JP7668874B2 - Door handle device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a door handle device for use in a vehicle.

A vehicle door handle device includes a handle portion, a base portion, and a spring, and the handle portion is supported so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis provided on the base portion. A biasing force is applied to the handle portion by the spring in the direction of closing the door.

JP 2000-145211 A JP 2008-82059 A

When attaching a spring that biases the handle portion to a door handle device, one end of the spring is fixed to the base portion, and a special tool is used to engage both ends of the spring with the base portion and the handle portion while resisting the biasing force of the spring.
This makes the assembly of the door handle difficult, and places a heavy burden on the worker.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a door handle device that is easy to assemble.

The door handle device according to the present invention is
The device has a handle portion (2), a base portion (3), and a spring (8),
The handle portion (2) has an arm portion (5),
The arm portion (5) has a first locking portion (10) that locks an end portion (82) of the spring (8),
The base portion (3) has a housing portion (9) for the spring (8) and a second locking portion (11) for locking a connecting portion (83) that connects two coils (81) of the spring (8),
The storage section (9) has two holding sections (91) separated by a partition section (94) and surrounded by a storage wall (92),
The partition wall portion (94) has support projections (95) on both side surfaces thereof,
Each of the coils (81) is accommodated in the holding portion (91) and engaged with the support projection (95);
The storage wall (92) has an opening (93), and the connecting portion (83) protrudes from the opening (93).

Further, the door handle device according to the present invention is
The arm portion (5) is characterized by having a guide portion (12) adjacent to the first locking portion (10) for guiding the movement of the end portion (82) of the spring (8).

Further, the door handle device according to the present invention is
The second engaging portion (11) has a center protrusion (111) and a side protrusion (112),
The connecting portion (83) is characterized in that it is supported between the center protrusion (111) and the side protrusion (112).

With a door handle device having such a configuration, by pressing the spring, the spring is fitted into the housing portion and both ends and the connecting portion are locked, making it possible to easily attach the spring to the door handle device.
Furthermore, the guide portions of the arms make it easy to lock both ends of the spring, and also makes it easy to lock the connecting portions.

The present invention provides a door handle device that is easy to manufacture.

FIG. 1 shows the main configuration of a door handle device 1, and FIG. 1(A) is an oblique view of a handle portion 2, a base portion 3 and a spring 8, which are the main components of the door handle device 1, and FIG. 1(B) is an oblique view of the assembled door handle device 1 as seen from the rear side (the vehicle interior side). FIG. 2(A) is a partially enlarged view of the side of arm portion 5, and FIG. 2(B) is a side view showing the movement of end portion 82 of spring 8 during the process of engaging spring 8 with first engaging portion 10 of arm portion 5. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the second engagement portion 11, where Figure 3(A) is a front view seen from the coil 81 side of the spring 8, Figure 3(B) is a side view seen from the support portion 7 side, and Figure 3(C) is a top view. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the shape of the accommodating section 9, where Figure 4(A) is a top view of the accommodating section 9 accommodating the spring 8, Figure 4(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A, Figure 4(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B, and Figure 4(D) is a side view taken from the side along line C-C.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, none of the following embodiments should be interpreted in a restrictive manner in determining the gist of the present invention. In addition, the same reference symbols are used for identical or similar components, and descriptions may be omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows the main configuration of a door handle device 1, and FIG. 1(A) is an oblique view of a handle portion 2, a base portion 3 and a spring 8, which are the main components of the door handle device 1, and FIG. 1(B) is an oblique view of the assembled door handle device 1 as seen from the rear side (the vehicle interior side).

As shown in Figure 1, the door handle device 1 comprises a handle portion 2 and a base portion 3 (a base portion). The handle portion 2 is a component that is operated directly by an operator with his or her hands. The handle portion 2 is used to communicate the operator's intention to open the door, and to unlock the door when it is locked.

The handle portion 2 has a handhold portion 4 and an arm portion 5, and the base portion 3 has an opening 6 (through portion) for inserting the arm portion 5, a support portion 7, and a spring accommodating portion 9 (hereinafter simply referred to as the accommodating portion 9) that accommodates and holds a spring 8 that biases the handle portion 2.
The support portion 7 has a rotation shaft 71, and the arm portion 5 of the handle portion 2 has a rotation bearing 51. The handle portion 2 and the base portion 3 are combined, and the rotation shaft 71 is fitted into the rotation bearing 51, so that the handle portion 2 is supported so as to be rotatable around the rotation shaft 71 of the base portion 3.

The rotating shaft 71 may be configured to be composed of opposing cylindrical first and second shaft portions 71a and 71b, with the second shaft portion 71b supported on the outside of the rotating bearing 51 and the first shaft portion 71a supported on the inside of the rotating bearing 51. Furthermore, the second shaft portion 71b may be provided with a shaft stopper portion 710 protruding from the center thereof.
The rotary bearing 51 may be composed of a first bearing portion 51a and a second bearing portion 51b that respectively support the first shaft portion 71a and the second shaft portion 71b. The second bearing portion 51b may be provided with a bearing hole 510 that engages with the shaft stopper portion 710.
The shaft stopper 710 of the second shaft portion 71b is fitted into the bearing hole 510 of the second bearing portion 51b, thereby preventing the handle portion 2 from slipping out.
Additionally, the outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical first shaft portion 71a is in contact with and supported by the inner wall of the first bearing portion 51a.
By providing the shaft stopper 710 only on the second shaft portion 71b, the workload of engaging the rotating shaft 71 with the rotating bearing 51 can be reduced.

The spring 8 is preferably a double torsion spring having two coils 81 and a connecting portion 83 connecting both coils 81 .
The two ends 82 of the spring 8 are engaged by the first engaging portions 10 of the arm portion 5 and function as points of application.
The connecting portion 83 of the spring 8 is locked by the second locking portion 11 of the base portion 3. The point of the connecting portion 83 locked by the second locking portion 11 functions as a fixed point.

FIG. 2(A) is a partially enlarged view of the side of arm portion 5, and FIG. 2(B) is a side view showing the movement of end portion 82 of spring 8 during the process of engaging spring 8 with first engaging portion 10 of arm portion 5.
2A, the first locking portion 10 is provided as a recess in the arm portion 5. Adjacent to the first locking portion 10, on the end side of the arm portion 5, a guide portion 12 that guides the movement of the end portion 82 of the spring 8 is provided.
2(B), in the process of accommodating spring 8 in accommodation portion 9, end portion 82 slides on the surface of guide portion 12 and is guided to first locking portion 10. Then, end portion 82 of spring 8 fits into the recess that is first locking portion 10 and is fixed.
The end portion 82 engaged with the first locking portion 10 biases the arm portion 5 in the direction indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 2(B).

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the second engagement portion 11, where Figure 3(A) is a front view seen from the coil 81 side of the spring 8, Figure 3(B) is a side view seen from the support portion 7 side, and Figure 3(C) is a top view.
3A, the side indicated by the symbol SH is the handhold 4 side of the handle portion 2, that is, the body side of the vehicle on which the door handle device 1 is installed. The upper part means the side opposite to the SH side.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second engagement portion 11 has a center protrusion 111 located in the center and side protrusions 112 located on both sides thereof.
By pushing the connecting portion 83 of the spring 8 from above, the connecting portion 83 is held between the center protrusion 111 and the side protrusion 112 .
The center protrusion 111 has a side wall surface that is inclined so that the width of the tip portion is narrow and the width of the SH side is wider, making it easy for the center protrusion 111 to enter the inside of the connecting portion 83 of the spring 8.
In addition, since the distance from the coil 81 to the second engagement portion 11 is more than 30% longer than in conventional products, the load applied to the center protrusion portion 111 and the side protrusion portion 112 is reduced, and the durability of the center protrusion portion 111 and the side protrusion portion 112 is improved.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the shape of the accommodating section 9, where Figure 4(A) is a top view of the accommodating section 9 accommodating the spring 8, Figure 4(B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A, Figure 4(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B, and Figure 4(D) is a side view taken from the side along line C-C.
In FIG. 4, the spring 8 is indicated by a dotted line.
4B, 4C, and 4D, the side indicated by the symbol SH is the handhold 4 side of the handle portion 2, i.e., the body side of the vehicle on which the door handle device 1 is installed. The upper part means the side opposite to the SH side.

As shown in FIG. 4(A), the storage section 9 is a box-shaped member that stores the entire two coils 81 of the spring 8, and includes two adjacent spring retaining sections (fitting sections) 91 (hereinafter referred to as retaining sections 91), which are surrounded by a storage wall 92. A cutout section 93 (opening section) is provided in a portion of the storage wall 92, and the connecting section 83 is configured to protrude outside the storage section 9 through the cutout section 93. As a result, the connecting section 83 can be fixed to the second locking section 11. The end section 82 of the spring 8 extends (protrudes) in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the connecting section 83 through the upper surface of the storage wall 92, and is locked to the first locking section 10 of the arm section 5.

The storage wall 92 has a first inner wall surface S921 and a second inner wall surface S922 that face each other. The coil 81 is stored between the first inner wall surface S921 and the second inner wall surface S922. The storage section 9 has a box-like shape, so the spring can be easily held in a stable position. Therefore, no special jig is required to attach the spring, and assembly is greatly improved. In addition, because the box-like structure does not have an axis for holding the spring, the structure of the mold is simplified, and there are also great advantages such as cost reduction and improved maintainability.

The accommodation portion 9 is provided with a partition wall portion 94 (partition plate) located between the two holding portions 91. That is, the two holding portions 91 are separated by the partition wall portion 94.
Support protrusions 95 having inclined surfaces are provided on both sides of the partition wall 94. The protruding distance of the support protrusions 95 from the partition wall 94 increases toward the SH side.
Furthermore, the end face on the SH side of the support protrusion 95 is arc-shaped, and the radius of curvature is preferably 90% of the inner diameter of the coil 81. When the spring 8 is housed in the housing portion 9, the end face on the SH side of the support protrusion 95 is located inside the coil 81 and engages with and supports the coil 81. The support protrusion 95 functions as a guide rod for the coil 81, which is a torsion spring.
The spring 8 is a double torsion spring in which two coils 81 are connected by a connecting portion 83 , and is therefore stably held by two support protrusions 95 provided on both sides of the partition portion 94 .

Support protrusions 95 that support the coil 81 are provided only on the partition wall portion 94. The storage wall 92 facing the support protrusions 95 has a smooth surface without any protrusions, and serves as a sliding surface when the coil 81 is inserted into the storage portion 9.
Therefore, when the coil 81 is inserted into the housing portion 9, the deflection (contraction width) of the coil 81 of the spring 8 is small, which increases the freedom in the number of turns of the spring 8 and contributes to improved durability.

The two holding parts 91 and the support protrusions 95 are arranged so that the central axes of the two coils 81 are aligned in the same straight line as the rotation axis 71 of the support part 7.

The inclined surface of the center protrusion 111 of the second engagement portion 11 acts in a direction to widen the gap between the two coils 81 , facilitating insertion of the coils 81 into the housing portion 9 .
The partition 94 is a solid piece, so that the pressures from the two coils 81 in contact with both opposing sides of the partition 94 are offset, and the partition 94 has high durability.

In addition, the long distance between both ends 82 of the spring 8 and the connecting portion 83 allows for accurate positioning of the spring 8. This reduces variation in the mounting position of the spring 8 in the door handle device 1, contributing to maintaining and managing product quality.

(Manufacturing process of door handle device)
The manufacturing process of the door handle device 1 will be described below.
In the manufacturing process of the door handle device 1 , first, the arm portion 5 of the grip portion 2 is inserted into the opening 6 of the base portion 3 , and the rotation shaft 71 of the support portion 7 is journaled by the rotation bearing 51 of the arm portion 5 .
This step is a step of combining the handle portion 2 and the base portion 3.

Next, the two coils 81 of the spring 8 are abutted against the end surface of the accommodating section 9 (the surface facing the SH side), the end 82 of the spring 8 is abutted against the end of the arm section 5, and the end of the connecting section 83 of the spring 8 is abutted against the tip of the center protrusion 111 so as to sandwich the center protrusion 111.
This step is a step of temporarily placing the spring 8 .

In addition, preferably, the coil 81 is configured such that the side surface of the coil 81 contacts the first inner wall surface S921 and the second inner wall surface S922 when no load is applied to the coil 8. In the process of mounting the spring 8, the coil 81 is held between the first inner wall surface S921 and the second inner wall surface S922, and the spring 8 is temporarily held in the holding portion 91 of the accommodation portion 9.
Since the position of the spring 8 is determined in this temporary placement (temporary holding) step, it becomes easy to automate the attachment of the spring 8 by using a device or the like in the next step.

Next, when the spring 8 is pressed, the end 82 slides on the surface of the guide portion 12 of the arm portion 5 and fits into the recess of the first locking portion 10, and the connecting portion 83 is held and fixed by the center protrusion 111 and the side protrusion 112 of the second locking portion 11. Furthermore, one end face of the coil 81 slides along the inclined surface of the support protrusion 95, and the other end face slides along the third inner wall surface S923 of the housing wall 92 facing the support protrusion 95. The coil 81 of the spring 8 is once narrowed in width, and then expands again and is supported by the support protrusion 95. The connecting portion 83 protruding from the cutout portion 93 of the housing portion 9 to the outside of the housing portion 9 expands the area that presses the spring 8, making it easier to push the coil 81 into the holding portion 91 of the housing portion 9.
This step is a step of mounting the spring 8 .

In this way, the spring 8 can be easily installed by simply pushing it in, without the need for a special tool. The guide shape of the handle has the advantage that the assembly process of the door handle device 1 can be automated without manual intervention.

In the door handle device 1 according to the present invention, the configuration of the first locking portion 10 of the arm portion 5, the second locking portion 11 of the base portion 3, and the storage portion 9 facilitates the assembly of the spring 8. In addition, this configuration employs a double torsion spring in which two coils are connected as the spring 8, which facilitates assembly of the door handle device 1 particularly effectively.

The door handle device according to the present invention is easy to manufacture and can be applied to various vehicle bodies. It also reduces the workload of assembly workers and allows for automation of the manufacture of door handle devices. This contributes to reducing manufacturing costs and has high industrial applicability.

1 Door handle device 2 Handle portion 3 Base portion
4 Handhold portion 5 Arm portion 51 Rotation bearing 51a First bearing portion 51b Second bearing portion 510 Bearing hole 6 Opening portion (through portion)
7 Support portion 71 Rotating shaft 71a First shaft portion 71b Second shaft portion 710 Shaft stop portion 8 Spring 81 Coil 82 End portion 83 Connection portion 9 Spring accommodating portion 10 First locking portion 11 Second locking portion 111 Center protrusion portion 112 Side protrusion portion 12 Guide portion 91 Holding portion (fitting portion)
92 Storage wall S921 First inner wall surface S922 Second inner wall surface S923 Third inner wall surface 93 Notch portion (opening portion)
94 Partition (partition plate)
95 Support protrusion

Claims (3)

The device has a handle portion (2), a base portion (3), and a spring (8),
The handle portion (2) has an arm portion (5),
The arm portion (5) has a first locking portion (10) that locks an end portion (82) of the spring (8),
The base portion (3) has a housing portion (9) for the spring (8) and a second locking portion (11) for locking a connecting portion (83) that connects two coils (81) of the spring (8),
The storage section (9) has two holding sections (91) separated by a partition section (94) and surrounded by a storage wall (92),
The partition wall portion (94) has support protrusions (95) on both side surfaces thereof,
Each of the coils (81) is accommodated in the holding portion (91) and engaged with the support projection (95);
The door handle device is characterized in that the storage wall (92) has an opening (93), and the connecting portion (83) protrudes from the opening (93). The door handle according to claim 1, characterized in that the arm portion (5) has a guide portion (12) adjacent to the first locking portion (10) and guides the movement of the end portion (82) of the spring (8). The second engaging portion (11) has a center protrusion (111) and a side protrusion (112),
3. The door handle device according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portion (83) is sandwiched between the center protrusion (111) and the side protrusion (112).

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