JP7622540B2 - Vehicle-mounted device - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an in-vehicle device.

For example, electronic devices such as general navigation systems are fixed to a vehicle's fixture via a bracket. In this case, the bracket is fixed to the vehicle's fixture using fastening members such as screws and nuts, but it is important to deal with any fastening members that fall so that they can be easily retrieved.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for forming a groove on the top surface of an air conditioning case to catch nuts that fall when the air conditioning case is fixed to a fixing jig of a vehicle.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-230735

The technology in Patent Document 1 has the risk of the nut falling into an unintended area of the vehicle depending on the direction in which the nut falls and the direction in which it bounces back after falling.

The purpose of this disclosure is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to realize an in-vehicle device that can prevent a fastening member from falling into an unintended area of the vehicle when the fastening member falls.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an in-vehicle device comprising:
Electronic devices,
a pair of brackets fixed to both side walls of the electronic device for fixing the electronic device to a fixture of a vehicle via fastening members;
Equipped with
the bracket has a tongue piece that receives the fastening member that has fallen when the bracket is fixed to a fixing jig of the vehicle,
The tongue piece is positioned above a preset first region of the vehicle when the bracket is viewed from the side in a state in which the bracket is fixed to a fixing jig of the vehicle.

This disclosure makes it possible to realize an in-vehicle device that can prevent a fastening member from falling into an unintended area of the vehicle when the fastening member falls.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic diagram of an in-vehicle device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a right bracket of the first embodiment. 3 is an enlarged view of the bracket as viewed from a direction III in FIG. 2 . FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which the vehicle-mounted device of the first embodiment is fixed to a fixing jig of a vehicle, as viewed from the right side of the vehicle-mounted device. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an in-vehicle device according to a first embodiment is fixed to a fixing jig of a vehicle. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the vehicle-mounted device of the first embodiment is fixed to a fixing jig of a vehicle, as viewed from above the vehicle-mounted device. FIG. 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining the behavior of a dropped screw. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a bracket on the right side of the vehicle-mounted device of the second embodiment. 13 is a view showing a state in which the vehicle-mounted device of the third embodiment is fixed to a fixing jig of a vehicle, as viewed from the right side of the vehicle-mounted device. FIG.

Specific embodiments to which the present disclosure is applied will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, the following descriptions and drawings have been simplified as appropriate for clarity of explanation.

<First embodiment>
First, the configuration of the vehicle-mounted device of the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the vehicle-mounted device of the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle-mounted device 1 includes an electronic device 2 and a pair of brackets 3.

The electronic device 2 is, for example, a navigation system. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 2 has a basic shape of a substantially rectangular column, and has a display surface 2a on the front side of the electronic device 2. However, the electronic device 2 may be any electronic device that is mounted on a vehicle, such as an audio device.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the right bracket of this embodiment. Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the bracket as viewed from direction III in Figure 2. Note that since the pair of brackets 3 are symmetrical, the right bracket 3 will be described as a representative. Here, for clarity, the following description of the configuration of the bracket 3 will be based on the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions of the bracket 3.

2, the bracket 3 has a first portion 31, a second portion 32, a third portion 33, a fourth portion 34, and a tongue piece 35. The first portion 31 is, for example, a flat plate that is approximately parallel to a plane that includes the front-rear axis and the up-down axis, and has a plurality of (for example, four) through holes 31a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second part 32 protrudes to the right from the first part 31. When the bracket 3 is viewed from the right side, the second part 32 is a flat plate that is inclined counterclockwise with respect to a plane that includes the front-rear axis and the left-right axis, and has multiple (e.g., two) through holes 32a. In other words, the second part 32 is inclined downward as it approaches the rear.

As shown in FIG. 2, the third portion 33 protrudes to the right from the rear end of the first portion 31 and is a flat plate that is approximately parallel to a plane that includes the left-right axis and the up-down axis. The fourth portion 34 protrudes to the right from the right end of the third portion 33.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fourth portion 34 is a flat plate that is inclined counterclockwise with respect to a plane that includes the left-right axis and the up-down axis when viewing the bracket 3 from above. In other words, the fourth portion 34 is inclined toward the front as it moves to the right.

The fourth portion 34 is disposed at a predetermined height in the vertical direction at the right end of the third portion 33 at the rear end of the first portion 31. For example, the fourth portion 34 is disposed at a height that is approximately the center in the vertical direction at the right end of the third portion 33 at the rear end of the first portion 31. In this case, a notch 36 may be formed in the area below the fourth portion 34, the detailed function of which will be described later.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the tongue 35 protrudes rearward and to the right from the upper end of the fourth portion 34. The tongue 35 is a flat plate that is inclined clockwise with respect to a plane that includes the front-to-rear axis and the left-to-right axis when the bracket 3 is viewed from the right side, and is inclined counterclockwise with respect to a plane that includes the front-to-rear axis and the left-to-right axis when the bracket 3 is viewed from the rear. In other words, the tongue 35 is inclined downward as it moves forward, and is also inclined downward as it moves toward the left side.

The above-mentioned bracket 3 can be formed, for example, from a single metal plate using sheet metal. In this case, it is preferable to form cutouts in each part so that the bracket 3 can be formed from the smallest possible metal plate.

The first part 31, the second part 32, the third part 33, the fourth part 34 and the tongue piece 35 may have any shape that does not interfere with any part of the vehicle when the vehicle-mounted device 1 is fixed to the vehicle, as described below.

In this case, the tongue 35 may have a shape and arrangement that can receive a fastening member, such as a screw, that falls when the vehicle-mounted device 1 is fixed to the vehicle and guide it to a first predetermined area of the vehicle, as described below, and can cover a second predetermined area of the vehicle where it is desired to prevent the fastening member from falling.

With the through hole 31a of the first part 31 of the bracket 3 aligned with the screw hole formed in the side wall of the electronic device 2, as shown in FIG. 1, the screw 41 passed through the through hole 31a of the first part 31 of the bracket 3 is fastened to the screw hole of the electronic device 2 to fix the bracket 3 to the electronic device 2, thereby forming the vehicle-mounted device 1.

Next, the procedure for fixing the vehicle-mounted device 1 of this embodiment to the vehicle will be described. Figure 4 is a view from the right side of the vehicle-mounted device showing how the vehicle-mounted device of this embodiment is fixed to the fixing jig of the vehicle. Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the vehicle-mounted device of this embodiment fixed to the fixing jig of the vehicle. Figure 6 is a view from above the vehicle-mounted device of this embodiment fixed to the fixing jig of the vehicle. Note that the thickness of some components may be simplified in Figures 4 to 6.

The following description of the procedure for fixing the vehicle-mounted device 1 to the vehicle 5 and the arrangement of each component when the vehicle-mounted device 1 is fixed to the vehicle 5 will be based on the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions of the vehicle 5. In this embodiment, the vehicle-mounted device 1 is fixed to a fixing jig 52 arranged adjacent to a side wall portion within a storage section (e.g., a center cluster) 51 for the vehicle-mounted device 1 in the vehicle 5.

At this time, as shown in Figures 4 to 6, the upper surface of the fixed jig 52 has an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the rear, and has a right-angled trapezoid shape in which the width dimension in the left-right direction increases toward the rear when viewed from above. Furthermore, a screw hole is formed in the fixed jig 52 so as to pass through the fixed jig 52.

First, the worker inserts the vehicle-mounted device 1 toward the front side through the opening of the storage section 51 of the vehicle 5, and places the second part 32 of the bracket 3 of the vehicle-mounted device 1 on the upper surface of the fixed jig 52 of the vehicle 5 while allowing the corner of the fixed jig 52 of the vehicle 5 to escape into the cutout portion 36 of the bracket 3, as shown in Figures 4 to 6.

Next, the worker positions the vehicle-mounted device 1 so that the through-hole 32a of the second portion 32 of the bracket 3 and the screw hole of the fixing jig 52 of the vehicle 5 are aligned. Then, the worker uses a tool 6 to fasten the screw 42 passed through the through-hole 32a of the second portion 32 of the bracket 3 to the fixing jig 52 of the vehicle 5, for example, through an opening formed in an area above the housing portion 51 of the vehicle 5 (for example, the top surface of the instrument panel). This allows the vehicle-mounted device 1 to be fixed to the vehicle 5.

At this time, a gap is formed between the front end of the third portion 33 of the bracket 3 and the rear end of the fixed jig 52 of the vehicle 5, and this gap should be a distance that the screw 42 cannot pass through. A gap is also formed between the lower end of the fourth portion 34 of the bracket 3 and the upper surface of the fixed jig 52 of the vehicle 5, and this gap should also be a distance that the screw 42 cannot pass through. Furthermore, a gap is also formed between the side end of the fourth portion 34 of the bracket 3 and the side wall of the storage section 51 of the vehicle 5, and this gap should also be a distance that the screw 42 cannot pass through.

In FIG. 6, a line that passes through the right end of the opening of the storage section 51 of the vehicle 5 and extends in the front-to-rear direction is indicated by a dashed line L1. As shown in FIG. 6, when the vehicle-mounted device 1 is inserted into the opening of the storage section 51 of the vehicle 5, the fourth portion 34 and the tongue piece 35 of the bracket 3 are restricted in shape so as not to come into contact with the opening of the storage section 51 of the vehicle 5.

On the other hand, as described above, the upper surface of the fixing jig 52 is a right-angled trapezoid whose width in the left-right direction increases toward the rear. Therefore, a large space is formed behind the fourth portion 34 of the bracket 3. This space overlaps, for example, with a gap in the vehicle 5 where the fixing jig 52 is not placed, and if a screw 42 falls into such a space, it is difficult to retrieve the screw 42.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the space behind the fourth portion 34 of the bracket 3 is the second area A2 where it is desired to prevent the screws 42 from falling, and the tongue 35 of the bracket 3 is positioned so as to cover the second area A2 from directly above.

At this time, the tongue 35 of the bracket 3 is positioned so that it slopes downward as it approaches the front when the vehicle-mounted device 1 is viewed from the side, and also slopes downward as it approaches the electronic device 2 when the vehicle-mounted device 1 is viewed from the rear.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the area rearward of the front end of the second part 32 of the bracket 3 and surrounded by the side wall of the electronic device 2, the third part 33 of the bracket 3, the fourth part 34 of the bracket 3, and the side wall of the storage section 51 of the vehicle 5 is defined as a first area A1 for guiding and capturing the fallen screw 42 by the tongue 35 of the bracket 3.

The first area A1 is inclined downward toward the rear, and the upper part of the first area A1 is open. At this time, when the vehicle-mounted device 1 is viewed from the side, the tongue piece 35 of the bracket 3 is positioned above the first area A1.

Next, the behavior of the screw 42 that falls when the vehicle-mounted device 1 is fixed to the fixing jig 52 of the vehicle 5 will be described. Figure 7 is a diagram for explaining the behavior of the dropped screw. Note that in Figure 7, the behavior of the dropped screw 42 is indicated by an arrow.

For example, a screw 42 that falls above the second area A2 comes into contact with the tongue 35 of the bracket 3 and bounces on the upper surface of the tongue 35, as shown in FIG. 7. The tongue 35 of the bracket 3 is arranged so that it slopes downward toward the front when the vehicle-mounted device 1 is viewed from the side, and also slopes downward toward the electronic device 2 when the vehicle-mounted device 1 is viewed from the rear. Therefore, the screw 42 bounces toward the first area A1 and falls into the first area A1.

At this time, since the tongue 35 of the bracket 3 is disposed above the first area A1, the distance the screw 42 falls before coming into contact with the tongue 35 is shorter than when the tongue 35 is disposed flush with the first area A1, and the bounding of the screw 42 can be kept low. As a result, the screw 42 can be prevented from falling into an unintended area.

Since the first area A1 is inclined downwards toward the rear, the screw 42 then rolls over the first area A1 and stops. In this way, the screw 42 that has fallen above the second area A2 can be guided to the first area A1 and captured, preventing the screw 42 from falling into an unintended area such as the second area A2.

On the other hand, for example, a screw 42 that falls above the first area A1 will bounce in the first area A1, but the first area A1 is surrounded by the side wall of the electronic device 2, the third part 33 of the bracket 3, the fourth part 34 of the bracket 3, and the side wall of the storage section 51 of the vehicle 5, and is inclined downward as it moves toward the rear.

Therefore, the bounding screw 42 comes into contact with either the side wall of the electronic device 2, the third part 33 of the bracket 3, the fourth part 34 of the bracket 3, or the side wall of the storage section 51 of the vehicle 5, and the bound converges, stopping above the first area A1. In this way, the screw 42 that falls above the first area A1 can also be guided to the first area A1 and captured, so that the screw 42 can be prevented from falling into an unintended area such as the second area A2.

As described above, the vehicle-mounted device 1 of this embodiment can guide the fallen screw 42 to the first area A1 and capture it, thereby preventing the screw 42 from falling into an unintended area such as the second area A2.

In addition, since the upper part of the first area A1 is open, the screws 42 captured in the first area A1 can be easily collected, for example, through an opening formed in the area above the storage section 51 of the vehicle 5.

In addition, since the second area A2 is covered from directly above by the tongue piece 35 of the bracket 3, it is possible to prevent the screw 42 from falling into the second area A2. Furthermore, the bracket 3 of this embodiment can be easily formed, for example, by cutting a metal plate.

<Embodiment 2>
8 is a perspective view showing the right bracket of the present embodiment. The bracket 201 of the present embodiment has a structure substantially the same as that of the bracket 3 of the first embodiment, but differs in that the tongue piece 35 has an accommodating portion 202 for accommodating a part of the screw 42.

The storage section 202 is, for example, a through hole that penetrates the tongue piece 35 and can store a part of the screw 42, but has a shape that does not allow the screw 42 to pass through. This allows the tongue piece 35 to directly capture the screw 42 that has fallen.

When the tongue 35 has a storage section 202 formed therein, the tongue 35 does not need to be inclined with respect to a plane including the longitudinal axis and lateral axis of the vehicle when the vehicle-mounted device is fixed to the vehicle, but only needs to be positioned so as to prevent the screw 42 from falling onto the back side of the fourth portion 34 of the bracket 201.

<Third embodiment>
9 is a view showing the state in which the vehicle-mounted device of the present embodiment is fixed to a fixing jig of a vehicle, as viewed from the right side of the vehicle-mounted device. The vehicle-mounted device 301 of the present embodiment has a configuration substantially the same as that of the vehicle-mounted device 1 of the first embodiment, but the configuration of the bracket 302 is different.

As with the bracket 3 in the first embodiment, the bracket 302 in this embodiment is also symmetrical, so the right bracket 302 will be described as a representative. In the following description of the bracket 302, etc., for clarity, the bracket 302 will be described based on the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions of the vehicle 303 when the bracket 302 is fixed to the vehicle 303.

As shown in FIG. 9, the bracket 302 has a first portion 321, a second portion 322, and a tongue piece 323. The first portion 321 is a flat plate that is approximately parallel to a plane that includes the front-rear axis and the up-down axis, and has multiple screw holes 321a formed therein.

The second part 322 protrudes to the right from the front end of the first part 321. The second part 322 is a flat plate that is approximately parallel to a plane that includes the left-right axis and the up-down axis, and has multiple bolt holes formed therein.

The tongue 323 protrudes rearward from the lower end of the second portion 322. The tongue 323 is a flat plate that is inclined counterclockwise with respect to a plane that includes the front-to-rear axis and the left-to-right axis when the bracket 302 is viewed from the right side. In other words, the tongue 323 is inclined downward as it approaches the rear side. In this case, it is preferable that the tongue 323 is positioned at a height that is approximately the center of the bracket 302 in the up-down direction.

When the first portion 321 of the bracket 302 is fixed to the side wall of the electronic device 2, the vehicle-mounted device 301 can be formed. Then, the vehicle-mounted device 301 is inserted forward into the storage portion 331 of the vehicle 303, and the second portion 322 of the bracket 302 is fixed to the front of the fixing jig 332 of the vehicle 303 via the screw 304 inserted forward into the storage portion 331 of the vehicle 303 by the tool 6, thereby fixing the vehicle-mounted device 301 to the vehicle 303.

Here, the storage section 331 of the vehicle 303 has an open rear section and is shaped to be capable of surrounding the front, upper, lower, left side and right side of the vehicle-mounted device 301 fixed to the fixing jig 332.

The fixed jig 332 of the vehicle 303 is disposed inside the storage section 331. As shown in FIG. 9, the fixed jig 332 is substantially C-shaped and surrounds the lateral area of the electronic device 2 together with the side wall of the storage section 331 of the vehicle 303. In addition, a through hole 332a that communicates with the interior of the vehicle 303 is formed in the front part of the fixed jig 332 as shown in FIG. 9.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the area where the through hole 332a of the fixed jig 332 is located is the second area A4 where it is desired to prevent the screw 304 from falling, and the tongue 323 of the bracket 302 is positioned so as to cover the second area A4 from directly above.

In this embodiment, the bottom of the fixed jig 332 is the first area A3 for capturing the fallen screw 304. At this time, the first area A3 is surrounded by the side wall of the electronic device 2, the front of the fixed jig 332 of the vehicle 303, and the side wall of the storage section 331 of the vehicle 303, and the rear of the first area A3 is open. When the vehicle-mounted device 301 is viewed from the side, the tongue piece 323 of the bracket 302 is positioned above the first area A3.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, if the screw 304 is inserted forward into the storage section 331 of the vehicle 303 using the tool 6 and the screw 304 accidentally falls above the tongue 323 of the bracket 302, the inclination of the tongue 323 can guide the screw 304 into the first area A3 and capture it.

At this time, since the tongue 323 of the bracket 302 is disposed above the first area A3 of the vehicle 303, the fallen screw 304 can be received once by the tongue 323, reducing the falling energy of the screw 304. This makes it possible to keep the bounds of the screw 304 low, and to prevent the screw 304 from falling into an unintended area.

On the other hand, if the screw 304 falls at a location where it does not come into contact with the tongue 323 of the bracket 302, the screw 304 will bounce in the first area A3, which is surrounded by the side wall of the electronic device 2, the front of the fixing jig 332 of the vehicle 303, and the side wall of the storage section 331 of the vehicle 303.

Therefore, the bounding screw 304 comes into contact with either the side wall of the electronic device 2, the front of the fixed jig 332 of the vehicle 303, or the side wall of the storage section 331 of the vehicle 303, and the bound converges, stopping in the first area A3. In this way, the screw 304 that falls at a point that does not come into contact with the tongue piece 323 of the bracket 302 can also be captured in the first area A3, so that the screw 304 can be prevented from falling into an unintended area.

As a result, the vehicle-mounted device 301 of this embodiment can guide the fallen screw 304 to the first area A3 and capture it, thereby preventing the screw 304 from falling into an unintended area. Furthermore, since the rear of the first area A3 is open, the screw 304 captured in the first area A3 can be easily collected, for example, through an opening in the storage section 331 of the vehicle 303.

In addition, the second area A4 is covered from directly above by the tongue 323 of the bracket 302, preventing the screw 304 from falling into the second area A4.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
For example, the area for capturing a dropped screw need only be surrounded by some member except for the side where the screw is inserted by the tool, and is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment.
For example, the fastening members for fastening the vehicle-mounted device to the fixing jig of the vehicle are not limited to screws, and may be nuts or the like.
For example, the shape of the bracket is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be any shape that allows the electronic device 2 to be fixed to a fixing jig of a vehicle. In this case, the arrangement and shape of the tongue are not limited to the above embodiment, and may be any shape that allows the fastening member to be placed above an area where the fastening member is expected to fall and is intended to capture the fastening member.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Vehicle-mounted device 2 Electronic device 3 Bracket 5 Vehicle 6 Tool 31 First portion, 31a Through hole 32 Second portion, 32a Through hole 33 Third portion 34 Fourth portion 35 Tongue piece 36 Notch portion 41, 42 Screw 51 Storage portion 52 of vehicle-mounted device in vehicle Fixing jig 201 of vehicle Bracket 202 Storage portion 301 Vehicle-mounted device 302 Bracket 303 Vehicle 304 Screw 321 First portion, 321a Screw hole 322 Second portion 323 Tongue piece 331 Storage portion 332 of vehicle-mounted device in vehicle Fixing jig, through hole 332a
A1, A3 Area for capturing the screw (first area)
A2, A4 Area where you want to prevent screws from falling (second area)

Claims (4)

Electronic devices,
a pair of brackets fixed to both side walls of the electronic device for fixing the electronic device to a fixture of a vehicle via fastening members;
Equipped with
the bracket has a tongue piece that receives the fastening member that has fallen when the bracket is fixed to a fixing jig of the vehicle,
The tongue piece is a predetermined area of the vehicle when the bracket is fixed to a fixing jig of the vehicle and viewed from the side, and is positioned above a first area that captures the fastening member that has fallen, and has an inclined surface for guiding the fastening member to the first area . Electronic devices,
a pair of brackets fixed to both side walls of the electronic device for fixing the electronic device to a fixture of a vehicle via fastening members;
Equipped with
The bracket is
a first portion fixed to a side wall of the electronic device;
a second inclined portion located in a predetermined first region of the vehicle when the bracket is viewed from the side in a state in which the bracket is fixed to a fixing jig of the vehicle;
a third portion located at a lower end of the second portion in a tilt direction;
a fourth portion protruding from the third portion; and
a tongue disposed above the second portion;
having
An in-vehicle device in which the first area is set based on the side wall portion of the electronic device, the third part, and the fourth part, for guiding the fastening member that falls when the bracket is fixed to the fixed jig and capturing it by the tongue. The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tongue has a housing portion for housing a part of the fastening member. The vehicle-mounted device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tongue covers a preset second area of the vehicle from directly above.

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