JP7394693B2 - Service hole cover with lighting device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a service hole cover that is attached to a service hole opening in an interior trim of a vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art Openings (service holes) are provided at various locations in the interior of a vehicle, such as the roof, doors, and floors, for the purpose of maintenance and the like, and these are closed with service hole covers.

Vehicle doors such as back doors and side doors include an outer panel that forms the outer shell of the vehicle body, an inner panel that is placed inside the outer panel (on the passenger compartment side), and a door trim that is attached to the inside of the inner panel. ing. An electrical wiring member extends between the inner panel and the door trim, and supplies power to the lighting device, window lifter, door lock device, etc. arranged in the door trim. A service hole is provided in the door trim to perform operations such as maintenance of these electrical components, window assembly, and emergency manual release of the door lock.

As a removable cover for closing a service hole (hereinafter referred to as a service hole cover), for example, Patent Document 1 describes a structure in which a cap is used to close a hole formed in an interior trim of a vehicle. It is described that a notch into which a claw can be loosely inserted is provided at the periphery of the hole.

In addition to service hole covers, the interior trim also includes lighting equipment. A lighting device usually has a reflector placed on the back side of the light source and a lens member placed on the exit surface side, and is placed occupying a certain volume in the space between the interior trim and the inner panel. There is. For example, Patent Document 2 relates to a vehicle interior structure, and describes an embodiment in which a housing containing a light source and a reflector is installed in the center of the luggage side trim, and the interior of the vehicle is illuminated through a lens attached to the opening of the housing. It is listed.

Patent No. 2886074 specification Patent No. 5818527 specification

When performing maintenance or unlocking through the service hole, the cover must be removed. These works may be performed while the vehicle is parked for a long time, or may be performed temporarily while the vehicle is in operation. During the latter temporary work, especially at night, it may take time to find the cover that was removed during the work.

On the other hand, from the standpoint of design, in order to improve the aesthetic appearance of the interior trim, it is preferable to reduce the number of parts and reduce visible boundaries. However, since ordinary lighting devices take up space, it is difficult to combine them with a service hole cover installed at the location where work is to be performed.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a service hole cover that has both a lighting function and a function of closing a service hole, and can reduce the trouble of reinstallation after removal.

The service hole cover of the present invention is
a cover member capable of closing a service hole opened in an interior trim of a vehicle;
a light emitting element installed on the back surface of the cover member;
and a harness for connecting the light emitting element to a power source,
The cover member is provided with a through hole,
The service hole cover with an illumination device is configured such that light emitted from the light emitting element is emitted from the through hole.

According to the service hole cover having the above configuration, by combining a light emitting element (for example, an LED) and a cover member, the number of parts in an interior trim such as a door trim can be reduced, and the design of the interior trim can be improved. Furthermore, when the cover is installed and used in a service hole, the light emitting element is connected to a power source via a harness, so there is no need to find a place to put it when the cover is removed for work. Further, since the light emitted from the light emitting element is used directly as illumination light, and no light-transmitting member or reflective member is used, there are effects such as a reduction in the number of parts, simplification of work when attaching the cover, and reduction in thickness.

In the above service hole cover with lighting device, the harness may have a length that can be pulled out from the surface of the interior trim by 5 to 20 cm when the cover member is removed from the service hole while the harness is connected to a power source. preferable. By allowing enough length for the harness, the cover can be removed and used as an electric light to illuminate any direction, if necessary.

The interior trim on which the service hole cover is installed may be a door trim. The above service hole cover is equipped with a light emitting element, so when the door is closed, it can be used to illuminate the interior of the vehicle, and when the door is open, it can illuminate the area around your feet and the rear, e.g. as a warning (by pulsed light emission). It can also function as a light.

According to the present invention, by combining a lighting device with a service hole cover, it is possible to achieve both improvement in work efficiency and improvement in aesthetic appearance.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an interior trim of a vehicle in which a service hole cover according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed. FIG. 2 is a front view of a portion where the service hole cover shown in FIG. 1 is installed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the service hole cover shown in FIG. 2 when viewed from the back side. 3 is a schematic side view of the service hole cover shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cutaway side view showing how the interior of the vehicle is illuminated by a service hole cover installed on the back door of the vehicle. FIG. 3 is a cutaway side view showing how the service hole cover is used for illumination with the back door of the vehicle open. FIG. 3 is a cutaway side view showing how the service hole cover is removed from the service hole and the harness is used for lighting with the harness pulled out.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, one embodiment of the service hole cover of this invention is described with reference to drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an interior trim 2 in which a service hole cover 1 according to the present invention is installed. Here, the back door lower trim 21 shown in FIG. 5 is shown as an example, but the back door upper trim 22 is The present invention can also be applied to. A service hole 3 is provided at the bottom of the interior trim 2 for operating a back door unlocking mechanism (not shown), and is closed with a service hole cover 1.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a portion of the interior trim 2 shown in FIG. 1, where the service hole cover 1 is installed, as seen from the inside of the vehicle. The cover member 10 that constitutes the main body of the service hole cover 1 is provided with a through hole (opening) 10a, and light emitted from the light emitting element 11 installed on the back surface of the cover member 10 is emitted from the through hole 10a. It is configured like this.

3 is a perspective view of the service hole cover 1 shown in FIG. 2 viewed from the back side (panel side), and FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the same service hole cover 1. On the back side of the cover member 10 of the service hole cover 1 in FIG. 3, there are a locking hook 10b and a locking claw 10c for fitting into the service hole 3 (FIG. 2), and a locking claw 10c for sandwiching and holding the light emitting element 11. A holding portion 10d is provided. The light emitting element 11 is connected to a power source (not shown) via a connector 12a at the tip of the harness 12 shown in FIG.

In this configuration, a lens made of a light-transmitting member is not provided between the light emitting element 11 and the through hole 10a in FIG. 2, and a reflective material is not provided on the back surface of the light emitting element 11. Therefore, the light emitted from the light emitting element 11 is directly emitted from the through hole 10a. The light emitting element 11 is, for example, an LED, and since it does not take up a large space in the thickness direction, it is incorporated into the service hole cover 1 that covers a work object (for example, a lock release mechanism) installed on the inner panel side. A lighting function can be added.

The cover member 10 may be made of resin such as polycarbonate, or may be made of the same material as the interior trim 2. The size and shape of the cover member 10 may be changed as appropriate depending on the shape of the service hole 3 in which it is installed.

5, 6, and 7 are partially cutaway side views for explaining how the service hole cover 1 according to the present invention is used as a lighting device. This shows how the hole cover 1 is installed. The service hole cover 1 normally irradiates light L1 into the vehicle interior through the through hole 10a shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the irradiation range is narrow, but since the service hole cover 1 itself has a light source, it does not take much time to find the location of the service hole even when working at night.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the back door 20 is opened. The harness 12 (Fig. 4) of the service hole cover 1 is routed between the interior trim 2 and the inner panel (not shown), so you can remove the service hole cover 1 and tilt it in any direction. It can also be held near the service hole 3 of No. 2. Therefore, the light emitted from the light emitting element 11 can be used as the light L2 that illuminates the interior of the vehicle, the light L3 that illuminates the feet, or the light L4 that illuminates the rear of the vehicle 100, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the service hole cover 1 is removed from the interior trim 2 and the harness 12 is pulled out. In the present invention, by providing the harness 12 with a certain amount of extra length, it is possible to provide the harness 12 with the function of an electric light that irradiates the light L5 in any direction by removing the service hole cover 1. In this case, if the harness 12 is too short, it will be difficult to use the service hole cover 1 as a light, and if it is too long, it will take up space when stored. Therefore, when the cover member 1 is removed from the service hole 3 while the harness 12 is connected to a power source (not shown), the length of the harness 12 that can be pulled out from the surface of the interior trim 2 is set to about 5 to 20 cm. It is preferable.

Although the service hole cover 1 of the present invention has been described above based on one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings, and various modifications can be made. For example, the interior trim 2 on which the service hole cover 1 with lighting device is installed is not limited to a back door trim, but may be a side door trim, a roof lining, a floor carpet, or the like. When the cover member 10 is large-sized, a part of the cover member 10 may be made removable and the light emitting element 11 may be installed therein in order to perform the above-mentioned function as an electric light.

According to the present invention, the work efficiency through the service hole can be improved, and the service hole cover can be used as a lighting device, and has high applicability in the field of vehicle interior technology.

1 Service hole cover 2 Interior trim 3 Service hole 10 Cover member 10a Through hole 10b Locking hook 10c Locking claw 10d Holding portion 11 Light emitting element 12 Harness 12a Connector 20 Back door 100 Vehicle

Claims (2)

a cover member capable of closing a service hole opened in an interior trim of a vehicle;
a light emitting element installed on the back surface of the cover member;
and a harness for connecting the light emitting element to a power source,
The cover member is provided with a through hole,
The light emitted from the light emitting element is configured to directly exit from the through hole without passing through a light-transmitting member,
When the cover member is removed from the service hole while the harness is connected to a power source, the harness has a length that can be pulled out from the surface of the interior trim by 5 to 20 cm, and at that time, the cover member is attached to the harness. connected,
Service hole cover with lighting device. The service hole cover with lighting device according to claim 1 , which is used as a service hole cover of a door trim.

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