GB2365489A

GB2365489A - Lid supporting mechanism

Info

Publication number: GB2365489A
Application number: GB0112847A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Takahide Ichimaru; Akihiko Hirose
Original assignee: Nifco Inc
Current assignee: Nifco Inc
Priority date: 2000-05-30
Filing date: 2001-05-25
Publication date: 2002-02-20
Also published as: GB0112847D0; US20010052524A1

Abstract

A lid opening-closing supporting mechanism in a biaxial rotating system comprises: a base shaft (11); a rotating member axially supported by the base shaft; a guide hole (12) bored in a container; a branch hole (13) branching from the guide hole (12); and first and second slide shafts (31,32) attached to a lid (3) and located in the guide hole (12). The coefficient of friction between the second slide shaft (32) and an inner surface of the guide hole (12) is defined as , and an angle formed between a line connecting the base shaft (11) with the first slide shaft (31) and a line connecting the base shaft (11) with the second slide shaft (32) is defined as a , wherein the base shaft, the first slide shaft and the second slide shaft are arranged to satisfy a formula expressed as a/ 2tan<SP>-1</SP>. The first slide shaft (31) may tightly contact an end portion of the guide hole (12), while the first (31) and second (32) slide shafts loosely contact the guide hole (12) in other areas. The support Mechanism is preferably used to support a lid of a container in an automobile, e.g. a storage container or a cup holder.

Description

2365489 LID SUPPORTING MECHANISM [00011 The present invention relates to a

lid opening-closing supporting mechanism, which is suitably used as a mechanism for opening and closing a lid for an opening section of a container for an automobile, such as a storage and a cup holder. The present invention also relates to a storage device using the lid opening and closing supporting mechanism.

[00021 Heretofore, a container, such as a cup holder or a storage, has been installed at a center console or the like of an automobile, and in this kind of container, a lid for opening and closing an opening section of the container has been provided.

[00031 As the lid to be used in the container, there is generally used a lid which has an end rim portion rotatably attached to an end rim of a container main body, and opens/closes in a flap system. Therefore, for a portion responding to a rotating track at a distal end of the lid according to opening and closing of the lid, it is necessary to have a space above a container main body.

Also, it is necessary to have a space at one end side of the container main body, for positioning a lid in case the lid is in a fully open condition with respect to the container main body. Therefore, in a conventional container having a lid, it is not easy to obtain an installation location in an automobile in which a space is limited.

[00041 In order to solve the aforementioned problem, there has been proposed a lid opening-closing supporting mechanism shown in Figs. 1 through 3(D) as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (K0KAI) No. H8-156698. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in the lid opening-closing supporting mechanism, a rotating member 2 is axially supported by a shaft 11 projected on an outer surface of a container main body 1, and a guide or slide hole 12 which is formed in a circular arc shape along a rotating track of the rotating member 2 and a branch hole 13 which branches outwardly from 2 the guide hole 12 are formed at a side surface of the container main body 1. Then, a first slide shaft 31 provided at each of two side portions (only one is shown in the figures) of a lid 3 is axially attached to the rotating member 2 by inserting the first slide shaft 31 from an inside of the container main body 1 through the guide hole 12, and a second slide shaft 32, which is arranged parallel to the first slide shaft 31 at each of the two side portions (only one is shown in the figures) of the lid 3 is inserted from the inside of the container main body 1 through the guide hole 12 into a notched groove 21 formed in the rotating member 2. Incidentally, the lid 3 is urged by a torsion spring s attached between a projection 14, which is provided between the guide hole 12 and the rotating shaft 11, and the second slide shaft 32.

[00051 Operations for opening and closing the lid 3 by the lid openingclosing supporting mechanism are as shown in Figs. 3(A) through 3(D).

[00061 Under a closed condition where an opening section of the container main body 1 is closed by the lid 3, as shown in Fig. 3 (A), the first slide shaft 31 is positioned at one end limit (upper left limit in the figure) of the guide hole 12, and also, the second slide shaft 32 is positioned at a distal end portion of the branch hole 13, wherein the lid 3 is urged toward a closing direction by the torsion spring s (not shown in Figs. 3 (A) through 3 (D) but referred thereto hereinafter), to thereby maintain the closed condition.

7] By rotating the lid 3 toward an opening direction, that is, toward an upper right side in Fig. 3(A) from the closed condition while resisting against the urging force of the torsion spring., as shown in Fig. 3(E), the lid 3 is rotated for a predetermined angle around the first slide shaft 31, and the second slide shaft 32 is moved from the distal end portion of the branch hole 13 to the guide hole 12. Then, as shown in Fig. 3(C), the first slide shaft 31 and the second slide shaft 32 are moved toward the other 3 end side (lower right side in the figures) in the guide hole 12, and at the same time, the rotating member 2 is rotate d around the rotating shaft 11, so that the lid 3 is rotated in the opening direction around the rotating shaft 11. Accordingly, as shown in Fig. 3 (D), the second slide shaft 32 abuts against the other end limit of the guide hole 12, i.e. a slide limit or limit of rotating the lid, and the opening section of the container main body is opened. In this case, at the time of operation from Fig.

3 (E3) to Fig. 3 (D), the urging force of the torsion spring s acts in the direction of rotating the lid 3 in the opening direction, so that the lid is rotated automatically by the urging force, and the fully opened condition in Fig. 3(D) is maintained.

is [00081 Also, in case of closing the lid 3 in the opened condition in Fig. 3(D), by rotating the lid 3 in the above opened condition toward a closing direction (upper left side in the figure) while resisting against the urging force of the torsion springgi, as shown in Fig. 3(C), the first slide shaft 31 and the second slide shaft 32 are f irstly moved to the one end side in the guide hole 12, and the rotating member 2 is rotated around the rotating shaft 11, so that the lid 3 is rotated for a predetermined angle around the rotating shaft 11. Then, as shown in Fig. 3 (D), when the first slide shaft 31 reaches the one end limit of the guide hole 12, the second slide shaft 32 moves from the guide hole 12 into the branch hole 13 to move toward the distal end of the branch hole 13, as shown in Fig. 3 (A) while the lid 3 is rotated around the first slide shaft 31 to close the opening section of the container main body 1. In this case, at the time of the operation shown in Fig. 3(B) to the operation shown in Fig. 3(A), the urging force of the torsion spring s acts in the direction of rotating the lid 3 in the closing direction, so that the lid is rotated automatically by the urging force, and also, the closed condition in Fig. 3(A) is maintained by the urging force.

4 [00091 As described above, the aforementioned lid openingclosing supporting mechanism has been made such that two shafts, i.e. the first slide shaft 31 and the rotating shaft 11, are used as rotating shafts for rotating the lid 3, so that a space required for opening and closing the lid is reduced, and the installation location can be easily obtained.

[00101 However, in the lid opening-closing supporting mechanism described above, at the time of operations for opening or closing the lid 3, a large friction is caused between the second slide shaft 32 and the guide hole 12. Namely, in case of opening the lid 3, as shown in Fig. 4, a reaction of a force Fl in the opening direction applied to the lid 3 acts such that the second slide shaft 32 is is rotated around the first slide shaft 31 in a direction Al in the figure, and the second slide shaft 32 slidingly moves in the guide hole 12 while being pushed against an inner peripheral surface of a lower side of the guide hole 12. On the other hand, in case of closing the lid 3, a reaction of a force F2 in the closing direction applied to the lid 3 acts such that the second slide shaft 32 is rotated around the first slide shaft 31 in a direction B1 in the figure, and the second slide shaft 32 moves slidingly in the guide hole 12 while being pushed against an inner peripheral surface of an upper side of the guide hole 12. Therefore, at the time of operations for opening and closing the lid 3, a large operation load is applied to the lid 3, so that in case the lid 3 is rotated manually, there is an uneven feeling, or the smooth operation can not be obtained at the time of rotation by the urging force of the torsion spring s.

[00111 Thus, in the opening-closing supporting mechanism, it is necessary to apply a grease for lubrication to the second slide shaft 32 or the inner peripheral surface of the guide hole 12, so as to decrease a frictional resistance between the second slide shaft 32 and the guide hole 12. Therefore, assembly work of the lid 3 with the container main body 1 is made cumbersome, and a cost therefor is increased. Also, the grease might contaminate the surroundings.

[00121 The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and an object of the invention is to provide a lid opening-closing supporting mechanism of a biaxial or two-shaf t rotating system, in which a frictional resistance at the time of operations for opening and closing the lid is decreased, so that smooth opening and closing operations can be carried out without using a lubricant, such as a grease.

[00131 To achieve the aforementioned object, the present invention provides a supporting mechanism for opening and closing a lid. The supporting mechanism is formed of a is rotating or base shaft attached to an outer surface of a base member to be opened and closed, such as a container; a rotating member axially supported by the rotating shaft and rotating along the outer surface of the member to be opened and closed; a guide hole in a circular arc shape bored in a side surface of a container main body along a rotating track of the rotating member; a branch hole branching from the guide hole and bored in the side surface of the container main body; a first slide shaft formed on a lid for opening and closing an opening section of the base member, in which the first slide shaft passes through the guide hole from an inside of the base member and is axially supported by the rotating member; and a second slide shaft formed on the lid and inserted into the guide hole from the inside of the base member.

[00141 Under a closed condition in which the opening section of the base member is closed by the lid, the first slide shaft is located at one end limit of the guide hole, and also, the second slide shaft is located at a distal end portion of the branch hole. Then, by rotating the lid in the closed condition toward an opening direction, firstly, the lid is rotated for a predetermined angle around the first slide shaft, and the second slide shaft is moved from 6 the distal end portion of the branch hole to the guide hole. Then, the first slide shaft and the second slide shaft are moved in the guide hole to the other end side thereof, and the rotating member is rotated around the rotating shaft, so that the lid is rotated around the rotating shaft to open the opening section of the base member.

[00151 Also, by rotating the lid in the opened condition toward a closing direction, firstly, the first slide shaft and the second slide shaft are moved to the one end side in the guide hole, and also, the rotating member is rotated around the rotating shaft, so that the lid is rotated for a predetermined angle around the rotating shaft. After the first slide shaft reaches the aforementioned one end limit of the guide hole, the second slide shaft enters the branch hole from the guide hole to be moved to the distal end side of the branch hole, so that the lid is rotated around the first slide shaft to thereby close the opening section of the base member.

[00161 In the lid opening-closing supporting mechanism as structured above, in case a coefficient of friction between the second slide shaft and an inner surface of the guide hole is defined as p and an angle formed by a line connecting the rotating shaft and the first slide shaft and a line connecting the rotating shaft and the second slide shaft is defined as a, the rotating member, the first slide shaft and the second slide shaft are arranged to satisfy a formula expressed as a 2gtan -1.

[00171 A second embodiment of the invention is a storage device, which is formed of a box member or container having a guide hole formed in a circular arc shape around a base shaft on a side wall of the container, and a branch hole formed in a circular arc shape branching from the guide hole; a lid provided for covering an opening of the box member and having a first shaft engaging the guide hole at the time of closing, and a second shaft engaging the branch hole; and an arm connecting between the base shaft and the 7 first shaft. In the storage device structured as described above, at the time of opening the lid, at least one part of the lid is accommodated inside the box member. A groove width of the guide hole at a portion receiving the first shaft at the time of closing the lid has a size relatively tightly engaging the first shaft. The other portions of the guide hole have a width for receiving the first shaft and the second shaft relatively loosely.

[00181 Accordingly, by merely increasing the accuracy of the part of the groove, a rigidity under the closed condition of the lid and a smoothness at the time of opening and closing operations can be achieved.

[00191 Particular embodiments in accordance with this invention will now be described with reference to the is accompanying drawings; in which:[00201 Fig. 1 is a side view showing an example of a container using a conventional lid opening-closing supporting mechanism of a biaxial rotating system; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of the lid opening closing supporting mechanism of the biaxial rotating system shown in Fig. 1; Figs. 3(A) through 3(D) are explanatory views for explaining operations of the opening-closing supporting mechanism of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is an explanatory view for explaining a dynamical relationship of an opening-closing supporting mechanism and set conditions of the present inventions; Fig. 5 is a graph showing results of experiments conducted in an embodiment; and Fig. 6 is an explanatory view showing a second embodiment of the invention, in which a relationship between a guide groove and a shaft is shown.

1] Hereunder, embodiments of the invention will be explained with reference to the attached drawings.

[00221 When a dynamical relation at the time of operations for opening and closing the lid by a lid opening-closing supporting mechanism of a biaxial rotating system has been 8 considered, the followings have been found. That is, by adjusting the positional relationship among a rotating or base shaft 11, a first slide shaft 31 and a second slide shaft 32 appropriately, the frictional resistance between the second slide shaft 32 and the guide hole 12 at the time of operations for opening and closing the lid can be effectively decreased, and the smooth opening and closing operations can be achieved without using a lubricant, such as a grease, in accordance with the setting of the positional relationship.

3] Namely, in Fig. 4, in case a load F2 for rotating the lid 3 in the closing direction is applied, a load in a direction A2 in the figure is applied to the first slide shaft 31, and a load in a direction 81 in the figure is applied to the second slide shaft 32. At this time, a coefficient p of friction between the second slide shaft 32 and the guide hole 12 is shown as follows from a formula of an angle of friction:

11 tanE) In this case, 0 is an angle formed by a straight line C connecting between the rotating shaft 11 and the second slide shaft 32, and the loading direction 81. Then, the aforementioned angle e is shown as follows:

E) Ptan-1 In this case, layout of the rotating shaft 11, the first slide shaft 31 and the second slide shaft 32 is set such that an angle a formed by a straight line D connecting between the rotating shaft 11 and the first slide shaft 31, and the straight line C connecting between the rotating shaft 11 and the second slide shaft 32 becomes more than twice. Namely, the angle a satisfies the following:

a t 2Atan-1 9 As a result, the lid 3 is rotated smoothly without causing the uneven feeling or rugged feeling, and the lid 3 is extremely smoothly moved in case of rotating the lid 3 by the urging means, such as a torsion spring, resulting in 5 finding that a use of the grease can be abolished.

[00241 For instance, in case the second slide shaft 31 is formed of metal and the slide hole 12, i.e. container main body 1, is formed of an acrylonitrile-butadiene-Styrene (ABS) resin, coefficient p of friction is approximately 0.4, and 2litan-1 43.6 Thus, in this case, by setting the arrangements of the is rotating shaft 11, the first slide shaft 31 and the second slide shaft 32 such that the angle a is 43.6 degrees or more, and realistically, the angle a is 44 degrees or more, the extremely smooth rotating operation of the lid 3 can be obtained without using the grease. Incidentally, more preferable value of the angle a is 50 degrees.

[00251 incidentally, although the present invention enables to abolish the use of the grease, the present invention does not preclude the lubricant, such as grease. Even if the lubricant is used, the present invention can make the arrangement of the rotating shaft 11, the first slide shaft 31 and the second slide shaft 32 appropriate.

[00261 Namely, for example, in the combination of the second slide shaft 32 made of metal and the guide or sli de hole 12, i.e. container main body 1, made of ABS resin, in case the coefficient g of friction is about 0.1, it is found that 2gtan-1 = 11.4. By setting the aforementioned angle a to be 11.4 degrees or more, and realistically, 12 degrees or more, the smooth rotating motion of the lid 3 can be achieved. In this case, a distance between the two shafts, that is, between the first slide shaft 31 and the second slide shaft 32, can be set much narrower, so that the design can be made more freely. In the present invention, the degree of freedom in design can be definitely obtained.

7] The aforementioned lid opening-closing supporting mechanisms shown in Fig. 4 were made, and by variously modifying relative positions of the first slide shaft 31 and the second slide shaft 32 and by variously settings the angle a, experiments for evaluating the opening and closing motions of the lid 3 without using the grease were carried out. The results thereof are shown in Fig. 5.

[00281 Incidentally, the first slide shaft 31 and the second slide shafts 32 were made of metal, and the container main body 1 including the slide hole 12 and the lid 3 were made of ABS resin. Therefore, the coefficient of friction is approximately 0.4, and 2gtan-1 is 43.6.

is [00291 As shown in Fig. 5, in a set region or area in which the angle a is 44 degrees or more, the operation load is small, and the rotating motion is smooth without having uneven feeling, and it is confirmed that there is no need to use the grease.

[ 003 01 Also, the materials for the second slide shaft 32 and the slide hole 12, i.e. container main body 1, are not limited to the combination of metal and ABS resin, and can be a combination of metal members, a combination of synthetic resins, and a combination of different synthetic resins.

[00311 Furthermore, although the embodiment of the invention has been explained as the supporting mechanism for opening and closing the lid of the container, such as a cup holder or a storage installed in the automobile, the supporting mechanism for opening and closing of the invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention can be used for lids which open and close opening sections of various kinds of members to be opened and closed.

[00321 Still further, the torsion spring 2 or urging means for urging the lid 3 can be omitted, and shapes and structures of the container main body 1 (member to be opened and closed), the rotating member 2 and the lid 3 are 11 not limited to those shown in Figs. 1 through 4, and can be adequately modified within the gist of the present invention.

[00331 As described above, according to the lid opening closing supporting mechanism of the first embodiment of the invention, in the lid opening-closing supporting mechanism of the biaxial rotating system which can achieve the reduction of the installation space, the arrangements of the shafts can be easily adjusted appropriately, and the smooth opening and closing motions can be definitely achieved, so that the use of the grease can be abolished or eliminated.

[00341 Therefore, a step of applying the grease or the like can be eliminated to thereby reduce the cost thereof, and is at the same time, contamination of the surroundings by the grease can be surely prevented.

[00351 Hereunder, a second embodiment of the invention will be explained in detail with reference to Fig. 6.

[00361 In a lid opening-closing supporting mechanism, a rotating track of a first slide shaft 31 is defined by an arm 2' having one end pivotally attached to a rotating or base shaft 11. Also, a stopping end of the lid 3 is defined at a position where the first slide shaft 31 abuts against an upper end of a guide hole 12. Further, a second slide shaft 32 moves within a branch hole 13 around the first slide shaft 31 to define a rotating range V. Then, a moving track in a rotating range X is def ined by the guide hole 12.

[00371 Therefore, in order to obtain a smooth motion without play at the closing and stopping position of the lid 3 and within the rotating range V in which the lid 3 is rotated around the first slide shaft 31, it is preferable that the first slide shaft 31 and an inner peripheral surface of an upper end portion of the guide hole 12 are closely and tightly engaged with each other, and the second slide shaft 32 and the branch hole 13 are loosely engaged with each other.

12 [00381 Also, in order to obtain the smooth motion in the rotating range in which both the first slide shaft 31 and the second slide shaft 32 are moved along the guide hole 12, it is preferable that the first and second slide shafts 31, 32 and the guide hole 12 are loosely engaged with each other.

9] From the foregoing, accuracies of the guide holes are set as follows.

[00401 In order to tightly define three directions, that is, upper, lower and front sides of the first slide shaft 31 by an upper end of the guide hole 12, a dimensional tolerance of a region U in Fig. 6 is determined such that the first slide shaft 31 is relatively closely engaged with the guide hole 12.

is [00411 At the time of an opening operation, a slidingly contacting surface of the second slide shaft 32 with respect to the branch hole 13 is determined to be an outer periphery side by an operating force applied to the lid 3, and at the time of a closing operation, the second slide shaft 32 is allowed not to contact the branch hole 13.

Therefore, in the region V in Fig. 6, only smoothness of an inner surf ace of the outer periphery side of the branch hole 13 is considered, and the accuracies of the width of the groove and the diameter of the shaft are loosely set.

2] While moving within a region W in the guide hole 12, since the track of the first slide shaft 31 can be solely determined by the arm 2', an accuracy of clearance between the first slide shaft 31 and the guide hole 12 in this region W can be completely ignored.

[00431 Although the play of the lid 3 within the region X in the guide hole 12 depends on an engagement clearance or space between the second slide shaft 32 and the guide hole 12, in accordance with the operating force for opening and closing applied to the lid 3, the sliding contact surface of the second slide shaft 32 with respect to the guide hole 12 is determined to be an inner periphery side at the time of the opening operation, and the sliding contact surface 13 of the second slide shaft 32 with respect to the guide hole 12 is determined to be the outer periphery side at the time of the closing operation. Therefore, as long as the inner surface of the guide hole 12 is smooth, the specific accuracy is not required for the width of the groove, so that the accuracy between the width of the groove and the diameter of the shaft is set loosely. Also, since a stopper of an opening limit can be made by another member, the accuracy of the lower end side of the main guide groove 12 may be low.

[00441 Incidentally, if spring means is provided to elastically urge the second slide shaft 32 to always abut against one of the inner surfaces of the guide hole 12, it is sufficient in the region X to make one of the inner is surfaces of the guide hole 12 smooth.

[00451 As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the first slide shaft does not have to contact the guide hole except the time for closing operation, and the second slide shaft may contact only one of the surfaces of the guide hole. Thus, the sliding resistance at the time of opening and closing operations can be extremely reduced. Furthermore, since there is no need to accord the track of the first slide shaft with that of the second slide shaft, even though the two shafts pass through an inside of the common guide hole, the accuracy of the relative positional relationship between the guide hole and the two shafts is not necessary to be increased. Therefore, according to the present invention, the rigidity of the lid in the closed condition and the smoothness thereof at the opening and closing operations can be retained, and the great effect can be obtained in reducing the manufacturing cost.

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Claims

1. A supporting mechanism for opening and closing a lid for a base member, comprising: 5 ò base shaft attached to the base member, ò rotating member axially supported by the base shaft and rotating around the base member, a guide hole in a circular arc shape formed in a side wall of the base member along a rotation track of the rotating member, is a branch hole branching from the guide hole and formed in the side wall of the base member, a first slide shaft fixed to the lid, said first slide shaft passing through the guide hole and axially supported by the rotating member, and a second slide shaft fixed to the lid, said second slide shaft being located at the branch hole in a lid closed condition and being located at the guide hole in a lid open condition, wherein when a coefficient of friction between the second slide shaft and an inner surface of the guide hole is defined as p and an angle formed by a line connecting the base shaft and the first slide shaft and a line connecting the base shaft and the second slide shaft is defined as Q, the rotating member, the first slide shaft and the second slide shaft are arranged to satisfy a formula expressed as a 2gtan-1 or wherein said guide hole has an end portion receiving the first slide shaft at a time of closing the lid, said end portion having a width closely contacting the first shaft, said guide hole having a width at portions other than the end portion loosely engaging the first and second slide shafts.

2. A supporting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein in the lid closed condition for the base member, the first slide shaft is located at one end limit of the guide hole while the second slide shaft is located at a distal end portion of the branch hole, said lid being rotated in an opening direction from the closed condition such that the lid is rotated for a predetermined angle around the first slide shaft to allow the second slide shaft to move from the distal end portion of the branch hole to the guide hole, and said first slide shaft and the second slide shaft are moved in the guide hole to allow the second slide shaft to reach the other end limit, said rotating member and the lid being rotated around the base shaft; and said the lid in the open condition is rotated in a closing direction such that the first slide shaft and the second slide shaft are moved to allow the first slide shaft to reach the one end limit while the rotating member and the lid are rotated around the base shaft, and when the first slide shaft reaches the one end limit, the second slide shaft enters the branch hole to be moved to a distal end side of the branch hole while the lid is rotated around the first slide shaft to thereby close the lid.

3. A supporting mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising urging means for urging the lid near the second slide shaft toward an outer side of the guide hole so that said urging means urges a rotating movement of the lid for more than a predetermined angle at a time of opening and closing, and the closed condition and the open condition of the lid are maintained by an urging force of the urging means.

16

4. A supporting mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an inner surface of the guide hole is formed of an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin, and said second slide shaft is formed of metal, said angle expressed as a being 44 degrees or more.

5. A supporting mechanism according to any preceding claim 4, wherein said base member is a container to be mounted on an automobile and operating as one of a storage and a cup holder.

6. A storage device, comprising:

a container including an opening, a side wall, a base is shaft provided on the side wall, a guide hole formed in the side wall and having a circular arc shape around the base shaft, and a branch hole formed in the side wall to branch from the guide hole and having a circular arc shape, an arm axially supported by the base shaft, and a lid for covering the opening of the container including a first slide shaft disposed in the guide hole and engaging the arm, and a second slide shaft to be able to enter the guide hole and the branch hole, at least one part of the lid being accommodated inside the container at a time of opening the lid, wherein said guide hole has an end portion receiving the first slide shaft at a time of closing the lid, said end portion having a width closely contacting the first shaft, said guide hole having a width at portions other than the end portion loosely engaging the first and second slide shafts.

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7. A storage device according to claim 6, wherein said branch hole has the width same as that of the guide hole other than the end portion.

8. A storage device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein when the first slide shaft is located at the end portion, the second slide shaft can slide loosely in the branch hole.

9. A supporting mechanism substantially as described with reference to Figures 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

10. A storage device substantially as described with is reference to Figures 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.