CN210622541U - Lock module - Google Patents

Abstract

A lock module comprising: a housing having an interior space and further having a left housing port located on a left side of the lock module and a right housing port located on a right side of the lock module; the left lock rod and the right lock rod are respectively in a rod shape, are accommodated in the shell in a left-right symmetrical mode and can slide left and right, one ends of the left lock rod and the right lock rod can respectively extend out of the left shell opening and the right shell opening, the other ends of the left lock rod and the right lock rod are respectively positioned in the shell and respectively provided with a left poking rod part and a right poking rod part, and the left lock rod and the right lock rod are synchronously positioned at an extending position and a retracting position; and a left gear and a right gear which are bilaterally symmetric and rotatably accommodated in the housing, respectively including: the left and right rotating shafts, the left and right teeth portions, and the left and right shift forks slidably engaged to the left and right lever portions, respectively, to drive the left and right lock bars to slide left and right with the rotation of the left and right gears.

Description

Lock module

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a lock module, especially a lock module for car glove box.

Background

In the modern society, with the popularization of automobiles, people are pursuing comfortable and high-quality automobile interior decorations, and the variety of the interior decorations tends to be diversified and refined. As an important component of interior trim, automotive glove boxes are increasingly required to be subjected to work and use experience. The box lock mechanism is an indispensable part of the glove box of the automobile, and plays a very important role in the overall performance of the glove box.

Prior art automotive glove box locks are typically of the protractile type, i.e. the box lock structure itself, comprising a locking bar, is mounted on the lid of the glove box. The lock lever is engaged to the vehicle body in the protruding state to lock the lid to the vehicle body (or fix the box). One disadvantage of such a box lock mechanism is that because the lock bar is an extended lock, the lock bar may protrude from both sides of the box lid when the box lid is opened, creating an undesirable visual effect. And a box lock system mounted on the box cover takes up space and adds weight to the box cover.

It is therefore desirable to design a trunk lock system in which the lock lever is engaged to the vehicle body in a retracted state to lock the trunk lid to the vehicle body. Moreover, the driving mechanisms of the lock rod, the moving mechanism and the latch can be arranged in the fixed box body, the glove box cover plate does not need an additional mechanism, the cover plate design is simplified, meanwhile, the cover plate can be light and thin, and the space of the storage box is maximized.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model provides a lock module, it can improve prior art.

According to the utility model discloses a lock module includes: a housing having an interior space and further having a left housing port on a left side of the lock module and a right housing port on a right side of the lock module; the left lock rod and the right lock rod are respectively in a rod shape, are accommodated in the shell in a bilaterally symmetrical manner and can slide left and right, one end of each of the left lock rod and the right lock rod can extend out through the left shell opening and the right shell opening, the other end of each of the left lock rod and the right lock rod is positioned in the shell and is provided with a left poking rod part and a right poking rod part respectively, the left lock rod and the right lock rod are synchronously positioned at an extending position and a retracting position, and the extending position and the retracting position correspond to an unlocking state and a locking state of the lock module respectively; and a left gear and a right gear which are bilaterally symmetric and rotatably accommodated in the housing, respectively including: a left rotation shaft and a right rotation shaft rotatably fixed to the housing, respectively, so that the left gear and the right gear can rotate in the housing, respectively; the left tooth part and the right tooth part are respectively positioned on the outer circumferences of the left gear and the right gear by taking the corresponding left rotating shaft and the corresponding right rotating shaft as centers, and are meshed with each other so as to enable the left gear and the right gear to synchronously and reversely rotate; and a left shift fork and a right shift fork, which are respectively extended from the outer circumferences of the left gear and the right gear and respectively slidably engaged with the left lever part and the right lever part to drive the left lock rod and the right lock rod to slide left and right along with the rotation of the left gear and the right gear.

In one embodiment, the left tooth is located only on the right outer circumference of the left gear and the right tooth is located only on the left outer circumference of the right gear.

In one embodiment, the housing has stops inside to define the range of rotation of the left and right gears.

In one embodiment, the lock module further includes left and right springs located between the left and right gears and the left and right housings, respectively, biasing the left and right gears relative to the housings to move the left and right lock levers toward the retracted position.

In one embodiment, the left spring and the right spring are disc springs respectively sleeved on the left rotating shaft and the right rotating shaft, one end of each of the left spring and the right spring is fixed to the housing, and the other end of each of the left spring and the right spring is fixed to the left gear and the right gear.

In one embodiment, the housing includes left and right housings approximately bilaterally symmetrical, the left housing has the left housing opening, the right housing has the right housing opening, the left gear is accommodated in the left housing, the right gear is accommodated in the right housing, and the left and right housings are assembled together to form the accommodating space of the housing.

In one embodiment, the left gear includes two left tooth portions arranged side by side in an axial direction of the left rotation shaft, the right gear includes two right tooth portions arranged side by side in an axial direction of the right rotation shaft, one of the two left tooth portions meshes with one of the two right tooth portions, and the other of the two left tooth portions meshes with the other of the two right tooth portions.

In one embodiment, the teeth of the two right tooth portions are staggered with each other, and the teeth of the two left tooth portions are staggered with each other.

In one embodiment, the lock module further comprises: left locking piece and right locking piece, fix respectively to the one end of left locking lever and right locking lever, so that with left locking lever and the same concertina movement of right locking lever, wherein left locking piece and right locking piece are the right angle hook shape respectively, work as left locking piece with right locking piece is when the withdrawal position, the lock module is in locking state, and works as left locking piece with when right locking piece is in the extended position, the lock module is in unlocking state.

In one embodiment, the lock module further comprises a drive mechanism coupled to one of the left lock, the right lock, the left lock bar, the right lock bar, the left gear, and the right gear to drive the lock module from the locked state to the unlocked state.

Drawings

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can understand the embodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a lock module according to the present invention.

Fig. 2A-2D show front, side, top, and perspective views, respectively, of a left housing according to the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3D show front, side, top, and perspective views, respectively, of a left locking lever according to the present invention;

fig. 4A-4D show front, side, top, and perspective views, respectively, of a left gear according to the present invention;

fig. 5A and 5B show a front view, respectively a side view, of a lock module according to the invention, fig. 5C being a cross-sectional view taken along the line a-a in fig. 5B, wherein the lock module is in a locked state;

fig. 6A and 6B show a front view, a side view, respectively, of a lock module according to the invention, fig. 6C being a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in fig. 6B, wherein the lock module is in an unlocked state;

fig. 7A, 7C show a front view, respectively a perspective view, of a lock module according to another embodiment of the invention, fig. 7B corresponding to fig. 7A and with the housing removed to show the internal structure of the lock module, wherein the lock module is in a locked state;

fig. 8A, 8C show a front view, respectively a perspective view, of a lock module according to another embodiment of the invention, fig. 8B corresponding to fig. 8A and with the housing removed to show the internal structure of the lock module, wherein the lock module is in an unlocked state.

List of reference numerals:

100 lock module

110 left shell

111 left shell hole

112 left plug-in part

120 left lock bar

121 left lock rod outer end

122 left lock bar inner side end

123 left driving lever part

130 left gear

131 left rotating shaft

132 left tooth

133 left shifting fork

140 left spring

150 left gasket

160 left locking piece

210 right shell

211 right shell aperture

212 right insertion part

220 right lock rod

230 right gear

240 right spring

250 right gasket

260 right locking piece

300 second object

Detailed Description

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the invention.

The directions of "front", "back", "upper", "lower", etc. referred to herein are only for convenience of understanding, and the present invention is not limited to these directions, but may be modified according to the actual situation.

The specific structure of the lock module according to the present application is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the overall structure of the lock module will be described with reference to fig. 1, and fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a lock module 100 according to the present invention. As shown, the lock module 100 includes: the left housing 110, the left lock lever 120, the left gear 130, the left spring 140, the left washer 150, the right housing 210, the right lock lever 220, the right gear 230, the right spring 240, and the right washer 250. The left housing 110 and the right housing 210 are assembled together to form a housing of the lock module 100 to house other components of the lock module 100 and to allow the components to move and rotate within the housing, as will be described in detail below. It can be seen that the lock module 100 is generally left-right symmetrical in construction, and therefore the following description will focus on the left hand side components of the lock module 100. It will be readily appreciated that the right side component also has a corresponding construction.

The specific structure of the left housing 110 will now be described with reference to fig. 2A to 2D. Fig. 2A-2D respectively show a front view, a side view, a top view, and a perspective view of the left housing 110 according to the present invention. As shown, the left housing 110 has a generally rectangular box shape. The left housing 110 has an inner space and a left housing hole 111 at the left side of the lock module 100. The right side of the left housing 110 is open and the right side edge has one or more left sockets 112 for assembly to the right housing 210 to form the interior space of the housing.

Although in the present embodiment, the housing is described as being formed by assembling the left housing 110 and the right housing 210. It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the housing may be formed in other forms, such as by assembling an upper housing and a lower housing, or integrally formed, all within the scope of the present application. Although the shape of the housing is described as a generally rectangular box shape, the shape of the housing may vary depending on the application, such as triangular, trapezoidal, or other geometric shapes.

The specific structure of the left lock lever 120 will now be described with reference to fig. 3A to 3D. Fig. 3A to 3D respectively show a front view, a side view, a top view, and a perspective view of the left lock lever 120 according to the present invention. As shown in the drawings, the left lock lever 120 is substantially rod-shaped and is slidably received in the left housing 110 from side to side. One end of the left lock lever 120 (i.e., the left lock lever outside end 121) can extend out through the left housing opening. The other end of the left lock lever 120 (i.e., the left lock lever inner end 122) is located inside the housing and has a left toggle 123. The left lever portion 123 of the left lock lever 120 and the right lever portion 223 of the right lock lever 220 are driven by the left gear 130 and the right gear 230, respectively, so that the left lock lever 120 and the right lock lever 220 are synchronously in the extended position and the retracted position, which correspond to the unlocked and locked states of the lock module 100, respectively.

The left housing 110 has a sliding groove or a guide portion therein to guide smooth sliding of the left lock lever 120 in the left housing 110. In one embodiment, the left lock lever 120 is guided to be slidable in the left housing 110 only in the left-right direction.

A left washer 150 may be disposed between the left lock lever 120 and the left housing 110, for example, in a groove formed on the outer circumferential surface of the left lock lever 120, so as to reduce the movement noise of the left lock lever 120. The interior of the lock module 100 may contain grease to facilitate smooth movement of the components and a left gasket 150 may be used for grease sealing.

The specific structure of the left gear 130 will now be described with reference to fig. 4A to 4D. Fig. 4A-4D illustrate a front view, a side view, a top view, and a perspective view, respectively, of the left gear 130 according to the present invention. The left gear 130 includes: a left rotation shaft 131 rotatably fixed to the left housing 110, for example, to a corresponding receiving portion inside the left housing 110, so that the left gear 130 can rotate in the left housing 110; a left tooth 132 positioned on an outer circumference of the left gear 130 centering on the left and right rotary shafts 131 and 230, the left tooth 132 of the left gear 130 and the right tooth of the right gear 230 being engaged with each other to allow the left and right gears 130 and 230 to synchronously rotate in opposite directions; a left shifter 133, which protrudes outward from the outer circumference of the left gear 130, is slidably coupled to the left shifter portion 123 of the left lock lever 120 to drive the sliding of the left lock lever 120, for example, the left-right sliding, according to the rotation of the left gear 130.

Due to the coupling relationship between the left shifter fork 133 and the left shifter lever 123, the rotational movement of the left gear 130 may be converted into the linear movement of the left lock lever 120.

In one embodiment, the interior of the left housing 110 has a stop to define the range of rotation of the left gear 130. For example, the left gear 130 may have a partial deletion near its rotational axis, forming a radial edge. Meanwhile, the left housing 110 has a stopper portion near the receiving portion that receives the left rotation shaft 131, which limits the rotation range of the left gear 130 by abutting against the radial edge of the left gear 130.

In one embodiment, the left tooth 132 of the left gear 130 is located only on the right outer circumference of the left gear 130, and correspondingly, the right tooth of the right gear 230 is located only on the left outer circumference of the right gear 230. Since the left gear 130 and the right gear 230 rotate only within a certain range, the left tooth 132 on a part of the outer circumference may mesh with the right tooth. In this way, the left and right gears 130 and 230 may have a smaller size, which is advantageous for reducing the overall size of the lock module 100.

In one embodiment, the left gear 130 includes two left teeth 132 disposed side by side along an axial direction of the left rotation shaft 131, and the right gear 230 includes two right teeth disposed side by side along an axial direction of the right rotation shaft, one of the two left teeth 132 is engaged with one of the two right teeth, and the other of the two left teeth 132 is engaged with the other of the two right teeth. Moreover, the teeth of the two left tooth portions 132 are arranged in a staggered manner, and the teeth of the two right tooth portions are arranged in a staggered manner.

Like this, because left gear 130 and right gear 230 are through two sets of tooth intermeshing that crisscross, the meshing between left gear 130 and the right gear 230 is more level and smooth and stable, can the noise reduction, promotes user experience.

The lock module 100 according to the present application further includes a left spring 140 located between the left gear 130 and the left housing 110, biasing the left gear 130 relative to the left housing 110 to move the left lock lever 120 toward the retracted position. Thus, without the lock module 100 being externally actuated, it tends to hold the locking bar in the locked position.

The operation of the lock module 100 according to the present application is described below with reference to fig. 5A-6C.

Fig. 5A and 5B show a front view, a side view, respectively, of a lock module 100 according to the invention, and fig. 5C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line a-a in fig. 5B, wherein the lock module 100 is in a locked state. As shown, the left and right gears 130 and 230 are rotated to a position such that the left and right forks 133 and 133 are close to the middle of the housing. The left and right lock levers 120 and 220 are driven to be retracted into the housing due to the coupling relationship between the left and right shifter levers 133 and 123 and 223. The lock module 100 tends to remain in the state of fig. 5A-5C when not being actuated by an external force due to the biasing action of the left and right springs 140 and 240 as previously described. In one embodiment, in the locked state, the left and right lock levers 120 and 220 are completely retracted into the housing, so that the outside of the housing has a neat appearance.

Fig. 6A and 6B show a front view and a side view, respectively, of a lock module 100 according to the present invention, and fig. 6C is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in fig. 6B, in which the lock module 100 is in an unlocked state. When the lock module 100 is driven by an external force, it reaches the state of fig. 6A-6C. As shown, the left and right gears 130 and 230 are rotated to a position such that the left and right forks 133 and 230 are spaced apart from the middle of the housing. The left and right lock levers 120 and 220 are driven out of the housing due to the coupling relationship between the left and right shifter levers 133 and 123 and 223. The lock module 100 tends to return to the condition of fig. 5A-5C due to the biasing action of the left and right springs 140 and 240 as previously described.

Another embodiment of a lock module 100 according to the present application is described below with reference to fig. 7A-8C, wherein the lock module 100 further has a left locking member 160 and a right locking member 260.

Fig. 7A, 7C show a front view, respectively a perspective view, of a lock module 100 according to the invention, fig. 7B corresponds to fig. 7A and the housing is removed to show the internal structure of the lock module 100, wherein the lock module 100 is in a locked state. Fig. 8A, 8C show a front view, respectively a perspective view, of a lock module 100 according to the invention, fig. 8B corresponds to fig. 8A and the housing is removed to show the internal structure of the lock module 100, wherein the lock module 100 is in an unlocked state.

The lock module 100 is mounted to a first object (not shown), such as a cabinet of a glove box of an automobile. The lock module 100 can be attached to or detached from a second object 300, such as a cover plate of a glove box of an automobile, in order to lock or unlock the second object 300 to or from the first object.

The left and right locking pieces 160 and 260 of the present embodiment are fixed to the other ends of the left and right lock levers 120 and 220, respectively, to be telescopically moved together with the left and right lock levers 120 and 220. In one embodiment, the left locking member 160 and the right locking member 260 are in the shape of right angle hooks, respectively, and when the left locking member 160 and the right locking member 260 are in the retracted position (fig. 7A-7C), the left locking member 160 and the right locking member 260 catch the second object 300 and the lock module 100 is in the locked state. And when the left and right locking members 160 and 260 are in the extended position (fig. 8A-8C), the left and right locking members 160 and 260 release the second object 300 and the lock module 100 is in the unlocked state.

In one embodiment, the lock module 100 further includes a drive mechanism coupled to one of the left lock 160, the right lock 260, the left lock lever 120, the right lock lever 220, the left gear 130, and the right gear 230 to drive the lock module 100 from the locked state to the unlocked state.

In one embodiment, the drive mechanism may be a mechanical drive mechanism, which is mounted, for example, in the cabinet of a glove box of an automobile, and provides, for example, a button on a surface of the cabinet for a user to actuate the lock module 100. Thus, the glove box may not have any lock module 100 and its driving mechanism on the cover plate, so that the cover plate has a neat and beautiful appearance and a reduced weight, and is also advantageous for increasing the space inside the box.

In one embodiment, the drive mechanism may be an electric drive mechanism that receives an electronic signal to drive the lock module 100. The electric drive mechanism may be installed in the glove box body.

In summary, the present application provides a lock module 100 in which the locking bar is retractable locked, providing a cleaner appearance. The gears of the lock module 100 have a smoother, quieter manner of engagement. Also, in application to an automobile glove box, the lock module 100 does not have to be mounted on a glove panel and does not require any drive means on the glove panel, thereby simplifying the design of the panel and providing a lighter, thinner, neater panel.

Although the present application describes the use of the lock module 100 as an example of a glove box, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the lock module 100 may be used in other devices as well.

While preferred embodiments have been shown and described herein, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example only. Numerous modifications, changes, and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. A lock module, characterized in that the lock module comprises:

a housing having an interior space and further having a left housing port on a left side of the lock module and a right housing port on a right side of the lock module;

the left lock rod and the right lock rod are respectively in a rod shape, are accommodated in the shell in a bilaterally symmetrical manner and can slide left and right, one end of each of the left lock rod and the right lock rod can extend out through the left shell opening and the right shell opening, the other end of each of the left lock rod and the right lock rod is positioned in the shell and is provided with a left poking rod part and a right poking rod part respectively, the left lock rod and the right lock rod are synchronously positioned at an extending position and a retracting position, and the extending position and the retracting position correspond to an unlocking state and a locking state of the lock module respectively; and

left and right gears, bilateral symmetry and can rotationally accommodate in the casing respectively include:

a left rotation shaft and a right rotation shaft rotatably fixed to the housing, respectively, so that the left gear and the right gear can rotate in the housing, respectively;

the left tooth part and the right tooth part are respectively positioned on the outer circumferences of the left gear and the right gear by taking the corresponding left rotating shaft and the corresponding right rotating shaft as centers, and are meshed with each other so as to enable the left gear and the right gear to synchronously and reversely rotate; and

and the left shifting fork and the right shifting fork respectively extend out of the outer circumferences of the left gear and the right gear and are respectively connected with the left shifting rod part and the right shifting rod part in a sliding manner so as to drive the left lock rod and the right lock rod to slide left and right along with the rotation of the left gear and the right gear.

2. The lock module of claim 1, wherein:

the left tooth is located only on the right outer circumference of the left gear, and the right tooth is located only on the left outer circumference of the right gear.

3. The lock module of claim 2, wherein:

the inside of the housing has stoppers to define the rotation range of the left and right gears.

4. The lock module of claim 1, wherein:

the lock module further includes left and right springs respectively located between the left and right gears and biasing the left and right gears relative to the housing to move the left and right lock levers toward the retracted position.

5. The lock module of claim 4, wherein:

the left spring and the right spring are disc springs respectively sleeved on the left rotating shaft and the right rotating shaft, one ends of the left spring and the right spring are respectively fixed on the shell, and the other ends of the left spring and the right spring are respectively fixed on the left gear and the right gear.

6. The lock module of claim 1, wherein:

the housing comprises a left housing and a right housing which are approximately bilaterally symmetrical, the left housing is provided with the left housing opening, the right housing is provided with the right housing opening, the left gear is accommodated in the left housing, the right gear is accommodated in the right housing, and the left housing and the right housing are assembled together to form an accommodating space of the housing.

7. The lock module of claim 1, wherein:

the left gear includes two left tooth portions arranged side by side in an axial direction of the left rotation shaft, the right gear includes two right tooth portions arranged side by side in the axial direction of the right rotation shaft, one of the two left tooth portions meshes with one of the two right tooth portions, and the other of the two left tooth portions meshes with the other of the two right tooth portions.

8. The lock module of claim 7, wherein:

the teeth of the two right tooth parts are arranged in a staggered mode, and the teeth of the two left tooth parts are arranged in a staggered mode.

9. The lock module according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein:

the lock module further includes: left locking piece and right locking piece, fix respectively to the one end of left locking lever and right locking lever, so that with left locking lever and the same concertina movement of right locking lever, wherein left locking piece and right locking piece are the right angle hook shape respectively, work as left locking piece with right locking piece is when the withdrawal position, the lock module is in locking state, and works as left locking piece with when right locking piece is in the extended position, the lock module is in unlocking state.

10. The lock module of claim 9, wherein:

the lock module further includes a driving mechanism coupled to one of the left locking member, the right locking member, the left locking lever, the right locking lever, the left gear, and the right gear to drive the lock module to change from the locked state to the unlocked state.

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