CN114233129A - Hinge mechanism and glove box unit comprising same - Google Patents

Abstract

The glove box unit includes a glove box door, a storage compartment, and a hinge mechanism connecting the glove box door to the storage compartment. The hinge mechanism includes an arcuate rack coupled to the stowage compartment; a glove box door arm having one end connected to the glove box door and the other end having an arc-shaped pinion gear having gear teeth on an inner circumference and an outer circumference thereof; a bracket arm pivotally connected to the stowage compartment at a primary hinge point and pivotally connected to the arc-shaped pinion gear along a length of the bracket arm at a secondary hinge point; a damping gear rotatably connected to the carrier arm and engaged with the internal teeth of the pinion gear. When the glove box door is rotated clockwise around the shaft of the auxiliary hinge point to be opened, the external teeth of the pinion gear are engaged with the rack gear and the pinion gear is rotated clockwise around the shaft of the auxiliary hinge point. The damper gear rotates in a clockwise direction about its own axis and the carrier arm carrying the pinion gear and damper gear rotates in a counter-clockwise direction about the axis of the main hinge point, wherein the glove box door will move in a height direction when it rotates open.

Description

Hinge mechanism and glove box unit comprising same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a hinge mechanism for a motor vehicle storage unit, and more particularly to a hinge mechanism for a motor vehicle glove box.

Background

Motor vehicle manufacturers have implemented various glove boxes for storing items in the passenger compartment. An in-line glove box features a gooseneck hinge located near the bottom of the glove box. When a passenger opens the glove box to access his or her contents, the gooseneck hinges pivot outwardly, which requires a large amount of movement space within the glove box to operate, thereby limiting the design options and construction of the glove box. A hinge mechanism is needed to solve the above problems. Provided are a vehicle glove box opening and closing mechanism for providing convenient opening and closing of a glove box and improved freedom of design, and a vehicle glove box assembly having the same.

Disclosure of Invention

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an upper glove box is provided. The glove box may hold the storage in a closed position and provide access to the storage in an open position. The glove box hinge mechanism may include a plurality of links that pivotally attach the glove box to the vehicle dashboard structure. The links may be configured to pivot and translate the glove box upward and outward, limiting the downward travel of the glove box. One possible way to achieve this combination of translational and rotational motion is to make some of the plurality of rotatable links longer than others. This may cause the glove box and the front closure member to become more level as the glove box translates outward and upward. Another possible approach is to use a gooseneck hinge to achieve combined rotational and translational movement, but the gooseneck hinge is still rotating about one axis and requires more clearance from surrounding components to achieve the same movement. In addition, the degree of freedom in designing the glove box may be limited due to the installation space of the opening and closing mechanism. In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a glove box opening and closing apparatus for a vehicle, which can improve the degree of freedom in design of a glove box assembly.

The glove box unit comprises a glove box door, a glove box storage compartment and glove box hinge mechanisms positioned on two sides of the storage compartment. The glove box hinge mechanism includes: an arcuate rack connected to the storage compartment; the inner periphery of the rack has gear teeth; a door arm rigidly attached at one end to the glove box door and having an arc-shaped pinion at the other end; the pinion gear having internal and external teeth on inner and outer peripheries thereof, respectively, such that external gear teeth of the pinion gear in the glove box door arm mesh with the arcuate rack gear in the storage compartment; a bracket arm rotatably connected to the stowage compartment, the bracket arm having a primary hinge point and a secondary hinge point along its length. The rotation shaft passing through the center of the main hinge point is a main hinge point shaft, and the rotation shaft passing through the center of the sub hinge point is a sub hinge point shaft. The main hinge point is connected to the stowage compartment by a bushing and a screw fastener to facilitate rotation along the main axis. The secondary hinge point is connected to the second end of the glove box door arm by another bushing and screw fastener to facilitate rotation along the secondary axis. In one embodiment, a damper gear is mounted to the end of the carrier arm and meshes with internal gear teeth of a pinion gear on the glove box door arm.

When the glove box door arm is rotated clockwise about the sub hinge point shaft to open, the external teeth of the pinion gear on the glove box door arm are engaged with the internal teeth on the rack gear, and the internal teeth of the pinion gear on the glove box door arm are engaged with the damper gear. When the glove box door arm is rotated in a further clockwise direction about the sub hinge point shaft to open, the damper gear is rotated in a clockwise direction and the bracket arm carrying the damper gear and the glove box door arm are rotated in a counterclockwise direction along the main shaft. This combined movement along the primary and secondary hinge points causes the glove box door connected to the glove box door arm to follow a curvilinear motion when rotated about the secondary axis while moving away from the storage bin by rotation of the bracket arm along the primary axis. The bracket arm has two end stops spaced at an angle to limit rotation of the bracket arm about the spindle in both directions by striking a protrusion on the storage bin. The bracket arm also includes a torsion spring mounted to the bushing at the main hinge axis, connected to the stowage compartment at one end of the spring and abutting the bracket arm at the other end. The torsion spring biases the door arm toward the fully open position. When the glove box door is rotated from the open position to the closed position, the user must exert a small force on the glove box door to overcome the spring force.

In one embodiment, the radius of the rack measured from the main hinge point axis is R1. The radius of the pinion on the glove box door arm measured from the secondary shaft is R2 and the distance between the primary hinge point shaft and the secondary hinge point shaft is R3. In one embodiment, the hinge mechanism is designed such that radius R1 is equal to the sum of radii R2 and R3.

In one embodiment, the radius of the arc-shaped rack connected to the storage bin may be larger than the radius of the damping gear. When the glove box is opened, the damping gear rotates and slows down the swing motion, thereby reducing noise and preventing the contents of the glove box from falling out due to impact.

In another embodiment, the curved rack gear attached to the top wall of the storage compartment and the curved pinion gear on the glove box door arm may be sector gears and the damper gear may be a circular gear.

In another embodiment, both the arcuate rack and pinion may be toothed sector gears, and the damping gear may be a circular gear.

According to another aspect, a glove box unit includes: a storage compartment having an opening; a glove box door configured to cover an opening of the stowage compartment; and at least one hinge mechanism. The hinge mechanism includes: an arcuate rack on the storage compartment; a glove box door arm rigidly connected at one end to the glove box door and having an arc pinion at the other end; a bracket arm rotatably connected to the stowage compartment at a primary hinge point. The glove box door arm and the bracket arm intersect each other at a secondary hinge point and rotate relative to each other along a secondary axis passing through the secondary hinge point. The radius of the fixed arc rack measured from the primary hinge point is equal to the sum of the distance between the primary and secondary hinge points and the radius of the arc pinion measured from the secondary hinge point. Due to the mechanical advantage of this hinge mechanism, a small rotation of the bracket arm along the main hinge point is amplified to cause a large rotation of the door arm carrying the glove box door along the main hinge point. The hinge mechanism with double hinge points also enables the glove box door to move in the height direction when the glove box door is rotated to open. Due to this design and construction, the glove box unit and hinge mechanism of the present invention is compact in size and has less packaging space at each end of the storage compartment than a gooseneck mechanism, providing improved door rotation functionality and movement in the height direction.

In one embodiment, the damping gear may be located at the top of the stowage compartment. When the glove box door is released from the latch mechanism holding it in the closed position, the torsion spring constantly applies a force to rotate the bracket arm in a counterclockwise direction along the spindle. When the bracket arm rotates counterclockwise along the spindle, the external teeth of the arc pinion on the glove box door arm mesh with the arc rack on the storage compartment. When the carrier arm rotates in a counterclockwise direction along the primary axis, the pinion rotates in a clockwise direction along the secondary axis. Clockwise rotation of the pinion gear rotates the glove box door arm carrying the door in a clockwise direction to open the door. When the pinion gear rotates in a clockwise direction along the secondary shaft, the damping gear at one end of the carrier arm engages the internal teeth on the pinion gear and the damping gear rotates in a clockwise direction along its own axis to provide a damping action as the door moves from the closed position to the open position.

In another embodiment, the engagement planes of the arcuate rack, pinion, and damper gear may be substantially parallel to one another.

In another embodiment, one end of the torsion spring is connected to the bracket arm and the other end is connected to a side support on the vehicle body member, and the torsion spring is pretensioned in the mounted state to constantly apply a biasing force to rotate the bracket arm in the counterclockwise direction.

In another embodiment, the minimum hinge mechanism includes left and right hinge mechanisms located on left and right sidewalls of the stowage compartment. The left hinge mechanism may include a left arcuate rack on a left side wall of the stowage compartment, a left pinion, a left damping gear engaged with the left pinion, and a left bracket arm. The right hinge mechanism may include a right arcuate rack on a right side wall of the stowage compartment, a right pinion, a right damper gear in meshing engagement with the right pinion, and a right bracket arm. The left and right bracket arms may include left and right torsion springs that exert a continuous biasing force on the respective bracket arms in a counterclockwise direction. The axes of rotation of the left and right side bracket arms may be along the same line.

In another embodiment, the glove box door is less than 90 degrees open from a fully closed position to a fully open position.

In one embodiment, the radius of the arcuate rack is greater than the radius of the arcuate pinion, and the radius of the damping gear is less than the radius of the rack and pinion.

Drawings

Example embodiments will be more clearly understood from the following brief description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. As described herein, the drawings represent non-limiting example embodiments.

Fig. 1 is a view of a glove box unit according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, showing the glove box in a closed position.

FIG. 2 is a view of the glove box unit showing the glove box unit in a fully open position.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the hinge mechanism showing the glove box door in a closed position.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the hinge mechanism showing the glove box door in an open position.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a glove box unit showing the glove box door in a closed position according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the glove box unit of FIG. 5, showing the glove box door in a semi-open position.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the glove box unit of FIG. 5, showing the glove box door in an open position.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the hinge mechanism of fig. 7 along axis a-a.

Fig. 9 is an exploded view of the hinge mechanism of the glove box unit.

It should be noted that these drawings are intended to illustrate the general features of methods, structures and/or materials used in certain example embodiments, and to supplement the written description provided below. However, the figures are not drawn to scale, may not accurately reflect the precise structural or performance characteristics of any given embodiment, and should not be interpreted as defining or limiting the range of values or properties encompassed by example embodiments. The use of like or identical reference numbers in the various figures is intended to indicate the presence of like or identical elements or features.

Detailed Description

The disclosed hinge mechanism and glove box unit will be better understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings merely provide examples of the various inventions described herein. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations, modifications, and changes may be made to the disclosed examples without departing from the scope of the invention described herein. Many variations are possible for different applications and design considerations; however, for the sake of brevity, each contemplated variation is not separately described in the following detailed description.

In the following detailed description, examples of various hinge mechanisms and glove box units are provided. The relevant features in the examples may be the same, similar or dissimilar in different examples. For the sake of brevity, relevant features will not be repeated in each example. Rather, the use of a related feature name will prompt the reader that features having related feature names may be similar to related features in the previously described examples. Features specific to a given example will be described in that particular example. The reader should understand that a given feature need not be the same or similar to the particular description of the relevant feature in any given figure or example.

Referring to fig. 1-2, fig. 1 is a perspective view of a glove box unit 10 showing the glove box in a closed position according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 2 is a perspective view of the glove box unit of fig. 1 showing the glove box unit 10 in a fully open position. The glove box unit 10 may include a glove box door 20 and a storage compartment 21. The storage compartment 21 includes a top wall 22, a bottom wall 23, a left side wall 24A, a right side wall 24B, and a rear wall 25. Glove box door 20 is positioned in front of storage compartment 21 to cover the openings formed by side walls 24A and 24B, top wall 22 and bottom wall 23, respectively. The hinge mechanism 30 is configured to move the glove box door 20 between a closed position, shown in fig. 1, and a fully open position, shown in fig. 2. In the fully open position shown in FIG. 2, the glove box door is positioned above the storage compartment 21. That is, when the glove box door is opened, the glove box door is moved upward and upward by the hinge mechanism 30.

In some embodiments, glove box unit 10 may be an upper glove box unit in a vehicle. The glove box door 20 faces the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Because the hinge mechanism 30 is located outside of the stowage compartment 21, there is more space available in the stowage compartment 21 for storing items. Further, as the glove box door 20 moves upward and forward in the open position, the glove box door opens with sufficient clearance from all surrounding components. In the open position, the storage compartment is fully accessible for storage and removal of items. It should be understood that the hinge mechanism of the present disclosure may be used in other applications.

As shown in fig. 2, in one embodiment, the hinge mechanism 30 is located within a space defined by the outer contour of the glove box unit 10 in the closed position.

Referring to fig. 3 and 4, fig. 3 is a schematic view of the hinge mechanism showing glove box door 20 in a closed position, and fig. 4 is a schematic view of the hinge mechanism in fig. 3 showing glove box door 20 in an open position, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The hinge mechanism may be used to connect the glove box door to the stowage compartment. In some embodiments, the hinge mechanism may be used in a glove box unit of a vehicle, the compartment may be a stowage compartment in the upper glove box unit, and the door may be a glove box door covering an opening of the stowage compartment. The hinge mechanism 30 may include a curved pinion gear 40 connected to a glove box door arm 45, a curved rack gear 41 connected to the top wall 22 of the stowage compartment 21, and a damper gear 42 meshed with the pinion gear 40. The radius R1 of the rack 41 may be greater than the radius R2 of the pinion gear 40 and greater than the radius of the damper gear 42. In the illustrated embodiment, the pinion 40 and rack 41 may be sector gears that are part of a gear and have teeth on the outer periphery, while the damping gear 42 may be a circular gear. The pinion gear 40 has gear teeth on its inner and outer peripheries.

As shown in fig. 4, when the door 20 is rotated in the clockwise direction about the axis a2 of the pinion gear 40 to open, the pinion gear 40 is rotated in the clockwise direction along the axis a2, and the damping gear 42 is rotated in the clockwise direction along its own axis. At the same time, the pinion gear 40 and the damping gear 42, together with the carrier arm 43, rotate about the main axis a1 of the main hinge point in the counterclockwise direction along the imaginary curve M. The radius of the curve R3 is equal to the linear distance between the main hinge point and the secondary hinge point, i.e., the distance between axis a1 and axis a 2. In this way, the secondary hinge point is rotated with respect to the primary hinge point by an angle α when the door is opened from the closed position to the open position. When the glove box door 20 is opened, the secondary shaft a2 follows a portion of the curve M from point X to point Y, and both the secondary hinge point and the pinion 40 move upward in the height direction H. The hinge mechanism 30 has biaxial axes a1 and a 2. That is, when the glove door is opened or closed, the glove door 20 is rotated about the two axes a1 and a2 via the hinge mechanism 30. Fig. 4 further illustrates that the axis a2 of the secondary hinge point moves upward in the height direction H as the glove door 20 rotates from the fully closed position to the fully open position. In one embodiment, the angle formed by the glove box door arm between the fully open position and the fully closed position may be less than 90 degrees.

The hinge mechanism 30 may further include a bracket arm 43. The main and secondary hinge points are located on the bracket arm 43. The first end of the bracket arm is pivotally connected to the stowage compartment at a main hinge point a 1. The arc-shaped pinion is pivotally connected to the carrier arm at a secondary hinge point a2, which is 2, is linearly spaced R3 along the carrier arm from the primary hinge point a 1. The damping gear is rotatably connected to the second end of the carrier arm such that it is free to rotate along its own axis. The damping gear is constantly engaged with the internal teeth of the pinion gear 40. One end of the torsion spring 50 is attached to the bracket arm 43 so as to be biased in the counterclockwise direction. The carriage arm 43 is configured to maintain the shaft of the damping gear 42 and the secondary shaft passing through the secondary hinge point a2 at the same radial position of the arc-shaped rack 41 while the damping gear 42 rotates about its own shaft and the secondary hinge point a2 moves along the curve M about the primary shaft of the primary hinge point a 1.

5-7, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the glove box unit 10 showing the glove box door 20 in a closed position, according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; fig. 6 is a sectional view of the glove box unit 10 of fig. 5 showing the glove box door 20 in a half-open position, and fig. 7 is a sectional view of the glove box unit 10 of fig. 5 showing the glove box door 20 in a fully open position. The glove box unit 10 may include a glove box door 20 configured to cover the stowage compartment 21 and a hinge mechanism 30 pivotally connecting the glove box door 20 to the stowage compartment 21. The hinge mechanism 30 may include a glove box door arm 45 connected to the glove box door 20, an arc-shaped pinion gear 40 located at one end of the glove box arm and having inner teeth 40A and outer teeth 40B, an arc-shaped rack gear 41 connected to the locker compartment 21 and engaged with the outer teeth 40B of the pinion gear, and a damper gear 42 engaged with the inner teeth 40A of the pinion gear 40. The term "coupled" means that one element is connected, either indirectly or directly, to another element.

The hinge mechanism 30 may also include a bracket arm 43. Bracket arm 43 may be located on the left and right sidewalls of storage compartment 21 and have a first portion 44A and a second portion 44B along the length of the bracket arm. A glove box door arm 45, connected at one end to glove box door 20 and having an arc pinion 40 at the other end, is pivotally connected to second portion 44B of bracket arm 43. The damping gear 42 is disposed on the second portion 44B further toward the end of the carrier arm and is connected to the carrier arm by a press-fit fastener.

As shown in fig. 5-7, the glove box door arm 45 rotates about the biaxial axes a1 and a2 when the glove box door 20 is opened or closed. Axis a1 is the axis connecting first portion 44A of bracket arm 43 to the main hinge point of stowage compartment 21, and axis a2 is the axis connecting bracket arm 43 to the secondary hinge point of glove box door arm 45. During opening, the pinion gear 40 rotates in the clockwise direction about the secondary hinge axis a2, while the damping gear 42 rotates in the clockwise direction about its own axis. At the same time, the bracket arm 43 rotates in the counterclockwise direction about the shaft a1 of the main hinge point, and the damper gear 42 pivoted to the bracket arm 43 and the glove box door arm 45 both rotate about the main hinge point shaft a1 together with the bracket arm. As shown in fig. 5-7, when the glove door 20 is opened, the glove door 20 moves upward by a height H (shown in fig. 4) relative to the stowage compartment 21 due to the biaxial hinge operation, and moves forward, further away from the rear wall 25 of the stowage compartment 21. This forward and upward movement of glove box door 20 provides clearance with surrounding components. When glove box door 20 is closed, the door moves downward and rearward, further adjacent to rear wall 25 of storage compartment 21.

Referring to fig. 8 and 9, the bracket arm 43 is connected to the glove box door arm 45. The glove box door arm 45 is configured to hold the glove box door 20 and to connect the pinion of the door arm 40 with the rack 41. In the illustrated embodiment, the pinion gear is integrally formed as part of the glove box door arm. The first part of the bracket arm is pivotally mounted to the door arm at the secondary hinge point by means of a bushing 70 and a screw fastener 71. The bracket arm 43 may have a generally flat shape and may be substantially parallel to the side wall of the stowage compartment. The damping gear 42 is attached to the inner surface of the bracket arm facing the side wall of the stowage compartment, as shown in fig. 9. The second portion of the bracket arm is connected to the side wall of the stowage compartment at a main hinge point by means of a bushing 65 and a screw fastener 66. The bushing 65 and screw fastener 66 allow the bracket arm to rotate but prevent axial movement of the bracket arm relative to the storage compartment. Bracket arm 43 includes a left bracket arm 43A and a right bracket arm 43B disposed on left side wall 24A and right side wall 24B of the storage compartment. The left bracket arm is connected to the left door arm and the right bracket arm is connected to the right door arm. The left door arm and the right door arm are connected to the left end and the right end of the glove box door. The primary pivot axis A1 and the secondary pivot axis A2 on the left and right bracket arms 43A and 43B may be collinear. Left and right torsion springs are disposed on the left and right bracket arms at the primary articulation points. One end of the torsion spring is inserted into a slot on the bracket arm and the other end is attached to a stop surface element 80 on the side wall of the storage compartment. The torsion spring 50 provides a continuous biasing force to bias the glove box door toward the fully open position.

In some embodiments, the bracket arm 43 may include a positive stop in the form of a protrusion on the end of the first portion of the bracket arm to limit rotation of the bracket arm to the fully open and fully closed positions of the glove box. The left and right side walls of the stowage compartment include stop surfaces 80. A positive stop on the bracket arm (not shown) contacts a stop surface 80 on the stowage compartment to prevent further movement when the glove door 20 is in the fully open and fully closed positions.

Referring to fig. 8 and 9, fig. 8 is a sectional view of the glove box taken along a-a section of fig. 7, and fig. 9 is an exploded view of the glove box assembly. In some embodiments, the damping gear 42 may include a gear base 42A and a gear body 42B. The bracket arm includes a through hole 75 to receive the gear base 42A such that the damping gear 42 is connected to the glove box arm. It should be appreciated that the damper gear 42 may be attached to the glove box arm by any suitable method. The carrier arms, bushings and screw fasteners enable the pinion gear 40, rack 41 and damper gear 42 to be securely engaged in the plane of engagement. The major surfaces of bracket arm 43 are substantially parallel to the major surfaces of glove box door arm 45. Furthermore, the glove box door arm and the bracket arm overlap each other at the axis a2 of the sub hinge point. The hinge mechanism has two axes A1 and A2 about which the glove box door arm rotates to open or close, A1 and A2, so that the glove box door moves up and forward during the open position.

The above disclosure includes a number of different inventions with independent utility. While each of these inventions has been disclosed in its specific form, the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated above are not to be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. The subject matter of the inventions includes all novel and nonobvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions, and/or properties disclosed above and inherent to one of ordinary skill in the art of such inventions.

The following claims particularly point out certain combinations and subcombinations regarded as novel and nonobvious. These claims may refer to "an" element or "a first" element or the equivalent thereof. Such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more such elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements. Other combinations and subcombinations of the disclosed features, functions, elements, and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of the present claims or through presentation of new claims in this or a related application.

Claims (21)

1. A glove box unit comprising:

a glove box door;

a stowage compartment having an opening and left and right sidewalls;

a hinge mechanism including an arcuate rack connected to the stowage compartment;

a glove box door arm attached at one end to the glove box door and having an arc-shaped pinion at the other end, the pinion in contact with the rack;

a bracket arm having a first portion and a second portion along a length thereof, the bracket arm being pivotably connected to a sidewall of the stowage compartment at a primary hinge point on the first portion and pivotably connected to the glove box door arm at a secondary hinge point on the second portion;

wherein opening of the glove box door arm rotates the pinion gear in a clockwise direction about the sub hinge point and rotates the carrier arm in a counterclockwise direction about the main hinge point.

2. The glove box unit according to claim 1, wherein the radius of the rack gear measured from the axis of the main hinge point is equal to the sum of the linear distance between the main hinge point and the secondary hinge point and the radius of the pinion gear measured from the axis of the secondary hinge point.

3. The glove box unit according to claim 1, wherein the bracket arm carrying the glove box door arm rotates in a counterclockwise direction about the axis of the main hinge point when the glove box door arm rotates in a clockwise direction about the axis of the sub hinge point to open.

4. The glove box unit according to claim 1, wherein the arc pinion has internal and external teeth on its inner and outer peripheries, respectively.

5. The glove box unit according to claim 1, wherein a damping gear is mounted to the carrier arm and engages with internal teeth of the pinion gear on the glove box door arm.

6. The glove box unit according to claim 1, wherein the damping gear rotates in a clockwise direction when the glove box door arm rotates in a clockwise direction about the axis of the sub hinge point to open.

7. The glove box unit according to claim 1, wherein the radius of the arcuate rack is greater than the radius of the arcuate pinion.

8. The glove box unit according to claim 1, wherein the radius of the arcuate pinion gear and the radius of the arcuate rack gear are both greater than the radius of the damping gear.

9. The glove box unit according to claim 1, wherein the arcuate pinion and the arcuate rack are sector gears and the damping gear is a circular gear.

10. The glove box unit according to claim 1, wherein the bracket arm comprises a first portion and a second portion, wherein the second portion is pivotably connected to the glove box door arm at the secondary hinge point, and wherein the first portion is rotatably connected to the storage compartment at the primary hinge point.

11. The glove box unit according to claim 1, wherein the carrier arm has a generally flat shape, the plane of engagement of the rack, pinion and damping gear being generally parallel to the plane of the carrier arm.

12. A glove box unit comprising:

a stowage compartment having an opening and left and right sidewalls;

an arcuate rack connected to the sidewall of the stowage compartment;

a glove box door configured to cover the opening and connect to the stowage compartment;

a glove box door arm connected at one end to the glove box door and having an arc-shaped pinion gear at the other end,

at least one hinge mechanism, the hinge mechanism comprising:

a bracket arm positioned adjacent a sidewall of the stowage compartment and having a first portion and a second portion; the glove box door arm is pivotably connected to the bracket arm at a secondary hinge point in the second portion of the bracket arm; the bracket arm is pivotably connected to the sidewall of the stowage compartment at a primary hinge point in the first portion of the bracket arm; and

a damping gear connected to the second portion of the carrier arm and engaged with the rack,

wherein a radius of the rack is larger than a radius of the pinion, an

Wherein when the glove box door is rotated to be opened, the glove box door and the damping gear move upward in a height direction.

13. The glove box unit according to claim 12, wherein the pinion gear has internal teeth along its inner circumference and external teeth along its outer circumference.

14. The glove box unit according to claim 13, wherein the internal teeth of the pinion gear are in contact with the damping gear and the external teeth of the pinion gear are in contact with the rack.

15. The glove box unit according to claim 12, wherein the damping gear is located at the second portion of the stowage compartment, and wherein when the glove box door rotates in a clockwise direction about the axis of the secondary hinge point to open, the bracket arm rotates in a counterclockwise direction about the axis of the primary hinge point and the damping gear rotates in a clockwise direction about its own axis.

16. The glove box unit according to claim 12, wherein the pinion gear is integrally formed on the glove box door arm.

17. The glove box unit according to claim 12, wherein the planes of rotation of the pinion, rack and damping gear are parallel.

18. The glove box unit according to claim 12, wherein the pinion is a sector gear and is integrally formed on an end of the glove box door arm.

19. The glove box unit according to claim 12, wherein the opening angle of the glove box door from the fully closed position to the fully open position is less than 90 degrees.

20. The glove box unit according to claim 12, wherein the hinge mechanism comprises a left hinge mechanism and a right hinge mechanism;

wherein the left hinge mechanism comprises:

a left rack connected to the left door arm,

a left pinion gear engaged with the left rack gear,

a left damping gear engaged with the left pinion gear, an

A left bracket arm;

a left torsion spring;

wherein the right hinge mechanism comprises:

a right rack bar connected to the right door arm,

a right pinion gear engaged with the right rack gear,

a right damping gear engaged with the right pinion gear, an

A right bracket arm;

a right torsion spring;

wherein the glove box door is attached to the left door arm and the right door arm and rotates the left door arm and the right door arm the same amount when the glove box door is opened or closed.

21. The glove box unit as in claim 20, wherein the left and right torsion springs continuously bias the bracket arm toward a door open position.

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