JP2005254881A - Arm rest - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an arm rest with the small vertical dimension. <P>SOLUTION: A liner 13 is stored inside a side rail 11 arranged in a lower cover 3, right and left edge parts 7 of a slider 6 are slidably engaged with the liner 13 to provide the consistent sliding resistance between the right and left edge parts 7 of the slider 6 and the liner 13, and a spring member 14 located between the liner 13 and the side rail 11 is employed as a means to provide the urging force necessary for absorbing the dimensional errors between components. Thus, the overall vertical dimension H of the arm rest 2 can be reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an armrest that is provided at the top of a console box and is slidable back and forth.

  A console box is installed between the driver's seat and the passenger seat of the car. An armrest for placing an occupant's arm is provided at the top of this type of console box. The armrest not only mounts the arm, but also by opening and closing around the hinge, small items can be taken in and out of the storage box provided below.

  The armrest can be slid forward and backward at the upper part of the console box because the position on which the occupant's arm is placed changes back and forth according to the seat position and physique of the occupant. That is, the armrest is formed by a lower cover fixed to the upper portion of the console box and an upper cover that is slidably attached to the upper side of the lower cover, and only the upper cover on which the passenger's arm is placed is slid back and forth. .

  The sliding mechanism of the upper cover with respect to the lower cover includes a pair of left and right guide bars formed on the lower cover, a spacer provided on the upper cover side, and a lower end portion of a leaf spring that is bent from the upper cover side to the left and right side portions. It is structured to slide while being energized. Then, when the occupant pushes the upper cover with his / her hand, the spacer of the upper cover moves while rubbing against the guide bar of the lower cover, so that the optimum front / rear position can be selected. Due to the friction between the spacer and the guide bar, the upper cover is given a predetermined operation resistance in the sliding direction, and the upper cover does not slide freely even if the hand is released from the upper cover.

The left and right sides of the leaf spring are bent long downwards to ensure a large elastic deformation stroke at the lower end of the leaf spring. This is due to absorption of dimensional errors between parts and stable sliding resistance during sliding. It is for obtaining (for example, patent document 1).
JP 2000-159026 A

  However, in such a conventional technique, since the leaf spring in which the left and right sides are bent downward is used, the vertical dimension of the armrest is increased, and the storage space of the console box below the armrest is pressed. It was.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a conventional technique, and provides an armrest in which the vertical dimension is reduced to increase the storage space.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an armrest that can be slid forward and backward provided at an upper portion of the console box, and a lower cover that is provided at the upper portion of the console box, and an upper cover that is attached to the lower cover so as to be slidable forward and backward. On the upper surface of the lower cover, side rails with a U-shaped cross section are arranged on the left and right sides along the front-rear direction facing each other, and can move only in the left-right direction with a U-shaped cross section inside the side rail The liner in a state is stored in a state of being biased inward in the left-right direction via a spring member, and the left and right edges of the slider fixed to the lower surface of the upper cover are slidably engaged in the liner. It is characterized by that.

  The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that both the liner and the slider are made of resin.

  The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that one center rail is provided between the side rails in the lower cover, and a clip that contacts both edges of the center rail is provided in the upper cover.

  The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that recesses that engage with the clips are formed at predetermined intervals on both edges of the center rail.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the liner movable in the left-right direction is accommodated in the pair of left and right side rails arranged on the lower cover, and the left and right edges of the slider fixed to the upper cover are slid on the liner. As a means for freely engaging, providing a stable sliding resistance between the left and right edges of the slider and the liner and providing a biasing force necessary to absorb a dimensional error between parts, a liner and A spring member is used to urge the liner directly inward in the left-right direction between the side rails. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the vertical dimension of the spring member itself in order to obtain a necessary elastic deformation stroke, and the overall vertical dimension of the armrest can be reduced.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, since both the liner and the slider that slide relative to each other are made of resin, the sliding feeling during sliding is good.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the clip provided on the upper cover is brought into contact with both edge portions of the center rail provided on the lower cover, the backlash in the left-right direction when the upper cover is slid is further ensured. Can be prevented.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a click feeling at the time of a slide operation can be obtained by engaging the clip with the recesses formed at both edges of the center rail.

  For the purpose of providing an armrest with a reduced vertical dimension to expand the storage space, it is an armrest that is slidable back and forth provided at the top of the console box, and a lower cover provided at the top of the console box; An upper cover that is slidable back and forth with respect to the lower cover, and side rails having a U-shaped cross section are arranged on the upper surface of the lower cover on both the left and right sides in the front-rear direction so as to face each other. Inside the rail, a liner having a U-shaped cross section that is movable only in the left-right direction is housed in a state of being biased inward in the left-right direction via a spring member, and is fixed to the lower surface of the upper cover inside the liner. This was realized by slidably engaging the left and right edges of the slider. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  1 to 6 show the first embodiment. Reference numeral 1 denotes a console box of the embodiment. The console box 1 is arranged between a well-known driver's seat and a passenger seat (not shown) of an automobile. An armrest 2 that is slidable in the front-rear direction is provided at the top. A storage box (not shown) is formed in the console box 1, and small items can be taken in and out of the storage box by opening and closing the armrest 2 laterally via a hinge (not shown).

  The armrest 2 includes a lower cover 3 attached to an upper portion of the console box 1 so as to be openable and closable in a lateral direction, and an upper cover 4 attached to the lower cover 3 so as to be slidable back and forth. A pad 5 (see FIG. 6) is formed on the upper surface of the upper cover 4.

  FIG. 2 shows the lower surface of the upper cover 4 with the upper surface side. A molded panel type slider 6 made of resin is attached to the lower surface of the upper cover 4. The left and right edge portions 7 of the slider 6 extend linearly along the front-rear direction, and the cross-section has a substantially triangular shape with slopes up and down. A pair of left and right embosses 8 are formed on the rear side of the lower surface of the slider 6, and clips 9 are screwed to the embosses 8 from below. The clip 9 can be elastically deformed in the left-right direction.

  FIG. 4 shows the upper surface of the lower cover 3. A metal base 10 is fixed to the upper surface of the lower cover 3. Side rails 11 having a U-shaped cross section along the front-rear direction are integrally formed on the left and right ends of the base 10 so as to face each other. Two small holes 12 are formed in the back wall of each side rail 11.

  Inside the side rail 11, a resin liner 13 having a U-shaped cross section is housed with a metal spring member 14 interposed. A pin 15 is formed on the back wall of the liner 13, and the pin 15 is inserted into the small hole 12 in the back wall of the side rail 11 in a state of passing through the spring member 14. Therefore, the liner 13 cannot move back and forth, and can move only in the left-right direction while being urged inward in the left-right direction by the spring member 14. In addition, the liner 13 has a portion that penetrates the inner wall of the side rail 11, and movement in the front-rear direction is completely restricted.

  On the lower surface of the lower cover 3, another center rail 16 is attached at an intermediate position of the side rail 11. The center rail 16 has both edges 17 projecting left and right on the upper surface. In addition, three edge portions 18 that are spaced apart at equal intervals in the front-rear direction are formed on both edge portions 17.

  The upper cover 4 is slidably engaged with such a lower cover 3. That is, both edge portions 7 of the slider 6 are slidably engaged with the inside of the liner 13, and the clips 9 are brought into contact with both edge portions 17 of the center rail 16. In this way, by applying a necessary operating force to the upper cover 4, the upper cover 4 on which the occupant's arm is placed slides back and forth, and the occupant uses the armrest 2 at the optimal front and back position. be able to. Since both edge portions 7 of the slider 6 are substantially triangular in cross section and both edge portions 17 of the center rail 16 are flanged, the sliding area is small and smooth sliding can be performed.

  According to this embodiment, the liner 13 that is movable in the left-right direction is accommodated in the pair of left and right side rails 11 arranged on the lower cover 3, and both the left and right sides of the slider 6 fixed to the upper cover 4 are accommodated in the liner 13. The urging force required to slidably engage the edge 7 to provide a stable sliding resistance between the left and right edges 7 of the slider 6 and the liner 13 and to absorb dimensional errors between components. As a means for providing the above, a spring member 14 that urges the liner 13 directly inward in the left-right direction between the liner 13 and the side rail 11 is employed.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the vertical dimension of the spring member 14 in order to obtain a necessary elastic deformation stroke, and the overall vertical dimension H (see FIG. 6) of the armrest 2 can be reduced. Further, since both the liner 13 and the slider 6 that slide relative to each other are made of resin, the sliding feel during sliding is good.

  Further, since the clip 9 provided on the upper cover 4 is brought into contact with both edge portions 17 of the center rail 16 provided on the lower cover 3, the backlash in the left-right direction when the upper cover 4 is slid can be further reliably prevented. it can.

  In addition, when the clip 9 is engaged with the recesses 18 formed on both edge portions 17 of the center rail 16, a click feeling during a slide operation can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the armrest 2 (lower cover 3) opens sideways. Further, the armrest 2 itself may be slid and not opened and closed, and small items may be taken in and out of the lower storage box through another opening / closing port.

The perspective view which shows the armrest and console box which concern on one Example of this invention. The perspective view which shows the lower surface of the upper cover of the armrest of FIG. The perspective view which shows the slider of FIG. 2 in the position shown in FIG. The perspective view which shows the lower cover of the armrest of FIG. 1 in the position shown in FIG. The disassembled perspective view which shows the side rail and center rail of the lower cover of FIG. Sectional drawing of the armrest shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Console box 2 Armrest 3 Lower cover 4 Upper cover 6 Slider 7 Both edge parts of a slider 9 Clip 11 Side rail 13 Liner 14 Spring member 16 Center rail 17 Both edge parts of a center rail 18 Recessed part H Vertical dimension of armrest

Claims (4)

An armrest slidable back and forth provided at the top of the console box,
A lower cover provided at the top of the console box, and an upper cover that is slidable back and forth with respect to the lower cover,
On the upper surface of the lower cover, side rails having a U-shaped cross section are arranged on both the left and right sides in the front-rear direction, facing each other,
Inside the side rail, a liner having a U-shaped cross section that is movable only in the left-right direction is stored in a state of being biased inward in the left-right direction via a spring member,
An armrest characterized in that the left and right edges of a slider fixed to the lower surface of the upper cover are slidably engaged inside the liner. The armrest according to claim 1,
An armrest characterized in that both the liner and the slider are made of resin. The armrest according to claim 1 or 2,
An armrest characterized in that one center rail is provided between side rails in the lower cover, and clips that abut against both edges of the center rail are provided on the upper cover. The armrest according to claim 3,
An armrest characterized in that a recess that engages with a clip is formed at a predetermined interval position on both edges of the center rail.