JP2006082619A - Vehicular component mounting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular component mounting structure capable of reliably mounting a vehicular component on an interior trim panel from a cabin side without using a fastener such as a screw. <P>SOLUTION: An engagement projection 17 is provided on an inner wall 12 of a component storage unit 10, and an engagement claw 27 is provided on a terminal unit 2. The terminal unit 2 comprises a deflection regulation unit 43 which is provided on the upstream side of the inserting direction of the engagement claw 27 slidably in the inserting direction, a lid 30 openable/closable from a cabin side, and conversion mechanisms (41, 42, 44, etc.) to convert the operating force to open this lid 30 into the force to slide the deflection regulation unit 43. When the terminal unit 2 is inserted, the engagement claw 27 is deflected inwardly, and rides over the engagement projection 17 to be engaged therewith, and to prevent movement in the drawing direction of the terminal unit 2. Then, when the lid 30 is opened, the deflection regulation unit 43 is allowed to slide by the conversion mechanisms, and inserted in a deflection space 27c on the inner side of the engagement claw 27 to prevent deflection inward of the engagement claw 27. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a vehicle component that is mounted by inserting a vehicle component from a vehicle compartment side into a component housing portion provided in an interior panel of the vehicle so as to open to the vehicle interior side.

  Some vehicle parts attached to vehicles such as automobiles are inserted and installed from the vehicle compartment side into openings formed in interior panels such as instrument panels after vehicle assembly is completed to some extent. . Examples of such vehicle parts include various switch assemblies for air conditioners, outlet units, and various terminal units for video / audio input, and these are preferably optional parts.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional terminal unit 100 attached to the interior panel. In FIG. 8, the left figure shows a state in which the lid 101 is closed, and the right figure shows a state in which the lid 101 is opened. FIG. 9 is a view showing a conventional mounting structure of the terminal unit 100. In FIG. 9, the left figure shows a state during attachment work, and the right figure shows a state after attachment is completed.

  In FIG. 9, the interior panel 200 is provided with a component accommodating portion 210 that accommodates the terminal unit 100 so as to open to the vehicle compartment side. Engagement protrusions 211 are formed on the left and right inner walls of the component housing portion 210 so as to protrude inward. On the other hand, flexible engaging claws 102 are provided on the left and right side surfaces of the terminal unit 100. In this configuration, when the terminal unit 100 is inserted into the component housing portion 210 from the passenger compartment side, the engaging claws 102 are elastically engaged with the engaging protrusions 211, thereby fixing the terminal unit 100 to the interior panel 200.

  However, in the case of fixing with only the engaging claws 102, when a force in the pulling direction is applied to the terminal unit 100, the engaging claws 102 bend inward and the terminal unit 100 comes off. That is, the strength against drawing is weak. Therefore, conventionally, the terminal unit 100 is fixed to the interior panel 200 with screws.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a structure for securely attaching a pin jack and a jack lid to the front panel of a television receiver. Patent Document 2 discloses a structure for attaching a modular jack to an attachment frame.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-152035 JP 2000-48897 A

  However, in the structure fixed with the above-mentioned screw, if it is intended to enable attachment from the passenger compartment side, the screw is exposed on the design surface side, which is not preferable in terms of design.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an attachment structure for a vehicle component that can reliably attach the vehicle component to the interior panel from the passenger compartment side without using a fastener such as a screw.

  The vehicle component mounting structure according to the present invention is a vehicle component mounting structure in which a vehicle component is inserted from a vehicle compartment side into a component housing portion provided on the interior panel of the vehicle so as to open to the vehicle interior side. The structure includes an engagement protrusion provided on the inner wall of the component housing portion, and a flexible engagement claw provided on the outer surface of the vehicle component that extends in the direction opposite to the insertion direction. When the engagement claw is bent inward, the engagement claw is overcome and engaged with the engagement projection, and the vehicle component is prevented from moving in the pulling direction. The bending restricting piece provided to be slidable in the inserting direction on the upstream side in the inserting direction of the engaging claw, the operation part operable from the passenger compartment side, and the operation force applied to the operating part are And a conversion mechanism for converting to a sliding force. When force is applied, slide the restricting piece deflection conversion mechanism is inserted into the inside of the bending space of the engaging claws, inward bending of the engaging claw is prevented, characterized in that.

  In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the conversion mechanism expands and contracts along the insertion direction, the elastic member whose upstream end in the insertion direction is restricted, and whose downstream end in the insertion direction is connected to the bending restriction piece, and the insertion direction of the elastic member A first engagement member connected to the downstream end and a first engagement member engaged with the first engagement member hold the position of the downstream end of the elastic member in the insertion direction at a position where the elastic member is in a compressed state. When the operating force is applied directly or indirectly to the first or second engagement member, the engagement between the first engagement member and the second engagement member The alignment is disengaged, and the deflection regulating piece slides due to the elastic force of the elastic member.

  In the above aspect, the vehicle component includes a lid that can be opened and closed from the passenger compartment side. When an opening operation or a closing operation is applied to the lid, a part of the lid is first or It is preferable that the second engaging member is brought into contact with the first engaging member and the second engaging member is thereby disengaged.

  In the present invention, the engagement protrusion is provided on the inner wall of the component housing portion, the flexible engagement claw extending in the direction opposite to the insertion direction is provided on the outer surface of the vehicle component, and when the vehicle component is inserted, When the engagement claw is bent inward, the engagement protrusion is overcome and engaged with the engagement protrusion, and the movement of the vehicle component in the pulling-out direction is prevented. Further, the vehicle component includes a deflection regulating piece slidable in the insertion direction upstream of the engagement claw in the insertion direction, an operation unit operable from the passenger compartment side, and an operation force applied to the operation unit. Is converted to a force that slides the deflection regulating piece. When an operation force is applied to the operation portion, the conversion mechanism slides the bending restricting piece and inserts it into the bending space inside the engaging claw, and the bending to the inside of the engaging claw is prevented. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to regulate the inward bending of the engaging claw by operating the operation unit from the passenger compartment side, and without using a fastener such as a screw, the passenger compartment side Therefore, the vehicle parts can be securely attached to the interior panel.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle component mounting structure according to the present embodiment securely mounts the vehicle component on the interior panel from the passenger compartment side without using a fastener such as a screw. In the present embodiment, a case where a terminal unit including a video input terminal and a second-system audio input terminal is attached to an interior panel of an automobile will be described as an example. However, the vehicle component is not limited to the terminal unit, and may be other components such as various switch assemblies and outlet units for an air conditioner, and is preferably an optional component. The interior panel is, for example, an automobile instrument panel or a door trim. In the present specification, the insertion direction of the vehicle component is simply referred to as “insertion direction”.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing configurations of an interior panel 1 and a terminal unit 2 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a bottom view and a side view showing configurations of the interior panel 1 and the terminal unit 2 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, a cross section of the interior panel 1 is shown. In the following description, the right direction toward FIG. 1 is referred to as “right”, and the upward direction toward FIG. 1 is referred to as “upper”.

(Interior panel)
First, the configuration of the interior panel 1 will be described. The interior panel 1 is formed with a component housing portion 10 for housing the terminal unit 2. The component housing part 10 has a substantially rectangular opening 11 on the vehicle compartment side, and is surrounded by four inner walls 12 to 15 extending from four sides of the opening 11 in the insertion direction. These inner walls 12 to 15 function as guide surfaces when the terminal unit 2 is inserted into the component housing part 10. Note that an opening 16 is formed on the inner surface facing the opening 11.

  Engagement projections 17 and 18 projecting inward are formed on the right inner wall 12 and the left inner wall 13 at the downstream ends in the insertion direction, respectively. The engagement protrusions 17 and 18 have a substantially rectangular cross section, and contact surfaces 17a and 18a facing the downstream side in the insertion direction, and contact surfaces 17b and 18b facing the inside (in the direction of the component housing portion 10), respectively. Contact surfaces 17c and 18c facing upstream in the insertion direction.

  Note that the specific configuration of the interior panel 1 such as the shape of the opening 11 and the shapes, number, and arrangement of the engagement protrusions 17 and 18 is not limited to the above, and may be set as appropriate. For example, the inner wall only needs to be present to such an extent that the terminal unit 2 can be inserted, and is not necessarily provided on all four surfaces. Further, the position of the engagement protrusion is not necessarily the downstream end of the inner wall in the insertion direction.

(Vehicle parts)
Next, the configuration of the terminal unit 2 that is a vehicle component will be described. The terminal unit 2 is roughly divided into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped main body 20, a lid 30 attached to the main body 20 so as to be openable and closable, and a retainer 40 provided to be slidable in the insertion direction with respect to the main body 20. And.

  FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal unit 2. Here, the overall configuration of the terminal unit 2 will be briefly described along the assembly procedure with reference to FIG. First, the lid body 30 is fitted on the front surface of the housing 50 and attached to the left and right pins 31 so as to be rotatable. Next, after the retainer 40 and the pin jack plate 60 are inserted into the housing 50 from below, the cover 70 is assembled. As described above, the main body 20 includes the housing 50, the pin jack plate 60, and the cover 70.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the right side surface 22 and the left side surface 23 of the main body 20 are provided with flexible engaging claws 27 and 28 that extend in the direction opposite to the insertion direction at the downstream end in the insertion direction, respectively. Yes. The engagement claws 27 and 28 correspond to the engagement protrusions 17 and 18 provided on the interior panel 1. The upstream end of the engaging claw 27 in the insertion direction is substantially L-shaped, and has a contact surface 27a facing the upstream side in the insertion direction and a contact surface 27b facing the outside. A space 27 c (hereinafter referred to as a “deflection space”) for enabling the engagement claw 27 to bend inward is formed inside the engagement claw 27. The shape of the engaging claw 28 is the same as that of the engaging claw 27.

  Further, the right side surface 22 and the left side surface 23 of the main body portion 20 abut against the contact surfaces 17c and 18c of the engagement protrusions 17 and 18 formed on the interior panel 1, respectively, so that the terminal unit 2 is inserted in the insertion direction. The abutting surfaces 22c and 23c for restricting the movement of are formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the retainer 40 includes a right side portion 40 </ b> R disposed along the right side surface 22 of the main body portion 20, a left side portion 40 </ b> L disposed along the left side surface 23 of the main body portion 20, It is comprised from the connection part 40U which connects. Since the retainer 40 is formed symmetrically, only the right side 40R will be described here, and description of the left side 40L will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the right side portion 40 </ b> R of the retainer 40 is formed by integrally forming a spring portion 41, a connecting portion 42, a deflection regulating portion 43, and an arm portion 44. The spring portion 41 is formed in a substantially S shape, has elasticity, and expands and contracts along the insertion direction. The upstream end of the spring portion 41 in the insertion direction is in contact with an abutting portion 22a provided on the right side surface 22 of the main body portion 20, and movement in the insertion direction is restricted. The downstream end of the spring portion 41 in the insertion direction is connected to the connecting portion 42. The connecting portion 42 is a flat plate having a substantially L-shaped cross section, extends from the downstream end of the spring portion 41 in the insertion direction along the right side surface 22, and is located on the inner side (part housing portion 10 near the upstream end of the engaging claw 27 in the insertion direction). Side). A bending restricting portion 43 is provided at the downstream end of the connecting portion 42 in the insertion direction so as to protrude downstream in the insertion direction. That is, the bending restricting portion 43 is connected to the downstream end in the insertion direction of the spring portion 41 via the coupling portion 42 and slides in the insertion direction as the spring portion 41 expands and contracts.

  The arm portion 44 is a substantially L-shaped elastic piece, and one end thereof is connected to the vicinity of the upstream end of the connecting portion 42 in the insertion direction. Therefore, the arm portion 44 is connected to the downstream end of the spring portion 41 in the insertion direction via the connecting portion 42. The arm portion 44 has a shape extending along the right side surface 22 from the connecting portion with the connecting portion 42 in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction and then extending toward the upstream side in the insertion direction. An engaging portion (step) 44a is formed near the central portion of the arm portion 44 that extends toward the upstream side in the insertion direction. On the other hand, an engagement portion (claw) 22b corresponding to the engagement portion 44a is formed on the right side surface 22 of the main body portion 20.

  When the engaging portion 44a and the engaging portion 22b are in the engaged state, that is, in the state shown in FIG. 2, the position of the downstream end of the spring portion 41 in the insertion direction is the position where the spring portion 41 is in the compressed state. Retained. And when the spring part 41 exists in a compression state, the bending control part 43 is located in the insertion direction upstream of the engaging claw 27, and does not restrict the bending of the engaging claw 27.

  On the other hand, when the engaging portion 44a and the engaging portion 22b are not in the engaged state, the spring portion 41 is in the extended state. And when the spring part 41 exists in the expansion | extension state, the bending control part 43 is located in the bending space 27c inside the engagement nail | claw 27, and regulates the bending to the inner side of the engagement claw 27. FIG.

  The lid 30 is a substantially flat lid that covers the front surface of the terminal unit 2. The lid 30 is pivotally supported by left and right pins 31 and can be opened and closed from the passenger compartment side. A protrusion 32 is provided on each of the upper right end and upper left end of the lid 30. The protrusion 32 is provided so as to come into contact with the vicinity of the upstream end in the insertion direction of the arm portion 44 when the lid body 30 shifts from the closed state to the open state.

(Operation of mounting structure)
Next, the operation of the vehicle component mounting structure according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described. Since the left and right actions are almost the same, only the right side will be described here, and the description on the left side will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the initial state, the engaging portion 44a on the retainer 40 side is engaged with the engaging portion 22b on the main body portion 20 side. Therefore, the bending restricting portion 43 is located on the upstream side in the insertion direction of the engaging claw 27, and the engaging claw 27 can be bent inward.

  First, the terminal unit 2 is inserted into the component housing portion 10 through the opening 11 formed in the interior panel 1. At this time, the terminal unit 2 is pushed in until the abutting surface 22c provided on the terminal unit 2 side abuts against the abutting surface 17c provided on the interior panel 1 side. In this case, the engaging claw 27 provided in the terminal unit 2 operates as follows.

  As the terminal unit 2 enters the component housing portion 10, the engaging claw 27 comes into contact with the engaging protrusion 17 at a certain time. Thereafter, the engaging claw 27 gets over the engaging protrusion 17 by bending inward, and engages with the engaging protrusion 17 by elastic restoring force as shown in FIG. In this engaged state, the contact surface 27a of the engagement claw 27 and the contact surface 17a of the engagement protrusion 17 are in contact with each other, and the terminal unit 2 is prevented from moving in the drawing direction (upstream in the insertion direction). . Thereby, the terminal unit 2 is fixed to the interior panel 1. Further, the contact surface 27b of the engagement claw 27 and the contact surface 17b of the engagement projection 17 are in contact with each other, and the outward bending of the engagement claw 27 is restricted.

  Next, for example, when the terminal unit 2 is used, the lid 30 is opened. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the protrusion 32 provided on the lid 30 rotates as the lid 30 rotates. By this rotation, the projection 32 hits the vicinity of the upstream end of the arm portion 44 in the insertion direction, the arm portion 44 is elastically deformed, and the engagement between the engagement portion 44a of the arm portion 44 and the engagement portion 22b of the main body portion 20 is released.

  When the engagement between the engaging portion 44a and the engaging portion 22b is released, the compressed state of the spring portion 41 is released, and a spring force is generated in the spring portion 41, and the bending restricting portion 43 is downstream in the insertion direction by this spring force. Slide to the side. That is, the operating force applied to the lid body 30 is converted into a force that slides the bending restricting portion 43 in the insertion direction. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 6, the bending restricting portion 43 enters the bending space 27 c inside the engaging claw 27, and the bending to the inside of the engaging claw 27 is prevented. As a result, even if a force in the pulling direction is applied to the terminal unit 2, the engaging claw 27 does not bend inward, so that the terminal unit 2 is fixed without coming off.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the lid body 30 that can be opened and closed from the passenger compartment side, and the conversion mechanism that converts the operation force applied to the lid body 30 into the force that slides the deflection regulating portion 43 are provided. When the opening operation is applied to the lid 30, the bending restricting portion 43 is slid by the conversion mechanism and inserted into the bending space 27 c inside the engaging claw 27, and the bending to the inside of the engaging claw 27 is prevented. The For this reason, according to this Embodiment, the intensity | strength with respect to extraction can be improved, without using fasteners, such as a screw, and the terminal unit 2 can be reliably attached to the interior panel 1 from the vehicle interior side.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, the conversion mechanism which converts the operation force applied to the cover body 30 into the force which slides the bending | flexion control part 43 expands / contracts along an insertion direction, and an insertion direction upstream end is A spring part 41 that is regulated and whose downstream end in the insertion direction is connected to the bending restriction part 43, (b) an arm part 44 that is connected to the downstream end in the insertion direction of the spring part 41, and (c) an engagement with the arm part 44. Thus, the engaging portion 22b that holds the position of the downstream end of the spring portion 41 in the insertion direction at a position where the spring portion 41 is in a compressed state is provided, and the operating force is directly or indirectly applied to the arm portion 44. When added, the engagement between the arm portion 44 and the engaging portion 22 b is released, and the bending restricting portion 43 slides due to the elastic force of the spring portion 41. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, the operation force applied to the lid body 30 can be converted into a force for sliding the bending restricting portion 43 with a simple configuration.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when an opening operation is applied to the lid body 30, a part of the lid body 30 comes into contact with the arm portion 44, thereby disengaging the arm portion 44 and the engaging portion 22 b. It has become. Thus, in this Embodiment, since the cover body 30 is functioned as an operation part, it is not necessary to provide the operation part for exclusive use for sliding the bending control part 43 to the vehicle compartment side. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the strength against drawing without impairing the design.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to said embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the engagement portions 44a and 22b are disengaged when an opening operation is applied to the lid 30. However, a configuration may be adopted in which the engagement portions 44a and 22b are disengaged when a closing operation is applied. Further, the opening / closing method of the lid 30 is not limited to the rotation method, and may be a slide method or the like.

  Further, the elastic member for sliding the bending restricting portion 43 is not limited to the spring portion 41 described above, and may be constituted by other elastic bodies such as a helical spring and rubber. In addition, the pair of engaging members for holding the spring portion 41 in the compressed state are the arm portion 44 and the engaging portion 22b in the above embodiment, but the spring portion 41 is compressed by being detachably engaged. The shape and position are not particularly limited as long as the state can be maintained. In the above embodiment, the operating force is indirectly applied to the arm portion 44 via the lid 30, but a configuration in which the operating force is directly applied to the arm portion 44 may be employed. In the above-described embodiment, the operating force is applied to the first engagement member (arm portion 44) connected to the elastic member (spring portion 41). An operation force may be applied to the engagement member, and the engagement may be released by movement or deformation of the second engagement member.

  In the above-described embodiment, the lid 30 functions as an operation unit for sliding the bending restricting unit 43, but an operation unit such as a slide-only switch may be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the conversion mechanism that converts the operating force into the force that slides the bending restricting portion 43 is the spring portion 41, the connecting portion 42, the arm portion 44, the abutting portion 22a, and the engaging portion 22b. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this. For example, a simpler configuration as shown in FIG. 7 may be used. In FIG. 7, the operation part 81, the bending | flexion control part 82, and the connection part 83 which connects these are shape | molded integrally. In this configuration, when the operation unit 81 is pressed with a finger, the operation force is transmitted to the bending restriction part 82 via the connecting part 83, and a force in the insertion direction acts on the bending restriction part 82, and the bending restriction part 82 is inserted. Slide in the downstream direction. In this example, the conversion mechanism is configured by a connecting portion 83 that is a simple flat plate.

  In the above-described embodiment, the bending restricting portion 43 that functions as a bending restricting piece that restricts the inward bending of the engaging claw 27 is integrated with the connecting portion 42 and the spring portion 41 forming a part of the conversion mechanism. These may be physically provided separately.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the interior panel and vehicle component which concern on embodiment. It is the bottom view and side view which show the structure of the interior panel and vehicle component which concern on embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view of a terminal unit. It is a figure which shows the process in which a terminal unit is attached to an interior panel. It is a figure which shows the process in which a terminal unit is attached to an interior panel. It is a figure which shows the process in which a terminal unit is attached to an interior panel. It is a figure which shows another example of the mechanism which slides a bending control part. It is a perspective view of the conventional terminal unit attached to an interior panel. It is a figure which shows the conventional attachment structure of a terminal unit.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Interior panel, 2 terminal unit, 10 component accommodating part, 11,16 opening, 12-15 inner wall, 17,18 engagement protrusion, 20 main-body part, 22 right side surface, 22a abutting part, 22b engagement part, 22c protrusion Abutting surface, 23 Left side surface, 23c Abutting surface, 27, 28 Engaging claw, 27c Deflection space, 30 Lid, 31 Pin, 32 Protrusion, 40 Retainer, 41 Spring portion, 42 Connecting portion, 43 Deflection regulating portion, 44 Arm part, 44a engaging part, 50 housing, 60 pin jack plate, 70 cover.

Claims (3)

A vehicle component mounting structure in which a vehicle component is inserted from a vehicle compartment side and attached to a component housing portion provided to be opened on the vehicle interior side in an interior panel of the vehicle,
An engagement projection provided on the inner wall of the component housing portion and a flexible engagement claw provided on the outer surface of the vehicle component and extending in the direction opposite to the insertion direction. The engaging claw has an engaging structure that overcomes the engaging protrusion by bending inward and engages with the engaging protrusion, and prevents movement of the vehicle component in the pulling direction.
The vehicle component includes a deflection regulating piece slidable in the insertion direction on the upstream side in the insertion direction of the engagement claw, an operation unit operable from the passenger compartment side, and an operation force applied to the operation unit. A conversion mechanism that converts the bending restriction piece into a force for sliding,
When an operating force is applied to the operation unit, the conversion mechanism slides the bending restricting piece and inserts it into the bending space inside the engaging claw, and the bending to the inside of the engaging claw is prevented.
A vehicle component mounting structure characterized by the above. The vehicle component mounting structure according to claim 1,
The conversion mechanism is
An elastic member that expands and contracts along the insertion direction, the upstream end in the insertion direction is regulated, and the downstream end in the insertion direction is connected to the deflection regulating piece;
A first engagement member connected to the downstream end of the elastic member in the insertion direction;
A second engagement member that holds the position of the downstream end in the insertion direction of the elastic member at a position where the elastic member is in a compressed state by engaging with the first engagement member;
Have
When an operating force is applied directly or indirectly to the first or second engaging member, the first engaging member and the second engaging member are disengaged, and the elastic member is caused by the elastic force. The deflection regulating piece slides,
A vehicle component mounting structure characterized by the above. The vehicle component mounting structure according to claim 2,
The vehicle component includes a lid that can be opened and closed from the passenger compartment side.
When an opening operation or a closing operation is applied to the lid body, a part of the lid body comes into contact with the first or second engagement member, whereby the first engagement member and the second engagement member are brought into contact with each other. A mounting structure for a vehicle component, wherein the engagement is disengaged.

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