JP4934204B2 - Sliding assist device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sliding assist device that assists an operation of sliding a movable body such as various drawers and lids between a drawing position and a drawing position with respect to a main body.

  In the structure in which the movable body is slidably switched between the drawing position and the drawing position with respect to the main body, as shown in Patent Document 1, all switching operations for sliding in the drawing direction and sliding in the drawing direction are performed manually. Therefore, the movable body is urged in either the pulled-out position or the retracted direction and is automatically slid in the urged direction.

  FIGS. 5A and 5B show the drawer device of Patent Document 1, in which FIG. 5A is a drawing position of a movable body (not shown), and FIG. 5B is a state diagram at the drawing position. Reference numeral 50 denotes a side wall of the main body, reference numeral 55 denotes a drive pin on the movable body side, reference numeral 60 denotes an inclined portion disposed between the main body side wall and the movable body, and reference numeral 65 denotes a spring member. A guide track 51 is provided on the main body side wall 50. The guide track 51 includes a straight portion 51a extending horizontally in the front-rear direction and an arcuate portion 51b on the front (right side in the figure). The inclined portion 60 has a slot 61 opened upward and an oblique side wall 62 extending from the front side of the slot 61, and bolts 63 and 63 are fitted to the guide track 51. The spring member 65 accumulates an urging force in the process in which the movable body is slid from the retracted position toward the pulled-out position with one end locked to the main body side and the other end locked to the inclined portion 60. In this structure, the movable body is assembled with the drive pin 55 fitted in the slot 61 with respect to the main body side. When the movable body is slid from the retracted position to the withdrawn position, the inclined portion 60 is moved along the straight portion 51a of the guide track 51, and then inclined forward at the arcuate portion 51b, and the drive pin 55 is It moves from the slot 61 to the oblique side wall 62. As a result, the movable body is locked or locked at the pulled-out position against the urging force of the spring member 65 and is pushed backward to return the drive pin 55 from the diagonal wall portion 62 to the slot 61. The urging force accumulated in the spring member 65 is pulled in. In Patent Document 1, the movable body is slid to the retracted position by the urging force of the spring member 65, thereby eliminating the possibility of bouncing and being pulled out again when the movable body is strongly retracted.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-023763

  In the above-described conventional structure, for example, the movable body is almost automatically slid from the pulling position to the pulling position. However, a strong pulling operation force is required from the pulling position to the pulling position, resulting in poor usability. Further, as a lock mechanism for locking the movable body against the urging force of the spring member 65, the drive pin 55 is pulled out of the slot 61 by the forward inclination of the inclined member 60 and is engaged with the inclined side wall 62. The engaging force is weak, and there is a risk of unlocking due to vibration or the like. Since the opening of the slot 61 provided in the inclined member 60 receives a large load as the urging force of the spring member 65 accumulates when the movable body (drive pin 55) is pulled out, it is desired to increase the lock margin with the drive pin 55. Further, since the disengagement of the drive pin 55 due to the forward inclination of the inclined member 60 must be kept intact, it is restricted. In addition, the conventional structure does not have a function to assist both operations when the movable body slides in the retracted position direction and when it slides in the retracted position direction, and is restricted in terms of operating characteristics. Yes.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, for example, to enable various usages according to applications with a relatively simple configuration, and to improve the usability and high-class feeling of an applied device. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sliding assist device that assists in pulling the movable body from the retracted position to the pulled-out position with respect to the main body, and is provided on one of the main body and the movable body. A slider that is slidable in a direction, a lock member that is incorporated in the slider and is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the movable body, and a sliding process of the movable body from a pulling position to a pulling position direction A pull-out unit main body having a spring member capable of accumulating an urging force, a first cam portion provided on the other of the main body and the movable body and capable of displacing the lock member to a lock position, and the lock A second cam portion that allows the member to be displaced to the unlocked position, and when the movable body is pulled from the retracted position to the middle position, the lock member is moved between the movable body and the slider; An actuating member that displaces the movable body from the locked position to the unlocking position that releases the actuating connection, thereby enabling the movable body to slide from the midway position to the drawn position by the biasing force of the spring member. It is a feature.

  In the present invention described above, the drawer unit main body has a slider, a lock member, and a spring member, and is used as a set with an operating member. The operating feature is that the spring member accumulates the urging force during the sliding process of the movable body, the movable body is automatically slid by the accumulated urging force, and the lock member of the drawer unit body is separated from the operating member. Under load, the movable body and the slider are operatively connected (disabling relative sliding of the slider alone) and the operating connection is released (relative to the slider alone) This makes it possible to swing and displace to the unlocked position.

  In the present invention described above, the drawer unit main body is provided in a case in which the slider, the lock member, and the spring member are arranged, and the damper for braking the sliding speed of the movable body via the slider is provided. The damper has a main body having a plurality of protrusions on the outer periphery, and is disposed so as to be rotatable in one direction via the protrusions with respect to a damper accommodating portion provided in the case. Preferably, the damper has a gear that meshes with a rack provided on the slider (claim 4).

The above-described sliding assist device according to the present invention has the following advantages.
(1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, the process of switching the movable body from the retracted position to the pulled out position by the pulling unit main body and the operating member, that is, sliding automatically from the midway position to the final pulled out position by the biasing force of the spring member. It is possible to improve usability. At the same time, according to the present invention, the lock member of the drawer unit main body is displaced to the lock position or the unlock position while being in contact with the first cam portion or the second cam portion of the operation member. Can be set arbitrarily, so that strong anxiety can be resolved.
(2) In the invention of claim 2, for example, the movable body is braked by the damper so as not to be slid rapidly by the biasing force of the spring member, so that a high-class feeling can be given.
(3) In the invention of claim 3, since the main body is disposed as the damper so as to be rotatable in one direction via a protrusion on the outer periphery (or a step on the storage portion side) with respect to the damper housing portion, It is possible to function as a one-way type in which braking is performed only in a so-called determined rotation direction only by setting the shape.
(4) In the invention of claim 4, since the damper has a gear and the gear meshes with the rack of the slider, the braking action can be obtained stably and reliably.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows a case in cross section the sliding auxiliary device of an Example. It is a model operation diagram which shows the apparatus operation | movement of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic operation diagram showing a modification of FIG. 1 corresponding to FIG. 2. It is a reference figure which shows the relationship between the movable body of the said Example, and a main body. It is a reference figure for demonstrating the conventional problem.

  The best mode of the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments of the drawings. 1 and 2 show an embodiment, and FIG. 3 shows a modification thereof. Among these, FIGS. 2 and 3 schematically show the operation of the apparatus of the embodiment or the modification, and FIG. 4 schematically shows an application example of the apparatus of the present invention. In the following description, an application example of the apparatus of the present invention will be outlined, and then detailed in the order of examples and modifications. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the reference numerals are assigned only to the main members, but refer to FIG. 1 for details.

(Application Example of Invention Device) The sliding assist device of the present invention is composed of a drawer unit main body 1A and an actuating member 5, and assists the operation of sliding the movable body between the retracted position and the pulled-out position with respect to the main body. To do. FIG. 4 shows an example of the main body and the movable body. The main body 6 is a storage device in which a space portion 7 having a front opening is formed in multiple stages. The movable body 8 has a tray 9 which is detachably attached to the inside, and is assembled so as to be slidably switched between a retracted position and a pulled-out position with respect to a corresponding space portion 7 of the main body 6. In this example, a drawer unit main body 1 </ b> A is attached to the movable body 8, and an operating member 5 is attached to each space portion 7 corresponding to the drawer unit main body. However, the member arrangement may be such that the drawer unit main body 1A is attached to the space portion 7 (main body 6) and the operating member 5 is attached to the movable body 8, as can be inferred from the modification of FIG.

(Embodiment) In the sliding assist device of FIG. 1, the drawer unit main body 1A is attached to the bottom surface side of the movable body 8, and the operating member 5 is attached to the inner bottom surface side of the main body side space portion 7. The drawer unit main body 1A includes a slider 2 slidable in the same direction as the movable body 8, a lock member 3 incorporated in the slider 2 and capable of swinging and displacing in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the movable body 8, It is comprised with the spring member 4 which can accumulate | store urging | biasing force in the sliding process of the movable body 8, and these are integrated in case 10A. Details are as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the case 10 </ b> A has a flat rectangular container shape that is long in the sliding direction of the movable body 8. A long groove 11 is formed on one side in the longitudinal direction from a substantially middle position in the front-rear direction to the rear end. On the inner bottom surface, it has a straight rib 12a extending from the rear side to approximately the middle in the front-rear direction, a vertical rib 12b connected to the straight rib 12a, and a straight rib 12c connected to the vertical rib 12b. Moreover, it has the substantially circular division rib 13 for damper arrangement | positioning connected to the linear rib 12c. A damper 35 is disposed inside the partition rib 13. That is, the partition rib 13 forms a damper accommodating portion, and a part thereof is a stepped portion. The damper accommodating portion rotates a main body 36 of a damper 35, which will be described later, only in one direction via the main body side teeth and protrusions and the stepped portion on the rib 13 side. In terms of shape, in addition to the shape of FIG. 1, the partition rib 13 may be designed to have a shape that is rotated approximately 90 degrees. The case 10A described above is attached to the bottom surface of the movable body 8 with a set screw or the like after the slider 2, the lock member 3, and the spring member 4 are incorporated.

  Here, the damper 35 is formed with a plurality of teeth or protrusions on the outer periphery and filled with hydraulic oil, and is supported by the main body 36 via a shaft or the like so that the resistance of the hydraulic oil is reduced. For example, when rotating clockwise as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the gear 37 is rotated when rotating counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 2 (c). The mating member (slider 2) is braked. Further, in this structure, the damper 35 is disposed in the partition rib 13, that is, the damper housing portion, the main body 36 is idled in one direction via the outer peripheral teeth or protrusions, and the movable body 8 is a spring described later. The brake is applied only when the member 4 is slid by the urging force of the member 4. That is, this damper structure cannot provide a braking action when the main body 36 rotates, and is in a brakeable state via the gear 37 in a state in which it cannot rotate.

  The slider 2 includes an elongated long piece 20, a tip bent portion 21 obtained by bending the front end of the long piece 20 into a substantially L shape, and a holding portion 22 provided at the rear end of the long piece 20. . The long piece portion 20 is provided with a rack 24 that meshes with the gear 37 along one side. The holding portion 22 has a substantially concave cross section. The concave opposing piece has an inner part 22b that is one step lower than the outer part 22a, and a small opening or hole 23 is provided in the piece connecting the opposing pieces. Here, the slider 2 has a length that extends from the front side (left side in FIG. 1) in the case 10A to the vicinity of the vertical rib 12b, and the long piece portion 20 is slidably supported on the partition rib 13, The holding portion 22 is slidably supported by the long groove 11.

  The lock member 3 has a substantially shaft or pin shape, and includes an elastic piece 30 protruding from both sides of the shaft portion, a lower end abutting portion 31, and an upper end head portion 32. The abutting portion 31 is formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape, and both sides are formed as inclined sides. The lock member 3 is disposed in a state in which the lock member 3 is elastically contacted with the inner portion 22 b of the holding portion 22 via both elastic pieces 30 and the abutting portion 31 protrudes from the hole 23. Therefore, the lock member 3 is disposed in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the slider 2 (same as the intersection) with respect to the holding portion 22 and is movable with the elastic displacement of both elastic pieces 30. Normally, as shown in FIG. 1, the lock member 3 is disposed between the vertical rib 12b and the straight rib 12c, that is, at the lock position where the head 32 is regulated by the vertical rib 12b. Further, the lock member 3 is oscillated and displaced in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the slider 2 via an actuating member 5 to be described later, and is switched to a lock release position where the head 32 is not in contact with the vertical rib 12b. .

  The spring member 4 is a constant pressure spring that pulls the spring plate 42 wound around the spool 41 from the housing 40, and is attached between the base end side of the linear rib 12a and the corresponding case side wall in the case 10A. Yes. The spring member 4 urges the slider 2 toward the rear of the case by the drawing end of the spring plate 42 being locked to the bent end portion 21 of the slider 2. In the assembled state, the slider 2 is maintained at the initial position in FIG. 1 against the urging force of the spring member 4 because the lock member 3 is in the lock position.

  On the other hand, the actuating member 5 is substantially L-shaped and includes a long piece portion 45 disposed in the sliding direction of the slider 2 and a short piece portion 46 disposed in a direction intersecting the sliding direction of the slider 2. Become. The long piece portion 45 has a first cam portion 47 provided at the end portion and protruding upward. The first cam portion 47 enables the lock member 3 to be switched from the unlock position to the lock position as shown in FIG. The short piece portion 46 has a second cam portion 48 that receives the abutting portion 31 of the lock member 3 between the short piece portion 45 and abuts against one side inclined side of the abutting portion 31. The second cam portion 48 enables the lock member 3 to be switched from the lock position to the lock release position as shown in FIG. The above operating member 5 is attached to the front side of the inner bottom surface of the main body side space portion 7 as shown in FIGS.

(Operation) FIG. 2 shows an operation when the sliding assist device of the embodiment is used. That is, (a) is a state in which the movable body 8 is being pulled out manually from the retracted position where the movable body 8 is housed in the main body side space portion 7 as shown in FIG. In this process, the lock member 3 of the drawer unit main body 1A is locked by the vertical rib 12b (the position where the movable body 8 and the slider 2 are operatively connected, or the slider alone cannot be relatively slid. The slider 2 receives the urging force of the spring member 4 most strongly.
(B) is a state immediately before the movable body 8 is further pulled out and the lock member 3 is switched to the unlocking position by the operating member 5. In this process, the lock member 3 abuts the abutting portion 31 against the cam surface of the second cam portion 48 and slides on the abutting portion 31 by the cam action of the cam surface. The position is displaced in the direction.

In (c), the lock member 3 is switched to the unlocking position (the position where the movable body 8 and the slider 2 are released from the operation connection or the position where the slider can be slid relative to each other). As a result, the movable body 8 is automatically slid to the final drawing position by the urging force of the spring member 4 with respect to the slider 2 whose position is regulated by the operating member 5. In this structure, the lock member 3 is urged upward by the first cam portion 47 of the actuating member 5 after the lock member 3 is switched to the unlock position, but the linear rib of FIG. Since it is located below 12a, it cannot move upward. Further, in this structure, during (b) to (c), the damper 35 brakes the sliding speed of the movable body 8 through the meshing of the rack 24 and the gear 37. As a result, the movable body 8 is slid at an appropriate speed from the midway position to the final drawing position.

(D) shows a state when the movable body 8 is retracted from the extraction position. In this retracting process, since the position of the slider 2 is regulated via the lock member 3 and the actuating member 5 in the initial stage, the spring member 4 gradually increases the urging force as the movable body 8 slides. Accumulate like so. Then, when the lock member 3 reaches the vertical rib 12b from the straight rib 12a as shown in the figure, the abutting portion 31 is brought into contact with the cam surface of the first cam portion 47, and the lock member 3 is caused by the cam action of the cam surface. Is oscillated and displaced in the direction of the linear rib 12c, that is, in the locked position. In addition, the lock position is in a state in which the slider 2 is farthest from the mounting position of the spring member 4, that is, the state in which the urging force is spring-charged to the maximum, as in (a). Note that the retracting operation of the movable body 8 requires a relatively large force from the withdrawal position to this intermediate position, but can be performed with a weak force from the intermediate position to the final retracting position. In other words, the pull-in operation requires a predetermined force only at the beginning and does not require a force thereafter, so that the usability can be improved.

(Modification) FIG. 3 shows a modification in which the drawer unit main body 1A described above is attached to the main body 6 (inner bottom surface of the space 7), and the operating member 5 is attached to the movable body 8. In this modification, as can be seen from the comparison with FIG. 2, the member relationship is reversed. However, although the description is omitted, the operation is substantially the same as the above embodiment as can be seen from the comparison between FIG. 2 and FIG.

  In addition, this invention is not restrict | limited at all by the said Example and modification, It can change suitably with reference to this except the requirements specified by Claim 1. Further, the sliding assist device of the present invention is not particularly limited in application. For example, if the movable body is a lid, the retracted position has the same meaning as the closed position arranged at a predetermined position of the main body, and the pulled out position Has the same meaning as an open position away from a predetermined position of the main body. Further, the damper 35 is configured to brake only when rotating in one direction, and the main body 36 is simplified so that the rotation direction is restricted by setting the shape of the damper housing portion. There is no problem. Further, although the spring member 4 is an example of a constant pressure spring, a coil spring or other urging structure may be used.

1A: Drawer unit body (10A is a case, 12b is a restricting portion)
2 ... Slider (20 is a main body, 22 is a holding portion, 13 is a hole)
3 ... Lock member (30 is an elastic piece, 31 is an abutting part, 32 is a head)
4 ... Spring member (40 is a housing, 41 is a spool, 42 is a spring plate)
5 ... Actuating member (47 is first cam portion, 48 is second cam portion)
6 ... Main body (7 is a space)
8 ... movable body (9 is tray)
13 ... partition rib (damper accommodating part)
35 ... Damper (36 is the main body, 37 is the gear)

Claims (4)

In the sliding assist device that helps the main body to pull out the movable body from the retracted position to the pulled out position,
A slider provided on one of the main body and the movable body and slidable in the same direction as the movable body, and a lock incorporated in the slider and movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the movable body A drawer unit main body having a member and a spring member capable of accumulating an urging force in a sliding process from the pulling position of the movable body toward the pulling position;
A first cam portion that is provided on the other of the main body and the movable body and allows the lock member to be displaced to a lock position; and a second cam portion that allows the lock member to be displaced to a lock release position. When the movable body is pulled out from the retracted position to an intermediate position, the lock member is displaced from a lock position where the movable body and the slider are operatively connected to a lock release position where the operative connection is released, thereby moving the movable body. A sliding assist device, comprising: an actuating member that is slidable from an intermediate position to a drawing position by an urging force of the spring member.   The damper is provided in a case where the slider, the lock member, and the spring member are disposed, and brakes the sliding speed of the movable body via the slider. The sliding assist device according to 1.   3. The damper according to claim 2, wherein the damper has a plurality of protrusions on an outer periphery thereof and is disposed so as to be rotatable in one direction via the protrusion with respect to a damper accommodating portion provided in the case. The sliding assist device as described.   The sliding assist device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the damper includes a gear that meshes with a rack provided on the slider.

Images