JP2002013524A - Hinge mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hinge mechanism which can be assembled easily. SOLUTION: In the hinge mechanism having a fixed member 1 and a movable member 2 supporting by a pivot, a shaft 7 is installed at the side edge of either fixed member or movable member whereas a sleeve 13 is installed at the other end. The sleeve 13 has a notch 14 at the one part receivable an elastic locking piece 15 which can guide the shaft 7 in a process that the shaft engages in the sleeve. The elastic locking piece 15 can deform if the shaft is forwarded into the notch 14 by sliding contact at the top of the shaft and retrieve the original shape after the shaft meshing into the sleeve fulfilling the notch 14 with retrieving locking piece 15 once deformed. Therefore, the fix member can easily support the movable member by means of the hinge mechanism if the movable member is pushed with light touch placing the top of shaft under the elastic lock piece to be deformed in accordance with shaft progress.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a hinge mechanism applicable to, for example, a cup holder of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional cup holder having a hinge mechanism, there is one disclosed in JP-A-2000-16138. Although not specifically shown, the conventional cup holder includes a base member fixed to a door trim side of an automobile, and an arm member rotatably supported at one end side of the base member. The base member has two concave portions formed vertically at one end thereof, and a bearing hole is formed in upper and lower walls defining the respective concave portions. Two projections are formed so as to be fitted into the respective recesses, and a shaft that engages with the bearing hole is formed on the upper and lower surfaces of each projection.

For this reason, in actual use, the projection on the arm member side is fitted into the depression on the base member side,
When the shafts protruding from the upper and lower surfaces of each protrusion are engaged in bearing holes formed in the upper and lower walls of the recess, the arm member is rotatably supported by the base member. After obtaining the above, when the base member is fixed to the door trim side and the arm member is rotated in the opening direction, the cup is held between the base member and the arm member while being placed on the bottom wall of the base member. It will be. Therefore, in the conventional cup holder, if the arm member pivotally supported by the base member is rotated in the opening direction and the closing direction, the used state and the non-used state can be easily obtained.

[0004]

However, in the conventional hinge mechanism, in order to rotatably support the arm member on the base member, the projection on the arm member side is inserted into the recess on the base member side. While fitting, the shafts projecting from the upper and lower surfaces of each projection must be forcibly engaged with the bearing holes formed in the upper and lower walls of the recess. .

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been developed in order to effectively solve the problem of the conventional hinge mechanism, and the invention according to claim 1 enables the movable member to rotate on the fixed member. In the hinge mechanism, the shaft is provided on one of the fixed member and the movable member, and the other is provided with a cylindrical portion into which the shaft is engaged. A notch portion serving as an engagement port is formed, and an elastic lock piece whose leading end faces the notch portion side is provided. In a process in which the shaft portion is engaged in the cylindrical portion, the shaft portion slides on the elastic lock piece. While the elastic lock piece was pushed back while being engaged with the inside of the cylindrical portion from the cutout portion, it was adopted.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, based on the first aspect, a configuration is adopted in which the surface of the elastic lock piece on which the shaft portion slides is inclined downward with respect to the sliding direction of the shaft portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, on the premise of the first aspect, a step is provided at the root of the shaft portion so that the leading edge of the cylindrical portion abuts, and the leading edge of the cylindrical portion and the step portion are provided outside the cylindrical portion. A configuration is provided in which a covering wall is provided to cover the contact state with the cover.

Therefore, in the invention according to claim 1,
When the movable member is rotatably supported on the fixed member, simply push the tip of the shaft part lightly while addressing the elastic lock piece, and the shaft part pushes away while bending the elastic lock piece,
At the same time as it is engaged in the cylinder from the notch that becomes the entrance,
Since the elastic locking piece returns to its original shape and closes the notch at its tip, the movable member can be easily pivotally supported on the fixed member.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the shaft portion comes into sliding contact with the downwardly inclined surface of the elastic lock piece, and the elastic lock piece can be easily pushed away. Assembly work becomes easier. Claim 3
In the described invention, the contact state between the distal end edge of the cylindrical portion and the step portion is covered with the covering wall, so that it is possible to hide wear powder generated due to the rotation of the movable member.

[0010]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hinge mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention; As shown in FIG. 1, the structure of the cup holder itself is a base member 1 as a fixing member fixed to the door trim side of an automobile, and the base member 1
And an arm member 2 as a movable member rotatably supported at one end of the arm member.

As shown in FIG. 2, a curved portion 3 for supporting the side surface of the cup is formed at the center of the base member 1, and the base member 1 is vertically continuous at both ends with the curved portion 3 interposed therebetween. Concave portions 4 and 5 are provided, a bearing hole 6 is formed in an upper wall defining the concave portion 4 on one end side, and a shaft portion 7 is protruded from the lower wall. A configuration in which a disc-shaped step portion 8 is provided to abut the distal end edge of the cylindrical portion 13 of the arm member 2 to be formed, and a guide wall 9 having three regulating grooves 9a, 9b, 9c is integrally provided on the inner surface near the upper wall. It has become.
In the drawing, reference numeral 10 denotes a bottom wall of the base member 1, and when used as a cup holder, places and supports the bottom of the cup.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the arm member 2 has a curved portion 1 at the center thereof for supporting the side surface of the cup.
1 is formed, and a shaft portion 12 that engages with the bearing hole 6 of the base member 1 is protruded from an upper surface of one end portion side of the curved portion 11, and the base member 1 is formed on a lower surface side of the same end portion. A cylindrical portion 13 for engaging the shaft portion 7 on the side is provided, and a cutout portion 14 serving as an entrance for the shaft portion 7 is formed in a part of a peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion 13, and a tip portion thereof is on the side of the cutout portion 14. , And a tubular covering wall 16 is provided outside the tubular portion 13 to cover the contact state between the leading edge of the tubular portion 13 and the step portion 8.

The elastic lock piece 15 has a base end connected to the protrusion 17 fitted into the recess 4 at one end of the base member 1 so as to be able to bend vertically. However, the base end side is made thinner, and the distal end side is made thicker, and the lower surface of the elastic lock piece 15 on which the shaft portion 7 slides is in contact with the shaft portion 7.
Is configured to be inclined downward with respect to the sliding contact direction.

A restricting pin 19 urged by a compression coil spring 18 is mounted on the upper side of the convex portion 17, and the restricting pin 19 is connected to the three restricting grooves 9a and 9b of the guide wall 9.
· The arm member 2 can be selectively locked to 9c.
Can be positioned between the use position and the non-use position.

Therefore, when assembling the cup holder having such a configuration, the shaft 7 is engaged with the elastic lock piece while the shaft 12 on the arm member 2 is engaged in the bearing hole 6 on the base member 1. Obtained a state of addressing the lower surface of 15 downward slope,
When the convex portion 17 of the arm member 2 is pushed into the corresponding concave portion 4 of the base member 1 as it is, as shown in FIG. The lock piece 15 is pushed upward to be disengaged from the notch portion 14 serving as an engagement entrance into the cylindrical portion 13 and at the same time, as shown in FIG.
As shown in B, after the shaft portion 7 is engaged with the cylindrical portion 13,
Since the elastic lock piece 15 returns to its original shape and closes the cutout portion 14 at the tip end thereof, it is possible to automatically prevent the shaft portion 7 from coming off the cylindrical portion 13 and to connect the arm member 2 to the base member. 1 can be easily assembled.

In actual use, as shown in FIG. 6, the base member 1 is fixed to the door trim (not shown), and the regulating pin 19 is fixed to the regulating groove 9 on the right side of the guide wall 9 in the drawing.
When the arm member 2 is rotated in the closing direction until the arm member 2 is locked to the base member 1, the other end of the arm member 2 fits into the concave portion 5 formed in the other end of the base member 1, and the unused state is obtained. Can be When the base member 1 is rotated in the opening direction and the control pin 19 is locked in the control grooves 9b and 9c on the center and the left side in the figure, as shown in FIG. Cup C1 having different diameters
C2 is held between the curved portion 3 of the base member 1 and the curved portion 11 of the arm member 2.

Also, depending on the long-term use, in particular, the shaft 7 on the base member 1 and the cylinder 13 on the arm member 2 may rub against each other to generate abrasion powder, but as shown in FIG. At the same time that the leading edge of the portion 13 contacts the step 8 of the shaft portion 7,
Since the corresponding contact state is covered with the covering wall 16 longer than the cylindrical portion 13, the wear powder can be hidden.

In the above-described embodiment, the shaft 7 is provided on the base member 1 side, and the cylinder 13 for engaging the shaft 7 is provided on the arm member 2 side. Even if the cylindrical portion 13 is provided on the base member 1 side and the shaft portion 7 is provided on the arm member 2 side, it is needless to say that the same effect can be expected.

In the embodiment, the arm member 2
A shaft portion 12 is provided on the upper surface of one end of the
And the elastic lock pieces 15 are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG.
It is also possible to provide a cylindrical portion 13 and an elastic lock piece 15 on the upper surface side of the arm member 2 similar to those on the lower surface side, and provide the shaft portion 7 at a corresponding portion on the base member 1 side according to the embodiment. In particular,
In this case, when assembling the arm member 2 to the base member 1, the arm member 2 is pivotally supported on the base member 1 side only by pushing the shaft portion 7 in sliding contact with the elastic lock pieces 15 at the top and bottom. This makes the assembly work easier.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the movable member is rotatably supported on the fixed member by adopting the above-mentioned structure, the tip of the shaft portion is lightly pushed while being directed to the elastic locking piece. Then, the shaft portion is pushed back while bending the elastic lock piece, and is engaged in the cylindrical portion from the notch portion serving as an engagement port, and at the same time, the elastic lock piece returns to its original shape and closes the notch portion at its tip. As a result, the movable member can be easily supported by the fixed member.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a cup holder to which a hinge mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a base member.

3A is a plan view of an arm member, FIG. 3B is a bottom view of the same, and FIG. 3C is a longitudinal sectional view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a main part perspective view showing a relationship between a cylindrical portion and an elastic lock piece.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are longitudinal sectional views showing a process of assembling an arm member to a base member.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a non-use state of the cup holder.

7A is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a small-diameter cup is held, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a large-diameter cup is held.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part illustrating a state in which a contact state between a distal end edge of a cylindrical portion and a step portion is covered with a covering wall.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing another example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 base member (fixed member) 2 arm member (movable member) 3 curved portion 4 concave portion at one end portion 5 concave portion at other end portion 6 bearing hole portion 7 shaft portion 8 step portion 9 guide wall 9 a regulating groove 9 b regulating groove 9 c Control groove 10 Bottom wall 11 Curved part 12 Shaft part 13 Tube part 14 Notch part 15 Elastic lock piece 16 Covering wall 17 Convex part 18 Compression coil spring 19 Control pin

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2E030 AB04 BB01 JA01 JB01 JC01 3B088 LA01 3J105 AA12 AB23 AC10 DA04 DA15 DA33

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hinge mechanism for rotatably supporting a movable member on a fixed member, wherein one of the fixed member and the movable member is provided with a shaft, and the other is provided with a cylindrical portion into which the shaft is engaged. A cut-out portion is formed in a part of the peripheral wall of the tubular portion as an engagement entrance for the shaft portion, and an elastic lock piece having a distal end portion facing the cut-out portion side is provided, so that the shaft portion is engaged in the tubular portion. In the process, the shaft mechanism pushes back the elastic lock piece while slidingly contacting the elastic lock piece, and engages with the notch into the cylindrical portion. 2. The hinge mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the elastic lock piece with which the shaft portion slides is inclined downward with respect to a sliding direction of the shaft portion. 3. A step in which the leading edge of the cylindrical portion abuts on the root of the shaft portion, and a covering wall is provided outside the cylindrical portion to cover a contact state between the leading edge of the cylindrical portion and the step. Claim 1 characterized by the following:
The described hinge mechanism.