JP2001266704A - Knob apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an operating knob, capable of absorbing impact using a simple and inexpensive structure. SOLUTION: A knob 11 comprises an inside knob part 13, having a piercing shaft hole 17 which is fitted to a shaft 28 of a variable resistor 27, and an outside knob part 12 fitted to an outer part of the inside knob part 13. An impact-absorbing projection 11, which is breakable from a collision with the tip of the shaft 28 of the variable resistor, is provided inside the through-hole 17. Thereby, the operating knob capable of absorbing impact can be achieved by an inexpensive and simple structure formed merely by assembling the resin- molded outside knob part 12 and the inside knob part 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shock absorbing operation knob device provided on a front panel of a vehicle audio or video device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to improve the safety of occupants in the front seats in the event of a vehicle collision, various controls, audio and video devices, etc. incorporated in an instrument panel in the front of the passenger compartment are also operated by a control knob in the event of a collision. Standards are defined so that protrusions such as do not pose a danger to the human body. For example, European standards require that the operating knob be depressed by a collision load of 36.7 N or less so that it does not protrude beyond other planes.

FIG. 4 shows an example of this kind of conventional shock absorbing operation knob. In FIG. 4, a resin knob 1 includes an outer knob portion 2 and an inner knob portion 3. The outer knob portion 2 includes an outer cylinder 4 and an inner cylinder 6 formed inside the outer cylinder 4 via an annular groove 5. Consists of The inner knob 3 is press-fitted into the inner peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 6, and the engagement protrusion 8 formed on the inner knob 3 engages with the engagement groove 7 formed on the inner cylinder 6. The part 3 is retained. When the inner knob is pressed into the inner peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 6, the engagement protrusion 8
As a result, the inner cylinder 6 is pushed outward and is returned to the original state when the engagement protrusion 8 is fitted into the engagement groove 7. This utilizes the elasticity of the resin material. Therefore, the inner knob 3
When the impact load F acts in the direction of the arrow in a state where the shaft of the variable resistor is inserted into the shaft hole 9, the engagement between the engagement groove 7 and the engagement protrusion 8 is released, and the inner knob 3 is disengaged. Outer knob 2
Move and dent, absorbing the impact. And
A coil spring 10 is wound around the outside of the inner cylinder 6 so as to properly absorb the impact with the impact load F determined by the standard,
Adjustment was made to match the impact load F by the degree of tightening.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional shock absorbing structure, a coil spring is used for adjusting the shock absorbing load, so that the number of parts and the number of assembling steps are increased, and the cost is increased. Had become.

The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and provides a knob device which can surely absorb shocks with an inexpensive and simple structure.

[0006]

The knob device according to the present invention comprises:
It has a through-shaft hole that fits into a shaft through which an electronic component protrudes, and a shock-absorbing projection that can be destroyed by a collision with the tip of the shaft inside the through-shaft hole. With this configuration, an inexpensive and simple shock absorbing knob can be realized.

In addition, the knob device of the present invention has a through-shaft hole that fits into a protruding shaft of an electronic component, and has a shock-absorbing portion inside the through-shaft hole that can be broken by a collision with the tip of the shaft. An inner knob having a projection, and an outer knob fitted to the outer periphery of the inner knob are provided. With this configuration, it is possible to realize an inexpensive and simple shock absorbing knob by simply assembling a resin molded product.

In the knob device according to the present invention, a fitting projection may be provided on one of the fitting portions of the inner knob portion and the outer knob portion, and a fitting groove may be provided on the other, so as to fit each other. It is characterized by having made it. With this configuration,
The inner knob and the outer knob are reliably integrated, so that the outer knob can be prevented from idling.

Further, in the knob device according to the present invention, the inner knob portion includes an inner cylinder having the through shaft hole, and an outer cylinder formed outside the outer cylinder through an annular groove. A locking projection is provided on the inside of the lower end of the inner knob to lock the lower end of the inner knob.
With this configuration, the inner knob portion and the outer knob portion are reliably integrated, so that the outer knob portion can be prevented from coming off in the axial direction.

Further, in the knob device of the present invention, a space for accommodating the broken pieces of the shock absorbing projection is provided in a portion of the outer knob portion facing the through shaft hole of the inner knob portion. It is characterized by the following. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent an operation failure due to the presence of the broken pieces of the shock absorbing projection.

[0011] The knob device of the present invention is characterized in that a through-hole of the inner knob portion is provided with a shaft retaining projection which engages with an annular groove formed in a shaft of the electronic component. It is. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the knob from coming off the electronic component.

[0012]

FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a knob device for a vehicle-mounted device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a bottom view thereof. In FIG. 1, a knob 11 made of resin is used.
Consists of an outer knob 12 and an inner knob 13 fitted inside. The inner knob 13 includes an outer cylinder 14 and an inner cylinder 16 formed inside the outer cylinder 14 through an annular groove 15, and the inner peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 16 has a through shaft into which a variable resistor shaft is press-fitted. A hole 17 is formed. Two slits 17 are formed in the inner cylinder 16 in the axial direction so as to oppose each other in the radial direction, and can be expanded radially outward together with the annular groove 15. In the lower part of the through shaft hole 17, a shaft stopper preventing projection 19 which engages with the engaging groove of the variable resistor shaft and a shaft stopper preventing projection 20 which engages with a D-cut portion for preventing rotation of the variable resistor shaft are provided. Are formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, shock absorbing projections 21 are formed on both sides of the slit 18 at the upper part of the through-shaft hole 17, and on the inner part of the outer knob 12 facing the through-shaft hole 17. A fragment storage space 22 is formed. As shown in FIG. 2B, the inner surface of the outer knob 12 is opposed to the inner surface of the outer knob 12 in the radial direction.
Two fitting protrusions 23 are formed, and two fitting grooves 24 that fit into the fitting protrusions 23 are formed in the outer peripheral surface of the inner knob 13 in the axial direction. Further, a locking projection 25 is formed on the lower end surface of the outer knob 12 at a position facing the fitting projection 23 by 90 degrees in the radial direction. In addition, the fitting protrusion 2
3 to the inner knob 12 and the fitting groove 24 to the outer knob 1.
2 may be provided.

The inner knob 13 is provided with the shaft stopper projections 19 between the shaft rotation stopper projections 20 and the shock absorbing projections 21 so that these projections can be separated by using a split mold to form the wall surface of the through shaft hole 17. Can be integrally molded with resin. When assembling the knob 11, the outer knob 1
The assembly is performed by simply pushing in until the lower engagement projection 25 of the outer knob 12 is engaged with the end surface of the outer cylinder 14 of the inner knob 13 in accordance with the engagement groove 24 of the inner knob 13 of the second engagement protrusion 23. Is completed. As a result, the outer knob 1
The inner knob 13 and the inner knob 13 can be integrally rotated, and the outer knob 12 does not come off from the inner knob 13. The knob 11 assembled as described above is pressed into a shaft 28 protruding from a front panel 30 of a variable resistor 27 mounted on the printed circuit board 16 as shown in FIG. The shaft retaining protrusion 19 of the knob 11 is fitted into the groove 29. In this normal use state, the tip of the shaft 28 faces the shock absorbing projection 21.

In such a normal use state, when a part of the occupant's body collides in the direction of the arrow due to a vehicle collision or the like and the impact load F is applied to the knob 11, FIG.
As shown in (b), the position P1 of the knob 11 in the normal use state moves to the position P2, and in the process, the shaft 28 of the variable resistor 27 gets over the protrusion 19 to prevent the shock absorbing protrusion 21 from moving. The impact is absorbed by being destroyed by the shaft 28, thereby reducing damage to the occupant's body that has been hit.

The absorption stroke S at which the knob 11 moves from the normal use position P1 to the shock absorbing position P2 is the knob 1
1 reaches the shock absorbing position P2, the front panel 30
Alternatively, various settings are made on the condition that they do not protrude from other flat portions located forward of the front panel 30. Further, the adjustment to the impact load F can be easily controlled by changing the length and / or the projection height of the impact absorption projection 21. Furthermore, a sufficient absorption stroke S
If it is not possible to secure a space for accommodating the fragments 21a of the shock absorbing projections 21 between the through-hole 17 and the variable resistor shaft 28 when absorbing the shock, By storing the shock absorbing projection fragments 21a in the fragment storage space 22 provided in the knob portion 12, shortage of the impact stroke due to the shock absorbing projection fragments 21a being interposed between the through shaft hole 17 and the variable resistor shaft 28 is prevented. I can make up for it.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the knob 11 is made up of the inner knob 13 having the through shaft hole 17 fitted into the shaft 28 of the variable resistor 27 and the inner knob 1.
2 and an outer knob 12 fitted to the outer side of the variable resistor shaft 2. A shock absorbing projection 21 which can be broken by collision with the tip of the variable resistor shaft 28 is provided inside the through shaft hole 17, so that resin molding is performed. With an inexpensive and simple configuration in which the assembled outer knob 12 and inner knob 13 are simply assembled, it is possible to realize an operation knob such as a vehicle audio device capable of absorbing shock.

In the above embodiment, the shape and number of the outer knob 12, the inner knob 13, the shock absorbing projection 21 and the like can be set arbitrarily. Also, the outer knob 12 is eliminated, and only the inner knob 13 is provided.
By adopting a structure in which the top of the through shaft hole 17 of the inner knob portion 13 is closed with a cap or the like, the structure can be further simplified and the device can be manufactured at low cost.

[0018]

As described above, according to the knob device of the present invention, the impact absorbing projection which can be broken by the collision with the tip of the shaft is provided inside the through shaft hole which fits into the shaft of the electronic component. Since it is provided, it has a double structure of an outer knob and an inner knob, and the inner knob can be broken by collision with the tip of the shaft inside the through shaft hole that fits into the shaft of the electronic component Since such a shock absorbing projection is provided, a knob device capable of absorbing a shock can be realized with an inexpensive and simple configuration using a resin molded product.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a sectional view of a knob device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a bottom view of the knob device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a shock absorbing projection according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a fitting portion between an outer knob and an inner knob according to the embodiment of the present invention.

3A is a cross-sectional view of the knob device according to the embodiment of the present invention in a normal use state. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the knob device according to the embodiment of the present invention in a shock absorbing state.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a knob device in a conventional example. FIG. 4B is a bottom view of a knob device in a conventional example.

[Description of Signs] 11 Knob 12 Outer knob 13 Inner knob 14 Outer cylinder 15 Annular groove 16 Inner cylinder 17 Through shaft hole 18 Slot 19 Shaft retaining projection 20 Shaft detent projection 21 Shock absorbing projection 22 Fragment storage space 23 Fitting protrusion 24 Fitting groove 25 Locking protrusion 26 Printed circuit board 27 Variable resistor 28 Shaft 29 Engaging groove 30 Front panel

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A knob device having a through shaft hole that fits into a shaft through which an electronic component protrudes, and a shock absorbing projection inside the through shaft hole that can be broken by a collision with a tip of the shaft. 2. An inner knob having a through-shaft hole fitted into a protruding shaft of an electronic component, and having an impact absorbing projection inside the through-shaft hole which can be broken by collision with a tip of the shaft. And an outer knob portion fitted to the outer periphery of the inner knob portion. 3. A fitting portion between the inner knob portion and the outer knob portion is provided with a fitting protrusion on one of them and a fitting groove on the other, and fitted together. The knob device according to claim 2. 4. The inner knob portion has an inner cylinder having the through shaft hole, and an outer cylinder formed through an annular groove outside the inner cylinder. 4. The knob device according to claim 2, wherein a locking projection is provided to lock the lower end portion of the inner knob portion outside. 5. A space for accommodating a broken piece of the shock absorbing projection is provided in a portion of the outer knob portion facing the through shaft hole of the inner knob portion. 5. The knob device according to any one of items 1 to 4. 6. The through-hole of the inner knob portion is provided with a shaft stopper for engaging an annular groove formed on a shaft of the electronic component. 4. The knob device according to claim 1.