JP2008157361A - Automobile component protecting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a protecting structure for an automobile component 50, constructed to store a functional element 53 in a housing 51 formed with two members 54, 55 combined, making the two members 54, 55 hard to separate from each other even when external force is applied to their abutting part, to improve the capability of protecting the functional element 53 in the housing 51. <P>SOLUTION: The housing 51 is formed with the two members 54, 55 combined to create an internal space 52 for storing the functional element 53. On an abutting part of the two members 54, 55, a brittle portion 57 is provided that is ruptured when external force to separate both the members 54, 55 from each other is imparted thereto, thus eliminating the external force to immobilize both the members 54, 55. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a protection structure for automobile parts having a configuration in which a functional element is housed in a housing, and in particular, the housing is configured by combining two members.

  In an automatic transmission of an automobile, a parking range (P), a reverse range (R), a neutral range (N), a drive range (D), etc. are generally set as selectable shift ranges.

  As a method for selecting the shift range, generally, the driver operates the shift lever installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle.

  When the parking range P is selected here, the output shaft of the automatic transmission is brought into a non-rotatable locked state by a parking lock mechanism.

  The parking lock mechanism includes, for example, a parking gear, a parking lock pole, and a parking lock rod as shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

  The parking gear is externally fixed to the output shaft, and the parking lock pole is tiltably supported so as to be displaceable and displaceable with respect to the parking gear, and a pawl that can be engaged and disengaged between the teeth of the parking gear is provided. It has been.

  The parking lock rod is provided with a tapered cone at one end for tilting the parking lock pole, and is displaced forward or backward substantially parallel to the output shaft.

  As the operation of the parking lock mechanism, first, when the parking lock rod is displaced backward, for example, by the tilting operation of the detent lever, the taper cone pushes the parking lock pole upward, and the pawl is engaged between the teeth of the parking gear. As a result, the output shaft is brought into a non-rotatable locked state.

  On the other hand, if the parking lock rod is displaced forward, for example, by tilting the detent lever, the pushing force of the parking lock pole by the taper cone is released and the parking lock pole is lowered downward, so that the pawls come out between the teeth of the parking gear. As a result, the output shaft is brought into an unlocked state in which it can rotate.

  By the way, the parking lock rod of the parking lock mechanism as described above is connected to a detent lever that is tilted according to the movement of the shift lever, and is reciprocally displaced in the longitudinal direction by the tilting operation of the detent lever. It has become.

  The detent lever changes the state of a manual valve that is one component of a hydraulic control device for shift range switching provided in the automatic transmission.

  For example, the detent lever and the shift lever are directly coupled to each other with a rod, a cable, or the like, and the position of the shift lever is detected with a sensor or the like, and an electric motor is used to establish the detected shift range. The detent lever is driven by a type actuator.

  Incidentally, the electric actuator used in the latter form may be attached outside the case of the automatic transmission.

  This external type electric actuator is configured such that its components are housed in the internal space of the housing and concealed from the outside.

Note that some housings have, for example, a two-piece structure in which two members are combined. In this case, the two members are both cylindrical with a bottom, and the opening end surfaces of the peripheral wall portions are abutted with each other, and the palm portions of the mounting pieces provided on the outer diameter side of the peripheral wall portions are screwed. There are some which are joined together by fastening with fasteners such as.
JP 2001-295922 A JP-A-9-267726

  When the electric actuator is attached to the outside of the case of the automatic transmission as in the above conventional example, the two members constituting the housing of the electric actuator are exposed to the outside. However, there is a risk that they will be separated relatively easily by the method described below.

  In other words, if you stab the tip of a screwdriver tool, for example, called a screwdriver, into the butted part of the two members that make up the housing, and perform the act of turning or shaking the screwdriver, Since the external force which expands in the direction which separates the said both members according to the principle is given, both members are easily pulled apart.

  By the way, as shown in, for example, Utility Model Registration No. 3104940 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-53631, it is considered that a door locked on the main body cannot be illegally opened in a vending machine or the like. This prior art is different from the technical idea of the present invention in that a tip of a screwdriver, a bar or the like cannot be inserted into a portion that opens and closes the main body and the door.

  According to the present invention, in a protection structure for an automobile part having a configuration in which a functional element is housed in a housing formed by combining two members, the two members are pulled apart when an external force is applied to a butted portion of the two members. The purpose is to increase the protection capability of the functional elements inside the housing in such a way that it becomes difficult to be defeated.

  The present invention is a protection structure for automobile parts having a configuration in which a functional element is housed in a housing, and the housing is configured by combining two members so as to create a space for housing the functional element therein. The butt portion of the two members is provided with a fragile portion for making the both members stationary by rupturing the external force by breaking when an external force is applied to separate the two members. It is characterized by that.

  The housing may have any shape as long as the two elements are combined to accommodate the functional element. For reference, for example, it is conceivable that the two members constituting the housing are both a bottomed cylindrical member, for example, one member is a bottomed cylindrical member, and the other member is a lid-like member, for example. It is also possible.

  The external force is also described in the conventional example, but is generated by piercing the tip of a screwdriver tool, for example, called a screwdriver, at the butting part of two members, and turning or shaking the screwdriver. In short, it is the force for separating the two members by utilizing the principle of the lever.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, when the external force as described above is applied to the fragile portion, only the fragile portion is broken at the butt portion. Since the external force disappears due to the breakage of the fragile portion, the external force does not have to be transmitted to other regions in the butted portion.

  Thereby, since the area | regions other than the weak part in the butt | matching part of two members are maintained in the state which contact | abutted, both members become non-separation.

  Preferably, at least the one member has a bottomed cylindrical shape, the other member has a shape that abuts against an opening end surface of a peripheral wall of the one member, and the weakened portion has at least a circumferential direction of the abutting portion. Provided in one place.

  In this configuration, the form of the abutting portion of the two members and the existence form of the fragile part are specified, and it becomes clear that the external force is applied by the screwdriver tool as described above.

  Preferably, the fragile portion is provided across both of the two members. Of course, you may make it provide a weak part only in either one of two members.

  In this configuration, when an external force is applied to the fragile portion, the external force is almost completely lost due to the rupture of the fragile portion, and is not transmitted to a region other than the fragile portion at the butt portion of the two members.

  Preferably, the weakened portion is formed by thinning the butted portion of the two members.

  In this configuration, the fragile portion can be easily formed and unnecessary parts are unnecessary, which is advantageous in suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost.

  Preferably, the automobile part is an electric actuator for driving the parking lock mechanism to a locked state or an unlocked state.

  In this configuration, an automobile part is specified. In this case, even if an external force is applied to the housing of the electric actuator as the automobile part, the housing of the electric actuator is not separated.

  According to the present invention, in a protection structure for an automobile part having a configuration in which a functional element is housed in a housing formed by combining two members, even if an external force is applied to the butted portion of the two members, the two parts constituting the housing are configured. Two members are less likely to be pulled apart. Therefore, it is advantageous in improving the protection capability of the functional element stored in the internal space of the housing.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. First, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a protection structure for automobile parts according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the automobile parts in FIG. 1 are disassembled, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for forcibly opening the housing of FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a housing using the method of FIG. 4. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode when external force is provided to the butt | matching part of the two members which comprise.

    In these drawings, reference numeral 50 denotes an entire automobile part. The automobile component 50 is configured so that the functional element 53 is accommodated in the internal space 52 of the housing 51 and concealed from the outside.

  The housing 51 has a two-piece structure in which a case 54 and a cover 55 as two members are combined.

  In this embodiment, the case 54 and the cover 55 are both cylindrical with a bottom, and the opening end surfaces of the peripheral wall portions 54 a and 55 a of the cover 55 are abutted against the opening end surfaces of the peripheral wall portions 54 a and 55 a of the case 54. In this manner, the attachment pieces 54b and 55b provided at two locations on the outer periphery of the case 54 and the cover 55 are joined together, and the joined portions are fastened with a fastener 56 such as a screw, so that they are joined together. In addition, a space 52 for storing the functional element 53 is formed inside.

  A fragile portion 57 is provided in at least one place in the circumferential direction at the abutting portion between the case 54 and the cover 55.

  The fragile portion 57 is used to make the case 54 and the cover 55 immovable by breaking the external force by breaking when an external force for separating the case 54 and the cover 55 is applied. .

  In this embodiment, the fragile portion 57 is provided across the peripheral wall portions 54 a and 55 a of both the case 54 and the cover 55.

  Specifically, the fragile portion 57 is, for example, a thin portion provided near the outer diameter of a predetermined region in the circumferential direction in the peripheral wall portions 54a and 55a of the case 54 and the cover 55. Such a fragile portion 57 can be obtained, for example, by denting the inner diameter side of a predetermined region in the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portions 54a, 55a of both the case 54 and the cover 55 radially outward.

  The thickness and formation range of the thin portion as the fragile portion 57 can be appropriately set according to the material of the case 54 and the cover 55.

  The superiority of the protective structure of the automobile component 50 will be described.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the tip of a screwdriver tool 60 or the like called a screwdriver is pierced into the fragile portion 57 between the case 54 and the cover 55, and the screwdriver tool 60 is indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 4. 4 or an action of swinging as shown by an arrow B in FIG. 4, an external force is applied to the fragile portion 57 between the case 54 and the cover 55 according to the principle of the lever to separate the members 54 and 55 from each other. Will be.

  When such an external force is applied to the fragile portion 57, only the fragile portion 57 is broken at the abutting portion between the case 54 and the cover 55, as shown in FIG. Since it disappears, the external force does not have to be transmitted to other areas in the butted portion.

  As a result, the region other than the fragile portion 57 is kept in contact with the abutting portion between the case 54 and the cover 55, so that the case 54 and the cover 55 are not separated.

  As described above, in the protection structure for the automobile part 50 to which the features of the present invention are applied, the case 54 and the cover 55 are not separated, although the fragile portion 57 is broken when an external force is applied. The ability to protect the functional element 53 housed in the internal space 52 formed by the case 54 and the cover 55 is improved.

  In addition, this invention is not limited only to the said embodiment, All the deformation | transformation and application included in the range equivalent to the claim and the said range are possible.

  For example, a modification of the fragile portion 57 described in the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The weak part 57 shown in FIG. 6 is a thin part provided near the inner diameter of a predetermined region in the circumferential direction in the peripheral wall parts 54 a and 55 a of both the case 54 and the cover 55.

  Such a weak part 57 can be obtained by, for example, denting the outer diameter side of the circumferential predetermined region in the peripheral wall parts 54a, 55a of both the case 54 and the cover 55 radially inward.

  The fragile portion 57 shown in FIG. 7 is a radially outwardly extending thin portion provided in a predetermined circumferential region of the peripheral wall portions 54 a and 55 a of both the case 54 and the cover 55.

  In FIG. 8, it is a thin part provided in the circumferential predetermined region only in the peripheral wall portion 55a of the cover 55 and near the outer diameter in the radial direction.

  Such a fragile portion 57 can be obtained by denting the inner diameter side in the circumferential direction predetermined region only in the peripheral wall portion 55a of the cover 55 in the radial direction outward in the radial direction.

  In the structure shown in FIG. 8, a fragile stuffing 58 may be provided in the recess provided only in the peripheral wall portion 55a of the cover 55 as shown in FIG. Moreover, you may form the weak part 57 in the opening end of the surrounding wall part 55a. Further, as in the structure shown in FIG. 8, the fragile portion 57 may be provided only on the case 54 side without providing the fragile portion 57 on the cover 55 side.

  In any of these forms, it is possible to obtain the same operations and effects as the above-described embodiment.

  By the way, the above-described automobile component 50 can be an electric actuator for driving a detent lever or a parking lock mechanism provided in an automatic transmission of an automobile, for example. As a matter of course, the automobile part 50 to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the electric actuator of the automatic transmission, and can be any appropriate part constituting various functional devices of the automobile.

  A schematic configuration of the parking lock mechanism will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of an automobile part according to the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the parking lock mechanism of FIG.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes the entire automatic transmission. The automatic transmission 1 in the illustrated example is of a type mounted on a front engine / rear drive (FR) type vehicle.

  In short, the automatic transmission 1 is not shown in detail. However, when rotation of the crankshaft of the engine is input to the input shaft via the torque converter, the rotation input to the input shaft is converted into the transmission mechanism unit. Then, the speed is changed to an appropriate speed ratio and output from the output shaft 2.

  When the vehicle driver selects an arbitrary shift position with the shift lever 3, the selected range is detected by the shift position sensor 4. Based on the detected range position, the transmission control device 5 drives the electric actuator 6 to appropriately tilt the detent lever 8 in the forward or reverse direction via the shift control shaft 7.

  By tilting the detent lever 8, the spool 9a of the manual valve 9 is slid as a component of the hydraulic control device, and hydraulic oil is supplied to an appropriate linear solenoid valve (not shown) as a component of the hydraulic control device. Thus, appropriate gears (parking range P, reverse range R, neutral range N, drive range D) are established by connecting or releasing appropriate brakes and clutches in the speed change mechanism.

  Although not shown in detail, the electric actuator 6 includes, for example, an appropriate motor, a speed reduction mechanism (such as a worm gear), and the like.

  The detent lever 8 is positioned and held when the pin 10a of the latch lever 10 is engaged with any one of a plurality of engaging grooves provided in the sector arm 8a.

  Although not shown in detail, the speed change mechanism section includes, for example, a multi-stage planetary mechanism, and by appropriately engaging or releasing a plurality of brakes or clutches, the power transmission path of each planetary mechanism is appropriately set. By changing the configuration, an appropriate gear position is established.

  Furthermore, the linear solenoid valve of the hydraulic control device controls the engagement operation of various brakes and clutches provided in the transmission mechanism, and the manual valve 9 of the hydraulic control device supports the operation of the shift lever 3 by the driver. In order to establish the gear position (neutral range N, drive range D, or reverse range R), hydraulic oil is supplied from the appropriate port to the appropriate linear solenoid valve.

  The manual valve 9 includes a valve body 9a having various oil supply ports and discharge ports (not shown), and a spool 9b accommodated in the valve body 9a so as to be axially displaceable. The parking range P, the reverse range R, the neutral range N, and the drive range D are appropriately established by displacing the spool 9b in one of the axial directions or the other in accordance with the operation and positioning it at a predetermined position. .

  Here, when the parking range P is selected, the parking lock mechanism 15 locks the output shaft 2 of the automatic transmission 1 so that it cannot rotate.

  The parking lock mechanism 15 includes a parking gear 16, a parking lock pole 17, and a parking lock rod 18.

  The parking gear 16 is externally fixed to the output shaft 2, and the parking lock pole 17 is supported so as to be able to displace to the parking gear 16 so as to be able to displace and move between the teeth of the parking gear 16. A claw 17a is provided.

  The parking lock rod 18 is provided with a tapered cone 19 for tilting the parking lock pole 17 at one end, and is displaced forward or backward substantially parallel to the output shaft 2.

  As the operation of the parking lock mechanism 15, first, when the parking lock rod 18 is displaced backward, for example, by the tilting operation of the detent lever 8, the taper cone 19 pushes the parking lock pole 17 upward, and the pawl 17 a is moved to the parking gear. Thus, the output shaft 2 is locked so that it cannot rotate.

  On the other hand, when the parking lock rod 18 is displaced forward, for example, by the tilting operation of the detent lever 8, the push-up force of the parking lock pole 17 by the taper cone 19 is released, and the parking lock pole 17 is lowered downward. As a result, the output shaft 2 is allowed to rotate and unlocked.

  Since the electric actuator 6 for driving the detent lever 8 and the parking lock mechanism 15 is attached to the outside of the case of the automatic transmission 1, such an external type electric actuator is provided. 6 may be the automobile part 50 described in the above embodiment.

  In that case, although the fragile portion (corresponding to 57 in FIG. 1) of the housing is broken when an external force is applied to the housing of the electric actuator 6 (corresponding to 51 in FIG. 1) by a screwdriver or the like, Since the housing is not opened, it is possible to protect a motor (corresponding to the functional element 53 in FIG. 1) as a component of the electric actuator 6 housed in the internal space (corresponding to 52 in FIG. 1) of the housing. . Thus, the protection capability of the housing internal storage component by the housing is improved.

It is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a protection structure for automobile parts concerning the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which decomposed | disassembled the motor vehicle part of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows partially the butt | matching part of the two members which comprise the housing of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a method of trying to forcibly open the housing of FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state when an external force is applied to a butted portion of two members constituting the housing by the method of FIG. 4 and corresponding to FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 in another embodiment of the protection structure for automobile parts according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 in another embodiment of the protection structure for automobile parts according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 in another embodiment of the protection structure for automobile parts according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 in another embodiment of the protection structure for automobile parts according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows typically an example of the motor vehicle component which concerns on this invention. It is a side view which shows schematic structure of the parking lock mechanism of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

50 Automotive parts 51 Housing 52 Internal space of the housing 53 Functional element 54 Case (one member)
54a Case mounting piece 55 Cover (other member)
55a Cover mounting piece 56 Fastener 57 Fragile portion 1 Automatic transmission 3 Shift lever 4 Shift position sensor 5 Transmission control device 6 Electric actuator 8 Detent lever 9 Manual valve of hydraulic control device 15 Parking lock mechanism 16 Parking gear 17 Parking lock Paul 18 parking lock rod

Claims (5)

A protective structure for automobile parts having a functional element housed in a housing,
The housing is configured to combine two members so as to create a space for storing the functional element therein,
The butt portion of the two members is provided with a fragile portion for making the both members stationary by breaking the external force by breaking when an external force for separating the two members is applied. , Characterized in that the protective structure of automobile parts. The protection structure for an automobile part according to claim 1,
At least the one member has a bottomed cylindrical shape, and the other member has a shape that abuts against an opening end surface of a peripheral wall of the one member.
The fragile portion is provided in at least one place in the circumferential direction of the butted portion. In the protection structure of the motor vehicle part of Claim 1 or 2,
The fragile portion is provided across both of the two members, and is a protective structure for automobile parts. In the protection structure of the automobile component according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The fragile portion is a protective structure for automobile parts, wherein the butted portion of the two members is thinned. In the protection structure of the automobile component according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The automobile part protection structure according to claim 1, wherein the automobile part is an electric actuator for driving a parking lock mechanism to a locked state or an unlocked state.

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