JP5355035B2 - Lid lock device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lid locking device for a vehicle capable of preventing a stopper of an output gear of a worm wheel or the like from coming off. <P>SOLUTION: The lid locking device 1 for the vehicle operates an electric motor and turns the worm wheel 5 through a worm 4 to make a lock shaft advance or retreat with respect to a housing 2, and is engaged or disengaged with/from a lid provided on a vehicle body. A stopper holding part 217 protrudes toward the worm wheel 5 from the body 21 forming the housing 2, and the stopper holding part 217 is provided with a wheel stopper 7 formed of an elastic member on it. A stopper presser 222 protrudes from a cover 22 forming the housing 2, and the stopper presser 222 is inserted into a slit 56 of the worm wheel 5, and then is extended up to an end at a side where it leaves from the body 21 of the wheel stopper 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle lid lock device that locks a lid body provided in a vehicle body in a closed state.

  As a prior art, there has been a vehicle lid lock device that projects a shaft member from a housing by a spring force, engages with a lid body provided on a vehicle body, and locks the lid body in a closed state (see Patent Document 1). . This is because the shaft member is moved against the spring force by operating the electric motor in the housing and rotating the worm wheel, and the lid body can be released by releasing the engagement with the lid body. Yes.

In the above-described prior art, the holding portion protrudes from the housing, and a stopper made of an elastic body is fixed to the holding portion. A pair of protrusions provided on the worm wheel are brought into contact with the stopper according to the rotation direction of the worm wheel to stop the rotation of the worm wheel.
Japanese Patent No. 3079611

  By the way, the resilient stopper used in the above-described prior art is a type in which a pile-shaped holding portion protruding from the floor surface of the housing is inserted into the central inner hole, and is only attached to the holding portion. It is. For this reason, when the worm wheel comes into contact, the bending is repeated, and the stopper is lifted above the holding portion and may eventually fall out of the holding portion.

In order to prevent this, a method of integrally forming a large-diameter retaining member at the upper end portion of the holding portion can be considered, but this leads to deterioration in workability when the stopper is attached to the holding portion. There is also a method of attaching a separate retaining member to the holding part after attaching the stopper to the holding part. However, the number of parts of the lid lock device increases, leading to an increase in the number of assembly steps. Furthermore, when the stopper is mounted on the holding portion, the stopper can be adhered to the holding portion with an adhesive or the like. However, due to repeated flexing, the adhesive portion of the stopper will eventually peel from the holding portion.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a lid lock device for a vehicle that can prevent a stopper of an output gear such as a worm wheel from falling off.

A lid lock device for a vehicle according to the present invention includes a housing formed by fitting a first body and a second body, a drive motor accommodated in the housing, a pivot motor supported in the housing, and a drive motor. An output gear that can be rotated by operation, is supported in the housing so as to be movable in the axial direction, one end projects from the housing, can be engaged with a lid body provided on the vehicle body, and the other end is rotated by the output gear. And a shaft member that moves in an axial direction by engaging with an output gear, and the output gear is rotated by contacting the output gear in the rotation direction of the output gear held by the first body. A stopper for regulating, a stopper holding portion formed on the first body and fitted to the stopper to hold the stopper on the first body, and a stopper formed on the second body. It includes a stopper and capable of abutting against the stopper retaining portion in the fitting direction relative path holding unit.
Accordingly, when the stopper is lifted from the stopper holding portion, the stopper comes into contact with the stopper retaining portion protruding from the second body, so that the stopper is prevented from falling off from the stopper holding portion.

In the lid lock device for a vehicle according to the present invention, the stopper has an annular shape that comes into contact with the output gear on the outer peripheral surface, fits with the stopper holding portion on the inner peripheral surface, and can come into contact with the stopper retaining portion on the end surface. Presents.
Thereby, the bidirectional | two-way rotation of an output gear can be stopped with one stopper.

Further, in the vehicle lid lock device according to the present invention, the output gear has an opening through which the stopper retaining portion passes, and the stopper retaining portion can penetrate the output gear and contact the end surface of the stopper.
Thereby, the output gear and the stopper can be arranged so as to overlap each other.

Further, in the lid lock device for a vehicle according to the present invention, the opening is an arc-shaped slit centered on the rotation shaft of the output gear.
Thereby, rotation of an output gear can be performed suitably.
In the lid lock device for a vehicle according to the present invention, the stopper removal preventing portion faces the side of the stopper end face close to the rotation shaft of the output gear.
Thereby, since the opening can be arranged near the rotation center of the output gear, the opening penetrating the output gear can be reduced in diameter, and the strength of the output gear can be improved.

A lid lock device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The vertical direction in FIG. 4 corresponds to the thickness direction of the housing 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the lid lock device 1 according to the present embodiment includes an actuator housing 2 (corresponding to a first body of the present invention) and a cover 22 (corresponding to a second body of the present invention). Corresponding to the housing of the present invention, hereinafter referred to as a housing) is formed, and in the housing 2, an electric motor 3 (corresponding to the driving motor of the present invention), a worm 4 and a worm wheel 5 (corresponding to the output gear of the present invention). ), A lock shaft 6 (corresponding to the shaft member of the present invention), and a wheel stopper 7 (corresponding to the stopper of the present invention) are accommodated and formed.
Both the body 21 and the cover 22 are formed of a synthetic resin material. After the above-described internal components are accommodated, the body 21 and the cover 22 are fitted to each other, and the locking piece 211 of the body 21 is locked to the locking protrusion 221 of the cover 22. To be integrated with each other.

  An output shaft 31 (shown in FIG. 2) of the electric motor 3 is press-fitted into the worm 4, and the worm 4 can be rotated by the electric motor 3. The worm 4 is formed of a metal or a synthetic resin material, and a tooth portion (not shown) is formed on the outer peripheral surface 41. The electric motor 3 and the worm 4 are inserted into the motor housing portion 212 and the worm housing portion 213 of the body 21 after the output shaft 31 of the electric motor 3 is press-fitted into the worm 4 (the electric motor 3 and the worm 4 are integrated). Each is arranged. A pair of motor terminals 32 for supplying power are fixed to the terminal holding portion 214 of the body 21, and the motor terminals 32 are electrically connected to the electric motor 3.

  The worm wheel 5 is made of a synthetic resin material and has an outer peripheral surface 51 formed in a substantially circular arc shape, and a pivotal support hole 52 passes through the front and back. Further, the worm wheel 5 has an engaging column 53 protruding downward in FIG. 1, and in the vicinity of the engaging column 53, as shown in FIG. 54 is formed. On the other hand, a second stopper wall 55 extending in the same direction as the first stopper wall 54 is formed in the vicinity of the pivot support hole 52, and further, between the first stopper wall 54 and the second stopper wall 55. An arc-shaped slit 56 (corresponding to the opening of the present invention) penetrating front and back concentrically with the pivot hole 52 is formed.

  The worm wheel 5 is attached to the body 21 so as to be rotatable about the wheel shaft 215 by fitting the pivot hole 52 to the wheel shaft 215 protruding from the floor surface of the body 21. A tooth portion (not shown) is formed on the outer peripheral surface 51 of the worm wheel 5 and meshes with the tooth portion of the worm 4 described above.

  The lock shaft 6 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin material in a long shape, and a lid 91 (the present invention) covers a fuel filler opening provided in the vehicle body 9 at the tip (right end in FIG. 2) as described later. A lock portion 61 that engages with the lid body 61 is formed. The lock portion 61 is formed in a columnar shape, and a tapered portion 61a is provided at the tip portion. The support portion 62 adjacent to the lock portion 61 has a columnar shape having a larger diameter than the lock portion 61, and the support portion 62 has a ring groove 63 in which a seal ring 69 formed of a synthetic rubber material is mounted. Is provided.

  The lock portion 61 and the support portion 62 of the lock shaft 6 are inserted into the shaft holding portion 216 of the body 21 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The shaft holding portion 216 has a substantially cylindrical shape with a stepped portion. The lock portion 61 passes through the small diameter portion 216a that is the inner peripheral surface of the shaft holding portion 216, and the support portion 62 is passed through the seal ring 69 by the large diameter portion 216b. In this way, the tilt of the lock shaft 6 is prevented and the sealing performance with the housing 2 is improved (shown in FIG. 4).

  An approximately avoiding portion 64 is formed at a substantially central portion of the lock shaft 6 over a predetermined distance. As shown in FIG. 4, the avoiding portion 64 has a cross-section such that the upper half in FIG. Has a semicircular shape (shown in FIG. 5). The avoidance portion 64 is formed to be approximately half the width dimension in the vertical direction of FIG. 4 compared to the support portion 62 (the vertical width dimension of the avoidance portion 64 in FIG. 4 is the outer diameter of the seal ring 69 and the lock portion 61. The center of gravity (center axis) is offset with respect to the guide center P of the support portion 62. With the above-described configuration, the height of the lid lock device 1 (the vertical direction in FIG. 4 and corresponding to the thickness direction) is reduced, and the size of the lid lock device 1 is reduced.

  An interlocking hole 65 is formed at the rear end of the avoiding portion 64 so as to penetrate in the thickness direction of the lock shaft 6. In the interlocking hole 65, the engaging column 53 formed on the worm wheel 5 described above is inserted in parallel with the wheel shaft 215 that is the rotation shaft of the worm wheel 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the interlocking hole 65 has a long hole shape so that it can be engaged with the engaging column 53 according to the rotation of the worm wheel 5.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, on the inner peripheral surface of the interlocking hole 65, the engaging column 53 and the interlocking hole 65 engage in the vicinity of the guide center P passing through the center in the radial direction of the support portion 62 described above. As described above, a small-diameter portion 65a that protrudes inward in the radial direction is formed. The small-diameter portion 65a formed on the inner peripheral surface of the interlocking hole 65 is, at a minimum, a straight portion L (shown in FIG. 2) with which the engaging column 53 abuts, of the inner peripheral surface of the elliptical interlocking hole 65. It only has to be formed. In the present embodiment, since the height of the avoiding portion 64 is low with respect to the position of the guide center P, a small diameter portion 65a is formed after providing a build-up 65b around the upper opening of the interlocking hole 65. doing.

  A flat plate portion 66 is formed behind the interlocking hole 65 of the lock shaft 6 (left side in FIG. 2), and a pair of ribs 67 are provided on both front and back surfaces. The ribs 67 formed on both surfaces of the flat plate portion 66 are sandwiched between the body 21 and the cover 22, and the lock shaft 6 is also guided by the housing 2 in the flat plate portion 66. Further, a handle 68 for manual operation in an emergency is formed at the rear end (left end in FIG. 2) of the lock shaft 6. With the configuration described above, the lock shaft 6 is accommodated in the housing 2 so as to be movable in the axial direction (left-right direction in FIG. 2) while engaging with the worm wheel 5.

  A stopper holding portion 217 (corresponding to the stopper holding portion of the present invention) that protrudes toward the worm wheel 5 is formed at a portion of the body 21 that faces the worm wheel 5. The stopper holding portion 217 includes a wheel stopper. 7 is installed. The wheel stopper 7 is formed of a synthetic rubber material which is an elastic member having excellent heat resistance and weather resistance, such as EP or EPDM. As shown in FIG. 1, the wheel stopper 7 has a ring shape with a generally fan-shaped outer shape, and a stopper holding portion 217 is inserted into the inner peripheral portion 71 so as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the stopper holding portion 217. It is attached spontaneously.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the worm wheel 5 is rotated while attached to the body 21, the slit 56 of the worm wheel 5 is located at a portion facing the wheel stopper 7. A stopper presser 222 (corresponding to a stopper retaining portion of the present invention) at a position inserted through the slit 56 is a fitting direction that is the same as the thickness direction of the housing 2 to the stopper holding portion 217 of the wheel stopper 7 (FIG. 6). Projecting vertically). As the worm wheel 5 rotates, it abuts against the outer peripheral surface of the wheel stopper 7 and stops.

  The stopper presser 222 protrudes from the inner surface of the cover 22, is inserted through the slit 56, and extends to the upper end surface (the end surface on the side away from the body 21) of the wheel stopper 7 in FIG. 6. When the worm wheel 5 comes into contact with the rotation and the wheel stopper 7 is lifted (disengaged) from the stopper holding portion 217, the stopper presser 222 comes into contact with the end surface of the upper end of the wheel stopper 7, and the stopper holding portion. Detachment from 217 is prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the stopper presser 222 has a slight gap between it and the wheel stopper 7, but the upper end surface of the wheel stopper 7 may be always pressed by the stopper presser 222. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, the stopper presser 222 faces the side closer to the rotation center of the worm wheel 5 (the wheel shaft 215) than the stopper holding portion 217 in the wheel stopper 7.

  After each component constituting the lid lock device 1 is accommodated in the body 21, the cover 22 is fitted to the body 21, and the locking piece 211 of the body 21 is engaged with the locking protrusion 221 of the cover 22. Combine and integrate (as described above). Next, the tapping screw 8 is inserted into the screw hole 223 of the cover 22 located between the wheel shaft 215 that is the rotation center of the worm wheel 5 and the female connector 12 described later (shown in FIG. 9).

  Thereafter, the body 21 and the cover 22 are fastened to the body 21 by tightening the tapping screw 8 while screwing, thereby completing the lid lock device 1. As a result, the electric motor 3, the worm 4, the worm wheel 5, and the lock shaft 6 can be held by the body 21 and the cover 22 without rattling. The lid lock device 1 is mounted on the vehicle body 9 after the waterproof ring 11 formed of a synthetic rubber material is attached to the seal groove 216 c formed in the shaft holding portion 216 of the body 21.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a female connector 12 is formed on the side surface of the housing 2 of the completed lid lock device 1. The female connector portion 12 is for connecting an external connector M (male connector) to supply electric power to the electric motor 3. The female connector portion 12 is formed on the body 21, and the connector side walls 218 a, 218 b facing each other, and the connector vertical walls 218 c, 224 formed on the body 21 and the cover 22 and facing each other, are connected to the motor terminals described above. 32 (in FIG. 8, the wall formed by the body 21 in the female connector portion 12 is indicated by hatching).

  That is, in the female connector portion 12, the method of dividing the body 21 forming the housing 2 and the cover 22 is adjusted, and three of the two pairs of walls 218a, 218b, 218c, 224 that face each other vertically and horizontally are the body 21 It is formed only on the side, and the remaining one is formed on the cover 22. Thus, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the female connector portion 12 into which the external connector is inserted can be determined only by the lengths of the walls 218a, 218b, and 218c formed on the body 21 side. In FIG. 8, the locking piece 225 of the cover 22 engaged with the connector lateral wall 218a has a guide function for the connector lateral wall 218a and does not affect the dimensions of the female connector portion 12. .

  As shown in FIG. 9, the connector side wall 218 b of the female connector portion 12 has an engagement port 219 into which a locking claw of the external connector is fitted when the external connector is fitted to the female connector portion 12. Is formed. The engagement port 219 is a rectangular opening penetrating the connector lateral wall 218b, and is formed only on the body 21 (presents a shape surrounded only by the body 21).

  As shown in FIG. 10, in the lid lock device 1 in which the lock portion 61 is in a non-engagement state (non-lock position) with the lid 91, the electric motor 3 is operated for a predetermined time, and the worm wheel 5 is interposed via the worm 4. Is rotated clockwise in FIG. 10 about the wheel shaft 215. As a result, the lock shaft 6 engaged with the engagement column 53 of the worm wheel 5 in the interlocking hole 65 moves in the axial direction (leftward in FIG. 10) with respect to the housing 2, and the lock portion 61 protrudes from the housing 2. (FIGS. 2 and 3 are shown). The protruding lock portion 61 engages with a lid 91 provided on the vehicle body 9 to hold the lid 91 in a closed state (shown in FIG. 4). The rotation of the worm wheel 5 rotated by the worm 4 is stopped when the first stopper wall 54 contacts the wheel stopper 7.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the lid lock device 1 in which the lock portion 61 is engaged with the lid 91 (lock position), the electric motor 3 is operated for a predetermined time, so that the worm wheel 5 is described above. Rotate in the opposite direction (clockwise in FIG. 2). Accordingly, the lock shaft 6 is moved in the axial direction (leftward in FIG. 2) with respect to the housing 2, and the lock portion 61 is stored in the housing 2 (shown in FIG. 10). The retracted lock portion 61 is disengaged from the lid 91 so that the lid 91 can be opened. The rotation of the worm wheel 5 reversely rotated by the worm 4 is stopped when the second stopper wall 55 contacts the wheel stopper 7.

According to the present embodiment, the stopper presser 222 protrudes from the cover 22 and is configured to be able to contact the wheel stopper 7 in the fitting direction of the wheel stopper 7 with respect to the stopper holding portion 217.
As a result, when the wheel stopper 7 is lifted from the stopper holding portion 217, the wheel stopper 7 comes into contact with the stopper presser 222 protruding from the cover 22, so that the wheel stopper 7 is prevented from falling off from the stopper holding portion 217.

Further, the stopper presser 222 protrudes from the cover 22, so that the number of parts of the lid lock device 1 is not increased and the assembling workability is not deteriorated.
The wheel stopper 7 is in an annular shape that abuts against the worm wheel 5 on the outer peripheral surface thereof, engages with the stopper holding portion 217 on the inner peripheral surface 71, and can abut against the stopper presser 222 on the end surface facing the cover 22. It is comprised so that.
Thereby, the bidirectional | two-way rotation of the worm wheel 5 can also be stopped with the one wheel stopper 7. FIG.

Further, the worm wheel 5 has a slit 56 through which the stopper presser 222 passes, and the stopper presser 222 is configured to be able to contact an end surface that passes through the worm wheel 5 and faces the cover 22.
Thereby, the worm wheel 5 and the wheel stopper 7 can be overlapped and arranged in the thickness direction of the housing 2.
The slit 56 is formed in an arc shape centering on the rotation axis of the worm wheel 5.
Thereby, rotation of the worm wheel 5 can be performed suitably.

Further, the stopper presser 222 is opposed to the side close to the rotation center of the worm wheel 5 in the end face of the wheel stopper 7 that faces the cover 22 of the wheel stopper 7.
Thereby, since the slit 56 can be arrange | positioned near the rotation center of the worm wheel 5, the slit 56 penetrated to the worm wheel 5 can be made into a small diameter, and the intensity | strength of the worm wheel 5 can be improved. Further, since the slit 56 is separated from the wheel gear of the worm wheel 5, the strength of the wheel gear can be improved.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
A stopper holder 222 may be formed on the body 21 by protruding the stopper holding portion 217 from the cover 22.
A wheel rotation shaft 215 that pivotally supports the worm wheel 5 may be formed on the cover 22 regardless of the portions where the stopper holding portion 217 and the stopper presser 222 are formed.

The slit 56 formed in the worm wheel 5 may have any shape as long as the insertion of the stopper presser 222 is not hindered.
The stopper presser 222 may abut against the wheel stopper 7 at a plurality of locations to prevent the stopper holder 222 from coming off from the stopper holding portion 217.
The lid lock device according to the present invention may be applied not only to the lid covering the fuel filler opening but also to locking the trunk lid of the vehicle in the closed state.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a lid lock device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The front view which looked at the inside from the cover side at the time of being in the lock position of the lid lock apparatus for vehicles shown in FIG. The front view at the time of seeing the inside from the body side of the lid lock apparatus for vehicles shown in FIG. AA sectional view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. CC sectional view of FIG. Bottom view of worm wheel Left side view of the lid lock device shown in FIG. The perspective view of the lid lock apparatus shown in FIG. The front view which looked at the inside from the body side in the case of being in the non-locking position of the lid lock device shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a lid lock device (vehicle lid lock device), 2 is an actuator housing (housing), 21 is a body (first body), 22 is a cover (second body), and 3 is an electric motor (drive motor). ) 5 is a worm wheel (output gear), 6 is a lock shaft (shaft member), 7 is a wheel stopper (stopper), 9 is a vehicle body, 56 is a slit (opening), 91 is a lid (lid body), 217 is A stopper holding portion 222 is a stopper presser (stopper retaining portion).

Claims (4)

A housing formed by fitting the first body and the second body;
A drive motor housed in the housing;
An output gear pivotally supported in the housing and rotatable by operation of the drive motor;
It is supported in the housing so as to be movable in the axial direction, one end protrudes from the housing and can engage with a lid body provided on the vehicle body, and the other end engages with the output gear by rotation of the output gear. A shaft member that moves in the axial direction;
In a vehicle lid lock device comprising:
A stopper that is held by the first body and abuts against the output gear in the rotation direction of the output gear to restrict the rotation of the output gear;
A stopper holding portion formed on the first body and fitted to the stopper to hold the stopper on the first body;
A stopper retaining portion formed on the second body and capable of contacting the stopper in a fitting direction of the stopper with respect to the stopper holding portion;
Equipped with a,
The stopper has an annular shape that comes into contact with the output gear on an outer peripheral surface, fits with the stopper holding portion on an inner peripheral surface, and can come into contact with the stopper retaining portion on an end surface. Lid lock device. The said output gear has an opening which the said stopper securing part penetrates, The said stopper securing part penetrates the said output gear, and can contact | abut to the said end surface of the said stopper . A lid lock device for a vehicle. 3. The lid lock device for a vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein the opening is an arc-shaped slit centering on a rotation axis of the output gear . 4. The vehicle lid lock device according to claim 2 , wherein a tip of the stopper retaining portion is opposed to a side of the end surface of the stopper that is close to the rotation shaft of the output gear . 5.

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