JP7570964B2 - Damper mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a damper mounting structure, and more specifically, to a damper mounting structure for reducing the opening speed of a glove box lid caused by its own weight.

Conventionally, a glove box is provided as a storage compartment for small items on the instrument panel of an automobile opposite the passenger seat. The glove box includes a glove box body having a storage box capable of storing small items, and a lid that opens and closes the storage box via a hinged connection to the glove box body. The following Patent Document 1 discloses a glove box in which a damper is interposed between the glove box body and the lid. This makes it possible to dampen the opening speed of the lid due to its own weight.

JP 2005-335407 A

However, in the technology of Patent Document 1 mentioned above, the damper is attached to the glove box body via two screws. When attached in this manner, the labor required for tightening the screws and the cost of materials (cost of the screws) is incurred. In other words, attaching the damper requires labor and cost. Therefore, there is a demand for a method of easily attaching the damper to the glove box body.

According to one feature of the present disclosure, there is provided a damper mounting structure for damping the opening speed of a glove box lid caused by its own weight, the glove box comprising a glove box body having a storage box. The glove box body comprises a pin and an engagement claw. The damper comprises a mounting portion having an insertion hole into which the pin of the glove box body can be relatively inserted. When the pin of the glove box body is relatively inserted into the insertion hole of the damper, the engagement claw engages with the edge of the mounting portion at the same time as the insertion is completed.

Therefore, when attaching a damper to the glove box body, the damper can be attached to the glove box body simply by inserting the pin of the glove box body relatively into the insertion hole of the damper's mounting part. Therefore, compared to attaching the damper via a screw, for example, the labor and material costs (cost of the screw) for tightening the screw are unnecessary. In other words, no labor or cost is required to attach the damper. As a result, the damper can be easily attached to the glove box body.

According to another feature of the present disclosure, the damper includes a string member. The engagement claw is formed at a position that inhibits lateral displacement of the damper due to tension acting on the string member.

As a result, the engaging claws inhibit the damper from shifting laterally due to the lateral displacement force acting on the damper. Therefore, even if tension acts on the string member, the damper can be prevented from shifting laterally.

According to another feature of the present disclosure, the glove box body is provided with a clamping piece that clamps a portion of the outer periphery of the damper in the circumferential direction when the engaging claws are engaged.

This allows the damper to be firmly attached to the glove box body.

1 is an overall perspective view of a glove box according to an embodiment, showing a lid in a closed state. FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 1 . FIG. 1 shows the lid in an open state. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 3 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view of FIG. 1 as seen from below. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 3 as seen from below. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the glove box before the damper is attached thereto. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the mounting state of FIG. 7 . 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 8. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the lid of FIG. 1 . FIG. 11 is a side view of the hinge portion of FIG. 10 . FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the hook of FIG. 11 .

One embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 12. In the description, the same part numbers have the same functions, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted. The directions (up, down, front, rear, left, right) used in each drawing are determined based on the traveling direction of the automobile (not shown).

The glove box 1 is provided as a storage compartment on the side of the automobile instrument panel opposite the passenger seat (neither of which is shown) (see Figures 1 and 2). The glove box 1 comprises a glove box body 2 having a storage box 20 capable of storing small items (not shown), and a lid 3 which opens and closes the storage box 20 via a hinged connection to the glove box body 2. A damper 4 is interposed between the glove box body 2 and the lid 3 to dampen the opening speed of the lid 3 due to its own weight. Below, the glove box body 2, lid 3, and damper 4 will be described individually.

First, the glove box body 2 will be described (see Figs. 1, 5, and 7). The glove box body 2 comprises a rectangular storage box 20 and a flange-shaped mounting body 21 that protrudes from each of the top, bottom, left, and right edges of the opening (not shown) of the storage box 20 (see Figs. 1 and 5). A cross pin 23 is formed on the underside of the storage box 20 so as to protrude downward. Two cross pins 23 are formed along the left-right direction (see Fig. 7).

In addition, a flexible engagement piece 24 having an engagement claw 24a is formed on the underside of the storage box 20 so as to protrude downward. Two of these engagement pieces 24 are formed along the left-right direction so as to sandwich the two cross pins 23 and face each other. In other words, these two engagement pieces 24 are formed so as to be located on the outer edges 45b of the two mounting parts 45 of the damper 4, which will be described later.

The outer edges 45b of the two mounting parts 45 refer to the left edge 45b of the left mounting part 45 and the right edge 45b of the right mounting part 45. Therefore, the left engagement piece 24 is formed to be positioned at the left edge 45b of the left mounting part 45 of the damper 4. The right engagement piece 24 is formed to be positioned at the right edge 45b of the right mounting part 45 of the damper 4. In addition, two clamping pieces 25 that can clamp a part of the outer peripheral surface of the damper body 40 of the damper 4 in the circumferential direction are formed along the left-right direction on the underside of the storage box 20.

The inner surface of the mounting body 21 is formed with a number of engagement claws 22 that protrude forward (see FIG. 1) and can engage with a number of engagement holes (not shown) formed near the edge of the opening (not shown) of the instrument panel. In addition, a pair of hinge portions 26 that hinge-connect the lid 3 (described below) are formed at lower positions on the left and right sides of the mounting body 21. The glove box body 2 is constructed in this manner.

Next, the lid 3 will be described (see Figures 10 to 12). A pair of hinge sections 30 are formed at the lower left and right positions of the lid 3, which hinge-connect the lid 3 to the left and right hinge sections 26 of the glove box body 2 described above (see Figure 10). A generally L-shaped hook 31 is formed at the tip 30a of the hinge section 30, which protrudes from the tip 30a and can hook the ring-shaped tip 43b of the string member 43 described below (see Figure 11).

A reversible body 32 is formed on the inside of the hook 31 to prevent the tip 43b of the string member 43 hooked to the hook 31 from falling off (see FIG. 12). An inclined guide portion 32a is formed at the tip of the reversible body 32. This allows the tip 43b of the string member 43 to be guided from the outside 36 toward the second groove 35, which will be described later, when the tip 43b of the string member 43 is hooked to the hook 31.

Therefore, the tip 43b of the string member 43 that is hooked onto the hook 31 can be guided toward the second groove 35. A first groove 34 is formed between the hook 31 and the tip 30a of the hinge part 30, into which the tip 43b of the string member 43 can be hooked. A second groove 35 that connects the outside 36 to the first groove 34 is formed between the counter body 32 and the tip 30a of the hinge part 30.

The groove height H1 of the first groove 34 is set to be 192% of the cord diameter of the tip 43b of the string member 43 (hereinafter referred to as the "first setting"). In this embodiment, the cord diameter (outer diameter) of the tip 43b of the string member 43 is set to 1.3 mm. Therefore, the groove height H1 of the first groove 34 is set to 1.3 mm x 192% = 2.5 mm. In addition, the groove height H2 of the second groove 35 is set to be 77% of the cord diameter of the tip 43b of the string member 43 (hereinafter referred to as the "second setting"). Therefore, the groove height H2 of the second groove 35 is set to be 1.3 mm x 77% = 1.0 mm.

The height H3 of the inverted body 32 is set to be 115% of the cord diameter of the tip 43b of the cord member 43 (hereinafter referred to as the "third setting"). Therefore, the height H3 of the inverted body 32 is set to be 1.3 mm x 115% = 1.5 mm. The angle θ of the inverted corner 33 of the inverted body 32 is set to be 90° (hereinafter referred to as the "fourth setting"). The inverted corner 33 is set to be chamfered with R0.5 (hereinafter referred to as the "fifth setting"). The lid 3 is also provided with a knob that can be operated by an occupant (not shown) from the design surface side. When this knob is operated, a pair of left and right rods (not shown) provided inside the lid 3 slide in a direction approaching each other. The lid 3 is configured in this way.

Finally, the damper 4 will be described (see Figures 7 and 9). The damper 4 comprises a cylindrical damper body 40 and a string member 43 that can be inserted and removed (pulled out or pushed in) through a through hole 42a located approximately in the center of a cone-shaped recessed tip wall 42 formed at the tip of the damper body 40 (see Figure 7). Inside the damper body 40 is a piston 41 that can slide along its axial direction. Between the piston 41 and the tip wall 42 is a compression spring 44. The base end 43a of the string member 43 is fixed to the piston 41 via the inside of the compression spring 44.

The tip 43b of the string member 43 is formed in a ring shape so that it can be hooked onto the hook 31 of the lid 3. The damper body 40 is also formed with a mounting portion 45 having an insertion hole 45a into which the cross pin 23 of the storage box 20 described above can be relatively inserted. The insertion hole 45a of the mounting portion 45 is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cross pin 23 of the glove box body 2 described above (see Figure 9). Two mounting portions 45 are formed along the axial direction of the damper body 40. The damper 4 is configured in this manner.

The left and right hinge portions 26 of the glove box body 2 and the left and right hinge portions 30 of the lid 3, which are configured as described above, are rotatably connected via a hinge pin (not shown). That is, the glove box body 2 and the lid 3 are hingedly connected via a hinge pin (see Figures 1 and 3). Therefore, the storage box 20 of the glove box body 2 can be opened and closed by rotating the lid 3 (see Figures 3 and 6).

The above-mentioned damper 4 is attached to the glove box body 2. Here, this attachment structure will be explained (see Figures 7 to 9). First, from the state shown in Figure 7, the two cross pins 23 of the glove box body 2 are inserted relatively into the insertion holes 45a of the two attachment parts 45 of the damper body 40 of the damper 4. Then, the two attachment parts 45 and the engagement claws 24a of the two engagement pieces 24 interfere with each other.

This interference causes the two engagement pieces 24 to bend away from each other. Furthermore, when the relative insertion work is performed, the two mounting parts 45 bottom out against the respective seats 23a of the two cross pins 23, completing the relative insertion of the two cross pins 23 and fitting the two cross pins 23 into the two insertion holes 45a. At the same time as this fitting, the two mounting parts 45 climb over the respective engagement claws 24a of the two engagement pieces 24. This fitting restricts movement in the front-rear and left-right directions between the glove box body 2 and the damper 4.

In addition, this crossing causes the engagement claws 24a of the two engagement pieces 24 to engage with the edges 45b of the two mounting parts 45. That is, the engagement claw 24a of the left engagement piece 24 engages with the left edge 45b of the left mounting part 45. Also, the engagement claw 24a of the right engagement piece 24 engages with the right edge 45b of the right mounting part 45. This restricts vertical movement between the glove box body 2 and the damper 4.

In addition, during this engagement, the two engagement pieces 24 are in a bent state. Therefore, the reaction force of this bending acts on the two mounting parts 45. This prevents rattling during this engagement. By restricting movement in three directions (up-down, front-rear, and left-right) in this way, the damper 4 is attached to the glove box body 2 (see Figures 8-9).

As is clear from FIG. 8, when the engaging claws 24a of the two engaging pieces 24 engage with the edges 45b of the two mounting portions 45, the two clamping pieces 25 clamp a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the damper body 40 of the damper 4 in the circumferential direction. This makes it possible to firmly attach the damper 4 to the glove box body 2.

Meanwhile, the tip 43b of the string member 43 is pulled out of the through hole 42a against the biasing force of the compression spring 44, and the string member 43 is simply hooked onto the hook 31 of the glove box body 2 (see Figs. 2 and 4). Therefore, the tip 43b of the string member 43 can be easily hooked onto the hook 31 of the glove box body 2. The string member 43 hooked onto the hook 31 is in a state where tension is applied by the compression spring 44.

In addition, when the string member 43 is hooked, the hook 31 is set to the first to fifth settings as described above. This makes it difficult to unhook the hooked string member 43 (makes it difficult for the tip 43b of the hooked string member 43 to fall off the hook 31 of the glove box body 2).

When attaching the damper 4 to the glove box body 2 as described above, the damper 4 can be attached to the glove box body 2 simply by inserting the two cross pins 23 of the glove box body 2 relatively into the insertion holes 45a of the two mounting parts 45 of the damper body 40 of the damper 4. Therefore, compared to attaching the damper 4 via screws, for example, the labor and material costs (cost of screws) for screw tightening are unnecessary. In other words, no labor or cost is required to attach the damper 4. Therefore, the damper 4 can be easily attached to the glove box body 2. The glove box 1 is composed of the glove box body 2, the lid 3, and the damper 4.

The glove box 1 thus configured is placed in an opening (not shown) formed on the instrument panel opposite the passenger seat. The multiple engagement claws 22 of the placed glove box 1 are engaged with multiple engagement holes formed on the edge of the opening of the instrument panel. This allows the glove box 1 to be provided on the instrument panel opposite the passenger seat.

When the storage box 20 is in the closed state (the lid 3 is in the closed state), the locking portions 3a, which are the tips of the pair of left and right rods of the lid 3, are hooked (advanced) into locking holes (not shown) formed on the left and right edges of the opening of the instrument panel. This allows the lid 3 to be locked in the closed state. Also, as already explained, when the knob is operated, the pair of left and right rods provided inside the lid 3 slide in directions approaching each other, causing the locking portions 3a, which are the tips of the pair of left and right rods, to retract from the locking holes in the instrument panel.

This releases the lock on the lid 3, allowing the lid 3 to rotate under its own weight and open the storage box 20. As the lid 3 rotates, a part of the string member 43 of the damper 4 is pulled out of the through hole 42a against the biasing force of the compression spring 44. As already explained, the string member 43 hooked onto the hook 31 is then in a state in which tension is applied by the compression spring 44. Therefore, a cushioning force acts between the glove box body 2 and the lid 3, and the opening speed of the lid 3 due to its own weight can be reduced.

When tension is applied to the string member 43, a lateral displacement force (pulling force directed to the left) caused by this tension acts on the damper body 40. However, as already explained, the left engagement piece 24 is formed to be located on the left edge 45b of the left mounting portion 45 of the damper 4. Therefore, this left engagement piece 24 inhibits lateral displacement of the damper body 40 due to the lateral displacement force acting on the damper body 40. Therefore, even if tension is applied to the string member 43, lateral displacement of the damper body 40 can be prevented.

In addition, when the lid 3 is returned (reversely rotated) so that the storage box 20 is closed, the locking portions 3a of the pair of left and right rods of the lid 3 that are being returned climb over the edge of the locking hole in the instrument panel just before the return is complete and are caught in the locking hole again. This returns the storage box 20 to its closed state, and the lid 3 that covers the storage box 20 that has been returned to its closed state can be locked again.

Although the embodiments have been described with reference to the above configuration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications, improvements, and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thus, the embodiments may include all modifications, improvements, and variations that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, the embodiments are not limited to a particular structure, and may be modified as follows:

The above configuration describes a configuration in which the lid 3 is rotated by its own weight to open the storage box 20. However, this is not limited to this, and as long as the lid 3 is exerted by even a slight amount of its own weight, the lid 3 may be rotated manually to open the storage box 20.

Also, according to the above configuration, the groove height length H1 of the first groove 34 is set to 192% of the cord diameter of the tip 43b of the string member 43. However, this is not limited to this, and the groove height length H1 of the first groove 34 may be any number as long as it is set within a range of 160% to 192% of the cord diameter of the tip 43b of the string member 43. Also, according to the above configuration, the groove height length H2 of the second groove 35 is set to 77% of the cord diameter of the tip 43b of the string member 43. However, this is not limited to this, and the groove height length H2 of the second groove 35 may be any number as long as it is set within a range of 60% to 77% of the cord diameter of the tip 43b of the string member 43.

Also, according to the above configuration, the height H3 of the inverted body 32 is set to 115% of the cord diameter of the tip 43b of the string member 43. However, this is not limited to this, and the height H3 of the inverted body 32 may be any number as long as it is set within the range of 100% to 115% of the cord diameter of the tip 43b of the string member 43. Also, according to the above configuration, the angle θ of the inverted corner 33 of the inverted body 32 is set to 90°. However, this is not limited to this, and the angle θ of the inverted corner 33 of the inverted body 32 may be any number as long as it is set within the range of 60° to 135°. Also, according to the above configuration, the inverted corner 33 is set to be chamfered at R0.5. However, this is not limited to this, and the inverted corner 33 may be chamfered within the range of R0.3 to R1.0.

1 Glove box 2 Glove box body 3 Lid 4 Damper 20 Storage box 23 Cross pin (pin)
24a Engagement claw 45 Mounting portion 45a Insertion hole

Claims (3)

A damper mounting structure for damping the opening speed of a glove box lid due to its own weight,
The glove box includes a glove box body having a storage box,
The glove box body includes a pin and an engagement claw.
The damper includes a mounting portion having an insertion hole into which the pin of the glove box body can be relatively inserted,
A damper mounting structure in which, when the pin of the glove box body is relatively inserted into the insertion hole of the damper, the engagement claw engages with the edge of the mounting portion simultaneously with the completion of the insertion. The damper mounting structure according to claim 1,
The damper includes a string member.
The engagement claw is formed at a position that inhibits lateral displacement of the damper due to tension acting on the string member. The damper mounting structure according to any one of claims 1 to 2,
The glove box body has a clamping piece that clamps a portion of the outer periphery of the damper along the circumferential direction when the engaging claws engage with each other.

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