a fastener of the same kind but which is more practical.

To that end it provides a fastener for fixing a mat to a carpet, comprising:

- a male member comprising means for attachment to said carpet and a mushroom-shaped head; and

- a female member comprising means for attachment to said mat and reversible latching means adapted to retain said head of said male member when said female member is placed relative to said male member in a nominal fixing position;

characterized in that said male member comprises a support and a dowel comprising said mushroom-shaped head, with said dowel being removable from said support, said support comprising means for receiving said dowel and said dowel comprising means for engaging in the receiving means of said support, said support comprising the entirety of said means for attachment of said male member to said carpet.

In the fixing fastener according to the invention, the support is thus provided to be attached to the carpet independently of the dowel.

The fact that the male member comprises a dowel that is removable from the support makes it possible, when the dowel is taken out from the support, for only that support to be attached to the carpet.

Thus, when the carpet is used without a mat, and when for each male member the dowel is taken out from the support, a user is not hindered by the projecting character of the mushroom-shaped head or heads.

For example, if the carpet is disposed on the floor of a trunk of an automotive vehicle, the absence of the mushroom-shaped heads makes it possible to slide objects on the carpet unhindered on loading and unloading. If the carpet equips the passenger space of an automotive vehicle, the absence of the mushroom-shaped heads gives freedom to the passengers to place their feet on the carpet.

It will be noted that, to avoid the mushroom-shaped head projecting from the carpet, it would have been possible to attach the female member to the carpet and to attach the male member to the mat.

However, in such a configuration, there would also be hindrance to the user of the mat, in particular on cleaning the mat which is conventionally carried out by beating, the head hindering contact on beating and even being liable to be damaged at the time of the impacts, in particular if the mat is beaten against a wall or floor.

The removable character of the dowel of the fastener according to the invention makes it possible both to avoid hindering the user of the carpet when the mat does not form a covering thereof as well as to enable cleaning by beating the mat without risking damaging the fastener.

In practice, to profit from these advantages, in the field of automotive vehicles, it is advantageous for the fastener according to the invention to be commercialized in the following way:

- the vehicle is delivered with each carpet equipped in the factory with the support for the male member for each of the fasteners; and

- for each carpet, a mat is sold separately as an accessory on which the female member for each of the fasteners is mounted in the factory, each mat being accompanied, for each of the fasteners, by a dowel which the user has to put in place in the corresponding support equipping the carpet.

According to features that are preferred, in particular because they enable a simple and convenient implementation of the fastener according to the invention:

- said dowel comprises, in addition to said mushroom-shaped head, a foot forming said engaging means of said dowel;

- said dowel comprises a stop wall, said head projecting from a first side of said stop wall and said foot projecting from a second side of said stop wall that is an opposite side to said first side;

- said foot is mushroom-shaped;

- said support comprises a skirt, said skirt forming internally said means for receiving said dowel, an inner surface of said skirt comprising at least two studs projecting from said inner surface and deformable arms with each arm extending between two consecutive studs, at least one arm being adapted to deform on engagement of the dowel to bend on contact with said mushroom- shaped foot, then to relax so as to retain said foot;

- said foot comprises a barrel and at least one boss projecting from a lateral wall of said barrel;

- said support comprises a skirt, said skirt forming internally said means for receiving said dowel, an inner surface of said skirt comprising at least two studs projecting from said inner surface and deformable arms with each arm extending between two consecutive studs, at least one arm being adapted to deform on engagement of the dowel to bend on contact with said boss, then to relax so as to retain said boss.

- said support comprises:

- an eyelet comprising said skirt and a flange which is transversely connected to an end of said skirt, said flange being adapted to be positioned against a first face of said carpet while said skirt is adapted to be accommodated in an aperture of the carpet; and

- a locking ring comprising a skirt and a flange which is transversely connected to an end of said skirt, said flange being adapted to be positioned against a second face of said carpet that is an opposite face to said first face while said skirt is adapted to be accommodated in said aperture of the carpet, with said eyelet and said ring comprising mutual engaging means, by virtue of which said skirt and said flange of said eyelet as well as said skirt and said flange of the ring form said means for attachment of the male member to the carpet;

- said support comprises:

- an eyelet comprising said skirt and a flange which is transversely connected to an end of said skirt, said flange being adapted to be positioned against a first face of said carpet while said skirt is adapted to be accommodated in an aperture of the carpet; and

- a locking ring comprising a flange; with said eyelet and said flange comprising mutual engaging means, by virtue of which said skirt and said flange of the eyelet as well as said flange of the ring form said means for attachment of the male member to the carpet;

- said female member comprises:

- an eyelet comprising an annular rib having an inner surface from which said reversible latching means emerge, said eyelet also comprising a flange which is connected transversely to an end of said rib, said flange being adapted to be positioned against a first face of said mat while said annular rib is adapted to be accommodated in an aperture of the mat; and

- a locking ring comprising a skirt and a flange which is transversely connected to an end of said skirt, said flange being adapted to be positioned against a second face of said mat that is an opposite face to said first face while said skirt is adapted to be accommodated in an aperture of the mat; with said eyelet and said ring comprising mutual engaging means, by virtue of which said rib and said flange of said eyelet as well as said skirt and said flange of the ring form said means for attachment of the female member to the mat; and/or

- said rib of said eyelet delimits a circular opening and said fastener further comprises a cover, said cover being adapted to be fixed to said female member by the perimeter of said circular opening.

The disclosure of the invention will now be continued with the detailed description of embodiments, given below by way of illustrative and non- limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a cross-section view of a fastener according to the invention, in place on a mat and a carpet, which it holds in relation to each other, in a nominal fixing position;

- Figure 2 is a similar view but in which the mat and a female member of the fastener have been turned upside down, the mat and the carpet thus being held by the fastener in an alternative fixing position.

- Figure 3 is an exploded view in perspective of the fastener in the alternative fixing position of Figure 2;

- Figures 4 to 7 are views respectively in perspective, in plan, in elevation and in cross-section of an eyelet comprised by the female member of the fastener;

- Figure 8 is a perspective view of a ring comprised by the female member of the fastener;

- Figure 9 is a cross-section view of a dowel comprised by the male member of the fastener;

- Figure 10 is a view in elevation of that dowel;

- Figure 11 is a perspective view of a cover comprised by the fastener;

- Figure 12 is a similar view to Figure 1 , showing a variant of the support comprised by the male member; and

- Figures 13 and 14 are views respectively in perspective and in elevation of a variant of the dowel.

The fixing fastener 1 comprises a male member 2 and a female member 4. The male member 2 is provided to be attached to a carpet 3 and the female member 4 is provided to be attached to a mat 5. The male member 2 and the female member 4 are adapted to reversibly latch, by virtue of which the mat 5 may be fixed to the carpet 3 and be detached therefrom, in particular in order to be cleaned.

The mat 5 may be fixed to the carpet 3 in a nominal position illustrated in Figure 1 and in an alternative position illustrated in Figure 2. In the alternative fixing position, the mat 5, and thus the female member 4, is turned upside down relative to the nominal fixing position. The mat 5 is represented with a layer 6 and a layer 7 the separation of which is very clear. This representation has been chosen to facilitate understanding, but it is clearly understood that the mat 5 is of conventional type with a substrate (illustrated by layer 6) of plastics material bearing on one face pile-forming strands (illustrated by layer 7), the other face of the substrate being bare. In the same way, layers are not indicated for the carpet 3 in the drawings, but it is clearly understood that it is also a carpet conventionally comprising a substrate bearing pile-forming strands on one face.

The fixing fastener 1 will now be described in detail.

The male member 2 and the female member 4 are each of molded plastics material.

The female member 4 comprises an eyelet 8 and a ring 9.

The eyelet 8, represented in particular in Figures 4 to 7, comprises an annular rib 10 and a flange 1 which is transversely connected at an end of the rib 10.

The flange 1 comprises an outer transverse surface a which is turned away from the rib 0, and an inner transverse surface 11b which turned to the same side as the rib 10.

As can be seen more easily in Figure 7, the rib 10 comprises at a first end, in the neighborhood of the flange 11 , a transverse end surface 12 and, at a second end, away from the flange 11 , a transverse end surface 13. The end surface 12 is set back relative to the outer transverse service 11 a.

The annular rib 10 has an inner surface 16 and an outer surface 16' which here has two annular detents 15.

As can be seen in Figures 4, 5 and 7, the rib 10 comprises three studs 18 and three strips 19. The studs 8 project from the inner surface 16, the three studs 18 being evenly spaced, that is to say that they are disposed with angular intervals of 120°.

Each stud 18 comprises a corner 18a, an intermediate portion 26, and a comer 18b. Corner 18a emerges from transverse end surface 12, and corner 18b emerges from transverse end surface 13. The intermediate portion 26 axially links the corners 18a and 18b. Each stud 18 thus extends continuously from one transverse end surface to the other of the rib 10, while having a maximum thickness at the intermediate portion 26.

The corner 18a has an inner surface 20a (Figure 7) which is inclined relative to the inner surface 16 of the rib, by virtue of which it forms a ramp oriented towards the center of the circular opening delimited by the rib 10. The corner 18b has an inner surface 20b which is inclined relative to the inner surface 16 of the rib, by virtue of which it forms a ramp oriented towards the center of the circular opening delimited by the rib 10.

Each strip 19 extends between two successive studs 18. As can be seen in particular in Figure 5, each strip 19 has a slight curvature tending to bring the central portion of each strip 19 towards the inner surface 16 of the rib 10.

Each strip 19 has two curved lateral surfaces, one lateral surface 21 oriented towards the inside of the eyelet 8 and one lateral surface 22 oriented towards the inner surface 6 of the rib 0.

Each strip 19 also has an outer transverse surface 23 (Figure 7), which is disposed at the same level as the end surface 12, and an outer transverse surface 24, which is disposed at the same level as the end surface 13. Thus the height of each strip 19 here is similar to the height of the rib 10.

The lateral surface 22 is flat and continuous over the entire height of the strip 9.

As can be seen in particular in Figure 7, the lateral surface 21 has a central recess 82. The depth of the recess 82 is maximum at the middle of the strip 19 and reduces to the neighborhood of the studs 18.

The portion of each strip 19 situated between the lateral surface 22 and the recess 82 forms a web 28. The portion of each strip 19 situated between the web 28 and the transverse surface 23 (respectively 24) belongs to an arm 19a (respectively 19b) which extends between two studs 18. The arm 19a (respectively 19b) has a convex lateral surface 25a (respectively 25b), turned inwardly of the eyelet 8. Here, the surfaces 25a and 25b are prismatic.

It will be noted that the studs 18 and the strips 19 are arranged such that: - their portions situated between the surface 13 or 24 and mid- height of the annular rib 10; and

- their portions situated between the surface 12 or 23 and mid- height of the annular rib 10;

are mirror images of each other.

As explained below, the arms 9a belong to a first fixing assembly 7 (Figure 1 ) disposed in the neighborhood of the transverse end surface 12 whereas the arms 19b belong to a second fixing assembly 17', disposed in the neighborhood of the transverse end surface 13, the two fixing assemblies 17 and 17' being adjacent and emerging from the inner surface of the annular rib 10.

As will be explained below, the assembly 17' serves for the fixing, in the nominal position (Figure 1 ), of the male member and of the female member, and thus of the carpet and of the mat, whereas the assembly 17 serves for the fixing in the alternative position (Figure 2).

The ring 9, represented in Figure 8, comprises a skirt 31 and a flange 32 which is connected transversely to one end of the skirt 31.

The flange 32 is flat and has a similar diameter to that of the flange 1 1 of the eyelet 8. The flange 32 has an inner surface 32a turned towards the skirt 31 and an outer surface 32b turned away from the skirt 31.

The skirt 31 is cylindrical and has an inner surface 31 a and an outer surface 31 b. A detent 68 is situated in the vicinity of the end of the skirt 31 away from the flange 32, projecting from the inner surface 3 a.

As explained below, the detents 15 and 68 serve for latching the eyelet 8 and the ring 9 permanently, that is to say irreversibly except for deliberate disassembly maneuver.

The fastener 1 also comprises the male member 2.

The male member 2 comprises a dowel 33 and a support 34.

The dowel 33, illustrated in particular in Figures 9 and 10, comprises a mushroom-shaped head 35, a flange 36 and a mushroom-shaped foot 37 The dowel 6 comprises a central cavity 38.

The flange 36, of diameter slightly less than the diameter of the flange 11 already described, extends around the central cavity 38, which forms a cylindrical aperture in the center of the flange 36. The head 35 and the foot 37 are transversely connected to the flange 36, emerging from the periphery of the cylindrical aperture and each projecting from the flange 36 on a respective side.

The head 35 has an annular base 39 and a cap 40.

The annular base 39 is formed from a wall which is transversely connected to the flange 39. The annular base 39 is hollow and extends around the central cavity 38.

The cap 40 is transversely connected to the annular base 39, protruding radially relative to the base 39. A base surface 41 of the cap 40 faces the flange 36. The cap 40 has a flat circular apex surface 42 , and an annular lateral surface 43 which is transverse to the base surface 41. The corner formed between the apex and lateral surfaces 42 and 43 is rounded such that the base 39 and the cap 40 are mushroom-shaped. The base surface 41 forms a shoulder between the cap 40 and the base 39.

At the level of the base 39 and the cap 40, the cavity 38 has the shape of a truncated cone of which the base has the same diameter as that of the cavity 38 in the flange 36 and of which the cross-section decreases towards the cap 40. The cavity 38 is delimited by a circular bottom 44, parallel to the apex surface 42 and extending within the cap 40, and by a frusto-conical surface 45 extending within the cap 40 and the base 39.

Six stiffening ribs 46 emerge from the circular back 44. Each rib 46 extends within the cavity 38 over a height corresponding to that of the frusto- conical surface 45. The ribs 46 are evenly distributed, with an angular interval of 60°.

The foot 37 comprises an annular base 47 and a cap 48.

The base 47 and the cap 48 are traversed by the cavity 38, which at their level has a cylindrical shape of the same diameter as in the flange 36.

The cap 48 comprises a base surface 49 and a lateral surface 50, and an apex surface 51 with an edge formed between the apex and lateral surfaces 51 and 50 which is rounded such that the base 47 and the cap 48 are mushroom-shaped. The base surface 49 forms a shoulder between the cap 48 and the base 47.

The surfaces defining the contour of the foot 37 and the surfaces defining the contour of the head 35 are mirror images of each other in relation to the flange 36.

It will be noted that the cavity 38 is useful for optimizing the quantity of material necessary for obtaining the dowel 33.

As illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, the support 34 comprises an eyelet 52, which comprises a skirt 53 and a flange 54 extending radially around the skirt 53, the flange 54 having an inner surface 54a turned towards the skirt 53.

The eyelet 52 has an identical structure to that of the eyelet 8 described previously. In particular, the eyelet 52 comprises two fixing assemblies on the inner surface of the skirt 53, a first assembly being situated at the level of the flange 54, and a second assembly being situated at the level of the opposite end of the skirt 53 to the flange 54. Each assembly comprises arms 55 and studs 56, of which the arrangement and form are similar to those of the arms 19a and 19b and the studs 18 of the female member 4. In particular, the arms 55 have a convex lateral surface 55a, and the studs 56 comprise a corner 56a (Figure 2).

The support 34 also comprises a locking ring 57.

The locking ring 57 comprises a skirt 58 and a flange 59 which is connected transversely to one end of the skirt 58, and has an identical structure to that of the ring 9. The flange 59 has in particular an inner surface 59a turned towards the skirt 58, and the skirt 58 has an outer surface 58b.

The fact of using identical parts to form the support for the male member and the female member makes it possible to facilitate and rationalize the manufacturing of the fastener and hence to reduce the cost thereof.

The fastener 1 also comprises a cover 60 visible especially in Figures 3 and 11. The cover 60 comprises a plate 61 and a skirt 62.

The plate 61 has a generally circular contour and a diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the rib 10 of the eyelet 8 described previously. The perimeter of the plate has a flat 63.

The plate 61 comprises a closed cylindrical central portion 64 which forms an additional thickness on the face of the plate that is turned towards the skirt 62 and a thin peripheral rim 66.

The cylindrical central portion 64 has an outer diameter less than the inner diameter of the rib 10 already described, measured at the level of the arms 19a or 19b. The cylindrical portion 64 comprises several stiffening ribs 67 on its outer surface, four in number here, which are evenly distributed.

The skirt 62 extends the perimeter of the cylindrical portion 64 away from the peripheral rim 66, and has a flared form. At its free end the skirt 62 has a diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the annular rib 10, measured at the level of the webs 28.

A description is now given of the mounting of the fixing fastener 1 in the nominal fixing position illustrated in Figure 1.

The female member 4 is attached to the mat 5, and the male member 2 to the carpet 3, then the female member 4 is positioned and retained on the male member 2 by reversible latching.

For the attachment of the female member 4 to the mat 5, the eyelet 8 is disposed on the mat 5 by making the annular rib 10 pass through an aperture in the mat 5. The surface 1 1 b of the flange 1 1 is brought against the outer surface of the layer 7 of the mat 5.

The ring 9 is fixed onto the rib 10, by positioning the surface 32a of the flange 32 against the outer face of the layer 6 of the mat 5. The detent 68 comprised by the ring 9 comes to latch with one of the detents 15 comprised by the eyelet 8, on account of the inclined surfaces presented by those detents 15 and 68. The detents 15 and 68 also have straight shoulder-forming surfaces and, in the latched position, the straight surfaces of the detents face each other and prevent unlatching. The fixing by latching of the ring 9 and of the eyelet 8 is thus made irreversible.

It will be noted that when the eyelet 8 and the ring 9 are fixed by latching, the end surface 13 is set back relative to the outer surface 32b forming a receiving portion substantially equivalent to that formed by the setting back of surface 12 relative to surface 1 1 a.

Another mounting possibility consists in first of all disposing the ring 9 in the circular aperture of the mat 5, before fixing the eyelet 8 in the ring 9.

Once the rib 10 and the skirt 31 have been latched, a peripheral groove is formed by the surface 1 1 b of the flange 1 1 , by the surface 32a of the flange 32 and by the outer surface 31 b of the skirl 31. The groove is adapted to receive an edge of the mat 5 which borders the circular aperture.

The rib 10, the flange 11 , the skirt 31 and the flange 32 form means for attaching the female member 4 to the mat 5.

For attaching the male member 2 to the carpet 3, the eyelet 52 and the locking ring 57 of the support 34 are latched in the same way as the ring 9 and the eyelet 8 of the female member 4.

When the skirt 53 is latched onto the skirt 58, a peripheral groove is formed by the surface 54a of the flange 54, by the surface 59a of the flange 59 and by the outer surface 58b of the skirt 58. The groove is adapted to receive an edge of the carpet 3 which borders the aperture of that carpet 3. The skirt 53, the flange 54, the skirt 58 and the flange 59 form means for attaching the male member 2 to the carpet 3.

It will be noted that the entirety of the means for attaching the male member to the carpet are carried by the support 34.

The support 34 further comprises means for receiving the dowel 33, formed internally by the skirt 53. The dowel 33 comprises engaging means, adapted to be engaged in the receiving means of the support 34, formed here by the foot 37.

The receiving and engaging means are adapted in order for the dowel 33 to be removable from the support 34.

The dowel 33 is engaged in the support 34 by bringing the foot 37 into the neighborhood of the end of the skirt 53 situated adjacent to the flange

52. The foot 37 then enters into contact with an arm 55. More particularly, the cap 48 enters into contact with the convex lateral surfaces 55a of the arms 55 and with the corners 56a of the dowels 56.

The ramp formed by the corners 56a and the rounded form of the foot 37 enable the position of the dowel 33 to be trued at the time of mounting in the support 34. On pushing in of the dowel 33, at least one arm 55 deforms, to flex slightly on contact with the foot 37, in order to enable the foot 37 to pass inwardly of the skirt 53.

When the foot 37 is sufficiently inserted for the cap 48 to have gone beyond the arms 55, the arms 55 relax to resume a resting position. The arms 55 are then disposed in the groove formed between the base surface 49, the annular base 47 and the flange 36. The edge between the base surface 49 and the lateral surface 50 of the cap 48 rests against the inner transverse surfaces of the arms 55.

The axial movement of the foot 37 in the skirt 53 is limited by the abutment of the flange 36 with the flange 54 of the eyelet 52, the flange 36 forming a stop wall.

The dowel 33 is fixed reversibly to the eyelet 52 on account of the convex lateral surface 55a of the arms 55. By pulling on the dowel 33 or on the eyelet 52, to move them apart from each other, a deformation of the arms 55 is induced, enabling the release of the foot 37. However, while the pushing in of the foot 37 is facilitated by the rounded form of the cap 48, the withdrawal of the dowel 33 requires a higher force on account of the shoulder formed by the base surface 49, bearing against the arm 55, so avoiding any inadvertent withdrawal of the dowel 33.

A position of the male member is attained, anchored to the carpet, with the head 35 projecting from the support 34 and from the carpet 3.

As the dowel 33 is engaged on the support 34, the female member 4 may be positioned on and retained on the projecting head 35, in order to fix the mat 5 relative to the carpet 3.

The head 35 of the dowel 33 is engaged in the female member 4 and fixed by reversible latching, in the same way as the foot 37 relative to the eyelet 52. The fixing assembly 17' is adapted to cooperate with the head 35 to retain it in the nominal fixing position.

The mat 5 is then fixed relative to the carpet 3, the outer face of the layer 6 of the mat 5 facing the carpet 3.

Another possibility for mounting consists in turning the dowel 33 upside down, that is. to say that the foot 37 is fixed to the eyelet 8, whereas the head 35 is fixed to the eyelet 52.

A description is now given of the fixing of the cover 60 to the female member 4, with the cover fixed by the perimeter of the circular opening delimited by the rib 10.

The plate 61 is brought against the end surface 12 for this purpose. As has already been described, the end surface 12 is set back relative to the surface 1 1a and thus forms a receiving portion in which the cover 60 comes to be accommodated.

The flared end of the skirt 62 then enters into contact with at least the arms 19a of the fixing assembly 17. Pushing on the cover 60 enables passage, by elastic deformation, of the flared end of the skirt 62, which accommodates in a final position in the space formed between an inner transverse surface 27 (Figure 7) of each arm 19a and the rounded shape formed between the apex surface 42 and the lateral surface 43 of the head 35.

Another possibility for mounting consists in fixing the cover 60 to the female member 4 before the assembly of the female member 4 with the male member 2.

The nominal fixing position is reached, illustrated in Figure 1. A description is now given of the passage from the nominal fixing position to the alternative fixing position, illustrated in Figure 2, in which the mat 5 and the female member 4 are upside down relative to Figure 1.

The cover 60 is removed, the flat 63 enabling access under the cover 60 to remove it from the female member 4.

The mat 5 is pulled away from the carpet 3. Due to the reversible latching of the dowel 33 in the eyelet 8 and in the eyelet 52, the pulling force on the mat 5 drives the unlatching of the dowel 33. In a variant not shown, the inner transverse surface 27 of the arms 55 has a greater inclination than that of the similar surface of the arms 19a and 9b. The unlatching of the dowel 33 and of the eyelet 8 is thus promoted, such that on each application of pulling force on the mat to pass from one fixing position to another, the dowel 33 remains in place on the support 34. In the description which will follow, the removable dowel 33 is left latched in the support 34, while the mat 5 is turned over.

The mat 5 and the associated female member 4 are turned over and the end surface 12 is brought towards the head 35 projecting from the carpet 3 and from the male member 2. The head 35 then enters into contact with the arms 19a and the comers 8a. The fixing of the head 35 continues in similar manner to the assembly described previously, except that it is the fixing assembly 17 which cooperates with the head 35 to retain it in the alternative fixing position.

Next the cover 60 is again fixed to the female member 4, by bringing the plate 61 against the end surface 13. As described earlier, the end surface 13 is set back from the outer surface 32b and the cover 60 comes to be accommodated in the receiving portion so formed. The assembly is similar to that of the cover 60 in the nominal position illustrated in Figure 1 , apart from the fact that it is the fixing assembly 1 7' that cooperates with the skirt 62 of the cover.

The alternative fixing position illustrated in Figure 2 is then reached, in which the mat 5 and the female member 4 are in upside down position relative to the nominal position illustrated in Figure 1 .

The mushroom shape of the head 35 and of the foot 37 and the shape of the fixing assembly enable only a moderate force to be needed for the insertion of the dowel 33 into the eyelet 52 and into the eyelet 8 while also ensuring good resistance to pulling off when the dowel is in place. In the direction of insertion of the dowel 33 into the eyelets, the rounded form of the head 35 and of the foot 37 is in contact with the convex lateral surface of the fixing assembly, facilitating that insertion, while in the extraction direction of that dowel 33, a shoulder-forming surface of the head and of the foot is in contact with the inner transverse surface which, as described earlier, may be inclined to a greater or lesser extent.

The use of the fastener 1 will now be described.

A carpet 3 is disposed for example in an automotive vehicle, the support 34 of the male member 2 being attached to the carpet 3, independently of the dowel 33.

The carpet may be used without being covered by a mat, and no projecting member is present, so limiting hindrance for the user.

In order to cover the carpet 3, and protect it in particular from getting dirty, the user may fix the mat 5 to the carpet 3. The female member 4 of the fastener is attached to the mat 5. The user latches the removable dowel 33 onto the support 34 in advance and brings the female member to face the head 35 projecting from the carpet. The fixing of the mat 5 onto the carpet 3 is made easy by the mushroom shape of the head 35.

When the user wishes to clean the mat, he disengages the male member 2 and the female member 4, the female member then being in a released state, away from the male member. In this released state, the dowel 33 is still engaged in the male member 2 or the female member 4. As the dowel

33 is removable, the user may disengage it from the fixing assemblies which retain it, and may then clean the mat or the carpet without risking damaging the dowel.

The fact that the male member comprises a dowel that is removable from the support makes it possible, when the dowel is taken out from the support, for the support to remain attached to the carpet.

When the removable dowel 33 has been disengaged by the user, the carpet 3 and the mat 5 do not exhibit any notable increase in thickness. The manipulation is simplified, and the use of the carpet like that of the mat, without the projecting character of the mushroom-shaped head or heads, gives less hindrance for the user.

Another possibility of use consists in mounting the dowel on the female member first of all, then of adding the assembly onto the support 34.

The fixing fastener may thus be delivered in two parts, with a support

34 attached to the carpet 3 delivered as a standard feature on the car and the dowel 33 delivered to the user in a second stage, with the mat 5 to which is attached the female member 4.

In a variant embodiment illustrated in Figure 12, the fastener 101 comprises a male member 102, a female member 104 and a cover 160. The female member 104 is identical to the female member 4.

The male member 102 comprises a dowel 133 and a support 134 comprising a locking ring 157 and an eyelet 52.

The dowel 133 has a similar structure to the dowel 33, except that the apex surface 151 of the cap 148 is closed and does not have any opening at the center thereof. The dowel 133 is thus symmetrical with regard to the plane in which the flange 136 extends.

The locking ring 157 comprises a flange 159 which presents a circular opening. The edge of the flange delimiting the opening comprises teeth 145, which end with a pointed section that is oriented towards the center of the opening.

The eyelet 152 has a similar structure to the eyelet 52, except that the skirt 153 has a greater height than that of the skirt 53, and that the outer surface of the skirt 53 has detents 71 , here situated on a portion of the skirt away from the flange 154.

Furthermore, on its inner surface, the skirt 153 only has a single fixing assembly 1 17, situated at the level of the flange 154.

The fixing assembly 1 17 here has a transverse inner surface 127 forming a shoulder with the lateral surface 125. The lateral surface 125 is inclined in the neighborhood of the flange 54, to enable the engagement of the dowel 133 in similar manner to that which was described below. The shoulder formed by the inner transverse surface 127 prevents the manual disengagement of the dowel 133 relative to the base 134. When the mat 105 is removed from the carpet 103, the inner transverse surface 127 is situated facing the base surface of the cap 148, itself forming a shoulder, and it is thereby ensured that the dowel remains in place on the support 134.

The eyelet 152 and the ring 157 are assembled by latching, the notches 171 cooperating with the teeth 145.

Once the male member 102 has been assembled, the end of the skirt 153 that is away from the flange 154 protrudes on the opposite side of the carpet 103 to the female member 104, and may for example be fixed to a support, such as a floor. In a variant, illustrated in Figures 13 and 14, the dowel 233 has a similar structure to that of the dowel 33 apart from the foot 237 of the dowel 233 comprising a barrel 238 and three lateral bosses 239 projecting from a lateral wall of the barrel 238.

On mounting the fastener, once the barrel 238 has been inserted into the skirt of the eyelet of the support as already described, the arms of the eyelet are accommodated in the space formed between the bosses 239, the barrel 238 and the flange 236.

The two variants described above are compatible and may be combined. Thus, a dowel 233 may be used with a support 134.

According to other variants not represented:

- the annular rib of the female member and/or the skirt of the eyelet of the support comprise two fixing assemblies, the two assemblies being independent from each other; between each dowel, there is no strip in which a web links two arms, but two arms independent from each other;

- the annular rib of the female member and/or the skirt of the eyelet of the support comprise two different fixing assemblies;

- the annular rib of the female member and/or the skirt of the eyelet of the support only comprise a single fixing assembly, for example similar to the fixing assembly 17;

- the mat is not intended to be turned upside down; the female member of the fastener has a flange of which the surface 11 a is closed; the fastener does not comprise a cover;

- the fixing of the eyelet of the support to the locking ring and/or the fixing of the eyelet of the female member to the ring are achieved by screwing by means of threading and tapping;

- the fixing of the dowel to the eyelet of the support is achieved by screwing;

- the support of the male member comprises a single part, with a flange and an anchoring device projecting from the flange, the anchoring device comprises two legs joined to a lower surface of the flange and an arm pivotally mounted at the free end of one of the legs and adapted to anchor to the free end of the second leg;- the flange is placed against the carpet with one leg and the pivoting arm passing through an aperture in the carpet and with the other leg passing through a second aperture in the carpet; the lower surface of the flange abuts the carpet, and the arm is anchored to the second leg on the other side of the carpet; the entirety of the means for anchoring to the carpet is carried solely by that part forming the support.

- the number of detents is different from that described and illustrated; by way of example, the number of detents comprised by the outer surface of the rib 10 may be equal to four; similarly, several detents may be disposed over the whole of the inner surface of the skirt 31 ;

- the mat and the carpet have a different arrangement to that described earlier; and/or

- the body for fixing the dowel does not comprise a flange forming a stop wall.

Naturally, many modifications can be made to the embodiment described above without departing from the scope of the invention.