CN112959930A - Automobile interior part - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an automobile interior component, comprising a base; an armrest configured to be movable between a lowered position and a raised position relative to the base; and a mechanism configured to be rotatably coupled to any one of the front end and the rear end of the armrest to support the armrest and to maintain the armrest horizontal throughout movement between the lowered position and the raised position. According to the automobile interior part, the hiding function can be realized at a low position, namely, the armrest and the peripheral parts are integrally molded in a non-use state; the armrest can be adjusted in the front and back direction, the left and right direction and the up and down direction to provide functional positions, namely in a use state, the armrest can slide in the front and back direction and be folded and lifted, and bearing stopping positions are carried at any positions in the left and right direction and the up and down direction to provide a use position, so that the functional positions of the armrest are increased to the maximum extent, and the comfortable requirements of individuals or different users are met.

Description

Automobile interior part

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of automobiles, in particular to an automobile interior part.

Background

As technology and demand have developed, the appearance and function of armrests in automotive interior products have become more and more demanding. In the prior art, most armrests exist independently of other products, namely, the armrests can be seen at a glance, the adjustment range of the armrests is limited, and most commonly, the armrests are fixed armrests, namely, the armrest function can be provided only at one position. There are also armrests that allow adjustment in the fore-aft direction and/or the flip angle. At present, no handrail can be adjusted in three directions of front and back, left and right and up and down while realizing a hiding function, and any position in the adjusting process can bear load.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problem that the armrest cannot be hidden and adjusted in all directions as a functional position in the prior art, the invention provides an automobile interior part.

The automobile interior part according to the present invention includes a pedestal; an armrest configured to be movable between a lowered position and a raised position relative to the base; a mechanism configured to be rotatably coupled to either one of a front end and a rear end of the armrest to support the armrest and to maintain the armrest horizontal throughout movement between the lowered position and the raised position.

Preferably, the base includes a storage compartment, and the armrest is arranged to cover the storage compartment when in the lowered position.

Preferably, the armrest includes a first armrest and a second armrest, the first armrest and the second armrest are close to each other in the lateral direction when the first armrest and the second armrest are in the low position, and the first armrest and the second armrest are far from each other in the lateral direction when the first armrest and the second armrest are in the high position.

Preferably, the mechanism comprises two cantilevers, and the two cantilevers are connected with the same handrail through two rotating shaft groups arranged at intervals in a staggered mode so as to support the handrail to be kept horizontal.

Preferably, the two rotating shaft groups are arranged in a staggered manner in the front-back direction and the transverse direction which are perpendicular to each other.

Preferably, the set of rotational axes is arranged obliquely with respect to a lateral direction such that the armrest is displaced laterally in response to movement between the lowered position and the raised position.

Preferably, the two cantilevers are respectively connected with the same transmission mechanism on the base to synchronously rotate.

Preferably, the transmission mechanism is a transmission gear or a connecting rod.

Preferably, the armrest is prevented from moving relative to the base when either of the two cantilevers is prevented from rotating relative to the base.

Preferably, the vehicle interior component further comprises a motor to drive and limit movement of the armrest relative to the base between the lowered position and the raised position.

Preferably, the armrest comprises a base arranged to be rotated relative to the base by the mechanism and an upper cover arranged to slide relative to the base by a sliding assembly.

Preferably, the upper cover is slidable relative to the base when the armrest is moved to any position between the lowered position and the raised position relative to the base.

According to the automobile interior part, the hiding function can be realized at a low position, namely, the armrest and the peripheral parts are integrally molded in a non-use state; the armrest can be adjusted in the front and back direction, the left and right direction and the up and down direction to provide functional positions, namely in a use state, the armrest can slide in the front and back direction and be folded and lifted, and bearing stopping positions are carried at any positions in the left and right direction and the up and down direction to provide a use position, so that the functional positions of the armrest are increased to the maximum extent, and the comfortable requirements of individuals or different users are met. In addition, according to the automobile interior part, the armrest product which can realize two operation modes of motor driving or manual operation can be used by combining with the motor or other mechanisms.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is an overall schematic view of an automobile including automobile interior components in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a schematic perspective view of the interior of the automobile of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a schematic view of a two side armrest including automotive interior components according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in a lowered position;

FIG. 2B is a schematic view of the vehicle interior component of FIG. 2A with the armrests in the raised position;

FIG. 2C is a schematic view of the vehicle interior component of FIG. 2A with the armrests in the forward position;

FIG. 3A is a schematic view of a two sided armrest including automotive interior components according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in a lowered position;

FIG. 3B is a schematic view of the right armrest of the vehicle interior component of FIG. 3A in a raised position and the left armrest in a lowered position;

FIG. 3C is a schematic view of the vehicle interior component of FIG. 3A with the right armrest in the forward position and the left armrest in the lowered position;

FIG. 4A is a schematic view of a two side armrest including automotive interior components according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in a lowered position;

FIG. 4B is a schematic view of the vehicle interior component of FIG. 4A with the left armrest in the raised position and the right armrest in the lowered position;

FIG. 4C is a schematic view of the vehicle interior component of FIG. 4A with the left armrest in a forward position and the right armrest in a lowered position;

FIG. 5A is a schematic view of the assembly of the two side armrests of the automotive interior component of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in a lowered position;

FIG. 5B is an assembled view of the vehicle interior component of FIG. 5A with the armrests in the raised position;

FIG. 5C is an assembled schematic view of the two side rails of the automotive interior component of FIG. 5A in a forward position;

FIG. 6 is an exploded schematic view of the left armrest in the automotive interior component of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 7 is an assembly schematic of the mechanism of the left armrest in the automotive interior component of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an exploded schematic view of the mechanism of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9A is a schematic top view of the mechanism of the two side arm rests of FIG. 5A in a lowered position;

FIG. 9B is a schematic top view of the mechanism of the two side arm rests of FIG. 5A in an elevated position;

FIG. 10A is a schematic side view of the left armrest mechanism of FIG. 5A in a lowered position;

FIG. 10B is a schematic side view of the left armrest mechanism of FIG. 5A in an elevated position;

FIG. 11A is a partial schematic view of the slide assembly of FIG. 5A with the left armrest in the raised position;

FIG. 11B is a partial schematic view of the slide assembly of FIG. 5A with the left armrest in a forward position;

FIG. 12A is a schematic view of the assembly of two side armrests of an automotive interior component of another preferred embodiment of the present invention in a lowered position;

fig. 12B is an enlarged schematic view of a part of the structure of fig. 12A.

Detailed Description

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

According to the automobile interior component, the armrest can be adjusted in the front-back direction, the left-right direction and the up-down direction. In this context, the front-rear direction refers to the lengthwise (traveling) direction of the automobile, the left-right direction refers to the width (lateral) direction of the automobile, and the up-down direction refers to the height (vertical) direction of the automobile and is used to define the low and high positions.

According to one exemplary embodiment as shown in fig. 1A-1B, the automobile V may include an interior I having a dashboard IP and a floor console FC.

According to an exemplary embodiment as shown in fig. 2A-2C, 3A-3C, and 4A-4C, an automotive interior component, shown as a floor console FC, may include a base B and first and second armrests 100a, 100B symmetrically mounted on the base B. The first and second armrests 100a, 100b may be configured to be electrically operated by an occupant control switch a showing a hand H. The first armrest 100a moves relative to the base B from a lowered position, as shown in fig. 2A and 3A, through a raised position, as shown in fig. 2B and 3B, to a forward position, as shown in fig. 2C and 3C. The second armrest 100B is movable relative to the base B from a lowered position, as shown in fig. 2A and 4A, through a raised position, as shown in fig. 2B and 4B, to a forward position, as shown in fig. 2C and 4C. The first handrail 100a and the second handrail 100b are configured to achieve 1) simultaneous movement of the first handrail 100a and the second handrail 100b (as shown in fig. 2A-2C); 2) the first armrest 100a moves while the second armrest 100b remains stationary (as shown in fig. 3A-3C); 3) the second handrail 100b moves while the first handrail 100a remains stationary (as shown in fig. 4A-4C). When the first armrest 100a and/or the second armrest 100b are in the lowered position, the top surface of the first armrest 100a and/or the second armrest 100b is aligned with the top surface of the floor console FC, so as to achieve an aesthetic appearance, i.e., a hidden function of the armrest. When the first armrest 100a or the second armrest 100B is in the raised position, the first armrest 100a or the second armrest 100B is lifted upward relative to the base B to support the arms of the driver or the passenger at different heights. When the first or second armrest 100a, 100b is in the forward position, the first or second armrest 100a, 100b moves forward relative to the lowered position to support the arms of the driver or passenger at different horizontal positions. When the first armrest 100a and the second armrest 100B are simultaneously in the lowered position, the first armrest 100a and the second armrest 100B are close to each other and visually integrated with the base B (as shown in fig. 2A, 3A, 4A, and 5A). When the first armrest 100a and the second armrest 100B are simultaneously in the high position or the forward position, the first armrest 100a and the second armrest 100B are far from each other, visually resembling unfolded wings (as shown in fig. 2B, 2C, 5B, and 5C), and thus the vehicle interior component is also referred to as a bionic winged armrest. Also, the first and second armrests 100a and 100b are always horizontal regardless of whether the first and second armrests 100a and 100b are in one of the low, high, and front positions or any position therebetween. In this embodiment, the base B further includes a storage compartment, and the first and second armrests 100a and 100B are disposed laterally close to each other in the low position to cover the storage compartment, and laterally away from each other in the high position to open the storage compartment.

As shown in fig. 5A to 5C, the first handrail 100a and the second handrail 100B are moved between the lower position and the upper position with respect to the base B by the mechanism 40B, respectively. The structure of the bionic wing type armrest will be described below by taking the second armrest 100b as an example.

As shown in fig. 6, the second armrest 100b includes a base 30b and an upper cover 10b coupled to the base 30b above the base 30 b. Wherein the base 30B is configured to be rotated relative to the base B by the mechanism 40B to effect movement of the second armrest 100B between the lowered position and the raised position. Specifically, the mechanism 40b is attached near the front end of the second armrest 100b to support the second armrest 100 b. Specifically, the mechanism 40b is disposed collectively at the front end of the second armrest 100 b. The collective arrangement here means that the arrangement position of the mechanism 40b does not exceed one third of the length of the armrest in the front-rear direction. It should be understood that this arrangement, which is provided only at the front end of the second armrest 100b, is different from the conventional arrangement. In general, to keep the armrest from tilting, it is conventional to provide symmetrical support to the armrest, i.e., to provide a mechanism to provide support structure at both the front and rear ends of the armrest, without concentrating the support mechanism at either the front or rear end. In contrast, the present invention provides a mechanism 40b for supporting only at the front end or the rear end of the armrest without adding a plurality of locking mechanisms, and the mechanism 40b can also realize that the armrest can be kept horizontal at any position, which has unexpected technical effects.

As shown in fig. 6 to 8, the mechanism 40b includes a first suspension arm (i.e., an inner arm 41b) and a second suspension arm (i.e., an outer arm 42b), and the top ends of the inner arm 41b and the outer arm 42b are respectively connected to the base 30b through a set of rotation shafts and are rotatable relative to the base 30 b. The axes of the two sets of pivot sets are arranged parallel but not coaxial and are offset (i.e., not aligned) in both the fore-and-aft and lateral directions to support the second armrest 100b to remain horizontal in any position without the need for a lock on the pivot sets. Specifically, the rotating shaft set includes a shaft pin 43b and a rotating shaft sleeve 44b sleeved outside the shaft pin 43 b. The axle pin 43b and the rotating shaft sleeve 44b are sleeved and then pass through the inner arm 41b and the base 30b, the spline 441b on the rotating shaft sleeve 44b is matched with the spline hole 411b (see fig. 8) on one end of the inner arm 41b, so that the rotating shaft sleeve 44b and the inner arm 41b are relatively fixed, meanwhile, the axle pin 43b is matched with the waist-shaped shaft hole 31b (see fig. 7) on the base 30b, so that the axle pin 43b and the base 30b are relatively fixed, and then the axle pin 43b and the rotating shaft sleeve 44b are limited through the fixed shaft sleeve 45 b. The mounting of the pivot set and the outer arm 42b is the same as described above and will not be described further herein. The other ends of the inner arm 41b and the outer arm 42b are connected to a gear 46b, respectively, and the two gears 46b are set to have the same gear ratio as the motor output gear. Specifically, one end of the gear 46b extends axially to form a spline for mating with a splined hole 412b (see fig. 8) on the other end of the inner arm 41b so that the gear 46b and the inner arm 41b are relatively fixed, and the gear 46b is fixed by the pin shaft 48 b. The mounting of the gear 46b to the outer arm 42b is the same as previously described and will not be described further herein. The two gears 46B are respectively sleeved with two pin shafts 48B on the base B to connect the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B to the base B, respectively, and the two gears 46B are simultaneously engaged with a transmission gear 47B (see fig. 7) arranged on the base B to realize synchronous rotation of the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B relative to the base B. In this embodiment, the inner arm 41b, the outer arm 42b, the shaft pin 43b, the rotation bushing 44b, the fixed bushing 45b, the gear 46b, and the transmission gear 47b collectively provide a mechanism to effect movement of the second armrest 100b between the lowered position and the raised position. It should be understood that the drive gear 47b could be replaced with other drive mechanisms such as a linkage. In particular, upon synchronizing the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B through the transmission mechanism, when any one of the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B is prevented from rotating relative to the base 30B, the second armrest 100B is also prevented from moving relative to the base B, and thus only locking needs to be performed for any one of the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B.

As shown in fig. 9A to 9B, the four axes a, B, c, d formed by the two rotation shaft groups and the two gears 46B in the second armrest 100B are disposed at an angle with respect to the left-right direction, and therefore, as the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B rotate with respect to the base B, while the bases 30a, 30B of the first armrest 100a and the second armrest 100B move upward with respect to the base B, lateral displacement is also generated while moving away from each other in the left-right direction, that is, while moving between the lower position and the upper position.

Returning to fig. 6, the upper cover 10b of the second armrest 100b is movable in the front-rear direction relative to the base 30b between a forward position and a rearward position by the slide assembly 20 b. In this embodiment, the upper cover 10b cannot move forward relative to the base 30b when the second armrest 100b is in the lowered position (as shown in fig. 2A, 3A, and 4A) due to the configuration of the floor console FC. It will be appreciated that the cover 10b may be configured to move between a forward position and a rearward position relative to the base 30b when the base 30b is in any position between the lower (including the lower) position and the upper (including the upper) position, without limitation of shape or space. Referring to fig. 11A-11B, the sliding assembly 20B includes a rail 21B fixedly attached to the base 30B and two cylindrical tubes 22B mounted on the cover 10B, the cylindrical tubes 22B being configured to move relative to the rail 21B to effect movement of the cover 10B relative to the base 30B.

In order to realize the electric control of the second handrail 100B, as shown in fig. 6, the second handrail 100B further includes a motor 51B for driving the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B to rotate relative to the base B, and a motor 52B for driving the circular tube 22B to move relative to the rail 21B. Specifically, the motor 51B is disposed on the base B, and the motor 51B drives the transmission gear 47B to move, see fig. 10A-10B, and then drives the two gears 46 to rotate around the same direction, so that the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B rotate synchronously, and finally the base 30B moves between the lower position and the upper position. And the motor 52b is disposed on the rail 21b, and the circular tube 22b is moved relative to the rail 21b by the motor 52b, and then the upper cover 10b is moved in the front-rear direction relative to the base 30 b. Two stop sensors 53B are also spaced apart on the base B adjacent the upper and lower positions of the inner arm 41B or the outer arm 42B to limit movement of the base 30B between the lower and upper positions. As shown in fig. 10A-10B, when the base 30B moves to the low position or the high position, the inner arm 41B or the outer arm 42B contacts one of the two stop sensors 53B to issue a command to turn off the motor 51B. Similarly, as shown in fig. 11A to 11B, in order to limit the movement of the upper cover 10B between the front position and the rear position, one stop sensor 54B is disposed on the rail 21B near both ends of the rail 21B, and when the upper cover 10B moves to the front position or the rear position, it contacts one of the two stop sensors 54B to issue a command to turn off the motor 52B.

Due to the synchronous rotation of the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B relative to the base B and the characteristic of the staggered arrangement of the two rotating shaft groups of the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B, the inner arm 41B and the outer arm 42B provide stable support for the base 30B and ensure that the base 30B is always kept horizontal and does not deflect in the process of moving the base 30B from the low position to the high position; when the second armrest 100b is subjected to external pressure or load, the pressure or load can be transmitted to the transmission gear 47b through the rotating shaft set and the inner and outer arms 41b and 42b, and as long as the motor 51b with the stop torque is selected, the pressure or load applied to the second armrest 100b can be resisted, so that the second armrest 100b can have bearing capacity at any position without adding an additional locking mechanism.

In addition to the electric control, the first and second armrests 100a and 100b may also be manually operated. As shown in fig. 12A-12B, specifically, still taking the second handrail 100B as an example, the motor 51B is eliminated, and instead, the one-way bearing assembly in patent CN 201910693297.7 is disposed on the pin 48B of either the inner arm 41B or the outer arm 42B. Slightly different from motor control, a driver or a passenger can turn over the armrest upwards to adjust the armrest, the armrest can bear load, and the armrest can be turned over downwards only after the armrest is turned over to exceed a designed characteristic angle.

The above embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and various changes may be made in the above embodiments of the present invention. All simple and equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims and the content of the specification of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present patent application. The invention has not been described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the invention.

Claims (12)

1. An automotive interior component, characterized by comprising:

a base;

an armrest configured to be movable between a lowered position and a raised position relative to the base;

a mechanism configured to be rotatably coupled to either one of a front end and a rear end of the armrest to support the armrest and to maintain the armrest horizontal throughout movement between the lowered position and the raised position.

2. The automotive interior component of claim 1, wherein the base includes a storage compartment, and the armrest is configured to cover the storage compartment when in the lowered position.

3. The automotive interior component of claim 1, wherein the armrest comprises a first armrest and a second armrest, the first armrest and the second armrest being laterally closer to each other when the first armrest and the second armrest are in the lowered position, and the first armrest and the second armrest being laterally farther from each other when the first armrest and the second armrest are in the raised position.

4. The automotive interior component of claim 1, wherein the mechanism comprises two cantilevers, and the two cantilevers are connected with the same armrest through two rotating shaft groups arranged at intervals in a staggered mode so as to support the armrest to be kept horizontal.

5. The automobile interior component according to claim 4, wherein the two rotation shaft groups are disposed to be staggered in both of a front-rear direction and a lateral direction perpendicular to each other.

6. The automotive interior component of claim 4, wherein the set of pivot axes is arranged at an inclination relative to a lateral direction such that the armrest is displaced laterally in response to movement between the lowered position and the raised position.

7. The automotive interior component of claim 4, wherein the two cantilevers are each coupled to a same transmission on the base for synchronous rotation.

8. The automotive interior component of claim 7, wherein the transmission mechanism is a transmission gear or a link.

9. The automotive interior component of claim 7, wherein the armrest is prevented from moving relative to the base while either of the cantilevered arms is prevented from rotating relative to the base.

10. The automotive interior component of claim 1, further comprising a motor to drive and limit movement of the armrest relative to the base between the lowered position and the raised position.

11. The automotive interior component of claim 1, wherein the armrest comprises a base configured to rotate relative to the base via the mechanism and an upper cover configured to slide relative to the base via a sliding assembly.

12. The automotive interior component of claim 11, wherein the cover is slidable relative to the base when the armrest is moved to any position relative to the base between the lowered position and the raised position.

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